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Al Campbell

In the second photo finish in two years, the judges declared a dead heat in the race for the Hong Kong Management Association's (HKMA) annual Quality Award.

 The Hong Kong and China Gas Company (Towngas) and Glorious Sun Enterprises were named joint winners of the award which is given to companies and organisations that have made a lasting commitment to quality.

  Hang Seng Bank and Hsin Chong Real Estate Management were awarded a certificate of excellence and a certificate of merit respectively.

 Last year, McDonald's Restaurants and the Mass Transit Railway Corporation became the first joint winners in the award's then-eight-year history.

  More than 100 companies had expressed interest in participating in the award with 20 companies taking part, down from 25 entries last year.

  Lawrence Wong, chief executive of the Hong Kong Jockey Club and a member of the panel of judges and organising committee, said that initially there were fears the number of entries would be drastically fewer because of the recent economic downturn. However, this was not the case.

  He said the overall quality of the entries was excellent and the staff of the HKMA had done a good job in getting the message across to companies about the importance of the award.

  'I call these awards a corporate health check, a physical check-up allowing companies to look at themselves, to find out if they are still on track with their strategic plan and to measure their progress,' Mr Wong said.

  'We think these awards are a good opportunity for companies to get stronger, get their costs in line, focus on their customers and develop their internal resources, including human resources.'   Mr Wong said what made Hong Kong tick was the diligence, intelligence and hard- working industrious nature of its people. He said it was still a dynamic city but perhaps people were losing con fidence and questioning things previously taken for granted.

  'Hong Kong has gotten into too much debate. We are not blessed with any natural resources. If our hands stop, our mouths stop. Hong Kong is no longer literally manufacturing, those days are over. What makes Hong Kong prosperous is we are focused on whatever we do and we are very good at it,' he said.

  'This is where the HKMA comes into focus. What we are trying to do is perhaps put people's focus back on their business. You have to spend time on strategic planning and all that. But, at the end of the day, leadership is going to be very important.'   Shortlisted entries for the award were subjected to a six- month judging process according to Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria.

  Each entry was required to outline in a report of no more than 50 pages the company's initiatives to improve in the areas of leadership, strategic planning, customer and mar ket focus, business results, process management, human resource focus and information analysis.

 There were three entry categories: manufacturing, service and small business.

  Issac Yeung, Towngas superior quality service programme manager, said it was the first time the company had entered the award and the experience was valuable in helping to identify its strengths and weaknesses.

  'We have made great strides in improving our customer service especially in quality. We found it challenging compiling our written submission and in being interviewed by the examiners,' he said.

  'It forced us to take a thorough look at our company and all that we have achieved has not truly been reflected in the results.'   Ray Lau, Glorious Sun Enterprises, manager, quality systems, said the award was beneficial to the garment manufacturer as it provided the company with a clear target to achieve results in the area of total quality manage ment. 'This has been a great experience for our entire team. We formed some quality improvement teams and we submitted all their findings in our quality report,' he said.

  'The examiners found those teams were very effective in helping us reach our target and it was beneficial in creating a sense of unity among our staff.'  Mr Wong said he would like to see more small and medium-sized enterprises involved in the award scheme in future.

 'As a participant, it is a very good process as our criteria is quite complete and thorough. If a company can get their costs down, their quality and reputation up and satisfy their customers, they will have a good future,' Mr Wong said.

  'Ultimately, it will transfer into dollar terms to the company's revenue. In the end, a good company is about how they utilise resources, mostly human resources. This process also crystallises the strategic planning process.' 



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