The manufacturing TQM and service quality literatures: synergistic or conflicting paradigms?

Rhian Silvestro
Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Warwick, UK
Introduction Although most of the exponents of TQM explicitly claim that TQM is transferable to services, the precepts and practices have been derived from the experience of consultants and practitioners in manufacturing. Both the US and Japanese gurus focus and address their work primarily to manufacturers, with application of TQM in services only given secondary attention. As Albrecht (Albrecht and Bradford, 1990) puts it, these contributors were born in a manufacturing era, and they have a predominantly manufacturing mindset at their foundation. Yet, despite its manufacturing origins, both academics and practitioners have, over the past 15 years, been concerned to apply and transfer TQM principles and practices to services. However, the inadequacy of the literature in guiding service managers and transferring the TQM principles, management tools and techniques to service environments has become a familiar theme (see for example, Albrecht and Bradford, 1990; Feigenbaum, 1988; Ghobadian and Speller, 1994). Many of the tools and techniques are quantitative and have limited application in service environments where the deliverables are often intangible, heterogeneous and their consumption and delivery simultaneous. In part no doubt to address this deficiency, the service quality literature has evolved over the past 15 years mainly in the fields of service marketing and operations management. Although influenced by TQM thinking in manufacturing, it has been developed separately, by a different set of contributors. Indeed according to Dale (1992), there appears to be little close collaboration with the group of academics investigating service quality and marketing aspects of TQM and those researching TQM in the context of manufacturing industry. In this paper, an attempt is made to compare, contrast and assimilate the manufacturing and service perspectives on TQM. A model of TQM derived from the manufacturing literature is examined, developed and enhanced in the light of the service management literature; and the contribution of the service quality literature to the development of many of the TQM principles and practices which originated from manufacturing is evaluated. This results in a

TQM and service quality literatures 303

Received May 1997 Revised August 1997

International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 15 No. 3, 1998, pp. 303-328, MCB University Press, 0265-671X

IJQRM 15,3

comparison of the conceptual content of both literatures, with a view to integrating the manufacturing and service conceptualisation of TQM. The absence of a cohesive model of TQM While TQM has become heavily associated with a number of well-known exponents, a review of their teachings reveals a miscellany of ideas and management practices, rather than a coherent philosophy or approach. The literature contains, moreover, different perspectives, even conflicts of opinion; according to Dean and Bowen (1994) Beyond these differences, the variety and continuing evolution of techniques being practised under the rubric of TQ makes it difficult to maintain a clear conception of its meaning (Dean and Bowen, 1994, p. 394). There are a number of reasons for the conceptual messiness of this literature; these will be discussed in turn. Practitioner orientation of the literature First, the TQM literature is practitioner oriented, consultancy driven, and is not therefore built on the basis of scientific or academic research, but rather on the basis of the experience and expertise of practising managers and consultants. The tone of the teachings of the TQM gurus is therefore evangelical, often convincing the reader by referring to a few illustrative examples, rather than proving their validity in an academically rigorous way. Unstructured and amorphous nature of the TQM literature Each of the TQM gurus have generated different prescriptions for implementation, and present a slightly different cut of the overall approach, with some common themes emerging; yet TQM can no longer be equated with any one of these approaches, since so many have contributed to its development. There has been considerable cross-fertilisation of ideas between the American and Japanese exponents of TQM with close collaboration between some contributors (for example, between Shingo and Ohno at Toyota). Not only have many of the Japanese gurus been influenced by Shewhart, Deming, Juran and Feigenbaum, but conversely the later writings of the Americans make frequent references to the Japanese exponents; for example, Deming discusses the work of Taguchi and Ishikawa, and Juran draws on Ishikawa. There is, moreover, a danger in stereotyping the views of each exponent since many are prolific in their writings which have spanned 50 years. Juran, for example, is often associated with the classic model of Optimum Quality Costs; yet the fourth edition of Juran and Grynas text (1980) presents the more recent, revised model which suggests that quality costs are optimal when zero defects is achieved. Differences and conflicting views within the TQM literature Oakland (1989) maintains that many gurus appear to present different solutions to the problems of quality management and control. In reality they are all talking the same language but they use different dialects. This statement

304

belies, however, some of the more serious disagreements which exist between the different exponents of TQM. For example, the conflicting models of optimum quality costs and Taguchis quality loss function. Logothetis (1992) draws attention to some of the differences in the flavour of the TQM approaches advocated by Deming and Juran. He argues that Deming is more concerned with management education and philosophy than Juran and that his approach is much more radical and revolutionary. Juran tends to place more of the responsibility for quality on middle management and quality professionals and he has been criticised by some for under-valuing the contribution of the worker by rejecting bottom-up initiatives (Slack et al., 1995). Deming, by contrast, places responsibility for quality squarely in the hands of all company employees from top management to the hourly paid worker. Juran, like Feigenbaum, is seen as stronger on the management of control systems than of people and the human dimension (Slack et al., 1995). Ishikawa and Shingo, by contrast focus much more closely on the human factor (Shingo, 1992) and on involvement of workers in improvement activities. Even so, this cannot be said to be generally true of all the Japanese contributors: Taguchis work is also regarded as generally weak on motivation and people management issues (Slack et al., 1995). Crosby has been directly criticised by Deming, Juran, Ishikawa and Shingo for what is perceived to be his campaign approach to the implementation of quality improvement programmes and for advocating quick fix management gimmicks such as Zero Defect Days which fail to inculcate a long term commitment to TQM. Deming (1985) and Ishikawa (1985, p. 151) also criticise Crosby for encouraging the use of management exhortations to workers to improve performance and work harder, rather than focusing on providing them with the tools and techniques to improve the way they work. Yet Crosby himself calls upon management to look to themselves when they are looking for the causes of problems rather than blaming the workforce (Crosby, 1979, p. 44). Is it then the teachings of Crosby that his critics object to or perhaps the way his teachings are in practice translated by his companys consulting activities? One should not overlook, of course, the competitive nature of the quality management consultancy arena in which many of the TQM exponents are in fact operating! Finally some of the Japanese contributors to the TQM literature have introduced a broader perspective to the concept of quality management than their US counterparts. While the Americans are united in the view that there must be company wide commitment to quality improvement and insist that implementation of TQM is the responsibility of all individuals in the firm, Ishikawa, Taguchi and Shingo see the scope of quality issues extending beyond organisational boundaries and consider its impact upon society as a whole. Taguchi, for example, defines quality in terms of loss to society. Towards a generic manufacturing model of TQM A number of authors have proposed models of TQM; however, given the breadth and relative maturity of the literature, the models tend either to be

