Auckland City Council - City Scene

Auckland City's Planning Group is the 'National Public Sector Winner of the 1999 Business Development Quality Award'.

The announcement was made at a function in Parliament hosted by the Business Development Minister, the Commerce Minister and the Minister for the Environment.

The Business Development Quality Awards are presented annually to recognise and promote business excellence and quality management among small to medium size businesses in both the private and public sector, including business units within those organisations.

Local authorities were encouraged to submit entries relating to their responsibilities under the Resource Management Act. Applicants had to submit a written application which was assessed against the criteria of the US Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award. The seven criteria categories are:

Leadership, Strategic Planning, Customer and Market Focus, Information and Analysis, Human Resource Focus, Process Management and Business Results.

In making their decision, assessors noted the strong involvement of staff in planning, comprehensive performance measurement, and strong strategic development.

As part of the award, City Planning can send a staff member on an escorted study visit next month to selected Baldridge winners in the United States. This is funded by the three sponsoring ministries.

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

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