Organizations as responsible contributors to society: Linking quality, sustainability and accountability

Organizations have become the most powerful institutions in contemporary society; we no longer have 'organizations in society' but rather 'a society of organizations'. This implies critical examination of their role until now. Three movements - developed to address different concerns - are indicating a trend towards this examination: total quality management, sustainability and accountability. Taken together, an underlying 'quest for quality' becomes visible towards what is herein called 'modern quality management'.