The management manual in the past and today
The previous version of ISO 9001:2015 (i.e. ISO 9001:2008) still explicitly required the creation and maintenance of such a manual in chapter 4.2.2. It had to contain the scope and possible exclusions, as well as the documented procedures established for the QMS, as it was still called at that time, or references to them; a description of how and to what extent the processes of the QMS interact with each other was also required.
Quite a few companies that today keep - or rather "publish" - a so-called management handbook use it more in the manner of an information or even advertising brochure. They use it to present their company, their "policy", their "philosophy" and, above all, their fundamental approach to their management system. By doing so, companies intend to show a certain transparency to their interested parties and to create trust.
These management manuals are often based on the structure of the respective standard, i.e. on the chapters that define the common basic structure of all ISO management system standards (High Level Structure / HLS). However, some are somewhat offset from the official chapter numbering of the standards, which sometimes demands increased attention from the reader.
However, this type of management manual does not contain documented information in the narrower sense of the standard. This is not surprising, because documented information usually contains a great deal of internal information and confidential details that you would not want to find on the Internet or anywhere else. The management manuals of the newer kind therefore mainly serve the purpose of external presentation. Customers or business partners can use the descriptions to see to some extent which approaches characterize a company, and also how mature and effective a management system might be.
Another benefit of such management manuals is their information structure, which is designed to provide an overview and also generates an internal benefit. This is especially true for new employees, who can thus get an initial picture of the process landscape of the management system and the internal and external issues along with the interested parties of a company - a good way to get to know and understand the context of the new employer.
Companies today typically use software either purchased or developed in-house that provides access to documented information via the intranet. However, as far as the respective rights regarding the creation, maintenance and storage of documented information are concerned, nothing has changed significantly. However, the concrete approach differs from company to company. In any case, it must be ensured that employees have (at least informative) access to the area relevant to them at all times.
Whether relevant documented information is also available in paper format (in folders!) in times of advancing digitalization is a decision for each company, and possibly also for each department - it is not "forbidden"!
Conclusion
The (quality) management manual once started as a standard requirement of ISO 9001, where it was the central medium for documentation up to and including ISO 9001:2008. Since the major revision of 2015, the management manual is no longer explicitly required, but has embarked on a new career as an information and marketing brochure - albeit without confidential internal information.
Externally, it provides customers and business partners with information about the general approach and structure of the management system, which is intended to ensure transparency and trust. Internally, new employees in particular are grateful for the informative overview of the management system, including the company's internal and external topics. Here, the new function of the management handbook greatly facilitates "getting to know and understanding the context of the organization", as required in unison in chapter 4.1 of the ISO management system standards.
Documented information, as documentation has been called since the introduction of the common basic structure in 2012, now takes place mostly with the aid of electronic media, and the relevant information can usually be viewed by authorized persons via the intranet.
