In a TQM environment, external benchmarking is preferred to standard costing as a performance measurement technique because:

(A) standard costs quickly become obsolete;

(B) TQM emphasises continuous improvement and reference to a predetermined internal standard gives no incentive to improve;

(C) TQM places an emphasis on employee empowerment, and the concept of a standard cost is alien to this;

(D) the use of standard costs is only possible in a traditional mass-production industry.