International Journal of Management (IJM), ISSN 0976 6502(Print), ISSN 0976 - 6510(Online), INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT (IJM) Volume

e 4, Issue 6, November - December (2013)

IJM
IAEME

EFFECT OF ISO 9001 QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS CERTIFICATION ON THE PERFORMANCE IN INDIAN DEFENCE R&D ORGANISATION
Anil Khurana*#, Prof. Jamal A Farooquie**, Dr. Manjit Singh***, Jimmy Kansal****$
* **

Estate Management Unit (R&D), DRDO, M-1026, Sector-29 A, Chandigarh (India) Department of Business Administration, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (India) *** Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory, DRDO, Sector-30, Chandigarh (India) **** Snow & Avalanche Study Establishment, Sector - 37 A, Chandigarh, India

ABSTRACT Quality in Research and Development (R&D) work has become increasingly important as countries commit themselves to quality improvement programs in all areas of their economic, technological and military activities. Quality management systems have been successfully designed and implemented for manufacturing and service functions; but so far the quality principles and systems have been difficult to translate to the R&D function. A quality management system is the system including activities in an enterprise which affect Quality. Management system standards are general principles that are applicable to any organization whether a business enterprise, a public administration or a government department irrespective of its size, nature and type of product or service it offers.The implementation of Quality Management System (QMS) may have reduced defects by 90 percent and cycle times by 50 percent in production processes, reduced delivery times by 75 percent, cut inventories by 80 percent and improved the accuracy and timeliness of the orderentry processes significantly, they haven't dared to venture into the sacrosanct halls of R&D.QMS; ISO-9001 embodies a more comprehensive systems approach to what is typically found in disaggregate form in the current functions of many establishments. QMS is not an entirely new concept or system. In many cases, the infrastructure of a QMS is already in place. What is needed for an existing system to become a QMS is the integration of the system capabilities with quality metrics (performance measures) and goals. This study was undertaken to throw more light on this new development and to measure the effect of ISO 9001 quality management systems certification on the performance in the ISO 9001 certified units of Indian Defence R&D organization. The data was collected from 415 employees categorised as Senior Ranks (SR), Middle Ranks (MR) and Technical Officers (TO) belonging to the 18 ISO certified units (53% of total ISO certified units)by using ISO
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International Journal of Management (IJM), ISSN 0976 6502(Print), ISSN 0976 - 6510(Online), Volume 4, Issue 6, November - December (2013)

Impact Analysis Questionnaire. The Questionnaire consisted of 39 items representing the impact analysis under six perceived performance parameters; Quality of the R&D Process, Time & Cost Optimisation, Innovation &Creativity, Human Resource Development & Teamwork, Safety & Infrastructure Management and Efficient and Effective Procurement.The study revealed that there is significant improvement in all of the six perceived performance parameters and their dimensions due to implementation of quality management systems of the ISO certified units of Indian Defence R&D Organisation. Further, there are no significant differences between the three levels of respondents; SR, MR and TO on most of the perceived performance parameters and dimensions, which show a marked improvement in performance due to implementation of quality management systems as per ISO 9001. 1.0 INTRODUCTION

Globalization of R&D has accelerated significantly since last two decades. Much of this activity continues to take place among major industrial economies. Developing countries are, however, also playing increasingly important roles. India and China are rapidly emerging as major powers in this century, both in terms of the size of their markets and in a wide range of science and technology developments. India is predicted to become one of the worlds leading economic powers. This poses new challenges for international firms and others willing to take advantage of Indias development. A wide range of indicators point to Indias potential for catching up in economic, technology and social development. The countrys adult literacy rate, for example, has increased the number of engineering students, education level per se has increased and the proportion of poor people has decreased substantially over the last few decades. The potential for cost savings and access to technical competency and markets are among the most important factors underlying the drive for multinational companies to expand their production and R&D operations in India. The principal factors pointing to Indias potential to be a major R&D power are the size of its educated workforce, entrepreneurial traditions and a significant existing R&D-related institutional infrastructure. On the whole India has made major advancement in all of these areas in the past decades. A quality management system as per ISO 9000:2005 is defined as management system to direct and control an organization with regard to quality (ISO 9000:2005(E), 2005).Management system standards are general principles that are applicable to any organization whether a business enterprise, a public administration or a government department irrespective of its size, nature and type of product or service it offers. ISO management system standards are based on the operating principles of Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle which provide guidelines in establishing and operating a management system. ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees.ISO is a short form of International Organization for Standardization, a nongovernmental organization with a Central Secretariat located in Geneva, Switzerland (International Organization for Standardization, 2010). ISO was created in 1946 with an aim to facilitate the international coordination and unification of industrial standards and officially started functioning from February, 1947 (Zuckerman, 1997). ISO, a word derived from the Greek isos which means equal was chosen as the short form because the name International Organization for Standardization would have resulted in different acronyms in different languages (Zharen Von, 2001).ISO is the worlds largest developer and publisher of International Standards - more than 19,400 at the end of Oct 2012. ISO provides the platform on which consensus is reached on International Standards that meet business, governmental and societal needs. ISO is a network of national standards bodies, one per country (164 of them in May 2012).According to Zharen Von
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International Journal of Management (IJM), ISSN 0976 6502(Print), ISSN 0976 - 6510(Online), Volume 4, Issue 6, November - December (2013)

