1999 - Army Performance Improvement Criteria (APIC)
|
Leading Change | |
1999 - Army Performance Improvement Criteria (APIC) |
| The specific requirement
for all services to become the most efficient organizations possible had its inception in
1988. The Director of Management published AR 5-1 Total Army Quality (TAQ) to emphasize
the importance of improving performance and efficiency across the board. To enhance TAQ,
the Army Performance Improvement Criteria (APIC) were published in 1995 as the Army's
strategic framework for leading change. Based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award Criteria for Performance Excellence and the Presidential Quality Award Criteria, the
APIC enhances Total Army Quality in three specific ways. First, it serves as a working
tool for strategic planning, organizational assessment, and training. Secondly, it raises
the organization's performance expectations and standards. Finally, it establishes common
performance criteria to facilitate communication and sharing among Army organizations,
business, and industry. The Office of the Chief of Staff, Army, Strategic Management and Innovations Division intends to expand the use of the APIC by providing the Total Army a business tool to continuously improve its ability to generate combat power. As outlined in Army Vision 2010, The Department of the Army works to gain full spectrum dominance as the land component member of the joint warfighting team. Directly or indirectly, every Army organization contributes to the Army’s ability to conduct prompt and sustained operations on land throughout the entire spectrum of conflict. The APIC helps Army leaders to efficiently manage their resources to deter war and in the event of war, win. The 1999 APIC, available for download in MS Word 97 (*.doc)(600Kb), WinZip (*.zip)(177Kb), and Adobe Acrobat (*.pdf)(476Kb) formats, provides actual examples of self-assessments for each category. We removed references to notional examples included in previous editions. Using "real world" examples makes the 1999 APIC a "How To" document and a means of sharing best management techniques, strategies, and performance practices. The criteria in the boxes on pages 18-64 for each assessment category remain reiterations of the 1999 Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence as published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology of the Department of Commerce. The Strategic Management and Innovations Division (SMID) would like to thank the Secretary of the Army and Chief of Staff of the Army for their personal commitment to the revolution in business affairs and dedication to Total Army Quality. The applications for the 1999 President’s Quality Award (PQA) Program from XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, Fort Carson, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville District, and Watervliet Arsenal are the source documents for the examples of organizational self-assessments of this edition. We appreciate their permission to use their self-assessments. We also thank the U. S. Army Construction Engineering Laboratory (CERL) for developing the "Cliffnotes for Leaders" on the APIC for Performance Excellence, which we include on pages 109-116. CERL also can assist in providing training on use of the APIC. |
Please send comments to MAJ Thomas Bozada: leadingchange@hqda.army.mil
Last revision: 18 Aug 2008