An evolutionary approach to benchmarking

Abstract

Introduces a framework for benchmarking organisations – “evolutionary benchmarking”. Discusses the concept and operation of the framework, along with its proposed advantages in aiding benchmarking. The benchmarking approach proposed utilises an evolutionary classification method called cladistics. Uses an example classification of automotive assembly plants to show how the proposed framework helps benchmarking in terms of: providing a framework for representing benchmarking information; enhancing the quality and validity of the information according to the classification rules of parsimony, congruence and homology; and providing a comparison that indicates how the practices should be adopted. This framework is considered to be useful to researchers who study benchmarking methodologies and those that categorise the findings of benchmarking studies.