Q Tip #3:  To Self Assess or to Self Assess; That Is the Question

From: Odongo, Concetta
Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2010 8:32 AM
To: all
Subject: Q Tip #3:  To Self Assess or to Self Assess; That Is the Question

Brought to you by the Quality Month Team 2010 -

There are 47 states that sponsor Quality and Performance Excellence programs.  Each state uses the Baldrige Performance Excellence Criteria as the basis for their state program.  In April 2010, Shelton State Community College submitted its first application for an organizational Alabama Quality Award.  With the application, you must submit a self-assessment detailing how you met each specific question in the Baldrige Criteria.

Baldrige self-assessments are limited to 50 pages in length. Baldrige self-assessments are similar to the self-study for accreditation that was once required by SACS, in that both require a self-assessment against specific criteria.  Unlike SACS criteria, The Baldrige Education Criteria for Performance Excellence, however, is focused on performance excellence instead of conformance to requirements.   State Quality Award Winners often apply for the national-level Malcolm Baldrige Award since the standards are the same.

This year, the Panel of Judges for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest recognition for organizational performance excellence, has selected 16 organizations for the final review stage for the 2010 award. Starting this month, teams of business, education, health care and nonprofit experts will make site visits to two organizations in the manufacturing category, four in small business, one in service, one in education, seven in health care and one in nonprofit. This is the first year since the addition of the newest category, nonprofit (in 2007), in which organizations from all six categories will receive site visits.  Our Baldrige Coach, Jackie Beede, is on a Baldrige site visit this week.

The Baldrige Program received 83 applications in 2010 (three manufacturers, two service companies, seven small businesses, 10 educational organizations, 54 health care organizations and seven nonprofit/governmental organizations). The applicants were evaluated rigorously by an independent board of examiners in seven areas: leadership; strategic planning; customer focus; measurement, analysis and knowledge management; workforce focus; process management; and results. Examiners will provide 300 to 1,000 hours of review to each applicant receiving a site visit, and all applicants will receive a detailed report on the organization’s strengths and opportunities for improvement. The 2010 Baldrige Award recipients are expected to be announced in late November, 2010.

Named after Malcolm Baldrige, the 26th Secretary of Commerce, the Baldrige Award was established by Congress in 1987. The award—managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a division of the U. S. Department of Commerce, promotes excellence in organizational performance, recognizes the achievements and results of U.S. organizations, and publicizes successful performance strategies. The award is not given for specific products or services. Since 1988, 80 organizations have received Baldrige Awards.

Thousands of organizations use the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence to guide their enterprises, improve performance and get sustainable results. This proven improvement and innovation framework offers organizations an integrated approach to key management areas.

Alabama Head Coach, Nick Saban, repeatedly says that to win a national championship you must focus on the process not the outcome.  For Shelton State, winning a Baldrige Award would be equivalent to winning a national championship.  The Baldrige Award is the highest award in the nation for Performance Excellence.  As Coach Saban would say, we must focus on the process not the reward.  If we are true to the process, the recognition will come in due time.

For more information on the Baldrige National Quality Program, see www.nist.gov/baldrige.

Johnny Parker
Director of Quality and Organizational Excellence

205-391-5836
205-391-2320 FAX

Shelton State Community College
Office # 3618
9500 Old Greensboro Rd.
Tuscaloosa, AL  35405

"The 'good enough is enough' attitude is not what we're looking for. We have got to use every opportunity to improve individually so we can improve collectively."  --- Nick Saban