Republic of the Philippines

P OLYTECHNIC U NIVERSITY OF THE P HILIPPINES

Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs
College of Business Administration

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL FOR

BUMA 30053:

SERVICE CULTURE

COMPILED BY:

Prof. Estelita E. Medina

PUP A. Mabini Campus, Anonas Street, Sta. Mesa, Manila 1016
Direct Line: 335-1752|Trunk Line: 335-1787 or 335-1777 local 236 or 302
Website: www.pup.edu.ph| Email: yourofficeemail@pup.edu.ph
 THE COUNTRY’S 1st POLYTECHNICU

Table of Contents
TOPIC 1 – INTRODUCTION 6

Introduction to the Theories of Self-Awareness 7

Phases of Self-Regulation 13

Drive Theory 15

Theory of Acquired Needs 15

Leadership and Management 16

Theories of Motivation 17

Goal-Setting Theory 18

Assessments 19

TOPIC 2 – COACHING SESSION AS LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES 20

Overview 21

What is a Coaching Session? 22

Competencies Valued in the IT-BPM Industry 24

Mentor 28

Role Model 29

Assessments 30

TOPIC 3 – American Service Expectations and European Service Expectations 31

Factors of Diversity 32

Business Culture 33

American Service Expectation 36

European Service Expectation 39

Assessments 49

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TOPIC 4 – Asian Service Expectations and Collaborating in A Global Environment 50

Introduction 51

Business Culture of Asia 54

Collaborating in a Global Environment 61

Philippines 65

China 70

Japan 72

United States 74

Assessments 77

TOPIC 5 – Vision and Mission of a Service, Culture and Values of an Organization and Customer Service

Vision and Mission 79

Culture and Values of an Organization 81

Types of Culture 82

Customer Service 87

Effective Customer Service 95

Assessments 97

TOPIC 6 – THE ROLE OF CUSTOMERS IN YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESS 98

Overview 99

Customer Value 100

Customer Types 101

Customer Relationship Management 102

Total Quality Management 103

Customer Feedback 103

Assessments 112

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TOPIC 7 – CUSTOMER SERVICE 113

Introduction 114

Principles of Customer Service 121

Customer Buying Cycle 122

Delivering Excellent Customer Service 128

Steps in Service Excellent 129

Steps in Dealing with an Angry Customer 134

Assessments 136

TOPIC 8 –Internal Company Methodology and Standard 137

Introduction 138

The Five Service Dimensions that Customers Are Cared About 139

Every KPI is a metric, but not every metric is a KPI 142

Customer Satisfaction 144

American Customer Satisfaction Index 145

Assessments 147

TOPIC 9 – Project Management 148

Project 149

Project Management 149

Project Life Cycle 150

Business Case 151

Project Team 154

Project Office 156

Project Planning 159

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Project Scope 159

Project Resources 159

Project Finances 161

Project Schedule 162

Project Procurement 164

Project Quality 166

Project Communication 168

Project Management and Project Implementation 171

Project Evaluation and Closure 176

Project Lifecycle 177

Assessments 179

REFERENCES 180

Midterm Examination 181

Final Examination 184

Appendices
FIGURE TITLE PAGE
1.1 Hierarchy of Needs 10
1.2 GROW Model 23
1.3 The Region of Europe 39
1.4 Customer Expectation Model 91
1.5 Principles of Customer Service 121
1.6 Customer Buying Cycle 122
1.7 Project Life Cycle 150
1.8 Project Activities 172
1.9 Project Lifecycle 177

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 Introduction

The modern workplace has changed exponentially towards the accommodation of new
technologies, systems, and processes, and this change has defined the way companies have
revamped how they work on balancing organizational goals with those of its employees.

In Daniel Goleman’s book, Working with Emotional Intelligence (1988), he noted how a national
survey was conducted to discover what companies look for when hiring entry-level employees.

Goleman stated that the survey showed how specific technical skills take second place to an
employee’s ability to learn on the job. At the same time, employers listed communication skills,
adaptability, creativity, responsiveness, personal management and motivation, social skills and
“contributor ship” and leadership potentials as desirable traits.

In fact, the survey further showed how these appear to be the similarly desired traits when
companies consider hiring MBA graduates into the fold.

The three most desired capabilities listed were:

Communication skills
Interpersonal skills
Initiative

Apparently, these listed competencies, alongside adaptability, creativity, responsiveness, personal

management and motivation, social skills. And “contributor ship”, among others, could be grouped
under personal competencies.

According to Goleman, these said capabilities make up the Emotional Competence Framework- a
grouping of competencies that determine how we manage ourselves.

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 Foundation of Management Skills

As a foundational skill for the development of management or leadership potential, self-awareness

plays a significant role in emotional competence, an attribute now considered among the most
desired traits for managers.

What is awareness? Self-awareness?

Awareness is generally defined as having or showing a realization, perception or knowledge of a

concept, situation, circumstance, or a person. When an individual is aware, he or she is able to
focus on facts or a perception of facts regarding a concept, situation, circumstance, or a person.

Self – awareness allows an individual to recognize their place and role in the world and to express
thought and behaviors based on this construct. It is an abstract inherent in human development; it
is a process in the same manner that breathing or sensing may be considered processes.

Introduction to Theories of Self – Awareness

Concept of Self – awareness crossed over from being a built – in human facility into being a
competency or skill, consider self-awareness as a human faculty, not unlike in – born motor
skills, which translate to applicable skills.

Developmental Theory (Jean Piaget,1896-1980)

states that a child's thinking does not develop in a linear and smooth manner. Instead, there are
certain milestone points or phases that stages of development "take off".

When a child reaches each stage, he moves into completely new areas and capabilities and he stays
at this stage until it is time to move into the next stage.

Jean Piaget primarily focused on assimilation and accommodation:

a) Assimilation- the process by which a person incorporates stimuli from the environment
into the mind and changes it to conform with what a person akresy knows to be part of him.
b) Accommodation- refers to the difference made to one's mind or concepts after the process
of assimilation; it is when a person makes an adjustment after stimuli is assimilated.

Piaget assumed that assimilation and accommodation go together and that one cannot take place
without the other.

According to Piaget growing up influences a child's capacity to understand the world, and children
in general cannot undertake particular task until they are psychologically mature enough to do so.

It is this thought that made Piaget's theory guide how school curriculums are developed for the
different educational levels (elementary, secondary, tertiary, graduate school, etc.).

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 Critics rose because of the "intellectually gifted" individuals. It is because these children didn't
follow the stages of development.

Cognitive Development (Andreas Demetriou, 1950)

Offered a combination of empirical evidence from Piaget’s study with aspects of psychometrics
and cognitive theory.

Three Functional Levels of Organization:

1. Core Processes – refers to information processing; it is also the ability of a person to attend
to, select, represent, and operate based on the information.
2. Mental Operations – thought processes and functions that specialize in the representation
and processing of information that come from different domains of the environment.
3. Knowledge and Beliefs – self- oriented level; refers to a person’s activity function and
processes being programmed to monitor, represent, and regulate all processing potentials,
as well as environment-oriented systems.

Areas of Self- Awareness and their Importance

Personality
Values
Habits
Needs
Emotions

Personality

According to various psychology papers and other published material, there as much as 20
personality types that determine how we project ourselves, relate with others, and deal with
experiences.

Experience we gain through our lifespan may influence these and it is an acceptable fact that these
events may changes us in varying degrees from person to person. We respond differently to
concepts, ideas, and facts now compared to how we might have when we were, say, 16 years old;
more so compared to when we were barely 9 years old.

But while it is true that changes brought about by certain experiences may influence aspects of
who we are, it is also true that we do not normally change our personalities just to accommodate
them. An understanding of our own personality can help us find situations in which to thrive or
adapt.

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Values

Personal values are what we refer to as convictions about we feel are important and attractive,
advantageous, or beneficial and we all possess a unique and complex combination of them. There
are two types of personal values:

Attention to our values helps us (a) become more self-aware, (b) make ethical decisions,
(c)prioritize our task and (d) develop credibility as a leader. In turn, self-awareness helps us
understand how people perceive us and identify which personal qualities we would like to change.

Habits

These are behavior we repeat routinely and often enough, even automatically that they tend to be
unconscious. Being self-aware will help us examine and reexamine habits that get in the way of
being more effective when we undertake tasks or complete projects.

Recognizing habits that hinder high-performance will help leaders construct means of regulating
them. Future leaders will realize too that habits may hinder their ability to build commitment and
strengthen decision-making skills.

Needs

Contrasted with wants, needs drive us to o the things we do, act the way we act, or think the way
we think. According to Abraham Maslow (1908-1970), who formulated the commonly called the
Hierarchy of Needs (1943) theory, our behavior is often driven by or psychological needs:
physiological, safety, affection, esteem, and self-actualization.

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Emotions

Our combined feelings or “emotions” is one of five facets of emotional intelligence; understanding
them requires us to analyze and know the underlying factors and processes associated with rooted
emotional experiences.

According to Goleman, emotionally aware people know which feelings they are feeling and why,
and they can link what they feel with what they do, say and think. They recognize how their
feelings affect their performance while having awareness regarding their values and goals guide
them throughout.

Understanding the areas of self-awareness provide us with insight on how aspects of our lives tend
to influence our personal development. More than this, it is in understanding how important each
are being that leads us to a more holistic appreciation of our individual differences as well as those
of others.

Moreover, we should realize that developing healthy self-awareness is essential in identifying,

developing, and strengthening skills that are considered critical competencies for leaders/manage

Importance of self-awareness

Understanding the areas of self-awareness provide us with insights on how aspects of our
lives tend to influence our personal development.

It is essential in identifying, developing and strengthening skills that are considered critical
competencies for leader/managers.
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Competency Areas that benefit from practicing Self-Awareness

- Skills development
- Performance
- Intuitive decision –making
- Stress management
- Motivation
- Leadership

Bandura’s Theory

Lists how modelling affects behavior:

It teaches new behavior

It influences the frequency of learned behaviors
It may encourage previously forbidden behaviors
It increases the frequency of similar behaviors.

Self-Regulation

Self-regulation is defined as a stage where awareness of certain behavior leads to self-policing

action or the capacity to alter behavior; it determines how we can choose to respond, along with
the way we respond to particular situations, circumstances, events and people.

Theorists and behaviorists have also studied the function of self-regulation and at least two related
theories are discussed here:

Social Learning Theory

Social Learning Theory focuses on learning that occurs within a social context. It assumes that
people learn from one another such as concepts as observation, imitation, and even modeling:

1. People can learn by observing the behaviors of others as well as the outcomes of those
behaviors.
2. Learning can occur without a change in behavior.
3. Cognition plays a role in learning.
Self-Determination Theory (Edward Deci and Richard Ryan)

It assumes that people have psychological needs that are the basis for self-motivation and
personality integration.

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3 Needs which allow optimal function and growth if they satisfied:

o Competence – seek to control the outcome and experience mastery

o Relatedness – universal want to interact, be connected to, and experience caring for other
o Autonomy – urge to be casual agents of one’s own life but not necessarily independent of
others

Self-determination is “to endorse one’s actions at the highest level of reflection”

Self-determined – when we “experience a sense of freedom to do what is interesting, personally

important, and vitalizing”

Self- Regulation is when the individual has his own ideas about what is appropriate or
inappropriate behavior and chooses action accordingly.

