ABSTRACT

Product, service and process improvements can take place only in relation to established standards, with the improvements then being incorporated into new standards. Benchmarking, one of the most transferable aspects of Rank Xerox’s approach to total quality management, and thought to have originated in Japan, measures an organization’s operations, products and services against those of its competitors in a ruthless fashion. It is a means by which targets, priorities and operations that will lead to competitive advantage can be established.