TQM and service quality literatures 305

IJQRM 15,3

306

incomplete and overlook key contributions in the literature, or they stipulate conditions which are necessary for the implementation of TQM but do not unpack the conceptual contents of the TQM approach. Dean and Bowen (1994) are an example of the former. Their trichotomy of TQM, customer focus, continuous improvement and team work excludes, for example, the significant contributions of the Japanese exponents of TQM in the areas of waste elimination, error prevention, and the raft of supporting tools and techniques. Oaklands triangle (1991), on the other hand, places customer-supplier relationships at the heart of his model and identifies three management necessities, teams, systems and tools, supported by what he calls the soft outcomes of TQM, culture, communication and commitment. While Oaklands triangle outlines the prerequisites for TQM, it does not, however, tell us what TQM is, that is, something about the nature of the quality system, the teamwork and tools which would be characteristic of a company implementing TQM. Similarly the quality systems and awards, the underlying frameworks of which some would consider to represent models of TQM, cannot be interpreted as comprehensive models of TQM. A number of authors have highlighted the dangers of managers mistaking the implementation of TQM for quality accreditation, for example, Fowler and Wibberley (1992). Critiques of quality awards such as Baldrige and EFQM are also well rehearsed in the literature, calling into question their ubiquity and completeness (see for example, Bounds et al., 1994, Voss and Cruise OBrien, 1992). Many of the award criteria identify the organisational areas and processes which need to be evaluated, but they do not stipulate how these should be managed in order to realise TQM. Ultimately these systems are, after all, intended to be devices for identifying good practice rather than models of TQM. It is beyond the scope of this paper to provide a detailed critique of existing models of TQM. For the purposes of this comparative analysis of the TQM manufacturing literature and the service quality management literature, a model of TQM is now proposed, which conceptually unpacks the content of TQM as it is presented in the TQM manufacturing literature. The model postulates six core precepts which are deemed conceptually central to TQM; these are supported by other peripheral precepts, which can be seen as derivative, or conceptually dependant upon these six precepts. Table I identifies the main TQM tenets which support each of the six core precepts, in contrast with the traditional manufacturing approach which they were intended to supersede. The TQM manufacturing model, showing the relationship between the core and peripheral precepts, is illustrated in Figure 1. The main TQM management tools and techniques are represented on the outer periphery but are not tied to the six precepts since so many of them support more than one precept. A review may now be conducted of the service management literature which has evolved over the past 15 years. This literature may enable us to enhance and develop the TQM manufacturing model in the light of current understanding of the quality management issues raised in service organisations. A generic model, representing the conceptual content of TQM as defined in both the manufacturing and service literatures, may then be developed.

Traditional manufacturing approach Customer orientation Quality defined as conformance or adherence to specification Prevalence of inter- and intra-organisational barrier Insularity of departments and functions Multiple sourcing; suppliers selected primarily on the basis of cost; heavy reliance on incoming inspection Leadership Tight managerial control; managers as supervisors Quality seen as an operational issue Focus on identification of defects and failures Tendency to assign blame Empowerment Hierarchical structures Employees controlled by managers Quality function primarily responsible for quality Quality department/function consists of a team of inspectors Continuous improvement Quality improvement is revolutionary, relying on major new innovations and large step changes Quality improvement is unsystematic, spontaneous and ad hoc Training and education regarded as a burdensome cost Functional view of quality improvement Elimination of waste Acceptable quality levels Detection of errors Errors hidden Quality measurement Quality perceived to be costly Quality measurement out-put based Performance measurement systems do not take into account competitor performance Pockets of excellence; lack of systematic organisational learning

TQM approach

TQM and service quality literatures 307

Quality defined as satisfying customer requirements Concept of quality chain Concept of internal customer Supplier partnerships, suppliers trained in quality practices and required to demonstrate process quality to obviate incoming inspections Manager as facilitator, coach, trainer Quality seen as a strategic issue Focus on identification and eradication of the causes of problems Emphasis on recognition of success Flat structures Employees empowered to meet customer needs and make quality improvements Quality a line responsibility Quality function/department consists of a team of quality consultants Quality improvement is evolutionary: a never-ending journey. Most changes occur in small steps to consolidate occasional major innovative breakthroughs Quality improvement is systematic. A scientific approach to problem-solving Training, education and self-improvement seen as an investment and essential for continuous improvement Process management: continual improvement of cross-functional processes Zero defects/right first time production Prevention of errors Error visibility designed into production process Quality is free: costs of quality need to be measured Statistical process control used to control process, reducing reliance on inspection Benchmarking used to measure competitive performance Benchmarking facilitates organisational learning

Table I. Comparison of the traditional manufacturing and TQM approaches

IJQRM 15,3
check sheets histograms quality circles brain storming jidohka employee suggestion schemes
nt e me rol ge al na eri s ma nt nag ces ior itme ma suc en ing of s comm tat ion cili nit farecog IP

308
stratification PONC
cost b SPC of q ua en lity ch ma r ki ng

external customers internal customers supplier management

CUSTOMER ORIENTATION
A LE DE

ME QU AS AL UR ITY EM EN

RS

T Q M

Ishikawa diagrams

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

scatter diagrams

problem solving approach training and education process management

Figure 1. Manufacturing model of TQM

force field analysis

kanban

process flow analysis

Development of the model in the light of the service quality literature In this section the service quality management literature, which has evolved mainly in the fields of service operations and marketing over the past 15 years, will be explored, with a view to further enhancing the proposed generic model of TQM. This literature is reviewed in the light of each of the six core TQM precepts embraced in the generic model in order to identify any further concepts, management tools or techniques which have been developed to support the realisation of the precepts in service contexts. Customer orientation The TQM gurus each provide slightly different definitions of quality but are unified in their emphasis on a customer focus: achieving quality is about

RM in EN T vo q impr lvem ua ove ent pro lity me in ce on nt qua ss th lity ow e li ne ne: rsh ip

Pareto analysis
& ility ion isib nt r v ve rro pre eerror TP M

QFD

EM

N IO AT IN TE IM AS EL F W O

PO WE

failure mode & effect analysis

Poka-yoke

conforming to a specification which is designed to achieve fitness for use by the customer. The notion of service quality is arguably even more evasive than that of product quality due to the multiplicity of tangible and intangible elements and the subjectivity of customer evaluations of service (Takeuchi and Quelch, 1983). Nevertheless, a customer orientated approach towards understanding quality has also permeated the service operations literature. The literature on the multi-dimensionality of service quality, and customer evaluations thereof, is now well established (see, for example, Grnroos, 1984; Johnston, 1995; Lewis and Booms, 1983; Parasuraman et al., 1985; Wyckoff, 1984). Comparison of the manufacturing and service quality literatures on customer orientation reveals that, while they share a customer based perspective on quality management, there are a number of differences and asymmetries between the literatures which will now be discussed. Quality conformance. In the manufacturing literature, the definition of quality in terms of meeting the requirements of external customers was a major and radical departure from the traditional engineering definition of quality in terms of adherence to specification. In services the intangibility of service provision means that services are difficult to specify (Rathmell, 1966; Sasser et al., 1978). Indeed it has been argued that the lack of service specifications is a key failing in services (Levitt, 1972). Shostack (1984) has also argued that service managers need a more systematic and rigorous approach to the design of services, advocating service blue-printing as a technique for analysing and improving service processes. In the service literature, then, it is the absence of specifications that has been criticised rather than the tendency to define quality in terms of adherence to specification. So, while in the manufacturing literature the concept of customer orientation is operationalised largely through ensuring conformance to product specifications which match customer requirements, in the service management literature, customer orientation focuses much more on the effective management of customer/supplier interactions, the moments of truth (Normann, 1984). Service management tools and techniques which have been developed in order to support this quality management approach include gap analysis (Parasuraman et al., 1985; Zeithaml et al., 1990), service scripting (Tansik, 1990), Critical Incident Technique (Bitner et al., 1990), Sequential Incident Technique (Stauss and Weinlich, 1995). Barriers in the quality chain. In manufacturing the functional split between production and marketing means that production staff are often physically, logistically and psychologically distanced from the customer. Thus the product specification becomes the entity which production staff interface with rather than the external customer. In services the presence of the customer in the service process arguably makes customer needs more accessible to service providers and the functional split between marketing and operations is much less pronounced. In fact a number of authors (for example, Gummesson, 1990) have argued that service providers should be seen as the organisations marketers: every customer contact is a potential marketing, if not a sales, opportunity.

