...Jennifer Do April 2, 2001 Section 2 Benchmarking There are many methods used by companies in an effort to improve quality in both their products and services. In the fast paced environment that surrounds industries today, they find themselves faced with the pressure to discover fail proof ways to run their businesses. Techniques that do not turn out successful can harm the company and also result in losses in costs and time. A popular tool used today by many companies is benchmarking. It is a process that involves continuously comparing and measuring against other companies to gain information and learn from their experiences, processes and practices. It provides companies the opportunity to assess their own procedures and helps them to understand their industry better which leads to innovative thinking. It also helps them to identify what changes are essential to improve performance. Some benefits of benchmarking are a better understanding of customers and competitors, reduction in waste, quality problems and reworking, quicker awareness of important innovations, a stronger reputation within the market, and increased profits and sales turnover. Benchmarking is usually done with top performing companies in both the service and the business sectors. Many of these companies are Fortune 500 companies such as Ford, Nissan, or Motorola. However, others include smaller businesses that are only a fraction of the size. These firms looking to benchmark all recognize...
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...WHAT IS BENCHMARKING? http://tqmgroups.blogspot.com/p/benchmarking.html “Benchmarking is simply the process of measuring the performance of one's company against the best in the same or another industry. Benchmarking is not a complex concept but it should not be taken too lightly. Benchmarking is basically learning from others. It is using the knowledge and the experience of others to improve the organization. It is analyzing the performance and noting the strengths and weaknesses of the organization and assessing what must be done to improve. REASONS FOR BENCHMARKING There are several reasons that benchmarking is becoming more commonly used in industry; • Benchmarking is a more efficient way to make improvements. Managers can eliminate trial and error process improvements. Practicing benchmarking focuses on tailoring existing processes to fit within the organization. • Benchmarking speeds up organization’s ability to make improvements. • Compare business practices with those of world class organizations • Challenge current practices and processes • Create improved goals and practices for the organization • Change the perspective of executives and managers. OBJECTIVES OF BENCHMARKING ϖ Becoming competitive ϖ Improving industry best practices ϖ Defining customer requirement ϖ Establishing effective goals and objectives ϖ Developing the measures of productivity ...
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...Benchmarking Productivity in Nursing is Useful Benchmarking is a quality improvement tool that determines who the best is, who sets the standard, and what the standard is. There are two main purposes for benchmarking. The first is to identify best practices to be applied in measuring and improving performance in an organization. The second purpose is to seek ways to improve the delivery of service through the efficient use of staff. For health care managers who are responsible for a variable expense cost center or department, maintaining appropriate levels of productivity is one of the greatest and ongoing challenges of the management process and requires constant research and advice regarding relevant productivity standards. Comparing one’s departmental operations with other successful operations of another organization is a useful source of benchmarking data and many health care managers depend on associates or outside consultants to provide data to assist in implementing new and effective strategies to improve staff productivity. There are three sources of productivity standards. The first source is internally developed historical standards where standards are based on past performances but do not provide information about relative efficiency. The second source is engineered standards where internal staff or outside consultants conduct a study of the work environment and define normal standards of productivity. The third source is a comparative group standard...
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...Unit 6 – Business Strategy If you don't drive your business you will be driven out of business. B.C. Forbes (1880-1954) founder of Forbes magazine Key topics * Business strategy resources * Summary table of key business strategy concepts WHAT IS BUSINESS STRATEGY? There is no new content in Unit 6. All preceding Units have ended with a section on business strategy. In short, Unit 6 is about synthesizing the different business theories, concepts and techniques covered in this book. It is about devising a plan to achieve the long-term goals of an organization. The idea behind each section on Business Strategy is to allow students to apply the different techniques that will help to make more informed decisions. Business Strategy is explicitly assessed in Section C of Paper 1 for Higher Level students. There are three stages to business strategy: Stage 1: Strategic analysis — determining the current position of an organization. Stage 2: Strategic choices — determining where the organization is headed. Stage 3: Strategic implementation — determining how the organization should get there: The case studies in this textbook have questions directly related to business strategy; there are further examples in the IB Business and Management syllabus guide (pages 40-43). Formulating strategy Business strategy should focus on, among other issues: * Organizational aims and objectives * Stakeholder interests * Resources (human...
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...Quality Improvement Plan: Part III - Managing and Improving Quality University of Phoenix Measuring Performance Standards HCS/588 Quality Improvement Plan: Part III - Managing and Improving Quality In today’s health care environment, competition remains high and many organizations are seeking new ways to improve their quality of care, as well as remain competitive with other health care organizations in the process. Various methods exist today for organizations to integrate quality improvement strategies to help in the measurement of performance improvements. This paper will discuss:1) several methodologies, the pros and cons that exist with these methods, 2) describe information technology applications, how they may be used to improve patient falls, 3)discuss how benchmarking and milestones are involved in managing the use of quality indicators, and finally,4) describe how performance and quality measures are aligned to an organization’s mission, vision, and strategic plan, and how these measurements align with Self-Regional Hospital’s mission, vision, and strategic plan for improvement. Methods for Quality Improvement Strategies Accidental Falls have become the most commonly reported incident in hospitals today, and Self-Regional Hospital is no exception. Recently, Self-Regional researched and gathered specific fall data that included “mobility/gait, lower-extremity strength, history in fractures, visual, or auditory impairments, dizziness, dehydration, depression...
