The empirical study gives support to the strong mediating role of a customer-focused culture. The key determinants of perceived service quality are epitomized in the 'golden triangle' of Visionary Leadership, Customer Focus and Quality People. Visionary leadership does not exert direct effect on people but transmits its influence through the establishment of a customer-focused culture. Contrary to the findings from previous studies, the relationship between process management and perceived service quality does not fall into place. / This paper presents the results of an empirical assessment of a Total-Quality-Management-for-Service (TQMS) model. The model integrates the traditional TQM literature and service quality management literature, showing the impact of both strategic and operational factors on perceived service quality. Structural equation modeling was applied to examine the theoretical causal ordering, using data collected from 90 service companies and 900 customer interviews. The constructs were found to be highly reliable and valid. The results provide strong empirical evidence in support of the TQMS model, specifying the relationships among TQM practices. / This study contributes to theory building by identifying the TQM constructs relevant to the service setting. Introducing perceived service quality as a performance measure extends the traditional TQM theory by providing insights on how internal organizational practices can influence externally-based outcome. From the practical standpoint, managers could use the results obtained to make better decisions in evaluating quality program implementation. It is evident that the prevalence of a customer-focused culture is a pivotal factor which determines the ultimate success of TQM. This culture factor also acts as a mediator transmitting the effect of leadership on employee behavior, and eventually on perceived service quality. / Choy Lee-man. / "January 2002." / Adviser: T. S. Lee. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 63-01, Section: A, page: 0258. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-152). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest dissertations and theses, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

M. Phil.

The presence as well as the nature of the relationship between customer perceptions of service customization and reliability is investigated in the first of three studies of the dissertation by applying an exploratory analytical approach---"probabilistic scaling analysis." Results suggest the existence of a positive and ordinal relationship between customer perceptions of customization and reliable quality. The second study of the dissertation applies a more confirmatory, 'contingency theory' approach to validate, and further develop the findings of the first study. Results are consistent in that a positive and ordinal relationship is observed between customer perceptions of service customization and reliability. Further, findings suggest that customization quality moderates the affect of reliable quality on overall service evaluations. Some support is also found for the moderating role of reliable quality. Together, these findings help unravel the relationship between customer perceptions of service customization and reliability, and demonstrate how each of them affects the marketplace efficacy of the other. / Overall, results of the probabilistic scaling analysis, as well as contingency theory demonstrate that among customers at the lower end of the latent scale, it is primarily the 'things gone wrong,' i.e. lack of reliability that governs the unfavorability of their overall perceptions. Among customers on the higher end, it is 'things gone right,' i.e. favorable customization quality perceptions that govern the favorability of their overall perceptions. Together, these results suggest that a service provider must minimize 'things gone wrong' and then focus on 'things gone right' to elicit favorable overall evaluations. / In a service environment however, 'doing things right' requires an immediate understanding of individual needs that a customer brings forth during every service transaction, and that must be met to create value for the customer. Qualitative data are analyzed using a conceptual framework to provide a systematic understanding of these issues. Such understanding also provides diagnostic information towards exploring key segment level differences observed in the second study of the dissertation. Overall, the analyses of the third study extend current subject understanding by providing a contextual development of value-creating individual customer needs as they relate to service customization and reliability, and their implications on service design. / Overall, the dissertation develops current subject understanding of service customization and reliability, and therefore of service quality in general. Customers evaluate service offerings on both elements of quality---customization and reliability, and thus one of them cannot be studied without understanding its affects on the other component of quality. The research, we believe, would develop the understanding of the subject, and would also aid service providers in more scientific service design as well as decision-making.

No description available.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Management Sciences: Marketing, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / Achieving customer satisfaction has been the goal of every organisation. In recent times, the postal business world over has experienced a sharp decline in the volume of mail due to more efficient alternative channels of communication. The dwindling volumes of mail have necessitated that public postal operators diversify into financial services as one way of generating more revenue. The Malawi Posts Corporation (MPC) is faced with challenges ranging from cash scarcity, increasing competition from banks and other financial services players like mobile phone companies. At the same time, the customer in the modern age is well informed and demanding high quality service. As such, the MPC needs to ensure that customers remain satisfied with the quality standards being delivered in its network. The importance of achieving service quality and satisfaction are enormous. High quality service and customer satisfaction are tools for competitiveness, productivity and profitability. The aim of this study is to analyse service quality in the Malawian public postal service. A modified SERVPERF questionnaire was used to assess customers’ perception of service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The service quality dimensions of tangibles, reliability, empathy, assurance and responsiveness were used to evaluate customers’ perception of service quality. The 400 respondents were selected using convenience sampling and the eight Post Offices where this research was conducted were selected using purposive or judgemental sampling. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data. Spearman rho was used to ascertain the relationship between variables. Man-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare differences between two independent variables. The findings of this study show that customers’ perception of service quality was generally good across all the five service quality dimensions and that all the dimensions of service quality have a positive relationship with customer satisfaction. In addition, the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty was found to be positive and significant. Recommendations are made in respect of improving the service quality dimensions because they have a direct impact on customer satisfaction which in turn affects customer loyalty.

