The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Improvement Act
The establishment of the Malcolm Baldridge Quality improvement Act took place in 1987 with the objective of inspiring quality appreciation and invention. It also aimed to make known to U.S. companies; the accomplishment strategies attributed to such quality and invention. In the early and mid 1980s, there was a need for US companies to implement quality performance so as to gain a competitive advantage in the various industries. However, many of the companies in those industries did not know about quality control implementation. Consequently, this led to the establishment of the Baldrige Award to enhance quality control in an effort to help U.S. companies attain a world-class rank.
The Baldridge Award appreciates U.S. companies with accomplishments in quality and business performance. During the award ceremony, there is the possibility of giving two awards in categories that include; manufacturing companies or subsidiaries, service providing companies or subsidiaries, and small businesses. If companies do not attain the high standards of the Malcolm Award Program, there may be fewer than two awards in any category. The criteria for awarding the Baldridge Award revolve around core values and concepts which provide the framework on which companies can use to evaluate their overall performance. The criteria also aim to enhance competitiveness among the companies.
Companies submit their applications and an expert Board of Examiners from different industry professions evaluates the applications. The examiners base their judgments on achievements and improvements in all core values and concepts. Companies with high score qualify for a visit from a panel if judges who the recommend the best companies to the Secretary of Commerce for award presentation.
Core Values and Concepts
The core values and concepts that form the criteria for the assessment of high-performing companies in order to win the Baldrige Awards include the following:
- Visionary leadership: This concept answers the question: How do senior leaders lead? As such, it scrutinizes the way in which senior executives influence the company and lay emphasis on the significance of the type of leadership that focuses on strategy and customers. Leaders set the bench-mark and look out future opportunities for your organization. The concept also addresses the way in which a company handles its accountabilities to the public and how the company practices good citizenship.
- Customer-driven excellence: This concept seeks to track the company’s relationship with customers steadily. It answers the question: how does the company determine customer satisfaction? Customer-driven companies seek to ensure that their products and services satisfy customer needs at all times. Though there may be similarities in terms of the needs satisfied, companies also ought to ensure their products features are distinguishable from those of competitors. In essence, customer-driven excellence is a strategy whose main objective is to retain customers and increase the market share.
- Agility: This concept answers the question: How does a company ensure the capability of its performance measurement system to respond to unexpected changes? Accordingly, in the event of any disruption, companies should be in a position to make transformational changes within short periods.
- Focus on the future: This answers the question: Do companies have a plan to cater for future anticipated factors? Any company should aim to sustain itself in the future in the event of short-term and long-term factors that may affect its operations or the economy. Factors such as evolving customers’ requirements, new business opportunities, unexpected crises, etc. should be part and parcel of the considerations for effective succession planning.
- Managing for innovation: Innovation refers to the refinement of the company’s processes and operations with the objective of products and service improvement. The concept seeks to answer the question: Are companies able to innovate? Innovation revolves around the organizational knowledge and the workforce. As such, any company should integrate organizational knowledge with daily operations in an effort to drive innovation.
- Management by fact: In order to gauge the performance of the company, the mode of measurement should have grounds on the business requirements and plan. Such measurement should avail information regarding business process and final results so as to aid in decision-making. Consequently, such information guides the innovational ideas that lead to business improvement.
- Societal responsibility: The likely question that this concept seeks to answer is: How does the company embrace social responsibility? Every company’s management should strive to ensure that the company makes a mark of contribution towards the society. It may do so by practicing good ethical behavior and general well-being of the society. The leaders should also take responsibility for the company’s role towards conservation of resources, for instance, tree planting exercises, as well as the contribution towards a pollution-free environment.
- Focus on results and creating value: This answers the question: What are the company’s workforce-focused performance results? Every company should formulate strategies with the interest of key stake holder’s requirements in mind. Company performance should focus more on measurable results.
- Systems perspective: This concept envisions the holistic view of the company. As such, there is the management of all the systems in the company. For the successful management of the entire organization’s performance, managers ought to match the strategic plans to key business attributes.
