omania is the ninth largest country of the EU by area [about 238,400 square kilometers (92,000 sq mi)] and has the seventh largest population of the EU (with over 19 million people 1 ). Its capital and largest city is Bucharest -the tenth largest city in the EU (with a population of around 2 million}.

"Romania joined NATO on 29 March 2004, the European Union on 1 January 2007 and is also a member of the Latin Union, of the Francophonie, the OSCE 2 , the WTO 3 , the BSE 4 and the United Nations." 5 Like for other former "socialist" countries, the transition of Romania to the functional free market economy, between years 1990-2000, included the transition of companies and of other organizations from State "Quality Control" towards the much more efficient "Quality Assurance" and "Total Quality Management" approaches.

The former "socialist" rule kept Romania isolated from the Western World for almost half a century (1945-1989).

Starting years `60, all Romanian industrial companies (large, medium and small -all Stateowned) Introduce the so-called State " Quality Control" as were obliged to expression of the Passive-Repressive Approach of Quality [4]. Its characteristics were the following:

1. Over 12,000 mandatory State national standards (called "State Standards" -STAS) 2. Legislation and rules implementing exclusively the State "Quality Control" According to the former legislation, all Romanian industrial companies were State owned and compelled to adopt, since their founding, the microeconomic "(Technical) Quality Control" approach. This was very frequently understood and achievedthanks mostly to the lack of resources -as only "Inspection" approach (also called "passive Quality Control" approach, without "corrective actions" and with few efficient "corrections"). The "Inspection" approachinvented in industrialized countries over a century agois considered today to be only the first step of all other more efficient "Quality Management" approaches (like "active Quality Control" or "Quality Control", "Quality Assurance", "Total Quality Management").

The "Quality Assurance" approach was implemented before 1989, in Romania, only in some very few companies, operating mainly in the nuclear, aeronautics, electronics and defence sectors.

The "Total Quality Management" approach models, principles and practices were, until years 2000, practically ignored in Romania.

Establishment and operation of central and local governmental agencies (the so-called "State General Quality Inspectorate" -IGSCCP 6 nicknamed "Quality Police") aimed to over-check manufactured products and .H to punish -especially financially -companies' staffs and employees found "guilty" for not having provided quality products.

Year 2015 ( )

These three above mentioned features characterized the so-called "Passive-Repressive Approach of Quality", a former State quality policy that was specific to Romania and to other centrally planned economies from Central and Eastern Europe as well as from Asia, during some decades (1960 -1990).

Many Romanian quality professionals do agree now that this approach came in Romania and in other ex-"socialist" countries from USSR (via GOSSTANDARD) that, in turn, imported it -after the Second World War -from USA. ("The US approach has historically been command-and-control oriented. This might be the result of a history of political and military management as a basis for business management." [4]. This situation was reflected in a negative way as well in the educational system as in creating a solid quality culture, especially regarding "prevention" versus "detection"/ "correction" attitudes and behaviours.

In December 1989, this Romanian authoritarian approach was abandoned and the "Quality Police" dismantled. But their counterproductive heritagesespecially at the level of people mentalities, attitudes, behaviours, etc. -still remained.

Cnsmca New but Ephemeral Governmental Agency which Drafted Romania's First New Laws and Government Decisions on Quality Matters

After 1990, like other Central and Eastern European countries, Romania was facing the great challenge of rapidly implementing and adjusting its accreditation and certification systems according to the EU Quality System as well as implementing quality standards and quality systems in its private and state owned companies. In order to cope with these objectives, starting years 1990-1992 and till 2006, new legislation was adopted and new infrastructures were established in the fields of standardization, certification, accreditation, metrology and consumers` protection. necessary legislative and institutional changes, compatible with democracy, free market economy and EEC policies [4]. During its only two years action, the CNSMC drafted over twenty Government Ordinances (GO) -future Laws -and Government Decisions (GD) on standardization, metrology, certification, accreditation and consumers` protection matters. The last one was a new concern in all emerging European democracies intending to become freemarket based "capitalist countries" with "consumer societies" 9 . These drafts attempted to start the harmonization of Romania's legislation, standards, structures and procedures with those existing in EC Member States.

