The Managers Role in Initiating or Maintaining Service Quality - Coursework Example

A Written Assignment, Analysing The Managers Role In Initiating And /Or Maintaining Service Quality, In A Chosen Health Care Setting Of Acute Care Facilities Table of Contents Introduction 3 Service Quality in the Healthcare Setting of Acute Care Facilities in Hospitals 3 Common Features of Quality in Service Industries and Their Application to Healthcare 4 Comparison of the Approaches Used By Different Service Industries and Their Implications to Healthcare 5 Key Drivers of Consumer Satisfaction in Healthcare and Their Practical Application 8 Theoretical Basis of Service Quality to Service Redesign in Healthcare 9 Conclusion 10 References 11 Introduction In general, service quality refers to the evaluation of how well a service, which is already delivered, confirms to the expectations of the clients (Becser, 2007). It is strongly believed that every company can obtain superior competitive positioning with continuous enhancement of its quality related to the respective products and/or services being offered and sufficing the expectations of the customers (Kabir & Carlsson, 2010). Specially mentioning, service quality is often observed as an effective strategic force to contemporary organisations, which helps them to reap several benefits, such as raising market share and making immense profit growth among others (Grubor & et. al., n.d.). Similarly, in the context of any healthcare setting, service quality is fundamentally described as “the degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge” (Teleki & et. al., 2003). The incessant improvement and the maintenance of service quality in any healthcare setting certainly accelerate patient loyalty and utmost support in today’s increasingly competitive marketplace (Kenagy & et. al., 1999). With this concern, the essay intends to analyse the role of the managers in initiating and/or maintaining service quality in the healthcare setting of acute care facilities in healthcare organisations. Service Quality in the Healthcare Setting of Acute Care Facilities in Hospitals Prior to determining and analysing the importance of maintaining service quality in healthcare settings, focusing on acute care facilities in hospitals, it is quite essential to acquire a brief idea about the acute care facilities provided to the patients in the hospitals. It can be apparently observed in this similar concern that the patients, who are admitted to the acute care facilities, often suffer from composite medical issues (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2014). The acute care facilities in hospitals fundamentally include offering proper diagnosis, care and most importantly, treatment of the diseases in their acute conditions to offer relief to the patients from their injuries (State of Connecticut, n.d.). The service quality persisting within the healthcare setting of acute care facilities in hospitals can be determined by assessing as well as treating unexpected illnesses and injuries based on accurate diagnosis. Providing greater amount of care to the patients who have sustained life-threatening injuries or possessed deteriorated health conditions is also identifiable as one of the service qualities, which is encircled within the aforementioned healthcare setting (American College of Healthcare Executives, 2014). Common Features of Quality in Service Industries and Their Application to Healthcare One of the common facets of quality in service industries can be apparently observed as designing broad assortment of offerings that comply with the requirements and the preferences of the users (Juran, 1994). For instance, in the case of hospitality service industry, service quality is determined when offered services to the clients suffice their expectations and healthcare needs. In this similar context, it is strongly believed that greater enhancement in service quality ultimately enables obtainment of superior competitive positioning, resulting in sustenance within the current competitive landscape (Pizam, 2012; Chon & Maier, 2009). Thus, the managers of the respective service industries are often recognised as playing an imperative role in initiating and/or maintaining service quality with the aim of attaining the above-discussed benefits. It would be vital to mention in this similar concern that the above-discussed facets of service quality, prevalent within various service industries, can be applied to any healthcare setting including the acute care facilities in hospitals. As the patients get admitted into the hospitals of acute care with complex medical issues, enhancement in the service quality ultimately plays an imperative role. It can therefore be affirmed that the common feature of service quality in the healthcare setting of acute care facilities in hospitals is to treat those patients with utmost care as well as mitigate their composite medical problems by a considerable extent. It is strongly believed that this particular service quality would eventually build confidence along with trust amid the patients when obtaining treatment from the respective hospital authorities to make the entire service quite effective. In addition, the aforementioned service quality persisting within the healthcare setting of acute care facilities in hospitals fundamentally aids in determining