Consumers' reactions to service failures : the intervening roles of anger and gender

While anger is reported to be the dominant affective reaction after a service failure, little research has focused on its potentially damaging effects. To fill this void, the present study examined the impact of anger on customers' evaluations and behaviors following a service failure where blame was laid on the service provider. Gender's mediating role in shaping these consequences was also studied. Scenarios involving service failures in a bank and a retail store were used to collect data from students (N = 667). Overall, angry customers were less satisfied, gave lower overall service evaluations, had higher perceptions of injustice, and gave weaker ratings of corporate image. Angry customers were also more likely to complain and engage in third-party action, and were less likely to spread positive word-of-mouth and repurchase from the service firm. Gender of the customer and that of the service employee played only a minimal role in influencing the evaluative and behavioral outcomes. The robust findings regarding anger and the disappointing results concerning gender are discussed in light of their important theoretical and managerial implications

Exploring experiences of young-adult Quebec gay men in the workplace after the sex-education reform by Quebec’s Ministry of Education

Using the photovoice method, this thesis study explored the lives of four young gay men in Quebec as they navigate their work, family and social life having received sex education after the 1997 and 2001 sex education reforms put forth by the Ministry of Education of Quebec. These reforms removed sex education from the formal curriculum and expected sex education to be incorporated across the curriculum and be taught from a cross-disciplinary approach. The main three themes of the photovoice findings are: (1) Hiding or suppressing sexual orientation in general and in the workplace. (2) A reluctance to express sexual orientation with family. (3) The need to address stereotypes associated with gay men. Another interesting finding was that change is expected to come from within the gay community or individuals rather than externally. Furthermore, the results indicated that overall the experience of these four young men during high school lacked pertinent LGB education leading to reluctance to express sexual orientation. The following recommendations are advanced: (1) Provide sex-education and sexual diversity in well developed curriculum units rather than the present across the curriculum approach dependent on teachers’ comfort level. (2) Position the LGB as part of the norm – teaching with a vision of LGBH rather than LGB as diversity from the norm of Heterosexuality. (3) Include gender identity and gender diversity as part of sexual diversity inclusive education, extending the educational approach to LGBTQH. (4) Provide workplace sensitivity training that includes sexual diversity. (5) Revise the teacher education curriculum to equip teachers with the necessary knowledge and skills to develop age appropriate curriculum units to teach about LGBTQH

A Review of Surgical Informed Consent: Past, Present, and Future. A Quest to Help Patients Make Better Decisions

Contains fulltext : 87422.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)BACKGROUND: Informed consent (IC) is a process requiring a competent doctor, adequate transfer of information, and consent of the patient. It is not just a signature on a piece of paper. Current consent processes in surgery are probably outdated and may require major changes to adjust them to modern day legislation. A literature search may provide an opportunity for enhancing the quality of the surgical IC (SIC) process. METHODS: Relevant English literature obtained from PubMed, Picarta, PsycINFO, and Google between 1993 and 2009 was reviewed. RESULTS: The body of literature with respect to SIC is slim and of moderate quality. The SIC process is an underestimated part of surgery and neither surgeons nor patients sufficiently realize its importance. Surgeons are not specifically trained and lack the competence to guide patients through a legally correct SIC process. Computerized programs can support the SIC process significantly but are rarely used for this purpose. CONCLUSIONS: IC should be integrated into our surgical practice. Unfortunately, a big gap exists between the theoretical/legal best practice and the daily practice of IC. An optimally informed patient will have more realistic expectations regarding a surgical procedure and its associated risks. Well-informed patients will be more satisfied and file fewer legal claims. The use of interactive computer-based programs provides opportunities to improve the SIC process.1 juli 201

Structuration et choix d'équipements des lignes de production (approches mono et multicritère)

Ce travail de thèse porte sur un problème de conception des lignes de production dites de transfert. Ces lignes, à haut niveau d automatisation, sont utilisées dans la production de masse. Dans la première partie, nous développons l approche monocritère. Notre objectif est de choisir pour chaque station les équipements à utiliser en affectant toutes les opérations nécessaires pour la fabrication d un produit aux stations de travail. Ce choix doit assurer une productivité voulue à moindre coût en terme d équipements. Nous considérons des lignes où chaque station de travail peut contenir un ou plusieurs équipements utilisés en parallèle. Chaque équipement exécute toutes les opérations qui lui sont affectées simultanément. Nous prenons les contraintes dues à l impossibilité de combiner certains équipements dans la même station de travail et également celles représentant les relations de précédence entre les opérations. Nous proposons une méthode exacte (PSE). Pour des instances du problème de taille plus importante, nous avons développé une heuristique avec stratégie arborescente et un algorithme génétique. La deuxième partie est consacrée à l analyse multicritère du problème. Nous avons proposé des nouvelles techniques de résolution en adaptant efficacement des algorithmes ou des concepts déjà existants : Multistart et algorithmes génétiques de type NSGA-II. Suite à une large phase de tests, nous avons identifié des points de satisfactions et envisageons des perspectives prometteusesThis PhD thesis concerns a problem of design of the lines of production and more specifically of the lines known as of transfer . These lines are of a high level of automation and are used in the mass production of a product or a family of closely related products. In the first part, we develop the single criterion approach. Our objective is to choose for each station the equipment to be used by effecting all the operations necessary for the manufacture of a product in the workstations. This choice must ensure the desired productivity and the lowest cost in terms of equipment. We consider lines where each workstation can contain one or more pieces of equipment used in parallel. Each piece of equipment carries out all the operations which are affected simultaneously. We take into account the constraints due to the impossibility of combining certain equipment in the same workstation and also those representing the relations of precedence between the operations. We propose an exact method (PSE). For larger problems, we developed a heuristic with a branching strategy and a genetic algorithm. As for the second part, it is devoted to the multi-criteria analysis of the problem. We proposed new techniques to resolve this multi-criteria problem, while adapting already existing algorithms or concepts intelligently and effectively, namely: Multistart and genetic algorithms of type NSGA-II. We tested our methods on a wide range of problems. This led us to identify satisfactory points and promising prospectsTROYES-SCD-UTT (103872102) / SudocSudocFranceF

