Critical Thinking Benchmarking

Essay by scordonUniversity, Master'sA-, May 2004

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Benchmarking is the process of comparing the current project, methods, or processes with the best practices and using the information to drive improvement of overall company performance, with other projects, within the organization and outside the organization. The standard for comparison may be competitors within the industry, but is often found in unrelated business segments. Dr. Deming was not very enthused about benchmarking efforts, because if a company only copies processes without knowledge, they will err. So, a company should seek a true understanding of the process that will be benchmarked. Benchmarking has gained tremendous influence and usage in the 1990s. Correspondingly, front-line employees and operating managers have applied basic benchmarking skills in scores of different business situations.

Benchmarking

The technique used in this paper is benchmarking. Benchmarking is define as a continuous improvement process in which a company measures the most relevant specific attributes of it own products, service and practices, often including: operations, procedures, processes, performance, project and strategies.

A company can compares its own performance against the best in class company performance, companies recognized as industry leader, the company toughest competitors, and any know process that is significantly superior's to the company. It determines how those companies achieved their significantly superior performance level. Companies use that information to improve its own performance. Ultimately to achieve a level of performance achieved by the benchmarked process or a level above that process. Continually repeats the process in an iterative fashion. The benchmark diagram is the most well known way of measuring performance. The next section of the paper will show a Benchmark Diagram.

Method

Benchmarking examines how companies compete. It moves across industries seeking to identify the winning strategies that have enabled high-performing companies to be successful in their marketplace.

How to Use this Technique

Benchmark is a reference...