Benchmarking, in my opinion is one of the most successful approaches to remedy a struggling company. Many times organizations are caught in the trial and error process without having any successful progress. According to Summers (2009), “Effective organizations use benchmarking to compare their key measures of performance with those of others in order to determine where improvement opportunities exist.” (p. 291).If we compare a particular area in which the company is struggling to a company that is successful at doing it, the company can use this information and adapt it to their processes.
For this particular assignment, the manufacturing company to be analyzed is the Blackberry Corporation. Blackberry, in my opinion, was the most influential company in developing smart phones. Smart phones were initially considered as business devices, but as the product developed, now it is considered a requirement for most cell phone users. The ...view middle of the document...
What are the requirements needed to fulfill their customers. Does the company have the necessary resources to fulfill these needs?
Once determined, Blackberry must choose a competing company to benchmark. The competing company must possess what Blackberry is lacking; in this case, technological advances (software and hardware) for a now larger target market.
The Apple Corporation, from my perspective, is the current industry leader for smart phones. Their customer range includes all ages and different levels of education. They have successfully developed software capable of fulfilling most (if not all) of the required tasks a person needs. Additionally, their hardware construction is durable enough for kids to use, but sophisticated enough for professionals.
Blackberry is now ready to benchmark. First, they must assign teams to analyze the specific qualities of the Apple Corporation that makes them an industry leader. They should focus on analyzing how they go about implementing new technology suitable for all their customers. Look closely at the processes involved in creating these new ideas, and try finding answers to the following questions: What are the strategies that they have used for new hardware and software? How do they gather customer information and requirements? How is the operation managed? Most of these questions can be answered by observing the processes while they are in operation and also by asking questions to the key employees involved.
Once the information has been collected, it should be presented to the company for strategic planning and corrective action. They must assess what are their strengths and weaknesses as compared to the Apple Corporation. The information collected is not to be used only once. Changing the company to a different path takes time and effort. The changes will not happen overnight. According to Summers (2009),”… the final report becomes a working document to aid the continuous improvement process.” (p. 297).
Works Cited
Summers, D. C. (2009). Quality Management: Creating and sustaining organizational effectiveness. Upper Sadle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.
