2014-15 TBEM Criteria PDF

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TATA VALUES AND PURPOSE
Purpose
Attain leadership through business excellence in the sectors we operate in, while
upholding our values and integrity, to improve the quality of life of the communities we
serve.
Core values
Tata has always been values-driven. These values continue to direct the growth and
business of Tata companies. The five core Tata values underpinning the way we do
business are:
Integrity – We must conduct our business fairly, with honesty and transparency.
Everything we do must stand the test of public scrutiny.
Understanding – We must be caring, show respect, compassion and humanity for

our colleagues and customers around the world, and always work for the benefit of the
communities we serve.
Excellence – We must constantly strive to achieve the highest possible standards in

our day-to-day work and in the quality of the goods and services we provide.
Unity – We must work cohesively with our colleagues across the group and with our
customers and partners around the world, building strong relationships based on
tolerance, understanding and mutual cooperation.
Responsibility – We must continue to be responsible, sensitive to the countries,

communities and environments in which we work, always ensuring that what comes
from the people goes back to the people many times over.
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Important Information
Tata Areas of Emphasis

In 2010 the TBEM incorporated four Tata areas of emphasis – Safety, Innovation,
Corporate Governance and Climate Change. Aspects on Corporate Governance are
highlighted in Blue colour font and on Climate Change are highlighted in bold, italics,
underlined font. Additional aspects on safety and innovation are not highlighted
separately.
Other changes in addition to the four areas of emphasis are described in Chapter 2 on
page 18. Now the external assessments will address all these processes in the applicant
company, under the overall guidelines and recommendations of the TQMS Executive
Committee.
Other important markings
At many places the TBEM Criteria asks how a particular requirement, as appropriate, is
fulfilled by the organisation. All these portions in the Criteria section have been marked in
bold and italics. Wherever this appears, the importance and depth of the requirement
has to be seen from the point of view of the nature of the business, industry type, and key
factors affecting the organisation. Hence, the applicability of these requirements would
vary from organisation to organisation.
Addressing Internationalisation through Changes in the “Organisation Profile”:
1. With rapid changes in the business scenarios, the companies need to plan their
strategies which do not confine to only domestic business circumstances. The
choices available to the companies could be many. For example, the companies
could adopt one or more alternative approaches, such as…
m Looking beyond the boundaries of country of origin, at select geographies, to
grow their business or fill up gaps in their business towards their long term
success
m Focusing on being operational in domestic but striving to be globally
competitive having world-class products and services
m Deciding to be close to the source of key raw materials
m Deciding to install capacities or service centres close to a market that it
considers important, in order to enhance competitiveness and support the long
term growth
m Strengthening the existing initiatives towards internationalisation through
enhanced competencies and allocation of requisite resources.
2. In order to enable the companies to address such options and elaborate them in their
applications, generic changes have been made in Organisational Profile.
3. The Assessors will need to take cognizance of the options chosen by the companies
while conducting assessments.
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Contents
Tata Business Excellence Model 2014-15
CHAPTER 1 CORE VALUES and CONCEPTS
Ch 1.1 TBEM Criteria Purposes ……………………………………………………………………… 08
Ch 1.2 Core Values and Concepts …………………………………………………………………… 08
Ch 1.3 Performance Excellence Framework ………………………………………………………… 14
Ch 1.4 TBEM Structure ………………………………………………………………………………… 16
Ch 1.5 TBEM focus on Business Results………………………………………………………………… 16
Ch 1.6 TBEM is non-prescriptive and adaptable …………………………………………………… 16
Ch 1.7 TBEM supports a systems perspective to maintain organisation-wide goal alignment … 17
Ch 1.8 TBEM supports goal-based diagnosis …………………………………………………… 17
CHAPTER 2 CHANGES FROM Previous TBEM Version …………………………………………………………… 18
CHAPTER 3 GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS ………………………………………………………………… 21
CHAPTER 4 CATEGORY and ITEM DESCRIPTIONS ……………………………………………………… 34
CHAPTER 5 Tata Business Excellence Model 2014-15 …………………………………………………… 53
Organisational Profile ………………………………………………………………………… 55
P.1 Organisational Description ……………………………………………………………… 55
P.2 Organisational Situation …………………………………………………………………… 57
Category
1.0 Leadership ………………………………………………………………………………… 59
2.0 Strategic Planning ………………………………………………………………………… 63
3.0 Customer Focus …………………………………………………………………………… 67
4.0 Measurement, Analysis and Knowledge Management ……………………………… 71
5.0 Workforce Focus ………………………………………………………………………… 75
6.0 Operations Focus …………………………………………………………………………… 79
7.0 Business Results ………………………………………………………………………… 83
CHAPTER 5A Tata Business Excellence Model 2014-15 Safety Criteria………………………………… 89
CHAPTER 6 SCORING SYSTEM………………………………………………………………………………… 93
CHAPTER 7 2014-15 Criteria Response Guidelines ………………………………………………………… 98
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Core Values and Concepts
Chapter 1
Ch 1.1 TBEM Criteria Purposes
The Tata Business Excellence Model (TBEM) is the basis for conducting organisational assessments and
for giving feedback to Applicants. The Excellence Criteria of the TBEM have three important roles in
strengthening competitiveness:
• to help improve organisational performance practices, capabilities, and results
• to facilitate communication and sharing of information on best practices among organisations of all
types
• to serve as a working tool for understanding and managing performance and for guiding organisational
planning and opportunities for learning
TBEM based Performance Excellence Goals
TBEM Criteria are designed to help provide organisations with an integrated approach to
organisational performance management that results in
• delivery of ever-improving value to customers and stakeholders, contributing to organisational

sustainability
• improvement of overall organisational effectiveness and capabilities
• organisational and personal learning
Ch 1.2 Core Values and Concepts
The Criteria are built on the following set of interrelated Core Values and Concepts:
Visionary Leadership
Customer-Driven Excellence
Organisational and Personal Learning These values and concepts, described below,
Valuing Workforce Members and Partners are embedded beliefs and behaviors found in
Agility high-performing organisations. They are the
Focus on the Future foundation for integrating key performance and
Managing for Innovation operational requirements within a results-
Management by Fact oriented framework that creates a basis for
Societal Responsibility
action and feedback.
Focus on Results and Creating Value
Systems Perspective
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The Role of Core Values and Concepts

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Visionary Leadership
Your organisation’s senior leaders should set a vision for the organisation, create a customer focus,
demonstrate clear and visible organisational values and ethics and set high expectations for the workforce.
The vision, values, and expectations should balance the needs of all your stakeholders.Your leaders should
also ensure the creation of strategies, systems, and methods for achieving performance excellence,
stimulating innovation, building knowledge and capabilities, and ensuring organisational sustainability.
The values and strategies leaders define should help guide all your organisation’s activities and decisions.
Senior leaders should personally promote safety and climate change consciousness. Senior leaders
should inspire and encourage your entire workforce to contribute, to develop and learn, to be innovative,
and to embrace meaningful change. Senior leaders should be responsible to your organisation’s
governance body for their actions and performance, and the governance body should be responsible
ultimately to all your stakeholders for your organisation’s and its senior leaders’ ethics, actions, and
performance. The governance body should also be responsible for assessing sustainability and
reputational risk of your organisation.
Senior leaders should serve as role models through their ethical behaviour and their personal involvement
in planning, providing a supportive environment for taking intelligent risks, communicating, coaching and
motivating the workforce, developing future leaders, reviewing organisational performance, and
recognising workforce members. As role models, they can reinforce ethics, values, and expectations while
building leadership, commitment, and initiative throughout your organisation.
Customer-Driven Excellence
Your customers are the ultimate judges of performance and quality. Thus, your organisation must take into
account all product and service features and characteristics and all modes of customer access and support
that contribute value to your customers. Such behaviour leads to customer acquisition, satisfaction,
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preference, and loyalty; positive referrals; and, ultimately, the sustainability of your business. Customer-
driven excellence has both current and future components: understanding today’s customer desires and
anticipating future customer desires and marketplace potential.
Many factors may influence value and satisfaction over the course of your customers’ experience with your
organisation. These factors include your organisation’s customer relationship management, which helps
build trust, confidence, and loyalty.
Customer-driven excellence means much more than reducing defects and errors, merely meeting
specifications, or reducing complaints. Nevertheless, these factors contribute to your customers’ view of
your organisation and thus also are important parts of customer-driven excellence. In addition, your
success in recovering from defects, service errors, and mistakes is crucial for retaining customers and
engaging them for the long term.
A customer-driven organisation addresses not only the product and service characteristics that meet basic
customer requirements but also those features and characteristics that differentiate the organisation from
competitors. This differentiation may be based on innovative offerings, combinations of product and service
offerings, customised offerings, multiple access and outward communication mechanisms, rapid
response, or special relationships.
Customer-driven excellence is thus a strategic concept. It is directed toward customer retention and loyalty,
market share gain, and growth. It demands constant sensitivity to changing and emerging customer and
market requirements and to the factors that drive customer engagement. It demands close attention to the
voice of the customer. It demands anticipating changes in the marketplace. Therefore, customer-driven
excellence demands a customer-focused culture and organisational agility.
Organisational and Personal Learning

Achieving the highest levels of organisational performance requires a well-executed approach to
organisational and personal learning that includes sharing knowledge via systematic processes.
Organisational learning. Organisational learning includes both continuous improvement of existing

approaches and significant change or innovation, leading to new goals, approaches, products and
markets.
Learning needs to be embedded in the way your organisation operates. This means that learning (1) is a
regular part of daily work; (2) is practiced at personal, work unit, and organisational levels; (3) results in
solving problems at their source (root cause); (4) is focused on building and sharing knowledge throughout
your organisation; and (5) is driven by opportunities to effect significant, meaningful change and to
innovate. Sources for learning include employees’ and volunteers’ ideas, research and development,
customers’ input, best-practice sharing, and benchmarking.
Organisational learning can result in (1) enhanced value to customers through new and improved products
and customer services; (2) the development of new business opportunities; (3) the development of new
and improved processes or business models; (4) reduced errors, defects, waste, and related costs; (5)
improved responsiveness and cycle time performance; (6) increased productivity and effectiveness in the
use of all your resources; and (7) enhanced performance in fulfilling your organisation’s societal
responsibilities.
Personal Learning. The success of your workforce members – including your leaders - depends
increasingly on their having opportunities to learn and practice new skills. If your organisation relies on
volunteers, their personal learning also is important, and you should consider their learning and skill
development.
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Organisations invest in personal learning through education, training, and other opportunities for
continuing growth and development. It includes preparing people for future organisational core
competencies. On-the-job training offers a cost-effective way to cross-train and to link training more closely
to your organisation’s capacity needs and priorities. Education and training programmes may have
multiple modes, including computer, Web-based, and distance learning.
Personal learning can result in (1) a more engaged, satisfied, and versatile workforce that stays with your
organisation; (2) cross-functional learning for your organisation; (3) the building of your organisation’s
knowledge assets; and (4) an improved environment for innovation.
Thus, learning is directed not only toward better products but also toward being more responsive, adaptive,
innovative, and efficient-giving your organisation marketplace sustainability and performance advantages
and engaging your workforce to increase satisfaction and the motivation to excel.
Valuing Workforce Members and Partners

An organisation’s success depends increasingly on an engaged workforce that benefits from meaningful
work, clear organisational direction, and accountability for performance. That engaged workforce must also
have a safe, trusting, and cooperative environment. Organisations therefore need to engage their entire
workforce in continuous improvement, innovation and learning activities to excel business performance.
Additionally, the successful organisation capitalises on the diverse backgrounds, knowledge, skills,
creativity, and motivation of its workforce and partners.
Valuing Workforce Members. Valuing the people in your workforce means committing to their
engagement, satisfaction, development, and well-being. Increasingly, this involves offering more flexible,
high performance work practices that are tailored to varying workplace and home life needs. Major
challenges in the valuing your workforce members include (1) demonstrating your leaders’ commitment to
their success, (2) providing motivation and recognition that go beyond the regular compensation system,
(3) offering development and progression within your organisation, (4) sharing your organisation’s
knowledge so your workforce can better serve your customers and contribute to achieving your strategic
objectives, (5) creating an environment that encourages intelligent risk taking to achieve innovation, and (6)
creating a supportive environment for a diverse workforce.
Valuing partners. To accomplish their overall goals, organisations need to build internal and external
partnerships. Internal partnerships might include cooperation between labour and management. Forming
internal partnerships might also involve creating network relationships among your work units and
locations or between employees and volunteers to improve flexibility, responsiveness and knowledge
sharing.
External partners might be customers, suppliers, and education or community organisations. Strategic
partnerships or alliances, which are increasingly important kinds of external partnerships might offer
complementary core competencies that allow entry into new markets or a basis for new products or
customer support services. Partnerships might also permit you to address common issues by blending
your organisation’s core competencies or leadership capabilities with partners’ complementary strengths
and capabilities. Thus partnerships may be a source of strategic advantage for your organisation.
In successful internal and external partnerships, the partners develop longer-term objectives, thereby
creating a basis for mutual investments and respect. Partners should establish the key requirements for
success, means for regular communication, approaches to evaluating progress, and means for adapting to
changing conditions. In some cases, joint education and training could offer a cost- effective method for
workforce development.
Agility
Success in today’s ever-changing, globally competitive environment demands agility-a capacity for rapid
change and flexibility. Organisations face ever-shorter cycles for the introduction of new/improved products
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and services, and non-profit and government organisations are increasingly being asked to respond
rapidly to new or emerging social issues. Disruptive events are occurring more frequently. They can be
triggered by innovative technologies or product introductions, economic upheaval or stress, or social or
societal demands. Organisations must be capable of making transformational changes on an ever-shorter
cycle time. Major improvements in response times often require new work systems, the simplification of
work processes, or the ability for rapid changeover from one process to another. A cross-trained and
empowered workforce is a vital asset in such a demanding environment.
A major success factor in meeting competitive challenges is design-to-introduction time (the time it takes to
initiate a product or service feature) or innovation cycle time. To meet the demands of rapidly changing
markets, organisations need to carry out stage-to-stage integration (such as concurrent engineering) of
activities from research or concept to commercialisation or implementation.
All aspects of time performance now are more critical, and cycle time is a key process measure. Other
important benefits can be derived from this focus on time; time improvements often drive simultaneous
improvements or changes in your work systems, organisation, quality, cost, supply-chain integration,
productivity, and sustainability in a challenging economy.
Focus on the Future

Ensuring an organisation’s sustainability requires an understanding of the short- and longer-term factors
that affect the organisation, and its marketplace. Organisations need to consider climate change factors for
their sustainability. Identification of key external environmental factors is important even though their
outcomes may be less predictable. The pursuit of sustained growth and performance leadership requires a
strong future orientation and a willingness to make long-term commitments to key stakeholders-your
customers, workforce, suppliers, partners, and stockholders; the public; and your community. It also
requires the agility to modify plans when circumstances warrant.
Your organisation’s planning should anticipate many factors, such as customers’ expectations, new
business and partnering opportunities; unexpected crises, including changing economic conditions;
workforce capacity and capability needs; the competitive global marketplace; technological developments;
changes in customer and market segments; new business models; evolving regulatory requirements;
changes in community and societal expectations and needs, and strategic moves by competitors. Your
strategic objectives and your resource allocations need to accommodate these influences. A focus on the
future includes developing your leaders, workforce, and suppliers; accomplishing effective succession
planning; creating a supportive environment for taking intelligent risks and encouraging innovation; and
anticipating societal responsibilities and concerns.
Managing for Innovation

Innovation means making meaningful change to improve your organisation’s products, services,
programmes, processes, operations, and business model, with the purpose of creating new value for
stakeholders. Innovation should lead your organisation to new dimensions of performance. Innovation
requires a supportive environment, a process for identifying strategic opportunities, and the pursuit of
intelligent risks.
Innovation is no longer strictly the purview of research and development departments; innovation is
important for all aspects of your operations and all work systems and work processes. Your organisation
should be led and managed so that taking intelligent risks becomes part of the learning culture. Innovation
should be integrated into daily work and be supported by your performance improvement system.
Systematic processes for identifying strategic opportunities should reach across your entire organisation.
Innovation builds on the accumulated knowledge of your organisation and its people. Therefore, the ability
to rapidly disseminate and capitalise on this knowledge is critical to driving organisational innovation.
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Management by Fact
Organisations depend on the measurement and analysis of performance. Measurements should derive
from business needs and strategy, and they should provide critical data and information about key
processes, outputs, results, and outcomes. Organisations need many types of data and information for
performance management. Performance measurement should include measurement of customer,
product, and process performance; comparisons of operational, market, and competitive performance;
supplier, workforce, partner, cost, and financial performance; governance and compliance results; and
accomplishment of strategic objectives.
To facilitate analysis, data should be segmented by, for example, markets, product lines, and workforce
groups.
Analysis means extracting larger meaning from data and information to support evaluation, decision
making, improvement, and innovation. It entails using data to determine trends, projections, and cause and
effect relationships that might not otherwise be evident. Analysis supports a variety of purposes, such as
planning, reviewing your overall performance, improving operations, accomplishing change management,
and comparing your performance with competitors’ or with best-practice benchmarks.
A major consideration in performance improvement and change management is the selection and use of
performance measures or indicators. The measures or indicators you select should best represent the
factors that lead to improved customer, operational, financial, and societal performance. A comprehensive
set of measures or indicators tied to customer and organisational performance requirements provides a
clear basis for aligning all processes with your organisation’s goals. You may need measures and
indicators to support you in making decisions in a rapidly changing environment. By analysing data from
your tracking processes, you can evaluate the measures or indicators themselves and change them to
better support your goals.
Societal Responsibility
Your organisation’s leaders should stress ethical behaviour, responsibilities to the public, and the need to
consider societal well-being and benefit. Leaders should be role models for your organisation and its
workforce in focusing on ethics and the protection of public health, safety, environment and mitigation of the
impact of climate change. This protection applies to any impact of your organisation’s operations, as well as
the life cycles of your products. Also, your organisation should emphasise resource conservation and
waste reduction at the source. Planning should anticipate adverse impacts from the production,
distribution, transportation, use, and disposal of your products. Effective planning should prevent
problems, provide for a forthright response if problems occur, and make available the information and
support needed to maintain public awareness, safety, and confidence.
Your organisation should not only meet all local, state, and federal laws and regulatory requirements but
should also treat these and related requirements as opportunities to excel “beyond mere compliance.” Your
organisation should stress ethical behaviour in all stakeholder transactions and interactions. Your
organisation’s governance body should require highly ethical conduct and monitor all conduct accordingly.
Considering societal well-being and benefit means leading and supporting – within the limits of your
resources – the environmental, social, and economic systems in your organisation’s sphere of influence.
Such leadership and support might include improving education, health care, and other services in your
community; pursuing environmental excellence; being a role model for socially important issues; practicing
resource conservation; reducing your carbon footprint; performing community service and charity;
improving industry and business practices; and sharing non-proprietary information.
For a role-model organisation, leadership also entails influencing other organisations, private and public, to
partner for these purposes.
Managing societal responsibilities requires your organisation to use appropriate measures and your
leaders to assume responsibility for those measures.
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Focus on Results and Creating Value

Your organisation’s performance measurements need to focus on key results. Results should be used to
create and balance value for your key stakeholders – your customers, workforce, stockholders, suppliers,
and partners; the public; and the community.
By creating value for key stakeholders, your organisation builds loyalty, contributes to growing the
economy, and contributes to society. To meet the sometimes conflicting and changing aims that balancing
value implies, your organisational strategy should explicitly include key stakeholder requirements. This will
help ensure that plans and actions meet differing stakeholder needs and avoid adverse impacts on any
stakeholders. A balanced composite of leading and lagging performance measures is an effective means
to communicate short- and longer-term priorities, monitor actual performance, and provide a clear basis for
improving results.
Systems Perspective
The TBEM Criteria provide a systems perspective for managing your organisation and its key processes to
achieve results – and to strive for performance excellence. The seven Criteria categories, the core values
and concepts, and the scoring guidelines form the system’s building blocks and integrating mechanism.
However, successfully managing overall performance requires organisation-specific synthesis, alignment,
and integration. Synthesis means looking at your organisation as a whole and builds on key business
attributes, including your core competencies, strategic objectives, action plans, and work systems.
Alignment means using the key linkages among the requirements in the Criteria categories to ensure
consistency of plans, processes, measures, and actions. Integration builds on alignment, so that the
individual components of your performance management system operate in a fully interconnected manner
and deliver anticipated results.
These concepts are depicted in the TBEM Criteria framework. When your organisation takes a systems
perspective, your senior leaders focus on strategic directions and customers. Your senior leaders monitor,
respond to, and manage performance based on your results. With a systems perspective, you use your
measures, indicators, core competencies, and organisational knowledge to build your key strategies, link
these strategies with your work systems and key processes, and align your resources to improve your
overall performance and your focus on customers and stakeholders.
Thus, a systems perspective means managing your whole organisation, as well as its components, to
achieve sustainability.
Ch 1.3 Performance Excellence Framework
The Core Values and Concepts are embodied in seven Categories, as follows:
1 Leadership
2 Strategic Planning
3 Customer Focus
4 Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management
5 Workforce Focus
6 Operations Focus
7 Business Results
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The figure below provides the framework connecting and integrating the Categories:
Tata Business Excellence Model

A Systems Perspective
Organisational Profile:
Environment, Relationships, and Strategic Situation
2 5
Strategic Workforce
Planning Focus
1 7
Leadership Results
3 6
Customer Operation
Focus Focus
4
Measurement, Analysis and Knowledge Management
From top to bottom, the framework has the following basic elements.
Organisational Profile
Your Organisational Profile (top of figure) sets the context for the way your organisation operates. Your
environment, key working relationships, and strategic challenges and advantages serve as an overarching
guide for your organisational performance management system.
Performance System
The performance system is composed of the six TBEM Categories in the centre of the figure that define
your processes and the results you achieve.
Leadership (Category 1), Strategic Planning (Category 2), and Customer Focus (Category 3) represent the
leadership triad. These Categories are placed together to emphasise the importance of a leadership focus
on strategy and customers. Senior leaders set your organisational direction and seek future opportunities
for your organisation.
Workforce Focus (Category 5), Operations Focus (Category 6), and Business Results (Category 7)
represent the results triad. Your organisation’s workforce and key operational processes accomplish the
work of the organisation that yields your overall performance results.
All actions point toward Results – a composite of product and process outcomes, customer-focused
outcomes, workforce-focused outcomes, leadership and governance outcomes, and financial and market
outcomes.
The horizontal arrow in the centre of the framework links the leadership triad to the results triad, a linkage
critical to organisational success. Furthermore, the arrow indicates the central relationship between
Leadership (Category 1) and Business Results (Category 7). The two-headed arrows indicate the
importance of feedback in an effective performance management system.
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System Foundation
Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management (Category 4) are critical to the effective
management of your organisation and to a fact-based, knowledge-driven system for improving
performance and competitiveness. Measurement, analysis, and knowledge management serve as a
foundation for the performance management system.
Ch 1.4 TBEM Structure
The seven TBEM Categories shown in the figure are subdivided into Items and Areas to Address.
Items
There are 17 process and results Items, each focusing on a major requirement.
Areas to Address
Items consist of one or more Areas to Address (Areas). Organisations should address their responses to
the specific requirements of these Areas.
Ch 1.5 TBEM focus on Business Results
The Criteria focus on the key areas of organisational performance given below.
Organisational performance areas:

1 Product and process results
2 Customer-focused results
3 Workforce-focused results
4 Leadership and governance results
5 Financial and market results
The use of this composite of measures is intended to ensure that strategies are balanced-that they do not
inappropriately trade off among important stakeholders, objectives, or short- and longer-term goals.
Ch 1.6 TBEM is non-prescriptive and adaptable
The TBEM Criteria are made up of results-oriented requirements. However, the Criteria do not prescribe the
following:
• how your organisation should be structured;
• that your organisation should or should not have departments for planning, ethics, quality, or other
functions;
• that different units in your organisation should be managed in the same way.
These factors differ among organisations, and they are likely to change as needs and strategies evolve.
The TBEM is non-prescriptive for the following reasons:
1) The focus is on results, not on procedures, tools, or organisational structure. Organisations are
encouraged to develop and demonstrate creative, adaptive, and flexible approaches for meeting
requirements. Non-prescriptive requirements are intended to foster incremental and major
(“breakthrough”) improvements through innovation.
2) The selection of tools, techniques, systems, and organisational structure usually depends on factors
such as the organisation type and size, organisational relationships, your organisation’s stage of
development, and the capabilities and responsibilities of your workforce.
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3) A focus on common requirements, rather than on common procedures, fosters understanding,

communication, sharing, alignment, and integration, while supporting innovation and diversity in
approaches.
Ch 1.7 TBEM supports a systems perspective to maintaining organisation-wide goal alignment.
The systems perspective to goal alignment is embedded in the integrated structure of the Core Values and
Concepts; the Organisational Profile; the Criteria; the Scoring Guidelines; and the results-oriented, cause
effect, cross-process linkages among the Criteria Items.
Alignment in the Criteria is built around connecting and reinforcing measures derived from your
organisation’s processes and strategy. These measures tie directly to customer and stakeholder value and
to overall performance. The use of measures thus channels different activities in consistent directions with
less need for detailed procedures, centralised decision making, or overly complex process management.
Measures thereby serve both as a communications tool and as a basis for deploying consistent overall
performance requirements. Such alignment ensures consistency of purpose while also supporting agility,
innovation, and decentralised decision making.
A systems perspective to goal alignment, particularly as strategy and goals change over time, requires
dynamic linkages among Criteria Items. In the TBEM, action-oriented cycles of improvement take place via
feedback between processes and results.
The improvement cycles have four, clearly defined stages:
1) Planning, including design of processes, selection of measures, and deployment of requirements

