Alexandra Petrova on ISO certification

An assessment of ISO Certification as a
tool to boost local authorities’ strategic
planning capacity:
The case study of ISO 9001 certification
of public administrations in Bulgaria.
Candidate Number: 602
1
ABSTRACT
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the implementation of ISO 9001
in local authority administrations could improve their strategic planning capacity; and to
produce guidance for more effective implementation of the standard in the context of
Bulgarian Municipalities.
Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on data from literature about ISO
9001 implementation in public administrations, from strategic European and national
documents describing the strategic planning capacity of Bulgarian authorities, and from faceto-face semi-structural interviews. Four sub-research questions are developed to yield the
answer to the central research question: “How can ISO 9001-2008 certification be used to
improve the strategic planning capacity of Municipalities in Bulgaria?”
Findings – The results show that Bulgarian Local Authorities suffer from low strategic
planning capacity and ISO 9001 is useful in enhancing it if the implemented strategy is
carefully designed in accordance with success factors, best practices, and the individual
requirements of the Municipality.
Research implications – Mangers in Municipal administrations must realize that simply
adopting the ISO 9001:2008 certificate is not enough. The implementation stage and the
understanding of the standard are vital for the success of ISO 9001 in boosting the capacity of
the administration.
2
CONTENT
1. Introduction………………………………………...…Page 4
2. Methodology……………………………………..….…Page 10
3. Literature Review…………………….………………..Page 13
4. Data Analysis……………………………………...……Page 22
5. Discussion………………………………………...…….Page 31
6. Conclusion…………………………………………...…Page 37
3
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Topic, Concepts and Justification
Local authorities’ strategic planning capacity is a type of administrative capacity, where
administrative capacity has become a central concept in development studies. The European
Commission operates with the definition by Jaenike (2001)1 that it relates to the ability of
public structures to identify and solve implementation problems. More recently, Rainer Kattel
et al. (2011)2 defined administrative capacity as “one of the key preconditions for creating
policies and programs conductive to innovation and sustained economic development” 3.
The World Bank (2006) report ‘EU-8: Administrative Capacity in the New Member States’
links the concept of administrative capacity with strategic planning in the context of new EU
members, such as Bulgaria: “a strongly performing public management system is an essential
ingredient of sound fiscal management and effective development planning which both
require well developed strategic planning and policy management capacity”.
The importance of public authorities being strategic in their planning policies and actions
justifies the search for a tool to boost their administrative capacity. The process of
Globalisation has lead to competition between regions for funds and resources similar to the
market-space competition, so public authorities need to move away from passive towards
strategic governance. This is particularly applicable for Bulgaria, which under Socialism was
very centralized and for years local authorities had a strictly administrative role. In addition,
Cohesion Policy requires EU members to converge in terms of administrative capacity, so that
regions, which are lagging-behind could catch up with the top performers.
This paper proposes the use of ISO 9001 Certification to address the problem of low strategic
planning capacity. It is a generic standard certifying Quality Management Systems, issues by
the International Organisation for Standardization. ISO 9001 is a widely accepted
international standard with great potential to be successful in boosting capacity worldwide.
Moreover, Rainer Kattel et al. (2011) argues that New Public Management Reforms, which
1
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/evaluation/evalsed/sourcebooks/themes_policy/boxes/inst
_and_admin_capacity_def_en.htm
2
In Bekkers et al. (2011)
3
Ibid.
4
are the standard solution for administrative problems, are useless in the context of “small
states”. Bulgaria is not particularly small in territory, but has a small population of 7.3 million
and since the argument is based on population constraints, this paper will define Bulgaria as a
“small state”. The search for an alternative solution that will work for “small states” justifies
the discussion of ISO 9001 in the context of strategic planning capacity problems in Bulgaria.
Previous studies on the topic have tried to assess ISO 9001 applicability to the public sector
and the prevailing evidence by Chu et al. (2001), Singh and Mansour-Nahra (2006) and To et
al. (2011) is that it is. According to the authors, if implemented correctly ISO 9001 can lead to
many benefits, including improving operational efficiency and strategic planning. Douglas et
al. (1999), Chu and Wang (2001) and Wahid and Corner (2009) develop general guidelines
for administrations to follow in order to achieve as much of the benefits and as little of the
costs of certification as possible. This paper draws on the conclusions of these studies in order
to assess the success of ISO 9001 in public administrations in Bulgaria, and to find ways in
which its implementation could lead to results that boost strategic planning capacity.
1.2. Research Strategy
The research is exploratory in nature with elements of an explanatory study and a multiple
case study design with a cross sectional examination. Its central research question is:
“How can ISO 9001-2008 certification be used to improve the strategic planning
capacity of Municipalities in Bulgaria?”
The answer to this question will be yielded from the answers of the sub-research questions:
o RQ1: “To what extend are Bulgarian local authorities strategic in their planning
policy and practice?”
o RQ2: “How can ISO 9001-2008 certification improve the strategic planning
capacity of Bulgarian authorities?”
o RQ3: “What has been the effect of ISO 9001 certification on the administrative
capacity in local authorities in Bulgaria?”
o RQ4: “In what ways can ISO implementation be improved in order to be more
effective in boosting strategic planning capacity in the Bulgarian context?”
5
The data collection methods used to address the research questions are literature and
documentary review, and face-to-face semi-structural interviews in two case study locations:
the Municipality of Plovdiv and the Municipality of Yambol. The context of Bulgaria and the
two case studies will be explained in the following section.
1.3. Context Analysis
1.3.1 Socio-economic Background
(Map from http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/bulgaria.htm)
Situated in the heart of the Balkans, Bulgaria has a territory of 110,993.6 km2 and a
population of 7.97 million4. After the end of World War II, the country was under the political
and economic influence of the Soviet Union and the Bulgarian Communist Party was in
power until November 1989. Since then Bulgaria has been on the way of democratic
development and market economy5 and became a member of the European Union in 2007.
4
5
Bulgarian Government: http://www.government.bg/cgi-bin/e-cms/vis/vis.pl?s=001&p=0159&n=000002&g=
Ibid.
6
1.3.2. Bulgaria’s Administrative Division
The Administrative Division in The Republic of Bulgaria is in two compulsory levels:
Districts (Provinces) and Municipalities with constituent administrative units: District in the
Municipality (City District) and Mayoral. There are City Districts only in the cities of Sofia,
Plovdiv and Varna.
The Municipality is the principle administrative unit and is the organ through which local
self-governance takes place. Each Municipality includes one or more settlements in close
proximity and usually takes the name of the largest one, which is its administrative center.
The governance of each Municipality is enabled through a directly elected Municipal Council,
composed of Municipal Chancellors, and through the Municipal Mayor, who organizes the
administration.
