The limits of award incentives : the (non-)relationship between awards for quality and organisational performance

This paper examines whether there is a relationship between gaining an award for quality ( e. g. Beacon Council Scheme, Baldrige, EFQM) and high organisational performance. It considers whether gaining an award is encouraging excellence or if the self-assessment process is a more important driver towards organisational high performance. Further, it examines the proposition that awards may be limited to those organisations that are already high performers or those organisations that operate according to the criteria set by award-giving bodies ( Taylor & Parkinson 1998; Train & Williams, 2000; Eskildsen et al., 2001). This paper argues that gaining an award for quality indicates the ability of some organisations to fulfil the criteria set by the awards studied. As such, awards should not be seen as a panacea for organisational excellence