(2001), ISO exists to facilitate the trade of goods and services by encouraging standardization and related activities all over the globe, and to develop cooperation in science, technology, academic sector and economic activity. ISO 9000 standards series is the most popular and widely adopted standard representing all international standards relating to quality management systems. Formally adopted in 1987 by the International Standards Organization, ISO first published its quality standards in 1987, revised them in 1994, and then republished an updated version in 2000, which has been further refined & improved in 2008. ISO's purpose is to facilitate international trade by providing a single set of standards that people everywhere would recognize and respect. ISO 9000 is a series of written set of standard which describe and define the basic elements/clauses of the quality system needed to ensure that an organizations products/or services meet or exceed customer needs and expectations. Up to the end of 2011, at least 1,111,698 ISO 9001:2008 certificates had been issued in 180 countries and economies, (www.iso.org, The ISO Survey-2011 (2011)). India is among the top ten countries in the world where ISO 9001:2008 certification has been awarded.The implementation of a quality management system, and its subsequent certification, is a voluntary process, supported by an organizations own strategy, motivations, policies and goals. To obtain more benefits from ISO 9000 certification, organizations may take into consideration that the design and implementation of an organizations quality management system is influenced by the organization strategy, its size and organizational structure, its organizational environment, changes in that environment, and the risks associated with that environment (ISO 9001:2008 (E), 2008). ISO 9000 is also concerned with the way an organization goes about its work, and not directly the result of this work. ISO 9000 is a standard for a quality system, not for a product. ISO 9000 is based on documentation and is premised on the following; Document what you do, Do what your document says, Prove it and Improve it. ISO 9000 emphasizes prevention. There are four primary standards in the ISO 9000 series. 1. ISO 9000:2005 (E) - Fundamentals and vocabulary for quality management system 2. ISO 9001:2008 (E) - Requirements for quality management system 3. ISO 9004:2009 (E) - A quality management approach for managing the sustained success of an organization 4. ISO 19011:2012 (E) - Guidelines for quality and/or environmental management systems auditing ISO 9001:2008 stresses the importance for an organization to identify, implement, manage and continually improve the effectiveness of the processes that are necessary for the quality management system, and to manage the interactions of these processes in order to achieve the organization's objectives. It is based on eight universally accepted quality management principles with the focus on produce benefits for customers, owners, people, suppliers and society at large.Certification is awarded against for implementing and following requirements of ISO 9001 standard; whereas ISO 9000 elucidates the Fundamentals & vocabulary. ISO 9004:2009 focuses on performance improvements and guides the organization beyond the requirements of ISO 9001:2008. ISO 9004:2009 recommends an evaluation of the efficiency, as well as the effectiveness of the processes. ISO 19011 gives guidelines on quality and environmental auditing. According to Hoyle (2008), the ISO 9001:2008 model is a process-based quality management system (Figure 1) with the influence of customer and supplier behavior on the organization's outputs.

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International Journal of Management (IJM), ISSN 0976 6502(Print), ISSN 0976 - 6510(Online), Volume 4, Issue 6, November - December (2013)

Figure 1: 1 Model of process based QMS ISO-9001 9001 represents approach to improved quality performance. performance. There are several features that make this standard noteworthy. First, ISO ISO-9001 9001 is a generic standard applicable to all types of products, process and services. Second, it is an international standard. As a result, it is hoped that this standard will replace the numerous and often conflicting standards found in various countries across the world. Third, ISO-9001 9001 shifts attention from the outcome (product/service) to processes. Finally, an impartial third-party party assessor must evaluate the extent to which the establishment is able to successfully adhere to these new requirements.The QMS enables employees to have ready access to the organization's based documentation of facts, sources of information, and solutions. The advantages of QMS are sharing of valuable organizational information that can avoid re re-inventing the wheel each time, reducing redundant work, reducing training time for new employees and retention of Intellectual Property after the employee leaves. Research is a scientific investigation aimed at discovering and applying new facts, techniques and natural laws, EURACHEM/CITAC Guide CG2 (1998). At its heart is inquiry into the unknown, addressing questions not previously asked? Research is done by a wide range of organizations: universities and colleges; government agencies; industry and contract organizations. Research projects vary widely in content and also in style, from open ended exploration of concepts to working towards specific targets. Development in an industrial context is the work work done to finalise the specification of a new project or new manufacturing process. It uses many of the methods of scientific inquiry, and may generate much new knowledge, but its aim is to create practicable economic solutions. The combined term Research and Development can be seen as the work in an industrial or government context concentrating on finding new or improved processes, products etc., and also on ways of introducing such innovations. innovations.The he process of technological innovation (of which R&D is the first phase) is complex and risky. The majority of R&D projects fail to provide the expected financial results, and the successful projects (25 to 50 percent) must also pay for the projects that are unsuccessful or terminated early by management. For these reasons, a company companys R&D efforts must be carefully organized, controlled, evaluated, and managed. India has a strong set of Science & Technology (S&T) policies and extensive network of about 2500 R&D organizations, mostly Government supported. These organizations organizations cover virtually every branch and facet of research and technology ranging from paleo-botany paleo botany to spacecraft (http://www.nrdcindia.com/tech-src.htm). src.htm).In In India, R&D in the various fields related to defence is
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International Journal of Management (IJM), ISSN 0976 6502(Print), ISSN 0976 - 6510(Online), Volume 4, Issue 6, November - December (2013)

