Businesses Comprehensively Approach Quality via National Quality Award Criteria

VQA Programme was created in 1995 following the launch of Productivity - Quality Movement during the First Vietnam Quality Decade (1995-2005) at the initiative of the Directorate for Standards Metrology and Quality (STAMEQ) affiliated to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (the present-day Ministry of Science and Technology - MOST). VQA aimed to encourage production, business and service enterprises and organisations of Vietnam in all economic sectors to improve operating quality and create high-quality products and goods with high competitiveness on domestic and global markets to contribute to the cause of national socioeconomic development. VQA belonged to the Asia - Pacific Quality Award System developed by Asia Pacific Quality Organisation (APQO) adapted from the Quality Award of developed countries. VQA has significantly helped boost national economic development, enhance corporate competitiveness, and prepare necessary conditions for Vietnamese companies to enter the stage of active integration into regional and global markets. VQA went beyond the framework of a simple movement and became an effective tool for Vietnamese enterprises, especially small and medium ones, to perfect themselves, and raise competitiveness, qualifications management, reputation and consumer confidence. The Law on Product Quality of 2007 contains provisions on the National Quality Award (NQA). NQA is presented by the Prime Minister and built on the basis of 13 years of VQA formation and development from 1996 to 2008.

 

NQA, like VQA previously, was established and deployed from the adaptation of the model and seven criteria of Quality Award of developed countries, which was seen as the standard model for study and research by other countries in the world when they built their quality awards. NQA criteria include corporate leadership role; operation strategy; customer and market orientation policy; knowledge measurement, analysis and management; human resources management and development; operating process management; and corporate operation results.

 

National Quality Awards all aim for excellence in production, business and service through following quality approaches:

 

The vision and mission are the goals and targeting of corporate operations. If a company wants success in its operations, it must define a solid vision and mission to show its position to be achieved in the future and its responsibility to be shouldered to determine specific missions for specific periods of time. Top leaders of the company must publicly announce to employees at all levels to let them know about the company’s vision and mission to engage their commitment and inspiration.

Requirements for identification and implementation of the vision and mission of an attending company are presented in its introductory report and self-assessment report. Especially, in self-assessing according to Criterion 1 “Corporate leadership role”, the company needs to demonstrate how the top leaders establish and carry out the vision and how it is communicated to everyone inside the company. Besides, NQA requires the company’s leaders to facilitate its employees to use their capabilities fully in carrying out the set goals.

 

NQA attaches great importance to developing appropriate policies and strategies in the company. Criterion 2 “Operation strategy” requires the company to demonstrate how the company established strategic objectives and action plans to meet ever-changing needs and increasingly fierce competition on the market.

 

To achieve this criterion, raising the competence and quality of management through advanced quality management systems and tools is essential.

 

This commitment must be started from the highest leadership. Operational excellence in production, business and service will ensure that the company has a competitive advantage in the market.

 

NQA orients the company to integrate its operations with current changes. Three criteria: customer and market orientation policy (Criterion 3); knowledge measurement, analysis and management (Criterion 4); and operating process management (Criterion 6) are the interrelating criteria. These criteria refer to the application of advanced technologies (e.g. information technology), knowledge, new product development, consumer service quality improvement, consumer feedback collection and processing. Self-assessment to identify opportunities for ongoing improvement and innovation is the most proper way.

 

In the current context, companies must focus on mobilising every available potential and resource to generate the highest competitive advantage. Therefore, they must spend (time and money) on education, training and skills development for workers.

 

The above requirement is not only stated in the Criterion 5 “Human resource management and development” but also referred in other NQA criteria. For example, Criterion 1 “Corporate leadership role” sets requirements for creating a favourable environment to support education for continuous workers’ level improvement.

 

Currently, many business leaders believe that personnel is an important matter. Effective use of human resources will help lower costs and improve productivity. Properly addressing this key issue will help establish and promote corporate culture.

 

NQA focuses on promoting employee initiative in innovation and creativity to contribute to company development in particular and social development in general.

 

The success of any company depends heavily on employee commitments, engagements and responses in carrying out its objectives. With timely motivations and encouragements, employees will feel excited perform their tasks successfully. Reward and promotion are practical measures of encouragement and motivation.

 

Many companies are aware that ensuring good customer service quality is important to increase customer satisfaction, thereby retaining their customers.

 

NQA highlights collecting and processing customer feedback in Criterion 3 “Customer and market orientation policy.” Besides, NQA underlines the establishment of good relations with customers, to listen to and learn to satisfy their customers in a better way.

 

Customer satisfaction is also defined as an important aspect of corporate operation results.

 

Operational measurement and analysis is important for assessing, deciding and identifying opportunities for company improvement.

 

Operation measurements are derived from production, business and service demands and strategies, and introduce essential data and information on processes, implement processes and implementation results. Performance measurement relates to customers, products and services, supplier and employee relations, market and competition, costs and finance.

 

Information and data analysis will help company administrators to achieve desired effects, particularly in planning, reviewing and assessing, improving, changing and comparing with competitors and benchmarks of best practices.

 

Criterion 4 “Knowledge measurement, analysis and management” requires the company to first of all ensure the availability of information and data quality and facilitate knowledge dissemination, sharing and application of best practices.

 

Measurement and analysis help identify main operation results. However, operation results of a company must be used in a balanced and harmonised way among stakeholders such as customers, employees, capital contributors, suppliers, partners, surrounding communities and society. The company cannot develop itself but it also must contribute to the overall development of the country's economy.

 

Criterion 7 “Corporate operation results” provides operating result reporting not only refers to product, financial and market, human resource development results of the company, but also refers to results of generating values to customers and society.

 

Sustainable development practices must be part of main development contents of the company policy. Thus, the company must have policies to mange adverse effects of its business operations on the surrounding community and minimise such effects.

 

In NQA, this is referred to the Criterion 7 “Corporate operation results.”