(approach)
2) Executing plans (deployment)
3) Assessing progress and capturing new knowledge, including seeking opportunities for innovation
(learning)
4) Revising plans based on assessment findings, harmonising processes and work unit operations, and
selecting better measures (integration)
Ch 1.8 TBEM supports goal-based diagnosis.
The Criteria and the Scoring Guidelines make up a two part diagnostic (assessment) system. The
Criteria are a set of 17 performance-oriented requirements. The Scoring Guidelines spell out the
assessment dimensions-Process and Results-and the key factors used to assess each dimension.
An assessment thus provides a profile of strengths and opportunities for improvement relative to the 17
performance-oriented requirements and relative to process and performance maturity as determined by
the Scoring Guidelines. In this way, assessment leads to actions that contribute to performance
improvement in all areas, as described in the box above. This diagnostic assessment is a useful
management tool that goes beyond most performance reviews and is applicable to a wide range of
strategies, management systems, and types of organisations.
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Changes from previous TBEM Version
Chapter 2
Changes from the previous TBEM 2012-13 Version
The Criteria have been regularly revised with one purpose in mind: that the Criteria always reflect the leading edge of
validated management practice. The Criteria have always been based on role-model practices successfully
implemented by businesses and other organisations. They are the practices that lead to sustainability and
competitive success when embedded within an integrated systems perspective on organisational performance
management.
The year-to-year changes to the Criteria have been evolutionary. However, viewed in comparison to the Criteria at
their inception 25 years ago, the changes have been profound. And “profound” is necessary given the changes we
have witnessed in global economies, technology, customer behaviours, workforce expectations, and societal
concerns and responsibilities. The changes in the 2014-2015 Criteria continue this evolutionary process, but with a
strategic focus that is significant far beyond the wording changes in the Criteria items. These changes are at the core
of decisions that senior leaders in every organisation must make to set the path for business and organisational
sustainability.
This strategic focus relates to three key considerations that should be on the minds of all leaders committed to their
organisation's next-generation viability: (1) designing and implementing competitive work systems, (2) cultivating
and managing innovation, and (3) mastering the evolving opportunities and challenges presented by social media.
Designing and implementing work systems. Decisions about work systems are strategic. These decisions involve
protecting intellectual property, capitalising on core competencies, and deciding what should be procured or
produced outside your organisation in order to be efficient and sustainable in your marketplace. Decisions about
your work systems affect organisational design and structure, profitability, and viability. These decisions are the
domain of senior leadership and are at the very core of strategy building. In 2014, we have incorporated the
information and decision process for work systems into the strategic planning category.
Cultivating and managing innovation. An area that has progressed from a potential competitive advantage to a
sustainability imperative is innovation and innovation management. Innovation is defined as making meaningful,
discontinuous change to products, processes, or organisational effectiveness in order to create new value for
stakeholders. Innovation results from a supportive environment, a process for identifying strategic opportunities, and
the pursuit of those strategic opportunities that you identify as intelligent risks. Achieving innovation requires resource
support and the tolerance of failure. Fostering the right climate is the domain of senior leaders, identifying strategic
opportunities and intelligent risks is part of strategy, and pursuing the intelligent risks must be embedded in
managing organisational operations. Therefore, the various aspects of achieving innovation have been incorporated
throughout the 2014-2015 Criteria.
Mastering social media. While a social media strategy is not necessarily an embedded practice in all role-model
organisations today, waiting until the next revision of the Criteria to increase the emphasis on social media will leave
us behind the leading edge of validated management practice, given the current pace of change. Social media
already play a role in (1) reaching customers and potential customers, (2) connecting employees with each other and
organisational leaders, (3) coordinating with suppliers and partners, and (4) gathering data and performing research.
While engaging more heavily in the use of social media poses risks for organisations, the best mechanism for
mitigating these risks is a strong sense of organisational values as a guide. In 2014-2015, the Criteria incorporate the
use of social media in fulfilling the four roles listed above.
While every Criteria item includes some changes, the most significant changes in the Criteria items and the
associated educational content are summarised as follows:
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Preface: Organisational Profile
• Item P.1, Organisational Description, now includes a question about the role that suppliers and partners play in
your work systems.
• Item P.2, Organisational Situation, now includes the evaluation of key organisational projects, as well as
processes. Project management parallels process management in its need for effectiveness and efficiency.
Category 1: Leadership
• Item 1.1, Senior Leadership, now includes a focus on senior leaders’ role in innovation and intelligent risk
taking. It also asks about senior leaders' use of social media as a communication tool.
Category 2: Strategic Planning
• This category has an enhanced focus on innovation and work systems.
• Item 2.1, Strategy Development, has been rewritten. It now includes questions related to creating an
environment for innovation and identifying strategic opportunities. Other questions probe the process for
making decisions about work systems and core competencies. Key considerations in strategic planning have
been revised to allow newer approaches and not tie the planning to a specific process for determining
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT).
Category 3: Customer Focus
• Item 3.1, Voice of the Customer, now asks about interacting with and observing customer behaviours as part
of listening to current customers.
• Item 3.2, Customer Engagement, now asks about the use of social media to enhance customer engagement
and relationships
Category 4: Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management
• Item 4.1, Measurement, Analysis, and Improvement of Organisational Performance, now asks about the use
of voice-of-the-customer, market, and aggregated complaint data, as well as customer data gathered through
social media, to support decision making and innovation. Some of these aspects of the use of customer data
were previously addressed as a stand-alone factor in category 3, and others were not addressed in the
Criteria. The item now also asks about your governance board's review of organisational performance.
• Item 4.2, now called Knowledge Management, Information, and Information Technology, places a primary
focus on knowledge management and organisational learning as key components of your organisational
sustainability.
Category 5: Workforce Focus
• Item 5.1, Workforce Environment, includes consideration of your past changes in workforce capability and
capacity, including staffing levels, as context setting for proactively considering how you are preparing for
future workforce needs.
Category 6: Operations Focus
• This category has undergone extensive revision to focus on internal work processes and operational
effectiveness in light of strategic decisions (category 2) about work systems.
• Item 6.1, now Work Processes, focuses on the design, management, and improvement of products and
processes. It includes support processes that enable you to meet key business requirements.
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Changes from previous TBEM Version
• Item 6.2, now Operational Effectiveness, addresses cost control, supply-chain management, safety and
emergency preparedness, and innovation management. Including each of these topics as a separate area to
address places added emphasis on these important contributors to organisational and operational
sustainability.
Category 7: Results
• The items in this category do not have a one-to-one correspondence to Criteria categories 1-6. This is
intentional so that results are considered systemically, with contributions to individual results items frequently
stemming from processes in more than one Criteria category.
• The point values for items 7.2 and 7.3, Customer-Focused Results and Workforce-Focused Results, have
been adjusted to 85 points each to emphasise the roles of customer and employee engagement in achieving
Financial and Market Results (item 7.5, 80 points).
• Item 7.1, Product and Process Results, now has a separate area to address related to supply-chain
management results, an indicator of the growing importance of this component of work systems to many
organisations.
• Item 7.4, Leadership and Governance Results, now explicitly includes strategy implementation results as a
leadership responsibility, recognising that strategy is achieved only if senior leaders guide and monitor
progress.
• The descriptions of Agility, Focus on the Future, and Managing for Innovation have been revised to reflect a
greater focus on disruptive events, external environmental factors and, and the need for an innovation
strategy..
Glossary of Key Terms
• Two new terms have been added to the Glossary: intelligent risks and strategic opportunities. In addition, the
Glossary has been reformatted to aid readability.
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Chapter 3
This Glossary of Key Terms defines and briefly describes terms used throughout the Criteria booklet that are
important to performance management. As you may have noted, key terms are presented in SMALL CAPS every time
they appear in the TBEM Criteria for Performance Excellence and scoring guidelines.
The general format in presenting glossary definitions is as follows: The first sentence contains a concise definition of
the term. Subsequent sentences in the first paragraph elaborate on this definition. Any subsequent paragraphs
provide examples, descriptive information, or key linkages to other Criteria information.
ACTION PLANS
Specific actions that your organisation takes to reach its short- and longer-term strategic objectives. These plans
specify the resources committed to and the time horizons for accomplishing the plans. Action plan development is
the critical stage in planning when you make strategic objectives and goals specific so that you can effectively deploy
them throughout the organisation in an understandable way. In the TBEM Criteria, deploying action plans includes
creating aligned measures for all affected departments and work units. Deployment might also require specialised
training for some workforce members or recruitment of personnel.
For example, a strategic objective for a supplier in a highly competitive industry might be to develop and maintain
price leadership. Action plans could entail designing efficient processes, creating an accounting system that tracks
activity level costs, and aligning processes and accounting systems across the organisation. To deploy the action
plans, the supplier might need to train work units and teams in setting priorities based on costs and benefits.
Organisational-level analysis and review would likely emphasise productivity growth, cost control, and quality. See
also the definition of “STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES”.
ALIGNMENT
A state of consistency among the plans, processes, information, resource decisions, actions, results, and analyses
that support key organisation-wide goals. Effective alignment requires a common understanding of purposes and
goals. It also requires the use of complementary measures and information for planning, tracking, analysis, and
improvement at three levels: the organisational level, the key process level, and the work unit level.
See also the definition of “INTEGRATION”.
ANALYSIS
The examination of facts and data to provide a basis for effective decisions. Analysis often involves the determination
of cause-effect relationships. Overall organisational analysis guides you in managing work systems and work
processes toward achieving key business results and attaining strategic objectives.
Although individual facts and data are important, they do not usually provide an effective basis for acting or setting
priorities. Effective actions depend on an understanding of relationships, which is derived from the analysis of facts
and data.
ANECDOTAL
In a response to a TBEM Criteria item, information that lacks specific methods; measures; deployment mechanisms;
and evaluation, improvement, and learning factors. Anecdotal information frequently consists of examples and
describes individual activities rather than systematic processes.
For example, in an anecdotal response to how senior leaders deploy performance expectations, you might describe
a specific occasion when a senior leader visited all of your organisation’s facilities. On the other hand, in properly
describing a systematic process, you might include the methods all senior leaders use to communicate performance
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expectations regularly to all locations and workforce members, the measures leaders use to assess the effectiveness
of the methods, and the tools and techniques you use to evaluate and improve the methods.
See also the definition of “SYSTEMATIC”.
APPROACH
The methods your organisation uses to address the requirements of the TBEM Criteria items in categories 1-6.
Besides the methods themselves, approach refers to the appropriateness of the methods to the item requirements
and your organisation's operating environment, as well as how effectively your organisation uses those methods.
Approach is one of the dimensions considered in evaluating Process Items. For further description, see the Scoring
System.
BASIC REQUIREMENTS
The most central concept of a TBEM Criteria item, as presented in the item title question. For an illustration, see
Criteria for Performance Excellence Structure.
BENCHMARKS
Processes and results that represent the best practices and best performance for similar activities, inside or outside
an organisation's industry. Organisations engage in benchmarking to understand the current dimensions of world-
class performance and to achieve discontinuous (non-incremental) or breakthrough improvement.
Benchmarks are one form of comparative data. Other forms include industry data collected by a third party
(frequently industry averages), data on competitors' performance, and comparisons with similar organisations that
are in the same geographic area or that provide similar products and services in other geographic areas.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change refers to the variation in the Earth’s global climate or in regional climates over time. It describes
changes in the variability or average state of the atmosphere over time scales ranging from decades to millions of
years. These changes can be caused by processes internal to the Earth, external forces (e.g. variations in sunlight
intensity) or, more recently, human activities.
In recent usage, especially in the context of environmental policy, the term “climate change” often refers only to
changes in modern climate, including the rise in average surface temperature known as global warming. In some
cases, the term is also used with a presumption of human causation, as in the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
CAPABILITY, WORKFORCE
See “WORKFORCE CAPABILITY”
CAPACITY, WORKFORCE
See “WORKFORCE CAPACITY”
COLLABORATORS
Organisations or individuals who cooperate with your organisation to support a particular activity or event or who
cooperate intermittently when their short-term goals are aligned with or the same as yours. Typically, collaborations
do not involve formal agreements or arrangements.
See also the definition of “PARTNERS”.
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CORE COMPETENCIES
Your organisation’s areas of greatest expertise. Your organisation’s core competencies are those strategically
important capabilities that are central to fulfilling your mission or that provide an advantage in your marketplace or
service environment. Core competencies are frequently challenging for competitors or suppliers and partners to
imitate, and they may provide a sustainable competitive advantage. The absence of a needed core competency may
result in a significant strategic challenge or disadvantage for your organisation in the marketplace.
Core competencies may involve technological expertise, unique service offerings, a marketplace niche, or business
acumen in a particular area (e.g., business acquisitions).
CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY
Corporate Sustainability (CS) is integral to the co-creation of sustainable value in our businesses through the
enhancement of human, natural and social capital complementing their economic and financial growth in order to
give the enterprise an enduring future and also help create and serve a larger purpose, at all times. It facilitates
accountability to all stakeholders as a systemic practice.
CUSTOMER
An actual or potential user of your organisation’s products, programmes, or services (all referred to as products in the
TBEM Criteria). Customers include the end users of your products, as well as others who are immediate purchasers
or users, such as distributors, agents, or organisations that process your product as a component of theirs. The
Criteria address customers broadly, referencing your current and future customers, as well as your competitors'
customers.
Customer-driven excellence is a TBEM Core Value embedded in the beliefs and behaviours of high-performing
organisations. Customer focus impacts and should integrate your organisation’s strategic directions, its work
systems and work processes, and business results.
See the definition of “STAKEHOLDERS” for the relationship between customers and others who might be affected by
your products.
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT
Your customers’ investment in or commitment to your brand and product offerings. It is based on your ongoing ability
to serve their needs and build relationships so they will continue using your products. Characteristics of engaged
customers include retention and loyalty, willingness to make an effort to do business with your organisation, and
willingness to actively advocate for and recommend your brand and product offerings.
CYCLE TIME
The time required to fulfil commitments or complete tasks. Time measurements play a significant role in the TBEM
Criteria because of the great importance of time performance to improving competitiveness and overall performance.
Cycle time refers to all aspects of time performance, such as time to market, order fulfilment time, delivery time,
changeover time, customer response time, and other key measures of time. Improvement in cycle time might involve
any or all of these.
DEPLOYMENT
The extent to which your organisation applies an approach in addressing the requirements of a TBEM Criteria item.
Evaluation of deployment considers how broadly and deeply the approach is applied in relevant work units
throughout your organisation.
Deployment is one of the dimensions considered in evaluating Process Items. For further description, see the
Scoring System.
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DIVERSITY
Personal differences among workforce members that enrich the work environment and are representative of your
hiring and customer communities. These differences address many variables, such as race, religion, colour, gender,
national origin, disability, sexual orientation, age and generation, education, geographic origin, and skill
characteristics, as well as ideas, thinking, academic disciplines, and perspectives.
The TBEM Criteria refer to valuing and benefiting from the diversity of your workforce hiring and customer
communities. Capitalising on both in building your workforce increases your opportunities for high performance;
customer, workforce, and community satisfaction; and customer and workforce engagement.
EFFECTIVE
How well a process or a measure addresses its intended purpose. Determining effectiveness requires (1) evaluating
how well the process is aligned with the organisation’s needs and how well it is deployed or (2) evaluating the
outcome of the measure.
EMPOWERMENT
Giving people the authority and responsibility to make decisions and take actions. When people are empowered,
decisions are made closest to the front line, where work-related knowledge and understanding reside.
The purpose of empowering people is to enable them to satisfy customers on first contact, improve processes and
increase productivity, and improve your organisation’s performance results. An empowered workforce requires
information to make appropriate decisions; thus, your organisation must provide that information in a timely and
useful way.
ENGAGEMENT, CUSTOMER
See “CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT”
ENGAGEMENT, WORKFORCE
See “WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT”
ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR
The actions your organisation takes to ensure that all its decisions, actions, and stakeholder interactions conform to
its moral and professional principles of conduct. These principles should support all applicable laws and regulations
and are the foundation for your organisation’s culture and values. They distinguish right from wrong.
Senior leaders should be role models for these principles of behaviour. The principles apply to all people involved in
your organisation, from temporary workforce members to members of the board of directors, and they benefit from
regular communication and reinforcement. Although the TBEM Criteria do not prescribe a particular model for
ensuring ethical behaviour, senior leaders have the responsibility for the alignment of your organisation’s mission and
vision with its ethical principles. Ethical behaviour encompasses interactions with all stakeholders, including your
workforce, shareholders, customers, partners, suppliers, and local community.
Well-designed and clearly articulated ethical principles empower people to make effective decisions with great
confidence. In some organisations, ethical principles also serve as boundary conditions restricting behaviour that
otherwise could have adverse impacts on your organisation and/or society.
GOALS
Future conditions or performance levels that your organisation intends or desires to attain. Goals can be both short
and longer term. They are ends that guide actions. Quantitative goals frequently referred to as targets; include a
numerical point or range. Targets might be desired performance based on comparative or competitive data. Stretch
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goals are goals for desired major, discontinuous (non-incremental) or breakthrough improvements, usually in areas
most critical to your organisation’s future success.
Goals can serve many purposes, including

• clarifying strategic objectives and action plans to indicate how you will measure success
• fostering teamwork by focusing on a common end
• encouraging “out-of-the-box” thinking (innovation) to achieve a stretch goal
• providing a basis for measuring and accelerating progress
See also the definition of “PERFORMANCE PROJECTIONS”
GOVERNANCE
The system of management and controls exercised in the stewardship of your organisation. It includes the
responsibilities of your organisation’s owners/shareholders, board of directors, and senior leaders. Corporate or
organisational charters, bylaws, and policies document the rights and responsibilities of each of the parties and
describe how they will direct and control your organisation to ensure (1) accountability to owners/shareholders and
other stakeholders, (2) transparency of operations, and (3) fair treatment of all stakeholders. Governance processes
may include the approval of strategic direction, the monitoring and evaluation of the CEO's performance, the
establishment of executive compensation and benefits, succession planning, financial auditing, risk management,
disclosure, and shareholder reporting. Ensuring effective governance is important to stakeholders' and the larger
society's trust and to organisational effectiveness.
HIGH-PERFORMANCE WORK
Work processes that systematically pursue ever-higher levels of overall organisational and individual performance,
including quality, productivity, innovation rate, climate change mitigation and adaptation performance and cycle time.
High-performance work results in improved service for customers and other stakeholders.
Approaches to high-performance work vary in their form, their function, and the incentive systems used. High
performance work stems from and enhances workforce engagement. It involves cooperation between the
management and the workforce, which may involve workforce bargaining units; cooperation among work units,
often involving teams; empowerment of your people, including personal accountability; and workforce input into
planning. It may involve learning and building individual and organisational skills; learning from other organisations;
creating flexible job design and work assignments; maintaining a flattened organisational structure, where decision
making is decentralised and decisions are made closest to the front line; and effectively using performance
measures, including comparisons. Many organisations encourage high performance work with monetary and
nonmonetary incentives based on factors such as organisational performance, team and individual contributions,
and skill building. Also, approaches to high-performance work usually seek to align your organisation’s structure,
core competencies, work, jobs, workforce development, and incentives.
HOW
The systems and processes that your organisation uses to achieve its mission requirements. In responding to how
questions in TBEM Criteria categories 1-6, you should include information on approach (methods and measures),
deployment, learning, and integration.
INDICATORS
See MEASURES AND INDICATORS
INNOVATION
Making meaningful change to improve products, processes, or organisational effectiveness and create new value for
stakeholders. Innovation involves adopting an idea, process, technology, product, or business model that is either
new or new to its proposed application. The outcome of innovation is a discontinuous or breakthrough change in
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results, products, or processes. Innovation benefits from a supportive environment, a process for identifying strategic
opportunities, and a willingness to pursue intelligent risks.
Successful organisational innovation is a multistep process of development and knowledge sharing, a decision to
implement, implementation, evaluation, and learning. Although innovation is often associated with technological
innovation, it is applicable to all key organisational processes that can benefit from change through innovation,
whether breakthrough improvement or a change in approach or outputs. Innovation could include fundamental
changes in an organisation’s structure or business model to accomplish work more effectively.
See also the definition of “INTELLIGENT RISKS” AND “STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES”
INTEGRATION
The harmonisation of plans, processes, information, resource decisions, actions, results, and analyses to support
key organisation-wide goals. Effective integration goes beyond alignment and is achieved when the individual
components of a performance management system operate as a fully interconnected unit.
Integration is one of the dimensions considered in evaluating both Process and Results Items. For further description,
see the Scoring System.
See also the definition of “ALIGNMENT”.
INTELLIGENT RISKS
Opportunities for which the potential gain outweighs the potential harm or loss to your organisation’s sustainability if
you do not explore them. Taking intelligent risks requires a tolerance for failure and an expectation that innovation is
not achieved by initiating only successful endeavours. At the outset, organisations must invest in potential successes
while realising that some will lead to failure.
The degree of risk that is intelligent to take will vary by the pace and level of threat and opportunity in the industry. In a
rapidly changing industry with constant introductions of new products, processes, or business models, there is an
obvious need to invest more resources in intelligent risks than in a stable industry. In the latter, organisations must
monitor and explore growth potential and change but, most likely, with a less significant commitment of resources.
See also the definition of ''STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES''.
KEY
Major or most important; critical to achieving your intended outcome. The TBEM Criteria, for example, refer to key
challenges, plans; work processes, and measures- those that are most important to your organisation’s success.
They are the essential elements for pursuing or monitoring a desired outcome. Key is generally defined as around the
most significant five (e.g. around five key challenges).
KNOWLEDGE ASSETS
Your organisation’s accumulated intellectual resources; the knowledge possessed by your organisation and its
workforce in the form of information, ideas, learning, understanding, memory, insights, cognitive and technical skills,
and capabilities. These knowledge assets reside in your workforce, software, patents, databases, documents,
guides, policies and procedures, and technical drawings. Knowledge assets also reside within customers, suppliers,
and partners.
Knowledge assets are the know-how that your organisation has available to use, invest, and grow. Building and
managing knowledge assets are key components of creating value for your stakeholders and sustaining a
competitive advantage.
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LEADERSHIP SYSTEM
The way leadership is exercised, formally and informally, throughout your organisation; the basis for key decisions
and the way they are made, communicated, and carried out. A leadership system includes structures and
mechanisms for making decisions; ensuring two-way communication; selecting and developing leaders and
managers; and reinforcing values, ethical behaviour, directions, and performance expectations.
An effective leadership system respects workforce members' and other stakeholders’ capabilities and requirements,
and it sets high expectations for performance and performance improvement. It builds loyalties and teamwork based
on your organisation’s vision and values and the pursuit of shared goals. It encourages and supports initiative,
innovation, and appropriate risk taking, subordinates organisational structure to purpose and function, and avoids
chains of command that require long decision paths. An effective leadership system includes mechanisms for
leaders to conduct self-examination, receive feedback, and improve.
LEARNING
New knowledge or skills acquired through evaluation, study, experience, and innovation. The TBEM Criteria refer to
two distinct kinds of learning: organisational and personal. Organisational learning is achieved through research and
development, evaluation and improvement cycles, ideas and input from the workforce and stakeholders, the sharing
of best practices, and benchmarking. Personal learning is achieved through education, training, and developmental
opportunities that further individual growth.
To be effective, learning should be embedded in the way your organisation operates. Learning contributes to a
competitive advantage and sustainability for your organisation and workforce.
For further description of organisational and personal learning, see the related core value and concept (page 38).
Learning is one of the dimensions considered in evaluating Process Items. For further description, see the Scoring
System.
LEVELS
Numerical information that places or positions your organisation's results and performance on a meaningful
measurement scale. Performance levels permit evaluation relative to past performance, projections, goals, and
appropriate comparisons.
MEASURES AND INDICATORS
Numerical information that quantifies the input, output, and performance dimensions of processes, products,
programmes, projects, services, and the overall organisation (outcomes). Measures and indicators might be simple
(derived from one measurement) or composite.
The TBEM Criteria do not distinguish between measures and indicators. However, some users of these terms prefer
indicator (1) when the measurement relates to performance but does not measure it directly (e.g., the number of
complaints is an indicator but not a direct measure of dissatisfaction) and (2) when the measurement is a predictor
(leading indicator) of some more significant performance (e.g., increased customer satisfaction might be a leading
indicator of market share gain).
MISSON
Your organisation’s overall function. The mission answers the question, “What is your organisation attempting to
accomplish?” The mission might define customers or markets served, distinctive or core competencies, or
technologies used.
MULTIPLE REQUIREMENTS
The individual questions Criteria users need to answer within each lettered Area to Address. These questions
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constitute the details of an Item’s requirements. They are presented in black text under each Item’s Area(s) to
Address. This presentation is illustrated in the Item format.
Even high-performing, high-scoring users of the Criteria are not likely to be able to address all the multiple
requirements with equal capability or success.
OVERALL REQUIREMENTS
The most significant features of the TBEM Criteria that users need to address when responding to the central theme
of an Item. Overall requirements address the most significant features of the Item requirements. In the Criteria, the
overall requirements of each Item are presented in one or more introductory sentences printed in bold. This
presentation is illustrated in the Item format.
PARTNERS
Key organisations or individuals who are working in concert with your organisation to achieve a common goal or
improve performance. Typically, partnerships are formal arrangements for a specific aim or purpose, such as to
achieve a strategic objective or deliver a specific product.
Formal partnerships usually last for an extended period and involve a clear understanding of the partners’ individual
and mutual roles and benefits.
See also the definition of “'COLLABORATORS”.
PERFORMANCE
Outputs and their outcomes obtained from processes, products, and customers that permit you to evaluate and
compare your organisation’s results to performance projections, standards, past results, goals, and other
organisations’ results. Performance can be expressed in nonfinancial and financial terms.
The TBEM Criteria address four types of performance: (1) product, (2) customer-focused, (3) operational, and (4)
financial and marketplace.
“Product performance” is performance relative to measures and indicators of product and service characteristics
that are important to customers. Examples include product reliability, on-time delivery, customer-experienced defect
levels, and service response time. For some service organisations, including non-profit organisations, examples
might include program and project performance in the areas of rapid response to emergencies, at-home services, or
multilingual services.
“Customer-focused” performance is performance relative to measures and indicators of customers' perceptions,

reactions, and behaviours. Examples include customer retention, customer complaints, and customer survey
results.
“Operational performance” is workforce performance, leadership performance, and organisational performance

(including ethical and legal compliance) relative to measures and indicators of effectiveness, efficiency, and
accountability. Examples include cycle time, productivity, waste reduction, workforce turnover, workforce cross-
training rates, regulatory compliance, fiscal accountability, strategy accomplishment, and community involvement.
Operational performance might be measured at the work-unit, key work process, and organisational levels.
“Financial and marketplace performance” is performance relative to measures of cost, revenue, and market position,
including asset utilisation, asset growth, and market share. Examples include returns on investments, value added
per employee, debt-to-equity ratio, returns on assets, operating margins, performance to budget, the amount in
reserve funds, cash-to-cash cycle time, other profitability and liquidity measures, and market gains.
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PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE
An integrated approach to organisational performance management that results in (1) delivery of ever-improving
value to customers and stakeholders, contributing to organisational sustainability; (2) improvement of your
organisation's overall effectiveness and capabilities; and (3) organisational and personal learning. The TBEM Criteria
provide a framework and assessment tool for understanding your organisation's strengths and opportunities for
improvement and, thus, for guiding your planning toward achieving higher performance.
PERFORMANCE PROJECTIONS
Estimates of your organisation’s future performance. Projections should be based on an understanding of past
performance, rates of improvement, and assumptions about future internal changes and innovations, as well as
assumptions about changes in the external environment that result in internal changes. Thus, performance
projections can serve as a key tool in managing your operations and in developing and implementing your strategy.
Performance projections state your expected future performance. Goals state your desired future performance.
Performance projections for your competitors or similar organisations may indicate challenges facing your
organisation and areas where breakthrough performance or innovation is needed. In areas where your organisation
intends to achieve breakthrough performance or innovation, your performance projections and your goals may
overlap.
See also the definition of “GOALS”
PROCESS
Linked activities with the purpose of producing a product or service for a customer (user) within or outside your
organisation. Generally, processes involve combinations of people, machines, tools, techniques, materials, and
improvements in a defined series of steps or actions. Processes rarely operate in isolation and must be considered in
relation to other processes that impact them. In some situations, processes might require adherence to a specific
sequence of steps, with documentation (sometimes formal) of procedures and requirements, including well-defined
measurement and control steps.
In the delivery of services, particularly those that directly involve customers, process is used more generally to spell
out what delivering that service entails, possibly including a preferred or expected sequence. If a sequence is critical,
the process needs to include information that helps customers understand and follow the sequence. Such service
processes also require guidance for service providers on handling contingencies related to customers’ possible
actions or behaviours.
In knowledge work, such as strategic planning, research, development, and analysis, process does not necessarily
imply formal sequences of steps. Rather, it implies general understandings of competent performance in such areas
as timing, options to include, evaluation, and reporting. Sequences might arise as part of these understandings.
Process is one of the two dimensions evaluated in a TBEM assessment. This evaluation is based on four factors:
approach, deployment, learning, and integration. For further description, see the Scoring System.
PRODUCTIVITY
Measures of the efficiency of resource use.
Although the term is often applied to single factors, such as the workforce (labour productivity), machines, materials,
energy, and capital, the concept also applies to the total resources used in producing outputs. Using an aggregate
measure of overall productivity allows you to determine whether the net effect of overall changes in a process-
possibly involving resource trade-offs-is beneficial.
PROJECTIONS, PERFORMANCE
See the definition of “PERFORMANCE PROJECTIONS”

