A model of service performance enhancement:the role of transactional and transformational leadership

This paper is concerned with the ways in which transactional and transformational leadership styles can improve the service performance of front-line staff. Past literature on services marketing has indicated the importance of leadership but has largely ignored the parallel literature in which leadership styles have been conceptualized and operationalized (e.g., sales management, organizational psychology). This paper seeks to build upon existing services marketing theory by introducing the role of leadership styles in enhancing service performance. Consequently, a conceptual framework of the effect of transactional and transformational leadership styles on service performance, anchored in a crossdisciplinary literature review, is developed. Managerial implications and future research directions are also discussed.

Managing service productivity using data envelopment analysis

This chapter provides the theoretical foundation and background on data envelopment analysis (DEA) method. We first introduce the basic DEA models. The balance of this chapter focuses on evidences showing DEA has been extensively applied for measuring efficiency and productivity of services including financial services (banking, insurance, securities, and fund management), professional services, health services, education services, environmental and public services, energy services, logistics, tourism, information technology, telecommunications, transport, distribution, audio-visual, media, entertainment, cultural and other business services. Finally, we provide information on the use of Performance Improvement Management Software (PIM-DEA). A free limited version of this software and downloading procedure is also included in this chapter.

The relative influence of organisational commitment and job-satisfaction on service quality of customer-contact employees in banking call centres

An inter-disciplinary approach is adopted to provide a deeper understanding of the human resource-service quality relationship. The paper tests the relationships organisational commitment and job satisfaction have with service quality of customer-contact employees. Hypotheses are constructed by reviewing literature in the areas of human resource management and services marketing. A study comprising 342 employees was conducted in four telephone call centres of a major UK retail bank. Investigates how different forms of organisational commitment and job satisfaction influence the service quality delivered by contact employees. Findings indicate that job satisfaction and organisational commitment of employees have a significant impact on service quality delivered. The affective component of commitment was found to be more important than job satisfaction in determining service quality of customer-contact employees.

A marketingeszközök alkalmazásának hatása a versenyképességre = The Impact of Marketing Tools on Competitiveness

A tanulmány a marketing szerteágazó területei és a vállalatok versenyképessége közötti összefüggéseket kereste és hasonlította össze az öt évvel ezelőtti felmérés eredményeivel. Az elemzés így kitért arra, hogy a vezetők hogyan észlelik a marketing szerepét a vállalati eredményesség szempontjából, hogyan hatnak a teljesítményre a termék- és márkázási döntések, a szolgáltatások menedzselése, valamint a reklámtevékenység. A kutatás érinti a marketing szervezeti megjelenését és a többi vállalati funkciókkal megfigyelhető kapcsolatát, majd az erőforrás-elmélet megközelítését felhasználva elemezte a marketing eszközök és képességek versenyképességre gyakorolt hatását. Az eredmények alapján azt állapíthatjuk meg, hogy a marketing gyakorlata számos ponton kapcsolódik a vállalati teljesítményhez, azonban előtérbe kerülnek azok a marketing jellegű képességek, amely a vállalat marketing rendszerének működtetéséhez, nyomon követéséhez és megújításához szükségesek. ____ The study aimed to reveal the association between the widespread functions of marketing and corporate competitiveness and it compared the results to the ones of the similar survey research conducted five years before. The analysis concerns the perceived role of marketing in the success companies and how product and brand decisions, the management of services or advertising practices can influence the performance of companies. The organisational representation of marketing and the relationship with other corporate functions were also investigated. Finally, the study implemented the approach of resource-based theory to determine the effects of marketing assets and capabilities on competitiveness. Based on the results we can conclude that several connections can be determined between marketing and corporate performance but the role of marketing related capabilities that are necessary for managing, tracing and developing marketing systems is increasing.

