ISO 9000: The answer for total quality management implementation? The Malaysian case

This paper describes the findings from a survey conducted on a sample of 10 0 Malaysian companies that have gained ISO 9000 certification. The survey m ainly focused on whether achieving ISO 9000 status has been perceived as ha ving contributed to the implementation of total quality management in these companies. Beside this, the perceived benefits of seeking certification, b oth for the different industrial sectors and for individual companies, were observed. Like their counterparts in the developed countries, most compani es surveyed agreed that gaining certification did improve the quality proce ss as well as the product quality. However, the study revealed a major diff erence, in that the reasons for seeking registration for these Malaysian co mpanies are management-driven as opposed to demand from customers in develo ped countries.