Baldrige
Borrowing from business geniuses
Thirty years ago, a once-vaunted U.S. economic leadership seemed to be slipping away. The pundits said American companies were too bloated, our products too shoddy, and our workers too inefficient to compete. They proclaimed that the 21st Century belonged to Japan, Asia, and Europe.
Wrong. Today the American economy leads the world. In that comeback story there are powerful lessons.
Learning the lessons of success
Now, imagine mining U.S. business success stories for nuggets of management expertise. Refining lessons from successful companies into a structured system for improving performance could help us cut costs, increase productivity and improve service in all kinds of organizations – including government.
There are such systems. Experts working with the Baldrige National Quality Program, a federally authorized organization, studied successful U.S. companies and identified common factors that led to extraordinary results.
Much more than ivory-tower theories, Baldrige tools emerged from real-world experience at America's best-run corporations. Companies rated high on the Baldrige Criteria consistently outperform other companies in the major stock indexes.
Years of research refined these insights into a rigorous system for modern business process management – the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence:
- Leadership
- Strategic planning
- Customer and market focus
- Measurement, analysis, and knowledge management
- Human resources
- Process management
- Business results
Helping managers create results
Within these seven criteria, Baldrige organizations have built extensive methodologies to guide managers . . . training and evaluation systems to improve leadership, strategic planning systems that guide companies to greater productivity, performance-measurement systems that cast new light on processes, and proven problem-solving tools that help teams consistently reach outstanding results.
At the Department of Revenue, we are adapting management tools originally developed in the private sector, and then using these tools to improve performance in government. In 2004, DOR provided introductory training on management tools to all Leadership Team members, from the Department's senior leaders right through to front-line managers. Other managers are getting more in-depth training.
Bringing Baldrige to government
Congress has just adopted legislation to allow public-sector organizations to compete for the coveted Baldrige Award. But as DOR works to adopt the Baldrige model, far more than a prize is at stake.
By studying cutting-edge performance-management systems, our managers and employees build skills that are paying off for Florida in reduced costs, increased productivity, and improved service. Our vision is to exemplify the best in public service. The people of Florida deserve it.
