Business Commons^™

The Role Of Quality Practices In Service Organizations, Anders Gustafsson, Lars Nilsson, Michael D. Johnson

Michael D. Johnson

The widespread interest in using quality management to improve organizational performance started in the manufacturing sector and later spread to service organizations. Quality management can be viewed as an approach to management characterized by its principles, practices and techniques (Dean and Bowen, 1994). Each principle is implemented through a set of practices, which consist of activities such as collecting customer information, improving work processes and managing employees. The practices are, in turn, made effective by the support of a wide array of techniques. The strength of quality management compared with other business philosophies is its focus on practical methodology, i.e. …

Expectations, Perceived Performance, And Customer Satisfaction For A Complex Service: The Case Of Bank Loans, Michael D. Johnson, Georg Nader, Claes Fornell

Michael D. Johnson

The models currently used to describe customers' satisfaction with products and services presume that customers have well-formed performance expectations. The present study uses data from the Swedish Customer Satisfaction Barometer to show that these models fail to describe customer satisfaction with bank loans, a complex, heterogeneous, and infrequently purchased service. Performance expectations are more likely an artifact of performance in this case and have no effect on satisfaction. This is quite different from other products and services where expectations are a stronger predictor of performance and have a positive effect on customer satisfaction.

Information Differences Between Closed-Ended And Open-Ended Survey Questions For High-Technology Products, William Bleuel

William H. Bleuel

Many businesses collect survey data that has two dimensions of satisfaction; namely, quantitative scores to specific questions (closed-ended) and specific comments also associated with the same questions (open-ended). The statistical evaluation from the dimension of quantitative responses is easily tabulated and subject to statistical analysis; however, the analysis and presentation of the comments usually consist of no more than tabulated Pareto charts. While there is software available to extract and summarize the comments, it is rarely performed on an ongoing basis. The concern voiced most often is the content of the comments contain information that may not be contained in …

A Meta-Analysis Of Crew Resource Management/Incident Command Systems Implementation Studies In The Fire And Emergency Services, John C. Griffith, Donna L. Roberts, Ronald T. Wakeham

John Griffith

The presentation will summarize a meta-analysis of studies on Crew Resource Management/Incident Command System implementation in the fire and emergency services. The need for using participative leadership tools such as CRM evolved from an NTSB recommendation that followed United Airlines Flight 173 crash in 1978. NASA, civilian and military aviation communities implemented Crew Resource Management (CRM) training to improve decisionmaking during flight operations. Maintenance Resource Management (MRM) was a variant of CRM and first appeared in a Federal Aviation Administration circular in 2000. CRM was adopted by the medical community in the 1990s, specifically in the surgical and nursing areas, …

Cultural Implications Of Customer Satisfaction Differences Of Help Desks In The Us And China, William H. Bleuel, Terry Young, Wayne Gertmenian

William H. Bleuel

Customer satisfaction has become a very important aspect of business management in the high technology market. Companies that provide products and services world-wide often are concerned that customer satisfaction may be impacted by cultural differences. This study examines measures of customer satisfaction in two areas (China and the United States) to determine whether or not there is a difference in satisfaction scores provided by Help Desks. The trend in overall satisfaction over the seven year period from 2005 through 2011 is increasing in China faster than in the United States. Correlations between variously measured parameters of Help Desks and overall …

Cross-Cultural Customer Satisfaction Of High Technology Companies In China, India, And Japan, William Bleuel, Darrol Stanley

William H. Bleuel

Customer satisfaction has become a very important aspect of business management in the high technology market. Companies that provide products and services world-wide often are concerned that customer satisfaction may be impacted by cultural differences. This study examines measures of customer satisfaction in China, India and Japan to determine whether or not there is a difference in satisfaction scores for field service, depot repair and help desk. The statistical results at a 5% confidence level indicate there is a difference in customer perception in all service support areas. The results clearly indicate that companies need to understand these differences in …

Productivity Standards, Marriage And Family Therapist Job Satisfaction, And Turnover Intent, Gilbert Ernest Franco