TQM and service quality literatures 309

IJQRM 15,3

310

Nevertheless, the service management literature draws attention to the dangers of service providers developing an inward-looking definition of services which overlooks customer needs. Two types of service provider are susceptible to this pitfall: back office staff who, like production workers, are distanced from the external customer and may therefore fail to see how their activities impact upon and contribute to the delivery of service on the front line (Carlzon, 1987) and service professionals. Service professionals, who have specialist, technical competencies which the customer is often unable to judge, may set and maintain the quality standards; their expertise being judged by colleagues in the professional community rather than by external customers (Haywood-Farmer and Nollett, 1991). In this context there is a clear danger of an inward perspective on quality developing which could lead to a diminished understanding of customer requirements and views. Management of suppliers, internal and external customers. In the manufacturing literature the concept of customer orientation is operationalised in terms of the entire quality chain from supplier, through the network of internal customers, to the external customer. The service management literature focuses much more heavily on the management of customers, than on supplier or internal customer management. Stauss (1995) calls for further research into the concept of internal customer management in services and raises a number of questions about the appropriateness of applying techniques usually applied in the context of managing external customers to the internal customer chain. In particular he draws attention to the danger of increased bureaucracy which may result from the formalisation of internal customer relationships. This highlights the need to develop an understanding of the contingencies of applying TQM tools and techniques to obviate the occurrence of dysfunctional effects. To conclude, the presence of the customer in the service process is such a major variable in the management of service quality that it is hardly surprising that the service quality management literature provides a different perspective on the precept of customer orientation. While in some ways services may be less encumbered by traditional manufacturing definitions of quality and by the problems of distance between production workers and customers, there is scope for further development of the service literature on management of suppliers and the internal network of customers. However, the service literature on management of external customers is well developed and may indeed become increasingly relevant to manufacturers as their production processes become increasingly transparent to customers (Chase and Eriksson, 1988) and their competitive edge is derived increasingly from service aspects of their business. Leadership Relatively little attention has been devoted in the service management literature to the issues of leadership in service organisations. As Berry puts it, Much has been written about leadership. Far less is written about service leadership (Berry, 1995). His redress is to devote a chapter of his book On Great Service to the subject of nurturing leadership. This is a practitioner oriented text and

Berry provides numerous colourful illustrations and anecdotes from US service companies as examples or role models of what he deems best leadership practice. In line with the TQM manufacturing literature on leadership, Berry defines leadership in terms of the ability to support, motivate and coach service providers and his approach is similar to the teachings of the TQM gurus in that it tends towards evangelism and rhetoric. In fact the treatment of leadership in other disciplines is much more sophisticated and contingency sensitive than in the operations based TQM literature. In organisational behaviour and psychology academics question the appropriateness of such a leadership style in comparison with traditional supervisory control and there is an attempt to develop an understanding of the contingencies which make different leadership styles appropriate (Wilson, 1992). While there has been little academic research in the area of leadership in services, there have been attempts to describe and thus learn from the experiences of some notable, charismatic chief executives and leaders of service organisations (see for example, Kaplan and Rieser, 1994). Perhaps one of the most well documented success stories of this type which addresses leadership issues is Carlzons (1987) autobiographical account of his professional development as chief executive of SAS; although, in Blois words (1992), This book is a how I did it and not a how to do it book. Carlzons messages on the question of leadership and the role of managers in service organisations is again very much in line with the prescriptions of the manufacturing exponents of TQM. He stresses the importance of orienting business strategy around the needs of the customer and of flattening organisation structures so as to empower front liners to be responsible for and responsive to meeting customer needs. The role of manager as facilitator, which emerges from the TQM manufacturing literature, is central to Carlzons vision of leadership: the new leader is a listener, communicator, and educator; managers should perform a support function for the front line staff who should be empowered to act upon customer demands. As Blois (1992) points out, however, Carlzon is not in any way specific about the degree to which employees should be empowered, or indeed the precise extent to which an organisation structure should be flattened. Later in the book he admits, however, that during the early years in SAS his conviction about the necessity of devolving responsibility made him insensitive to the implications for middle management, many of whom felt threatened by the loss of authority and control which had characterised their traditional managerial roles. Carlzon raises the problem without offering a solution. Like so many of the TQM gurus in manufacturing, Carlzons prescriptions are universal generalisations, somewhat oblivious of the contingencies which may make certain managerial approaches appropriate in one environment, but inappropriate in another. Indeed, the service management literature does not appear to contribute any significantly new principles, practices, tools or techniques to the TQM literature on leadership. Neither does it differ

TQM and service quality literatures 311

IJQRM 15,3

significantly in the content of its prescriptions, but tends to endorse the universalist approach to leadership evangelised in the manufacturing literature. Empowerment The service quality management literature on the precept of empowerment has developed considerably over the past decade. It differs significantly from the manufacturing literature in some respects and may, indeed, be said to be more sophisticated in its treatment of the concept. Empowering employees. From the above section it is evident that Carlzons thinking impinges as much on issues of empowerment as on leadership. It is also clear that his approach is very much in line with the TQM manufacturing literature in these areas; one difference is striking however. While in the manufacturing TQM literature the notion of empowerment is applied to shop floor workers and focuses on the question of how to gain their commitment and involvement in quality improvement, Carlzons service corollary is the empowerment of front line, as opposed to back office, staff. Carlzon focuses on the empowerment of front liners on the grounds that it is their performance that the customer is judging during those precious and formative moments of truth, and argues that the role of back office staff is to support the front liners in their efforts to meet customer needs. It has been argued (see for example, Murdick et al., 1990) that front line staff are often the lowest skilled and qualified employees in a service organisation; indeed this was true of Carlzons organisation, SAS. This being the case, maybe the manufacturing position on empowerment of line employees and the service case for empowering front liners are equivalent, in that the approach involves empowering the traditionally least skilled employees in both cases. However, the skill levels of front line staff clearly vary between service industries and businesses; and in particular between service process types. In professional services the staff who come into direct contact with customers are often highly skilled. Indeed in the service management literature professional services are often defined as those in which front liners have high discretion levels (Silvestro et al., 1992); the skill levels of front liners in mass services, on the other hand, may well be relatively low. This suggests an asymmetry between the manufacturing and service contexts which may well mean that, while in the TQM manufacturing literature empowerment of line employees is presented as a universal prescription, empowerment of front liners in services may well have different implications depending upon the nature of the service process. Flattening organisation structures. The flattening of organisation structures has been promoted in the manufacturing TQM literature as a means of increasing employee involvement in quality and reducing bureaucracy (see for example, Ishikawa, 1985). Carlzon (1987) is also strongly in favour of flattening structures but in a service context he justifies this very much in terms of enabling front line staff to respond quickly to customer needs and requirements.

