Development of quality management system in accordance with ISO 9001-2000 for Ben Thanh tourist - Hanoi

vietnam national university, HANOI hanoi school of business Nguyen The Cuong DEVELOPMENT of QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN ACcORDANCE WITH ISO 9001:2000 FOR Ben THANH TOURIST – HANOI ma

vietnam national university, HANOI

hanoi school of business

Nguyen The Cuong

DEVELOPMENT of QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN ACcORDANCE WITH ISO 9001:2000

FOR Ben THANH TOURIST – HANOI

master of business administration thesis

vietnam national university, HANOI

hanoi school of business

Nguyen The Cuong

Development of quality management system in accordance with iso 9001:2000

for Ben thanh tourist - Hanoi

Major: Business Administration

Code : 60 34 05

Master of business administration thesis

SUPERVISOR: DR.TA NGOC CAU

TABLE OF CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i

ABSTRACT (Vietnamese) iv TABLE OF TERMS DEFINITION IX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XIV LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS XV

INTRODUCTION ……… 1

1 The need for study ……… 1

2 The statement of the problem ……… 1

3 Aim and Purpose of study ……… 3

4 Research questions ……… 3

5 Scope of work ……… 4

6 Assumption ……… 4

7 ta sources and Processing ……… 4

8 Experiment Method ……… 5

9 Signification ……… 6

10 Limitations ……… 6

11 Expected results ……… 7

12 Short summary ……… 7

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL FOUNDATION … 8 1.1 What is ISO 9001:2000 ……… 8

1.2 Why we need to develop ISO 9001:2000 … 8 1.3 Aim of ISO9001:2000 standard ……… 10

1.4 The Standards ISO 9001:2000 analysis … 12

1.4.1 Quality management system requirements 13

1.4.2 Management responsibility ……… 13

1.4.3 Resource management ……… 13

1.4.4 Production realization ……… 14

1.4.5 Measurement, analysis and improvement … 14 1.5 Quality management principles ……… 16

1.6 Process approach ……… 26

CHAPTER 2: EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH 29

2.1 Ben Thanh Tourist Hanoi Introduction 29 2.2 Methodology ……… 31

2.2.1 Research problem ……… 31

2.2.2 Research objectives ……… 31

2.2.3 Research method ……… 32

2.2.4 Researcher role ……… 32

2.2.5 Data collection procedures ……… 32

2.2.6 Interview procedure and protocol ……… 33

2.2.7 Data analysis procedures ……… 34

2.3 Research report ……… 35

CHAPTER 3:FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS …… 58

3.1 Research findings ……… 58

3.1.1 Quality management ……… 59

3.1.2 Management responsibility ……… 60

3.1.3 Resource Management ……… 61

3.1.4 Product realization ……… 62

3.1.5 Measurment analyses and improvement … 64

3.2 Recommendations ……… 66

CONCLUSION ……… 72 APPENDIX 1 : the company report of the year 2006 APPENDIX 2 financial report for the year 2006

APPENDIX 3 interview questions

REFERENCES

1 The need for study

Ben Thanh Tourist was founded in 1990 It provides all inbound and outbound tours to travelers Ben Thanh Tourist starts recognizing the importance of investing in quality and providing high quality services due to several reasons

First of all, international tourists have been increasingly visiting Vietnam over past years; foreign tourists are rousingly interested in Vietnam leading to a larger number of inbound travelers

As Vietnam‘s economy is booming, thus standards of living are rising Consequently the need to reach higher quality standards of tours is becoming more demanding Travelers are increasingly expecting the high standards of service

The competition among tour companies in Hanoi is really strong In addition, travelers have a big choice of where to book their travel Some of them book via travel companies; others arrange all or part of their travel directly with service suppliers, i.e airlines, hotels, car-rental companies The emergence of on-line booking tools, on-line booking possibility via airline web pages where lower service charges are offered, also pose a threat to tour companies Unless Ben Thanh found solutions how to retain the biggest inbound market share and meet its needs, big part of business may be lost

Recently international travel agency have required Ben Thanh Tourist to apply

a quality management system in accordance with ISO 9001: 2000 in order to ensure consistent high quality of service to their customer

Therefore the manager board decided to apply ISO 9001:2000 for its tour operation business

2 The statement of the problem

As a tour operator, Ben thanh tourist offer a number of service of tour packages, making reservation, booking and other tour arrangement for tourist The company

report reveals that annually growth accounts for 10% in term of sale revenues The benefits achieve a round 12% The number of tourists increases 15% However some key staffs decided to move from the company with the reason of low salary Consequently, it takes company some time and money to train new staffs Furthermore, the customer made complaint with the quality The reasons for most of complaints are

as follows:

