market share, and improved profitability. According to a report by the

Conference Board, a business membership organization, “A majority of large

U.S. firms have used the criteria of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality

Award for self-improvement, and the evidence suggests a long-term link

between use of the Baldrige criteria and improved business performance.”

Which organizations have received the award?

. 2003—Medrad, Inc., Boeing Aerospace Support, Caterpillar Financial

Services Corp., Stoner Inc., Community Consolidated School District

15, Baptist Hospital, Inc., and Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City

. 2002—Motorola Inc. Commercial, Government and Industrial Solutions

Sector, Branch Smith Printing Division, and SSM Health Care

. 2001—Clarke American Checks, Incorporated, Pal’s Sudden Service,

Chugach School District, Pearl River School District, and University

of Wisconsin-Stout

. 2000—Dana Corp.-Spicer Driveshaft Division, KARLEE Company, Inc.,

Operations Management International, Inc., and Los Alamos National

Bank

. 1999—STMicroelectronics, Inc.-Region Americas, BI, The Ritz-Carlton

Hotel Co., L.L.C., and Sunny Fresh Foods

. 1998—Boeing Airlift and Tanker Programs, Solar Turbines Inc., and

Texas Nameplate Co., Inc.

. 1997—3M Dental Products Division, Solectron Corp., Merrill Lynch

Credit Corp., and Xerox Business Services

. 1996—ADAC Laboratories, Dana Commercial Credit Corp., Custom Research

Inc., and Trident Precision Manufacturing Inc.

. 1995—Armstrong World Industries Building Products Operation and

Corning Telecommunications Products Division

. 1994—AT&T Consumer Communications Services, GTE Directories Corp., and

Wainwright Industries Inc.

. 1993—Eastman Chemical Co. and Ames Rubber Corp.

. 1992—AT&T Network Systems Group/ Transmission Systems Business Unit,

Texas Instruments Inc. Defense Systems & Electronics Group, AT&T

Universal Card Services, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co., and Granite Rock

Co.

. 1991—Solectron Corp., Zytec Corp., and Marlow Industries

. 1990—Cadillac Motor Car Division, IBM Rochester, Federal Express

Corp., and Wallace Co. Inc.

. 1989—Milliken & Co. and Xerox Corp. Business Products and Systems

. 1988—Motorola Inc., Commercial Nuclear Fuel Division of Westinghouse

Electric Corp., and Globe Metallurgical Inc.

When were the education and health care categories established?

Both categories were introduced in 1999. Since then, a total of 66

applications have been submitted in the education category and 61 in the

health care category.

Any for-profit or not-for-profit public or private organization that

provides educational or health care services in the United States or its

territories is eligible to apply for the award. That includes elementary

and secondary schools and school districts; colleges, universities, and

university systems; schools or colleges within a university; professional

schools; community colleges; technical schools; and charter schools. In

health care, it includes hospitals, HMOs, long-term-care facilities, health

care practitioner offices, home health agencies, health insurance

companies, or medical/dental laboratories.

As in the other three categories, applicants must show achievements and

improvements in seven areas: leadership; strategic planning; customer and

market focus (for education: student, stakeholder, and market focus; for

health care: focus on patients, other customers, and markets); information

and analysis; human resource focus (for education: faculty and staff focus;

for health care: staff focus); process management; and business results

(for both education and health care: organizational performance results).

Many education and health care organizations are using the Baldrige

criteria to good effect. For example:

. The New Jersey Department of Education permits school systems to use

the New Jersey Quality Achievement Award criteria—based on the

Baldrige Award criteria—as an alternative to its state assessment

criteria. Other states are considering a similar approach.

. The National Alliance of Business and the American Productivity and

Quality Center have developed the Baldrige In Education Initiative, a

national program to improve the management systems of education

organizations and educational outcomes.

