Using integrated quality assessment for hotel service quality

In the age of growing foreign tourism, providing excellent quality service at hotels is increasingly more important. Service quality and customer satisfaction have gradually been recognized as key factors used to gain competitive advantage and customer retention. Most companies conducted satisfaction surveys of their customers, with a view of using analysed results to identify attributes of potential improvement. However, this kind improvement decisions on the attributes with a lower satisfaction level needs not to be appropriated. Thus, to achieve higher levels of overall satisfaction with the hotel experience, this study combined four simple methods, including Kano’s model, refined Kano’s model, Importance-Satisfaction model, and the Improvement index, to evaluate two types of hotels. The integrated approach of service quality measurement is based on the importance and satisfaction survey of the quality attributes. The survey, with 24 attributes and service items, were administrated to a random sample of 400 customers at one business hotel and one resort hotel in Taiwan. The strategies of these two kinds of hotels were compared and discussed in this study. On the basis of the key quality attributes identified by employing the integrated approach, which are significantly different from those identified on the basis of a simple satisfaction survey, hotels can make appropriate decisions on specific areas for improvement to further enhance the hotel service quality in Taiwan.     

顾客满意的模糊评价

企业必须识别顾客、理解顾客,以顾客需求为导向进而赢得顾客满意。在识别顾客、理解顾客的基础上,提出了顾客满意度的模糊评价模型,以便对顾客满意进行评价。     

An application of six sigma methodology to enhance leisure service quality

Thanks to flourishing development of the service industry for the past few years, its GDP output value is over 73%, which accounts for 58% of the employment population. The leisure service industry, in particular grows by multiple revealing its significant importance. As there is a feature of high homogeneity and substitution in the same trade, the core issue lies on enhancement of service quality in an environment of keen competition. As a result, six sigma (6σ) is applied in this research to improve service quality and increase competitiveness of the leisure industry. First, the service quality model proposed by Parasuraman, A., V. A. Zeithaml, and L. L. Berry (PZB model for short) is utilized to design the items in the service quality questionnaire. Importance and satisfaction of each service item perceived by customers are based for the scale, whose means are further converted to indexes. Thus, a scale-based service performance evaluation matrix with indices of importance as the Y-axis and those of satisfaction as the X-axis is defined. Then, service factors of high importance and low satisfaction are located and defined for improvement in accordance with the index location of each service factor. A measurement model based on the difference between customers’ importance and satisfaction is proposed and a measurement index is defined for an objective evaluation method and procedures. Next, factors of customer dissatisfaction are analyzed and improvement methods are devised. Finally, leisure service quality is monitored by the performance control model.     

提升第三方物流企业客户满意度的探讨

客户满意度理念已日益受到企业界和学术界的认可和重视。对第三方物流企业而言,只有尽快调整经营目标和策略．推行客户满意理念,实施客户满意经营,才能树立新的竞争优势,实现企业、客户的双赢：文章从营销学的角度出发,分析了第三方物流企业客户满意的特点以及客户满意的含义,提出了提高客户满意度的策略。     

商业银行个人客户满意度影响因素的实证分析

随着竞争的加剧、金融管制的放松和信息技术的发展,对客户需求的满足能力是商业银行可持续发展的关键所在。本文采用定性与定量的研究方法,分析了影响个人客户满意程度的因素。研究结果表明:银行的服务、银行的形象、银行提供的金融产品及银行营业网点的便利性,是影响个人客户满意程度的主要因素。在此基础上,比较了国内五家商业银行在这些重要因素上的表现,并提出了提高银行个人客户满意程度的相关建议。     

Research efficiency analysis of China's university faculty members: A modified meta-frontier DEA approach

