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Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, in partnership with Governing magazine, undertook the landmark study in 1997 to discover how effectively the states manage systems central to delivering public services. Organizers sent detailed questionnaires to the 50 state administrations and conducted nearly 1,000 interviews with sources inside and outside the various state governments. Released concurrently with this report is a related study grading federal agencies (see story below, "Government Agencies Get Good Marks"). Each state received grades in several categories, including financial management, capital management, human resources, managing for results and information technologies. The separate grades were then combined and averaged into an overall grade for the state. The highest overall grade was A-; four states--Missouri, Utah, Virginia and Washington--reached this mark. The B categories contained the most states, with a total of 24. One state, Michigan, received a B+. Twelve states were granted B's: Delaware, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin. The B- category included 11 states: Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and Vermont. A total of 21 states fell into the C categories. Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire and West Virginia each received a C+. Six states -- Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Maine, Oklahoma and Wyoming -- earned C's. Seven states each earned a C-: Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Mexico, New York and Rhode Island. The state to receive the lowest grade, a D, was Alabama. "This report will help citizens understand how important good management is to good government and to good service delivery," says Patricia W. Ingraham, director of the Government Performance Project at the Maxwell School. "Without strong management, high performance is not likely. Armed with knowledge about what's working and where improvements are needed, citizens and public officials can engage in the healthy debate necessary to effective government." The study of state governments will be updated in two years. Upcoming GPP projects include an examination of the 35 largest U.S. cities by revenue and a look at county governments. For more information on the project, its history and goals, visit the Maxwell School's Web site at www.maxwell.syr.edu/campbell/gpp.htm . Visit Governing's Web site, www.governing.com , for complete coverage of the study.
Government Agencies Get Good Marks Citizens, take heart -- a new study reveals that the federal government is running better than ever. The GPP study surveyed 15 federal agencies chosen for their major impact on the U.S. public. The agencies were graded in the same five categories used in the related state government study (see story above). The selected federal agencies include the Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Federal Aviation Administration, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Patent and Trademark Office, Social Security Administration, Health Care Financing Administration, Food and Nutrition Service, Veterans Health Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Federal Housing Administration, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Internal Revenue Service and Customs Service. The Social Security Administration received an A, the highest grade. Other notable marks included the FDA, which garnered a B, the EPA's B- and the Internal Revenue Services' C. "Our accomplishments are part of a larger agenda," said Social Security Administration Director Kenneth S. Apfel. "Federal agencies are emphasizing the need for stronger, more effective management systems to help solve government's biggest challenges." For the full report on the government agencies, visit www.govexec.com/gpp .
NAP Adopts New Scope Category System for Registrars The ANSI-RAB National Accreditation Program has adopted a different system for defining economic activity areas for which quality management systems registrars may be qualified. "The NAP has adopted the system of scope categories recommended by the International Accreditation Forum," says George Lofgren, RAB's QMS president. "This classification system for a registrar's accreditation scope provides more consistent practices among accreditation bodies, registrars and supplier organizations worldwide." RAB previously used the U.S. Standard Industrial Classification code system for defining the scope of a registrar's accreditation so that it would properly reflect the registrar's range of competence. But, in 1997, the U.S. government changed its system for reporting economic statistics, replacing the SIC system with the new North American Industry Classification System. While the NAICS shows significant improvements over the former SIC system, RAB believed that if a method change was made, it should align NAP scope categories with those used by the majority of the world's other accreditation bodies. Most use the IAF scope sectors, based on the European system of NACE codes published by the Commission of European Communities. After consulting with its accredited registrars, the NAP has adopted the 39 scope sectors recommended by IAF and has added a 40th to cover medical devices. To assist organizations in determining their scope categories, RAB offers Tips for Selecting a Registrar, which gives a complete listing of the new scope categories and subgroups. RAB also publishes a directory of NAP-accredited registrars and their scope categories. Tips for Selecting a Registrar and the directory are available on RAB's Web site in the QMS Registrar section at www.rabnet.com ; they can also be requested by calling (888) 722-2440.
The "Baldrige Index" once again has outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500 by more than 200 percent, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The fictitious stock fund is composed of publicly traded U.S. companies that have received the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award from 1988 to 1997. NIST "invested" a hypothetical $1,000 in each of the whole-company winners -- ADAC Laboratories, Eastman Chemical Co., Federal Express Corp., Motorola Inc. and Solectron Corp. Another $1,000 was hypothetically invested in the S&P 500 for the same time period. NIST found that the whole-company winners outperformed the S&P 500 by 2.6 to 1, achieving a 460-percent return on investment compared with a 175-percent return for the S&P 500. NIST also tracked a similar hypothetical investment in a group made up of the whole-company winners and the parent companies of 17 subsidiary winners. The group of 23 outperformed the S&P 500 by about 2.5 to 1, achieving a 426-percent return on investment compared with a 173-percent return for the S&P 500. The Baldrige Index study is just one measure of the success of Baldrige Award winners. They show improvements in all aspects of business, including customer satisfaction, financial performance, productivity, and product and service quality. Other studies also find that organizations receiving quality awards show long-lasting improvements in their bottom-line results. For more information, visit the Baldrige Award's Web site at www.nist.gov/public_affairs/stockstudy.htm .