 Staff make error because of ill preparations

 Every does the job in his/ her way hence use varying quality level

 Various company departments do not speak to each other.•

 Staff does not feel responsible for quality.•

 When an error is made it is difficult to determine the cause, and the same errors tend to repeat

In order to fulfill requirements or needs of customers and demonstrate the quality of its services to the outside world The Ben thanh Tourist decided to apply to implement ISO 9001:2000

Problem in implementing a quality management is to:

 Get all employees to know to the standard

 Evaluate the current quality management system

 Set up documentation systems

 Analysis nonconformities

 …etc

There are some handbooks showing the way how to implement a quality management system Unfortunately, all of them are intended to give advice to others businesses than Tour Company Although ISO 9001:2000 is brought into Vietnam for almost 10 years and thousands of others industries and services enterprises claimed themselves to be compliant with ISO 9001:2000

In the past, the Ben Thanh Tourist runs its own quality management It seem be good so far But now, customers are more demanding, they expect consistent services and fully satisfaction by implementing a quality management system

As the result of that, this study shall demonstrate its quality service based on ISO 9001:2000 requirements

3 Aims and purpose of study

The overall purpose of the study is to

 Evaluate Ben Thanh Tourist‘s quality management

 Identify the gap between Ben Thanh Tourist tour operations with the standards requirements

 Work out some recommendation to Ben thanh Tourist quality management

In other word, the purpose of the study is to evaluate how effective and efficient Quality management, looking into their current status, and compare its performance with the standard requirements in order to see how much of the quality process is assured and managed

Moreover the study then develop an action plan to implement a Quality Management System based on ISO 9001:2000 as a tool to boost its performances in order to improve the quality and efficiency of its travel services based on positive current system

The aim of the study also helps set up the steps of applying quality management system compliance with ISO into tour operation business

4 Research questions

Many studies show that there is a need for effective quality management system implementation in tour operation business, but relevant research directly related to this need is limited The overall questions guiding this study ask: How compliant the quality management system at Ban Thanh Tourist is in the view of ISO 9001:2000

The ISO 9000:2000 standard requirements serve as the theoretical lens that frames this study This approach creates confidence in implementing quality management system in accordance with ISO 9001; 2000 Research questions are relating to:

a) Quality management system

6 Assumption

There was a commitment of the management board to applying ISO 9001:2000

The quality policy is in the line with the company policy Ben Thanh Tourist

management prepare determine and provide enough resources for implement quality

management system

7 Data Sources and Processing

Following the data collection and processing is explained In this study, primary data was collected Methods used to collect primary data are interview, review document and reports, and observation An in-depth interview is characterized by its length, depth and structure Therefore, it suited to the study which demands to seek a better insight into Ben thanh Tourist operations to identify gaps between the standard ISO 9000:2000 requirements with its performances

The formulation of the interview question plays a vital role in the structure of the study and in ensuring a successful result These interview questions are based on the recommendations or requirements of ISO 9001-2000 In other word, all the ISO‘s requirements are transformed into the form of question PRAXIOM RESEARCH GROUP LIMITED has provided approach of interviewing referred as gap analysis: Each interview question has two possible answers: Yes, No A Yes answer means that the organization has already met one of ISO's requirements, a No answer points to a question No answers reveal gaps that exist between the ISO 9001 2000 Standard and the organization's processes Whenever the answer No to a question, there are at least one of the organization's processes fails to meet an ISO 9001 2000 requirement A No answer tells the organization that a process needs further development It tells that a process needs to be modified, improved, or created

Therefore, whenever there is answer No to a question, that processes must be considered, and decided which ones need to be changed The interview questions are found at the appendix 3

As the information to be provided had to be complex, it was important to

Choose the right interviewees who would be experts in business It was decided to contact the manager of Ben Thanh Tourist Hanoi Branch due to the fact that he has been a senior managers of Ben Thanh Tourist Hanoi Branch since its established in

1990 and were contacted agreed to be interviewed and provided a wealth of information as well as brought to light different perspectives Consequently, the senior manager‘s answers reflects the true current status of the Ben thanh Tourist

8 Experiment Methods

Case Study approach is applied in this study With reference to primary data, case study approach was chosen due to several reasons First of all, a descriptive case study is the best method of providing the rich and complex details of the issue Yin (1994) defines a case study as ―an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary

phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident‖ (p.13) I chose case study research in order to gather information of a greater depth than would be possible using another methodology such as survey data