7
1.3.3. The Municipality of Plovdiv
Plovdiv
Plovdiv is the second biggest city in the Republic of Bulgaria with a population of 345
128 people (2011). The city is situated in the Trakia lowland on the two shores of the Maritsa
River. Plovdiv is characterized with a well-developed economy and a variety of scientific
institutes and universities, an international fair, an airport, financial institutions, and multiple
cultural institutions and heritage sites. The Municipality of Plovdiv is divided into six
administrative Districts and is governed by a Mayor and a Municipal Council. All Plovdiv’s
administrations have been certified to ISO 9001 but most certificates are now expired.
1.3.4. The Municipality of Yambol
Plovdiv
v
8
Yambol
Yambol has 138,429 inhabitants (2009) and is located in the Southeast part of Bulgaria on the
banks of Toundzha River. There is a seaport and an airport 92 km away in Bourgas city. The
economy has been in the downturn in the past two decades since the transition from Socialist
to Capitalist regime. The Municipality has a unique structure of a City- Municipality, and
borders on the towns and villages of Toundzha Municipality on all sides. The Municipality
was certified with ISO 9001 in November 2008 and the certificate is still valid.
1.3.5. Justification of Choice of Case Studies
The Municipality of Plovdiv was chosen because of its great potential given the location, size,
resources and cultural background, which make strategic governance and planning vital for
the Municipality’s success. In addition, District “Center” of the Municipality was the first
public administration in the country certified to the standard of ISO 9001. In contrast, the
Municipality of Yambol is relatively small and has experienced a long-term downturn. It is an
interesting case study of a municipality with small potential trying to reinvent itself through
strategic planning and image boosting. The two Municipalities are representative of most
local authorities in the country (big and small) and in the same time are unique in terms of
their experience with ISO certification and administrative performance. Therefore a lot of
national lessons and conclusions could be drawn based on the joint picture of the two
Municipalities.
1.4.Structure
The paper proceeds as follows. Part 2 outlines in detail the methodology of the research; Part
3 presents the Literature and Documents that are applicable to this study; Part 4 presents the
results from the data collection methods; Part 5 answers the research questions; and Part 6
concludes, explains the research limitations and suggests of avenues for further research.
9
2. METHODOLOGY
This research is exploratory with explanatory elements and a multiple case study design with
a cross sectional examination. Primary and secondary data sources are used to fully reflect
this sophisticated structure and provide deep and rounded overview of the case studies so that
accurate generalizations for the Bulgarian authorities could be made.
The data collection methods will differ for each research sub question and are outlined in the
following table:
Research Question
Data Collection Method
RQ: “How can ISO 9001-2008 certification
*The aggregate analytical answers to the sub
be used to improve the strategic planning
questions will yield the answer to this
capacity of Municipalities in Bulgaria?”
general research question.
RQ1: “To what extend are Bulgarian local
Documentary Review
authorities strategic in their planning policy
Face-to-face semi-structural interviews (first
and practice?”
part)
RQ2: “How can ISO 9001-2008
Literature Review
certification improve the strategic planning
capacity of Bulgarian authorities?”
RQ3: “What has been the effect of ISO
Semi-structural interviews (second part)
9001 certification on the administrative
capacity in local authorities in Bulgaria?”
RQ4:“In what ways can ISO
Literature Review
implementation be improved in order to be
Semi-structural interviews
more effective in boosting strategic
(third part)
planning capacity in the Bulgarian
context?”
10
2.1.Use of Documentary Review
Reports on national and European Union level will be reviewed to assess the level of strategic
capacity of Bulgarian local authorities in terms of planning decisions and practices. This data
collection method and its analysis will produce an account of the performance in Bulgarian
Municipalities and whether there is a need for improvement.
2.2. Use of Literature Review
This data collection method and its analysis will help identify ways in which ISO 9001-2008
certification could improve strategic planning capacity. The conclusion will be based on ISO
costs and benefits, on best implementation practice examples, and on strategies maximizing
the benefits of certification.
2.3.Use of face-to-face semi-structural interviews
Representative public officials and stakeholders in two case study Municipalities will be
interviewed in order to investigate the administrations’ performances. Structural interviews
are normally used for quantitive research and will not produce the in-depth knowledge
required for this study, while the flexibility of semi-structured interviews will facilitate the
process of obtaining detailed knowledge about the performance of the public administrations.
The face-to-face interaction will give opportunity for detailed, honest and comprehensive
answers.
The Interview Questions are divided in three groups, addressing different research questions
(RQ). For RQ1 interviewees are asked “What are the Municipality’s strategic goals?”, “How
would you evaluate the level of efficiency and coordination in the Municipality?”, “What is
the Municipality’s absorption rate of EU funds?” etc. RQ3 questions are such as: “When and
why did the Municipality apply for ISO certification?”, “In what ways was the structure and
performance of the administration changed?” and “What have been the costs and benefits of
ISO 9001?”. Finally, RQ4 questions ask of ways in which the implementation of ISO could
be improved and how the interviewee sees the future of ISO 9001 certification in Bulgaria.
11
The profile of the interviewees and their significance to this research are summarized:
Interviewee
Profile
Significance
Dany
Chancellor in the Plovdiv
Municipal Council since 2007;
Member of the Law
Commission; Head of a
political party
-
Senior Specialist in the
department of “Municipal
Property”, Municipality of
Plovdiv
-
Secretary of the Municipality
of Plovdiv – District “North”
-
Knowledge of the organisation,
procedures and ISO certification
process in a District of the Municipality
Deputy Mayor of Municipality
of Yambol
-
Deep understanding of the overall
operation of the Municipality
Senior Expert in the
department of “Strategies and
Programs”, Municipality of
Yambol
-
Knowledge of the organization and
procedures in a specific department of
the Municipality
The department is of great importance
for the strategic planning capacity of
the Municipality
Director of the department of
“Legal actions and
Administration”, Municipality
of Yambol
Director of the department of
“Municipal Property”,
Municipality of Yambol
-
First-hand experience with the effects
of ISO 9001 certification
-
First-hand experience with the effects
of ISO 9001 certification
The department is central to the
strategic planning capacity of the
Municipality
Director of the department of
“Registration and Civil Status”
in the Municipality of Yambol
-
First-hand experience with the effects
of ISO 9001 certification
Chairman of the Management
Board of the Yambol Chamber
of Commerce and Industry
-
Knowledge of the strategic goals of the
Municipality of Yambol
Understanding of ISO certification
No political ties
Member of the Management
Board of the Yambol Chamber
of Commerce and Industry
-
As above
Kanazireva
Desislava
Yovcheva
Nadejda
Dimitrova
Krasimira
Petrova
Tzvetelina
Atanasova
Atanaska
Yamacheva
Elena
Kafedjiyska
Yordanka
Valkova
Stoycho
Stoychev
Tatyana
Balakchieva
12
-
-
-
-
Deep knowledge of the overall
operation of the Municipality;
Has political independence to speak
freely about practices in the
administration
First-hand experience with the effects
of ISO 9001 certification
Knowledge of the organization and
procedures in a specific department of
the Municipality
2.4.Things to be Considered and Limitations of the Research Method
Method
Interviews
Things to be considered
1. In order to facilitate access to interviewees
I must:
• be familiar with the administrative unit;
• use existing and developing new contacts;
• highlight possible benefits to the
administration;
• establishing credibility;
2. Participant Information sheet need to be
prepared;
3. Participant Consent Form need to be
prepared;
Limitations
1. Data quality issues:
• Reliability;
• Bias;
2. Time, space and budgetary
limitations enhanced by the
multiple case study character of
the research;
Secondary
Data:
Literature
review and
Documentary
Review
1. Suitable data needs be located;
2. The data should be adopted for the
purpose of this research;
3. Evaluation of the reliability of the data
should be made.
