Best practices
Best practices refer to established methods and techniques recognized for their effectiveness in achieving specific goals across various fields. These practices have been adopted in diverse sectors, including agriculture, environmental management, manufacturing, business, government, nonprofit organizations, and education, serving as benchmarks for success. The concept originated from the observation that successful techniques in one area can be adapted and standardized in others, fostering improved efficiency and consistency.
In many industries, consulting firms play a crucial role in helping organizations identify and implement best practices tailored to their unique challenges. This process typically involves setting realistic goals, analyzing successful strategies from other domains, observing their application, and addressing potential vulnerabilities. In human resource management, best practices provide guidance on issues such as performance evaluations and team leadership, offering concrete techniques for effective personnel management.
In education, best practices promote successful learning environments by encouraging engagement, utilizing active learning, and respecting diverse learning styles. Furthermore, in healthcare, professionals continuously share and refine best practices to enhance patient care and outcomes. The integration of technology into these practices further supports ongoing advancements and improvements across all sectors.
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Best practices
Best practices refers to a set of methods with a proven track record of success for accomplishing certain tasks. Best practices are applied in a variety of professions, including the agricultural and farming industry, environmental management, manufacturing, business, government, nonprofit organizations, and teaching. They are as also used in laboratory science in an effort to apply key lessons from others’ successes, avoid areas prone to mistakes or inefficiencies, and to standardize processes across the field.
Overview
Best practices have been used in a variety of instances over history, arising when someone observes a technique that improves a process in one area and applies it to a process in another area, making the technique a standardized procedure. Many consulting firms capitalize on advising businesses and organizations on implementing best industry practices for their respective fields, which include but are not limited to health and human services, government organizations, and marketing. Additionally, consultants advise a standardized process for developing and implementing best practices. This method includes the following steps: (1) Developing realistic expectations of what needs to be achieved; (2) analyzing smart practices used in other areas to see how than can be applied; (3) observing the practice; (4) describing possible vulnerabilities that can occur when implementing the new process or practice; and (5) asking if the new practice will meet the expectations and needs of the area where it will be applied.
Best practices have also been extensively used in the leadership development and managerial methodologies in the field of human resources. They provide practical examples and techniques for dealing with human capital management issues, such as writing performance appraisals, dealing with insubordinate employees, delegating responsibilities or tasks, or enhancing overall leadership style and team management. Best practices can also be applied to interview techniques and résumé-writing skills.
Best practices are also applied in the field of education, providing guidelines for standardizing classroom techniques in distance learning classrooms, online learning, and mobile learning environments. For example, common best practices used in the education include encouraging interaction between students and teachers, using active learning techniques, emphasizing task deadlines, respecting diversity of talents and ways of learning, clearly communicating task expectations and parameters, developing collaboration among students, and providing prompt feedback and evaluation through open dialogue. These best practices have been applied to all levels of educational instruction—from elementary school classrooms to higher education environments—because of direct impact they have had on creating a successful learning environment for students.
Best practices have also been applied to standardized health-care services in doctors’ offices and hospitals worldwide, with healthcare professionals routinely sharing best practices and techniques through professional conferences, research collaboration, and publication of research in academic and medical journals. Development and implementation of best practices combined with advancing technology continues to foster cutting-edge improvements in the field of medicine.
Bibliography
Baber, Angela. "Using Community Colleges to Build a STEM-Skilled Workforce." National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Natl. Governors Assoc., 19 July 2011, files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED522079.pdf. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.
Bogan, C. E., and M. J. English. Benchmarking for Best Practices: Winning through Innovative Adaptation. McGraw, 1994.
Drummond, Tom. "A Brief Summary of the Best Practices in College Teaching." University of North Carolina–Charlotte, Center for Teaching and Learning, Division of Academic Affairs, U of North Carolina–Charlotte, 1995.
Frederick, Peter J. "Student Involvement: Active Learning in Large Classes." Teaching Large Classes Well, edited by M. G. Weimer, Jossey, 1987.
Wright, Gavin. "Best Practice." TechTarget, Feb. 2022, www.techtarget.com/searchsoftwarequality/definition/best-practice. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.