312

Murdick et al. (1990) argue that services in any case tend to be flatter, less bureaucratic and formal in structure than manufacturing companies because the span of control is less, probably due to the fact that even the simplest of jobs in services (e.g. retail clerk) involve relatively complex tasks, a variety of tasks, uncertainty with each different customer, and decision-making responsibility in each transaction (Murdick et al., 1990). Drucker (1988) predicts, indeed, that large businesses will, over the next 20 years, follow the lead of services by reducing management tiers and giving more autonomy to workers. Certainly professional services tend to be flatter in structure than mass services (Haywood-Farmer and Nollett, 1991), so there will be more scope for increasing empowerment through a flattening of the hierarchy in mass services than in professional services. Ownership of quality. In the manufacturing literature, the existence of quality departments and functions are identified as being a cause of a lack of ownership of quality on the line, with production staff taking the view that quality is the responsibility of the quality department (see for example, Crosby, 1979; Deming, 1985; Feigenbaum, 1983). Service organisations do not have the same traditions of inspection that characterised manufacturing operations, since the simultaneity of production and consumption usually prohibits the possibility of inspection prior to delivery to the customer. Ironically, however, as more and more service organisations have turned to TQM to improve their operations, the introduction of quality departments in service organisations has become commonplace over the past decade. Well known service implementers of TQM such as Rank Xerox Ltd and British Airways have quality departments led at director level which are responsible for coordinating the implementation of TQM across the organisation. Such departments are, however, generally kept small, since implementers are usually aware of the lessons learnt from manufacturing about the importance of keeping quality on the line. Thus, whereas in manufacturing quality departments have been seen as dysfunctional in reducing process ownership on the line, in services the implementation of TQM has often led to the creation of quality departments. While it may be argued that there is a need to make service providers feel a greater sense of responsibility for quality, the cause of any inadequacy in this area does not appear to be the artificial split between line and quality function. This aspect of the TQM literature is therefore less applicable to services than to manufacturing. Sensitivity to contingencies of empowerment. Bowen and Lawler (1992) highlight two contrasting approaches to the management of human resources in services; these are embodied in the works of Levitt (1972) who argued for increased systematisation of service processes, and Carlzon (1987) who maintained that giving the service provider freedom to take responsibility for his ideas, decisions and actions is to release hidden resources that would otherwise remain inaccessible to the organisation. Bowen and Lawler reconcile these opposing views by proposing a theory of contingency whereby

TQM and service quality literatures 313

IJQRM 15,3

314

empowerment of the sort envisaged by Carlzon is seen to be appropriate in some service environments, while in others a more systematised, programmed interface between staff and customer is deemed more appropriate and effective. They point out that both approaches offer a number of benefits. The benefits of empowerment include higher levels of customer service and staff commitment, and the consequent advantages of word of mouth advertising and customer retention. However, the costs of empowerment, so often overlooked by the advocates of TQM, include higher selection, training and labour costs, as well as inconsistency in service delivery and recovery. Bowen and Lawler contend that empowerment is contingent upon a number of service variables; in summary, empowerment is more appropriate in highly customised, professional services than in high volume, mass services. Indeed this view concurs with Mills and Posners (1986) earlier arguments for the selfsupervision by service workers in professional organisations because of the need for a personal interface between customer and service provider. While the manufacturing literature takes a simplistic, universalist approach to the implementation of empowerment, the service literature, then, is coming to recognise that empowerment, rather than being universally applicable to services, is contingent upon the operational context, and may be more appropriate in professional services than in mass service. Thus techniques such as service scripting (Lord and Kernan, 1987, Tansik, 1990), a quick and effective means of training front line staff in standardised and repetitive roles, may be more appropriate in mass, rather than professional services. To conclude, again there is some evidence to suggest that service organisations do not suffer some of the manufacturing barriers to quality. Certainly treatment of the precept of empowerment is quite different in the service management literature and, indeed, seems to be academically more well developed than that of manufacturing. While the manufacturing literature takes a universalist approach, prescribing empowerment as beneficial regardless of operational context, a contingency approach has emerged from the service literature which states that empowerment may be more appropriate in some service contexts than others. Continuous improvement While arguably misguided in other ways (specifically in denying that the human factor in service provision, on which so many services compete, can only be detrimental to service effectiveness), Levitts paper was influential in heightening awareness of the strong element of ad hoc serendipity which characterised service management, when compared to the rigours and systematisation more typical of manufacturing and production environments. He called for a more scientific approach to the analysis and improvement of services processes; an approach which arguably authors in the service management literature have sought to develop and promote during the past 15 years. Thus the continual improvement of service processes has been an

important theme in the service management literature; however, the literature has done little to further develop the concept in application to services. Despite Carmen and Langeards (1980) rather worrying claim that The effect of learning and experience on total unit cost has never been demonstrated in a service situation, the service management literature appears to endorse the need to continually improve services, inculcate a problem-solving approach to service improvement, and invest in training and education, but without contributing significantly new ideas to the TQM literature on continuous improvement. Nevertheless, many of the management practices recommended in the service literature are motivated by recognition of the need for continuous service improvement. For example, the last eight years have witnessed a growing literature on the importance and implementation of service recovery (notable contributors being Hart et al., 1990, whose work will be reviewed in the next section). While essentially externally driven, on the basis that successful service recovery generates customer loyalty, the benefits of effective recovery are also considered to include the motivation and instigation of continuous internal improvements. Thus the recovery literature can be seen to support the precept of continuous improvement in services. The concept of process management is also embraced in the service literature which has generated a number of supporting management tools and techniques. Such tools focus on mapping out and analysing the service process from a customer perspective, cutting across traditional functional boundaries. Some of the main contributions include blueprinting and service mapping (Collier, 1990; Kingman-Brundage, 1992; Shostack, 1984, 1987); the CPO model (Johnston, 1987); and Walk-Through Audits (Fitzsimmons and Maurer, 1991). To conclude, the service management literature has not significantly developed the principle of continuous improvement but has generated a number of tools and techniques which support its implementation in service environments. Elimination of waste The concepts of error prevention and visibility, zero defects and right first time are taken on board in the service operations literature. However a number of asymmetries emerge when these traditionally manufacturing TQM concepts are transferred to services. Moreover the concepts have evolved differently in the service management literature. The concept of error prevention. The disjunction between inspection and prevention is a major theme in the manufacturing literature on TQM. Reliance on post production inspection is deemed reactive, wasteful and costly, while error prevention and improved control of the process is proactive, leading to a reduction of rework and all its associated costs and disruption to the production process, and often obviating the need for inspection (Crosby, 1979; Deming 1985; Feigenbaum, 1983).

