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Developing operational understanding of service quality through a simulation environment

Developing operational understanding of service quality through a simulation environment Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to articulate the challenges of learning and improving in service delivery systems – that present managers with imperfect information, confounded variables, and tightly coupled interactions between operational and psychological factors – and present a simulator to assist managers to overcome these challenges. Design/methodology/approach – After reviewing the literature on “learning from simulations” and the main challenges of learning in a service environment, the paper presents the assumptions underlying the service quality management simulator, its interface, and protocols to use it that have proven effective. Findings – It is possible to assist managers to develop operational understanding – what to do, when and how much of it to do – about the drivers of service quality using a simulation environment. Research limitations/implications – In its present form, the simulator only takes a functional definition of service quality and captures the relationships in a business‐to‐consumer service environment. These shortcomings suggest future expansions to the theory. Also, while anecdotal evidence is reported of the benefits using the simulator, quantifying these benefits remains a challenge for future research. Practical implications – The ability to customize the simulator's parameters to represent specific service settings makes it a powerful tool for operating managers facing some of the challenges described by the theory. Originality/value – This paper documents, in a non‐technical way, the elements a set of relationships that has been shown to confuse managers and cause erosion of service quality and describes the simulator's uses and benefits in a pedagogical environment. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Journal of Service Industry Management Emerald Publishing

Developing operational understanding of service quality through a simulation environment

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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
0956-4233
DOI
10.1108/09564230810869711
Publisher site
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Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to articulate the challenges of learning and improving in service delivery systems – that present managers with imperfect information, confounded variables, and tightly coupled interactions between operational and psychological factors – and present a simulator to assist managers to overcome these challenges. Design/methodology/approach – After reviewing the literature on “learning from simulations” and the main challenges of learning in a service environment, the paper presents the assumptions underlying the service quality management simulator, its interface, and protocols to use it that have proven effective. Findings – It is possible to assist managers to develop operational understanding – what to do, when and how much of it to do – about the drivers of service quality using a simulation environment. Research limitations/implications – In its present form, the simulator only takes a functional definition of service quality and captures the relationships in a business‐to‐consumer service environment. These shortcomings suggest future expansions to the theory. Also, while anecdotal evidence is reported of the benefits using the simulator, quantifying these benefits remains a challenge for future research. Practical implications – The ability to customize the simulator's parameters to represent specific service settings makes it a powerful tool for operating managers facing some of the challenges described by the theory. Originality/value – This paper documents, in a non‐technical way, the elements a set of relationships that has been shown to confuse managers and cause erosion of service quality and describes the simulator's uses and benefits in a pedagogical environment.

Journal

International Journal of Service Industry Management – Emerald Publishing

Published: Apr 25, 2008

Keywords: Learning organizations; Service levels; Customer services quality; Simulation; Operations management

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