Reports a European study on the use of quality management self‐assessment. Data have been obtained from 117 organizations who, in general, have some experiences of self‐assessment methods. Among the main findings were the identification of the steps which are considered to be a key influence...

Plots a path from a base of ISO 9000 series system registration to the effective use of self‐assessment against the criteria of an excellence model (e.g. the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model or the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) model). Both the ISO 9000...

Discusses the key actions which need to be taken by an organization if they wish to progress from ISO 9001 or ISO 9002 registration to a quality award prize winners status. There is a large gap between the ISO 9001 requirements and the European Foundation of Quality Management (EFQM) Model of...

This paper explores the quality challenges which need to be addressed through further research by the European academic research community in the twenty‐first century. They are also some of the issues which organisations aspiring to be “world class” need to address. The issues are examined...