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

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

HRM inside UK e-commerce firms : innovations in the ‘new’ economy and continuities with the ‘old’

The e-commerce approach to people management (i.e. HRM) is popularly believed to be radically new and an innovative rewriting of the ‘old’ rules of employment. Yet little is known about which HR practices are used by such companies, and what might explain these companies’ policy selections in the realm of HR. Exploratory survey data based on a sample of 30 small-medium UK e-commerce firms reports use of employee involvement in decision-making, internal communication, financial participation and reward schemes, performance evaluation, training and provision for employment security. Insights from interviews with five senior managers from the sample augment the survey data with qualitative evidence on e-commerce firms’ approach to HR. The findings suggest that this approach falls somewhere between radical ‘new’ innovations and enduring continuities with ‘old’ people management techniques, and that this has parallels with the experience of small-medium enterprises generally

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

Changing Quality Controls: The Effects of Increasing Product Variety and Shortening Product Life Cycles

In veel bedrijfstakken (bijv. auto’s, elektronica, kleding) is de complexiteit en onvoorspelbaarheid van productieprocessen in de afgelopen jaren toegenomen als gevolg van de voortdurend toenemende variëteit aan producten en de steeds korterwordende product levenscycli. Tegelijkertijd zijn er aanwijzingen dat producenten in deze bedrijfstakken meer moeite hebben met het op peil houden van de kwaliteit van hun producten. Dit onderzoek bestudeert de invloed van toenemende product variëteit en korterwordende product levenscycli op kwaliteitsbeheersing. Het empirische deel van het onderzoek bestaat uit case studies bij twee autofabrikanten en een truck fabrikant, en uit een enquête die gehouden is onder West-Europese toeleveranciers in de automobiel industrie. Dit onderzoek maakt gebruik van een model (Simons’ four levers of control model) dat afkomstig is uit de management control discipline en dat niet eerder toegepast is bij onderzoek binnen het vakgebied kwaliteitsmanagement. Dit model is geschikt gebleken voor toepassing binnen kwaliteitsmanagement, omdat het model inzichtelijk kan maken hoe omgevingsfactoren van invloed zijn op kwaliteitsmanagement. Uit de onderzoeksdata is gebleken dat in situaties van korterwordende product levenscycli het gebruik van participatieve en coöperatieve kwaliteitsmanagement systemen toeneemt, zoals verondersteld op basis van het onderzoeksmodel. Echter, in situaties van toenemende product variëteit is de veronderstelde toename van participatieve kwaliteitsmanagement systemen niet gevonden.In many industries (e.g. cars, electronics, clothing) manufacturing complexity and unpredictability have increased in recent years because of increasing product variety and shortening product life cycles. At the same time, manufacturers in these industries appear to have more problems with maintaining high quality levels. This research is a study of how the two trends of increasing product variety and shortening product life cycles affect quality management systems. The empirical part of the research consists of case studies at two car manufacturers and a truck manufacturer, and of a questionnaire survey among a sample of Western European automotive suppliers. This research takes a novel approach to quality management research by applying a model from the field of management control (i.e. Simons’ four levers of control model). The application of this control model in the field of quality management is found to be useful in explaining how contextual factors influence the management of quality in organisations. In situations of shortening product life cycles, the empirical data clearly support the increased use of participative and cooperative quality control systems, as hypothesised by the research model. However, in situations of increasing product variety the hypothesised increase in participative control systems has not been found

Certification of a Reference Material Consisting of Genomic DNA Inserts of Bacillus Subtilis DSM 5750 for PFGE, IRMM-312

This report describes the production and certification of IRMM-312, a reference material of genomic DNA (gDNA) of Bacillus subtilis DSM 5750 in agarose inserts. This CRM (IRMM-312) is intended to be used for the taxonomic identification of authorised probiotic feed additives by Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE). The batch was found to be homogeneous and the material is stable at 4 °C. The batch was characterised by five laboratories determining the PFGE pattern of a SfiI restriction enzyme digest of IRMM-312. The pattern should be considered as a whole and restriction fragments in the size interval from 15 kb to 97 kb are certified for their fragment length.JRC.D.2-Reference material

Perceptions About The ISO 9000 (2000) Quality System Standard Revision And Its Value: The Dutch Experience

The aim of the research reported in this paper is to assess the relative value of the 2000 version of the ISO 9000 series of quality management system standards in comparison to the 1994 version. 773 organisations in the Netherlands which have all been certified to the ISO 9000 standard were surveyed (a response rate of 21.4%) and of these only 22 had not yet converted to the 2000 version of the standard. Amongst the major findings are an overall positive perception of the value of the ISO 9000 (2000) quality system standard and a consistently higher appreciation of the 2000 version compared to the 1994 version