The idea behind benchmarking and best practices is to
A) identify which companies are the best performers of a strategically-relevant activity and then exactly copy their methods.
B) search the world for a company that performs a strategically relevant task or value chain activity at the lowest possible cost and then use business process reengineering techniques to try to meet or beat the costs of the world's low-cost performer of that activity.
C) perform each activity in the industry value chain according to standard industry practice and then regularly benchmark the company's performance to see if it is actually achieving the industry standard.
D) identify companies that are the best performers of an activity and then modify and adapt their practices to fit the company's own specific circumstances and operating requirements.
E) determine whether a company has a "world-class" value chain.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The idea behind benchmarking and best practices is not to simply copy the methods of another company (A) or to focus solely on lowest cost (B), but to identify best performers of an activity and then modify and adapt their practices to fit the company's own specific circumstances and operating requirements (D). It is not about performing each activity according to standard industry practice (C) but rather about striving for excellence. While the ultimate goal may be to become a "world class" value chain (E), this is not the primary focus of benchmarking and best practices.

The Idea Behind Benchmarking and Best Practices Is to