What Value Does Benchmarking Have as an Element in Tqm Performance Measurement? How Would You Go About Benchmarking Quality in Your Own Industry or an Industry You Know Well?

What is benchmarking?

Benchmarking is a process of comparison of process of a firm performance to the best practices of other industries for the purpose of improvement (Lee et al., 2006). Since mid 1980s many of known business such as AT&T, Xerox and Motorola are using benchmarking as standard. Benchmarking is an important strategic tool in TQM that intensify performance and transparency after entering the public domain (Braadbart, 2007). Kyro (2003) says that benchmarking is " a tool to improve organization's performance and competitiveness in business life".

Role of Benchmarking in TQM

Benchmarking is a tool that needs to be used constantly to assure the appropriateness of standards within the internal sections of business to vitalize and improve the process. In spite of other TQM tools, benchmarking makes the company to use external elements for progress of improvement (Van Schalkwyk, 1998). Benchmarking takes a lot of effort and time to collect information from other industries & external sources that benchmark across the industry.

Benchmarking in Xerox

Xerox was the biggest factory of copiers in the world. Since Japanese manufacturer had better quality and price in the market, Xerox began to compare itself with rivals to identify their deficiencies and areas that Xerox could improve (Blakeman, 2002). Xerox benchmarked the firm and found following things:

- Xerox defects were seven times worse per 100 machines

- Xerox had double product time to market

- Xerox had 10 times worse assembly line reject

- Xerox had nine times the number of production suppliers

Xerox could improve within the next five years that caused revival in the firm. Xerox benchmarked 230 performance areas when the company won the National Quality Award in 1989. Benchmarking had a lot of advantages for Xerox. One of these advantages is that it is an effective tool for team building. Benchmarking also can give new ways of managing operation to a firm like what it did to Xerox. One of the values that benchmarking offered to Xerox is that it destroyed the gap in divisions and helped to develop a common front for facing competition. One of the other most important values that Xerox improved through benchmarking was recognizing the importance of employee involvement and encouraging them for team and individual efforts.

Benchmarking's application in Oslo International Bible College

Our College has considered to us benchmarking for out TQM, however knowing that benchmarking needs a large investment of money, time and labor, we decided to not use this tool. We discussed in leadership team