Investigating the relationship between the business performance management framework and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award framework

APPROVED:

Victor R. Prybutok, Major Professor
Mary C. Jones, Minor Professor and Chair of
the Department of Information
Technology and Decision Sciences
Nicolas Evangelopoulos, Committee Member
Audhesh K. Paswan, Committee Member
O. Finley Graves, Dean of the College of
Business
Michael Monticino, Dean of the Robert B.
Toulouse School of Graduate Studies
INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE BUSINESS PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
FRAMEWORK AND THE MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD FRAMEWORK
Muhammad Muazzem Hossain, B.B.A., M.S.
Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY


UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS

August 2009




UMI Number:
3385793

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Hossain, Muhammad Muazzem. Investigating the relationship between the business
performance management framework and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
framework
The business performance management (BPM) framework helps an organization
continuously adjust and successfully execute its strategies. BPM helps increase flexibility by
providing managers with an early alert about changes and, as a result, allows faster response to
such changes. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) framework provides a
basis for self-assessment and a systems perspective for managing an organization’s key
processes for achieving business results. The MBNQA framework is a more comprehensive
framework and encapsulates the underlying constructs in the BPM framework.
. Doctor of Philosophy (Management Science), August 2009, 149 pp., 24 tables, 15
figures, references, 60 titles.
The objectives of this dissertation are fourfold: (1) to validate the underlying
relationships presented in the 2008 MBNQA framework, (2) to explore the MBNQA framework
at the dimension level, and develop and test constructs measured at that level in a causal
model, (3) to validate and create a common general framework for the business performance
model by integrating the practitioner literature with basic theory including existing MBNQA
theory, and (4) to integrate the BPM framework and the MBNQA framework into a new
framework (BPM-MBNQA framework) that can guide organizations in their journey toward
achieving and sustaining competitive and strategic advantages.
The purpose of this study is to achieve these objectives by means of a combination of
methodologies including literature reviews, expert opinions, interviews, presentation
feedbacks, content analysis, and latent semantic analysis. An initial BPM framework was

developed based on the reviews of literature and expert opinions. There is a paucity of
academic research on business performance management. Therefore, this study reviewed the
practitioner literature on BPM and from the numerous organization-specific BPM models
developed a generic, conceptual BPM framework. With the intent of obtaining valuable
feedback, this initial BPM framework was presented to Baldrige Award recipients (BARs) and
selected academicians from across the United States who participated in the Fall Summit 2007
held at Caterpillar Financial Headquarter in Nashville, TN on October 1 and 2, 2007.
Incorporating the feedback from that group allowed refining and improving the proposed BPM
framework.
This study developed a variant of the traditional latent semantic analysis (LSA) called
causal latent semantic analysis (cLSA) that enables us to test causal models using textual data.
This method was used to validate the 2008 MBNQA framework based on article abstracts on
the Baldrige Award and program published in both practitioner and academic journals from
1987 to 2009. The cLSA was also used to validate the BPM framework using the full body text
data from all articles published in the practitioner journal entitled the Business Performance
Management Magazine since its inception in 2003. The results provide the first cLSA study of
these frameworks. This is also the first study to examine all the causal relationships within the
MBNQA and BPM frameworks.

ii

Copyright 2009
by
Muhammad Muazzem Hossain
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
IwouldliketoexpressmygratitudetomydissertationchairDr.VictorPrybutokforhis
advice,compassion,guidance,patience,andsupervisionfromtheverybeginningofthis
dissertation.Dr.Prybutokprovidedmeunflinchingencouragement,mentoring,andsupportin
variousways.Iamindebtedtohimmorethanheknows.
IgratefullyacknowledgeDr.MaryJones,Dr.NicolasEvangelopoulos,andDr.Audhesh

Paswanfortheirinsightfulguidance,unconditionalsupportandunlimitedencouragement.
ManythankstomyfellowfriendsinthePh.D.programwhowerethereforme
wheneverIneededthem.Thankstoallmyfriendswhohelpedmeinmanywaysincompleting
myPh.D.program.
Lastly,tomyparents,brothers,sisters,andmywifeMahfujaIslam,wordscannot
expressmygratitudefortheirunconditionalloveandsupport.Withouttheir“you‐can‐do‐it”
encouragement,itwouldnothavebeenpossibleformetoaccomplishwhatIhavetoday.

