Quality management self-assessment in Australia

Quality management self-assessment is now used by companies with total quality management (TQM) all over the world. The national quality awards have provided significant stimulation for self-assessment based on the models of business excellence as outlined by the award frameworks. Organizations are increasingly using these guidelines to drive continuous improvement and direct the TQM journey in moving the organization towards business excellence. Self-assessment provides a framework within which organizations are able to focus their quality management progress and provide a benchmark for internal and external progress. This paper reports the findings of a national postal survey of self-assessment practices in Australia. Results indicate that in Australia the knowledge about quality management self-assessment is reasonably widespread and many organizations have recently started formal self-assessment processes. Self-assessment activities include a variety of practices, which are identified in the research.