Thesis (M. Hous. Man.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

The Thai automotive industry was the third largest industry in the country and contributed nearly 12% of Thai GDP in 2010. Thailand is projected to be in the world’s top ten vehicle production countries by 2015. In 2011, the country produced 1.8 million vehicles and 600,000 units were for domestic consumption. The luxury car industry in Thailand represents roughly 5% of the total automotive market in 2011. Luxury car consumption in Thailand reached its peak in 1995 with the domestic consumption of 23,265 units. In 1997, Thailand triggered the world economic meltdown by devaluing the Thai currency. Consequently, luxury car sale volume then dropped to 3,383 units in 1998. Since then Thailand’s automotive industry has gone through a series of changes through political unrest (military coup – 2007, red shirt protest - 2010), global economy (US sub-prime crisis - 2008), and natural disaster (Japan’s tsunami – 2011, Thailand’s mega flood – 2011). For the past decade, luxury car sales volume has stagnated at around 10,000 units, despite Thailand’s GDP averaging growth of 7%. The study of the Thai luxury car industry provides a unique opportunity to probe the industry led by international firms entering fierce competition to win local consumers. This study looks through consumers’ buying criteria and reasons why Thai consumers purchase highly priced luxury cars. The study explores the roles of innovations in the Thai luxury car industry. When services are packaged with core products, this package attempt is classified as ‘service encapsulation’. The study explores the role of service encapsulation in Thailand and the key players who deliver values of service encapsulation. A mixed research methodology approach was used, starting with 30 face-to-face interviews with executives who run Thai luxury car companies and other key stakeholders. Findings and outcomes are used to design the questionnaire of ‘Service Encapsulation in Thailand Luxury Car Industry’. The survey includes 206 survey participants. Outcomes from the qualitative and quantitative parts are integrated with the literature on innovation and service innovation to come up with a Service Encapsulation Commercialization Framework. The framework aims to provide insight on the interplay among four key elements: internal parties, external parties, social factors and service encapsulation enablers, based on the original work of Sundbo and Gallouj (2000). The study provides insights on how organizations can maximize returns on innovation through service encapsulation, by using the Thai luxury car market as a case study.

The thesis concerns quality of service in the context of business advisory services. The economic rationale for improving any quality standard is based on the theory that by creating customer satisfaction and a perception of service quality, an organisation can retain its existing customers and attract new business, thus improving market share. This argument is based on the assumption that by improving the quality of the service delivered to customers, product offerings can be differentiated in such a way as to improve customer value. This is a customer defined approach to quality and assumes that the provider has understood and responded to customer requirements. In order to achieve this it is necessary to understand the particular situational characteristics of this market and the criteria customers use to assess the service they receive. In order to investigate service quality in business advisory services, the public relations industry in Scotland is considered as a specific case. Public relations is a business advisory service concerned with the management of image or reputation. However it is not a homogeneous product and is made up of a number of specific functions that equate to two main product variants. Based on these product variants, the research identifies three main purchaser groups in Scotland. However, although outcome expectations are consistent across purchaser groups, there are different expectations of the process of delivering the service according to the product variant purchased. The research concludes that when purchasers are buying a task level service their perceptions of quality are based upon tangible, measurable service features, whilst purchasers of a managerial product variant are concerned with process factors that lead to developing a relationship of trust. There are also a number of 'bottom-line' expectations, common across purchaser groups, which are essential to a perception of quality. Service quality, in the business advisory service context, is dependant on recognising what constitutes the core product and tailoring the process of delivery to satisfy purchaser expectations. The implications of this research are that an understanding of context is essential when considering service quality, in order that customer expectations and provider delivery combine to achieve added value. Secondly, that product definitions are required in determining the expectations associated with performance quality; and thirdly, that customer segmentation based upon product variant is a viable proposition in business advisory services.

Thesis (PhD) -- University of Western Sydney, 2000. / Includes index. "November 2000" "Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Philosophy, University of Western Sydney" Bibliography: leaves 321- 345.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 141).

This graduation theses are oriented to service management analyse and customer relations in a selected firm with emphasis on finding properly recommendation for prospective expansion of the company. My suggestions in improving the quality of provided services or more precisely increases competitive advantage in firm BOHEMIA MACHINE Ltd.

The objective of this thesis is to explore the design of operational processes in information-intensive service delivery systems. Empirical data is presented which builds upon existing literature within the Business Process Management (BPM) and Service Operations Management (SOM) disciplines. Adopting a theory building mode, the thesis concludes with the formulation of several research propositions which specify the design characteristics of the processes that provide the service concept to the customer. The research addresses a number of gaps in the literature. First, there is little empirical evidence concerning the relationship between the service concept, customer inputs, and process design. Second, service classification schemes promote homogeneous thinking in the design of service systems delivering diverse service concepts. Third, the BPM literature provides generic process design principles which offer limited theoretical insights into the design requirements of operational processes. Finally, there is a need for process design research in information-intensive service organisations. A research framework that integrates theoretical models addressing service process design is investigated using a single case study approach. Fieldwork was carried out over a sixteen-month period in a large electricity supplier in the UK. In contrast to the macro-orientation found within the literature, this study employs a more granular level of analysis to address the unique requirements of ‘service concept – processes’ pairs. This approach results in a number of important findings which, in several instances, are in contradiction to current thinking. First, the results empirically validate the theoretical relationship between service concept, customer inputs, and process design. Different service concepts lead to different process designs, and the more customised the service concept, the more the process is uniquely designed. Significant differences in the design of the individual processes that collectively provide the service concept to the customer are highlighted. The results also provide some new insights into the design of front office – back office activities as well as into the design characteristics of processes characterised by low customer contact. In addition, the study refutes the view that generic process design principles are universally applicable irrespective of the context in which the processes operate. Finally, the research findings show that a process-based view of service systems allows for heterogeneity; that is differences in the design of service delivery processes within the same organisation.