iii
TABLEOFCONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii
LISTOFTABLES v
LISTOFFIGURES vii
Chapters
1.INTRODUCTION 1
2.LITERATUREREVIEW 8
TheMBNQAFramework 8
TheBPMFramework 19
LatentSemanticAnalysis(LSA) 27
TheBPM‐MBNQAConceptualFramework 31
ResearchModelsandPropositions 35
3.RESEARCHMETHODOLOGY 83
Corpus1:MBNQAInput‐Output(XY)Statements 84
Corpus2:IJBPMAbstracts 87
Corpus3:BPMInput‐Output(XY)Statements 87
4.ANALYSESandRESULTS 89
cLSAofCorpus1 89
LSAofCorpus2 100
cLSAofCorpus3 106

5.DISCUSSION,IMPLICATIONS,and FUTUREDIRECTION 119
Discussion 119
Implications 123
FutureDirection 124
APPENDICES 126
REFERENCES 145



iv
LISTOFTABLES
Page
Table1:BriefdescriptionofMBNQAcategories 12
Table2:BriefdescriptionofMBNQAdimensionlevelconstructs 13
Table3:MajorBPMconsultingfirmsandtheiractivities 22
Table4:BriefdescriptionoftheBPMframeworkconstructs 26
Table5:CorrespondenceoftheBPMconstructstotheMBNQAconstructs 34
Table6:Tabularviewofresults‐relatedpropositionsforMBNQAcategorylevelframework 52
Table7:Tabularviewofsystem’spropositionsforMBNQAcategorylevelframework 62
Table8:TabularviewoftheMBNQAdimensionlevelpropositions 76
Table9:ListofjournalswithMBNQA‐relatedabstracts 86
Table10:SummaryoftwofactorsofthecausalMBNQAframework 91
Table11:Inter‐factorfrequency measures 92
Table12:Inter‐factorpercentagemeasures 92
Table13:SummaryofsevenfactorsofthecausalMBNQAframework 94
Table14:Inter‐factorfrequency measuresforseven‐factorMBNQAframework 97
Table15:Inter‐factorpercentagemeasuresforseven‐factorMBNQAframework 98
Table16:SummaryoftwosemanticfactorsofBPMframework 101
Table17:SummaryoftensemanticfactorsofBPMframework 103
Table18:SummaryoftwofactorsofthecausalBPMframework 108

Table19:Inter‐factorfrequency measures 109
Table20:Inter‐factorpercentagemeasures 109
v
Table21:SummaryoftenfactorsofthecausalBPMframework 111
Table22:Inter‐factorfrequency measures 114
Table23:Inter‐factorpercentagemeasures 115
Table24:Significantpercentagesupports 117
vi
vii
LISTOFFIGURES
Page
Figure1:The2008MBNQAperformanceexcellenceframework 15
Figure2:MBNQAcorevaluesandconcepts,criteria,andoutcomes(NIST,2008,p.49) 17
Figure3:TheproposedBPMframework 25
Figure4:Schematicofterm‐by‐documentmatrixX 28
Figure5:TheBPM‐MBNQAconceptualframework 33
Figure6:The2008MBNQAframeworkatthecategorylevel 36
Figure7:The2008MBNQAframeworkatthedimensionlevel 62
Figure8:TheproposedBPMframework(repeated) 77
Figure9:Causalsemanticnetfortwo‐factorMBNQAframework 92
Figure10:Causalsemanticnetforseven‐factorMBNQAframework 99
Figure11:Causalsemanticnetfortwo‐factorBPMframework 109
Figure12:Causalsemanticnetforten‐factorBPMframework 118
Figure13:EmpiricalevidenceoftheMBNQAframework 120
Figure14:TheoperationalpathsofBPM 122
Figure15:ThestrategicpathsofBPM 123


CHAPTER1
INTRODUCTION

TheMalcolmBaldrigeNationalQualityAward(MBNQA)frameworkprovidesabasisfor
self‐assessmentandasystemsperspectiveformanaginganorganization’skeyprocessesfor
achievingbusinessresults.Thebusinessperformancemanagement(BPM)frameworkhelpsan
organizationcontinuouslyadjustandsuccessfullyexecuteitsstrategies.BPMhelpsincrease
flexibilitybyprovidingmanagerswithasenseofuncertainchangesearlierandallowsfaster
responsetosuchchanges.Itthushelpsorganizationsaddressmarketopportunities.The
simultaneoususeoftheMalcolmBaldrigeNationalQualityAward(MBNQA)frameworkandthe
businessperformancemanagement(BPM)frameworkbyanorganizationhasthepotentialto
helporganizationspursueexcellencewhilesimultaneouslyincreasingtheiragilityand
competitiveadvantage.Therefore,tofacilitatetheabilitytousebothframeworks
simultaneouslyfororganizationaladvantageIexaminetheexistingliteratureandfromitglean
thecommonrelationshipsamongtheframeworksandusethesefindingstopositanintegrated
framework.
TheMalcolmBaldrigeNationalQualityAwardcriteriaprovideacomprehensive
frameworkforself‐assessmentandembodyasystematicapproachtoorganizationalquality
(Bemowski&Stratton,1995;Evans1997;Pannirselvam&Ferguson,2001).Thecriteriaare
groupedintosevencategoriesthatshowtheunderlyingrelationshipsamongandbetween
organizationalperformanceandvariousqualitymanagementconstructs(Pannirselvam&
Ferguson,2001).TheserelationshipsareportrayedintheMalcolmBaldrigeNationalQuality
Award(MBNQA)framework.TheMBNQAcriteriadefinepracticesinsevencategories‐(1)
1