A interação ensino-serviço no processo de formação dos graduandos em fisioterapia da UFPB: a percepção dos docentes

The health paradigm, consolidated in the last century, directed the training of health professionals, educated under the aegis of the Flexnerian training, fragmentary and hospital-centered model. However, it proved to be insufficient to meet the demands of the Unified Health System and the population. In this sense, the National Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate health courses emerge as a normative framework in proposing a new professional profile, as well as the recommendation of strategies for the restructuring of curricula and teaching practices, and one of them is the teaching-service integration. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the process of training of Physiotherapy course students of the Federal University of Paraíba with the guiding principle of teaching-service integration, considering DCN. In this sense, the chosen method was a case study with qualitative approach. The sample was intentional, including all faculty members of the permanent staff of the Department of Physiotherapy at UFPB, linked to curriculum components whose practice scenarios occur in the SUS network and time longer than one year in that component. The data collection technique was the semi-structured interview. Data analysis was performed using the content analysis technique. The following categories were considered: professional training for SUS, integration of students to the SUS network services, the relationship between theory and practice in the training of physiotherapists, teaching and health professional partnership in the teaching-learning process and programs of training reorientation and their integration with the course. The results allowed identifying positive points in the teaching-service integration: recognition of the importance of integration activities between university and health services based on the insertion of students in the network, the combined actuation with health service professionals and the opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary team; the existence of structured and organized School Network; participation of students and teachers in government programs that offer the experience of insertion in the labor market. The following weaknesses stood out: difficulties in agreement, planning and evaluation of activities by the service; gap between theoretical and practical activities; lack of definition of roles of teacher and health service professionals in the training process and the fragile relationship of reorientation of vocational training programs with the curricular activities of the course. The teaching-service integration as a guiding principle in the analysis of the formation of physiotherapists reveals limits and possibilities for training that meets the health needs of the population. Thus, the choices of educational institutions regarding the care model have an influence on health practices, as well as the commitment by management and services and the permeability to social control instances decisively contribute to the improvement in the training of future professionals. Thus, the commitment of all involved for the effective change in the training process of health paradigm is indispensable.

A interação ensino-serviço no processo de formação dos graduandos em fisioterapia da UFPB: a percepção dos docentes

The health paradigm, consolidated in the last century, directed the training of health professionals, educated under the aegis of the Flexnerian training, fragmentary and hospital-centered model. However, it proved to be insufficient to meet the demands of the Unified Health System and the population. In this sense, the National Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate health courses emerge as a normative framework in proposing a new professional profile, as well as the recommendation of strategies for the restructuring of curricula and teaching practices, and one of them is the teaching-service integration. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the process of training of Physiotherapy course students of the Federal University of Paraíba with the guiding principle of teaching-service integration, considering DCN. In this sense, the chosen method was a case study with qualitative approach. The sample was intentional, including all faculty members of the permanent staff of the Department of Physiotherapy at UFPB, linked to curriculum components whose practice scenarios occur in the SUS network and time longer than one year in that component. The data collection technique was the semi-structured interview. Data analysis was performed using the content analysis technique. The following categories were considered: professional training for SUS, integration of students to the SUS network services, the relationship between theory and practice in the training of physiotherapists, teaching and health professional partnership in the teaching-learning process and programs of training reorientation and their integration with the course. The results allowed identifying positive points in the teaching-service integration: recognition of the importance of integration activities between university and health services based on the insertion of students in the network, the combined actuation with health service professionals and the opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary team; the existence of structured and organized School Network; participation of students and teachers in government programs that offer the experience of insertion in the labor market. The following weaknesses stood out: difficulties in agreement, planning and evaluation of activities by the service; gap between theoretical and practical activities; lack of definition of roles of teacher and health service professionals in the training process and the fragile relationship of reorientation of vocational training programs with the curricular activities of the course. The teaching-service integration as a guiding principle in the analysis of the formation of physiotherapists reveals limits and possibilities for training that meets the health needs of the population. Thus, the choices of educational institutions regarding the care model have an influence on health practices, as well as the commitment by management and services and the permeability to social control instances decisively contribute to the improvement in the training of future professionals. Thus, the commitment of all involved for the effective change in the training process of health paradigm is indispensable.

