Benchmarking - Essay

Benchmarking is the process of comparing one's business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and/or best practices from other industries. It is recognised to play a major role in developing and monitoring the business strategy, and therefore achieving a competitive advantage in the industry. However Andrew Campbell has suggested there is a problem in benchmarking as it can be valuable but can also mislead and distract; therefore “it can prevent managers from focusing on what is unique to their situation”. As a result he suggests that the designed planning processes “fail to add value” and consequently companies should spend time on the “needs of their businesses and skills of their corporate managers”. The selected company which I will use to examine whether the statement made by Andrew Campbell is still valid will be Honda. I will first start of by defining the strategy which they implement. Then I will move on to discussing their Management Control Systems (MCS) and how they are aligned to the strategy, as well as how they help Honda achieve their strategic goals. After this I will consider the major risks which face the company and how they can use the Levers of Control Framework (LOCF) to assess it strategic risks and uncertainties.
Successful companies are those that focus their efforts strategically which can be seen within Honda Motor Company Ltd. A strategy is the determination of the basic long term goals and objectives of the enterprise and the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out these goals.
Honda is a multinational automobile manufacturing corporation which was founded in 1948 by Soichiro Honda, a Japanese engineer and industrialist. He crafted Honda’s philosophy which shapes their present corporate activities. Their corporate strategy consists of a wide portfolio which includes operating in three different markets; the Automobiles business, Motorcycles business and Power business.