A management system describes the set of procedures an organization needs to follow in order to meet its objectives.

In a small organization there may not be an official system, just ‘our way of doing things’. Often ‘our way of doing things’ is not written down, instead it is in the head of the staff. However, the larger the organization the more likely it is that there are written instructions about how things are done. This makes sure that nothing is left out and that everyone is clear about who needs to do what, when and how. When an organization systemizes how it does things, this is known as a management system.

Management system standards

Some of ISO’s most well-known standards are management system standards. They provide a model to follow when setting up and operating a management system. Like all ISO standards, they are the result of international, expert consensus. Therefore, by implementing a management system standard, organizations can benefit from global management experience and good practice.

These standards can be applied to any organisation, large or small, whatever its product or service and regardless of its sector of activity.

An effective management system has many benefits including:

• more efficient resource use
• improved risk management, and
• increased customer satisfaction as services and products consistently deliver what they promise.

Continual improvement

All ISO's management system standards are based on the principle of continual improvement. An organization or company assesses its current situation, fixes objectives and develops policy, implements actions to meet these objectives and then measures the results. With this information the effectiveness of the policy, and the actions taken to achieve it, can be continually reviewed and improved.

Audits

Audits are a vital part of ISO's management system approach as they enable the company or organization to check how far their achievements meet their objectives. External audits also play a role in showing conformity to the standard.

In order to help the auditing of these standards, particularly for companies implementing more than one management system standard, ISO has released ISO 19011:2011. This standard provides specific guidance on internal and external management system audits.