Service expectation from high and low volume - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss about the Service expectation from high and low volume. Answer: Introduction In the contemporary period, with the continuous development of a more integrated and inclusive global economy, especially post Globalization, the commercial and industrial scenarios in the global framework have also been experiencing considerable dynamics and modifications so as to cater to the needs of the customers across the world. Newer industries and cognitions have been cropping up with more and more demand as well as supply side players getting involved in each of these industries. The continuous entry of new supply side players in these industries have been contributing positively to the increase in the competition among the firms. This in turn encourages the firms in these industries to develop their operational framework and implement different methods and strategies in order to keep an edge over their competitors and for capturing larger share of clientele which in turn helps in ensuring profitability and long term sustainability of the companies. One of the primary determinants of the success, profitability and long-term sustainability of the business organizations is the level of customer satisfaction from their commodities or services. This in turn is an extremely crucial indicator for the measuring the well being of the company itself because the prospects of the companies depend hugely on their goodwill which is created by the presence of a large satisfied clientele. This is especially true for food and beverage industries as there usually remain many supply side players in these industries, thereby increasing the number of options in the hands of the customers. There can be different ways in which the companies in these industries can bring in modifications in their operational framework to increase the satisfaction of the customers, of which one of the primary ways is the provision of appropriate training to their employees. Identification of a problem There have been many literary evidences regarding the need for employee training in the contemporary commercial organizations and on the aspects of customer satisfaction as one of the primary determinant of the profitability and sustainability of the business organizations in the highly competitive and globally integrated markets. However, not much work has been done regarding the linkage of these two factors, emphasizing on the effects of training of employees on the customer satisfaction, especially in the food and beverage industry, which has several unique features of its own. The following section tries to conduct an extensive literature review with the objective of studying the above-mentioned linkage, on the perspective of global food and beverage industry, exploring the theoretical as well as the empirical aspects. Literature Review This section of the report tires to study the literary evidences present in the contemporary period regarding the two above-discussed variables, the employee training and the aspects of customer satisfaction, with special emphasis on the food and beverage industry in the global framework. The review incorporates extensive theoretical as well as empirical exploration of each of these variables individually as well as exploration of the relationship between the same, with the help the scholarly works. Independent Variable Training of employees Cascio (2018), in his elaborate work on the management of human resources in the contemporary global commercial environment, describes in details the different employee related operational activities, which the companies undertake, and the requirements behind the same. According to the author, over the years, with the changes in the business prospects of the companies and the demand structures of the customers and also with the increase in the number of competitors in each industry, the need of managing the resources of the companies efficiently has been felt. This has become extremely crucial specifically for the purpose of creating scopes of profitability and future prospects for the companies in the contemporary competitive global business framework (Hassan et al., 2014). Management of resources, as per the assertions of the author, primarily includes development and management of an efficient human resource base in the companies themselves. This is because the productivity and ef ficiency of the human resources form one of the integral part of the operational framework of the companies, on which the profitability as well as the future prospects of the same depends considerably. The assertions regarding the need for management of human resources, as put forward by the author has been supported by many other literary evidences, which include the works of Jehanzeb Bashir (2013). The scholars argue that in face of global competitions in all the industrial and service sectors, it is needed on part of the companies to manage and develop their human resources in such a way that they contribute in making a competitive edge for the companies to stay ahead of their competitors. One of the primary strategies, which the commercial organizations can implement in this aspect, as per the assertions of the authors, is the implementation of training programs for the employees, in order to improve their skills, which in turn is expected to benefit both the employees as well as the employers. According to Elnaga Imran (2013), with the businesses becoming more integrated as well as with the scope of businesses expanding with time, the needs for continuous development of the skills of the employees become absolute necessity, both for the betterment of the employees as well as for the prospects of the business organizations as well. In this aspect, Sweeney Martindale (2012), tries to define the term employee training as the programs, both voluntary as well as involuntary, which are often implemented by the companies in order to develop the existing skills of the employees or to incorporate new skills in them for the purpose of better understanding of their job roles. The trainings, according to the authors, can be both voluntary as well as involuntary. The involuntary training programs make it mandatory for the employees to attend while the voluntary ones gives them the provision to choose to attend or not to attend the same. Benefits of employee training Singh Mohanty (2012) puts forward the bilateral benefits of training of employees in the contemporary business organizations. According to the scholars, on one hand better trained and updated employees lead to the development of skilled, efficient and highly productive workforces in the company, who understand their jobs well and bring out more than what is expected from them. This in turn, increases the prospects of the companies by increasing their overall productivity and cost efficiency and by earning higher trust from their clientele. On the other hand, the development of skills of the employees also help them in individual and personal