TQM and service quality literatures 315

IJQRM 15,3

316

Central to Crosbys zero defects approach is the view that progress in manufacturing industries has been hampered by the prevalence of the concept of acceptable quality levels, which has lead to a complacent and reactive approach to quality management. Crosby applies the concept of AQLs to services in order to highlight its absurdity and its potential dangers. He asks us to consider the AQLs which one might consider appropriate in the following context: How about the nurses that care for newborn babies? Would an AQL of 3 per cent on mishandling be too rigid? (Crosby, 1979, p. 146). The point is powerfully brought home. But its implications may go beyond Crosbys intended assertion. Not only is the concept of AQLs not appropriate in this particular service context, but, thankfully, it is a concept which is not usually adopted by the service providers concerned. Indeed, in services where much of the deliverable is intangible, the challenge for service managers has been quantifying quality levels in the first place, rather than overcoming any assumptions about AQLs. In services, then, the concept of AQLs is less predominant than has traditionally been the case in manufacturing environments and services seem to be less encumbered by this concept than manufacturing. A paradox of the manufacturing TQM literature is that SPC is heavily promoted as a means of quality control, yet, according to Crosby, its adoption can lead to complacency with quality, whereby production staff accept certain levels of poor quality instead of continually narrowing the zone of tolerance between confidence limits. Thus, the application of SPC has perpetuated the notion (and abuse) of AQLs despite the fact that SPC is central to the teachings of the TQM gurus. In view of the fact that SPC can only be applied in a limited way in service organisations (i.e. to those aspects of service which can meaningfully be quantified and statistically analysed), this might be a further reason why the concept of AQLs is less ingrained in the practices of service management. Arguably, the challenge for service managers always has been real time process control and error prevention. In service organisations one of the important messages of TQM which has been taken on board is the need to measure quality in order to control it. But the focus on quantification of quality levels, and of rating even intangible aspects of service quality, has in effect created an opportunity for service organisations to start stipulating acceptable quality levels. As SPC becomes more widely adopted to measure the quantifiable aspects of service quality, service managers need to be aware of the dangers of reliance on AQLs leading to complacency about poor quality. This suggests a possible trend quite the reverse to that observed in manufacturing. The concept of zero defects. Reicheld and Sasser (1990) maintain that the service corollary of zero defects is zero customer defections. They argue that, just as errors and product defects can be immensely expensive in manufacturing environments, customer defections are costly to service organisations and identify a number of ways in which such costs may be quantified. Heskett et al. (1990, chapter 3) argue that while some of the benefits

of customer retention (such as cross-selling opportunities) are also shared by manufacturing companies, services derive even more significant benefits due to the presence of the customer in the service process and the potential for disruption of the service process by incompetent or dissatisfied service users. While the concept of zero defects is relevant to services, in that rework, rescheduling, service delays etc. due to errors are costly in services as well as in manufacturing environments, the service management literature identifies a further aspect of elimination of waste, namely, the need to aim for zero defections. This will therefore be incorporated as a further indicator of elimination of waste in the generic model of TQM. The concepts of right first time and error visibil ity. While in the manufacturing literature teachings on the precept of elimination of waste have focused on the need to produce right first time, it is perhaps ironic that over the past decade the service management literature has drawn attention to the need to ensure effective service recovery, that is, to make sure that the service is right second time if it fails the first (Hart et al., 1990; Zemke and Bell, 1990). Hart et al. (1990) and Firnstahl (1989) draw attention to the internal benefits of service recovery. They contend that encouraging customers to complain makes service errors visible, and provides opportunities to improve the service design, facilitate organisational learning, and motivate employees towards service improvement. Thus error visibility also features importantly in the service quality literature, though the literature tends to focus on mechanisms such as service guarantees and complaints procedures, which enable customers to highlight errors during or after the service process, rather than the internal poka-yoke which are described in the manufacturing literature (Shingo, 1986). Hart et al. (1992) recognise some of the contingencies which render the implementation of service guarantees more or less appropriate. While maintaining that service guarantees can sometimes be used effectively to differentiate professional services, they highlight some of the risks and disadvantages of implementing explicit guarantees. Explicit guarantees may undermine customer confidence, particularly when customers routinely expect excellence of service; they may also conflict with a professional services sophisticated, prestigious image, or give the impression that the firm is begging for business. A contingency is therefore proposed in the application of service guarantees: explicit guarantees being likely to be powerful differentiators and drivers of operational improvement in mass services, while implicit guarantees may be appropriate in professional services. Given the standardised nature of mass services we might, moreover, expect their service recovery systems to be more highly proceduralised than those implemented in professional services, where each complaint is likely to be unique and to require individual, personal handling (Fitzgerald et al., 1991). The back office orientation of mass services may also make the manufacturing approaches to error visibility and prevention more easily transferable to mass services than professional services.

TQM and service quality literatures 317

IJQRM 15,3

318

To conclude, the service quality management literature offers a different perspective and enhanced understanding of the precept of elimination of waste. While error prevention rather than detection is a key message from the manufacturing literature, in services real time process control and error prevention have always been the challenge. The concept of AQLs which, it has been argued, has hampered quality management in manufacturing is less engrained in services; indeed it is perhaps ironic that there is a danger that the increased focus on specification and measurement of service levels which adoption of TQM engenders, may in fact nurture an acceptance of the notion of acceptable quality levels in service contexts where it was not previously espoused. The service recovery literature, an important theme in the service literature of the past decade, focuses on developing mechanisms which facilitate error visibility by customers; and an understanding of the different service contexts in which such devices are applicable is developing. Quality measurement The key themes which emerge from the TQM manufacturing literature on quality measurement are statistical process control, cost of quality, and benchmarking. Each of these will now be discussed in turn in the context of the service quality management literature. Statistical process control. The manufacturing literature on quality measurement focuses heavily on the application of statistical process control. A number of service management authors have called for the increased application of SPC in services and empirical field studies document some attempts at implementation (see for example, Demos and Demos, 1989; Wood, 1994). In advocating the application of SPC in non-manufacturing environments, Oakland observes that Data is data, and whether the numbers represent defects or invoice errors, the information relates to machine settings, process variables, prices, quantities, discounts, customers or supply points is irrelevant, the techniques can always be used (Oakland, 1989, p. 226). Nevertheless, while SPC is clearly relevant to the measurement of some hard, quantifiable aspects of service quality, its implementation would never generate complete information as to the quality levels delivered by service organisations since so many aspects of service offerings are intangible. The scope for applying SPC is likely to be greatest in back office, high volume services processing large numbers of transactions. In professional services the intrinsic variability of the service process caused by the high level of process customisation may render the very objectives of SPC, namely of eliminating process variation, inappropriate. The inherent difficulty in measuring service quality, given the heterogeneity, simultaneity and intangibility of services has been repeatedly commented upon in the service management literature since Rathmells (1966) paper on services marketing. Over the past 15 years service management authors have consistently been calling for the use of more proactive measurement systems than the reactive and inadequate but commonly used measure of customer

complaints. Voss et al. (1985) stress the need to adopt both hard (quantitative) and soft (qualitative) measures of service quality; while Silvestro et al. (1990) and Collier (1990) argue that service quality must be measured both internally and externally. Fitzgerald et al. (1991) argue that key differences in the customer relationship between professional and mass services create the need for very different quality measurement methods, and suggest that techniques which are appropriate in one service environment may not be appropriate in another. Thus some understanding of the contingencies which render quality measurement approaches appropriate in different service environments is emerging. In the manufacturing literature, SPC is promoted as a preferred alternative to reactive systems of quality inspection. There is some evidence in the service management literature that service inspections are not necessarily reactive alternatives to process control, but, on the contrary, a means of real time process control. An empirical study of quality measurement systems by Fitzgerald et al. (1991) reveals that in BAA plc duty managers monitored quality levels by carrying out inspections and completing checklists assessing quality levels on a routine basis. This was not, however, analogous to post-production inspection in manufacturing, where quality inspections are conducted prior to delivery to the next (internal or external) customer. Because of the presence of the customer in the service process, these were inspections of service delivery in real time. These, let us call them service process inspections, were being carried out frequently so that problems could be identified at an early stage and proactive measures taken to prevent customer dissatisfaction. It is perhaps ironic that service process inspections may be seen as a service corollary to statistical process control in manufacturing, since both are intended to support a preventative approach, and can potentially obviate the need for reactive output inspections or, in service terms, customer complaints. Quality costs as the key measure of quality. According to Crosby (1979) the cost of quality is the only measure of quality. Groocock (1986) criticises Crosby in this respect, arguing that the cost of quality is the second measure of quality, while the first is quality to the customer. The US and Japanese exponents of TQM are unanimous in the view that customer satisfaction is the object of achieving high quality levels, to support customer retention, business growth, increased market share and to sustain long term business survival. Although they focus on the importance of building customer requirements into the product specifications, and emphasise the need to listen to the voice of the customer, they present surprisingly few guidelines or methods for establishing whether or not a customer has in fact been satisfied with the products provided. By contrast, the service management literature has focused heavily on developing reliable methods for measuring customer satisfaction (for example, gap analysis (Parasuraman et al., 1985) supported by SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al., 1988); critical incident technique (Bitner et al., 1990) and service incident technique (Stauss and Weinlich, 1995); again we

