Baldrige Award

To assess management systems and to identify major improvement areas. Explanation of Baldrige Award.

The categories performance criteria model of the Baldrige Award can be used to assess management systems and identify major improvement areas.

The Baldrige Award was established by the US Congress in 1987 and named after former Secretary of Commerce, Malcolm Baldrige. It aims to promote quality awareness and is based on a weighted score of seven categories of performance criteria:

1 Leadership (120 pts.)

1.1 Organizational Leadership (70 pts.)

1.2 Social Responsibility (50 pts.)

2 Strategic Planning (85 pts.)

2.1 Strategy Development (40 pts.)

2.2 Strategy Deployment (45 pts.)

3 Customer and Market Focus (85 pts.)

3.1 Customer and Market Knowledge (40 pts.)

3.2 Customer Relationships and Satisfaction (45 pts.)

4 Measurement, Analysis, Knowledge Management (90 pts.)

4.1 Measurement and Analysis of Organizational Performance (45 pts.)

4.2 Information and Knowledge Management (45 pts.)

5 Human Resource Focus (85 pts.)

5.1 Work Systems (35 pts.)

5.2 Employee Learning and Motivation (25 pts.)

5.3 Employee Well-Being and Satisfaction (25 pts.)

6 Process Management (85 pts.)

6.1 Value Creation Processes (50 pts.)

6.2 Support Processes (35 pts.)

7 Business Results (450 pts.)

7.1 Customer-Focused Results (75 pts.)

7.2 Product and Service Results (75 pts.)

7.3 Financial and Market Results (75 pts.)

7.4 Human Resource Results (75 pts.)

7.5 Organizational Effectiveness Results (75 pts.)

7.6 Governance and Social Responsibility Results (75 pts.)

The maximum attainable score is 1000. The Seven categories of Performance model of the Baldrige Award can be used to assess management systems and identify major improvement areas. The model fits well in organizations taking a continuous improvement philosophy.

The Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence are about winning business success with a high-performing, high integrity, ethical organization. The Criteria help organizations respond to current challenges and address all the complexities of delivering today's results while preparing effectively for the future. The 2005 Criteria have been updated to deal with the specific pressures on senior leaders; the needs for organizational, not just technological, innovation; and the challenges of long-term viability and sustainability as a high-performing business. The Criteria deal more directly with the topic of execution: being agile and still executing with speed.

Book: Mark L. Blazey - Insights to Performance Excellence 2003 -