Showing papers on "Service level objective published in 2005"

Service quality models: a review

Abstract: Purpose – The main objective of this paper is to critically appraise various service quality models and identify issues for future research based on the critical analysis of literature.Design/methodology/approach – The paper critically examines 19 different service quality models reported in the literature. The critical review of the different service quality models is intended to derive linkage between them, and highlight the area for further research.Findings – The review of various service quality model revealed that the service quality outcome and measurement is dependent on type of service setting, situation, time, need etc factors. In addition to this even the customer's expectations towards particular services are also changing with respect to factors like time, increase in the number of encounters with a particular service, competitive environment, etc. This paper provides a rich agenda for future research in the subject.Research limitations/implications – This research developed a linkage between...

Sharing social network information

Abstract: Social network information may be shared across online service providers. Thus, one online service provider M that maintains a membership separate from a second online service provider N may nevertheless use the social network maintained by the second online service provider N to tailor content and/or services based on such social network information.

A manufacturer becoming service provider – challenges and a paradox

Abstract: Purpose – To provide a perspective on the nature of service infusion in manufacturing companies based on a case analysis in the context of a maintenance management solution for industrial production equipment.Design/methodology/approach – The paper first discusses how manufacturers becoming service providers is treated in the literature. Next, a qualitative single‐case study is reported, in which a troublesome business concept was surveyed through 35 thematic focus group interviews. The analysis revealed a set of challenges that were compared to arrive at a conclusion, the paradox.Findings – The findings suggest that many challenges stemmed from the manufacturing‐oriented way of doing business. This further indicates that the common implicit view, that manufacturers can shift to service provision steadily, by adding service offerings to their total offering one by one, may actually be hazardous.Research limitations/implications – The limitations are based on the methodology. First, the case study focuses ...

Service quality: beyond cognitive assessment

Abstract: Purpose – The aim of this article is to contribute to widening the scope of service quality by focusingon dimensions beyond cognitive assessment. The focus is on the role of customers’ emotions in ...

Zones of tolerance: alternative scales for measuring information systems service quality

Abstract: The expectation norm of Information Systems SERVQUAL has been challenged on both conceptual and empirical grounds, drawing into question the instrument's practical value. To address the criticism that the original IS SERVQUAL's expectation measure is ambiguous, we test a new set of scales that posits that service expectations exist at two levels that IS customers use as a basis to assess IS service quality: (1) desired service: the level of IS service desired, and (2) adequate service: the minimum level of IS service customers are willing to accept. Defining these two levels is a "zone of tolerance" (ZOT) that represents the range of IS service performance a customer would consider satisfactory. In other words, IS customer service expectations are characterized by a range of levels, rather than a single expectation point. This research note adapts the ZOT and the generic operational definition from marketing to the IS field, assessing its psychometric properties. Our findings conclude that the instrument shows validity of a four-dimension IS ZOT SERVQUAL measure for desired, adequate, and perceived service quality levels, identifying 18 commonly applicable question items. This measure addresses past criticism while offering a practical diagnostic tool.

The dilemma of the unsatisfied customer in a market model of public administration

Abstract: The relationship between administrative service performance and citizen satisfaction has been assumed, but not demonstrated, in the application of market models to public service delivery. Although the citizen satisfaction literature cautions that the link between objective and subjective measures of service quality is tenuous at best, public-sector professional organizations define a managerial focus on objective measures of service performance as accountability to citizens for outcomes. What if we’re wrong?

The impact of service provider emotional intelligence on customer satisfaction

Abstract: Purpose – This study seeks to examine whether higher emotional intelligence displayed by service providers leads to greater customer satisfaction.Design/methodology/approach – A community sample of 150 participants viewed video clips depicting a service provider displaying three different levels of emotional intelligence in high or low service difficulty transactions.Findings – Higher emotional intelligence displayed by the service provider led to greater reported satisfaction with the service transaction. Further, there was an interaction between emotional intelligence of the service provider and transaction difficulty. In the low transaction difficulty condition there was progressively more satisfaction at each higher level of emotional intelligence of the service provider. In the high transaction difficulty condition, there was low satisfaction in the low service provider emotional intelligence condition, but no significant difference in satisfaction between the high and medium levels of service provid...