TQM and service quality literatures 319

IJQRM 15,3

320

countenance an asymmetry between the manufacturing and service management literatures on quality measurement. Crosbys focus on quality costs may be one reason why measurement of customer satisfaction is not widely discussed in the manufacturing literature; another reason may be that it is perceived to be the function of marketing and sales departments to obtain customer feedback, rather than that of manufacturing. In his text on quality management, for example, Groocock discusses the measurement of customer perceptions and the handling of complaints in a chapter entitled Marketing aspects of quality. The service management literature, by contrast, is composed of contributions from both service operations and marketing experts; this may partly explain why the issues of measuring customer satisfaction are more fully addressed in the service literature. Measurement of customer satisfaction can therefore be added as a peripheral precept in the generic model of TQM proposed earlier. Benchmarking. The concept of benchmarking has been embraced but not significantly developed in the service management literature; however with the popularisation of benchmarking frameworks such as EFQM self-assessment, there can be no doubt that both internal and external benchmarking are becoming commonplace in both manufacturing and service environments. To conclude, the TQM manufacturing literature on quality measurement focuses narrowly on the application of statistical techniques and the quantification of quality costs. The service management literature by contrast has developed significantly in this area and a contingency approach, indicating in what service contexts certain measures might be appropriate, is beginning to emerge. Moreover, quality measurement techniques in the service literature extend beyond the limited quantitative confines of SPC and focus particularly on the development of reliable measures of customer satisfaction. Asymmetries between the two literatures A number of asymmetries have emanated from this discussion of the six precepts of TQM as they are treated in the manufacturing and service quality management literatures. These will now be discussed in turn. The transferability of manufacturing quality problems to services What emerges from this discussion is that a number of the traditional manufacturing concepts and approaches which gave rise to quality problems and which stimulated the teachings of the TQM gurus, are not as prevalent in services. The following key concepts and practices do not appear to be so problematic in services: the traditional engineering definition of quality in terms of adherence to specification resulting in an inwardly focused perception of quality; the concept of acceptable quality levels generating complacency about quality;

quality functions and departments creating a barrier to process ownership; quality control through inspection and detection rather than prevention. These were all seen as major barriers to quality in manufacturing environments and many of the TQM principles, practices, tools and techniques were developed to counter and supersede these manufacturing approaches. These problems appear to be much less in evidence in the service companies. This is not to say, of course, that service operations do not have their own peculiar set of quality problems! The intangibility, heterogeneity and simultaneity of services remain critical factors in the management of service quality which create special challenges for service managers. The transferability of the six TQM precepts to services This raises the question, if the problems which prompted the teachings of the TQM gurus are not so prevalent in services, are their teachings therefore likely to be relevant? A review of the service management literature suggests that the six core precepts are highly relevant to services, although the concepts are developing and evolving in different ways in the service literature. The main differences identified in this paper are summarised in Table II. Development of sensitivity to the contingencies of TQM A number of authors have drawn attention to an absence of sensitivity in the TQM manufacturing literature to contingencies which might make certain principles, prescriptions, tools and techniques more or less appropriate (Dean and Bowen, 1994; Ghobadian and Speller, 1994; Wilson, 1992). This characteristic of the literature is to some extent due to the practitioner orientation, rather than rigorous academic under-pinning, of the literature. Dean and Bowen maintain that the TQM literature needs to be informed and refined through cross-fertilisation of concepts and frameworks from other academic disciplines. The service quality management literature has evolved over the past 15 years mainly in the fields of service marketing and operations management, and therefore has quite a different flavour to that of the manufacturing literature on TQM. While the manufacturing TQM literature was characterised as consultant-driven and evangelical, the service quality literature is much more research based. For example, the literature on the multi-dimensionality of service quality may be characterised as a primarily academic debate rather than a literature which has been developed by consultants or practitioners (consider, for instance, Parasuraman et al. s seminal paper, 1985, and Parasuramans later discussion of this work in 1995). The service literature thus has a sounder academic underpinning than the TQM manufacturing literature; the concepts have been developed more systematically and in this sense seem more academically rigorous.

TQM and service quality literatures 321

IJQRM 15,3

The manufacturing perspective Customer orientation Literature focuses on the dysfunctionality of defining quality in terms of adherence to specification Literature focuses on ensuring conformance to product specifications which match customer requirements Production staff geographically and psychologically distanced from the external customer; marketing function expected to interface and develop an understanding of customer needs Literature deals with chain of external, internal customers and suppliers Leadership Literature is prescriptive and evangelical; insensitive to contingencies of context and leadership style Empowerment Literature focuses on empowerment of shop floor workers. Empowerment is prescribed universally

The service perspective

322

Literature highlights dysfunctionality of the absence of service specifications; so services may not be hampered by the manufacturing focus on conformance Focus on management of customer/supplier interactions, moments of truth Back office staff, and service professionals with specialist, technical competencies, are susceptible to the danger of developing internally focused definitions of service Focus on external customer; less attention to internal customers and suppliers No significant differences

It has been claimed that in manufacturing quality departments/functions have lead to a lack of ownership of quality on the line Continuous improvement Concept of kaizen; scientific problemsolving approach to quality improvement; emphasis on importance of investment in training and education Elimination of waste Emphasis on error prevention rather than detection It is claimed that the concept of AQLs has generated a complacency with poor quality Table II. Comparison of the manufacturing and service quality literatures The literature focuses on elimination of product defects

Focus on empowerment of front liners; implementation (e.g. through flattening organisation structures) may have different implications in professional and mass services. Development of understanding of contingency between empowerment and service type. Application of service scripting also likely to be contingent Implementation of TQ has led to the creation of quality departments; thus lack of process ownership in services not due to staff perceiving quality as being the domain of the quality department No significant development of the concept; some tools and techniques developed for application in high contact service environments

Service challenge always has been process control and error prevention Due to difficulty of measuring service quality, concept of AQLs is less engrained in service management. Increased measurement of service levels which adoption of TQM engenders, may now nurture acceptance of AQLs The literature focuses on customer defections as well as service defects (Continued)

The manufacturing perspective Literature focuses on right first time Error visibility facilitated by internal failsafing mechanisms Quality measurement Literature focuses heavily on application of statistical techniques SPC prescribed universally Statistical process control is considered to be proactive, preventative, and preferable to reactive inspection systems In the literature little attention is paid to measurement of customer satisfaction

The service perspective Literature recognises opportunities of service recovery (or right second time) Error visibility and service recovery facilitated by customer complaints; applicability of service guarantees contingent upon service type Literature advocates the use of soft and hard, internal and external measures; SPC has limited application primarily in high volume, back office operations Understanding beginning to develop of the measurement systems appropriate in different service contexts Service process inspections do not necessarily imply reactive approach to quality, but rather ensure in real time that quality does not deteriorate. In services, process inspection can be used to support and facilitate error prevention Focus on developing appropriate measures of customer satisfaction

TQM and service quality literatures 323

Table II.

