This assignment focuses on learning about the Baldrige Excellence Framework. It requires studying and reporting on how the criteria for the Baldrige Excellence Framework can help organizations manage their process improvement. You can refer to the free content (you are not required to purchase any publications from the website or anywhere else) about the Malcolm Baldrige Excellence Framework that is available at http://www.nist.gov/baldrige/ and several other Internet resources. Please remember to cite all your sources of information in your response.

1. List the criteria in the Baldrige Excellence Framework. Depending on how you interpret the description, there are 6 to 9 criteria in the framework. Describe briefly how functional areas of accountancy, finance, human resource management, information systems, marketing, and operations management can contribute toward each of the Baldrige excellence criteria. Mention only the applicable function(s) for each Baldrige criterion. Suggested length for this part is 10 to 12 sentences. This length is a suggestion; not a minimum requirement or a maximum limitation.

2. Select 1 Baldrige award winner in any one of the award sectors (e.g., education or healthcare or manufacturing or small business), indicate the name of the organization, the category in which it received its award, and the year it received its award. Briefly describe what the awardee organization does. Briefly describe 2 things that stand out as actions taken by the award-winning organization toward process improvement. Suggested length for this part is 10 to 12 sentences. This length is a suggestion; not a minimum requirement or a maximum limitation.

3. Critique the Baldrige awards criteria with any supplementary information or based on your own knowledge and experience and based on what you read about these awards - e.g., are these awards a good idea, are the criteria comprehensive, do the organizations that have received these awards represent good quality products and good process improvement culture, what other awards or certifications or programs do you know about that are similar or better...? This is neither a required set of questions nor a comprehensive one, and feel free to write about both positives and negatives or just comparisons, totaling at least 3, that you see for these awards.