Nature of Management

1. Universality: Management is an universal phenomenon in the sense that it is common and essential element in all enterprises. Managers perform more or less the same functions irrespective of their position or nature of the organization. The basic principles of management can be applied in all managerial situations regardless of the size, nature and location of the organization. Universality of managerial tasks and principles also implies that managerial skills are transferable and managers can be trained and developed.

2. Purposeful: Management is always aim at achieving organizational goals and purposes. The success of management is measure by the extent to which the desire objectives attained. In both economic and non-economic enterprises, the tasks of management directed towards effectiveness (i.e., attainment of organizational goals) and efficiency (i.e., goal attainment with economy of resource use).

3. Social process: Management essentially involves managing people organized in work groups. It includes retaining, Developing and motivating people at work, as well as taking care of their satisfaction as social beings. All these interpersonal relations and interactions makes the management as asocial process.

4. Coordinating force: Management coordinates the efforts of organization members through orderly arrangement of inter-related activities so as to avoid duplication and overlapping. Management reconciles the individual goals with the organizational goals and integrates human and physical resources.

5. Intangible: Management is intangible. It is an unseen force. Its presence can be felt everywhere by the results of its effort which comes in the form of orderliness, adequate work output, satisfactory working climate, employees satisfaction etc.

6. Continuous process: Management is a dynamic and an on-going process. The cycle of management continues to operate so long as there is organized action for the achievement of group goals.

7. Composite process: Functions of management cannot be undertaken sequentially, independent of each other. Management is a composite process made up of individual ingredients. All the functions performed by involving several ingredients. Therefore, the whole process is integrative and performed in a network fashion.

8. Creative organ: Management creates energetic effect by producing results that are more than the sum of individual efforts of the group members. It provides sequence to operations, matches jobs to goals, and connects work to physical and financial resources. It provides creative ideas, new imaginations and visions to group efforts. It is not a passive force adopting to external environment but a dynamic life giving element in every organization.

CHARACTERISTICS OF MANAGEMENT

1. Management as a continuous process:

Management can be considered as a process because it consists of planning, organizing, activating and controlling the resources (personnel and capital) of an organization. So they are used to the best advantage in achieving the objectives of the organization.

None of the managerial functions would produce the ultimate results in the absence of all other basic functions. Hence we can say that management is a continuous process.

2. Management as a discipline:

Since the boundaries of management are not exact as that of any other physical sciences, it may not fit in very well for being addressed as discipline. However its status as a discipline increases because it continuously discovers many aspects of business enterprises and also passes on the verified knowledge to the practitioners of the managerial process.

3. Management as a career:

As a career or occupation, management is a broad concept- Management itself can be regarded as a career, but it also presents a variety of interesting and challenging careers focused on specialized occupations in the fields such as marketing, finance and personnel.

4. Management as an Applied Science:

Even though management is a science so far as it possesses a systematized body of knowledge and uses scientific methods of research, it is not an exact science, like natural sciences which deal with living phenomena such as botany and medicine.

Hence, management is definitely a social science like economics or psychology and has the same institutions which these and other social sciences have.

5. Universal Application:

Management is a universal activity, applied to any form of activity, economic or otherwise.

6. Goal Oriented:

Management has the task of attaining certain objectives. The success or failure of the management depends on how far it is able to attain the desired goals. It is judged by the extent to which it achieves its targets.

7. Guidance:

The main task of the management is guidance in the utilization of material and human resources in the best possible way. Through optimum utilization of resources it has to ensure that the objectives are attained. The essential element of management is that it gets the work done by coordinating the performance of those who actually perform diverse and specific jobs.

8. Divorced from proprietorship:

Management does not signify proprietorship. In earlier days, management and enterprise were lumped into the same factor. It now refers to a specialized group of people who have acquired the ability to carry out a project.

9. An activating factor:

Management is the factor which activates other factors of production. A manager's skill lies in motivating his workers through guidance, training, incentives, rewards, status, security, control, etc. So a mangers' ability lies in the fact that he is able to motivate others to apply their skill to the best advantage of the enterprise in the accomplishment of its objectives.

10. Management is a human activity:

Management functions are discharged only by individuals. No corporate body or an artificial being can perform the work of a management. Although it is an activity which may be performed by an individual it cannot be seen. It can only be felt.

11. Management signifies authority:

Since the essence of management is to direct, guide and control, it has to have authority. Authority is the power to compel others to work and behave in a particular manner. Management cannot discharge its function without authority. It is the foundation of management. Since management has authority it stands at a higher pedestal.

