Which of the determinants of service quality involves having the customers best interest at heart?

journal article

A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and Its Implications for Future Research

Journal of Marketing

Vol. 49, No. 4 (Autumn, 1985)

, pp. 41-50 (10 pages)

Published By: Sage Publications, Inc.

https://doi.org/10.2307/1251430

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1251430

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Abstract

The attainment of quality in products and services has become a pivotal concern of the 1980s. While quality in tangible goods has been described and measured by marketers, quality in services is largely undefined and unresearched. The authors attempt to rectify this situation by reporting the insights obtained in an extensive exploratory investigation of quality in four service businesses and by developing a model of service quality. Propositions and recommendations to stimulate future research about service quality are offered.

Journal Information

The Journal of Marketing (JM) develops and disseminates knowledge about real-world marketing questions relevant to scholars, educators, managers, consumers, policy makers and other societal stakeholders. It is the premier outlet for substantive research in marketing. Since its founding in 1936, JM has played a significant role in shaping the content and boundaries of the marketing discipline?

Publisher Information

Sara Miller McCune founded SAGE Publishing in 1965 to support the dissemination of usable knowledge and educate a global community. SAGE is a leading international provider of innovative, high-quality content publishing more than 900 journals and over 800 new books each year, spanning a wide range of subject areas. A growing selection of library products includes archives, data, case studies and video. SAGE remains majority owned by our founder and after her lifetime will become owned by a charitable trust that secures the company’s continued independence. Principal offices are located in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC and Melbourne. www.sagepublishing.com

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Which of the determinants of service quality involves having the customer's best interests at heart?

Which of the determinants of service quality involves having the customer's best interests at heart?

A) access
B) courtesy
C) credibility
D) responsiveness
E) tangibles

Answer: C

Learn More :

42.Stakeholders who are affected by the production and marketing of poor quality products include

Índice

  • Which is most likely the result of managing quality that helps build successful strategies?
  • Which of the following is one of the major categories of costs associated with quality?
  • What refers to training and empowering frontline workers?
  • What is the only internationally recognized quality standard?

a.stockholders, employees, and customers

b.suppliers and creditors, but not distributors

c.only stockholders, creditors, and owners

d.suppliers and distributors, but not customers

e.only stockholders and organizational executives and managers

a (Defining quality, moderate) {AACSB: Ethical Reasoning}

43.Regarding the quality of design, production, and distribution of products, an ethical requirement for management is to

a.determine whether any of the organization's stakeholders are violated by poor quality products

b.gain ISO 14000 certification for the organization

c.obtain a product safety certificate from the Consumer Product Safety Commission

d.have the organization's legal staff write disclaimers in the product instruction booklets

e.compare the cost of product liability to the external failure cost

a (Defining quality, moderate) {AACSB: Ethical Reasoning}

44.If 1 million passengers pass through the St. Louis Airport with checked baggage each month, a successful Six Sigma program for baggage handling would result in how many passengers with misplaced luggage?

a.3.4

b.6.0

c.34

d.2700

e.6 times the monthly standard deviation of passengers

a (Total quality management, moderate) {AACSB: Analytic Skills}

45.Which of the following is true about ISO 14000 certification?

a.It is not a prerequisite for ISO 9000 certification.

b.It deals with environmental management.

c.It offers a good systematic approach to pollution prevention.

d.One of its core elements is life-cycle assessment.

e.All of the above are true.

e (International quality standards, moderate)

46.Suppose that a firm has historically been achieving “three-sigma” quality. If the firm later changes its quality management practices such that begins to achieve “six-sigma” quality, which of the following phenomena will result?

a.The average number of defects will be cut in half.

b.The specification limits will be moved twice as far from the mean.

c.The average number of defects will be cut by 99.9997%.

d.The average number of defects will be cut by 99.87%.

e.The average number of defects will be cut by 99.73%.

d (Total quality management, difficult) {AACSB: Analytic Skills}

111

47.To become ISO 9000 certified, organizations must

a.document quality procedures

b.have an onsite assessment

c.have an ongoing series of audits of their products or service

d.all of the above

e.none of the above

d (International quality standards, moderate)

