Business Initiative Directions (BID) is a Madrid-based organisation selling what the

Center for Investigative Reporting The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) is a nonprofit news organization based in Emeryville, California. It was founded in 1977 as the nation’s first nonprofit investigative journalism organization, and has since grown into a multi-platf ...

and the

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) is a global network of investigative journalists with staff on six continents. It was founded in 2006 and specializes in organized crime and corruption. It publishes its stories through ...

(OCCRP) have called "meaningless international awards", more widely known as "

vanity award A vanity award is an award in which the recipient purchases the award and/or marketing services to give the false appearance of a legitimate honor. Pitches for ''Who's Who''-type publications (see vanity press), biographies or nominations for award ...

s".

History and people

Jose E. Prieto is the president and CEO of Business Initiative Directions. He founded the company in the US and Spain in 1986, after which it expanded to Europe. The company says it is focused on the principles of the Total Quality Management movement.

Awards

BID market a number of awards: * Century International Quality ERA Award (CQE) * International Arch of Europe Award * International Quality Crown Award * International Star Award for Quality (ISAQ) (one was offered to a school in Swaziland, which BID described as a "company") * International Star for Leadership in Quality Award (ISLQ) * World Quality Commitment Award * WQC International Star Award

Criticism

The Center for Investigative Reporting and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) have called the awards "meaningless". Sri Lanka's Honorary Consul in Spain said that BID was possibly a scam company. The Spanish Consulate in Mumbai stated BID was a fraudulent company. Botswana's Consumer Watchdog reported that the "so-called 'World Quality Commitment Convention', run by 'Business Initiative Directions' is remarkably similar to the equally ridiculous Bizz Awards scam we exposed some months ago."

References

External links

Invitation, advertising, award and certificate for a Turkish awardee.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Business Initiative Directions Organizations established in 1986 Vanity awards Companies based in Madrid 1986 establishments in Spain