12. Leadership:

The management has to lead a team of workers. It must be capable of inspiring, motivating and winning their confidence.

WHAT IS MANAGEMENT

DEFINITION:
• F.W. Taylor - “Art of knowing what you want to do and then seeing that it is done the best and cheepest way”.

• Henry Fayol – “To Manage is to forecast, to plan, to organise, to command, to co-ordinate and to control”.

• Peter F.Drucker –”Management is work and as such it has its own skills, its own tools and its own techniques”.

• Koontz -  “Management is the art of getting things done through and with people”.

Objectives of Management

1. Maximum Results with Minimum Efforts 
2. Higher Efficiency
3. Relations with Suppliers
4. Satisfaction of Customers
5. Contribution to National Goals
6. Better Working Conditions
7. Better Workforce

Importance of Management

• Accomplishment of 

Goals

• Effective Utilisation 

of Resources

• Development of 

Society and Nation

• Harmony in Work 

among employees

• Providing Vision and 

Foresight

• Sound Organisation 

to accomplish 

objectives.

• Help the Employees 

in Achieving Personal 

objectives

• Administration: Concerned with laying down of 

  corporate policy, obtaining finance, production 
  & distribution.

• Management: Concerned with actual execution 

  of policies policies within limits set by administration administration..
• Organization: Combines the work in such a way 

  with individuals/groups that duties formed 
  provide best possible application of available 

  effort

The Johari Window

The Johari Window, named after the first names of its inventors, Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham, is one of the most useful models describing the process of human interaction. A four paned "window," as illustrated above, divides personal awareness into four different types, as represented by its four quadrants: open, hidden, blind, and unknown. The lines dividing the four panes are like window shades, which can move as an interaction progresses.

In this model, each person is represented by their own window. Let's describe mine:

1. The "open" quadrant represents things that both I know about myself, and that you know about me. For example, I know my name, and so do you, and if you have explored some of my website, you know some of my interests. The knowledge that the window represents, can include not only factual information, but my feelings, motives, behaviors, wants, needs and desires... indeed, any information describing who I am. When I first meet a new person, the size of the opening of this first quadrant is not very large, since there has been little time to exchange information. As the process of getting to know one another continues, the window shades move down or to the right, placing more information into the open window, as described below.

2. The "blind" quadrant represents things that you know about me, but that I am unaware of. So, for example, we could be eating at a restaurant, and I may have unknowingly gotten some food on my face. This information is in my blind quadrant because you can see it, but I cannot. If you now tell me that I have something on my face, then the window shade moves to the right, enlarging the open quadrant's area. Now, I may also have blindspots with respect to many other much more complex things. For example, perhaps in our ongoing conversation, you may notice that eye contact seems to be lacking. You may not say anything, since you may not want to embarrass me, or you may draw your own inferences that perhaps I am being insincere. Then the problem is, how can I get this information out in the open, since it may be affecting the level of trust that is developing between us? How can I learn more about myself? Unfortunately, there is no readily available answer. I may notice a slight hesitation on your part, and perhaps this may lead to a question. But who knows if I will pick this up, or if your answer will be on the mark.

3. The "hidden" quadrant represents things that I know about myself, that you do not know. So for example, I have not told you, nor mentioned anywhere on my website, what one of my favorite ice cream flavors is. This information is in my "hidden" quadrant. As soon as I tell you that I love "Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia" flavored ice cream, I am effectively pulling the window shade down, moving the information in my hidden quadrant and enlarging the open quadrant's area. Again, there are vast amounts of information, virtually my whole life's story, that has yet to be revealed to you. As we get to know and trust each other, I will then feel more comfortable disclosing more intimate details about myself. This process is called: "Self-disclosure."

4. The "unknown" quadrant represents things that neither I know about myself, nor you know about me. For example, I may disclose a dream that I had, and as we both attempt to understand its significance, a new awareness may emerge, known to neither of us before the conversation took place. Being placed in new situations often reveal new information not previously known to self or others. For example, I learned of the Johari window at a workshop conducted by a Japanese American psychiatrist in the early 1980's. During this workshop, he created a safe atmosphere of care and trust between the various participants. Usually, I am terrified of speaking in public, but I was surprised to learn that in such an atmosphere, the task need not be so daunting. Prior to this event, I had viewed myself and others had also viewed me as being extremely shy. (The above now reminds me of a funny joke, which I cannot refrain from telling you. It is said that the number one fear that people have is speaking in public. Their number two fear is dying. And the number three fear that people have, is dying while speaking in public.) Thus, a novel situation can trigger new awareness and personal growth. The process of moving previously unknown information into the open quadrant, thus enlarging its area, has been likened to Maslow's concept of self-actualization. The process can also be viewed as a game, where the open quadrant is synonymous with the win-win situation.

