Quality follows quality: add quality to the business and quality will multiply the profits

Exploring the Gap Between Patients' Expectations and Perceptions of Healthcare Service Quality

PURPOSE

This study aimed to explore the gap between patients' expectations of healthcare service quality in ‎Jordanian hospitals against their perceptions of service received using SERVQUAL model.

METHODS

The study used a cross-sectional design. The study data were collected randomly from 415 patients (participants) ‎who completed the SERVEQUAL questionnaire. The data were analyzed using ‎statistical procedures such as descriptive, t-test, and ANOVA.

RESULTS

The results showed ‎that there is a gap between mean score of patients' expectations of what should be available in the ‎hospital and patients' perceptions of the service received in the hospital. Patients' expectations were higher than their perceptions on all five SERVQUAL domains (Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, and Empathy).

CONCLUSION

Hospital managers should take necessary actions to improve healthcare services in their hospitals with respect to all SERVQUAL domains. These actions should be directed to reduce the gap between patients' expectation and their perceptions in order to provide services meet patients' needs.

R. Healthcare service quality: a methodology for servicescape re-design using Taguchi approach

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify major healthcare service quality (HSQ) dimensions, their most preferred service levels, and their effect on HSQ perceptions of patients using a Taguchi experiment.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopted a sequential incidence technique to identify factors relevant in HSQ and examined the relative importance of different factor levels in the service journey using Taguchi experiment.

Findings

For HSQ, the optimum factor levels are online appointment booking facility with provision to review and modify appointments; a separate reception for booked patients; provision to meet the doctor of choice; prior detailing of procedures; doctor on call facility to the room of stay; electronic sharing of discharge summary, an online payment facility. Consultation phase followed by the stay and then procedures have maximum effect on S/N and mean responses of patients. The appointment stage has a maximum effect on standard deviations.

Research limitations/implications

Theoretically, this study attempted to address the dearth of research on service settings using robust methodologies like Taguchi experiment, which is popular in the manufacturing sector. The study implies the need for patient-centric initiatives for better HSQ through periodic experiments that inform about the changing priorities of patients.

Practical implications

The trade-off between standardization and customization create challenges in healthcare. Practically, a classification of processes based on standardization vs customization potential is useful to revamp processes for HSQ.

Originality/value

This study applied the Taguchi approach to get insights in re-designing a patient-centric healthcare servicescapes.

Self-efficacy’s role in success of quality training programmes

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore why some firms succeed while others flounder or fail to implement quality improvement programmes. It synthesises self-efficacy literature to propose a model of self-efficacy’s role in affecting implementation success of quality improvement programmes in organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of scholarly articles on the topics of self-efficacy and quality initiatives brings to light self-efficacy’s role in successful quality programme implementation. When considered in the context of organisation barriers, it can lead to organisational success.

Findings

It is determined that quality training programmes play an important role in affecting existing efficacies and leading to “quality self-efficacy” in employees. The proposed model and related propositions suggest that right approaches of implementing quality training among certain types of employees and/or organisations can promote teamwork to achieve performance success.

Research limitations/implications

Moving forward, the proposed model should be empirically tested to improve our understanding of quality self-efficacy construct and its role in aiding organisational success. Furthermore, it would offer guidelines for the implementation of quality programmes in the most optimal way.

Practical implications

In applying theories on self-efficacy, motivation, empowerment, and quality training, the authors posit that existing efficacy and quality self-efficacy are crucial for quality implementation efforts to overcome organisational barriers and lead to effective teamwork and performance success.

Social implications

The authors postulate that deciding factors for organisational success originate from employees themselves as existing efficacies. Even though employees can foster quality self-efficacy through the implementation of quality improvement initiatives, existing self-efficacy, and organisation barriers will be moderating forces on eventual effectiveness of quality self-efficacy, teamwork, and organisational performance.

Originality/value

The model and related propositions, linking self- and collective efficacies to quality training, teamwork, and quality performance, offered in this paper will prove useful for organisational decision-makers in selecting quality programmes for implementation in organisation to achieve performance success.

An Empirical Examination of Knowledge Management Processes and Market Orientation, Innovation Capability, and Organisational Performance: Insights from Jordan