primarily undertaken by Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO). DRDO is one of the premier R&D National Level Organizations of India under Central Government, Ministry of Defence. The Department of Defence R&D executes various R&D programmes and projects through a network of more than 50 laboratories/establishments (herein referred as units) of the DRDO located all over India. DRDO is working for indigenous development of weapons, sensors & platforms required by the Armed Forces. To fulfill this mandate, DRDO is closely working with academic institutions, R&D Centres and production agencies of Science and Technology Departments including Defence Public Sector Undertakings & Ordnance Factories(http://www.drdo.org). Economic liberalization policies pursued since the 1990s have fostered competition and internationalization. Important reforms in a number of areas, such as: the tax regime, liberalization of foreign ownership and exchanges regulations, and improvements in industrial and other regulatory frameworks and the intellectual property rights regime, have contributed to accelerate growth in foreign trade and investment including R&D related activities.These have given a real challenge to the DRDO scientists to live with the paradigm of strict time schedules, improved quality and reduced costs. Scientists are now expected to reduce lead times of design, development, purchasing and deliver the required product, Khurana Anil (2005). Keeping this in view, many Indian Defence R&D Organisationsunits have gone for Quality Management Systems (QMS) implementation and obtained ISO-9001 certification. Thus studying the effects of implementation of ISO 9001 standard in the context of DRDO will be a big factor in successful implementation and reaping the potential benefits of the same. 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW & NEED FOR THE STUDY

Aim of implementing quality management system ISO 9001 is to streamline all the processes of the organisation to improve quality and efficiency of processes. It makes the system coherent, uniform, traceable, transparent and oriented towards the larger quality policy and quality objectives of the organisation. These objectives are regularly reviewed for their adequacy and suitability, measured and their implementation is checked during quality audits.ISO 9001 International standard is generic in nature and QMS based on it can be implemented in any type of organization whatever its size or versatility of activities may be. Research by Kumar & Boyle (2001) outlines practices that are critical for achieving quality management in applied research and development e.g. process development. Ingham and Labbe (2003) discussed the contribution of ISO 9000 to the codification and articulation of technological knowledge at the early stages of a R&D project. Quazi et al., (2004) have studied the nature and extent of impact of ISO 9000 certification on training and development activities of organizations in Singapore. Bayati et al., (2007) found positive impacts of acquiring ISO 9000 certification on the performance of SMEs in Tehran. Rice and Mahmoud (2001) studied the effect of integrating quality management, creativity and innovation in Islamic Banks as they face challenges from non-Islamic institutions because of the mergers of Institutions, introduction of new products etc. Winistorfer and Steudel (1997) discussed the implications for structural composite lumber companies in obtaining registration to ISO 9000 and discussed the advantages, limitations, and costs of such a strategic endeavor. A survey by Lloyd Register Quality Assurance (LRQA), (1996) compared the performance of a sample of 222 British ISO 9000 registered companies with the industry average. The study found that ISO 9000 registered companies were two to three times more profitable than their nonregistered competitors. Michal Grajek, 2004 investigated the link between ISO 9000 standards and bilateral exports. They foundboth domestic and foreign ISO 9000 adoptions to benefit bilateral exports. Moreover, they found evidence for a substitution effect, as ISO 9000 certified firmstend to trade with each other more than with uncertified firms. Consequently,the positive impact of these standards on trade was more pronounced among ISO9000 abundant countries.The research by
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International Journal of Management (IJM), ISSN 0976 6502(Print), ISSN 0976 - 6510(Online), Volume 4, Issue 6, November - December (2013)