President's 2000 Budget Seeks $735 Million for NIST
The FY 2000 request has three separate appropriations:
The FY 2000 budget request also includes a $41.2 million increase for NIST's Advanced Technology Program to continue current projects and conduct a new competition open to all technology areas. For more information, contact NIST at telephone (301) 926-1630 or visit the NIST Web site at www.nist.gov .
Athough billions of dollars have been spent by U.S. industry on supply chain resources in the last year, current supply chain techniques don't address today's marketplace demands, say 86 percent of supply chain professionals in a recent survey. The Tompkins Associates survey reveals that supply chain management techniques can't keep pace with the marketplace's demand for mass customization, SKU proliferation and shorter cycle times. More than half of respondents agreed that supply chain management isn't meeting these needs. Overall, respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the current approaches to achieving real flow in their supply chains; they said that current supply chain management techniques don't take into account marketplace turbulence and change. Current supply chain management techniques also don't provide the expected paybacks, according to the survey. Nearly 53 percent of respondents aren't satisfied with the return on investment provided by existing supply chain management technologies for the logistics pipeline. Organizations recognize the need for a holistic, continuous improvement process that focuses on customer satisfaction and meeting ever-changing marketplace demands, reports the survey. An overwhelming 98 percent of respondents say that their organization would benefit from such a process throughout their supply chain. In addition, they agree that an approach involving continuous improvement and prioritizing improvement opportunities is more successful than typical fad management approaches. Visit Tompkins Associates' Web site at www.tompkinsinc.com .
Gore Initiates Government Customer Satisfaction Study In 1993, 21 percent of federal employees reported that their agencies had a customer focus. In the most recent federal employee survey, 75 percent now say that their agencies have a customer focus. To take full advantage of this changing attitude, Vice President Al Gore wants to take the customer service revolution one step further. To achieve this, he wants government to provide service equal to the best in business. Gore has asked the 32 agencies that serve more than 90 percent of the government's customers to participate in a governmentwide customer satisfaction survey that will compare the quality of their services to that of the private sector. The vice president's National Performance Review and the Presidential Management Council will gather a group of agency experts to determine the best approach to meet this objective. Gore has asked that the first customer satisfaction survey be completed this year. For more information, visit the National Performance Review's Web site at www.npr.gov .
Joined by local, state and congressional representatives, the superintendent and school board of the School District of Lancaster announced recently that their district has become ISO 9000-registered. "This is a milestone in our collective journey toward excellence," says Superintendent Vicki Phillips. "The excitement about this accomplishment is soaring through the community." After an independent audit that took place during the first week of February, the Lancaster School District was found to have "a solid quality management system." Like a "Good Housekeeping" seal of approval, ISO 9000 for education is designed to enforce rigorous, explicit performance standards that ultimately lead to higher student achievement. For two years, teachers, administrators and staff have worked to create a districtwide quality manual that covers all ISO 9000 requirements. With the achievement of registration, the hours of hard work paid off for the small urban district of 11,500 students. "This has truly been a team effort like none I've ever seen," says Bryce Carson, an auditor with BVQI of North America, a third-party independent accredited registrar. "Seeing what I have seen, and knowing what I now know, I would send my own kids here."
With the release of the Automotive Industry Action Group's fourth annual Quality Survey Report, the automotive industry continues to demonstrate the significant value of implementing QS-9000 and other quality initiatives. Respondents reported, on average, improved performance, including parts-per-million defect rates (48%), on-time shipping performance (38%) and original equipment manufacturer market share (23%). Document and data control provided companies with the most immediate benefit, followed by management responsibility, process control, internal quality audits, and corrective and preventative actions. Elements providing companies with the greatest amount of ongoing benefits are internal quality audits, process control, corrective and preventative actions, management responsibility, quality systems and training. For more information, visit AIAG's Web site at www.aiag.org .
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President Clinton has submitted to Congress a fiscal year 2000 budget request for NIST of $735 million, a 16-percent increase above the FY 1999 appropriations of $641 million.
$290 million for Scientific and Technical Research and Services. This includes $285 million for the NIST Measurement and Standards Laboratories and $5 million for the Baldrige National Quality Program. Three initiatives under this appropriation would receive $5.5 million to remove standards barriers to expanded global trade, protect the information technology elements of critical national infrastructures and fund a professional development program for mathematics and science teachers in grades K-12.
