2010 Baldrige Criteria - Totally Integrated

Item P.1 -- Organizational Description

What are your KEY organizational characteristics?

Describe your organization’s operating environment and your KEY relationships with CUSTOMERS, suppliers, PARTNERS, and STAKEHOLDERS. Within your response, include answers to the following questions: P.1a. Organizational Environment (1)   What are your organization’s main products offerings (see Note 1 below)? What are the delivery mechanisms used to provide your products to your CUSTOMERS? (2)   What are the KEY characteristics of your organizational culture? What are your stated PURPOSE, VISION, VALUES, and MISSION? What are your organization’s CORE COMPETENCIES and their relationship to your MISSION? (3)   What is your WORKFORCE profile? What are your WORKFORCE or EMPLOYEE groups and SEGMENTS? What are their educational LEVELS? What are the KEY factors that motivate them to ENGAGE in accomplishing your MISSION? What are your organization’s WORKFORCE and job DIVERSITY, organized bargaining units, KEY benefits, and special health and safety requirements? (4)   What are your major facilities, technologies, and equipment? (5)   What is the regulatory environment under which your organization operates? What are the applicable occupational health and safety regulations; accreditation, certification, or registration requirements; relevant industry standards; and environmental, financial, and product regulations?  P.1b. Organizational Relationships (1)   What are your organizational structure and GOVERNANCE SYSTEM? What are the reporting relationships among your GOVERNANCE board, SENIOR LEADERS, and parent organization, as appropriate? (2)   What are your KEY market SEGMENTS, CUSTOMER groups, and STAKEHOLDER groups, as appropriate? What are their KEY requirements and expectations for your products, CUSTOMER support services, and operations? What are the differences in these requirements and expectations among market SEGMENTS, CUSTOMER groups, and STAKEHOLDER groups? (3)   What are your KEY types of suppliers, PARTNERS, and COLLABORATORS? What role do these suppliers, PARTNERS, and COLLABORATORS play in your WORK SYSTEMS and the production and delivery of your KEY products and CUSTOMER support services? What are your KEY mechanisms for communicating and managing relationships with suppliers, PARTNERS, and COLLABORATORS? What role, if any, do these organizations play in your organizational INNOVATION PROCESSES? What are your KEY supply chain requirements?

Notes: N1. “Product offerings” and “products” (P.1a[1]) refer to the goods and services that your organization offers in the marketplace. Mechanisms for product delivery to your end-use CUSTOMERS might be direct or through dealers, distributors, COLLABORATORS, or channel PARTNERS. Nonprofit organizations might refer to their product offerings as programs, projects, or services. N2. “CORE COMPETENCIES” (P.1a[2]) refers to your organization’s areas of greatest expertise. Your organization’s CORE COMPETENCIES are those strategically important capabilities that are central to fulfilling your MISSION or provide an ADVANTAGE in your marketplace or service environment. CORE COMPETENCIES frequently are challenging for competitors or suppliers and PARTNERS to imitate and provide a SUSTAINABLE competitive ADVANTAGE. N3. WORKFORCE or EMPLOYEE groups and SEGMENTS (including organized bargaining units) (P.1a[3]) might be based on the type of employment or contract reporting relationship, location, tour of duty, work environment, family-friendly policies, or other factors. N4. CUSTOMER groups (P.1b[2]) might be based on common expectations, behaviors, preferences, or profiles. Within a group there may be CUSTOMER SEGMENTS based on differences and commonalities within the group. Your markets might be subdivided into Market SEGMENTS based on product lines or features, distribution channels, business volume, geography, or other factors that your organization uses to define related market characteristics. N5. CUSTOMER group and market SEGMENT requirements (P.1b[2]) might include on-time delivery, low defect LEVELS, safety, security, ongoing price reductions, electronic communication, rapid response, after-sales service, and multilingual services. STAKEHOLDER group requirements might include socially responsible behavior and community service. For some nonprofit organizations, requirements also might include administrative cost reductions, at-home services, and rapid response to emergencies. N6. Communication mechanisms (P.1b[3]) should be two-way and in understandable language, and they might be in person, via e-mail, Web-based, or by telephone. For many organizations, these mechanisms may change as marketplace, CUSTOMER, or STAKEHOLDER requirements change. N7. CUSTOMERS (P.1a[1]) include the users and potential users of your products. In some nonprofit organizations, CUSTOMERS might include members, taxpayers, citizens, recipients, clients, and beneficiaries. Market SEGMENTS might be referred to as constituencies. N8. Many nonprofit organizations rely heavily on volunteers to accomplish their work. These organizations should include volunteers in the discussion of their WORKFORCE (P.1a[3]). N9. For nonprofit organizations, relevant industry standards (P.1a[5]) might include industry-wide codes of conduct and policy guidance. The term “industry” is used throughout the Criteria to refer to the sector in which you operate. For nonprofit organizations, this sector might be charitable organizations, professional associations and societies, religious organizations, or government entities—or a subsector of one of these. N10. For some nonprofit organizations, GOVERNANCE and reporting relationships (P.1b[1]) might include relationships with major agency, foundation, or other funding sources. For additional description of this Item, see P.1 Organizational Description.

Information for Understanding All Criteria Items For definitions of Key Terms presented throughout the Criteria and Scoring Guidelines text in SMALL CAPS/SANS SERIF, see the Glossary of Key Terms on pages 56-64. Frequently, several questions are grouped under one number (e.g., P.1a[3]). These questions are related and do not require separate responses. These multiple questions serve as a guide in understanding the full meaning of the information being requested. The Items in the Baldrige Criteria are divided into three groups: the Preface, which defines your organizational environment; Categories 1–6, which define your organization’s Processes; and Category 7, which contains your Results for your organization’s processes. Item notes serve three purposes: (1) to clarify terms or requirements presented in an Item, (2) to give instructions on responding to the Item Requirements, and (3) to indicate KEY linkages to other Items. In all cases, the intent is to help you respond to the Item Requirements. A number of Items have notes that provide additional guidance specifically for nonprofit organizations. These nonprofit-specific notes appear at the end of the Item in italics.

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Thank you for using the only truly integrated form of the Baldrige Criteria available anywhere.  Paul Steel