Introduction
In tracking the internal processes of an industry, it is important to look at the main aspects of that industry, particularly its delivery of services to consumers. An industry’s main internal processes include operations, planning, design and maintenance. For the success of these processes, it is important for an industry to put in place a number of measures such as the efficient handling of its work, establishing good relations with the suppliers, and procurement of tenders. Each and every industry must ensure that there is efficient delivery of services to its consumers, and that it effectively meets the needs of these consumers.
Benchmarking is a process whereby an industry compares its business prospects and performance with other industries. The comparison is usually in terms of quality, time and its cost of production (Besterfield, D, Besterfield-Michna, Besterfield, G & Besterfield-Sacre, 2003). Benchmarking greatly helps an industry to learn from other industries, as well as ensuring that its operations are better, faster, and cheaper (Seybert, 2006).
Generally, benchmarking ensures that there is efficient management in an organization. It is important for an organization to identify the best firms in its field, or any other field where similar industrial processes are applied (Spendolini, 2005) and then compare the results and production processes of this firms with its own so as to learn how best to set targets and streamline the firms operations. This will enable the industries to develop plans and find ways of improving on their current plans in order to increase the organization’s performance output.
To come up with the best results in production, an industry must first identify its problem areas. This can be achieved using benchmarking since it can be employed in any business process or function that requires a range of strategies (Zairi, 1996). These strategies include informal interactions with the consumers, employees and suppliers. It is essential for an industry to know its functions, processes and performance efficiency before starting any comparisons with other industries. This is because these factors provide a basis upon which improvement effort can be measured (Camp, 1989).
In addition, an industry must identify other industries with the same production processes. For instance, if one wanted to start a telecommunications company, he/she should try to identify other industries dealing in telecommunications (McNair & Leibfried, 1997).
This would also include identifying other companies that are major movers and shakers in the same field. To do this, a company should consult consumers and magazines that cover the activities of the industry, visit other industries with the best practices so that they can mutually exchange ideas useful to other parties in the benchmarking team and share the results within the same team (Male, Grongvist & Kelly, 1998).
Finally, an industry should ensure that it implements current improved business ideas using a well-designed implementation. This plan should cover the identification of opportunities, financing the project, and sharing the ideas with the industry in order to gain value from the processes.
Metric benchmarking
There are two main methods used in metric benchmarking namely. data envelope analysis and regression analysis (Rolstadas, 1998). The cost level that an efficient industry should accomplish in a given market is estimated by data envelope analysis while a firm’s achievement capacity is estimated using regression analysis. With this method, an industry that performs better than the average standard should be rewarded while those, industries that perform below average should be penalized.
Common performance measures
Industries should ensure that there are strong performance measures in their field. This will ensure feedback is provided in good time to enhance the achievement of the set goals. The purpose of performance measures is to ensure the industry performs better. One of the most important questions that should be asked is how well an industry performs its duties.
An industry should also master its system’s thinking skills. Performance measures recognize that modern industries are complex systems, where intuition no longer plays an important role. Any action that the top management of an industry takes must be based on a careful thinking process. This process should be one that links the industry’s objectives with other issues where managers and other frontline personnel have control over.
With enough and cheap labor force, the company is able to diversify its products or come up substitutes for its products in order to attract both the high and low income earners. It can also help the company to be able to open more branches in different location and this would greatly increases the companies output and profits as a whole.
Since most companies are motivated by the profits they get, there is always a major negative effect of economic depression on them; that is, it discourages investment. This is because the buying power of most citizens that should be the customers is highly limited because of the low value of their currency. Also the company will have to spend more especially on advertisement and buying of raw material or input for enhance its proper running. All this contribute to the reduction of the company’s profits.
In an attempt to solve this situation, the government should be involved so that it come up with a body or organization that will ensure that the labor standards, the prices and wages of both goods and services together with the competitive conditions that exist in the industries are at its minimal level. This gives a chance to both the low income earners and high income to comfortably buy quality products in the market (Wilkinson et al, 2007; Hill, 2009).
The government can also encourage unions to come up. The main aim of these unions should be to raise the wages of the employed persons. This is because the bargaining power of a group is higher and thus the employers can be able to raise the wages of their employees if the employees are united and talk as on major body. These unions will also help increase the purchasing power of those citizens who are employed or are working.
Focusing on changing of the traditional functional mindset; it is a very important performance measure. Traditional thinking greatly affects understanding and may deter the functions and activities of an industry by encouraging distorted views of performance. This shifts away focus on important measures such as delivery of quality services to consumers in good time.
Performance measures help an industry to achieve success in numerous ways. This is because the measures influence behavior, facilitate faster learning, propagate action in the key areas of the industry, communicate direction, and establish the industry’s current position. Measurement systems employed by industries should ensure there is feedback that shows whether or not an industry is doing the right thing.
It should also ensure that there is motivation that will spur the industry to improving its services to consumers and give incentives to workers for performing better. For all these to be a success, an industry must ensure that it measures the right things at the right time and at the right place with correct procedures.
Planning for future results
In the past few years, there has been a rapid increase in knowledge and innovations. Industries must therefore conform to these new changes in order to improve on their results. They must make sure that they compete on the basis of technology, and also ensure their employees are educated and informed on these new demanding ideas so as to improve on production.
In this time and era, opportunities open and close without most firms realizing. Changes in the rate of innovation and information technology must be adopted by all industries.
The internet has posed tremendous challenges to industries. Every industry should ensure that it reinvents itself on an e-businesses platform. In response to the changing cost of infrastructure, industries have greatly changed their system of designing, manufacturing, selling, delivering and servicing products.
Conclusion
Industries should ensure that they develop the best practice through benchmarking features. Quality is a very essential feature of any business organization interested in achieving its set goals and objectives. Quality assurance ensures that consumers get value for what they pay for. Benchmarking is critical in today’s business world since it greatly helps in sharing and transferring knowledge. Industries across the world should embrace benchmarking measures to ensure that they improve the production of their goods and services. Adopting these ideas will also ensure that there is a varied level of success. Many industries have managed to dominate the market while others have not achieved much success, a phenomenon that can highly be attributed to benchmarking.
References
- Besterfield, D. H., Besterfield-Michna, C., Besterfield, G. H., & Besterfield-Sacre, M. (2003) Total quality management. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc
- Camp, R (1989). The search for industry best practices that led to superior performance. New York: Productivity press
- Hill, S. (2009). Why Quality Circles Failed but Total Quality Management Might Succeed; British Journal of Industrial Relations. Vol 29 (4) 541-568
- Male, S., Grongvist, M. & Kelly, J. (1998). The value management benchmark: Research results of an international benchmarking study. New York: Thomas Telford
- McNair, C., & Leibfried, K. (1997) Benchmarking: A Tool for Continuous Improvement. London: John Wiley & Sons
- Rolstadas, A. (1998). Benchmarking: theory and practice. London: Chapman & Hall
- Seybert, J. (2006). Benchmarking: an essential tool for assessment, improvement, and accountability. New York: Jossey-Bass
- Spendolini, M. (2005) Benchmarking. Washington DC: Editorial Norma
- Wilkinson, A et al. (2007). Total Quality Management And Employee Involvement. Human Resource Management Journal vol 2 (4) pp1-20
- Zairi, M. (1996). Effective benchmarking: learning from the best. New York: Springer