Stevani N.

Mottoh 110613170/ D class ISO 9000 is family of related, auditable, international standards and supplementary guidelines on quality management and quality assurance. First punlished in 1987 (and continually update) by the International Standards Organization (ISO), these standards are not specific to any industry or product (good or service) but are nearly universally applicable and recognized. ISO 14000 is a series of environmental management stabdards developed and published by the International Organization for standardization for organizations. The ISO 14000 standards provide a guideline or frame work for organizations that need to systematize and improve their enviromental management efforts. Leading by example : Local goverment in Japan adopts ISO 14000 and ISO 9000, Funds SME implementation. Drawing on recent surveys of local goverment in Japan, author Kazuchiko Mizumo, President on the Japan Quality Institute, reports on the rapid adoption of ISO 14000, and subsquently ISO 9000, by goverment entities eager to bring about fiscal and organizational to reforms in the wake of the bursting of the bubble economy and their wilingness to help support similary rapid implementation of the ISO management system in the small to medium entrepise sector. Barely a year after publication of ISO 14001 in 1997, one japanese local goverment had already achieved the first public entity certification . About JQAI ( Japan Quality Assurance Institute ) of which MMr. Kazuhiko Mizumo, is President was established in December 1994 by 12 leading in Japanese companies- including manufactures , banks and insurances companies , to promote international standards , particularly ISO 9000 and ISO14000 as a foundation for a global market. JQAIS activiies include survey and reserach, the organization of training and lecture and development of guidance material. The current status of ISO 9000 and ISO 14001 certification among japanese public entities in terms of population size as well as the administartive classfication described above. Perefctures range widely in population from Tokyo, with more than 12 milion residents, to those with less than one milion inhabitants. The 12 cities designated by cabinet order have, by and large, population of over one milion people. Each prefecture has 10 to 40 cities, and range from around 10 thousand to over one milion people. Towns and Villange average some 40 thousand people. Margers between in the next two to three years. Local goverment of more than half of the perfectures and cabinet order designed cities have already benn ISO 14001- certified. Howevr only 20 local goverment have earned ISO 9000 certification, none of which are perfectures or cabinet order designed cities. Cities , towns and villange outnumber larger entities . expect Mie Perfecture in Central Japan, with six certification (earned by affiliated organization, rather than the head office). Altough premature to discuss the relationship between population size and ISO 9000 certification, it seems that smaller local government authorities are leading the way. The speed at which the heads of govermnet or organization make decisions appears to influnce ISO 9000 implementation