In order to respond to the highly competitive external environment, enterprises constantly need to devise frameworks which enhance their management capabilities. Business Excellence is developing outstanding practices in managing the systems and processes of the organization to improve performance and create value for the stakeholders. It is often put in relation to achieving superior business results, all based on a set of fundamental concepts and strategies of the company. Today, these practices have evolved into various models according to which different organizations operate. Developed through extensive studies over a period of time, these models were first called Total Quality Management models.
Business excellence models are essentially frameworks which when applied within an organization can help to focus action in a more systematic and structured way leading to increased quality and productivity. Research on the overall benefits of using BE models indicates that organizations with such an approach obtain significant operational and financial benefits. Covering business aspects ranging from strategy and leadership to safety and climate change, the BE models encourage formal system of benchmarking and assessment. Thus, the organizations can assess their strengths, challenges, possible risks and areas of improvement. These frameworks also provide senior managers a holistic method to make informed, innovative decisions that result into measurable and sustainable success.
Therefore, business excellence models have two purposes: One is guiding the organization towards BE, and the other is conducting assessment of the performance. Some of the well-known models are Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model, Deming Prize and 4P Excellence Model.
Business Ethics