Commitment to quality

Our interlocutor on the subject of the standard is Prof. Milan J. Perović, Ph.D. who has contributed greatly with his rich theoretical knowledge and experience in faculties and in the economy, as well as in European companies, to his innovative projects in the development of the system in many companies.  He is the author of nine books and two monographs, over two hundred scientific and professional papers and authoritative projects in the field of informatics, management and quality.  He is one of the founders of the Center for Quality and is responsible for its connection with the economy and international scientific and research institutions. Prof. Milan J. Perović, PhD in addition to huge number of awards is this year's winner of the AMCG Lifetime Achievement Award, and several years ago, he received the Award of the Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro and the title of professor emeritus.  

Prof. Milan J. Perović, Ph.D. photo by: AMM

Quality standards

Standards and standardization are symbols – tools and processes of order and organization of the society as a whole. Developing order and organization, standards develop trust, respect, and communication, which are a prerequisite for every business, cultural and political connection, as well as for inclusion and integration. An important requirement for European integration is the acceptance of at least 80% of European standards. Words standards, quality and management are often abused in Montenegro and the surrounding. In a large and diverse network of international and European standards, significant position as regards the number, and especially as regards importance, belongs to organizational or management standards. Management standards define requests and principles of the quality management. The specialty of these standards is in the nature of a service where, unlike products that change the owner when sold, the service depends on the provider from one side and the service user on the other.  Quality management standards give priority to the value of the spiritual side of the services in relation to the material component. Service activities, with special emphasis on education, culture, tourism, travel, leisure and entertainment, are important segments of quality of life. The quality of services depends on the service provider and its commitment to users, but also on the awareness of a user that he/she influences the quality of the service consumed.

Photo by: AMM

Standards in culture and tourism

Standards in tourism help to regulate the elements and contents of a tourist offer, that is, a tourist product. All standards, both technically and administratively, affect culture and tourism, but there are standards that regulate this matter in particular: international (ISO), European (EEN) and Montenegrin (MEST). Standards help us save others from ourselves, which is the basis for dialogue in the function of connecting and developing of cultures. If culture does not communicate and exchange values with other cultures, it closes in itself and disappears. National standards are adopted by the Institute for Standardization of Montenegro and they define the responsibility, ways of keeping, nurturing and improving the existing state of culture, which still depends on the application of other standards related to education, environment, social responsibility, risk management and other standards. The cultural environment of a tourist destination consists of cultural institutions, material and non-material cultural heritage, living culture and population as the bearer of cultural characteristics. Because of this, tourism follows not only the indicated standards, but also standards related to services. Standards enhance organization and guarantee an organized approach to managing processes that are in service to meet the needs of service users. The quality of the organization of a tourist destination is reflected in hotels that are regulated by the application of several standards: standards of the quality management system, environmental protection, food safety; standards specialized for hotels, tourism, travel and others.  The tourist offer and the population of a particular destination that has the characteristics of the deposited cultural assets are the basis for the development of tourism based on culture, that is, cultural tourism. Organization means recognizing the needs of tourists, their culture, demands and expectations, and on that basis engaging all employees in tourism, as well as the local population who will introduce them to the culture of the destination, at the same time to approach the culture of tourists and fulfill their requirements and expectations. People do not have to agree fully with regard to their stances, but they have to discuss this disagreement with norms that will determine the rules that apply to all. We need to know what are the demands and expectations of the users of our services, customers. We make the tourists acquainted with our culture and look for common elements approaching their expectations.  

The basic capital of the employed in tourism is knowledge, ability to evaluate, assess and other skills based on courtesy, attentiveness and professionalism. Tourism workers are the workers of feelings, they have to transfer to the guest something more than the demands, and even than the expectations. Owners of a process in a hotel and a tourist together create a service in a particular environment. It is illogical that we create together with our hairdresser a hairstyle and not to create a service with a tourist who will stay there for days and from whom we live. That is why it is of particular importance to improve the knowledge and skills of employees, so that everyone is engaged in that process, because only all of them together can establish quality and organize the system, and only one can spoil it all.  By introducing standards that are developed on the basis of the best world experiences, we contribute to the quality of the tourist product and increase the competitiveness of the tourist destination.

System of responsibility

Responsibility is created by transferring tasks from senior to lower levels of management, but responsibility is not transferred, but the task bearer is assigned a new responsibility for the part of the job handed over. Responsibility in the true sense of the word means that the employee has become the owner of the process and the owner of the risk, to carry out his tasks in the best way by bringing good to himself, his organization and his country. Good workers at their workplaces, good farmers, good students, good professors, good doctors, as well as employees in the public administration, constantly confirm and nurture patriotism and work-based culture. In the world's major hotel chains, tourist workers work for eleven months and one month they rest, although the tourist season lasts only six or seven months. At least two months are dedicated to acquiring new knowledge and skills, including culture and tradition, and the rest of the time they are engaged in maintaining the hotel and preparing a new tourist season. You cannot live for a year from three months of work, what's the situation with us. It is impossible to advance with a system established twenty or fifty years ago. It is necessary to build quality systemic approaches at the state level that are in line with the approaches of developed countries. The collective agreement should include training of employees as well as the assessment and efficiency of these training. When everything is systematically defined, standards are a method to apply this in practice. We are a small system with small needs that has its advantages and disadvantages. A huge disadvantage of our system is the one that we hide the problems. In order to cope with challenges, it is necessary to face deficiencies and mistakes at all levels, as well as clear definition and measurability of goals. When there are measurable goals, not only at the level of hotel management, but at all levels and when they are communicated, they are discussed, then training of the staff is introduced to make them know what a customer expects from them and how to fulfill that expectation. In addition to the necessary knowledge, employees need to improve their skills and advance by increasing their influence in the company to the level where the employer cannot do without him, and then he/she is the owner of the process.  

The owner of the organization must be surrounded by people who know at least as much as he knows and even more, if he wants his organization to last. We must have the stability of both the organization and the state. We create an organization as well as culture for years, decades, and we constantly pile up what we create and upgrade one onto another and thus we build the house. In order to achieve a certain state of progress, great integration is needed. Adizes says that "success is a relationship of external integration and internal disintegration", thus the success depends on the level of internal disintegration. In order to reduce the internal disintegration to a minimum, if we want to improve something within the organization, we need to train the staff to coax and retain the customer, then retain and raise his demands and wishes in order to have more work and, therefore, a higher income.  Every employee needs to know what his customer is looking for and what he or she does should be adjusted to meeting the needs of a customer.