Purpose: Different approaches have been applied to define and measure service quality as both a process and a performance-intensive presentation. The literature agreed that…
Abstract
Purpose: Different approaches have been applied to define and measure service quality as both a process and a performance-intensive presentation. The literature agreed that service quality assessments are essential in measuring performance, however they could only reach a partial consensus. Although the Servqual scale is the most widely known and used tool in measuring service quality, it has received various criticisms. This study presents the difficulties encountered in measuring service quality and an evaluation of the Servqual scale.
Methodology: The study provides a conceptual framework, examining the research on the subject in the literature and the criticisms of the Servqual scale. It is designed as a compilation/assessment to improve the perspectives of the interested parties by bringing together evaluations about the pros and cons of the most well-known service quality scale.
Findings: Measurement of service quality is a complex business. Although it has received various criticisms, the Servqual scale which enables the measurement of quality in the services sector is still the most frequently used measurement tool.
Practical Implications: The difficulty of defining the service and its quality, which arises from the characteristics of the services, does not eliminate the necessity of measuring the quality of the service. With this study, a conceptual framework has been provided on the subject, a collective evaluation has been made for the most widely used scale, and the ground has been prepared for improvement and development in the criticisms of the scale.
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Margaret Webster, Alan P. Muhlemann and Chris Alder
Presents work that addresses the issue of decision support for the operational management of subcontract manufacture. Theoretical study has been combined with empirical research…
Abstract
Presents work that addresses the issue of decision support for the operational management of subcontract manufacture. Theoretical study has been combined with empirical research and practical industrial investigation with regard to distributed manufacturing systems which incorporate subcontract manufacturing arrangements. There has been a particular focus on the study of resource planning and scheduling for subcontract manufacture in SMEs in the UK electronics assembly industry. This work led to the analysis, modelling, implementation and test of an object‐oriented advisory system to assist with scheduling for this domain which demonstrated the utility of a proposed concept of captivity‐based scheduling. Contemporary research in this area and existing commercial decision support solutions for manufacturing planning, scheduling and control in SMEs have been explored. Concludes that current commercial software systems for subcontract manufacture are underdeveloped. Further argues that software development tools and platforms are increasingly available to facilitate the creation of practical decision support systems for distributed organizational forms of manufacture.
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Roger Beach, Alan P. Muhlemann, David H.R. Price, Andrew Paterson and John A. Sharp
The ability of manufacturing companies to adapt to their changing environment is frequently a key to long‐term success. As a consequence the strategic flexibility of manufacturing…
Abstract
The ability of manufacturing companies to adapt to their changing environment is frequently a key to long‐term success. As a consequence the strategic flexibility of manufacturing operations has become an increasingly important issue for organisations. There have been much theoretical work and some case studies in this domain. This paper reports part of a major study in the area. A key stage in this work has been an empirical study of UK manufacturing to investigate a broad range of issues surrounding manufacturing operations and strategic flexibility. In part this has been carried out through a questionnaire survey. This paper summarises some of the principal findings. These include respondents’ descriptions of their business strategies, the part played by manufacturing, the interfaces with customers, and the role of the information system and its contribution to manufacturing. This is complemented by a summary of 32 interviews/case histories which allow these issues to be explored further and which provide the input to the subsequent stages of the overall project.
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M. Webster, C. Alder and A.P. Muhlemann
Discusses issues associated with the subcontracting of manufacturing activity within the supply chain for electronics assembly products. The principal focus of the work is the…
Abstract
Discusses issues associated with the subcontracting of manufacturing activity within the supply chain for electronics assembly products. The principal focus of the work is the operational issues surrounding the organization, management and control of the subcontract process, but related issues and research streams are also considered. Some of the operational issues are placed within the context of current practice by presenting case studies of two small to medium‐sized manufacturing enterprises (SMMEs) in the electronics assembly sector which use subcontract manufacture. The approaches of the two companies to the management and control of the process are compared and contrasted, and mapped onto generic models. This work is considered timely because of the increasing importance of the subcontracting of manufacture within the supply chain, and because of the lack of supporting theoretical and practical work. It identifies key issues which need to be addressed by academic researchers and by industry practitioners in the pursuit of world class manufacturing ideals, as part of a process of concentrating on core competencies and expertise.
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Anand S. Kunnathur, P.S. Sundararaghavan and Sriram Sampath
The development of a rule‐based expert system (ES), driven by a discrete event simulation model, that performs dynamic shop scheduling is described. Based on a flowtime prediction…
Abstract
The development of a rule‐based expert system (ES), driven by a discrete event simulation model, that performs dynamic shop scheduling is described. Based on a flowtime prediction heuristic that has been developed and base‐line runs to establish the efficacy of scheduling strategies such as shortest processing time (SPT), critical ratio, total work, etc., a rescheduling‐based dispatching strategy is investigated in a dynamic job shop environment. The results are discussed and analyzed.
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Antonis Klidas, Peter T. van den Berg and Celeste P.M. Wilderom
This paper aims to test four potential predictors of the behavior of empowered employees during the delivery of service to customers.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to test four potential predictors of the behavior of empowered employees during the delivery of service to customers.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire measuring employees' perceptions of training, performance‐related rewards, customer‐oriented culture, empowering management style, and empowered behavior was filled out by 356 frontline employees of 16 luxury hotels in seven European countries. These statistical analyses removed common‐method bias.
