Context of the Organization-ISO9001:2015

So, this is true for 95% of organizations out there. How can it be your organization's context? It's like most organization's quality policy: "To meet or exceed customers expectations". It can't be everyones!

I suspect that, given a good understanding of interested parties and external and internal issues, defining the context of the organization is going to be a lot more than such a simple statement!

 

I would not want to work with or for an organization whose vision was "To sell a quality product at a fair price." It lacks heart, soul, and...well...vision. Vision is about the future...or to serve as a reminder as to WHY your organization exists.

As an example, a friend of mine works in the field of bus manufacturing. His organization's vision to be a world leader in bus building or something to that effect. Yawn! Not very inspiring. Not very visionary. I felt no inclination to work for him or buy from him. So then we discussed WHY buses...why build buses?...why build better buses...why did it matter if his organization was a world leader? And while we never fully landed on it, our initial vision was something to effect of "We promote a transit lifestyle and enable communities grow closer." Hey...it's a draft. But think about it. Taking public transit is a lifestyle. People who take public transit spend a good portion of their day in a completely different environment than those who take their cars. And, as communities grow, public transit can keep the community together...it ties one side of the city to the other. THAT's a vision.

Putting all the touchy-feely stuff aside, what makes your organization the one to determine (a) the product is quality and (b) it is a fair price?

Context is like introducing someone special. Let's say we're at a party and I want to introduce you to one of my friends. Do I introduce you like, "Hi, this is Jamie and he sells a quality product at a fair price"? I really haven't said much about you at all...such as the type of product or where or what makes your product stand out. Context is like a short bio...like what you see on the backs of books about the authors.

"Hi, this is Jamie. His organization has been making XXX since ####. Using continual improvement, his organization continues to lead the way in providing XXX that not only meet contractual and regulatory requirements, but also seeks out and develops cost-saving approaches to processes involved in the manufacturing of XXX."

Hardly perfect, but now we're getting somewhere with putting your organization in context and making it sound a like dynamic system.