How Supervisors Influence Performance: A Multilevel Study of Coaching and Group Management in Technology-Mediated Services

This multilevel study examines the role of supervisors in improving employee performance through the use of coaching and group management practices. It examines the individual and synergistic effects of these management practices. The research subjects are call center agents in highly standardized jobs, and the organizational context is one in which calls, or task assignments, are randomly distributed via automated technology, providing a quasi-experimental approach in a real-world context. Results show that the amount of coaching that an employee received each month predicted objective performance improvements over time. Moreover, workers exhibited higher performance where their supervisor emphasized group assignments and group incentives and where technology was more automated. Finally, the positive relationship between coaching and performance was stronger where supervisors made greater use of group incentives, where technology was less automated, and where technological changes were less frequent. Implications and potential limitations of the present study are discussed

Customer evaluations of after-sales service contact modes: An empirical analysis of national culture�s consequences

customer, service, culture, evaluation

The Impact of Customer Relationship Management on Caller Satisfactions in Customer Contact Centers: Evidence from Malaysia

Available literatures have established customer relationship management (CRM) as giving opportunity to both internal and external customers of an organization in exploring critical information through the integration of company’s telephone system, chat groups, Interactive voice response, facsimile transmission, electronic data interchange, voice over internet, web sites and e-mail touch points that will result in satisfying customer self services for new product purchases, assist in up-selling and cross selling and creating customer loyalty, value and profitability. Despite the enormous increasing acknowledgement of CRM importance, very little studies have focused on the impact of CRM applications on inbound customer contact center performance. This empirical research explored the relationship between CRM dimensions, first call resolutions, perceived service quality and caller satisfactions within the inbound call centers. A conceptual framework was developed based on the extant literatures and information that were obtained from initial interviews with call center managers. The research model incorporated key CRM constructs; customer orientation, CRM organization, knowledge management and technology based CRM and also investigated the impact of these dimensions on first call resolution (FCR), perceived service quality and caller satisfaction. Importantly, FCR and perceived service quality were considered as critical antecedents to caller satisfaction. In this quantitative study, a survey of 168 call center managers in Malaysia was analyzed through structural equation modeling, constituting an overall 43.3% response rate. The research findings indicated that out of the four hypothesized positive relationship between CRM dimensions and caller satisfaction, three were supported. The findings also indicated that first call resolutions have significant influence on caller satisfactions. Key benefits for practitioners and academia was finally discussed under the theoretical and practical implications, while necessary suggestions on new area of research were recommended for future researchers

A Call Center Simulation Study: Comparing the Reliability of Cross-Trained Agents to Specialized Agents

Call centers are an important function of most companies’ day to day business activities. They are often the link between a company and its customers and hugely impact the customer’s perspective or point of view (POV) of a company. A call center in the most general sense is a place, representing a business, which receives inbound calls from customers and/or makes outbound calls to customers, the latter being most commonly referred to as telemarketing. There was a time when a typical call center strictly consisted of agents who handled inbound/outbound calls; these agents are considered specialized agents. Generally speaking, a specialized agent is one trained, in-depth, in a particular area of knowledge. Most businesses have transgressed from your typical call center into contact centers. Contact centers operate essentially the same as a call center but interact with the customer in a variety of ways including, but not limited to: Phone, Mail, Fax, Email, and Internet (via online chat and instant messaging applications). The dynamics of these kinds of call centers has caused an increase in the need for agents to become more diverse in their talents and abilities to handle different types of calls. This has lead to specialized agents becoming general or “cross-trained” agents in which they are trained, broadly, over several areas of knowledge. The purpose of this thesis is to compare specialized agents to cross-trained agents and through the use of simulation, determine which of the two are more efficient and reliable in their ability to service the customer. This thesis has three major components: Simulation, Reliability Analysis, and Comparison. The results indicate that a cross-trained model is more reliable and efficient than a specialized model. Performance metrics common to call center literature, simulation, and Lean reliability systems were used to determine the effectiveness and reliability of the two models

The Global Networked Value Circle: A new model for best-in-class manufacturing

As companies face deflation, slowing production and declining prices, they will need to assess their entire value chain as they look for ways to keep costs low and improve efficiencies while continuing to innovate. To help address this challenge, this report reflects fresh research undertaken by Capgemini in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh into the ?Best-in-Class Global Manufacturing Value Chain?

Algorithms for advance bandwidth reservation in media production networks

Media production generally requires many geographically distributed actors (e.g., production houses, broadcasters, advertisers) to exchange huge amounts of raw video and audio data. Traditional distribution techniques, such as dedicated point-to-point optical links, are highly inefficient in terms of installation time and cost. To improve efficiency, shared media production networks that connect all involved actors over a large geographical area, are currently being deployed. The traffic in such networks is often predictable, as the timing and bandwidth requirements of data transfers are generally known hours or even days in advance. As such, the use of advance bandwidth reservation (AR) can greatly increase resource utilization and cost efficiency. In this paper, we propose an Integer Linear Programming formulation of the bandwidth scheduling problem, which takes into account the specific characteristics of media production networks, is presented. Two novel optimization algorithms based on this model are thoroughly evaluated and compared by means of in-depth simulation results

CSR marketing outcomes and branch managers' perceptions of CSR

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of bank branch managers’ perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in CSR marketing outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The paper proposes a causal model establishing that managers’ perceptions of CSR influence the perception of CSR held by the branch’s customers, which in turn directly affects customer satisfaction, customer trust, customer engagement and customer loyalty. The unit of analysis in this quantitative study is the bank branch. Two questionnaires were administered: one to branch managers and another to five customers in each branch. Findings Branch managers’ perceptions of CSR have a marked influence on customers’ perceptions of CSR, which again have a notable impact on the relationship variables studied: customer satisfaction, customer trust, customer engagement and customer loyalty. Research limitations/implications The sample was taken from two banks in the same country (Spain) and only five customers were interviewed in each branch. The type of customers analyzed should be taken into account since a growing number of customers now carry out all of their banking online and are less likely to visit their branch. Practical implications The results highlight the importance of adopting socially responsible actions not only in the bank as a whole, but also in individual branches. It would, therefore, seem crucial for high level bank executives not only to involve branch managers in the bank’s CSR strategy, but also to empower them to undertake CSR actions that involve the customers and local community with which they interact. Originality/value First, the paper reveals the differences within the same organization in the way its CSR strategy is implemented. Second, intermediary figures or supervisors are shown to have a key role in ensuring the organization’s CSR strategy is effective. Third, the study emphasizes the importance of customers’ perception of CSR in achieving the main outcomes of relationship marketing (satisfaction, trust, engagement and loyalty). Fourth, the methodology applied in the study is innovative in its construction of dyads in which the branch is the unit of analysis, enabling a comparison between the manager’s perceptions of CSR with that of five customers from the same branch. Fifth, the findings add to the knowledge of a particularly relevant sector in the recent economic crisis, namely, the retail banking industry