Because case study researcher relies on multiple sources of data, I conducted structured interviews asking a set of yes-no questions With Yes/ no questions one can only be answered with ―yes‖ no‖ This form of question is important for confirmation,

in order to make sure that certain action has been correctly carried out

All interviews were direct and deep Numerous documents related to its performance were also reviewed for this study Documents included, but were not limited to, policy manuals, records of operation, web site information, and memos Finally this allowed to documentation a chain of evidence throughout the study

Memo writing in the journal helped me to reflect on my thoughts and ideas as I went through the research process Another benefit of maintaining a researcher‘s journal was

to document any changes necessary in the study

9 Significance

Designed to provide systematic inquiry into the quality management system compliant with ISO 9001:2000 in a tour company, this study contributes substantive information about how to build a quality management system in a tour company Results of this study could have implications for tour operators, travel agents… In response to the growing numbers of tour operators today and the limited amount of research in the business , it is expected that this research will make a contribution to the knowledge base of current practices in supporting tour company to apply quality management

10 Limitations

There are several limitations of this study that must be noted It was conducted

in a branch in Hanoi While this setting may limit the applicability of this study to Ben

Thanh Tourist Branch Hanoi, it can also encourage others to conduct studies that add to

my findings In addition, with two-way textual communication of interview it was more complicated to gain detailed information Therefore, some of the relevant information was difficult to interpret and transcribe

Finally, it should be pointed out that the validity of the gathered information is limited to the time of the current research Therefore, it should be taken into account that there may be ongoing changes resulting in information updates

11 Expected Results

The expected results are intended to give some ideas on: what operations that Ben Thanh has complied with the standard and been documented, what operations that Ben Thanh has complied with the standard and not been documented, what operation that Ben Thanh has not complied with the standard and not been documented Base on this finding, an action plan will be developed to implement ISO in Ben thanh Tourist Hanoi

12 Short summary

This study provides a detailed look Ben Thanh Tourist‗s current status, and compare its performance with the standard requirements in order to see how much of the quality process is assured and managed and then develop a plan to implement a Quality Management System based on ISO 9001:2000 as a tool to boost its performances in order to improve the quality and efficiency of its travel services Introduction part begins with purpose of the study, research questions, data sources and process, methodology, limitations of the study, significance of the study, and short introduction Chapter One contains theoretical foundation –the framework for this study Chapter Two contains Empirical research identifying the procedures for collecting and analyzing the data Findings are presented in Chapter Three, and implications for practice included in Conclusion

CHAPTER 1 THEORETICAL FOUNDATION

In order to achieve research aim and objectives, the standard ISO 9000 family, particular 9001:2000 will be used to analyze in order to understand: What are the individual recommendations or requirements of the standard? What action must be taken in order to follow the recommendations or to fulfill the requirements? In this chapter, each clause of the standard will be presented in detail

1.1 What is ISO 9000 family

ISO 9000 family form a coherent set of quality management system standards facilitating mutual understanding within national and international trade The ISO 9000 family has been in existence for over 20 years and is applied all over the world

The origin of the standards and their first application was to be found with industrial companies where generally products were manufactured in accordance with customer specifications With increase use of the standards and the certification based

on them, application within various sectors of industry and commerce increased- both

in industrial companies and service providers The ISO 9000 standards have been revised 2 times : 1994 version & 2000 version, each version have updated new achievement in Quality Management

Quality management systems in accordance with the ISO 9000 family have become extremely widespread over the last few years It can be assumed that a great many companies have built up quality management systems in accordance with this family of standards

1.2 Why we need to apply ISO 900

The reason for this is that for several years now important companies have set requirements for their suppliers with regard to creation and form of quality management system As a result, whole sector, for example the automotive industry to

service, have laid down requirements as regards the quality management system of their supplier [DGQ]

Many suppliers with customers in different sectors of economy had to adapt their company management system to different requirements with a considerable expenditure of time and effort National standards offered suppliers the possibility of orientating themselves toward standards requirements at least within one country [DGQ]

As the global economy progressed, it becomes necessary to set uniform requirements as regards quality system which would be accepted worldwide

With the ISO 9000 family, for first time company management system have been described in standards At beginning, many were doubtful, as company management systems must be suited to the specific characteristics of individual companies and for this reason cannot be standardized The standards organizations recognized this problem and limited themselves to standardizing the requirements as regards company and quality management system, but not their actual concrete form

This means that every company retains the opportunity of creating its quality management system in an individual way which is suited to its own individual requirements The ISO 9000 family of standards lay down what should be regulated within the framework of a quality management system, but do not specify how this has

to happen

Figure1.1: Concept relating to quality [source: ISO 9001:2000]

