There is no doubt that benchmarking is a useful business tool that enables an organization to improve its business performance and strengthen its competitive advantages. Evidence shows that benchmarking positively influences business success and competitiveness. The kind of benchmarking that an organization should undertake is dependence upon its characteristics and circumstances. Benchmarking has to be seen as an integral tool to the business strategy and not just an add on. It should be based on some kind of critical need and benchmarking should be a continuous process in the organization. As once said by David Kearns, Chairman of the Xerox Corporation, ‘striving for best practice is like running in a race without a finish line’.
Best practice constantly changes, and ideally the best practices may never be discovered given limited resources, costs, time and other constraints. The best practices are not necessarily best for everyone else. While they may be best for a company using them today, they may not be best for the same company in the future, as its competitive business environment changes. Practically, organizations may need to settle for relative benchmarks by establishing realistic performance goals and incorporating feasible ‘best practice’ into operations. It is therefore not good enough just to know that another company is better at performing a certain activity – it is a matter of addressing the problem and learning from that organization or similar organizations on how to improve processes.
Thus whether benchmarking is worthwhile or otherwise; organization should ask whether the best practice – the one that works best at particular point in time, add value to them. If it does then continuous benchmarking can help an organization identify what it needs to do in order to remain in the race. Thus the success enjoyed will beget more success and enhance a can do spirit that will meet any challenge.
KHAIRUL IDZWAN IDRIS
Timbalan Pengerusi
Biro Ekonomi Dan Pembangunan Usahawan
Pergerakan Pemuda Umno Bahagian Setiawangsa
Wilayah Persekutuan
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