Aspects or phases of Self-Regulation (according to Bandura that coincide with Deci and Ryan’s
SDT)

1. Forethought/pre-action or setting standards and goals – preceding actual performance, it

sets the stage for action and maps tasks and provides parameters for realistic expectations.
2. Performance Control – involves processes and the active attempt to utilize specific
strategies to reach success.
3. Self-Reflection – involves reflection after the performance, a self-evaluation of outcomes
compared to goals set in forethought phase.
The Development of Good self-regulation, as we move from one identified phase to another, also
involves the aspects of:

Setting standards and goals (also a phase of self-regulation)

Self-observation – systematic monitoring of one’s own performance is a big part
Self-judge – systematic comparison of an actual performance against set goals
Self-reaction – the personal process of evaluation where we evaluate behaviors needed to
undertake tasks, engage self-administering praise or criticism, structure environments or
changing elements that might impact the tasks, even ask for help.

The Johari Window

Practicing self-awareness requires reflection. One tool determined to illustrate the process
accurately is the Johari Window.

Designed with four quadrants, the model assigns specific ‘selves’ or personas to each quadrant.

Q1 – Public Self

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 Personal attributes that are readily seen or observed by the person and others in himself or
herself

Q2 – Private Self

Attributes that a person knows about himself or herself but is not known by others.

Q3 – Blind Self

Attributes that a person does not know about himself or herself but is known by others

Q4 – Undiscovered Self

Attributes that both a person and others do not yet know of the person and which are left
for future discovery.

Phases of Self – Regulation

• Self – regulation is when an individual has his own ideas about what Is appropriate or
inappropriate behavior and chooses actions accordingly. Bandura lists aspects or phases of
self – regulation that coincide with Decci and Ryan’s SDT.

Aspects of Self – Regulation

1. Forethought/ pre – action or setting standards and goals

- Preceding actual performance, it sets the stage for action and maps tasks and provides
parameters for realistic expectations.

- When will they start?

- Where will they do the work?
- How will they get started?
- What conditions might help or hinder them from attaining success

2. Performance Control

- Involves processes and the active attempt to utilize specific strategies to reach success.

- Are they accomplishing what they hoped to do?

- Are they being distracted?
- Is this taking more time than they thought?
- Under what conditions they accomplish the most?
- What questions can they ask themselves while they are working?
- How can they encourage themselves to keep working?

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 3. Self – Reflection

- Involves reflection after the performance, a self-evaluation of outcomes compared to

goals set in the forethought phase.

- Did they accomplish what they planned to do?

- Were they distracted and how did they get back to work?
- Did they plan enough time or did they need more time than they thought?
- Under what conditions did they accomplish the most work?

Practicing Self-Regulation

The practice of psychology and behaviorism has an extensive list of methods or steps we can take
to learn how to self-regulate. Most of them are self-explanatory and in fact, simple enough that we
overlook them.

Methods of Self-Regulation
Identifying behavior patterns. Creating positive reinforcement with the use of
small, possibly periodic, and reasonable
rewards.
Consciously observing the frequency or Correction in the event that wrong behavior is
intensity of particular behavior. demonstrated.
Challenging ourselves by criticizing negative Challenging defeatist attitudes.
behavior and reinforcing positive ones.
Changing our reaction or response patterns.

Here are a few:

1. Identifying behavior patterns.

2. Consciously observing the frequency or intensity of particular behavior.

3. Challenging ourselves by criticizing negative behavior and reinforcing positive ones.

4. Changing our reaction or response patterns.

5. Creating positive reinforcement with the use of small, possibly periodic, and reasonable rewards.

6. Correction in the event that wrong behavior is demonstrated.

7. Challenging defeatist attitudes.

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Benefits of Self-Regulation

As much as it is applicable to individual development, we stand to benefit from the

understanding of how social learning and self-determination are applied every day.

1. We learn a great deal simply by observing other people.

2. Describing the consequences of behavior can effectively increase the appropriate behaviors and
decrease inappropriate ones (discussing rewards and consequences of various behaviors).

3. Modeling provides an alternative for teaching new behaviors. Modeling provides a faster, more
efficient means for teaching new behavior. To promote effective modeling a teacher must make
sure that the four essential conditions exist; attention, retention, motor reproduction, and
motivation.

4. Teachers and parents must model appropriate behaviors and take care that they do not model
inappropriate behaviors.

5. Teachers should expose students to variety of other models. This technique is especially
important to break down traditional stereotypes.

6. Students must believe that they are capable of accomplishing given tasks, develop a sense of
self-efficacy for students by having students receive confidence-building messages, watch others
be successful, and experience success on their own.

7. Teachers should help set realistic expectations for their accomplishments. In general, this means
making sure that expectations are realistically challenging.

8. Self-regulation techniques provide an effective method for improving student behavior.

Drive Theory

Research states that the Drive Theory is based on the principle that organisms are born with
certain psychological needs, that these needs prod the organisms into action in order to
satisfy them, and that drives are lessened when the needs are met.
“Humans have internal biological needs which motivate them to perform in a certain way.”
-Clark Hull (1943, 1952)

Drive-Reduction Theory

It is when the drive is reduced and the organism returns to a state of relaxation or calm.

Theory of Acquired Needs (David McClelland, 1917-1998)

This theory assumes that we have needs that are formulated over time based on our
experiences. According to McClelland, there are three types of motivational needs:

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 1. Achievement
Achievers seek to excel and welcome frequent recognition of how well they are doing.

2. Authority
Power seekers want power either to control other people or to achieve higher goals.

3. Affiliation
Affiliation seekers look for harmonious relationships with other people.

McClelland assumed that those with stronger need for achievement actually make better leaders.

Acquired needs theory indicates the following characteristics and attitudes of achievement-
motivated people:

a) The achievement of objectives matters more than the material or financial reward.
b) Greater personal satisfaction is felt from achieving the goal rather than from
receiving praise or recognition.
c) Money is regarded as a measure of success, but not an end in itself.
d) Neither status nor securities are prime motivations.
e) Accurate quantitative feedback is essential because it enables measurement of
success.
f) Achievement-motivated people are constantly looking for ways of doing things
better.
g) Achievement-motivated people will gravitate towards jobs and responsibilities that
challenge them and satisfy their needs.
h) Achievement-motivated people have the capacity to set high personal goals that
they believe to be attainable.

“Initiative, optimism, and commitment also play a significant role in motivation. Collectively, they
help facilitate the process of reaching goals of reaching goals. This, with motivation as a
competency, partnered with the competencies self-awareness and self-regulation, actually
solidifies personal competencies” -Daniel Goleman (Working with Emotional Intelligence)

Leadership and Management

-Management is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives.

-Leadership is an action, like creativity. It is the ability of an individual or organization to "lead"

or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations.

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Leader-Manager

Combining both is an organizational set-up. In fact, most managers now do work at being
leaders. Leaders are usually given managerial roles because of their people-skills.
Managers have mostly an authoritarian and transactional style. They may tend to overlook
the simple fact that his staff are made of human beings so that tasks take precedence over
people.
Leaders are often charismatic and transformational in their approach. They would prefer to
capitalize on their first resource and so place more value on their staff while giving tasks
slightly more berth.
Followers are often driven by loyalty, a level of trust pushed certainly through the free-
practice of “free-will”.

The Two Theories of Motivation:

Two-Factor Theory by Frederick Herzberg

Goal-Setting Theory by Edwin Locke

Two-Factor Theory

o assumes that certain factors result in satisfaction but their absence may not lead to
dissatisfaction.

He explored the existence of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, that is to say, internally-driven
and externally-driven motivation.

a. Intrinsic motivation- refers to motivation that is driven by an interest or enjoyment

in the task itself and exists within the individual. This means that a person's
motivation is really based on taking pleasure in an activity rather than looking for
an external reward. For example is hobby.
b. Extrinsic motivation- comes from the outside of the individual and is largely
based on the performance of an activity on order to attain an outcome. Referring to
tangible rewards, extrinsic motivation drives people to demonstrate certain
behavior or undertake certain tasks in order to get a tangible reward. For example,
is work.

There are three types of extrinsic motivation:

1. External motivation- behavior is sustained by environmental reward or punishment

contingencies.
2. Introjected motivation- behavior desires to avoid guilt and recrimination.
3. Identified motivation- behavior is to is desire to express important self- identification.

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Goal-Setting Theory

o assumes that "goal setting" is linked to task performance and that, specific and
challenging goals, along with appropriate feedback, lead to higher and better task
performance.
Goals indicate and give direction to an individual about what needs to be
done and how much effort is required to be put in to achieve and given task
or goal.

Goals should be:

Clear, particular and difficult because they are greater motivating factors than easy, general
and vague goals.
Realistic and challenging. This gives an individual a feeling of pride and triumph when he
attains them, and sets him for the attainment of the next goal.
Unambiguous and measurable accompanied by a deadline for completion avoids
misunderstanding.

Goal-setting theory has certain eventualities such as:

Self-efficiency- is the individual's self-confidence and faith that he has potential for
performing the task. The higher the level of self-efficiency, the greater will be the efforts
put in by the individual when they face challenging tasks.
Goal commitment- when the individual is committed to the goal it will not abandon the
goal. The goal commitment is dependent on the following factors:
Goals are made open, known and broadcasted.
Goals should be set by individual rather than designated.
Individual's set goals should be consistent with the organizational goals and vision.

Naturally, positive and negative sides to this theory are present:

Advantages Limitations

A technique used to raise incentives in order Goal conflict between manager and employees
for employees to work quickly and efficiently. has a detrimental effect on performance if it
motivates an incompatible action drift.

Leads to better performance by increasing Very difficult and complex goals stimulate
motivation and efforts, but also through riskier behavior. If an employee lacks skills and
increasing and improving feedback quality. competencies to perform actions essential for
the goal, then the goal- setting can fail and lead
to undermining the performance.

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 There is no evidence to prove that goal-setting
improves job satisfaction.

Motivation is a leader’s primary function

The following list was published as part of Attainment, Inc.’s regular release on leadership,
motivation, and productivity. It was written by Linda Tennant, President of Attainment, Inc.

1. Motivation is personal
2. The effect of fear and other external “motivators” is likely to diminish over time.
3. Fear is negative and exhausting.
4. People’s motivation often lines up with their strengths.
5. People need clear goals and expectations, and consistent communication to remain
motivated.
6. Motivated is different from manipulation.
7. People often say money is what motivates them, however, it usually isn’t the money itself,
but rather what the money brings that really motivates them.
8. Never assume everyone likes public recognition.
9. While group motivation is certainly possible, and teamwork has its own desirable
dynamics, ultimately motivation comes from inside each person.

Assessment Test:

1. Identify the areas of Self- Awareness and their importance. Explain it briefly.

2. Enumerate and explain the three types of motivational needs under the
theory of acquired needs by David McClelland.

3. Define leadership and management.

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 TOPIC 2:
COACHING SESSIONS AS
LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

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COACHING SESSIONS AS LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

In an organization where leadership is a priority, coaching sessions take place. Coaching sessions
are considered learning opportunities since they provide a venue for sharing best practices and
brainstorming sessions geared towards personal growth.

What is Coaching?

Put simply, coaching is a process that aims to improve performance and focuses on the ‘here and
now’ rather than on the distant past or future.

While there are many different models of coaching, here we are not considering the ‘coach as
expert’ but, instead, the coach as a facilitator of learning.