1.3 Aim of ISO 9000 family of standards

Industrial, commercial supply products, service with the intention of fulfilling requirements or needs of customers Increasing competition with regards to quality has led continuous rise customer expectations In order to be competitive and to maintain good economic performance, companies have to make use of more and more effective and efficient system

The ISO 9000 family of standards has been developed to assist organizations, of all types and sizes, to implement and operate effective quality management systems

— ISO 9004 provides guidelines that consider both the effectiveness and efficiency of the quality management system The aim of this standard is improvement of the performance of the organization and satisfaction of customers and other interested parties

— ISO 19011 provides guidance on auditing quality and environmental management systems

Together they form a coherent set of quality management standards facilitating mutual understanding within national and international trade

Figure 1.2: Concept relating to organization [sources ISO 9000:2000]

1.4 The Standards ISO 9001:2000 analysis

ISO 9001:2000 is the latest version of a quality management standard which has been in existence for many years and which has been applied by more than 300,000 organizations world-wide It specifies minimum requirements for a quality management system where an organization needs to:

• Demonstrate its ability to provide consistently a product that meets customer and applicable regulatory requirements and to:

• Address/enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, developing processes for continual improvement and the prevention of errors and mistakes

The ISO 9001: 2000 contains five requirements sections, each dealing with one

of the fundamental building blocks required by any process These are:

1.4.1 Quality management system:

This section details the general requirement for QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM and documentation requirements that are the foundation of the management system The general requirements ask the organizations to look at the processes of the management system, how they interact with each other, and what resources are needed

to run the processes; and how the processes will be measured and monitored and action plan will be implemented The second part of the section then sets out the requirements for the documentation needed to operate the system effectively, including quality manuals, procedures, records and how the documentation should be controlled

1.4.2 Management responsibility:

The management of the systems is the responsibility of the "top management" at

a strategic level in the organization The "top management" must know it‘s commitment to develop QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM , make the staffs awareness of customers' requirements at a strategic level and make a commitment to meeting these as well as statutory and regulatory requirements Set up quality policy, objectives, "Top management" must set policies; and to achieve these policies set objectives through planning how the objectives will be met "Top management" should also ensure that there are clear internal communications and that the management system is regularly reviewed

1.4.3 Resource management:

This covers the people and physical resources needed to carry out the process People should be competent to carry out their tasks and the physical resources and work environment need to be capable of ensuring that the customers' requirements are met

be the process of take tourists on tour throughout the country

1.4.5 Measurement, analysis and improvement:

These are the measurements to enable the systems to be monitored to provide information on how the systems are performing with respect to the customer, the management systems themselves through internal audits, the processes and the product Analyzing these, including any defect or shortfall in performance, will provide valuable information for use in improving the systems and products where this is required

Each of these five fundamental building blocks is required for any process because, if one is missing, a controlled process does not occur This is recognized in the new standard and represents a shift to viewing the quality system as a series of processes

In order to carry out a "process analysis" the inputs will be started, then followed by the process through its various stages to examine how it is controlled and verify that the output meet what is required

Such a process may be, for example, the actions required by the organization on receipt of a customer order, and the steps taken to convert that order into something that will allow a reservation to be provided The input here would be the customer order, and the output, the organization‘s internal documents, resources and services that allow the provision of the service

Thus the process will need be looked, the inputs be determined, examined how

it is controlled, and look at the outputs The way the process is controlled may require

an examination of mechanisms other than documented procedures

Such control mechanisms could be by, for example, control charts, process flow diagrams or by training of operatives to ensure they are competent Whatever the means by which the organization decides to control the process, evidence will be sought that the control mechanism is indeed effective The ultimate test of effectiveness is an examination of whether the end result of the process is in accordance with the inputs

Thus, during research of the process, process output would be determined if it met the requirements of the organization and the process for obtaining them was operating under the controlled conditions that the organization had defined

Research of processes should result in a logical research of the activities in carrying out the various functions required to supply customers with a product or service which meets their needs

1.4.6 Exclusion of requirement

In order that each organization may have the opportunity of demonstrating the conformity of its quality management system with ISO 9001:2000, exception are permitted in clause7 According to ISO 9001:2000, clause 1.2 only those requirement may be excluded ―where exclusions are limited to requirements within clause7, and such exclusions do not affect the organization‘s ability, or responsibility to provide product that meets customer and applicable regulatory requirements‖[ISO]

Such exclusion may find their justification in:

 The character of the organization

 The character of the product

If more exceptions are made than are permitted, conformity with ISO 9001:2000 may not be claimed This includes situations where the fulfillment of regulatory requirements allows exceptions, which go beyond the exceptions permitted by ISO 9001:2000

1.5 Quality management principles

1.5.1 Introduction

The ISO 9000 Family of standards will be based on these Quality Management Principles With growing global competition, quality management is becoming increasingly important to the leadership and management of all organizations

The Quality Management Principles apply universally to all user groups This document focuses on the needs of executive managers The Quality Management Principles may be incorporated into new or existing documents to satisfy the needs of other user groups

By applying the following eight Quality Management Principles, organizations will produce benefits for customers, owners, people, suppliers, local communities and society at large

Figure 1.3: Concept relating to quality management [sources ISO 9000:2000]

1.5.2 Quality Management Principles

A quality management principle is a comprehensive and fundamental rule or belief, for leading and operating an organization, aimed at continually improving performance over the long term by focusing on customers while addressing the needs

of all other stakeholders

1.5.2.1 Principle 1 - Customer-Focused Organization

"Organizations depend on their customers and therefore should understand current and future customer needs, meet customer requirements and strive to exceed customer expectations".[ISO 9001:2000]

Applying the principle of customer-focused organization leads to the following actions:

 Understanding the whole range of customer needs and expectations for products, delivery, price, dependability, etc

 Ensuring a balanced approach among customers and other stakeholders (owners, people, suppliers, local communities and society at large) needs and expectations

 Communicating these needs and expectations throughout the organization measuring customer satisfaction and acting on results, and managing customer relationships

Beneficial applications of this principle include:

• For policy and strategy formulation, making customer needs and the needs

of other stakeholders understood throughout the organization;

• For goal and target setting, ensuring that relevant goals and targets are directly linked to customer needs and expectations;

• For operational management, improving the performance of the organization to meet customer needs;

• For human resources management, ensuring the people has the knowledge and skills required to satisfy the organization‘s customers

1.5.2.2Principle 2 - Leadership

"Leaders establish unity of purpose and direction of the organization They should create and maintain the internal environment in which people can become fully involved in achieving the organization‘s objectives."[ISO 9001:2000]

Applying the principle of leadership leads to the following actions:

• being proactive and leading by example,

• Understanding and responding to changes in the external environment,

• considering the needs of all stakeholders including customers, owners, people, suppliers, local communities and society at large,

• establishing a clear vision of the organization‘s future,

• establishing shared values and ethical role models at all levels of the organization,

• building trust and eliminating fear,

• providing people with the required resources and freedom to act with responsibility and accountability,

• Inspiring, encouraging and recognizing people's contributions,

• promoting open and honest communication,

• Educating, training and coaching people,

• setting challenging goals and targets, and

• implementing strategy to achieve these goals and targets

Beneficial applications of this principle include:

• For policy and strategy formulation, establishing and communicating a

clear vision of the organization‘s future;

• For goal and target setting, translating the vision of the organization into

measurable goals and targets;

• For operational management, empowered and involved people achieve the

organization‘s objectives;

• For human resource management, having an empowered, motivated, well

informed and stable workforce

1.5.2.3 Principle 3 - Involvement of People

"People at all levels are the essence of an organization and their full involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organization‘s benefit".[ISO 9001:2000] Applying the principle of involvement of people leads to the following actions by the people:

• accepting ownership and responsibility to solve problems,

• Actively seeking opportunities to make improvements,

• Actively seeking opportunities to enhance their competencies, knowledge and experience,

• Freely sharing knowledge and experience in teams and groups,

• focusing on the creation of value for customers,

• being innovative and creative in furthering the organizations objectives,

• Better representing the organization to customers, local communities and society at large,

• deriving satisfaction from their work, and

• be enthusiastic and proud to be part of the organization

Beneficial applications of this principle include:

• For policy and strategy formulation, people effectively contributing to improvement of the policy and strategies of the organization;

• For goal and target setting, people sharing ownership of the organization‘s goals;

• For operational management, people being involved in appropriate

decisions and process improvements;

• For human resource management, people being more satisfied with their jobs and being actively involved in their personal growth and development, for the organization‘s benefit

1.5.2.4 Principle 4 - Process Approach

"A desired result is achieved more efficiently when related resources and activities are managed as a process."[ISO 9001:2000]

Applying the principle of process approach leads to the following actions:

• defining the process to achieve the desired result,

• identifying and measuring the inputs and outputs of the process,

• identifying the interfaces of the process with the functions of the organization,

