Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards.
The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Awards for Manufacturing, Service and Small Business, are named for the
late Malcolm Baldrige. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Awards are based on guidelines and criteria that organizations can use
to assess their quality improvement efforts.
The Baldrige Award program has focused
national and international attention on the quality of goods and
services. Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Sweden have patterned their own
national quality award programs after the Baldrige Award.
The Baldrige Award program has spawned
what are sometimes called the "Baby Baldrige." At least 30 states have
created their own quality awards modeled after the Baldrige. Many
of the state awards have expanded the Baldrige categories to include
categories for health care, education and government.
The Baldrige examiners, who donate their
time, are recruited from the private and public sectors. The Baldrige
National Award is recognized as the most prestigious and coveted prize
in American business. It represents the most intensive and objective
corporate assessment. |