There is a huge difference between teaching someone and helping them to learn. In coaching,
fundamentally, the coach is helping the individual to improve their own performance: in other
words, helping them to learn.

The Differences Between Teaching, Coaching, Mentoring and Counselling

Although teaching, coaching, mentoring and counselling all share some key characteristics and
skills, they are nonetheless quite different and it’s important to be aware of the differences.

Teaching and Training

Although the best teachers will use participative and interactive techniques, like coaching, there is
very definitely an imbalance of knowledge, with the teacher as expert knowing the ‘right answer’.

Coaching

The coach is not a subject expert, but rather is focused on helping the individual to unlock their
own potential. The focus is very much on the individual and what is inside their head. A coach is
not necessarily a designated individual: anyone can take a coaching approach with others, whether
peers, subordinates or superiors.

The key skill of coaching is asking the right questions to help the individual work through their
own issues.

Mentoring

In the workplace mentors are often formally designated as such by mutual agreement, and outside
of an individual’s line management chain. They usually have considerable experience and
expertise in the individual’s line of business.

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A mentoring relationship usually focuses on the future, career development, and broadening an
individual’s horizons, unlike coaching which tends to focus more on the here and now and solving
immediate problems or issues.

The differences between these various 'learning methods' can be summarised as:

Learning
Coaching Mentoring Counselling
Method:

The Question: How? What? Why?

The Focus: The present The future The past

Improving Developing and committing Overcoming

Aim:
skills to learning goals psychological barriers

Raising Building self-

Objective: Opening horizons
competence understanding

WHAT IS A COACHING SESSION?

A coaching session is a process that enables people’s success, particularly in the BPO industry.

In communicating positivity and in being non-judgmental, a coaching session helps to improve

both a team and an individual’s performance.

Managing- is making sure people do what they know and are expected to do.

Training- is teaching people to do what they don’t know how to do yet.

Coaching- it is helping the people identify inherent skills and capabilities, and enabling them to
use these to the best of their ability.

4 STEPS TO RUNNING A COACHING SESSION:

1: Establishing a Contract
The purpose of the coaching sessions
The roles of the manager and the person being coached
How often the coaching sessions will be
How long each coaching session will be

2: Explore Development Needs

3: Feedback

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4: Set Realistic Goals

The Coaching Cycle

One of the tried and tested Coaching approaches is the GROW model. GROW is acronym which
stands for:

Goal
Reality
Option
Will

As a future leader in the industry, the GROW Model will also help you learn to mentor team
members. The GROW model is a step-by-step process that starts with establishing goals and
concludes when team members declares “Will commitment”.

1st Step: Establish the GOAL

In this step, you need to make sure you define a “goal”. A Goal should be Specific,
Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound. (SMART).

2nd Step: Examine Current Reality

The second step in the GROW model is Examine Current Reality. Focuses on discussing
the identified goal.

The guide question to facilitate coaching in examine the reality\

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 o What is happening now?
o What, who, when, how often?
o What is the effect o result of that?

That this step provides you the opportunity to get to the root cause of the issue particularly on
what is stopping you from achieving the goal.

3rd Step: Explore Option

This step, Explore the Options allows the leader to let you to think of contingencies if the
first action item will not work

This will allow you to come up with multiple actions items or a means to meet and even
exceed your goal.

That this step gives you the opportunity to come up with different options and a
commitment plan in the event the option given will not work and/or will not be available.

Last Step: Establish Will

The Final step in the GROW model is to Establish the WILL. This is about getting an
individual’s commitment, that is, the will to achieve a specified goal.

BENEFITS OF A COACHING SESSION

It enables team members and employees to perform better especially when coached
positively rather than constantly being evaluated and rated.
It provides employees with a more positive outlook, inspiring performance especially
from the more reserved or reluctant.
It promotes career self-reliance which engages employees in continuous career
development.
It promotes creativity, performance, and action across the organization.

Competencies Valued in the IT-BPM Industry

Each industry has valued competencies, which employers see as critical to join, contribute
to and grow in their respective fields and the IT-BPM industry is no exception to this. Employers
look for these competencies when they screen and interview applicants.
A Competency is an ability of an individual to do a job fully according to set expectations.
The IT-BPM industry details these competencies in different roles, functions and responsibilities,
which require specific knowledge, skills and behaviors. These forms the IT-BPM’s valued
competencies.

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 BPAP defines Cognitive Ability as an individual’s analytical and critical thinking skills.
Working in the IT-BPM industry presents opportunities for you to use your analytical and critical
thinking skills every day.
Typical situations when you will use this ability includes:

Understanding and determining the root-cause of a customer’s problem

Debugging a software program
Identifying a product or service that would perfectly match a customer’s needs

English Proficiency refers to the ability to listen, speak, and write in English. English is
recognized as the global business language. Many US companies outsource part of their businesses
to various BPOs. Companies from other countries such as UK, Canada and Australia have already
started to outsource part of their services. Most companies of these countries use English as well.
Although Philippines has started to provide outsourcing services in other languages such
as Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish, German, French, etc., English remains to be the predominant
language preferred and used in the industry.
In this industry, you will typically use this when:

Listening to/speaking with an English-speaking customer

Writing to an English-speaking customer
Processing data/documents written in English
Speaking with the client

Computer Literacy refers to proficiency in using and manipulating various computer

hardware, software and internet applications.
The growth of the IT-BPM Industry has been fueled by various technological advances.
Through the years, international telecommunication infrastructure has become more reliable and
dependable, such that communicating with someone half-way across the globe has become
effortless.
Common situations where computer literacy is important includes:

Operating a computer and other computer paraphernalia

Navigating and manipulating a computer application, such as office applications
Using internet technologies, such as the internet, e-mail and instant messaging or
chat.
Perceptual Speed and Accuracy is the ability to read and process information quickly
and make accurate decisions based on the information.
One measure that is often determined and checked in the IT-BPM industry is how long it
takes to a person to do a particular task. The following are the examples:

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 How long does it take for a technical support representative to troubleshoot a
technical issue?
How long does it take for a sales representative to close a sale?
In these cases, perceptual speed and accuracy is important. Your job may require you to
read and process customer information, product information, applicable policies, etc., and make
accurate decisions based on all this information.
Communication is the ability to explain and keep customers informed in a language they
understand. Most BPOs in the Philippines are Contact Centers, which means they offer phone,
online chat and e-mail support to their clients’ customers. Hence, having excellent communication
skills is crucial to the job.
Common instances when you need to express your ideas or suggestions through effective
communication includes when:

Speaking with a customer

Asking or providing assistance to a team member
Asking for your Supervisor’s support or guidance
Learning Orientation is the willingness to learn product and service information. The IT-
BPM industry presents numerous learning opportunities and you have to constantly open your
mind to them. The client you are supporting may offer several products and services, and as that
representative of the company, you need to be knowledgeable about what they offer in addition,
there will be times when your company and/or the client uses proprietary tools that are unique to
them, so you have to be open to learning new tools and technology as well
IBPAP defines Courtesy as politeness, respect, consideration, access and friendliness.
Courtesy is an integral part of effective customer service. Customers are so important that a
significant decline in a client’s customer base may lead to the client closing their account in the
IT-BPM. This greatly impacts the IT-BPM’s business. Hence, ensuring that customers are always
courteously handled is critical. Using words such as “please” and “thank you” are manifestation
of these behaviors.
Typical situations when you need to be courteous includes:

Communicating with a customer either through the phone, online chat or e-mail
Putting the customer on hold to search for information
Transferring a customer to another department
Empathy is the ability to understand and make an effort to meet a customer's needs. The
IT-BPM industry is service-oriented. The business exists because there's a need to fulfil customer
needs. Thus, making sure one fully understand and addresses these needs is important.
Here are some typical situations where you need to empathize includes:

Understanding the root-cause of a technical problem and troubleshooting the issue

Understanding the customer’s needs and selling the right product or service
Understanding the customer’s billing concerns and offering the right price plan.

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 Reliability is the consistency of performance and dependability. The IT-BPM Industry has
defined performance measures depending on your specific task.
Here are some of the measurements IT-BPM uses:

For phone representatives:

o Customer Satisfaction – how satisfied your customers are with your
interaction with them.
o Average Handle Time (AHT) – how long it took you to complete the call.
For non-phone representatives:
Transaction Length – how long it takes you to complete the entire
transaction (e.g. e-mail)

Responsiveness is the willingness and readiness to provide service. A huge part of the IT-
BPM industry is providing customer support, whether that is through phone, e-mail, online chat,
and back-office services.
Here are some typical situations where responsiveness is called for includes:

Making sure all customer concerns are addressed, not just the primary concern
Giving that extra mile when assisting customers
Performing beyond the set performance targets or trying to exceed goals

Develop your Competencies

Here are some of the institutions that also offer training initiatives, just to name a few:

IBPAP – Information Technology Business Processing Association Philippines

ACPI – Animation Council of the Philippines
CCAP – Call Center Association of the Philippines
What is learning and Development?

Learning refers to acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or
preferences and may involve processing different types of information. Learnng does not happen
in a blink of an ey e– you need to nurtuire it. Time and effort are two vital factors you need to
learn effectively.

On the other hand, Development is a process of honing and improving a particular learning such
as a behavior, skil, and/or a value.

Why is Learning and Development important?

Your learning in college serves as your ticket as you enter a new chapter in your life. Learning
does not stop in school – learning is a continuous process that you should not set a deadline on. It

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continues as you enter the IT-BPM industry.

There would be instances in your professional career when you will face a challenging
situation. Do not be discouraged when this happens! STOP and Think I order to take the proper
action.

Pointers on the importance of Learning and Development:

• Allows you to have a better future in terms of your chosen career

• Gives you the opportunity to hone and master your skills
• Provides continuity and a direction on your professional career and/or profession
• Creates enthusiasm especially if there are positive results in your action items
( learning and development )

Ways to Have a Sustainable Professional Career

As you begin your career in the IT-BPM industry, it is imperative to come up with ways to have
a sustainable professional path even if your company does not have its own formal learning and
development program.
This means that you are, ultimately, the ONLY ONE in-charge of your own growth and success.

Keep in mind that the greatest asset of a company is its people. The people and/or employees
working in an organization are considered the greatest asset because they make things happen –
they are the ones who face and satisfy the customers and clients in an organization.

Ways to have a sustaining professional career :

• Acquire a Mentor
• Have a Role Model
• Study
• Set Goals
• Professional Acquaintances
• Volunteer

Having a Mentor
A mentor is different from a role model. A mentor is someone who knows you, your strengths
and your weaknesses. A company usually has a mentoring program that is made available to
employees. And at times, in a team, a mentor is assigned responsibility for the growth of the

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team member. If this opportunity is available, go ahead and take advantage of it.

That when looking for a mentor, make sure he is of a higher level and works in the same field.
The work experience of such a mentor is valuable.

Have a Role Model

A role model is a person you would want to emulate in terms or career and/or lifestyle. In this
industry, having a role model has been proven effective as it helps the employee succeed in his
chosen career.

