Performance Excellence     
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Revised 2/2/08

 Criteria for Performance Excellence 

The U.S. Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) criteria was established in 1987 to recognize U.S. organizations for their achievements in quality and business performance and to raise awareness about the importance of quality and performance excellence as a competitive edge. Awards may be given annually in each of these categories: Business/Nonprofit, Education and Health Care. 

Criterion for Performance Excellence

A Few Advantages

bulletThe criteria represents a proven approach in striving for organizational excellence.

bulletCriteria provides a standard template or framework for managing and leading the organization and communicating results.  It is also useful for educating and involving customers and stakeholders in helping to make needed improvements.

bulletThe criteria can be used to organize or align existing organizational initiatives and to facilitate internal performance assessments. Assessments can be used to help benchmark with other organizations that have either won the Baldrige award or have extensive experience using the criteria to improve performance. 

bulletImplementation of the criteria can start at any level in the organization.

bulletAs a general rule of thumb, a well-run organization may be awarded 50-300 points out of a maximum 1,000. Award winning companies achieve a minimum of 500 or more points.  A trend chart for a not-for-profit organization on the results of yearly assessments, indicates steady improvement. They used an external consultant to provide the assessment.   

 Yearly Organizational Assessments using the Baldrige Criteria

Example of  a not-for-profit organization who used an external consultant every year to conduct an assessment  Yearly feedback on strengths and weaknesses were used to prioritize improvement opportunities and reward systems were linked to performance.



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