A Service and a Product
There are some organizations whose services and products people often take for granted. Airline companies are one of the many types of firms that belong on this list; fast-food restaurants are another one. Although most of the processes occurring in the corporate environment of the specified organizations have been polished to the point where they have become almost mechanical, an overview thereof will help introduce measurement strategies for improving product and service quality significantly.
The reconsideration of the communication errors that occur in the production process, the redesign of the time management strategies used to deliver specific services, and the rearrangement of the Supply Chain Management (SCM) framework that will ensue should be deemed an important (Heckmann, Comes & Nickel 2015). Furthermore, reasonable use of the available data must be regarded as a crucial step toward improving the overall quality of services and products. Therefore, it is assumed that the measurement tools must define the number of errors made in the process and the efficacy of obtaining, processing, and delivering data.
The process of booking a plane ticket and producing a book will be considered in the study. Although being only small parts of performance processes in the airline and publishing industries, the specified examples of performance will help shed light on the overall quality issue. The outcomes of the analysis can be used for building a general improvement management framework in the realm of any company that can be designed.
Steps for Completing the Tasks
Though the process of booking a ticket for a plane might seem a fairly simple one, it requires an impressive effort form a travel agency. Because of the necessity to provide customers with the necessary information and the need to reduce the threat of data misinterpretation, an airline company must deploy the latest data management tools. The provision of booking services requires the following steps:
Compared to the intricate booking process, the stages of producing a book might seem simplistic, yet they also require due care and appropriate quality management techniques. As a rule, the production process starts with negotiations between an author and a publishing agency. Afterward, a complex production process is launched (see Fig. 2) (Clark & Phillips 2014).
Quality Measurement Tools
Using the following principle: input – process – output – outcomes, one will be able to create a quality measurement tool for determining the efficacy of ticket purchase and book production. Particularly, the tool will allow defining the issues that occur at certain stages of service delivery or product creation. As a result, the levels of corporate performance and customer satisfaction will rise (Noor et al. 2015).
Buying a Plane Ticket
Input
To deliver the service, one will require technological tools and efficient customer support service. Therefore, the number of orders processed per day can be viewed as a means of measuring the efficacy.
Process
To produce an output based on the provided input, one will have to consider using the available data management tools to register the necessary information and make sure that a plane seat is booked for the requested date for a necessary flight. The percentage of errors made will help measure the process.
Output
The number of processed requests for booking a ticket will be regarded as the primary measurement characteristics.
Outcomes
Customer satisfaction levels will be viewed as an essential measurement tool.
Producing a Book
Input
To create the product, one will have to sign a contract with a writer. Thus, the number of contracts and the changes in the specified number will have to be measured.
Process
The transformation of the input into the output will require negotiations with the writer. Therefore, the speed of the communication process and the number of successful agreements will become the key measurement tools.
Output
The number of produced books will be used as the output measurement tool.
Outcomes
To evaluate the outcomes, one will have to calculate the changes in the number of buyers.
Measurements and Processes: Comparison
Although the two processes described above are different in their very nature, one of them being a strategy for producing a book, and the other one providing ticket booking services, they share a range of similarities, the necessity to satisfy target demographics being the key one. It should be noted, though, that, because of the necessity to appeal to different populations and the need to deliver different outcomes, the processes imply using slightly different tools.
For instance, both processes demand consistent communication between the participants, yet the services associated with booking a ticket suggest communication using the corporate network. Therefore, the measurement will require an assessment of the efficacy and accuracy of the data transfer. Although the process occurs between the members of different corporate departments, its focus is kept mostly within the realm of the organization.
The process of publishing a book, in turn, requires maintaining a conversation with the customer, as well as suppliers, designers, retailers, etc. As a result, the supply chain of the book publishing process is much longer, which means that the process of quality management is much moiré complex within its framework. Consequently, the specified process will require measuring the number of misunderstandings and conflicts that may take place during the book production.
Conclusion: Lessons to Be Learned
While there is a vast difference between the companies delivering services such as booking a ticket and publishing a book, introducing efficient quality measurement strategies into their organizational environment is essential. To improve the management of services and production processes in the realm of the contemporary business environment, one must focus on enhancing communication processes. Particularly, the transfer of data necessary for improving logistics processes is crucial. Furthermore, maintaining a connection with customers is essential for the successful management of the specified issues. As a result, products and services will meet the quality standards required to maintain customer satisfaction levels high.
Reference List
Clark, G & Phillips, A 2014, Inside book publishing, New York, NY, Routledge.
Heckmann, I, Comes, T & Nickel, S 2015, ‘A critical review on supply chain risk – definition, measure and modeling’, Omega, vol. 52, no. C, pp. 119-132.
Noor, AHM, Rasool, MSA, Ali, RMYSM & Rahman, RA 2015, ‘Efficiency of Islamic institutions: Empirical evidence of zakat organizations’ performance in Malaysia’, Journal of Economics, Business and Management, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 282-286.