Governments in some developed countries have instituted programs aimed at recognitions these organization that use the TQM approach in their quality management systems. The objective of these recognitions programs is to promote and foster the use of quality management principles, concepts, and practices within organizations, and particularly for achieving competitive advantage in the global marketplace. These recognition programs are based on an established framework for TQM and are essentially excellence models for organization that use TQM to achieve world-class quality. In North America, the U.S Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) administered by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST),