15 research outputs found
Mystery Shopping: In-depth measurement of customer satisfaction
This paper will discuss the phenomenon Mystery Shopping in the field
of customer satisfaction measurement techniques. By using the
literature about Mystery Shopping definitions and restrictions of this
instrument will be presented. Also, possible ways to present and use
the gathered data will be shown. After the literature part of the
paper some practical research will be presented. A Dutch Flexcompany
introduced the instrument Mystery Shopping in addition to the already
used measurement methods like customer satisfaction measurement with
use of questionnaires. Some of the first results of the Mystery
Shopping visits will be presented
ISO 9000 Series Certification Over Time: what have we learnt?
The ISO 9000 experiences of the same sample of organisations over a five year time period is examined in this paper. The responses to a questionnaire sent out at the end of 1999 to companies which had a reasonably long term experience with the ISO 9000 series quality system are analysed. These companies were ISO 9000 series certified before 1994 when the authors conducted their first survey on the same sample.
The main aim is to explore the links between the motivation for undertaking the ISO 9000 series and continued certification, with the impact on the type of TQM practices that have been adopted after certification, and what kind of gains have been achieved. Challenges faced by these organisations over time are also addressed
High Performance Work Systems
Research, summarized and classified in the work of Delery and Doty (1996), Guest (1997), Paauwe and Richardson (1997) and Boselie et al. (2001), suggests significant impact of Human Resources Management (HRM) on the competitive advantage of organizations. The mainstream research on this topic reveals encouraging results on organizational level. Also in relation to Total Quality Management (TQM) there is research evidence that 'best practices' and/or 'high performance work systems' (HPWS) can be identified having positive impact on the performance of an organization (Waldman, 1994; Hendricks and Singhal, 1997 and 2001; Blackburn and Rosen, 1993). Delery and Shaw (forthcoming in 2002) allege a need for "research on research" in the area of HPWS and performance, more precisely research on organizational-level research methods. We argue that further "research on research" on the perception of the individual employee may also reveal new (methodological) insights in the effects of HRM and/or TQM practices on performances in organizations. The purpose of this paper is to (1) review methodological problems in empirical literature on HRM/TQM and performance and to (2) test the stability of HRM/TQM factors (or constructs) over time. We have the opportunity to analyze longitudinal data (1998 and 2000) of individual employee perceptions from the Ernst & Young company in the Netherlands. The HRM/TQM constructs appear to be relatively stable over time, just like the relationship between these constructs and performance
Employee Perceptions of HRM and TQM and the Effects on Satisfaction and INtention to Leave
There is a growing interest in theory and in practice with regard to the relationship between human resource management [HRM] and total quality management [TQM] as well as the relationship between these two perspectives and business performances. Empirical research suggests significant effects of HRM/TQM on the performances of an organisation. The majority of research in this area is focused on the effects of HRM/TQM at the organisational level. Research on the perceptions of individual employees might obtain new insights for further discussion on the effectiveness of HRM/TQM in an organisation. The authors have the opportunity to analyse a relatively large database with recent data of individual employee perceptions from a knowledge-intensive organisation in The Netherlands. This analysis gives new insight in relation to concepts like 'co-operation', 'information', 'leadership', 'salary', 'work conditions', and 'goal setting' in relation to employee satisfaction and the intention to leave the organisation
A Study On The Applicability Of SERVQUAL Dimensions Of Web Sites
A survey has been undertaken amongst students of two universities (Erasmus
University Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and Northeastern University Boston,
USA) to study what quality factors are perceived as important in relation to
their use of web sites. The results of the questionnaire survey are analysed
in relation to the five service quality (SERVQUAL) dimensions (tangibles;
reliability; responsiveness; assurance; empathy) as developed by Zeithaml et
al [1]. There is evidence that the same dimensions are applicable to
E-Business, although the underlying aspects have to be specified within the
E-Business context
Mystery shopping: A tool to develop insight into customer service provision
Reaching service excellence through a focus on the customer, demands more than just measuring customer satisfaction by means of questionnaire surveys. Nowadays, it is not sufficient anymore to have service excellence in services, processes and relationships. Now is the time to create excellence in customer experiences, as the only way to create competitive advantage in the market. Organisational change should then be driven by a broader focus on customers’ expectations and multiple ways of measuring customers’ satisfaction. The case of a service company in The Netherlands (a temporary employment agency) illustrates the way to service excellence as an organisational change process. The case supports the need for a broad focus on measurements in order to be able to monitor and to direct organisational changes. Customer satisfaction data based on surveys are needed, however, they will not be sufficient for continuing the change process over time. To achieve that, other measurements like mystery shopping may give more stimuli to change. Therefore, this research argues that mystery shopping can be a useful instrument in addition to the more often-used survey methods