Traditionally, data envelopment analysis (DEA) requires all decision-making units (DMUs) to have similar characteristics and experiences within the same external conditions. In many cases, this assumption fails to hold, and thus, difficulties will be encountered to some extent when measuring efficiency with a standard DEA model. Ideally, the performance of DMUs with different characteristics could be examined using the DEA meta-frontier framework. However, some of these DMUs are mixed-type DMUs that may affiliate with more than one group. Furthermore, the total number of observations of these mixed-type DMUs is limited. This is one of the common problems when studies focus on faculty research performance in higher education institutions. In general, a faculty member is affiliated with a certain department, and if the departmental assessment policy is not suitable for faculty members who are involved in interdisciplinary research, their performance could be underestimated. Therefore, the proposed model is an extension of the DEA meta-frontier framework that can assess the performance of mixed-type DMUs by constructing the reference set without the same type of DMUs. In this paper, the scientific research efficiency of faculty members at the Inner Mongolia University is used as an example to provide a better understanding of the proposed model. The proposed model is intended to provide a fair and balanced performance assessment method that reflects actual performance, especially for mixed-type DMUs.     

Qualifications for tenure: The legal definitions

One of the most important norms of the academy is the right, and the unique ability, of faculty members to determine whether or not their colleagues are qualified for promotion or tenure. This right has been protected by the U.S. Supreme Court. The national debate about quality in higher education has exacerbated the pressure caused by a limited job market in many academic disciplines to exert substantial pressure on institutions to make careful, appropriate tenure decisions, and on junior faculty to amass a record of performance that will be considered worthy of a positive tenure decision. Judicial responses to discrimination litigation have implications for the way in which promotion/tenure criteria are interpreted and applied by decision makers, the manner in which probationary faculty are nurtured and evaluated, and the faculty member's own strategy for building a record of high-quality performance.     

Apply 6-sigma methodology in measuring the competition quality of satisfaction performance—an example of ISP Industry

At present time the ISP (Internet Service Provider) already make a great impact to the human life as well as the economic society, everything has a close relation with the internet service and due to the fast development of information technology further lower the cost of ISP and improved the service speed as well as its quality. All of this make the customer layer of ISP more popular than before and thus bring up the fierce competition in this industry. Due to the entry barrier of high investment and high technology of ISP industry it has become as a monopoly market and the monopoly market is very respect the competition and cooperation relationship with competitors. Besides, most of the relevant literature in the past is focus on the measurement and analysis of customer to the self-company and few of them mention how to include the satisfaction of competitor’s customer into measurement and analysis. As golden strategy stated in the Sun-Tze Strategic: “Know yourself and know your competitor well, winning every war.” we must consider the strength, weakness, opportunity and threat on customer satisfaction of your company and competitors. Base on the above motivation, this article will apply the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) methodology of 6-Sigma, focus on the viewpoint of customer satisfaction of ISP industry. At first we utilize the 5 equal scale measurement define the network quality item of ISP, which provided by the self-company and competitors. And measuring the degree of “satisfaction” and “importance” of these quality items, then use the performance evaluation matrix and strength and weakness matrix to analyze the Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat of self and competitors, focus on the quality items that fall out of the 2 sigma and use the strength–weakness strategic chart to establish the improvement strategy. And at last, utilize the strength–weakness matrix chart as the control tool to verify and sustain the effectiveness of the improved performance. The complete and easy measurement improvement model provided in this article can be used by the enterprise to effectively and quickly evaluating and analyzing the service quality of self and competitors. And under the reasonable cost condition with considering the competing opportunity and threat of market to effectively improving the customer service quality and promoting the overall customer satisfaction and create powerful high value-added quality competition strength.     

Social embeddedness and job performance of tenured and non‐tenured professionals

This study examines how different employment relationships in academic settings, ie tenured versus non‐tenured appointments, are associated with different types of job performance efforts. The social embeddedness model contends that employees' efforts to perform well depend on embeddedness in the social environment. Adopting this perspective, we ask what types of embeddedness are likely to improve job performance efforts, namely compliance and contextual performance, under the condition of different employment relationships. Regression analyses on the responses of both tenured and non‐tenured faculty members show that employees' efforts to perform well can be explained by social embeddedness. Temporal embeddedness appears to be important in explaining the job performance efforts of tenured faculty members, while, in contrast, network embeddedness seems important in explaining the efforts of nontenured faculty members; and institutional embeddedness explained the efforts of both groups of faculty members.     