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PURPOSE
The fundamental reason that your organisation exists. The primary role of a purpose is to inspire your organisation
and guide its setting of values. A purpose is generally broad and enduring. Two organisations in different businesses
could have similar purposes, and two organisations in the same business could have different purposes.
RESULTS
Outputs and outcomes achieved by your organisation in addressing the requirements of a TBEM Criteria item.
Results are evaluated based on current performance; performance relative to appropriate comparisons; the rate,
breadth, and importance of performance improvements; and the relationship of results measures to key
organisational performance requirements. For further description, see the Scoring System.
Results are one of the two dimensions evaluated in a TBEM-based assessment. This evaluation is based on four
factors: levels, trends, comparisons, and integration. For further description, see the Scoring System.
SEGMENT
One part of your organisation’s customer, market, product offering, or workforce base. Segments typically have
common characteristics that allow logical groupings. In TBEM Criteria results items, segmentation refers to
disaggregating results data in a way that allows for meaningful analysis of your organisation’s performance. It is up to
each organisation to determine the factors that it uses to segment its customers, markets, products, and workforce.
Understanding segments is critical to identifying the distinct needs and expectations of different customer, market,
and workforce groups and to tailoring product offerings to meet their needs and expectations. For example, you
might segment your market based on distribution channels, business volume, geography, or technologies
employed. You might segment your workforce based on geography, skills, needs, work assignments, or job
classifications.
SENIOR LEADERS
Your organisation’s senior management group or team. In many organisations, this consists of the head of the
organisation and his or her direct reports.
STAKEHOLDERS
All groups that are or might be affected by your organisation’s actions and success. Key stakeholders might include
customers, the workforce, partners, collaborators, governing boards, stockholders, donors, suppliers, taxpayers,
regulatory bodies, policy makers, funders, and local and professional communities.
See also the definition of CUSTOMER.
STRATEGIC ADVANTAGES
Those marketplace benefits that exert a decisive influence on your organisation’s likelihood of future success. These
advantages are frequently sources of current and future competitive success relative to other providers of similar
products. Strategic advantages generally arise from either or both of two sources: (1) core competencies, which
focus on building and expanding on your organisation’s internal capabilities, including capabilities related to climate
change adaptation and mitigation, and (2) strategically important external resources, which your organisation
shapes and leverages through key external relationships and partnerships.
When an organisation realises both sources of strategic advantage, it can amplify its unique internal capabilities by
capitalising on complementary capabilities in other organisations.
See the definitions of “STRATEGIC CHALLENGES” and “STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES” below for the relationship
among strategic advantages, strategic challenges, and the strategic objectives your organisation articulates to
address its challenges and advantages.
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STRATEGIC CHALLENGES
Those pressures that exert a decisive influence on your organisation’s likelihood of future success. These challenges
are frequently driven by your organisation’s anticipated competitive position in the future relative to other providers of
similar products. While not exclusively so, strategic challenges are generally externally driven. However, in
responding to externally driven strategic challenges, your organisation may face internal strategic challenges.
External strategic challenges may relate to customer or market needs or expectations; shift in consumer preference
(eco-friendly products), energy security, natural resource optimisation, carbon markets, emissions trading
schemes, taxes and penalties, carbon regulations, disposal management and public opinion; product or
technological changes (including low carbon technologies); or financial, societal, and other risks or needs. Internal
strategic challenges may relate to capabilities or human and other resources.
See the definitions of “STRATEGIC ADVANTAGES” and “STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES” in this Glossary for the
relationship among strategic challenges, strategic advantages, and the strategic objectives your organisation
articulates to address its challenges and advantages.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
The aims or responses that your organisation articulates to address major change or improvement, competitiveness
or social issues / global issues like climate change, and business advantages. Strategic objectives are generally
focused both externally and internally and relate to significant customer, market, product, technological or climate
change related opportunities and challenges (strategic challenges). Broadly stated, they are what your organisation
must achieve to remain or become competitive and ensure its long-term sustainability. Strategic objectives set your
organisation’s longer-term directions and guide resource allocation and redistribution.
See the definition of “ACTION PLANS” for the relationship between strategic objectives and action plans and for an
example of each.
STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES
Prospects that arise from outside-the-box thinking, brainstorming, capitalising on serendipity, research and
innovation processes, nonlinear extrapolation of current conditions, and other approaches to imagining a different
future.
The generation of ideas that lead to strategic opportunities benefits from an environment that encourages non-
directed, free thought. Choosing which strategic opportunities to pursue involves consideration of relative risk,
financial and otherwise, and then making intelligent choices (intelligent risks).
See also the definition of “INTELLIGENT RISKS”.
SUSTAINABILITY / SUSTAINABLE
Your organisation’s ability to address current business needs and to have the agility and strategic management to
prepare successfully for the future business, market, and operating environment. To be sustainable, your
organisation needs to consider both external and internal factors. The specific combination of factors might include
industry-wide and organisation-specific components.
Factors in your organisation’s sustainability might include workforce capability and capacity, resource availability,
conservation / optimisation of natural resources, adoption and or investing in cutting edge / low carbon technology,
innovating new / low carbon products and services, identification and creation of new / low carbon business
opportunities, reputation management, knowledge, core competencies, work systems, facilities, and equipment.
Sustainability might be affected by changes in the marketplace and customer preferences, in the financial markets,
and in the legal and regulatory environment. In addition, sustainability has a component related to day-to-day
preparedness for real-time or short-term emergencies.
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In the context of the TBEM Criteria, the impact of your organisation’s products and operations on society and the
contributions you make to the well-being of environmental, social, and economic systems are part of your
organisation’s overall societal responsibilities. Whether and how your organisation addresses such considerations
also may affect its sustainability.
SYSTEMATIC
Well-ordered, repeatable, and exhibiting the use of data and information so that learning is possible. Approaches are
systematic if they build in the opportunity for evaluation, improvement, and sharing, thereby permitting a gain in
maturity. To see the term in use, refer to the Process Scoring Guidelines
TRENDS
Numerical information that shows the direction and rate of change of your organisation’s results or the consistency of
its performance over time. Trends show your organisation’s performance in a time sequence.
Ascertaining a trend generally requires a minimum of three historical (not projected) data points. Defining a
statistically valid trend requires more data points. The cycle time of the process being measured determines the time
between the data points for establishing a trend. Shorter cycle times demand more frequent measurement, while
longer cycle times might require longer periods for a meaningful trend.
Examples of trends called for by the TBEM Criteria include data on product performance, results for customer and
workforce satisfaction and dissatisfaction, financial performance, marketplace performance, and operational
performance, such as cycle time and productivity.
VALUE
The perceived worth of a product, process, asset, or function relative to its cost and possible alternatives.
Organisations frequently use value considerations to determine the benefits of various options relative to their costs,
such as the value of various product and service combinations to customers. Your organisation needs to understand
what different stakeholder groups value and then deliver value to each group. This frequently requires balancing
value for customers and other stakeholders, such as your workforce and the community.
VALUES
The guiding principles and behaviours that embody how your organisation and its people are expected to operate.
Values reflect and reinforce your organisation’s desired culture. They support and guide the decisions made by every
workforce member, helping your organisation accomplish its mission and attain its vision appropriately. Examples of
values include demonstrating integrity and fairness in all interactions, exceeding customer expectations, valuing
individuals and diversity, protecting the environment, and striving for performance excellence every day.
VISION
Your organisation’s desired future state. The vision describes where your organisation is headed, what it intends to
be, or how it wishes to be perceived in the future.
VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER
Your process for capturing customer-related information. Voice-of-the-customer processes are intended to be
proactive and continuously innovative to capture stated, unstated, and anticipated customer requirements,
expectations, and desires. The goal is to achieve customer engagement. Listening to the voice of the customer might
include gathering and integrating various types of customer data, such as survey data, focus group findings, Web-
based commentary, warranty data, and complaint data, that affect customers' purchasing and engagement
decisions.
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WORK PROCESSES
Your organisation’s most important internal value-creation processes. They might include product design,
production, and delivery, customer support, supply-chain management, business, and support processes. They are
the processes that involve the majority of your organisation’s workforce.
Your key work processes frequently relate to your core competencies, the factors that determine your success
relative to competitors, and the factors your senior leaders consider important for business growth. Your key work
processes are always accomplished by your workforce.
WORK SYSTEMS
How your organisation’s work is accomplished. Work systems involve your workforce, your key suppliers and
partners, your contractors, your collaborators, and other components of the supply chain needed to produce and
deliver your products and carry out your business and support processes. Work systems comprise the internal work
processes and external resources you need to develop and produce products, deliver them to your customers, and
succeed in your marketplace.
Decisions about work systems are strategic. These decisions involve protecting and capitalising on core
competencies and deciding what should be procured from or produced outside your organisation in order to be
efficient and sustainable in your marketplace.
WORKFORCE
All people actively supervised by your organisation and involved in accomplishing your organisation’s work,
including paid employees (e.g., permanent, part-time, temporary, and telecommuting employees, as well as contract
employees supervised by your organisation) and volunteers, as appropriate. Your workforce includes team leaders,
supervisors, and managers at all levels.
WORKFORCE CAPABILITY
Your organisation’s ability to accomplish its work processes through its people's knowledge, skills, abilities, and
competencies.
Capability may include the ability to build and sustain relationships with customers; to innovate and transition to new
technologies; to mitigate and/or adapt climate change challenges; to develop new products and work processes;
and to meet changing business, market, and regulatory demands.
WORKFORCE CAPACITY
Your organisation’s ability to ensure sufficient staffing levels to accomplish its work processes and deliver your
products to customers, including the ability to meet seasonal or varying demand levels.
WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT
The extent of workforce members’ emotional and intellectual commitment to accomplishing your organisation’s
work, mission, and vision. Organisations with high levels of workforce engagement are often characterised by high-
performing work environments in which people are motivated to do their utmost for their customers’ benefit and the
organisation’s success.
In general, workforce members feel engaged when they find personal meaning and motivation in their work and
receive interpersonal and workplace support. An engaged workforce benefits from trusting relationships, a safe and
cooperative environment, good communication and information flow, empowerment, and accountability for
performance. Key factors contributing to engagement include training and career development, effective recognition
and reward systems, equal opportunity and fair treatment, and family-friendliness.
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Category and Item Commentary
Chapter 4

This commentary provides brief summaries of the Criteria categories and items. It also includes examples
and guidance to supplement the notes that follow each item in the Criteria booklet.
Your Organisational Profile provides a framework for understanding your organisation. It also helps you guide and
prioritise the information you present in response to the Criteria items in categories 1-7.
The Organisational Profile provides your organisation with critical insight into the key internal and external factors that
shape your operating environment. These factors, such as your organisation’s vision, values, mission, core
competencies, competitive environment, and strategic challenges and advantages, impact the way your
organisation is run and the decisions you make. As such, the Organisational Profile helps your organisation better
understand the context in which it operates; the key requirements for current and future business success and
organisational sustainability; and the needs, opportunities, and constraints placed on your organisation’s
management systems.
P.1 Organisational Description:
Purpose
This Item addresses the key characteristics and relationships that shape your organisational environment.
It also addresses your organisation’s governance system. The aim is to set the context for your
organisation and for your responses to the Criteria requirements in Categories 1-7.
Commentary
n Understand your organisation. The use of such terms as purpose, vision, values, mission, and core
competencies varies depending on the organisation, and your organisation may not use one or more
of these terms. Nevertheless, you should have a clear understanding of the essence of your
organisation, why it exists, and where your senior leaders want to take it in the future. This clarity
enables you to make and implement strategic decisions affecting your organisation’s future.
n Understand your core competencies. A clear identification and thorough understanding of your
organisation’s core competencies are central to organisational sustainability and competitive
performance. Executing your core competencies well is frequently a marketplace differentiator.
Keeping your core competencies current with your strategic directions can provide a strategic
advantage, and protecting intellectual property contained in your core competencies can support
sustainability.
n Understand your regulatory requirement. The regulatory environment in which you operate places
requirements on your organisation and impacts how you run your it. Understanding this environment,
particularly the changes happening due to climate change regulations, is key to making effective
operational and strategic decisions. Further, it allows you to identify whether you are merely complying
with the minimum requirements of applicable laws, regulations, and standards of practice or exceeding
them, a hallmark of leading organisations and a potential source of competitive advantage.
n Identify governance roles and relationships. Leading organisations have well-defined governance
systems with clear reporting relationships. It is important to clearly identify which functions are
performed by senior leaders and, as applicable, by your governance board and board committees and
your parent organisation. Board independence and accountability frequently are key considerations in
the governance structure.
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n Understand the role of suppliers. In most organisations, suppliers play critical roles in processes that
are important to running the business and to maintaining or achieving a sustainable competitive
advantage. Supply chain requirements might include on-time or just-in-time delivery, flexibility, variable
staffing, research and design capability, process and product innovation, and customised
manufacturing or services.
P.2 Organisational Situation:
Purpose
This Item asks about the competitive environment in which your organisation operates, including your key
strategic challenges and advantages, including the climate change perspective. It also asks how you
approach performance improvement and learning, including organisational learning, and innovation
processes. The aim is to help you understand your key organisational challenges and your system for
establishing and preserving your competitive advantage.
Commentary
n Know your strengths, vulnerabilities, and opportunities. Knowledge of your organisation’s

strengths, vulnerabilities, and opportunities for improvement and growth is essential to its success and
sustainability. With this knowledge, you can identify products, processes, competencies, and
performance attributes that are unique to your organisation; that set you apart from other
organisations; that help you preserve your competitive advantage; and that you must develop to
sustain or build your market position.
n Know your competitors. Understanding who your competitors are, how many you have, and their key
characteristics is essential for determining your competitive advantage in your industry and
marketplace. Leading organisations have an in-depth understanding of their current competitive
environment, including key changes taking place.
n Sources of comparative and competitive data might include industry publications, benchmarking
activities, annual reports for publicly traded companies and public organisations, conferences, local
networks, and industry associations.
n Know your strategic challenges. Operating your organisation in today's highly competitive
marketplace means facing strategic challenges that can affect your ability to sustain performance and
maintain your competitive position. These challenges might include
• your operational costs (e.g., materials, labour, or geographic location);
• expanding or decreasing markets;
• mergers or acquisitions by your organisation and by your competitors;
• economic conditions, including fluctuating demand and local and global economic downturns;
• the cyclical nature of your industry;
• the introduction of new or substitute products;
• rapid technological changes;
• new competitors entering the market;
• climate change threats and opportunities;
• the availability of skilled labour; and
• the retirement of an aging workforce
n Prepare for disruptive technologies. A particularly significant challenge, if it occurs to your

organisation, is being unprepared for a disruptive technology that threatens your competitive position
or your marketplace. In the past, such technologies have included personal computers replacing
typewriters; cell phones challenging traditional and pay phones, fax machines capturing business from
overnight delivery services; and e-mail, social media and smart phones challenging all other means of
communication. Today, organisations need to be scanning the environment inside and outside their
immediate industry to detect such challenges at the earliest possible point in time.
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n Performance Improvement system. This is organisational approach towards creating a continuous

improvement culture. These approaches might include various improvement and innovation
principles, methods and tools. The approaches work in an integrated manner to achieve strategic
objectives of the organisations. While working with various methods and tools, organisation should try
to understand the relationship between performance improvement system and intended business
outcomes.
Leadership (Category 1)
Leadership addresses how your senior leaders’ personal actions and your governance system guide and sustain
your organisation. Attention is given to how your senior leaders communicate with your workforce, enhance their
leadership skills, participate in organisational learning and develop future leaders, create a focus on action and
establish an environment that encourages ethical behaviour, innovation, safety, climate change initiatives and high
performance.
1.1 Senior Leadership:
Purpose
This Item asks about the key aspects of your senior leaders’ responsibilities, and focuses on your senior
leaders’ actions to create a sustainable, high-performing organisation with a business, customer, safety,
climate change, and community focus.
Commentary
n The role of senior leaders. Senior leaders play a central role in setting values and directions,
communicating, creating and balancing value for all stakeholders, and creating an organisational focus
on action. Success requires a strong orientation to the future and a commitment to improvement,
innovation,and intelligent risk taking and organisational sustainability, including climate change.
Senior leaders’ role is important in promoting safety and climate consciousness in the organisation.
Increasingly, this requires creating an environment for empowerment, agility, and learning.
n Role-model senior leaders. In highly respected organisations, senior leaders are committed to
establishing a culture of customer engagement, to developing the organisation’s future leaders and
recognising and rewarding contributions by workforce members. They personally engage with key
customers. Senior leaders enhance their personal leadership skills. They participate in organisational
learning, the development of future leaders, succession planning, and recognition opportunities and
events that celebrate the workforce. Development of future leaders might include personal mentoring
or participation in leadership development courses.
1.2 Governance and Societal Responsibilities:
Purpose
This item asks about key aspects of your organisation’s governance system, including the improvement of
leadership. It also asks how your organisation ensures that everyone in the organisation behaves legally
and ethically, how it fulfils its societal responsibilities, and how it supports its key communities.
Commentary
n Organisational governance. This item addresses the need for responsible, informed, transparent,
and accountable governance or advisory body that can protect the interests of key stakeholders
(including stockholders) in publicly traded and profit organisations. This body should have
independence in review and audit functions, as well as a performance evaluation function that monitors
organisational and CEOs' or chief administrators' performance.
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n Legal, compliance, ethics and risks. An integral part of performance management and improvement
is proactively addressing (1) the need for ethical behaviour, (2) all legal and regulatory requirements,
and (3) risk factors including reputational, safety and climate change. Ensuring high performance in
these areas requires establishing appropriate measures or indicators that senior leaders track. You
should be sensitive to issues of public concern, whether or not these issues currently are currently
embodied in laws and regulations. Role-model organisations look for opportunities to exceed
requirements and to excel in areas of legal and ethical behaviour.
n Public concerns. Public concerns that charitable and government organisations should anticipate
might include the cost of programs and operations, timely and equitable access to their offerings, and
perceptions about their stewardship of resources.
n Conservation of natural resources. Conservation might be achieved through the use of “green”
technologies, the reduction of your carbon footprint, the replacement of hazardous chemicals with
water based chemicals, energy conservation, the use of cleaner energy sources, or the recycling of by-
products or wastes.
n Societal responsibility. Societal responsibility implies going beyond a compliance orientation.

Opportunities to contribute to the well-being of environmental, social, and economic systems and
opportunities to support key communities are available to organisations of all sizes. The level and
breadth of these contributions will depend on the size of your organisation and your ability to
contribute. Increasingly, decisions to engage with an organisation include consideration of its social
responsibility.
n Community support. Your organisation should consider areas of community involvement that are
related to its core competencies. Examples of organisational community involvement include;
• partnering with schools and school boards to improve education;
• partnering with health care providers to improve health in the local community by providing
education and volunteer services to address public health issues; and
• partnering to influence trade, business, and professional associations to engage in beneficial,
cooperative activities, such as voluntary standards activities or sharing best practices to improve
overall U.S. global competitiveness and ethical and societal well being.
n Examples specifically for non-profit organisations include partnering with other non-profit organisations
or businesses to improve the overall performance and stewardship of public and charitable resources.
Strategic Planning (Category 2)
This category asks how your organisation develops strategic objectives and action plans, implements them,
changes them if circumstances require, and measures progress.
The category stresses that your organisation’s long-term organisational sustainability and competitive environment
are key strategic issues that need to be integral parts of your overall planning. Making decisions about your
organisation’s core competencies and work systems is an integral part of ensuring your organisation’s sustainability,
and these decisions are therefore key strategic decisions.
While many organisations are increasingly adept at strategic planning, executing plans is still a significant challenge.
This is especially true given market demands to be agile and be prepared for unexpected change, such as volatile
economic conditions or disruptive technologies that can upset an otherwise fast-paced but more predictable
marketplace. This category highlights the need to focus not only on developing your plans, but also on your
capability to execute them.
The TBEM Criteria emphasise three key aspects of organisational excellence that are important to strategic planning
n Customer-driven excellence is a strategic view of excellence. The focus is on the drivers of

customer engagement, new markets, and market share-key factors in competitiveness, profitability,
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n Operational performance improvement and innovation contribute to short-and longer-term

productivity growth and cost/price competitiveness. Building operational capability-including speed,
responsiveness, and flexibility-represents an investment in strengthening your organisational fitness.
n Organisational and personal learning are necessary strategic considerations in today’s fast-paced
environment. The Criteria emphasise that improvement and learning need to be embedded in work
processes. The special role of strategic planning is to align work systems and learning initiatives with
your organisation’s strategic directions, thereby ensuring that improvement and learning prepare you
for and reinforce organisational priorities.
This category asks how your organisation
n considers key elements of a strategic planning process, including strategic opportunities, challenges,
and advantages, including climate change perspectives also in this consideration;
n optimises the use of resources, ensures the availability of a skilled workforce, and bridges short- and
longer term requirements that may entail capital expenditures, technology development or acquisition,
supplier development, and new partnerships or collaborations; and
n ensures that implementation will be effective-that there are mechanisms to communicate requirements
and achieve alignment on three levels: (1) the organisation and executive level, (2) the key work system
and work process level, and (3) the work unit and individual job level.
n The requirements in this category encourage strategic thinking and acting in order to develop a basis
for a distinct competitive position in the marketplace. These requirements do not imply the need for
formal planning departments or specific planning cycles. They do not imply that all your improvements
could or should be planned in advance. An effective improvement system combines improvements of
many types and degrees of involvement. This requires clear strategic guidance, particularly when
improvement alternatives, including major change or innovation, compete for limited resources. In
most cases, setting priorities depends heavily on a cost, opportunity, and threat rationale. However,
you might also have critical requirements, such as societal responsibilities, that are not driven by cost
considerations alone.
2.1 Strategy Development:
Purpose
This item asks how your organisation establishes a strategy to address its challenges and leverage its
advantages and how it makes decisions about key work systems and core competencies. It also asks
about your key strategic objectives, including the climate change perspective also in this, and their related
goals. The aim is to strengthen your overall performance, competitiveness, and future success.
Commentary
n A context for strategy development. This Item calls for basic information on the planning process and
for information on all the key influences, risks, challenges, and other requirements that might affect your
organisation’s future opportunities and directions-taking as long-term a view as appropriate and
possible from the perspectives of your organisation and your industry or marketplace. This approach is
intended to provide a thorough and realistic context for developing a customer- and market-focused
strategy to guide ongoing decision making, resource allocation, and overall management.
n A future oriented basis for action. This Item is intended to cover all types of businesses, for profit
organisations, competitive situations, strategic issues, planning approaches, and plans. The
requirements explicitly call for a future-oriented basis for action but do not imply the need for formal
planning departments, specific planning cycles, or a specified way of visualising the future. Even if your
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organisation is seeking to create an entirely new business, you still need to to set and test the objectives
that define and guide critical actions and performance.
n Competitive leadership. This Item emphasises competitive leadership, which usually depends on
revenue growth and operational effectiveness. Competitive leadership requires a view of the future that
includes not only the markets or segments in which your organisation competes but also how it
competes. How to compete presents many options and requires that you understand your
organisation’s and your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. Deciding how to compete also
involves decisions on taking intelligent risks in order to gain or retain market leadership. Although no
specific time horizons are included, the thrust of this Item is sustained competitive leadership.
Work systems. Efficient and effective work systems require

• effective design;
• a prevention orientation;
• linkage to customers, suppliers, partners, and collaborators; and
• a focus on value creation for all key stakeholders; operational performance improvement; cycle
time reduction; and evaluation, continuous improvement, innovation, and organisational learning.
n Work systems must also be designed in a way that allows your organisation to be agile and to protect
intellectual property. In the simplest terms, agility is the ability to adapt quickly, flexibly, and effectively to
changing requirements. Depending on the nature of your organisation’s strategy and markets, agility
might mean the ability to change rapidly from one product to another, respond rapidly to changing
demands or market conditions, or produce a wide range of customised services. Agility and protection
of intellectual property also increasingly involve decisions to outsource, agreements with key suppliers,
and novel partnering arrangements.
2.2 Strategy Implementation:
Purpose
n This Item asks how your organisation converts your strategic objectives into action plans to accomplish
the objectives. It also examines how your organisation assesses progress relative to these action plans.
The aim is to ensure that you deploy your strategies successfully and achieve your goals. Commentary
n Developing and deploying action plans. The accomplishment of action plans requires resources
and performance measures, as well as the alignment of the plans of your work units, suppliers, and
partners. Of central importance is how you achieve alignment and consistency-for example, via work
systems, work processes, and key measurements. Also, alignment and consistency provide a basis for
setting and communicating priorities for ongoing improvement activities-part of the daily work of all
work units. In addition, performance measures are critical for tracking performance. Action plans
should address short-and longer-term strategic objectives, including those related with climate
change, as appropriate. These might include carbon foot print mapping of the value chain,
identification and implementation of operational and strategic carbon abatement levers.
n Performing analyses to support resource allocation. Many types of analyses can be performed to
ensure that financial resources are available to support the accomplishment of your action plans while
your organisation also meets existing obligations. For current operations, these efforts might include
the analysis of cash flows, net income statements, and current liabilities versus current assets. For
investments to accomplish action plans, the efforts might include analysis of discounted cash flows,
return on investment, or return on invested capital.
n The specific types of analyses will vary from organisation to organisation. These analyses should
help your organisation assess the financial viability of your current operations and the potential viability
of and risks associated with your action plan initiatives.
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n Creating workforce plans. Action plans should include human resource or workforce plans that are
aligned with and support your overall strategy. Examples of possible plan elements are
• a redesign of your work organisation and jobs to increase workforce empowerment and decision
making;
• initiatives to promote greater labour-management cooperation, such as union partnerships;
• a consideration of the impacts of outsourcing on your current workforce and initiatives;
• initiatives to prepare for future workforce capability and capacity needs;
• initiatives to foster knowledge sharing and organisational learning;
• the modification of your compensation and recognition systems to recognise team, organisational,
stock market, customer, or other performance attributes; and
• education and training initiatives, such as developmental programs for future leaders, partnerships
with universities to help ensure the availability of an educated and skilled workforce, and the
establishment of training programs on new technologies important to the future success of your
workforce and organisation.
n Projecting your future environment. An increasingly important part of strategic planning is projecting
the future competitive and collaborative environment. This includes the ability to project your own
future performance, as well as that of your competitors. Such projections help you detect and reduce
competitive threats, shorten reaction time, and identify opportunities. Depending on your
organisation’s size and type, the potential need for new core competencies, the maturity of markets,
the pace of change, and competitive parameters (e.g., price, costs, or the innovation rate), you might
use a variety of modelling, scenarios, or other techniques and judgments to anticipate the competitive
and collaborative environment.
n Projecting and comparing your performance. Projections and comparisons in this Item are intended
to improve your organisation’s ability to understand and track dynamic, competitive performance
factors. Projected performance might include changes resulting from new business ventures, entry into
new markets, the introduction of new technologies, product innovations, changes due to climate
change regulations or other strategic thrusts that might involve a degree of intelligent risk.
n Through this tracking, your organisation should be better prepared to take into account its rate of
improvement and change relative to that of competitors or comparable organisations and relative to its
own targets or stretch goals. Such tracking serves as a key diagnostic tool for you to use in deciding to
start, accelerate, or discontinue initiatives.
Customer Focus (Category 3)
This category asks how your organisation engages its customers for long-term marketplace success, including how
your organisation listens to the voice of the customer, builds customer relationships, and uses customer information
to improve and to identify opportunities for innovation.
The category stresses customer engagement as an important outcome of an overall learning and performance
excellence strategy. Your customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction results provide vital information for understanding
your customers and the marketplace. In many cases, the voice of the customer provides meaningful information not
only on your customers' views but also on their marketplace behaviours and on how these views and behaviours
may contribute to your organisation’s sustainability in the marketplace.
3.1 Voice of the Customer:
Purpose
This item asks about your organisation's processes for listening to your customers and determining their
satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The aim is to capture meaningful information in order to exceed your
customers’ expectations.
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Commentary
n Customer listening. Selection of voice of the customer strategies depends on your organisation’s key
business factors. Increasingly, organisations listen to the voice of the customer via multiple modes.
Some frequently used modes include focus groups with key customers, close integration with key
customers, interviews with lost and potential customers about their purchasing or relationship
decisions, customer comments posted on social media, win/loss analysis relative to competitors and
other organisations providing similar products, and survey or feedback information.
n Actionable information. This item emphasises how you obtain actionable information from
customers. Information is actionable if you can tie it to key product offerings and business processes
and use it to determine the cost and revenue implications of setting particular improvement goals and
priorities for change.
n Listening, learning and business strategy. In a rapidly changing technological, competitive,

