Many education and health care organizations are using the Baldrige criteria to good effect. For example:
Why are categories in education and health care needed?
Since its creation in 1987, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award has played an important role in helping thousands of U.S. companies improve not only their products and services, their customers’ satisfaction, and their bottom line, but also their overall performance.
Now, organizations in other sectors vital to the U.S. economy—education and health care—are recognizing that the Baldrige Award’s tough performance excellence standards can help stimulate their improvement efforts as well. Just as it has for U.S. businesses, a Baldrige Award program can help these organizations improve performance and foster communication, sharing of “best practices,” and partnerships among schools, health care organizations, and businesses.
How are recipients selected?
Organizations that are headquartered in the United States may apply for the award. Applications for the award are evaluated by an independent Board of Examiners composed of primarily private-sector experts in quality and business. Examiners look for achievements and improvements in all seven categories. Organizations that pass an initial screening are visited by teams of examiners to verify information in the application and to clarify questions that come up during the review. Each applicant receives a written summary of strengths and areas for improvement in each area addressed by the criteria.
“The application and review process for the Baldrige Award is the best, most cost-effective and comprehensive business health audit you can get,” says Arnold Weimerskirch, former chair of the Baldrige Award panel of judges and vice president of quality, Honeywell, Inc.
Does quality pay?
Studies by NIST, universities, business organizations, and the U.S. General Accounting Office have found that investing in quality principles and performance excellence pays off in increased productivity, satisfied employees and customers, and improved profitability—both for customers and investors. For example, NIST has tracked a hypothetical stock investment in Baldrige Award winners and applicants receiving site visits. The studies have shown that these companies soundly outperform the Standard & Poor’s 500.
Is it tougher for small organizations to receive the award?
The Baldrige Award’s small business recipients have proven that any U.S. organization can improve by using the criteria’s performance excellence framework. But, given the importance of smaller businesses to the U.S. economy, NIST is mapping out ways to strengthen awareness of the award program and criteria among these organizations.
Can only U.S. organizations receive the award?
Any for-profit organization headquartered in the United States or its territories may apply for the award, including U.S. subunits of foreign companies.
Do the award criteria take into account an organization’s financial performance?
Yes. The criteria include many factors that contribute to financial performance, including business decisions and strategies that lead to better market performance, gains in market share, and customer retention and satisfaction. Organizations are urged to use financial information, including profit trends, in analyzing and reporting on improved overall performance and to look for the connection between the two.
Does the award amount to a product or service endorsement for the award recipients?
No. The award is given because an organization has shown it has an outstanding system for managing its products, services, human resources, and customer relationships. As part of the evaluation, an organization is asked to describe its system for assuring the quality of its goods and services. It also must supply information on quality improvement and customer satisfaction efforts and results. That does not mean that a recipient’s products or services are endorsed.
Why are the Baldrige Award recipients asked to share their successful strategies?
One of the main purposes of the award is to pass on information about the recipient’s performance excellence strategies that other organizations can tailor for their own needs. Representatives from the award recipients willingly have shared their organizations’ performance strategies and methods with thousands.
To what extent are they asked to share their strategies?
The managers of each recipient must decide how much time and effort to devote to activities such as speaking engagements and tours of facilities. The requirements of the award program are minimal. Recipients are asked to participate in the award’s annual conference and several co-sponsored regional conferences, to provide basic materials to those who request it on their organization’s performance strategies and methods, and to answer news media inquiries.
Do advertising and publicity diminish the image and prestige of the award?
The law establishing the award states that an award recipient may publicize its receipt of such award and use the award in its advertising. Promoting public and business awareness of quality improvement is one of the prime goals of the program, and advertising is one way to meet this goal. Guidelines help organizations assure their advertising is appropriate in representing their Baldrige Award recognition.
Are organizations simply chasing after the award and ignoring the lessons of performance improvement?
The perception by some that receiving the award is the goal of U.S. organizations is not supported by the facts. Says Earnest Deavenport, chairman and chief executive officer of Eastman Chemical Company, “Eastman, like other Baldrige Award winners, didn’t apply the concepts of total quality management to win an award. We did it to win customers. We did it to grow. We did it to prosper and to remain competitive in a world marketplace.” Thousands of organizations are using Baldrige Award performance excellence criteria to assess their organization and to improve. The program has helped to stimulate an amazing movement to improve U.S. organizations, including companies; academic institutions; and federal, state, and local government agencies.
If this is a federal government program, why are organizations charged a fee to apply?
Federal funding for this program is about $5 million annually and is used by NIST to manage the program. The application fees are charged to cover expenses associated with distribution and review of applications and development of feedback reports. The application and review process is considered to be a very cost-effective and comprehensive business health audit. For an application fee ranging from $5,000 for large organizations to $500 for non-profit education institutions, organizations receive at least 300 hours of review by a minimum of eight business and quality experts. Site-visited organizations receive over 1,000 hours of in-depth review. Every applicant receives an extensive feedback report highlighting strengths and areas to improve. An article in the Journal for Quality and Participation said, “The Baldrige feedback report is arguably the best bargain in consulting in America.”
May an organization hire a consultant to help prepare answers for the Baldrige application?