Much, much more has been written on the Johari window model of human interaction. The process of enlarging the open quadrant is called self-disclosure, a give and take process between me and the people I interact with. Typically, as I share something about myself (moving information from my hidden quadrant into the open) and if the other party is interested in getting to know me, they will reciprocate, by similarly disclosing information in their hidden quadrant. Thus, an interaction between two parties can be modeled dynamically as two active Johari windows. For example, you may respond to my disclosure that I like "Cherry Garcia" by letting me know what your favorite ice cream is, or where a new ice cream shop is being built, kinds of information in your hidden quadrant. Incidentally, it is fattening, so be careful on how much you eat!

GROUP DYNAMICS

GROUP DYNAMICS:
A. GROUP FORMATION
A group is able to share experiences, to provide feedback, to pool ideas, to generate insights, and provide an arena for analysis of experiences. The group provides a measure of support and reassurance. Moreover, as
a group, learners may also plan collectively for change action. Group discussion is a very effective learning method.

Participation
Participation is a fundamental process within a group, because many of the other processes depend upon participation of the various members. Levels and degrees of participation vary. Some members are active
participants while others are more withdrawn and passive. In essence, participation means involvement, concern for the task, and direct or indirect contribution to the group goal. If members do not participate,
the group ceases to exist. Factors which affect members participation
- The content or task of the group- is it of interest, importance and
relevance?
- The physical atmosphere - is it comfortable physically, socially and psychologically?
- The psychological atmosphere - is it accepting, non-threatening?
- Member’s personal preoccupations - are there any distracting thoughts in their mind?
- The level of interaction and discussions - is adequate information provided for everyone to understand? - is it at a level everyone understands?
- Familiarity - between group members- do members know each other from before?

Communication
Communication within a group deals with the spoken and the unspoken, the verbal and the non-verbal, the explicit and the implied messages that are conveyed and exchanged relating to information and ideas, and
feelings.


Two-way communication implies a situation where not only the two parties talk to each other, but that they are listening to each other as well. It helps in
- Clarification of doubts, confusions and misconceptions
- Both parties understanding each other
- Receiving and giving of feedback
It indicates the degree of respect between the two parties Helpful hints for effective communication
1. Have a circular seating arrangement so that everyone can see and interact with everyone else
2. If there are two facilitators, they should sit apart so that communication flow is not in one direction
3. Respect individuals- let everyone call everyone else by name respectfully
4. Encourage and support the quiet members to voice their opinions
5. Try and persuade the people who speak too much to give others a chance
6. Ensure that only one person speaks at a time or no one else will be heard
7. Discourage sub groups from indulging in side talk

Problem solving:

Most groups find themselves unable to solve problems because they address the problem at a superficial level. After that they find themselves blocked because they cannot figure out why the problem occurred and
how they can tackle it. Therefore an effective problem solving procedure would be to:
1. Clearly define the problem: Is it what appears on the surface or are there deep hidden aspects?
2. Try to thoroughly explore and understand the causes behind the problem
3. Collect additional information, from elsewhere if necessary, and analyze it to understand the problem further
4. The group should suspend criticism and judgment for a while and try to combine each other's ideas or add on improvements. The objectives should be to generate as many ideas and suggestions as possible.
This is called "brainstorming" in a group, when individuals try lateral thinking.

Leadership
Leadership involves focussing the efforts of the people towards a common goal and to enable them to work together as one. In general we designate one individual as a leader. This individual may be chosen from within or appointed from outside. Thus, one member may provide leadership with respect to achieving the goal while a different individual may be providing leadership in maintaining the group as a group. These roles can switch and change.

Business Process Reengineering

What is reengineering? 

“Reengineering is the  fundamental  rethinking and  radical redesign of business  processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance such as cost, quality, service and speed[4].” The key words in the preceding definition are the italicized ones.  

