A retrospective view of the South African excellence model

Traditionally, organisational performance and efficiency measurements have beenfocused on cost containment. Today, however, performance measurement systems ofworld-class organisations are tailored to drive manufacturing and service businessexcellence.Quality is crucial for gaining a competitive advantage internationally. Quality awardprogrammes promote quality awareness, recognise the quality achievements ofcompanies and provide a platform for sharing successful quality management initiatives.Quality award frameworks form the foundation for developing business excellencemodels. Business excellence models are based on the premise that customersatisfaction, people (employee) satisfaction and impact on society are all achievedthrough leadership driving the policy and strategy, the people management, resourcesand processes, leading ultimately to excellence in business results.In this paper five of the most prominent international business excellence models arediscussed. The success stories of companies that have implemented these models arelooked at and the South African Excellence Model is compared with these fiveinternational models.The aim of the study is to analyse the South African Business Excellence Model ascompared to international models such as the Deming Prize, the MBNQA, the EFQM, theAQA and the SQA. Case studies of two companies, Combine Cargo and DaimlerChrysler, are analysed with the aim of determining the shortcomings of the SAEM and theeffects of the SAEM on business practices. Conclusions are drawn based on theexperiences of these businesses, in order to verify the shortcomings and the effects of theSAEM.Lastly, the reasons for the failure of the SAEF and the SAEM are investigated andrecommendations and guidelines are given for the revival of the SAEM and the promotionof quality in South Africa.