INTERNATIONAL QUALITY AWARDS

I.

Introduction Throughout the years, organizational studies have documented the evolution of

management and operations in organizations with regards to the development in quality. With a known and established tenets in quality management, businesses all over the world are now subjected to awards and recognition provided by different organizations and programs seeking to improve and elevate the standards of quality in the organizational setting. This study will provide an overview of several quality awards given to distinct parts of the globe. II. Quality Awards Quality awards are important means to measure the level on which organizations gauge their performance. The following discussions will provide a description of awards given in the United States, Europe, Japan, Asia-Pacific, and Australia. A. Baldridge National Quality Program The award is given by the president in areas of manufacturing, education, and health care. (2007) The program was ratified by the 1987 Congress recognizing the quality and excellence in US firms. A recent development in this program is the addition of non-profit organizations in the recipients of awards. The criteria in which the recipients are judged includes: leadership; strategic planning; customer and market

focus; measurement, analysis, and knowledge management; human resource focus; process management; and business results. B. European Foundation of Quality Management The European Foundation of Quality Management is an organization that provides businesses in Europe a model wherein they could gain efficiency, effectiveness and competitive advantage. (2007) The excellence award is given to organizations who have effectively implemented the EFQM Excellence Model on their operations. Though not all could win the awards offered, the organizations that joined the program are able to acquire feedback from the assessors, thus establishing how effective, efficient, and competitive they are in their operations. C. Japan Quality Award The organizations in Japan look forward to acquiring the Japan Quality Award provided by the Japan Productivity Center for Socio-Economic Development. (JPCSED) (2007) The thrust of the program is to encourage innovation and the transformation of management systems in Japan into customer-oriented structures. According to the website, the said program is highly based on the Baldridge National Quality Program of the United States. D. Asia-Pacific Quality Organization Another quality award is the APQO Awards. The recipients of the wards are businesses and companies in Asia and the surrounding countries in the Pacific Rim.

( 2007) This award is given by an autonomous, non-profit, non-political, scientific and technical organization. The driving force of this organization is to promote the development in the quality of the goods and services as well as the quality of life of people in an international scale. E. Australian Organization for Quality In Australia, the Gold Award is given by the Australian Organization for Quality. (Australian Organization for Quality, 2007) In assessing the quality management principles of the nominees, the organization looks into several values which include: learning; positivity; achievement; leadership; sustainability. III. Conclusion Essentially, the creation and provision of quality awards have provided a significant contribution in the development of management and operations all over the world. Not only does it appeal to the companys competitive side, it also provides a venue for organizations to actually have a chance to be assessed by entities external to their organization. In the same way, companies could establish areas where they are lacking and find ways to compensate and consequently develop. At any rate, the creation of such quality awards reinforces the development of quality management in organizations throughout the world.

Read more: http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2009/09/international-qualityawards.html#ixzz1Qe9TEfQU