Integrated Management Systems

Introduction The aim of this thesis is to understand the concept of Integrated management system (IMS) and to examine its uses in the steel industry of India. IMS is a well known concept in the European countries and in USA and is keenly followed but in India it’s a relatively new concept. Thus in this thesis we analyze the extent of the integration of the different management system standards both in Indian context and also in international context. The introduction section of this thesis deals with the concept of Management system standards, its origin, evolution, its importance and the reasons why companies should adopt these concepts. The introduction is followed by research questions, the answers to which form the basis of this thesis report.

1.1 Management System Standards Management systems can be described as a framework used by an organization to setup policies, objectives and to attain those set objectives. There are a number of aspects to an organization’s structure like planning, resources, procedures and the responsibilities. These different aspects are covered by the management standards. Over the year’s management standard has been given a lot of definitions.
The British Standardization Institute (BSI) defines a standard as ‘An agreed way of doing something (BSI 2005).

According to ISO (The International Organization of Standardization) a ‘Management system standards provide the organization with a model to follow in setting up and operating the management system. This model incorporates the features on which experts in the field have reached a consensus as representing the international state of the art. A management system which follows the model or "conforms to the standard" - is built on a firm foundation of state-of-the-art practices ́ (ISO 2007c).
Respective definitions given by the BSI and ISO, helps us to understand the