Findings
Results of regression analyses at the department level showed that two means of control – customer‐oriented culture and empowering management style – correlated significantly with empowered behavior.
Research limitations/implications
The survey tool would benefit from further refinement. Creative replications of the survey in different service or hotel settings may benefit service managers, consultants as well as consumers, ultimately.
Practical implications
A direct implication of this study's findings is that in luxury hotel service settings, enhancement to employee empowerment may be achieved through careful management and organizational development. If done well, service enhancements may be within reach.
Originality/value
In prior research, employee empowerment has been identified as an important means to increase customer satisfaction. The present study contributes to a greater and more specific understanding of how employee empowerment can be attained in luxury European hotels.
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Alexander Howard, Ashok Kochhar and John Dilworth
This paper describes the use of a set of manufacturing planning and control (MPC) system activities for assessing the functionality suitable in individual companies. Field studies…
Abstract
This paper describes the use of a set of manufacturing planning and control (MPC) system activities for assessing the functionality suitable in individual companies. Field studies were carried out in medium‐sized batch manufacturing companies and the set of activities was used to investigate the functionality and level of computer support suitable in each case. The field studies verified the set of activities and the findings were used to refine the activities and identify additional activities to be included in the set. The field studies were also used to develop detailed reasons why each activity was considered relevant or not relevant. From the field studies it was possible to conclude that the overall type of company (i.e. make‐to‐order (MTO), make‐to‐stock (MTS), etc.) was not in itself sufficient to predict which activity would be relevant to a particular company. It is proposed that there are numerous reasons why an activity is relevant or not relevant and that it is the detailed characteristics of the individual company which are important in reaching this decision.
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Maricela C. Arellano, Cristina Sancha, Torbjørn Netland and Cristina Gimenez Thomsen
In pursuit of increased competitiveness, global manufacturers often seek tighter integration among the plants in their production networks. However, this is a challenging task…
Abstract
Purpose
In pursuit of increased competitiveness, global manufacturers often seek tighter integration among the plants in their production networks. However, this is a challenging task because plants are dispersed across multiple institutional environments. Although the literature provides abundant evidence of how formal institutional environments affect the integration among plants, little is known about the role of the informal institutional environment – such as culture. In this study, the authors investigate the relationship between different dimensions of culture and manufacturing network integration.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors combine survey data from the most recent International Manufacturing Strategy Survey with secondary data that capture cultural dimensions. They then analyze the responses from 581 assembly plants in 21 countries obtained from the survey using a multilevel regression model.
Findings
The study results show that plants located in masculine and long-term-oriented national cultures are associated with lower levels of integration with other plants. The results for the other four Hofstede dimensions of national culture were not statistically significant. At the level of organizational culture, the authors found that a collaborative plant environment positively relates to higher levels of network integration. They did not find statistically significant evidence for the relationship between cultural or geographical distance and network integration.
Practical implications
This research provides managers with practical insights into the types and combinations of cultural environments that affect the integration of plants in a global network. This knowledge is useful for informing effective integration strategies and tactics.
Originality
The authors provide new, empirical evidence of the relation between the informal institutional environments of a plant and its integration in a manufacturing network. Drawing on an institution-based view, they contribute to the literature on manufacturing networks by discussing and testing empirically the role of national and organizational culture in network integration.
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Evangelos Christou, Fotis Kilipiris, Ioannis Karamanidis, Careva Vasilevska, Naume Marinoski and Josif Andreeski
The recent adverse economic and military developments in the Balkan Peninsula have provided sound indications regarding the future development of the area. It now seems to be…
Abstract
The recent adverse economic and military developments in the Balkan Peninsula have provided sound indications regarding the future development of the area. It now seems to be unavoidable that a revised economic environment should be created, based on stability and economic co‐operation. Such a co‐operation among the Balkan countries will assist a common effort in establishing the framework for the development of all the relevant area.
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S. Rajakumar, V.P. Arunachalam and V. Selladurai
To provide a new model to solve the assembly‐planning problem of a textile machine in a shopfloor which can help researchers and practitioners.
Abstract
Purpose
To provide a new model to solve the assembly‐planning problem of a textile machine in a shopfloor which can help researchers and practitioners.
Design/methodology/approach
The assembly planning of a textile machine (repetitive manufacturing system) involves the allocation of operations to cross‐trained operators. Workflow is defined as the workloads assigned to the operators. Operators with smaller workloads are selected to be assigned new operations from the list of unscheduled operations. Three different scheduling strategies – random, shortest processing time, and longest processing time – are adopted for the selection of operations to be assigned to operators. Different combinations of these strategies are considered for the selection of both preceding and succeeding operations. A computer simulation program has been coded on an IBM/PC‐compatible system in the C++ language to study the performance of real data from the shopfloor.
Findings
The relative percentage of imbalance is adopted for evaluating the performance of these heuristics. The RL, SL and LL produced well balanced workload schedules with lesser RPI values for all operators other than heuristics.
Research limitations/implications
Non‐traditional approaches like genetic algorithms can be applied to determine the robustness of the results obtained by this research.
Practical implications
The experiments on simulated and real data clearly indicate that the order of succeeding operations determines the balanced workflows to the assembly of operations among the operators.
Originality/value
The allocation of assembly operations to the operators is modeled into a parallel machine‐scheduling problem with precedence constraints using the objective of minimizing the workflow among the operators.