Integrating Business Management Processes

Chapter 1

History of Management Systems

1.1 Quality Management

Attempts to manage the quality of products and services can be traced back to medieval times. During this time in the latter part of the 13th century, craftsmen began to organise themselves into unions called guilds that formalised procedures for assuring product and service quality (American Society for Quality, n.d.). The focus was on regular inspection of goods and a decision was made to accept or reject them. Special symbols marked on the goods signified good quality. The creation of inspection roles in workplaces led to a series of issues (Department of Trade Industry, n.d.). For example:

• Technical problems which required specialised skills not possessed by workers.

• Allocation ...