Improvement, Innovation, and Learning According to the ISO 9004 Management Maturity Model. A Case Study of Polish and Montenegrin Organisations

The aim of this research was to analyse the level of management maturity in Polish and Montenegrin organisations as well as to explore best practices in improvement, innovation, and learning (one of the key elements of the management maturity model). The self-assessment model used in the research was based on the ISO 9004:2009 maturity model. Four organisations were selected for the study: two Polish and two Montenegrin. In all the selected companies, the level of management maturity according to the ISO 9004 model was assessed as above average. The implementation and certification of international management standards allowed maturity to be assessed at the third level. A higher rank in management maturity requires additional improvements in the management system. The results of the analysis suggest that Polish organisations have more opportunities to raise funds for improvement and innovation. Both Polish companies are beneficiaries of EU funds. These funds play an important role in innovation and learning processes (e.g. e-learning programmes). In the Polish companies, the online staff training system is very popular and well assessed, and was recognised as the difference between the Polish and Montenegrin organisations. All the researched organisations emphasised the importance of staff training for management system improvement. The most significant difference between the Polish and Montenegrin organisations lies in innovation, which is more developed in the Polish companies.