Baldrige Glossary

Linkage

Linkage refers to ties established between areas of greatest importance identified in the Organizational Profile and in Item 2.1, Item 2.2, Item 3.1, Item 5.1, and Item 6.1. Key linkages are listed in Criteria Item Notes.

Linkages are also defined as connections to important customer, product and service, market, process, and action plan performance requirements identified in the Organizational Profile and in Process Items.

Key Criteria Linkages Identified by Baldrige

Introduction

The reason linkages are called out in the Criteria is to ensure that applicants and Examiners note key relationships. The linkages below are referenced specifically in the Criteria Item Notes, however many other two-way linkages exist among Criteria Items and the Organizational Profile. The concept of multiple linkages reflects the interdependencies in performance management systems.

Item	Link
1.1 Senior Leadership	2.1; 2.2; 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6
1.2 Governance and Social Responsibilities	2.1; 5.1b; 7.6
2.1 Strategy Development	P.2
2.2 Strategy Deployment	1.1; Category 3, Category 4, Category 5, Category 6; 7.6
3.1 Customer and Market Knowledge	P.1b(2)
3.2 Customer Relationships and Satisfaction	7.2
4.1 Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management	2.1; 2.2; 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6
5.1 Work Systems	Category 6
5.3 Employee Well-Being and Satisfaction	7.4
6.1 Value Creation Processes	7.1; 7.5
6.2 Support Processes and Operational Planning	7.3; 7.5
7.1 Product and Service Outcomes	P.1; 3.1; 3.2
7.2 Customer-Focused Outcomes	P.1b(2); 3.1; 3.2
7.3 Financial and Market Outcomes	6.2
7.4 Human Resource Outcomes	2.2; Category 5; Category 6
7.5 Organizational Effectiveness Outcomes	Organizational Profile; 6.1; 6.2
7.6 Leadership and Social Responsibility Outcomes	1.2

Observation: There are actually millions of linkages within the Baldrige Criteria that we have mapped.