C Rajendran

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the adoption of quality management practices in engineering educational institutions (EEIs) in India from management's perspective. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire was developed based on a literature review of research in quality management and based on the responses of the pilot survey among the senior faculty/management. The psychometric properties of this instrument were examined using tests of reliability and validity. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the impact of the total quality management (TQM) dimensions on institutional performance (effectiveness). Findings: Findings highlight 27 critical factors/dimensions of quality management, which analyzed the relationship between TQM dimensions and institutional performance, which has been formulated using five dimensions. Positive and significant relationships among the TQM dimensions and institutional performance have been observed. Research limitations/implications: Results of the study are dependent on the profile and number of the respondents, i.e. on the perceptions of the management. Practical implications: The paper proposes a model for achieving institutional excellence from the macro perspective of the management. Two critical factors, i.e. healthy innovative practices and feeder institution partnership have been identified as key enablers in the paper. Institutional performance (effectiveness), as a holistic construct, has been measured by five measures of performance, institution reputation and image, infrastructure quality, faculty excellence, research and industry exposure and stakeholders' satisfaction. The instrument developed can be used as a self-assessment tool in continuously measuring the overall performance of the institution's processes and systems. Originality/value: The paper focuses on EEIs. It evolved a holistic framework for institutional effectiveness and formulated a comprehensive instrument with respect to management's perceptions on quality management issues. The paper also identified five critical factors to measure institutional performance and 27 dimensions of TQM in the context of EEIs. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

The purpose of this paper is to identify dimensions of service quality (SQ) and their corresponding measurement variables in the tourism industry by focusing on India, a South Asian destination. The dimensions and the measurement variables have been identified through a detailed review of literature and exploratory research. Service quality in tourism comprises 10 dimensions, namely core-tourism experience, information, hospitality, fairness of price, hygiene, amenities, value for money, logistics, food and security. This study aims to enrich the body of knowledge pertaining to similar work undertaken by researchers in other parts of the world. The growing importance of Asian destinations in the global tourism market in general and emergence of India as a prominent tourist destination in South Asia in particular marks the importance of this study. The proposed framework is expected to equip the tour operators in the western world to better understand the tourism industry in South-Asian destinations. It would also be useful to service-providers for managing other equally important tourist destinations in South Asia and Asia-Pacific regions, which are endowed with similar socio-cultural backgrounds.

