Explanation of excellence
Excellence is a quality that is beyond normal standards. The term is used in many sectors across the world (Dale, Zairi, Van der Wiele & Williams 2000; Darbyshire 2008). In the education sector, excellent performance by a student could mean that he or she has performed beyond what was expected (Harvey & Green 1993; Matherly & El-Saidi 2010). In other words, his or her performance is unique and incomparable to performances by his or her peers. In marketing, excellent performance could imply that a marketer has surpassed his or her set sales targets. An organization could also have excellent performance when it has outshined all other organizations in the same category (Klefsjö, Bergquist & Garvare 2008).
International business models and awards (Focus on EFQM)
Each country uses basic rules and guidelines to assess the quality of goods and services. Goods and services have to meet certain quality requirements before they could be bought by customers. Businesses endeavor to become multinational establishments to increase their sales and global presence. As a result, there are international business models that are adopted by multinational businesses to ensure that their quality of goods and services is not compromised. International business awards are given to multinational businesses that satisfy the requirements of international business models. The EFQM Excellence Model focuses on quality excellence by organizations. The Model ensures that organizations:
- Add value to products for customer satisfaction
- Create a sustainable future
- Develop organizational capabilities
- Sustain excellent results
- Promote innovation for excellent goods and services
The EFQM Excellence Award is aimed at identifying and appreciating excellent organizations in Europe (Minguela-Rata & Arias-Aranda 2009). The Award targets both public and private organizations and is awarded to organizations once in a year. The Award is given to organizations that perform excellently and which show proof that their outstanding performances could be maintained in the future (Hides, Davies & Jackson 2004).
Local excellence awards in the United Arab Emirates
Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award (SKEA)
The Award was founded in Abu Dhabi in 1999 with the aim of recognizing the best performing organizations. It was the first award to fulfill the requirements of the EFQM Excellence Model in Abu Dhabi (Zairi & Alsughayir 2011). The Award provides a conceptual framework upon which organizations conduct their continuous improvement. Improvement of goods and services is geared towards increasing competition among organizations in Abu Dhabi. As a result of the Award’s international approach to quality, several organizations in the United Arab Emirates have adopted its model of excellence. In fact, current figures show that the Award has been used by more than ten thousand organizations. Many organizations have also taken part in the SKEA’s annual assessment cycles that are aimed at identifying and appreciating organizations with excellent performance. The SKEA program focuses on holistic performances by organizations by providing products and services that are essential in quality and excellence assessments. In addition, the SKEA program provides strategic support to organizations to ensure that their personnel acquires relevant skills to enhance their performances (Thawani 2004).
Dubai Quality Award
The Dubai Quality Award (DQA) was founded in 1994 with the aim of enhancing the quality of goods and services in Dubai. It was expected that increased standards of goods and services could lead to improved internal and foreign trade. The DQA is given to companies that have shown exemplary performance in their areas of specialization. Business organizations wishing to be given the Award have to present supporting material based on their endeavor and commitment to quality in their business activities (Samuelsson & Nilsson 2002). After applications are assessed and shortlisted by the award’s administrators, assessors visit recommended business organizations for assessments. The Award also accepts applications from small and medium-sized businesses that have demonstrated excellence in their performance.
Dubai Quality Group (DQG)
The Dubai Quality Group (DQG) was founded in 1994 with the aim of developing and promoting quality and excellent performances by businesses in the United Arab Emirates (Jakka 2004). The DQG trains organizations on quality and business excellence through continuous sessions. The sessions are geared towards enhancing the quality of goods and services in the UAE. The DQG focuses on cost-effective education by teaching businesses the best approaches to achieve profits with minimal expenses. The Group also focuses on value addition because value-added goods and services fetch better prices in the market than products without value addition. Training offered by the Group concentrates on imparting attendees with the knowledge and skills required to execute new and efficient management approaches within their business establishments.
Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum Business Awards
The Awards were founded in 2005 with the aim of recognizing business establishments that play a role in the economy of UAE (Ahrens 2013). The Awards are geared towards encouraging firms to promote excellence. The Awards are given to firms in the following categories:
- Service
- Manufacturing
- Financial services
- Transport and logistics
- Re-export
- Trade
- Construction
By increasing competition among organizations within UAE, the Awards also position the organizations to compete with multinational and foreign firms.
References
Ahrens, T, 2013, “Assembling the Dubai Government Excellence Program: A motivational approach to improving public service governance in a monarchical context”, International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 26, No. 7, pp. 576-592.
Dale, BG, Zairi, M, Van der Wiele, A, & Williams, ART, 2000, “Quality is dead in Europe–long live excellence-true or false?”, Measuring Business Excellence, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 4-10.
Darbyshire, P, 2008, “Never mind the quality, feel the width’: The nonsense of ‘quality’,‘excellence’, and ‘audit’in education, health and research”, Collegian: Journal of the Royal College of Nursing Australia, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 35-41.
Harvey, L, & Green, D, 1993, “Defining quality”, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 9-34.
Hides, MT, Davies, J, & Jackson, S, 2004, “Implementation of EFQM excellence model self-assessment in the UK higher education sector–lessons learned from other sectors”, The TQM Magazine, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 194-201.
Jakka, AA, 2004, “Client-Quality Dimensions: empirical evidence from the public sector of the United Arab Emirates”, Public Organization Review, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 239-257.
Klefsjö, B, Bergquist, B, & Garvare, R, 2008, “Quality management and business excellence, customers and stakeholders: do we agree on what we are talking about, and does it matter?”, The TQM Journal, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 120-129.
Matherly, LL., & El-Saidi, MA, 2010, “Implementation of a strategic group map and balanced scorecard in a university setting”, International Journal of Management in Education, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 216-231.
Minguela-Rata, B, & Arias-Aranda, D, 2009, “New product performance through multifunctional teamwork: An analysis of the development process towards quality excellence”, Total Quality Management, Vol. 204, No. 1, pp. 381-392.
Samuelsson, P, & Nilsson, LE, 2002, “Self-assessment practices in large organisations: experiences from using the EFQM excellence model”, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 10-23.
Thawani, S, 2004, “Six sigma—strategy for organizational excellence”, Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, Vol. 15, No. 5-6, pp. 655-664.
Zairi, M, & Alsughayir, AA, 2011, “The adoption of excellence models through cultural and social adaptations: An empirical study of critical success factors and a proposed model”, Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 641-654.