Citation
(2003), "News focus", Measuring Business Excellence, Vol. 7 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/mbe.2003.26707aab.007
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2003, MCB UP Limited
News focus
The California Awards for Performance Excellence last year awarded Boeing the gold level honor in its 2002 US Senate Productivity Award for manufacturing. This is the highest award offered in this program which adheres to the full criteria of the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award process. The medal was awarded to Boeing for its C-17 airlifter program. According to Dave Bowman, C-17 program manager, the team have "shown the examiners that we are a world-class, quality-focused organization with the right processes and the right tools to excel and continuously improve".
In December last year, Boeing shelved its plans to build a high speed sonic cruiser passenger jet, choosing instead to concentrate on a more fuel efficient aircraft. According to a recent report released by the American Productivity and Quality Center e-learning is a long way from replacing more traditional forms of training and development. Rather, it is used by best practice organizations to complement classroom training. The study, "Planning, implementing and evaluating e-learning initiatives", identifies best practices, challenges and opportunities for improvement in e-learning.
The report shows that one stumbling block on the path to e-learning success is employee resistance to change. General Motors University (identified as a best-practice organization) addressed this resistance by introducing tools such as videos, testimonials and presentations that would enable leaders to educate their employees about e-learning. The other ten best-practice organizations identified by APQC are: Army Management Staff College, Autodesk Inc., Boeing, Booz Allen Hamilton, IBM, Intel, Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, Procter and Gamble, SCT University and Veterans Benefits Administration.
For the first time since 1986 females were named by Time Magazine as people of the year. Coleen Rowley (agent at the Federal Bureau of Investigation), Sherron Watkins (executive at Enron) and Cynthia Cooper (from WorldCom). Why? Because they all had the courage to question those in authority over improper practices. And, according to a survey published by Time , six out of ten Americans believed whistleblowers to be heroes. A sure sign that quality and ethics in the workplace is considered the responsibility of every single person within an organization.