Muchemi, A. W.Bett, S. K.Korir, Geoffrey Kipngetich2013-02-192013-02-192013-02-19http://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/6365Department of Business Administration, 50p. The TS 156.6.K4 .K6 2011ISO 9000 Quality Management Systems Standards have been found to generate significant benefits, among them, increased productivity, quality and competitiveness, to organizations that implement it. Accordingly, ISO 9000 adoption has increased rapidly lately. However, the pace in the public sector has been relatively slow. This raises attention considering that public sector organizations are not only accountable to customers but also the citizens, elected representatives and government. Much research has been conducted on the experiences of organizations in other sectors in regard to the implementation, leaving out the public sector. This study sought to till the existing gap by establishing the challenges facing implementation of the ISO 9000 standards requirements among state corporations in Kenya with particular reference to the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) and its predecessors continue to face difficulties in recovery of loans advanced to students. The government allocates over 30% of its budget annually towards funding the education sector, a part of which is allocated to HELB. HELB attained its ISO Certification status in March, 2008, a period that was considered appropriate for the study. Specifically, the research focused on determining whether financial resources, training of personnel on ISO standards, level of staff support to the implementation process and commitment by top management present themselves as challenges at HELB. The results of the study are of use to public sector managers and ISO Certification bodies in terms of formulating the appropriate policies and actions that will facilitate easier adoption of the standards. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The target population was all the employees, including management, of HELB. Stratified random and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the subjects of the study. A sample size of 30% of the target population of 109 total employee size which translates to 32 subjects was taken for the study. Members of the ISO committee were deliberately singled out for the study before randomly picking out representative samples proportionately from each of the departments of the organization. Questionnaire was used as the data collection instrument. A response rate of 81% was attained which was credible for the investigation. The data obtained was analysed using SPSS and the results presented in form of graphs, tables and charts. The major findings of the study include the following: The organization doesn't consider financial resources as a major challenge since it got adequate financial allocation for implementation; there isn't a clear, regular and adequate training policy for the staff; Some of the staff were not prepared and involved in the introduction of the ISO 9000 standards; the senior management has demonstrated commitment to most of the responsibilities assigned by ISO's QMS and that a significant section of staff believe their superiors are not giving them adequate support. as they implement the standards. Based on the findings, this study recommends continued and sustainable funding of the QMS implementation; institute change management strategies; institute a feedback mechanism on the training policy in terms of content, form and frequency; Organize extra and specific training and benchmark visits for management to improve on the deficient areas identified and conduct an assessment on areas that staff need support from their superiors.enISO 9000 standard --KenyaQuality management --KenyaThesis