Um dos elementos para melhoria da qualidade dos serviços farmacêuticos clínicos é medir a qualidade do cuidado prestado e os indicadores podem ser usados nesta avaliação. O presente trabalho teve como objetivos identificar estudos sobre indicadores de qualidade para serviços farmacêuticos clínicos e desenvolver e validar um instrumento de indicadores para avaliação dos serviços de acompanhamento farmacoterapêutico prestados para pacientes ambulatoriais. Para tanto, uma busca abrangente da literatura foi conduzida nas bases de dados PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Lilacs e DOAJ por esses estudos. Os instrumentos apresentados pelos estudos foram avaliados em relação à qualidade das propriedades psicométricas. A seguir, foi desenvolvido um instrumento de indicadores-chave de desempenho. O grupo de pesquisa estabeleceu sete indicadores possíveis para avaliação de especialistas da área através de duas rodadas da técnica Delphi para validação de conteúdo. Ainda, farmacêuticos foram convidados a participar por meio de um questionário para validação de construto e confiabilidade do instrumento. A busca bibliográfica identificou 3.276 registros, dos quais 12 estudos completaram os critérios de inclusão. No geral, o maior número de estudos foi baseado em pesquisas para avaliar a satisfação dos pacientes e usou a revisão da literatura combinada com opinião de especialistas para o desenvolvimento do instrumento. Todos os estudos apresentaram algumas propriedades psicométricas do instrumento. A consistência interna e a validade de conteúdo foram os critérios mais relatados dos estudos, e nenhum deles apresentou o critério de estabilidade. Onze (68,8%) especialistas participaram da primeira rodada da técnica Delphi e nove (81,8%) especialistas completaram as 2 rodadas. Um novo indicador foi desenvolvido após a avaliação do painel de especialistas na primeira rodada. No geral, a validade de conteúdo e construto foi alcançada para o instrumento final. Os resultados desta tese apontam que os instrumentos dos estudos identificados na revisão sistemática apresentaram propriedades psicométricas, porém de forma incompleta ou não satisfatória. Ainda, um instrumento com seis indicadores foi desenvolvido e validado para o Serviço de Acompanhamento Farmacoterapêutico prestado para pacientes ambulatoriais. / One of the elements of quality improvement of medication management services is measuring the quality of care and key performance indicators (KPIs) can be used in this assessment. The study is aimed to identify quality indicators instruments in pharmaceutical care services and to develop and validate KPI instrument for medication management services provided for outpatients. For this, comprehensive literature search was performed in databases PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and Lilacs. The psychometric quality of the instruments was determined. In addition, a key performance indicators instrument was developed. A working group established 7 possible KPIs for assessment of the expert panel through an internet based 2-round Delphi approach. An internet questionnaire was developed for pharmacists in order to construct validity and reliability of the instrument. The literature search yielded 3,276 records, of which 12 studies satisfied the inclusion criteria. Overall, the greatest number of studies were based surveys to assess patients\' satisfaction and used literature review combined with expert\'s opinion for the instrument development. All studies presented some psychometrics properties of the instrument. Internal consistency and content validity were the most reported criteria of the studies and none of them presented stability. Eleven (68.8%) experts participated in the Delphi round 1 and nine (81.8%) experts completed the 2 Delphi rounds. A new KPI was develop after expert panel assessment in the first round. Overall, content and construct validity were reached for final instrument. The results of this thesis point out that instrument of the studies identified in the systematic review presented some psychometrics properties, but did not describe them satisfactorily. In addition, a set of six key performance indicators was developed and validated for medication management services provided for outpatients.

As a Higher Education (HE) lecturer in the United Kingdom (UK), I have taught Leisure students and supported their transition into placement work and graduate employment. This experience has made it clear to me that some students and graduates are not fully equipped to deal with the extensive customer demands placed on them in the workplace. The aim of this study is to analyse the skills and knowledge needed by graduates from Leisure courses to deal with real-world customer service encounters. A theoretical framework on skills, knowledge, education frameworks and employer requirements was used to identify what graduates might need in industry work and this was tests by gaining primary data from Leisure graduates. Critical incidents were gathered and interviews were conducted with five recent graduates and one current student from Leisure courses in Manchester. The data includes 57 critical incidents related to customer demands that the participants faced during service encounters in leisure roles; it also includes six semi-structured interviews on whether the participants felt their education prepared them to meet these demands. This study analyses the data using a theoretical framework of current publications and includes the theories of Soft Skills, Co-creation, Co-production, Emotional Labour, Aesthetic Labour, Sexualised Labour, Intercultural Sensitivity and Service Quality Theory. This study uses an innovative methodology to identify three key findings in support of the research questions. Staffs to staff dynamics and Intercultural Sensitivity are needed in Customer Service Encounter theory to use in Leisure UK Higher Education and fully prepare students for encounters in their graduate employment. These findings offer extensive contributions to current knowledge on theory and leisure education in UK HE to support development of all skills and knowledge needed for customer service encounters. Recommendations are raised to the Quality Assurance Agency (education governing body) and other leisure educators on how they might better educate and prepare their students for customer service encounters in graduate employment.