A systematic approach to diagnose the current status of quality management systems and business processes

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic approach to conduct a diagnosis of the current status of a company's quality management systems (QMS) and business processes. Design/methodology/approach - The approach proposed is based upon the assessment of the maturity level of a company's QMS, for which a "maturity diagnostic instrument" is also proposed, a self-assessment exercise using a business excellence model and a first-party quality audit. Findings - The integration of a QMS' maturity assessment, a self-assessment exercise and a quality audit may provide a more thorough evaluation of various company's systems and operations. This paper provides organisations, and their managers, with a systematic approach to help them understand better the current performance of their QMSs and business processes. Originality/value - This paper's main contribution consists in the proposal of a novel approach for organisation to measure and understand the status of their QMS and business processes. Subsequently, better management decisions to improve a company's operations can be taken.