Deming Performance System for the National Quality Award
The Deming Performance System for the National Quality Award is a classification model developed by W. Edwards Deming to evaluate the performance of organizations to receive the United States National Quality Award. This system is based on performance criteria that are objective, measurable and verifiable, helping organizations to create competitive advantage, increase market share and maximize shareholder value. This performance system is intended to be used to recognize organizations for their outstanding achievement in quality management and for the innovation, continuous improvement and customer satisfaction that the systems bring about for the sake of sustained competitive advantage.
The systematic selection process evaluates the organization according to five key areas of performance. These include: leadership excellence, operational excellence, customer service excellence, performance excellence and contribution to the national quality movement. Leaders are assessed according to their ability to inspire, promote and sustain quality throughout the organization by influencing corporate culture, inspiring confidence and trust among team members, setting clear vision and direction and rewarding employee achievement in a motivating way. Operational excellence involves processes and systems that enable the organization to fulfill its commitment to quality, economic performance and customer satisfaction. This includes expenditures for rapid development, technological implementation and process excellence. Customer service excellence is related to principles of customer satisfaction, such as delivery on time, reliability, dependability, communication and willingness to accept employees’ feedbacks. Performance excellence focuses more on the organization’s productivity and its ability to consistently deliver quality products. Finally, contribution to the national quality movement focuses on how the organization has successfully contributed to the national quality movement by its activities and initiatives.
In addition to these main categories, the system also uses a number of criteria and indicators to evaluate the performance of an organization. These include the degree of quality management structure, leadership commitment and vision demonstrated by the organization, the availability of resources to support the commitment to quality, the amount of effort and follow-through devoted to the achievement of quality; the effectiveness and timeliness of processes and systems used for quality performance; and the communication of goals, objectives and processes used to support quality. Organization performance is also evaluated on the basis of the availability of qualified personnel, the degree of customer satisfaction, the capability of sustainable improvement and the ability to maintain an optimum level of quality even under changing conditions.
When evaluating the performance of an organization, the Award’s evaluation panel will consider a broad range of factors, from customer and employee feedback to process and technology assessments. The purpose of this performance evaluation model is to facilitate the selection of organizations to receive the National Quality Award. In doing so, the award recognizes those organizations and their teams who have developed innovative and reliable processes that produce consistent high quality results, demonstrate appreciation for customer value, track and improve processes and produce optimum performance results.
Organizations and teams that meet the strict performance criteria may receive certification in the form of the National Quality Award. This certification recognizes the outstanding performance excellence achieved through systematic evaluation, as third-party verified, using the Deming Performance evaluation system. The National Quality Award serves as a sign of respect, product credibility and performance achievement, enabling all involved to be proud of the acknowledged accomplishment.
