The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

An Overview

So Whats The Big Deal ?

Increasing Expectations
Government Performance & Results Act (GPRA) federal programs must demonstrate measurable increases in performance and clear results Workforce Investment Act (WIA) consistent with GPRA, demands increased accountability and continuous improvement

Decreasing or Stagnant Resources

Resource allocations not keeping pace with demands Increasing competition for limited funds

So Whats The Big Deal ?

How can we bridge the gap between increasing expectations and decreasing resources?
Quality & Continuous Improvement tools, principles and methodologies have been shown to improve performance in measurable ways
The awareness of the link between quality and continuous improvement initiatives and competitive success has never been greater!

The Bottom Line

Within the entire workforce development system, the link between performance and federal funding has never been greater. The challenge is to demonstrate results, to do more with less, to work smarter not harder, and to show that what we do makes a difference. And all this within the context of diminishing resources. Improving what we do through proven techniques and tools is no longer a nice thing to do.

Quality is Critical !

So Who/What is Malcolm Baldrige?

Question:
Is he a person? Is it a national quality award? Is it a set of quality criteria? Is it one of the most misspelled words in the history of ETA?

Answer:
All of the above !

Malcolm Baldrige: The Person

Former Secretary of Commerce Served until 1981 until death in 1987 (rodeo accident) Widely respected throughout government for managerial excellence Informal spokesperson for efficiency, effectiveness and quality in government services/programs A national quality award was established in his honor after his death

Malcolm Baldrige: The National Quality Award

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) was established by P.L. 100-107 (8/20/87) Purpose:
To help stimulate American organizations to improve quality and productivity; To recognize achievements To establish guidelines & criteria that can be used by any organization in evaluating their own quality improvement efforts To provide specific guidance for other American organizations that wish to learn how to manage for high quality, etc.

Malcolm Baldrige: The National Quality Award

The MBNQA is the award for quality . . . .
The United States is the most competitive nation in the world. Quality is a key to retaining that title. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is helping U.S. organizations satisfy customers and improve overall company performance and capability.
Former President Bill Clinton

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award has had a profound influence on increasing U.S. competitiveness and heightening our awareness to the challenges we face in a global economy.
Michael Kantor, Former Secretary of Commerce

Malcolm Baldrige: The National Quality Award

In order to support the MBNQA program, a new publicprivate partnership was necessary Building active partnerships in the private sector, and between the private sector and all levels of government, is fundamental to the success of the award in improving national competitiveness . . . So whos minding the store?
Organizations involved in MBNQA

Malcolm Baldrige: The National Quality Award

Organizations involved in award administration:
Foundation for the MBNQA
Established 1988 Primary purpose is to raise funds for Award program

National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST)

Department of Commerce has responsibility for Award program NIST is part of its Technology Administration NIST Mission: To aid U.S. industry through research & services

Malcolm Baldrige: The National Quality Award

American Society for Quality (ASQ)
Assists NIST in administration (under contract) ASQ identifies, communicates & promotes the use of quality principles, concepts & technologies

Board of Overseers
Advisory Board on the Award to the Department of Commerce

Board of Examiners
Evaluates applications & provides feedback Makes recommendations

Malcolm Baldrige: The National Quality Award

Interesting Tidbit . . . . .
The process itself is considered valuable and extremely enlightening !

Each year, hundreds of organizations request applications for the MBNQA, but only a small proportion of the applications are actually submitted

Malcolm Baldrige The National Quality Award

Why the MBNQA is important to any organization on the journey towards quality and continuous improvement
More comprehensive than other quality awards Consistent with theories of recognized quality experts Criteria are universal The criteria focus on business results The criteria support a systems approach to organizations The criteria support goal-based diagnosis VALIDITY - positive correlation between Baldrige winners and stock market success
About the criteria

The Quality Criteria

Embedded in each of these categories or dimensions - the ideal is defined
Leadership Strategic Planning Customer Focus Information & Analysis Human Resource Development Process Management Business Results

More On The Quality Criteria

The dimensions interact and demonstrate the systems approach fundamental to the Baldrige ideal
Leadership creates vision, values, and high performance expectations that are translated into strategy and action plans through Strategic Planning and Customer Focus. The strategy and action plans guide overall Human Resource Development and drive the development of Process Management to ensure achievement of desired Business Results. Information & Analysis are critical to effective decision-making in all aspects of the organization.

More on the Dimensions & Quality Criteria

Leadership
Examines senior leaders personal leadership and involvement in creating/sustaining values, direction, performance expectations, etc.

Strategic Planning
Examines how the organization sets strategic directions, how it determines key action plans, and how plans are translated into an effective performance management system

More on the Dimensions & Quality Criteria

Customer Focus
Examines how the organization determines customer requirements and expectations, as well as how it enhances relationships with customers and determines their satisfaction

Information & Analysis

Examines the management and effectiveness of the use of data and information to support key organizational processes and the performance management system

More on the Dimensions & Quality Criteria

Human Resource Development
Examines how the workforce is enabled to develop and utilize its full potential, how its aligned with the organizations objectives, and efforts to build and maintain an environment conducive to performance excellence, full participation & organizational growth

Process Management
Examines key aspects of process management, including customer-focused design, product and service delivery processes, and partnering processes involving all work units

More on the Dimensions & Quality Criteria

Business Results
Examines the organizations performance and improvement in key business areas, including customer satisfaction, attainment of performance goals/targets, human resource, stakeholder and partner performance, as well as operational performance

Good luck on YOUR quality journey !