Model-based approach for importance–performance analysis

The importance that users or customers attach to various services and products is an essential part of customer satisfaction surveys. Some proposals for linking satisfaction and importance can be found in available literature. The objective is to identify and understand the dimensions with high importance but low perceived quality. These dimensions are primary candidates for focused improvement initiatives. In this study, we propose to apply a class of statistical models, denoted as CUB models, generally used to estimate the feeling and the uncertainty, to measure the importance of items on observed overall satisfaction. A questionnaire with explicit variables of importance for each dimension is considered to compare the obtained ranks with the observed ones. Then the estimated importance and the perceived quality, both obtained with the CUB models, will be jointly analyzed in different datasets coming from various fields. This approach will be compared with some others reported in the literature.     

The role of mutual trust in effective downsizing strategies

Several factors that explain differences in the downsizing strategies utilized in organizations are examined in this study of 91 organizations in the automotive industry. Specifically, mutual trust within a top management team is positively associated with a strategy based on organization redesign. Mutual trust between members of an organization and its key customers and suppliers is positively associated with a strategy based on systemic change. Moreover, these two strategies are positively associated with performance outcomes in the areas of cost reduction and quality improvement.     

供电企业物资供应链绩效体系及流程改进研究

通过对供电企业物资绩效管理的现状分析,基于SCOR模型绩效评价指标,建立供电企业物资供应链绩效评价体系,从可靠性、柔性、协同性、成本和资产、客户满意度5个方面建立绩效指标体系,同时将绩效指标分为考核指标、关注指标和储备指标,并将绩效指标体系考核结合到流程改进之中,更好的指导、监督流程改进过程,并对改进结果进行检验。     

Securing customer satisfaction through component service specifications: Purchasing maintenance services for social rented housing

Many companies nowadays buy services that they pass on to their customers. A specific example is a housing association that buys maintenance services to be delivered to their tenants. These services are referred to as component services and have a large impact on end customers, and this should be taken into account when developing the specifications for the service.The main objectives of this article are to (1) find out what end customers perceive as important for their customer satisfaction for component services; and (2) investigate whether the buying company gives sufficient attention to these characteristics in their service specifications. We investigate these issues in the context of maintenance services bought by Dutch housing associations and conduct a survey among tenants to determine the relative importance of different characteristics of the maintenance they receive on their dwellings. Subsequently, we investigate service specification documents to verify whether they sufficiently reflect the characteristics that are important for tenants.The survey results show that determinants of maintenance service quality that add to perceived tenant control are more important in case of reactive maintenance than in case of planned maintenance. Based on our analyses, we conclude that the selected housing associations only to a limited degree take these aspects into account in the specifications of maintenance services. Although replication in other settings is required, the results of this study suggest that buying companies are not always aware of the specific characteristics of component services, and how this affects the purchasing process.     

The derived demand for faculty research

Estimation of the demands for many services supplied by government and charitable organizations are hampered by two practices common to the supply of these services. The suppliers often employ non‐price rationing of these services, and they price discriminate. The supply of college training, for example, is rationed on the basis of academic ability as well as willingness to pay, and more able students are typically quoted lower net prices (associated with scholarships) than less able students. This paper suggests a method for dealing with both practices in the analysis of cross‐sectional data. This methodology is used to investigate the question of why university faculty members are expected to do research as well as teach. One answer supported by our empirical work is that the customers (e.g., the students) demand it. Thus, controlling for price and non‐academic features, better students will choose to attend a university where more scholarly research is performed. Moreover, our empirical findings also support a strong negative link between faculty time devoted to teaching and the supply of research. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Customers cocreating value with the firm: implications for IHRM

The purpose of this article is to develop a theoretical framework for governing an organization's relationships with customers engaged as contributors to the organization's business processes (i.e. customers as quasi-employees). Based on our suggested framework, we explain how appropriate customer-centric HRM practices can support more cost-effective and accommodating adaptations in the organization's governance of its relationships with customers. We complement these propositions with practical examples illustrating how customers who take different cooperative roles will increasingly become valuable organizational assets. The collaborating customers not only provide the information necessary for the successful performance of the service exchange, but also contribute human and social capital in performing tasks that are a complement to or a substitute for employee tasks. In conclusion, we outline implications for international human resource management (IHRM), as well as future research directions for examining the relationships among customer governance, role configurations, and IHRM practices.     