Gilbert Ernest Franco

Turnover among mental health professionals is high, which can have a direct impact on access to services and continuity of care. Informed by goal-setting theory, social-cognitive theory, and self-efficacy, this quantitative study investigated how California community mental health agency productivity standards were related to self-efficacy, job satisfaction, and marriage and family therapist (MFT) turnover intent among 141 MFTs. Participants completed a Demographic and Productivity Questionnaire, Job Self-Efficacy Scale, Job Satisfaction Scale, and Turnover Intention Scale. The relationship between participant age, gender, experience, number of work hours, licensure status, and job site with job satisfaction and turnover intent were assessed using …

Scale Construction: Developing Reliable And Valid Measurement Instruments, Timothy R. Hinkin, J. Bruce Tracey, Cathy A. Enz

Timothy R. Hinkin

The purpose of this paper is to describe the process for developing reliable and valid measurement instruments that can be used in any hospitality industry field research setting. Many instances exist in which the researcher cannot find an adequate or appropriate existing scale to measure an important construct. In these situations it is necessary to create a new scale. Failure to carefully develop a measurement instrument can result in invalid and unintegratable data. Hence, a systematic seven-step process is outlined here to assist researchers in devising usable scales. Examples from the authors’ own research are used to illustrate some of …

Valuation, Pricing, And Performance Of Initial Public Offerings On The Ghana Stock Exchange, Mohammed Sani Abdulai

Mohammed Sani Abdulai

In recent years, the initial public offerings (IPOs) on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) witnessed some level of undersubscriptions. The purpose of this research was to investigate the extent to which valuation, pricing, and performance of prior IPOs listed on the GSE contributed to this state of undersubscriptions. The research was informed by the valuation and pricing framework of Roosenboom. The research questions addressed whether IPOs on the GSE were under/overpriced and whether the projected and pre-issue financials were free from forecasting errors and earnings management. A cross-sectional, explanatory research design was employed to examine a dataset of 30 sampled …

The Effects Of Schema Congruity On Consumer Response To Celebrity Advertising, Tracy Harmon-Kizer

Tracy R. Harmon-Kizer Ph.D.

The trend of celebrity-branded products is on the rise, creating a new domain in which to explore the match-up hypothesis. Moving beyond the celebrity as an endorser, but rather, a brand promoting a brand extension, this article examines how perceived congruence between a celebrity's image and the brand image of products they have developed is related to attitudinal and behavioral measures of advertising effectiveness. Employing a 2 × 3 full factorial design, congruence between the celebrity's image and the brand's image was varied (less vs. more congruent), along with the use of the celebrity's image (present, absent, non-celebrity models) to …

Real Wages And Labour Productivity In Tanzania: How Do They Link?, Abel A. Kinyondo, Rizwanul Islam, Joseph Nganga

Abel Alfred Kinyondo

Using data from national level surveys, the present paper undertakes an empirical analysis of the linkage between labour productivity and real wages in Tanzania. After making tabular presentations of growth in labour productivity and real wages by industry and sector (public and private), regression analysis is undertaken to examine the factors that influence incomes. Granger causality test is applied to explain the nature of the relationship between rel wages and productivity for manufacturing industries. The paper finds no clear pattern in link between real wages and productivity. Real incomes in the private sector have registered negative growth while the opposite …

Measuring Manufacturing: How The Computer And Semiconductor Industries Affect The Numbers And Perceptions, Susan N. Houseman, Timothy J. Bartik, Timothy J. Sturgeon

Susan N. Houseman

Growth in U.S. manufacturing’s real value-added has exceeded that of aggregate GDP, except during recessions, leading many to conclude that the sector is healthy and that the 30 percent decline in manufacturing employment since 2000 is largely the consequence of automation. The robust growth in real manufacturing GDP, however, is driven by one industry segment: computers and electronic products. In most of manufacturing, real GDP growth has been weak or negative and productivity growth modest. The extraordinary real GDP growth in computer-related industries reflects prices for computers and semiconductors that, when adjusted for product quality improvements, are falling rapidly. Productivity …

