Documentational aspects of integrated management systems on the example of a plastics manufacturing company

Abstract

Due to increasing competitive pressures and growing and increasing sustainabilityoriented stakeholder requirements, companies are forced to shape business processes efficiently by integrating their management systems (MS). Previous research provided more general, theoretically based insights with a lack of practical relevance and links to the theoretical knowledge base. In contrast, this paper provides a comprehensive compilation of current research results that have been obtained on the basis of a literature review, and compares them with the integration processes and problems of a practical case study. The following five specific problem areas were identified: (1) Different objectives, (2) concentration of responsibilities on a few people, (3) limited information value of key figures, (4) low synchronization of documents, and (5) absence of a coherent information database. The documentation and IT support being influenced the most. Findings regarding documentational aspects of integrated management systems (IMS) are discussed in the context of the current state of research. The urgent need for further research efforts in this area is underlined.