This paper firstly gives brief details on how best
practice emerged and especially on the
environmental changes that led to best practice. Secondly, it discusses
bench marking as a key component to best practice and the common characteristics of best practice, with a
focus on human resource management and manufacturing
organisations. It describes recent ideas in management and how these link to best practice. Finally, it considers the continuation of the trend and shows how best practice has led us to a new focus on human resource management. From the paper: "Best practice management is a current idea that is having a great impact on organisations all over the world. The idea at the heart of best practice is a very simple one 'how do the leading organisations manage their operations?' Beyond this basic concept,
definitions of best practice vary. These definitions of best practice generally take the form of a list of requirements or elements required for success. Within these lists we see some common overall themes. One of the themes evident is the focus on human resource management. Best practice focuses largely on making things better. For a company to achieve this they need to not just look at where things are currently, but also where the future lies. To see where best practice is heading, we will also focus on where best practice has evolved from."