Communication: the essential factor when implementing management systems

Internal communication within a company is essential for the implementation and proper functioning of any ISO-based quality system. Moreover, staff empowerment and distribution of responsibilities are key points in the ISO 9000:2000 quality guides. Although not specifically mentioned in the quality guides, external communication plays a fundamental role in assuring customer satisfaction and obtaining good ideas to improve company performance. This paper has two main parts. First, the importance of internal and external communication is reviewed and it is shown that managers should allocate more resources to both areas. It is also demonstrated that environmental management systems are directly derived from the quality guides. Second, the results of an enquiry to assess the efforts being made by a group of Italian senior managers to improve internal and external communication are evaluated. Received: 8 March 2002 Accepted: 12 September 2002