Abby Ghobadian

Service Quality: Concepts and Models

The service sector has assumed greater economic importance over the past decade. The latest statistics show that the sector accounts for 60 per cent of the value added in the European Economic Community (EEC). It is estimated that “doing things wrong” typically accounts for between 30 and 40 per cent of a service organization’s operating costs. The elimination of this waste and meeting customer expectations are the major challenges facing managers in the service sector. This is why quality improvement is a vital concern for many service organizations. Despite the significance of the service sector and the importance of quality‐related matters to the sector, there is a paucity of research and publications dealing with service quality. Furthermore, there is significant misunderstanding of the various aspects of service quality. Examines the salient features of service quality and its determinants and describes and discusses several service quality models. Each model represents a different approach to quality improvement. The primary aims are to enhance understanding of “service quality” and to identify models that managers in the service industry can employ to improve quality.

Total quality management in SMEs

Small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) are the life blood of modern economies. That they should remain competitive and produce high quality outputs is of importance not only at the macro level but also to larger organizations, because SMEs are often suppliers of goods and services to larger organizations and lack of product quality would adversely affect the competitive ability of the larger organizations. Total Quality Management (TQM) is considered an important quality improvement tool. Compared with large organizations, SMEs have been slow to adopt TQM. This paper initially examines the differences between the characteristics of SMEs and large organizations; the relationship between the size of organization and inherent characteristics of TQM; and the effect of organization size on the implementation of TQM using deductive research. These issues are further examined through inductive research. For this purpose the development of TQM was studied in four small-medium size organizations.

TQM and organization size

Notes a broad agreement that small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) fulfil a critical role in modern economies, and therefore their ability to survive, remain competitive and produce high quality outputs is of utmost importance at both micro and macro levels. Focuses on total quality management (TQM), a new management paradigm, which is successfully competing with the well‐established paradigms such as scientific management. Argues that implementation of TQM principles can potentially help SMEs to enhance their robustness, as well as improve the quality of their final output. However, observes that, by comparison with the large organizations, SMEs have been slow in implementing TQM. Examines the differences between the characteristics of SMEs and large organizations; the relationship between the size of organization and inherent characteristics of TQM; and the effect of organization size on the implementation of TQM using deductive research. Using the case data, develops a ten‐step methodology for the implementation of TQM in SMEs.

An empirical study of green supply chain management practices amongst UK manufacturers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent and nature of greening the supply chain (SC) in the UK manufacturing sector; and the factors that influence the breadth and depth of this activity.Design/methodology/approach – Based on the findings from a sample of manufacturing organisations drawn from the membership of The Chartered Institute for Purchasing and Supply. Data are collected using a questionnaire, piloted and pre‐tested before distribution with responses from 60 manufacturing companies.Findings – On average manufacturers perceive the greatest pressure to improve environmental performance through legislation and internal drivers (IDs). The least influential pressures are related to societal drivers and SC pressures from individual customers. Green supply chain management (GSCM) practices amongst this “average” group of UK manufacturing organisations are focusing on internal, higher risk, descriptive activities, rather than proactive, external engagement processes. Environmental at...

The importance of capabilities for strategic direction and performance

This paper re‐visits the perennial question “Why do some firms perform better than others?” by focusing on the resource‐based view of strategy and in particular the role of generic organisational capabilities in the achievement of overall performance and competitive advantage. Presents findings based on data collected from 194 manufacturing small to medium‐sized enterprises. The analysis confirms the authors’ contention that generic organisational capabilities have a positive impact on strategy deployment and on the achievement of overall performance. The findings indicate that generic capabilities enable firms to manage for the future by focussing on customer’s needs and requirements, while at the same time managing crises and problems arising in their operating environment. A further analysis comparing the emphasis on generic capabilities by both high and low performing firms found that high‐performing firms emphasised capabilities to a far greater extent than low‐performing firms. This implies that generic capability is one of the main drivers of performance. The analysis suggests that firms seeking high overall performance would be well advised to ensure that they actively consider their generic capabilities as the basis of their strategic direction. In short, alignment of the generic capabilities and strategic planning is a prerequisite for high performance.

