Section Sixcompany to better concentrate its resources so that it can
obtain a competitive advantage.^25
Benchmarking HR practices provides the means
of focusing attention on highest value-added HR
activities—those practices which are more likely
to be practiced by successful companies. Rather
than fall into the trap of trying to do everything
well and please everyone with insufficient
resources—which results in no one being
satisfied—HR professionals could use
benchmarking to focus limited resources on
critical activities.^26Industry Influences
One important consideration in evaluating human resources is
industry differences. What may constitute effective human
resource practice in one setting may be ineffective in another.
A study of high-technology entrepreneurial start-up firms
provides some good examples of industry differences in
effective human resource practices. This study points out that
the entrepreneurial and high-technology literatures provide
contradictory guidance in the areas of human re-source plan-
ning, compensation, and the work environment. For example,
in high-technology industries, higher company performance is