Tigineh Mersha

Attributes of Service Quality: The Consumers′ Perspective

Examines the assessment of service quality as perceived by consumers. Identifies and ranks the attributes for good and poor quality of five selected types of services. The five types of services considered in this study are physician service, retail banking, auto maintenance, college/university, and fast food. The findings indicate that consumers have well‐conceived ideas about service quality, and that certain quality attributes are considered important for most types of services. Interestingly, finds that some attributes seem to have effects similar to Herzberg′s hygiene factors, i.e. the absence of certain attributes may lead consumers to perceive service quality as poor. However, the presence of these attributes may not substantially improve the perceived quality of the service. Also suggests that most customers would be willing to trade some convenience for a price break, and that the behaviour, skill level and performance of service employees are key determinants of perceived quality of services. Th...

Enhancing the customer contact model

Abstract Most services are provided in the presence of the customer. In most service operations, the customer is not only present but also directly participates in the service delivery process. Such encounters with the service system and the customers involvement in the service production process have important implications for operations efficiency and effectiveness. Thus, the nature and extent of contact between the customer and the service system should be carefully evaluated in designing service facilities. One approach that has been considered a useful conceptual tool for aiding operations managers in their service design decisions is the customer contact model (CCM). This model classifies service systems into “high contact,” “low contact” and “mixed” services based on the extent of contact between the customer and the service facility. Recently, however, this models effectiveness as a service management tool has been challenged. CCM has been criticized for failing to sufficiently distinguish between service systems that involve high interaction and customization and those that primarily provide accommodation. The models capability to assess a service facilitys potential efficiency has also been questioned. This paper reevaluates CCM in view of the recent concerns raised about it and offers some extensions which improve the models performance. It proposes a broadened definition of “customer contact” and differentiates between “active” and “passive” contact. Based on these distinctions, it presents a revised approach for classifying services and for assessing the potential efficiency of service facilities. The extensions provided in this paper would help overcome many of CCMs shortcomings and thus enhance its potential as a viable tool for managing service operations. Therefore, this study, while recognizing the valid criticisms leveled at CCM, asserts that the customer contact concept still provides a useful framework for understanding, designing and controlling service systems.

TQM implementation in LDCs: driving and restraining forces

Reveals that the available literature on TQM implementation emphasizes the experiences of firms in industrialized nations, and studies dealing with the challenges of implementing TQM in less developed countries (LDCs) are limited. Examines the factors that influence the successful implementation of TQM in LDCs with a particular focus on the countries of Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). Using force‐field analysis, identifies the primary environmental factors expected to drive or restrain TQM implementation in SSA and proposes some approaches for enhancing its success. Suggests that advance knowledge of the factors that are likely to promote or obstruct TQM implementation would enable managers in SSA countries to develop more effective strategies that will enhance the chances of implementation success. Asserts that adopting the TQM approach can help to improve the quality of goods and services in SSA countries, increase their export capabilities and facilitate the achievement of their development goals. Cautions that in SSA countries it is not enough that top managers in individual firms commit to the TQM process, noting that, in contrast to industrialized nations, SSA governments play a much more prominent role in economic activity, including direct ownership of major enterprises. Hence, argues that the unwavering support of African governments is crucial if TQM is to be successfully introduced and sustained in private and public organizations in SSA.

Drivers of urban entrepreneurship: an integrative model

Purpose – Successful new venture creation may be one solution to many of the economic problems that affect the mostly minority populations that live in US inner cities. This paper sets out to develop a model and a set of research questions that may help increase understanding of African‐American entrepreneurship.Design/methodology/approach – This paper provides an integrated review of the literature from the USA and Europe pertaining to minority entrepreneurial behavior and achievement. It identifies challenges faced by African‐American urban entrepreneurs and suggests a set of interventions that can enhance entrepreneurial success in the inner cities. The paper then poses a set of research questions with a particular focus on African‐Americans and presents an integrative model that can serve as a framework to examine these questions.Findings – The model posits that motivation and skills drive entrepreneurial behavior and that availability of resources has a moderating effect on both entrepreneurial behav...

