Benchmarking

• This is where the organisations try to identify and match the "best practice" standards achieved by the market leader.
• Advantages:

  • Supports a culture of continuous improvement.
  • New ideas and perspectives are introduced into the business from external sources.
  • Provides a focus for change and can be motivational for employees.
  • Can lead to a competitive edge.
• Disadvantages:

  • Market leaders may resist making information available publicly to competitors.
  • Can only be good as the benchmark set.
  • It can be time consuming to study and analyse competitors techniques.