Editorial Review:
This study is the first academic analysis of national standardization organizations. The growing importance of consortia, and the shift from standardization at the national level towards the regional or international level, have prompted a discussion about the importance of national standardization organizations. Against this background, Henk de Vries analyzes the role of these organizations. The book aims to provide both practitioners and scholars with a better understanding of standardization. The introductory general chapters concern the concept of standards and standardization and depict the relevant organizations with special attention to the national standardization organizations and their portfolio of services. The book discusses the needs of users of standards in depth as well as the mechanisms that determine the market success of standards, the methods for standards development and standardization at a company level. The practical chapters, which alternate with the ones with a more theoretical focus, describe the case of standardization of management systems and the case of standardization in service sectors. The book is balanced with a fundamental analysis of how the national standardization organizations can meet the business needs of their customers.
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Customer Reviews
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Standardization - A Business Approach to the Role of Nationa 2000-03-06
This book is based on the author's considerable experience at Netherlands Normalisatie-Instituut (NNI) a National SDO (National Standardization Organization[NSO] is the term he offers) and at ISO and IEC, both international SDOs. Almost all of the book's wealth of analysis is applicable to any SDO. The first four chapters develop the concepts of standards, standardization, NSO and actors (the many different types of participants in the standardization process). Chapters 5-7 then expand on the details of NSO operation and services, and suggest areas where NSOs can improve. He develops the concept of a "co-producing customer" who participates in standards development and then purchases the resulting standard. The author discusses the process of standards development and the issues raised by the co-producing customer. In total, chapters 1-7 form Part A. The author is very knowledgeable and thorough and able to clearly analyze the standardization process. In Part B, the author rigorously provides analysis supporting the work in the first chapters and then expands into a number of areas of interest to an NSO or SDO: Improved systems to manage the development of standards, service standardization, propagation of standards, standards development methods and the idea of an SDO offering an outsourcing function to in-company standards departments. In each area, the author is meticulous in the development of the subject and provides a significant survey of the available literature and related concepts. He provides extensive references from English, Dutch, German and French sources. As extensive as this work is, it does not consider some important areas of NSO interest: The Internet is causing a major change in the way all SDOs develop and deploy standards. While this book notes the possibility that standards may become available on the Internet at no charge, it offers little suggestion of how NSOs will fund themselves, in such an event. It also notes the widespread use of independent document selling organizations (DSOs) to sell standards, but does not explore how the Internet will effect the NSO - DSO relationship. Coordinating the development of Internet standards with the development of communications standards is changing the way telecommunications SDOs operate. Coming from an ISO and IEC background, the author does not substantively address such issues of specific interest to telecommunications SDOs. This book provides a wealth of background ,detail and analysis of the NSO as it exists today. The book notes the decline in importance of NSOs as well as the rise of consortia, but does not provide guidance on how NSOs should respond. The growing problems with intellectual property rights in some NSOs is not addressed. In sum, the author develops and presents an academic and operational view of an NSO and its current issues and does not address the more market and legal oriented future issues of the NSO. In fairness to the author and the depth of material that has been provided, these omissions would be more acceptable if they were not so critical to the future of NSOs.
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