In During the same year, after thorough documentation, some expert teams of CNSMC started to elaborate first drafts of Government Decisions and Laws. It was a difficult task because CNSMC's action domains -standardisation, metrology, quality and consumers' protection -were heterogeneous and full of innovations (in rapport with their levels of development in Romania before 1990).

Simultaneously, CNSMC supported the initiatives of some of its employees and collaborators aiming to establish new specialized non-governmental bodies. Thus, till the end of 1990, there were founded, for example, the Romanian Quality Association -ARC 10 , the Consumers' Protection Association -APC 11 , and the Network of Romanian Laboratories -RELAR 12 . Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, etc.which were nevertheless confronted with many quality challenges -"hoping" that the free-market will succeed alone to solve itself these problems!! In 1992, IRS, the Romanian Standardization Institute -one of the basic components of CNSMCsucceeded finally to translate, adopt and publish (even with 5 years delay!) the Romanian edition 19 of the first issue of ISO 9000 family standards. As it is worldwide largely known, this first international issue of these standards was published by ISO in 1987 but, till 1989, a Romanian version of these standards was informally banned in Romania, as being "unnecessary" 20 structures and, later, through practices).

IV. New Regulatory Frame and New Structures Dedicated to Trust/ Confidence Generation and Market Surveillance

After the dismantling of CNSMC in August 1992, during the following 23 years, some hundreds of small companies and non-governmental bodies dedicated to quality were created, in order to deal with certification, accreditation, education & training and consultancy in Quality Management matters, as well as in order to survey the market.

Meanwhile, some dozens of new basic regulatory measures were promulgated in the areas of quality assurance/ certification and of consumers' protection; the most important of them being the following:

-L No. 10/1995 -on buildings'/ constructions' quality -GD No. 629/1996on products quality assurance and their certification 19 The first Romanian edition of ISO 9000 standards (most "attractive" and "interesting" of them being ISO 8402 and ISO 9001 standards) was a trilingual (Romanian/ English/ French) publication, in order to facilitate the understanding of their somehow "unusual" content. All further Romanian editions of all ISO 9000 standards were published later only in RomanianH 20 According to some former IRS employees, the answer given in 1987 by one of the former Romanian Communist Party leaders at their official request to be allowed topublish a Romanian version of ISO 9000 standards was: "Comrades, there is no need to publish such standards in our country because we do not need <quality systems> inRomania, our <socialist system> being fully sufficient!". In addition, only in 1990 it became possible to re-establish the ISO FRPC 24 (Bucharest, Romania) promoted in Romania,

In an increasingly globalizing economy, the European Quality Policy -as it was conceived by the DG IIIB Directorate -was based on Quality Management concepts "that place individual at the center of every organization".

"Part of the European Commission's new industrial competitiveness initiatives, the European Quality Policy was developed to provide the humanistic component of Europe's competitiveness policy. It was designed in cooperation with the various stakeholders (including European and national quality organizations, trade associations, chambers of commerce and national authorities), to develop a favorable environment in which companies and public administrations in Europe aim to achieve excellence in terms of their outputs and internal organization for the benefit of society as a whole" 25 .

24 FRPC -Funda?ia Român? pentru Promovarea Calit??ii (The Romanian Foundation for Quality Promotion, www.frpc.ro)between years 1999-2002, the European Quality Policy, with the goal to prepare Romanian mentalities for Romania's accession, in 2007, in EU and CEE. 25

As such, it could and should be a logical step on the road, from conformity with safety regulations to competitiveness and business excellence, through Quality Management principles. [3], [4] The RFQP's project, financed by EU, included editing and distributing of two dozens of publications (books, leaflets, brochures) as well as some workshops and education & training actions.

