ABSTRACT
In the last 50 years or so organizations have been encouraged to establish management systems to bring about predictability in performance and instil customers and regulators with confidence that they are doing the right things right. This chapter examines the different ways in which the terms management system and quality management system are explained in ISO documents and their implications. It discusses different type of systems and considers whether a QMS could be an abstract, physical or human activity system. The chapter also examines the nature of systems, including their purpose, key characteristics and their structure from different perspectives and summarizes the points made and constructs an operational definition for a QMS. An organization chart shows the division of labour and the chain of command either as a hierarchy or a matrix and may show the relationship between locations, divisions, departments and what work they do.
