Malcolm Baldrige Criteria – A Business Excellence Model

2009 Excellence in Government Conference:
Who is Missing from the Party?

Are large scale system failures becoming more common, or are we just getting better at finding them? But does it matter? Look at the impact on all of us: broken financial and regulatory systems, inefficient health care systems, failing educational systems (only 71% of American eighth grade students graduate 4 years later with a high school diploma), accelerated job losses through off-shoring and industrial failures… we not only CAN do better, we MUST do better.

Which brings us to the 2009 Excellence in Government Conference held in Washington, DC, on October 5, 2009. Reviewing the online agenda (http://www.excelgov.com), amidst announcements that “experts are studying what is required for success in federal programs” and “the administration is focusing on technology to transform the federal government”, we found the following statement:

“The Obama administration issued a mandate for agencies to achieve a high performing workforce.”
A mandate? This seems to imply that there are organizations out there that do NOT want a high performing workforce.

We have a different view. A “high performing workforce” does not take a “mandate”. It takes knowledge, theory, discipline, and a system designed for success.

This is not a Democratic or Republican criticism. Every incoming administration mandates a new approach to performance management across the federal government and its 2.2 million employees.

We have done enough work in the public sector to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the systems and the people who work in these systems.

Which brings us to the central question: Where is Baldrige? Why are we about to embark on yet another cycle of “new” management initiatives when the federal government already has within it direct access to arguably the world’s finest performance excellence system, the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence? At the same time that world-class companies and government agencies around the world are achieving transcendent success through the Baldrige System, here is Washington, DC, Baldrige is a no-show at a conference ostensibly dedicated to excellence in government.

Interestingly, as we are writing this newsletter, the following announcement came into our inbox from the Arabian Business News:

“Using the Baldrige criteria, organizations assess their management systems to identify the strengths of their systems and the opportunities for improvement. This assessment, evaluation, and improvement process helps them embed the Baldrige core values in their cultures, leading to excellent results… We are about building better organizations and ensuring those organizations are prepared to go forward on the global stage. We envision the Middle East and North Africa region as a center of excellence that the rest of the world sets their standards by, not the other way around.”
(http://www.arabianbusiness.com/press_releases/detail/39697)

Were only this vision shared within our own government.

The lesson is clear. We in the Baldrige community are on our own. But we already know that. We will patiently ride out the “mandates” and “new” initiatives and stay focused on doing the best possible job we can every day, enlightened and empowered by the knowledge that a Baldrige-type process is not the easiest path to take, but it is the only enduring method for achieving long-term results that matter.

source: Global Insights. Global Performance Systems, Inc. http://gpsinc.us. Copyright 2003-2009 Craig Anderson. All rights reserved.

Malcolm Baldrige Award Criteria was developed into its respective seven categories. Each of these seven categories focus on a key process to achieve performance excellence.

The Malcolm baldrige Criteria emphasize on alignment of all these key processes. The Baldrige values and Concepts are build into the criteria to attain alignment of the seven categories yet without displaying the values and concepts specifically in the criteria itself.

The Malcolm Baldrige Criteria used to be revised on a yearly basis and has changed to a once in two years basis effective 2009 with the introduction of the Malcolm Baldrige Award Criteria 2009-2010 version. The Malcolm Badrige Award is given to the best organization of its respective award categories. Each award Applicant has to exhits the highest standards of Approach, Deployement of their key process in relation to the seven categories in the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria.

The effectiveness of the Approach and Deployement are assessed in the area of its Results. Hence, the Baldrige Award Assessment Approach took into consideration an aligned actions of the Approach, Deployement and Results of strategies, key actions and plan in the organization. Whenever a Baldrige Award Assessment is carried out to an applicant, the Baldrige Assessor will evaluate how well the values and concepts are being deployed as a way of life in the organization.

To be awarded the Malcolm Baldrige Award winners, the applicant has to show an holistic approach to all the seven cetegories as well as a high level of Implementing Malcolm Baldrige Award Criteria.

One way to provide information about the implementation of the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria is to provide an award application report to the Malcolm Baldrige Award authority which is used as a basis for Baldrige assessment.

NIST, the body which oversee the Malcolm Baldrige Award scheme announced in his webpage that Seventy apply for 2009 Malcolm Baldrige Award.

Seventy organizations have taken the first step toward the 2009 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest recognition for innovation and performance excellence. Applicants include two manufacturers, four service companies, five small businesses, nine educational organizations, 42 health care organizations and eight nonprofits/governmental organizations.

The 70 applicants will be evaluated rigorously by an independent board of examiners in seven areas: leadership; strategic planning; customer focus; measurement, analysis and knowledge management; workforce focus; process management; and results. Examiners provide each applicant with 300 to 1,000 hours of review and a detailed report on the organization’s strengths and opportunities for improvement

Source: http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/techbeat/tb2009_0602.htm#baldrige

From the response of so many organziations, it is obvious that they did it for good deed. First of all, they must have implemented the Malcolm Baldrige Award Criteria vigorously as the criteria is the basis for a Baldrige Assessment. Furthermore, these organizations knew that besides to be awarded the best in their category, they have to exhibit continuous improvement to the Malcolm Baldrige Award Criteria to keep current. They also knew that even they are not awarded the winner, the process of the assessment would bring valuable learning and experience for them to further enhance the implementation of the criteria. The Assessment Report granted at the end of an assessment is a valuable asset to the organizations.