QUESTION ONE

a. Why is periodic process redesign necessary and what are the main types of service process redesign? [4 MARKS]

b. Why does the customers role as a co-producer need to be designed into service processes? What are the implications of considering customers as partial employees? [4 MARKS]

c. Explain what factors make customers like and dislike self-service technologies? [2 MARKS]

d. Develop a service blueprint for a service which you are familiar with. Be sure to include a clearly labeled flowchart of the different stages of the service delivery process. On completion, consider:

(i) What are the tangible indicators of quality from the customers point of view considering the line of visibility?

(ii) whether all the steps in the process are necessary,

(iii) the extent to which standardization is possible and advisable throughout the process,

(iv) the location of potential Fail Points, Waiting Points and how they could be designed out of the process, or if they cannot be prevented, what service recovery procedures could be introduced, and

(v) what are the possible measures of process performance. [20 MARKS]

[TOTAL: 30 MARKS]