2014年ACCA考试（p3商务分析）考前总结10

　　以下是高顿网校小编为学员整理的：p3商务分析，供学员参考。
 

　　There are a number of different ways in which benchmarks can be established. A common categorisation of the approaches is as follows:

　　Internal benchmarking. This does not mean simply inventing an objective internally out of thin air because benchmarking implies comparison. Internal benchmarks are likely to be set by looking at historical performance or performances achieved by different branches or divisions. If last period’s actual results showed that it took 12 minutes to produce each unit, then it might be valid to set a benchmark of 11.5 minutes for the next period. Similarly, if the best branch achieved a net profit percentage of 15%, then that might be a valid target to set all branches.

　　The potential danger with these approaches is that they are both inward-looking. Therefore:

　　· No attention has been paid to what other organisations, such as competitors, are achieving. Note that Porter talks of the need to achieve competitive advantage. It’s all very well saying that our best branch achieves 15% net profit, but what if competitors routinely achieve 18%? Similarly, last year’s production time of 12 minutes might be way in excess of more efficient producers.

　　· Additionally, the opportunities for learning are small. If an organisation does not realise that competitors are better, not only is that dangerous in itself, but the organisation will never be inspired to try to find out how competitors do better.

　　However, internal benchmarking can have advantages, such as:

　　· access to the required data should be quick, easy and cheap

　　· it might be the only method if there are no external suitable companies for comparison

　　· it might be the only approach possible where other companies’ data is confidential and difficult to obtain.

　　Industry benchmarking. In this approach, benchmarks are set by looking at what other organisations in the same industry achieve. Industry benchmarking can be divided into:

　　· non-competitor benchmarking

　　· competitor benchmarking.

　　Examples of non-competitor benchmarking can be seen in comparing treatment results for hospitals in different towns, the efficiency of rubbish collection by different local authorities and the exam success of children in different schools. Because the different organisations are not in competition, the exchange of data should be relatively open, though an organisation that thinks it is performing poorly might be reluctant to release its data. Therefore, governments often insist that state enterprises, such as schools or hospitals, publish statistics as it is recognised that this is important information for managers, staff, users of the facilities and government. The hope is that by publishing the data, poorer performers will be motivated to improve their game and to learn from good performers.

　　Examples of competitor benchmarking can be seen in aircraft turnaround times (how long the aircraft is on the ground between flights) and the load factor (what percentage of seats are occupied) for different airlines. Both of these are relatively easy to measure because they are very visible and you can be sure that airlines keep a close watch on their competitors’ statistics. However, you will appreciate that many of the most interesting pieces of data about a competitor will not be easily accessible and that competitors will often try to keep this information confidential to try to maintain their own competitive advantage. Manufacturing companies sometimes use reverse engineering to attempt to calculate competitors’ costs. It is common, for example, for car companies to buy a competitor’s new model and to dismantle it carefully as the basis for estimating production costs and time.

　　Although industry benchmarking might seem to be almost foolproof, there is a danger that benchmarks are inappropriate because comparisons are made with the wrong organisation or because no allowance has been made for important differences. Therefore, when comparing the performance of children in schools, it would probably be valid to make allowance for schools in different parts of town. A school in a relatively rich area where many parents are well-educated and supportive of their children might be expected to outperform a school in a poorer area. In addition, an organisation might not be perceived as a competitor (and therefore not used for benchmarking) when in fact it is in competition. For example, there is no point in being a really efficient producer of inexpensive stand-alone digital cameras when that market is being supplanted by the increasing quality of cameras in mobile phones. Similarly, the exercise would be of limited use in comparing the costs of customer interactions in a traditional bank with those of a purely online bank.

　　Sometimes, organisations in a particular sector set up collaborative benchmarking. Data can be shared either openly (where there is no competition) or anonymously (where there is competition) so that the whole industry can make use of the data to improve. Thus, in the UK each year the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (a government department) publishes key performance indicator data (around 700 datasets) for the construction industry. Each company will be able to recognise its own data and therefore judge how it is performing relatively.

　　Best-in-class benchmarking. In this approach, rather than comparing entire organisations, the individual activities of an organisation are compared to those activities in other organisations where the activities are carried out really well. So, it would be valid for a telephone-based bank to compare its call answering times to those in an organisation in a different sector that had a very good reputation in dealing promptly with phone calls. From a pricing perspective, a hotel business might learn a lot from studying how airlines change their fares in response to demand. Both hotel room vacancies and unoccupied aircraft seats are perishable commodities and maximising profits in both industries depends on enticing in the last guest or traveller at the maximum marginal revenue.

　　One of the most famous examples of best-in-class benchmarking is that of airlines improving their turnaround times by benchmarking themselves against Formula One racing car pit-stop operations. In both cases, there will be both routine operations to be carried out efficiently and occasional emergency or unexpected repairs and replacements of components. Well-trained teams, spares inventories, technician availability will be essential to the success of both operations.

　　The great strength of best-in-class benchmarking is the high degree of learning that is encouraged. The observation of very successful processes and activities, wherever found, will often generate radical innovation and improvement in an organisation’s competitive strength. Furthermore, very good performance in one aspect of a certain industry, perhaps a very slick website in a travel site, is likely to raise customers’ expectations in many different industries, so that slick websites are expected everywhere.

　　高顿网校小编寄语：天道酬勤，相信自己！Fighting！

 　　　　　　

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