leadership,(2)strategicplanning,(3)customerandmarketfocus,(4)measurement,analysis,
andknowledgemanagement,(5)workforcefocus,(6)processmanagement,and(7)results.
Thesesevencategoriesarecomposedofasetof18performance‐orientedcriteriaitems.Each
ofthesecategoriesembodiestwoormorecriteriaitems.Forinstance,theleadershipcategory
iscomposedoftwocriteriaitems:seniorleadership,andgovernanceandsocialresponsibilities.
TheBaldrigecriteriaalsoshedlightonaskingquestionsthatorganizationscanusetoestablish
vitallinkagesintheirstructure,operations,strategy,andresults.Forexample,akeyquestion
itemregardingthecustomerandmarketknowledgecriteriaitemishoworganizationsidentify

customers,customergroups,andmarketsegments.Thesequestionitemsprovidepractitioners
andacademicianswithinvaluableinsightsfordevelopingselftestinginstruments.However,
becauseoftheuseofthesameterm“items”toindicatecriteriaitemsandquestionitemsthere
isthepotentialfortheconfusioninacademicliteratureofthesequestionitemswiththecriteria
items.Therefore,Iintendtomakeadistinctionattheonsetbetweenthecriteriaitemsandthe
questionitemsbylabelingthecriteriaitemsasthedimensionsofthecategories.Thus,the
Baldrigeframeworkisaframeworkofseveninterrelatedconstructs(categories)witheach
constructhavingtwoormoredimensionswitheachdimensionmeasuredwithmultiple
questionitems.
TheMBNQAframeworkwasfirstcreatedin1987forthepurposeofimproving
organizationalcompetitiveness(Garvin,1991;Gradig&Harris,1994)andhasevolved
continuouslysinceitsinception(NationalInstituteofStandardsandTechnology[NIST],1993;
Bemowski,1996;NIST,1997;NIST,2000;NIST,2007;NIST,2008).The2007criteriabring
significantchangesfromthe2006criteriainalmostallcategoriesanddimensions,andthese
2

changesincludeaddingseventermstotheGlossaryofKeyTerms(NIST,2007,p.8‐9).These
changesarereflectedintheframeworkintermsofnewandmodifiedunderlyingrelationships.
Forexample,the2007criteriaassumethatstrategicplanninghasastrongerfocusthanin
previousframeworksoninnovation,strategicadvantages,andresourceneedstoachieve
strategicobjectives.However,NIST(2008)posits:
In 2007, the Baldrige Criteria were significantly revised to encourage
organizations to consider carefully their strategic advantages, core
competencies, and opportunities for innovation and how these considerations
drive key decisions on work systems (such as outsourcing, partnerships, and
workforce decisions). In recognition of the challenges for organizations to 
address these opportunities, the decision was made to make no substantive
revisionstotheCriteriafor2008.(NIST,2008,p.27)

Themostsignificantchangesinthe2008bookletincludetheadditionoftheterm

“StrategicAdvantages”totheGlossaryofKeyTerms,andtwonewdiagrams–oneofwhich
illustratestheroleofcorevaluesandconceptsinunderpinningthecriteria,andtheother
showsmaturitylevelsinorganizationallearning(NIST,2008).Therefore,the2007framework
andthe2008frameworkcanbeusedinterchangeably.Therelationshipsintheproposed
conceptuallyenhanced2007/2008frameworkarecurrentlynotvalidatedintheacademic
literature.Validatingthe2007/2008frameworkwillsupporttheframework’scurrentformas
wellasprovidemanagerswithmeaningfulinformationthattheycanuseindecidingwherethey
shouldfocustheireffortsinachievingperformanceexcellence.Therefore,thefirstobjectiveof
thisstudyistovalidatetheunderlyingrelationshipspresentedinthe2007/2008framework.
TheMBNQAframeworkenjoyswidespreadacceptanceatlocal,national,and
internationallevels(Kochan,1992;Ettorre,1996;Pannirselvam,Siferd,&Ruch,1998).Various
studieshaveused,extendedandtestedthisframeworkinseveralindustries,suchashealth
3

