.....competitive business environment, benchmarking is an essential step in staying ahead of the competition while also addressing internal weaknesses and threats. Business benchmarking processes were first formalized by the Xerox Corporation in 1979 (Kelessidis, 2000). Formalized benchmarking involves picking specific performance measures or factors, analyzing competitors, comparing one's own performance on those measures with competitors, and making adjustments accordingly. However, informal benchmarking has long been a part of business operations because of the natural need for business owners to take stock of what competitors might be doing better. Some of the key purposes of benchmarking from a business perspective include generating ideas for improving processes, identifying new methods of reducing costs or increasing profits, and techniques for strengthening customer loyalty and satisfaction (Reh, 2017).Benchmarking can be used by any business in any sector, and on any performance outcome. In a workplace environment or at a university, benchmarking involves first paying attention to internal activities and business processes and then using an external standard or point of comparison ("Benchmarking," n.d.). Therefore, benchmarking is not just a matter of internally assessing performance as in whether or not enrollments of minority students went up since five years ago...

Benchmarking is about comparing those specific performance outcomes with those in other companies or organizations that are recognized as industry leaders or top competitors. There is no use benchmarking against lower performers, because the goal of benchmarking is to reach the status of industry leader or to maintain status as industry leader.
In any workplace environment, benchmarking can be used for improving human resources and organizational culture. For example, benchmarking can show what competitors are doing to attract and retain top talent. The benchmarking process should reveal specific methods of attracting and retaining top talent, encouraging changes to internal human resources behaviors. Benchmarking is largely a quantitative and empirical process allowing organizational decisions to be based on measurable outputs.

Human resources managers can learn how to create better incentives for employees based on benchmarking reports. Similarly, marketing departments can use benchmarking to review strategies that are working for other companies. Benchmarking can include forms of espionage, as it is important to closely observe what competitors are doing at every level of business operations in order to understand what they are doing right. The results of a benchmarking process…