economic, and social environment, many factors (including climate change) may affect customer
expectations and loyalty and your interface with customers in the marketplace. This makes it necessary
to continually listen and learn. To be effective, listening and learning need to be closely linked with your
organisation’s overall business strategy.
n Social media. Customers are increasingly turning to social media to voice their impressions of your
products and customer support. They may provide this information through social interactions you
mediate or through independent or customer-initiated means. All of these can be valuable sources of
information for your organisation. Organisations need to become familiar with vehicles for monitoring
and tracking this information.
n Customer and Market Knowledge. Knowledge of customers, customer groups, market segments,
former customers, and potential customers allows your organisation to tailor product offerings, support
and tailor your marketing strategies, develop a more customer-focused workforce culture, develop
new business, and ensure organisational sustainability.
n Customers' satisfaction with competition. In determining customers’ satisfaction and dissatisfaction,

a key aspect is their comparative satisfaction with competitors, competing or alternative offerings,
and/or organisations providing similar products. Such information might be derived from your own
comparative studies or from independent studies. The factors that lead to customer preference are of
critical importance in understanding factors that drive markets and potentially affect longer-term
competitiveness and organisational sustainability.
3.2 Customer Engagement
Purpose
This item asks about your organisation’s processes for determining and customising product offerings
that serve your customers and markets; for enabling customers to seek information and support; and for
identifying customer groups and market segments. The item also asks how you build relationships with
your customers and manage complaints. The aim of these efforts is to improve marketing, build a more
customer focused culture and enhance customer loyalty.
Commentary
n Engagement as a strategic action. Customer engagement is a strategic action aimed at achieving

such a degree of loyalty that the customer will advocate for your brand and product offerings.
Achieving such loyalty requires a customer-focused culture in your workforce based on a thorough
understanding of your business strategy and your customers’ behaviours and preferences.
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n Customer relationship strategies. A relationship strategy may be possible with some customers but
not with others. The relationship strategies you do have may need to be distinctly different for each
customer, customer group, and market segment. They also may need to be distinctly different during
various stages of the customer life cycle.
n Complaint management. Complaint aggregation, analysis, and root cause determination should lead
to effective elimination of the causes of complaints and to the setting of priorities for process and
product improvements and innovation. Successful outcomes require effective deployment of
information throughout your organisation.
Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management (Category 4)
This category is the main point within the Criteria for all key information about effectively measuring, analysing, and
improving performance and managing organisational knowledge to drive improvement, innovation and
organisational competitiveness. In the simplest terms, Category 4 is the “brain centre” for the alignment of your
organisation’s operations with its strategic objectives. Central to such use of data and information are their quality and
availability. Furthermore, since information, analysis, and knowledge management might themselves be primary
sources of competitive advantage and productivity growth, this Category also includes such strategic
considerations.
4.1 Measurement, Analysis, and Improvement of Organisational Performance
Purpose
This Item asks how your organisation selects and uses data and information for performance
measurement, analysis, and review in support of organisational planning and performance improvement.
The Item serves as a central collection and analysis point in an integrated performance measurement and
management system that relies on financial and non-financial data and information. The aim of
performance measurement, analysis, review, and improvement is to guide your organisation’s process
management toward the achievement of key organisational results and strategic objectives, to anticipate
and respond to rapid or unexpected organisational or external changes, and to identify best practices to
share. The performance measures should include safety and climate change perspectives, as
appropriate.
Commentary
n Aligning and integrating your performance management system. Alignment and integration are
key concepts for successfully implementing and using your performance measurement system. The
Criteria view alignment and integration in terms of how widely and how effectively you use them to meet
your organisational performance assessment and improvement needs and to develop and execute
your strategy.
n Alignment and integration include how measures are aligned throughout your organisation and how
they are integrated to yield organisation-wide data and information. Alignment and integration also
include how your senior leaders deploy performance measurement requirements to track work group
and process-level performance on key measures targeted for organisation-wide significance or
improvement.
n Using comparative data The use of comparative data and information is important to all organisations.
The major premises for their use are that
• your organisation needs to know where it stands relative to competitors and to best practices,
• comparative information and information obtained from benchmarking often provide the impetus
for significant (“breakthrough”) improvement or change,
• comparing performance information frequently leads to a better understanding of your processes
and their performance, and
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• comparative performance projections and competitors' performance may reveal organisational

advantages as well as challenge areas where innovation is needed.
n Comparative information also may support business analysis and decisions relating to core
competencies, partnering, and outsourcing.
n Selecting and using comparative data. Effective selection and use of comparative data and
information require you to
• determine needs and priorities,
• establish criteria for seeking appropriate sources for comparisons-from within and outside your
organisation's industry and markets, and
• use data and information to set stretch goals and to promote major, non-incremental
(“breakthrough”) improvements in areas most critical to your organisation’s competitive strategy.
n Reviewing performance. The organisational review (might include review by governance board)
called for in this Item is intended to cover all areas of performance. This includes not only current
performance but also projections of your future performance. It is anticipated that the review findings
will provide a reliable means to guide both improvements and opportunities for innovation that are tied
to your organisation’s key objectives, core competencies, and measures of success. Therefore, an
important component of your organisational review is the translation of the review findings into actions
that are deployed throughout your organisation and to appropriate suppliers, partners, collaborators,
and key customers.
n Analysing performance. Analyses that your organisation conducts to gain an understanding of

performance and needed actions may vary widely depending on your organisation’s type, size,
competitive environment, and other factors. Here are some examples of possible analyses:
• How product improvements or new products correlate with key customer indicators, such as
satisfaction, loyalty, and market share
• Return on investment for intelligent risks that are pursued
• Cost and revenue implications of customer related problems and effective problem resolution
• Interpretation of market share changes in terms of customer gains and losses and changes in
customer engagement
• Trends in key operational performance indicators, such as productivity, cycle time, waste reduction,
new product introduction, and defect levels
• Relationships among personal learning, organisational learning, and the value added per
employee
• Financial benefits derived from improvements in workforce safety, absenteeism, and turnover
• Benefits and costs associated with education and training, including e-learning and other distance
learning opportunities
• Benefits and costs associated with improved organisational knowledge management and sharing
• The relationship between knowledge management and innovation
• How the ability to identify and meet workforce capability and capacity needs correlates with
retention, motivation, and productivity
• Cost and revenue implications of workforce related problems and effective problem resolution
• Individual or aggregate measures of productivity and quality relative to competitors' performance
• Cost trends relative to competitors' trends
• Relationships among product quality, operational performance indicators, and overall financial
performance trends as reflected in indicators such as operating costs, revenues, asset utilisation,
and value added per employee
• Allocation of resources among alternative improvement projects based on cost/benefit implications
or environmental and societal impact
• Net earnings or savings derived from improvements in quality, operational, and workforce
performance
• Comparisons among business units showing how quality and operational performance affect
financial performance
• Contributions of improvement activities to cash flow, working capital use, and shareholder value
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• Impacts of customer loyalty on profit

• Cost and revenue implications of new market entry, including product line and geographic
expansion
• Market share versus profits
• Trends in economic, market, and stakeholder indicators of value and the impact of these trends on
organisational sustainability ( including climate change)
n Aligning analysis, performance review and planning. Individual facts and data do not usually
provide an effective basis for setting organisational priorities. This item emphasises the need for close
alignment between your analysis and your organisational performance review and between your
performance review and your organisational planning. This ensures that analysis and review are
relevant to decision making and that decision making is based on relevant data and information. In
addition, your historical performance, combined with assumptions about future internal and external
changes, allows you to develop performance projections. These projections may serve as a key
planning tool.
n Understanding causality. Action depends on understanding causality among processes and

between processes and results. Process actions and their results may have many resource
implications. Organisations have a critical need to provide an effective analytical basis for decisions
because resources for innovation and improvement are limited.
4.2 Knowledge Management, Information, and Information Technology:
Purpose
This item asks how your organisation builds and manages its knowledge assets and how it ensures the
quality and availability of data, information, software, and hardware, normally and in the event of an
emergency. The aim of this item is to improve organisational efficiency and effectiveness and to stimulate
innovation.
Commentary
n Knowledge management. The focus of an organisation’s knowledge management is on the

knowledge that people need to do their work; improve processes, products, and services; and develop
innovative solutions that add value for the customer and the organisation.
n Organisational learning. One of the many issues facing organisations today is how to manage, use,
evaluate, and share their ever-increasing organisational knowledge. Leading organisations benefit
from the knowledge assets of their workforce, customers, suppliers, collaborators, and partners, who
together drive organisational learning and innovation.
n Information management. Managing information can require a significant commitment of resources

as the sources of data and information grow dramatically. The continued growth of information within
organisations’ operations-as part of organisational knowledge networks; through the Web and social
media; and in business-to-business, organisation-to-organisation, and business-to-consumer
communications-challenges organisational abilities to ensure reliability and availability in a user and
environmental friendly format.
n Data and information availability. Data and information are especially important in business or
organisational networks, partnerships, and supply chains. Your organisation should take into account
this use of data and information and recognise the need for rapid data validation and reliability
assurance, given the increasing frequency and magnitude of electronic data transfer.
n Emergency availability. Your organisation should carefully plan how it will continue to provide an
information technology infrastructure, data, and information in the event of either a natural or man-
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made disaster. These plans should consider the needs of all of the organisation's stakeholders,
including the workforce, customers, suppliers, partners, and collaborators. The plans also should be
coordinated with the organisation's overall plan for business continuity (item 6.2).
Workforce Focus (Category 5)
This category addresses key workforce practices-those directed toward creating and maintaining a high
performance work environment and toward engaging your workforce to enable it and your organisation to adapt to
change and to succeed.
To reinforce the basic alignment of workforce management with overall strategy, the Criteria also cover workforce
planning as part of overall strategic planning in category 2.
5.1 Workforce Environment
Purpose
This Item asks about your workforce capability (including Climate Change) and capacity needs, how you
meet those needs to accomplish your organisation’s work, and how you ensure a safe and supportive
work climate. The aim is to build an effective environment for accomplishing your work and supporting
your workforce.
Commentary
n Workforce capability and capacity. Many organisations confuse the concepts of capability and
capacity by adding more people with incorrect skills to compensate for skill shortages or assuming that
fewer highly skilled workers can meet capacity needs for processes requiring less skill or different skills
but more people to accomplish. Having the right number and skill set of workforce contributors is
critical to success. Looking ahead to predict those needs for the future allows for adequate training,
hiring, or relocation times.
n Workforce support. Most organisations, regardless of size, have many opportunities to support their
workforce. Some examples of services, facilities, activities, and other opportunities are personal and
career counseling; career development and employability services; recreational or cultural activities;
on-site health care and other assistance; formal and informal recognition; non-work-related education;
child and elder care; special leave for family responsibilities and community service; flexible work hours
and benefits packages; outplacement services; and retiree benefits, including extended health care
and ongoing access to services.
5.2 Workforce Engagement
Purpose
This item asks about your organisation’s systems for managing workforce performance and developing
your workforce members to enable and encourage all workforce members to contribute effectively and to
the best of their ability. These systems are intended to foster high performance, to address your core
competencies, and to help accomplish your action plans and ensure organisational sustainability
(including climate change).
Commentary
n High-performance work. The focus of this item is on a workforce capable of achieving high
performance. High-performance work is characterised by flexibility, innovation, knowledge and skill
sharing, good communication and information flow, alignment with organisational objectives,
customer focus, and rapid response to changing business needs and marketplace requirements.
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engagement have a significant, positive impact on organisational performance. Research has

indicated that engagement is characterised by performing meaningful work, such as engagement in
improvement and innovation activities; having clear organisational direction and performance
accountability; and having a safe, trusting, effective, and cooperative environment. In many
organisations, employees and volunteers are drawn to and derive meaning from their work because it
is aligned with their personal values.
n Factors in workforce engagement Although satisfaction with pay and pay increases are important,
these two factors generally are not sufficient to ensure workforce engagement and high performance.
Some examples of other factors to consider are effective problem and grievance resolution;
development and career opportunities; the work environment and management support; workplace
safety and security; the workload; effective communication, cooperation, and teamwork; the degree of
empowerment; job security; appreciation of the differing needs of diverse workforce groups; and
organisational support for serving customers.
n Factors inhibiting engagement. It is equally important for your organisation to understand and
address factors inhibiting engagement. Understanding of these factors could be developed through
workforce surveys, focus groups, blogs, or exit interviews with departing workforce members.
n Compensation and recognition. Compensation and recognition systems should be matched to

your work systems. To be effective, compensation and recognition might be tied to demonstrated
skills. Compensation and recognition approaches also might include profit sharing; mechanisms for
expressing simple “thank you’s”; rewards for exemplary team or unit performance; and linkage to
customer engagement measures, achievement of organisational strategic objectives, or other key
organisational objectives.
n Other indicators of workforce engagement. In addition to direct measures of workforce engagement

through formal or informal surveys, some other indicators include absenteeism, turnover, grievances,
and strikes.
n Workforce development needs. Depending on the nature of your organisation's work, workforce
responsibilities, and stage of organisational and personal development, workforce development needs
might vary greatly. These needs might include gaining skills for knowledge sharing, communication,
teamwork, and problem solving; interpreting and using data; exceeding customer requirements;
analysing and simplifying processes; reducing waste and cycle time; working with and motivating
volunteers; and setting priorities based on strategic alignment or cost-benefit analysis.
n Education needs might also include advanced skills in new technologies or basic skills, such as
reading, writing, language, arithmetic, and computer skills.
n Learning and development locations. Learning and development opportunities might occur inside or
outside your organisation and could involve on-the-job, classroom, e-learning, or distance learning, as
well as developmental assignments, coaching, or mentoring.
n Individual learning and development needs. To help people realise their full potential, many
organisations prepare an individual development plan with each person that addresses his or her
career and learning objectives.
n Customer contact training. Although this item does not specifically ask you about training for
customer contact employees, such training is important and common. It frequently includes learning
critical skills and knowledge about your products and customers, how to listen to customers, how to
recover from problems or failures, and how to effectively manage and exceed customer expectations.
n Knowledge transfer. An organisation’s knowledge management system should provide the

mechanism for sharing its people's and the organisation's knowledge to ensure that high-performance
work is maintained through transitions. Each organisation should determine what knowledge is critical
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for its operations and should then implement systematic processes for sharing this information. This is
particularly important for implicit knowledge (i.e., knowledge personally retained by workforce
members).
n Learning and development effectiveness. Measures to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of
your workforce and leader development and learning systems might address the impact on individual,
unit, and organisational performance; the impact on customer-related performance; and costs versus
benefits.
Operations Focus (Category 6)
This category asks how your organisation focuses on its work, product design and delivery, and operational
effectiveness to achieve success and organisational sustainability. (including Climate Change).
6.1 Work Processes
Purpose
This item asks about the management of your key products and work processes, with the aim of creating
value for your customers and achieving organisational success and sustainability.
Commentary
n Work process design. Many organisations need to consider requirements for suppliers, partners, and
collaborators at the work process design stage. Overall, effective design must take into account all
stakeholders in the value chain. If many design projects are carried out in parallel or if your
organisation's products utilise parts or supplies, equipment, personnel, and facilities that are used for
other products or processes, coordination of resources might be a major concern, but it might also
offer a means to significantly reduce unit costs and time to market.
n Work process requirements. Your design approaches could differ appreciably depending on the
nature of your product or service offerings-whether the products and services are entirely new, are
variants, are customised, or involve major or minor work process changes. Your design approaches
should consider the key requirements for your products and services. Factors that might need to be
considered in work process design include safety, long-term performance, environmental impact, your
carbon footprint and “green” manufacturing, measurement capability, process capability,
manufacturability, maintainability, variability in customer expectations requiring product or support
options, supplier capability, and documentation.
n Effective design must also consider the cycle time and productivity of production and delivery
processes. This might involve detailed mapping of manufacturing or service processes and the
redesign (“reengineering”) of those processes to achieve efficiency, as well as to meet changing
customer requirements.
n Key product-related and business processes. Your key work processes include your product- and
service-related processes and those non-product business processes that your senior leaders
consider important to organisational success and growth. These processes frequently relate to your
organisation’s core competencies, strategic objectives, and critical success factors. Key business
processes might include technology acquisition, information and knowledge management, mergers
and acquisitions, global expansion, project management, and sales and marketing. For some non-
profit organisations, key business processes might include fundraising, media relations, and public
policy advocacy. Given the diverse nature of these processes, the requirements and performance
characteristics might vary significantly for different processes.
n In-process measures. This item refers specifically to in-process measurements. These
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measurements require the identification of critical points in processes for measurement and
observation, which should occur at the earliest points possible in processes to minimise problems and
costs that may result from deviations from expected performance.
n Key support processes. Your key work processes include those processes that support your daily
operations and your product and service delivery but are not usually designed in detail with the
products. Support process requirements do not usually depend significantly on product
characteristics. Support process design requirements usually depend significantly on internal
requirements, and they must be coordinated and integrated to ensure efficient and effective linkage
and performance. Support processes might include processes for finance and accounting, facilities
management, legal services, human resource services, public relations, and other administrative
services.
n Process performance. Achieving expected process performance frequently requires setting in

process performance levels or standards to guide decision making. When deviations occur, corrective
action is required to restore the performance of the process to its design specifications. Depending on
the nature of the process, the corrective action could involve technology and/or people. Proper
corrective action involves changes at the source (root cause) of the deviation and should minimise the
likelihood of this type of variation occurring again or elsewhere in your organisation.
n When customer interactions are involved, evaluation of how well the process is performing must
consider differences among customers. This is especially true of professional and personal services.
Key process cycle times in some organisations may be a year or longer, which may create special
challenges in measuring day-to-day progress and identifying opportunities for reducing cycle times,
when appropriate.
n Process improvement. This item calls for information on how you improve processes to achieve
better performance. Better performance means not only better quality from your customers’
perspectives but also better financial and operational performance-such as productivity-from your
other stakeholders' perspectives. A variety of process improvement approaches are commonly used.
Examples include
• using the results of organisational performance reviews;
• sharing successful strategies across your organisation to drive learning and innovation;
• performing process analysis and research (e.g., process mapping, optimisation experiments, error
proofing);
• conducting technical and business research and development;
• using quality improvement tools like Lean, Six Sigma, and Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA);
• benchmarking;
• using alternative technology; and
• using information from customers of the processes-within and outside your organisation.
n Process improvement approaches might utilise financial data to evaluate alternatives and set priorities.
Together, these approaches offer a wide range of possibilities, including a complete redesign
(“reengineering”) of processes.
6.2 Operational Effectiveness:
Purpose
This item asks how you ensure effective operations in order to have a safe workplace environment and
deliver customer value. Effective operations frequently depend on managing your supply chain effectively,
mitigating the impact of climate change and innovating for the future.
Commentary
n Cost control. Cost and cycle time reduction may be achieved through Lean process management
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strategies. Defect reduction and improved product yield may involve Six Sigma projects. It is crucial to
utilise key measures for tracking all aspects of your operations management.
n Supply-chain management. For many organisations, supply-chain management has become a key
factor in achieving productivity and profitability goals and overall organisational success. Suppliers,
partners, and collaborators are receiving increasing strategic attention as organisations re-evaluate
their core competencies. Supplier processes should fulfil two purposes: to help improve the
performance of suppliers and partners and, for specific actions, to help them contribute to improving
your organisation’s overall operations. Supply-chain management might include processes for
selecting suppliers, with the aim of reducing the total number of suppliers and increasing preferred
supplier and partner agreements.
n Workplace safety. All organisations, regardless of size, are required to meet minimum regulatory
standards for workplace and workforce safety; however, high-performing organisations have
processes in place to ensure that they not only meet these minimum standards but also go beyond a
compliance orientation. This includes designing proactive processes, with input from people directly
involved in the work, to ensure a safe working environment.
n Emergency preparedness. Efforts to ensure the continuity of operations in an emergency should

consider all facets of your organisation’s operations that are needed to provide your products and
services to customers. The specific level of operations that you will need to provide will be guided by
your organisation’s mission and your customers' needs and requirements. For example, a public utility
is likely to have a higher need for services than organisations that do not provide an essential function.
Nonprofit organisations whose mission is to respond to emergencies will have a high need for service
readiness. You should also coordinate your continuity-of-operations efforts with your efforts to ensure
the availability of data and information (item 4.2).
n Innovation management. In an organisation that has a supportive environment for innovation, there
are likely to be many more ideas than the organisation has resources to pursue. This leads to two
critical decision points in the innovation cycle: (1) commensurate with resources, prioritising
opportunities to pursue those opportunities with the highest likelihood of a return on investment
(intelligent risks) and (2) knowing when to discontinue projects and reallocate the resources either to
further development of successful projects or to new projects.
Business Results (Category 7)
The Business Results Category provides a systems focus that encompasses all results necessary to sustaining an
enterprise: your key process and product results, your customer-focused results, your workforce results, your
leadership and governance system results, and your overall financial and market performance.
Through this focus, the Criteria's purposes-superior value of offerings as viewed by your customers and the
marketplace, superior organisational performance as reflected in your operational indicators, and organisational and
personal learning-are maintained. Category 7 thus provides “real-time” information (measures of progress) for
evaluation, improvement, and innovation of processes and products, in alignment with your overall organisational
strategy. While category 7 asks about results broadly, your organisation should place a premium on monitoring
outcomes that are the consequence of its operational performance and serve as predictors of future performance.
7.1 Product and Process Results
Purpose
This item asks about your organisation's key product and operational performance results, which
demonstrate product and service quality and value that lead to customer satisfaction and engagement.
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Commentary
n Measures of product performance. This item emphasises measures of product performance that
serve as indicators of customers' views and decisions relative to future interactions and relationships.
These measures of product performance are derived from customer related information gathered in
items 3.1 and 3.2.
n Examples of Product measures. Product and service measures appropriate for inclusion might be
based on the following: internal quality measurements, field performance of products, defect levels,
service errors, response times, and data collected from your customers by other organisations on ease
of use or other attributes, as well as customer surveys on product and service performance.
n Product performance and customer indicators. The correlation between product and service
performance and customer indicators is a critical management tool with multiple uses: (1) defining and
focusing on key quality and customer requirements, (2) identifying product and service differentiators
in the marketplace, and (3) determining cause-effect relationships between your product or service
attributes and evidence of customer satisfaction and engagement. The correlation might reveal
emerging or changing market segments, the changing importance of requirements, or even the
potential obsolescence of offerings.
n Process effectiveness and efficiency measures. Measures and indicators of process effectiveness
and efficiency might include
• work system performance that demonstrates improved cost savings or higher productivity by using
internal and/or external resources;
• reduced emission levels, carbon footprint, or energy consumption;
• waste stream reductions, by-product use, and recycling;
• internal responsiveness indicators, such as cycle times, production flexibility, lead times, setup
times, and time to market;
• improved performance of administrative and other support functions;
• business-specific indicators, such as innovation rates and increased use of product and process
yields, Six Sigma initiative results, and acceptable product performance at the time of delivery;
• supply-chain indicators, such as reductions in inventory and incoming inspections, increases in
quality and productivity, improvements in electronic data exchange, and reductions in supply-chain
management costs; and
• third-party assessment results, such as ISO 9001 audits.
n Measures of organisational and operational performance. This item encourages you to develop
and include unique and innovative measures to track key processes and operational improvement.
Unique measures should consider cause-effect relationships between operational performance and
product quality or performance. All key areas of organisational and operational performance, including
your organisation’s readiness for emergencies, should be evaluated by measures that are relevant and
important to your organisation.
7.2 Customer-Focused Results
Purpose
This item asks about your organisation’s customer-focused performance results, which demonstrate how
well your organisation has been satisfying your customers and engaging them in loyalty-building
relationships.
Commentary
n Your performance as viewed by your customers. This item focuses on all relevant data to determine
and help predict your organisation’s performance as viewed by your customers. Relevant data and
information include
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• customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction

• retention, gains, and losses of customers and customer accounts;
• customer complaints, complaint management, effective complaint resolution and warranty claims.
• customer-perceived value based on quality and price;
• customer assessment of access and ease of use ( including courtesy in service interactions);
• customer advocacy for your brand and product offerings; and
• awards, ratings, and recognition from customers and independent rating organisations.
n Results that go beyond satisfaction. This item places an emphasis on customer-focused results that
go beyond satisfaction measurements, because customer engagement and relationships are better
indicators and measures of future success in the marketplace and of organisational sustainability.
7.3 Workforce-Focused Results
Purpose
This Item asks about your organisation’s workforce-focused performance results, which demonstrate how
well your organisation has been creating and maintaining a productive, caring, engaging, and learning
environment for all members of your workforce.
Commentary
n Workforce results factors. Results reported might include generic or organisation specific factors.
Generic factors might include safety, absenteeism, turnover, satisfaction, and complaints (grievances).
For some measures, such as absenteeism and turnover, local or regional comparisons might be
appropriate. Organisation-specific factors are those you assess to determine workforce climate and
engagement. These factors might include the extent of training, retraining, or cross training to meet
capability and capacity needs; the extent and success of workforce empowerment; the extent of union-
management partnering; or the extent of volunteer involvement in process and programme activities.
n Workforce capacity and capability. Results reported for indicators of workforce capacity and
capability might include staffing levels across organisational units and certifications to meet skill needs.
Additional factors may include organisational restructuring, as well as job rotations designed to meet
strategic directions or customer requirements.
n Workforce engagement. Results measures reported for indicators of workforce engagement and
satisfaction might include improvement in local decision making, organisational culture, and workforce
knowledge sharing. Input data, such as the number of cash awards, might be included, but the main
emphasis should be on data that show effectiveness or outcomes. For example, an outcome measure
might be increased workforce retention resulting from establishing a peer recognition program or the
number of promotions that have resulted from the organisation’s leadership development program.
7.4 Leadership and Governance Results
Purpose
This item asks about your key results in the areas of senior leadership and governance, which
demonstrate the extent to which your organisation is fiscally sound, ethical, and socially responsible.
Commentary
n Importance of high ethical standards. Independent of an increased national focus on issues of

governance and fiscal accountability, ethics, and leadership accountability, it is important for
organisations to practice and demonstrate high standards of overall conduct. Governance bodies and
senior leaders should track relevant performance measures regularly and emphasise this performance
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in stakeholder communications.
n Results to report. Your results should include environmental, legal, and regulatory compliance; results
of oversight audits by government or funding agencies; noteworthy achievements in these areas, as
appropriate; and organisational contributions to societal well-being and benefit and support for key
communities.
n Sanctions or adverse actions. If your organisation has received sanctions or adverse actions under
law, regulation, or contract during the past five years, you should summarise the incidents and their
current status.
n Measures of strategy implementation. Because many organisations have difficulty determining

appropriate measures, measuring progress in accomplishing their strategy is a key challenge.
Frequently, these progress measures can be discerned by first defining the results that would indicate
end-goal success in achieving a strategic objective and then using that end-goal to define intermediate
measures.
n Key results related to innovation. These might include Revenue and Profit from New Product
offerings, Patents filed, Strategic relationships with academia and research institutes, Spend on
Innovation relation activities like Rewards and recognition, training, Innovative ideas from employees,
Management's response time to ideas, etc.
n Results related with Safety performance also need to be reported here.
7.5 Financial and Market Results:
Purpose
This item asks about your key financial and market results, which demonstrate your financial sustainability
and your marketplace achievements.
Commentary
n Senior leaders’ role. Measures reported in this item are those usually tracked by senior leaders on an
ongoing basis to assess your organisation's financial performance and viability.
n Appropriate measures to report. In addition to the measures included in the note to 7.5a(1),
appropriate financial measures and indicators might include revenues, budgets, profits or losses, cash
position, net assets, debt leverage, cash-to-cash cycle time, earnings per share, financial operations
efficiency (collections, billing, receivables), and financial returns. Marketplace performance measures
might include measures of business growth, new products and markets entered, or the percentage of
revenues derived from new products.
n For non-profit organisations, marketplace performance measures might also include charitable
donations and grants received.
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Chapter 5

(See the scoring system used with the Criteria items in a TBEM assessment.)
P.1 Organisational Description

P.2 Organisational Situation
2014-15 Categories and Items Point Values
1 Leadership 120
1.1 Senior Leadership 70

1.2 Governance and Societal Responsibilities 50
2 Strategic Planning 85
2.1 Strategy Development 45

2.2 Strategy Implementation 40
3 Customer Focus 85
3.1 Voice of the Customer 40

3.2 Customer Engagement 45
4 Measurement, Analysis and Knowledge Management 90
4.1 Measurement, Analysis, and Improvement of Organisational Performance 45

4.2 Knowledge Management, Information and Information Technology 45
5 Workforce Focus 85
5.1 Workforce Environment 40

5.2 Workforce Engagement 45
6 Operations Focus 85
6.1 Work Processes 45

6.2 Operational Effectiveness 40
7 Business Results 450
7.1 Product and Process Results 120

7.2 Customer-Focused Results 85
7.3 Workforce-Focused Results 85
7.4 Leadership and Governance Results 80
7.5 Financial and Market Results 80
TOTAL POINTS 1,000
Note : The Scoring System used with the Criteria Items in a TBEM assessment can be found in Chapter 6.
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Applicants to Note :
For definitions of key terms presented throughout the Criteria and Scoring Guidelines text in small caps/sans
serif, see Glossary of Key Terms in Chapter 3. Aspects on Corporate Governance are highlighted in Blue colour
font and on Climate Change are highlighted in bold, italics, underlined font. Additional aspects on safety and
innovation are not highlighted separately.
At many places the TBEM Criteria asks how a particular requirement, as appropriate, is fulfilled by the
organisation. All these portions in the Criteria section have been marked in bold and italics. Wherever this
appears, the importance and depth of the requirement has to be seen from the point of view of the nature of the
business, industry type, and key factors affecting the organisation. Hence, the applicability of these
requirements would vary from organisation to organisation.
Frequently, several questions are grouped under one number (e.g., P.1a(3)). These questions are related and
do not require separate responses. These multiple questions serve as a guide in understanding the full
meaning of the information being requested.
Item notes serve three purposes:

(1) to clarify terms or requirements presented in an Item,
(2) to give instructions on responding to the Item requirements, and
(3) to indicate key linkages to other Items.
In all cases, the intent is to help you respond to the Item requirements.
Page Limits for Organisation Profile and Application for Assessment
For TBEM -based Assessment , the Organisational Profile is limited to five pages and the
Application for the Assessment, excluding the Organisational Profile, is to be completed within maximum
75 pages.
Importance of beginning with Your Organisational Profile
Your Organisational Profile (OP) is critically important because
§ it is the most appropriate starting point for self-assessment and for writing an application;
§ it helps you identify potential gaps in KEY information and focus on KEY PERFORMANCE
requirements and BUSINESS RESULTS;
§ it is used by the Assessors and Mentors in application review, including the site visit, to
understand your organisation and what you consider important (you will be assessed using
the Criteria requirements in relation to your organisation’s environment, relationships,
influences, and challenges, as presented in your Organisational Profile); and
§ it also may be used by itself for an initial self-assessment. If you identify topics for which
conflicting, little, or no information is available, it is possible that the Organisational Profile
can serve as your complete assessment, and you can use these topics for action planning.
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The Organisational Profile is a snapshot of your organisation, the KEY influences on HOW it operates, and the KEY
challenges it faces.
P.1 Organisational Description: What are your key organisational characteristics?