care(Prybutok&Spink,1999;Meyer&Collier,2001),governmentorganizations(Pannirselvam
etal.,1998;Pannirselvam&Ferguson,2001),andhighereducation(Winn&Cameron,1998).
However,thesestudiestestedtheframeworkatthecategorylevel.Thereisapaucityof
evidencetestingtheMBNQAframeworkatthedimensionlevel.Adimensionlevelanalysiswill
provideacademiciansandmanagerswithbetterinsightregardinghoweachiteminacategory
isrelatedtospecificitemsinothercategories(Pannirselvam&Ferguson,2001).Thatis,
dimensionlevelanalysisisnecessarytobetterunderstandhowvariousqualitymanagement
aspectsaffecteachotherandimpactbusinessperformance(Evans,1997).Therefore,the
secondobjectiveofthisstudyistoexploretheMBNQAframeworkatthedimensionlevel,and
developandtestconstructsmeasuredatthatlevelinacausalmodel.
TheBPMframeworkembodiesaclosed‐loop.Cokins(2007)positsthatbusiness
performancemanagementexisteddecadesagoandthatorganizationsweredoingperformance
managementlongbeforeitwaslabeledsuchin1990sbyinformationtechnologyresearchfirms
andsoftwarevendors.Thereislittleornoresearchinacademiaonbusinessperformance
management.SeveralpractitionerBPMframeworksexistbuttheseareindustryspecificand
varyfromindustrytoindustry(Eckerson,2004;Cokins,2007).However,allsuchframeworks

havecommonconstructs–developstrategy;define,measureandmanageperformanceagainst
strategicgoal;continuouslyadjustandrefinestrategy;andoptimizethestrategicexecution.
Therefore,thethirdobjectiveofthisworkistovalidateandcreateacommongeneral
frameworkforthebusinessperformancemanagementbyintegratingthepractitionerliterature
withbasictheoryincludingexistingMBNQAtheory.
4

The2008criteriaplacesignificantimportanceoncompetitiveadvantages,strategic
advantages,corecompetencies,andinnovation.TheBaldrigecriteriaaskthought‐provoking,
criticalquestionsthatemphasizeanorganizationalinfrastructurethatisessentialtomaintain
andimprovecompetitiveadvantageandbringaboutinnovation.Oneimpedimenttoachieving
improvedorganizationeffectivenessandcompetitivenessisthehugegapbetweenstrategyand
execution(Eckerson,2004).Eckerson(2004)suggeststhatbusinessperformancemanagement
(BPM)bridgesthegapbetweenstrategyandexecution.EckersonalsopositsthatBPMhelps
organizationsexploitmarketopportunitiesastheyarise,andmakeorganizationsmore
effective,andmorecompetitive.Therefore,thefinalobjectiveofthisstudyistointegratethe
businessperformancemanagementframeworkandtheMBNQAframeworkintoanew
framework(BPM‐MBNQAframework)thatcanguideorganizationsintheirjourneytoward
achievingandsustainingcompetitiveandstrategicadvantages.
Insummary,theobjectivesareasfollows:
1. Validatetheunderlyingrelationshipspresentedinthe2008MBNQAframeworkat
thecategorylevel

2. ExploretheMBNQAframeworkatthedimensionlevel,anddevelopandtest
constructsmeasuredatthatlevelinacausalmodel

3. Validateandcreateacommongeneralframeworkforthebusinessperformance
managementbyintegratingthepractitionerliteraturewithbasictheoryincluding
existingMBNQAtheory


4. IntegratetheBPMframeworkandtheMBNQAframeworkintoanewframework
(BPM‐MBNQAFramework)thatcanguideorganizationsintheirjourneytoward
achievingandsustainingcompetitiveandstrategicadvantages

Thepurposeofthisstudyistoachievetheseobjectivesbymeansofacombinationof
methodologiesincludingliteraturereviews,expertopinions,interviews,presentation
5

feedbacks,contentanalysis,andlatentsemanticanalysis.AninitialBPMframeworkwas
developedbasedonthereviewsofliteratureandexpertopinions.Thereisapaucityof
evidenceofacademicresearchinbusinessperformancemanagement.Therefore,thisstudy
reviewedthepractitionerliteratureonBPManddevelopedageneric,conceptualBPM
framework.Withtheintentofobtainingvaluablefeedback,thisinitialBPMframeworkwas
presentedtoBaldrigeAwardrecipients(BARs)andselectedacademiciansfromacrossthe
UnitedStateswhoparticipatedintheFallSummit2007heldatCaterpillarFinancial
HeadquarterinNashville,TNonOctober1and2,2007.Inc orporatingthefeedback,arefined,
improvedBPMframeworkhasbeenproposed.
Inlinewiththeabove‐mentionedresearchobjectives,thestudyseekstoaddressthe
followingresearchquestions:
1. AretheproposedrelationshipsbetweenthecategoriesintheMBNQA2008
frameworksupported?

