APO COE on Business Excellence

In recognition of the importance of strengthening the BE capabilities of APO member countries, the 51st GBM designated SPRING Singapore as the pilot COE on BE in 2009. It was originally to be supported by the APO for two years. The support was then extended to March 2013.

Key Objectives

The following were the key objectives of the COE on BE established at the outset:

1. Facilitate learning and sharing of best practices and the adoption of BE frameworks among enterprises in APO member countries;
2. Conduct research on BE and provide leadership in this area in the region;
3. Develop resources and training materials to assist APO members in their BE and national QA programs;
4. Build a database of experts and senior assessors from Singapore and overseas who could assist APO member countries with their BE-related programs; and
5. Enhance the international visibility of BE efforts in APO member countries, including QA winners, throughout the APO region.

Accomplishments and Outcomes

1. Facilitating best practice sharing: Four two-day BE Global Conferences were organized in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. The conferences involved overseas and local experts and practitioners from BE award-winning companies. Over 2,000 delegates from 25 countries participated in the conferences. The COE also hosted study visits from Fiji, the ROK, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. A dedicated webpage linked to the APO website was created by the COE which provides easy access to BE publications, training materials, and frameworks. Each NPO designated BE administrators who have free access to case studies and benchmarking data on leading international BE models.
2. Developing the competencies of BE assessors and consultants: Workshops for BE assessors, consultants, and practitioners were organized, and a total of 150 participants from 16 member countries were trained. Training manuals were developed from the inputs of the BE workshops and are now utilized in APO training courses on the subject. As a result of this intervention, there are now BE assessors and consultants in several member countries.
3. Enhancing the capabilities of member countries in managing their BE initiatives: The COE has helped member countries develop and strengthen their BE initiatives. It has assigned experts mainly from Singapore to Bangladesh, Fiji, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Thailand. It has assisted member countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan in developing BE action plans.
4. Undertaking research: Research on the Impact of BE/QAs on Enterprises was conducted by experts from the Center for Organizational Excellence Research, School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Massey University, New Zealand. The research assessed the impact of existing BE/QA frameworks on enterprises in the APO membership. The key research findings were presented at the APO Regional Meeting on BE/QA Systems held in Thailand. The COE took into consideration the key BE priorities identified through this research in the development of its work plans. One of the findings from the research was the need to increase BE awareness among SMEs. Thus, the COE organized a regional workshop and developed a self-help toolkit on BE for SMEs in print and e-book versions.
5. Strengthening and sustaining the leadership of the COE on BE: To strengthen the capabilities of the COE and maintain its leadership, experts from the US Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and European Foundation for Quality Management were sent to Singapore to provide international dimensions to the Singapore Quality Award. Singapore was able to benchmark the performance of its enterprises and learn international best practices through the COE’s networks, platforms, and resources. In addition, Singapore’s BE initiative has become a recognized brand in the region.