1. Secondary data collection is not
as current as primary;
2. Limited data applicable too this
study;
3. Limitation of possible restricted
access to useful reports.
13
3. LITERATURE REVIEW
3.1.
Peer Review Papers/Books
It is argued by Rainer Kattel et al. (2011) that administrative capacity is something that “small
states”6 have problems with almost by definition. New Public Management Reforms
concentrated on boosting administrative capacity by large scale privatization and contracting
out government services. According to the author, in a state with small markets and low
competition those market-driven reforms have had “questionable outcomes” and pose human
capital requirements, which are difficult to develop even in a large society.
Jayasuriya (2005) looks at the role of the EU in boosting the capacity of “small states” and
argues that EU accession in Eastern Europeаn countries has been pivotal for their innovation
policies; and that the EU structural funds have played a significant role in making
governments more active in innovation policies, particularly in the context of planning.
However, this gives rise to a problem of increased use of independent agencies in an
environment of weak administrative capacity and of lack of policy skills for long term
planning. In result Eastern European small states have grave difficulties in adjusting their
administrative capacity to the changing inner-EU and global conditions.
Therefore, although Bulgaria’s membership in the EU provides incentives for innovative and
sustainable development, it deepens and intensifies the existing problems with strategic
capacities. In addition, Globalization and resource scarcity have inflamed competition for
resources and put pressures on local and regional authorities to act as private sector
competitors, which requires strategic rather than administrative action. Saner (2002) argues
that because of that competition, it is “of paramount importance” that public administrations
are managed as effectively and efficiently as possible.
The EU has attempted to solve those problems through mechanisms such as Cohesion Policy,
Operative Programs, and Structural Funds. McAdam et al. (2001) provides a different
6
Bulgaria is assumed to be a “small state” (Section 1.1.)
14
perspective – the use of social mechanisms7, such as actor certification, where certification
refers to “the validation of actors, their performance and their claims by external authorities”.
ISO 9001 satisfies this definition and could be used to address the issue of administrative
capacity deficiencies, and consequently, of strategic planning limitations. The link between
ISO certification and strategic public capacity has not been explicitly addressed in the
literature prior to this study.
ISO 9001 is an international standard for Quality Management System. It requires
organizations to demonstrate their ability to consistently provide products that meet
customer8, statutory and regulatory requirements, and to effectively apply the quality system
framework9. All requirements of ISO 9001 are generic and intended to be universally
applicable. The standard is internationally recognized and widely used: the latest “ISO
survey” (International Organisation for Standardization, 2011) shows that by the end of
December 2010, 1 109 905 ISO 9001 certificates had been issued in 178 countries and
economies. In order to receive a certificate, the administration is audited by an ISO accredited
third-party and the maintenance of the certified status is dependent on periodic follow-up
audits (Singh and Mansour-Nahra 2006). Also, the certificate requires regular and purposeful
training of the employees of the organisation and regular internal audits.
The use of ISO 9001 for quality improvement has many benefits. Whalen et al. (2006) suggest
that the implementation of the system has all the anticipated outcomes: better documentation
procedures, improved employee training, higher staff motivation, cost reduction, improved
customer satisfaction, increased productivity, and improvement of work environment. Rao et
at. (1997) find that ISO 9000-registered companies exhibit higher levels of quality leadership,
information and analysis, strategic quality planning, human resource development, and
quality results.
On the other hand, recent criticism of ISO 9001 point to costly and time consuming
implementation (Singh and Mansour-Nahra, 2006); failure to provide adequate controls over
documents, to define responsibility and authority for personnel, and to train personnel (Fard
and Abbasi, 2010); and excessive bureaucracy (Saner, 2002). Any capacity building measure
7
Social mechanism is defined by the author as “a range of conceptual tools for studying the casual texture of the
unfolding of episodes of change such as episodes of reform”.
8
In the context of this research ‘customer’ stands for a public service consumer
9
Form ISO official website: http://www.iso.org
15
has its costs and given the expected benefits of the standard, it is clear why this study would
attempt to find whether ISO 9001 is useful in public administrations’ capacities.
There has been a debate in the literature about the applicability of ISO 9001 to the public
sector. Its generic style makes it applicable in theory. In practical terms, the International
Workshop Agreement 4:2009 (IWA4) provides guidelines for the application of ISO
9001:2008 in local governments. They should guarantee minimum conditions of reliability for
the management, core, operational and support processes that are necessary to provide all the
services needed by their citizens in a consistent and reliable manner10. Academics vary in
their opinions on the subject. Studies from the early 2000s tend to be skeptic: Saner (2002)
has doubts about ISO 9001 applicability to the public sector because of it being too costly,
bureaucratic and not satisfactorily covering the policy making process; Beskese and Cebeci
(2001) and Gustafsson (2001)11 report they cannot see any direct gains from ISO certification
in organization performance.
However, more recent studies show increasing support for the use of ISO 9001 in public
administrations. Chu et al. (2001) explains that under ISO 9001, public sectors can
consolidate authority with relevant responsibility through document control and operational
standardization, and the quality of public service is improved continuously due to internal and
external auditing. Singh and Mansour-Nahra (2006) conclude that the standard has the
potential to improve efficiency and financial prudency. To et al (2011) find that it enhances
organizational performance. The authors, however, note that further research is needed to
improve the understanding of ISO 9001 in public administration. Moreover, there is lack of
research on the implementation of ISO 9001 in local governments (only investigated by
Douglas et al., 1999) and in European public institutions in general. This paper addresses
those gaps in the literature.
The recent literature has been fairly successful in developing general guidelines for
administrations to follow when implementing ISO 9001. The key is the identification of
critical factors for successful implementation. Most recently Wahid and Corner (2009)
conducted 14 interviews and identified as critical factors the attitude of top management, the
reward system, teamwork, the understanding of ISO itself, measurement of performance and
10
11
Information from ISO website http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail?csnumber=53504
Quoted in Fard and Abbasi (2010)
16
communication. In the context of public administrations, Chu et al. (2001) collected feedback
from 167 managers in 21 Taiwanese public organizations certified to ISO 9001 and identified
the following factors: the level of ISO awareness; the degree of resistance from employees;
the level of cooperation among divisions; and management capability and involvement. The
authors also reported that many top managers encountered difficulties in implementing the
system due to a lack of knowledge about ISO and resistance from employees.
Two public sector case studies of best practice ISO 9001 implementation will be discussed.
