Abstract More than 95 percent of all the businesses around the globe are small- and medium-sized (International Organization for Standardization [ISO], 2016). However, the limited resources of small businesses represent a difficulty in implementing a quality management system (QMS) complied with ISO 9001:2015, which is many times demanded by the supply chain of these companies. The object of this research was to develop an artifact, named e-Qualifácil, to access the current stage of the small business’ QMS. Using the Design Science Research method, the artifact was built considering the seven guidelines of the Design Science and the five phases of research applied to development cycles of artifacts. e-Qualifácil was tested in three small businesses of discrete manufacturing. For each business, the artifact generated a prioritized list of activities that together represent an action plan for the adequacy of business’ process to the requirements of the ISO 9001 standard. In addition, the application process of the artifact pointed out the lack of leadership in planning, formalization and control of quality processes, and technical processes in general. Design Science Research showed up as a good option to include rigor in organizational interventions and a practical tool to strengthening knowledge dissemination.

Resumo A gestão estratégica de pessoas é um tema bastante estudado, enfatizando a relação entre políticas e práticas de gestão e outras variáveis organizacionais. A atuação dos atores organizacionais na gestão é pouco trabalhada, tornando o processo de implementação da gestão de pessoas pouco explorado. O estudo sobre a área de recursos humanos contribui para evidenciar uma lacuna na implementação, pois enfatiza o papel consultivo dos profissionais. Este trabalho objetiva analisar a atuação dos líderes como elo na gestão estratégica de pessoas por meio de reflexões sugeridas e pautadas em referencial teórico (gestão estratégica de pessoas, liderança e relações entre essas temáticas) e sugerir uma integração de modelos (liderança e gestão de pessoas) para suportar a evolução dos estudos. As quatro orientações do líder propostas por Yukl (2012), as definições de espaço organizacional de O'Reilly, Caldwell, Chatman, Lapiz e Self (2010), bem como o modelo tridimensional de Gratton e Truss (2003) e a proposta de papéis na gestão de pessoas de Ulrich (1997) podem ser base para a integração dos temas. Por meio deste artigo, pretende-se contribuir fornecendo sustentação para o desenvolvimento e o aprofundamento de estudos empíricos, além de endereçar uma lacuna sobre a temática da implementação na gestão estratégica de pessoas.

Abstract Strategic people management is a widely studied topic, emphasizing the relationship between management policies and practices and other organizational variables. The managerial roles of organizational actors have been scarcely researched, making the implementation process of people management little explored. The study of human resources contributes to show a gap in the implementation process, as it addresses the role of professional consultants. This work aims to analyze the performance of leaders as a link in strategic people management through reflections suggested and guided by theoretical framework (strategic people management, leadership and the relations between those themes) and suggests an integration of theoretical models (leadership and people management) to support the evolution of research. The four leader orientations proposed by Yukl (2012), the organizational spaces defined by O'Reilly, Caldwell, Chatman, Lapiz and Self (2010), as well as Gratton and Truss' (2003) three-dimensional model and the people management roles Ulrich (1997) suggests may serve as a base to integrate the themes. Through this article, we intend to contribute by providing support for the development and deepening of empirical studies, as well as address the topic of implementation in strategic management of people.