THE effect of the European Single Market will shortly be felt by
Scottish business, as trade barriers are swept away and new markets
opened up. Just how prepared we are for this will become clear before
long, with Scottish businesses searching for new customers in these new
markets.
Some companies have been trading the European and world market-place
successfully for years -- companies like Norfrost, who export 95% of
their product. They have built steady relationships over a period of
time, assuring their customers of the quality of their product.
For those companies coming into the market fresh, however, the task of
persuading Europeans to buy their products or services will be difficult
unless they can prove the measure of their quality. BS5750 is such a
measure: a flag of recognition for new customers.
The British Government were forward looking in establishing BS5750,
and it proved to be the blueprint for the European and international
standards ISO/ 9000 and EN29000.
At the present time, there are fewer companies seeking registration in
Europe than in the UK, where registration is healthy and includes some
Japanese firms.
While it is not essential for a company to have BS5750 -- and there
are many good companies which have not felt the need to seek
accreditation -- it is nevertheless much easier from a European
perspective to use BS5750, since it removes the need to go and visit the
company to ascertain its measure of quality.
With the recession causing market depression, which might be worsened
by a trade war, it is essential that Scottish companies recognise the
importance of quality, in terms of cutting wastage and therefore costs,
and in more effective and efficient production and service.
Yet it would seem that many small to medium-sized firms in Scotland
are still not aware of the potential in Europe. Instead of taking up the
opportunities offered by the Single Market, very few Scottish companies
are prepared to look beyond trading across the Border. They view that as
an export market.
''The European dimension has not really been recognised by smaller
companies in Scotland,'' says Umit Bititchi of the University of
Strathclyde. ''However, larger companies trading successfully in Europe
see BS5750 and ISO/9000 as a competitive advantage.''
If Scottish companies are, in many cases, ill-prepared, it would seem
that their European counterparts are in a similar position.
At a recent gathering held by a major car manufacturer in Madrid the
general manager stood up and criticised the workforce for lack of
co-operation and failing to serve customers adequately. He suggested
that unless they followed the quality route, they would never be in a
position to match the Japanese product or service.
In the presence of the Spanish Minister of State and the EC Minister,
he urged management to communicate with the workforce, and to work
together in solving problems. He was advocating a policy of Total
Quality Management.
A similar story from a British perspective features the response to
implementing quality standards within a multinational company.
The attitude of the British arm of the company to a quality management
system was reluctant implementation, with the badge at the end acting as
an incentive.
In Europe, the attitude was markedly different. It was seen as an
opportunity to review operations, remove wastage, improve efficiency,
integrate the different sectors, and help improve both co-operation and
communication.
Both here and in Eruope at the moment, one of the greatest problems
with the quality management programmes is that they tend to be too much
training focused, instead of allowing those involved to participate in
making the changes.
A great deal of effort has gone into developing increasing awareness
of the European market potential, including Eastern Europe.
That increased market potential applies to European businesses hoping
to trade in this country, and the worry is that they might be more
advanced in the field of quality. The signs are that, apart from some
obvious exceptions, they appear to be no better off than us.
A workshop held recently invited each European country to put forward
its attitudes and plans for the development in the field of quality. The
UK proposal, by British Telecom, was judged as good if not better than
most of the others.
Other companies, like Rank Xerox, which has had a long, steady
recovery programme, are helping to fly the flag. They have won the
European Foundation of Quality Management's European Quality Award --
the first time it has ever been presented.
All the major players in Europe are conscious of the fact that they
have to get up speed on quality -- total quality -- to compete in the
precarious world market-place.
The European Foundation of Quality Management is raising the European
temperature on quality dramatically, and it is only a few years old. In
Scotland, it is vital for survival that the European situation is
closely monitored and that opportunities are not missed. Quality is the
key.
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