Service impact analysis and alert handling in telecommunications systems

Abstract: A system for the prioritization of quality of service (QoS) alerts and the analysis of the impact of such alerts on service uses a service model in which services are broken into one or more service components and sub-components. Creation of a service dependency model, which is driven by different phases of a service, is key to being able to understand how alerts at the lowest level of the network components affect the overall service for which they are but a component. Alerts are assigned a “handle” and a severity level. Rules are defined to be applied to the alerts to create a Component Status Indicator for each component including a handle. As each CSI propagates up towards the top of the service model dependency graph, each CSI gets modified according to predefined rules. A service impact index is created when the CSI is propagated to the top service component. For each service that is impacted, weights (multipler) are defined according to duration of the alert, number of subscribers, number of services, QoS class of the services impacted or other factors defined by user. The weights are used to multiply the SII to obtain the overall impacting index, which is sorted to obtain the priority list. This method can be employed either centrally at a network operations center or in a distributed manner by pre-processing at central offices. Information contained in the handle component of the CSI can be used to perform root cause analysis of the service impacting alerts so as to more efficiently identify and correct problems.

Linking process and outcome to service quality and customer satisfaction evaluations

Abstract: Purpose – To examine precisely how service process and service outcome are related to service quality and customer satisfaction evaluations, and to look for consistent patterns in the relationships between these four concepts.Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical framework is proposed to suggest links between the four concepts. The study is conducted in the real estate industry, and the focus is on home sellers' evaluations of the real estate agent's service. In‐depth interviews and a short survey are used to collect the data. A combination of content analysis and statistical tests is used to look for patterns in the data.Findings – As proposed, process factors are closely linked with service quality, and outcome factors are closely linked with customer satisfaction. Also, as proposed, service quality evaluations precede customer satisfaction for normal service evaluations, but the opposite causal order is found for extreme service evaluations.Research limitations/implications – The study is conduct...

Competitive Tendering as a Contracting Mechanism for Subsidising Transport

Abstract: Competitive tendering (CT) is a popular mechanism for the provision of transport services where a major objective is the containment of the cost to government of service provision. Although the primary focus is recognised as cost efficiency, whereby the cost outcome should be conditional on a given level of service, difficulties in establishing appropriate tests for service level compliance has become a cause of concern regarding the effectiveness of the CT paradigm as a value for money initiative. This paper reviews the international successes and failures of CT as a subsidy reduction strategy within the bus sector, and promotes the idea of Performance Based Contracts as a way of recognising the real role of subsidy under the umbrella of a value for money objective.

Systems and methods for adaptively deriving storage policy and configuration rules

Abstract: In one embodiment, the invention relates to an adaptive engine for creating provisioning policies and rules for network storage provisioning, which can be driven by service level objectives. The service level objectives can be defined for a given quality of service (“QoS”) for one or more users or user groups, file systems, databases, or applications, or classes of file systems, databases, or applications. In addition, the service level objectives can define the cost, availability, time to provision, recoverability, performance and accessibility objectives for the file system, database or application.

Adaptive entitlement control of resource containers on shared servers

Abstract: In this paper, we describe the design of online feedback control algorithms to dynamically adjust entitlement values for a resource container on a server shared by multiple applications. The goal is to determine the minimum level of entitlement for the container such that its hosted application achieves desired performance levels. Classic control theory is used for both model identification and controller design. Specific implementation issues that affect the closed-loop system performance are discussed. A self-tuning adaptive controller is also presented to handle limited variations in the workload. The controllers were implemented and evaluated on a testbed using the HP-UX PRM as the resource container and the Apache Web server as the hosted application in the container. In all experiments, our controller was able to quickly converge to the proper level of CPU entitlement for the Web server to track its performance target. By using our entitlement control system, shared servers can potentially reach much higher resource utilization while meeting service level objectives for the hosted applications under changing operating conditions.

Method for providing quality-of-service based services in a packet network

Abstract: The disclosure provides a system and method for providing a service in a packet-switched network at a selected Quality of Service (QoS) level. The method includes receiving a request for a service from a customer gateway at server connected to the packet-switched network; correlating the requested service to available network resources; and enabling the network to provide the requested service based on a result of the correlation.

Diagnosing the zone of tolerance for hotel services

Abstract: Purpose – Aims to address the concept of the “zone of tolerance” in judgments of hotel service quality. The present study describes the zone of tolerance for customers’ service expectations and determines the customer satisfaction level in Northern Cyprus hotels – which is a new emerging market as an island destination.Design/methodology/approach – The sample of the study consisted of customers visiting four‐star, five‐star, and resort hotels located in the Gazimagusa and Kyrenia regions of Northern Cyprus in June and July 2004. The questionnaire was based on service expectations and perceptions. As a result of the pilot study with 50 customers, the instrument was reworded for measuring service quality and the zone of tolerance for hotels. This modified instrument became the “HOTELZOT” instrument, which was used to measure customers’ service expectations and service perceptions. Psychometric properties of the scale (such as reliability) were tested, and the dimensionality of the scale was confirmed throug...

