1.

History of RBNQA
In 1993, a Quality Improvement & Technology Committee was set up by the Indian Merchants Chamber which was chaired by Mr Niraj Bajaj. (Business Standard, 2013) This committee instituted the IMC Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Award Trust with the purpose of administering the award to spread awareness for quality and fostering competitiveness in Indian industry. This quality program is seen as a catalyst for nation building at Indian Merchants Chamber. The aim of the award was to match the stature of international awards such as Malcolm Baldrige, European Award and Deming Prize in terms of rigorous criteria and standards of excellence. The award was named after the late Ramakrishna Bajaj as his motto was trust in quality and business ethics and also he spearheaded the quality movement in the country in several ways. The IMC Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Awards was instituted in 1996 to give special recognition to performance excellence in Indian organizations. The criteria for the award are similar to that of Malcolm Baldrige and follows similar rigorous process of training and evaluation. Over the years RBNQA has rapidly become a symbol of excellence by creating general awareness that excellence is the only feature which helps beat competition by creating a clear, tough universal standard for measuring excellence by integrating all the concepts for achieving performance excellence and at the same time emphasizing high integrity and quality leadership.

2. Criteria for Performance Excellence

Figure 1: Criteria Framework and Categories

The different criteria include (criteria, n.d.) 1. Leadership This category examines the leadership qualities of the organizations senior leaders and the role this plays in guiding the organization. 2. Strategic planning This category examines how the organization develops strategic objectives and action plans, how it uses these objectives and changed under various circumstances. 3. Customer focus This category examines how the customers are engaged for long term marketplace success. This includes the customer focussed culture by listening to the customers and use the information generated to improve and identify opportunities for innovation 4. Measurement, Analysis and Knowledge management This category examines how the organization selects, gathers, analyses, manages and improves its data, information and knowledge assets, information technology. It also examines the organization reviews and uses reviews to improve its performance. 5. Workforce focus This category examines the organizations potential in engaging, managing and developing the workforce to utilize its full potential in alignment with the organizations overall mission, strategy and action plan. 6. Process Management This examines the organizations capability to design the work systems and how it designs, manages and improve its key processes for implementing the work systems. 7. Results This category examines the organizations performance and improvement in key areas like product outcomes, customer focussed outcomes, financial and market outcomes, and workforce focussed outcomes, process effectiveness outcomes and leadership outcomes. Performance levels are examined relative to those of competitors and other organizations providing similar product offerings.

3. Award description, Categories and Past Winners

As mentioned above, the main objective of the award is to give special recognition to performance excellence in Indian industry. There are mainly six categories under which the award can be given. These are 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Manufacturing organizations Service organizations Small businesses Overseas organizations Education Health care

Manufacturing, service, small businesses and overseas organizations category come under business excellence in any for-profit businesses in India. The criteria for each category is mentioned in the RBNQA site (criteria, n.d.).

3.1.

Past Winners

The categories under which the awards are given include Award trophy for Manufacturing, Service, Education, Health Care, Performance Excellence trophy in Manufacturing, Service, Education, Health Care, Certificate of Merit in Manufacturing, Service, Small Business, Education, Commendation Certificate in Manufacturing, Service, Small Business, Education. Some of the categories and the winners in those categories are mentioned in Appendix Table 1 Some Categories and Past Winners To be eligible for the award, the companies will have to fulfil all the requirements needed under each category. The awards measure the performance excellence criteria which was earlier mentioned in heading 2 Criteria for performance excellence.

4. IMC RBNQA Assessment process and Benefits of Applying

Figure 2: Assessment Process

4.1.

Benefits of Applying

IMC RBNQ Award process has multiple benefits to the Indian industry. Best practice information are shared by the winners, examiners, organizations and the applicant company. There is a lot of information exchange about how to keep up the quality standards in an industry. Many applicants feel that the process of applying for the award itself is a learning experience. These processes help a company to analyse itself- the strengths and weaknesses. All the applicants will get feedback reports which comments on their strengths and opportunities for improvement. The whole award process is highly structured and transparent involving individual assessment, consensus meetings and site visits. There is high level of open communication between the applicant organizations and the IMC RBNQA Trust. The profiles of examiners are approved by the applicant to avoid conflicts of interest. Over the years, the award recipients encouraged sharing of their best practices thus helping the industries to maintain quality. The recipients showed commitment in improving competitiveness. As the competitors also grow, the company itself try to better its practices. This is the positive side of competition.

