Barbara Morris

The effects of Investors in People and ISO 9002 in local authority leisure facilities

Previous research into the efficacy of the quality assurance standards in the ISO 9000 series has rarely focused upon their deployment in services. The UK standard Investors in People (IiP) has received relatively little research attention as a quality management method. The paper reports an investigation of the impact of the two standards on quality management in UK local authority leisure facilities. Three case studies registered to ISO 9002, three registered to IiP and one using no quality management method were studied through management team interviews and a survey of customer perceptions of quality. ISO 9002 was held to be useful by the managers, because it enabled them to provide a more consistent service and helped them to meet their performance objectives. IiP received a more mixed response from managers. However, customers of leisure facilities registered to IiP rated their services more highly than customers of ISO 9002‐registered facilities rated theirs. This was true of all of the elements of service investigated. It is suggested that, if ISO 9002 improves organisational processes, this is not apparent to customers. The results also suggest that IiP may be effective in assisting organisations to improve service quality as perceived by their customers.

Aspects of Quality in Health Care

Customers′ views of unsatisfactory quality in health care are examined in an attempt to assess what patients expect from the service. The use of Pareto Analysis to meet this end is explained and the findings are discussed.

Customer Satisfaction and Resource Productivity in Health Care

An examination is conducted of customer dependency followed by an analysis of what can create customer satisfaction. The problems caused for enhancing productivity are then explored in terms of customisation and standardisation, resulting in conclusions about system design to deliver both customer satisfaction and productivity.