Sustaining Business Excellence

Abstract

In this chapter we reiterate the importance of sustainable business excellence (BE) for organisations globally. We do this through the lens of business models, customer happiness, total quality talent management, and innovative and creative initiatives. A business model is not only part of an organisation’s strategic plan, but also its blueprint for creating and capturing value through a set of interlocking activities. We argue here that within these business models, organisations need to create a culture and space for BE. Our next lens in this chapter is the importance of customer happiness in businesses’ attempts to excel and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. We identify and envisage that when it comes to customer happiness, the focus has to be on four key areas, profitability, sustainability, reputation, and governance. Further, to be successful in implementing total quality management, organisations need talented human capital and hence organisations’ focus on ‘talent’ becomes paramount. Our last lens is that of innovation and creativity, concepts which complement the other topics discussed earlier. Thus, creativity, the ability to conceive something original, alongside innovation, the implementation of novel initiatives, becomes crucial for organisations when it comes to them being sustainably competitive.