The overall purpose of this research was to add to existing theory of quality pertaining to the service provider's perception of quality. Quality in the service industry is difficult to assess because of the intangible, heterogeneous and labor intensive nature of services. In addition, personnel have varying perceptions of delivered quality based on their position within the organizational hierarchy. This study enhanced the Service Quality Model developed by Zeithaml, Berry, and Parasuraman (1988). An additional gap ("gap 6") was hypothesized and investigated. This gap describes the differences in perceived delivered quality by employees at different organizational levels (e.g., managerial, supervisory, and non-management employees) across different market segments. The researcher proposed that "gap 6" has a significant impact on total perceived delivered quality. The survey instrument addressed five dimensions of overall quality: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. The survey was administered to employees from hotels representing three market segments located within the same metropolitan area and managed by the same company. A 3 X 3 factorial design was used with three organizational levels (managers, supervisors, and hourly employees) and three lodging market segments (luxury, business-traveller, and long-term/suite). Data analyses included descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Tukey's Multiple Comparison Test.

Ng, Wai Hung Thomas. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-112). / Abstracts in English and Chinese ; questionnaires in Chinese. / ABSTRACT (ENGLISH) --- p.i / ABSTRACT (CHINESE) --- p.iv / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT --- p.vi / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.vii / LIST OF TABLES --- p.ix / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.x / Chapter CHAPTER I --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter CHAPTER II --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.6 / Service Quality (SQ) --- p.6 / Conceptualizing SQ --- p.9 / SQ Perception Discrepancy between Employees and Customers --- p.14 / SQ Conceptualization Discrepancy / Discrepancy in Psychometric Properties of SQ scale / SQ Evaluation Discrepancy / Measurement Equivalence/Invariance(ME/I) --- p.19 / Testing Configural Invariance / Testing Factorial Invariance / Testing Unique Variance Equivalence / Testing Factor Variance Equivalence / Testing Intercept/Scalar Invariance / Testing Factor Correlations Equivalence / Testing Latent Means Equivalence / Chapter CHAPTER III --- OBJECTIVE --- p.25 / Chapter CHAPTER IV --- CONCEPTUALIZATION --- p.27 / SQ Conceptualization --- p.27 / Difference in Conceptual Model / Difference in Manifestation of Constructs (Dimensions) / Psychometric Properties of the Scale --- p.31 / Difference in Magnitude of Random Error / Difference in Perception Dispersion / Difference in Baseline Perception / SQ Evaluation --- p.35 / Difference in Interrelationships among Dimensions / Difference in Perceived SQ level / Summary --- p.39 / Chapter CHAPTER V --- METHODOLOGY --- p.41 / Data Collection --- p.41 / Survey Instrument / Interview / Method of Analysis --- p.42 / Testing Difference in Conceptual Model / Testing Difference in Manifestation of Constructs / Testing Difference in Magnitude of Random Error / Testing Difference in Perception Dispersion / Testing Difference in Baseline Perception / Testing Difference in Interrelationships among Dimensions / Testing Difference in Perceived SQ level / Other Methodologies in Examining ME/I --- p.51 / Chapter CHAPTER VI --- RESULTS --- p.56 / SQ Conceptualization --- p.59 / Difference in Conceptual Model / Difference in Manifestation of Constructs / Psychometric Properties of the Scale --- p.68 / Difference in Magnitude of Random Error / Difference in Perception Dispersion / Difference in Baseline Perception / SQ Evaluation --- p.75 / Difference in Interrelationships among Dimensions / Difference in Perceived SQ level / Summary of Results --- p.77 / SQ Conceptualization / Psychometric Properties / SQ Evaluation / Chapter CHAPTER VII --- DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION --- p.85 / Managerial Implications --- p.85 / Using Employees Information / Training / Methodological Merits --- p.90 / Measurement Non-invariance as a Source of Information --- p.92 / Future Direction: / Application of the Multiple Forms of Discrepancy --- p.94 / Conclusion --- p.95 / APPENDIX --- p.96 / Chapter 1A. --- Employees Survey Questionnaire --- p.96 / Chapter 1B. --- Customers Survey Questionnaire --- p.99 / Chapter 2. --- Item Patterns of Three Testing Models --- p.102 / REFERENCES --- p.103