Describe your operating environment and your KEY relationships with CUSTOMERS, suppliers, PARTNERS, and
STAKEHOLDERS.
In your response, answer the following questions, in domestic and international business contexts, as appropriate:
a. Organisational Environment
1) Product Offerings What are your main product offerings (see note P1a(1) on next page)? What is the
relative importance of each to your success? What mechanisms do you use to deliver your products?
2) Vision and mission What are your stated PURPOSE, VISION, VALUES, and MISSION? What are your
organisation’s CORE COMPETENCIES and what is their relationship to your MISSION? What are your
organisation’s policies related to safety and CLIMATE CHANGE?
3) WORKFORCE Profile What is your WORKFORCE profile? What are your WORKFORCE or employee groups and
SEGMENTS? What are the educational requirements for different employee groups and SEGMENTS? What
are the key elements that engage them in achieving your MISSION and VISION? What are your WORKFORCE
DIVERSITY and job DIVERSITY? What are your organised bargaining units? What are your organisation’s
special health and safety requirements?
4) Assets What are your major facilities, technologies, and equipment?
5) Regulatory Requirements What is the regulatory environment under which you operate? What are the
applicable occupational health and safety regulations; accreditation, certification, or registration
requirements; industry standards; and environmental including current and emerging CLIMATE CHANGE
regulations, financial, and product regulations?
b. Organisational Relationships
1) Organisational Structure What are your organisational structure and GOVERNANCE system? What are the
reporting relationships among your GOVERNANCE board, Board Committees, SENIOR LEADERS, and parent
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organisation, as appropriate?
2) CUSTOMERS AND STAKEHOLDERS What are the markets / geographies your organisation operates in? What
are your KEY market SEGMENTS, CUSTOMER groups, and STAKEHOLDER groups, as appropriate? What are their
KEY current and emerging requirements and expectations of your products, CUSTOMER support services,
and operations? What are the differences in these requirements and expectations among market
SEGMENTS, CUSTOMER groups, and STAKEHOLDER groups?
3) Suppliers and PARTNERS What are your KEY types of suppliers, PARTNERS, and COLLABORATORS? What role
do they play in your WORK SYSTEMS, especially in producing and delivering your KEY products and CUSTOMER
support services, including enhancing your competitiveness in the respective geographies you operate
in? What are your KEY mechanisms for communicating with suppliers, PARTNERS, and COLLABORATORS?
What role, if any, do these organisations play in contributing and implementing INNOVATIONS in your
organisation? What are your KEY supply-chain requirements?
Terms in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms - Chapter 3
Notes
P1. Domestic business context refers to the business operations within to GHG emissions and reduction, renewable and clean
the country in which the company has been registered / technologies, natural resource conservation, energy efficiency,
incorporated. International business context refers to the business transportations, buildings, tax incentives, tax credits, feed in tariffs,
operations that go beyond the boundaries of the domestic markets insurance etc. Current carbon regulations include the mandated
P.1a(1). "Product offerings" and "products" are the goods and services that and voluntary protocols like Kyoto protocol, Cap and trade schemes
you offer in the marketplace. Mechanisms for delivering products to (e.g. EU ETS, Australian carbon trading scheme, Renewable energy
your end-use customers might be direct or might be indirect, certificates, Chicago climate Change etc.), Montreal Protocol,
through dealers, distributors, collaborators, or channel partners. Carbon disclosure projects guidelines, GRI guidelines, UN Global
compact principles and Millennium development goals.
P.1a(2). "Core competencies" are your organisation's areas of greatest
expertise. They are those strategically important capabilities P.1b(2).Customers include the users and potential users of your products.
(including technological) that are central to fulfilling your mission or Customer groups might be based on common expectations,
provide an advantage in your marketplace or service environment. behaviours, preferences, or profiles. Within a group there may be
Core competencies are frequently challenging for competitors or customer segments based on differences and commonalities. You
suppliers and partners to imitate and frequently preserve your might subdivide your market into market segments based on
competitive advantage. product lines or features, distribution channels, business volume,
geography, or other factors that you use to define a market segment.
P.1a(3). Workforce or employee groups and segments (including organised
bargaining units) might be based on the type of employment or P.1b(2).The requirements of your customer groups and market segments
contract reporting relationship, location, tour of duty, work might include on-time delivery, low defect levels, safety, security,
environment, use of certain family-friendly policies, or other factors. ongoing price reductions, product lifecycle, carbon footprint, life
Organisations that also rely on volunteers to accomplish their work cycle analysis, green label, leveraging of technology, rapid
should include volunteers as part of their workforce. response, after-sales service, and multilingual services. Stakeholder
group requirements might include socially, ethically responsible
P1a(5). Industry standards might include industry wide codes of conduct behaviour and community service.
and policy guidance. In the criteria, "industry" refers to the sector in
which you operate. Depending on the regions in which you operate, P.1b(3).Communication mechanisms should be two-way and use
environmental regulations might include greenhouse gas understandable language, and they might involve in - person
emissions, carbon regulations and trading, and energy efficiency. contact, e-mail, the World Wide Web, or the telephone. For many
Current and emerging climate change regulations might be related organisations, these mechanisms may change as marketplace,
customer, or stakeholder requirements change.
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P.2 Organisational Situation: What is your organisation's strategic situation?
Describe your competitive environment, your KEY STRATEGIC CHALLENGES and ADVANTAGES, and your system for
PERFORMANCE improvement.
In your response, include answers to the following questions, in domestic and international business contexts, as
appropriate:
a. Competitive Environment
1) Competitive Position What is your competitive position? What are your relative size and growth in your
industry or the markets that you serve? How many and what types of competitors do you have?
2) Competitiveness Changes What KEY changes, if any, are affecting your competitive situation,
including changes that create opportunities for low carbon growth, INNOVATION and collaboration, as
appropriate?
3) Comparative Data What KEY sources of comparative and competitive data are available from within
your industry? What KEY sources of comparative data are available from outside your industry? What
limitations, if any, affect your ability to obtain or use these data?
b. Strategic Context
What are your KEY STRATEGIC CHALLENGES and ADVANTAGES in the areas of business, operations, societal responsibilities,
and WORKFORCE? What are the threats and opportunities that you face from current and potential global players?
c. Performance Improvement System

What are the KEY elements of your PERFORMANCE improvement system, including your PROCESSES for evaluation and
improvement of KEY organisational projects and PROCESSES?
Notes
P2. Domestic business context refers to the business operations within might include implementing a Lean Enterprise System, applying Six
the country in which the company has been registered / Sigma methodology, using Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) method-
incorporated. International business context refers to the business ology, using standards from the International Organisation for
operations that go beyond the boundaries of the domestic markets Standardisation (ISO; e.g. 9000 or 14000), using decision science,
P.2(b). Strategic challenges and advantages might relate to technology, or employing other improve-ment tools.
products finances, your operations, your parent organisation’s P.2(c). The performance improvement system should explain the
capabilities, your customers and markets, your industry, organisation’s overall improvement architecture, its aims and
globalisation, climate change, your value chain, and people. features to achieve the strategic objectives. This could include the
Strategic advantages might include differentiators such as price improvement vehicles used at strategic and operational level. How
leadership, design services, innovation rate, geographic proximity, the organisation promotes its improvement architecture and
accessibility, and warranty and product options. engages the workforce at all levels to make these improvements
P.2(c). The TBEM Scoring System uses performance improvement through happen should also be explained. The performance improvement
learning and integration as a dimension in assessing the maturity of system should explain how the improvement methods and tools
organisational approaches and their deployment. This question is such as Six-Sigma,Lean, TOC, Toyota Production system etc. get
intended to set an overall context for your approach to performance integrated into the overall improvement architecture. The
improvement. The approach you use should be related to your relationship between performance improvement system and
organisation’s needs. Approaches that are compatible with the strategic objectives should always be studied.
overarching systems approach provided by the TBEM framework
For additional description of this Item, see Chapter 4 : Category and Item Descriptions. 57
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“The Tata philosophy of management has always been and

is today more than ever, that corporate enterprises must
be managed not merely in the interests of their owners,
but equally in those of their employees, of the consumers
of their products, of the local community and finally of the
country as a whole”
J R D Tata
Leadership (120 pts.)
The Leadership Category asks HOW SENIOR LEADERS'

personal actions guide and sustain your
organisation. It also asks about your organisation's
GOVERNANCE system; HOW your organisation fulfils its
legal, ethical, and societal responsibilities; and HOW
it supports its KEY communities
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1.1 Senior Leadership: (70 pts.) Process

HOW do your senior leaders lead?
Describe HOW SENIOR LEADERS’ personal actions guide and sustain your organisation. Describe HOW SENIOR LEADERS
create an environment for CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT, INNOVATION, and HIGH PERFORMANCE. Describe HOW SENIOR LEADERS
communicate with your WORKFORCE and KEY CUSTOMERS.
In your response, include answers to the following questions:
a. VISION, VALUES, and MISSION

1) VISION and VALUES HOW do SENIOR LEADERS set your organisation’s VISION and VALUES? How do SENIOR LEADERS
DEPLOY the VISION and VALUES through your LEADERSHIP SYSTEM, to the WORKFORCE, to KEY suppliers and
PARTNERS, and to CUSTOMERS and other STAKEHOLDERS, as appropriate? HOW do SENIOR LEADERS' actions reflect
a commitment to those VALUES?
2) Promoting Legal and ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR HOW do SENIOR LEADERS’ actions demonstrate their commitment
to legal and ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR? HOW do SENIOR LEADERS personally promote safety, quality and CLIMATE CHANGE
consciousness in the organisation? HOW do they promote an organisational environment that requires
it?
3) Creating a SUSTAINABLE Organisation HOW do SENIOR LEADERS create a SUSTAINABLE organisation? HOW do
they
• create an environment for the achievement of your MISSION, improvement of organisational
PERFORMANCE, PERFORMANCE leadership, and organisational and personal LEARNING.
• create a WORKFORCE culture that delivers a consistently positive CUSTOMER experience and fosters
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT
• create an environment for INNOVATION and INTELLIGENT RISK taking, achievement of your STRATEGIC
OBJECTIVES, and organisational agility; and
• participate in succession planning, and the development of future organisational leaders
b. Communication and Organisational PERFORMANCE

1) Communication HOW do SENIOR LEADERS communicate with and engage the entire WORKFORCE and KEY
CUSTOMERS? HOW do they encourage frank, two-way communication, including EFFECTIVE use of social
media? HOW do they communicate KEY decisions? HOW do they take an active role in motivating the
WORKFORCE, including participation in reward and recognition programs, to reinforce HIGH PERFORMANCE
and a CUSTOMER and business focus and, as appropriate, ethics, INNOVATION, safety, and CLIMATE CHANGE?
2) Focus on Action HOW do SENIOR LEADERS create a focus on action that will achieve the organisation’s
objectives including Safety, CLIMATE CHANGE, improve its PERFORMANCE, enable INNOVATION and INTELLIGENT RISK
taking, and attain its VISION? HOW do SENIOR LEADERS identify needed actions? In setting expectations for
organisational PERFORMANCE, HOW do SENIOR LEADERS include a focus on creating and balancing VALUE for
CUSTOMERS and other STAKEHOLDERS?
Notes
1.1 Your organisation's performance results should be reported in items learning includes learning through promotion of scientific thinking
7.1 - 7.5 by systematically solving work related problems. A focus on
1.1a(1).Your organisation’s vision should set the context for the strategic improvement and innovation creates a learning environment.
objectives and action plans, you describe in Items 2.1 and 2.2 1.1b(1).Use of social media may include delivering periodic messages
1.1a(3).A sustainable organisation is capable of addressing current through internal and external Web sites, tweets, blogging, and
business needs and, through agility and strategic management, is customer and workforce electronic forums, as well as monitoring
capable of preparing successfully for its future business, market, external Web sites and blogs and responding, when appropriate.
and operating environment. Both external and internal factors 1.1b(2) Senior leaders’ focus on action considers your strategy, workforce,
should be considered. In the context of sustainability, the concept of work systems, and assets. It includes taking intelligent risks and
innovation and taking intelligent risks includes both technological implementing innovations and ongoing improvements in
and organisational innovation to help the organisation succeed in productivity that may be achieved by eliminating waste or reducing
the future. A sustainable organisation also ensures a safe and secure cycle time; it might use techniques such as PDCA, Six Sigma, and
environment for its workforce and other key stakeholders. A Lean and adoption of low carbon technologies. It also includes the
sustainable organisation is capable of addressing risks and actions needed to achieve your strategic objectives (see 2.2a[1]).
opportunities arising from environmental considerations and 1.1b(2).Organisational performance expectations could include emerging
climate change. expectations on climate change, eco-friendly consumer
1.1a(3).Contributions to the sustainability of environmental, social, and preferences, adopting life cycle approach for carbon management,
economic systems beyond those of the workforce and immediate invest in development of carbon abatement / clean technologies
stakeholders are considered as part of an organisation's societal and shaping government regulations, ensuring sustainable returns
responsibilities (item 1.2). in a carbon constraint economy, responsible use of natural
1.1a(3).Creation of an environment for organisational and Workforce resources and managing public opinion.
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1.2 Governance and Societal Responsibilities: (50 pts.) Process

HOW do you govern and fulfil your societal responsibilities?
Describe your organisation’s APPROACH to responsible GOVERNANCE and leadership improvement. Describe HOW you
ensure legal and ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR, fulfil your societal responsibilities, and support your KEY communities.
a. Organisational GOVERNANCE
1) GOVERNANCE System HOW does your organisation review and achieve the following KEY aspects of its
GOVERNANCE system?
• Accountability for the management’s actions: How do GOVERNANCE board members review and
provide oversight to the business?
• Fiscal accountability: HOW do the management and the GOVERNANCE Board ensure compliance with
statute and safe-guarding of financial resources?
• Transparency in operations: HOW is relevant information (including financial) disclosed to all
STAKEHOLDERS?
• Selection of GOVERNANCE board members and disclosure policies for those members , as appropriate
• Independence and EFFECTIVENESS of internal and external audits
• Protection of STAKEHOLDER and stockholder interests, as appropriate: HOW are the expectations of key
STAKEHOLDERS understood and reviewed by the management and the GOVERNANCE Board?
• SUSTAINABILITY and risk management: How does the GOVERNANCE Board review and ensure
sustainability? HOW does the GOVERNANCE Board review key strategic, reputational and operational
risks?
• Succession planning for SENIOR LEADERS: How do GOVERNANCE board members participate in succession
planning for the senior leadership positions in the organisation?
2) Performance Evaluation How do you, including your GOVERNANCE board evaluate the PERFORMANCE of
your SENIOR LEADERS, including the chief executive? HOW do you use these PERFORMANCE evaluations in
determining executive compensation? HOW do you evaluate your GOVERNANCE Board members'
PERFORMANCE, as appropriate? HOW do your SENIOR LEADERS and GOVERNANCE Board use these PERFORMANCE
evaluations to advance their development and improve both their own EFFECTIVENESS as leaders and that
of your board and LEADERSHIP SYSTEM, as appropriate?
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b. Legal and ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR

1) Legal and Regulatory Behaviour HOW do you address any adverse impacts of your products and
operations on society? HOW do you anticipate public concerns with your current and future products and
operations? HOW do you prepare for these impacts and concerns proactively, including through
conservation of natural resources and EFFECTIVE supply chain management PROCESSES, as appropriate?
What are your KEY compliance PROCESSES, MEASURES, and GOALS for meeting and surpassing regulatory and
legal requirements, as appropriate? What are your KEY PROCESSES, MEASURES, and GOALS for addressing
risks, including safety and CLIMATE CHANGE related risks, associated with your products and operations?
2) Ethical Behaviour HOW do you promote and ensure ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR in all interactions? What are your
KEY PROCESSES and MEASURES or INDICATORS for enabling and monitoring ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR in your GOVERNANCE
structure, throughout your organisation, and in interactions with your WORKFORCE, CUSTOMERS, PARTNERS,
suppliers, and other STAKEHOLDERS? HOW do you monitor and respond to breaches of ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR?
c. Societal Responsibilities and Support of KEY Communities

1) Societal Well-Being HOW do you consider societal well-being and benefit as part of your strategy and
daily operations? HOW do you contribute to the well-being of environmental, social, and economic
systems?
2) Community Support HOW do you actively support and strengthen your KEY communities? What are
your KEY communities? HOW do you identify them and determine areas for organisational involvement,
including areas that leverage your CORE COMPETENCIES? HOW do your SENIOR LEADERS, in concert with your
WORKFORCE, contribute to improving these communities?
Notes
1.2. Societal responsibilities in areas critical to your ongoing 1.2b(1) Climate change risks might include business risks (e.g. energy /
marketplace success should also be addressed in Strategy resource scarcity, changes in consumer preference, value chain
Development (item 2.1) and Operations Focus (category 6). Key disruptions, clean technology investments etc.), regulatory risks
results should be reported as Leadership and Governance Results (e.g. international, national, regional or state regulations on
(item 7.4). Examples are results related to regulatory and legal emissions, carbon taxation and penalties, trade and cap schemes,
requirements (including the results of mandated financial audits); energy efficiency, product standards etc.), physical risks (e.g.
reductions in environmental impacts through the use of “green” change in temperature and precipitation, droughts, floods, rising
technology, resource conserving activities, reduction of carbon sea levels, storms, hurricanes, biodiversity, disease etc.) and
footprint, or other means; or improvements in social impacts, such reputational risks.
as the global use of enlightened labour practices. 1.2b(2).Measures or indicators of ethical behaviour might include the
1.2. The health and safety of your workforce are not addressed in this percentage of independent board members, measures of
item; you should address these workforce factors in items 5.1 and relationships with stockholder and non-stockholder constituencies,
6.2 instances of ethical conduct or compliance breaches and
1.2a(1).Transparency in the operations of your governance system should responses to them, survey results showing workforce perceptions of
include your internal controls on governance processes. For some organisational ethics, ethics hotline use, and results of ethics
privately held businesses and non-profit organisations, an external reviews and audits. They might also include evidence that policies, (
advisory board may provide some or all governance board functions e.g whistleblower, gifts etc.) workforce training, and monitoring
systems for conflicts of interest and proper use of funds are in place.
1.2a(2).The evaluation of leaders’ performance might be supported by peer
reviews, formal performance management reviews, and formal or 1.2c. Areas of societal contributions and community support might
informal feedback from and surveys of the workforce and other include your efforts to improve the environment (e.g. collaboration to
stakeholders. For some privately held businesses and non-profit and conserve the environment or natural resources); reduce the carbon
government organisations, external advisory boards might evaluate footprint of entire value chain, strengthen local community services,
the performance of senior leaders and the governance board. education, and health; and improve the practices of trade, business,
or professional associations
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“Nothing worthwhile is ever achieved without deep thought

and hard work”
J R D Tata
Strategic Planning (85 pts.)
The Strategic Planning Category asks HOW your

organisation develops STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES and ACTION
P L A N S , implements them, changes them if
circumstances require, and measures progress.
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2.1 Strategy Development: (45 pts.) Process

HOW do you develop your strategy?
Describe your organisation establishes a strategy to address its STRATEGIC CHALLENGES and leverage its
HOW
STRATEGIC ADVANTAGESand STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES. Describe HOW your organisation makes KEY WORK SYSTEM
decisions. Summarise your organisation’s KEY WORK SYSTEMS and its KEY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES and their related GOALS.
a. Strategy Development PROCESS

1) Strategic Planning PROCESS HOW do you conduct your strategic planning? What are the KEY PROCESS
steps? Who are the KEY participants? What is the GOVERNANCE Board's role in your strategy development
process? What are your short- and longer-term planning time horizons? HOW does your strategic
planning PROCESS address these planning horizons? HOW does your strategic planning PROCESS address
the need for organisational agility and operational flexibility?
2) INNOVATION HOW do you create an environment that supports INNOVATION? HOW do you identify STRATEGIC
OPPORTUNITIES? HOW do you decide which STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES are INTELLIGENT RISKS for pursuing? What
are your KEY STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES?
3) Strategy Considerations HOW do you collect and analyse relevant data and develop information on
these KEY elements as part of your strategic planning PROCESS?
• Your STRATEGIC CHALLENGES and STRATEGIC ADVANTAGES.
• Risks to your organisation’s SUSTAINABILITY
• Potential blind spots in your strategic planning PROCESS and information.
• Your ability to execute the strategic plan
4) WORK SYSTEMS and CORE COMPETENCIES What are your KEY WORK SYSTEMS? HOW do you make WORK SYSTEM
decisions? HOW do you decide which KEY PROCESSES will be accomplished by external suppliers and
PARTNERS? HOW do these decisions consider your CORE COMPETENCIES and the CORE COMPETENCIES of potential
suppliers and PARTNERS? HOW do you determine future organisational CORE COMPETENCIES?
b. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
1) KEY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES What are your organisation’s KEY STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES and your timetable for
achieving them? What are your most important GOALS for these STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES? What KEY changes, if
Notes
2.1. This item deals with your overall organisational strategy, which might processes, nonlinear extrapolation of current conditions, and other
include changes in product offerings and customer engagement approaches to imagining a different future. The generation of ideas that
processes. However, you should describe the product design and lead to strategic opportunities benefits from an environment that
customer engagement strategies in items 3.2 and 6.1, as appropriate. encourages non-directed, free thought. Choosing which strategic
2.1. “Strategy development” refers to your organisation's approach to opportunities to pursue involves considering relative risk, financial and
preparing for the future. In developing your strategy, you might use otherwise, and then making intelligent choices (“intelligent risks”).
various types of forecasts, projections, options, scenarios, knowledge 2.1a(3). Data and information might relate to customer and market requirements,
(see 4.2a for relevant organisational knowledge), analyses, or other expectations, and opportunities; your core competencies; the
approaches to envisioning the future in order to make decisions and competitive environment and your performance now and in the future
allocate resources. Strategy development might involve key suppliers, relative to competitors and comparable organisations; your product life
distributors, partners, and customers. cycle, including its carbon footprint over the entire value chain;
2.1. The term “strategy” should be interpreted broadly. Strategy might be built technological and other key innovations or changes that might affect your
around or lead to any or all of the following: new products and eco-friendly products and services and the way you operate, as well as the rate of
products; redefinition of key customer groups or market segments; new innovation; your investment in development and/or adoption of carbon
core competencies; revenue growth via various approaches, including abatement / clean technologies; workforce and other resource needs;
acquisitions, grants, and endowments; divestitures; new partnerships your ability to capitalise on diversity; opportunities to redirect resources to
and alliances; and new employee or volunteer relationships. Strategy higher-priority products, services, or areas; financial, societal, ethical,
might be directed toward becoming a preferred supplier, a local supplier regulatory, technological, security, climate change and other potential
in each of your major customers' or partners’ markets, a low-cost risks and opportunities; your ability to prevent and respond to
producer, a green producer / operator, a market innovator, or a provider of emergencies, including natural or other disasters; changes in the local,
a high-end or customised product or service. It might also be directed national, or global economy; requirements for and strengths and
toward meeting a community or public need. weaknesses of your partners and supply chain; changes in your parent
organisation; and other factors unique to your organisation.
2.1a(2). Strategic opportunities arise from outside-the-box thinking,
brainstorming, capitalising on serendipity, research and innovation 2.1a(3). Your strategic planning should address your ability to mobilise the
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any, are planned in your products, your CUSTOMERS and markets, your suppliers and PARTNERS, and your
operations?
2) STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE Considerations HOW do your STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
• address your STRATEGIC CHALLENGES and leverage your CORE COMPETENCIES, STRATEGIC ADVANTAGES, and
STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES.
• balance the short- and longer-term time horizons; and
• consider and balance the needs, including EMERGING CLIMATE CHANGE NEEDS, of all KEY STAKEHOLDERS?
necessary resources and knowledge to execute the strategic plan. It 2.1b(1). Strategic objectives might address rapid response, customisation, co-
should also address your ability to execute contingency plans or, if location with major customers or partners, green labelling, low carbon
circumstances require, a shift in plans and rapid execution of new or value chain, clean technology adoption and development, shaping
changed plans. carbon regulations, workforce capability and capacity, specific joint
2.1a(4). Decisions about work systems are strategic. These decisions involve ventures, virtual manufacturing, rapid or market-changing innovation, ISO
protecting intellectual property and capitalising on core competencies. quality or environmental systems registration, societal responsibility
Decisions about your work systems affect organisational design and actions or leadership, social media and Web-based supplier and
structure, size, locations, profitability, and sustainability. In the most basic customer relationship management, and product and service quality
view of an organisation, for example, the organisation might define three enhancements. Responses should focus on your specific challenges,
generic work systems: one that addresses production of the product or advantages, and opportunities-those most important to your ongoing
service, one that engages the customer, and one that comprises systems success and to strengthening your overall performance.
that support production and customer engagement. 2.1b(2). Emerging expectations on climate change may include eco-friendly
2.1a(4). Your key work system decisions might include considerations of key consumer preferences, adopting life cycle approach for carbon
green requirements like carbon foot print of raw materials, processes, management, investments in development of carbon abatement / clean
products and services; energy intensity / efficiency, water consumption; technologies and shaping government regulations, ensuring sustainable
usage of renewable energy and sustainable materials; adherence to returns in a carbon constraint economy, responsible use of natural
environment and carbon regulations including suppliers and partners; resources and managing public opinion.
green labelling and certification requirements; recycling rates and
disposal issues.
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2.2 Strategy Implementation: (40 pts.) Process