BPR advocates that enterprises go back to the basics and reexamine their very roots. It doesn’t believe in small improvements. Rather it aims at total reinvention. As for results: BPR is clearly not for companies who want a 10% improvement. It is for the ones that need a ten-fold increase. According to Hammer and Champy [4], the last but the most important of the four key words is the word-‘process.’ BPR focuses on processes and not on tasks, jobs or people. It endeavors to redesign the strategic and value added processes that transcend organizational boundaries. 

Business process reengineering (often referred to by the acronym BPR) is the main way in which organizations become more efficient and modernize. Business process reengineering transforms an organization in ways that directly affect performance.

The Impact Of BPR On Organizational Performance

The two cornerstones of any organization are the people and the processes. If individuals are motivated and working hard, yet the business processes are cumbersome and non-essential activities remain, organizational performance will be poor. Business Process Reengineering is the key to transforming how people work. What appear to be minor changes in processes can have dramatic effects on cash flow, service delivery and customer satisfaction. Even the act of documenting business processes alone will typically improve organizational efficiency by 10%.

How To Implement A BPR Project

The best way to map and improve the organization's procedures is to take a top down approach, and not undertake a project in isolation. That means:

• Starting with mission statements that define the purpose of the organization and describe what sets it apart from others in its sector or industry.

•     Producing vision statements which define where the organization is going, to provide a clear picture of the desired future position.

•     Build these into a clear business strategy thereby deriving the project objectives.

•     Defining behaviours that will enable the organization to achieve its' aims.

•     Producing key performance measures to track progress.

•     Relating efficiency improvements to the culture of the organization

•     Identifying initiatives that will improve performance.

 
Consolidated Methodology: 

   A consolidated methodology has been developed from the five methodologies previously presented and an 

IDEF0 model was developed to provide a structured approach and to facilitate understanding. But for the sake of 

brevity, we have shown only the major activities in the IDEF0 model in Figure 1. In the ensuing section, we deal 

with the details of our methodology.

 Activity #1: Prepare for Reengineering: 

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. Planning and Preparation are vital factors for any activity or event to 

be successful, and reengineering is no exception. Before attempting reengineering, the question ‘Is BPR necessary?’ 

should be asked? There should be a significant need for the process to be reengineered. The justification of this need 

marks the beginning of the Preparation activity[9]. 

This activity begins with the development of executive consensus on the importance of reengineering and 

the link between breakthrough business goals and reengineering projects. A mandate for change is produced and a 

cross-functional team is established with a game plan for the process of reengineering. While forming the crossfunctional team, steps should be taken to ensure that the organization continues to function in the absence of several 

key players[5]. As typical BPR projects involve cross-functional cooperation and significant changes to the status 

quo, the planning for organizational changes is difficult to conduct without strategic direction from the top. The 

impact of the environmental changes that serve as the impetus for the reengineering effort must also be considered 

in establishing guidelines for the reengineering project. Another important factor to be considered while establishing 

the strategic goals for the reengineering effort, is to make it your first priority to understand the expectations of your 

customers and where your existing process falls short of meeting those requirements. Having identified the customer 

driven objectives, the mission or vision statement is formulated. The vision is what a company believes it wants to 

achieve when it is done, and a well-defined vision will sustain a company’s resolve through the stress of the 

reengineering process. It can act as the flag around which to rally the troops when the morale begins to sag and it 

provides the yard stick for measuring the company’s progress[4, 9]. 

Activity #2: Map and Analyze As-Is Process: 

Before the reengineering team can proceed to redesign the process, they should understand  the existing 

process. Although some BPR proponents (in particular Hammer and Champy) argue against analyzing the current 

enterprise, saying that it inhibits the creative process, that might not always hold true[1]. It varies from case to case. 

While some organizations which are in dire straits might go the Hammer and Champy way (attempt a new process 

design while totally ignoring the existing processes) most organizations need to map the existing processes first, 

analyze and improve on it to design new processes. The important aspect of BPR (what makes BPR, BPR) is that the 

improvement should provide dramatic results. Many people do not understand the value of an As-Is analysis and 

rather prefer to spend a larger chunk of their valuable time on designing the To-Be model directly. What follows is 

an illustration that illustrates this fallacy. 

 A large manufacturer spent six million dollars over a period of one year in a bid to develop a parts-tracking 

system and was all set to go online. Only then did he realize that he had totally overlooked a small piece of 

a phone call.’ But just because this small yet vital information had not been documented all his efforts added up to 

information – ‘the mode of transmission of information between the scheduling staff and the shop floor was through 

naught and the whole system that he had so painstakingly developed had to be scrapped. Alas! He had recognized 

the need for an As-Is analysis, way too late[1]. 