Accreditation and standards-driven program evaluation: implications for program quality assurance and stakeholder professional development

This study evaluates a language education program and assesses the influence of this program evaluation on program performance and stakeholder professional development. The research design makes use of mixed paradigms and methods. Positivism is followed to verify the extent to which the program meets predetermined quality standards through quantitative evaluation research, questionnaires and document and record analysis. In contrast, the qualitative paradigm is followed to uncover program evaluation impact on program components and stakeholders through qualitative evaluation and interviews. The study concludes the program maintains satisfactory overall performance with some components performing better than others. Likewise, evaluation of program evaluation improves program elements and faculty and program administration professional skills. The study therefore recommends program evaluation as an effective program improvement strategy. Program evaluation is also an effective professional development strategy that provides program administration, staff and faculty members with onsite opportunities to develop their professional skills. Moreover, evaluation of program evaluation should be an integral part of program evaluation to help program stakeholders not only do but also use evaluation alongside decreasing resistance to imposed review and reform.     

Service quality of travel agents in Turkey

Customer satisfaction is an important measure of service quality in travel agents. Customers’ perceptions about agents seem to have been largely ignored by agent management in developing countries. The assessment of service quality provides an important feedback for agents to assess and improve its service to its customers. The aim of this study is to develop a reliable and valid instrument measure customer satisfaction in travel agents. A questionnaire to measure the service quality of travel agents was used and a total of 217 customers in Turkey were interviewed. Factor analysis was utilized to determine the factor structure. The instrument of the customer satisfaction developed in this study provides insights to the researches who study the improvement of customer satisfaction with service quality of travel agents and decision markers.     

Exploring a possible route through which training affects organizational performance: the case of a Greek bank

Despite the dithyramb on training found throughout the literature, its impact on organizational performance still remains a ‘black box’ yet to be unlocked. Indeed, neither the intervening process nor the factors that mediate training effectiveness have been substantively explored or linked together in a framework. In this paper, gaining insights from the concept of the balanced scorecard and using the service profit chain as a strategy map, an attempt is made to formulate a casual linkage value chain that highlights one possible route through which training can impact organizational performance. Using a predictive design, data were collected from multiple sources (employees, customers, and the bank's financial records) and raters from a sample of 30 branches of a Greek bank. The findings confirmed a framework illuminating a value exchange process ignited by training. More precisely, the results suggested that a formal, structured, and long-term approach to training, as well as certain pre- and post-training conditions and activities, improve training effectiveness by creating positive perceptions about the training's value. The generated for employees value results to higher levels of job satisfaction which boosts employee loyalty, creating in this sense value for the organization. This value is reflected to customers, in terms of better service quality, and reciprocated to the organization through higher customer satisfaction and branch loyalty leading to improved profitability at the branch level.     

中韩手机无线网络使用意图和满意度的比较分析

随着网络技术的发展和智能手机的普及,无线网络已成为现代人生活中不可或缺的元素。本文通过比较中韩两国无线网络使用者的使用意图和满意度及其构成的影响因素,以及对各个因素与使用意图和满意度之间关系的证明,从消费者的角度对目前中韩两国无线网络服务中存在的长处和不足,两国间无线网络服务的差异点,未来无线网络服务发展的展望等做出说明,以期为中国无线网络服务水平的提高提供借鉴。     

CRM在酒店管理系统中的设计与应用

客户关系管理(CRM)是一种新的管理理念,在企业的具体实践中引入这一理念有利于企业去管理并分析宝贵的客户数据,从而更加了解和更准确预测客户的需要,改善客户服务质量,不断改进与客户关系,提高客户满意度以及加强客户的忠诚度。文章介绍了一个实用的酒店管理信息系统的设计和实现方法,针对目前传统酒店管理信息系统中存在的缺陷,重点论述了如何把CRM理念引入该管理信息系统中。实践证明,该系统具有良好的性能和较强的适用性。