Lynne Bennington, James Cummane and Paul Conn
Call centers are growing at unprecedented rates, yet relatively little is known about customer satisfaction with this method of service delivery. Therefore, a review of the…
Abstract
Call centers are growing at unprecedented rates, yet relatively little is known about customer satisfaction with this method of service delivery. Therefore, a review of the advantages and disadvantages of call centers is provided before reporting on a study carried out with users of a very large human services call center network. The results indicate that customers have slightly higher satisfaction levels with in‐person services than with call center services. Although it was predicted that older customers might be more dissatisfied with call centers than younger customers, this was not borne out by the data. Attributes of a best‐in‐the‐world call center operation are provided to guide those who design and manage call center services.
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Lynne Bennington and James Cummane
Provides an overview of the literature on public sector reform, total quality management (TQM) and strategic planning. Traces the change efforts and road to privatization of Asset…
Abstract
Provides an overview of the literature on public sector reform, total quality management (TQM) and strategic planning. Traces the change efforts and road to privatization of Asset Services, which is a maintenance contractor with about 2,000 staff and a business unit of a large Australian government department. Describes how, during the period 1989‐1996, Asset Services undertook a process which illustrates the integration of customer focus, quality principles and strategic business planning. Introduces the concept of the business improvement leader, and discusses some of the many TQM and business planning activities undertaken to the point of being fully commercialized. Identifies a number of factors influencing the success of this business unit.
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Allan Behm, Lynne Bennington and James Cummane
Policy services have generally escaped performance evaluation techniques. Traditionally, the evaluation of the quality of policy services has been internally driven, and has…
Abstract
Policy services have generally escaped performance evaluation techniques. Traditionally, the evaluation of the quality of policy services has been internally driven, and has tended to rely on definitions and process practices determined by the service provider rather than customer definitions of value. In this study, customers of policy services (ministers, ex‐ministers, department secretaries and key advisers) were asked what the ideal characteristics of policy services were and what would create value. On the basis of customer values, an integrated four level model of policy service provision was developed. This model potentially provides guidance for the development and evaluation of policy services and should lead to greater customer satisfaction.
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Martyna Sliwa and James O'Kane
A recurring problem in the service quality literature is measurement – knowing which quality aspects should be measured and in what ways. This article aims to assess service…
Abstract
Purpose
A recurring problem in the service quality literature is measurement – knowing which quality aspects should be measured and in what ways. This article aims to assess service quality measurement by focusing on general practice appointment systems.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use a case study, integrating qualitative and quantitative methods, including interviews with stakeholders as well as data regarding appointment systems' temporal aspects.
Findings
This study offers insights into service quality's subjective and context‐dependent nature, as reflected in primary healthcare stakeholder perceptions and service quality's objective and quantifiable aspects, revealing its dynamic, process‐based nature.
Research limitations/implications
The empirical approach to service quality measurement did not focus on all general practice service quality aspects, but instead focused on patient appointments with healthcare professionals. Broader applications to include other service quality aspects should be addressed by research.
Practical implications
Using one approach, service operators could have a tool for obtaining a more complex and richer service quality picture, leading to a better understanding of the relationship between service delivery and its evaluations by different stakeholders.
Originality/value
The service quality measurement method offers innovative insights into different theoretical abstractions, constructively challenges both measurement and service quality, whilst moving beyond managerial and user‐based approaches, and is highly relevant to contemporary organisation practice.
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Robert Butterworth and Nicholas Horne
Senior policy advisers face a number of basic practical issues that they must continuously negotiate if they are to successfully fulfil the policy advising function. Stemming from…
Abstract
Senior policy advisers face a number of basic practical issues that they must continuously negotiate if they are to successfully fulfil the policy advising function. Stemming from an Australian public sector experience, this paper offers an applied perspective on some of the more prominent of these issues: the question of political considerations in policy advising, the maintenance of good working relationships between policy advisers and ministers, the nature of timeliness, the extent of information needed before advice can be formulated, and the course to follow when policy advice is rejected. The paper seeks to arrive at some practical conclusions, not only for policy advisers already at the senior level, but also for those who are advancing their policy advising skills and find such issues material to their development.
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The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between local population, natural and cultural resources on tourist quality an ecotourism product in Seagrass Trikora…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between local population, natural and cultural resources on tourist quality an ecotourism product in Seagrass Trikora Conservation Area, Bintan Regency and Riau Island.
Design/methodology/approach
The research model portrayed in this case consists of three variables (tourists, local population and resources); these variables try to describe how ecotourism in Riau Island can be developed. This study is based on a survey conducted in June 2015 of 200 Indonesian citizens and residents. List contains 900 potential participants that were filtered from numerous public sources and from the researchers’ professional and social contacts. The interviewers were contacted to alert them to participate in the survey. A total of 200 completed responses were received within 10 weeks of survey, and 200 responses were successfully collected. These responses are analyzed and presented in this research.
Findings
This study found that higher quality of the local population, natural resources and cultural resources would have an impact on improving ecotourism quality. On the other hand, higher ecotourism quality would be able to improve the performance of ecotourism. The implications of this research contributed to the development of ecotourism in the Riau Island: improving the quality of the surrounding population, i.e. in the improvement of non-formal education of the population capable of supporting ecotourism; improvement of material and non-material quality of the ecotourism area; and maintenance of the natural resources of the ecotourism area.
Originality/value
This research tried to sort natural and cultural resources into two different things: natural resources were measured by specific activities, biodiversity protection, ecology maintenance and travel involvement in natural landscape and cultural resources were measured by ensuring cultural integrity, ensuring the social coherence of communities and maintaining cultural possibilities. Thus, the originality of this research lied in the use of two separate variables of natural resources and cultural resources in the performance of ecotourism. Separation of variables of ecotourism quality and performance of ecotourism became the second originality in this study. This study aimed to examine the effects of quality of local population (X1), natural resources (X2) and cultural resources (X3) on ecotourism quality (Y1), and its impact on Performance of Ecotourism (Y2), comprehensively.