Study
Learning does not have to happen inside the classroom. Knowledge is no longer confined to
books and does not have to always come from the professor. There are universities and colleges
nowadays that offer distance or online learning program. These are programs you can take from
the convenience of your own home. There are also various websites, blogs and videos available
online that can provide valuable information for you to learn. All you need to do is access the
web.
As a Professional, there are online courses you can enroll In, useful web sites that provide
material you can print and read for later use. It is more convenient nowadays to do a self-paced
study and, most of the time, it is done online.
You are responsible for your own learning and development. Although I most companies, your
career path can be mapped out at the onset, there are times when it depends on how you see
yourself as a contributor in the organization. Sometimes you may be given a responsibility that
you initially feel you are not that prepared for. But you will need to step up and do the best you
can through study.
Another way to have a sustainable professional career is by goal setting. Goal setting allows an
individual to achieve a desired target in a span of time. Short and long-term goals can be used to
categorize your targets.

Set Goals
Goal setting is used in the industry to keep the employee motivated, for the employee to have a
sense of fulfillment particularly if the goals set are met or even exceeded.

Goals are set for an employee as a means to determine what is expected of him and how these
expectations are being met.

Professional Acquaintances
“ Facebook “ is now a fad and being used not only as a social networking website, but also as a
means for others to establish their professional network with business, individuals, and non-
profit organizations, to name a few.

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Volunteer
Lastly, participate and volunteer when you can. Volunteering for a work-related activity allows
you to market your skills and be exposed to different aspects of your profession.
Whenever you have free time and you feel that you are capable skill-wise and will benefit from
volunteering, by all means go ahead and participate.

Assessment Test:

1. Define and explain what is coaching.

2. Describe the similarities and differences between teaching, coaching,

mentoring and counselling. Provide situation in each learning methods.

3. What is GROW Model? Explain it briefly.

4. Why is Learning and Development important? Explain.

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 TOPIC 3:
American Service Expectations and
European Service Expectations

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 Diversity refers to individual characteristics over which an individual has little or no
control, such as biologically-determined characteristics including race, sex, age, certain physical
attributes as well as the family and society into which he or she is born.

The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect.

It means understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual
differences. These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation,
socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other
ideologies. It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing
environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to
embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual.

FACTORS OF DIVERSITY

Enablers (The ‘Do’ List)

- Factors that enable the involvement and commitment of the EVERYONE to concretize
cultural sensitivity as being key to organizational success.

Barriers (The ‘Do not’ List)

- Factors that prevent positive changes from happening. IF AND WHEN they are not
handled with delicacy, sensitivity, maturity, and more deliberation, these may lead to more
difficult situations and backfire.

ENABLES BARRIERS
Commitment by board and top Organizational culture and inertia
management Staffing
Prior experience Definition of diversity
Needs assessment and planning Unsuitable consultants
Assigned staff member Over dependence on consultants
Diversity committee Organizational complexity
Broad involvement Difficulty getting staff involved
Consultants Resistance
Resources Turnover
Training Funding
Focus on cultural competence Poorly planned training
Changes in attitude Oppression model
Effective communication Language and cultural difference
Efforts to recruit and retain a diverse Unions
workforce, volunteers, vendors Burnout
Changes in policy Success
Changes in the community

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BENEFITS OF DIVERSITY

1. Full utilization of the organization’s human resources

2. Reduced interpersonal conflict among employee
3. Enhanced work relationships based on mutual respect and along with increased knowledge
of multicultural issues
4. Shared organizational vision and increased commitment
5. Greater innovation and flexibility as more employees participate in decision-making and
problem-solving teams
6. Better and more creative problem-solving
7. Improved productivity as less energy is spent managing interpersonal conflict/ cultural
clashes

BUSINESS CULTURE

Culture illustrates the accepted norms and values and traditional behaviour of a group. One
definition of culture by Deal and Kennedy is “the way a we do things around here”. However,
culture also evolves over time. The culture of each country has its own beliefs, values and
activities. In other words, culture can be defined as an evolving set of collective beliefs, values and
attitudes.

Culture is a key component in business and has an impact on the strategic direction of
business. Culture influences management, decisions and all business functions from accounting to
production. You may now be thinking predominantly about national culture but this is only one
aspect, business culture is its own unique dimension that includes getting off on the right foot,
meetings, negotiation, formalities, social media use, internships and work placements and other
elements which are highlighted on this website.

Business culture is related to behaviour, ethics, etiquette and more. A business culture will
encompass as organization’s values, visions, working style, beliefs and habits.

Improved levels of cultural awareness help countries and organizations looking at global
competition to view the perceived cultural divide as opportunities. Also, with more globally
sensitive staff comes focus. To leverage the qualities that make each one of us unique can only
work for the greater good.

CUSTOMER RELATIONS MANAGEMENT OR CRM

CRM is a model for managing a company’s interactions with current and future customers

It entails all aspects of interaction that a company has its customer, whether it is sales- or
service-related

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 It is an information industry term for methodologies, software, and usually internet
capabilities that help an enterprise manage customer relationships in an organized way

BENEFITS OF CRM

1. Centralization and Sharing of Data:

With Customer Relationship Management (CRM), data is stored in one centralized location,
making it readily accessible to all members of a business or organization. This enables the
company’s staff to more easily communicate with and market to their customers. If one sales
person is on vacation, for instance, the information about his customers is available to the entire
sales team, and they are able to pick up where he left off without jeopardizing a customer
relationship.

2. Better Customer Service:

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems are capable of storing detailed information
about each customer, such as their history of orders, correspondence, survey responses, and
marketing emails. Having such information easily accessible can significantly improve the speed
and quality of customer service. This in turn gives employees more time to focus on sales,
marketing, and other priorities.

3. Higher Customer Satisfaction:

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems make customers feel more like they are part
of a team than merely a sales statistic. This sense of partnership often makes for a happier customer
who is more likely to do repeat business and refer a potential new customer.

4. Improved Marketing Efforts:

Records contained within a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems may be analyzed
in order to more effectively market to each individual in a company’s database. Customer
demographics, order histories, and survey results may be studied in order to determinate which
group(s) are base to target in each specific marketing campaign. Also, details about a customer’s
previous orders can be used to predict when he is likely to place his next order, and what type of
products he is interested in ordering. Cross-selling and up-selling can also be more effective when
companies are equipped with his information.

5. More Profit:
The combination of more efficient customer service, more effective marketing, happier customers,
and more sales translates to a more profitable business.

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Equality and Diversity Statements

Equality and diversity can go hand in hand to define how a culturally competent workplace
or organization demonstrates conscientious leadership.

It is living out the commitment to empower everyone who is part of the organization

Equality refers to the creation of a “fairer society”, the type which welcomes participation and
provides an opportunity for people to reach their full potential.

Commitment to Equality and Diversity

“We believe that excellence will be achieved through recognizing the value of every individual”.

“We aim to create an environment that respects the diversity of staff and students, enabling them
to achieve their full potential, contribute fully and derive maximum benefit and enjoyment from
their involvement in the life of the University”.

To this end, we acknowledge the following basic rights for all members and prospective members
of our community:

To be treated with respect and dignity

VALUES AND LEADERSHIP

The real role of leaders is to manage the values of the organization.

Becoming a successful leader—someone who is able to build a long-lasting, high performing team,
organization, or community—is not about what you do, although that is important; it is about how
you do what you do—it is about living your deeply held values.

“Who you are as a leader—the values you embrace, and the beliefs you hold— is
automatically transmitted to the group you are responsible for through your words, behaviours and
actions.”

This is why organizational transformation begins with the personal transformation of the leaders.
If the leaders don’t change, the culture won’t change.

We follow a set of rules and employ any number of analytical tools in our arsenal to achieve
an objective and complete a mission each time that we formulate strategies for success.

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 AMERICAN SERVICE EXPECTATIONS

GEOGRAPHY

STATE. Understanding the concept of cultural diversity is really the start of growing a more
culturally competent organization. Let us add, however, that we should put such theory to practice
as we study the world’s different cultures.

To understand North American customers, it is important to first know about the region, the
country and its people in the most generic means.

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within
the Western Hemisphere. It is considered a northern subcontinent of America and is commonly
referred to as America.

Geographically, it is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean,
to the southeast by south America, and to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean. It covers about
16.5% of the earth’s land area and is the third largest, following Asia and Africa.

The continent itself can be divided into four great regions: The Great Plains, mountainous west,
the Canadian Shield, and the Eastern Region.

There is also a significant minority of Indigenous Americans and Asians among other less
numerous groups.

Eight of the top ten metropolitan areas are all located in the United States, each of them with a
population of no less than 5.5 million. They are largely responsible for millions of dollars “worth
in the trade that is dependent on international freight.

Economy-wise, Canada, Mexico and the United States have significant and multifaceted systems.

As OF 2011, THE us HAD AN ESTIMATED PER Capita gross domestic product (PPP) of 47,200
dollars and was considered the most technologically developed economy in North America. Their
services sector comprised 76.7% of the country’s GDP (2010) industry 22.2% and agriculture
1.2%.

Canada’s economic trends are similar to the US. Their GDP (PPP) was estimated at 39,400 in
2010, with the services sector comprising 78% industry 20% and agriculture 2%. Their income
also depends on steady production from diverse and extensive mineral resources.

For their part Mexico had a GDP (PPP) of 25,113 dollars per capita and as of 2010 was 11 th largest
economy in the world. As a newly-industrialized country, they maintain both modern and outdated
industrial and agricultural facilities and operations. They are dependent on oil, industrial exports,
manufactured goods, electronics, heavy industry, automobiles, construction, food, banking and
financial services for income.

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As of 2009, THE Us ranked first, at 28.904% in the UN statistics Division list of largest consumer
markets based on their Household Final Consumption Expenditure. (HCFE)

The HCFE measure actual spending by households, specifically the individual consumption of
goods and services including those that are sold at prices that are not economically significant. It
also takes into consideration imputed rents for domestic housing, both locally and abroad.

In the US, the published Consumer Spending figure includes 3 broad categories of personal
spending:

~DURABLE GOODS: motor vehicles and parts, furnishing and durable household equipment,
recreational goods and vehicles, and other durable goods.

~NONDURABLE GOODS: food and beverages purchase of off-premises consumption, clothing

and footwear, gasoline and other energy goods, and other nondurable goods.

~SERVICES: housing and utilities, health care, transportation services, recreation services, food
services and accommodations, financial services, insurance and other services.

SERVICE STANDARDS

Benefits
• Drive continuous improvement
• Provide insight into the service organization
• Give an improved understanding of
• customer issues (based on customer insight)
• Improve relationships and customer satisfaction
• Serve as development tools for building real spirit and morale
• Is an independent validation of achievement in customer service?

ACSI (AMERICAN CUSTOMER SERVICE INDEX)

The American Customer Satisfaction Index uses customer interviews as input to a multi-equation
econometric model developed at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. The ACSI
model is a cause-and-effect model with indices for drivers of satisfaction on the left side (customer
expectations, perceived quality, and perceived value), satisfaction (ACSI) in the center, and
outcomes of satisfaction on the right side (customer complaints and customer loyalty, including
customer retention and price tolerance).

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Customer Satisfaction (ACSI)
The customer satisfaction (ACSI) index score is calculated as a weighted average of three survey
questions that measure different facets of satisfaction with a product or service. ACSI researchers
use proprietary software technology to estimate the weighting for each question.

Customer Expectations
Customer expectations is a measure of the customer's anticipation of the quality of a company's
products or services. Expectations represent both prior consumption experience, which includes
some nonexperiential information like advertising and word-of-mouth, and a forecast of the
company's ability to deliver quality in the future.

