Malcolm Baldridge Explained

Annually, since 1988, the President and Secretary of Commerce have presented the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for excellence and quality achievement. The award, named after the 26th Secretary of Commerce, recognizes U.S. organizations demonstrating excellence in quality and performance. Award categories originally included manufacturing, service, and small business. Beginning in 1999, the categories of education and health care were added.

The Baldrige performance excellence criteria are a framework that any organization can use to improve overall performance. Seven categories make up the award criteria:

Malcolm Baldridge Criteria

Leadership —Examines how senior executives guide the organization and how the organization addresses its responsibilities to the public and practices good citizenship.

Strategic planning —Examines how the organization sets strategic directions and how it determines key action plans.

Customer and market focus —Examines how the organization determines requirements and expectations of customers and markets; builds relationships with customers; and acquires, satisfies, and retains customers.

Measurement, analysis, and knowledge management —Examines the management, effective use, analysis, and improvement of data and information to support key organization processes and the organization's performance management system.

Human resource focus — Examines how the organization enables its workforce to develop its full potential and how the workforce is aligned with the organization's objectives.

Process management —Examines aspects of how key production/delivery and support processes are designed, managed, and improved.

Business results —Examines the organization's performance and improvement in its key business areas: customer satisfaction, financial and marketplace performance, human resources, supplier and partner performance, operational performance, and governance and social responsibility. The category also examines how the organization performs relative to competitors.