SU 6: Managing Employees Roles In Service Delivery Flashcards

1
Q

What can negative customer experiences often attribute to

A

Undesirable employee behavior and attitudes (home affairs)

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2
Q

Explain service culture

A

The behavior of employees in an organization will be influenced by the culture and values in that organization.

Service culture can be described as a culture where an appreciation for good service exists and where giving good service to internal & external customers is considered a natural way of life and one of the most important norms by everyone

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3
Q

Explain corporate culture

A

The cultural framework of an organization which consists of three important elements namely, structure, systems and people. It can serve as a potential basis for a competitive advantage.

Corporate culture represents the values that are part of the organization and can be considered to be the internal climate in the organization.

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4
Q

Further explain internal climate

A

The climate is dependent on how the internal relationships function between people and the organization

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5
Q

There is a strong link between service culture and the service process and a strong relationship between the service process and _____

A

Service quality

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6
Q

What are the four requirements for the establishment of a service culture

A
  1. strategic requirements (strategy)
  2. organizational requirements (structure)
  3. management requirements (leadership)
  4. knowledge and attitude requirements
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7
Q

What is a service strategy

A

Service strategy stipulates what should be done, to whom, how, and with what resources and what benefits should be part of the service offering. It is important that service concept must be aligned with the business mission

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8
Q

An important part of a service strategy and culture is

A

Human resource management

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9
Q

When organizing marketing in a service organization, three considerations should be kept in mind. Mention them

A

(pg 235)

  1. A marketing centered attitude of mind throughout the organization
  2. The responsibility for marketing falls to line managers but top management has to accept ultimate responsibility for its successful implementation.
  3. A formal marketing department may be required to take responsibility for centrally implemented marketing activities
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10
Q

A service organization often requires a relatively FLAT organizational structure with LIMITED hierarchical levels: true or false

A

True

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11
Q

What are the three distinct types of discretion

A

> routine discretion - is exercised when the potential means for performing service tasks are available to service staff based on training, past experience, external search activities or from a list of options provided by the organization (the service of fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s is an example of routine discretion)

> creative discretion - is exercise when a service employee is given a task but the means of acomplishing the task is developed by the employee (a dentist working in a large practice with several other dentists is an example of creative discretion).

> deviant discretion - occurs when employees have exercised inappropriate decision criteria (according to the organization) during routine or creative discretion instances (an example is when an employee reimburses a customer after unsatisfactory service delivery and the policy does not allow for such reimbursement)

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12
Q

Name one of the key organization related considerations in service delivery

A

It is the level of standardization or customization inherent in the service offering (that could be fast food restaurant such as mugg & bean for standardization or exclusive gourmet-style restaurants for customization)

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13
Q

Explain developing leadership

A

> service orientated leadership is a pre-requisite for the development of a service culture.

> leaders tend to have similar core values such as integrity, joy, and respect and they infuse those values into the fabric of the organization.

> the role of managers and supervisors is to encourage and motivate staff, provide guidance, demonstrate leadership, and create the climate where good service and satisfied customers are shared goals.

> communication is a critical ingredient of leadership.

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14
Q

Explain knowledge and attitude requirements

A

> sometimes, resistance to the establishment of a service culture can be attributed partly to a negative attitude and a lack of knowledge among employees.

> everyone should be knowledgeable about the organizations’ mission, strategies and goals and about one’s own departments objectives as well as one’s own goals.

> training employees and thereby increasing their knowledge and influencing attitudes is an integral aspect of internal marketing

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15
Q

Knowledge needs to relate to questions such as:

A
  1. how does a service organization function
  2. what is meant by customer relationships
  3. what is the role of the individual in the service design and delivery process
  4. what is expected of the individual employee
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16
Q

Frontline service employees often perform what three distinct roles

A

Operations specialists and marketers, but also part of the service product.

These employees occupy boundary spaning positions and provide a link between the external environment and internal operations. Employees in these positions have two functions: information transfer and representation

(pg 239)

17
Q

What are the sources of conflict in boundary spaning roles

A

> person-role conflicts - sometimes customers expect a service employee to be subservient but the employee might not want to play this role because it is inconsistent with his or her self-perception

> organization-customer conflicts - the organization expects employees to behave in a certain way, while the customer wants the service performed in a different way

> inter-customer conflicts - this is conflict between customers

18
Q

Explain the service triangle

A

Internal marketing is between the employees and the company.
External marketing is between the company and the customers (making the promise).
Interactive marketing is between the customers and the employees (delivering the promise).

19
Q

Explain internal marketing

A

It is a management philosophy of treating employees as customers, based on the idea that employees are a first internal market for the organization

20
Q

What are the three core prerequisites for successful internal marketing

A

> internal marketing has to be recognized as an integral part of the strategic management

> the organizational structure must be supportive of internal marketing

> top management must consistently demonstrate active support for the internal marketing process

21
Q

What are the two types of management processes that can be considered in the implementation of internal marketing

A
  1. Attitude management - it incorporates the attitudes of employees and their motivation for service mindedness. This employee attitude and the resultant willingness to offer service excellence however has to be actively managed.
  2. Internal communications management - contact staff need to communicate with management about their needs and requirements, as well as about their perceptions of what customers expectations are.

pg 245

22
Q

What are the three situations in which an internal marketing campaign should be implemented

A
  1. When creating a service culture and a service orientation in the organization
  2. When maintaining a service orientation among staff
  3. When introducing new services, external marketing campaigns and activities or new technologies, systems or service process routines
23
Q

Strategies used to deliver service quality by means of people

A
  • hire the right people
  • develop people through training to deliver service quality
  • empower people by providing the necessary support systems
  • retain the best people

(pg 246-247)

24
Q

Further explain ‘hire the right people’

A

To produce the quality of service that an organizations customers expect - hiring and recruiting the right service staff is a pre-requisite.
In the recruitment environment an organization has to compete with similar organizations to get the best people. This approach is referred to as ‘competing for talent market share’ and implies that organizations act as marketers in the search for the best possible employees

25
Q

Further explain ‘develop people through training to deliver service quality’

A

Three types of service training should be offered

> developing a holistic view of the organization
developing skills to execute the required tasks
developing specific communication and service skills

(pg 247-248)

26
Q

Further explain ‘empowerment by providing the necessary support systems.’

Empowerment - Enfranchisement - Teamwork

A

Empowerment

of the ways to realize the organizational goals of service excellence, customer satisfaction and employee retention is by means of empowerment and enfranchisement. Gronos also adds enabling as another concept to use in conjunction with empowerment.

27
Q

What are the benefits of empowerment

A

> employees feel more satisfied with their jobs
empowered employees become a valuable source of new ideas
frontline staff increase customer retention
frontline employees treat customers more enthusiastically
it results in a quicker and more direct response to dissatisfied customer complaints
it leads to quicker and more direct response to customer needs in the service delivery process

28
Q

Explain enfranchisement

A

Enfranchisement goes beyond empowerment and requires that a system should be linked to the performance of the staff where they are rewarded for customer orientated behaviors.

Enfranchisement rewards should comply with:
availability, flexibility, reversibility, contingency, visibility, timeliness, durability

29
Q

Explain teamwork

A

Customer satisfaction will increase when employees work coherently in well integrated teams. By prompting team work the organization can enhance the employees abilities to deliver excellence service while the camaraderie and support enhances their implementation to the excellent service providers

30
Q

Further explain ‘providing support systems’

A

One of the areas where support is crucial is the provision of the right equipment and technology to frontline employees in particular.

Support can be institutionalized in form of systems and procedures or it can be informal by recognition, reward and top management involvement

31
Q

Further explain ‘retaining the best people’

A

There are three ways to enhance employee retention:
> include employees in the organizations vision
> treat employees as customers
> measure and reward strong service performance