superior competitive positioning of the respective hospital authorities at large (Munhurrun & et. al., 2010; OECD, 2001). Comparison of the Approaches Used By Different Service Industries and Their Implications to Healthcare The notion of service quality has become one of the major areas of attention for the practitioners, managers and the researchers in the healthcare sector in the preceding years, due to its strong impact on customer trustworthiness, business performance, cost-effectiveness, lowering operational costs and customer satisfaction. It is obvious that the managers belonging to varied service industry thrive for learning every detail regarding the constituents of service quality with the intention of reaping several significant benefits like improved profitability, greater customer satisfaction and accomplishment of superior competitive position among others (Seth & et. al., 2005). In this regard, it can be apparently observed that the managers attached with diverse service industry play a decisive role in developing as well as preserving service quality by adopting and implementing different effective approaches. For instance, in relation to hospitality service industry, the managers often adopt the approach of making greater availability of the products and/or services for their respective clients in order to enhance and maintain their service quality at a larger scale. Managers in healthcare sector have also been witnessed to adopt various rigorous approaches of maintaining the quality standards of the products or services and establishing greater communication with the customers or the clients simultaneously to enhance service standards at a higher level (Grzinic, 2007; Berry & et. al., 1994). Observably, managers in profit-seeking service industries, such as the tourism industry, have adopted certain innovative approaches unlike the hotel service sector for enhancing their services quality. In this similar context, the approaches made by the tourism industry for developing service quality can be apparently noted as building better linkage with the preferences of the visitors or the tourists with prime focus on consumer complaints in case of disputes to ensure utmost client satisfaction and loyalty (Jennings, 2006; Elmazi, n.d.). The other important approach, which has been adopted by the tourism service industry, is focusing much on understanding the behavioural attitudes of the tourists or the visitors towards accessing related industry services among others and tailoring their offerings accordingly (Stewart, n.d.). In contrast, the managers belonging to the UK healthcare industry are identified to look after various dimensions of quality as an effective approach towards developing their overall service quality. In this regard, the various quality dimensions include ‘safety’, ‘timely’, ‘effective’, ‘equitable’, ‘person-centred’ and ‘efficient’ (Royal College of Nursing, 2014). In relation to the quality-measuring dimension of ‘safety’, managers in the UK healthcare industry are often observed as indulged in developing service quality by evading harms made to the patients from care that are intended to provide utmost care to them. From the perspective of ‘effective’ quality dimension, the managers tend to provide services to the patients that are primarily based on the idea of scientific knowledge, which produces a clear advantage for the healthcare industry (The Health Foundation, n.d). Emphasising the quality dimension of ‘person-centred’, managers of the UK healthcare industry desire to improve service quality delivering care, which is responsive or respectful in compliance with the values as well as the needs of the patients. Again, in order to maintain the quality dimension of ‘timely’, the UK healthcare industry players have been focused towards improving their overall service quality by lessening patients’ wait times and harmful delays at certain times. Relating to ‘efficient’ quality dimension, managers of the UK healthcare industry have been involved in developing service quality by eliminating wastes and lessening operational costs. Finally, with regards to ‘equitable’ features of the services being offered, the managers of the UK healthcare industry tend to improve service quality by offering care to the patients, in a consistent manner, applicable equally for every individual patient (The Health Foundation, n.d.). Acquiring a brief idea about the various approaches, adopted and used by the managers of dissimilar service industries in enhancing as well as maintaining service quality, it can be affirmed that these would have positive implications for the healthcare setting of acute care facilities in hospitals in the UK. Implications of these quality measures can be duly observed in terms of lessening operational costs, improving patient outcomes along with efficiency and maintaining sustainability in healthcare settings. Arguably, the improvement in the service quality can be defined as a major requirement for the UK healthcare industry constituting the various roles of the managers, specifically in the context of acute care facilities in healthcare setting as patient’s safety and interests are subjected to immense risk factors often extending to life-threatening hazards (The Health Foundation, n.d.). Key Drivers of Consumer Satisfaction in Healthcare and Their Practical Application