A strategic service quality approach using analytic hierarchy process

Abstract: – The paper aims to develop a technique that considers competition using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) framework to measure service quality., – The present study adapted the AHP methodology to the measurement of service quality, involving five steps – referred to as “analytical hierarchy process for service quality” (“AHP‐SQ”). Subsequently, the authors demonstrate how the technique can be applied to the fast‐food restaurants., – The AHP‐SQ approach described in this study thus assists management to devise and maintain a relevant, competitive plan for ongoing improvements in service quality. Specifically, such analysis enables the following questions to be addressed: “How does the firm perform in terms of service quality in relation to its competitors?”; “Given the firm's resources, which service initiatives will enhance its service competitiveness?”; “Which service areas require immediate improvement?”; “How should the firm's service improvement be prioritized?”, and “What opportunities exist for service improvement in relation to the competition?”, – It would be important to consider the “right” dimensions of service quality that are relevant to the respective industry. It would also be essential to collect responses from customers who have utilized the services of the focal firm as well as its competitors in order to have an accurate opinion., – The framework proposed here allows management to address two main issues pertaining to its competitive advantage: establishing its performance ranking in the marketplace; and identifying the service elements that most require improvement., – The paper develops a cohesive approach to help managers identify which reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy, responsiveness (RATER) service dimensions require attention to create a sustainable competitive advantage. It offers a “bigger picture” in service‐quality management.

An empirical assessment of comparative approaches to service quality measurement

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose and empirically assess three comparative approaches to measuring service quality: modified gap model, TOPSIS and loss function Aims to argue for the use of TOPSIS from decision sciences, and Loss function from operations research and engineering, as alternative approaches to the gap modelDesign/methodology/approach – The empirical evidence is provided by large sample consumer data on the service quality for leading Indian commercial banks The service quality evaluations obtained from these three distinct methods are compared and tested for their mutual agreementFindings – Fndings show that the rankings obtained from different methods are statistically in agreement, suggesting that the alternative approaches can provide equally good measurement of service quality But they should not be used in an interchangeable mannerResearch/limitations/implications – Research shows that a single measure of overall service quality based on gap model is over‐simplist

A re‐assessment and refinement of RECOVSAT: An instrument to measure satisfaction with transaction‐specific service recovery

Abstract: Purpose – To do an empirical assessment of the psychometric properties of an instrument that captures the multi‐dimensional nature of satisfaction with service recovery (RECOVSAT) using data (post‐recovery satisfaction ratings) from customers who have actually complained to a service firm.Design/methodology/approach – The methodology is a survey of bank clients who have lodged complaints with a retail bank.Findings – The empirical results suggest that a refined and shorter version of RECOVSAT demonstrates excellent construct validity when used to measure the post‐recovery satisfaction of complaining customers.Research limitations/implications – RECOVSAT is a valid and reliable instrument that can and should be used by service managers to assess customer satisfaction with their service recovery efforts. Failure to ensure that complaining customers are satisfied with the firm's service recovery efforts, can only lead to serious problems, as the service firm will be letting the customer down for the second t...

Automatic measurement of a QoS metric for Web service recommendation

Abstract: Web services have enabled businesses and organizations to collaborate without platform interoperability and programming language barriers. Quality of service (QoS) of a Web service is an important factor that differentiates similar services offered by different service providers. Such a measure would allow Web service clients to choose and bind to a suitable Web service at run time (based on QoS attributes). Some researchers have proposed the integration of the QoS measure on the Web service directory server. However, a mechanism to maintain the QoS metric has not been defined yet. In this paper, we propose such a mechanism. This mechanism involves automated measurement of QoS attributes on both the client and provider sides, when the service is being used, and updating the QoS-aware Web services directory with this information. We describe a prototype we developed for this purpose and present the results of using this prototype for gathering QoS measurements at run time.