While underscoring the importance of customer (patient) satisfaction in fostering efficient delivery of healthcare services, researchers from the developed world explored the whole gamut of influencing factors, ranging from empathy of physicians and hospital infrastructure to courtesy of paramedical staff and hospital image. The hospitals in the developing world present distinct business models and service quality variations that warrant context-specific examination. In the Indian healthcare system, patients are always accompanied by their attendants who perform a plethora of functions, including facilitating the execution of physicians' recommendations. In many Indian hospitals the presence of an attendant is perceived more as an institutional norm than a personal convenience. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderators and mediators in the context of healthcare service quality from the perspectives of patients and their attendants in India. The study employs a questionnaire-survey approach to obtain the perceptions of patients and attendants. The study reveals that attendants play an indispensable role in Indian context. Attendants provide physical and mental support to patients, which result in patients' satisfaction with the hospital's services. Further, attendants, by supplementing hospital activities, serve as a bridge between service providers and patients. The attendants have been found to subordinate their own personal comfort levels to the care provided by the hospital to the patients. The current research is the earliest study that explicitly addresses the role of attendants in the context of healthcare service delivery in India.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the dimensions of service quality in Indian hospitals, from the perspectives of patients and their family members/friends (referred to as “attendants”). Design/methodology/approach – Based on the existing models and the literature on healthcare services, a framework is proposed to conceptualize and measure hospital service quality. Findings – Two instruments for measuring the dimensions of hospital service quality, one each from the perspective of patients and attendants, are proposed. Practical implications – This framework enables hospital managers to understand how patients and their attendants evaluate the quality of healthcare provided in respect of every dimension. A comparison of perceptions between patients and attendants would aid them to allocate resources to various aspects of healthcare, with respect to these two customer groups. Hospital administrators can use the instruments proposed to obtain feedback on their performance on service quality parameters so that they can benchmark themselves with their competitors. Originality/value – This paper contributes to research on healthcare services by the development of a comprehensive framework for customer (both patient and attendant)-perceived healthcare quality. © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate scales to measure and benchmark service quality (SQ) in tourism industry. Design/methodology/approach - The second-order confirmatory factor analysis is employed to validate the instrument. SQ dimensions have been modeled which have significant impact on customer satisfaction (CS) separately from those which do not have a significant impact. Findings - Hospitality, food, logistics, security, and value for money have significant impact on satisfaction, while amenities, core-tourism experience, hygiene, fairness of price, information centers, culture, distractions, personal information, and pubs do not have a significant impact. Research limitations/implications - The above pattern may be different in a different destination, and in a different context. However, a major implication of the current findings is that a destination need not have natural cutting edges to be developed as a tourist destination. A destination with good logistics and assurance for security, value for money, impressive hospitality and food, can satisfy a customer. Practical implications - The scale which has been developed by us will be useful for destination managers to measure the SQ perceptions of tourists and benchmark destinations. The distinction of SQ dimensions with and without the impact on CS could enable a manager to manage these two sets of factors separately. Originality/value - Unlike previous works, SQ has been modeled in tourism as a second-order factor, which appears to be a more appropriate approach. The authors have also modeled factors with and without significant impact on satisfaction separately, and the approach does not seem to have precedence in literature. The inclusion of the factor, "Fairness of Price" is also a new contribution to literature. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide strategic recommendations to Indian hospital administrators for improving service quality by analysing performance dimensions and the importance attached to them by patients and attendants. Design/methodology/approach – Patient and attendant perceptions were collected using a questionnaire. Findings – Patients and attendants have different perceptions. Different customers have different needs of which providers need to be aware to better serve their consumers. Research limitations/implications – The study captured only 408 patient and attendants’ perceptions – a 32 per cent response rate. Practical implications – Results enable hospital administrators to develop appropriate strategies to improve their structure and function by analysing their strengths and weaknesses regarding their tangible and intangible assets. Originality/value – The study included attendants, specifically in an Indian healthcare context.

The increasing purchasing power of Indian customers and the significant growth in the industry have led to stiff Indian competition in the Indian healthcare sector. It has become vital for the healthcare providers to deliver and sustain quality practices in order to get established in the global health scenario. The main objective of the paper is to determine the dimensions of service quality in Indian hospitals, from patients' perspective. Based on the existing models and the literature on healthcare services, the authors have proposed a framework to conceptualize and measure hospital service quality. This would enable hospital managers understand how patients evaluate the quality of care provided and aid them to allocate resources to various aspects of healthcare, considered to be important by the patients. A questionnaire has been developed for measuring the dimensions of hospital service quality and is being validated. The current work could be extended to determine the link between various aspects of hospital services and patient satisfaction. © 2008 IEEE.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize hospital service quality (SQ) into its component dimensions from the perspectives of patients and their attendants; and to analyze the relationship between SQ and customer satisfaction (CS) in government and private hospitals in India. Design/methodology/approach: The study employs questionnaire-survey approach to obtain the perceptions of patients and attendants. The instruments developed have been validated using tests for reliability, validity and uni-dimensionality. Data collected have been analyzed by using statistical techniques such as bi-variate correlation and multiple regression. Findings: Patients and attendants treat the interpersonal aspect of care as the most important one, as they cannot fully evaluate the technical quality of healthcare services. The study also revealed that the hospital service providers have to understand the needs of both patients and attendants in order to gather a holistic view of their services. Research limitations/implications: Results of the study are dependent on the nature and number of respondents, i.e. the study has captured only the perceptions of service receivers - patients and attendants; and sample size of the study - 204 patients and 204 attendants - due to limited response rate and other operational constraints. Practical implications: The present study allows the hospital administrators to benchmark their hospitals with those of their competitors by comparing the mean values of the dimensions of SQ. The study also allows a comparison of the performance of government and private hospitals in terms of the services offered. Originality/value: The study conceptualizes hospital SQ as an eight-dimensional framework. Further, it also presents the relationship between SQ and CS in Indian Government and private hospitals. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.