Cost Management, Strategy & Technique 2
Management Technique
Companies in today’s world need to be very strategic when it comes to the management
techniques they implore. A fast technologically advancing world demands that most companies
keep up with change or run the risk of taking heavy losses or even worse, running out of business
and as such, choosing the right technique becomes extremely vital. Blocher et. al (2021) expertly
categorized 13 strategies into two groups, one group dealing with strategy implementation and
the other group focusing on achieving implementation through process improvement. One
strategy that ties very well with the company to be discussed is benchmarking. “Benchmarking is
essentially a continuous improvement tool allowing a more formalized and disciplined
application of search for excellence through operational improvement” (Passos & Haddad,
2013). The company to be discussed in this article is Xerox. Dragolea & Cotirlea (2009) in their
article stated in their journal widely regarding Xerox and Robert Camp, one of their logistics
engineers as one of the pioneers of benchmarking. Now the company mainly deals in the
document management market.
Appropriateness of Technique
“In the early 1980s, Xerox found itself increasingly vulnerable to intense competition
from both the US and Japanese competitors. According to analysts, Xerox's management failed
to give the company strategic direction” (Dragolea & Cotirlea, 2009). Xerox can benefit
tremendously from combining two methods of benchmarking. They can use the “competitive
method” of benchmarking which will see them compare their products, and methods against
other companies in the same market. The “process method” on the other hand which focuses
more on the internal activities and how to be more efficient. Now looking at the initial problem
faced by the company, those two methods work well in helping arrive at a solution both locally
Cost Management, Strategy & Technique 3
and internationally. Using those two methods, Xerox will be able to define a good direction and
also improve efficiency. For example, Xerox can try different raw material suppliers or
outsource some level of their production to foreign suppliers. They can then compare metrics
like production time, cost and quality against what they had previously to establish a baseline. It
is clear in this example how the competitive benchmark can lead Xerox to that outcome.
Positive Force of Technique
The benchmarking method carries many positives but with respect to Xerox, a few major
ones come to mind. Increased efficiency and better product quality will definitely be noticed
with this approach because benchmarking will help them to check their current processes and
improve on them leading to increased quality and efficiency. The new methods and processes
will also see an uplift in employee motivation. This is because often time’s employees get stuck
in the rut of the same old processes and pushing innovative ideas will help motivate them and
keep them engaged. Finally they can have a better understanding of the competition because
benchmarking allows them to directly compare with similar companies to fully establish what
works or what doesn’t. Philippians 4:8 (ESV) states “Finally, brothers, whatever is true,
whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these
things”. This verse encourage individuals to learn and pick up all that is positive from one
another just like benchmarking in the business world.
Cost Management, Strategy & Technique 4
References
Blocher, E., Juras, P. E., & Smith, S. D. (2022). Cost management: A strategic emphasis.
McGraw Hill.
Dragolea, L., & Cotîrlea, D. (2009). "benchmarking - a valid strategy for the long term? ".
Annales Universitatis Apulensis Series Oeconomica, 2(11), 813–826.
https://doi.org/10.29302/oeconomica.2009.11.2.23
English Standard Version Bible. (2001). ESV Online. https://esv.literalword.com/
Passos, C. A. S., & Haddad, R. B. B. (2013). Benchmarking: A tool for the improvement of
production management. IFAC Proceedings Volumes, 46(24), 577–581.
https://doi.org/10.3182/20130911-3-br-3021.00003
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