Singh and Mansour-Nahra (2006) conducted interviews with key personnel in an Australian
agency and concluded that “organisations that view the standards in an enlightened manner as
a vehicle for achieving genuine process improvements have a greater chance of succeeding
because the standards are designed for this express purpose. … For organisations that use the
standards in a reactive, superficial and generally unenlightened way, achieving internal
process improvements, at best, are usually serendipitous, and problems usually abound.” The
Australian Agency had the "right" attitude to ISO implementation and used a pragmatic
approach to the registration process, so it realised meaningful benefits.
Douglas et al. (1999) argues that local authority managers should do their best to
maximize the benefits of ISO 9000 if they are to justify the time and expense of the process of
implementation. The authors outline optimum implementation scenario for the local
authorities to follow: firstly, the senior management must signal the intent to implement ISO
9000 and demonstrate their commitment to achieving it; secondly, they must decide on
the 'right' reason for implementation (to improvethe quality of the service or to gain a
marketing advantage, but preferably not because they are pressured into it); thirdly,
consultants can be used to help but they should not be given too much responsibility;
finally, the likely benefits of ISO 9000 should not be overestimated.
The implementation strategies of two UK Local Authorities were evaluated against that
optimum scenario. In the first the objective of certification was ‘to achieve ISO 9002’, the
benefits of ISO were overestimated as the staff were ‘sold the standard as something that
would sort out all problems’, supervisors ended up writing the procedures, and the quality
system was perceived as a burden. The staff gained better idea about what they should do and
supervisors - easier access to information, but the overall perception was that the standard did
not change much. In contrast, the second administration implemented ISO 'to
17
improve the standard of service and enhance the department's reputation’ and staff were
happy with the longer procedures as they knew ‘what to expect’. In result the perception was
that ISO improved the image of the department, and the benefits of certification were
maximized. This study confirms that following a best practice scenario for implementation of
ISO 9000 is crucial for the realization of the potential benefits of registration.
To sum up, the literature justifies the search for a tool to boost strategic planning capacity,
especially in the context of small EU countries, such as Bulgaria; and supports the choice of
ISO certification. It also outlines the debate as to whether ISO 9001 is applicable to the public
sector, the prevailing sentiments being that it does. Finally authors have assessed the critical
success factors and optimum strategies for ISO 9001 implementation in public organizations.
18
3.2.
Documentary Review: EU Commission Reports, Bulgarian
Government Reports, and Policy Assessment Documents
The documents discussed in this section show that Bulgarian local authorities suffer from low
strategic capacity and describe the current pressures for improving that capacity. A range of
EU and national reports are reviewed to justify the search of a way to boost local
administrations’ capacities.
On EU scale, Cohesion Policy is the main tool for achieving Europe 2020 Strategy for smart,
sustainable and inclusive growth, and diminishing regional development disparities12.
According to its requirements the EU member states need to converge in terms of
administrative capacity. The EU Commission report from November 201013 outlining the
proposed Cohesion Policy for the period after 2013 states that strong institutions are crucial
for sustainable economic growth and social welfare, and that higher transparency and
efficiency of public administrations can help to strengthen institutional capacity. Moreover, in
terms of policy management, strong and sound administrations at national, regional and local
level are important for the success and lasting effect of Cohesion Policy. Therefore, continued
efforts are needed to ensure that all governments have the necessary administrative capacity to
deliver Cohesion Policy effectively. Proposed measures by the report are monitoring and
evaluation systems to track performance in public administrations.
According to a Country Report on Achieving Cohesion Policy for Bulgaria (November
2010)14, the country is entirely eligible for Cohesion Policy funds as its planning regions,
districts and Municipalities show considerable disparities in terms of economic development.
Bulgaria is currently not realizing the benefits of Cohesion Policy: it has been allocated
almost €6.9 billion for the 2007-13 period15, but the absorption rate for all operational
programmes is very low and cumbersome administrative procedures have been cited as the
main reason16. Only two years ago, commenting on Greece’s low absorption rates of
12
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/what/europe2020/index_en.cfm)
Investing in Europe’s future, Commission report(2010)
14
Expert Evaluation Network Delivering Policy Analysis on the Performance of Cohesion Policy 2007-2013;
European Commission Directorate( 2010)
15
European Cohesion Policy in Bulgaria, Country Profiles in EU website
16
Country Report on Achieving Cohesion Policy: Bulgaria(2010)
13
19
Structural and Cohesion Funds, The European Commission 17 proposed that the government
should ensure that “the managerial capacity of all Managing Authorities and Intermediate
Bodies of operational programmes under the framework of the National Strategy Reference
Framework 2007-2013 are certified by the International Organization for Standardization
according to the standard ISO 9001:2008”. This links administrative capacity with ISO 9001
certification, the central topic to this paper.
Another illustration of the low administrative capacity of Bulgarian authorities is the fact
that the European Commission has repeatedly cited weaknesses in the Bulgarian audit and
control systems and has frozen payments under some Operative Programs in 2008 on the
grounds of high levels of fraud and mismanagement18. The Country Report on Achieving
Cohesion Policy in Bulgaria (November 2010) concludes that “one of the main problems with
the implementation of the operational programmes in Bulgaria ... are the low absorption rates
and the capacity of managing authorities, beneficiaries, and consultants to prepare, manage,
monitor, consult on, and implement successful and efficient projects”. The strategic planning
capacity in Bulgarian local authorities clearly needs to be addressed, justifying the purpose of
this paper.
On a national scale, Bulgaria’s problematic capacities become apparent from the text of the
“Operational Programme Administrative Capacity 2007-2013” (OPAC)19, a strategic
document for the modernisation of the Bulgarian state administration. According to an interim
evaluation of the program from the period August – December 201120 the implementation of
strictly defined activities of the set system of indicators shows some delay in reaching the
goals for 2013. Therefore more needs to be done on the subject and this paper may act as a
continuation or a supplement to the program. In addition, the interim evaluation concluded
that OPAC is expected to be a necessary financial instrument in the next programming period
as well, confirming the need for further improvement in the administrative capacity in
Bulgaria.
17
The Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece; EUROPEAN COMMISSION(2010)
Ibid.
19
Ministry of State Administration and Administrative Reform, “Operational Programme Administrative
Capacity 2007-2013” (September 2007)
20
“Interim Evaluation of Operational Program Administrative Capacity” Sofia, December 2011
18
20
The “Situation Analysis of the State Administration” Section in the OPAC document
indicates that Bulgaria’s administrations have been under reform since 2003 following the
general European trends and good practices. The initially focus was on amending the
legislative framework, but recently shifted towards the implementation side of reform. The
document points out that despite the ongoing administrative reform in Bulgaria, the EC
Monitoring Reports note that more efforts are still needed to meet EU standards. Some of the
main problems of the Bulgarian administrations reported in the OPAC are the principles of
transparency and accountability, the control on the activity of the administration, and the
limited forms of public-private partnerships. In terms of strategic planning the OPAC
identifies problems with the skills to define realistic goals of public significance; with the
capacity to set the administrations’s priorities as too many unprioritised goals are set
leading to inefficiency and dispersion of efforts; and with the limited analysis and planning
skills in the administration, making it necessary to resort to consultants, which is expensive
and causes lack of ownership-awareness by the staff. The OPAC recognizes that strategic
planning improvement in Bulgaria requires higher analytical skills of civil servants (including
leadership), better collection and use of data, definition of few achievable result-oriented
goals, higher coordination of administrations at all levels, and specialised training programs
covering all issues related to strategic planning.