. In April 2000, the National Education Goals Panel (NEGP) held a

nationwide teleconference, “Creating a Framework for High Achieving

Schools,” to focus on the Baldrige criteria in education. In the

foreword to a report issued in conjunction with the teleconference,

then-Governor Tommy G. Thompson of Wisconsin and 2000 chair for the

NEGP, said the Baldrige criteria for education “can provide educators

with a framework and strategies for improving their schools and

helping all children to reach high standards.”

. At the teleconference, Bob Chase, president of the National Education

Association (NEA), said, “The Baldrige process and what I call ‘new

unionism’ are a quality match. Most crucially, NEA’s new unionism and

the Baldrige process share the same bottom line, improving student

achievement.”

. Dr. Michael Wood, CEO, Mayo Foundation and Clinic, hosted a Baldrige

Health Care Summit on June 29, 2000, involving 10 leading health care

institutions in the United States.

. Special sessions on Baldrige in health care were held at the Institute

for Health Care Improvement conferences in December 1999 and December

2000.

. Motorola University hosted 120 health care leaders for a one-week

course on Baldrige and Quality Improvement in Health Care in February

2001.

. Richard Norling, CEO, Premier Inc., a leading distributor of health

care supplies, is serving as president of the private-sector Baldrige

Foundation during 2001.

Why are categories in education and health care needed?

Since its creation in 1987, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award has

played an important role in helping thousands of U.S. companies improve not

only their products and services, their customers’ satisfaction, and their

bottom line, but also their overall performance.

Now, organizations in other sectors vital to the U.S. economy—education and

health care—are recognizing that the Baldrige Award’s tough performance

excellence standards can help stimulate their improvement efforts as well.

Just as it has for U.S. businesses, a Baldrige Award program can help these

organizations improve performance and foster communication, sharing of

“best practices,” and partnerships among schools, health care

organizations, and businesses.

How are recipients selected?

Organizations that are headquartered in the United States may apply for the

award. Applications for the award are evaluated by an independent Board of

Examiners composed of primarily private-sector experts in quality and

business. Examiners look for achievements and improvements in all seven

categories. Organizations that pass an initial screening are visited by

teams of examiners to verify information in the application and to clarify

questions that come up during the review. Each applicant receives a written

summary of strengths and areas for improvement in each area addressed by

the criteria.

“The application and review process for the Baldrige Award is the best,

most cost-effective and comprehensive business health audit you can get,”

says Arnold Weimerskirch, former chair of the Baldrige Award panel of

judges and vice president of quality, Honeywell, Inc.

Does quality pay?

Studies by NIST, universities, business organizations, and the U.S. General

Accounting Office have found that investing in quality principles and

performance excellence pays off in increased productivity, satisfied

employees and customers, and improved profitability—both for customers and

investors. For example, NIST has tracked a hypothetical stock investment in

Baldrige Award winners and applicants receiving site visits. The studies

have shown that these companies soundly outperform the Standard & Poor’s

500.

Is it tougher for small organizations to receive the award?

The Baldrige Award’s small business recipients have proven that any U.S.

organization can improve by using the criteria’s performance excellence

framework. But, given the importance of smaller businesses to the U.S.

economy, NIST is mapping out ways to strengthen awareness of the award

program and criteria among these organizations.

Can only U.S. organizations receive the award?

Any for-profit organization headquartered in the United States or its

territories may apply for the award, including U.S. subunits of foreign

companies.

Do the award criteria take into account an organization’s financial

performance?

Yes. The criteria include many factors that contribute to financial

performance, including business decisions and strategies that lead to

better market performance, gains in market share, and customer retention

and satisfaction. Organizations are urged to use financial information,

including profit trends, in analyzing and reporting on improved overall

performance and to look for the connection between the two.

Does the award amount to a product or service endorsement for the award

recipients?

No. The award is given because an organization has shown it has an

outstanding system for managing its products, services, human resources,

and customer relationships. As part of the evaluation, an organization is

asked to describe its system for assuring the quality of its goods and

services. It also must supply information on quality improvement and

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