Based on the above steps, the process of benchmarking was structured into five
levels (Figures 1 and 2). Since this hierarchical representation eases the complexity of
analysis through decomposition, it aids fast-food restaurant managers in
understanding the interactions among various service criteria and attributes. As
shown in Figures 1 and 2, the top level of a hierarchy represents the ultimate goal of
determining the best-practice fast-food restaurant. At the second level of a hierarchy,
the five distinctive service criteria: