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Questions and Answers
Which of the following is NOT one of the seven tests of rewards that encourage service excellence?
Empowerment focuses on restricting the initiative of employees.
False
What does enfranchisement couple with to enhance employee performance?
compensation method
The empowerment approach encourages employees to exercise __________ and imaginations.
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Match the levels of empowerment with their descriptions:
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Which of the following does NOT represent a level of empowerment?
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Pay alone is an effective method for promoting service excellence.
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List two characteristics of high involvement in empowerment.
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What is one major complaint customers have about service workers?
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Wegmans was ranked as one of the worst companies to work for in 2005.
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What do boundary spanners do?
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Service personnel provide a sustainable __________ advantage.
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Match the following complaints about service workers with their descriptions:
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Which role is at the center of driving all HR systems in the service business?
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Service employees face minimal stress in their jobs.
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What is one of Wegmans' operational highlights mentioned?
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What type of conflict is illustrated by a customer requesting a service that violates organizational rules?
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Boundary spanners generally face no conflicts in their roles.
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What is one common reaction of employees to stress caused by conflicting demands?
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An example of a __________ conflict is when a serious person is required to adopt a casual attitude in a business.
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Match the type of conflict with its description:
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Which of the following is NOT listed as a coping strategy for employees to reduce stress?
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The climate for service is solely based on customer feedback.
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What is meant by 'job stress' in the context of service personnel?
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What is the main purpose of the HR Wheel in service organizations?
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Interdepartmental support is unnecessary for service providers to do their job effectively.
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Name one characteristic of 'Egocentric Edgar'.
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The first layer of the Service HR Wheel is __________.
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Match the following customer profiles with their descriptions:
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Which of the following is NOT a layer of the Service HR Wheel?
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The strategy for handling 'Hysterical Harold' is to let him vent and take responsibility for solving the problem.
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What technique can be used when dealing with 'Bad-Mouth Betty'?
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Study Notes
Service Personnel Importance
- Competitive Advantage: Service personnel offer a sustainable competitive edge.
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Major Customer Complaints:
- Apathy or lack of concern
- Brush-off or rejection
- Coldness or lack of motivation
- Condescension or disrespect
- Robotism or uncountable
- Rulebook or system doesn’t allow me
- Runaround or evasive or non-committal treatment
Boundary Spanners
- Link Organizations and Customers: Act as a bridge between an organization and its external environment.
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Primary Purposes:
- Information transfer
- Representation
- Service Spectrum: Range from professionals to subordinate service roles, influencing how boundary spanners are managed.
Sources of Conflict on Contact Service Personnel
- Person/Role Conflicts: Conflict between an individual's self-perception and their role within the organization.
- Organization/Client Conflicts: Disagreements due to customer requests contradicting organizational rules.
- Inter-Client Conflicts: Disagreements between customers affecting one another's experience.
Coping Strategies and Implications for Customers
- Job Stress: Results in dissatisfaction, frustration, and turnover intention.
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Employee Coping Mechanisms:
- Avoiding customer interactions
- Entering "people-processing" mode
- Adding physical symbols for control
- Overacting their role
- Fully siding with the customer
Creating a Climate for Service
- Climate Definition: Employee perceptions regarding organizational strategies and rules.
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Core Drivers:
- Work Facilitation: Providing infrastructure and technology to support service delivery.
- Interdepartmental Support: Assistance from other departments to enable successful service provision.
- Human Resource Practices: The HR Wheel
The Services HR Wheel
- Purpose: Aligning HR strategies to positively affect employee experience and organizational culture, integrating people and systems.
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Layers:
- Recruiting the Right People
- Developing Competent Service Employees
- Controlling, Rewarding, and Evaluating Employees
- Retaining Service Employees
Five Customer Profiles
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Customer from Hell: Five customer profiles categorized by their behavior:
- Egocentric Edgar: Selfish, demanding customer.
- Bad-Mouth Betty: Rude and disrespectful customer.
- Hysterical Harold: Wild, uncontrolled, and emotional customer.
- Dictatorial Idiot: Bossy, arrogant, and controlling customer.
- Freeloading Freda: Free-rider or bloodsucker customer.
Dealing with Challenging Customer Profiles
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Egocentric Edgar:
- Approach: Appeal to his ego.
- Demonstrate Action: Show tangible results.
- Rephrasing Policies: "For you, I can... (policy)."
- Avoid Ego Destruction: Protect your own self-esteem.
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Bad-Mouth Betty:
- Approach: Ignore rude language.
- Force the Issue: Confrontation.
- Selective Agreement: Agree with some statements.
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Hysterical Harold:
- Approach: Let him vent.
- Take it Backstage: Address the issue privately.
- Take Responsibility: Solve the problem.
Rewards that Encourage Service Excellence
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Seven Tests of Rewards:
- Availability
- Flexibility
- Reversibility
- Contingent
- Visibility
- Timeliness
- Durability
- Pay Alone is Insufficient: Pay alone does not meet these effectiveness tests.
Empowerment and Enfranchisement
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Empowerment:
- Loosening frontline restrictions.
- Encouraging and rewarding employee initiative.
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Enfranchisement:
- Combines empowerment with performance-based compensation.
Levels of Empowerment
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High Involvement:
- Characteristics: High involvement in job, suggesting ideas, participating in production.
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Key Strategies:
- Employee self-management training.
- Profit-sharing and employee ownership.
- Teamwork, problem-solving, and business operation skills development.
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Job Involvement:
- Characteristics: Expanded job content, skill utilization, freedom, and feedback.
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Key Strategies:
- Job expansion and enrichment.
- Increased skill utilization and autonomy.
- Extensive teamwork.
- Senior management maintains decision-making and reward allocation.
- Control-Oriented: Employees are less involved in decision-making and have limited autonomy.
Stick with your game
- Consistency with Customers: Provide consistent service to customers.
- Offer Solutions: Communicate how you can assist customers.
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Description
Test your knowledge on the critical roles and challenges faced by service personnel and boundary spanners within organizations. This quiz explores competitive advantages, customer complaints, and conflict sources in service interactions. Understand the importance of these roles in linking organizations with their customers.