benchmarking as a strategic tool to manage

Benchmarking as a Strategic Tool to Manage Internationalization

The session seeks to answer the most relevant questions on benchmarking and how to use it strategically as a tool to enhance and promote internationalization of the institution, recruitment markets, and faculty/student quality.

Olga Sholderer, Senior Associate, Data Services, AACSB International, Singapore - Tampa –Amsterdam

Dr. Mathias Falkenstein, CEO; Higher Education Management Group, Germany / Executive Policy Advisor; LUISS Business School, LUISS University, Italy

October 31, 2019 Slide 1

Time Subject Learning objectives Training methods Presenters & Times

10:30–10:40 Setting the SceneIntroduction participants & presenters, programme & objectives / expectations

All10 min

10:40 –11:05 Benchmarking 101 What do we mean by Benchmarking? Presentation & group work

Mathias Falkenstein15 min presentation5 min Group Work5 min presentation and discussion Total = 25 min

11:05–11:35 Peers & Competitors Define peers & competitors, criteria and clusters PresentationOlga Sholderer30 min presentation

11:35 – 12:00Institutional culture and context Benchmarking: The Inconvenient Truth Presentation & group work

All25 min


Self introductionsI am (name) from (institution & role) in (country)

and I am interested in benchmarking because …


Benchmarking 101

Mathias Falkenstein


Where does the term come from?The term benchmarking was first used by cobblers to measure people’s feet to produce shoes.They would place someone’s foot on a “bench” and mark it out to make the pattern for the shoes.

We all do itBenchmarking tells us our position or status in comparison to others.


The questions we ask

Where am I today?How do I compare to others?Am I at the top or the bottom of the class?What are the areas I need to improve?Are there others with similar problems?Have they solved them already, and if so what worked?


Collaborative benchmarking

is a process undertaken with the aim of improving performance by learning from others

is a voluntary process of self-evaluationentails systematic and collaborativecomparison of practices with the purpose of implementing change in order to improve


A simple but not straightforward process

1. requires time, effort and investment

2. is not just a technical exercise, but one of social and cultural engagement

3. factors pushing a change of culture and improvement

4. potentially, this can be threatening


You need commitment

Commitment of leadership to • steer the exercise• appoint a project team• commit resources• implement the results


And then you will need to put it into actionOnce you have identified the areas for improvement, you have the “ingredients” of an action plan which:

• must be realistic and properly resourced • have a timeframe• define specific tasks• allocate resources (human/financial)• define expected outputs• include monitoring and evaluation procedures

And most importantly it must contribute to the strategic development(and become part of an ongoing process of improvement)


Why do we do it?Benchmarking is a powerful tool to:gain deeper understanding of institutional strengths and weaknessesprovide systematic comparison of core institutional processes by placing institutional performance in context inform strategic planning and assist with decision-making in an increasingly competitive environment◦ setting realistic objectives and targets◦ building ownership of results at different levels

which all can lead to innovative practice and improved organisational performance


You need appropriate comparators (How)

• similar institutional profile • similar degree of institutional development• sufficient common strategic interest

◦ Or with a leader in the field? ◦ Or within/across the institution?


You need to be sure your comparisons are comparable (What)

agreeing on priority thematic areas

developing a list of indicators (quantitative and qualitative)

developing “benchmarks”


You need to gather and analyse reliable data

defining how the data will be gathered ◦ issue of quality and comparability of data

validating the data• internally• with partners • using external experts

scoring the institution • placing the institution against the benchmarks

analysing and producing a report• confidential for management or shared?• what information is made public ?


In conclusion…

Benchmarking (like strategic planning)is about positioning (regional, national, international)is designed to strengthen and enhance the performance and quality of an institutionis participative, dynamic and future focusedresults in decisions and actionsis fundamentally a change process


Exercise #1: Questions1. What are relevant benchmarking areas in

internationalisation for your institution?

2. How would you define and select peers and competitors?

3. What are potential drivers and barriers for benchmarking in your institution?


Peers & Competitors

Olga Sholderer


AACSB International

Global Network§ Affinity Groups§ Exchange§ Collaboration Concourse§ Volunteer Opportunities

Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement (Accreditation)

Professional Development Events§ Conferences§ Seminars§ Webinars and eLearning§ Exhibiting and Sponsorship

Business Education Intelligence§ Industry Reports§ DataDirect Database§ Country Profiles§ BizEd Magazine

Career Services§ BizSchoolJobs.com§ Advertising

Research Outputs


AACSB perspectiveComparable PeersA list of schools considered similar in mission and assumed to be appropriate for performance comparison. A minimum of six comparable schools must be provided.

