LA SALUD ORAL DE IBAGUÉ EN LA RUTA DE LA COMPETITIVIDAD.

This paper is the product of the research project "Impact of associativity on the competitiveness of Latin American companies" and presents the result of the study on the level of competitiveness carried out in the oral health subsector of Ibague-Colombia, made descriptions of the behavior of the 71 variables contained in the management model for Colombian micro and small businesses, which are requirements for a company to be competitive. The study will learn that as a whole the companies in the oral health subsector have a medium-high level of competitiveness. It will also identify the way companies carry out their management, as well as the aspects that require intervention to improve their performance, and that serve as a basis for public institutions, related companies, trade union organizations, user organizations, academia and society in general to guide actions. to improve the level of competitiveness of this subsector. The research was quantitative with a descriptive approach and a deductive method. For the study, the health sector was linked based on the database provided by the Ibague Chamber of Commerce, and within the population of this sector, the oral health subsector was selected, with a population of 99 companies and a sample population of 58 companies. The objective of the study was to identify whether or not the companies in the subsector meet the requirements established for competitiveness in the technical quality standard of the Colombian Institute of Technical Standards.