ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the effects of introducing quality initiatives such as ISO 9000 (formerly BS 5750) and TQM (Total Quality Management) in ten large contracting firms.
The emphasis is to analyse the effectiveness of these initiatives on the main constituent of the ten firms-people. Quality has been implemented within the context of much hype with regard to its potency. It is our hope in this chapter to provide an insight into the difficulties that practitioners face, most particularly quality managers, in the introduction and maintenance of such initiatives.