Measuring Manufacturing: How The Computer And Semiconductor Industries Affect The Numbers And Perceptions, Susan N. Houseman, Timothy J. Bartik, Timothy J. Sturgeon

Timothy J. Bartik

Growth in U.S. manufacturing’s real value-added has exceeded that of aggregate GDP, except during recessions, leading many to conclude that the sector is healthy and that the 30 percent decline in manufacturing employment since 2000 is largely the consequence of automation. The robust growth in real manufacturing GDP, however, is driven by one industry segment: computers and electronic products. In most of manufacturing, real GDP growth has been weak or negative and productivity growth modest. The extraordinary real GDP growth in computer-related industries reflects prices for computers and semiconductors that, when adjusted for product quality improvements, are falling rapidly. Productivity …

Humanitarian Logistics Network Design For An Effective Disaster Response, Soumia Ichoua

Soumia Ichoua

In this paper we address the problem of pre-positioning emergency supplies prior to a disaster onset. The goal is to ensure a fast and effective response when the disaster strikes. Pre-positioning of emergency supplies is a strategic decision aimed at determining the number and location of local distribution centers as well as their inventory levels for emergency supplies. These decisions must be made in a highly disruption-prone environment where a timely response is vital and resources are scarce. We present and discuss a scenario-based model that integrates location, inventory and routing decisions.

Green Freight Asia (C): The Road Ahead, Jason Woodard, Christopher Dula

C. Jason Woodard

Green Freight Asia is a three-part case series featured in the 2014 APEX Business-IT Global Case Challenge. The case is best used for group projects or workshop assignments concerning business-IT related topics. In this case, students take on the role of a small firm pitching to collaborate with GFA on an IT solution partnership to support GFA’s programme for the adoption of green freight practices in the Asia Pacific region. The case could also be adapted for classroom facilitation with adequate preparation.

Green Freight Asia (C): The Road Ahead is the third and final part of the case series. It …

Green Freight Asia (A): Driving The Adoption Of Sustainable Supply Chain Practices, Jason Woodard, Christopher Dula

C. Jason Woodard

Green Freight Asia is a three-part case series featured in the 2014 APEX Business-IT Global Case Challenge. The case is best used for group projects or workshop assignments concerning business-IT related topics. In this case, students take on the role of a small firm pitching to collaborate with GFA on an IT solution partnership to support GFA’s programme for the adoption of green freight practices in the Asia Pacific region. The case could also be adapted for classroom facilitation with adequate preparation. The first part, Green Freight Asia (A): Driving the Adoption of Sustainable Supply Chain Practices, chronicles the formation …

Green Freight Asia (B): Navigating Toward A Successful Partnership, Jason Woodard, Christopher Dula

C. Jason Woodard

Green Freight Asia is a three-part case series featured in the 2014 APEX Business-IT Global Case Challenge. The case is best used for group projects or workshop assignments concerning business-IT related topics. In this case, students take on the role of a small firm pitching to collaborate with GFA on an IT solution partnership to support GFA’s programme for the adoption of green freight practices in the Asia Pacific region. The case could also be adapted for classroom facilitation with adequate preparation. The second part, Green Freight Asia (B): Navigating Toward A Successful Partnership, explores how a collaborative partnership between …

Effect Of Certificate Of Need Law On Emergency Department Quality Of Care, Jomon Aliyas Paul, Huan Ni, Aniruddha Bagchi

Jomon Aliyas Paul

No abstract provided.

Project Management Decisions With Uncertain Targets, Jeffrey Keisler, Robert Bordley

Jeffrey Keisler

Project management decision rules presume that fixed and inflexible targets have been defined for the project. If a project's slack is defined as the difference between actual project performance and these targets, then these decision rules can be characterized as maximizing the probability that slack is non-negative (i.e., maximizing the probability of meeting the targets). These rules rely on z-scores to compare uncertain performance to target levels. Following these decision rules will not always suffice for the project manager to act consistently with customer preferences. In particular, actual requirements may be uncertain or subject to change, and customers may have …