AdolfasKazilinas (2010) shows that a well-developed ISO 9000 implementation strategy is crucial for achieving financial benefits from ISO 9000. The survey conducted by Cagnazzo (2010) on 366 Italian companies highlighted the main key aspects influenced by the ISO 9000. Companies recognize both internal and external impacts, even if they feel more benefits coming from the increased operating efficiency and operations management and from the increased attention to the customer and sells. This is perfectly coherent with the ISO standard. Guchu and Mwanaongoro (2012) and Olaru et al., (2011) highlighted the research carried out at the level of Small and Medium Enterprises in Kenya and Romania. It resulted in a major progress in the process of evaluating and monitoring customer satisfaction by SMEs. Zajarskas et al., (2010) emphasized that the standards implemented confirm the high level of the system itself but do not guarantee its efficiency and success. The performance of management systems should be real and not just formal. Only then it will bring tangible benefits. The research by Kazilinas A., (2010) shows a well-developed ISO 9000 implementation strategy is crucial for achieving financial benefits from ISO 9000. Strategic orientation is a moderating factor influencing the relationship between ISO 9000 certification benefits and a firms financial performance. ISO 9000 has been widely adopted as a quality management system for improving competitiveness around the world, but with mixed success (Kuo et al., 2009). A number of scholars have investigated the influence of ISO 9000 on different dimensions of business performance. Some studies find that ISO 9000 certified facilities have higher profitability, but these studies fail to establish a causal link between certification and profitability (Simmons & White, 1999). Results on the effect of ISO 9000 on customer satisfaction are ambiguous (Naveh et al., 1999; Rao et al., 1997; Terziovski et al., 1999). Other studies have focused on the effect of ISO 9000 on operational performance. Operational performance is a multi-dimensional concept that refers to the measurable aspects of an organizations processes (Voss et al., 1997). It most commonly encompasses production reliability and defect rates, production cycle time and on-time delivery, cost of quality and scrap minimization, productivity, and inventory turns (Naveh& Marcus, 1999; Samson &Terziovski; 1999, Voss et al., 1997; Youndt et al., 1996). Focusing on a selection or combination of the different dimensions of operational performance, some studies find that certification reduces the cost of quality (Naveh et al., 1999) and improves overall operational performance (e.g., Wenmoth& Dobbin, 1994). Others cast doubts on such positive relationship between ISO 9000 and operational performance (e.g., Dick, 2000).As per Ingham M. and Labbe E. (2003), streams of research on knowledge creation in R&D projects and quality and knowledge management in other functions, are developed rather separately. The 2000 version of the ISO 9000 has a process orientation rather than a functional approach to the firm. This evolution can partly explain the growing interest in quality tools and methods for R&D activities. The new norm focuses on managerial and organizational aspects and no longer exclusively on the firms documentation. This change brought along a number of advantages and these are reflected in the eight quality management principles of the ISO 9004standards (quality management systems-guidelines for performance improvements).Johannsen (1995) presented an implementation model of ISO 9000 for professional services based on the experiences from the information sector. The phases of the research and development vary, depending on the type of product. Briefly, five stages can be classified: 1. idea generation stage, 2. planning stage, 3. design stage, 4. pilot production stage, and 5. initial production stage. As per Ingham M. and Labbe E. (2003), streams of research on knowledge creation in R&D projects and quality and knowledge management in other functions, are developed rather separately. The use of harmonized and standardized formats facilitates the process of collecting and storing data and information. This is of paramount importance in R&D, especially if tacit knowledge is individual and not shared by several team members. Jain et al., (2013) studied the effect of implementation of ISO 9001:2008 quality management system on the organizational performance in an R&D establishment. Their study used data of an R&D establishment certified with
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International Journal of Management (IJM), ISSN 0976 6502(Print), ISSN 0976 - 6510(Online), Volume 4, Issue 6, November - December (2013)

ISO 9001. The findings showed significant contribution of ISO 9001:2008 QMS in enhancing the effectiveness of an R&D organization. Qin Su et al. (2008) examined the way quality management practices (QMPs) impact quality outcome, R&D process, and business performance, using investigation data from Chinese firms. The authors find that industrial type can moderate the relationships between quality management practices and business performance, while competition does not.UdayanganiKulatunga et al. (2011) explored the performance measurement applications within construction research and development (R&D) to develop a structured approach to measure the performance of a collaborative construction R&D project during its lifecycle from initiation, conceptualization, development, and launch stages, and during project management. The main finding was the developed Performance Management System to measure the performance of construction R&D that consists of critical success factors, performance indicators and performance measures during the lifecycle of a R&D project. It is clear from the literature survey that most of the research studies of implementation of quality management systems and operational performance, efficiency and effectiveness have been conducted in the sphere of manufacturing, production, marketing, services sectors but very limited research work is available in the R&D segment and more so in the Indian Defence R&D. It is therefore pertinent to examine the effect of implementation of QMS as per ISO 9001 towards the performance, efficiency and effectiveness of the Indian Defence R&D process so as to achieve the goal of self-reliance by DRDO in critical technologies relevant to the national security. The main aim of this research is how QMS as per ISO 9001 affects the research and development process with special reference to Indian Defence R&D Organisation. 3.0 METHODOLOGY

The study was aimed at determining the Effect of ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems Certification on the performance in Indian Defence R&D Organisation with the coverage of mainperceived performance parameters of the Indian Defence R&D viz. Quality of the R&D process, Time &Cost Optimization, Innovation & Creativity, HRD & Teamwork, Safety & Infrastructure Maintenance and Efficient & Effective Procurement. Keeping in view the objectives of the study, General Information about the profile of the respondent was collected along with an ISO Impact Questionnaire was used, which focused on determining the impact of implementation of ISO 9001 quality management system on the performance of R&D in Indian Defence R&D Organisation in the ISO 9001 certified units. The questionnaire consists of thirty nine items, based on the key benefits (performance parameters) expected, experience of the researcher in the area and were finally selected after thorough discussions with the experts, and given highest level of inter judgment agreement. Each item of the questionnaire was required to be answered on a five-point Likert type rating scale having 5 representing Significant Increase to 1 representing Significant Decrease. For 30 Items Nos. 1, 4, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 & 30, the response 1 depicting the positive aspect of respective opinion and 5 depicting the strongly negative aspect of opinion being expressed. The remaining items, i.e. Items No. 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 24, 32, 36 & 37 carry an opposite pattern of scoring with higher score depicting the positive aspect of respective opinion being expressed and lower score depicting the negative aspect of opinion being expressed. A pilot survey was conducted and the questionnaires were administered to a group of 15 scientists and technical officers to judge the suitability of the items and feasibility of the questionnaire. The feedback from the pilot survey with respect to improvements on clarity, readability, content enhancement and layout were incorporated in the second stage of the instrument development. A reliability analysis was run to check the reliability of the scale that has been developed as an instrument to measure the performance impact. To take care of the reverse phased statements in
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International Journal of Management (IJM), ISSN 0976 6502(Print), ISSN 0976 - 6510(Online), Volume 4, Issue 6, November - December (2013)

