Process benchmarking: a new tool to improve the performance of overhead areas

Interface Management Performance Assessment Framework for Sustainable Prefabricated Construction

Prefabricated construction (PC) has been regarded as a sustainable construction method for its inherent advantages such as energy savings, emissions reductions, and cleaner and safer working environments. However, PC development has been hindered by its inherent weaknesses of fragmentation and discontinuity. Effective interface management (IM) is regarded as integral to PC project success for its appropriate management of numerous interfaces with high complexity and uncertainty among the organization, information, and logistics. Although some researchers mentioned the effectiveness of IM for PC projects, systematic assessment methods for IM performance are missing. This study aims to systematically develop a framework to assess the IM performance of PC projects to address this gap. Through a comprehensive literature review, nineteen indicators of IM performance were identified and grouped into four categories. By combining the objective weighting method of an ordered weighted averaging (OWA) operator with the set pair analysis (SPA) method of uncertainty assessment, a nineteen-indicator assessment model was developed. Finally, a case study was constructed using the proposed framework, and the feasibility and applicability of the OWA-SPA model were proved. The assessment results provided by the assessment model could guide project managers for better IM and serve as a valuable reference for researchers in the construction industry.

Patient attitudes toward physicians

Purpose

Stakeholders affiliated with healthcare services should understand patient attitudes and criteria that are involved in selecting a personal physician. The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that are significant to patients in selecting or deselecting physicians as providers of healthcare services.

Design/methodology/approach

The research structure was set to theorize the physician selection criteria (PSC) model into two phases. The first phase developed a conceptual model as revealed from healthcare consumer perceptions. The second phase was designed to test and validate the model through cause–effect statistical analysis underpinned by theoretical explanations through an empirical study.

Findings

Through an empirical study of benchmarking perceptions of people from 15 different countries, qualitative PSC were gathered and used to formulate an initial PSC model. Based on the proposed model, a validity test was conducted, and finally, the PSC model was developed, resulting in several interesting and self-explanatory outcomes.

Research limitations/implications

The model was tested in only one (relatively cosmopolitan) city. For proper generalization, it should be tested in countries with differing healthcare service systems.

Practical implications

The results of this study are interesting, important and have potential values to academics and medical professionals. The study provides strong evidence that a physician’s external approach to patients is the most significant issue for patients seeking medical services. This does not refer to basic medical services, but rather the treatment process, where the physician’s behavior and positive attitude has the strongest effect on the patient’s decision to choose one physician over others.

Originality/value

Final PSC model has identified some significant theoretical explanations for academics and professional justifications for practitioners.

Integrated MCDM for Benchmarking Techniques in Indian Service Industries

Industries need to ascend their standards for competitiveness and adopt modern methods with techniques for effectiveness of their system which occurs through convention of benchmarking techniques. The rationale of the study is to review the benchmarking techniques and moreover to rank on the basis of their application in service industries. To rank the benchmarking, analytical network process and technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) methods are used. An integrated model of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) is used for prioritizing the best practices in Indian service sector. The study identifies different types of benchmarking techniques among which generic benchmarking, external benchmarking and internal benchmarking occupy the first three ranks, providing basis for several critical success factors (CSFs) like planning, reliability, standardization, time behavior and usability as the more important parts of benchmarking. Thus, an endeavor has been made by authors to give a model for evaluation of benchmarking techniques through MCDM which gives confidence for executives to adopt benchmarking in their industries.

Consistency of strategic and tactical benchmarking performance measures

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the consistency of benchmarking performance measures and to investigate the impact of organizational size and managerial positions on the deployment of strategic and tactical benchmarking performance measures.

Design/methodology/approach

– A set of eight hypotheses was used to examine the consistency of the benchmarking performance measures and the impact of organizational size and managerial positions on selection of strategic and tactical benchmarking performance measures. A questionnaire-based survey data were used to test the hypotheses. The target population was manufacturing firms in Midwestern USA; the sample covers organizations in a variety of industries. Out of 91 completed surveys received, 84 surveys were usable resulting in a response rate of 17 percent.

Findings

– The paper found evidence of misalignment between organizational goals and objectives and proactive development of organizational core capabilities. The result also indicates that managers with high-level positions as well as managers from large organizations placed higher emphasis on strategic benchmarking performance measures.

Research limitations/implications

– Research is general and not industry specific.

Practical implications

– Effective performance measurement is a critical element of organizational success. It requires a thorough understanding of organizational strategy and deployment of the strategy into consistent sub-strategies.

Originality/value

– For effective benchmarking, managers must develop a complete understanding of their own business strategy and choose long-term and short-term benchmarking performance measures that are consistent with organizational strategy.

The links between just-in-time practices and alignment of benchmarking performance measures

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine if there are links between just-in-time (JIT) practices and consistency of benchmarking performance measures at various levels of organization.

Design/methodology/approach

– A set of ten hypotheses were used to examine the differences between traditional and JIT organizations in the effectiveness of benchmarking performance measures. A questionnaire-based survey data were used to test the hypotheses. The target population was manufacturing firms in Midwestern US; the sample covers organizations in a variety of industries. Out of 91 completed surveys received, 84 surveys were usable resulting in a response rate of 17 per cent. Out of 84 usable surveys, 33 organizations were grouped as JIT and 51 as traditional organizations.

Findings

– JIT organizations are better in recognizing external environmental factors, developing organizational core competencies, building learning organization through knowledge workforce, and using a broad and balanced mix of performance measures that are consistent with organizational strategy.

Research limitations/implications

– Research is general and not industry specific.

Practical implications

– Effective performance measurement is a critical element of organizational success. It requires a thorough understanding of organizational strategy and deployment of the strategy into consistent sub-strategies and action plans.

Originality/value

– The benefits of JIT principles go beyond inventory management. These principles can be applied to other areas such as effective performance measurement.

Benchmarking to improve a strategy and marketing in pharmaceuticals

Purpose

– The paper is devoted to benchmark strategic ideas, organizational culture, marketing business processes and key marketing performance measures of the pharmaceutical companies that operate on Ukrainian pharma market in order to determine the best practices and possibilities of their use for the purpose of improving performance outcomes of companies participating in the research.

Design/methodology/approach

– The AllFusion Process Modeler 7 software was used for processes modeling. The Balanced Scorecard Designer software was used to create balanced scorecard. The classifier of processes at pharmaceutical companies designed by American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC) was used when determining marketing processes and building process maps. A marketing analysis (value market share, share of voice, secondary sales dynamics and companies' market share growth dynamics) was carried out in order to estimate the efficiency of marketing process.

Findings

– The study showed that three pharmaceutical companies have different strategic aims, mission and vision. For the global companies, a strategic aim is “Market takeover”, while the local company tries just to retain its position on the market due to some historically prevailing conditions. The study showed that local company's management does not consider marketing as a driving force of the development and sales growth; that is why company lacks marketing culture and marketing department as such is substituted with sales and distribution department. The authors find the needs of structural changes in order to develop, yield profit and avoid acquisition by local pharmaceutical company using the better practice of the global companies.

Research limitations/implications

– The research is limited by a little number of companies (three) and one country market (Ukraine).

Practical implications

– The study includes practical recommendations focused on the improvement of financial indicators and profitability of the local pharmaceutical company with a use of benchmarking tools. They can be useful for the other local companies that try to compete with global pharmaceutical companies on the local markets.

Originality/value

– This paper adopts the various benchmarking tools to improve a strategy and marketing processes for pharmaceutical companies.