This website is best viewed in a browser that supports web standards.

Skip to content or, if you would rather, Skip to navigation.

Northwest Missouri State University

  • myNorthwest

Glossary of Key Terms

Action plans

The specific actions required in order to accomplish the organizational strategic objectives that include both resources needed, timelines for accomplishment, and associated measures to track progress to plan. These plans do not have to be individual documents, but may be integrated into broader scope documentation, such as an OpPlan, Facilities Plan, Manufacturing Plan, Care Plan, etc.

Alignment

What is passed between processes is what is needed, as well as consistency in understanding of organizational focus and direction. For example, the data one group receives from other groups to fill out a report is what is needed and in an appropriate format that makes it easy to develop the report.

Benchmarking

Data and information that is gathered either inside or outside an organization's industry to gain additional knowledge about performance or processes. The two dimensions of benchmarking are gaining knowledge about the performance levels and trends of their processes and gaining knowledge about how their processes work.

Customer-contact requirements

Expected employee performance requirements that provide consistency of employee/staff interactions with customers.

Deploy (Deployment)

To what extent an approach is being used in appropriate areas of the organization.

Empower

Gives employees the ability to make decisions or take actions. This requires pushing authority to the lowest level possible in the organization to respond to situations. These situations may include responding to customer requests, improving processes and/or interacting between departments. It also requires people to have information to make decisions and the resources to enact them.

End-process measures

Measures that are in place to determine the outcomes of a process once it is complete.  Typically, these measures show performance relative to key customer requirements.

Indicators

A compilation of multiple measures. For instance, measures resulting from performance of multiple departments may be compiled together for a variable to provide overall organizational performance for that variable.

Innovation

Adoption of a program or product that is new or new to its proposed application, often associated with advances in technology. However, innovation also can refer to significant improvement in an existing program or product to add value to customers and/or users.

In-process measures

Measures that are used to determine how a process is performing prior to its completion. Typically, these measures are established within the process in areas that are critical to meeting customer requirements to aid in establishing consistency in process performance, identification of potential problems, and establishing areas of focus for improvement.

Job Design

The skills, knowledge, and experience needed to fulfill the requirements of a specific position. Job designs are often documented in job descriptions.

Key requirements

Those requirements that are important to customers and impact their purchase decisions. These requirements should be translated into product/service features in order to meet customer needs and produce customer satisfaction.

Leadership

The person(s) responsible for guiding the organization and setting direction, communicating values and developing expectations of organizational performance in your organization. Leadership can consist of just one person in a small business environment, or it could be multiple people.

Listening and learning methods

The methods used by an organization to gain an understanding of customer needs, requirements, expectations and priorities. Examples include feedback from surveys, complaints, focus groups, and interviews with current or lost customers.

Long-term

In terms of planning, long term generally refers to a scope that spans three-five years. However, this timeframe depends upon the organization's industry. For example, industries that are faced with rapidly changing technology, such as the computer industry, could have a long-term scope of less than three years.

Measures

The quantification of performance of programs, products or services.

Types of Measures:

Comparative measures

Performance measures of processes that are examined to get a better understanding of how you are doing relative to others delivering similar products or services as your organization.

Product and/or service quality measures

These measures define how well products/services meet the requirements established by customers. For example, mean time between failures, on time delivery, and cost.

Supplier performance measures

These measures show how well suppliers are meeting the performance requirements you have established. Examples might include price, on-time delivery and accuracy.

Work system effectiveness measures

Measures that show the contribution the chosen work design is making in effectively using human resource capital. For instance, reduction in cycle time and costs, and improvement in quality and employee satisfaction after introducing self-directed work teams in an area.

Operational performance

Organizational, operations, and supplier performance that gives an indication of effectiveness and efficiency. Measurements related to operational performance include cycle time and productivity.

Organizational values

The important behaviors an organization wants its employees to exhibit. Examples might include: teamwork, honesty, fast response or commitment to excellence.

Partner

Someone with whom you have become strategically aligned. A partnership serves to benefit both your organization and the partner. For instance, the promise of repeat business could prompt a partner to offer a price discount.

Performance

Results that stem from processes, products or services that show the extent to which customer requirements are being met.

Production/service delivery processes

The processes that translate the product/service design into production or delivery. For instance, when a widget is designed, an associated production process is needed to define those steps and activities that will be used to build the widgets.

Product/service quality features

Distinguishing characteristics that differentiate an organization's products/services from competing or comparable organizations. These can include such things as user friendliness, upgradeability, robustness, special features, etc.

Purchase drivers

Those characteristics/features that lead to a customer initially choosing one product or service over another. Surveying non-customers can be a good method to understand what their purchase drivers are.

Short term

In terms of planning, short term generally refers to a scope that is limited to one to two years. This timeframe will be dependent upon the organization's industry.

Strategic objectives

The critical opportunities that emerge from an organization's strategic planning process that will move the organization towards its vision. These objectives are what should be guiding decision making and resource allocation in the organization and are generally directly linked to gaining or maintaining a competitive edge.

Strategic Planning/Strategy

A forward-looking basis for making decisions by developing a full understanding of all the influences that will affect an organization as it moves toward achievement of its vision.  Strategic Planning also entails development of short-term actionable objectives to be accomplished by the organization that will enable strategies to ultimately be fulfilled.   Examples of inputs to planning can include future needs of customers and markets, knowledge of what the competition is doing, human resource capabilities, which can include issues of future needs for staffing and training and suppliers and/or partners capabilities to support future initiatives.

Supplier

An organization that provides you a material, component or service that is based on meeting certain organizational requirements. Typically, contracts are issued with suppliers to define supplier performance requirements.

Support processes

Processes that support development and delivery of the primary product or service the organization provides. Requirements for these processes comes primarily from internal customers. Examples include: information systems management, accounting, and facilities management.

Systematic

An approach that is implemented, is repeatable, and is fact-based based on measures.

Vendor

An organization that provides off-the-shelf products or services. Such products or services might include purchase of office supplies or training programs.

Work climate

The environment in which an employee does his or her job. Understanding what motivates and drives employee satisfaction can result in services and activities conducive to a positive work climate.

Work system design

How employees with various job classifications are organized or organize themselves to complete their work. Examples can include work teams, cross-functional teams, work groups, or departments.