For Immediate Release

ASQ Lauds President Bush’s Executive Order on Performance Improvement
Society Seeks to Offer Input to OMB

Milwaukee, Wis., June 26, 2008—An executive order issued by President Bush that establishes mechanisms for improving government performance was greeted by ASQ as a welcome measure for ensuring effective and efficient application of taxpayer resources. 

“We commend the president for his farsightedness in issuing the executive order and the officials at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for their enthusiasm in setting up structures and processes for implementing the order,” said Mike Nichols, ASQ president.

The Executive Order on Improving Government Program Performance was issued by the president to “improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Federal Government.”  As part of that order, a Performance Improvement Council was established within OMB. 

The Council coordinates the activities of newly appointed Performance Improvement Officers who represent each federal executive branch agency.  Those activities include supervising performance management activities, development of strategic plans and annual performance plans, program performance assessment, and establishment of means for measuring progress toward achievement of goals.

Representatives of ASQ are holding discussions with officials at OMB to explore ways that ASQ can assist in implementation and ongoing operations of the Performance Improvement Council. 

The American Society for Quality, www.asq.org, has been the world’s leading authority on quality for more than 60 years. With more than 93,000 individual and organizational members, the professional association advances learning, quality improvement and knowledge exchange to improve business results, and to create better workplaces and communities worldwide. As champion of the quality movement, ASQ offers technologies, concepts, tools, and training to quality professionals, quality practitioners, and everyday consumers, encouraging all to Make Good Great®. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., ASQ is a founding partner of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), a prominent quarterly economic indicator, and also produces the Quarterly Quality Report.