Article Critique: An ISO1400 Series Certification in Mainland China
Introduction
For many years, industries have contributed to pollution in China. This is largely due to the fact China is an upcoming industrial powerhouse with greater GDP, and receiving more foreign investments than even United States. However, over the years Chinese authorities have made changes aimed at addressing the pressing issue of pollution. To achieve this, there has been increasing cases of adopting the ISO 1400 standards. The article established a correlation between the policy statements of 106 firms against the requirements contained in the ISO 1400 documents (Chung, Fryxell & Carlos, 2005). The article further analyzed various policy statements since they reflect the commitment of relevant firms towards environmental concerns. The formulation of such statements also includes expressly, the requirements as contained in the ISO1400 standards. This critique will reflect on the hypothesis, methodology, results, and conclusions drawn from the research.
Scope of the Article
The research points out that although China enjoys multiple growths in the GDP, resulting from industrial reforms, the country’s environment has deteriorated significantly. This alarming deterioration originates from large projects, increased public consumption, dependence on old technologies, and use of fossil fuel among other causes. In light of these environmental concerns, the government initiated several measures that saw reduction in energy wastage, urban pollution, and sewage disposal (Chung, Fryxell & Carlos, 2005). However, there is reluctance either on the side of the Chinese government or on the management of industrial facilities to reduce pollution.
The research investigated several hypotheses. These hypotheses connected nationality of registrars, commitment of top management to implementing policies, experience of various firms prior to certification, and the ownership of various facilities. The researcher postulated that these four elements have a strong bearing on the degree of conformity of a firm’s policy statements to the ISO 1400 certification requirements.
Evaluation of Research Methods
The study seeks to correlate the four hypotheses to the existence of ISO 1400 requirements within the policy statements of most firms interviewed. The research used a sample size of 106 companies. Firstly, the sample size is relatively small compared to the region covered. Secondly, there was a bias in the sampling as response only came from firms allied to local municipal bodies. Thirdly, the policy statements are theoretical expressions of the company’s culture with regard to a certain objective (Chung, Fryxell & Carlos, 2005). However, the actualization of the policy statement is dependent on the commitment of the facility managers and should have measurable parameters.
The ISO 1400 certification terms are liable to distortion since the audit firms use their own interpretations and relate such interpretations to the firm’s policy statements. These policy statements may not reflect commitments to the expectation of the researcher; they suit the taste of the audit firms. To better fit in the local environmental standards and interpretations, the researcher should have harmonized the ISO 1400 provisions with the prevailing interpretations in the Chinese audit system. The researcher assumed that explicit policy statements that conforms to the ISO 1400 series requirements directly implies that such policies are actually in practice. This may not be necessarily true.
The researcher concludes that conformance to ISO 14001 and ISO 14004 certifications falls short of expectations. This statement proves to be a contradiction since Chinese firms conformance to ISO 14004 requirements scores 1.65, which in the interpretation of correlation, shows strong conformance. However, the researcher terms this score as ‘rough adherence’, which in essence, is absurd. The only meaningful deduction touches on ISO 14001 series, which scores a poor 4.7. Nevertheless, from critical analysis, the items in ISO 14001 include preventing pollution, and complying with relevant legislation and regulations (Chung, Fryxell & Carlos, 2005). It is worth noting that these requirements are so fundamental that facilities that adhere to them may not score a dismal 4.7 in the ISO 14004 requirements. Furthermore, there is no evidence that supports such assertions.
With reference to theme of continual improvement, there is no evidence from the article that shows that Chinese certified firms are not meeting ISO 1400 series requirements on improvement. Clearly, improvements depend on better EMS. Furthermore, better EMS must conform to both ISO14001 and ISO 14004 requirements. According to Chung, Fryxell and Carlos (2005), Chinese ISO certified firms score well in ISO 14001 evaluation, and this certification broadly encompasses the requirements of ISO 14004(p. 469). This necessarily implies that they conform to the ISO certification theme of continual improvement. The researcher even echoes this sentiment by affirming that successful certification implies improvement in adherence to ISO 1400 series requirements (p.470).
The task of improving certification should start from the formation of a single body that offers ISO certifications. This body should be government-owned. The existence of different players and the commercialization of registration may lower the standards as various players compete for firms to certify (Chung, Fryxell & Carlos, 2005). Most industrial facilities may resort to domestic players, seeking possibility of manipulation. A single audit body will apply uniform standards with no possibility of bias. Moreover, by being a government body, the certification body will not be profit motivated.
Conclusion
The research fails in several dimensions such as linking results with the data, using reasonable sample size, applying uniform standards of assessment, and delving on the measurable achievements of the firms regarding reduction of pollution. However, it offers useful insight on the certification procedure, restructuring of certification bodies, and variable standards of assessments due to numerous players.
References
Chung, S., Fryxell, E., & Carlos, W. (2005). Corporate environmental policy statements in Mainland China: to what extent do they conform to ISO 14000 documentation? Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15902447.
Use the order calculator below and get started! Contact our live support team for any assistance or inquiry.
[order_calculator]