In today’s open innovation era, a management system becomes necessary for making innovation for many corporates, setting the quality policy, identifying policies, standardizing processes, assigning resources, and showing the way to perform and tackle innovations. In this article, I explain the strong relationship between the management system and innovation and the factors influencing the operating system to enhance innovation.

What is a management system?

Corporate management operating system typically shows why, what, how, by whom, and when questions about conducting activities in a firm. It covers all business activities in the company, including planning, sales and marketing, operations, human resources, finance, etc. the management system involves the following five documentary levels:

• A quality policy statement: is a top document showing the commitment of top management toward achieving the quality policy, quality objectives, and means of implementation. 
• Policy manual: stating top management views on the key field of activities like customer satisfaction, meeting the quality policy, document control, change management, resources, monitoring and control, continual improvement, etc.
• Procedures manual: documents the key activities, how to be conducted and by whom.
• Forms manual: these are templated forms to document activities and procedures.
• Work instructions: are guidelines for conducting the procedures and filling out the forms.

The purpose of the operating manual is to standardise activities and achieve the company’s mission. It follows the plan-do-check-act method and aims to meet the firm’s strategy and business plans. Every operating manual strives to satisfy the organisation’s customers and financiers through the efficient execution of the system and meeting stakeholders’ needs. 

How do you build a management operating system?

There are many ways to produce and run an operating manual, and ISO 9001:2015 (www.iso.org)¹ provides a recognised method to prepare and execute a quality management system. ISO 9001 is the international standard for creating a Quality Management System (QMS), published by ISO (the International Organization for Standardisation). ISO 9001 provides a process-oriented approach to documenting and reviewing the structure, responsibilities, and procedures required to achieve effective quality management in an organisation. 

The ISO 9001:2015 standards are split into (10) clauses. The first three are introductory, while the last seven clauses contain the requirements for the Quality Management System against which a company can be certified. Here are the main clauses:

• Clause 4: Context of the organisation – This section shows the requirements for understanding your organisation to implement a QMS. It includes the requirements for identifying internal and external issues, identifying interested parties and their expectations, defining the scope of the QMS, and identifying your processes and how they interact. Expectations of interested parties include regulatory requirements as well.
• Clause 5: Leadership – The leadership requirements cover the need for top management to be instrumental in implementing the QMS. Top management must show commitment to the QMS by ensuring customer focus, defining and communicating the quality policy, and assigning roles and responsibilities throughout the organisation.
• Clause 6: Planning – Top management must also plan for the ongoing function of the QMS. Risks and opportunities of the QMS in the organisation need to be assessed, quality objectives for improvement need to be identified, and plans made to accomplish these objectives.
• Clause 7: Support – The support section deals with the resources management for the QMS, covering the necessity to control all resources, including human resources, buildings and infrastructure, the working environment, monitoring and measurement resources, and organisational knowledge. The section also includes requirements around competence, awareness, communication, and controlling documented information (the documents and records required for your processes).
• Clause 8: Operation – The operation requirements deal with all aspects of the planning and creation of the product or service. This section includes requirements on planning, product requirements review, design, controlling external providers, creating and releasing the product or service, and controlling nonconforming process outputs.
• Clause 9: Performance evaluation – This section includes the requirements needed to make sure that you can monitor whether your QMS is functioning well. It includes monitoring and measuring your processes, assessing customer satisfaction, internal audits, and ongoing management review of the QMS.
• Clause 10: Improvement – This last section explains the requirements to make the QMS works better. Improvements include assessing the nonconformity of processes and taking corrective actions.
• For more information about ISO 9001:2015, visit https://www.iso.org.

Why is a management system so important to innovation?

The management system of a company is paramount to innovation for the following considerations:

• Identifying quality policy: every business begins its management system by identifying the quality policy and ways to implement it. The quality policy shows the top-management commitment, quality objectives (e.g., meeting the customer needs), and means of implementation (e.g., through innovative initiatives).  
• Diagramming what and how to do: as part of any management system are the procedures manuals that include activities, how to perform them and by whom. Likewise, identifying innovation processes on observing, understanding, ideating, experimenting, and implementing. 
• Standardization of processes: for turning the process flow easy to do and control, the best way to achieve this is by standardising activities as to what and how to do tasks. 
• Assigning accountabilities: assigning who to do what, as the management system decides, will facilitate roles and duties to make innovations.
• Quantifying resources: estimates and provides sufficient resources to make the management system work. Resources include trained people, money, assets, and intangible assets (e.g., copyright, know-how, and intellectual properties IP). Innovation requires resources, including talented staff, mandated to search for ideas and turn them into demanded values. 
• Monitoring and control: this is the process of measuring and reviewing results in line with targets. Management evaluates performances, ensures compliance, and makes corrective decisions if needed. Likewise, innovation projects require a method of assessing progress and results. 
• Continual improvement: applying innovative initiatives to discover opportunities and crafting creative solutions that improve operational excellence and increase customer experience. 

How can the management system support innovation?

The management system provides standard procedures to carry out the firm’s activities and achieve its mission; moreover, it guides organisations to, for instance, identify the scope of work and objectives, management duties and commitment, plans, resources, operations, monitoring and control, and continual improvement. The operating system provides the basis for organisations to create, implement, and realise innovative products. It also supports innovation activities, including research and development, technology invention and realisation, strategy, processes, leadership, culture, and resources required to make innovation. Not only does the management system show the way to manage innovation activities, but it also enables innovators to innovate, measure and improve innovation.

• This post is sourced from my new book- Your Guide To Reach Innovation. 
• For more information about the book: https://growenterprise.co.uk/your-guide-to-reach-innovation/
• To register in our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/ggcC29

Final note: the book- Your Guide To Reach Innovation, is an actionable guide to innovation from beginning to end. Enjoy reading the book, and I look forward to your reviews.

Author: Munther Al Dawood

www.growenterprise.co.uk

maldawood@growenterprise.co.uk

Reference:

• http://www.iso.org.