Methodologies, systems and techniques of management emerge for processes and products with increasing levels of complexity. Besides the well-known methodologies oriented to the management of quality and technology functions, new demands appear every day making the management function itself very complex. The certification of systems, on the other hand, is currently divided into two groups of international standards (ISO 9000 and ISO 14000) though they could be extended to encompass new demands. This move has its origins in the process of the internationalization of the economy and of global trade, supported by the WTO - (World Trade Organization) with its Technical Barriers on Trade Agreement. Extremely vigorous management systems have a strong metrological and standardization basis in all the models discussed in this article. In addition, such a basis has become non-trivial due to the replacement of metrological standards by fundamental chemical and physical constants. The standardization activity is also strongly affected by time reduction between the invention of the product and its entry in the market, which contributes to the obsolescence of the technical standards. In order to reconcile the different management approaches (Quality, Environment, Occupational Health and Industrial Safety, Technology, Marketing, Design, Knowledge, etc.) organizations must make an effort to find a Total Management model that represents their business strategies and boosts their competitive advantage.
metrology; standardization; conformity assessment; quality assurance systems certification; quality management; total management; basic industrial technology; global economy; competitive advantage