Perceived Quality
Perceived quality is a measure of the customer's evaluation via recent consumption experience of
the quality of a company's products or services. Quality is measured in terms of both
customization, which is the degree to which a product or service meets the customer's individual
needs, and reliability, which is the frequency with which things go wrong with the product or
service.

Perceived Value
Perceived value is a measure of quality relative to price paid. Although price (value for money) is
often very important to the customer's first purchase, it usually has a somewhat smaller impact on
satisfaction for repeat purchases.

Customer Complaints
Customer complaints are measured as a percentage of respondents who indicate they have
complained to a company directly about a product or service within a specified time frame.
Satisfaction has a negative relationship with customer complaints, as the more satisfied the
customers, the less likely they are to complain.

Customer Loyalty
Customer loyalty is a combination of the customer's professed likelihood to repurchase from the
same supplier in the future, and the likelihood to purchase a company’s products or services at
various price points (price tolerance). Customer loyalty is the critical component of the model as
it stands as a proxy for profitability.

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 EUROPEAN SERVICE EXPECTATIONS

The Region – Europe

Europe is known as the old continent.

Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is ‘divided’ from Asia to its east by the
watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black
Seas, and the waterways connecting the Black and Aegean Seas. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean
and other bodies of water to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to
the south, and the Black Sea and connected waterways to the southeast.

Europe is the world’s second – smallest continent by surface area, covering only 6.8% of the
Earth’s land area. Of Europe’s approximately 50 states, Russia is the largest by area and
population, while the Vatican City is the smallest.

Europe is the third – most populous continent after Asia and Africa, with figures owning some
11% of the world’s total population.

Countries Azerbaijan Croatia

Albania Belarus Cyprus

Andorra Belgium Czech Republic

Armenia Bosnia and Herzegovina Denmark

Austria Bulgaria Estonia

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Finland Lithuania San Marino

France Luxembourg Serbia

Georgia Macedonia (FYROM) Slovakia

Germany Malta Slovenia

Greece Moldova Spain

Hungary Monaco Sweden

Iceland Montenegro Switzerland

Ireland Netherlands Turkey

Italy Norway Ukraine

Kazakhstan Poland United Kingdom (UK)

Kosovo Portugal Vatican City (Holy See)

Latvia Romania

Liechtenstein Russia

Languages

The languages of the European Union are languages used by people within the member states of
the European Union (EU).

The EU has 24 official languages, of which three (English (38%), French (12%) and German
(11%)) have the higher status of "procedural" languages of the European Commission(whereas the
European Parliament accepts all official languages as working languages). One language (Irish)
previously had the lower status of "treaty language" before being upgraded to an official and
working language in 2007, although it has been temporarily derogated as a working language until
2021 due to difficulty finding qualified translators. The three procedural languages are those used
in the day-to-day workings of the institutions of the EU. The designation of Irish as a "treaty
language" meant that only core documents such as treaties must be fully translated into Irish, while
all other translations and interpretations are performed on an ad hoc basis.

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 European Union Countries

Austria France Malta

Belgium Germany Netherlands

Bulgaria Greece Poland

Croatia Hungary Portugal

Cyprus Ireland Romania

Czech Republic Italy Slovakia

Denmark Latvia Slovenia

Estonia Lithuania

Finland Luxembourg

Spain

Sweden

United Kingdom

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 The European Union is an intergovernmental body composed of 28 European states
and comprises the largest single economic area in the world. Five of its countries rank in the
top ten of the world’s largest national economies in GDP (PPP): Germany (5), the UK (6),
Russia (7), France (8), and Italy (10).

Currently, 16 EU countries share the euro as a common currency.

There is huge disparity between many European countries in terms of their income. Monaco is
the richest country in terms of GDP per capita in the world according to the World Bank report
at US$172,676 (2009). The poorest is Moldova with US$1,631 per capita (2010).

Europe is home to the highest number of migrants of all global regions at (70.6 million people).
In 2005, the EU had an overall net gain from the immigration of 1.8 million people alone,
accounting for almost 85% of Europe’s total population growth despite having one of the
highest population densities in the world.

A total of 4.7 million people immigrated to one of the EU-28 Member States during 2015,
while at least 2.8 million emigrants were reported to have left an EU Member State. These total
figures do not represent the migration flows to/from the EU as a whole, since they also include
flows between different EU Member States.

Among these 4.7 million immigrants during 2015, there were an estimated 2.4 million citizens
of non-member countries, 1.4 million people with citizenship of a different EU Member State
from the one to which they immigrated, around 860 thousand people who migrated to an EU
Member State of which they had the citizenship (for example, returning nationals or nationals
born abroad), and some 19 thousand stateless people.

Germany reported the largest total number of immigrants (1 543.8 thousand) in 2015, followed
by the United Kingdom (631.5 thousand), France (363.9 thousand), Spain (342.1 thousand)
and Italy (280.1 thousand). Germany reported the highest number of emigrants in 2015 (347.2
thousand), followed by Spain (343.9 thousand), the United Kingdom (299.2 thousand), France
(298 thousand) and Poland (258.8 thousand). A total of 17 of the EU Member States reported
more immigration than emigration in 2015, but in Bulgaria, Ireland, Greece, Spain, Croatia,
Cyprus, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Latvia and Lithuania, the number of emigrants
outnumbered the number of immigrants.

Relative to the size of the resident population, Luxembourg recorded the highest rates of
immigration in 2015 (42 immigrants per 1 000 persons), followed by Malta (30 immigrants per
1 000 persons), Austria and and Germany (both 19 immigrants per 1 000 persons) — see Figure
1. The highest rates of emigration in 2015 were reported for Luxembourg (22 emigrants per 1
000 persons), Cyprus (20 emigrants per 1 000 persons) and Malta (20 emigrants per 1 000
persons).

In 2015, the relative share of national immigrants, in other words immigrants with the
citizenship of the EU Member State to which they were migrating, within the total number of
immigrants was highest in Romania (87 % of all immigrants), Lithuania (83 %), Hungary (56
%), Croatia (55 %), Latvia (52 %), Estonia (52 %) and Portugal (50 %). These were the only

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EU Member States to report that national immigration accounted for more than half of the total
number of immigrants — see Figure 2. By contrast, Luxembourg, Germany and Austria
reported relatively low shares, as national immigration accounted for no more than 5 or 6 % of
their total immigration in 2015.

Information on citizenship has often been used to study immigrants with a foreign background.
However, since citizenship can change over the life-time of a person, it is also useful to analyse
information by country of birth. The relative share of native-born immigrants within the total
number of immigrants was highest in Lithuania (74 % of all immigrants), followed by Romania
(66 %) and Poland (50 %). By contrast, Italy, Spain, Luxembourg, Austria and Germany
reported relatively low shares of native-born immigrants, less than 10 % of all immigration in
2015.

The largest groups that acquired citizenship of an EU member state were citizens of Morocco,
Turkey, Ecuador, Algeria and Iraq.

Culture of Europe

The culture of Europe can be described as a series of cultural mixes existing across the
continent and the cultural innovations and movements being odds with each other, gave
question to the existence of a “common culture” or “common values” as something infinitely
more complex.

Multilingualism and the protection of regional and minority languages are recognized political
goals in Europe today. The Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of
National Minorities and the Council of Europe’s European Charter for Regional or Minority
Languages set up a legal framework for language rights in Europe.

The consumer market

It is listed in the recent Household Final Consumption Expenditure (HFCE) that the region’s
actual final household consumption – among member states of the EU – usually varies between
70% and 90%.

The rest were determined to be goods and services that are consumed free of charge or at
reduced prices, as transferred by governments and non – profit institutions serving from
household to household.

A high government share in the provision of individual consumption goods and services is
often found in countries known as welfare states. Countries with relatively large shares of such
transfers in kind include Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and
Finland and Sweden, where HFCE represents less than 80% of the actual final consumption of
households for most of the year.

When we talked about American Service Standards, we noted that there are two ways of
looking at service standards. First, we can look at standards as qualitative criterion. Second, we

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could look at them as rules for measurement. Either way, they present guidelines – strictures if
you will – for service delivery.

Note that “service standards” are rules of engagement for providing customer service. They
provide a generic behavioural template that leads to consistent service which, as a matter of
principle, helps employees at the moment of truth – when they have to make a service decision.

Standards of Service

In generic terms, standards of service tend to cross over boundaries of geographic location and
political interest.

Some of these standards are already known to you:

- Integrity

- Accountability

- Accuracy

European Committee for Standardization (CEN)

Standards are technical specifications defining requirements for products, production

processes, services or test-methods. These specifications are voluntary. They are developed by
industry and market actors following some basic principles such as consensus, openness,
transparency and non-discrimination. Standards ensure interoperability and safety, reduce costs
and facilitate companies' integration in the value chain and trade.

The formal definition of a standard is a “document, established by consensus and approved by

a recognized body that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or
characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree
of order in a given context”.

There are several different types of standards. Basically, standards include requirements and/or
recommendations in relation to products, systems, processes or services. Standards can also be
a way to describe a measurement or test method or to establish a common terminology within
a specific sector.

European Standards (ENs) are documents that have been ratified by one of the three European
Standardization Organizations (ESOs), CEN, CENELEC or ETSI; recognized as competent in
the area of voluntary technical standardization as for the EU Regulation 1025/2012.

An EN (European Standard) “carries with it the obligation to be implemented at national level

by being given the status of a national standard and by withdrawal of any conflicting national
standard". Therefore, a European Standard (EN) automatically becomes a national standard in
each of the 34 CEN-CENELEC member countries.

A service standard helps to define what a customer can expect from a service and how it should
be delivered by the service provider, e.g. in terms of timeliness, accuracy and suitability. Up to

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now, the development of such standards has been limited. As announced in the Standardization
Package of June 2016, the European Commission aims to priorities and incentivize the
development of voluntary European service standards. The Commission is also working with
CEN to develop service standards in the areas of performance measurement, service contracts
and service procurement.

The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) recently released a report containing
results from a survey conducted by the Technopolis Group.

The survey results are based on the responses to a questionnaire circulated via National
Standards Bodies and completed by some 450 respondents across 28 European countries.
Nearly two – thirds (65%) of the respondents were businesses involved in providing services
and more than a quarter (26%) were small and medium – sized enterprises (SMEs).

According to the survey, a majority (93%) stated that they are aware of European and/or
national standards relevant to the sector in which they are active and 84% of these are making
use of these standards.

Each respondent was asked about the benefits that their own business or organization gets from
using such service – related standards and almost all (95%) of the respondents agreed that
“improved service quality” and an “improved ability to demonstrate service quality to
customers” are among the benefits of using standards. Most (over 60%) agreed that these are
“major benefits”. This, while 75% of SMEs that took part in the survey agreed that these two
outcomes are major benefits of using standards related to services.

Further benefits identified by users of service-related standards include:

• Increased customer satisfaction (identified as a benefit by 89% of respondents)

• Increased confidence in service providers (86%)

• Increased transparency of the services provided (86%)

• Improved common definitions/terminology (86%)

• Improved contractual relationships (83%)

• Improved ability to meet legislative/regulatory requirements (81%)

• Improved use of performance indicators (81%)

• Improved ability to compare different service offers/providers (77%)

• Improved ability to meet health and safety requirements (76%)

• Increased market share (52%)

• Increased profitability (51%)

• Improved ability to export services (cross-border trade) (50%)

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Measuring one’s market performance and our market’s perception of our products and services
do not end with a customer satisfaction survey.