48.Total quality management emphasizes

a.the responsibility of the quality control staff to identify and solve all quality-related problems

b.a commitment to quality that goes beyond internal company issues to suppliers and customers

c.a system where strong managers are the only decision makers

d.a process where mostly statisticians get involved

e.ISO 14000 certification

b (Total quality management, moderate)

49.A successful TQM program incorporates all of the following except

a.continuous improvement

b.employee involvement

c.benchmarking

d.centralized decision-making authority

e.none of the above; a successful TQM program incorporates all of the above

d(Total quality management, moderate)

50."Kaizen" is a Japanese term meaning

a.a foolproof mechanism

b.just-in-time (JIT)

c.a fishbone diagram

d.setting standards

e.continuous improvement

e (Total quality management, easy) {AACSB: Multiculture and Diversity}

51.Which of the following statements regarding "Six Sigma" is true?

a.The term has two distinct meanings—one is statistical; the other is a comprehensive quality system.

b.Six Sigma means that about 94 percent of a firm's output is free of defects.

c.The Six Sigma program was developed by Toyota in the 1970's.

d.The Six Sigma program is for manufacturing firms, and is not applicable to services.

e.Six Sigma certification is granted by the International Standards Organization (ISO).

a (Total quality management, moderate)

52.Quality circles members are

a.paid according to their contribution to quality

b.external consultants designed to provide training in the use of quality tools

c.always machine operators

d.all trained to be facilitators

e.none of the above; all of the statements are false

e (Total quality management, moderate)

112

53.Techniques for building employee empowerment include

a.building communication networks that include employees

b.developing open, supportive supervisors

c.moving responsibility from both managers and staff to production employees

d.building high-morale organizations

e.All of the above are techniques for employee empowerment.

e (Total quality management, moderate)

54.Building high-morale organizations and building communication networks that include employees are both elements of

a.ISO 9000 certification

b.Six Sigma certification

c.employee empowerment

d.Taguchi methods

e.the tools of TQM

c (Total quality management, moderate) {AACSB: Communication}

55.The process of identifying other organizations that are best at some facet of your operations and then modeling your organization after them is known as

a.continuous improvement

b.employee empowerment

c.benchmarking

d.copycatting

e.patent infringement

c (Total quality management, moderate)

56.ISO 9000 seeks standardization in terms of

a.products

b.production procedures

c.suppliers' specifications

d.procedures to manage quality

e.all of the above

d (International quality standards, moderate)

57.Costs of dissatisfaction, repair costs, and warranty costs are elements of cost in the

a.Taguchi Loss Function

b.Pareto chart

c.ISO 9000 Quality Cost Calculator

d.process chart

e.none of the above

a (Total quality management, moderate)

58.A quality loss function includes all of the following costs except

a.the cost of scrap and repair

b.the cost of customer dissatisfaction

c.inspection, warranty, and service costs

d.sales costs

e.costs to society

d (Tools of TQM, moderate)

113

59.Pareto charts are used to

a.identify inspection points in a process

b.outline production schedules

c.organize errors, problems, or defects

d.show material flow

e.all of the above

c (Tools of TQM, moderate)

60.The "four Ms" of cause-and-effect diagrams are

a.material, machinery/equipment, manpower, and methods

b.material, methods, men, and mental attitude

c.named after four quality experts

d.material, management, manpower, and motivation

e.none of the above

a (Tools of TQM, moderate)

61.Among the tools of TQM, the tool ordinarily used to aid in understanding the sequence of events through which a product travels is a

a.Pareto chart

b.process chart

c.check sheet

d.Taguchi map

e.poka-yoke

b (Tools of TQM, moderate)

62.The process improvement technique that sorts the "vital few" from the "trivial many" is

a.Taguchi analysis

b.Pareto analysis

c.benchmarking

d.Deming analysis

e.Yamaguchi analysis

b (Tools of TQM, moderate)

63.A production manager at a pottery factory has noticed that about 70 percent of defects result from impurities in raw materials, 15 percent result from human error, 10 percent from machine malfunctions, and 5 percent from a variety of other causes. This manager is most likely using

a.a Pareto chart

b.a scatter diagram

c.a Taguchi loss function

d.a cause and effect diagram

e.a flow chart

a (Tools of TQM, easy)

