It's one of the best-kept secrets of the corporate for years, leading companies have been quietly using the Baldrige framework - not just to apply for this prestigious award - but to improve their bottom line results. Companies such as IBM, FedEx, and Xerox have been using Baldrige to conduct organizational assessment as a way of driving their improvement efforts. And pioneering organizations in other sectors - such as education, health care and government-are also using assessment to improve their 'bottom line': improved efficiency and better service to students, patients and citizens.