Principles and Organizational Issues of the Baldridge Criteria - Assignment Example

In truth, there is a myriad of different approaches to organizational and personal improvement and management, but the Baldridge criteria stand solidly apart. For one, unlike other approaches, this process offers an improvement framework that is non-prescriptive. Additionally, the techniques are all-inclusive and integrated, addressing all the factors involved within the organization, its workings, and outcomes. Moreover, the brilliance of the process resides in its focus on the common needs of the set-up, rather than on benign aspects such as techniques, tools, and procedures.

The technique addresses the desires of all the stakeholders in an organization and is essentially adaptable and accommodative to various organizational and personal practices and needs. The criteria of the Baldridge allow for organizations to conduct self-assessment and gives insightful feedback to users. The criteria also assist in enhancing the performance capabilities, practices, and results while further facilitating proper communication methods/ techniques within the organization. Not only do the Baldridge criteria focus on improving the organization, but it also focuses on personal (individual) learning within these settings of the application.

This is significantly contributed by its core values and concepts which strongly advocate for visionary leadership (that demands the setting of proper examples from leaders so that ethical behavior, values, and expectation are reinforced even as commitment and initiative are enhanced within the visible values and high expectations organizations (Parrish, 2005). Other important values of the Baldridge organization criteria include learning-centered organizations (with high expectations, progress evaluations, and self-assessment, with an understanding that different people learn at different rates and through various ways), valuing faculty/ staff/ partners (results in the positive organizational cohesion, amongst other benefits), agility (exponential measurement of all aspects of organizational management), focus on the future (considers both short and long-term issues that may impact on the organization/ individual), managing for innovation, management by fact, social responsibility (practicing good citizenship by remaining ethical and being concerned with the public and environmental health/ safety), focus on results and value creation, as well as systems perspective that enables effective organizational and key processes’ management in order to elicit better results.

These values are conveniently separated into seven categories; leadership, process management, organizational performance results, strategic planning, faculty/ staff focus, stakeholder and market focus, and measurement, analysis, and knowledge management (Brown, 2008). This is but a brief reflection of what I accrued on the relevance of the Baldridge criteria to organizations and to individuals as myself in enabling sustained improvement and excellence in various aspects of organizational and self-management.

The Baldridge process is an all-encompassing management approach for organizations and self, and I agree with Brown (2000) who says that it conspicuously stands out from other approaches in terms of results and sustainability.