Allan, Ferne C. Benchmarking: practical aspects for information professionals.Special Libraries (Summer 1993): 123-30. (BPR001).
According to the author, benchmarking is a means of measuring and comparing performance by
measuring progress against high standards set by industry "best practices". Benchmarking helps an
organization focus its efforts by identifying the process to be benchmarked; establishing
commitment to the benchmarking process; defining and understanding the process to be
benchmarked; choosing metrics and collecting data; choosing benchmarking partners and
collecting data from them; analyzing partners' data and comparing that data against process data;
implementing improvements and monitoring results.
Bogan, Christopher E. and Michael J. English. Benchmarking for best
practices: winning through innovative adaptation. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994.
312 pp. (Shelved at HD62.15.B64 1994).
The authors note that benchmarking is the systematic process of searching for best practices,
innovative ideas, and highly effective operating procedures that lead to superior performance.
Best practice benchmarking, considering the experience of others, is a fundamental approach to
managing in today's work world. New and innovative methods are important because
organizations must look outside to find the best practices in order to motivate their organization
to meet the highest standards possible. Included in the appendix are worksheets that can be copied
in order to integrate benchmarking into the organization.
Bramley, Peter. Evaluating training effectiveness: benchmarking your training
activity against best practice. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996. 186
pp.
In today's work world, it is vital to demonstrate that training produces results. Author Bramley
benchmarks the stages of the training process against best practice and measures the
progress.
Breakthrough improvement in quality: the power of policy management. Part
1:
Setting the vision; Part 2: Benchmarking: quest for the best. North Palm Beach, FL:
Qualtec Quality Services, 1993. Videocassettes. (Shelved at HD62.15.B7 1993 - Training
Room).
Setting goals and benchmarking are addressed in these two thirty-two minute
videotapes.
Gohlke, Annette. Benchmarking for strategic performance improvement.Information Outlook (Special Libraries Association) 1, no.8 (August
1997): 22-24. (BPR218).
The author defines benchmarking as a TQM tool used to measure and compare the
workprocesses in one's organization with those in other organizations. The goal of benchmarking
is to increase performance by: 1) identifying organizations with best practices as partners; 2)
measuring and comparing a selected work process against partners; 3) conducting interviews with
the benchmark organization; and 4) adopting or adapting their best practices. To identify what is
important to one's customers, choose critical success factors to serve as criteria associated with
good services and resources. To do this, talk to management, customers, and staff. It is the
critical success factors which will generate benchmarking studies.
Keelhey, Patricia, Steven M. Medline and Sue A. MacBride. Benchmarking for
best practices in the public sector: achieving performance breakthroughs in federal, state, and
local agencies. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1996. 250 pp.
This is a practical guide on benchmarking for best practices in the public sector.
Kohl, Linda. Testimony. Washington: Congress, House
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, 1995. (Testimony before the House
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, Subcommittee on Government Management,
Information, and Technology, June 20, 1995).
Linda Kohl's testimony on performance measurement, benchmarking, and reengineering efforts
within government included information on the "Minnesota Milestones" program, a statewide
benchmarking project that uses benchmarking and performance measurement as public policy
tools to hold government accountable for results. The program is a three-step process: identifying
long-term vision, developing measures against five criteria (clarity, validity, availability of data,
accuracy, and output), and obtaining feedback on the measurement.
Muir, Holly J. Collecting & analyzing benchmarking data: a librarian's
guide. Library Benchmarking Notebook #4. Universal City, TX: Library
Benchmarking International, 1994. 66 pp. (Shelved at Z678.85.L43 no.4).
This book gives easy to understand directions and instruction on how to do the numeric
calculations associated with Benchmarking. In order to see how benchmarking is working, it is
important to do quantitative analysis comparing the job at hand with the work of others. The
author uses a four-step process and a case study.
Muir, Holly J. Conducting a preliminary benchmarking analysis: a librarian's
guide. Library Benchmarking Notebook #1. Universal City, TX: Library
Benchmarking International, 1993. 32 pp. (Shelved at Z678.85.L53 no.1).
