Framework
In order to satisfy the owners' expectations and the regulatory requirements, each
member of the organisation needs to be aware of and adhere to the applicable "rules".
With growing size, "word of mouth" and "teaching by example" become insufficient.
Formal communication and implementation take their place.
For the sake of clarity we distinguish two environments, though in practice they largely
overlap, and indeed, should do so by design.
Standards, directives, guidelines, policies, procedures
This is the collection of documents describing how the organisation is expected to
discharge its chartered activities, and how it will be measured on the fulfillment of such
expectations. We could compare them with the set of laws, regulations and common
law governing society as a whole. Just as "each citizen is expected to know the law", so
this information should pervade the organisation through its most remote corners, and
lead each and every employee in the execution of his duties.
Standards form the framework of ethics, corporate philosophy, behavioural
expectations, business rules, and external prerequisites underlying the organisation and
constituting its inviolate design criteria. They spawn and also complement the other
parts of the framework, resolving any issues not explicitly addressed elsewhere. One
could compare them with a country's constitution.
Directives are explicit and compulsory rules of conduct and response imposed on each
employee to ensure a full and unreserved application of the standards.
Guidelines, on the other hand, are strong recommendations by leadership in support of
the standards, deviations from which should be exceptional, but, if justified,
conceivable.
Policies are at the next level of detail. They define the treatment of and conduct in
specific situations to satisfy the directives and adhere to the standards. Though they
cannot be exhaustive, policies are intended to cover most situations encountered in
operational practice.
Procedures. Whereas most of the above is related to the organisational dimension,
procedures describe the formal processes used in the implementation of the standards
(e.g. steps, collaboration, decision levels, decision boards, voting rights, work- and
decision flow, etc.).
Quality Management System
With the increasing focus on "excellence" (starting in 80s and 90s of last century), the
idea of a system to ensure, manage and maintain quality of execution gained ground, to
the extent that it even became a gating factor for commercial engagements.
Its scope typically includes, but extends beyond the elements outlined above.
The same
holds true for ownership, which now consists of senior leadership, contents experts,
and indeed each employee, considered both a competent user and an active assessor.
Furthermore implementation, training, exception resolution, ongoing development,
compliance, and certification are integral parts.
Apart from new standards, directives, policies and procedures (e.g. document control
and release management, deviation reporting and resolution, recommendation and
suggestion system) it gave rise to new roles (quality manager, quality assessor, quality
representative), some of which fall within the organisational context of Operations
Certification authority (both initial and compliance check) was soon claimed by the
leading industry normative bodies (e.g. ASA, ISO, BSO) as their prerogative. Successful
completion then allows the organisation to carry one of the coveted acronyms (e.g.
ISO9000, ISO9001).
My contribution
Whatever the context, these systems require extensive and complete documentation, a
time consuming process often in conflict with effective constraints on the owners and
participants. What is more, the needs typically are extremely volatile. Outtasking some
or part of this is a logical option, for which I feel well qualified.