Finally, the OPAC document reveals that many of the public organisations in Bulgaria take
part in trainings for strengthening strategic planning capacity, but few of the trainees are
able to use the acquired knowledge to formulate the strategic plans of their organisations,
because of the lack of clearly defined administrative structure to describe precisely and clearly
the responsibilities and duties of their employees. The OPAC proposes the use of a Quality
Management System to address that problem. This is another justification of this paper’s
investigation into how ISO 9001 implementation could be improved to be better suited for
Bulgarian public administrations.
21
4. DATA ANALYSIS
This chapter presents the findings of the data collection, which will give ground for the
discussion and final conclusions of this paper. The results will be grouped according to the
research question they help to answer and according to the data collection method used. The
last section of the chapter will summarize the findings into a table.
4.1.RQ1: “To what extend are Bulgarian local authorities strategic in their planning
policy and practice?”
4.1.1. Documentary review
National and EU reports illustrate the lack of administrative capacity and strategic planning in
Bulgarian local authorities. As explained in Section 3.2., the Municipalities in Bulgaria have
problems with their strategic administrative and planning capacities and are in need of higher
“transparency”,
“efficiency”,
and
“monitoring
and
evaluation
systems
to
track
performance”21.
Major strategic planning problems are the slow absorption rates for all operational
programmes due to “cumbersome administrative procedures”; “the capacity…to prepare,
manage, monitor, consult on, and implement successful and efficient projects”22; and the low
administrative capacity to deal with policy and its implementation. According to the EU
Commission the last issue is translated mainly in weaknesses in the audit systems,
mismanagement and fraud23. In addition, problematic are “the skills to define realistic goals of
public significance”, the “capacity to set the administrations’s priorities”, and the “limited
analysis and planning skills in the administration”24.
21
Investing in Europe’s future, Commission report(2010)
Expert Evaluation Network Delivering Policy Analysis on the Performance of Cohesion Policy 2007-2013,
Report to the European Commission Directorate(2010);
22
24
“OPAC 2007-2013” (2007)
22
4.1.2. Interviews Results – Municipality of Plovdiv
Similarly to the Documentary review, the interviews in Municipality of Plovdiv indicate
administrative and strategic planning problems. The Chancellor of the Municipal Council25,
defined the Municipality as a “slow, low-budget administration” with severe lack of expert. In
terms of strategic planning the Chancellor explained that major problems are the missing
human capacity and corruption:
“Most of the Municipal appointments are political, rather than capacity-based, which
has led to severe lack of quality professionals and experts in the administration.
…What is needed is young people with new mind framework, languages and free,
modern thinking”.
The Chancellor explained that the Municipality of Plovdiv has submitted 20 projects for EU
financing in the past 4 years, out of which only 8 were approved for the modest sum of 6.5
million Euros. The reason for that is lack of administrative capacity and of “people with
knowledge about how to prepare projects”; the failure to comply with deadlines with no
sanctions to follow; and weak leadership and coordination.
In contrast the Secretary of District “North”, reported very high administrative capacity for
the district administration:
“The efficiency of the district administration is extremely high. As evidence, since I
the post of Secretary there have been no complaints about the administrative service .”
In addition, the Secretary points out that the District maintaines very good communication
with the local business: “meetings are held between representatives of the business and the
regional administration where ideas about the development of the district are discussed”.
4.1.3. Interviews Results – Municipality of Yambol
The Senior Expert in the department of “Strategies and Programs” and the Director of the
department of “Registration and Civil Status” confirmed very good “coordination”,
“communication” and “professionalism” between the municipal departments. The Chairman
25
See Interviewees Profile Table, Chapter 2
23
of the Management Board of the Yambol Chamber of Commerce and Industry shared it was
easy to work with the Municipal administration, but added that “Yambol Municipality lacks
capacity and does not have the money to go to the private sector.”
“Yambol meets its strategic goals through Euro Project and Yambol is one of the top
Municipalities in terms of infrastructure and social Euro Projects in Bulgaria.”
(The Deputy Mayor of Municipality of Yambol)
The Deputy Mayor revealed that the Municipality has applied for all Operative and National
Programs and all have been approved. The Senior Expert in the department of “Strategies and
Programs” confirmed that the Municipality is “actively working towards the achievement of
its strategic goals”.
The Senior Expert added that although building public-private partnership is difficult in small
Municipalities, Yambol “does its best”. She and the Deputy Mayor claimed that Yambol
builds good partnerships with the business to “facilitate business and attract investors”. The
Director of “Municipal Property” explained that the Municipality maintains a Municipal
Economic Council, which gathers the deputy mayors and the main business representatives.
Finally, the Chairman in the Yambol Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who took an active
part in the preparation and mid-term actualization The Municipal Development Plan 20072013, remarked that the Municipality has “good achievements of its strategic goals”.
4.2.RQ2: “How can ISO 9001 certification improve the strategic planning capacity of
Bulgarian authorities?”
4.2.1. Literature Review
The Literature Review (Section 3.1.) indicates how ISO 9001 certification could improve the
overall administrative capacity of local authorities, which as explained in the Introduction
(Chapter 1) could easily translate into planning capacity.
Based on literature review Whalen et al. (2006) suggest that the implementation of the ISO
system in any administration has all the anticipated outcomes: better documentation
procedures, improved employee training, higher staff motivation, cost reduction, increased
24
productivity, and better work environment. More focused on the topic of this paper are the
findings of Rao et at. (1997), who claim that ISO 9000-registered companies exhibit higher
levels of quality leadership, information and analysis, strategic quality planning, and human
resource development.
Studies, which investigate the direct effect of ISO 9001 certification on public administrations
in different countries - the UK, Australia, China, Taiwan - conclude that the standard is useful
and helps improve “responsibility through document control and standardization of operation
process”; the quality of service and operation implementation26; and public sector
“efficiency”27 and „organisational performance”28. Those qualities are vital for the
administrative capacity of a Municipal administration in order to produce strategic plans.
4.3.RQ3: “What has been the effect of ISO 9001 certification on the administrative
capacity in local authorities in Bulgaria?”
4.3.1. Interviews Results – The Municipality of Plovdiv
The interviews show that there is no effect of ISO certification on the strategic capacities of
Plovdiv’s municipal administrations.