items 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 24, 32, 34, 36 & 37, the original scores were reversed before conducting the reliability test. Cronbach was used as a criterion for retaining or dropping a particular item from the scale. A value of 0.6 generally indicates unsatisfactory internal consistency reliability and hence any factor bearing value less than or equal to 0.6 is considered unreliable (Malhotra, 2007). All perceived performance parameters have met this criterion satisfactorily. The reliability index of questionnaire was computed by using Cronbach and found to be 0.0.8990, which is considered to be quite high and appreciably acceptable keeping in view the present study. There are total 52 laboratories / establishments of Indian Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO) in India working on the various technologies. The nomenclature of laboratories / establishments of DRDO has been referred to as units in this research study. Out of 52 units, 34 units have implemented quality management systems as per ISO 9001 and have been certified, whereas the other 18 units are yet not ISO 9001 certified. The population for this study is defined as all the scientists belonging to DRDS cadre of DRDO and technical officers belonging to DRTC cadre of DRDO. DRDO employs highly qualified and competent scientists who constitute the Group A (Class I Gazetted) Service known as Defence Research & Development Service (DRDS). The Cadre structure starts from Scientist B to Scientist C, Scientist D, Scientist E, Scientist F, Scientist G and Scientist H (Outstanding Scientist). The scientists in the DRDS cadre of engineers and post graduates in science are involved in conducting research in the various units. DRDO employs engineering diploma and science graduate qualified technologists, a service known as Defence Research Technical Cadre (DRTC), starting with Senior Technical Assistant (STA) - Group C level to Technical Officer - Group A (Class I Gazetted) level. The Cadre structure starts from STA B to Technical Officer A, Technical Officer B, Technical Officer C and Technical Officer D. Technical officers in the DRTC cadre provide technical support to the DRDS cadre and execute the research projects on ground along with the DRDS cadre. The sample was based on the region, type of the laboratory, type of research / activities being carried out etc. so that the complete spectrum of the broad activities of DRDO is covered. After having collected the data from all the respective units, the questionnaire was scored according to the Likerts format coding layout. Having accomplished the scoring of all the Questionnaires, the data was transferred to statistical package for social sciences program SPSS Software for Windows for suitable analysis. Descriptive and inferential types of statistical analysis have been considered suitable for the study. In the descriptive statistics; means, standard deviations of all the variables were used in the study, whereas in the inferential statistics; one way ANOVA for assessing the significance of differences between sub-groups of SR, MR and TO were used for the analysis and interpretations of the results. 4.0 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

The distribution of the units, status of QMS certification as per ISO 9001, number and profile of respondents is given in the Table 1 (a) & (b) below. The respondents were mainly Scientists C & D at middle level and Scientists E & F at senior level and Technical Officers (TO) B & C at the senior level. The senior-level scientists are the leaders at work involved in the policy formulation & implementation along with conducting research with the help of middle-level scientists C & D. The Technical Officers B & C are quite senior personnel in their cadre with adequate working experience as support technical staff and represent the working culture & ethics of the units, without being in leadership role. These units were identified all across India from Bangalore, Balasore / Chandipur, Chandigarh, Chennai, Dehradun, Delhi, Hyderabad & Pune. 18 ISO certified units were selected, which have implemented quality management systems as per ISO 9001. After scrutinizing and editing the filled-in questionnaires, 415 responses were finally compiled for further processing.

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Table 1 (a): Sample structure - profile of the respondents, units Unit Location Respondents No. ADE CABS CFEES CVRDE DEAL DL DRDL INMAS IRDE ITR LRDE PXE R&DE RAC RCI SASE SSPL TBRL Bangalore Bangalore Delhi Chennai Dehradun Jodhpur Hyderabad Delhi Dehradun Balasore Bangalore Balasore Pune Delhi Hyderabad Chandigarh Delhi Chandigarh 8 12 27 29 32 18 21 21 26 21 21 28 13 7 22 34 35 40 415 Average Work Experience 11.38 13.08 14.07 17.97 12.34 10.17 13.62 12.95 14.50 14.81 12.52 14.57 16.31 13.43 15.14 15.59 14.60 12.93 14.07