There are many studies discussing how knowledge management and market orientation (MO) are positively related to innovation, but an examination of the impact of the knowledge management processes (KMP) — as we conceptualize the four in this study — and MO on the innovation capability of organisations which in turn impact organisational performance has never been done. Hence, this study formulates a comprehensive conceptual framework which encompasses KMP (knowledge creation, intra-organisational knowledge sharing and application, external knowledge acquisition, and knowledge storage and documentation), MO (customer orientation, competitor orientation and inter-functional coordination), innovation capability (product, process, marketing and organisational innovation), and organisational performance (product quality, operational performance and financial performance). Then empirically test the relationships among the study models with the focus on the mediating role of innovation capability. The design of the study is based on a survey of 210 Jordanian manufacturing and service organisations. The sample of this study encompasses the mid-level managers of the organisations. About 440 self-administered questionnaires were distributed among the respondents. Confirmatory factor analysis is undertaken to assess statistically the validity of the study measures. Then the structural equation modelling (SEM) path analysis is used to assess the structural relationship of KMP, MO with innovation capability, and organisational performance. The results of the study reveal that engagement in KMP and MO can lead to better innovation capability in the organisations which in turn can lead to better organisational performance. The results we observe concerning this sample of companies may not be applicable to a greater population of companies from other countries with a different technological base or to specific subsectors of the manufacturing industry (e.g. the food industry). Moreover, the study represents only snapshots since it utilized self-administered questionnaires which also have no qualitative data. For the practicing managers intending to increase the rate of innovation in their firms, this means that KMP and MO are important activities to master. Additionally, managers should put additional emphasis on innovation as it is an important element for achieving improved overall firm’s performance and sustainable competitive power.

Gotzamani K, L. Psomas E. The impact of employees’ attributes on the quality of food products

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyse the importance of specific, quality-related employees’ attributes to the enhancement of product quality in food companies. The main goal is to examine the synergistic relationships between specific employees’ attributes, which have been related in literature to ISO 9000 successful implementation, to continuous improvement, operational performance and product quality.

Design/methodology/approach

– The analysis includes an initial exploratory factor analysis, followed by confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling, in order to investigate the relations between the constructs of the proposed model.

Findings

– The findings reveal that although the examined quality-related “employees’ attributes” do not directly contribute to “product quality”, they influence both “continuous improvement” and “operational performance” of food firms. The results also confirm the impact of both “continuous improvement” and “operational performance” on “product quality” and also that “continuous improvement” helps explain “operational performance”.

Research limitations/implications

– The domain in which the model has been validated, the restricted use of moderators in the model and lack of empirical validation of the model in non-food sector companies, based on various respondents from each company, are a number of limitations associated with this study which suggest future research proposals.

Practical implications

– The findings of this study can motivate managers of food companies to focus on certain quality-related employees’ attributes in order to boost continuous improvement of ISO 9001 systems and operational performance of their companies, leading to product quality enhancement.

Originality/value

– This study finds particular relevance in emphasizing that although specific quality-related employees’ attributes, as these are detected in literature, have a significant contribution towards continuous improvement and operational performance, they are not the only critical factor leading to product quality. More complex relationships need to be considered by integrating other constructs as major antecedents of food product quality.

Adopting TQM approach to achieve customer satisfaction

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a survey of customer satisfaction with regard to the strategy of total quality management (TQM) adopted in a wheat flour milling company.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was conducted to learn more about customer expectations and satisfaction. The respondents were all customers of a flour‐based food processor. Quality function deployment (QFD) was applied to improve customer service performance by focusing on customer satisfaction, value and retention.

Findings

The results show that customer satisfaction has increased steadily over a period of three years. The QFD approach helped to design a competitive product by aligning the company resources to customers’ needs.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are limited to a specific food manufacturing company and for this reason they cannot be generalized to the whole in service sector. Further research is needed for other service companies.

Practical implications

The findings may support manufacturing companies hoping to achieve customer satisfaction by focusing on TQM implementation efforts. Furthermore, companies can focus their efforts on improving the way in which they meet certain customers’ needs if these needs are more extensively related to a certain component of quality management.

Originality/value

The paper presents evidence to managers of the value of implementing TQM strategy to effectively achieve customer satisfaction that ultimately leads to greater market share and profit maximization.

Understanding the interdependencies of quality problems and productivity

Purpose

This viewpoint seeks to provide evidence that up until now, neither a systematic analysis of quality problems in terms of resource, process and product quality has been undertaken, nor has the respective impact on productivity been sufficiently described and understood.

Design/methodology/approach

A structured literature review is used to define productivity and quality problems and shows their interdependencies as well as problem solving approaches in a model.

Findings

In a “Four Level Model of Quality” the impact of quality problems on productivity is apparent. A flow chart has been developed which not only identifies quality problems but also provides for approaches to resolve such problems through techniques of quality management. A practical example within the context of asset management further illustrates the overarching problems.

Practical implications

Utilizing the developed flow chart in order to identify quality problems and use techniques of quality management as a solution to overcome such problems, will contribute to an increase in productivity of a company.

Originality/value

This paper provides the development of methodical basics in reference to the definition and identification of quality problems including systematic attribution of quality management techniques for problem solving. It presents a “Four Level Model of Quality” to show how to secure the best impact on productiveness. This viewpoint shall lay foundations for target‐oriented continuation of research in this particular field and provide a scientific platform for companies of positive influences of quality on productivity.