Introduction
Since 1983 Maryland's U.S. Senators have honored the quality, productivity and business achievements of Maryland organizations by presenting the Senate Productivity Awards for Maryland. In 1997, we built on these prestigious awards by creating the 1997 Maryland Quality Awards - a new and expanded recognition and learning process for leading Maryland organizations. Both the Senate Productivity and Maryland Quality Awards are offered through the Maryland Performance Excellence Awards Program, part of MTECH.
The purpose of this awards program is two-fold. First, the awards identify, recognize, and spotlight role model organizations whose performance is worthy of emulation. Second, and perhaps more importantly, the award application process encourages organizations to learn and improve. Through conducting self-assessment, an essential step in preparing the award application, and by utilizing the written feedback report, which all applicants receive, the awards process helps applicants improve the way they manage their organization.
In 1997, Maryland adopted the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence as the basis for the awards program. In addition, the levels of recognition were expanded to include the Maryland Quality Awards (Gold, Silver, Bronze and Certificate of Recognition), which serve to recognize organizations as they progress on their journey toward performance excellence.
The awards program is modified annually to better serve award applicants, the examiners who volunteer their time to assess the award applications, and the state of Maryland. The criteria are updated each year to be aligned with changes to the Baldrige Criteria. Examiner training has been increased to better prepare the volunteers for their assessment of applications and writing of feedback reports. Workshops have been added for prospective award applicants to help them understand the criteria and the awards process, and to provide guidance in writing an award application. A listing of Criteria “experts” has been developed for sharing with interested organizations-contact MPEA Manager for list; and, each applicant in the awards process has the opportunity for a face-to-face discussion with the examiner team for increased learning at the conclusion of the awards process.
Why Should My Organization Apply?
By using the criteria as a model for managing your organization, you will improve your organization's performance results. This is true whether you are a large business or a small business, a school or non-profit organization in the public sector or private sector, an established organization or a young, high-tech firm. Sustained performance results have been demonstrated through follow-up studies of past recipients of the Senate Productivity Awards in areas including sales growth, profit growth, job growth, growth in market share, increased customer loyalty, and increased market value of the firm.
Organizations that have taken significant steps toward management system improvements through processes such as ISO-9000 and QS-9000 will find guidance in this process for moving toward still higher levels of performance. Whether your organization applies for an award or uses the criteria as an internal self-assessment tool, the management principles that are built into the Criteria for Performance Excellence will allow you to continue to develop your management system to increase your chances of competitive success.
Why apply? In short, using the Maryland Performance Excellence Awards Criteria for Performance Excellence to improve your organization makes good "business" sense.
Summary of Benefits of Applying for the Awards
- Improved organizational performance and customer satisfaction.
- A detailed feedback report resulting from the review of your application by a well-trained team of examiners serves as an important source of information for your organization’s strategic planning and continuous improvement efforts.
- Motivate your employees and align the organization around a set of results and a management process that will sustain performance.
- Receive recognition and serve as a role model to organizations across the state.
Award Levels
The Maryland Performance Excellence Awards levels form a ladder that organizations can climb on their continuous improvement journey. The highest-level award in Maryland is the U.S. Senate Productivity Award. This is followed by the Maryland Quality Awards at the Gold, Silver and Bronze levels. All other applicants receive a Certificate of Recognition.
U.S. Senate Productivity Awards
The U.S. Senate Productivity Awards are given to organizations that are deemed worthy of emulation throughout Maryland. The organization demonstrates effective, systematic approaches to the overall requirements of the criteria items. Fact-based evaluation and improvement address the efficiency and effectiveness of key processes. Results address key customer/stakeholder and process requirements, and they demonstrate areas of strength and/or good performance. U.S. Senate Productivity Award recipients exemplify visionary leadership, strong customer focus, fact-based decision processes, systematic approaches to strategy development and implementation, information systems that link customer requirements to process improvement initiatives, and human resource development and management systems that recognize that sustained improvements come from sustained employee growth and loyalty.
Maryland Quality Awards – Gold
Recipients of the Maryland Quality Awards - Gold demonstrate an effective, systematic approach responsive to the basic requirements of the criteria items. Positive improvement trends and comparative data in areas of importance to key organizational requirements are evident. These results have been achieved through the application of an aligned and integrated management system. The approaches show evidence of systematic leadership practices, a strong customer focus, a clear process for setting strategic direction, information systems that create a customer focus and permit fact-based decision making, and human resource systems that lead to employee growth and development.
Maryland Quality Awards – Silver
Recipients of the Maryland Quality Awards - Silver demonstrate a systematic approach responsive to the basic requirements of the criteria items. The organization is in the early stages of obtaining results stemming from approaches, with some improvements and good performance observed. These include customer measures, human resource measures, supplier measures, operational measures and financial measures. The approaches show evidence of systematic leadership practices, a strong customer focus, a clear process for setting strategic direction, information systems that create a customer focus and permit fact-based decision making, and human resource systems that lead to employee growth and development. These approaches are deployed in some areas and in beginning stages of deployment in other areas of the organization.
Maryland Quality Awards – Bronze
Recipients of the Maryland Quality Awards - Bronze demonstrate the early stages of developing and implementing approaches. These organizations show evidence of the beginning of positive performance trends in customer measures, operational measures and financial measures. The approaches demonstrate the early stage implementation of leadership practices, a strong customer focus, a process for setting strategic direction, information systems that create a customer focus and permit fact-based decision making, and human resource systems that lead to employee growth and development.
Certificates of Recognition
Organizations in the early stages of developing and implementing approaches to the requirements of the award criteria and showing beginning evidence of the application of an aligned and integrated management system will receive a Certificate of Recognition.
Feedback
Applicants at all levels of recognition will receive a comprehensive written feedback report prepared by a team of examiners, highlighting the organization’s strengths and opportunities for improvement. Each applicant will have the opportunity for a face-to-face discussion with members of the assessment team that reviewed their application at the conclusion of the awards cycle.
More information
For more information about applying for the awards, please refer to the 2008 MPEA Program Overview & Application Forms book on the Applicant page of this website, or contact Marty Stephens at (301) 405-7173, or send email to martys@umd.edu.
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