C Rajendran

The effectiveness of quality management programmes at resulting in enhanced business performance has been a major subject of interest for business and academia alike. In service organizations, customer-perceived service quality is considered as one of the key determinants of business performance. The current study strives to examine the influence of total quality service (TQS) dimensions on customer-perceived service quality. Multiple regression analysis has been used to investigate the relationship between the different dimensions of TQS and the various factors of service quality. The results have indicated that the TQS dimensions, as a whole, are indeed good predictors of service quality. Furthermore, the soft issues of TQS (such as human resource management, customer focus, service culture, employee satisfaction, top management commitment and leadership and social responsibility) seem to be more vital than do hard issues in positively influencing customer-perceived service quality.

Purpose - This research paper aims to identify dimensions of patient-perceived total quality service (TQS) in the healthcare sector. Further, the impact of the dimensions of patient-perceived TQS on patient satisfaction is examined. Design/methodology/approach - A questionnaire has been developed based on an extensive literature review of research in service quality and based on responses of the pilot survey among patients recently discharged from hospital. The instrument thus developed has been examined for its psychometric properties using tests of reliability and validity. Multiple regression analysis has been used to examine the impact of the dimensions of patient-perceived quality on patient satisfaction. Findings - Findings highlight seven distinct dimensions of patient-perceived TQS and the relationships among them. Positive and significant relationships among the dimensions and patient satisfaction have been found. Research limitations/implications - Contribution to research on healthcare services by the development of a comprehensive instrument of patient-perceived healthcare quality. Practical implications - This instrument would enable patients to provide feedback to hospitals regarding the quality of healthcare received by them. Hospitals could use this feedback to analyze their performance, gauge patient satisfaction and benchmark their performance against competitive hospitals. Originality/value - This paper illustrates a comprehensive instrument of patient-perceived healthcare quality. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

The research literature on service quality has indeed swelled enormously over the past few years with numerous researchers administering various models across the world. Nevertheless, the SERVQUAL instrument forms the basis on which all other works have been actualized. Interestingly, the conceptualization, measurement and applications of SERVQUAL across different industrial and commercial settings are not bereft of controversies either. A careful examination of the instrument divulges that the factors and the corresponding items are not comprehensive as it appears that the instrument has left out certain important constituents of service quality. In this background, the current research work strives to bring to light some of the critical determinants of service quality that have been overlooked in the literature and proposes a comprehensive model and an instrument framework for measuring customer perceived service quality. The instrument has been designed with specific reference to the banking sector. Data have been collected from customers of banks in a huge developing economy. The proposed instrument has been empirically tested for unidimensionality, reliability and construct validity using a confirmatory factor analysis approach. The present study offers a systematic procedure that could form the cornerstone for providing further insights on the conceptual and empirical comprehension of customer perceived service quality and its constituents. © 2002, MCB UP Limited

There is considerable lack of literature with respect to service industry management, especially in the banking industry of developing economies. Attempts to bridge this gap. Critically examines the banking industry in a developing nation – India. Investigates the discrepancies among the various groups of banks in India with respect to the total quality service (TQS) dimensions (from the perspective of the management). The results indicate that the three groups of banks in India seem to vary significantly. Identifies the dimensions that contribute most to discriminating between the groups. Also computes and analyses the total quality service indices with respect to the 12 dimensions for the three groups of banks and for the banking industry as a whole and in order to ascertain the level of TQS implementation in the Indian banking scene. Offers key insights on the criticality of the different TQS dimensions with respect to the banking sector in developing economies. © 2002, MCB UP Limited

This paper presents a view that the key to software quality lies in satisfying customers. Such a view of defining software quality from the customer's perspective is in line with the Total Quality Management (TQM) implemented in the manufacturing and service sectors. Although the importance of customer-perceived quality is recognized worldwide, especially in the manufacturing, marketing and service organizations, it appears that there exists no rigorous framework for measuring customer-perception of software quality. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for customer-perceived software quality and an instrument to measure it.

