A Quality Management Training System Concerning ISO Standards for Sustainable Organisational Change in SMEs

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present and discuss the benefits of online training in quality control and quality management for professionals and managers of small medium enterprises (SMEs). Moreover, this paper is an attempt to understand how this training can contribute to the improvement of SMEs’ activities and the achievement of their business performance objectives. This kind of training includes topics such as managing quality, quality processes, auditing, total quality, ISO standards, fault proofing, an adaptive learning culture and sustainable change management. This work describes the main predicted benefits according to the results of a European project which aimed to create and validate an online platform which was related to the field of quality management to provide effective quality training for SMEs. The international standards covered by this project are: ISO 9001 (quality management systems), ISO 14001 (environmental management systems) and HACCP (hazard analysis and control of the critical points ).

Keywords: QMS, quality management systems, managerial learning, SME business performance, decision-making, learning methodologies, e-learning, organisational learning