Policy in Romania a) Romania -from "Inspection" and "Quality Control" approaches to "Quality Assurance" approach (Fig. 3)

Between years 1991-2006, in Romania were founded many hundreds of thousands of new private companies (mostly small or medium sized ones) and two thirds of existing State-owned companies (mostly large ones) were sold/ privatized or closed. Consequently, a lot of companies -mostly private but also some State-owned ones -tried to become profitable (and even competitive, especially on foreign markets), by adopting the "Quality Assurance" Approach (mainly through implementing a Quality Management System in conformity with ISO 9001 model's requirements), with or without certification. That was a first difficult step aimed to initiate the transition of Romanian industrial companies from "Inspection" to "Quality Control" and, further, to "Quality Assurance" approaches (Fig. 2) Even if, in 1989, the former State "Quality Control" was formally suppressed in Romania, its heritages are still alive (most important of these being the following: lack of financial resources, lack or insufficient managers' commitment for quality, lack or insufficient employees' motivation for quality, resistance/ reluctance to change, etc.). Here are, for example, some of today's most known Romanian myths on ISO 9000 standards:

? "ISO 9000 is a <product standard>"

? "ISO 9000 is an <authorization>"

? "ISO 9000 certification is compulsory"

? "ISO 9000 is to be implemented mainly within big industrial companies; therefore, it is not adequate for education providers"

? "There are no customers in higher education; therefore, it is nonsense to speak about <customers' requirements>, <fulfillment of customers' requirements> and <customers' satisfaction> within higher education."

In this way, in today's Romania, the quality is no longer the <State's problem> since it became the <everyone's business>! In addition, the former counter-productive bottom-line orientation of companies in quality matters was replaced by a general concern of all its employees for quality. In this connection it is noteworthy that Japan, a country once ridiculed for the poor quality of its exports, has become an economic superpower chiefly because it attained world leadership in quality of products. One of the actions it took to attain that leadership was the creation of a national award for high quality. b) From "Quality Assurance" approach to "Total Quality Management" approach (Fig. 3)

In 2000 -thank to a project 28 In February 2001, the first Romanian awarded companies were presented (by the former President of Romania Ion Iliescu). Before this event, Dr. Juran sent to the award winners the following message: "I have been informed by Dr. Dragulanescu that in November of this year there will be announced the first winners of the <J. M. Juran> Romanian Quality Award. In my view, this is an important forward step for the Romanian economy.

In this connection it is noteworthy that Japan, a country once ridiculed for the poor quality of its exports, has become an economic superpower chiefly because it attained world leadership in quality of products. One of the actions it took to attain that leadership was the creation of a national award for high quality.

26 ISO Survey 2011 (www.iso.ch) 27 According to ISO Survey 2013, in 2012 there were delivered worldwide 1.129.446 ISO 9001 certificates 28 The Terms of Reference (TOR) document was drafted by Nicolae Dragulanescu and Mihai V?leanu.

Many other nations have since created such awards. Their experience has demonstrated that the existence of a national quality award, plus publication of the criteria used to judge the merits of applications for the award, tend to stimulate companies to improve their own quality. Moreover, when one company in a specific industry receives such an award it stimulates other companies in that same industry to bring their quality up to the level of the award winner.

So it gives me much pleasure to congratulate this year's award winners and to extend to all Romanian institutions my best wishes for continued progress in improving quality, year after year." In addition, during these 25 years (1990 -2015), unfortunately and for many reasons, no Romanian organization became an EFQM Award finalist/winner (despite some very few "daring" candidatures and attempts!)?

1. Today's Romania has over 1.000,000 registered companies (mostly private, small and medium sized) which are striving to compete -within the Global Market -through their quality products/ services -by mplementing more efficient Quality Management approaches, like "Quality Assurance" and "Total Quality Management".