Harvard Business School talks about the 3D’s of Customer Experience:

1. Design the right value propositions (for the right customers)

2. Deliver these propositions by focusing the entire company on them with an emphasis
on cross-functional collaboration.

3. Develop your capabilities to please customers again and again – revamp the planning
process, train people in how to create new customer propositions, and establish direct
accountability for the customer experience.

21 Facts about Europe

EUROPE

1. Europe is named after a Phoenician Princess

The name Europe comes from the Phoenician princess Europa, who, according to Greek myth,
was seduced by Zeus when he disguised himself as a bull. Why she was more interested in a
bull, however, is another question entirely.

2. Scientist believe that six million years ago the Mediterranean was a desert

It is believed that the sea dried out over the course of 600,000 years, leaving nothing but a briny
desert behind. Later, in the course of only 200 years, water filtered from the Atlantic through
the Strait of Gibraltar and refilled the Mediterranean.

3. An estimated one in ten Europeans is conceived in an IKEA BED

IKEA, the world’s third largest consumer of wood, is believed responsible for the conception
of one in ten Europeans.

4. Netflix is Unavailable in many European Countries

Due to complex international licensing laws, Netflix is forced to use geo-location blocking to
make sure that even paid users in many European countries can’t access their content without
the use of a VPN.

FRANCE

5. Europe’s highest toilets sit at an elevation of 4,260 meters

Climbers of Mont Blanc no longer need to think about finding a rock for privacy when they
reach the end of their long hike. The downside is that with 30,000 climbers ascending the
mountain every year, there may very well be a queue at the top.

6. In France, calling your pig Napoleon could land you in jail

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In France, it is against the law to call your pig Napoleon. It appears the famous leader has left
a lasting impression in his country.

SWEDEN

7. Sweden has more Mcdonald’s per capita than any other country in Europe

If you’re planning a trip to Sweden, there’s no reason to worry about missing out on American’s
most popular fast-food chain. Sweden has more Mcdonald’s per capita than any other country
in Europe, though that’s still only half the US ratio.

8. Faktum Hotels offers homeless locations for rent

In order to raise money and awareness for the homeless, Faktum Hotels in Gothenburg, Sweden
offers ten “rooms” for rent where homeless people might actually sleep. These locations are
spread out through a number of neighbors, from a bench in the park to a spot beneath a
stadium’s bleachers. The catch? There’s no guarantee someone’s not already sleeping there.

SWITZERLAND

9. Switzerland forbids late-night trips to the bathroom

As part of Switzerland’s anti-noise pollution laws, Switzerland forbids flushing the toilet after
10 PM. Better not have coffee with your supper!

10. In Switzerland, it is forbidden to hang clothes, mow the lawn, or wash the car on
Sundays.

Switzerland is very particular about what should not be done on Sundays. Apparently hanging
clothes, mowing your lawn, and washing your car fall into the latter category.

11. A man in Switzerland grew a pumpkin as big as a car!

Grown by Beni Meier of Switzerland and authenticated by the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth
in Ludwigsburg, Germany, this enormous trophy tips the scales at 1,054 kg, nearly as much as
a small car. It is expected to make a terrific soup. Looks like all that watering paid off, Beni.

LONDON

12. London

London’s underground escalators travel the equivalent of two trips around the world every
week (Did you ever fear as a kid that you would get sucked into an escalator by your shoelaces?
Maybe you should have. It could be a long ride.)

SPAIN

13. People in Spain fire quail from a cannon every year

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After firing the baby quail from the cannon, the attendees shoot them out of the air with
shotguns. Most of these pint-sized birds are only a few weeks old. Just goes to show you can
make a sport out of anything.

14. In Spain, Children eat candy pooped from a log

Called Caga Tio, or “the pooping log”, this Catalan custom involves dressing up a log with
arms and a face. The log must be fed every day from December 8th until Christmas, when he
is beaten with sticks until he pops out candy for the children.

15. The people of the Spanish Town of Bunol try to climb a greased pole to get the ham at
the top.

This tradition, which takes place every August, is the start of what’s called La Tomatina. After
the ham is removed from the pole, the fun begins in earnest: Attendees throw over 150,000
tomatoes, pre-crushed for this one occasion, at one another in one of the world’s biggest food
fights.

FINLAND

16. Finland is home to a centuries-old wife carrying contest

Every year, Fins compete to see who can carry their wives the fastest and the farthest. Think
that’s a strange idea? You might be surprised that the Fins are not the only ones: the contest is
“carried on” in the U.S. state of Maine as well.

GERMANY

17. Marriages in Germany sometimes involve a pottery-smashing ritual

Breaking plates is a popular way in Germany to celebrate a couple’s approaching marriage.

Even better, you’re expected to clean the mess-and provide food and drink for them as well!

ITALY

18. The largest recorded colony of ants in the world is 6,000 Km long.

This 6,000 km ant colony, composed of 2-3 mm Argentine ants, reaches from northern Italy
all the way to the Atlantic coast of Spain. These incredible workers can even come from
opposite ends of the colony and still recognize one another.

WALES

19. The longest European one-word place name is LLANFAIR-PWLLGWYNGYLL-

GOGERY-CHWYRN-DROBWILL-LLAN-TYSILIO-GOGO-GOCH

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This village in Wales has the unusual distinction of boasting the longest European one-word
place name. it means “Saint Mary’s Church in the hollow of the white hazel near the rapid
whirlpool and the Church of Saint Tysilio of the red cave.” Did you catch all that?

NETHERLANDS

20. About one-fourth of the Netherlands lies beneath sea level

For more than one thousand years, the people of the Netherlands have been finding ways to
stake their claim against the sea. From canals and windmills to pumping stations and dikes, the
Netherlands is a remarkable feat of engineering and ingenuity.

BELGIUM

21. Belgium went 589 days in 2010-2011 without a government

Belgium holds the world record for the longest time as democracy has ever gone on without a
government. During the 589 days in which the Flemish and Walloons were unable to agree on
matters of policy and form a government, the country’s daily affairs were addressed by a former
prime minister.

Assessment Test:

1. Define business Culture.

2. Enumerate the benefits of Customer Relation Management. Explain

briefly.

3. Differentiate the service expectation between America and Europe.

4. List 5 facts about Europe. Explain briefly.

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 TOPIC 4:
Asian Service Expectations and

Collaborating in a Global
Environment

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 ASIAN SERVICE EXPECTATIONS

Introduction:

The module was designed for students to realize the value of customer service from a
culturally sensitive perspective.
It sets out to discuss the service expectations of customers located in Asian region.
It takes on cultural diversity and competence as opportunities and expects to build
cultural sensitivity.

Across the world costumer expectations are continually rising when it comes to the
service they receive from organizations. However, there are still significant differences
between what consumer’s demand in different regions and cultures.

In order to meet these expectations, first you have to acquire soft skills.
Soft skills are defined as personal attributes that enhance how we relate with other people. One
such skill is cultural sensitivity or competency.

Being culturally – sensitive determines how we are able to relate with others empathetically.

Dealing With Diversity

Today, we will discuss Asian service expectation, and how cultural diversity has served
the region.

Diversity

The quality or state of having different forms, types, ideas, etc.

It is the quality by which people with different

Origins
Races
Religions
Cultures
Traditions

Are working together in an organizational set up and working together.

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Part of growing or developing customer service strategy is leveraging diversity. From an
objective standpoint, forcing out of place the diversity, actually works towards the attainment
of more harmonious relationship.

Factors of Diversity

Diversity capitalizes on opportunities available, but forcing out resources that does not pursue
the same goal.

Knowing and Understanding these enablers and barriers contribute to cultural competency.

Enablers

They concretize cultural sensitivity as being key to organizational success. This requires the
involvement and commitment of everyone, as an effort to build actual respect towards others,
as key to organizational success.

Diversity Committee

Some companies remove posters or signage’s that might offend or trigger someone in the
organization.

Focus on cultural competence

For example, Filipinos are very good in speaking English so companies took advantage of that.
BPO companies have been transferred in the Philippines. Efforts to recruit and retain a diverse
workforce, volunteers, and vendors. In a hotel, the managers wanted their catering services to
have a lot of dishes from all parts of the world. So people would have a lot of options to choose
from, and enjoy their meals with a new flavor.

Barriers

They prevent positive changes from happening. This does not mean that barriers are negative
to the organization itself. It is just the structured organization, and cannot be dislodged. It only
needs to be handled with delicacy, sensitivity, maturity, and more deliberation.

Organizational structure and its complexity. Whoever wants to join an organization

depends on what the organization is about. For example, a person wants to an apply as a Human
Resource Manager in a Christian Mega Church organization, but the applicant's religion is
Islam.

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Definition of diversity. Some people misunderstands the meaning of diversity. For example,
race. Race is only understood by most people as a segregation of whites and blacks. But the
race in the definition of diversity refers to the race, ethnicity, or nationality of a person.

Over dependence on Unsuitable consultants. Consultants are referred to be superior, that

some people considers the consultant to be applicable on any situation, even if, they are not.

Resistance. Diversity does not only deal with cultures, they also deal with genders, sexual
orientations, and preferences in style, or their lifestyle itself. People, most of the time, presumes
someone's sexual orientation or gender. Some people views hasbian people as gay. Hasbian
people are people that were once gay, but because they have chosen to be in accordance to their
own sexes, they asked counselling to their respective religious organization.

Oppression model. Diversity also deals with their lifestyle itself, as I stated a while ago.
People with AIDS had been oppressed, and is viewed as dirty, even though not all people with
AIDS got infected because of promiscuity.

Language and cultural differences. This is common in the Philippines. People tend to laugh
at accents of other ethnicities. It is not only limited to Bisaya Accent, but I am also referring to
all kinds of accents present in the Philippines. Some words, or phrases could mean different in
each and every one, and that depends on a person's background.

Benefits of diversity

Full utilization of human resources.

High quality usefulness of employees.
Reduced interpersonal conflict among employees.
People will get used to how some people act from another region.
Enhanced work relationships based on mutual respect.
Shared organizational vision and commitment.
The diversity of ideas could lead to the uniqueness of the organization.
Greater innovation and complexity.
Better and more creative problem solving.
Improved productivity as less inter-personal conflicts occur.

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ASIA

Like Europe and North America, understanding the Asian customers require us to first
understand the nature of the region, its history and its peoples.

Asia is the world’s largest and most populous continent located primarily in the eastern
and northern hemispheres. It covers 30% of the Earth’s total land area and is home to
approximately 3.879 billion people, hosting 60% of the world’s current human population.

In contrast in Europe, Asia is the largest and most culturally diverse of the continents
and does not exactly correspond to the cultural borders of its various types of constituents. The
languages spoken in whole world is over 7,000 and Asian speaks the 2,197 languages, more or
less 1/3 of languages in whole world.

The region is rich in natural resources and the manufacturing industry appears to be
traditionally the strongest here, also owing to the region’s natural abundance.

BUSINESS CULTURE OF ASIA

Meetings

A basic sign of respect, punctuality is highly valued in Asian countries and arriving ahead of
time is deemed professional. A gentle handshake accompanied by good eye contact are
appropriate formal greetings, except in Thailand, where the “wai” gesture with palms pressed
together, is still standard protocol. Asian professionals also value their personal space and
dislike unnecessary physical contact, so avoid patting someone’s back and putting your arm
around someone’s shoulder. When exchanging business cards, it’s customary to give and
receive using both hands. Be sure to read the cards before putting them in your card case or on
the table.

