The fallacy of universal best practices

Abstract

Argues that winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the Deming Prize, and the European Quality Award are held up as models of how organizations should be managed. Unfortunately, what may be good for them can be disastrous for your organization. Bases this report on one of the world’s largest international management practice’s database and provides statistically sound conclusions that can change the way you think about best practices, benchmarking, and the way you are managing your organization’s improvement efforts.

Citation

Harrington, H.J. (1997), "The fallacy of universal best practices", The TQM Magazine, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 61-75. https://doi.org/10.1108/09544789710159461