Agent-based trust model involving multiple qualities

Abstract: A key limitation of current Web services standards is the inability to differentiate service instances at runtime using (nonfunctional) qualities of services (QoS). Such differentiation is necessary to allow for runtime selection and binding to service instances in a manner that continually adapts selected services to the service consumer's preferences and needs. Quality values are volatile, depend on the trust associated with instances and service providers, and also depend on the needs of service consumers. We propose a multiagent framework where agents consider the consumers' QoS preferences, determine trust levels to associate to service instances and providers, and automatically select service instances on a consumer's behalf. The service agents use a trust model that is centered on a shared conceptualization for QoS (ontology) and a QoS preference model that considers consumer's tradeoffs among qualities as well as relationships between qualities. We evaluate our approach via simulations on simplified but realistic service instances and service consumers. Our results show that using these considerations for QoS, service agents are able to determine over time the 'best' service selection for a consumer.

Automated and adaptive threshold setting

Abstract: A method for managing a computer system includes monitoring first violations of a service level objective (SLO) of a service running on the computer system so as to determine a first statistical behavior of the first violations. Second violations of a component performance threshold of a component of the computer system are monitored so as to determine a second statistical behavior of the second violations. A model that predicts the second statistical behavior based on the first statistical behavior is produced. The component performance threshold is automatically adjusted responsively to the model, so as to improve a prediction of the first violations by the second violations.

An architecture for flexible Web service QoS negotiation

Abstract: The Web service selection phase is usually driven only by functional requirements. Non functional requirements, such as quality of service, should be negotiated by the service consumer and the service provider during service invocation in order to produce a contract to manage service provisioning and to monitor the actual fulfilment of negotiated SLAs. In this paper, an automated approach to Web service QoS negotiation is proposed; the negotiation is performed by a negotiation broker to which both the consumer and the service provider can notify their preferences on QoS attributes and negotiation strategies by specifying the value of a relatively small set of parameters. When consumers are unable to specify such parameters or do not trust the service provisioning platform, negotiation can also be automated only on the provider side, allowing the direct interaction of the service consumer with the broker. An architecture to support the above mentioned functionalities is also described.

Trust as a key factor in successful relationships between consumers and retail service providers.

Abstract: Previous research has shown that trust plays a key role in the development of stable relationships between a service provider and its customers, and many authors have devoted considerable attention to identifying its antecedents and consequences. The aim of this study is to investigate these issues in the context of retail travel agencies, a service setting where new information technologies are questioning personal relationships and where the concepts of service quality and customer loyalty have become critical for differentiating from competitors.

Domestic inter‐cultural service encounters: an integrated model

Abstract: Purpose – Proposes to provide practicing managers and academic researchers with a framework that will help them to understand better the nature of domestic inter‐cultural service encounters.Design/methodology/approach – Social identity theory is used to demonstrate how salient identity cues such as physiognomy, linguistic, and behavioral differences are likely to influence customer expectations during initial and subsequent encounters between domestic customers and culturally distant service providers.Findings – The framework developed, and the associated propositions, provide practicing managers with insights into how domestic service customers are likely to respond to domestic inter‐cultural service encounters.Practical implications – Domestic intercultural service encounters have special practical implications for staffing policy and training requirements in service organizations (e.g. there may be ethical and legal challenges for service organizations that refuse to hire service providers unless they ...

SLA design from a business perspective

Abstract: A method is proposed whereby values for Service Level Objectives (SLOs) of an SLA can be chosen to reduce the sum IT infrastructure cost plus business financial loss. Business considerations are brought into the model by including the business losses sustained when IT components fail or performance is degraded. To this end, an impact model is fully developed in the paper. A numerical example consisting of an e-commerce business process using an IT service dependent on three infrastructure tiers (web tier, application tier, database tier) is used to show that the resulting choice of SLOs can be vastly superior to ad hoc design. A further conclusion is that infrastructure design and the resulting SLOs can be quite dependent on the “importance” of the business processes (BPs) being serviced: higher-revenue BPs deserve better infrastructure and the method presented shows exactly how much better the infrastructure should be.

Engaging customers in service creation: a theater perspective

Abstract: Purpose – A theater/drama perspective is used to gain insights into the participatory nature of service creation and to assess the relative importance of service elements across service scenarios.Design/methodology/approach – Drama production principles are applied to situations where customers co‐create the service offering. Using a theater arts model, elements in service settings can be delineated into director, lead actor, set designer, scriptwriter, supporting cast member, and/or traditional audience roles. To understand the relative importance of the service provider, the customer, and other service encounter elements, three variations of a service setting (educational services) in which the consumer's participatory role moves from passive to proactive are compared.Findings – As the service context became more participatory‐based, service provider roles significantly decreased in importance rankings while customer roles significantly increased, supporting the paper's hypotheses. The ranking of other ...