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The expression benchmarking has become one of the fashionable words in current management discussion. The term first appeared in the United States in the 1970s but has now gained world wide recognition. But what exactly does it mean and should your company be practicing it?

One straightforward definition of benchmarking comes from Chris Tether managing director of a New Zealand-based consultancy firm

specializing in this area. “Benchmarking involves learning about your own practices, learning about the best practices of others, and then making changes for improvement that will enable you to meet or beat the best in the world.” The essential element is not simply imitating what other companies do but being able to adapt the best of other firms’ practices to your own situation.

Instead of aiming to improve only against previous performance and scores, companies can use benchmarking to inject an element of imagination and common sense into their search for progress. It is a process which forces companies to look closely at those activities which they may have been taking for granted and comparing them with the actives of other world-beating companies. Self-criticism is at the heart of the process although in some cases this may upset managers who are reluctant to question long established practices.

The process of identifying best practice in other companies does not just mean looking closely at your competitors. It might also include studying companies which use similar processes to your own, even though they are producing different goods. The point is to look at the process rather than the product. For example, Italian computer company Arita wanted to improve the quality of its technical manuals and handbooks. Instead of looking at manuals produced by other computer companies, Arita turned to a publisher of popular handbooks such as cookery books, railway timetables and car repair manuals. As Arita’s Technical Director Claudio Benclii says, “All of these handbooks are communicating complex

information in a simple way - exactly what we are aiming to do. And in many cases they succeed far better than any computer company.”

There is some disagreement between benchmarking specialists as to the best methods to follow when starting a benchmarking exercise in your firm. Everyone agrees that the process must have the full approval of senior management but that it is best carried out by a comparatively 洛基英语是中国英语培训市场上的一朵奇葩，是全球已被验证的东方人英语学习的最佳模式。洛基英