Comparison GroupsThree types of comparison groups are involved in the accreditation process: comparable peers, a competitive group, and an aspirant group. Comparison groups provide relevant context for judgment, and inform strategic planning activities. Schools within the comparable peer group or aspirant group may be selected as PRT members.

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Methods of identifying your peers1. Threshold method

2. Executive Panel

3. Cluster Analysis

22

1. Threshold Method

Ranges for the indicators that approximate your institution’s characteristics

Business schools’ example:

https://datadirect.aacsb.edu/public/profiles/search.cfm?

One of many other resources for universities:

https://eter-project.com

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https://datadirect.aacsb.edu/public/profiles/search.cfm?

https://eter-project.com/

2. Executive Panel

Reach out for advice to the executives at your institution

Lay out any necessary context (socio-economic, demographic)

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3. Cluster Analysis

One of the simplest and most popular unsupervised machine learning methods : k-means clusteringSPSS, R, manually in Excel or using one of the Excel add-insGroups similar data points together and discover underlying patterns. K-means algorithm identifies k number of centroids, and then allocates every data point to the nearest cluster, while keeping the centroids as small as possible.

Be aware of assumptions for this method!

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Benchmarking Data Sources (public)

Policy Organisations European Tertiary Education Register (ETER)Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

RankingsTimes Higher Ed ShanghaiU-MultirankFinancial Times QSCWTS Leiden

AccreditationsNational / InternationalReportsDatabases

ScienceScopus databaseWorld of ScienceCABS Academic Journal Guide


Ranking example: QS ranking dataFree Data: http://www.iu.qs.com/product-category/rankings-supplements/?q=product-category%2Frankings-supplements%2F&product_count=45


International Faculty & International Students

http://www.iu.qs.com/product-category/rankings-supplements/?q=product-category%2Frankings-supplements%2F&product_count=45


(All countries)

QS Subjects ranking data: Subject: Business & Management StudiesData from datasheet at subject level.


Scores at indicator level

In a nutshell…

• Identify your peers for more meaningful benchmarking• Utilize one or combine several methods of identifying peers: reach out to

a panel, conduct cluster analysis and/or use threshold to narrow down your search

• Maximize utility of data by using context

Institutional culture and context:

Benchmarking = The Inconvenient Truth


Multiple Benchmarking Dimensions in Internationalisation


REVENUE & ASSET BASE

RESEARCH

FACULTY & CULTURE

CORPORATE & ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT

LANGUAGE

PEDAGOGY

EXCHANGE & MOBILITY

CURRICULA

STUDENT BODY

STUDENT SUPPORT

MARKETING, BRANDING & COMMUNICATIONS

PROGRAMMES

SERVICE

NETWORKS, STANDARDS & ACCREDITATIONS

MANAGEMENT & SUPERVISION

RESOURCE

GOVERNANCE & POSITIONING

Multiple Benchmarking Dimensions


Share of International Students

Source: ETER & OECD

Share of International Students for Masters in Management


Source: FT Masters in Management Ranking 2017

Faculty to Professional Staff Ratio


Source: AACSB Data Direct data and Financial Times MBA Rankings

Faculty to Professional Staff Ratio by Institution


Source: AACSB Data Direct data and Financial Times MBA Rankings

Share of International Faculty by Institution


Source: ETER

Faculty with Doctorates


Source: FT Masters in Management Ranking 2017

Masters in Management Course Length vs. Course Fee

28

25

22 21 20 19 19

13

10

0

6

12

18

24

30

Universi

tà Bocco

ni

LUISS

BS

Stockh

olm Sc

hool of E

conomics

Corvinus

Universi

ty of B

udapest

Nova Sch

ool o

f Busi

ness and

Econom

ics

Rotterdam

School o

f Man

agem

ent , Er

asmus…

Católica

Lisbo

n Scho

ol of B

usiness

and Ec

onomics

Esade B

usiness

Schoo

l

IE Business

School

Masters in Management course length in months (2017)


32,20030,000

25,800 25,412 24,900

20,500

16,30013,560

5,056

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

IE Business

School

Stockh

olm Sc

hool of E

conomics

Esade B

usiness

Schoo

l

Universi

tà Bocco

ni

Rotterdam

School o

f Man

agem

ent , Er

asmus…

LUISS

BS

Nova Sch

ool o

f Busi

ness and

Econom

ics

Católica

Lisbo

n Scho

ol of B

usiness

and…

Corvinus

Universi

ty of B

udapest

Maximum course fee (EUR, 2017)

Your questions……..

benchmarking as a strategic tool to manage

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