ISO 9000:2000 and the EFQM Excellence Model: Competition or co-operation?

With the publication of the Draft International Standard ISO 9000:2000 and the attempts to reposition it as a standard for quality management systems as opposed to merely quality assurance, the debate as to its place and contribution to business improvement and excellence has been rekindled. For some, the question asked is, having ensured my system is compliant with the new standard do I now need to bother with excellence models? For others, whose goal is excellence, the focus is more on the contribution the new standard can make to that journey. This paper examines the changes to both the Excellence model (April 1999) and the proposed ISO 9000 standard, in particular ISO 9001:2000, and seeks to answer both of those questions. It seeks to establish where there is common ground and where the diVerences exist in both purpose and detail.