4.2.

Disadvantages of entering/winning award

The main aim of the award is quality improvement throughout the industry. But another dimension of the award is competition. The major disadvantage is that the entering/winning company will have to reveal its best practices which can be easily studied and adopted by the competitors. But if the information is critical to the company, they neednt share it.

5. Application for Quality Award

The IMC RBNQ Award is administered to improve the quality standards throughout industries. To facilitate quality improvements the winners/ participants in the award share their best practices. A company can apply for the award in the industry, which it plays, if it meets the designed criteria for that industry. Applying for the award helps the company to understand itself better. Also, an external evaluation has its own benefits of getting a new perspective. The criteria setup by RBNQA is rigorous and extensive. When a company applies for this award, it would get a better focus and will get to know an effective way of running an organization. The real benefits are more satisfied customers, happier employees, increased sales, profits and market share, long term survival etc. (IMC RBNQA, n.d.) The normal procedure to apply for the award is shown in appendix- Figure 3: Award Cycle Dates which shows the submission of Eligibility determination forms to Awards ceremony. A company sends an application form to the IMC RBNQA Trust. The examiners goes through the application form and if all the criteria are met by the company, the examiners starts evaluating the company based on the criteria set forth by the Trust. After winning the award the recipient is supposed to give a presentation on their best practice to the participants to improve the quality standards of the industry. The recipient must ensure that the same quality is maintained in the future and should set an example in the industry. The company should benchmark its processes and try to improve it even further.

Another dimension of the quality award is competition. The winner of the award is sharing its best practices to the competitors. By doing this, the company can better itself in the sense if the competitor grows the company will also grow in order to maintain the market share.

Appendix
Table 1: Some Categories and Past Winners Year Award Trophy (Manufacturing) Award Trophy (Service) SBI Life Insurance Co Ltd HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd Award Trophy (Education) Global Indian International School Sri Vishnu Educational Society, Hyderabad Award Trophy (Health Care) Performance Excellence Trophy (Manufacturing)

2012

Emami Ltd

2011

Britannia India Ltd

Muljibhai Patel Urological Hospital

2010

Lanxess India Pvt Ltd

Information Systems Resource Centre Private Ltd

Global Indian International School, Singapore

Apollo Speciality Hospitals, Madurai

2009

Larsen & Toubro Ltd, Electrical

Dahanu Thermal Power

Mepco Schlenk Engineering

1.Hindustan Zinc Ltd 2.Reliance Industries Ltd, Allahabad 3.Aditya Birla Insulators 4.Bharat Petroleum CO. Ltd 1.Reliance Industries Ltd, Nagpur 2.Sterlite Ltd 3.Ultratech Cement Ltd 4.Britannia industries Ltd 5.Ashok Leyland Ltd, bhandara 6.Chanderiya Smelting complex 7.Alok Industries 8.Bharat Petroleum, Mumbai 9.Madura Clothing, Bangalore 1.Ashok Leyland Ltd, Bhandara

Standard Products

Station, College, Reliance Sivakasi Infrastructure

2.Hindustan Zinc Ltd 3.JSW Steel Ltd, Bellary 4.Bharat Petroleum, Mumbai 5.Ambuja Cements Ltd 6.Johnson Lifts Pvt Ltd, Chennai Dr L H Hiranandani Hospital, Mumbai 1.Gwalior Chemical Industries Ltd 2.Gagal Cement works 3.Sterlite Technologies 4.Reliance Industries Ltd 5.Bharat petroleum 6.JSW Steel 7.Birla White 8.Sterlite industries 9.Jaya Shree Textiles 10.Vikram Ispat P.D Hinduja 1.Harihar National Polyfibers Hospital & 2.New Wadi Medical Plant, ACC Ltd Research 3.Tata Centre Chemicals Ltd 4.JSW Steel Ltd 5.Rallis India Ltd 6.Bharat Petroleum

2008

Marico Limited

Hindalco Industries Ltd

SIES college of Management Studies

2007

Bihar Caustic & Chemicals Ltd

Ma Foi Management Consultants Ltd

Manipal University

2006

Datamatics National Technologies Education Ltd Society

Figure 3: Award Cycle Dates