• evaluating possible risks, consequences and impacts of processes on customers, suppliers and other stakeholders of the process,

• establishing clear responsibility, authority, and accountability for managing the process,

• identifying the internal and external customers, suppliers and other stakeholders of the process, and

• when designing processes, consideration is given to process steps, activities, flows, control measures, training needs, equipment, methods, information, materials and other resources to achieve the desired result Beneficial applications of this principle include:

• for policy and strategy formulation, utilizing defined processes throughout the organization will lead to more predictable results, better use of resources, shorter, cycle times and lower costs;

• For goal and target setting, understanding the capability of processes

enables the creation of challenging goals and targets;

• for operational management, adopting the process approach for all

operations results in lower costs, prevention of errors, control of variation, shorter cycle times and more predictable outputs;

• for human resource management establishing cost efficient processes

for human resource management, such as hiring, education and training, enables the alignment of these processes with the needs of the organization and produces a more capable workforce

Figure1 4: Concept relating to process and product [sources ISO 9000:2000]

1.5.2.5 Principle 5 - System Approach to Management

"Identifying, understanding and managing a system of interrelated processes for

a given objective improve the organization‘s effectiveness and efficiency."[ISO

9001:2000]

Applying the principle of system approach to management leads to the

following actions:

• defining the system by identifying or developing the processes that affect a given objective,

• structuring the system to achieve the objective in the most efficient way,

• understanding the interdependencies among the processes of the system,

• Continually improving the system through measurement and evaluation, and

• establishing resource constraints prior to action

Beneficial applications of this principle include:

• For policy and strategy formulation, the creation of comprehensive and challenging plans that link functional and process inputs;

• For goal and target setting, the goals and targets of individual processes

are aligned with the organization‘s key objectives;

• For operational management, a broader overview of the effectiveness of

processes which leads to understanding the causes of problems and timely improvement actions;

• for human resource management, provides a better understanding of

roles and responsibilities for achieving common objectives thereby reducing cross functional barriers and improving teamwork

1.5.2.6 Principle 6 - Continual Improvement

"Continual improvement should be a permanent objective of the organization."[ISO 9001:2000] Applying the principle of continual improvement leads

to the following actions:

• making continual improvement of products, processes and systems an objective for every individual in the organization,

• applying the basic improvement concepts of incremental improvement and breakthrough improvement,

• using periodic assessments against established criteria of excellence to identify areas for potential improvement,

• Continually improving the efficiency and effectiveness of all processes,

• promoting prevention based activities,

• providing every member of the organization with appropriate education and training, on the methods and tools of continual improvement such as:

- The Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle,

Beneficial applications of this principle include:

• for policy and strategy formulation, creating and achieving more

competitive business plans through the integration of continual improvement with strategic and business planning;

• For goal and target setting, setting realistic and challenging improvement goals and providing the resources to achieve them;

• For operational management, involving people in the organization in the continual improvement of processes;

• For human resource management, providing all people in the

organization with the tools, opportunities, and encouragement to improve products, processes and systems

1.5.2.7 Principle 7 - Factual approach to decision making

"Effective decisions are based on the analysis of data and information."[ISO 9001:2000] Applying the principle of factual approach to decision making leads to the following actions:

• taking measurements and collecting data and information relevant to the objective,

• ensuring the data and information are sufficiently accurate, reliable and accessible,

• analyzing the data and information using valid methods,

• understanding the value of appropriate statistical techniques, and

• making decisions and taking action based on the results of logical analysis balance with experience and intuition

Beneficial applications of this principle include:

• For policy and strategy formulation, strategies based on relevant data and information is more realistic and more likely to be achieved;

• For goal and target setting, using relevant comparative data and

information to set realistic and challenging goals and targets;

• For operational management, data and information are the basis for

understanding both process and system performance to guide improvements and prevent future problems;

• for human resource management, analyzing data and information from

sources such as people surveys, suggestions and focus groups to guide the formulation of human resource policies

1.5.2.8 Principle 8 - Mutually beneficial supplier relationships

"An organization and its suppliers are interdependent, and a mutually beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both to create value."Applying the principle of mutually beneficial supplier relationships leads to the following actions:

• identifying and selecting key suppliers,

• establishing supplier relationships that balance short-term gains with long-term considerations for the organization and society at large,

• creating clear and open communications,

• initiating joint development and improvement of products and processes,

• Jointly establishing a clear understanding of customers' needs,

• sharing information and future plans, and

• recognizing supplier improvements and achievements

Beneficial applications of this principle include:

