Part I
Question 1:
In process mapping, it is more important the management focuses and clearly describe the process as it actually is before describing the process as it should be. I think the reason behind this is simple. It is important to know where you are before you set out your direction and goal. You need to know where you are before you can have a clear direction of where you want to be.
Question 2:
1. Process Identification – during this step, the organization needs to identify and have a clear picture of its processes.
2. Information Gathering – in this step, the organization needs to acquire large volume of information in order to clearly analyze its processes.
3. Process Mapping – in this step, the employees and everyone that is involved in the organization’s processes are asked to describe what they do. This allow them to interactively ensure the final map matches their understanding of their work.
4. Analysis – analysis must take place in the whole process. When the maps are done, the management needs to identify unnecessary elements of the processes.
Question 3:
Process map is an important aspect of the customer service organization. In order to achieve customer satisfaction, the organization needs to analyze the key measures for the customer and the key measures for the process that it must address. A process map is basically a flowchart for the purpose of data collection and process refinement. The finished process map presents a true and accurate picture of the action steps, decision points, and wait sequences that constitute the overall job to be done.
Part II
Section A
1. ABC Restaurant is a chain of restaurants. The major operations of ABC Restaurant are fast food outlets, institutional catering, specialty restaurants and food manufacturing. The company offers a large selection of food items. The business that I have chosen is restaurant. In restaurant business, the provider provides products, services and experiences. Restaurants need to provide quality products and service and at the same time they need to give satisfying dining experience for the customers.
2. The internal customers of the restaurant are its employees, its intermediate customers are its franchisees while its external customers are the consumer or the people that dine in the restaurants. These customers have different characteristics and different needs. Internal customers are entities within an organization. Intermediate customers (franchisees) are the ones that provide ABC’s products and services to the final customers. External or final customers are the ones that consume goods and services at the end of the supply chain and are often referred to as the ‘end users’.
The staff which are the internal customers are valuable to the organization. The staff create value for themselves, the customer and the organization according to both their behaviors and accomplishments. The employees are internal customers in the sense that they trade their knowledge, skills and abilities for the satisfaction of their needs may it be financial or otherwise.
The franchisees are also considered as valuable customers. The organization commits itself in the satisfaction of the franchisees needs. The franchisees help in providing ABC’s products and services to the end users. In return the franchisers expects that they share the financial gains of the company and that the company supply them with its expertise, knowledge and resources.
The end users are considered as the main customers of the company. These external customers need quality products and services that will satisfy their needs. They need value for the money. Their needs and requirements always come first for the company.
3. One of customer records that the company keep in order to identify customer needs are customer surveys. Customer surveys are one of the most commonly used instruments in the service environment (such as in a restaurant) to identify customer needs and measure their satisfaction. Information and data about consumers are gathered through:
- Customer Interviews – Customer interviews are usually conducted face-to-face or on the phone and often deliver quicker results that other methods. Face-to-face interviews can be time consuming but are powerful methods for identifying qualitative data.
- Customer Survey Questionnaires – Customer survey questionnaires contain a defined set of questions that re designed to capture customers’ views and perceptions on goods and services a company is providing and the responses help to understand the customers’ changing behaviors.
Understanding Customer Needs through Technology
Technology is used in understanding customers and identifying their needs. One process that aims to understand customers is Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Customer Relationship Management (CRM) can be defined as the development and maintenance of mutually beneficial long-term relationships with strategically significant customers (Buttle 2000). CRM according to Plakoyiannaki and Tzokas (2001) is an IT enhanced value process, which identifies, develops, integrates and focuses the various competencies of the firm to the ‘voice’ of the customer in order to deliver long-term superior customer value, at a profit to well identified existing and potential customers.
Customer relationship management focuses on strengthening the bond between customers and the firm by maximizing the value of the relationship for the benefit of both the customer and the firm. As a business philosophy, CRM is based upon individual customers and customized products and services supported by open lines of communication and feedback form the participating firms that mutually benefits both by buying and selling organizations.
Customer Relationship Management has emerged as one of top priorities of many companies. When applied correctly, CRM uses technology that can help a company leverage increased customer knowledge to build profitable relationships. The focus is on learning more about customers and using that knowledge to refine every interaction with them. At a time when most products and services have become commodities, knowing the customer and treating each as an individual is the most effective way to win allegiance.
