BS 5750: The Industry View

Evaluation of performance, monitoring costs and quality management

Contains an economic critique of BS 5750. Identifies the extent to which BS 5750 can be used to evaluate the performance of organizations. Argues that appropriate measures of performance should be based on economic criteria and, indeed, that such criteria are an essential prerequisite to making BS 5750 operational within an organization. Thus, far from BS 5750 being a component of a measure of performance, certification under BS 5750 or the development of some other quality management system should be related to an overall measure of performance developed on the basis of economic criteria. BS 5750 is not concerned with quality as it is generally understood. It is simply a management system concerned with monitoring specifications. The basic assumption of BS 5750 about the appropriate distribution of monitoring costs may result in costs which are greater than benefits. If this is the case, small firms are likely to be placed at a comparative disadvantage vis‐à‐vislarge firms. BS 5750 cannot be used as an indicator of performance.