• For policy and strategy formulation, creating competitive advantage through the development of strategic alliances or partnerships with suppliers;

• For goal and target setting, establishing more challenging goals and

targets through early involvement and participation of suppliers;

• For operational management, creating and managing supplier relationships to ensure reliable, on-time, defect-free delivery of supplies;

• For human resource management Developing and enhancing supplier

capabilities through supplier training, and joint improvement efforts

1.6 Process approach

This International Standard promotes the adoption of a process approach when developing, implementing and improving the effectiveness of a quality management system, to enhance customer satisfaction by meeting customer requirements.[ISO 9001:2000]

For an organization to function effectively, it has to identify and manage numerous linked activities An activity using resources, and managed in order to enable the transformation of inputs into outputs, can be considered as a process Often the

output from one process directly forms the input to the next The application of a system of processes within an organization, together with the identification and interactions of these processes, and their management, can be referred to as the

"process approach" An advantage of the process approach is the ongoing control that it provides over the linkage between the individual processes within the system of processes, as well as over their combination and interaction.[ISO 9001:2000]

When used within a quality management system, such an approach emphasizes the importance of

a) Understanding and meeting requirements,

b) The need to consider processes in terms of added value,

c) Obtaining results of process performance and effectiveness, and

d) Continual improvement of processes based on objective measurement

The model of "a process-based quality management system shown in Figure 1 illustrates the process linkages presented in clauses 4 to 8 This illustration shows that customers play a significant role in defining requirements as inputs Monitoring of customer satisfaction requires the evaluation of information relating to customer perception as to whether the organization has met the customer requirements The model shown in Figure 1 covers all the requirements of this International Standard, but does not show processes at a detailed level.[ISO 9001:2000] In addition, the methodology known as "Plan-Do-Check-Act" (PDCA) can be applied to all processes.[ISO9001:2000] PDCA can be briefly described as follows Plan: establish the objectives and processes necessary to deliver results in accordance with customer requirements and the organization's policies Do: implement the processes Check: monitor and measure processes and product against policies, objectives and requirements for the product and report the results Act: take actions to continually improve process performance

Figure 1.5: Model of process–based quality management system

[sources ISO9000:2000]

CHAPTER 2 EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH

2.1 Ben Thanh Tourist Branch Hanoi Introductions

Founded in 1994 BenThanh Tourist Hanoi has been one of the best Tour Operator in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia It is a member of the major International Travel Associations as JATA, PATA, ASTA, VNAT, VCCI and SATA Ben Thanh Tourist Hanoi is proud of its professional, attentive and hard working staff It commits

to providing the unique, memorable holiday for its customers

Headquarter: Ben Thanh Tourist Service Company

4-6 Ho Huan Nghiep Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Tel: (84.8) 8220 258 – 8222 979

Fax: (84.8) 8295 060

Email: webmaster@benthanhtourist.com

www.benthanhtourist.com.vn ; www.benthanhtourist.com

Branch Office in Hanoi

79 Ba Trieu Street, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi

Tel: (84.4) 944 5122

Fax: (84.4) 944 5121

Email: sales@benthanh-tourist.com.vn

www.benthanh-tourist.com

As an inbound tour operator, Ben Thanh Tourist package and sell tours within

Vietnam The market can be Vietnamese national, foreign tour wholesalers, individual tourists, business travelers There two kinds of distribution channels in Ben Thanh Tourist:

 Sell and distribute these tours direct through its customers

 Sell and distribute these tours through retail travel agents

Besides the main function of inbound tour operator, Ben Thanh Tourist also handling some service such as:

 Outbound and domestic tour

 Hiring out automobile and other tourist transportation

 Applying for entry and exit visa

 Travel agent for Vietnam airline

 Booking accommodation, hotel, restaurant, discotheque

As Vietnam‘s economy is booming, thus standards of living are rising Consequently the need to reach higher quality standards of tours is becoming more demanding Travelers are increasingly expecting the high standards of service

The competition among tour companies in Hanoi is really strong In addition, travelers have a big choice of where to book their travel Some of them book via travel companies; others arrange all or part of their travel directly with service suppliers, i.e airlines, hotels, car-rental companies The emergence of on-line booking tools, on-line booking possibility via airline web pages where lower service charges are offered, also pose a threat to tour companies Unless Ben Thanh fined solutions how to retain the biggest corporate market share and meet its needs, big part of business may be lost

Recently international travel agency have required Ben Thanh Tourist to apply

a quality management system in accordance with ISO 9001: 2000 in order to ensure consistent high quality of service to their customer