A transparent role of information systems within business processes: A case study
Service organisations still struggle with the adoption of a road to excellence. Evidence exists that processes and systems in service organisations are not always as advanced as in manufacturing organisations. Adding a quality smile to the face of the service provider will not solve the problems that are caused by defects in the underlying work processes and systems. Attention to the hardware in service organisations, i.e. to the service design, should instead create a more reliable process flow and time for the service staff to develop improvement activities and spend more time with customers. The way service organisations started to take excellence seriously is by making their processes transparent, eliminating undesired steps and deleting loops. In this paper the focus is on expanding this approach by adding information systems and information sources into a process map. This seems to be a promising approach for small and medium sized service organisations, without having to invest in expensive and rigid business process automation
The Importance Of Customer Satisfaction In Organisational Transformation
The volume of temporary labour has grown very fast during the last decades in
Europe, as did the number of organizations with an intermediating role in
relation to temporary (contingent) labour. All over the place there are small
and large intermediaries trying to find the right persons for the vacant jobs
in their portfolio. In the Netherlands this has lead to a more competitive
market place for temporary employment agencies or flex companies and to the
need to find new ways of developing competitive advantage.
A large temporary employment agency in the Netherlands, wants to develop
"experience quality" in its services in Europe. This agency has introduced
a service excellence programme building on the following chain of excellence:
good leadership gives enthusiastic and motivated employees, which gives
satisfied customers and delivers good business results. In this paper the way to
implement this program will be outlined. Also some first results of the
implementation of the program will be presented. One of the interesting
issues from a quality management perspective in relation to temporary employment
agencies is the presence of two customer groups instead of just one. Besides the
paying customers, who are hiring flex workers, there is another customer group,
i.e. the flex workers (or contingent workers) themselves. What is the importance
of flex workers, who are satisfied with their intermediary (flex company)? This
is becoming more and more relevant as the agency aims at long-term relationships
with its flex workers.In the empirical part of this paper we will present the
analysis of data over three years (1998, 1999, and 2000) on the satisfaction of
flex workers in the context of the flex company?s service excellence programme,
as an example of the use of measurements in relation to the change process. The
important issues related to the specific data of the flex workers? satisfaction
surveys are:(a) the relationships between perceived satisfaction of flex workers
and possible behavioural consequences, like making complaints and making use of
other flex companies; (b) the stability of factor constructs over time that
identify the major dimensions of satisfaction of flex workers; and (c) the
satisfaction dynamics over time
Empirical Evidence for the Relation between Customer Satisfaction and Business Performance
This paper focuses on the analysis of empirical data on customer satisfaction and the relationship with hard organisational performance data. The organisation is a Flexcompany with its headquarters in The Netherlands, but also operating in other countries in Europe. The empirical data on customer satisfaction and business performances stem from 1998 and 1999.
Based on the empirical data it can be concluded that it is possible to find evidence for the hypothesis that there is a positive relationship between customer satisfaction and organisational performance indicators, although the relationship is not very strong. Various factors might influence the timelag between a change in customer satisfaction and an expected effect in sales, margin, or other output indicators. However, the analyses do give answers to questions related to the quality dimensions as underlying factors behind the items in the customer satisfaction questionnaire and some indications for the changing behaviour of the customer in relation to his perception
Employee Perception on Commitment Oriented Work Systems
Human resource management (HRM) does matter! Prior empirical research, summarized and classified in the work of Delery and Doty (1996), Guest (1997) and Boselie et al. (2000), suggests significant impact of HRM on the competitive advantage of organizations. The mainstream research on this topic reveals encouraging results on organizational level. Further research on the perception of the individual employee may reveal new insights in the effectiveness of HRM in organizations. Now we have the opportunity to study recent empirical data of a Dutch employment agency. These data on individual employee level provide us new insights in the perception of commitment oriented HR systems and their relationship with perceived job security and employee trust. High scores on employee participation, payment system, training and development, information sharing, and support of the direct supervisor result in employee trust and high scores on perceived job security