„‚ CONDITIONS THAT HINDER EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

■ Benchmarking is “. . . the process of identifying, understanding and adapting
outstanding practices and processes from organizations anywhere in the world to
help your organization improve its performance” (O’Dell, 1994).
■ Ford Motor Company has a structured approach for learning from others and
applying that knowledge; 3M, a tool to search for enablers that allow a company
to perform at a best-in-class level in a business process; AT&T Benchmark
Group, the continuous process of measuring current business operations and
comparing them to best-in-class companies.
Benchmarking targets key areas within a company, department, or unit and focuses
on jobs that can be improved. This process identifies and studies the best practices
others use in these same areas, and it implements new processes and systems to increase
quality or productivity or to make other major improvements.
Benchmarking provides a methodology that can be tied to any financial or
nonfinancial measure. Eccles (1991) believes that benchmarking has a transforming
effect on managerial mind-sets and perspectives. For instance, in successful
“organizations of the future,” new mind-sets and models that reflect shared
understandings of interrelationships and patterns of change will replace linear, shortterm
thinking (Senge, 1990). Benchmarking these somewhat intangible concepts will be
a challenge.
The main types of benchmarking are
■ Internal or operational: the most common type, an in-depth, internal analysis
and comparison of an organization’s functional operations in critical success
areas. An organization’s high performing units or functions known to be
performed well can be benchmarked by other units within the same organization.
■ Competitive: competitors and/or others are identified in industries that
demonstrate high-level performance in some area, like chip manufacture, and
then the organization’s own performance is compared to theirs (Eccles, 1991).
■ Strategic: critical success factors or outstanding business strategies in any
industry are identified, regardless of the nature of products or services.
Overall, benchmarking requires a high level of self-knowledge, clear objectives,
and customer awareness. Without appropriate mechanisms to measure performance and
implement change anywhere in the company, most benchmarking efforts will fail
(Mittelstaedt, 1992).
Quality
Definition
Many people define quality in terms of their work world. Definitions for quality must
adequately represent the strong emphasis on service areas. Estimates of the percentage
of service workers in the U.S. range from seventy to nearly ninety percent. Some people
The Pfeiffer Library Volume 6, 2nd Edition. Copyright ©1998 Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer ❚❘ 453