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...as your own, without properly citing the source of the work, is considered plagiarism. This will result in an unsatisfactory grade for the work submitted or for the entire course. It may also result in academic dismissal from the University. | | | |SKS7000-8 |Dr. Milton Kabia | | | | |Doctorial Comprehensive Strategic |Assignment 5- Legal Environment of Business | |Knowledge |...
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...Generic Benchmarking University of Phoenix MMPBL/520 June 7, 2010 Generic Benchmarking Introduction Organizations and companies face many new and increasing complex challenges in today’s complicated business world. Because of the nature of our society and changes in our workforce resolving these challenges are becoming more and more difficult for today’s managers. Today, if a company is to be successful, management and the leadership groups must consider many things besides the bottom line. Management must ensure that their vision and mission statements reflect the true meaning of the company’s goals and objectives. This communication of the goals and objectives can be done in several different methods. Organizations must take a hard look at their management and leadership styles and if fits into the culture the organization. Management must also ask themselves if they are developing company loyalty from the employees and if the working environment is encouraging employees to be committed to the fulfilling the goals and objectives of the company, thus being about motivated employees for the success of the company. Management should also be willing to solicit feedback from employees, shareholder and customers to determine how they are communicating a common message of what management desires the organizational culture to be and to ensure that the vision and mission statement is clear for all to...
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...by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a globe-spanning network of communication and trade. The term is sometimes used to refer specifically to economic globalization: the integration of national economies into the international economy through trade, foreign direct investment, capital flows, migration, and the spread of technology. However, globalization is usually recognized as being driven by a combination of economic, technological, sociocultural, political, and biological factors. The term can also refer to the transnational circulation of ideas, languages, or popular culture through acculturation. [Que : 2] Define : Global Strategy and its benefits : Ans : Global strategy as defined in business terms is an organization's strategic guide to globalization. A sound global strategy should address these...
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...Deming introduced the concept of management named Total Quality Management (TQM). This approach management originated in Japanese Industry in the 1950’s and became popular in the West since early 1980’s. TQM is a system for a customer focused organization in continual improvement that involves all employees of all aspects of the organization. Employee involvement, focus on the customer, benchmarking, and continuous improvement are the four significant elements of TQM. Besides, there are some management techniques which involve in the implementation of TQM, such as quality circles, Six Sigma, reduced cycle time and continuous improvement Employee involvement is creating an environment for employees as to have impact on decisions making and actions which can affect their jobs. Focus on the customer Customer is the only element who determine the level of quality and the worthwhile level from all the efforts which organization do to foster quality improvement, training employees, integrating quality into processes management. Benchmarking Benchmarking is the process of comparing one's business processes and performance to industry as to learn and practice from other industry for achieving the best performance. Continuous improvement The process which involve ongoing efforts to improve the system, products, services or process to achieve improvement in an organization and company. Quality circles A quality circle is a group of volunteer form by workers under their supervisor...
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...control system prior 1980 Xerox focused more on accuracy and rigid systems rather than listening to the customer’s need and preference. For them, their business activities have to operate according to their business plan. The controllers were the numbers people and there have been never sufficient data or analysis to support management decision. Xerox also did not take care of the employees’ welfare and neglect to the good ideas from them. Therefore, some good people left the company. The corporate reporting and planning process was very long and bureaucratic, with more detail than most managers could absorb. Even worse, the reporting formats were not consistent between divisions that lead to the difficulty for the management to make decisions and analyze data. Management control system after 1980 David Kearns who was newly appointed as the chairman in 1982 was well aware of the problems faced by Xerox and hence developed a corporate revitalization plan called “Leadership through Quality” (LTQ). This plan emphasized on three major components which are; employee involvement, competitive benchmarking and the quality improvement process. Employee involvement as mentioned in LTQ is the problem solving process that uses quality circles, people empowerment, Ishikawa’s fish bone chart, and other tools. Competitive benchmarking is a standard for comparing internal performance to the best within the industry while the quality improvement process is more on reviewing and continuously...
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...historically been a formidable force in the telecommunications industry. Recent changes have cause severe economic hardships. The leadership team is tasked with identifying the source of these challenges, developing new ways to conduct the same business, reducing the costs associated with conducting business, and attempting to maintain the business relationship that has developed with the union and employees through the years. There are no guaranteed successes and no assurance that all those affected will be pleased with the decisions. Global Communications, however, is committed to realizing the best return in the quickest timeframe and providing customers with the latest technology at the most economical prices. Global Communications is committed to retaining the best possible relationship with its employees and for those who will no longer remain with the company offering services to make the transition as smooth as possible. Situation Analysis Issue and Opportunity Identification The telecommunications industry is changing drastically and without major changes fast, the company as it is known will no longer exist. Increased competition and service packages available to customers at reduced prices means all areas of the business have to be re-evaluated and best practices of all areas must be incorporated. Reviewing stock prices that at peak sold for $28 per share now being sold for $11 per share has the stockholders scrutinizing the decisions of the leadership team and...
