SERVQUAL and the Northern Ireland hotel sector: a comparative analysis - part 2

• Published in: Managing service quality Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 43 - 49
• Main Authors: Gabbie, Olive, O'Neill, Martin A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bedford MCB UP Ltd 01.02.1997; Emerald Group Publishing Limited
• Subjects: Customer satisfaction; Customer services; Hospitality industry; Hotels & motels; Management; Management styles; New employees; Quality management; Quality of service; Quality standards; Restaurants; Studies; Total quality; Tourism; United Kingdom > UK; Northern Ireland; Computers; Motor industry; Quality
• DOI: 10.1108/09604529710158300
• ISSN: 0960-4529; 2055-6225

Some practitioners maintain that the main problem with introducing a quality management system such as ISO 9000, is the amount of paperwork required to maintain it. Many believe it is purely a bureaucratic paperwork exercise and managers are so busy chasing paper that they do not find time to concentrate on genuine quality and business improvement. This was recognized by managers of the Cowie Group plc, the major UK motor finance and specialist distribution, and bus operator, when introducing their formal quality system. Outlines a collaborative project with the University of Sunderland Business School, which assesses the feasibility of developing semi-intelligent computer software which manages parts of the quality system and enables managers to concentrate on quality improvement of the overall business, and its various processes. It begins by discussing how the Cowie Group introduced a quality system to their operations and how this effected their activities. The next section discusses the practical, technical and cultural problems experienced when implementing this model, and how the group decided to resolve these using current computer technology. Concludes by highlighting problems associated with this and sets the ground rules for resolving these as part of the "semi-intelligent quality system".