An understanding is beginning to develop in the service quality literature of the contingencies of quality management practices. Bowen and Lawler (1992) have proposed that the appropriateness of empowerment depends upon business context and have characterised the conditions under which empowerment is likely to be effective. Hart (1988) has explored the risks, benefits and design issues of service guarantees in services and Hart et al. (1992) have discussed the special implementation issues which pertain in professional services. Fitzgerald et al. (1991) identify differences in the quality measurement techniques which are appropriate in professional and mass services. The service quality management literature is thus becoming much more contingency sensitive than the traditional TQM literature. Emergent service concepts, tools and techniques In considering the development of each of the six TQM precepts in the service management literature, the literature is well developed in the area of external customer orientation and there have been efforts to develop effective means of quality measurement to support this. There has also been some interesting work in the area of employee empowerment, particularly in the case of front line staff who are so critical to the delivery of service quality. The concept of zero defections and service recovery have played a major part in the service quality literature and enhanced the literature on elimination of waste. The TQM manufacturing model may therefore be further developed based on enhancements from the service quality literature as follows:

IJQRM 15,3

324

Elimination of waste: zero defections should be added as a further precept in addition to error visibility and error prevention. Quality measurement: measurement of customer satisfaction should be added to the precepts of cost of quality, statistical process control and benchmarking. However, the service literature has provided little by way of further development of the precepts of leadership, continuous improvement, and management of internal customers and suppliers. If the manufacturing literature on TQM can be said to be less academically rigorous than the service management literature, it must also be recognised that it has generated far more by way of practical recommendations for implementation. Juran and Crosby, for example, have extensively disseminated practical, step-by-step guides to the process of implementing TQM. By contrast, the focus of the service management literature tends to be the resolution of specific academic debates and the development of conceptual frameworks. Furthermore, the manufacturing literature provides a wealth of quality management tools and techniques, many of which are now in common use (Oakland, 1989). Despite the introduction of a number of new tools and techniques to help manage service operations, the service management literature is less practitioner oriented and therefore less practical in its approach than the manufacturing TQM literature. This can partly be explained by the fact that the service quality literature is considerably younger than the manufacturing literature on TQM, the former having emerged over the past 15 years, compared to TQMs origins in the 1950s. On the basis of these conceptual and practical developments, the manufacturing TQM model can now be further enhanced to include some of the new management practices, tools and techniques developed in the service literature. Refer to Figure 2 to view the proposed generic model of TQM. Conclusion This paper has postulated a number of key asymmetries between the manufacturing TQM literature and the service quality management literature; these are summarised in Table III. While the service quality management literature has clearly been significantly influenced by the TQM manufacturing literature, the development of the service management literature along more stringent and rigorous academic lines now promises to enhance and extend our understanding of the precepts of TQM. As the application of TQM in service organisations becomes better understood, and as a better understanding of the contingencies of TQM in different service contexts is developed, it may be that there will be increasing scope in future for manufacturing companies to learn from the TQM implementation experiences of service organisations. And as the performance characteristics of services increasingly contribute to the success of manufacturing organisations, the issue will then be the transferability of TQM from service to manufacturing!

Attribute matrices
check sheets quality circles Service quality maps CPO model histograms
cost b SPC of q ua m enc lity h cu eas mar s u k sa tom rem ing tisf er e nt ac of tio ME QU n A A

TQM and service quality literatures

brain storming employee suggestion schemes kanban QFD

external customers internal customers supplier management

325

nt e me rol ge al na eri s ma nt nag ces ior itme ma suc en ing of s comm tat ion cili nit farecog IP

Gap analysis
stratification

CUSTOMER ORIENTATION
A LE DE

SERVQUAL
Pareto analysis Ishikawa diagrams

SU LIT RE Y ME N

RS

T Q M

RM in EN T vo l i v m e q pr m ua ove ent pro lity me in ce on nt qua ss th lity ow e li ne ne: rsh ip

Services guarantees

scatter diagrams force field analysis

TQM literature in manufacturing Consultant-driven Evangelical, prescriptive style Focuses on practical, routine problems faced by production managers Findings based on consultant experiences; often anecdotal Prescriptions tend to be universal, rather than context sensitive Has generated practical tools and techniques for management

& ility ion isib nt r v ve ons rro pre cti eerror defe zero TP M

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

EM

Critical Incident Technique (CIT)

NOTE: Italics indicate that the concept/technique originates from the service management literature Figure 2. Generic model of TQM

N IO AT IN TE IM AS EL F W O

PO WE

Poka-yoke PONC

Service scripting

problem solving approach training and education process management

failure mode & effect analysis

Blueprinting SIT

Walk-through audits process flow analysis

Service quality literature Research-based Academic, descriptive style Focuses on increasing the academic, conceptual knowledge base Systematic development of conceptual approaches Some move towards developing an understanding of contingency Less practical in terms of providing improvement guidelines for practitioners

Table III. Comparative evaluation of the TQM manufacturing and the service quality literatures

IJQRM 15,3

326

References Albrecht, K. and Bradford, L.J. (1990), The Service Advantage: How to Identify and Fulfil Customer Needs, Richard D. Irwin, Homewood, IL. Berry, L.L. (1995), On Great Service: A Framework for Action, Free Press, New York, NY. Bitner, M.J., Booms, B.H. and Tetreault, S.M. (1990), The service encounter: diagnosing favourable and unfavourable incidents, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 54, January, pp. 71-84. Blois, K.J. (1992), Carlzons moments of truth a critical appraisal, International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 3 No. 3. Bounds, G., Yorks, L., Adams, M. and Ranney, G. (1994), Beyond Total Quality Management: Toward the Emerging Paradigm, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. Bowen, D.E. and Lawler III, E.E. (1992), The empowerment of service workers: what, why, how and when, Sloan Management Review, Vol. 33 No. 3, Spring. Carlzon, J. (1987), Moments of Truth, Ballinger Publishing, Cambridge, MA. Carmen, J.M. and Langeard, E. (1980), Growth strategies for service firms, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 1, pp. 7-22. Chase, R.B. and Eriksson, W.J. (1988), The service factory, Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 2 No.3, 1988. Collier, D. (1990), Measuring and managing service quality, in Bowen, D.E., Chase, R.B. and Cummings, T.G. and associates (Eds), Service Management Effectiveness, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, pp. 234-65. Crosby, P. (1979), Quality is Free: The Art of Making Quality Certain, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. Dale, B.G. (1992), Total quality management: what are the research challenges?, in Hollier, R.H., Boaden, R.J. and New, S.J. (Eds), International Operations: Crossing Borders in Manufacturing and Service, Elsevier Science Publishers BV. Dean, J.W. Jr and Bowen, D.E. (1994), Management theory and total quality: improving research and practice through theory development, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 392-418. Deming, W.E. (1985), Out of the Crisis, Center for Advanced Engineering Study, Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. Demos, M.P. and Demos, N.P. (1989), Statistical quality controls role in health care management, Quality Progress, August, pp. 85-9. Drucker, P. (1988), The coming of the new organization, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 66 No. 1, January-February. Feigenbaum, A.V. (1983, 1986), Total Quality Control, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. Feigenbaum, A.V. (1988), Total quality developments into the 1990s an international perspective, in Chase, R. (Ed.), Total Quality Management: An IFS Executive Briefing, IFS Publications, Kempston. Firnstahl, T.W. (1989), My employees are my service guarantee, Harvard Business Review, JulyAugust. Fitzgerald, L., Johnston, R., Brignall, S., Silvestro, R. and Voss, C. (1991), Performance Measurement in Service Businesses, CIMA. Fitzsimmons, J.A. and Maurer, G.B. (1991), A walk-through audit to improve restaurant performance, Cornell H.R.A. Quarterly, February, pp. 95-9. Fowler, A. and Wibberley, M. (1992), Two routes to quality, Personnel Management, November. Ghobadian, A. and Speller, S. (1994), Gurus of quality: a framework for comparison, Total Quality Management, Vol. 5 No. 3. Grnroos, C. (1984), A service quality model and its marketing implications, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 18 No. 4, pp. 36-44.