In order for benchmarking to be successful, one must know what services and resources the
management, staff, and patrons value. This publication discusses the preliminary analysis needed
to realize what the critical success factors are.
Muir, Holly J. Developing benchmarking metrics: a librarian's
guide. Library Benchmarking Notebook #2. Universal City, TX: Library
Benchmarking International, 1993. 48 pp. (Shelved at Z678.85.L53 no.2).
In this publication, the groundwork for a benchmarking study has already taken place. The author
begins to look at quantitative measures for identifying problems.
Muir, Holly J. Identifying benchmarking partners: special
libraries. Library Benchmarking Notebook #3. Universal City, TX: Library
Benchmarking International, 1993. 66 pp. (Shelved at Z678.85.M851993).
This notebook is a help to any organization looking for partners for a benchmarking study. To
guide the reader through the partner identification process, an easy-to-follow 6-step procedure is
given.
Muir, Holly J. Presenting benchmarking results: a librarian's
guide. Library Benchmarking Notebook #5. Universal City, TX: Library
Benchmarking International, 1994. 18 pp. & 26 slides (Shelved at Z678.85.L53 no.5).
This article lays the ground work for making an effective benchmarking presentation. The work
put into benchmarking will only pay off if it is supported by management, so it is necessary to
prove the worth of the work by making an effective and clear presentation. A case study is
included.
Newhouse, Bob. Customer feedback as a catalyst for change.Strategy & Leadership 25, no.3 (May-June 1997): 60+.
Organizations that effectively use feedback as a means of identifying and meeting customer needs
tend to have senior management that accepts the power of customer feedback and a general
culture of accountability
Reaching public goals: managing government for results.
Washington:
National Performance Review, 1996. 79 pp. (Shelved at JK421.N34 1996c).
This NPR resource guide is a review of best practices in federal, state, and local agencies
managing for results. The introduction gives a succinct description of the four major federal
statutes designed to improve accountability for results: the Government Performance and Results
Act of 1993, the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990, the Government Management Reform Act
of 1994, and the Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996. The guide is
designed to point the reader in the right direction for obtaining how-to guides, step-by-step
instructions, lessons learned, and helpful tips from other public managers.
Sauer, Susan M. and Robert G. III Petrie. Benchmarking, best practices, can boost
WC.National Underwriter (Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits
Management) 100, no.14 (April 1, 1996): 10, 28+. (BPR141).
Workers' compensation costs can be lowered by using benchmarking and best-practices
approaches to improve service and management. A good method is to look at other companies'
use of state-of-the-art equipment and the measurement methods in order to modify these
experiences for use.
Serving the American public: best practices in downsizing: Benchmarking
Study
Report. Washington: National Performance Review, 1997. (Shelved at
PrVp 42.2:D 75).
1/98 version: Public sector downsizings are primarily driven by budget reductions and technology
improvements that allow fewer workers to do the same amount of work. Following are some of
the highlights of the Downsizing Study Team's findings from their investigations fo benchmarked
organizations: senior leadership plays a vital role in downsizing; overcommunication (honest and
open communication) is impossible during downsizing; planning for downsizing begins with
getting the right people together; information not normally required in day-to-day operations
becomes critical during downsizing; successful planning includes the development of business
plans from various departments within the organization; identification of work processes that will
not be needed in the future organization is vital; incentives such as early retirement and buyouts
work well; the use of multiple strategies and techniques to accomplish goals for downsizing helps
to leverage the outcome; organizations that have successfully downsized provided career
transition assistance to both separated and surviving employees; and finally, monitoring progress
is a chief component of successful downsizing in order to learn from mistakes as well as
successes. The key conclusion of the report is that the success or failure of a downsized
organization depends on the workforce remaining after the downsizing.
St. Clair, Guy. Benchmarking, total quality management, and the learning
organization: new management paradigms for the information environment.Special Libraries 84, no.3 (Summer 1993): 120-2. (BPR161).
This is an overview introduction for a special issue of Special Libraries focusing on TQM,
Benchmarking, and Learning Organization.
