Benchmarking of thesis research: a case study

Shahalizadeh, Mohammad; Amirjamshidi, Grannaz; Shahalizadeh, Solmaz

doi:10.1108/14635770910936540

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Comparing similar organizations based on a recognized set of standard indicators, gives also the essence of the benchmarking technique (Wait and Nolte, 2005), and more specifically partly describes one of the primary types of benchmarking used today, the performance benchmarking (Asrofah et al, 2010). It is worth noting that all definitions of benchmarking are based on the idea of evaluating the performance of an organized system by comparing it to exogenous entities (Shahalizadeh et al, 2009). The present study may stimulate, especially non-ISO 9001 certified companies, to adopt benchmarking not only by simply comparing the performance measures among companies but furthermore by understanding how company processes work, including observing and studying methods (Longbottom, 2000).…”

Section: Managerial Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance measures of ISO 9001 certified and non-certified manufacturing companies

Psomas¹,

Kafetzopoulos²

2014

Benchmarking: An International Journal

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare ISO 9001 certified and non-certified manufacturing companies with regard to performance measures, both financial and non-financial. Design/methodology/approach – A research study was carried out in 140 Greek manufacturing companies by means of a questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent by e-mail and it was requested that it should be answered by a company representative. Exploratory factor analysis is applied in order to extract the latent factors of performance measures. The differences between the ISO 9001 certified and non-certified manufacturing companies are determined through non-parametric tests such as the χ2-test and the Mann-Whitney U-test. Findings – The ISO 9001 certified manufacturing companies significantly outperform the non-certified with regard to product quality, customer satisfaction, operational, market and financial performance. This is evident in a business environment where an economic downturn and financial crisis dominates. Research limitations/implications – The sub-samples of the responding ISO 9001 certified and non-certified manufacturing companies are small sized and they are limited to small- and medium-sized enterprises. The subjective character of the data collected through the company representatives involves the risk of receiving biased responses regarding the performance measures. The above limitations suggest future research recommendations. Practical implications – The increased performance measures of the ISO 9001 certified manufacturing companies may motivate the non-certified ones to implement the ISO 9001 standard and apply for the certification in order to increase their performance and withstand the current economic downturn and financial crisis. The present study may also stimulate manufacturing companies to adopt traditional and modern benchmarking techniques, in an additional effort to improve their businesses and competitiveness. Originality/value – The present study compares performance measures of ISO 9001 certified and non-certified manufacturing companies operating under unprecedented circumstances due to the current economic downturn and financial crisis.

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Section: Managerial Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance measures of ISO 9001 certified and non-certified manufacturing companies

Psomas¹,

Kafetzopoulos²

2014

Benchmarking: An International Journal

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“…According to Yin (1994), research strategy should be chosen as a function of the research situation, while both qualitative and quantitative methods involve weaknesses and strengths (Amaratunga et al, 2002). It is very important to get a persuasive research result, therefore the choosing of one or several suitable methods can be the vital part of the research work (Shahalizadeh, Amirjamshidi & Shahalizadeh, 2009).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Qualitative enquiry often takes the form of a case study. Referring to Merriam (1998), Shahalizadeh et. al.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Interaction between Top Management and Line Managers Implementing Strategic Directions into Praxis