Small talk

Businessmen in Asia spend a great deal of time (and money) building trust and developing
strong relationships with their associates and clients. Making small talk is a must to establish
rapport and make a good first impression during first meetings. Start by learning the right
pronunciation of their names and break the ice with greetings and simple phrases in their native
language. For instance, when meeting someone for the first time in Japan, say, “Yoroshiku
onegaishimasu”, which roughly translates to “Please treat me kindly”. For small talk, choose

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safe, lighthearted topics of discussion, such as traveling, hobbies, sports, technology, and the
weather. As in other countries, talking about politics and religion is a no-no.

Communication

In terms of verbal communication, Westerners generally tend to be more straightforward

compared to those in the East, where facial expressions and body language are vital in social
interactions. Most Asian professionals come from non-confrontational societies so pay closer
attention to nonverbal cues. Most importantly, understand the Chinese concept of “face”,
especially in countries like China, Singapore, and Hong Kong, and avoid putting anyone on
the spot by asking yes or no questions or making them take sides. Giving credit to the group is
also more acceptable than complimenting individual employees.

Decision-making

Unlike in individualist cultures, where employees are individually responsible for their
decisions, decision-making in Asian firms is highly centralized and usually flows from the top
downwards, so those with a large stake in the company hold the reigns. This top-down
management is practiced by most Asian economies, except for Japan, where companies make
collective decisions. In general, teams tend to delay making decisions until they get their
superiors’ approval and reach a consensus.

Honor and respect.

This must be a part of all of your standard business practices when dealing with people from
an Asian background. In western culture we can at times overstep the mark and make jokes
about people or a particular situation that can cause others to feel disrespected. So be mindful
that you are not tempted to let familiarity find you overstepping the mark and turning a
potentially good relationship into a contemptuous one.

Conversations regarding personal wealth.

Whilst it has become common place for most people to talk about themselves and their personal
financial achievements, in Asian business culture this is a definite no no! In network marketing
conversations about high levels of income are often spoken of, you are best to confine this to
statements like the top income earner in the company or a 6 figure income earner or broad
terms similar to those.

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Language.

You do not need to speak any of the Asian languages in order to do business with them,
however if you take the time to learn a key few words or phrases this will demonstrate not only
your respect for their background but it will demonstrate your keenness to interact with them.

THINGS TO DO:

1. Keep Your Hands Below the Neck

First and foremost, touching a person’s head is considered VERY rude is most parts of Asia.
In Buddhist culture the head is the highest part of the body and thought of as sacred. The feet,
on the other hand, are the lowest part of the body and considered dirty. So in countries with
large Buddhist populations such as China, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, touching someone’s
head is an incredibly invasive gesture. By the same token pointing with your feet, or showing
the bottoms of your feet to anyone is equally offensive.

2. Master Chopstick Etiquette

If even thinking about using chopsticks makes you nervous, don’t worry—you are more than
welcome to ask for a fork or a spoon. But if you’re adept at using chopsticks, don’t let your
hard work go to waste by sticking your chopsticks upright in your rice. In China and Japan,
this is considered very bad luck. Prevailing traveler superstition is that upright chopsticks
resemble funeral incense and therefore symbolizes death. More traditionally, the connection
comes from a part of the funeral services: Rice is offered to the dead with his or her chopsticks
stuck upright.

No matter which utensils you use, in China and Korea it’s considered presumptuous to keep
your hands in your lap or to ask someone to pass food. Instead, participate in the action! Sharing
is caring after all, so reach for the food you want and don’t feel shy about putting particularly
delectable morsels on others’ plates. In this same convivial spirit, if someone
in Beijing or Seouloffers or gives you food, it’s rude to reject the offer.

3. Eat With Your Hands

Maybe chopsticks aren’t your scene. In Nepal, India, and Muslim countries
like Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Malaysia, it’s polite to eat with your hands. Scratch that; it’s
polite to eat with your right hand—NEVER use the left hand. In those countries, food is eaten

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with the right hand and the left hand is reserved for certain sanitary activities. In fact, just try
to leave your left hand out of it as much as possible—don’t hand or take things with the left
hand Kathmandu, don’t point with the left hand in Dhaka . . . you get the picture.

4. Hold Your Liquor

Just as it’s rude to reject offered food, it’s rude to refuse to join in a toast. In Korea, when
someone offers you a shot of soju or Korean beer, it’s a symbol of friendship and turning it
down would be an affront. If you’re worried about getting too tipsy during particularly friendly
gatherings, beware that if you can’t drink someone under the table in China, you’re a sitting
duck as a business person—no one will take you seriously. Also, you never know when you’ll
find yourself, as our own Will Bleakley did, in the middle of an afternoon drinking game in
rural Puzhehei: Everyone drinks or no one drinks.

And even though it’s considered polite in many cultures around the world, it stands mentioning
that you should always pour tea or alcohol for everyone else before pouring for yourself.

5. Don’t Blow Your Nose

Spicy food is notorious for causing a runny nose, but if you don’t want to gross out your dinner
companions, refrain from blowing your nose at the table in Japan, Korea or China. If you must,
you must—but try to be discreet or get up and leave the table first.

6. Watch Your Hands

Crossing your fingers in Vietnam does NOT mean that you’re wishing for good luck (much to
my surprised chagrin). It’s the same as giving someone the finger or making the peace sign or
“v” for victory in Ireland and the UK. In Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries,
pointing with one finger is rude. If you have to single out a thing or a direction, it’s safest to
gesture with your full hand, palm up. In Korea, Japan, and Thailand giving or receiving with
one hand is a big no-no. With everything from giving gifts to handing money to a cashier—
always use two hands.

7. Don’t Tip

It’s actually insulting to leave a tip in Japan. Rather than relying on tips to make up the bulk of
their wages, Japanese workers feel they are getting paid to do their job and take pride in doing

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it well. They don’t need an added incentive which, in fact, comes off rather patronizing and
embarrassing.

8. Listen to Aretha Franklin (About the Importance of Respect)

Respect is an important basic cultural tenant in Asia and is taken very seriously. Possibly the
rudest thing you can do in Thailand is make someone “lose face.” Thailand is called the “Land
of a Thousand Smiles” so it can be hard to figure out if you’ve made someone lose face, but
err on the safe side and try to never question someone’s authority or do anything that could
potentially embarrass another. In Korea, even more so than in surrounding countries, it is
important to respect elders. It’s rude to even pick up your chopsticks at the start of a meal or
get up from the table at the end of it before the oldest people do so. When in doubt, defer to
elders. Also, many Asian cultures tend to be conservative so it’s important to respect that in
everything from how you interact with others to how you dress. While you won’t be ostracized
for walking around with bare shoulders, you’ll feel a warmer welcome if you make the effort
to dress a bit more conservatively.

9. Don’t Chew Gum

While not technically offensive, chewing gum is actually illegal in Singapore and has been
since 1992. What’s more, it’s strictly enforced: You risk a $500 fine for spitting out gum on
public streets. Better stick with Altoids.

10. Bow

In this part of the world bowing the head takes on many meanings. It is a form of greeting, a
sign of respect and used to express deference, sincerity, humility and remorse. The bow
originates from the waist, with the back straight. Men place their hands on the side while
women clasp their hands in front. Eyes should be down. It’s good to remember that the deeper
the bow, the stronger the emotion that comes with it.

Fifteen-degree bows are used for informal and formal occasions while a thirty-degree angle
bow is reserved for very formal times. Kneeling before bowing, with the forehead touching the
floor is also done in extreme cases.

You’ll find head bowing is performed almost everywhere in Korea, Japan, Vietnam and China.
It’s done before and after martial arts practice and competition, at tea ceremonies and at
religious shrines. It may look simple but the performance of bowing the head is quite complex.

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Expressions of apology in Taiwan, Korea and Japan require a deep bow of about 45 to 50
degrees for three seconds. The same is true when giving thanks. Bows are given to superiors
and elders when greeting or saying goodbye. For non-Asians, it is acceptable to bow before
shaking hands or vice-versa. They should be an informal one. In China and Taiwan, handshakes
are often used, although bowing is still done during wedding ceremonies, for departed relatives,
ancestral worship. The most beautiful bows are those done during tea ceremonies when no less
than three types of bows are performed.

Service Standards

Service Standards are rules engagement for providing customer service that often cross the
boundaries of geographic location, race, and creed.

Understanding certain behaviors requires highly accurate social radar.

Functionally, “radar” detects and measures the amount of activity in a certain area or location.
To combine this with social competency by means of getting equipped with tools for detecting
moods or emotional temperatures.

Developing this radar as a skill means allowing ourselves to feel empathy. These also appear
to be standard across the cultures.

Obviously, empathy helps us to determine how to adapt to given situations especially when we
consider the general aspects of:

Understanding others – Empathy is crucial excellence

Developing others – Empathy is best acknowledged when people are promoted to
certain designations to develop their potentials
Service Orientation – Empathy provides a framework for how support can be
appropriately provided to customers
Leveraging diversity – Empathy plays a significant role in enabling synergy within a
group
Political Awareness – Empathy contributes “savvy” which allows people to respond
effectively despite currents in the organization

But empathy is not very easily developed when looking at far too different cultures. The things
help us develop empathy are:

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 1. Trust
2. Attentiveness
3. Appropriate responses
4. Shared experiences
5. Respect

More than being satisfied about a received product or service, more than having service
standards, it is customer who places value and openly discusses how excellent customer
experience has turned his life around.

Companies and service organizations do need to restructure their values as necessary if only to
be more customers – facing.

A recent article was published by Harvard Business School to discuss customer experience and
which tasks were of import when setting out to create a more remarkable customer experience.

3D’s of Excellent Customer Experience

1. Design the right value propositions (for right customers)

2. Deliver these propositions by focusing the entire company on them with an emphasis
on cross – functional collaboration.
3. Develop your capabilities to please customers again and again – revamp the planning
process, train people in how to create new customer propositions, and establish direct
accountability for the customer experience.

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 COLLABORATING IN A GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT

Introduction

What is service culture?

A service culture exists when you motivate the employees in your organization to take a
customer-centric approach to their regular duties and work activities. Sales and service
employees put customer needs first when presenting solutions and providing support.

Seek Feedback

The first step in developing a service culture is to show genuine interest in finding out what
your customers want from your company, products and services. Ongoing research can help
you gain insight as to how your company currently performs and what improvements you must
make to strength loyal relationships. Your employees can more easily by into the customer-
first mentality you project if they see you working to gather information about your customers.

Communicate and Establish Consistency

Most elements of a company culture begin at the top. As a business owner or manager, your
actions and words set the tone for what employees view as core philosophies of the business.
If you project a service attitude in your dealings with customers or clients, that helps. You can
establish a vision and company objectives that emphasize customer service. In delegating
responsibilities to departments, work teams and employees, you want to convey the specific
duties each holds in the bigger picture.

Reward and Recognize

No matter what you say to instill viability in any cultural component, you must reinforce its
importance through action. To perpetuate a service culture, you need to include service
standards in job descriptions, employee evaluations and compensation. If you emphasize
customer service in assessments, raises and promotion decisions, even above other production
and sales standards, it strengthens your commitment. Publicly recognizing top service
performers with praise and awards may encourage workers to work on their reputations as elite
service performers. You may also have to eliminate workers that don't fit into or desire to fit
into the culture.

