ABSTRACT
This study investigates the benefits of and reasons for and ISO
(International Organization for Standardization) certification in small
manufacturing firms (SMFs) in Botswana. The most common standards SMFs have
opted for are in the ISO 9000 family of standards which include ISO 9000, ISO
9002 and ISO 9003. An in depth literature review was carried out to gather the
most prevalent concepts describing ISO. Empirically, a total of 141 questionnaires
were collected for analysis. The research findings showed that 135 of these 141
firms had some form of ISO certification while 6 had not yet been implemented. Further, using
descriptive statistics, the study showed that the reasons for
certification stated by the small manufacturing firms were, among others, for
continual survival (Mean = 4.29, SD = 1.251), to improve quality culture (Mean
= 4.27, SD = 1.212), to improve company performance (Mean = 4.33, SD = 1.131)
and motivated workers (Mean = 4.04, SD = 1.322). Again, firms believe that
there are more benefits accrued from certification. These are, among others,
improved organisational performance (Mean = 4.06, SD = 1.243), competitiveness (Mean = 3.86, SD = 1.376), improved employee commitment (Mean = 3.84, SD = 1.255), improved communication (Mean = 3.76, SD =
1.373), increased productivity (Mean = 3.98, SD = 1.227) and more satisfied
customers (Mean = 4.06, SD = 1.196).