Discussion Responses Required - 10 To 12 Hours At The Maximum

Key Term and Why You Are Interested in It

I chose to discuss ISO 9000 for the discussion board this week due to previous topics I have researched related to international cooperation. Last week I discussed the European Union and found my research fruitful because I was able to have a deep understanding of one of the major influencers of international business. This week’s interest has stemmed from a very similar motivation. I had heard of ISO a long time ago, in some discussion talking about the standardization of metric units as well as other measurements. However, I had no idea they had a standard for just about everything! I now get to be exposed to all of their operations.

Explanation of the Key Term

The ISO 9000 is a publication of standards produced by ISO (International Organization for Standardization), and there have been updates to the ISO 9000 including the ISO 9001:2008, 2015, and ISO is continually developing and publishing standards to promote safety and efficiency. According to Satterlee (2014), ISO is, “a codification or assurance of quality… an internationally recognized certification system or process,” which set standards that permeate nearly every aspect of business and technology (p.255). These standards that uphold safety and efficiency do much good by the businesses that enact them including: helping developing countries operate optimally, generate an international acceptation of businesses that stimulates international trade, and give peace of mind to customers and employees concerning elements of health, safety, and environmental responsibility.

Major Article Summary

The “ISO in Brief” article is produced by the International Organization for Standardization and gives a rather complete and current synopsis of what the organization does and why.  The article begins with general information about the organization, like how they are an international not-for-profit organization that aims to be the bridge between businesses and stakeholders. ISO does this by providing the standards and developing practical ways of achieving those standards to help businesses become most effective. These standards are developed only if it is necessity for the market and usually accomplishes one of three goals: makes products compatible, identifies safety issues, and shares solutions both technological and managerial (p. 4). This information was very similar to the information found in the textbook, however the article goes further into how they achieve this.

To accomplish these ends, ISO has a well-integrated system of agents: experts, members, and the ISO central secretariat. According to the article the standardization process is as follows: ISO members nominate experts to write the standards, and with ISO the experts reach a consensus on which the ISO members will vote. It appears to operate like a well-oiled machine and complete with checks and balances, and they have the manpower to do it. As of September 2016, ISO has 163 members, 21,350 international standards, and 238 technical committees (p.1). Understanding the processes ISO takes to develop these standards helps one have a more complete picture of ISO as an organization and how they work with all stakeholders to ensure everyday items, business practices, and technology are safe for you and the environment. 

The article also includes specific examples of items that have been optimized by standards. Although nearly any manufactured good is touched by an ISO standard in some way, whether it be employee safety of the company or standard for the item itself, some examples of items include: paper sizes, freight containers, credit cards, and currencies (p. 7). These examples relate to ISO’s main purpose for standards: “Standards make things work the way they should” (ISO, 2017).

Discussion

Main Article