Benchmarking for competitive advantage

One of the hottest concepts in business today, benchmarking is the process of systematically identifying, analyzing, and adapting industries' best practices to improve an organization's performance. Everyone is talking about it, but few companies are actually doing it right. This sure-fire guide shows how. Practical, concise, and easy to read, Benchmarking for Competitive Advantage explains what good benchmarking is and demonstrates how to plan and execute a benchmarking study and develop an action plan for implementing improvements based on the results. Top benchmarking practitioner Robert Boxwell walks you through the process, using superb graphics to illustrate such crucial tasks as determining the activity to benchmark, identifying your benchmarking team, defining key factors to measure, selecting target organizations, collecting and analyzing data internally and from best-in-class companies, and much more. Brimming with real-life examples of industry's best and worst benchmarking practices, you'll discover how companies like AT&T, Xerox, and IBM have benchmarked their way to superior performance - plus learn to avoid the common mistakes that have caused others to fail. This book also explains how to address the benchmarking criteria of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, provides a framework for a sound strategic benchmarking methodology, and looks at the past and future of benchmarking practice. Up-to-date listings of 100 best-in-class organizations and more than 500 professional associations are also included. Whether you're a quality professional, technical or business manager, or engineer, this nuts-and-bolts guide arms you with everything you need to put benchmarking into immediate action and make dramatic improvements in your company's performance.