Abstract
This study contributes to the field of Operations Management and the sub-field of small business management by investigating the application of the principles of ISO 9001:2015. It investigates the application of these principles in businesses that are non-accredited. Most previous studies on SMEs focus on Total Quality Management (TQM) whilst extraordinarily little research exists on the application of ISO 9001:2015. This research, therefore, expands on SMEs and the application of ISO 9001:2015 principles as a system of managing the quality of the enterprise. The study specifically shows how textile and clothing SMEs can adopt ISO 9001:2015 principles beyond their application of the system while non-accredited. The focus is on the Soweto-based Textile and Clothing SMEs. One hundred (100) questionnaires were distributed to SMEs, for owners and those employed in managerial roles by the Textile and Clothing SMEs in Soweto. The criteria used in the selection of these SMEs was that the business should have been operational for a minimum of two years. A random sample technique was used in this research to collect the relevant data. Seventy-three (73) of the respondents took part as co-operatives and were represented by one co-owner or employee each. The researcher used a random sampling selection from the list received from the Enactus database. Twenty-seven (27) respondents represented the sole owners. The researcher used a door-to-door approach to find these twenty-seven respondents. The findings of the questionnaire show that only 20% of SMEs had a process to monitor quality: 20% of the SME respondents were neutral:30% of respondents indicated that the SME respondents did not have any outline process to monitor the quality of all operations, and 30% of the SMEs were in strong disagreement with that notion. Township SMEs will benefit from applying ISO 9001:2015 in their businesses, as the application of ISO 9001:2015 principles will contribute to improving the Township SMEs systems by providing operations, which can enhance the overall business performance of township-based SMEs. Due to lack of financial ability for Township SMEs to fund the application of ISO 9001:2015, the Township SMEs will need to acquire funding for the accreditation of ISO 9001:2015, SMEs can apply for funding via government funding entities such as the Department of Small Business.
Keywords: SMEs, ISO 9001:2015; Total Quality Management (TQM), Textile Clothing, Soweto (South Africa)