 The main objective of this phase is to identify disconnects (anything that prevents the process from 

achieving desired results and in particular information transfer between organizations or people) and value adding 

processes[9]. This is initiated by first creation and documentation of Activity and Process models making use of the 

various modeling methods available. Then, the amount of time that each activity takes and the cost that each activity 

requires in terms of resources is calculated through simulation and activity based costing(ABC). All the groundwork 

required having been completed, the processes that need to be reengineered are identified. 

Activity #3: Design To-Be process:

The objective of this phase is to produce one or more alternatives to the current situation, which satisfy the 

strategic goals of the enterprise. The first step in this phase is benchmarking. “Benchmarking is the comparing of 

both the performance of the organization’s processes and the way those processes are conducted with those relevant 

peer organizations to obtain ideas for improvement[7].” The peer organizations need not be competitors or even 

from the same industry. Innovative practices can be adopted from anywhere, no matter what their source. 

Having identified the potential improvements to the existing processes, the development of the To-Be 

models is done using the various modeling methods available, bearing in mind the principles of process design. 

Then, similar to the As-Is model, we perform simulation and ABC to analyze factors like the time and cost involved. 

It should be noted that this activity is an iterative process and cannot be done overnight. The several To-Be models 

that are finally arrived at are validated. By performing Trade off Analysis the best possible To-Be scenarios are 

selected for implementation. 

Activity #4:Implement Reengineered Process: 

The implementation stage is where reengineering efforts meet the most resistance and hence it is by far the most difficult one[2]. If we expect that the environment would be conducive to the reengineering effort we are sadly mistaken. The question that confronts us would be,’ If BPR promises such breath taking results then why wasn’t it adopted much earlier?’ We could expect to face all kinds of opposition - from blatantly hostile antagonists to passive adversaries: all of them determined to kill the effort. When so much time and effort is spent on analyzing the current processes, redesigning them and planning the migration, it would indeed be prudent to run a culture change program simultaneously with all the planning and preparation. This would enable the organization to undergo a much more facile transition. But whatever may be the juncture in time that the culture change program may be initiated, it 

should be rooted in our minds that ‘winning the hearts and minds of everyone involved in the BPR effort is most vital for the success of the effort[10]. Once this has been done, the next step is to develop a transition plan from the As-Is to the redesigned process. This plan must align the organizational structure, information systems, and the business policies and procedures with the redesigned processes. “Rapid implementation of the information system that is required to support a reengineered business process is critical to the success of the BPR project. The IDEF models that were created in the As-Is can be mapped to those created during the To-Be and an initial list of change requirements generated. Additional requirements for the construction of the To-Be components can be added and the 

result organized into a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). Recent developments in BPR software technologies enable automatic migration of these WBS activity/relationships into a process modeling environment. The benefit here is that we can now define the causal and time sequential relationships between the activities planned[9].” Using prototyping and simulation techniques, the transition plan is validated and it’s pilot versions are designed and demonstrated. Training programs for the workers are initiated and the plan is executed in full scale. 

Activity #5: Improve Process Continuously: 

 A process cannot be reengineered overnight. A very vital part in the success of every reengineering effort lies in improving the reengineered process continuously. The first step in this activity is monitoring. Two things have to be monitored – the progress of action and the results. The progress of action is measured by seeing how 

wherein the process is remapped, reanalyzed and redesigned. Thereby continuous improvement of performance is 

much more informed the people feel, how much more commitment the management shows and how well the change 

ensured through a performance tracking system and application of problem solving skills. Continuous improvement 

(TQM) and BPR have always been considered mutually exclusive to each other. But on the contrary, if performed 

simultaneously they would complement each other wonderfully well. In fact TQM can be used as a tool to handle 

the various problems encountered during the BPR effort and to continuously improve the process. In corporations 

that have not adopted the TQM culture as yet, application of TQM to the newly designed processes should be 

undertaken as a part of the reengineering effort[8]. 

teams are accepted in the broader perspective of the organization. This can be achieved by conducting attitude 

surveys and discrete ‘fireside chats’ with those initially not directly involved with the change. As for monitoring the 

results, the monitoring should include such measures as employee attitudes, customer perceptions, supplier 

responsiveness etc[12]. Communication is strengthened throughout the organization, ongoing measurement is 

initiated, team reviewing of performance against clearly defined targets is done and a feedback loop is set up

Benchmarking

Definition

Benchmarking is the process of identifying "best practice" in relation to both products (including) and the processes by which those products are created and delivered. The search for "best practice" can taker place both inside a particular industry, and also in other industries (for example - are there lessons to be learned from other industries?).