Stimulating entrepreneurship in Africa

Entrepreneurship is lauded as an engine of economic development and job creation, with SMEs often creating most of the new jobs in many countries. This paper identifies some important factors that contribute to the start‐up and success of new business ventures in Africa, emphasizing that while personality factors such individual drive and competency and availability of resources are important for the successful launch of a new business venture, effective government policy is also critical in promoting successful entrepreneurial initiatives. Survey data collected showed that most African entrepreneurs believe that they have the requisite passion, energy, and determination needed to start and manage new businesses. However, they are constrained by scarcity of adequate start‐up capital, stiff competition, lack of employees with the right skills, and difficulty in finding adequate facilities to start their business. Building on this research and earlier work, the paper discusses the crucial role that African governments can play to stimulate and nurture entrepreneurial endeavours. While the findings and recommendations in this paper are based on the study of Ethiopian and Ghanaian entrepreneurs, they have applicability in several African countries. The actual implementation of the proposed recommendations will of course need to be adapted to suit the special circumstances prevailing in each country.

The impact of TQM implementation in a human service agency

Some researchers have questioned whether total quality management (TQM) positively impacts the performance of public sector agencies. This paper presents a study of TQM implementation in a large human service agency that serves a major city in the mid-Atlantic region of the USA. The results indicate that TQM implementation was perceived to have a positive impact on several important dimensions of performance in the agency. Further, employees who participated in the TQM process perceived that numerous benefits resulted from TQM adoption, including an increased willingness to accept change, improved teamwork, enhanced problem solving ability, and better meeting-management skills.

Facilitating entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa: what governments can do

Based on a review of the literature and analysis of the prevailing internal and external conditions in Africa, this paper identifies the factors that impact entrepreneurship in the continent and proposes a set of specific interventions that African governments may initiate to stimulate entrepreneurship in the region. The proposed policy interventions include creating a more business friendly climate, building entrepreneurial and institutional capacity, minimising bureaucratic barriers, elevating the stature of entrepreneurship, and facilitating the creation of national and global linkages and networks for African entrepreneurs. Implementing the proposals advanced in this paper, as adapted to the specific conditions in each country, could have significant implications for new business creation, employment development and economic growth in Africa. It could also provide a basis for future empirical studies that assess the relative effectiveness of specific policy interventions in promoting entrepreneurship in Africa and other developing regions.

Continuous Improvement Process in Web-Based Education at a Public University

Web-based education (WBE) is growing by leaps and bounds and is expected to reach more than 5 million people in 2006. The survival of institutions providing WBE depends on how successfully they deliver value to their customers. This paper presents a case study of the introduction and continuous improvement of a Web-based business program at a professionally accredited school of business in a public university. This school is one of the early pioneers in offering online education among public, professionally accredited schools of business. The paper discusses the schools motivations for introducing Web-based education, the process it utilized to launch the program, some of the challenges it encountered at different phases of the programs implementation, and the continuous improvement approach it utilized to overcome these challenges. This institutions experience may provide invaluable insight to other public universities that are considering launching online programs.

Quality, competitiveness and development in Sub‐Saharan Africa

Increased liberalization of international trade that resulted from negotiations at the Uruguay Roundtable of 1995 has brought pressure to bear on Sub‐Saharan African (SSA) industries to be more competitive both in price and quality to succeed even in their domestic markets. In addition, most African countries have adopted export promotion as a development strategy. Yet, Africa’s export performance has remained very poor. This paper argues that obtaining ISO certification and implementing total quality management (TQM) in private and state‐owned organizations in SSA would strengthen their export capability, enhance their competitiveness and boost domestic demand for their products, thereby stimulating economic growth and development in the region. Further, it suggests that, for these quality improvement methods to be successfully implemented and sustained, the implementation process should be grounded on the unique social, cultural and economic conditions prevailing in SSA.

A grant rationing model for a health care system

Most public health programs are created through a political process and the health administrators resource allocation decision is influenced not only by the relative performance of the subunits but also by political considerations. This paper presents a goal programming model for rationing available grants to competing health care subunits on the basis of performance subject to resource and political constraints. Performance is defined in terms of output adjusted for non-compliance on the identified quality of care and administrative efficiency criteria. The quality and efficiency criteria are those specified by the Federal agency as amended by local funding authorities and subunit administrators through a Delphi process. The model has the advantage of flexibility and can be easily adapted to suit prevailing financial and political conditions. In particular, it can be used as a viable analytical tool in health care and other public service agencies where political considerations are important in resource allocation decisions.