Optimisation de lignes de production. Partie II. Une approche multicritère

International audienceThis article deals with line configuration problems for mass production. Such a production line is made of several workstations. Each station can contain one or several pieces of equipment and employees. Multi-objective optimization algorithms are proposed for two closed problems: P1, choosing equipment for each station and P2, both line balancing and equipment selection. Incompatibilities of pieces of equipment as well as precedence constraints among operations are taken into account. A multi-objectives MULTISTART algorithm and adapted NSGA-II are developed to solve these two problems. The obtained results are promising.Dans cet article, nous considérons le problème de configuration des lignes de production pour grande série. Une ligne est constituée de plusieurs stations de travail en série. Chaque station peut contenir un ou plusieurs équipements et des opérateurs humains. Nous proposons des algorithmes d'optimisation multicritère pour deux problèmes proches : P1, choix d'un équipement pour chaque station, et P2, équilibrage de la charge et choix d'équipements. Nous prenons en compte les contraintes dues à l’incompatibilité de certains équipements et également celles liées aux relations de précédence entre les opérations. Nous avons proposé un algorithme Multistart multicritère et des algorithmes génétiques multicritères, type NSGA-II, adaptés à chaque problème. Les résultats obtenus sont prometteurs et intéressants

Optimisation de lignes de production : cas monocritère

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Optimisation de lignes de production. Partie I. Cas monocritère

International audienceDans cet article nous étudions l'équilibrage des lignes d'usinage. Une telle ligne est constituée de plusieurs stations de travail en série. Chaque station peut contenir une ou plusieurs têtes d'usinage travaillant simultanément. Les opérations sélectionnées pour être effectuées par chaque tête d'usinage s'exécutent en parallèle (têtes multibroches). Nous prenons en compte les contraintes dues à l'impossibilité de combiner certaines têtes d'usinage dans la même station et également celles représentant les relations de précédence entre les opérations. Notre objectif est de réaliser l'affectation des opérations aux têtes et les têtes aux stations de sorte que le coût de la ligne soit le plus petit possible. Pour des instances du problème, de petite et moyenne taille, nous proposons une méthode exacte de type PSE (procédure par séparation et évaluation). Pour des instances de taille plus importante, nous avons développé une heuristique avec stratégie arborescente et un algorithme génétique. Nous avons obtenu avec les deux modes de résolution, exact et approché, des résultats intéressants

A multi-objective approach for transfer line optimization

International audienceIn this paper, a problem of line balancing and equipment/workers selection for a transfer line is considered. Such a line is composed of a series of workstations. Each contains one or more workers and pieces of equipment. All the tasks assigned at the same workstation are executed simultaneously. Constraints related to equipment and/or workers compatibility, as well as precedence constraint related to tasks are known. A multi-objective approach is proposed for the design (or reconfiguration) of such lines. The techniques proposed are based on a genetic algorithm of type NSGA-II. The results of the experimental studies are reported. They show the relative efficiency of the approach suggested in comparison with existing work

Reaching the Boiling Point: Consumers\u27 Negative Affective Reactions to Firm-Attributed Service Failures

While anger is the dominant affective reaction following service failure, little research focused on its potentially damaging effects. Our study examines the impact of anger and related negative affective states on evaluations and behavior following firm-attributed service failure. Gender\u27s moderating role in shaping these consequences is also studied. Scenarios involving failures in a bank and a retail store are used. Overall, angry customers are less satisfied, give lower service evaluations, have higher perceptions of injustice, and give weaker ratings of corporate image. Angry customers also less likely spread positive word of mouth and more likely complain, exhibit negative repurchase intentions, and engage in third-party action. Related negative states differentially impact cognitive evaluations and post-purchase behavior with anger (rage) being the most important predictor in a bank (retail) setting. As the intensity of the negative affective state increases, customers more likely engage in effortful consequences. Gender of the customer and the service employee play minimal roles influencing evaluative and behavioral outcomes

Equipment Cost Minimization for Transfer Line with Blocks of Parallel Operations

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