To read this content please select one of the options below:

Benchmarking quality management: How does it apply to the university alumni office?

Jayne M. Godfrey (University of Tasmania, Tasmania, Australia, and)
Peter J. Godfrey (Godfrey Business Advisory Services, Tasmania, Australia)

Benchmarking: An International Journal

ISSN: 1463-5771

Article publication date: 1 March 1999

1870

Abstract

This paper describes the extent to which Australian university alumni offices currently apply benchmarking principles. Not surprisingly, there is considerable diversity in the way that the offices measure, evaluate, and progress their operations. Benchmarking has been adopted by only half of the respondents to a survey of management practices. To some extent, the differences reflect differences in alumni officers’ perceptions of the primacy of various customer groups, and the extent to which the top echelons of the universities advocate quality management practices. Resource constraints and concerns about meeting target performance measures are key deterrents to the adoption of benchmarking. Those associations that adopt benchmarking out‐perform those that do not on the following dimensions: commitment to quality management practices; communication with employees; continuous improvement, emphasis on customer satisfaction; and participative management. Organisations that have adopted quality management principles vary according to how they implement benchmarking, including the types of benchmarking partners adopted.

Keywords

Citation

Godfrey, J.M. and Godfrey, P.J. (1999), "Benchmarking quality management: How does it apply to the university alumni office?", Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 40-59. https://doi.org/10.1108/14635779910258148

Publisher

:

MCB UP Ltd

Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited

Related articles