Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
certifies a substandard product or service, then its integrity becomes questionable
and the communities where it operates lose faith in it.
Even when the certification process is unbiased, there is a chance of subjective
assessment of a product or service attributes against the set norms. For instance,
suppose different products (similar but from different manufacturing companies)
are being measured for surface finish. The measurement is in terms of coarseness
of the surface of the products measured in the number of protruding grains on the
surface of the products per square inch. The measuring instruments are the same,
but the persons doing the tests are different. When testing is done, there could be
two subjective factors: (1) calibration of the testing equipment and (2) ability of the
person to measure. So the results for the two products could never be 100% objec-
tive, and some element of subjective assessment goes in the measurement.
To reduce this subjective element from the measurement process, the certifying
agency must deploy tools and use some standard procedures.
1..2
Standards
For measuring quality of any product or service, we use some standards. For prod-
ucts, it could be physical dimension, chemical composition, or such product attri-
butes. For services, it could be response time, satisfactory resolution of any issue,
and so on. We have come to a stage where we can establish product standards that
are widely accepted and agreed upon. But in the case of services, standards are
still not well defined and are still evolving. Services are intangible and are difficult
to measure. A product manufacturer can get away with claims for substandard
quality if the law of the land finds that when measured, the product really con-
formed to the quality standards. But does a service provider have such luck? No
way! Conflicts arising out of disputes in service quality cannot be resolved easily, as
measuring service quality is very difficult.
As far as commercial activities are concerned, they are immensely influenced by
the standards that govern them. Without standards, it will be very difficult to com-
pare any two similar activities and decide which is better in terms of costs, quality,
and fulfilling general needs of society. Standards could be in terms of defined meth-
ods, specific measurements, defined models, and so on. When standards are in the
form of methods or models, they serve as guidelines for performing tasks.
13.2.1
Benchmarking
Even when activities associated with producing goods or providing services are
assessed to be conforming to standards, these specific activities may differ from
one place to another. The reason is that standards are basically guidelines that are
followed when tasks are performed. But implementation of standards will always
differ from one place to another. And that is why activities at two places are never
the same. This leads to different costs and quality of the product or service provided
