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Business Excellence Award Winners Announced

Published: Mon 17 Nov 2003 11:39 PM
New Zealand Business Excellence Award Winners Announced
Four local bodies, two manufacturing companies and two service organisations put themselves to the test for “world class” recognition.
The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) and Morrinsville-based Degussa Peroxide are this year’s big winners in the New Zealand Business Excellence Awards. They are now on the brink of being considered “world class” organisations.
The two picked up Achievement (Silver Level) Awards, just one step away from the highest Excellence Award (Gold Level). Both have moved up from lower level awards won in the past.
ARC picked up a NZ Business Excellence Commendation (Bronze Level) Awards in 2001 and 2002. Degussa was awarded a NZ Business Excellence Progress Award in 2001 and this year moved up past the Bronze Award Level to the Silver Level that only three other New Zealand organisations have achieved in the past – including Trade New Zealand last year, before it was merged with Industry New Zealand to become New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.
Only two New Zealand organisations have ever reached the Excellence Award (Gold level) – Toyota Thames in 1993 and Telecom’s Yellow Pages Directories in 1995, which benchmarked them as being world class organisations.
Whangarei District Council, a first time applicant in the awards process, the Royal New Zealand Navy (winner of a Commendation Award in 2001) and New Zealand Aluminium Smelters all picked up Commendation (Bronze Level) Awards this year. While the Navy won the same Award in 2001 it has significantly increased its points score this year.
Hutt City Council and The Interisland Line both were awarded Progress Awards after entering the process for the first time this year.
“The eight organisations that entered the Business Excellence Awards programme this year is more than we have ever had before,” said New Zealand Business Excellence Foundation CEO, Mike Watson. “ It seems more and more enterprises understand that if they want to compete in a global market and keep up with customers’ demands then they have to turn their organisations into centres of excellence,” he said.
“It is interesting that so many government sector organisations are prepared to put themselves through such a tough international measure of management performance. In some respects they are showing the private sector the way to go. They are adopting best practice management and looking to international benchmarks to gauge their performance.”
The New Zealand Business Excellence Awards are not, like most business awards, a first past the post race for recognition. Instead, they record levels of excellence reached after an exhaustive and demanding performance and process evaluation based on the internationally recognised Malcolm Baldrige Awards in the US and similar to that of the Australian Business Excellence Awards.
“Reaching one of the four levels of achievement – Gold, Silver, Bronze or Progress – and winning an award, is often less important for entrants than the commitment to continuous improvement and world-class management performance,” said Mr Watson.
Applicants for the awards submit 50 pages of details showing processes, improvements, and results in seven areas including leadership, customer service and markets, human resource management, strategic planning, information and knowledge management along with process management. They also supply data and information on ethical practices and governance of the organisation.
Business Excellence Achievement Award – Silver Level
Auckland Regional Council – Achievement ( Silver ) Degussa Peroxide Ltd - Achievement ( Silver )
Business Excellence Commendation Award – Bronze Level
Whangarei District Council – Commendation ( Bronze ) Royal NZ Navy – Commendation ( Bronze ) NZ Aluminium Smelters Ltd – Commendation ( Bronze )
Business Excellence Progress Award - Recognition of Progress
Hutt City Council – Progress award The Interisland Line – Progress Award
In addition:
On the Journey Franklin District Council – no award received but committed to the improvement journey.
There have been a total of 2 Gold, 3 Silver, 9 Bronze and 7 Progress Awards won since the inception of the awards in 1992. Details of the winners can be found on the NZBEF web site.

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