Coevolução entre regulamentações governamentais e respostas organizacionais: estudo de caso sobre o setor de tratamento de água no Brasil

Abstract

The objective of this work was to analyze the coevolution between government regulations and the organizational responses of the water quality improvement sector in Brazil. The manufacturers of filters, residential water purifiers and drinking fountains represent this sector. The first equipment sold in the country for this purpose was the "clay filter", a Brazilian creation, which combined the clay jar produced by the indigenous people to the filtering device brought from Europe by immigrants. This technology was improved and new models have emerged to meet the needs of the population, who demanded appliances with a better design and cooling systems, as well as equipment that promoted better filtration. Until 1998, there was no regulation for this equipment. However, the disclosure in the media of the non-conformities of the products sold in the country, evidenced by INMETRO tests, made the manufacturers of the sector to seek the creation of technical standards and regulations with the responsible entities (ABNT and INMETRO, respectively) as an alternative for restoring confidence in the effectiveness of their products. This movement started in 1999 with the union of the main manufacturers, with the objective of organizing themselves in such a way that it was possible to achieve this purpose with agility and efficiency. Such actions resulted in the creation of ABNT standards and INMETRO ordinances, which changed the entire structure previously established. The main changes for manufacturers were the establishment of a Quality Management System imposed on manufacturers, who needed to adapt all their organizational and production processes, in addition to periodic audits and laboratory tests, which began to attest the quality and safety of production processes and products. The results showed that, on the one hand, these new requirements increased the quality of the devices, but, on the other, increased the costs of the industries, which, in turn, meant that only those manufacturers who had the capacity to invest in qualified personnel, organizational processes and improvement products remained on the market.