REQUISITELY HOLISTIC ISO 9000 AUDIT LEADS TO CONTINUOUS INNOVATION/IMPROVEMENT

Research has shown that quality assurance with the formal fulfillment of ISO 9001 standard requirements tends not to help companies to achieve greater competitiveness and business success. Conformity of the quality system with the standard requirements confirms that the company has achieved a maturity level indicating its capability of defining its processes and performing them according to the definitions (not necessarily efficiently!). This paper suggests a more holistic approach: synergy of conformity and management produce value-added auditing, with emphases on ISO 9000 value-added auditing. With this novelty an ISO 9001:2000 audit tends to have a long-term economic added value because it helps its users create improvements (inventions and innovations) by requisite holism.