Quality Management Systems within the Public Sector: The Case of ISO 9000 Implementation Barriers in Malaysian Local Government

Abstract

Implementing ISO 9000 in the public sector is normally seen to be wrought with various obstacles that usually impede the entire process. The objective of this study is to explore the main barriers of ISO 9000 implementation in Malaysian Local Government (LG) organizations. Relevant information had been gathered from literature in developing the survey tool to gather the related data. Quantitative analysis was then used to analyse the data. There were three aspects discovered to be the main barriers which have hampered the ISO 9000 implementation process. These barriers are lack of cooperation among internal departments, negative perception or attitude towards quality among employees and employees' culture toward quality.