Does role clarity explain employee-perceived service quality? A study of antecedents and consequences in call centres

Purpose – Role clarity of frontline staff is critical to their perceptions of service quality in call centres. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of role clarity and its antecedents and consequences on employee-perceived service quality. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual model, based on the job characteristics model and cognitive theories, is proposed. Key antecedents of role clarity considered here are feedback, autonomy, participation, supervisory consideration, and team support; while key consequences are organizational commitment, job satisfaction and service quality. An internal marketing approach is adopted and all variables are measured from the frontline employee's perspective. A structural equation model is developed and tested on a sample of 342 call centre representatives of a major commercial bank in the UK. Findings – The research reveals that role clarity plays a critical role in explaining employee perceptions of service quality. Further, the research findings indicate that feedback, participation and team support significantly influence role clarity, which in turn influences job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Research limitations/implications – The research suggests that boundary personnel in service firms should strive for more clarity in perceived role for delivering better service quality. The limitations are in sample availability from in-house transaction call centres of a single bank. Originality/value – The contributions of this study are untangling the confusing research evidence on the effect of role clarity on service quality, using service quality as a performance variable as opposed to productivity estimates, adopting an internal marketing approach to understanding the phenomenon, and introducing teamwork along with job-design and supervisory factors as antecedent to role clarity.

Antecedents and consequences of service quality in consumer evaluation of self-service internet technologies

Advances in technology coupled with increasing labour costs have caused service firms to explore self-service delivery options. Although some studies have focused on self-service and use of technology in service delivery, few have explored the role of service quality in consumer evaluation of technology-based self-service options. By integrating and extending the self-service quality framework the service evaluation model and the Technology Acceptance Model the authors address this emerging issue by empirically testing a comprehensive model that captures the antecedents and consequences of perceived service quality to predict continued customer interaction in the technology-based self-service context of Internet banking. Important service evaluation constructs like perceived risk, perceived value and perceived satisfaction are modelled in this framework. The results show that perceived control has the strongest influence on service quality evaluations. Perceived speed of delivery, reliability and enjoyment also have a significant impact on service quality perceptions. The study also found that even though perceived service quality, perceived risk and satisfaction are important predictors of continued interaction, perceived customer value plays a pivotal role in influencing continued interaction.

Delivering phonological and phonics training within whole-class teaching

Background: Early, intensive phonological awareness and phonics training is widely held to be beneficial for children with poor phonological awareness. However, most studies have delivered this training separately from children's normal whole-class reading lessons. Aims: We examined whether integrating this training into whole class, mixed-ability reading lessons could impact on children with poor phonological awareness, whilst also benefiting normally developing readers. Sample: Teachers delivered the training within a broad reading programme to whole classes of children from Reception to the end of Year 1 (N=251). A comparison group of children received standard teaching methods (N=213). Method: Children's literacy was assessed at the beginning of Reception, and then at the end of each year until 1 year post-intervention. Results: The strategy significantly impacted on reading performance for normally developing readers and those with poor phonological awareness, vastly reducing the incidence of reading difficulties from 20% in comparison schools to 5% in intervention schools. Conclusions: Phonological and phonics training is highly effective for children with poor phonological awareness, even when incorporated into whole-class teaching.

Person-oriented and process-oriented teachers : an investigation of the links between ESOL teachers' personal belief systems and approaches to teaching

This thesis looks to two traditions in research into language teaching, teacher beliefs and classroom interaction, in order to investigate the question: Do teachers of ESOL have an identifiable and coherent system of beliefs about teaching and learning that may account for different approaches to teaching? A qualitative approach to research is taken, following a case study tradition, in order to carry out an in-depth study into the beliefs of six ESOL teachers. Five teachers participated in an initial pilot study and two subsequently became the main case studies for the research. The beliefs of a sixth teacher were then investigated to verify the findings. Semi-structured interviews and classroom observations were carried out with all the teachers. The teachers in the study were found to have personal belief systems that cohere around two orientations to teaching and learning - a person orientation and a process orientation. Moreover, the findings suggest that underlying the orientations is the perception that teachers have of their teacher identity, in terms of whether this is seen as a separate identity or as part of their personality. It is suggested that the two orientations may offer a powerful tool for teacher education as it is increasingly recognised that, in order to be effective, teacher educators must take into account the beliefs that teachers bring with them to training and development programmes. An initial investigations into the teachers’ classroom behaviour suggests that while their methodologies approach may be very similar there are fundamental differences in their interactions patterns and these differences may be a result of their own orientation. However, while teachers’ personal belief systems undoubtedly underlie their approach to teaching, further research is needed to establish the extent and the nature of the relationship between orientation and classroom interaction.

A study in Britain and France of the development of cross-cultural in-house sales training using distance learning.