114

64.A customer service manager at a retail clothing store has collected numerous customer complaints from the forms they fill out on merchandise returns. To analyze trends or patterns in these returns, she has organized these complaints into a small number of categories. This is most closely related to the ____________ tool of TQM.

a.Taguchi loss function

b.cause and effect diagram

c.scatter diagram

d.histogram

e.process control chart

b (Tools of TQM, easy)

65.A manager tells her production employees, "It's no longer good enough that your work fall anywhere within the specification limits. I need your work to be as close to the target value as possible." Her thinking is reflective of

a.internal benchmarking

b.Six Sigma

c.ISO 9000

d.Taguchi concepts

e.process control charts

d (Tools of TQM, moderate)

66.A fishbone diagram is also known as a

a.cause-and-effect diagram

b.poka-yoke diagram

c.Kaizen diagram

d.Kanban diagram

e.Taguchi diagram

a (Tools of TQM, easy)

67.If a sample of parts is measured and the mean of the measurements is outside the control limits, the process is

a.in control, but not capable of producing within the established control limits

b.out of control and the process should be investigated for assignable variation

c.within the established control limits with only natural causes of variation

d.monitored closely to see if the next sample mean will also fall outside the control limits

e.none of the above

b (Tools of TQM, moderate)

68.A quality circle holds a brainstorming session and attempts to identify the factors responsible for flaws in a product. Which tool do you suggest they use to organize their findings?

a.Ishikawa diagram

b.Pareto chart

c.process chart

d.control charts

e.activity chart

a (Tools of TQM, moderate) {AACSB: Communication}

115

69.When a sample measurement falls inside the control limits, it means that

a.each unit manufactured is good enough to sell

b.the process limits cannot be determined statistically

c.the process output exceeds the requirements

d.if there is no other pattern in the samples, the process is in control

e.the process output does not fulfill the requirements

d (Tools of TQM, moderate,)

70.Which of the following is false regarding control charts?

a.Values above the upper control limits always imply that the product’s quality is exceeding expectations.

b.Control charts are built so that new data can be quickly compared to past performance data.

c.Control charts graphically present data.

d.Control charts plot data over time.

e.None of the above is false.

a (Tools of TQM, moderate)

71.The goal of inspection is to

a.detect a bad process immediately

b.add value to a product or service

c.correct deficiencies in products

d.correct system deficiencies

e.all of the above

a (The role of inspection, moderate)

72.Which of the following is not a typical inspection point?

a.upon receipt of goods from your supplier

b.during the production process

c.before the product is shipped to the customer

d.at the supplier's plant while the supplier is producing

e.after a costly process

e (The role of inspection, moderate)

73.A good description of "source inspection" is inspecting

a.materials upon delivery by the supplier

b.the goods at the production facility before they reach the customer

c.the goods as soon as a problem occurs

d.goods at the supplier's plant

e.one's own work, as well as the work done at the previous work station

e(The role of inspection, moderate)

74."Poka-yoke" is the Japanese term for

a.card

b.foolproof

c.continuous improvement

d.fishbone diagram

e.just-in-time production

b (The role of inspections, moderate) {AACSB: Multiculture and Diversity}

116

75.What refers to training and empowering frontline workers to solve a problem immediately?

a.just-in-time

b.poka-yoke

c.benchmarking

d.kaizen

e.service recovery

e (TQM in services, easy)

76.A recent consumer survey conducted for a car dealership indicates that, when buying a car, customers are primarily concerned with the salesperson's ability to explain the car's features, the salesperson's friendliness, and the dealer's honesty. The dealership should be especially concerned with which determinants of service quality?

a.communication, courtesy, and credibility

b.competence, courtesy, and security

c.competence, responsiveness, and reliability

d.communication, responsiveness, and reliability

e.understanding/knowing customer, responsiveness, and reliability

a (TQM in services, moderate) {AACSB: Communication}

77.Marketing issues such as advertising, image, and promotion are important to quality because

a.they define for consumers the tangible elements of a service

b.the intangible attributes of a product (including any accompanying service) may not be defined by the consumer

c.they educate consumers on how to use the product

d.they make the product seem more valuable than it really is

e.they raise expenses and therefore decrease profitability

b (TQM in services, moderate)

