Relationship between clauses 4 and 6.1

You can see an introduction to clauses 4.1 and 4.2 in this free webinar on-demand - ISO 9001:2015 clause 4 - Context of the organization, interested parties, and scope - . 

In the same webinar, you can see a practical example of the relationship between clauses 4.1, 4.2, and 6.1. Let us present an example.

Consider an organization that determined its relevant internal and external issues. Among them let us focus our attention in four:

• 1.Work experience abroad (internal issue)
• 2.Low bargaining power (internal issue)
• 3.Increased public investment abroad (external issue)
• 4.Increased competition in the internal market (external issue) 

When you look into these issues you can start giving them your classification as positive or negative for the organization. According to that classification, you can call your issues “Strengths”, “Weaknesses”, “Opportunities” and “Threats”. Then, you can try to match “Strengths” with “Opportunities”, “Strengths” with “Threats”, “Weaknesses” with “Opportunities”, and “Weaknesses” with “Threats”. In the above example, something like:

• 1x3 - Let us use the experience of working abroad to take advantage of the increase in public investment abroad
• 1x4 - Let us use the experience of working abroad to escape the increased competition in the domestic market
• 2x3 - Let us use the experience of working abroad to compensate for our low bargaining power in the domestic market
• 2x4 - We have to avoid combining our low bargaining power with increased competition in the domestic market

Now, consider the “Capital owners” of the company as a relevant interested party. What are their relevant requirements and expectations? We can think of one of them as:

• A nice return on capital invested 

Anything that goes against this requirement is a risk, anything that goes for this requirement is an opportunity, and that is the realm of clause 6.1.

Consider also the following information:

• Free webinar on-demand – How to implement risk management in ISO 9001:2015 - https://advisera.com/9001academy/webinar/how-to-implement-risk-management-in-iso-90012015-free-webinar-on-demand//
• How to address risks and opportunities in ISO 9001: https://advisera.com/9001academy/blog/2016/06/21/how-to-address-risks-and-opportunities-in-iso-9001/
• How to identify risk significance in ISO 9001:2015 - https://advisera.com/9001academy/blog/2019/01/14/how-to-identify-risk-significance-in-iso-90012015/
• For a free preview of an example of the Registry of Key Risks and Opportunities - https://advisera.com/9001academy/documentation/registry-of-key-risks-and-opportunities/
• Enroll for free course - ISO 9001:2015 Foundations Course - https://advisera.com/training/iso-9001-foundations-course/
• Book - Discover ISO 9001:2015 Through Practical Examples - https://advisera.com/books/discover-iso-9001-2015-through-practical-examples/ (I use a lot of examples based on the risk-based approach)

many thanks for your support

Best Regards

Ramin