Description of the process of public sector benchmarking. essay has an irish bias

A fashionable management concept, Benchmarking is often misunderstood or misapplied. Benchmarking is about attitudes that are curious and open to change - simply put, it is the means of focusing on business improvement through learning and applying best practice from other organisations. Yet, without the desire for integration into the business planning cycle, benchmarking is no more than an expensive, academic exercise. In the public sector, this is a particular problem in that it is …

…ide variations between the different parts of the public service in the pay of common groups such as clerical and administrative staff, engineers and technicians, and that within each sector internal relativities would be a relevant criterion. Ultimately, however, the Benchmarking Body's terms of reference make it clear that traditional or historical relativities between groups will not prevent it from recommending what it considers are appropriate pay rates on the basis of existing circumstances.