ASQ to administer prestigious Baldrige Awards for additional five years
Milwaukee, WI, Oct. 18, 2004 —- The American Society for Quality (ASQ), the leader in the “Quality Movement,” today announced a five-year renewal of its contract with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Program. The Baldrige Awards, presented annually by the President of the United States, sets the standard for American business performance excellence, while making quality a national priority.
Managed by the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), ASQ will assist in the process and administration of the Baldrige Award. ASQ has been the only administrator of the award since its establishment in 1988 by U.S. Congress.
Named after Malcolm Baldrige, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, the award acknowledges several industries, including manufacturing, the service sector, small business, education, and health care. Prior to recognition, applicants are judged in seven areas: leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, knowledge management, human resource focus, process management, and business results. The award advocates quality and performance excellence as the proper path to run a business or organization. The award is not given for specific products or services.
Poor quality costs American companies as much as 20 percent in sales revenue, and increases foreign competition, so many are beginning to learn the importance of quality. ASQ, NIST, the Baldrige Award and its criteria give businesses a competitive edge, nationally and internationally, by stimulating companies to improve their overall performance and recognizing them in return.
ASQ, NIST, and the Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award work closely with one another in the award process. NIST manages the Baldrige Award, while ASQ assists in the application review process, preparation of award documents, publicity, information transfer, and administration. The Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award provides principal support for the award.
“We are excited to continue our involvement with the Baldrige Awards and NIST,” said Daniel Duhan, ASQ President. “In today’s business climate, the use of quality systems and processes is essential for competing effectively in a global marketplace. As the Baldrige Awards prove, quality is more than a product or service, it proscribes a path to run a successful business or organization.”
The 2005 Baldrige Award winners will receive recognition by the President of the United States, at The Quest for Excellence XVII, April 10 – 13, in Washington, DC, at Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. Recipients will also share their journey towards world-class quality and performance excellence.
Since 1988, the award and its recipients have helped raise awareness about the importance of quality practices in the workplace, giving more than 30,000 presentations to thousands of organizations. Companies such as Boeing Aerospace Support and Xerox Business Services have been awarded for their emphasis on quality and service while exemplifying performance excellence in the United States.
Over the past three decades, American businesses have witnessed a rapid rise in worldwide competition, forcing them to focus on more than just a product or service, but quality improvement. The movement towards quality is leading companies to maintain a competitive advantage, whether across town or overseas.
Several key players have an active role in the movement, including the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Program. By recognizing companies and organizations that go above and beyond the worldwide call of economic and business duty, the award, along with ASQ, and NIST, has helped the United States maintain its leading presence in the global marketplace.
NIST, a non-regulatory agency of the U.S. Commerce Department’s Technology Administration, develops and promotes measurements, standards, and technology that enhance productivity, facilitate trade, and improve the quality of life. NIST provides quality improvement and technology-based innovations to help American businesses and organizations maintain a competitive advantage.
The American Society for Quality (www.asq.org) is the world’s leading authority on quality. With more than 100,000 individual and organizational members, the professional association advances learning, quality improvement, and knowledge exchange to improve business results, and to create better workplaces and communities worldwide. As champion of the quality movement, ASQ offers technologies, concepts, tools, and training to quality professionals, quality practitioners, and everyday consumers, encouraging all to Make Good GreatTM. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., the 58-year-old organization is a founding partner of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a prominent quarterly economic indicator.
For more information, please contact Michael DeBoer at (414) 271-1314.
