Introduction ›› What are Best Practices? Methodology ›› Authors ››

There are many definitions for best practices. According to APQC (previously known as the American Productivity Center, and American Productivity and Quality Center):

There is no single “best practice” because best is not best for everyone. Every organisation is different in some way – different missions, cultures, environments, and technologies. What is meant by “best” are those practices that have been shown to produce superior results; selected by a systematic process; and judged exemplary, good or successfully demonstrated. Best practices are then adapted to fit a particular organisation.

In general, when information or data are put in the context of real people and real experiences, best practices could be generated as any practice, know-how, or experience that has proven to be valuable or effective within one organisation that may have applicability to other organisations. These are also practices that have produced outstanding results in one situation or company but could not be usefully transferred or adapted to another situation or firm. As such, “best” should be seen as situation-specific. Furthermore, researchers note that in the context of best practice studies, the term is frequently employed to mean “better” rather than “best” and terms such as “excellent”, “successful”, or “high-performance” should be viewed as equally applicable.

For the purposes of this study, a best practice is defined as a highly effective and profitable practice, or a new and creative application of an existing practice, that represents the best in the industry. A best practice champion is the person, group, unit, or organisation that supported and advocated a valuable idea so that it was implemented and institutionalized as a practice.

Tomorrow's best practices will inevitably evolve beyond or diverge from today's best practices. By nature, best practices are dynamic and progressive. For this reason, best practice benchmarking is often called an “evergreen” process – it renews the organisation each time it is repeated. Consequently, best practice champions regard benchmarking as an ongoing business process that is fully integrated with continuous improvement in their organisations.

The role of context cannot be over-emphasised. In this first attempt at exploring best practices in the Asian hospitality industry, we were studying more than 20 Asian countries with wide diversity in cultures and at different points or levels in their national economic and social development. Furthermore, the firms ranged from small inn-keepers, local hoteliers to global hotel chains. In the evaluation process, these contextual factors were given careful consideration.