Kagwiria, Clare Regina2013-08-272013-08-272013-08-27http://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/7109Customers are becoming more sophisticated, better informed and their expectations are growing. For any business, the only way to keep up is to offer a commitment to quality. The ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System standard introduces quality improvement into every aspect of a company's operation. Adoption of ISO 9001:2008 QMS is of great importance to organizations after certification. Organizations must endeavor to adopt quality management systems into their day to day activities in-order to obtain a competitive advantage in the market, increased effectiveness, improved efficiency, improved consistency of products and services, improved quality of products or services, reduction of waste: increased market share. Adoption of QMS in the day to day activities of an organization helps reduce the customer complaints which are in the rise due to failure to sustain the standards set out in the certification. However, many organizations find various challenges in adoption of QMS into their daily activities. The study analyzed the factors affecting adoption of ISO 9001 :2008 Quality Management Systems in selected public sector organizations. The specific objectives of the study included determining how role of top management, perceived benefits, employee training, and employee attitude and resource availability affects adoption of ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System. The study used descriptive research design. The total target population in three organizations was 150 from which a sample size of 60 was chosen using stratified sampling technique. Data (primary and secondary) was collected using questionnaires which was administered by drop and pick method and analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlation, while qualitative data was analyzed though content analysis. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) was used to aide analysis. The study found out that 'lac,~of top management commitment, failure to achieve the perceived benefits, inadequate -training, limited resources, and poor staff attitude contribute to the failure to successfully implement QMS in government institutions. It is therefore recommended that top management should spear head the implementation, provide adequate training and resources to improve staff attitude. The study found that perceived benefits can be realized only after the other four factors are fully achieved.enThesis