HOW do you implement your strategy?
Describe HOW you convert your STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES into ACTION PLANS. Summarise your ACTION PLANS, HOW you
DEPLOY them, and your KEY MEASURES or INDICATORS of progress. Project your future PERFORMANCE on these MEASURES
or INDICATORS relative to KEY comparisons.
a. ACTION PLAN Development and DEPLOYMENT

1) ACTION PLAN Development HOW do you develop your ACTION PLANS? What are your KEY short- and longer-
term ACTION PLANS, and what is their relationship to your STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES?
2) ACTION PLAN Implementation HOW do you DEPLOY your ACTION PLANS throughout the organisation to your
WORKFORCE and to KEY suppliers and PARTNERS, as appropriate, to ensure that you achieve your KEY
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES? HOW do you ensure that you can sustain the KEY outcomes of your ACTION PLANS?
3) Resource Allocation HOW do you ensure that financial and other resources are available to support the
achievement of your ACTION PLANS while you meet current obligations? HOW do you allocate these
resources to support the plans? HOW do you manage the financial and other risks associated with the
plans to ensure your financial viability?
4) WORKFORCE Plans What are your KEY WORKFORCE plans to support your short- and longer-term STRATEGIC
OBJECTIVES and ACTION PLANS? HOW do the plans address potential impacts on your WORKFORCE members
and any potential changes in WORKFORCE CAPABILITY and CAPACITY needs?
5) PERFORMANCE MEASURES What KEY PERFORMANCE MEASURES or INDICATORS do you use to track the achievement
and EFFECTIVENESS of your ACTION PLANS? HOW do you ensure that your overall ACTION PLAN measurement
system reinforces organisational ALIGNMENT?
6) ACTION PLAN Modification HOW do you establish and implement modified ACTION PLANS if circumstances
require a shift in plans and rapid execution of new plans?
b. PERFORMANCE PROJECTIONS
For the KEY PERFORMANCE MEASURES or INDICATORS identified in 2.2a(5), what are your PERFORMANCE PROJECTIONS for your
short- and longer-term planning time horizons? HOW does your projected PERFORMANCE on these measures or
indicators compare with the projected PERFORMANCE of your competitors or comparable organisations, and with
KEY BENCHMARKS, as appropriate? If there are gaps in PERFORMANCE against your competitors or comparable
organisations, HOW will you address them?
Notes
2.2. The development and deployment of your strategy and action plans operational and strategic carbon abatement levers, innovating low
are closely linked to other Criteria Items. The following are examples carbon products and services, investing in low carbon / clean
of key linkages: technologies and businesses, eco-branding, shaping carbon
• Item 1.1: how your senior leaders set and communicate regulations, building organisational capabilities around climate
organisational direction; change mitigation and adaption etc. Deployment of these action
• Category 3: how you gather customer and market knowledge as plans might require specialised training for some employees or
input to your strategy and action plans and to use in deploying recruitment of personnel
action plans; 2.2a(5).Climate Change key performance measures or indicators address
• Category 4: how you measure and analyse data and manage key aspects of products and services, customer requirements,
knowledge to support key information needs, support the operations, finance and market place. Measures and indicators
development of strategy, provide an effective basis for might include absolute and specific carbon footprint, fuel and
performance measurements, and track progress on achieving energy consumption / savings, renewable energy utilisation /
strategic objectives and action plans; distribution, waste utilisation, recycling rates, green product /
• Category 5: how you meet workforce capability and capacity services turnover, performance to carbon budget, investment in low
needs, determine needs and design your workforce development carbon / clean technologies, sustainability index performance,
and learning system, and implement workforce-related changes stakeholder engagement on climate change efforts etc
resulting from action plans; 2.2b. Measures and indicators of projected performance (2.2b) might
• Category 6: how you address changes to your work processes include those for changes resulting from new ventures;
resulting from action plans; organisational acquisitions or mergers; new value creation; market
entry and shifts; new legislative mandates, legal requirements, new
• Item 7.1: specific accomplishments relative to your organisational
carbon regulations, taxes and penalties, energy efficiency/product
strategy and action plans
standards or industry standards; and significant anticipated
2.2a(1).Climate Change action plans might include carbon footprint innovations in products and technology.
mapping of the value chain, identification and implementation of
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“One must forever strive for excellence, or even perfection, in

any task however small, and never be satisfied with the
second best”
J R D Tata
Customer Focus (85 pts.)
The CUSTOMER Focus Category asks HOW your

organisation engages its CUSTOMERS for long-term
marketplace success, including H O W your
organisation listens to the VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER, builds
C U S T O M E R relationships, and uses C U S T O M E R
information to improve and identify opportunities for

INNOVATION.
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3.1 Voice of the Customer: (40 pts.) Process

HOW do you obtain information from your customers?
Describe HOW you listen to your CUSTOMERS and gain information on their satisfaction, dissatisfaction and
ENGAGEMENT.
a. CUSTOMER Listening
1) Listening to Current CUSTOMERS HOW do you listen to, interact with and observe CUSTOMERS to obtain
actionable information? HOW do your listening methods vary for different CUSTOMERS, CUSTOMER
groups, or market SEGMENTS? HOW do you use social media and Web-based technologies to listen to
CUSTOMERS, as appropriate? HOW do your listening methods vary across the CUSTOMER life cycle? HOW
do you seek immediate and actionable feedback from CUSTOMERS on the quality of products,
CUSTOMER support, and transactions?
2) Listening to Potential CUSTOMERS HOW do you listen to, interact with and observe former CUSTOMERS,
potential CUSTOMERS, and competitors’ CUSTOMERS to obtain actionable information and to obtain
feedback on your current and future products, CUSTOMER support, and transactions, as
appropriate?
b. Determination of CUSTOMER Satisfaction and ENGAGEMENT

1) Satisfaction and ENGAGEMENT HOW do you determine CUSTOMERS’ satisfaction and ENGAGEMENT? HOW
do your determination methods differ among your CUSTOMER groups and market SEGMENTS, as
appropriate? HOW do your measurements capture actionable information to use in exceeding your
CUSTOMERS’ expectations and securing your CUSTOMERS’ ENGAGEMENT for the long term?
2) Satisfaction Relative to Competitors HOW do you obtain information on your CUSTOMERS’

satisfaction relative to their satisfaction with your competitors? HOW do you obtain information on
your CUSTOMERS’ satisfaction relative to the satisfaction of CUSTOMERS of other organisations that
provide similar products or relative to industry BENCHMARKS, as appropriate?
3) Dissatisfaction HOW do you determine CUSTOMER dissatisfaction? HOW do your measurements
capture actionable information to use in meeting your CUSTOMERS’ requirements and exceeding their
expectations in the future?
Notes
3.1. The “voice of the customer” refers to your process for capturing 3.1b. You might use any or all of the following to determine customer
customer-related information. Voice-of-the customer processes are satisfaction and dissatisfaction: surveys, formal and informal
intended to be proactive and continuously innovative so that they feedback, customer account histories, complaints, field reports,
capture stated, unstated, and anticipated customer requirements, win/loss analysis, customer referral. rates, and transaction
expectations, and desires. The goal is customer engagement. In completion rates. You might gather information on the Web, through
listening to the voice of the customer, you might gather and integrate personal contact or a third party, or by mail. Determining customer
various types of customer data, such as survey data, focus group dissatisfaction should be seen as more than reviewing low customer
findings, blog comments and data from other social media, warranty satisfaction scores. Dissatisfaction should be independently
data, marketing and sales information, and complaint data that affect determined to identify root causes and enable a systematic remedy
customers' purchasing and engagement decisions. to avoid future dissatisfaction
3.1a(1).Social media and Web-based technologies are a growing mode of 3.1b(2).Determining relative customer satisfaction may involve comparisons
gaining insight into how customers perceive all aspects of your with competitors, comparisons with other organisations that deliver
involvement with them. Use of social media may include monitoring similar products in a non-competitive marketplace, or comparisons
comments on blogs you moderate and in social media outlets you obtained through trade or other organisations. Determining relative
do not control, such as wikis, online forums, and other blogs. customer satisfaction also may involve determining why customers
3.1a(1).The customer life cycle begins in the product concept or pre-sale chose your competitors over you.
period and continues through all stages of your involvement with the
customer. These stages might include relationship building, the
active business relationship, and an exit strategy, as appropriate.
R
3.2 Customer Engagement: (45 pts.) Process

HOW do you serve customers’ needs to engage them and build relationships?
Describe HOW you determine product offerings and communication mechanisms to support your
CUSTOMERS. Describe HOW you build CUSTOMER relationships.
a. Product Offerings and CUSTOMER Support

1) Product Offerings HOW do you determine CUSTOMER and market requirements for product offerings
and services? HOW do you identify and adapt product offerings to meet the requirements and
exceed the expectations of your CUSTOMER groups and market SEGMENTS (identified in the
Organisational Profile)? HOW do you identify and adapt product offerings to enter new markets, to
attract new CUSTOMERS, and to create opportunities to expand relationships with current CUSTOMERS,
as appropriate? What are your new product offerings and changes to CUSTOMER support added in
recent years?
2) CUSTOMER Support HOW do you enable CUSTOMERS to seek information and support? HOW do you
enable them to conduct business with you and give feedback on your current and future products
and CUSTOMER support? What are your KEY means of CUSTOMER support, including your KEY
communication mechanisms? HOW do they vary for different CUSTOMERS, CUSTOMER groups, or market
SEGMENTS? HOW do you determine your CUSTOMERS' KEY support requirements? HOW do you ensure that
these requirements are DEPLOYED to all people and PROCESSES involved in CUSTOMER SUPPORT?
3) CUSTOMER Segmentation HOW do you use information on CUSTOMERS, markets, and product offerings
to identify current and anticipate future CUSTOMER groups and market SEGMENTS? HOW do you consider
competitors’ CUSTOMERS and other potential CUSTOMERS and markets in this segmentation? HOW do
you determine which CUSTOMERS, CUSTOMER groups, and market SEGMENTS to emphasise and pursue
for business growth?
b. Building CUSTOMER Relationships

1) Relationship Management HOW do you market, build and manage relationships with CUSTOMERS to
• acquire CUSTOMERS and build market share;
• retain CUSTOMERS, meet their requirements and exceed their expectations in each stage of the
CUSTOMER life cycle; and
• increase their ENGAGEMENT with you?
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HOW do you leverage social media to enhance CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT and relationships with your
organisation?
2) Complaint Management HOW do you manage CUSTOMER complaints? HOW do you ensure that
complaints are resolved promptly and EFFECTIVELY? HOW does your management of CUSTOMER
complaints enable you to recover your CUSTOMERS’ confidence, and enhance their satisfaction and
ENGAGEMENT?
Notes
3.2. “Customer engagement” refers to your customers’ investment in or organisations’ services. Those features might include price,
commitment to your brand and product offerings. Characteristics of reliability, value, delivery, timeliness, product customisation, ease of
engaged customers include retention and loyalty, willingness to use, requirements for the use and disposal of hazardous materials,
make an effort to do business-and increase their business-with you, customer or technical support, and the sales relationship. Key
and willingness to actively advocate for and recommend your brand product features might also take into account how transactions
and product offerings. occur and factors such as the privacy and security of customer data.
3.2a. “Product offerings” and “products” refer to the goods and services Your results on performance relative to key product features should
that you offer in the marketplace. In identifying product offerings, you be reported in item 7.1, and those for customer perceptions and
should consider all the important characteristics of products and actions (outcomes) should be reported in item 7.2.
services and their performance throughout their full life cycle and the 3.2a(2).The goal of customer support is to make your organisation easy to do
full consumption chain. The focus should be on features that affect business with and responsive to your customers’ expectations.
customer preference and loyalty-for example, features that 3.2b. Building customer relationships might include developing
differentiate your products from competing offerings or other partnerships or alliances with customers.
R
“One must think for oneself and never accept at their face
value slogans and catch phrases to which, unfortunately, our
people are too easily susceptible”
J R D Tata
Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge

Management (90 pts.)
The Measurement, ANALYSIS , and Knowledge
Management Category asks HOW your organisation
selects, gathers, analyses, manages, and improves
its data, information, and KNOWLEDGE ASSETS; HOW it
learns; and HOW it manages information technology.
The Category also asks HOW your organisation uses
review findings to improve its PERFORMANCE.
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4.1 Measurement, Analysis, and Improvement of Organisational Performance: (45 pts.) Process
HOW do you measure, analyse, and then improve organisational performance?
Describe HOW you measure, analyse, review, and improve organisational PERFORMANCE by using data and
information at all levels and in all parts of your organisation. Describe HOW your organisation uses comparative
and CUSTOMER data to support decision making.
a. PERFORMANCE Measurement
1) PERFORMANCE MEASURES HOW do you select, collect, align, and integrate data and information to use in
tracking daily operations and for tracking overall organisational PERFORMANCE, including safety and CLIMATE
CHANGE, and progress on achieving STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES and ACTION PLANS? What are your KEY
organisational PERFORMANCE MEASURES, including KEY short-term and longer-term financial MEASURES? HOW
frequently do you track these MEASURES? HOW do you use these data and information to support
organisational decision making, continuous improvement and INNOVATION?
2) Comparative Data HOW do you select and ensure the EFFECTIVE use of KEY comparative data and
information to support operational and strategic decision making and INNOVATION?
3) CUSTOMER Data HOW do you select and ensure the EFFECTIVE use of VOICE-OF-THE-CUSTOMER and market data
and information (including aggregated data on complaints) to build a more CUSTOMER- focused culture to
support operational and strategic decision making and INNOVATION? HOW do you use data and information
gathered through social media as appropriate?
4) Measurement Agility HOW do you ensure that your PERFORMANCE measurement system can respond to
rapid or unexpected organisational or external changes?
b. PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS and Review

HOW do you review organisational PERFORMANCE and capabilities? HOW do you use your KEY organisational
PERFORMANCE MEASURES in these reviews? What ANALYSES do you perform to support these reviews and ensure
that conclusions are valid? HOW do your organisation and its SENIOR LEADERS use these reviews to assess
organisational success, competitive PERFORMANCE, financial health, and progress on achieving your STRATEGIC
OBJECTIVES and ACTION PLANS? HOW do your organisation and its SENIOR LEADERS use these reviews to assess your
organisation’s ability to respond rapidly to changing organisational needs and challenges in your operating
environment? HOW does your GOVERNANCE Board review the organisation’s PERFORMANCE and its progress on
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES and ACTION PLANS, if appropriate?
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c. PERFORMANCE Improvement
1) Best-Practices HOW do you identify organisational units or operations that are HIGH PERFORMING? HOW do
you identify their best practices for sharing?
2) Future PERFORMANCE HOW do you use PERFORMANCE review findings (addressed in 4.1b) and KEY
comparative and competitive data in projecting future PERFORMANCE? HOW do you reconcile the
differences between these PROJECTIONS of future PERFORMANCE and PERFORMANCE PROJECTIONS developed for
your KEY ACTION PLANS (addressed in 2.2b)?
3) Continuous Improvement and INNOVATION HOW do you use PERFORMANCE review findings (addressed in
4.1b) to develop priorities for continuous improvement and opportunities for INNOVATION? HOW do you
DEPLOY these priorities and opportunities to work group and functional-level operations throughout your
organisation? When appropriate, HOW do you DEPLOY the priorities and opportunities to your suppliers,
PARTNERS, and COLLABORATORS to ensure organisational ALIGNMENT?
Notes
4.1. The results of organisational performance analysis and review they should be guided by the strategic objectives and action plans
should inform the strategic planning you describe in category 2. you identify in items 2.1 and 2.2. The reviews might also be informed
4.1. Your organisational performance results should be reported in items by internal or external TBEM assessments.
7.1-7.5. . 4.1b. Performance analysis includes examining performance trends;
4.1a. Data and information from performance measurement should be organisational, industry, and technology projections; and
used to support fact-based decisions that set and align comparisons, cause-effect relationships, and correlations. This
organisational directions and resource use at the work unit, key analysis should support your performance reviews, help determine
process, department, and organisation levels. root causes, and help set priorities for resource use. Accordingly,
such analysis draws on all types of data: product performance,
4.1a(2).Comparative data and information are obtained by benchmarking customer-related, financial and market, operational, and
and by seeking competitive comparisons. Benchmarking is competitive. The analysis should also draw on publicly mandated
identifying processes and results that represent best practices and measures, when appropriate.
performance for similar activities,inside or outside your industry.
Competitive comparisons relate your performance to that of 4.1c. Performance improvement also includes identifying potential
competitors and other organisations providing similar products and innovative opportunities related to carbon mitigation and
services. One source of this information might be social media or the adaptations like clean technologies, energy storage, carbon
Web. capture, storage and sequestration, enhanced oil recovery, bio-
fuels, renewable energy, smart grids, hybrid vehicles, low carbon
4.1b. Organisational performance reviews should be informed by logistic solutions, green buildings and data management centres,
organisational performance measurement and by performance agri-solutions, nano technology, biotechnology etc.
measures reported throughout your Criteria item responses, and
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4.2 Knowledge Management, Information, and Information Technology: (45 pts.) Process
HOW do you manage your organisational knowledge assets, information, and information technology?
Describe HOW your organisation manages and grows its KNOWLEDGE ASSETS and learns. Describe HOW you
ensure the quality and availability of the data, information, software, and hardware needed by your
WORKFORCE, suppliers, PARTNERS, COLLABORATORS, and CUSTOMERS.
Within your response, include answers to the following questions:
a. Organisational Knowledge
1) Knowledge Manangement How do you
• collect and transfer WORKFORCE knowledge;
• transfer relevant knowledge from and to CUSTOMERS, suppliers, PARTNERS and COLLABORATORS;
• share and implement best practices; and
• assemble and transfer relevant knowledge for use in your INNOVATION and strategic planning
PROCESSES?
2) Organisational LEARNING HOW do you use your knowledge and resources to embed LEARNING in the
way your organisation operates?
b. Data, Information and Information Technology

1) Data and Information Properties HOW do you manage your organisational data and information to
ensure their accuracy, their integrity and reliability, their timeliness, and their security and
confidentiality?
2) Data and Information Availability HOW do you make needed data and information available in a
user-friendly format to your WORKFORCE, suppliers, PARTNERS, COLLABORATORS AND CUSTOMERS , as
appropriate?
3) Hardware and Software Properties HOW do you ensure that hardware and software are reliable,
secure, user-friendly and environmentally friendly?
4) Emergency Availability In the event of an emergency, HOW do you ensure that hardware and
software systems and data and information continue to be available to EFFECTIVELY serve CUSTOMERS
and business needs?
Notes
4,2b(2) Access to data and information might be via electronic or other
means
4.2b(3) Environment friendliness of hardware and software could include
virtualisation servers, cloud computing, disposal of e-waste, etc.
R
“Good human relations not only bring great personal

rewards but are essential to the success of any enterprise”
J R D Tata
Workforce Focus (85 pts.)
The WORKFORCE Focus Category asks HOW your

organisation assesses WORKFORCE CAPABILITY and
CAPACITY needs and builds a WORKFORCE environment
conducive to HIGH PERFORMANCE. This Category also

asks HOW your organisation engages, manages, and
develops your WORKFORCE to utilise its full potential in
ALIGNMENT with your organisation’s overall MISSION,
strategy, and ACTION PLANS.
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5.1 Workforce Environment: (40 pts.) Process

HOW do you build an effective and supportive WORKFORCE environment?
Describe HOW you manage WORKFORCE CAPABILITY and CAPACITY to accomplish your organisation's work.
Describe HOW you maintain a safe, supportive and secure work climate.
a. WORKFORCE CAPABILITY and CAPACITY

1) CAPABILITY and CAPACITY HOW do you assess your WORKFORCE CAPABILITY and CAPACITY needs, including
the skills, competencies, certifications and staffing levels you need?
2) New WORKFORCE Members HOW do you recruit, hire, place, and retain new WORKFORCE members?
HOW do you ensure your WORKFORCE represents the diverse ideas, cultures, and thinking of your
hiring and CUSTOMER community?
3) Work Accomplishment HOW do you organise and manage your WORKFORCE to
• accomplish your organisation’s work
• capitalise on your organisation’s CORE COMPETENCIES
• reinforce a CUSTOMER and business focus, and
• exceed PERFORMANCE expectations
4) WORKFORCE Change Management HOW do you prepare your WORKFORCE for changing CAPABILITY and
CAPACITY needs? HOW have these needs, including staffing levels changed over time? HOW do you
manage your WORKFORCE, its needs, and your needs to ensure continuity, prevent WORKFORCE
reductions, and minimise the impact of such reductions, if they become necessary? HOW do you
prepare for and manage periods of WORKFORCE growth?
b. WORKFORCE Climate
1) Workplace Environment HOW do you address workplace environmental factors, to ensure and
improve WORKFORCE health, safety, and security and workplace accessibility? What are your
PERFORMANCE MEASURES and improvement GOALS for each of these WORKFORCE factors? For your different
workplace environments, what significant differences are there in these factors and their
PERFORMANCE MEASURES or targets?
2) WORKFORCE Policies and Benefits HOW do you support your WORKFORCE via services, benefits and
policies? HOW do you tailor these to the needs of a diverse WORKFORCE and different WORKFORCE groups
and SEGMENTS? What KEY benefits do you offer your WORKFORCE?
Notes
5.1 “Workforce” refers to the people actively involved in accomplishing 5.1a. Your assessment of workforce capability and capacity needs should
your organisation's work. It includes permanent, temporary, and consider not only current needs but also future requirements based
part-time personnel, as well as any contract employees you on the strategic objectives and action plans you identify in category
supervise. It includes team leaders, supervisors, and managers at all 2.
levels. People supervised by a contractor should be addressed in 5.1a(2) This requirement refers only to new workforce members. The
categories 2 and 6 as part of your larger work system strategy and retention of existing workforce members is considered in item 5.2,
your internal work processes. For organisations that also rely on Workforce Engagement.
volunteers, “workforce” includes these volunteers.
5.1a(4).Preparing your workforce for changing capability and capacity
5.1a. “Workforce capability” refers to your organisation’s ability to carry needs might include training, education, frequent communication,
out its work processes through its people’s knowledge, skills, consideration of workforce employment and employability, career
abilities, and competencies. Capability may include the ability to counselling, and outplacement and other services.
build and sustain relationships with customers; innovate and
transition to new technologies; develop new products, services, and 5.1b(1).Workplace accessibility maximises productivity by eliminating
work processes; and meet changing business, market, and barriers that can prevent people with disabilities from working to
regulatory demands. “Workforce capacity” refers to your their potential. A fully inclusive workplace is physically,
organisation’s ability to ensure sufficient staffing levels to carry out technologically, and attitudinally accessible.
its work processes and successfully deliver products to customers,
including the ability to meet seasonal or varying demand levels.
R
5.2 Workforce Engagement: (45 pts.) Process

HOW do you engage your workforce to achieve organisational and personal success?
Describe HOW you develop WORKFORCE members, managers, and leaders to achieve HIGH PERFORMANCE, including
HOW you engage them in improvement and INNOVATION .
a. WORKFORCE PERFORMANCE
1) Elements of ENGAGEMENT HOW do you determine the KEY elements that affect WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT? HOW
do you determine these elements for different WORKFORCE groups and SEGMENTS?
2) Organisational Culture HOW do you foster an organisational culture that is characterised by open
communication, HIGH-PERFORMANCE WORK, and an engaged WORKFORCE? HOW do you ensure that your
organisational culture benefits from the diverse ideas, cultures, and thinking of your WORKFORCE?
3) PERFORMANCE Management HOW does your WORKFORCE PERFORMANCE management system support HIGH-
PERFORMANCE WORK and WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT? HOW does it consider WORKFORCE compensation, reward,
recognition, and incentive practices? HOW does it reinforce INTELLIGENT RISK taking to achieve INNOVATION,
reinforce a CUSTOMER and business focus, and reinforce achievement of your ACTION PLANS?
b. Assessment of WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT

1) Assessment of ENGAGEMENT HOW do you assess WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT? What formal and informal
assessment methods and MEASURES do you use to determine WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT, including
satisfaction? HOW do these methods and MEASURES differ across WORKFORCE groups and SEGMENTS? HOW do
you use other INDICATORS, such as WORKFORCE retention, absenteeism, grievances, safety, and PRODUCTIVITY,
to assess and improve WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT?
2) Correlation with Business RESULTS HOW do you relate findings from your assessment of WORKFORCE
ENGAGEMENT to KEY business RESULTS reported in Category 7 to identify opportunities for improvement in
both WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT and business RESULTS?

c. WORKFORCE and Leader Development
1) LEARNING and Development System HOW does your LEARNING and development system support the
organisation’s needs and the personal development of your WORKFORCE members, managers and
leaders? HOW does the system
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• address your organisation’s CORE COMPETENCIES, STRATEGIC CHALLENGES, and achievement of its short-
term and long-term ACTION PLANS;
• support organisational PERFORMANCE improvement and INNOVATION;
• support ethics and ethical business practices;
• improve CUSTOMER FOCUS;
• ensure the transfer of knowledge from departing or retiring WORKFORCE members;
• ensure the reinforcement of new knowledge and skills on the job; and
• ensure a safe and carbon conscious work environment?
2) EFFECTIVENESS of LEARNING and Development HOW do you evaluate the EFFECTIVENESS and efficiency of
your LEARNING and development system?
3) Career Progression HOW do you manage EFFECTIVE career progression for your WORKFORCE members?
HOW do you carry out EFFECTIVE succession planning for management and leadership positions?
Notes
5.2. “Elements that affect workforce engagement” refer to the drivers of 5.2b(2).In identifying improvement opportunities, you might draw on the
workforce members’ commitment, both emotional and intellectual, workforce-focused results you report in item 7.3. You might also
to accomplishing the organisation’s work, mission, and vision. It address workforce-related opportunities based on their impact on
includes engaging your workforce and your leaders in the results you report in other category 7 items.
systematically solving work related problems through the promotion 5.2(c) Your response should include how you address any unique
of scientific thinking. considerations for workforce development, learning, and career
5.2a(2), 5.2a(3). Understanding the characteristics of high performance progression that stem from your organisation. Your response should
work environments, in which people do their utmost for their also consider the breadth of development opportunities you might
customers’ benefit and the organisation’s success is key to offer, including education, training, coaching, mentoring, and work-
understanding and building an engaged workforce. These related experiences.
characteristics are described in detail in the definition of high-
performance work.
5.2a(3).Compensation, recognition, and related reward and incentive
practices include promotions and bonuses that might be based on
performance, skills acquired, and other factors such as risk taking
for innovation. Recognition can include monetary and nonmonetary,
formal and informal, and individual and group mechanisms and
other factors
R
Operations Focus
“Productivity and efficiency can be achieved only step by
step with sustained hard work, relentless attention to details
and insistence on the highest standards of quality and
performance”
J R D Tata
Operations Focus (85 pts.)
The OPERATIONS FOCUS Category asks HOW your

organisation designs, manages, and improves its
products and WORK PROCESSES and improves
operational EFFECTIVENESS to deliver CUSTOMER VALUE and
achieve organisational success and SUSTAINABILITY.
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6.1 Work Processes: (45 pts.) Process

HOW do you design, manage, and improve your key products and work processes?
Describe HOW you design, manage, and improve your KEY WORK PROCESSES to deliver products that achieve
CUSTOMER VALUE and organisational success and SUSTAINABILITY. Summarise your organisation's KEY WORK
PROCESSES.
a. Product and PROCESS Design

1) Design Concepts HOW do you design your products and WORK PROCESSES to meet all KEY requirements?
HOW do you incorporate new technology, organisational knowledge, product excellence, and the
potential need for agility into these products and PROCESSES?