2. Howarethedimensionsrelatedwithineachcategoryandbetweencategoriesinthe
MBNQA2008framework?

3. IstheproposedBPMframeworksupportedbytheextantliterature?

4. DoesBPMframeworkcontributetoenhancedcompetitivenessandinnovation?

5. HowistheproposedBPMframeworkrelatedtothe2008MBNQAframework?


Thisstudyusescausallatentsemanticanalysis(cLSA)tovalidatetheproposedBPM
frameworkandthe2008MBNQAframework.ThecausalLSA(cLSA)isamodificationandthusa
derivativeofthetraditionallatentsemanticanalysis.Inadditiontouncoveringthelatent
factors,thecLSAestablishescausalrelationshipsamongthesefactorsbasedontheinputand
outputstatementscontainedinthefactors(seeAppendixBfordetail).TovalidatetheBPM
6

framework,IperformedcLSAonaBPMcorpusdevelopedbasedonthefullbodytextdatafrom
allarticlespublishedinthepractitionerBPMjournalentitledtheBusinessPerformance
ManagementMagazinesinceitsinceptionin2003.Inaddition,thetraditionallatentsemantic
analysis(LSA)wasusedtouncoverthelatentsemanticsoftheBPMframeworkfromthearticle
abstractspublishedintheInternationalJournalofBusinessPerformanceManagement.To
validatetheMBNQAframework,IperformedcLSAonanMBNQAcorpusobtainedfromthe
articleabstractsontheBaldrigeAwardandprogrampublishedinpractitionerandacademic
journalsfrom1987to2009.
Theremainingofthestudyisorganizedasfollows.Chapter2providesareviewofthe
literatureontheMBNQA,BPMandlatentsemanticanalysis.Chapter2alsodelineatesthe
researchmodelsandgeneratespropositionsfortestingtheresearchobjectives.Chapter3
articulatestheresearchmethods,constructmeasurement,sampledesign,scaledevelopment,
anddatacollectionsoastoanswertheresearchquestionspresentedinChapter1.Chapter4
providesthedataanalysisandresults.Finally,Chapter5discussesthelimitations,contributions
andimplicationsofthestudy.



7

CHAPTER2
LITERATUREREVIEW

ThischapterprovidesareviewoftheliteratureontheMalcolmBaldrigeNational
QualityAward(MBNQA)framework,thebusinessperformancemanagement(BPM)framework
andlatentsemanticanalysis(LSA).Therearefivesectionsinthischapter.Thefirstsection
presentsareviewoftheliteratureontheMBNQAframework.Thesecondsectionprovidesa
reviewofthepractitionerliteratureonBPM.AconceptualBPMframeworkisproposedbased
onthereviewofthepractitionerliterature.Thethirdsectiondiscusseslatentsemanticanalysis.
SectionfourdiscusseshowtheBPMandtheMBNQAframeworkcanbeintegrated;andit
presentstheintegratedBPM‐MBNQAconceptualframework.Finally,researchpropositionsare
detailedinsectionfive.
TheMBNQAFramework
TheMalcolmBaldrigeNationalQualityAward(MBNQA)isconsideredthehighesthonor
forbusinessexcellenceinAmerica(TYBEA,2001).TheUnitedStatesDepartmentofCommerce
establishedtheBaldrigeAwardandtheBaldrigeNationalQualityProgramin1987tojumpstart
asmall,slowlygrowingqualitymovement(TYBEA,2001).TheBaldrigeAwardandprogram
playsacriticalroleinstrengtheningcompetitiveness(Bell&Keys,1998)withtheintentof
achievingthreespecificgoals–topromotequalityawareness,torecognizequalityachievement
ofU.S.companies,andtopublicizesuccessfulstrategies(Bemowski&Stratton,1995;TYBEA,
2001;NIST,2007).TheNationalInstituteofStandardsandTechnology (NIST)oftheUS
CommerceDepartmentdesignsandmanagestheBaldrigeAwardandprogram.Congress
selectedNISTtoadministertheBaldrigeAwardbecauseof“itslong‐standingroleinhelping
8