The Secretary District “North” explained that in 2005 the Mayor of the Region took the
decision to implement ISO 9001 with the aim of “improvement and management of the
quality of the services supplied by the Region”. The preparation took 3 months and included
“a presentation of the rules, regulations and laws with which the administration works
and trainings about ISO for the employees”. However, the interviewee is of the opinion that
there were no changes in the structure and operation of the administration in result (no
specialist employments, redundancies, restructuring, change in the daily routine or change in
strategy):
“I personally reckon that there are no tremendous benefits from ISO certification. The
certification of administrative units such as ours only complicates the process of
document turnover and puts additional burden on our employees.”
26
Chu et al. (2001)
Singh and Mansour-Nahra (2006)
28
To et al (2011)
27
25
The certificate of Region “North” of the Municipality of Plovdiv is now expired and has not
been renewed because there was “no effective betterment of the activity of the administration
after certification and because of the large sum required for recertification”.
The Chancellor in the Council of the Plovdiv Municipality confirms there have not been
significant changes in the procedures and structure of the certified administrations in Plovdiv,
which is ‘the Municipality’s major problem!”. The Chancellor regrets to see “bureaucracy
instead of Quality Management System” in the Municipal administrations.
The fictitious implementation of ISO 9001 in the Municipality of Plovdiv is illustrated by the
fact that Procedures are followed only on paper: the Senior Specialist in the department of
“Municipal Property” explains that briefings take place on a regular basis, but people simply
show up and sign the Briefing Protocol Book without being ‘briefed’ about anything. They
are told they can read the instruction if they want to, but nobody does.
4.3.2. Interviews Results – The Municipality of Yambol
The Director of “Legal actions and Administration” explained that the administration received
the standard in 2004 after a year of preparation, during which consultants were hired and
worked with all specialists in the Municipality to create and introduce the procedures and
networks required, and staff took training courses with the “Institute of Public
Administration” in Sofia. The changes in the operation of the administration are considered to
be “mostly sustainable”. The Director of “Municipal Property” said that with the certification
“all came to order”.
The Director of “Legal actions and Administration” shared that the decision to apply for
certification was taken for the purpose of being better suited to apply for Euro-Projects and
indeed the main benefits of the certification are increased investments and Euro-projects
attracted to the Municipality. The Director of “Legal actions and Administration”, listed as
benefits to the administrative capacity: “better order, coordination and actualization of the
operations” and “increased responsibility for their actions by the staff”; and as disadvantages:
“increased work load in the beginning” and “slow process of creating the system”.
26
The Director of “Municipal Property” saw the benefits of “regular monitoring and sanctions
for non-compliance”, clear procedures, “easily accessible and up-to-date” information. The
disadvantage is: “too much documentation”. The Director of “Registration and Civil Status”
reported the same disadvantage and named as benefits: “higher managerial capacity through
documentation of main procedures, monitoring, actualization, and reporting of
specific
results”, “better coordination at all levels”, “increased transparency”, “constant selfevaluation of staff”, “higher customer satisfaction”, and “change in the structure of the
administration, including the hiring of new specialists, changed order, new strategies for
attracting investments and Euro-funds”.
4.4.RQ4: “In what ways can ISO implementation be improved in order to be more
effective in boosting strategic planning capacity in the Bulgarian context?”
4.4.1. Literature Review
ISO 9001 implementation in public administrations has been assessed in the Literature
Review and critical success factors and implementation scenarios have been presented.
General critical success factors for administrations are the attitude of top management and
other employees, the reward system, teamwork, continuous improvement, the understanding
of ISO itself, measurement of performance and communication29. Specifically in public
administrations such factors are: the level of ISO awareness; the degree of resistance from
employees; the level of internal cooperation among divisions; management capability and
involvement; policy support; and detailed knowledge of the purpose and potential benefits of
the certificate30. It is important to “view the standards in an enlightened manner as a vehicle
for achieving genuine process improvements” and not use the standards in “a reactive,
superficial and generally unenlightened way” in order to achieve the benefits from ISO
certification31. If local authorities in Bulgaria control for these factors in their implementation
strategies the Quality Management System is more likely to have real and tangible effects on
boosting strategic planning capacity.
29
Wahid and Corner (2009)
Chu et al. (2001)
31
Singh and Mansour-Nahra (2006)
30
27
One author identified an optimum ISO 9000 implementation scenario for local authorities to
follow32: firstly, senior management must demonstrate their commitment to achieving the
standard; secondly, they must decide on the 'right' reason for implementation (to
improvethe quality of the service or to gain a marketing advantage, but preferably not because
they are pressured into it); thirdly, consultants can be used to help but they should not be
given too much responsibility; finally, the likely benefits of ISO 9000 should not be
overestimated. Following this scenario can improve the implementation of ISO 9001 in
Bulgaria so that the potential benefits of the certification are realised and the capacities of
local authorities - improved.
4.4.2. Interviews Results
The interviewees provided a range of views on how ISO implementation should be changed
to produce better outcomes.
The Chancellor in the Council of the Plovdiv Municipality claimed that “ISO 9001 can be
more effective if implementation is more effective” and provided examples for such
improvements including “E-governance”, “deadlines for dealing with complaints”, and
“sanctions for non-compliance” with the requirements of the standard. The Chancellor
considered the internal and external audits, which are an integral part of ISO certification, to
be “too formal and bureaucratic”. Finally, the Chancellor pointed out the need to control the
maintenance and the use of the skills that municipal staff obtains in the trainings, part of the
certification process.
A different perspective was offered by the Director of the department of “Legal actions and
Administration” in the Municipality of Yambol, who sees the future of ISO Quality
Management System in it being “simpler”, “more accessible”, “more practical”, and “less
bureaucratic”. This would improve the implementation and the use of the system, which in
turn would boost the administrations’ capacity.
The Director of the department of “Registration and Civil Status” in the Municipality of
Yambol argued that what is needed for a more successful implementation of ISO 9001 is
32
By Douglas et al. (1999)
28
again “more flexible system” with “more concrete regulations and more precise procedures”,
but also “higher engagement from high level management” and a different staff view of the
standard: “People should accept ISO as a management system, not as excessive
bureaucracy!”.
Finally, the Chairman of the Management Board of the Yambol Chamber of Commerce and
Industry suggested that for more successful implementation “ISO 9001 should not be an end
in itself”, that municipal staff should understand what the standard is for and how its potential
benefits could be realised, and that corruption in the systems should be eradicated.
29
4.5. Summary of the Data Analysis
The main results are summarized, grouped according to research question and method used in
the following table:
Research Question
Method
Result
RQ1: “To what extend
are Bulgarian local
authorities strategic in
their planning policy and
practice?”
Documentary Review
Unsatisfactory level of strategic
administrative capacity
Face-to-face semistructural interviews
(first part)
Municipality of Plovdiv: severe
administrative problems;
RQ2: “How can ISO
9001-2008 certification
improve the strategic
planning capacity of
Bulgarian authorities?”
Literature Review
Rao et at. (1997): higher levels of
quality leadership, information and
analysis; strategic quality planning;
human resource development.
RQ3: “What has been the
effect of ISO 9001
certification on the
administrative capacity in
local authorities in
Bulgaria?”