2) Product and PROCESS Requirements HOW do you determine KEY PRODUCT requirements? HOW do you
determine KEY WORK PROCESS requirements including safety and green requirements, as appropriate?
What are your organisation's KEY WORK PROCESSES? What are the KEY requirements, for these WORK
PROCESSES, including safety and green requirements, as appropriate?
b. PROCESS Management
1) PROCESS Implementation HOW does your day-to-day operation of WORK PROCESSES ensure that they meet
KEY PROCESS requirements? What KEY PERFORMANCE MEASURES or INDICATORS and in-process MEASURES do you
use to control and improve your WORK PROCESSES? HOW do these MEASURES relate to end-product quality
and PERFORMANCE?
2) Support PROCESSES HOW do you determine your KEY support PROCESSES? What are your KEY support
PROCESSES? HOW does your day-to-day operation of these PROCESSES ensure that they meet KEY business
support requirements?
3) Product and PROCESS Improvement HOW do you improve your WORK PROCESSES to improve products and
PERFORMANCE and reduce variability and improve workplace safety, and to reduce carbon footprints, as
appropriate?
Notes
6.1. The results of improvements in product and process performance Processes is also called “Daily Management” or “Daily Work
should be reported in item 7.1. Management” by some experts.
6.1a(2).Your key work processes are your most important internal value- 6.1b(2) Your key support processes should support your value-creation
creation processes. They might include product design and processes. They might support leaders and other workforce
delivery, customer support, and business processes. Your key work members engaged in product design and delivery, customer
processes are those that involve the majority of your workforce and interactions, and business and enterprise management.
produce customer, stakeholder, and stockholder value. Projects are 6.1b(3).To improve process performance and reduce variability, you might
unique work processes intended to produce an outcome and then implement approaches such as a Lean Enterprise System, Six Sigma
go out of existence. methodology, ISO quality system standards, PDCA methodology,
6.1b. Process Management should include management for Quality, Cost, decision sciences, or other process improvement tools. These
Delivery, Productivity, New product introduction, Safety, and approaches might be part of the performance improvement system
Environment. Day to day management of Work Systems and Work you describe in P.2c in the Organisational Profile.
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6.2 Operational Effectiveness: (40 pts.) Process

HOW do you ensure effective management of your operations on an ongoing basis and for the future?
Describe HOW you control costs, manage your supply chain, offer a safe workplace, prepare for potential
emergencies, and innovate for the future to ensure EFFECTIVE operations and deliver CUSTOMER VALUE.
a. Cost Control
HOW do you control the overall costs of your operations? HOW do you incorporate CYCLE TIME, PRODUCTIVITY, and
other efficiency and EFFECTIVENESS factors into your WORK PROCESSES? HOW do you prevent defects, service errors,
and rework and minimise warranty costs or CUSTOMERS’ PRODUCTIVITY losses, as appropriate? HOW do you
minimise the costs of inspections, tests, and PROCESS or PERFORMANCE audits, as appropriate? HOW do you
balance the need for cost control with the needs of your CUSTOMERS?
b. Supply -Chain Management

HOW do you manage your supply chain? HOW do you select suppliers and ensure that they are qualified and
positioned to enhance your PERFORMANCE and your CUSTOMERS’ satisfaction? HOW do you measure and evaluate
your suppliers’ PERFORMANCE? HOW do you provide feedback to your suppliers to help them improve? HOW do
you deal with poorly performing suppliers?
c. Safety and Emergency Preparedness

1) Safety HOW do you provide a safe operating environment? HOW does your safety system address
accident prevention, inspection, root-cause ANALYSIS of failures, and recovery?
2) Emergency Preparedness HOW do you ensure that your organisation is prepared for disasters or
emergencies? HOW does your disaster and emergency preparedness system consider prevention,
continuity of operations, and recovery?
d. INNOVATION Management
HOW do you manage INNOVATION? HOW do you pursue the STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES that you determine are
INTELLIGENT RISKS? HOW do you make the financial and other resources available to pursue these opportunities?
HOW do you discontinue pursuing opportunities at the appropriate time to enhance support for higher-priority
opportunities?
Notes
6.2b. Feedback to suppliers should involve two-way communication,
allowing suppliers to express what they need from you.
6.2c(2).Disasters and emergencies might be related to weather, utilities,
security, or a local or national emergency. Emergency
considerations related to information technology should be
addressed in item 4.2.
6.2(d) . Your innovation management process should capitalise on strategic
opportunities identified in 2.1a(2).
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“No success or achievement in material terms is worthwhile

unless it serves the needs or interests of the country and its
people and is achieved by fair and honest means”
J R D Tata
Business Results (450 pts.)
The Business RESULTS Category asks about your

organisation’s PERFORMANCE and improvement in all
KEY areas – product and PROCESS RESULTS, CUSTOMER-
focused RESULTS , WORKFORCE -focused RESULTS ,

leadership and GOVERNANCE RESULTS, and financial and
market RESULTS. The Category asks about PERFORMANCE
LEVELS relative to those of competitors and other
organisations with similar product offerings.
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7.1 Product and Process Results: (120 pts.) Results

What are your product performance and process effectiveness results?
Summarise your KEY product PERFORMANCE and PROCESS EFFECTIVENESS and efficiency RESULTS. Include RESULTS for
PROCESSES that directly serve your CUSTOMERS and that impact your operations and supply chain. SEGMENT your
RESULTS by product offerings, CUSTOMER groups and market SEGMENTS, and PROCESS types and locations, as
appropriate. Include appropriate comparative data.
Provide data and information to answer the following questions:
a. CUSTOMER-Focused Product and PROCESS RESULTS

What are your current LEVELS and TRENDS in KEY MEASURES or INDICATORS of the PERFORMANCE of products and
PROCESSES that are important to and directly serve your CUSTOMERS? How do these RESULTS compare with the
PERFORMANCE of your competitors and other organisations with similar offerings?
b. WORK PROCESS EFFECTIVENESS RESULTS

1) PROCESS EFFECTIVENESS and Efficiency What are your current LEVELS and TRENDS in KEY MEASURES or INDICATORS
of the operational PERFORMANCE of your KEY WORK and support PROCESSES, including Quality, Cost,
PRODUCTIVITY, CYCLE TIME, and other appropriate MEASURES of PROCESS EFFECTIVENESS, efficiency, and INNOVATION?
2) Emergency Preparedness What are your current LEVELS and TRENDS in KEY MEASURES or INDICATORS of the
EFFECTIVENESS of your organisation’s preparedness for disasters or emergencies?
c. Supply-Chain Management RESULTS

What are your RESULTS for KEY MEASURES or INDICATORS of the PERFORMANCE of your supply chain, including its
contribution to enhancing your PERFORMANCE?
Notes
7.1. Results should provide key information for analysing and reviewing 7.1b. Results should address the key operational requirements you
your organisational performance (item 4.1), demonstrate use of identify in the Organisational Profile and in items 6.1 and 6.2.
organisational knowledge (item 4.2),and provide the operational 7.1b. Appropriate measures and indicators of work process effectiveness
basis for customer-focused results (item 7.2) and financial and might include defect rates; rates and results of product, service, and
market results (item 7.5). There is not a one-to-one correspondence work system innovation; results for simplification of internal jobs and
between results items and Criteria categories 1-6. Results should be job classifications; waste reduction; work layout improvements;
considered systemically, with contributions to individual results changes in supervisory ratios; Occupational Health and Safety
items frequently stemming from processes in more than one Criteria Administration (OSHA)-reportable incidents; response times for
category. emergency drills or exercises; and results for work relocation or
7.1a. Product and process results should relate to the key customer contingency exercises.
requirements and expectations you identify in P.1b(2), which are 7.1c. Appropriate measures and indicators of supply-chain performance
based on information gathered through processes you describe in might include supplier and partner audits, just-in-time delivery, and
items 3.1 and 3.2. The measures or indicators should address acceptance results for externally provided products, services, and
factors that affect customer preference, such as those listed in the processes.
notes to P.1b(2) and 3.2a.
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7.2 Customer-Focused Results: (85 pts.) Results

What are your customer-focused performance results?
Summarise your KEY CUSTOMER-focused RESULTS, including those for CUSTOMER satisfaction, and ENGAGEMENT.
SEGMENT your RESULTS by product offerings, CUSTOMER groups, and market SEGMENTS, as appropriate. Include
appropriate comparative data.
a. CUSTOMER-Focused RESULTS
1) CUSTOMER Satisfaction What are your current LEVELS and TRENDS in KEY MEASURES or INDICATORS of CUSTOMER
satisfaction and dissatisfaction? HOW do these RESULTS compare with those of your competitors and other
organisations providing similar products?
2) CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT What are your current LEVELS and TRENDS in KEY MEASURES or INDICATORS of CUSTOMER
ENGAGEMENT, including those for building CUSTOMER relationships? HOW do these RESULTS compare over the
course of your CUSTOMER life cycle, as appropriate?
Notes
7.2. Results for customer satisfaction, dissatisfaction, engagement, and 7.2a(1).For customers’ satisfaction with your products relative to satisfaction
relationship building should relate to the customer groups and with those of competitors and comparable organisations, measures
market segments you identify in P.1b(2) and category 3 and to the and indicators might include information and data from your
listening and determination methods and data you report in item 3.1 customers, from competitors' customers, and from independent
organisations.
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7.3 Workforce-Focused Results: (85 pts.) Results

What are your workforce-focused performance results?
Summarise your KEY WORKFORCE-focused RESULTS,

including RESULTS for your WORKFORCE environment and for
WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT. SEGMENT your RESULTS to address the DIVERSITY of your WORKFORCE and to address your
WORKFORCE groups and SEGMENTS, as appropriate. Include appropriate comparative data.
a. WORKFORCE RESULTS
1) WORKFORCE CAPABILITY and CAPACITY What are your current LEVELS and TRENDS in KEY MEASURES of WORKFORCE
CAPABILITY and CAPACITY, including appropriate skills and staffing levels?
2) WORKFORCE Climate What are your current LEVELS and TRENDS in KEY MEASURES or INDICATORS of your
WORKFORCE climate, including those for WORKFORCE health, safety, and security and WORKFORCE services
and benefits, as appropriate?

3) WORKFORCE ENGAGEMENT What are your current LEVELS and TRENDS in KEY MEASURES or INDICATORS of WORKFORCE
ENGAGEMENT and WORKFORCE satisfaction?
4) WORKFORCE Development What are your current LEVELS and TRENDS in KEY MEASURES or INDICATORS of
WORKFORCE and leader development?
Notes
7.3. Results reported in this item should relate to the processes you 7.3a(2).All safety performance related results should also be reported
report in category 5. Your results should also respond to the key work against 7.4a(7).
process needs you report in category 6 and to the action plans and 7.3a(3).Responses should include results for the measures and indicators
workforce plans you report in item 2.2. you identify in 5.2b(1).
7.3. Organisations that rely on volunteers should report results for their 7.3a(3).Workforce engagement results should include results on workforce
volunteer workforce, as appropriate. involved in improvement and innovation activities
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7.4 Leadership and Governance Results: (80 pts.) Results

What are your senior leadership and governance results?
Summarise your KEY SENIOR LEADERSHIP and GOVERNANCE RESULTS, including those for fiscal accountability, legal
compliance, ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR, societal responsibility, support of KEY communities, and strategy achievement.
SEGMENT your RESULTS by organisational units, as appropriate. Include appropriate comparative data.
a. Leadership, GOVERNANCE and Societal Responsibility RESULTS

1) Leadership What are your RESULTS for KEY MEASURES or INDICATORS of SENIOR LEADERS' communication and
engagement with the WORKFORCE and CUSTOMERS to DEPLOY your VISION and VALUES, encourage two-way
communication and create a focus on action ?
2) GOVERNANCE What are your KEY current findings and TRENDS in KEY MEASURES or INDICATORS of GOVERNANCE and
internal and external fiscal accountability, as appropriate?

3) Law and Regulation What are your RESULTS for KEY MEASURES or INDICATORS of meeting and surpassing
regulatory and legal requirements?
4) Ethics What are your RESULTS for KEY MEASURES or INDICATORS of ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR and of STAKEHOLDER trust in
your SENIOR LEADERS and GOVERNANCE? What are your RESULTS for KEY MEASURES or INDICATORS of breaches of
ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR?
5) Society What are your RESULTS for KEY MEASURES or INDICATORS of your fulfilment of your societal
responsibilities and support of your KEY communities?
6) INNOVATION What are your RESULTS for KEY MEASURES or INDICATORS related to INNOVATION?
7) Safety What are your RESULTS for KEY MEASURES or INDICATORS related to safety?
b. Strategy Implementation RESULTS

What are your RESULTS for KEY MEASURES or INDICATORS of the achievement of your Organisational strategy and
ACTION PLANS, including taking INTELLIGENT RISKS and building and strengthening CORE COMPETENCIES?
Notes
7.4a(1).Responses should relate to the communication processes you being might include those for reduced energy consumption, the use
identify in item 1.1. of renewable energy resources and recycled water, reduction of
7.4a(2).Responses might include financial statement issues and risks, carbon footprint, waste reduction and utilisation, alternative
important internal and external auditor recommendations, and approaches to conserving resources (e.g., increased audio and
management’s responses to these matters video conferencing), and the global use of enlightened labour
practices.
7.4a(3).Legal and regulatory results should relate to the requirements you
report in 1.2b. Workforce-related occupational health and safety 7.4a(6).Key results related to innovation might include Revenue and Profit
results (e.g., OSHA-reportable incidents) should be reported in from New Product offerings, Patents filed, Strategic relationships
7.1b(1) and 7.3a(2). with academic and research institutes, Spend on Innovation relation
activities like Rewards and recognition, training, Innovative ideas
7.4a(4).For examples of measures of ethical behaviour and stakeholder from employees, Management's response time to ideas etc.
trust, see the note to 1.2b(2).
7.4b. Measures or indicators of strategy and action plan achievement
7.4a(5).Responses should relate to the societal responsibilities you report in should relate to the strategic objectives and goals you report in
1.2b(1) and 1.2c(1), as well as the support of the key communities 2.1b(1) and the action plan performance measures and projected
you report in 1.2c(2). Measures of contributions to societal well- performance you report in 2.2a(5) and 2.2b, respectively.
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7.5 Financial and Market Results: (80 pts.) Results

What are your financial and marketplace performance results?
Summarise your KEY financial and marketplace PERFORMANCE RESULTS by market SEGMENTS or CUSTOMER groups, as
appropriate. Include appropriate comparative data.
a. Financial and Market RESULTS

1) Financial PERFORMANCE What are your current LEVELS and TRENDS in KEY MEASURES or INDICATORS of financial
PERFORMANCE, including aggregate MEASURES of financial return, financial viability, and budgetary
PERFORMANCE, as appropriate?
2) Marketplace PERFORMANCE What are your current LEVELS and TRENDS in KEY MEASURES or INDICATORS of
marketplace PERFORMANCE, including market share or position, market and market share growth, and
new markets entered, as appropriate?
Notes
7.5a(1).Aggregate measures of financial return might include those for
return on investment (ROI), operating margins, profitability, or
profitability by market segment or customer group. Measures of
financial viability might include those for liquidity, debt-to-equity
ratio, days cash on hand, asset utilisation, and cash flow. Measures
should relate to the financial measures you report in 4.1a(1) and the
financial management approaches you report in item 2.2.
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TBEM Assessments 2014-15

Safety Criteria
This Safety criteria have been put out separately for use by the Applicants and Assessors alike. Applicants will respond to these criteria in a maximum of 10
pages in their TBEM Application, and cover both the Processes and Results. Assessors will assign separate scores for Safety Processes and Safety Results on
a scale of 1 to 100 based on this criteria, by using the TBEM standard maturity scale. This score will be outside the 1000 point scale of TBEM, and will only be
used to decide deductions, if any, from Categories 1.1 and / or 7.4 based on the following norm.
• 45% or less score on Safety Process maturity will attract a penalty of 10% on 1.1 of TBEM
• 35% or less maturity on Safety Results will attract a penalty of 10% on 7.4 of TBEM
• A Fatality on account of organisational work, either amongst permanent or contract employees, will attract 10% penalty on 7.4. The deduction from 7.4 is
limited to 10% even if both the points above occur together.
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Safety Criteria
Safety Processes Process

How is Safety managed and improved in your company?
Describe HOW SENIOR LEADERS’ actions guide and sustain safety initiatives in your organisation. Describe the
processes for managing safety in your company, considering the business your company is engaged in.
a. SENIOR LEADERSHIP COMMITMENT

1) How do Senior Leaders create a focus on SAFETY across the organisation? What are the guiding Safety
principles, policies, objectives and targets, as appropriate, put in place, for ensuring SAFETY in your
company?
2) How do senior leaders role model through personal demonstration of their commitment to SAFETY
activities within the company, through a focus on the following?
• Communicating the importance of SAFETY across all stakeholders, including encouraging 2 Way
communications with employees, suppliers, vendors, partners, contractors and customers as
appropriate
• Demonstrating commitment across the company on SAFETY. How is this especially being performed
by LINE managers leading teams and down to the front line?
• Reinforcing behavioural aspects of safety in the company?
• Reviewing SAFETY performance across KEY stakeholders?
3) How does your Strategic Planning Process address impacts due to unsafe incidents / acts which could
result in Loss of Life, Damage to Asset (Productivity) and Environment and affect Brand / corporate
image?
b. WORKFORCE SAFETY
1) How does your organisation assess the SAFETY capabilities of the WORKFORCE on thereby the training
requirements? How does your LEARNING and development system address the SAFETY related training
requirements for your WORKFORCE members and your leaders?
2) How do you create an organisation culture that fosters safety behaviour? How is feedback taken from
employees to assess Safety Culture / Process and improvements in employee safety?
3) How do you deal with the well being of employees at your sites including regular health checks, health
promotion and rehabilitation methodologies and how is this reviewed?
4) What are the processes and policies in place to support the families of the employees in case of
fatalities, LTIs to the workforce at work, as applicable and appropriate?
c. PROCESS
1) How are the KEY hazards / risks facing the company identified? What is the system, standard or
philosophy used by your company in managing safety?
2) Depending on the operations your company is engaged in and the KEY hazards / risks identified above in
c1, respond to the items below as appropriate;
a. Process and Equipment Safety How do you ensure Process and Equipment Safety in your
operations including compliance to statutory rules as appropriate? In your response also include how
is the Fitness for Work of key equipments ensured?
b. Project Management How do ensure safety in Projects including safety prior, during and post
implementation of projects?
c. Supply Chain Safety How do you ensure safety in the supply chain process, both during inbound as
well as outbound, including compliance / surpassing of purchased products / services to relevant
safety norms? How do you ensure selection suppliers, partners and contractors to ensure safety and
how do you evaluate their performance?
d. Contractor Safety How do you ensure safety of employees of Contractors such as (Outsourced
Services / Transporters inbound and outbound / Contractor Safety System) including involving them
in improving them in workplace safety?
e. Work Permit System How do you ensure safety of your workforce through appropriate use of the
Work Permit system. This includes hazardous work areas and working at heights. How is the access
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Control managed in vital installations? How are Fire Detection and Hazardous waste management
(related to Facilities management) conducted?
f. Crisis Management and Emergency Response How do you ensure effective crisis management
and emergency response?
g. Customer Safety How do you ensure SAFETY of customer employees where the work is executed
at customer site and in cases where hazardous material is transported to customer sites? How is
safety of customer employees ensured where company’s products are unloaded at the customer
premises?
3) Office Safety How do you ensure safety in your offices? These may include use of the TATA Office
Safety Protocol, Checklists or your own home grown systems to address Office Safety.
4) Driving and Road Safety How do you ensure driving safety during the transport of materials and or
employees being managed by your company and the Road safety of employees travelling for company
work?
d. REVIEWS, MEASUREMENTS and KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

1) How do you select appropriate measures for tracking safety performance? How do you include a focus
on Lead and Lag measures? What are the various review forums in place for reviewing SAFETY across the
company? What ANALYSES do you perform to support these reviews and to ensure that conclusions are
valid? How do you use organisational PERFORMANCE review findings to develop priorities for improvement
in processes and systems on safety?
2) How are serious / major incidents reported to top management and investigated to identify weakness in
systems and prevent recurrence? As appropriate, how does the organisation ensure Sharing and
Learning of the SAFETY incidents and Best Practices across work units, locations and Business Units?
3) How does your organisation collect benchmark data on SAFETY from high performing organisations
within and outside the industry? How is this information used for improving safety performance?
Notes
a1: Response should include, how the Safety Organisation structure been management may not be applicable to all companies. Response to
designed, including improvements made to the Safety Organisation c2c should include response to how are incentives / penalties related
Structure over time and how is the safety budget decided? to safe performance enforced based on supplier evaluation?
a2: Response should include, what actions are taken by Senior Leaders c2f: Crisis Management and Emergency Response This may include clear
on SAFETY violations and SAFETY incidents for improving safety outlining of duties and responsibilities of key personnel, methods of
behaviours? communication (siren, public address system etc.), communication
b1: Response should include training / retraining on safety for employees systems, medical facilities, emergency control centres, accessibility of
and contractors including newly inducted or transferred employees fire fighting equipment and emergency exits, Site area maps (including
their new work area and frequency of training (local languages if layout, access roads and assembly points) available in control room /
required)? emergency control centre especially for multi storeyed buildings as
appropriate?
b2: Response includes how the following interventions are used to
reinforce organisation culture. These may include the appropriate use c3: Office Safety: In your response on Office Safety, please include how
of Reward and Recognition mechanism, Consequence Management the following are managed; Hazard assessment, Incident monitoring &
processes, PMS system or any other appropriate system? corrective actions, Emergency exits, Fire fighting equipment,
Ergonomics, Vehicle parking, Exhaust and ventilation systems,
b3: Response include: what are the medical facilities in the work area /
Illumination, Awareness in office staff on safety and ergonomic risks,
preparedness in the case of incidents / eventuality in the work place?
Housekeeping in office areas.
How does the organisation create awareness among employees about
these facilities? d3: Response should include. What benefits have the Benchmarking
activities brought to the organisation in terms of practices or in terms of
c2: In your response, please ensure that you address the items most
performance?
appropriate to the business your company is engaged in. e.g. Project
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Safety Criteria
Safety Outcomes Results

What are your safety performance results?
Summarise your organisation’s KEY safety PERFORMANCE results. Include results for PROCESSES that ensure
workforce safety including safety of contractors and third party employees. Include results for all appropriate
areas such as operations and offices, workforce segments and locations, as appropriate and applicable.
Include appropriate comparative data.
a. SAFETY COMMITMENT BY SENIOR LEADERS RESULTS

What are the current levels and trends in key measures or indicators pertaining to Commitment to SAFETY by
Senior Leadership that is important given the operations your company is engaged in? How do these results
compare with the performance of your competitors and other organisations with similar offerings?
b. WORKFORCE SAFETY RESULTS

What are the current levels and trends in key measures or indicators pertaining to Workforce SAFETY that are
important given the operations your company is engaged in? How do these results compare with the
performance of your competitors and other organisations with similar offerings?
c. PROCESS SAFETY RESULTS

What are the current levels and trends in key measures or indicators pertaining to Process SAFETY that is
important given the operations your company is engaged in? How do these results compare with the
performance of your competitors and other organisations with similar offerings?
Notes
N1. Results on SAFETY commitment by senior leaders should address contract), % Workforce covered in training in the year, % employees
processes given in a1 and a2 of the Safety Process criteria. rewarded for positive safety acts, Safety Observations per employee, Near
Misses reported per employee, Safety enhancement projects per work
N2. Results on Workforce SAFETY should address processes given in b1, b2,
area/section, % employees involved in Safety Audits / Safety Committees,
b3 and b4 of the Safety Process criteria.
Safety Index, PPE usage compliance, Safety suggestions per employee,
N3. Results on Process SAFETY should address processes given in c1 to c4 of Deviations from Control of Work procedures, Safety Audit Scores / %
the Safety Process criteria as appropriate and applicable. closure, Safety budget as % of turnover, % employees trained as first
aiders/emergency responders, Number of emergency rehearsals and %
Some examples of Safety Measures addressing the requirements in A, B & employees engaged in the rehearsal, % of Incentive / Bonus / Variable Pay
C above could include: linked to safety performance of employees and contractors.
- Safety Training Hours per employee (both on company roles and on
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Chapter 6
Scoring System
The scoring of responses to the TBEM Criteria for Performance Excellence is based on two evaluation dimensions:
Process ( Categories 1-6) and Results ( Category 7).
To score Criteria responses, consider the following information relative to the Item requirements and the Scoring
Guidelines given in this reference manual.:
• The key business factors presented in the Organisational Profile.