The objective of benchmarking is to understand and evaluate the current position of a business or organisation in relation to "best practice" and to identify areas and means of performance improvement.

The Benchmarking Process

Benchmarking involves looking outward (outside a particular business, organisation, industry, region or country) to examine how others achieve their performance levels and to understand the processes they use. In this way benchmarking helps explain the processes behind excellent performance. When the lessons learnt from a benchmarking exercise are applied appropriately, they facilitate improved performance in critical functions within an organisation or in key areas of the business environment.

Application of benchmarking involves four key steps:

(1) Understand in detail existing business processes

(2) Analyse the business processes of others

(3) Compare own business performance with that of others analysed

(4) Implement the steps necessary to close the performance gap

Benchmarking should not be considered a one-off exercise. To be effective, it must become an ongoing, integral part of an ongoing improvement process with the goal of keeping abreast of ever-improving best practice.

Types of Benchmarking

There are four types of benchmarking. They are not mutually exclusive and companies can choose any one or a combination to meet their objectives. It is recommended that strategic benchmarking is conducted first to create a context and rationale that will enhance all other benchmarking efforts.

Strategic Benchmarking

Concerned with comparing different companies' strategies and assessing the success of those strategies in the marketplace.

Analyses the strategies with particular reference to:

• strategic intent
• core competencies
• process capability
• product line
• strategic alliances
• technology portfolio

Should begin with the needs and expectations of the customer. This can be achieved through surveys to measure customer satisfaction and the gaps between a company's performance and its customers' standards.

Ensures a co-ordinated strategic direction regarding benchmarking and reduces the possibility that one improvement project will cancel out the effect of another. Benchmarking candidates are normally direct competition.

The main difficulty is persuading the benchmark partner to discuss their strategy. However, there is a great deal of information which can be obtained from customers, common suppliers and public domain information.

Functional Benchmarking

• Investigates the performance of core business functions.
• Does not need to focus on direct competition but, depending on the function to be benchmarked, the benchmark partner may need to be in a similarly characterised industry for useful comparisons to be made.

Best Practices Benchmarking

• Applies to business processes.
• It breaks the function down into discrete areas that are the targets for benchmarking and is therefore a more focused study than functional benchmarking.
• Some business processes are the same regardless of the type of industry.
• Attempts to benchmark not only work processes, but also the management practices behind them.

Product Benchmarking

• Commonly known as reverse engineering or competitive product analysis.
• Assesses competitor costs, product concepts, strengths and weaknesses of alternative designs and competitor design trade-offs, by obtaining, stripping down and analysing competitors' products.

The four different types of benchmarking are evolutionary beginning with product, through to functional, process and strategic. For the purposes of this document and the corresponding document 'Guide to Benchmarking' best practice benchmarking will be used due to its focus on processes. As benchmarking is becoming more widespread and companies are more proficient in its use, best practice benchmarking is becoming increasingly popular. This is also reinforced by the move away from functionality in organisations towards business processes. For further information on the other types of benchmarking, see the references to Watson, Camp and Miller.

Conclusion

Benchmarking must be a continuous process with the extent and scope of the project being dependent on the resources that the company has available.

The above key steps to benchmarking are detailed further along with a list of factors to be aware of in the companion document 'Guide to Benchmarking'.

Key steps to benchmarking

Based on our research and experience we would recommend the following stages in your Benchmarking projects:

1. Identify what to benchmark
2. Ensure management support and involve all stakeholders
3. Select the benchmarking team
4. Analysis of internal processes
5. Identify companies to benchmark
6. Decide on method(s) of data collection
7. Collect public domain information
8. Analyse collected information to establish what other information needs to be collected
9. Establish contacts with benchmark partners
10. Plan the actual visits
11. Conduct the benchmarking visits
12. Establish whether a performance gap exists
13. Predict future performance levels
14. Communicate benchmark findings
15. Establish targets and action plans
16. Gain support and ownership for the plans and goals
17. Implement the action plans, measure performance and communicate progress
18. Re-calibrate benchmarks
19. Adopt benchmarking on a company-wide scale