Updated yearly to match changing requirement, this guide is designed to help you understand the criteria for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Most organizations that use the Baldrige criteria have no interest in applying for, or winning, the award. It is not about the award, or how to win it. Rather, it is about how to interpret and use the criteria to improve your organization. The Baldrige criteria are being used by thousands of organizations around the world to evaluate their progress toward becoming the best in their fields. This guide is divided into two parts. Part. I, a question and answer section, provides the answers to the questions most commonly asked about the award and the criteria. Part II provides a brief explanation of each of the 18 items in the Baldrige criteria and lists the characteristics of organizations that excel in each of these 18 items. If the material in this quick reference guide sparks your interest in the Baldrige criteria or the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, you can obtain more information from the sources listed at the end of the book.