By definition, management review is a formal meeting of top management with the purpose of reviewing and evaluating the effectiveness of the quality management system. Yes, I know, it sounds like another humdrum status report meeting. And unfortunately, that is the way it is viewed and conducted by many organizations. Management review is too often regarded as something to check off the list in order to satisfy a standard or an auditor. I must admit, when I first started holding management reviews, I shared that view. I would diligently set my agenda to include all of the required items; then I would simply steamroll through them. I’d write my report, file it away, and then proudly present it to the next auditor to examine. As a result, nothing was really gained and much valuable time was lost.