Savanevičienė

Stankevičiūtė

2011

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Organizations nowadays face crucial business challenges, like globalization, profitability through growth, technology integration, intellectual capital management, continuous change. Seeking to survive in the turbulent environment organizations need to assess the complexity of environment and to choose strategic development directions which are concretized in organizational strategy. Every organization is guided by its strategy, by a design or plan for achieving an organization's policy goals and objectives, however the inequality between intended and implemented strategies exists (Mintzberg, 1978). Acknowledging this fact, the paper raises a question why organizations focus on difficulties by implementing their strategies and provides an insight into the aspects related to a successful implementation of an intended strategy into praxis. The fruitful strategy formulation and the effective strategy implementation require the coordination of multiple actors and their activities (Heide, Gronhaug & Johannessen, 2002). Whereas top management is responsible for the strategic and organizational decisions that affect the organization as a whole (Helfat, Harris & Wolfson, 2006) and line managers operate as an intermediary between strategic and operational organizational activities (McCarthy, Darcy & Grady, 2010), the interaction between these two key actors in order to minimize the gap between strategies is essential. Assuming that some aspects may affect the success of key actors interaction, the assumptions, which determine the nature of interaction are presented. The paper looks into four assumptions: organizational culture, organizational structure, communication and allocation of resources which discloses the complexity of interaction. The paper proposes the discussion concerning the top management and line managers interaction and the key dimensions of that interaction seeking to ensure the implementation of strategic directions into praxis. Whereas top management and line managers can cooperate in a various number of activities, some dimensions of interaction are more significant. Goals determination, strategy formulation and strategy implementation are three key dimensions where interaction between top management and line managers is in demand if the organization strives to translate strategic directions into praxis. Finally assessing the character of activity and the discussed assumptions, the theoretical aspects on interaction between top management and line managers were verified during the empirical research in educational organizations and is presented in this paper. This brings to conclusion that the interaction between top management and line managers implementing strategic directions into praxis should be considered as a central issue of management literature. The paper is based on the material of the Leonardo da Vinci innovation transferring project "Crossnational quality management in continuing learning for people with low educational attainment in the European context" ("Länderübergreifendes Qualitätsm...

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“…Hence, BM can be recognised as an all-around process of identifying, understanding and adopting exceptional practices from other organisations around the world to help a company to improve its outputs (Kumar et al, 2006). It remains as a learning process that deals with observing external performance, comparing them with internal values, identifying and bridging the gaps and investing in making upgrades (Massa and Testa, 2004;Shahalizadeh et al, 2009). Studies have shown that BM is used by organisations in all parts of the world (Gomes and Yasin, 2011;Joo et al, 2011;Lockamy, 2011;Moriarty, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…, 2006). It remains as a learning process that deals with observing external performance, comparing them with internal values, identifying and bridging the gaps and investing in making upgrades (Massa and Testa, 2004; Shahalizadeh et al. , 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying the key areas for benchmarking towards the improvement of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) construction firms in developing countries: the case of Ghana

Kissi

Aigbavboa

Babon-Ayeng

2022

IJPPM

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PurposeThe purpose of this study was to identify key areas for benchmarking (BM) towards the improvement of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) construction firms in developing countries.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed the use of the quantitative research method in the collection and analysis of primary data collected from field surveys using a piloted close-ended questionnaire created following a review of available literature on BM. Based on 63 solicited views of professionals with SMEs (quantity surveyors, project managers and architects) data collected were statistically analysed using a one-sample t-test.FindingsThe findings of the study indicate that the key areas for BM towards the improvement of SME construction firms in developing countries in order of relevance are “Financial Performance”, “Competitiveness”, “Customer Satisfaction”, “Technology Advancement”, “Communication Skills”, “Collaboration”, “Employee Satisfaction” and “Product orientation”.Practical implicationsThe study has given more insight into the areas that need more attention for SMEs BM to achieve improvement. It can therefore be suggested firms that adapted identified areas will derive the benefits of BM. It is further opined that more BM education should be provided to various SMEs construction firms to facilitate an effective and efficient BM regime aiming at performance enhancement in project delivery.Originality/valueThis forging research attempts to identify the key areas for BM towards the improvement of SMEs construction firms in developing countries. Although there have been several efforts to create BM tools for the construction industry.

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Benchmarking of thesis research: a case study

Cited by 6 publications

References 23 publications

Performance measures of ISO 9001 certified and non-certified manufacturing companies

Performance measures of ISO 9001 certified and non-certified manufacturing companies

The Interaction between Top Management and Line Managers Implementing Strategic Directions into Praxis

Identifying the key areas for benchmarking towards the improvement of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) construction firms in developing countries: the case of Ghana

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