The Criteria are the basis for organizational self-assessments, for making Awards, and for giving feedback to applicants. In addition, the Criteria have three (3) important roles in strengthening Philippine competitiveness:

· To help improve organizational performance practices, capabilities and results;
· To facilitate communication and sharing of best practices information among Philippine organizations of all sizes and sectors; and
· To serve as a working tool for understanding and managing performance and for guiding organizational planning and opportunities for learning.

The Criteria are designed to help organizations use an aligned approach to organizational performance management that results in:

· Delivery of ever-improving value to customers, and stakeholders, contributing to organizational sustainability;
· Improvement of overall organizational effectiveness and capabilities; and
· Organizational and personal learning

The criteria are built upon a set of inter-related Core Values and Concepts. These values and concepts are embedded beliefs and behaviors found in high-performing organizations. They are the foundation for integrating key business requirements within a results-oriented framework that created a basis for action and feedback.

The following are the said core values:

· Visionary Leadership
· Customer-Driven Excellence
· Organizational and Personal Learning
· Valuing Employees and Partners
· Agility
· Focus on the Future
· Managing for Innovation
· Management by Fact
· Public Responsibility and Citizenship
· Focus on Results and Creating Value
· Systems Perspective

Key Characteristics of the Criteria

· The Criteria focus on business results.
· The Criteria are non-prescriptive and adaptable.
· The Criteria support a systems perspective to maintaining organization-wide goal alignment.
· The Criteria support goal-based diagnosis.