We do projects that often times use the term World Class Business. As we started off on a recent project with such an objective I asked two of my Manufacturing/Production/Operations experts to define what a World Class Business is in their views. Here are their responses.

Definition: World Class Business by Ed Eisermann

A business where Senior Management is committed to growing the business for all stakeholders through Continuous Improvement of all processes:

• Leadership commitment and involvement in company ISO 9001 Quality and ISO 14001 environmental based programs.
• Investment in financial and human capital.
• Factory commitment to "5S" Housekeeping, Planned Maintenance and Flow Manufacturing.
• Regular Supplier communication through metric measurements and audits.
• Customer product commitment from cradle to grave including metric measurements and regular communication.
• The business is run through regular review of key metrics collected from all functions.

Definition: World Class Business by Doug Hunsley

A business where Senior Management understands and can articulate its Core business strategy in specific terms (not generalities like the world's premier supplier of XYZ) . Majority of the employees understand their role in the business and share in the success of the business directly.

• Key business processes are well defined and linked to prevent redundant steps and waste.
• Organization structure is aligned around key business processes with limited "functional organization" in place for legal or regulatory compliance only. (i.e., very small HR, finance, IT, and enabling teams)
• Continuous improvement process in place but also clear evidence of investment in long term growth including facility, new products, new technologies, and strategic initiatives.
• Few key metrics that measure true performance of the business….no excessive measurement of non value-added activities. Clear linkage of metrics to key business objectives.
• Customer focus with clear communication lines to the customer.
• Superior financial performance of business vs competition, i.e. market share, operating margins, customer satisfaction metrics, quality levels, etc.

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What this tells me is the definition is strongly influenced by where in the organization you spent most of your career. The metrics, the language, the point of view all are a function of where you "come from".

How would you define World Class in today's global manufacturing environment?