18 ISO 9001 Certified Units

Mean length of service of 111Senior Rank (SR) / level Scientists (Sc.) was 20.61 years ranging from 14 years to 30 years, in the rank of Sc. E & Sc. F. The mean length of service of 250 Middle Rank (MR) / level Scientists was 8.69 years ranging from 5 years to 13 years, in the rank of Sc. C & Sc. D. The mean length of service of 54 Technical Officers (TO) in the rank of TO B & TO C ranged from 19 years to 32 years with an average of 25.56 years. The total mean length of service for all the 415 respondents was 14.07 years, which is fairly good experience for understanding the effect of implementation of ISO 9001 certification on the performance. Table 1 (b): Sample structure - profile of the respondents Senior Ranks Middle Ranks Technical Officers Total

No. Av. Work Exp. No. Av. Work Exp. No. Av. Work Exp. No. Av. Work Exp. 111 20.61 250 8.69 54 25.56 415 14.07

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To take care of the reverse phased statements in items 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 24, 32, 34, 36 & 37, the original scores were reversed before conducting the impact analysis on the perceived performance parameters. Results about the impact analysis as assessed by Questionnaire are presented in Table 2. The Table 2 presents the mean and SD values of various level of respondents; SR, MR and TO on all the six perceived performance parameters to assess the perception towards Quality of the R&D Process,Time & Cost Optimisation, Innovation &Creativity, Human Resource Development & Teamwork, Safety & Infrastructure Management and Efficient and Effective Procurement to draw comparisons between the various level of respondents in the certified units. Table 2: ANOVA between different levels of respondents on perceived performance parameters ISO certified units
S. No. Performance Parameter Senior Ranks - Middle Ranks Technical SR MR Officers - TO n=111 n=250 n=54 Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD 1.74 0.628 1.71 0.603 1.73 0.585 1.58 2.05 1.61 0.640 0.578 0.677 1.63 2.03 1.79 0.698 0.622 0.671 1.77 2.04 1.80 0.717 0.567 0.584 Total n=415 Mean SD 1.72 0.607 1.63 2.03 1.75 0.686 0.602 0.665 F Sig. Diff. Level NS 0.913 NS 0.248 NS 0.954 0.047*

1. 2. 3. 4.

5.

6.

Quality of the R&D process Time & Cost Optimization Innovation & Creativity Human Resource Development (HRD) & Teamwork Safety & Infrastructure Management Efficient and Effective Procurement

0.091 1.399 0.047 3.089

1.92

0.450

1.94

0.538

1.91

0.510

1.93

0.511

0.144

NS 0.866 NS 0.489

2.01

0.513

1.98

0.616

2.08

0.596

2.00

0.588

0.716

* denotes significant difference at .05. The results of the impact analysis of ISO certified units only as assessed by ISO Impact Analysis Questionnaire and analysed by ANOVA are presented in Table No. 2. The results represent the mean values of the within group differences of SR, MR and TO on all the six perceived performance parameters of Impact Analysis Questionnaire, which depict the perceived performance parameters as Quality of the R&D Process,Time & Cost Optimisation, Innovation & Creativity, Human Resource Development & Teamwork, Safety & Infrastructure Management and Efficient and Effective Procurement. An overview of the mean values on various performance parameters of impact analysis reveal that there is no significant difference between the three sub-groups of SR, MR and TO on the five performance parameters Quality of the R&D Process,Time & Cost Optimisation, Innovation & Creativity, Safety & Infrastructure Management and Efficient and Effective Procurement of impact analysis. However, performance parameters 4; Human Resource Development & Teamwork, shows a significant difference between the mean values of perceptions of the three sub-groups (p<0.05). performance parameter 4 shows that the mean value for SR (Mean=1.61, SD=0.677) is significantly better than MR (Mean =.79, SD=0.671) and TO (Mean=1.80, SD=0.584) (p< 0.05). The post hoc Tukey test (Schniederjans et al. 2006; Field, 2005) was used to test the level of significance of the potential sub-group differences (two at a time). The p values obtained show that the SR sub-group being in the leadership and policy making position
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consider Human Resource Development & Teamwork as more appropriate than the other MR subgroup, who are mainly the working group. Being in the command and control, better perception of the Senior Rank respondents towards Human Resource Development & Teamwork is a prerequisite,because for efficient and effective working of the systems, it is necessary to have such a mindset and inclination for strategy formulations. This clearly shows that there is no difference in the perceptions of the three sub-groups on most of the perceived performance parameters. Even though the three sub-groups have not been able to show any significant difference among themselves on the overall impact analysis but the mean values on various perceived performance parameters show quite remarkable & appreciable improvements in the indicators of impact analysis markers. Keeping in view the scoring pattern of all the six perceived performance parameters of total respondents with low varying from 1.63 to 2.03 score indicating a significant increase / improvement of respective performance parameter, one can conclude whatever may be the awareness or perception of the ISO certification in the cross section of population, one can see the markers of positive impact in the ISO certified units. To have an in depth analysis of the perceptions of the respondents towards the perceived performance parameters in the ISO certified, the comparisons were also made on all the thirty nine dimensions of the 6 performance parameters between the three sub-groups of SR, MR and TO within the ISO certified units with the original scores. The results of the impact analysis of ISO certified units as described in Table No. 3 show that the salient impact features of ISO certification in terms of perceived performance parameters; Quality of the R&D Process,Time & Cost Optimisation, Innovation & Creativity, Human Resource Development & Teamwork, Safety & Infrastructure Management and Efficient and Effective Procurement do not differ significantly amongst the three sub-groups of SR, MR and TO on all the 39 dimensions of impact analysis. The 39 items reflecting these six perceived performance parameters have got more or less similar perceptions for the employees of three sub-groups in the units. Even though the three sub-groups have not been able to show any significant difference among themselves on the overall impact analysis but the mean values on various dimensions show quite remarkable & appreciable improvements in the indicators of impact analysis markers. Table 3: ANOVA between different levels of respondents on all the dimensions ISO certified units
S. Perceived Item No. performance parameter Technical Total F Sig. Officers Diff. TO Level n=111 n=250 n=54 n=415 Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD 1.477 0.553 1.468 0.553 1.407 0.496 1.463 0.545 0.329 NS 0.720 4.505 0.520 4.448 0.514 4.519 0.574 4.472 0.523 0.689 NS 0.503 4.405 0.546 4.320 0.561 4.370 0.560 4.349 0.557 0.948 NS 0.388 1.847 0.543 1.780 0.577 1.704 0.571 1.788 0.568 1.219 NS 0.297 4.090 0.565 4.016 0.545 4.019 0.629 4.036 0.561 0.699 NS 0.498 4.027 0.530 4.048 0.513 4.074 0.578 4.046 0.525 0.151 NS 0.860 Senior Middle Ranks - SR Ranks - MR