• The maturity of the approaches, the breadth of their deployment, and the strengths of the learning and
improvement processes and of the results presented.
Scoring Dimensions
Process
Process refers to the methods your organisation uses and improves to address the requirements in categories 1-6.
The four factors used to evaluate process are approach, deployment, learning, and integration (ADLI). TBEM-based
feedback reflects strengths and opportunities for improvement in these factors. A score for a process item is a
composite based on overall performance, taking into account the four process factors.
“Process” refers to
§ the methods your organisation uses and improves to address the Item requirements in Categories 1-6.
The four factors used to evaluate process are Approach, Deployment, Learning, and Integration (ADLI).
“Approach” comprises
§ the methods used to carry out the process,
§ the appropriateness of the methods to the Item requirements and and your operating environment,
§ the effectiveness of your use of the methods, and
§ the degree to which the approach is repeatable and based on reliable data and information (i.e.,
systematic)
“Deployment” is the extent to which
§ your approach is applied in addressing Item requirements that are relevant and important to your
organisation
§ your approach is applied consistently, and
§ your approach is used by all appropriate work units
“Learning” comprises
§ the refinement of your approach through cycles of evaluation and improvement
§ the encouragement of breakthrough change to your approach through innovation, and
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§ the sharing of refinements and innovations with other relevant work units and processes in your
organisation
See “From Fighting Fires to Innovation” on a subsequent page, which illustrates a progression through the levels of
maturity for this scoring dimension.
“Integration” refers to the extent to which
§ your approach is aligned with the organisational needs identified in the Organisational Profile and other
Process Items
§ your measures, information, and improvement systems are complementary across processes and work
units; and
§ your plans, processes, results, analyses, learning, and actions are harmonised across processes and
work units to support organisation-wide goals
In scoring process items, keep in mind that approach, deployment, learning, and integration are linked. Descriptions
of approach should always indicate the deployment- consistent with the specific requirements of the item and your
organisation. As processes mature, the description should also show cycles of learning (including innovation), as
well as integration with other processes and work units (see "Steps toward Mature Processes," on a subsequent
page).
Results
“Results” are the outputs and outcomes your organisation achieves in meeting the requirements in category 7. The
four factors used to evaluate results are levels, trends, comparisons, and integration (LeTCI). A score for a results item
is a composite based on overall performance, taking into account the four results factors.
“Levels” are
§ your current performance on a meaningful measurement scale
“Trends” comprise
§ your rate of performance improvement or continuation of good performance (i.e., the slope of data points
over time) and
§ the breadth (i.e., the extent of deployment) of your performance results
“Comparisons” comprise
§ your performance relative to that of other, appropriate organisations, such as competitors or organisations
similar to yours, and
§ your performance relative to benchmarks or industry leaders
“Integration” is the extent to which
§ your results measures (often through segmentation) address important performance requirements
relating to customers, products, markets, processes, and action plans identified in your Organisational
Profile and in process items;
§ your results include valid indicators of future performance; and
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§ your results are harmonised across processes and work units to support organisation-wide goals
In the scoring of results items, look for data on performance levels, trends, and relevant comparisons for key
measures and indicators of your organisation's performance, as well as integration with your organisation's key
requirements. Results items should also show data on the breadth of the performance results reported. This is
directly related to deployment and organisational learning; if improvement processes are widely shared and
deployed, there should be corresponding results.
“Importance” as a Scoring Consideration
A critical consideration in TBEM evaluation and feedback is the importance of your reported process and results to
your key business factors. The areas of greatest importance should be identified in your Organisational Profile and in
items such as 2.1, 2.2, 3.2, 5.1, 5.2, and 6.1. Your key customer requirements, competitive environment, workforce
needs, key strategic objectives, and action plans are particularly important.
How to Score an Item Response
Follow these steps in assigning a score to an item response:
Look at the scoring guidelines (given at the end of this Reference Manual). Decide which scoring range (e.g., 50-
65%) is most descriptive of the organisation's achievement level as presented in the item response.
Choose this range based on a holistic view of either the four process factors (ADLI) or the four results factors (LeTCI)
in aggregate; do not tally or average independent assessments of each of the four factors. The "most descriptive"
range can reflect some gaps between the response and the description of one or more of the factors in the chosen
scoring range.
Read the next higher and the next lower scoring ranges. Assign a score (e.g., 55%) within the chosen range by
evaluating whether the item response is closer to the statements in the next higher or the next lower scoring range.
As you assign scores, keep in mind these descriptions of the midpoint of the scoring continuum.
A process item score of 50% represents an approach that meets the overall requirements of the item, is deployed
consistently and to most work units, has been through some cycles of improvement and learning, and addresses key
organisational needs. Higher scores reflect greater achievement, demonstrated by broader deployment, significant
organisational learning, and increased integration.
A results item score of 50% represents a clear indication of good performance levels, beneficial trends, and
appropriate comparative data for the results areas that are covered in the item and that are important to the
organisation’s business or mission. Higher scores reflect better performance levels and trends, stronger comparative
performance, and broader coverage and integration with the organisation’s requirements or mission.
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From Fighting Fires to Innovation: An Analogy for Learning
Learning is an essential attribute of high-

performing organisations. Effective, well-deployed
organisational learning can help an organisation
improve from the early stages of reacting to
problems to the highest levels of organisation-
wide improvement, refinement, and innovation.
Reacting to the problem (0–5%)

Run with the hose and put out the fire.
General improvement orientation (10–25%) Systematic evaluation and improvement (30–45%)

Install more fire hoses to get to the fires quickly Evaluate which locations are most susceptible to fire. Install
and reduce their impact. heat sensors and sprinklers in those locations.
Learning and strategic improvement (50–65%) Organisational analysis and innovation (70–100%)
Install systemwide heat sensors and a sprinkler system Use fireproof and fire-retardant materials. Replace combustible
that is activated by the heat preceding fires. liquids with water-based liquids. Prevention is the primary
approach for protection, with sensors and sprinklers as the
secondary line of protection.
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Steps toward Mature Processes

An Aid for Assessing and Scoring Process Items
Reacting to Problems Strategic

and Operational
(0 – 25%)
Goals
Operations are characterised by activities rather than by processes, and

they are largely responsive to immediate needs or problems. Goals are
poorly defined.
Early Systematic Strategic and

Approaches Operational
(30 – 45%) Goals
The organisation is beginning to carry out operations with repeatable

processes, evaluation and improvement, and there is some early coordination
among organisational units. Strategy and quantitative goals are being defined.
Aligned Strategic
Approaches and Operational
(50 – 65%) Goals
Operations are characterised by repeatable processes that are regularly

evaluated for improvement learnings are shared and there is coordination
among organisational units. Processes address key strategies and goals.
Integrated Strategic
Approaches and Operational
(70 – 100%) Goals
Operations are characterised by repeatable processes that are regularly

evaluated for change and improvement in collaboration with other affected
units. The organisation seeks and achieves efficiencies across units through
analysis, innovation, and the sharing of information and knowledge.
Processes and measures track progress on key strategic and operational goals.
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How to respond to the 2014-15 Criteria
Chapter 7

These guidelines explain how to respond most effectively to the requirements of the 17 process and results Criteria
items. See also the Scoring System, including the scoring guidelines, which describe how to assess responses and
determine your organisation’s performance accomplishments.
First Steps
1. Learn about the Criteria
Become thoroughly familiar with the following sections, which provide a full orientation to the Criteria:
§ Criteria for Performance Excellence
§ Scoring System
§ Glossary of Key Terms
§ Category and Item Commentary
2. Understand how to read and respond to a criteria item
Review the Criteria for Performance Excellence Structure (subsequent page), which shows the types of items,
the different parts of the items, and the role of each part. Pay particular attention to the multiple requirements
within the areas to address and the notes.
Item requirements are presented as questions. Some requirements in the areas to address include multiple
questions Respond fully to the questions, as missing information will be interpreted as a gap in your
performance management system. However, you do not need to answer each question separately. These
multiple questions express the full meaning of the information being requested. You may group responses to
multiple questions within a single area to address in a way that is appropriate to your organisation.
3. Review the Scoring Guidelines
Consider both the Criteria and the scoring guidelines as you prepare your responses. As a complement to the
requirements of the process items (categories 1-6), the process scoring guidelines address the maturity of your
approaches, the extent of their deployment, the extent of learning, and integration with other elements of your
performance management system.
Similarly, as a complement to the requirements of the results items (category 7), the results scoring guidelines
focus on the actual performance levels, the significance of the results trends, relevant comparative data,
integration with important elements of your performance management system, and the results of the
improvement process.
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4. Understand the meaning of key terms
Many terms in the Criteria have meanings that may differ somewhat from your perceived meanings. Terms
printed in SMALL CAPS are defined in the Glossary of Key Terms. Understanding these terms can help you
accurately self-assess your organisation and communicate your processes and results to those reviewing your
responses and planning your improvement efforts.
5. Start by preparing the Organisational Profile
The Organisational Profile is the most appropriate starting point. Whether you are using the Criteria for self-
assessment, writing an application, or reviewing either of these, the Organisational Profile helps you understand
what is most relevant and important to your organisation's business, mission, and performance.
Responding to Process Items
Although the Criteria focus on key organisational performance results, these results by themselves offer little
diagnostic value. For example, if some results are poor or are improving at rates slower than your competitors' or
comparable organisations’ results, you need to understand why this is so and what you might do to accelerate
improvement.
Your responses to process items (categories 1-6) permit you or those who are reviewing your responses to diagnose
your organisation’s most important processes-the ones that contribute most to organisational performance
improvement and result in key outcomes or performance results. This diagnosis and the quality of the feedback you
receive depend heavily on the content and completeness of your responses. For this reason, respond to these items
by providing information on your key processes. Guidelines for organising and reviewing such information follow.
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1. Understand the meaning of how
In responding to questions in process items that begin with how, give information on your key processes with
regard to approach, deployment, learning, and integration (ADLI; see the Scoring system,). Responses lacking
such information, or merely providing an example, are referred to in the scoring guidelines as anecdotal
information.
Show that approaches are systematic. Systematic approaches are repeatable and use data and information
to enable learning. In other words, approaches are systematic if they build in the opportunity for evaluation,
improvement, innovation, and knowledge sharing, thereby enabling a gain in maturity.
Show deployment. In your responses, summarise how your approaches are implemented in different parts of
your organisation.
Show evidence of learning. Give evidence of evaluation and improvement cycles for processes, as well as the
potential for innovation. Show that process improvements are shared with other appropriate units of your
organisation to enable organisational learning.
Show integration. Integration is alignment and harmonisation among processes, plans, measures, actions,
and results.This harmonisation generates organisational effectiveness and efficiencies.
2. Understand the meaning of what
Two types of questions in process items begin with what. The first requests basic information on key processes
and how they work. Although it is helpful to state who performs the work, diagnosis or feedback also requires a
description of how the process works.
The second type of what question asks you to report key findings, plans, objectives, goals, or measures. These
questions set the context for showing alignment and integration in your performance management system. For
example, when you identify key strategic objectives, your action plans, some performance measures, and
some results in category 7 are expected to relate to those strategic objectives.
3. Show focus and consistency
Showing focus and consistency in the process items and tracking corresponding measures in the results items
should improve organisational performance. In your responses, show focus and consistency in four areas:
§ In the Organisational Profile, make clear what is important to your organisation.
§ In Strategic Planning (category 2), including the strategic objectives, action plans, and core competencies,
highlight your organisation's areas of greatest focus and describe how you deploy your strategic plan.
§ In describing organisational-level analysis and review (item 4.1), show how you analyse and review
performance information as a basis for setting priorities.
§ In Strategic Planning (category 2) and Operations Focus (category 6), highlight the work systems and
work processes that are key to your organisation's overall performance
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Responding to Results Items
1. Focus on your organisation’s most critical performance results

Report results that cover the most important requirements for your organisation’s success, as highlighted in the
Organisational Profile and in the Leadership, Strategic Planning, Customer Focus, Workforce Focus, and
Operations Focus categories.
2. Report levels, trends, and comparisons, and show integration
Report performance levels on a meaningful measurement scale.
Report trends to show the directions of results, rates of change, and extent of deployment. A minimum of three
historical data points is generally needed to ascertain a trend. Trends should represent historic and current
performance and not rely on projected (future) performance.
There is no minimum period for trend data; time intervals between data points should be meaningful for the
measure(s) you report. Trends might span five or more years for some results. For important results, include
new data even if trends are not yet well established. Explain trends that show a significant beneficial or adverse
change.
Report comparisons to show how your results compare with those of other, appropriately selected
organisations.
Show integration by including all important results, and segment them appropriately (e.g., by important
customer, workforce, process, and product-line groups).
Responding Efficiently
1. Cross-reference when appropriate

Ensure that each item response is as self-contained as possible and that responses to different items are
mutually reinforcing. To accomplish this, refer to other responses rather than repeat information. In such cases,
give key process information in the item requesting that information. For example, you would describe
workforce development and learning systems in item 5.2. Discussions about workforce development and
learning elsewhere in your application would then reference but not repeat details given in item 5.2.
2. Use a compact format

To make the best use of space, use flowcharts, tables, and “bullets” to present information concisely. Page limits
are designed to force your organisation to consider what is most important in managing your enterprise and
reporting your results.
3. Use graphs and tables
You can report many results compactly by using graphs and tables. When you report results over time or
compare them with others, “normalise” them (i.e., present them in a way-for example, as ratios-that takes size
factors into account). For example, if the number of employees has varied over the period or if you are
comparing your results to those of organisations differing in size, safety trends will be more meaningful if you
report them as lost workdays per 100 employees rather than as total lost workdays.
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The graph below shows one part of a possible response to item 7.1, Product and Process Results. In the
Organisational Profile, the organisation has identified Six Sigma as a key element of its performance
improvement system. Defects per million opportunities is one of its measures.
The graph illustrates a number of characteristics of clear and effective results reporting:
§ Both axes and units of measure are clearly labelled.
§ Levels and trends are reported for a key performance measure-defects per million opportunities
§ Results are presented for several years.
§ An arrow indicates that a downward trend is good for this measure.
§ Appropriate comparisons are shown clearly.
§ In a single graph, the organisation shows that its three product lines are separately tracked.
§ The organisation projects improved performance, including discontinuous or breakthrough improvement

in 2013 relative to prior performance for product line B. The text should explain this breakthrough change
and might refer to critical learning from product line A as the basis for the projected change.
Figure 7.1-3 Defects per Million Opportunities
50
Good
45
Defects/Million Opportunities
40
35
Product line A
30
Product line B
25
Product line C
20
15 Overall company
10 Best competitor
5 World-class level
0
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
(proj.) (proj.)
Year
Interpreting the graph with the scoring guidelines in mind would result in the following observations on the
organisation's performance and maturity level:
§ The current overall organisational performance level is excellent. This conclusion is supported by
company performance trends, the comparison with industry competitors, and a “world-class” level for
product line A.
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§ The overall organisation shows beneficial improvement trends sustained over time.
§ Product line A is the current performance leader-showing sustained high performance (at approximately 5
defects per million) and a slightly beneficial trend since 2009. Product line B shows rapid improvement. Its
performance is close to that of the best industry competitor but trails product line A.
§ Product line C-identified in the text as a new product-is having early problems with defects but is projecting
a turnaround. (The organisation should briefly explain these problems.)
§ The organisation has projected improvements in the defect rates of all its product lines. Product line C
continues to lag behind the others; product line A is projected to meet its Six Sigma goals by 2014.
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Areas of Emphasis for External Assessment 2014-15
Innovation
Here are a few leads that may help the Applicant and the Assessment team to obtain a holistic view of Innovation.
1. Perception about word ‘Innovation’

• How does the company differentiate improvements and innovations? How is this communicated?
• How does the company promote and recognise innovations? What are the various types of Innovations
(Product/ Services/ Process/ Business model) understood and promoted in the company and why?
2. Measurement
• How does the company measure innovation, conduciveness of innovation culture and maturity of
innovation processes?
• What are the lag and lead indicators (lag: Revenue from new products/services, number of patents etc,
lead: Time spent on new ideas, number of ideas received etc) used by the company to track and report
progress on Innovation?
3. Strategy and Innovation

• What measures in corporate BSC relate to directly to Innovation? What action plans (or strategic
objectives) exist towards working on innovations?
• What is the contribution of innovation (products/services etc) in the ABP (Revenue and Profit)?
• What are the long term objectives for innovation? What are the action plans?
• How (and who) are the above measures, action plans, objectives identified and reviewed?
4. Idea Sourcing
• How are innovative ideas generated within the organisation? Do all employee segments excited to
generate these ideas?
• How are the employees prepared for idea generation (eg: providing inputs on new technologies/research
work on the areas that could potentially be used for innovation).
• How are the teams trained on tools and techniques for idea generation? What are these tools?
• How are external stakeholders like suppliers, customers and others like academic institutes or public
involved in some manner to generate ideas?
5. Selection and development of ideas

• How are the ideas selected /filtered?
• How does the company ensure transparency and speed to select/reject ideas?
• How are funds allocated for selected ideas?
• How does the company ensure resourcing the implementation of LT innovation ideas appropriately?
6. Risk taking (Daring attempts… accepting failures)

• How does the top management encourage the employees to conduct bold experiments?
• What type of stories are used to inspire managers for Innovation and especially risk taking and doing bold
experiments?
• How are the learning shared?
7. Rewards and recognition

• What forums/mechanisms exist to capture and recognise employees for breakthrough ideas and
innovations? How are these designed and improved?
8. PMS and development

• Does the employee PMS include indices on innovation? What indices are these and how do they drive
Innovations?
9. IPR
• What systems exist to protect its IPR? How are these designed and improved?
• Does the company have a formal IP Policy?
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Process Scoring Guidelines - For use with Categories 1 - 6

SCORE PROCESS
§ No SYSTEMATIC APPROACH to Item requirements is evident; information is ANECDOTAL. (A)

§ Little or no DEPLOYMENT of any SYSTEMATIC APPROACH is evident. (D)
0% or 5%
§ An improvement orientation is not evident; improvement is achieved by reacting to problems. (L)
§ No organisational ALIGNMENT is evident; individual areas or work units operate independently.(I)
§ The beginning of a SYSTEMATIC APPROACH to the BASIC REQUIREMENTS of the Item is evident. (A)
§ The APPROACH is in the early stages of DEPLOYMENT in most areas or work units, inhibiting progress
10%, 15%, in achieving the BASIC REQUIREMENTS of the Item. (D)
20%, or 25% § Early stages of a transition from reacting to problems to a general improvement orientation are
evident. (L)
§ The APPROACH is ALIGNED with other areas or work units largely through joint problem solving. (I)
§ An EFFECTIVE, SYSTEMATIC APPROACH, responsive to the BASIC REQUIREMENTS of the Item, is evident. (A)
§ The APPROACH is DEPLOYED, although some areas or work units are in early stages of DEPLOYMENT. (D)
30%, 35%, § The beginning of a SYSTEMATIC APPROACH to evaluation and improvement of KEY PROCESSES is
40%, or 45% evident. (L)
§ The APPROACH is in the early stages of ALIGNMENT with the basic organisational needs identified in
response to the Organisational Profile and other Process Items. (I)
§ An EFFECTIVE, SYSTEMATIC APPROACH, responsive to the OVERALL REQUIREMENTS of the Item, is evident.
(A)
§ The APPROACH is well DEPLOYED, although DEPLOYMENT may vary in some areas or work units. (D)
50%, 55%, § A fact-based, SYSTEMATIC evaluation and improvement PROCESS and some organisational LEARNING,
60%, or 65% including INNOVATION, are in place for improving the efficiency and EFFECTIVENESS of KEY PROCESSES.
(L)
§ The APPROACH is ALIGNED with your overall organisational needs as identified in response to the
Organisational Profile and other Process Items. (I)
§ An EFFECTIVE, SYSTEMATIC APPROACH, responsive to the MULTIPLE REQUIREMENTS of the Item, is evident.
(A)
§ The APPROACH is well DEPLOYED, with no significant gaps. (D)
70%, 75%, § Fact-based, SYSTEMATIC evaluation and improvement and organisational LEARNING, including
80%, or 85% INNOVATION, are KEY management tools; there is clear evidence of refinement as a result of
organisational-level ANALYSIS and sharing. (L)

§ The APPROACH is INTEGRATED with your current and future organisational needs as identified in
§ An EFFECTIVE, SYSTEMATIC APPROACH, fully responsive to the MULTIPLE REQUIREMENTS of the Item, is
evident. (A)
§ The APPROACH is fully DEPLOYED without significant weaknesses or gaps in any areas or work units.
(D)
90%, 95%, § Fact-based, SYSTEMATIC evaluation and improvement and organisational LEARNING through
or 100% INNOVATION are KEY organisation-wide tools; refinement and INNOVATION, backed by ANALYSIS and
sharing, are evident throughout the organisation. (L)
§ The APPROACH is well INTEGRATED with your current and future organisational needs as identified in
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Business Results Scoring Guidelines - For use with Category 7

SCORE RESULTS
§ There are no organisational PERFORMANCE RESULTS or the RESULTS reported are poor. (Le)
§ TREND data either are not reported or show mainly adverse TRENDS. (T)
0% or 5% § Comparative information is not reported. (C)

§ RESULTS are not reported for any areas of importance to the accomplishment of your
organisation’s MISSION. (I)
§ A few organisational PERFORMANCE RESULTS are reported, responsive to the BASIC REQUIREMENTS of
the item, and early good PERFORMANCE LEVELS are evident in a few areas. (Le)
10%, 15%, § Some TREND data are reported, with some adverse TRENDS evident. (T)
20%, or 25% § Little or no comparative information is reported. (C)
§ RESULTS are reported for a few areas of importance to the accomplishment of your organisation's
MISSION. (I)
§ Good organisational PERFORMANCE LEVELS are reported, responsive to the BASIC REQUIREMENTS of
the item. (Le)
30%, 35%, § Some TREND data are reported, and most of the TRENDS presented are beneficial. (T)
40%, or 45% § Early stages of obtaining comparative information are evident. (C)
§ RESULTS are reported for many areas of importance to the accomplishment of your
organisation’s MISSION. (I)
§ Good organisational PERFORMANCE LEVELS are reported, responsive to the OVERALL REQUIREMENTS of
the item. (Le)
§ Beneficial TRENDS are evident in areas of importance to the accomplishment of your
50%, 55%, organisation’s MISSION. (T)
60%, or 65% § Some current PERFORMANCE LEVELS have been evaluated against relevant comparisons and/or
BENCHMARKS and show areas of good relative PERFORMANCE. (C)
§ Organisational PERFORMANCE RESULTS are reported for most KEY CUSTOMER, market, and PROCESS
requirements. (I)
§ Good-to-excellent organisational PERFORMANCE LEVELS are reported, responsive to the MULTIPLE

REQUIREMENTS of the item. (Le)
§ Beneficial TRENDS have been sustained over time in most areas of importance to the
accomplishment of your organisation’s MISSION. (T)
70%, 75%, § Many to most TRENDS and current PERFORMANCE LEVELS have been evaluated against relevant
80%, or 85%
comparisons and/or BENCHMARKS and show areas of leadership and very good relative
PERFORMANCE. (C)
§ Organisational PERFORMANCE RESULTS are reported for most KEY CUSTOMER, market, PROCESS, and
ACTION plan requirements. (I)
§ Excellent organisational PERFORMANCE LEVELS are reported that are fully responsive to the MULTIPLE
REQUIREMENTS of the item. (Le)
§ Beneficial TRENDS have been sustained over time in all areas of importance to the
90%, 95%, accomplishment of your organisation's MISSION. (T)
or 100%
§ Industry and BENCHMARK leadership is demonstrated in many areas. (C)
§ Organisational PERFORMANCE RESULTS and PROJECTIONS are reported for most KEY CUSTOMER, market,
PROCESS, and ACTION plan requirements. (I)
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Process Scoring Band Descriptors

SCORE BAND
BAND Number PROCESS SCORING BAND DESCRIPTIORS
The organisation demonstrates early stages of developing and implementing

approaches to the basic Criteria requirements, with deployment lagging and
0 - 150 1
inhibiting progress. Improvement efforts are a combination of problem solving and
an early general improvement orientation.
The organisation demonstrates effective, systematic approaches responsive to the

basic requirements of the Criteria, but some areas or work units are in the early
151 - 200 2
stages of deployment. The organisation has developed a general improvement
orientation that is forward-looking.

basic requirements of most Criteria Items, although there are still areas or work
201 - 260 3
units in the early stages of deployment. Key processes are beginning to be
systematically evaluated and improved.

overall requirements of the Criteria, but deployment may vary in some areas or
261 - 320 4
work units. Key processes benefit from fact-based evaluation and improvement,
and approaches are being aligned with organisational needs.
The organisation demonstrates effective, systematic, well-deployed approaches

responsive to the overall requirements of most Criteria Items. The organisation
321 - 370 5 demonstrates a fact-based, systematic evaluation and improvement process and
organisational learning, including innovation, that result in improving the
effectiveness and efficiency of key processes.
The organisation demonstrates refined approaches responsive to the multiple

requirements of the Criteria. These approaches are characterised by the use of
key measures, good deployment, and evidence of innovation in most areas.
371 - 430 6
Organisational learning, including innovation and sharing of best practices, is a
key management tool, and integration of approaches with future organisational
needs is evident.
The organisation demonstrates refined approaches responsive to the multiple

requirements of the Criteria Items. It also demonstrates innovation, excellent
431 - 480 7 deployment, and good-to-excellent use of measures in most areas. Good-to-
excellent integration is evident, with organisational analysis, learning through
innovation, and sharing of best practices as key management strategies.
The organisation demonstrates outstanding approaches focused on innovation.

Approaches are fully deployed and demonstrate excellent, sustained use of
481 - 550 8 measures. There is excellent integration of approaches with organisational needs.
Organisational analysis, learning through innovation, and sharing of best practices
are pervasive.
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Results Scoring Band Descriptors

SCORE BAND
BAND Number RESULTS SCORING BAND DESCRIPTORS
A few results are reported responsive to the basic Criteria requirements, but they
0 - 125 1
generally lack trend and comparative data.
Results are reported for several areas responsive to the basic Criteria
requirements and the accomplishment of the organisation’s mission. Some of
126 - 170 2
these results demonstrate good performance levels. The use of comparative and
trend data is in the early stages.
Results address areas of importance to the basic Criteria requirements and

accomplishment of the organisation’s mission, with good performance being
171 - 210 3
achieved. Comparative and trend data are available for some of these important
results areas, and some beneficial trends are evident.
Results address some key customer/stakeholder, market, and process

requirements, and they demonstrate good relative performance against relevant
211 - 255 4 comparisons. There are no patterns of adverse trends or poor performance in
areas of importance to the overall Criteria requirements and the accomplishment
of the organisation’s mission.
Results address most key customer/stakeholder, market, and process

requirements, and they demonstrate areas of strength against relevant
256 - 300 5 comparisons and/or benchmarks. Improvement trends and/or good performance
are reported for most areas of importance to the overall Criteria requirements
and the accomplishment of the organisation’s mission.
Results address most key customer/stakeholder, market, and process

requirements, as well as many action plan requirements. Results demonstrate
301 - 345 6 beneficial trends in most areas of importance to the Criteria requirements and
the accomplishment of the organisation’s mission, and the organisation is an
industry* leader in some results areas.
Results address most key customer/stakeholder, market, process, and action plan
requirements. Results demonstrate excellent organisational performance levels
346 - 390 7 and some industry* leadership. Results demonstrate sustained beneficial trends
in most areas of importance to the multiple Criteria requirements and the
accomplishment of the organisation’s mission.
Results fully address key customer/stakeholder, market, process, and action plan
requirements and include projections of future performance. Results demonstrate
excellent organisational performance levels, as well as national and world
391 - 450 8
leadership. Results demonstrate sustained beneficial trends in all areas of
importance to the multiple Criteria requirements and the accomplishment of the
organisation’s mission.
* ‘Industry’ refers to other organisations performing substantially the same functions, thereby facilitating direct comparisons.
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What are the core Tata values?

What are the core Tata values?

What are some ways companies can address internationalization?

What are some ways companies can address internationalization?

R

TATA VALUES AND PURPOSE

Understanding – We must be caring, show respect, compassion and humanity for

Excellence – We must constantly strive to achieve the highest possible standards in

Responsibility – We must continue to be responsible, sensitive to the countries,

Tata Areas of Emphasis

Addressing Internationalisation through Changes in the “Organisation Profile”:

Tata Business Excellence Model 2014-15

CHAPTER 1 CORE VALUES and CONCEPTS

Ch 1.1 TBEM Criteria Purposes ……………………………………………………………………… 08

Ch 1.2 Core Values and Concepts …………………………………………………………………… 08

Ch 1.3 Performance Excellence Framework ………………………………………………………… 14

Ch 1.4 TBEM Structure ………………………………………………………………………………… 16

Ch 1.5 TBEM focus on Business Results………………………………………………………………… 16

Ch 1.6 TBEM is non-prescriptive and adaptable …………………………………………………… 16

Ch 1.7 TBEM supports a systems perspective to maintain organisation-wide goal alignment … 17

Ch 1.8 TBEM supports goal-based diagnosis …………………………………………………… 17

CHAPTER 2 CHANGES FROM Previous TBEM Version …………………………………………………………… 18

CHAPTER 3 GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS ………………………………………………………………… 21

CHAPTER 4 CATEGORY and ITEM DESCRIPTIONS ……………………………………………………… 34

CHAPTER 5 Tata Business Excellence Model 2014-15 …………………………………………………… 53

Organisational Profile ………………………………………………………………………… 55

P.1 Organisational Description ……………………………………………………………… 55

P.2 Organisational Situation …………………………………………………………………… 57

1.0 Leadership ………………………………………………………………………………… 59

2.0 Strategic Planning ………………………………………………………………………… 63

3.0 Customer Focus …………………………………………………………………………… 67

4.0 Measurement, Analysis and Knowledge Management ……………………………… 71

5.0 Workforce Focus ………………………………………………………………………… 75

6.0 Operations Focus …………………………………………………………………………… 79

7.0 Business Results ………………………………………………………………………… 83

CHAPTER 5A Tata Business Excellence Model 2014-15 Safety Criteria………………………………… 89

CHAPTER 6 SCORING SYSTEM………………………………………………………………………………… 93

CHAPTER 7 2014-15 Criteria Response Guidelines ………………………………………………………… 98

Core Values and Concepts

Core Values and Concepts

Ch 1.1 TBEM Criteria Purposes

• to help improve organisational performance practices, capabilities, and results

TBEM based Performance Excellence Goals

• delivery of ever-improving value to customers and stakeholders, contributing to organisational

• improvement of overall organisational effectiveness and capabilities

• organisational and personal learning

Ch 1.2 Core Values and Concepts

The Role of Core Values and Concepts

memb ing workfo

Core Values and Concepts

Organisational and Personal Learning

Organisational learning. Organisational learning includes both continuous improvement of existing

Valuing Workforce Members and Partners

Core Values and Concepts

Focus on the Future

Managing for Innovation

Core Values and Concepts

Focus on Results and Creating Value

Ch 1.3 Performance Excellence Framework