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Integrating
People, Technology and Strategy: Quality Dimensions in Select
Services
--B
Balajiand S Ganesan
Services
marketing and management refers to a customer satisfaction
engineering tool that deals with various complex issues like
design, delivery, encounters, quality, profitability and productivity.
Quality is the totality of features and characteristics of
a product or service that bears on its ability to satisfy
given needs. The eight principal Quality dimensions comprise
Performance, Features, Reliability, Conformance, Durability,
Serviceability, Aesthetics and Perceived Quality. This paper
deals with the challenge of service quality in today's emerging
global village. It is based on doctoral level research work
related to five services, namely, banking, airlines, education,
fast food restaurants, and mobile telecommunication. The study
employed the modified version of the SERVQUAL instrument to
ascertain the quality gaps in the service industry for the
five services. The selection of these services stems from
the fact that the Indian economy is fast responding to the
LPG syndrome. The cultural divide is fast melting and the
service industry has been rocked by fast paced technological
advancements. These industries, in particular, have been facing
stiff competition from transnational corporations where innovation
and customer delight are the order of the day. This paper
endeavors to assess the consumer psyche in order to compile
the existing gaps and to suggest strategies to alleviate such
quality gaps.
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Service
Blueprinting - A Power Tool for Management Education
--Hemlata
Agarwal
Service
Blueprinting is the procedure of making a flowchart or map
of a service process. The blueprints clarify the interactions
between participants and employees and show how these are
supported by additional activities and systems backstage.
The aim is to identify points where value may be added for
stakeholders. Service blueprints have been used with some
success to analyze and improve the service quality in areas
viz., finance, banking, retail and healthcare services. This
article discusses the use of service blueprints as a tool
for management education. 'Blueprinting' of the activities
can serve as a power tool to understand the activities and
process involved in delivering quality service of a management
institute. It enables us to visualize the whole process of
delivery, depicting the front stage interaction in sequence,
experience of stakeholders, important service encounters with
participants, facilities and equipment with supporting backstage
activities, which are hidden from the stakeholders. Just by
looking at the blueprint, the management can comprehend the
complexity of the transactions and pinpoint the areas where
delays and failures exist. The author has identified four
major areas in creating service blueprints for a management
institute. These areparticipant registration, classroom sessions,
examination and evaluation system and placements. Service
blueprint can have a number of useful applications. It can
act as a control tool to enable better planning, organizing,
communication and training. On the whole, it is ascertained
that service blueprinting helps to simplify a complex set
of concepts, and thus renders a better service by providing
a number of useful insights for improving the quality, productivity
and effectiveness of the operation of the organization.
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Service
Quality: Gaps
in the Indian Banking Industry
--Zillur
Rahman
This
study deals with the measurement of service quality of banks
in India. It investigates the discrepancy between customers'
expectations and perceptions towards the quality of services.
The study was conducted using the SERVQUAL instrument. The
results indicate that the sample population has perceptual
problems with their banking service experiences.
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Out-of-Pocket
Expenditure on Health: Inter-
and Intra-product Price Variability in Medical Diagnostic
Facilities
--Ratnaja Gogula
The
aggregate expenditure towards private costs on health in India
is out-of-pocket when compared with other low income and lower-middle
income countries as well as upper-middle income and high income
countries. The burden of health expenses on an individual
in India is enormous. Given the high dependence on private
health facilities and also the fact that the out-of-pocket
expenditure is 100% of the total private costs, it would be
of high relevance to determine price variability in components
of out-of-pocket expenditure on different health goods and
services. This paper captures price variability in diagnostic
tests among independent private medical diagnostic clinics
and intra price variability in diagnostic tests between independent
private facilities and corporate hospital labs in the city
of Hyderabad. The paper concludes that in the absence of regulatory
price control mechanisms, increased public facilities, insurance
support and credibility of public facilities, both independent
private facilities as well as corporate hospitals will continue
to cheat the poor man in India, who is an unsuspecting believer
of the superiority of private healthcare facilities.
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Advertising
and Children: A
Conceptual Study of the Child's Information-processing Capabilities
--Rutu
Mody-Kamdar
It
has commonly been assumed that very young children (below
7 years) have a problem in understanding advertising messages.
Although there is an increasing awareness of the child's role
in the family decision-making process among academic and corporate
circles, very young children, i.e., pre-schoolers, however,
are still deemed as the largely unintelligible segment. This
paper reviews the research done in this area over the last
30-40 years, and draws out the major findings regarding the
young child and his information-processing capabilities with
respect to advertising.
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Customerization:
Getting to the Customer
--Jitendra
Kumar Das
With
increasing liberalization and globalization, companies face
the prospect of stiff competition in a market where products
can no longer be differentiated on feature and price combinations.
Customers treat products as commodities and low price rules.
In such scenarios it becomes difficult to attract new customers
and even more arduous to retain them profitably. To add to
the woes of a company, a new entrant in the market is quickly
able to create a niche for itself. In this market chaos, a
company must be able to differentiate itself from the rest
to survive and possibly emerge as a market leader. This differentiation,
logically, cannot be product-basedfor the best product offer
is merely a prerequisite to survivalbut it must be company-based
yet focused on the customer. In this paper, an approach has
been proposed to customerize a company to better address customers'
needs and thus to stay ahead of competitors.
© 2005 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
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