U.S.companiescompete,itsworld‐renownedexpertiseinqualitycontrolandassurance,andits
reputationasanimpartialthirdparty”(TYBEA,2001,p.5).
ThefirstBaldrigeAwardswerepresentedin1988tothreecompanies.TheUnitedStates
presidentpresentstheawardstotherecipients.From1988to1998,theawardsweregivento
eachofthreesectors–manufacturing,service,andsmallbusiness.WiththeOctober1998
passageoflegislation,NISTestablishedBaldrigeAwardsforeducationorganizationsand
healthcareproviders;andthefirstapplicationsforawardswereacceptedin1999(TYBEA,
2001).NISTwasauthorizedtoexpandtheBaldrigeAwardprogramtonon‐profitorganizations

bytheOctober2004legislationsignedintolawbyPresidentBush.Thefirstapplicationsfor
awardsinthenon‐profitorganizationssectorwereacceptedin2007(NIST,2007).
NowNISTdesignsandmanagestheBaldrigeAwardandprogramformanufacturing,
service,smallbusiness,education,healthcare,andnon‐profitorganizations.Threeframeworks
areprovidedbyNISTtoadministerawardsinthesecategories.Thefirstframeworkembodies
criteriaforbusinessandnon‐profitorganizationsandisusedformanufacturing,smallbusiness,
serviceandnon‐profitcategories.Thesecondandthirdframeworksprovidecriteriafor
educationorganizationsandhealthcareproviders,respectively.NISTprovidesthree
frameworkstocapturethepeculiaritythatexistsacrossindustries.However,thebottom‐line
purposesandunderpinningsofallframeworksarethesame.Minordifferencesinframeworks
existinthenameofthedimensionsoftheframeworksandareneededtoreflecttheesoteric
characteristicsofeachindustry.Forinstance,thetermcustomerisbettersuitedtobusinesses
andnon‐profitorganizations.Thetermpatientismoreappropriateinthehealthcareindustry.
Thedifferencesinframeworksarereflectedasfollows:(1)thecategoryCustomerandMarket
9

Focusinthebusinessandnon‐profitcriteriaisreplacedwithFocusonPatients,Other
Customers,andMarketinhealthcarecriteria,andwithStudent,Stakeholder,andMarketFocus
ineducationcriteria,and(2)thedimensionsintheResultscategoryhavebeennamedinthe
frameworkstoreflectthedistinctiveoutcomesofeachindustry.
Theunderlyingcausalrelationshipsandthedesignstructureoftheframeworksremain
unchangedacrossindustries.Therefore,theterms“MalcolmBaldrigeNationalQualityAward
framework,”“MBNQAperformanceexcellenceframework,”“MBNQAmodel,”“Baldrige
framework,”and“Baldrigemodel”areusedtoembodythecausalrelationshipsandthe
skeletonofallframeworks.Becausetherelationshipsandtheskeletonoftheframeworksare
thesame,thebusinessandnon‐profitframeworkisusedhereonasarepresentationofthe
Baldrigemodel,theMBNQAmodelortheMBNQAframework.Inlinewithoneoftheobjectives
ofthisresearch,the2008BaldrigecriteriaarereferredtothetheoreticalMBNQAframework.
Thebottom‐linephilosophyofthe Baldrigeframeworkistoprovideasystems
perspectiveformanagingorganizationsandtheirkeyactivitiesandprocessestoobtainresults.

TheMBNQAframeworkdefinessevencriteriacategoriesthataredesignedtoendow
organizationswithanintegratedapproachtoperformanceexcellence.Thesecriteriacategories
are(1)leadership,(2)strategicplanning,(3)customerandmarketfocus,(4)measurement,
analysis,andknowledgemanagement,(5)workforcefocus,(6)processmanagement,and(7)
results.TheBaldrigescoringsystemencompassesthesesevencriteriacategoriesanddivides
themintotwoevaluationdimensions:(1)processand(2)results.“Process”referstothe
methodsthatorganizationsusetoaddresstherequirementsinCategories1–6,while“Results”
referstoorganizations’outputsandoutcomesinachievingtherequirementsinCategory7
10

