Published Online:May 2025
Product Name:The IUP Journal of Operations Management
Product Type:Article
Product Code:IJOM030525
DOI:10.71329/IUPJOM/2025.24.2.37-60
Author Name:Aaron Kusidi Lutete
Availability:YES
Subject/Domain:Management
Download Format:PDF
Pages:37-60
The transition of ISO management systems from compliance tools to strategic enablers of organizational capability remains a critical challenge for industries worldwide. This study investigates the persistent barriers hindering the maturity of ISO systems, particularly within industrial and manufacturing sectors, despite formal cultural integration. Through a qualitative methodology combining literature review, audit report analysis, and interviews, the study identifies a central impediment to the development of the ISO system. This phenomenon arises when employees perceive ISO requirements as transactional tasks rather than intrinsic components of their work, leading to performative compliance, post-audit regression, and stifled continuous improvement. The findings underscore the necessity of reframing ISO implementation as a people-centered change management process, requiring leadership commitment, employee ownership, and behavioral alignment with ISO principles. By proposing metrics such as opportunity capture rates and compliance fatigue indices, the study offers actionable insights for organizations to transform ISO systems into dynamic frameworks that drive resilience, innovation, and longterm strategic growth.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) management systems, such as ISO 9001 (Quality Management), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management), and ISO 45001 (Occupational Health and Safety), have long served as cornerstones of organizational compliance, enabling industries to meet regulatory requirements and demonstrate operational credibility.