Abstract:
This article deals with quality management as an aspect of business management. Quality management is analyzed in two opposing paradigmatic approaches. The first one is being the techno-economic universalism, which accepts that there is always one single "best way" to manage. Management is regarded as a purely technical process, allowing for its complete standardization. This approach is based on the popular international standard for quality management ISO9001. The second one is the social approach defining management as a form of human activity, aimed at achieving specific goals, and depending on a specific cultural environment. In the sociological perspective, "quality" is considered as a socially constructed convention, while quality management (an aspect of business management) - as a social process that can't be formally standardized.
