Does your company deliver quality? Can you define quality?
Are you satisfied with your organization's performance? Do you feel
that your business can do better, but you don't know where to start?
These are a few of the questions businesses must answer to remain competitive.
The Missouri Quality Award (MQA) process can help you answer these and
other questions. I know, because I have been involved with the process
as both an applicant and an examiner since 1996.
The Foundation
The MQA program is one of the premier state quality award programs that
officially recognizes excellence in quality leadership. Although the
award is official recognition by the State of Missouri, the MQA process
is not administered by a state agency.
The Excellence in Missouri Foundation (EIMF) is solely responsible
for the program's management and implementation. The Foundation is a
private, not-for-profit organization whose activities are overseen by
a Board of Directors. In addition, a Board of Judges, a Board of Overseers,
and a Board of Examiners are involved in the award process. Board members
are volunteers drawn from organizations and businesses representing
manufacturing, service, health care, government, and education.
The award process
MQA's stated objectives are:
- To promote understanding of the requirements for performance excellence
- To improve the competitiveness of Missouri businesses
- To stimulate sharing of information on successful improvement strategies
and their associated benefits.
The award was created in 1992, and any organization located in Missouri
may participate. Award categories have been established for manufacturing,
service, education, health care, and the public sector. Organizations
applying for the award are also categorized according to size:
- Small (fewer than 100 employees)
- Medium (100 - 499 employees)
- Large (500 employees or more)
Preparation, submission, and assessment of an award application drive
the process. Applicants are judged against the award criteria. This
is a key point; the criteria are the award standards. The award process
does not compare one organization to another to determine a "winner."
Rather, organizations explain how they have applied the award criteria
and portray the results they have achieved.
Organizations that demonstrate high levels of performance across the
criteria spectrum are selected as role models and are presented the
Missouri Quality Award. Further emphasizing the focus on criteria, MQA
procedures do not require selection of a winner; likewise, no provisions
prevent all applicants from receiving the award. Since 1992, 17 role
models/winners have been selected.
The MQA criteria are based on the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality
Award Criteria for Performance Excellence. The criteria establish a
common set of standards to determine the level of performance excellence
within any organization of any size. The criteria focus on results and
are non-prescriptive; they support a systems approach to organizational
goal alignment and permit goal-based diagnosis of performance.
A completed application is, in essence, a narrative answering questions
posed by the criteria. For example, one question posed by the criteria
is: "How do your compensation, recognition, and related reward/incentive
practices reinforce high performance?" Results are depicted in
tables and charts supporting the narrative.
A results question is: "What are your current levels and trends
in key measures and/or indicators of customer satisfaction ... ?"
As a previous applicant, I discovered that preparing an application
teaches you more about your business than any other process. This is
one of the true values in using the criteria.
Award applications undergo a three-stage review:
- Stage One: The independent review. No fewer than five Board
of Examiner members individually assess the application against the
criteria's requirements.
- Stage 2: The consensus review. All applications undergo this
review. In this stage, examiners review the assessments of the other
examiners assigned to that application, then identify similarities
and differences in the independent assessments. Examiners then discuss
and reach consensus concerning the organization's level of performance
excellence. Consensus results are reviewed by the Board of Judges,
which selects applicants to receive a site visit based on their level
of performance excellence. A feedback report for those not receiving
a site visit is prepared at this time. Feedback reports identify an
organization's strengths and opportunities for improvement, which
indicate the next steps needed by the company to improve performance.
- Stage 3: The site visit. This is the "show me"
stage. A team, usually seven examiners and an overseer, visits the
organization to verify, clarify, and document strengths and opportunities
for improvement identified during the consensus review. The Board
of Judges reviews the site visit findings, then selects the award
winners. The winners also receive feedback reports on their opportunities
for improvement, as well as their strengths.
Commitment
Involvement in the MQA process should not be undertaken lightly. The
senior leaders must be committed and involved throughout the process.
Various fees are associated with the award process.
So why apply?
1. Discover how your business currently operates, and why it does so,
through the self-assessment that occurs by answering questions posed
by the criteria. The criteria help ensure your assessment is systematic
and results-oriented.
2. Receive an independent, in-depth, performance-based assessment from
examiners trained and experienced in applying the criteria.
3. Receive formal, written feedback that is non-prescriptive, tailored
to the organization and aligned to your goals to provide direction and
foundation to your continuous improvement efforts.
For more information
Contact: The Excellence In Missouri Foundation, PO Box 1085, Jefferson
City, MO, 65102, or call (573) 526-1725, or visit the website at www.mqa.org.
Send this article to a friend
Authored by: Chris V. Thompson, Business and Industry
Specialist, University of Missouri Extension
Source: Creating Quality Newsletter, Volume
10, Number 3, March 2001
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