Achieving a competitive focus through self-assessment

This paper reports on the outcome of an action-learning 'case-study' research study involving a number of companies from all sectors-private and public, industrial and service nationally and internationally, during which some powerful diagnostic frameworks and models have been developed and applied, enabling companies to maximize the potential of self-assessment award frameworks and providing the educational and strategic thrust required to progress towards a more strategic quality management era (Kaye & Dyason (1994) Quality World , 20, pp. 524-529; (1995) Quality World , 21, pp. 9-13).