Managers’ role to assure consumer satisfaction (i.e. patient satisfaction) in the context of healthcare settings has recently gained immense importance, principally owing to the need for differentiating the brand in the current competitive marketplace. This increased level of patient satisfaction necessitates the varied healthcare services to be patient oriented and meet standards as well as efficient protocols. It is worth mentioning that consumer satisfaction is quite crucial in healthcare industry due to its impact on the overall performance and gaining superior competitive positioning as compared to others. Specially mentioning, the key drivers of consumer satisfaction in healthcare setting of acute care facilities in the UK, might include ‘quality of work’, ‘customers feeling valued’, ‘appropriateness of service scheduling’ and ‘perceived value comparative to price’ among others (SimplexGrinnell LP., 2012). It would be vital to mention that the above-discussed key drivers of consumer satisfaction in the healthcare setting of acute care facilities in the UK have practical applications in developing the capability of the healthcare providers, which would eventually assist managers to perform their role towards attracting the patients at large. In addition, the aforementioned chief drivers of customer satisfaction have practical applications in determining as well as enhancing service quality, resulting in the overall minimisation of gaps persisting between the anticipations of the customers or the patients and their respective perceptions (Chang & Chang, 2013). Theoretical Basis of Service Quality to Service Redesign in Healthcare The theoretical basis of service quality to service redesign in the context of healthcare setting of acute care facilities in the UK eventually lays the foundation of delivering high quality care to all the patients with uniform but continually developing healthcare benefits (Carr, 2014). In precise, it can be affirmed from a broader understanding that the managers in the UK healthcare industry also need to perform their role to redesign healthcare services with the aim of tackling the variations while providing quality of care to the patients and most vitally, enhancing patients’ satisfaction by a considerable extent (Locock, 2003). Based on the theoretical assumptions, the significant concern of service quality to service redesign in healthcare context is typically represented as an essential transformation towards traditional practices that involve innovative thinking in attaining effective along with speedy patients’ care. It is worth mentioning in this similar context that the radical transformation of service quality to service redesign in the UK healthcare context assists the managers in recognising the treatment delays, identifying the potential errors while treating the patients and redesigning the entire procedure towards enhancing the quality of care, which would be delivered to the patients. Overall, it can be stated that the essential transformation of service quality to service redesign in the UK healthcare context would eventually aid in attracting the patients by enhancing service quality and developing quality of care at a larger scale (Locock, 2003). Conclusion Based on the above analysis and discussion, it can be comprehended that developing service quality helps managers to attract customers, which results in developing overall business performance in attaining superior competitive positioning. In this similar context, it has been apparently observed that the managers belonging to the UK healthcare industry are playing decisive roles in initiating and/or preserving service quality in the healthcare setting of acute care facilities in the UK with the intention of attracting the patients and attaining necessary outcomes among others. Numerous approaches have therefore been adopted and used by dissimilar service industries in developing the service quality to impose positive implications to the UK healthcare industry. For instance, the identification of the key drivers of customer satisfaction as an effective approach eventually impose positive implications to the healthcare industry of the UK in the form of attracting the patients and providing quality of care to them, which further indicates a major role of managers in the stated healthcare setting. Thus, it can be concluded that the managers of the UK healthcare industry ought to pay utmost attention towards transforming service quality to service redesign for enhancing the quality of care, which would be offered to the patients, as one of their primary roles. References American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2014. Getting Started in Acute Care Hospitals. Healthcare. [Online] Available at: http://www.asha.org/slp/healthcare/start_acute_care/ [Accessed May 03, 2014]. American College of Healthcare Executives, 2014. Introduction. Acute Care Career Overview. [Online] Available at: http://www.ache.org/carsvcs/CareerOverviews/acutecare.cfm [Accessed May 03, 2014]. Becser, N., 2007. Improving Service Quality In Retail Trade-The Premises Of A Potential Measurement Model And A Decision Support System Based On It. Corvinus University Of Budapest, pp. 1-241. Berry, L. L. & et. al., 1994. Improving Service Quality in America: Lessons Learned. 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