Day 1 - Conference (16 March)

9.30	Registration
10.30	Welcome Dr Robin Mann, Director, Centre for Organisational Excellence Research
10.45	Session 1 - National Competitiveness (Setting the Scene) Chair - Pro-Vice Chancellor Keith White-Hunt, College of Business, Massey University
10.55	Ministerial address: Improving competitiveness - Developing the infrastructure needed to support efficiency and growth - Findings from NZ's business practices and performance survey - Role of business excellence and benchmarking in the competitive mix Hon Jim Anderton, Minister for Economic Development and Minister for Industry and Regional Development
11.25	Fast-tracking the Performance of a Business Sector - Role of benchmarking and best practices in accelerating the growth of the ICT sector - Overview of the ICT sector's programme for growth Catherine Calarco, Executive Director, The HiGrowth Project
11.45	Perspectives on the Power of Benchmarking - The importance of benchmarking – a global perspective Dr Robert Camp, Principal, Chairman - Global Benchmarking Network and Principal - Best practice Institute(TM)
12.15	National Competitiveness Panel Discussion Chair - Professor Keith White-Hunt, Panel - Jim Anderton, Catherine Calarco, Robert Camp, Robin Mann, Rod Oram (International Financial Journalist)
12.35	LUNCH
13.30	Session 2 - Benchmarking in Practice Chair - Dr Nigel Grigg, Best Practice Research Coordinator, Centre for Organisational Excellence Research
13.40	Benchmarking: Practical Applications - Approaches to benchmarking - Examples of applied benchmarking Dr Robert Camp, Chairman - Global Benchmarking Network and Principal - Best Practice Institute(TM)
14.10	Benchmarking - Golden Nuggets Session - How benchmarking is organised within BT and how BT uses benchmarking to drive performance improvement - Benchmarking ROI - realistic expectations - Effective networking, and do's and don'ts + latest nuggets Paul Cherrett, Benchmarking Manager, British Telecom.
14.55	Benchmarking and the Organisational Context - Organisational maturity and benchmarking - Transferring and adapting best practices - Key learnings from international case studies John Clements, Director, Organisational Solutions Limited
15.25	Benchmarking in Practice Panel Discussion Chair - Nigel Grigg, Panel - Robert Camp, Paul Cherrett, John Clements
15.45	COFFEE
16.10	Session 3 - Learning from Business Excellence Award Winners Chair Mike Watson, CEO, New Zealand Business Excellence Foundation
16.20	Australian Business Excellence Award Winner 2003 - Corrections Victoria - The journey to excellence - Use of benchmarking - Examples of their best practices Mike Vallance, General Manager - Organisational Development, Corrections Victoria
16.55	New Zealand Business Excellence Award Winner 2003 - Degussa Peroxide Ltd - The journey to excellence - Use of benchmarking - Examples of their best practices Bruce Graham, Degussa Peroxide Ltd
17.30	Business Excellence Panel Discussion Chair - Mike Watson, Panel - Mike Vallance, Bruce Graham, Donna Payne (National Consulting Services Manager, Business Excellence Australia)
17.45	CLOSE
19.15	DINNER

Including an Evening Presentation on
"Don't compromise yourself, honey. You're all you've got" - Janis Joplin
by Rod Oram, International Financial Journalist
For long-term survival businesses need to be performing at or close to world-class standards. This is a necessity for all businesses, even those that are not exporting, as they need to be able to stave off international competition. Yet studies have shown that few organizations benchmark their processes in Australasia (only 2% in New Zealand) and only a handful of companies have ever achieved world-class status. Rod Oram makes the case for benchmarking and describes the national economic consequences for failing to do so.

TBC = To be Confirmed

Days 3/4 - Workshop (18/19 March)

Workshop Speaker – Dr Robert Camp
With support from Paul Cherret, Benchmarking Manager, BT

BENCHMARKING FOR SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE