Chapter 9: Managing Employees Roles In Service Delivery

Question 1

What can negative customer experiences often attribute to

Answer 1

Undesirable employee behavior and attitudes (home affairs)

Question 2

Explain service culture

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Explain corporate culture

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

Further explain internal climate

Answer 4

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

Question 5

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

Answer 5

Service quality

Question 6

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

Answer 6

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

Question 7

What is a service strategy

Answer 7

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

Question 8

An important part of a service strategy and culture is

Answer 8

Human resource management

Question 9

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

Answer 9

(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

Question 10

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

Answer 10

True

Question 11

What are the three distinct types of discretion

Answer 11

> 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)

Question 12

Name one of the key organization related considerations in service delivery

Answer 12

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)

Question 13

Explain developing leadership

Answer 13

> 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.

Question 14

Explain knowledge and attitude requirements

Answer 14

> 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

Question 15

Knowledge needs to relate to questions such as:

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Frontline service employees often perform what three distinct roles

Answer 16

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)

Question 17

What are the sources of conflict in boundary spaning roles

Answer 17

> 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

Question 18

Explain the service triangle

Answer 18

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).

Question 19

Explain internal marketing

Answer 19

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

Question 20

What are the three core prerequisites for successful internal marketing

Answer 20

> 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

Question 21

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

Answer 21

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

Question 22

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

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Strategies used to deliver service quality by means of people

Answer 23

• 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)

Question 24

Further explain ‘hire the right people’

Answer 24

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

Question 25

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

Answer 25

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)

Question 26

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

Empowerment - Enfranchisement - Teamwork

Answer 26

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.

Question 27

What are the benefits of empowerment

Answer 27

> 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

Question 28

Explain enfranchisement

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Explain teamwork

Answer 29

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

Question 30

Further explain ‘providing support systems’

Answer 30

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

Question 31

Further explain ‘retaining the best people’

Answer 31

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

Question 32

What are managerial implications

Answer 32

Successful service organizations must develop a seamless relationship between marketing operations and human resources.
The role of employees and specifically customer contact staff, can create customers that is fiction and ultimately, customer retention.

A service culture will create a climate that is conducive for employees to be empowered and in which they can fulfill their roles as boundary spanners.