Due to the growth of our economy and our rising standards of living, customers of today have a larger variety of products to choose from than in the past. This causes an increase in competition which has raised customer expectations on the quality of goods and services they receive (Palmer, 2001 p26). Along with this, the modern customer has become sophisticated, educated, confident and well informed. Hence, they have raised their expectations of the service they intend on receiving. This has placed enormous pressure on service organization's to improve the way they do business with these customers. This "customer transformation" has placed an increasing emphasis on customer service as a means of gaining a competitive advantage. As a consequence of competition becoming global and more intense, many organizations have come to the realization that they cannot compete on price alone. Hence, the level of customer service has a direct impact on an organization's market share, as it determines not only whether consumers will become customers but also whether existing customers will become loyal ones. If service quality is to become the cornerstone of an organisation's marketing strategy, marketers should have the means to measure it. Although research in this field exists, the researcher proposed the need for further research specifically in the area of customer perceptions toward the quality of service they receive. The issues addressed in this study will be of importance to both service managers and future researchers as a customer's evaluation of service quality and, the resulting level of satisfaction is thought to determine the likelihood of a repurchase and ultimately the success of the business. This dissertation is based on the perceptions of customers of Ola Milky Lane and the level of quality customer service they receive. Looking at the business from the customer's viewpoint will help the researcher investigate how current customers feel about the organization as well as their attitude toward the business. The expectations of these customers together with their levels of satisfaction, which shape their perceptions of the customer service, serve as the foundation on which service quality will be evaluated. Moreover, the research study hopes to assist the participating organisation establish whether gaps in service delivery exist, the reasons for their presence and identify possible solutions which can be implemented to close or prevent those gaps from further widening. This will benefit the organization as it can be used as a tool to understand customer perceptions, which can equip them to gauge the effectiveness and efficiency of their relationship programmes. With this motivation in mind, the research study takes a strategic look at the importance of customer service as perceived by customers by means of determining whether the organisation is or is not meeting their expectations. / Thesis (M.Comm.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

Thesis (MTech (Quality))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2010 / To succeed in the global market, South African enterprises need an overall operational excellence which is a key requirement for any business to sustain competiveness and growth. To effectively respond to the constant flexibility of customer demands, many quality initiatives have been developed to assist business organisations in the quest for excellence. Quality management has evolved over the years from a simple product inspection, to a modern management system that requires the involvement of the entire workforce and other stakeholders to work closely, toward customer satisfaction. Currently, the most used quality concepts by organisations throughout the world are ISO 9001(2008); Total Quality Management; Just in Time; and Six Sigma. Among these quality initiatives, Six Sigma has emerged as the most powerful quality improvement strategy. In South Africa (SA), business organisations have adopted several quality initiatives to cope with the challenges of globalisation. Six Sigma is one of the latest quality initiatives that many businesses in SA are using or considering as a mechanism to strengthen their product or service quality. This study explores a Six Sigma model for implementation in the context of the South African business environment. As less than ten percent of organisations worldwide have recognised the tremendous effects of Six Sigma in boosting their productivity and financial profit, it becomes extremely important to understand the complexity and critical aspects behind Six Sigma implementation, that organisations in SA must recognise when implementing Six Sigma. This study can assist many industries in SA, as well as those in other developing nations, who have not yet experienced Six Sigma implementation, to become aware of the complexity and critical elements of this quality approach.

Thesis (MTech (Marketing))--Cape Technikon, 1999. / Quality of service, as perceived by the customer, has been shown by research to be a critical factor contributing to organizational performance in recent years. Therefore, the management of service quality is a key variable, and for service quality to be managed, it has to be measured. There have been significant advances in the measurement of service quality in the past fifteen years, resulting in a stream of research, mostly concentrating on the external customers of profit-seeking firms. A key factor driving this research was the development of an apparently reliable, valid instrument for the measurement of service quality. This instrument called SERVQUAL, was developed by US researchers A. "Parsu" Parasuraman, Valarie Zeithaml and Len Berry. It has spawned an enormous debate in the marketing literature, leading to the further exploration and refinement of the dimensions of the service quality construct. While the use of SERVQUAL has been extensively investigated in external markets, and in for-profit firms, less attention has been given to its use, and more importantly, its reliability and validity in internal markets, and in not-for-profit organizations. These settings are becoming increasingly important from a services marketing perspective. Internal markets (where fellow employees are also customers) are being subjected to market testing, and many services previously provided within the organization are being outsourced. In order to survive, many functions such as information systems, training, catering and cleaning are being forced to market their services internally, and this includes assessing service quality, and improving it. Likewise, private and public nonprofit organizations are coming under increasing scrutiny, as donors and taxpayers alike become evermore concerned about the value gained from the expenditures made by these organizations with their funds. In this study, the SERVQUAL instrument was used to measure service quality as perceived by the internal customers of a large IT department within an extensive government organization. The main objectives of the study were to assess the psychometric properties of the SERVQUAL instrument in this setting. It was found that SERVQUAL generally performs well under these circumstances, with regard to reliability, construct, convergent and nomological validity. However, the instrument appears to be problematical in terms of discriminant validity. This is probably less attributable to the measurement situation as to the instrument itself, for the finding mirrors evidence from the literature. The study also identifies implications for management, and opportunities for future research.