Therefore the manager board decided to apply ISO 9001:2000 for its tour operation business It was note that if Ben Thanh Tourist determine precise its current status compared with ISO 9001:2000 requirements it would easily to implement a quality management system

2.2 Methodology

This chapter details the case study methodology used in this inquiry and explains the choice of qualitative methods to examine the problem of Ben Thanh Tourist‗s operation to assess related issues This chapter describes the type of design used in this study and the procedures used to collect data It also summarizes the data analysis procedure and documents the trustworthiness of the data

2.2.1 Research question

The problem appeared when develop a quality management in accordance with ISO 9001:2000 is to compare the current performances with the standards requirements, and identify the gaps existing between its performances and standards requirements Therefore, a descriptive case study was employed in order to examine the research questions relating to:

a) Quality management system

The objectives of research are to:

 Find out the evidence/ information that prove the Ben thanh tourist‘s quality management system is complient/uncomplient with the standard requirement

2.2.4 The Researchers Role

My role throughout this study was to reflect the truly and exactly activities and the result that Ben thanh tourist have done This also include some obstacles occurred during the research especially making report It is therefore the confidence, integrity, confidentiality and cooperation between the company and researcher play important role

2.2.5 Data Collection Procedures

Case study research relies on multiple sources of data to assure a complete picture of the issue being examined I utilized interviews, and document review and maintained a researcher‘s journal in order to identify the gap and issues of its operations because Yin (1994) states, ―case study inquiry [should] rely on multiple sources of data and investigate a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context‖ (p 13) Multiple sources of data not only increase a study‘s dependability, they also provide for analysis that involves systematic descriptive coding in order to identify themes or categories within the data

2.2.6 Interviews Procedures and Protocols

Interviews were the primary means of data collection in this study Stake (1995) explains that ―qualitative case study seldom proceeds as a survey with the same questions asked of each respondent; rather, each interviewee is expected to have had unique experiences, special stories to tell‖ (p 65) Procedures and protocols included utilizing yes-no questions in semi structured interviews senior manager Appendix C outlines the interview questions and prompts used to interview the manager

The list of questions were provided in advance and the manager were informed that interviews would take approximately few hours to complete, that his responses would remain confidential Interviews were held at Ben Thanh tourist Office Hanoi

A qualitative interview is different from everyday conversation in the following ways First it is a research tool and a good interviewer must prepare questions in advance, and later analyze and report results The interviewer guides the questions and focuses the study Good interview skills require practice and reflection Finally, beyond the acquisition of interview skills, interviewing is a philosophy of learning The interviewer becomes a student and then tries to get people to describe their experiences

in their own terms The results are imposed obligations on both sides The qualitative researcher determines what is important, what is ethical, and the completeness and accuracy of the results (Rubin & Rubin, 1995, p.2)

It was decided to contact the manager of Ben Thanh Tourist Hanoi Branch due

to the fact that he has been a senior managers of Ben Thanh Tourist Hanoi Branch since its established in 1990 and were contacted agreed to be interviewed and provided

a wealth of information as well as brought to light different perspectives Consequently, the senior manager‘s answers reflects the true current status of the Ben thanh Tourist

2.2.7 Data Analysis Procedures

This descriptive case study evaluates how effective and efficient Quality management of Ben thanh Tourist, looking into their current status, and compare its performance with the standard requirements in order to see how much of the quality process is assured and managed Data analysis involved systematic, descriptive coding

to identify themes or categories that emerged from the data collected I read through all the interview answer, observation notes, documentary analysis data, and journal notes

at least three times to immerse myself in the data Key phrases and thoughts were written in margins to assist me with developing themes, categories, and relationships in the data

These procedures allowed me to become more familiar with the data

In this study, primary data was collected Methods used to collect primary data are interview

An in-depth interview is characterized by its length, depth and structure Therefore, it suited to the study which demands to seek a better insight into Ben thanh Tourist operations to identify gaps between the standard ISO 9000:2000 requirements with its performances

The formulation of the interview question plays a vital role in the structure of the study and in ensuring a successful result These interview questions are based on the recommendations or requirements of ISO 9001-2000 In other word, all the ISO‘s requirements are transformed into the form of question PRAXIOM RESEARCH GROUP LIMITED has provided approach of interviewing referred as gap analysis: Each interview question has two possible answers: Yes, No A Yes answer means that the organization has already met one of ISO's requirements, a No answer points to a question No answers reveal gaps that exist between the ISO 9001: 2000 Standard and the organization's processes Whenever the answer No to a question, there are at least one of the organization's processes fails to meet an ISO 9001: 2000 requirement A No