(NIST,2008).ThetwoevaluationdimensionsarecentraltotheBaldrigeAwardapplicant
evaluationandfeedback.Acriticalfactorinevaluationandfeedbackistheimportanceofan
organization’sreportedprocessandresultstoitskeybusinessfactors.NISTsuggeststhat
organizationsidentifytheareasoftheirgreatestimportanceandreportthemintheir
organizationalprofile.NISTpositsthatorganizationalprofileisthemostimportantstarting
pointforself‐assessmentandforwritinganapplication.Inaddition,organizationalprofilehelps
organizationsidentifypotentialgapsinkeyinformationandfocusonkeyperformance
requirementsandresults.Itsetsthecontextsuchasoperatingenvironment,keyworking
relationships,andstrategicchallengesandadvantagesforthewayanorganizationoperates.
Therefore,organizationalprofileservesasanoverarchingguideforanorganization’s
performancemanagementsystem.However,organizationalprofileisnotconsideredacriteria
categoryanddoesnotcontributetowardthescoringsystem.Thisstudyinvestigatesthe
underlyingrelationshipsamongthesevencriteriacategoriesandthusconsidersthediscussion
oforganizationalprofileforfurtherresearch.Abriefdescriptionofthecriteriacategoriesis
giveninTable1.Table2providesabriefdescriptionoftheMBNQAconstructsatthedimension
level.






11

Table1:BriefdescriptionofMBNQAcategories
Constructs Description
1.Leadership Examineshoworganization’sseniorleadersguideandsustaintheir
organization,howorganizationsviewtheirgovernancesystem,andhow
organizationsfulfilltheirethical,legal,andcommunityresponsibilities
(NIST,2008).
2.Strategic
planning
Examineshoworganizationsdeterminetheirshortandlongtermgoals,
andhoworganizationsmakeplanstoenhancerelationshipswith
customers,suppliers,andpartners(NIST,2008;Prybutok,Zhang,&Ryan,
2008).
3.Customerand
marketfocus
Describeshoworganizationsdetermineproductandserviceexpectations,
identifycustomergroupsandmarketsegments,andmeasurecustomer
satisfactionlevelstoensurethecontinuingrelevanceofproductand
serviceandtodevelopnewbusinessopportunities(NIST,2008;Prybutok
etal.,2008).
4.Knowledge
management
Examinesorganization’sselection,gathering,analysis,management,and
improvementofdata,information,knowledge,andinformation
technology.Alsoexamineshoworganizationsusereviewtoimprovetheir
performance(NIST,2008).
5.Workforce
focus

Examinesorganization’sabilitytoengage,manage,develop,andassessits
workforceinalignmentwithitsoverallmission,strategy,andactionplans
(NIST,2008).
6.Process
management
Examineshoworganizationsdeterminetheircorecompetenciesandwork
systems,andhowtheydesign,manageandimprovetheirkeyprocessesto
implementthoseworksystems(NIST,2008).
7.Results Examinesorganization’sperformanceandimprovementinallkeyareas
includingproductandserviceoutcomes,customer‐focusedoutcomes,
financialandmarketoutcomes,workforce‐focusedoutcomes,process
effectivenessoutcomes,andleadershipoutcomes(NIST,2008).





12

Table2:BriefdescriptionofMBNQAdimensionlevelconstructs
Constructs Description
1.1Senior
leadership
Therolesandresponsibilitiesofseniorleadersinsettingand
communicatingtheorganization’svision,valuesandpracticestocreatea
sustainableorganization(NIST,2008).

1.2Governance
andsocial
responsibilities

Aresponsible,informed,andaccountableadvisorybodytoprotect
shareholders’interests,andtofulfillsocialresponsibilitiesinlegal,
ethical,andgoodcitizenshipmanner(NIST,2008).

2.1Strategy
development
Theformulationofstrategyandstrategicobjectivesbyweighingstrategic
challengesandadvantages(i.e.,strengths,weaknesses,opportunities,
andthreats)(NIST,2008).

2.2Strategy
deployment
Theconversionofstrategicobjectivesintoactionplanwhileoptimizing 
theutilizationofavailableresources(NIST,2008).

3.1Customerand
marketknowledge
Theprocesstounderstandtheneedsandexpectationsofcurrentand
futurecustomersandmarkets(i.e.,theprocesstounderstandthevoice
ofthecustomerandmarket)(NIST,2008).

3.2Customer
relationshipsand
satisfaction
Theprocesstoestablishcustomerrelationships,andtoascertain
customersatisfactionanddissatisfactioninordertoretainthecurrent
customers,andacquirenewcustomersandnewmarkets(NIST,2008).

4.1Performance
analysis,review

andimprovement
Effectiveselectionanduseoffinancialandnon‐financialdataand
informationtoanalyze,review,andimproveorganizationalperformance
withaviewtowardachievingstrategicobjectivesandtopreparefor
unexpectedorganizationalorexternalchanges(NIST,2008).