Semi-structural
interviews (second
part)
Plovdiv – no or negative effect of
certification;
RQ4:“In what ways can
ISO implementation be
improved in order to be
more effective in boosting
strategic planning
capacity in the Bulgarian
context?”
Literature Review
IWA 5 pending;
Attitude towards ISO;
Follow the frameworks.
Semi-structural
interviews
(third part)
Simplified procedures ;
More flexible structure;
Understanding of ISO;
Better auditors training;
Corruption
30
Municipality of Yambol and
Plovdiv Municipal District
“North”: relatively good
administrative capacity
Whalen and Rahim and Magd
(2006): better documentation
procedures, improved employee
training, higher staff motivation;
increased productivity; and
increased employee satisfaction and
participation
Yambol – costs and benefits of
certification
5. DISCUSSION
In this chapter the four sub research questions are answered in turn, using the data presented
in the previous chapters of the paper. The discussion is important as it is the basis on which
the central research question will be answered. It sums up the discussion of the sub-research
questions and is presented in the beginning of the next chapter.
5.1.RQ1: “To what extend are Bulgarian local authorities strategic in their planning
policy and practice?”
According to the documents reviewed, Bulgarian local authorities have severe administrative
capacity issues, which prevent them from being strategic in their planning policy and practice.
They are inefficient, bureaucratic, and lack capable staff. The key strategic capacity problems
are the skills to define realistic policy goals, analyse, and plan; the capacity to set priorities;
and the ability to attract national investment and EU funds.
Programs such as Cohesion Policy and Bulgaria’s “Operational Programme Administrative
Capacity 2007-2013” concentrate on solving those administrative problems, but given how
deeply rooted the problems are, alternative efforts are also needed. This paper proposes the
implementation of Quality Management System through registration to ISO 9001-2008.
This study’s interview results confirm the lack of strategic planning capacity in the
Municipality of Plovdiv, where coordination, leadership and efficiency are low; quality
experts are in demand; monitoring and corrective actions are limited; and successful
applications for national and EU funding are minimal. The District administrations show
better coordination, communication and professionalism, but they do play a minor role in the
planning process: the central administration holds the main planning power and distributes the
districts’ budgets.
The respondents in the Municipality of Yambol, however, describe a much better capacity to
plan and develop. The interviews indicate good coordination and professionalism, very good
links with local business, perfect record of national and EU projects applications (all
successful), and successful actions towards the achievement of the municipal strategic goals.
31
Yet, some interviewees acknowledge that the Municipality still needs better experts and
higher budgets.
The difference in the interview results could be explained by the size of the administrations.
The Municipality of Yambol and Plovdiv’s District “North” are small administrations with
easier coordination and communication, friendlier atmosphere, higher accountability for staff
members, and less political/corruption pressure as the “power” in question is less significant.
The Municipality of Plovdiv on the other hand is historically a very political arena, with great
conflicts of interests and political pressures. In result Plovdiv has corruption; the coordination
is bad due to rivalry; and accountability within the administration and towards the citizens is
low. In addition, in large administrations coordination and efficiency are difficult to achieve
unless there is superb organization, which is not the case for Plovdiv.
5.2.RQ2: “How can ISO 9001-2008 certification improve the strategic planning
capacity of Bulgarian authorities?”
When implemented properly ISO 9001 can significantly improve the administrative capacity
of public administrations: better regulated procedures, better coordination, staff training,
higher management participation, better information, and higher quality awareness. A local
authority with higher administrative capacity is better equipped to be strategic in its capacity
to plan. The qualities that ISO 9001 introduces in an administration have a direct impact on its
capacity to define realistic policy goals and priorities, to analyse, to plan, to attract investors,
and to prepare EU project/funding applications - all the gaps in Bulgarian authorities’
strategic planning capacity identified by OPAC.
The interview results uncovered two key strategic planning problems in the case study
Municipalities: bad communication, coordination and leadership in larger administrations and
low employee capacity. It could be argued that both could be solved through the introduction
of ISO 9001 Quality Management System.
ISO 9001 provides a framework that facilitates coordination and communication, increases
staff motivation because all procedures are carefully monitored and people are fully
accountable for their actions, and could improve leadership with its requirements that top
32
management should control and monitoring all procedures. Thus the Quality Management
System could create the coordinated, stimulating and efficient environment necessary for
creative and effective strategic planning.
According to the data collected the low employee capacity is especially pronounced in
Plovdiv. This could be due to the low wages, unsuited for highly skilled individuals, but given
the high unemployment rate in the country at the moment, there are skilled people willing to
accept the low-paid positions. More problematic are the “political appointments”, which are
common according to the interviewees. On the other hand, as OPAC reveals, many public
organisations in Bulgaria take part in training for strengthening strategic planning capacity,
but few of the trainees are able to use the acquired knowledge to formulate the strategic plans
of their organisations because of ill defined administrative structures and responsibilities.
Both the Literature reviewed and the Interview results indicate that the requirements of ISO
9001 are such that when implemented effectively, the standard creates a clearly defined,
coordinated and regulated system, where everyone is certain about their duties and
responsibilities. Such environment has the potential to boost staff capacity in two ways.
Firstly, it makes it much harder for political assignments to take place, unless the hired person
is of the high capacity required by the Quality Management System in order to fit in, in which
case although unjust, the appointment will be efficient. Secondly, trainings could be more
effective in boosting staff capacity since the impediment OPAC describes will be eliminated.
5.3.RQ3: “What has been the effect of ISO 9001 certification on the administrative
capacity in local authorities in Bulgaria?”
The implementation of ISO 9001 has led to different results in the case study Municipalities.
According to the interviewees from the Municipality of Plovdiv, the ISO system increased the
working load and bureaucracy without bringing the anticipated change in the structure and
performance of the administration. The interviewees claim that the procedures required by
ISO are followed only on paper and that the training courses do not result into capacity
improvement. The conclusion is that the costs (high recertification cost, time and effort lost in
documenting and following procedures) outweigh by far the benefits of certification.
33
In the Municipality of Yambol the interviewees also find many disadvantages, including that
the system is too bureaucratic and slow, the auditing is ineffective (only checking documents,
not the actual processes), and the process of creating and getting used to the system is slow.
However, once the system was set in motion there were significant improvements in practices
and coordination, accountability, self-assessment of the administration, communication
between the administration and the customers, attracting investments and facilitating
partnerships with the private sector.
Given the Literature Review assessment of critical success factors in the implementation of
ISO 9001, the different outcomes in the two Municipalities could be explained by three major
factors. Firstly, the administrations had different motives for certification. In Plovdiv the
purpose was somewhat vague:
“For the improvement and management of the quality of the services supplied by the
region” (Secretary of District “North”)
In Yambol the strategic municipal goal, the motivation for certification and the main benefits
of ISO are the same: for the administration to be better suited to receive Euro funds and attract
investments.
