Research Paper on:
Overview of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

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in the United States. In 1998, the award was extended to include the health care and education industries. The award is not only meant to award industries for their current  quality but to also provide support and guidance for future quality. Regardless of discipline, the award includes certain categories which must be met in regards to establishing and maintaining industry  quality which include leadership, strategic planning, human resource development, information analysis, process quality, operational results and customer satisfaction. In physician offices as part of the health care system, a patient-centered  focus also creates more of a concentration on patient satisfaction, staff education, and innovation in regards to constant communication with the rest of the health care community.  The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) was made into law on August 20, 1987 (Public Law 100-107) and was named after Malcolm Baldrige who served  as the Secretary of Commerce from 1981 until his death in 1987 (The Malcolm, 2002). The law was passed in order for the managerial excellence of institutions in the United  States could be awarded for their excellence as well as provide a contribution to long-term improvement in efficiency in institutions across the country with the support and acknowledgement of the  U.S. government (The Malcolm, 2002). Originally a national award for manufacturing industries, the award was expanded to include health and educational industries in 1998 (Valentine, 1998).  The reasons for the establishment of the law and the award were varied but included such issues as: the challenge of recent international competition has led  to a productivity growth in the U.S. which has been measured as less than its competitors; the understanding of American businesses that poor product quality can lead to an approximate