Investigation into a best practice model for providing an integrated user experience with mobile cloud applications

Mobile Cloud Computing promises to overcome the physical limitations of mobile devices by executing demanding mobile applications on cloud infrastructure. In practice, implementing this paradigm is difficult; network disconnection often occurs, bandwidth may be limited, and a large power draw is required from the battery, resulting in a poor user experience. This thesis presents a mobile cloud middleware solution, Context Aware Mobile Cloud Services (CAMCS), which provides cloudbased services to mobile devices, in a disconnected fashion. An integrated user experience is delivered by designing for anticipated network disconnection, and low data transfer requirements. CAMCS achieves this by means of the Cloud Personal Assistant (CPA); each user of CAMCS is assigned their own CPA, which can complete user-assigned tasks, received as descriptions from the mobile device, by using existing cloud services. Service execution is personalised to the user's situation with contextual data, and task execution results are stored with the CPA until the user can connect with his/her mobile device to obtain the results. Requirements for an integrated user experience are outlined, along with the design and implementation of CAMCS. The operation of CAMCS and CPAs with cloud-based services is presented, specifically in terms of service description, discovery, and task execution. The use of contextual awareness to personalise service discovery and service consumption to the user's situation is also presented. Resource management by CAMCS is also studied, and compared with existing solutions. Additional application models that can be provided by CAMCS are also presented. Evaluation is performed with CAMCS deployed on the Amazon EC2 cloud. The resource usage of the CAMCS Client, running on Android-based mobile devices, is also evaluated. A user study with volunteers using CAMCS on their own mobile devices is also presented. Results show that CAMCS meets the requirements outlined for an integrated user experience.

Assessing variation in personal health service delivery and workplace smoking ban enforcement by local health departments

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-08

Gestão nos Serviços com Sistemas de Monitorização e Implementação do Smart Pricing

A presente dissertação foi elaborada no âmbito do Mestrado em Engenharia Electrotécnica (MEE) no Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), em regime empresarial, na empresa PH Energia Lda. Tem-se verificado que, ao longo dos últimos anos, os mercados estão cada vez mais competitivos, tornando-se quase imperativo que as empresas apostem numa boa otimização dos processos produtivos. Produzir cada vez mais, mais rapidamente e com menos recursos disponíveis, ou seja, de forma eficiente, são os desafios de todas as empresas que pretendem permanecer no mercado. Neste contexto surge o tema de tese, “Gestão nos Serviços com Sistemas de Monitorização e Implementação do Smart Pricing”, cujo objetivo tem como base principal a otimização das plataformas da PH Energia numa cultura de melhoria contínua e orientação para o cliente e promover aplicação da tarifa indexada e Smart Pricing em empresas de maneira a que exista uma maior poupança. Ao longo desta dissertação, foram desenvolvidos cálculos associados à monitorização e gestão nos serviços, bem como demonstrada a viabilidade dos mesmos na aplicação de tarifasindexadas e Smart Pricing no setor empresarial e, para finalizar, a compensação que é possível obter ao deslocar o diagrama de cargas, mantendo sempre o mesmo consumo. Na elaboração deste trabalho fez-se o cruzamento de duas plataformas informáticas designadas GesEnergy e Kisense, com ajuda da empresa VPS que tem como parceria a empresa Energia Simples. Em relação ao plano indexado, foram realizados dois estudos de dois balcões do Banco Popular de Portugal de forma a explicitar quando e como deve ser aplicada a tarifa indexada, gestão da procura, bem como deve ser deslocação do consumo, de forma a abranger as horas mais vantajosas em que o preço de energia elétrica é mais baixo.

Identificación y construcción del perfil de las microempresas del departamento de Cuscatlán potenciales usuarios del Centro de Desarrollo de Micro y Pequeñas Empresas sede Ilobasco (CDMYPE-Ilobasco), en el año 2015

