Business Excellence Models

How does Baldrige support Deming’s 14 points?

In order to contribute to improving the quality of management and organisation in the country and round the globe, W. Edwards Deming proposed 14 principles, following which it is possible to transform the approaches to management in the organisation (“Deming’s 14 Points”). The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) and program were established in 1987. Organisations are assessed according to the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence (Evans and Lindsay 526). Although Deming’s philosophy and Baldrige’s focus on performance excellence are discussed as different in their nature, the Baldrige Criteria mainly support Deming’s 14 basic principles.

The Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence are divided into such categories as Leadership (Senior Leadership and Governance); Strategic Planning; Customer Focus; Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management; Workforce Focus; Operations Focus; and Results (Evans and Lindsay 526). It is important to note that Deming’s 14 points are directly reflected in Baldrige categories of criteria:

1. Create a vision and focus on the purpose of the products and services’ improvement. Deming’s first point focuses on creating a vision and supporting a company’s mission (“Deming’s 14 Points”). It is a main task for the organisation’s leaders, and this aspect is reflected in the Leadership category.
2. New philosophy. Changing to follow a new philosophy, leaders communicate new values and expectations, and this aspect is reflected in the Leadership category.
3. Understand inspection and focus on quality. Deming focuses on limiting inspection in organisations, and companies’ efforts in addressing the issue of inspection and changing associated costs are discussed in the Operations Focus category (“Deming’s 14 Points”).
4. Limit decisions based on the costs idea. The ability of organisations to make decisions regarding the overall performance, productivity, and outcomes are assessed in the Operations Focus category (“Deming’s 14 Points”).
5. Constantly improve the system of management. Deming focuses on the necessity of the constant improvement to address the organisation’s needs, and this principle is the key one to determine the Baldrige Criteria (“Deming’s 14 Points”).
6. Institute training. According to Deming, training of employees is the additional investment into the organisation’s success. This principle is reflected in the Workforce Focus category, where the necessity of training and development for the staff is mentioned (“Deming’s 14 Points”).
7. Institute leadership. The necessity and effectiveness of the supervision is discussed in the principle. Thus, the principle is directly referred to the Leadership category.
8. Drive out fear. It is important for the company to empower employees and stimulate stakeholders ask questions openly. Thus, empowerment and feeling of security is assessed according to such categories as Customer Focus and Workforce Focus (“Deming’s 14 Points”).
9. Avoid barriers between departments and work as a team. The effective teamwork is assessed according to the Workforce Focus category.
10. Avoid exhortations. Deming states that it is ineffective to accentuate the necessity of high productivity with the help of slogans. In relation to the Baldrige Criteria, this point is addressed when the motivational approaches of organisations are assessed (“Deming’s 14 Points”).
11. Less focus on standards, numbers, and quotas. This point addresses the approach to the whole management system followed in the company, and this principle is reflected in such categories as Strategic Planning, Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management, and Operations Focus.
12. Avoid barriers and focus on the pride of workmanship. This principle is reflected in managers’ actions when they are assessed according to such categories as Leadership, Customer Focus, and Workforce Focus.
13. The focus on self-improvement and education. This point is assessed according to the rules of the Workforce Focus category because of the necessity to measure the opportunities for employees’ development.
14. Act to lead the company to the transformation. It is a leader’s task to inspire employees to transform the organisation. Thus, the principle is associated with the Leadership category (“Deming’s 14 Points”).

Explain the differences and similarities between the Baldrige framework and the EFQM framework

The Baldrige framework is focused on identifying excellence and quality in the organisation and management of the company. The assessment of the company is realised according to seven categories (Leadership; Strategic Planning; Customer and Market Focus; Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management; Workforce Focus; Operations Focus (or Process Management); and Business Results.).