78.Which of the determinants of service quality involves having the customer's best interests at heart?

a.access

b.courtesy

c.credibility

d.responsiveness

e.tangibles

c (TQM in services, moderate)

79.Which of the determinants of service quality involves performing the service right the first time?

a.access

b.courtesy

c.credibility

d.reliability

e.responsiveness

d (TQM in services, moderate)

FILL-IN-THE-BLANK

80.Arnold Palmer Hospital uses ___________ to seek new ways to reduce readmission rates. continuous improvement (Global company profile, easy)

117

81.___________ costs result from production of defective parts or services before delivery to the customer.

Internal failure (Defining quality, moderate)

82._______ is a set of environmental standards developed by the International Standards Organization.

ISO 14000 (Defining quality, moderate) {AACSB: Ethical Reasoning}

83.The work by _________ regarding how people learn from each other’s successes led to the field of cross-functional teamwork.

Armand Feigenbaum (Defining quality, moderate)

84.Not only customers, but stockholders, suppliers, and others, are among the _________ whose values must be protected in making ethical decisions concerning the quality of products. stakeholders (Defining quality, easy) {AACSB: Ethical Reasoning}

85._________ is the Japanese word for the ongoing process of incremental improvement.

Kaizen (Total quality management, moderate) {AACSB: Multiculture and Diversity}

86.Enlarging employee jobs so that the added responsibility and authority is moved to the lowest level possible in the organization is called ______________.

employee empowerment (Total quality management, moderate)

87.Respect for _________ is a cornerstone of continuous improvement. people (Total quality management, moderate)

88._________ selects a demonstrated standard of performance that represents the very best performance for a process or activity.

Benchmarking (Total quality management, moderate)

89.A group of employees that meet on a regular basis with a facilitator to solve work-related problems in their work area is a(n) _______________.

quality circle (Total quality management, easy) {AACSB: Communication}

90.___________ diagrams use a schematic technique to discover possible locations of quality problems.

Cause-and-effect, or fishbone or Ishikawa (Tools of TQM, moderate)

91.________ are graphical presentations of data over time that show upper and lower control limits for processes we want to control.

Control charts (Tools of TQM, moderate)

92.________ is doing the job properly with the operator ensuring that this is so.

Source inspection (The role of inspection, moderate)

118

SHORT ANSWER

93.Identify the four costs of quality. Which one is hardest to evaluate? Explain.

The four costs are internal, external, prevention, and appraisal. The hardest to estimate are external costs, or costs that occur after delivery of defective part or services. These costs are very hard to quantify. (Defining quality, moderate)

94.State the American Society for Quality’s definition of quality. Of the three "flavors" or categories of quality definitions, which type is it? Explain.

Quality is the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs. This is user-based, as evidenced by the reference to needs, not to specifications or ingredients. (Defining quality, moderate)

95.Quality has at least three categories of definitions; identify them. Provide a brief explanation of each.

The three categories of quality are user-based (in the eyes of the beholder), manufacturingbased (conforming to standards), and product-based (measurable content of product). (Defining quality, moderate)

96.Identify the five steps of DMAIC.

(1) Define the project’s purpose, scope, and outputs and then identify the required process information, keeping in mind the customer’s definition of quality; (2) Measure the process and collect data; (3) Analyze the data, ensuring repeatability (the results can be duplicated), and reproducibility (others get the same result); (4) Improve, by modifying or redesigning, existing processes and procedures; and (5) Control the new process to make sure performance levels are maintained.

(Total quality management, difficult)

97.In a sentence or two, summarize the contribution of Philip Crosby to quality management.

In his book "Quality Is Free," Crosby pointed out that the costs of poor quality are understated, and that understatement made it easier for firms to accept low quality results. He also promoted "zero defects" and doing the job right the first time. (Defining quality, moderate)

98.Identify the five core elements of ISO 14000.

The five core elements of ISO 14000 are environmental management, auditing, performance evaluation, labeling, and life cycle assessment. (International quality standards, moderate)

99.Describe how ISO 9000 has evolved in the past several years.

