TQM Application through Self-Assessment and Learning: Some Experiences from Two EQA Applicants

Nowadays, TQM implementation through self-assessment application is gaining importance as a means of continuously improving the management of organizations, particularly since the introduction of international quality awards. The models underlying these awards consider the process of organizational learning as a fundamental factor for companies to become competitive in today's environments.Little attention has been given, however, to the relationship between self-assessment application and learning by the specialized literature. Therefore, the author's research attempts to shed light into this topic. This article analyzes the way in which self-assessment application based on the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model facilitates the process of organizational learning (while the EFQM Excellence Model is not broadly used by American firms, this work is not focused on the reference model itself but on the way in which companies employ such models to self-assess how good or bad they are). To reach such an objective, the author has developed an exploratory case study of two Spanish companies with a broad experience in self-assessment, constituting the results obtained through a preliminary theoretical framework in a research field still unexplored.