1.

2. 3. 4.

5. 6.

Quality of the Conformance to R&D process specifications and requirements Number of unsuccessful trials Wastages during research and development Probability of development right first time & every time Variance between prototype & planned No of Trials before success

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S. Perceived Item No. performance parameter Technical Total F Sig. Officers Diff. TO Level n=111 n=250 n=54 n=415 Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD 4.117 0.584 4.012 0.584 4.056 0.627 4.046 0.590 1.230 NS 0.293 NS 0.125 1.577 0.654 1.640 0.687 1.630 0.708 1.622 0.680 0.337 NS 0.714 1.802 0.672 1.692 0.644 1.593 0.599 1.708 0.648 2.108 NS 0.123 3.991 0.495 4.036 0.502 4.093 0.486 4.031 0.498 0.784 NS 0.457 1.712 0.652 1.680 0.654 1.611 0.627 1.680 0.649 0.435 NS 0.647 1.820 0.606 1.756 0.640 1.741 0.650 1.771 0.632 0.463 NS 0.630 1.748 0.694 1.736 0.713 1.741 0.805 1.740 0.719 0.010 1.748 0.732 1.732 0.662 1.574 0.633 1.716 0.678 1.376 1.928 0.657 1.860 0.628 1.778 0.572 1.867 0.629 1.080 1.892 0.637 1.892 0.634 1.833 0.637 1.884 0.634 0.200 1.739 0.599 1.764 0.598 1.778 0.604 1.759 0.598 0.099 1.757 0.526 1.780 0.577 1.852 0.627 1.783 0.570 0.514 1.784 0.546 1.700 0.629 1.685 0.543 1.720 0.597 0.865 1.838 0.626 1.704 0.621 1.759 0.671 1.747 0.630 1.751 1.901 0.687 1.880 0.712 1.815 0.702 1.877 0.703 0.277 2.000 0.486 2.052 0.561 2.130 0.584 2.048 0.545 1.043 4.225 0.670 4.164 0.683 4.259 0.705 4.193 0.682 0.604 NS 0.990 NS 0.254 NS 0.340 NS 0.819 NS 0.906 NS 0.599 NS 0.422 NS 0.175 NS 0.759 NS 0.353 NS 0.547 NS 0.870 NS 0.899 NS 0.163 NS 0.705 NS 0.234 NS 0.750 NS 0.547 4.054 0.537 4.024 0.522 4.185 0.517 4.053 0.527 2.091 Senior Middle Ranks - SR Ranks - MR

7.

8. 9. 10. 11.

12. 13.

14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31.

Repetitive tests due to unavailability of proper documentation Revision and changes in drawings and designs User / Customer satisfaction Time & cost Timely Transfer of Optimisation Technology Time spent in getting required material / equipment Percentage of projects completed in time Percentage of projects completed within the budget Timely report preparation Timely approvals from the Top Management Innovation & Number of process Creativity patents added Number of product patents added Number of publications (national level) Number of publications (international level) Number of new ideas Number of improved processes Number of improved products Number of projects commercialized Absenteeism

HRD & Teamwork

Contribution of people to 1.757 0.753 1.796 0.713 1.759 0.725 1.781 0.724 0.140 improvements Employees competency 1.730 0.725 1.712 0.686 1.759 0.751 1.723 0.704 0.107 Employees skill Employees knowledge 1.856 0.658 1.748 0.709 1.648 0.649 1.764 0.690 1.821 1.829 0.631 1.884 0.651 1.833 0.607 1.863 0.639 0.350