El sector micro empresarial en El Salvador afronta numerosos problemas que impiden el aumento de la competitividad y desarrollo de este. Para solventar la situación a la que se están enfrentando las Microempresas, surge el Centro de Desarrollo de Micro y Pequeñas Empresas (CDMYPE) que busca dar apoyo a través de capacitaciones y asesorías a los microempresarios; pero el no tener identificadas a las Microempresas específicamente a las que están domiciliadas en el departamento de Cuscatlán impide la construcción de un perfil para este sector y que el CDMYPE-ILOBASCO institución que atiende a este departamento, pueda ofrecer sus servicios a los microempresarios. De ahí la necesidad de realizar la investigación titulada “Identificación y construcción del perfil de las Microempresas del departamento de Cuscatlán potenciales usuarios de Centro de Desarrollo de Micro y Pequeñas Empresas sede Ilobasco (CDMYPE-ILOBASCO) en el año 2015”; con la aplicación del método científico y la metodología aplicada que permitió conocer las características de las Microempresas del departamento de Cuscatlán, mediante la recopilación de la información; y proceder así al análisis de los resultados para la construcción del perfil de los potenciales usuarios del CDMYPE-ILOBASCO. Los resultados de la investigación y la construcción del perfil permitirán aumentar el número de Microempresas atendidas por el CDMYPE-ILOBASCO; y con el apoyo recibido por esta institución las Microempresas puedan mejorar y fortalecer sus áreas estratégicas, su forma de reacción ante el entorno y aumentar así sus ventas y nivel de empleo, generando impacto económico para el departamento. ABSTRACT The micro enterprise sector in El Salvador faces many problems that prevent increasing the competitiveness and development of this. To overcome the situation they are facing Microenterprise arises Development Center of Micro and Small Enterprises (CDMYPE) which seeks to support through training and advisory services to microentrepreneurs; but not having identified Microenterprise specifically those that are domiciled in the department of Cuscatlán prevents the construction of a profile for this sector and the CDMYPE-ILOBASCO institution that attends this department, can offer their services to microentrepreneurs. Hence the need from research entitled "Identification and construction of the profile of Microenterprises from department Cuscatlán potential users Development Center Micro and Small Enterprises headquarters Ilobasco (CDMYPE-ILOBASCO) in the year 2015"; with the application of scientific method and the methodology applied that allowed to know the characteristics of the Microenterprise of department Cuscatlán, by collecting information; and thus proceed to the analysis of the results, to build the profile of potential users of CDMYPE-ILOBASCO. The results of research and profile construction of will allow increase the number of Microenterprises served by the CDMYPE-ILOBASCO; and with the support received by this institution the Microenterprises can improve and strengthen its strategic areas, their way of reaction before the environment and increase their sales and employment levels, generating economic impact for the department.

Novas tendências de gestão pública : a implementação de um programa de avaliação e desenvolvimento de competências numa unidade de serviços partilhados

É hoje consensual, entre as várias correntes da gestão, que a obtenção de vantagens competitivas depende em grande medida das estratégias de gestão de recursos humanos. Orientada para os aspectos estratégicos, a gestão por competências surge como uma abordagem capaz de integrar os objectivos das organizações com os objectivos individuais. Simultaneamente, as novas tendências da gestão pública apontam para a necessidade de desenvolver processos conducentes à melhoria contínua dos serviços prestados, introduzindo um maior rigor na informação de gestão. São princípios subjacentes a estas novas tendências a necessidade de redução de custos, o aumento da produtividade, a normalização de processos e sistemas e o desenvolvimento de centros de competência e inovação. Neste trabalho, de natureza essencialmente empírica, pretendemos ilustrar o processo de concepção e implementação de um Programa de Avaliação e Desenvolvimento de Competências que foi desenvolvido para uma Unidade de Serviços Partilhados, no âmbito de uma organização pública. ABSTRACT: lt is actually consensual between several theoretical approaches that the attainment of competitive advantages depends on strategies of human resource management. Guided for strategic aspects, competencies’ management appears as an approach capable of integrating organizations and individual's goals. Simultaneously, the new trends of public administration point out the necessity of developing continuous improvement processes, introducing a higher quality in the management information. The necessity of costs reduction, the increase of the productivity and the normalization of processes and systems, as well the development of competencies centers and innovation, are underlying principles to these new trends. ln this empirical work we intend to illustrate the process of conception and implementation of a Program of Evaluation and Development of Competencies, developed for a Unit of Shared Services, in a public organization.

Social networks in Argentinian libraries : Tips to formulate a communicational policy

En base a los resultados obtenidos en investigaciones efectuadas por el grupo de investigación del Instituto de Investigaciones en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales (UNLP-CONICET) sobre redes sociales en distintos tipos de bibliotecas (de investigación, universitarias y populares) en Argentina, se efectúa un balance sobre su uso en este tipo de instituciones y se proponen lineamientos para la formulación de una política comunicacional que las contemple y forme parte del plan de gestión de estas unidades de información. Los mismos apuntan a considerar cabalmente todos los aspectos vinculados a los alcances, limitaciones, usos, riesgos y demás que implica la adopción y la apropiación de diferentes redes sociales (tales como Facebook, Twitter, entre otras), su convivencia, gestión y sustentabilidad a lo largo del tiempo