The literature suggests that the benefits of implementing a business management system (BMS) are mixed. While reported benefits include improved work quality and effectiveness and reduction in operating costs, formal certification is seen as a costly and bureaucratic process. This paper describes a project in which an Australian software development firm implemented an information technology (IT)-supported BMS to gain ISO 9001 certification. Survey data was gathered before and after the

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... tation process to measure the changes brought by the implementation. This paper focuses especially on the analysis of organisational culture. The results indicate that a BMS may have little obvious or immediate human benefit in small organisations or in organisations where a satisfactory work environment already exists. The major benefit may lie in the use of a BMS as a tool to review systematically critical aspects of a business, thereby reducing the risk of business errors.