The European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) framework was introduced in 1991 in order to assess the organisations’ commitment to improving quality. The EFQM framework assesses the organisation’s performance according to nine categories which are Enablers (Leadership, People, Policy and Strategy, Partnerships and Resources, and Processes) and Results (People Results, Customer Results, Society Results, and Key Performance Results) (Dodangeh, Rosnah and Ismail 1390). The number of categories according to which the performance of companies is assessed is the first difference between the Baldrige framework and the EFQM framework.

In order to explain possible differences and similarities between the Baldrige framework and the EFQM framework, it is important to compare and contrast the definitions of excellence followed in frameworks in relation to different categories. The first category addressed in both the Baldrige and EFQM frameworks is Leadership. Criteria in the frameworks are similar because the focus is on strategies followed by leaders to perform their responsibilities, communicate vision and values, promote success, and stimulate ethical behaviours in the organisation. The second criterion is Strategy referred in both frameworks (Dodangeh, Rosnah and Ismail 1391).

According to the requirements, leaders should focus on stakeholders and market while developing and implementing their strategies (Evans and Lindsay 538). The next category in the Baldrige framework is Customer and Market Focus which is similar to EFQM Partnerships and Resources category. The criteria are similar because much attention is paid to how effective relations with customers and suppliers are developed to support the company’s strategy (Evans and Lindsay 538).

The focus on employees is assessed with references to the Baldrige Workforce Focus category and the EFQM People category. The organisations’ efforts are assessed in relation to how they encourage workers and contribute to their development, realisation of the full potential, and high performance. Much attention is paid to the ideas of empowerment and teamwork.

The next category reflected in both frameworks is Process Management. The companies’ success in process management is assessed with references to the leaders’ efforts in designing and managing processes for the effective achievement of goals. Furthermore, the focus is on valuing customers and other stakeholders and on the constant improvement (Dodangeh, Rosnah and Ismail 1390).

The category of Business Results in the Baldrige framework is divided into sub-categories according to which the organisation is assessed. These sub-categories are customer-focused results, workforce results, leadership results, and the overall organisation’s performance (Bou-Llusar et al. 6). These results are presented in the EFQM framework as separate categories and much attention is paid to the Society Results.

From this point, there are no appropriate alternatives in the EFQM framework to reflect such the Baldrige framework’s category as Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management. Organisations are assessed according to similar criteria in such categories as Policy and Strategy and Workforce Focus because it is important to pay more attention to understanding how companies generate their policies and strategies in order to improve employees’ performance and productivity. Furthermore, the focus is on understanding how effective teamwork can contributes to the overall high performance and increased productivity.

Thus, it is possible to state that the Baldrige framework and the EFQM framework have similarities in relation to focusing on the role of leadership, workforce, customer orientation, strategies, processes, and results. Still, there are differences in the assessment of certain criteria. Customer satisfaction is addressed in the Baldrige framework in the Customer and Market Focus category, when it is a core concept to plan processes in the EFQM framework (Bou-Llusar et al. 8).

The idea of the continuous improvement is more clearly addressed in the Baldrige framework in the Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management category, and there is no separate category to state this idea in the EFQM framework (Bou-Llusar et al. 12). In addition, the role of the external cooperation is effectively addressed in the EFQM framework, with the focus on the Partnerships and Resources category. From this point, in spite of the fact that the Baldrige framework and the EFQM framework are similar in the determined criteria, there are also significant differences in those criteria which are prioritised in the frameworks.

Works Cited

Bou-Llusar, Carlos, Ana Escrig-Tena, Vicente Roca-Puig, and Inmaculada Beltran-Martın. “An Empirical Assessment of the EFQM Excellence Model: Evaluation as a TQM Framework Relative to the MBNQA Model”. Journal of Operations Management 27.1 (2008): 1-22. Print.

Deming’s 14 Points: Quality Guru. 2014. Web.

Dodangeh, Jay, Matt Rosnah, and Net Ismail. “A Review on Major Business Excellence Frameworks”. Technics Technologies Education Management 7.3 (2012): 1386-1393. Print.

Evans, James, and William Lindsay. Managing for Quality and Performance Excellence. New York: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.