The standards have become more of a quality management system. These changes came about primarily through the December 2000 revisions. They emphasize top management leadership and customer requirements and satisfaction, while documented procedures now receive less emphasis. (International quality standards, moderate)

100.What steps can be taken to develop benchmarks?

The steps are: determine what to benchmark, form a benchmarking team, identify benchmarking partners, collect and analyze benchmarking information, and take action to match or exceed the benchmark. (Total quality management, moderate)

119

101.Explain how just-in-time processes relate to the quality of an organization's outputs.

JIT relates to quality by cutting costs of quality, by lowering waste and scrap; by improving quality by shortening the time between error detection and error correction; and better quality means less inventory and better JIT system. (Total quality management, moderate)

102.What is the difference between conforming quality and target-oriented quality?

With conforming quality, any unit that meets specifications is acceptable, whether it is on the edges or center of the specification range. Target-oriented quality treats output as better the closer it is to exactly what the customer wants. (Total quality management, moderate)

103.Identify the major concepts of TQM.

The major concepts of total quality management are continuous improvement, Six Sigma, employee empowerment, benchmarking, just-in-time (JIT), Taguchi concepts, and knowledge of TQM tools. (Total quality management, moderate)

104.What is the quality loss function (QLF)?

The quality loss function identifies all costs connected with poor quality and shows how these costs increase as the product moves away from being exactly what the customer wants. (Total quality management, moderate)

105.Explain how a Pareto chart can identify the most important causes of errors in a process.

There will generally be some causes with much higher frequencies than others. The frequency plot will clearly show which cause has the highest frequency.

(Tools of TQM, moderate)

106.How is source inspection related to employee empowerment?

Source inspection involves the operator ensuring that the job is done properly. These operators are empowered to self-check their own work. Employees that deal with a system on a daily basis have a better understanding of the system than anyone else, and can be very effective at improving the system. (The role of inspection, moderate)

107.What is a poka-yoke? Give an example.

A poka-yoke is a foolproof device or technique that ensures production of good units every time. Examples will vary, but include McDonald's french fry scoop and standard sized bags used to ensure the correct quantity, and prepackaged surgical coverings that contain exactly the items needed for a medical procedure. (The role of inspection, moderate)

108.Identify the ten determinants of service quality. Describe two of them in a sentence or two each.

The ten are reliability, responsiveness, competence, access, courtesy, communication, credibility, security, understanding, and tangibles. Descriptions are found in Table 6.5. Here are two examples: Access involves approachability and ease of contact. Security is the freedom from danger, risk, or doubt. (TQM in services, moderate)

120

Which is most likely the result of managing quality that helps build successful strategies?

Managing quality helps build successful strategies of differentiation, low cost , and response. Via improved response, price flexibility, increased market share, and/or improved reputation. Via Increased productivity, lower network and scrap costs, and.or lower warranty cost.

Which of the following is one of the major categories of costs associated with quality?

One of the major categories of costs associated with quality is environmental costs. E. Prevention costs are associated with scrap, rework, and downtime.

What refers to training and empowering frontline workers?

What refers to training and empowering frontline workers to solve a problem immediately? service recovery.

What is the only internationally recognized quality standard?

The 2015 revisions of ISO 9001, the international standard that specifies quality management systems (QMS) requirements, and ISO 9000, which provides fundamental QMS concepts, principles, and vocabulary, are available.

Which of the determinants of service quality involves having a customers best interest at heart?

The correct answer is D) credibility Credibility is considered one of the best determinants in ensuring the service quality with the proper trust factor, honest attitude, and best customer's interests.

Which of the determinants of service quality involves having the customer's best interests at heart quizlet?

Furthermore, Pareto charts are not part of a source inspection process or a Poka-yoke production process. Which of the determinants of service quality involves having the customer's best interests at heart? The determinant of service quality that involves having the customer's best interests at heart is credibility.

Which is most likely the result of managing quality that helps build successful strategies?

Managing quality helps build successful strategies of differentiation, low cost , and response. Via improved response, price flexibility, increased market share, and/or improved reputation. Via Increased productivity, lower network and scrap costs, and.or lower warranty cost.

Which of the following is one of the major categories of costs associated with quality?

One of the major categories of costs associated with quality is environmental costs. E. Prevention costs are associated with scrap, rework, and downtime.