Application Of Benchmarking Management Theory In Higher Education Management Works Research

In 1970's, Benchmarking was a very prevalent theory in the field of CorporateManagement. Since it was born in 1976, it has been playing a very important role inimproving Corporate Management effectiveness and efficiency. It's regarded as one of thethree most effective management methods in 20th century. In practice, as people'sunderstanding of Benchmarking has gradually been deepening, the extension of itsdefinition has expanded. Besides in Corporate Management, application of Benchmarkinghas also been developed in the fields of Public Management and Education Management inwhich it mainly focuses on Higher Education Management. In recent years, many foreignuniversities, higher education departments and international education organizations haveresearched and applied Benchmarking theory to management works of higher educationinstitutions (HEIs). Through these efforts, they have gained a lot of valuable experiences.Benchmarking applied in HEIs includes the following process. Firstly, we take the "bestpractices" in one or some aspects from inside or outside of the institutions, other educationor non-educational organizations as "benchmarks". Then we compare our operationalconditions with them, evaluate the results, and analyze the reasons for the success ofbenchmarks into further depth. At last we try to improve our performance throughcooperation with the benchmarking organizations. In this way, we can exceed ourselvesand then the "benchmarks". Our next mission is to search for new "benchmarks"continually in order to make further success. The core theory is that Benchmarking is anintrinsic management tool. It improves management effectiveness by analyzing ourselves,choosing "benchmarks" and cooperating with the benchmarking organizations. In China,higher education system has formed an important ingredient of National InnovationSystem and its functions in political and economic developments are more and moreimportant. Therefore, higher education and its management works have attracted generalconcerns. An important method of higher educational development is to improvemanagement effectiveness in HEIs. People have realized that introducing advancedmanagement ideas and successful management methods into these institutions is of greatimportance in improving their management works.On the basis of referring and analyzing the research and practical experiences offoreign educational organizations and higher educational organizations in usingBenchmarking, the author applies Comparison Analysis and Organizational AnalysisMethods, trying to introduce this advanced management theory into Chinese highereducational management works, so as to improve their effectiveness. The whole thesis iscomposed of three parts, which are Introduction, Main Body and Conclusion.Introduction. The author introduces the development process of Benchmarking andthe background environment of HEIs management in China.Main body. It consists of five sections.Section one. The Principle of Benchmarking theory's Application in HEIsManagement works.On the basis of Benchmarking' original definition, the author definesBenchmarking applied in HEIs management works, so as to form right knowledge on it.Then, an introduction of its classification, and an analysis of its nature and characteristicsare also given.Section two. The Analysis of Benchmarking's Functions and Merits in HEIs.Theauthor analyzes Benchmarking,s merits which can be adopted into HEIs managementworks, and discusses its positive effects on HEIs in our country.The Necessity of HEIs'Adopting Benchmarking in Their Management Works and The Feasibility StudySection three.The author investigates into the practice of HEIs management works tofind out their problems and particularly discusses the necessity and feasibility ofintroducing Benchmarking into HEIs management works.Section four. The Valuable Experiences of Foreign HEIs in ApplyingBenchmarking.The author introduces in detail how the famous foreign universities, higheducation departments and international education organizations have researched andapplied Benchmarking to HEIs management works and the valuable experiences they'vegot from the practice.Section five. Recommendations on How could use Benchmarking.Considering thefact of Chinese HEIs management works' current situation and developing directions, theauthor designs on how to apply Benchmarking to HEIs management works. It contains theexternal environment design, operational principles and procedures, etc.Conclusion. The author analyzes the future outlook of applying Benchmarking inHEIs management works.