Abstract: . . .  certification was reported to average 15 months. Enterprises choose to implement the ISO 9000 guidelines and obtain third-party ISO 9000 certification for several reasons. First, without mutual recognition of quality standards between trading partners, quality issues are likely to present significant non-tariff barriers to future trade. Current global trends are driving many companies toward strategic recognition that they need and should conform to international standards in order to gain critical . . .
. . .  certification agency. The time needed to obtain ISO 9000 certification generally varies from one to two years. Of 1880 companies surveyed in the United States and Canada (Irwin Publishing, 1996), the mean implementation time from ISO 9000 awareness to management commitment was 12 months. The additional time necessary for certification was reported to average 15 months. Enterprises choose to implement the ISO 9000 guidelines and obtain third-party ISO 9000 certification for several reasons. First, without . . .
. . .  recognition that they need and should conform to international standards in order to gain critical access 18 However, behind these reasons often lies the will to protect the interests of national producers, such as infant industries or sectors of strategic and political importance.  . . .
. . .  competitiveness ranking (number 20) but, according to national executives, has not achieved a high TQM ranking. This non-linear relationship between competitiveness and TQM can be explained by the fact that TQM is not the only factor that determines international competitiveness. Page 14 14 and communication with its suppliers and other subcontractors in both backward and forward linkages in the same or connected sectors. Figure 1 TQM AND COMPETITIVENESS Source : Institute for Management Development (IMD)/World . . .
. . .  future trade. Current global trends are driving many companies toward strategic recognition that they need and should conform to international standards in order to gain critical access 18 However, behind these reasons often lies the will to protect the interests of national producers, such as infant industries or sectors of strategic and political importance.  . . .
. . .  often apply a wide range of services and incentives to ensure employee satisfaction, including child care; health and pension funds; wage incentives and lifetime -employment schemes; and training. Quality management and competitiveness The widespread diffusion of quality management techniques will make an organization, an economic sector and eventually a country more competitive. In this section, aspects of quality and competitiveness are first discussed from a macro perspective. Then examples of . . .
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