levels, by empowering them to take up higher job roles and contributing positively in the development of their long term career (Dhar, 2015). Food and Beverage Sectors In this context, the training and skill development of the employees, especially in the companies venturing in global food and beverage sectors and the importance of the same have been highlighted by Odunlami Matthew (2014). According to the authors, the global food and beverage industry has been consistently growing and modifying with the changes in the demands of the customers across the world. The industry, in the contemporary period, has been experiencing modernizations in the aspects of innovations and application of new cost effective as well as superior technologies, with almost 55% of the enterprises globally incorporating innovations in their productions and sales. With the globalization of these sectors and continually increasing usage of internet, e trading is also becoming one of the primary components of changes in this sector. Together these point towards the rapid dynamics and expansion of the concerned industry in the global framework. Figure 1: Export share of process food market in the world (Source: Rais, Acharya Sharma, 2013) According to Turi, Goncalves Mocan (2014), one of the primary hurdles in the expansion and future profitability of the highly dynamic global food and beverage sector, is the presence of insufficient labor force and the absence of high skilled workers. According to the authors, the demand for skilled employee is considerably high in this industry as with the increasing implementation of innovative technologies, the employees should also be capable enough to use the same so as to cater to the customers and their changing demands across the world. As per their arguments, the primary skills, which the employees in the food and beverage sector lack primarily, include the foreign language skills, higher professionalism, organizations as well as learning of the usage of innovative technologies for higher and better production. Theoretical Framework There exist several theoretical models regarding the procedures of employee training in the commercial organizations, the primary ones being discussed as follows: a) Instructional System Design Model Kraiger (2014), in his works, highlights the ISD Model as one of the primary models, which are used widely for the purpose of designing employee trainings so as to increase their overall performances. The model, deals with the determination of the aspects of training, namely- who, when, where, why, what and how. The steps incorporated in the model are as follows: Figure 2: Components of the ISD Model (Source: USGS Human Capital, 2018) As per the model, for appropriate training of employees the employers need to: Analyze the need for the trainings for their employees Plan the goals they want to achieve and select the strategies for imparting training accordingly Develop the training tools and materials accordingly Execute the training programs accordingly Evaluate whether the goals set had been reached by the training programs, by evaluating the performance of the employees b) Transitional Model of Employee Training Another extensive and more inclusive model for employee training, widely implemented across the world is the transitional model. According to Liu et al. (2012), based on the vision, values and the missions of the companies as a whole, the training procedure of the employees in the organizations needs to be developed and executed: Figure 3: Transitional Model of Employee Training (Source: Long, Perumal Ajagbe, 2012) As can be seen from the above figure, the model takes into account the missions, visions and the values of the companies, depending on which the objectives for training the employees are articulated, which leads to the planning, implementation and evaluation of the training programs of the employees. One of the primary objectives of the companies being increase in the number of clients, customer satisfaction becomes one of the primary requirements of the companies in order to increase their profitability and future prospects in the global scenario. Dependant variable Customer Satisfaction The term customer satisfaction has been defined from various perspectives by different scholars. From the commercial point of view, Saeidi et al. (2015), defines customer satisfaction as the measurement of the ways in which the level of utility of the goods and services of different companies meets or surpasses the expectations of the customers. The term, has gained immense importance over the years, with the commercial scenarios becoming more competitive and globally integrating. Importance of customer satisfaction Jhandir (2012), in his elaborate research work regarding the implications of service quality and customer satisfaction in the global commercial aspects, explains the different reasons behind the increase in the importance of the notion of customer satisfaction in different business and marketing arenas in the contemporary period. According to him, the following are the most important reasons for which customer satisfaction has to be treated as one of the primary factors of significance by any company: Customer satisfaction, especially in the recent times in a more competitive business scenario, acts as one of the leading indicators predicting whether the goods and services produced by the companies are repurchased and whether the company gains loyal clientele With the number of supply side players increasing in each of the industries and with each of them gaining global exposure conveniently, high customer satisfaction from the goods and services of a company, acts as an indicator of differentiation of the same from its rivals Tu, Wang Chang (2012), also argues that increase in the customer satisfaction from consumption of goods or services of any company leads to the creation of a higher goodwill of the company, much of which is spread by the word of mouth of the happy and satisfied customers. Similarly, the lack of customer satisfaction also leads to creation of negative word of mouth which in turn effects the long term profitability and sustainability of the company extensively, given the fact that in general the number of options in the hands of customers are much high in almost all the industries. According to Khan (2012), customer satisfaction is considerably important in the contemporary period as given the huge number of supply side providers in each of the industries. Given this scenario, it becomes easier for the contemporary commercial companies to retain their existing customers than acquiring newer clientele, thereby making customer satisfaction a key unit of concern in the contemporary commercial scenario. Customer Satisfaction in food and beverage industry As per the arguments put forward by Wu, Huang Chou (2014), customer satisfaction is even more crucial in the food and beverage industry across the world. The authors put forward several assertions in the support of the same, which can be explained as follows: The food and beverage industry, being the industry producing and supplying raw as well as processed foods and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, constitutes a crucial part of the daily commodity bundles of the customers. A significant share of the daily expense of the global population goes in buying these commodities, thereby creating considerable scopes of revenue generation for the companies venturing in the supply side of these industries. The initial fixed cost of production in this industry being lesser comparative to many other industries and the global exposure of the food and beverage companies across the world being higher than many other sectors, the level of competition among the firms in this particular sector is considerably high. On the other hand, the demand for foods and beverages for each individual is not unlimited and with the increase in income, the pattern of consumption of the individuals keeps on changing. These together makes it even more competitive for the companies venturing in this sector, which in turn makes customer satisfaction even more important for the companies, as a lot of the profitability, sustainability as well as the global share of clientele depend on how satisfied the customers are with their products and whether they want to repurchase. Brownell (2012), in this context puts forward the notion of healthy eating and organic production in the food and beverage industry. According to the author, in the recent periods, with the negative effects of junk foods and beverages on the global health and obesity conditions coming up, more and more customers are opting to shift towards organic and healthy eating. This shift in the consumption pattern also makes it important for the food and beverage companies to take into account the aspect of customer satisfaction in their production and operational framework. Theoretical Framework Keeping the above discussion in consideration, it therefore becomes immensely important for the companies, especially the food and beverage companies in the international framework, to measure the level of customer satisfaction with their products and to implement necessary procedures in order to increase the same. There are several theoretical frameworks in this aspect, which are discussed as follows: SERVQUAL Model of Customer Satisfaction Given that the topic emphasizes on the food and beverage industry, one of the widely used models in the aspect of measurement of customer satisfaction of the companies, is the SERVQUAL Model of measurement of service quality and customer satisfaction. According to Ryu, Lee Gon Kim (2012), the SERVQUAL method involves multidimensional analysis of measuring the service quality of different companies and industries with the help of the aspects including the perceptions and expectations of the customers availing the products. The model is based on five dimensions of measurements, which are as follows: Figure 4: Five dimensions of measuring service quality and customer satisfaction (Source: Yousapronpaiboon, 2014) The five primary dimensions of the SERVQUAL Model have been explained elaborately in the works of Bhat (2012), according to whom: Reliability indicates towards the ability of the company to perform the services which they promise, appropriately and without any error Responsiveness refers to the presence of a prompt and willing customer service department in the companies Assurance refers to the level of knowledge of the employees of the company and the ability of inducing trust among their customers Tangibles indicates towards the conditions of the facilities, tangible services, communication materials and others with the company, which can have positive implications on the consumers Empathy refers to the presence of the framework where each of the customers have the provision of individual care and attention from the company In this model, the service quality is measured by the following formula: SQ = P-E, Where, P refers to the perception of the given service quality by the customers and Q refers to the expectations of the individuals regarding the service quality of the same Relationship between employee training and customer satisfaction Taking help of the SERVQUAL Model of service quality and customer satisfaction assessment, Beukes, Prinsloo Pelser (2013), tries to assert the importance of implementation of training for the employees for increasing the customer satisfaction, especially in the food and beverage industry. As per the assertions of the authors, there exist several gaps in the model, which if not addressed properly can lead to decrease in the level of satisfaction of the customers. One such gap is the difference between the expectations regarding the service quality and the actual specifications of the same, which is known as the Delivery gap. Another gap, the communication gap, refers to the difference between the intentions of the service delivery and the information, which is provided to the customers. According to the authors, for bridging these gaps and for building up a robust, responsive and empathetic customer service framework in the companies, it is of utmost importance for the companies to implement proper training framework for the employees. These training facilities need to be designed such that the employees are enabled to understand the objectives of the companies as well as demands and complaints of the customers. Trainings can help in bridging the above mentioned gaps as well as the other gaps, including the knowledge gap and the standards gap, which usually are found to be present and hampering the customer satisfaction level, thereby hampering the long term goodwill and profitability of the concerned companies. Conclusion The above review of the existing literatures highlights the different traits present in the aspects of both training of the employees as well as customer satisfaction, with the help of the existing theoretical and conceptual frameworks, drawing the relationships between the two concerned variables. Given the presence of immense global competition and dynamics among the supply side players in almost all types of industries, especially the international food and beverage industry, it becomes evident from the review that there lies extreme importance in the operational framework of the companies to incorporate and evaluate the customer satisfactions and feedbacks of the customers. There also exists the need for employee training and development for the companies in order to achieve greater customer satisfaction, which in turn is expected to have considerable positive implications on the profitability and sustainability of the companies, in the extremely competitive global environment. References Beukes, J., Prinsloo, J. J., Pelser, T. G. (2013). Service expectations from high-and low-volume customers in the alcoholic beverage industry.Acta Commercii,13(1), 8-pages. (Retrieved from: https://actacommercii.co.za/index.php/acta/article/view/172/220) Bhat, M. A. (2012). 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