Service Quality Management: A Process‐control Approach

The world is moving into a services industry environment which is evidencing many of the same productivity and quality issues associated with manufacturing during the past two decades. Quick fixes using qualitative approaches have not been universally successful and some have advocated a more quantitative direction. Proposes a middle ground incorporating both ideas. Reports the development of a process model based on current service sector paradigms and more traditional statistical quality‐control techniques from manufacturing management. Details a test of the proposed model in the travel agency industry with results generally confirming the potential for transporting quality‐control concepts from manufacturing into services on a selected basis. While the heterogeneity of services may constrain and even preclude direct application of the process‐control approach in all cases, the five‐step plan proposed may prove to be a useful tool for service management across diverse businesses.