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Service Department (service + department)
Selected AbstractsParticipation in the design of performance management systems: a quasi-experimental field studyJOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, Issue 7 2004Ad Kleingeld In the literature on the relationship between participation in decision making and performance, a tell-and-sell strategy is considered a viable alternative to participation. In contrast, we argue that in organizational settings, when a sensitive and important issue is at stake, participation of a form to be characterized as formal, long term, direct, and with a high degree of participant influence is more effective than a tell-and-sell strategy. Using a quasi-experimental design with a participation, a tell-and-sell, and a control condition, a ProMES performance management system was implemented in the field service department of a Dutch supplier of photocopiers. Outcome feedback to individual technicians resulted in an average performance increase in the participation condition that was significantly higher than the increase found in the tell-and-sell condition. Satisfaction with the program, and the perceived usefulness of the feedback, were significantly higher in the participation condition. In both experimental conditions, the performance increase was significant compared to the control condition. An explanation for these findings is discussed, as are implications for theory and practice. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The Behavior Engineering Model at Work on a Small Scale: Using Task Clarification, Self-Monitoring, and Public Posting to Improve Customer ServicePERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2001John Austin ABSTRACT Gilbert's (1978/1996) Behavior Engineering Model (BEM) can enable the success of novice performance engineers by prompting appropriate front-end analysis. This paper describes the third author's first performance improvement project conducted in the customer service department at an insurance agency. Front-end performance analysis informed the design of an intervention package that addressed particular environment and person variables. This package included task clarification, employee self-monitoring, and public posting of group performance. A multiple baseline design across behaviors was used to assess the effects of the intervention. The performance targets were: 1) the percentage of transactions where Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) used customer names, and 2) the percentage of transactions where CSRs suggested additional services available to customers. Average performance during intervention was more than 50% better than average baseline performance for both targets. Results are discussed in terms of the utility of the BEM as a front-end analysis tool that can guide novice performance engineers to build simple and inexpensive, yet effective, performance improvement interventions. [source] Supervising Professional Work under New Public Management: Evidence from an ,Invisible Trade'BRITISH JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2000Martin Kitchener This paper assesses the extent to which the new public management (NPM) project has succeeded in replacing the custodial mode of professional work supervision with a more bureaucratic approach. The paper conceptualizes the key components of each mode within two ideal types of professional work supervision. It then draws on findings from a study of local-authority social service departments to consider current arrangements against these ideal type configurations. The findings demonstrate that elements of the bureaucratic mode have emerged unevenly. So far, they have not displaced the emphasis that the supervisors of professional work place on protecting autonomy and limiting management control systems. This suggests that custodial approaches to the supervision of professional work may be more resilient than has been assumed within previous analyses of NPM. [source] Assessment and intervention in cases of suspected ritual child sexual abuseCHILD ABUSE REVIEW, Issue 4 2001Bernard Gallagher Senior Research Fellow Abstract Agency workers have been heavily criticized over their handling of alleged ritual child sexual abuse cases, particularly in respect of their assessments and interventions. However, a study of referrals to police and social service departments revealed that agency workers raised suspicions of ritual abuse in respect of both child ,victims' and adult ,survivors' very rarely. Furthermore, they did this only after an assessment which showed the cases to possess a number of ,troubling' features. While agency workers believed that all the child ,victims' had been subject to serious sexual abuse, virtually all of them were circumspect as to whether this had occurred in a ,ritual' context. Initially, agency workers were generally open-minded as to the experiences of adult ,survivors', but by the end of their assessments, they tended to be more concerned about their mental health and less concerned about issues of ritual abuse. Finally, agency workers appeared to act appropriately in terms of the types of intervention they used and the way in which they applied these. These results suggest that there should be more confidence in the ability of agency workers to respond to cases of alleged ritual abuse. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||