4.2Dataand
knowledge
management
Thedevelopmentandmanagementofknowledgeassets(e.g.,allsortsof
data,information,softwareandhardware)toimproveorganization
efficiencyandeffectiveness(NIST,2008).

5.1Workforce
engagement
Themechanismthatengages,develops,andassessesanorganization’s
workforcetofosterhighemployeeperformanceandtoenableand
encourageemployeestocontributetotheachievementofstrategic
objectivesandorganizationalsustainability(NIST,2008).
Continued



13

Table2:Continued
Constructs Description
5.2Workforce
environment
Aneffectiveandsupportiveworkforceenvironmentthatencompasses

standardsforworkforcesafety,healthcareservices,careercounseling
anddevelopment,recreationalandculturalactivities,benefitspackages,
formalandinformalrecognition,nonwork‐relatededucation,etc.(NIST,
2008).
6.1Worksystems
design
Identificationofcorecompetencies,worksystems,andkeywork
processesthatarecriticalforcreationofcustomervalue,preparationfor
potentialemergencies,andachievementoforganizationalsuccessand
sustainability.Keyworkprocessesincludeprocessesforinnovation,
researchanddevelopment,technologyacquisition,supplychain
management,outsourcing,mergersandacquisition,globalexpansion,
projectmanagement,salesandmarketing,etc.(NIST,2008).
6.2Workprocess
managementand
improvement
Theimplementation,managementandimprovementofkeywork
processesthatarecriticalforcreationofcustomervalue,and
achievementoforganizationalsuccessandsustainability(NIST,2008).
7.1Productand
serviceoutcomes
Measuresofproductsandserviceperformancesuchasinternalquality
measurements,fieldperformanceofproducts,defectlevels,service
errors,responsetime,etc.(NIST,2008).
7.2Customer‐
focusedoutcomes
Measuresofcustomer‐relatedperformancesuchascustomersatisfaction
anddissatisfaction;retention,gains,andlossesofcustomers;customer
complaints,complaintmanagement,effectivecomplaintresolution,and
warrantyclaims;customer‐perceivedvaluebasedonqualityandprice;

customerassessmentofaccessandeaseofuse;awards,ratingsand
recognitionfromcustomersandindependentratingagencies(NIST,
2008).
7.3Financialand
marketoutcomes
Measuresoffinancialandmarketperformancesuchasrevenues,profits
orlosses,budgets,cashposition,netassets,debtleverage,earningsper
share,financialoperationsefficiency,financialreturns,businessgrowth,
donationsandgrantsreceived,percentageofrevenuesderivedfromnew
products,programsorservices,etc.(NIST,2008).
7.4Workforce‐
focusedoutcomes
Measuresofworkforce‐relatedperformancesuchasincreasedworkforce
retention,leaderdevelopment,workforcetraining,workforcesafety,
employeeabsenteeism,employeeturnover,employeesatisfaction,
employeecomplaints,etc.(NIST,2008).
Continued


14

Table2:Continued
Constructs Description
7.5Process
effectiveness
outcomes
Measuresoforganizationalandoperationalperformanceincluding
measureandindicatorsofprocesseffectivenessandefficiency(e.g.,cost
savings,higherproductivity,reducedemissionlevels,etc.),internal
responsivenessindicators(e.g.,cycletimes,productionflexibility,lead

times,setuptimes,etc.),improvedperformanceofadministrativeand
othersupportfunctions,business‐specificindicators(e.g.,innovation
rates,SixSigmainitiativeresults,etc.),andsupplychainindicators(e.g.,
reductioninsupplychainmanagementcosts,reductionsininventoryand
incominginspections,improvementsinelectronicdataexchange,etc.)
(NIST,2008).

7.6Leadership
outcomes
Measuresofperformanceintheareasofleadershipandgovernance,
achievementofstrategicobjectives,andsocietalresponsibilitiessuchas
environmental,legalandregulatorycompliance;resultsofoversight
auditsbygovernmentorotheragencies;indicatorsofsupportforkey
communitiesandotherpublicpurposes;etc.(NIST,2008).

TheMBNQAframeworkconnectsandintegratesthecriteriacategoriestoformthe
performanceexcellenceframework.Figure1illustratestheMBNQAperformanceexcellence
frameworkfor2008criteria.
Figure1:The2008MBNQAperformanceexcellenceframework




TherearethreeintegralpartsintheMBNQAperformanceexcellenceframework:(1)the
leadershiptriad,(2)theresultstriad,and(3)measurement,analysis,andknowledge
15