A comparison of service predispositions between
NHS nurses and hospitality workers
Darren Lee-Ross
Senior Research Fellow, Bournemouth University, Poole, Dorset, UK
Introduction
In spite of the volume of research examining
service quality in organizations (for example,
Parasuraman et al., 1986; Randall and Senior,
1992; Leach, 1993; Page, 1994; Randall and
Senior, 1994; Messenger and Atkins, 1994;
Johns and Lee-Ross, 1995) few studies focus
on the relationship between ``server predis-
positions'' and service provision. This is
surprising because definitions of service
quality and related theoretical models
usually recognize the crucial role of the
provider at the customer interface. Indeed,
customer perception of overall service qual-
ity is often linked directly to these face-to-
face interactions.
There appears to be an a priori assumption
that providers are predisposed towards (or
have positive attitudes to) providing service.
This assumption seems reasonable in orga-
nizations such as hotels and restaurants
which offer a demand-led service. However,
in service organizations supplying a range of
services which are mainly necessity-led, the
above assumption may be imprudent. For
example, in hospitals, it is not unusual for
ward nurses to serve meals to patients (see
Gaze, 1990; Hyde and Green, 1993). Thus,
nurses provide a service which encompasses
hospitality and clinical/nursing dimensions.
Attitudes towards provision of each service
may be different and not transferable. In
other words, the effective delivery of hospi-
tality-based service in hospitals may require
server predispositions which are different to
those for clinical/nursing provision. Neces-
sity-led services are not driven by the client
but provided in the client's ``best interest''. If
this approach is adopted by nurses when
providing hospitality services it seems rea-
sonable to suggest that some clients may be
dissatisfied with the overall ``product''. This
potential outcome has far-reaching conse-
quences particularly against the background
of the UK Government's initiatives to make
hospitals more responsive to consumers (i.e.
DOH, 1989a, 1989b, 1995, 1996, 1998).
Proposition and aim
The main proposition of the present study is
that nurses have predispositions towards
hospitality-based service dimensions that
differ from their hospitality worker counter-
parts because of other dimensions present in
the service they offer. This investigation
seeks to develop and test an instrument
capable of assessing the predispositions of
service providers. The instrument is then
used to compare the attitudes towards ser-
vice provision between ward nurses and
hospitality workers.
The present author views this work as an
extension of an earlier study by Svein Larsen
and Trond Bastiansen (1992). However, the
development process and subsequent content
of the service predisposition instrument
(SPI) differ from the previous authors' ser-
vice attitude questionnaire in a number of
ways. Results of the present study are there-
fore not directly comparable with those of the
earlier one.
Method for pilot study
A total of 60 undergraduate students of
hospitality management at Bournemouth
University were asked by the present author
to list factors they thought indicated positive
service predispositions. In all, three separate
sessions were conducted with 20 students
participating in each; suggestions were col-
lected at the end of the sessions. Students
selected had recently returned from working
in industry. It was thought that responses
would reflect their personal experiences in
addition to what they may have learned at
university.
After analysis, the most common applic-
able statements were used as a basis for the
[92]
International Journal of Health
Care Quality Assurance
12/3 [
1999
] 92±97
# MCB University Press
[
ISSN 0952-6862
]
Keywords
Employee attitudes,
Hospitality industry, National
Health Service, Service levels.
Abstract
The following study sought to
develop an instrument to elicit the
service predispositions of nurses
and hospitality foodservice work-
ers. Results of a pilot study sug-
gested that the service
predisposition instrument (SPI)
was valid and therefore appropri-
ate to investigate the service
attitudes of these workers. Ser-
vice predispositions of nurses from
two NHS Trusts were compared
with those of hospitality foodser-
vice workers in two large hotels.
Overall, both nurses and foodser-
vice workers were found to have
similar positive service predis-
positions. However, significant
differences were present between
groups for certain service dimen-
sions.