THE ROLE OF BENCHMARKING IN BEST PRACTICE MANAGEMENT AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING

INTRODUCTION

In the last few decades, knowledge has accumulated and increased, innovations have been occurring at an unprecedented rate, competition for technology and markets has intensified, and customers are more educated and more demanding than ever (9, 27). Change is affecting everyone and pushing organizations, and individuals, into a new world of collaboration, speed, and innovation. In such an environment, windows of opportunities open and close before many firms realize they had opened. Developments in many areas of life which occurred at an astonishing pace in the last decade have produced a turbulent business environment for which the causes are global, technical, economical, and social. From a global perspective, the World Trade Organization (WTO) proceeding with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and the coming together of the European Economic Community, are examples of the changes in regulatory and governmental roles that are resulting in a new competitive climate. Trade barriers are falling while transactions that cross international borders are rising sharply and financial markets are opening up rapidly.