Most of the available literature on quality management is based on management's perception; few studies examine critical issues of quality management from the customer's perspective, especially in the software industry. In order to gain an insight into what customers expect from a product/service, an analysis of quality management from customer's point of view is essential. Such an understanding would help the managers to adopt strategies that can enhance the satisfaction level of their customers. The present study highlights the critical factors of quality management in the software industry from the customer's perspective. Six critical factors are identified: and an instrument, comprising these factors, is developed and validated so as to measure the customer's perception of quality management in the software industry. © Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2006.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to highlight key dimensions of provider-perceived total quality management (TQM) in the healthcare sector in India. Further, the impact of the dimensions of provider perceived TQM on hospital performance is examined. Design/methodology/approach - A questionnaire has been developed based on an extensive literature review of research in service quality and based on responses of the pilot survey among medical professionals. The instrument thus developed has been examined for its psychometric properties using tests of reliability and validity. Multiple regression analysis has been used to examine the impact of the dimensions of provider-perceived TQM on hospital performance. Findings - Findings highlight 14 distinct dimensions of provider-perceived TQM and the relationships among them. Positive and significant relationships among the dimensions and hospital performance have been found. Research limitations/implications - Contribution to research on healthcare quality by the development of a comprehensive instrument of provider-perceived healthcare quality. Practical implications - This instrument would enable hospitals to examine the quality of care being delivered by them to the patients. Hospital administrators and medical professionals could use this feedback to assess hospital performance, and benchmark their performance against that of other competitive hospitals. Originality/value - Comprehensive instrument of provider-perceived healthcare quality © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

The relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction has received considerable academic attention in the past few years. But the nature of the exact relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction (especially in the way the two constructs have been operationalized) is still shrouded with uncertainty. Many researchers have operationalized customer satisfaction by using a single item scale and many others have used multiple item scales. The present study adopts a different approach and views customer satisfaction as a multi dimensional construct just as service quality, but argues that customer satisfaction should be operationalized along the same factors (and the corresponding items) on which service quality is operationalized. Based on this approach, the link between service quality and customer satisfaction has been investigated. The results have indicated that the two constructs are indeed independent but are closely related, implying that an increase in one is likely to lead to an increase in another. © 2002, MCB UP Limited

The manufacturing landscape of the corporate world has undergone a quality revolution, resulting in a plethora of research works on the tools, techniques, critical dimensions and other organizational requirements for the e ective implementation of total quality management (TQM). But the same cannot be said with certainty of service industry management. Research works on total quality service (TQS) is not exhaustive in the sense that there appears to be a vacuum in the literature as far as a holistic model (from the perspective of the management) is concerned. The present study is an attempt to fill this gap. Based on an extensive review of the vast literature on TQM and TQS, the study has identified 12 dimensions of TQS as being critical for e ective implementation of quality management in service organizations. The momentousness of each of these dimensions from the manufacturing and service perspectives has been authenticated. The di erent roles that these dimensions play in the manufacturing and service milieu have also been discussed. A conceptual model for TQS has been proposed demonstrating the relationships among its dimensions. The present work aspires to provide a basis for a thorough and insightful discernment of TQS and its critical dimensions.

The level of awareness of Total Quality Management (TQM) has increased considerably over the last few years. Different sets of organizational requirements are prescribed by quality management gurus and practitioners for the effective practice of TQM. These requirements do not seem to have been formulated on the basis of systematic empirical research. Many researchers point out that tacit factors, e.g. employee empowerment, open culture and executive commitment, and not TQM tools and techniques alone, could drive TQM success, and that organizations would need to acquire these factors to stay successful. Many TQM advocates have also suggested that a conducive organizational environment would be essential for an effective practice of TQM. However, they did not offer any empirical evidence. There appears to be no empirical study reported in the literature that could establish a relation between TQM and organizational factors. The objective of this paper is to describe an empirical research on TQM conducted in Indian business units carried out recently by considering some organizational factors, e.g. quality of work life, organizational climate and communication. The methodology and findings are discussed in detail. © 1999 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.