Research
A study on ISO 9001 Quality Management System Certifications a Reasons behind the failure of ISO certified Organizations
The purpose of this research study was to evaluate the effectiveness of ISO 9001 Certified Contracting organizations at United Arab Emirates and identify the potential reasons behind the failure of ISO 9001 certified organizations.For conducting this study, an in-depth literature review was made. A pilot survey was organized to capture the perceptions of these contracting organizations. The pilot survey findings were reviewed and resulted in a fine-tuned main survey collected from a stratified random sample of 100 organizations out of 800 populations. Survey findings studied were hypothetically validated and the gaps were identified. In spite of ISO 9001 certification being a powerful framework for managing the quality systems, the study results revealed that there were common gaps found in those certified organizations, classified into 4 basic categories such as a) Leadership related issues b) Strategy related issues c) Quality system related issues and d) Social responsibility related issues. Out of the nine constructs tested hypothetically, eight constructs revealed a significant relationship impacting the overall system performance. Out of these 8 significant elements, only 4 have been specified in ISO 9001 Standard explicitly. Even though around 15 research studies have been made so far in the same subject worldwide, this study has evaluated the effectiveness of Quality Systems. Also it will make the Quality Management System (QMS) more vibrant and value-adding.
Corporate Social Responsibility : Existing Practices Vs CSR Framework
Purpose : The purpose of this paper is to study how effective was the social responsibility demonstrated by the Mechanical, Electrical and Civil contracting organizations of the United Arab Emirates, in relation to the CSR framework of European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), and to identify the areas of strength and challenges in such CSR practices. Design/Methodology/Approach : A comprehensive review was made on the CSR literature. The recently published articles and best practices in the related subject were taken into consideration, including the EFQM Publications concerned. Our focus in this study was to select a stratified random sample of 50 organizations in the UAE and study their CSR characteristics such as their methodology and evaluation of CSR activities in relation to the best-practices. In this study, 8 constructs were tested to experiment the inter relationship between the variables driving the CSR performance. All the 8 variables were hypothetically proven to have a significant relationship, including the 5 EFQM CSR approaches. Strong areas and deficiencies in CSR initiatives by these organizations were classified and elaborated accordingly. Findings : The existing CSR activities of UAE organizations were compared with the 5 basic approaches of EFQM CSR framework and validated that all these approaches had a significant impact on the CSR performance. Social responsibility was found to gain focus in the UAE, with strong areas being a clear strategic direction and a sound financial capability. Some deficiencies were revealed in demonstrating social responsibility, which were classified into 5 major categories. Considering the UAE Government’s strategic destination termed as “Vision 2030â€, the social responsibility practices need to improve in certain areas as highlighted in this paper. Originality / Value addition in this paper : Even though the study focused on the organizations at UAE, regardless of their country of location, size an