Secondly the attitudes of top management to the certification differed, which is expressed by
the fact that in Plovdiv the preparation for the certification took three month, while in Yambol
- a year. Finally, there was different attitude by the employees in the post-certification period.
In Plovdiv, only the costs and disadvantages of the system were seen, whereas in Yambol the
directors of departments agreed that the ISO system improved the administrative capacity in
various ways.
5.4.RQ4: “In what ways can ISO implementation be improved in order to be more
effective in boosting strategic planning capacity in the Bulgarian context?”
The Literature reviewed provides an extensive investigation into how ISO 9001
implementation should be improved to make the system more effective.
The most
reoccurring critical success factors are the attitude and involvement of top management and
other employees, the level of internal cooperation among divisions, continuous improvement,
and the understanding of ISO with its purpose and potential benefits. Also, the administration
should view the standard as a vehicle for achieving genuine process improvements.
34
It is evident from the interviewees’ responses that in Plovdiv awareness of the purpose and
benefits of ISO 9001 was lacking, cooperation between divisions was problematic, and top
management involvement was minimal. The result from certification was more costs than
benefits. In Yambol some of the success factors were satisfied and the outcomes of ISO
implementation were much better. Therefore consideration of the success factors during
implementation could maximize the benefits and minimize the costs of certification, which is
the perfect condition for boosting the administration’s capacity.
Douglas et al. (1999) identified an optimum implementation scenario for the local authorities
to follow when being certified to ISO 9000 (senior management signals the intent to
implement ISO 9000 and demonstrates commitment; certification is for the 'right' reason;
consultants are used but not given too much responsibility; the likely benefits of ISO 9000 are
not overestimated). The framework is simple, universal and easy to follow, so could be
applicable for Bulgarian Municipalities. If the implementers keep in mind the critical factors
discussed above while following the Douglas strategy, they would most likely satisfy both.
This paper argues this to be Bulgarian Municipalities’ best strategy when being certified or
recertified to the ISO Quality Management System.
The views of the interviewees on what is needed for the standard to better boost the
administrations’ capacities are divided into two directions. One focuses on the requirements
of the standard itself - the respondents would like to see a more flexible structure, with ISO
9001 procedures simplified and made more civil-servant-friendly. The other focus is on the
fundamentals of the administrations and the auditing bodies. The interviewees consider that
people need to understand ISO as improvement not as additional bureaucracy, that the
auditors’ training need to be more focused on the specifics of ISO 9001 implemented in
public administrations, and that corruption in the systems need be eradicated.
This paper argues that the combination of theoretical guidance and interviewees’
recommendations produces the best ISO implementation strategy. The implementation of any
system needs to be in compliance with the needs and views of the people who will use it and
it is not enough to apply international theoretical frameworks to the Bulgarian context. This
paper would advise Bulgarian local authorities to follow the implementation framework and
35
mind the critical factors discussed above, but simultaneously to battle with corruption and
make sure ISO is well understood and not considered unnecessary bureaucracy.
Finally, individual Municipalities should have the freedom to follow an implementation
framework that best fits their needs and structures. For example, larger administrations should
better concentrate on improving communication, coordination and departmental cooperation,
while smaller administrations might want to concentration on building staff capacity or
gaining financial and policy support as part of the implementation of ISO 9001. One
administration should not copy exactly the strategy of another even if it is successful, but use
it as guidance and develop its own unique strategy, which follows the general guidance of this
paper.
36
6. CONCLUSION
In this final chapter the answer to the central research question will be given based on the
results and discussion in the previous two chapters. It will sum up the findings and
recommendations of the paper for ISO implementation in Bulgarian Municipalities and
improving strategic planning capacities, as well as build upon the literature and documents
discussed in Chapter 3 of the paper. Then, suggestions of the value of the paper will be made.
Finally the limitations of the paper will be presented.
6.1.RQ: “How can ISO 9001-2008 certification be used to improve the strategic
planning capacity of Municipalities in Bulgaria?”
The ISO Quality Management System standard could be implemented in Municipal
administrations in Bulgaria to boost their administrative capacities by increasing efficiency,
coordination, communication, accountability, monitoring and result-orientation, and by
assuring continuous improvement. Moreover the standard requires regular staff trainings and
briefings and the appointment of people with capacities high enough in order to fit in the
Quality Management Framework. The combination of high administrative and staff capacity
will arguably assure strategic planning capacity.
In order for the benefits of ISO certification to be achieved in Bulgarian Municipalities, the
certificate implementation strategy should be carefully designed in accordance with the
literature and best practice recommendations and in consideration of the needs, wants and
comments of the people working in the municipal administrations.
Most importantly, the decision for certification needs to be enlightening, top management
should demonstrate involvement in the process, the staff understanding of the standard and its
potential benefits need to be deep and accurate, and the requirements and procedures of the
standard need to be followed not just fictively on paper, but made real use of.
In addition, ISO 9001 could be more effective in boosting municipal capacities if the auditors
are better trained in the specifics of ISO 9001-2008 implemented in public administrations
37
and if the audits involve the spending of days in the administration to follow the procedures in
practice, not just on paper.
Finally, individual Municipalities should be flexible in choosing the motivation for ISO
certification as well as the implementation strategy so that the system could best serve the
needs of the particular area and people. Only then the Quality Management System will
become a natural part of the administration and effectively boost its administrative and
strategic capacity to its most.
6.2.Value of the Project
This project contributes to the understanding of ISO implementation in public administrations
in terms of the costs and benefits involved and of the critical success factors. It suggests a way
to improve ISO 9001 applicability to the public sector by encouraging top management to
carefully choose an implementation strategy combining international experience with local
knowledge and administration-specific considerations.
This study is also the first to link ISO 9001 Quality Management System and improvements
in administrative capacity with strategic planning capacity per se. The link between the three
is explored in detail and practical suggestions are made for the Bulgarian public sector
context, which could apply for other European public administrations implementing ISO
9001.
Finally, the project offers a unique insight into Bulgarian local authorities’ administrations in
the context of administrative and planning capacity, and ISO certification. It could be used in
future investigations into the Bulgarian public sector, or planning policy and practice.
6.3.Limitations
The study is subject to significant interview bias. Civil Servants benefit from overstating the
work they do in terms of public support and it is in human nature not to publicly disclose lack
of capacity in you and your team. Therefore administrative performance might have been
overstated. In order to limit the bias, different stakeholders from the public and the private
sector have been interviewed.
38
Another limitation is the time constraints. More time could have allowed further interviews to
be taken and papers to be read for a more extensive data collection. In addition, more than 2
Municipalities could have been looked at, ideally six: three big and three small
administrations.
Finally, due to limited previous research on the topic, there is the limitation of reliance on
studies about implementing ISO 9001 in public administrations in very different contexts
from the one of the case studies. Most papers are in non-European context: China, Australia,
Taiwan. Only Douglas et. al. (1999) explores the topic in the European setting of the UK, but
his paper is the most outdated. More recent research into ISO certification of European public
administrations would have been very beneficial to this paper.
39
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