THE OUTSTANDING ORGANIZATION Receives International Recognition

The Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence, part of the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University, has selected "The Outstanding Organization" by Karen Martin as a recipient of the Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award. Martin is the president of Karen Martin & Associates, a business performance improvement consultancy.

"Receipt of the Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award signifies an authors' significant contribution to the body of knowledge surrounding operational excellence," said Robert Miller, executive director of The Shingo Prize. ""The intent is to motivate others to learn from them."

While countless organizations, in one way or another, have attempted to implement operational excellence programs over the last two decades, Martin explains why so many have experienced abysmal results. In her book, she offers a "toolbox" focused on four key behaviors-clarity, focus, discipline and engagement-and a practical approach to combat and eliminate the chaos that inhibits organizations from becoming truly outstanding

"Karen Martin writes with a passion that comes from countless hours of coaching," said Jeffrey Liker, best-selling author of "The Toyota Way." "She has collected that vast experience, with learning from many sources, to develop a very powerful model of what makes a high performance organization."

By "challenging" or applying for an award, authors invite a group of accomplished professionals and trained examiners from The Shingo Prize to thoroughly review their publications. The examiners select the publications they think are worthy of recognition.