Measuring the relative performance in mining industry: A case study of cooperative Seif mining company

In this paper, we present an empirical study to measure the performance of a salt refinery named Seif cooperative mining. The study uses Political–Economical-Social– Technological Analysis (PEST) technique to evaluate opportunities and threats associated with external as well as internal factors influencing the firm. The study designs a questionnaire in Liket scale and asks decision maker to evaluate internal/external threats. In terms of external factors, there are four opportunities and ten threats associated with External factor evaluation (EFE) factors. In terms of opportunities, existing potential for export has received the highest priority followed by easy access to national transportation and government support. On the threats part, firm’s dependency on importing necessary parts, global price reduction and mineral reserve termination in near future are the most important issues. In addition, in terms of internal factors, on the opportunity part, access to necessary utilities is considered as the most important factor followed by availability of high level lab equipment and sufficient assets and equities. On the threats, depreciation is considered as the most important issue followed by lack of optimum utilization of equipment and lack of enterprise resource planning. In addition, the study uses balanced score card (BSC) technique to look at the performance of the firm in terms of learning and growth, internal process, customer and financials. The study determines the present and ideal status of the firm.