Concerns customer service/quality in service sector organizations.Presents definitions and determinants of service quality together with areview of a number of research projects…
Abstract
Concerns customer service/quality in service sector organizations. Presents definitions and determinants of service quality together with a review of a number of research projects, completed in the Manchester School of Management, which focus on the measurement of service quality. Describes assessments which have been carried out in several industries, considering the opinions of managers, employees and external customers, and provides evidence of various service quality gaps. The final section comprises a discussion of some of the problems relating to the rating scales/measurement techniques used, and emphasizes the caution which is necessary in interpretation of research data. Concluding comments address the continuing research agenda.
Details
Keywords
Magdy A. Ezzat and Roland W. Lewis
The system of equations for fractional thermo-viscoelasticity is used to investigate two-dimensional bioheat transfer and heat-induced mechanical response in human skin tissue…
Abstract
Purpose
The system of equations for fractional thermo-viscoelasticity is used to investigate two-dimensional bioheat transfer and heat-induced mechanical response in human skin tissue with rheological properties.
Design/methodology/approach
Laplace and Fourier’s transformations are used. The resulting formulation is applied to human skin tissue subjected to regional hyperthermia therapy for cancer treatment. The inversion process for Fourier and Laplace transforms is carried out using a numerical method based on Fourier series expansions.
Findings
Comparisons are made with the results anticipated through the coupled and generalized theories. The influences of volume materials properties and fractional order parameters for all the regarded fields are examined. The results indicate that volume relaxation parameters, as well as fractional order parameters, play a major role in all considered distributions.
Originality/value
Bio-thermo-mechanics includes bioheat transfer, biomechanics, burn injury and physiology. In clinical applications, knowledge of bio-thermo-mechanics in living tissues is very important. One can infer from the numerical results that, with a finite distance, the thermo-mechanical waves spread to skin tissue, removing the unrealistic predictions of the Pennes’ model.
Details
Keywords
Banks and other financial services providers are increasinglydeveloping service quality initiatives. In this article some of theresearch literature on service quality is…
Abstract
Banks and other financial services providers are increasingly developing service quality initiatives. In this article some of the research literature on service quality is considered to include definitions, determinants and measurement of quality. Attention is also given to research applications which focus on management, employee and customer perspectives. In addition, a number of continuing service quality concerns are highlighted, relating to changing customer expectations, the need for an integrated approach to service quality and the development of service quality measurement tools.
Details
Keywords
This paper gives a review of the finite element techniques (FE)applied in the area of material processing. The latest trends in metalforming, non‐metal forming and powder…
Abstract
This paper gives a review of the finite element techniques (FE) applied in the area of material processing. The latest trends in metal forming, non‐metal forming and powder metallurgy are briefly discussed. The range of applications of finite elements on the subjects is extremely wide and cannot be presented in a single paper; therefore the aim of the paper is to give FE users only an encyclopaedic view of the different possibilities that exist today in the various fields mentioned above. An appendix included at the end of the paper presents a bibliography on finite element applications in material processing for the last five years, and more than 1100 references are listed.
Details
Keywords
Syed Saqib Shah, Hakan F. Öztop, Rizwan Ul-Haq and Nidal Abu-Hamdeh
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the buoyancy flow, mass and heat transfer in coaxial duct under Soret and Dufour effect. The combined effects of the thermal-diffusion and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the buoyancy flow, mass and heat transfer in coaxial duct under Soret and Dufour effect. The combined effects of the thermal-diffusion and diffusion-thermo coefficients, as well as the Schmidt number, on natural convection in a heated lower coaxial curve were explored using the proposed physical model. The Dufour and Soret effects are taken into consideration in the energy and concentration equations, respectively.
Design/methodology/approach
The dominating mathematical models are converted into a set of non-linear coupled partial differential equations, which are solved using a numerical approach. The controlling non-linear boundary value problem is numerically solved using the penalty finite element method with Galerkin’s weighted residual scheme over the entire variety of essential parameters.
Findings
It was observed that different parameters were tested such as heat generation or absorption coefficient, buoyancy ratio, Soret coefficient, Dufour coefficient, Lewis number and Rayleigh number. Effect of Rayleigh number, absorption/generation and Dufour coefficient on isotherm are significantly reported. For greater values of Lewis number, maximum mass transfer in duct in the form of molecular particles is produced. Buoyancy ratio parameter decreases the average rate of heat flow and increases its mass transfer.
Originality/value
The main originality of this work is to make an application of Soret and Dufour effects in a coaxial duct in the presence of source sink.
Details
Keywords
Quality in the service sector is of increasing concern to bothacademics and practitioners. Previously published material is reviewedand attention is focused on the importance of…
Abstract
Quality in the service sector is of increasing concern to both academics and practitioners. Previously published material is reviewed and attention is focused on the importance of people and internal marketing in the changing environment of service industries, definitions and measurement of service quality, and the service quality/customer care programmes presently being developed and implemented.
Details
Keywords
Rachael L. Lewis, David A. Brown and Nicole C. Sutton
The purpose of this paper is to reframe the debate about the tension between management control and employee empowerment by drawing on a theory of paradox. Reframing the problem…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to reframe the debate about the tension between management control and employee empowerment by drawing on a theory of paradox. Reframing the problem in this way draws attention to the variety of ways in which organisations can attend to both control and empowerment simultaneously.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors undertake a conceptual examination of the relationship between empowerment and control using a paradox theory lens. First, the authors bring together two dimensions of empowerment – structural empowerment and psychological empowerment – and combine them to produce three new empowerment “scenarios”: illusory empowerment, obstructed empowerment and authentic empowerment. For each of these three scenarios, the central tenets of paradox theory are applied in order to explain the nature of the paradoxical tension, anticipated behavioural responses and the resulting challenges for ongoing management control.
Findings
The authors find that neither structural nor psychological empowerment alone can account for variation in behavioural responses to management control. The conceptual analysis highlights the interplay of socio-ideological control and systems of accountability in generating psychological empowerment and demonstrates that this does not come at a cost to management control but instead results in a reduction in the scale and scope of ongoing challenges.
Originality/value
This paper contributes a new theoretical perspective on the classic problem of tension between management control and employee empowerment. Rather than positioning control and empowerment either as a managerial choice or dialectic, the authors identify three different ways in which organisations can engage with both paradoxical elements simultaneously.