# Management System Standards 'Management Systems' are formalised approaches that are intended to be used to help achieve an objective by pulling together and connecting the processes and procedures, controls, and intentions of an interested party into a coherent and planned system. The need for them may arise over time as an organisation blossoms into a chaotic and disconnected set of parties and procedures, or they can be planned and brought into being as the inception of a new project or set of intentions. Anywhere you see the need for one-to-many or many-to-many relationships that relate to achieving objectives that sit outside a perfectly shared objective (something that is quite difficult to achieve), a management system is going to be useful. They come in all shapes and sizes and depend greatly on the size and complexity of the organisation that is trying to use one. In smaller organisations it may well be fine having a well intentioned and communicative leader - who is able to consistently manage and communicate with contributors to the effect of keeping on track with the determined objective. In larger organisations with competing sub-objectives, delegation, and employees who have an economically founded relationship to their work that takes primacy over the achievement of organisational objectives, a management system would include controls and communications that sit as 'organisational knowledge' - that is, resides in a body of knowledge that forms the basis of roles and responsibilities at work. Organisations that work in regulated sectors may also need to keep account of extensive controls and documents in order to meet with obligations that arise from regulation. [[ISO]] produce management system standards (MSS), which aim to produce repeatable steps that can be conformed with to implement, maintain, and continuously improve a management system. Not only this, but the creation of a standard produces interoperability between subject matter experts, which drives the total cost of expertise and competence down, and is a merit good for society. Profit driven stakeholders also see benefits internally, as management standards make recruitment for roles easier, allows for more efficient allocation of resources and better long term financial performance, as well as an improvement to risk management. There are over 80 MSS's, with 'Type A' MSS containing **requirements** against which an organisation can claim conformance, and 'Type B' MSS not containing these requirements. This means you'll find guidelines and recommendations in Type B's. Management System Standards also benefit from a [[Harmonised Structure]], where standards are structured in the same way regardless of the domain of interest. This is why I - a technologist with a love for ISO 27001, feel comfortable reading through the standard for ISO 34101-1:2019, Sustainable and traceable cocoa beans - Part 1.