The new cycle for Ramkrishna Baiaj National Quality Award (RBNQA) for the year 2004 has already commenced. Prospective applicants are at present busy putting together their applications, anxious to meet the deadline of 16th August 2004, the last day of receiving applications at IMC office.
The current cycle is the eighth one following the string of seven cycles; it presents somewhat different challenges to both, applicant as well as examiner. The criteria for evaluation is now aligned with Malcolm Balridge award criteria for 2003, and is on par with current international standards.
The new criteria framework has greater focus on Business Results and its weightage has been enhanced from 400 to 450 out of maximum score of 1000. A separate criteria part on product and service results carrying a weightage of 75 has been introduced; in the previous version, these results were part of Customer Satisfaction Results (7.1) which had an overall score of 80. The customer perception as represented by, say, results of satisfaction surveys sometimes gets significantly influenced by the effects of last few interactions/transactions with the customer just before the survey. Product and service performance results which also have a strong bearing on customer satisfaction generally show a more stable trend. However, future buying behaviour of customers is influenced by both, the perception as well as product/service performance.
RBNQA model had all along recognised community in which an organisation operates as its key stakeholder. The model calls for involvement of senior leadership in taking care of its interest and satisfaction. There are a number of instances even in India where deeply satisfied community has come out in strong support to an organisation against all odds. During examination, RBNQA examiners look for evidence of strong belief among leadership that efforts and attention devoted to this aspect help the business and it is not mere charity. In the new criteria framework this aspect has been considerably emphasised to include essence of Corporate Governance under Leadership (criteria 1.1 and 1.2) as well as Business Results (7.6).
Another addition to the criteria is Knowledge Management under criterion 4.2. Successful corporations today are strongly knowledge driven and organisational knowledge has emerged as a very valuable asset for the business. Knowledge management (KM) refers to the process through which organisation generates value from their intellectual and knowledge based assets. It encompasses activities such as, finding, selecting, organising, distilling information which improves employees’ comprehension in areas of interest. Knowledge can be classified into two categories: Explicit Knowledge (formal knowledge) which can be captured, articulated and transmitted to other individuals. Most organisations begin by concentrating on this category of knowledge as it is relatively easy to manage the some. The second category refers to Tacit Knowledge (personal knowledge) which is built through individual experience, personal belief and values.
RBNQA model requires the organisations to direct their efforts towards both categories of knowledge in their areas of interest which may refer to any or all of the following:
- Product technology
- Processes
- Know Hows and Know Whys
- Information about customers and their individual preferences
- Information about employees, suppliers, partners, etc.
- Best practices
As the above body of knowledge that on organisation is interested in is strongly linked with data and information flowing within, KM activities are also normally associated with IT initiatives token by the organisation. A few KM initiatives token by world class companies are listed below:
- GE has collected all the customer complaints since 1982 into its database and has programmed 1.5 million potential problems and their solutions into their systems.
- In one Hotel, all the staff are required to fill in cards, all the information from every personal encounter with a guest. This information is stored, printed and given out to all staff. When the same guest arrives next time, it helps in providing a personal touch.
- A biotech company created a “Knowledge Transfer Department”. Employees best at knowledge sharing gain In both financial rewards and management positions.
- A consulting firm records experiences from every assignment including team members and client preferences and reactions. Each team appoints a “Historian” to document the work
- A project execution company appoints “mentor” with task to facilitate transfer of tacit skills between members of the large project team
While above are the main changes a few other changes also appear in other criteria. These changes may perhaps appear somewhat disconcerting to the applicant company initially; however, if the company looks deeply into its own system it is bound to find some elements of all the major changes discussed above. The model recommends a structured and systematic approach to all the requirements of the criteria.
In the current version, sufficient explanation has been provided for each requirement of the criteria to aid in understanding the same. Some of the important terms used in the text of the criteria are fully explained in a new section called Glossary of Terms. In this way, the Guidelines Booklet provides a common platform of understanding to both the applicant as well the examiner.
CREDITS: P H Sakhalkar, Advisor, IMC Quality Cell