New Standard Offers Guidance for Understanding, Evaluating, and Improving Organisational Quality Culture.
In the intricate realm of organisational dynamics, the elusive concept of culture often sparks spirited debates, as stakeholders grapple with defining, quantifying, and managing this influential force. Acknowledging the pivotal role culture plays in success, a recently released standard, ISO 10010:2022, aims to provide a framework for organisations to enhance their quality culture systematically.
Unpacking Organisational Culture:
Defined as the underlying beliefs, assumptions, values, and ways of interacting within an organisation, culture significantly shapes its social and psychological environment. Notably, ISO 9001:2015 subtly acknowledges the importance of culture in its directive for organisations to identify external and internal issues relevant to their purpose and strategic direction, including the consideration of culture.
While ISO 9000:2015 and ISO 9004:2018 delve into the fundamentals and quality guidance, respectively, it is in ISO 9004 that we find the first explicit definition of culture. It highlights the interconnected elements of beliefs, history, ethics, observed behaviour, and attitudes that contribute to the identity of the organisation.
Introducing ISO 10010:2022:
ISO 10010:2022 emerges as a beacon for organisations seeking to understand, evaluate, and improve their quality culture. This standard defines a quality culture as an integral part of an organisation's culture—a summation of embedded beliefs, behaviours, and shared values supporting the delivery of quality objectives and meeting stakeholder expectations, even without a defined quality management system.
Determining the Desired Quality Culture:
ISO 10010 offers a structured approach to defining the desired quality culture attributes, aligning them with the organisation's mission, vision, and values. Encouraging wide participation, it emphasises articulating and developing these attributes in terms of associated behaviours. The seven quality management principles of ISO 9001 serve as a valuable reference for identifying desired attributes.
Analysing the Current and Desired State:
The standard advocates establishing measurable performance standards and indicators to assess the current state against defined behaviours. It guides organisations in developing performance standards that express the level and status of the desired quality culture, paving the way for improvements in behaviours. Acknowledging the challenges of determining and measuring behaviours, ISO 10010 provides valuable insights into this crucial aspect.
Actions to Achieve and Embed Quality Culture:
Once the desired future state is established, ISO 10010 offers guidance on actions required for achievement. Recommendations include visible management support, clear articulation of vision and values, aligned use of quality objectives, and financial incentives. Post-measurement, the standard suggests actions to embed the desired quality culture, such as effective communication, ongoing training, appointment of culture champions, provision of resources, and recognition of the stages of change management.
In Summary:
In conclusion, while defining and measuring a quality culture may pose challenges, the investment in ISO 10010 offers a structured and comprehensive approach. Leveraging this standard, organisations can navigate the intricacies of culture, fostering a quality culture that not only aligns with their mission and values but also contributes significantly to their overall success.
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