The world's first ISO 9001 certificate in public management was awarded in 1995 to the Canadian city of Saint-Augustine de Desmonres, with a population of 15,000, belonging to the Municipality of Quebec City. From that moment interest in the implementation of quality assurance systems in accordance with ISO standards as well as Total Quality Management (TQM) has been growing at all levels of public administration.

In Poland, the level of awareness of the possibilities of introducing quality assurance in local government structures is not encouraging. In many offices, inefficient communication processes, diffused operating procedures and poor contacts with local communities are rife. Poland's approaching accession to the European Union requires intensified work on the introduction of norms and models which prevail in the countries of Western Europe.

The Office of the Prime Minister has conducted the "Quality Management in Public Administration" program since 1999. This is a joint endeavor of the Project Umbrella and the Prime Minister's Office with financial support from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Implementation of standards
One can differentiate between two fundamental approaches to the introduction of the system among local governments:
- the system encompasses the entire organization
- the system encompasses only chosen divisions

The implementation of ISO standards in local government structures is affected by many factors. The commune and county administration offices are service-oriented, directed towards satisfying the needs and expectations of residents. This is why administration decisions, information and promotion should be treated as a public good, which should meet the highest quality standards.

The implementation process for ISO standards in local government administrations is composed of the same stages and activities as in the case of the introduction of quality assurance systems in a majority of service-oriented and production firms. One critical difference is that in the case of local governments a significant procedure is the need for comprehensive social consultation. The decision to introduce the system should be made in consultation with the commune, county and province councils. Experience to date has shown that the level of knowledge within the councils of the basic principles of quality management is not without significance.

The entire process may be divided into two stages. The first, preparatory stage involves:
- a decision about standard implementation
- the choice of a consulting firm
- defining quality policy
- the creation of a representative and team for the elaboration and implementation of the system
- modification of the existing organization structure
- normalization of previous documentation
- retraining of employees (including internal auditors).

Among the most important problems which arise during the preparation and implementation stages are:

- limited interest and involvement on the part of management
- a lack of awareness of the need for implementation of the system due to absence of familiarity with the themes and requirements of the standards
- expectations for a ready solution from the outside (resulting from, among other factors, an enlarged range of activity which does not correspond with greater financial rewards)
- an unwillingness to make decisions and take responsibility, traditional resistance to change, new development and the ability to work as part of a team
- concentrating on details and not on the goal and the manner in which it is achieved resulting from difficulty in presenting the process as a "procedural map"
- an excess of formalities in systemic documentation, identified with an excess of bureaucracy which, as a result of the successful introduction of the system, should be eliminated.

What is the product?

In quality management, a particularly important task is to define the product. We must answer two questions:
- What is the product of our organization?
- Who is the receiver of our services and product?

In accordance with ISO 9001:2000 standards, the term product can also imply a "service." Therefore, we can also speak of the product of a local government organization. We accept that the term "service" applies to so-called intangible products. A tourist trip, a play, ballet, or a sports event are all examples of widely understood services-in this case always intangible. There is also a service that produces a tangible good, such as shoe repair, sewing, bookbinding, etc..

The services provided by public administration offices can be divided into:
- intangible (information, promotion)
- intangible, but having a definite influence on the creation of tangible goods, such as a decision in the field of construction law, or tangibles from a limited field-an identity card, passport, or fishing license.

The term product is sometimes only associated with a tangible item. In a marketing sense, a product is an accumulation of profit (utility, pleasure) for the buyer. Consequently, it may be any tangible thing, tangible or intangible service, favor, idea or symbol. A service, however, is an activity that serves to satisfy human needs which are not manifested as material goods. Self-analysis by local government administration structures confirms that even the best Polish offices (in terms of quality assurance implementation) have problems related to definition.

One office states that its products and services encompass:

- local roads, streets, bridges and squares
- communal forests and green areas
- social assistance, including welfare centers and institutions
- public order and fire security

Other offices believe that a product may be information, decisions, administrative services or promotions. Is an administrative service, therefore, not a type of information as well, since information can satisfy our needs? Conceptualizing a product through the prism of local government tasks is a frequently repeated mistake, when in reality a task is not the same as a product, but on the other hand, realization of a task is connected with possible benefits.
Aside from differences in interpretation we must acknowledge that the products of an office's activity are:

- administrative decisions along with the consequences they entail
- promotion (for example, promotion of the city may bring definite benefits in the future)
- information
- results of administrative services (for example, completed road construction, clean streets, a feeling of safety, and so on).

Product quality and the customer service office

In many local governments in Poland, the process of perfecting quality service by the establishment of a customer service office has already begun.

Experience to date has shown that customer service offices are "customer service" in name only. They play the role of a de facto information office for clients, which is a fundamental difference. A properly organized office should become the place where an accumulation of "entry" and "exit" processes, realized internally by the organization (office), takes place. The staff member within a customer service office should:

- handle relevant resources-for example, the applications which are necessary for the undertaking of an administrative decision
- process resources-arrange all the formalities in the office, execute those tasks which in a traditional office would be undertaken for the client
- provide the client with processed resources-offer a ready product

The client is not interested in what happens to their documents inside the office. Instead, their role is limited to submitting the necessary elements of the product and picking up the final product.
Second, customer service offices may be very dangerous for quality service. Their very establishment may create the impression that only the workers of "that" office are responsible for quality, and not all of the employees. Many decision makers forget this truth and believe that the customer service office is a panacea for any organizational shortcomings.

It seems, however, that implementation of ISO standards in Polish organizations, not only local government structures, is progressing too slowly. The real value of services in public administration offices will only be achieved after new methods and philosophy are introduced. These include:

- re-engineering methods applicable to service of external clients
- knowledge management
- TQM philosophy.

At this time it is necessary to remove limiting regulations (including official bylaws and countless legal acts) and introduce the methods and techniques of managing human resources. ISO standards and quality assurance systems resulting from their application are merely one tool of quality management.

Marek Bugdol

(The author is a professor at Opole University)