Individuals performance 1.928 0.723 1.800 0.659 1.796 0.683 1.834 0.680 1.457 Team approach Communication among the employees 1.721 0.765 1.712 0.726 1.796 0.786 1.725 0.743 0.288 1.775 0.722 1.788 0.755 1.667 0.700 1.769 0.739 0.603

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S. Perceived Item No. performance parameter Technical Total F Sig. Officers Diff. TO Level n=111 n=250 n=54 n=415 Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Number of accidents 4.351 0.642 4.272 0.645 4.296 0.717 4.296 0.653 0.566 NS 0.568 Proper Identification and 1.667 0.651 1.664 0.627 1.648 0.649 1.663 0.635 0.017 NS listing of equipment and 0.983 machinery Number & frequency of 4.225 0.567 4.188 0.560 4.167 0.666 4.195 0.576 0.236 NS breakdowns of essential 0.790 equipment and machinery Availability of essential 1.577 0.565 1.652 0.604 1.519 0.574 1.614 0.590 1.450 NS equipment and machinery 0.236 Preventive maintenance 4.234 0.521 4.100 0.485 4.130 0.436 4.140 0.491 2.910 NS cost 0.056 Breakdown costs 4.315 0.556 4.288 0.504 4.315 0.577 4.299 0.527 0.131 NS 0.877 Relationship with 1.649 0.480 1.672 0.495 1.611 0.492 1.658 0.490 0.368 NS suppliers 0.692 Efficiency of purchasing 1.658 0.477 1.712 0.471 1.722 0.452 1.699 0.470 0.590 NS 0.555 Senior Middle Ranks - SR Ranks - MR

32. 33.

Safety & Infrastructure Management

34.

35. 36. 37. 38. 39. Efficient and Effective Procurement

Keeping in view the scoring pattern of 27 positive indicators with low score indicating a significant increase / improvement of respective dimension, one can conclude whatever may be the awareness or knowledge of the ISO certification in the cross section of population; one can see the markers of positive impact in the ISO certified units. The impact factors of Conformance to specifications and requirements, Availability of essential equipment and machinery, User / Customer satisfaction, Relationship with suppliers, Proper Identification and listing of equipment and machinery, Percentage of projects completed in time, Efficiency of purchasing, Timely Transfer of Technology, Timely approvals from the Top Management, Number of new ideas, Employees competency, Team approach, Timely report preparation, Number of improved processes, Number of publications (national level), Employees skill, Communication among the employees, Percentage of projects completed within the budget, Contribution of people to improvements, Number of publications (international level), Probability of development right first time & every time, Individuals performance, Employees knowledge, Number of process patents added, Number of improved products, Number of product patents added, Number of projects commercialized have mean values ranging between 1.46 to 2.05 showing ISO certification impact of Significant to Marginal increase / improvement in the performance. This fact is further getting supported by the high values of the 12 negative scores for items carrying opposite pattern of scoring reflecting again the positive impact in terms of perception of the ISO certification in the cross section of population. The impact factors Time spent in getting required material / equipment, Variance between prototype & planned, No of Trials before success, Repetitive tests due to unavailability of proper documentation, Revision and changes in drawings and designs, Preventive maintenance cost, Absenteeism, Number & frequency of breakdowns of essential equipment and machinery, Number of accidents, Breakdown costs, Wastages during research and development, Number of unsuccessful trials have mean values ranging between 4.03 to 4.47 showing ISO certification impact of Significant to Marginal decrease meaning improvement in the various markers of impact.

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5.0

CONCLUSIONS

The quality management systems (ISO-9001) were mainly implemented earlier in the manufacturing sector. Being a relatively new concept in the R&D environment, it is surrounded by a great deal of uncertainty and apprehensions. Furthermore, its emergence has raised a number of unresolved questions. This study was undertaken to throw more light on this new development and its impact on the management systems in the Indian R&D organization. The present study was aimed to measure the effect of ISO 9001 quality management systems certification on the performance in the ISO certified labs of Indian Defence R&D Organisation. As per the study, there is significant improvement in the perceived performance parameters; Quality of the R&D Process, Time & Cost Optimisation, Innovation & Creativity, Human Resource Development & Teamwork, Safety & Infrastructure Management and Efficient and Effective Procurement and their dimensions due to implementation of quality management systems in the performance of the ISO certified units of Indian Defence R&D Organisation. Further, there are no significant differences between the three levels of respondents; SR, MR and TO on most of the perceived performance parameters and dimensions, which show a marked improvement in performance due to implementation of quality management systems as per ISO 9001. From the above study and looking at the perceptions of the respondents in the ISO certified units of Indian Defence R&D Organisation about the performance parameters, it can be inferred that: ISO-9001 does facilitate the R&D activities. ISO-9001 does help in timely completion of the R&D projects. ISO-9001 does help in generation of more ideas/suggestions and aid in innovation during R&D process. ISO-9001 does QMS create transparency and discipline into the system, which is instrumental in uplifting the morale and involvement of the personnel at all levels within the organization. 6.0 [1] REFERENCES

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