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...CREATING ORGANIZATIONAL VALUE AND HIGH PERFORMANCE THROUGH INTEGRATED SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAMS AND BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE---A STUDY OF ACCENTURE As companies grapple with the current economic situation, many are recognizing that this particular downturn in the business cycle is different from those that preceded it. Indeed, today’s business context—characterized by rapidly intensifying globalization that has substantially increased the complexity, risk and uncertainty of doing business—has only served to exacerbate the challenge of managing through a difficult economy. Many of today's biggest challenges come down to the different kind of decision making required to be successful. Organizations seeking high performance must make faster and bolder decisions. Companies must think both the positive and negative consequences of decisions made in this fast-paced environment. The systematic study of the organization’s ability to develop and sustain a culture capable of delivering quality products and services over time enables us to identify and understand the general requirements for doing so and provides insight into how to do it. In this paper I will share what I have learned about creating and sustaining an organizational value through integrated sustainability programs and business intelligence that is capable of high performance in Accenture. In a time of changing consumer values and economic uncertainty, the marketing function has a more strategic role to play in driving growth...
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...Table of Contents I. INTRODUCTION 1 LITERATURE REVIEW 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3 METHODS OF RESEARCHING 3 METHODS FOR INVESTIGATION 3 II. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT 4 1. INTRODUCTION 4 2. STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF SEAPRODEX 5 III. ACTIVITIES AND ENVIRONMENT 7 1. THE MAIN ACTIVITIES 7 2. APPROPRIATE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT TOOLS 7 IV. MANAGING PERFORMANCE TO IMPROVE DECISION-MAKING 9 1. BUSINESS LEVEL STRATEGY OF SEAPRODEX 9 2. STRATEGY FOMULATION 9 3. PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVIES OF SEAPRODEX 10 4. BALANCED SCORECARD IMPLEMENTATION OF SEAPRODEX 10 5. TOOLS TO INFORM DECISION MARKING THROUGH PERFORMANCE 11 V. CONCLUSION AND RECOMENDATION 11 1. REVIEW AND RESULT FINDING 11 2. RECOMMENDATION FOR AREA IMPROVEMENT 12 VI. APPENDICES 15 INVESTIGATION RESULT SUMMARY 23 SEAPRODEX BACKGROUND 23 Performance Management at strategic level 24 Performance Objective 25 VII. REFERENCES 27 I. INTRODUCTION It is realized that the most of manufacturing company is to get competitive advantage in the industry, or to get high quality in products and services. To get these competitive edges and maintain the position in the market, company needs to have an excellent operation management system or strategic performance management within the organization, as supported by Fryer et al. (2009). It is no doubt about the benefits and advantage of the strategic performance management system because De Waal (2007, p. 19) offers his perception of strategic...
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...Mbogo .W.A (Moi) Professor Instotution affiliated Date of submission Background Information Workforce planning in general entails a process of ensuring that there is an understanding of the current workforce in an organization and the environment that they are working in, and that which they are expected to work in the future. The makeup of the current workforce should be taken into consideration when dealing with the planning process to ensure that the ultimate goals of the organization are met especially due to the dynamism in the business sector. One of the main goals of workforce planning is to a large extent assisting the managers with a framework that will help them make informed staffing decisions which are in line with the organizations budgetary resources, strategic plans, and mission. Therefore the integration of areas that are normally neglected in the business such as attraction and retention, job re-design, recruitment, separation, learning and development give meaning to the diverse areas of human resource management which are considered in isolation. Strategic Objectives The objectives of the organization are going to assist the manager to be able to link the mission or the vision of the organization with the actual outcome. After carrying out the workforce analysis, there is a need to place the targets of the organization in place. This involves setting attainable goals or objectives that will assist the manager to be able to...
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...strategy for Virgin and the environment in which it operates? The Virgin Group Ltd is a group of separately run British companies with the Virgin brand under the leadership of English celebrity business tycoon Sir Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle, among others. Richard Branson’s strategy comes from his deepest inner beliefs; “in principle there were no product or service boundries limiting a brand name, provided it was associated with quality products/services on offer” The corporate strategy of the Virgin Group is to operate like ‘a venture capital firm based on the Virgin brand.’ This strategy involves non-related diversification at the individual business unit level. Meanwhile, synergies are created from hierarchical relationships and the interaction of the corporate head office with individual business units. By leveraging on the Virgin Brand which has established prominence in the minds of consumers, Virgin is able to enter new business areas with a bang and shake up existing orders. The unique Virgin culture also allows Virgin to break into new markets and execute its ventures very effectively. Virgin’s corporate strategy is best described in the Virgin Charter – the individual businesses are focused and develop as autonomous enterprises under a single unified brand name. This decentralization of organizational structure and decision making allows an entrepreneurial environment for managers to pursue their...
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