Characteristics, benefits and shortcomings of four major quality awards

In an increasingly global and competitive environment, an organization’s long‐term survival may depend on improved quality, productivity and customer service. The pressing need to improve competitiveness has resulted in a number of transnational and national quality awards. In broad terms, these awards stress the importance of management process, customer satisfaction, people and total quality to the attainment of superior competitive position. Describes, compares and highlights the key strengths and weaknesses of the following four major national and transnational quality awards: the Deming Application Prize; the European Quality Award (EQA); the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award (Baldrige Award); and the Australian Quality Award (AQA). Discusses the key requirements of each award and their underlying assumptions and impacts. The awards reviewed represent one of the principal devices used to encourage adoption of self‐assessment, total quality concepts, and external focus in four different continents. To spread good total quality practice the awards publicly recognize the achievements of the organizations which have successfully adopted the concepts of total quality management. The winners serve as useful role models for other organizations intent on adopting total quality management practices. The quality awards reviewed are arguably the premier award in their respective continents.

Innovation in SMEs: the impact of strategic orientation and environmental perceptions

Purpose – To investigate the role and impact of strategic orientation and environmental perceptions on innovation and supporting mechanisms such as process technologies and management practices, in SMEs.Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative approach based on a random sampling methodology of 1,000 SMEs. Construct validity was tested in the qualitative phase of the research.Findings – SMEs can be categorised as either prospectors or defenders. This polarisation was confirmed in this study. For example, prospectors are more likely to engage in new product development, whereas defenders are five times more likely to modify an existing product than introduce a newly patented product. Prospector‐type firms tend to deploy more new process technologies and leading management practices compared with defender type firms, particularly in a turbulent operating environment. Defenders recognise the need to “catch up” and indicate that they intend to introduce process technologies over the next two years. Firms t...

Effective strategic planning in small and medium sized firms

Little attention has been paid to the strategy‐making processes of small and medium‐sized firms (SMEs), or to the effectiveness of strategic planning in the SME sector. Planning often fails because of implementation problems often associated with SMEs’ lack of capability to determine and overcome potential barriers to strategic planning. This paper examines the concept of formal strategic planning, presents the findings of a critical analysis of the suitability of formal planning for SMEs, and identifies some of the barriers which prevent effective implementation of strategic plans. Suggests that SMEs that engage in formal strategic planning experience fewer barriers to implementation than those that do not and that subsidiary firms tend to place a greater emphasis on formal planning than independent firms. Indicates that the eight barriers to deployment examined are experienced to a lesser degree by subsidiary firms compared with independent firms. However, the differences are not statistically significant. Suggests that apart from the preparation of written strategic plans by subsidiary firms, there is little transferability from the parent firm of influences that impact on the reduction or elimination of barriers to the deployment of strategic plans. Parent firms may wish to encourage their subsidiary firms to think and act as part of a larger group and to make greater use of the more significant resources of the parent firm.

Extending linear approaches to mapping corporate environmental behaviour

Drawing upon the findings of an ongoing empirical study of UK corporate environmental attitude and policies, the paper seeks to extend the debate as to how company strategic environmental policy making can be plotted and described. It is argued that the positioning of companies is determined by the interaction of a set of key external and internal influences and constraints, the relationship between which often produces strategic policy positions which appear not to conform to the behavioural archetypes established by linear sequential models. This suggests that such models may not allow the full impact of the reality of business necessity to be recognized. This is seen to be increasingly true for companies operating globally, who are faced with differing environmental requirements and regulations, and who have as yet not developed global environmental performance standards. Although acknowledging existing linear work, the case is put for the recognition of further archetypes, that can distinguish behavioural characteristics and which are identified as being beyond the confines of the linear approach. The hypotheses established are exploratory in nature and are the subject of ongoing confirmatory research.

Performance Measurement in Local Government – Concept and Practice

In most industrialized economies the services sector accounts for more than half the GNP. Moreover, the services sector, unlike other sectors, has grown steadily over the past two decades. The productivity of the sector, on the other hand, has remained broadly static over the comparable period. Thus service productivity improvement is one of the major challenges facing many managers today. Measurement is an integral component of any drive to improve productivity. Measurement of service performance is notoriously difficult but possible. Local authorities form a significant part of the service sector. Performance measurement in a local authority is a complex task because: local authorities offer a wide range of services with both tangible and intangible outputs; customers rarely pay an economical price for the services; there is no profit measure; and there is no apparent direct link between services and cost to electors. Examines the “performance measurement” concepts put forward by various influential org...