The thesis is concerned with cross-cultural distance learning in two countries: Great Britain and France. Taking the example of in-house sales training, it argues that it is possible to develop courses for use in two or more countries of differing culture and language. Two courses were developed by the researcher. Both were essentially print-based distance-learning courses designed to help salespeople achieve a better understanding of their customers. One used a quantitative, the other qualitative approach. One considered the concept of the return on investment and the other, for which a video support was also developed, considered the analysis of a customer's needs. Part 1 of the thesis considers differences in the training context between France and Britain followed by a review of the learning process with reference to distance learning. Part 2 looks at the choice of training medium course design and evaluation and sets out the methodology adopted, including problems encountered in this type of fieldwork. Part 3 analyses the data and draws conclusions from the findings, before offering a series of guidelines for those concerned with the development of cross-cultural in-house training courses. The results of the field tests on the two courses were analysed in relation to the socio-cultural, educational and experiential background of the learners as well as their preferred learning styles. The thesis argues that it is possible to develop effective in-house sales training courses to be used in two cultures and identifies key considerations which need to be taken into account when carrying out this type of work.

Teacher logs and interactive decision-making:a case study of contingencies in an EFL organizational culture and the implications for teacher development for part-time teachers

This is a case study of a program of native speaker part-time EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers in a junior college in Japan. It has grown out of a curiosity to ascertain how the teachers have formed and continue to maintain a coordinated program in what would seem to be a disadvantageous national context where as part-time foreign teachers they are expected to do little more than just teach a few classes of mainly oral English. This study investigates the organizational culture the teachers have formed for themselves within their staffroom, and looks at the implications of this for part-time teachers in such an environment. More specifically, the study highlights that central to the program is an interactive decision-making function engaged in by all the teachers which has not only created but also continually enables an identifiable staffroom culture. This organizational culture is contingent on college and staffroom conditions, program affordances such as shared class logs and curriculum sharing, and on the interactive decision-making itself. It is postulated that the contingencies formed in this created and continually creating shared world not only offer the teachers a proficient way to work in their severely time-constricted environment, but also provide them with fertile ground for the self-regulation of a thus created zone of covert staffroom ‘on-the-job’ teacher development.

Knowledge management in knowledge intensive service networks:a strategic management approach

Purpose – The main purpose of this paper is to analyze knowledge management in service networks. It analyzes the knowledge management process and identifies related challenges. The authors take a strategic management approach instead of a more technology-oriented approach, since it is believed that managerial problems still remain after technological problems are solved. Design/methodology/approach – The paper explores the literature on the topic of knowledge management as well as the resource (or knowledge) based view of the firm. It offers conceptual insights and provides possible solutions for knowledge management problems. Findings – The paper discusses several possible solutions for managing knowledge processes in knowledge-intensive service networks. Solutions for knowledge identification/generation, knowledge application, knowledge combination/transfer and supporting the evolution of tacit network knowledge include personal and technological aspects, as well as organizational and cultural elements. Practical implications – In a complex environment, knowledge management and network management become crucial for business success. It is the task of network management to establish routines, and to build and regularly refresh meta-knowledge about the competencies and abilities that exist within the network. It is suggested that each network partner should be rated according to the contribution to the network knowledge base. Based on this rating, a particular network partner is a member of a certain knowledge club, meaning that the partner has access to a particular level of network knowledge. Such an established routine provides strong incentives to add knowledge to the network's knowledge base Originality/value – This paper is a first attempt to outline the problems of knowledge management in knowledge-intensive service networks and, by so doing, to introduce strategic management reasoning to the discussion.

Brady et al.'s (2005) service evaluation models: A replication and extension in China

The research described in this study replicates and extends the Brady et al., [Brady, M. K., Knight, G. A., Cronin Jr. J. Toma, G., Hult, M. and Keillor, B. D. (2005), emoving the Contextual Lens: A Multinational, Mult-setting Comparison of Service Evaluation Models, Journal of Retailing, 81(3), pp. 215-230] study suggestion that future research in service evaluations should focus on emerging service economies such as China. The intent of the research was to examine the suitability of the models suggested by Brady and colleagues in the Chinese market. The replication somewhat successfully duplicated their finding as to the superiority of the comprehensive service evaluation model. Additionally, we also sought to examine as to whether the service evaluation model is gender invariant. Our findings indicate that there are significant differences between gender. These findings are discussed relative to the limitations associated with the study.