Groocock, J.M. (1986), The Chain of Quality: Market Dominance through Superior Product Quality, Wiley, New York, NY. Gummesson, E. (1990), The part-time marketer, CTF Service Research Center, Research Report 3, University of Karlstad. Hart, C.W.L. (1988), The power of unconditional service guarantees, Harvard Business Review, July-August, pp. 54-62. Hart, C.W.L., Heskett, J.L. and Sasser, W.E. (1990), The profitable art of service recovery, Harvard Business Review, July-August, pp. 148-56. Hart, C.W.L., Schlesinger, L.A. and Maher, D. (1992), Guarantees come to professional service firms, Sloan Management Review, Vol. 33 No. 3, Spring, pp. 19-29. Haywood-Farmer, J. and Nollet, J. (1991), Services Plus: Effective Service Management, G. Morin Publisher Ltd, Quebec. Heskett, J.L., Sasser, W.E. Jr and Hart, C.W.L. (1990), Service Breakthroughs: Changing the Rules of the Game, Free Press, New York, NY. Ishikawa, K. (1985), What is Total Quality control? The Japanese Way, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Johnston, R. (1987), A framework for developing a quality strategy in a customer processing operation, International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, Vol. 4 No. 4, pp. 35-44. Johnston, R. (1995), The determinants of service quality: satisfiers and dissatisfiers, International Journal of Service Industries Management, Vol. 6 No. 5, November. Juran, J.M. and Gryna, F.M. Jr (1980), Quality Planning and Analysis, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. Kaplan, D.I. and Rieser, C. (1994), Service Success! Lessons from a Leader on How to Turn Around a Service Business, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY. Kingman-Brundage, J. (1992), Service mapping: gaining a concrete perspective on service system design, paper presented at the Quality in Services (QUIS) III Conference, Karlstad, June 1992. Levitt, T. (1972), Production-line approach to service, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 50 No. 5, September-October, pp. 41-52. Lewis, R.C. and Booms, B.H. (1983), The marketing aspects of service quality, Emerging Perspectives on Services Marketing, Berry, L., Shostack, G. and Upah, G. (Eds), American Marketing, Chicago, IL. Logethetis, N. (1992), Managing for Total Quality, Prentice Hall International, Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Lord, R.G. and Kernan, M.C. (1987), Scripts as determinants of purposeful behavior in organizations, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 12, pp. 265-77. Mills and Posner (1986), Clients as partial employees of service organizations: role development in client participation, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 11, pp. 726-35. Murdick, R.G., Render, B. and Russell, R.S. (1990), Service Operations Management, Allyn and Bacon, Boston, MA. Normann, R. (1984), Service Management: Strategy and Leadership, John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY. Oakland, J. (1989, 1991), Total Quality Management, Heinemann, London. Parasuraman, A. (1995), Measuring and monitoring service quality, Understanding Services Management, Glynn, W.J. and Barnes, J.G. (Eds), Wiley, Chichester. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. and Berry, L.L. (1985), A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 49 No. 4, Fall, pp. 41-50. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. and Berry, L.L. (1988), SERVQUAL: a multi-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 64 No. 1, Spring pp. 12-40.

TQM and service quality literatures 327

IJQRM 15,3

328

Rathmell, J.M. (1966), What is meant by services?, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 30 No. 4, pp. 32-6. Reicheld, F.F. and Sasser, W.E. Jr (1990), Zero defections: quality comes to services, Harvard Business Review, September-October, pp. 105-11. Sasser, W.E., Olsen, R.P. and Wyckoff, D.D. (1978, 1982), Management of Service Operations, Allyn and Bacon, Boston, MA. Shingo, S. (1986), Zero Quality Control: Source Inspection and the Poka-yoke System, Productivity Press, Stanford, CA. Shingo, S. (1992), The Shingo Production Management System: Improving Process Functions, Productivity Press, Cambridge, MA. Shostack, G.L. (1984), Designing services that deliver, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 62 No. 1, January-February, pp. 133-9. Shostack, G.L. (1987), Service positioning trough structural change, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 51, January, pp. 34-43. Silvestro, R., Johnston, R., Fitzgerald, L. and Voss, C. (1990), Quality measurement in service industries, International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 1 No. 2. Silvestro, R., Johnston, R., Fitzgerald, L. and Voss, C. (1992), Towards a classification of service processes, International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 62-75. Slack, N., Chambers, S., Harland, C., Harrison, A. and Johnston, R. (1995), Operations Management, Pitman, London.. Stauss, B. (1995), Internal services: classification and quality management, International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 62-78. Stauss, B. and Weinlich, B. (1995), Process-oriented measurement of service quality by applying the sequential incident method, Proceedings of the Workshop on Quality Management in Services V, Tilburg, May 1995. Takeuchi, H. and Quelch, J.A. (1983), Quality is more than making a good product, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 61, July-August. Tansik, D.A. (1990), Managing human resource issues for high-contact service personnel, in Bowen, D.E., Chase, R.B., Cummings, T.G. and Associates (Eds), Service Management Effectiveness, Jossey-Bass Inc., San Francisco, CA. Voss, C.A., Armistead, C.G., Johnston, R. and Morris, B. (1985), Operations Management in Service Industries and the Public Sector, Wiley, Chichester. Voss, C.A. and Cruise OBrien, R. (1992), International benchmarking of quality using quality awards, International Operations: Crossing Borders in Manufacturing and Service, Hollier, R.H., Boaden, R.J. and New, S.J. (Eds), Elsevier Science Publications BV. Wilson, D.C. (1992), A Strategy for Change: Concepts and Controversies in the Management of Change, Routledge, London. Wood, M. (1994), Statistical methods for monitoring service processes, International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 5 No. 4, pp. 53-68. Wyckoff, D.D. (1984), New tools for achieving service quality, The Cornell H.R.A. Quarterly, November, pp. 78-91. Zeithaml, V.A., Parasuraman, A. and Berry, L.L. (1990), Delivering Service Quality: Balancing Customer Perceptions and Expectations, Free Press, Maxwell Macmillan, New York, NY. Zemke, R. and Bell, C.R. (1990), Service Wisdom: Creating and Maintaining the Customer Service Edge, Lakewood Books, Minneapolis, MN.