Applicants for the award are asked to supply facts and data to substantiate their claims concerning their management practices. Consultants, including members of the Board of Examiners, may provide services on performance management issues as well as the Baldrige Award process. However, since there are no secret answers or even right or wrong answers to the Baldrige application, the award cannot be received by hiring someone to fill in the blanks.
An organization must show through facts and data that it has a world-class management system in place and that it is continually looking for ways to improve.
As a final check before recommending recipients, members of the Board of Examiners visit the more outstanding candidates for the award. During these site visits, examiners interview employees and review pertinent records and data. The objective is to verify the information provided in the application and to answer questions raised during the board’s review. An organization that hired someone to fill out its application would never make it through this rigorous review if its performance management system was not supported by facts and data.
Is it a conflict of interest for members of the Board of Examiners to work as consultants?
No. Members of the Board of Examiners are experts in evaluating performance management systems. They are in demand as speakers, as information resources, and as consultants. These activities serve as a way to make more people aware of performance improvement techniques and the Baldrige Award.
However, since the examiners and judges on the board review applications for the award and are involved in recommending award recipients, precautions are taken to prevent a conflict of interest or even the appearance of conflict. Rigorous rules are followed at every stage of the review.
Primarily, this means all members of the board must abide by a code of ethics requiring, among other things, that they disclose all business affiliations that might create a conflict. In such cases, they cannot review an application, comment on it, or make any judgments that could affect it. It is a violation of the code for board members even to ask for information on applications other than those to which they are assigned.
Other safeguards and checks also are built into the four-step review process. For example, during the first step, each application is evaluated independently by at least eight different examiners. By the time the review is over, some applicants will have gone through over 1,000 hours of evaluation.
Is the number of applications for the award an indicator of interest about quality and the Baldrige Award?
The number of applicants for the national Baldrige Award is not an indicator of overall interest in quality or the award program. Interest continues to grow both nationwide and internationally.
For example, participation in state and local award programs has increased steadily. In 1991, fewer than 10 states had award programs. Now, 44 states have or are establishing award programs. Most are modeled after the Baldrige Award, and many organizations opt to compete for them first before considering a Baldrige Award application. Many of the Baldrige Award recipients also have won state quality awards.
Internationally, nearly 60 quality programs are in place. Most have been established within the past several years, and many are based on the Baldrige Award. In Japan, home of the Deming Prize, an award that closely resembles the Baldrige Award has been established.
Also, it is important to remember the award program is much more than a contest. While recognizing organizations that have successful performance management systems is the most visible part of the program, its intent is much broader. Equally important is the award’s role in raising awareness about quality by encouraging all U.S. businesses and organizations to set up performance improvement programs whether or not they intend, or are even eligible, to apply for the award.
How does the Baldrige Award differ from ISO 9000?
The purpose, content, and focus of the Baldrige Award and ISO 9000 are very different. The Baldrige Award was created by Congress in 1987 to enhance U.S. competitiveness. The award program promotes quality awareness, recognizes quality achievements of U.S. organizations, and provides a vehicle for sharing successful strategies. The Baldrige Award criteria focus on results and continuous improvement. They provide a framework for designing, implementing, and assessing a process for managing all business operations.
ISO 9000 is a series of five international standards published in 1987 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Geneva, Switzerland. Companies can use the standards to help determine what is needed to maintain an efficient quality conformance system. For example, the standards describe the need for an effective quality system, for ensuring that measuring and testing equipment is calibrated regularly and for maintaining an adequate record-keeping system. ISO 9000 registration determines whether a company complies with its own quality system.
Overall, ISO 9000 registration covers less than 10 percent of the Baldrige Award criteria.
Is the Baldrige Award a U.S. version of Japan’s Deming award?
The basic purposes of both awards are the same: to promote recognition of quality achievements and to raise awareness of the importance and techniques of quality improvement. However, the Baldrige Award:
Why was NIST selected by Congress to manage the award and what is the role of ASQ?
NIST is a non-regulatory agency of the Commerce Department’s Technology Administration. NIST develops and promotes measurements, standards, and technology to enhance productivity, facilitate trade, and improve the quality of life. NIST was selected by Congress to design and manage the award program because of its role in helping U.S. organizations compete, its world-renowned expertise in quality control and assurance, and its reputation as an impartial third party.
ASQ—the American Society for Quality—assists NIST with the application review process, preparation of award documents, publicity, and information transfer. ASQ is a professional, non-profit association serving more than 80,000 individual and 700 corporate members in the United States and 62 other nations.
1. Руководство (10 %). Оцениваются успехи высшего руководства (top management) в создании культуры качества внутри компании.
2. Информация и анализ (7,0 %). Оцениваются успехи компании в сборе и анализе информации и как эта информация используется для улучшения качества и в планировании качества работы.
3. Стратегия планирования качества (6 %). Оцениваются успехи компании в интеграции требовании потребителя для улучшения качества работы компании.
4. Человеческие ресурсы (15 %). Ревизорами изучается вопрос о том, насколько успешно компания вовлекает своих служащих в работу по улучшению качества и как их знания и опыт используются компанией.