Journey towards cultural competence:developing university teachers

Purpose - This paper examines the importance of intercultural training for lecturers; describes innovative training to address this, based on a new theoretical framework; and evaluates training and framework. Background - UK HE is becoming increasing internationally diverse. The UK HEI population is also very multicultural. The proportion of lecturers who come from outside the UK has risen. It is, therefore, important that students develop intercultural awareness. One way of doing this is to work with students. A more sustainable approach focusses training on lecturers who will embed cultural awareness into their practice. Method - This paper sets out a theoretical framework which underpins training developed for lecturers as part of a Postgraduate Certificate. The paper describes the training and evaluates the effectiveness of this. Findings and results - Findings show that participants were apprehensive about the training. Afterwards they expressed surprise at the participative approach, but were pleased with outcomes. They enjoyed the exercises and the training appeared to have opened up their outlook. They praised the freedom to share thoughts with others. Conclusions - Findings show that participants learnt intercultural skills to use in class. This was due to the design. The nature of the training encouraged reflection on cultural diversity and participants attested to the effects this would have on their teaching. These results replicate other studies Implications - The implications are immediate in the design of intercultural training in different contexts. It has already been used to design innovative training for students and managers. In both cases the same far-reaching results were achieved.

ICT innovation diffusion in small logistics service providers:an empirical study

For companies competing in highly dynamic markets, innovation is considered a fundamental component of a successful business as it allows companies to sustain profit margins, sales growth and reduce competitors’ pressures. Information and communication technology (ICT) is essential innovation enablers especially in service companies. The focus of the paper is on the analysis of the role of ICT in innovation processes of small third-party logistics service providers (3PLs). On the basis of quantitative evidence emerging from a recent survey carried out on the Italian 3PL market, the paper analyses how ICT is used to support innovation and the factors the inhibit/facilitate the usage of ICT in such companies. Implications for supply chain innovation management are derived from the research and managerial perspectives.

Discretion and control in education:the teacher as street-level bureaucrat

This article assesses the impact of education reform and the new public management (NPM) on the discretion of school teachers. The focal point of the study is Michael Lipsky's theory of discretion which casts public service professionals and others involved in service delivery as 'street-level bureaucrats' because their high degree of discretionary rule-making power enabled them to effectively make policy as well as implement it. The article considers the relationship between education reform and the NPM and focuses on the increased emphasis on skills-based teaching and changes in management and leadership in schools. The literature and survey of teachers demonstrate that discretion in the workplace has been eroded to such an extent due to a high degree of central regulation and local accountability as to question the applicability of Lipsky's model. The findings are based on the literature and a small survey undertaken by the author. © 2007 BELMAS.

Teaching English to young learners in Europe:teachers' attitudes and perspectives

The introduction of languages into the primary curriculum has been the major development in language-in-education policy around the world over the last 20-25 years. In the vast majority of countries the language taught is English and it is being taught at an ever-earlier age. A relatively large amount of research has been carried out in Asia into teaching English to young learners (TEYL) from the point of view of language policy and planning and of policy implementation, especially in terms of the gap between policy and practice caused by the introduction of new methodologies such as communicative language teaching. However, to date far less research has been carried out into the situation in Europe, particularly concerning the attitudes of those most closely involved in policy implementation - the teachers themselves. This chapter examines the attitudes of teachers in six European countries (Italy, Latvia, Macedonia, Poland, Spain and Ukraine), uncovering the challenges they face and the changes they would like to see enacted to improve English language learning and teaching in their countries. The implications for policy, planning and teacher education are also discussed.

The construction and negotiation of identity and face in post observation feedback

Identity influences the practice of English language teachers and supervisors, their professional development and their ability to incorporate innovation and change. Talk during post observation feedback meetings provides participants with opportunities to articulate, construct, verify, contest and negotiate identities, processes which often engender issues of face. This study examines the construction and negotiation of identity and face in post observation feedback meetings between in-service English language teachers and supervisors at a tertiary institution in the United Arab Emirates. Within a linguistic ethnography framework, this study combined linguistic microanalysis of audio recorded feedback meetings with ethnographic data gathered from participant researcher knowledge, pre-analysis interviews and post-analysis participant interpretation interviews. Through a detailed, empirical description of situated ‘real life’ institutional talk, this study shows that supervisors construct identities involving authority, power, expertise, knowledge and experience while teachers index identities involving experience, knowledge and reflection. As well as these positive valued identities, other negative, disvalued identities are constructed. Identities are shown to be discursively claimed, verified, contested and negotiated through linguistic actions. This study also shows a link between identity and face. Analysis demonstrates that identity claims verified by an interactional partner can lead to face maintenance or support. However, a contested identity claim can lead to face threat which is usually managed by facework. Face, like identity, is found to be interactionally achieved and endogenous to situated discourse. Teachers and supervisors frequently risk face threat to protect their own identities, to contest their interactional partner’s identities or to achieve the feedback meeting goal i.e. improved teaching. Both identity and face are found to be consequential to feedback talk and therefore influence teacher development, teacher/supervisor relationships and the acceptance of feedback. Analysis highlights the evaluative and conforming nature of feedback in this context which may be hindering opportunities for teacher development.