Expectations of the Customers
The customers of ABC Restaurant expects
1. Quality Products
2. Fast and Efficient Service
3. Well-trained and accommodating service staff
4. Relaxing and soothing ambiance
5. Pleasurable dining experience
6. Value for money
Section B
1. Total Quality Management at ABC Restaurant
ABC Restaurant is a business that offers a combination of product and service. The business offers product (food) and service (waiting on customer) that needs to be of high quality. In order to ensure the quality of the product and the service, ABC Restaurant must implement Total Quality Management (TQM).
According to Kanji (1990) Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management philosophy that fosters an organizational culture committed to customer satisfaction through continuous improvement. The fundamentals in the definition are ‘management’, ‘culture’, ‘customer satisfaction’, and ‘continuous improvement’, which can be easily applied to all kinds of organizations. TQM is built on a philosophy where individuals, teams and organizations can improve their performance at all times (Kanji 2002).
2. Implementing TQM
In implementing changes in ABC Restaurant, it is important to bear in mind that:
o Management is largely responsible for quality
o Quality can be improved through planning
o Plans and objectives must be specific and measurable
o Training is essential and starts at the top
o A three-step process of planning, control and action is needed (Juran, 1974).
The Quality Trilogy
In implementing service quality changes and in adapting the TQM philosophy, ABC Restaurant must undergo a three-step process.
1. Quality Planning – in the quality planning stage, the management needs to identify the customers and determine their needs through the analysis of their behavior, by direct communication, and by becoming a customer. The management needs to communicate the customer needs to all the levels of organization and must ensure that members of the organization understand. When the needs are identified, the organization then starts to develop product and/or service that will respond to customers’ real, stated and perceived needs. The organization also needs to create and sustain a process that can produce the product and/or service of desired features.
*Quality improvement in ABC Restaurant must start at the top. The top management must investigate the issues concerning customer needs and satisfaction. The top management needs to be educated and needs to commit to quality management before it can be accepted by employees in the lower levels. The managers need to be trained.
2. Quality Control
Quality control is the means of directing activities to meet standards. Managers are responsible for observing and comparing worker performance to company standards and must act if workers do not meet standards (Nersesian 2000). Quality control is used to ensure that the organization’s operations maintain the planned quality level. The purpose of quality control is to maintain the quality of the company’s projects. In order to maintain quality an organization must choose a control mechanism by which signs of a problem can be detected. It must also select a unit of measure for a product or service feature or a process. The goal must be measurable, equitable and has official recognition. The actual performance must be compared with the set standards and corrective measures must be taken should discrepancies are identified.
*When the top management is committed and fully understands quality management, that is the time that they communicate the new strategy to the employees. The top management needs to gather the employees and meet with them to make sure that they understand the quality program. During this stage, the management needs to encourage everyone in the organization to report and to observe the weaknesses in the new program.
3. Quality Improvement
Quality improvement is the last step in the process. This level of quality management deals with the problems that arisen during the first two steps of the quality management. In order to effectively improve the quality of the firm’s product or service, it should establish a corporate infrastructure for annual quality improvement and identify the areas that need improvement. The firm also needs to specify improvement projects and organize a project team for each improvement project with clear responsibility for concluding the project. The management is responsible for providing the resources, motivation, and training needed by the teams to diagnose causes, determine a remedy, improve quality, and establish controls to hold on to improvement gains (Nersesian 2000).
After the identification of the weaknesses in the new program, the management must developed corrective measures. Quality improvement deals with the problems that arisen during the first two steps. In the first two steps, problems like lack of employee commitment and lack of direction may arise. If this is the case, the management needs to educate and train the employees.
Dealing with Customer Complaints
In dealing with customer complaints, the company needs to be very careful so as not to push customers to look for other service providers. The company needs to make sure that it deals with customer complaints in a way that make customers feel valued and appreciated. Here are some of the ways to deal with customer complaints effectively.
1. Make sure that the customers can easily contact the company when they have complaints. It is important that the company provides information on how customers can reach it when they have complaints. The people who are in-charge with handling customer complaints must promptly respond to the customers.
2. Appreciate the customer’s time and effort in informing about the product’s or/and service’s weaknesses. Let the customer know that the information that he or she has given is valued and will be dealt with.
3. Deal with the complaint promptly. By dealing with the complaint promptly and by solving the problem quickly, the company makes the customer feel that it is committed to customer satisfaction.
4. Give a complimentary token. In the hotel and restaurant industry, a complimentary token, in the form of free meals or drinks, free services, discount coupons, and others are important in making the customers feel that the company is eager to keep its customers.
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