The first TQM tool is the Statistical Process Control (SPC). SPC is a statistical method through which managers can control the production or the service delivery process, in order to make shifts attempting to improve it (Goetsch & Davis, 1994). As Dale and Oakland (1991) argue the basic objective of SPC is to reduce variation, which is inherent in many processes. SPC is one of the most well-known management methods.
The second technical aspect of TQM is the ISO 9000 Series. The International Standards Organization (ISO) 9000 is perhaps the most popular quality improvement system. It is an international set of documents widely known as standards written by a worldwide organization known as the ISO/Technical Committee 176 (Lamprecht, 1992). This set of standards ensures that a company has a specific quality improvement policy, which makes it more competitive in the market. This aspect of competitiveness is one that makes ISO 9000 very popular among Greek firms (Tsiotras & Gotzamani, 1996; Vouzas, 1997).