The benchmarking process: assessing its value and limitations.

Benchmarking makes it easy to identify the gap between where the organization would like to be and where it actually is. This gap provides a measure of the improvements an organization needs to make. Ignoring this gap and refusing to change decreases long-term survival opportunities.

Benchmarking is an excellent tool because it involves everyone, including managers and workers. The kind of benchmark used depends on the company's characteristics and circumstances. Top management decides whether to focus on diverse internal functions, competitors, industry performance, or "best-in-class" targets.

Any type of benchmarking management chooses will benefit the company if applied correctly. Benchmarking is the seed of organizational and cultural changes that must occur if a company is to survive and to achieve competitive excellence. Benchmarking's overall goal is to help companies achieve world-class competitive capabilities.

For further reading

Allan, Stuart, "Partners Benchmarking," http://www.benchmarking.co.uk/bmark.htm# partners, 1997.

Bateman, George, "Benchmarking Management Education Teaching and Curriculum," 1994, in Camp, Robert, Benchmarking: The Search for Industry Best Practices that Lead to Superior Performance, Quality Resources, 1989.

Benchmarking Action Plans and Legal Issues, Bureau of Business Practice, Paramount Publishing Business Technical and Professional Group, 1996.

Brookhart, Sam, "Benchmarking Networking," http://www.benchnet. com:80/bcode.txt., 1997.

Certo, Samuel C., Modern Management, Allyn and Bacon, 1994.

Feltus, Anne, "Benchmarking Best Practices," http://ieiris.cc.boun.edu.tr/ assist/akyuz/BENCH1.txt, 1997.

Finch, Byron J., and Richard L. Luebbe, Operations Management, The Dryden Press, 1995.

Fuller, Steve, "Tools for Quality," http://www.abo.fi/~sfuller/AbVan593. html, 1997.

Greengard, Samuel, "Discover Best Practices Through Benchmarking," Personnel Journal, vol. 74, no. 1, 1995.

"The Benchmarking," http://www.benchnet.com/bppf.htm, 1997.

http ://www.bradford.ac.uk/universi...wsa ndviews/95-03/Benchmarking.html, 1997.

http://www.colybrand.com/clc/gov/bench. html, 1997.

http://www.mediapool.com/offthere cord/cfo-ben.html, 1997.

http://www.utsi.com/wbp/reengineering/benchmark.html, 1997.

http://www.spinet.org/legeth.html, 1997.

http://www.well.com/user/benchmark/year2000.html, 1997.

Linsenmeyer, Adrienne, "Fad or Fundamental?," Financial World, 1991.

Lyonnais, Danny, "Why Benchmarking," http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/tb/iqe/bmrkg_el benchme.html, 1997.

Martin, Justin, "Are You as Good as You Think You Are?," Fortune, 1996.

Matters, Margaret, and Anne Evans, "The Nuts and Bolts of Benchmarking," http://www.ozemail.com.au/~bench mark/nuts.bolts.html, 1997.

McNair, C.J., and Kathleen H.J. Leibfried, Benchmarking: A Tool for Continuous Improvement, Oliver Wright Publications, 1992.

Muschter, Sebastian, "Research in Benchmarking," http://www.iwi.unisg.chi ...m/researchsmu/index. html, 1997.

Omachonu, Vincent K., and Joel R. Ross, Principles of Total Quality, St. Lucie Press, 1994.

Pattison, D. Diane, "The Benchmarking Management Guide," Accounting Review, vol. 69, 1994.

Power, J. Vicki, "Sprint Corporation: Blending in Benchmarking with Quality," Continuous Journey, American Productivity and Quality Center, 1995.

Rainey, H. Anthony, "Benchmarking to Become Best in Class: Guiding Principles in Gresham, Oregon," Government Finance Review, 1997.

Ross, Joel E., Total Quality Management, St. Lucie Press, 1995.

Dean Elmuti, Ph.D., is a professor in the department of management and marketing at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois.

Yunus Kathawala, Ph.D., is chair and professor of the department of computers and operations management at Eastern Illinois University.

Scott J. Lloyed, Ph.D., is assistant professor in the department of computer and operations management at Eastern Illinois University.

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