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Set Policies and Train

You service culture is also developed through formal written documents and communications.
Your company mission, website, employee policy manual and customer service policy all
provide opportunities to infuse customer-oriented policies for internal or external
communication. Once you establish customer-friendly policies, you need to orient and train
new employees to accept the standards. Part of developing an enduring service culture is getting
new hires to quickly assimilate into it.

What is soft-skills?

Soft skills are defined as personal attributes that enhance how we relate with other people. One
such skill is cultural sensitivity or competency.

Examples of Soft-skills.

1. Communication
2. Flexibility
3. Leadership
4. Motivation
5. Patience
6. Persuasion
7. Problem solving abilities
8. Teamwork

Customer Relationship management

Customer relationship management (CRM) is an approach to manage a company's

interaction with current and potential customers. It uses data analysis about customers' history
with a company to improve business relationships with customers, specifically focusing
on customer retention and ultimately driving sales growth.

What is data analysis?

Data analysis is a process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming and modeling data with the
goal of discovering useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision-
making.

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Data analysis has multiple facets and approaches, encompassing diverse techniques under a
variety of names, in different business, science, and social science domains.

What is modeling data?

Data modeling is a representation of the data structures in a table for a company's database
and is a very powerful expression of the company's business requirements. This data model is
the guide used by functional and technical analysts in the design and implementation of a
database.

What is Customer retention?

Customer retention refers to the ability of a company or product to retain its customers over
some specified period.

The key differentiation in a competitive environment is often the delivery of a consistently high
standard of Customer service. Furthermore, in the emerging world of Customer
Success Retention is a major objective.

Total quality management

What is Total quality management?

Total quality management is a system of measurement based on the principle that every staff
member must be committed to maintaining high standards of work in every aspect of a
company’s operation and TQM is use to improve business.

it makes use of different planning tools and systems in order to maximize the use of resources
while working achieve goal.

Linking the World

Building Relationships

When we discussed customer interactions, we looked at how encounters differ essentially from
relationships.

Encounter

- Unexpectedly be faced with or experience (something hostile or difficult)

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Relationships

- We defined relationships as personal commitment, something that evolves over

time, the nature of which may result in special considerations, and where trust and
the relationship per se are cultivated to maintain the business and its quality trust.

We talk about relationships with our internal and external customers and how these are
enriched by a broader perspective and responsive leadership.

The Collaborative Process

Collaboration

- is a process that highlights important stages of contribution?

For example: Problem-solving

From a simplistic view, collaborative problem-solving would list the following steps:

1. Share perspectives- Collaboration requires the input of everyone in a group; team members
should share their perspectives on the situation; perception can be relative as much as it can be
subjective.

2. Define issues- Defining specific problems would focus the group on studying recent
concerns and defining which ones are critical to quality improvement.

3. Identify interests- Since members of a team have different perspectives; it is only natural
for each one to have relative interests.

4. Generate options- A team with a considerable selection of competencies and talents may
very well come up with more than one specific solution.

5. Develop fair standards or objective criteria for decision-making.

6. Evaluate options and reach agreement.

Service Beyond Borders

As a concept, going beyond borders normally connote the blurring of geographical or political
lines that separate regions, races, and people in general.

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It connotes an open-door policy of sorts that allows for collaboration across beliefs, thus,
producing more holistic results.

As an example, look at how the United Nations and its member nations collaborate to decide
on policies that potentially would impact millions and millions of people around the world.

Cultural Sensitivity

Cultural Sensitivity means being aware that cultural differences and similarities exist and have
an effect on values, learning, and behaviour and that these fundamental differences will
invariably impact outputs depending on how they are identified, resolves, and tracked, and
managed.

There are two components to consider when discussing this competency:

Components:

- You need to be aware of your own attitudes and how they may impact on service
delivery
- You need to understand any specific cultural issues that are being experienced by your
clients

The Virtual Workplace

Virtual Workplace

- A virtual workplace is a workplace that is not located in any one physical space. It is
usually in a network of several workplaces technologically connected (via a private
network or the Internet) without regard to geographic boundaries. Employees are thus
able to interact in a Collaborative Working Environment regardless of where they are
located. A virtual workplace integrates hardware, people, and online processes.

The concept can be said to have originated from contact centers whose value proposition
included providing a client with a one-stop solution for all customer needs.

This means that one client may have contact centers located in different locations over the
globe-all connected technologically through the internet and without regard for geographical
boundaries.

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In the business of outsourcing, clients stand to gain from lesser expenses that cover staff
especially where centers are located in countries carrying or supporting the same technology
and sporting the same skill sets.

Such arrangements are where most instances of diversity are present and it is up to management
and leadership to ensure such diverse locations are not impacted by the fundamental differences
present.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?

THE PHILIPPINES

FOUR PROBLEM AREAS REPRESENT FOUR DIMESNSIONS CULTURE

POWER DISTANCE

Extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country
expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.

COLLECTIVISM VS. INDIVIDUALISM

Key differences between collectivist and individualist societies exist and focus on the extent to
which individuals are integrated into groups.

FEMININITY VS. MASCULINITY

Where there is a distribution of roles and values between genders.

UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE

Pertaining to society’s tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity.

LONG TERM ORIENTATION VS SHORT TERM ORIENTATION

Focuses on the degree to which society embraces, or does not embrace, long-term devotion to
certain traditional values.

The Philippines scored 19, making it a short term oriented society.

Long-term orientation

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is when you are focused on the future. You are willing to delay short-term material or social
success or even short-term emotional gratification in order to prepare for the future. If you have
this cultural perspective, you value persistence, perseverance, saving and being able to adapt.

Short-term orientation

is when you are focused on the present or past and consider them more important than the
future. If you have a short-term orientation, you value tradition, the current social hierarchy
and fulfilling your social obligations. You care more about immediate gratification than long-
term fulfilment.

You should note that the concepts of long-term orientation and short-term orientation address
the different ways cultures view time and the importance of the past, present and the future.
Cultures demonstrating a short-term orientation will be more concerned with the past and
present and will focus their efforts and beliefs on matters related to the short-term, while
cultures demonstrating a long-term time orientation will be more concerned with the future and
focus their efforts on future-orientated goals.

POWER DISTANCE

The Philippines is a hierarchical society. The definition of hierarchical is something that is

organized in terms of rank, or where rigid distinctions of power are identified and complied
with. This means that people accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and
which need further justification. Hierarchy in an organization is seen as reflecting inherent
inequalities, centralization is popular, subordinates expect to be told what to do and the ideal
boss is a benevolent autocrat.

Power distance is one of the dimensions of Geert Hofstede's cultural dimensions’ theory. The
other dimensions include individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance index, and long-
term orientation.

Geert Hofstede is a Dutch social psychologist that focuses his work on the study of cultures
across nations. He has published books on culture entitled Culture's Consequence (1980)
and Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind (1991). His original study of cultural
dimensions involved a study of IBM employees from across the world that formed the basis of
his cultural dimension’s theory. He's important because he helped introduce the idea of cultural
differences between people in the business context. Understanding the differences in cultures
is becoming ever more important as we continue to become an integrated global economy.

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Specifically, how one views power relationships will affect how that person will act in business
negotiations, as managers, and as employees. Using a low power distance management or
negotiation approach on someone accustomed to a high power distance viewpoint may very
well backfire and be counter-productive. The reverse is also true.

Power distance is based upon answers to a questionnaire filled out by business employees in
each country. A score can range from 1 to 100. A score of greater than seventy is considered
being high, and a score below forty is considered low. For example, the United States scored
at forty, which is considered a low score for power distance, while Guatemala scored an
amazing ninety-five, indicating a very high score for power distance.

COLLECTIVISM VS. INDIVIDUALISM

The Philippines is considered as a collectivistic society.

Highly collectivistic cultures believe group is most important unit. The characteristics are the
following: Expect absolute loyalty to group (nuclear family, extended family, caste,
organization), Group orientation, Decisions based on what is best for the group, Identity based
on social system, Shame culture, Dependence on organization and institutions (Expects
organization / institution / group to take care of individual, “We” mentality, Emphasis on
belonging, Private life “invaded” by institution and organizations to which one belongs. At
work, relatives are preferred in hiring, hiring and promotion take in-group status into account,
and fewer working hours.

The theory behind collectivism is that people are integrated behind a common bond; for
example, the success of your company. Collectivism can create strong ties of loyalty. In the
workplace, collectivism can mean focusing on more intrinsic rewards, such as mastering a new
skill or technique. Less emphasis is placed on maintaining and promoting personal opinions;
instead, management emphasizes harmony and cooperation. With individualism, people are
expected to look after themselves and no one else. Individualistic workplaces value freedom,
challenge and personal time. Motivators to perform well can be extrinsic; for example, workers
may focus on earning material awards such as raises or promotions. Individualism in the
workplace can also mean that employees have high standards for privacy and maintain strongly
held opinions.

One benefit to collectivism is its emphasis on cooperation and teamwork. As some businesses
shift away from traditional, hierarchical structures with clearly defined and maintained roles
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and responsibilities for workers, workplaces have become more collaborative. Multiple
employees may work together to achieve satisfaction and quality for customers, rather than
tending to their own clients and ignoring the needs of other customers. On the downside, shared
responsibility may mean that the workplace engenders "free riders" who don’t fully complete
duties, knowing that others will pick up the slack. Workers may feel less confident about
suggesting innovations, and may be less inclined to increase contributions knowing that their
individual efforts might not be recognized and rewarded.

FEMININITY VS. MASCULINITY

The Philippines scored 64 in this dimension and is thus a masculine society.

This dimension focuses on how extent to which a society stress achievement or

nurture. Masculinity is seen to be the trait which emphasizes ambition, acquisition of wealth,
and differentiated gender roles. Femininity is seen to be the trait which stress caring and
nurturing behaviors, sexuality equality, environmental awareness, and more fluid gender roles.

The social norms in a masculine society is ego oriented, money and things are important and
live in order to work. At work there is larger gender wage gap, fewer women in management,
and preference for higher pay.

UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE

The Philippines scored 44 on the dimension and thus has a low reference for avoiding
uncertainty.

Societies that have low uncertainty avoidance are more relaxed in attitude in which practice
counts more than the principles and deviance from the norm. Is more tolerated. In these
societies people believe that there should be no more rules that are necessary, and if they are
ambiguous or do not work, they should be abandoned or changed. Schedules are flexible, hard
work is undertaken when necessary but not for its own sake, precision and punctuality do not
come naturally, and innovation is not seen as threatening.

Low uncertainty avoidance cultures feel comfortable in unstructured situations. They can deal
with unplanned situations. They are comfortable with ambiguity, take risks and prefer flexible
approach. Examples of low uncertainty avoidance cultures are United States, United Kingdom,
India, and China.

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 CHINA

Power Distance

Power distance, the extent to which a society accepts that power is distributed
unequally, is established through subordinates and superiors. In societies with high power
distance, such as China, individuals with power enjoy greater status and privilege than those
without power, and subordinates are less likely to challenge or express disagreement with
superiors. In other words, the rank structure is clearly delineated between management and
subordinates, and disagreement with management is frowned upon.

At 80 China sits in the higher rankings of PDI- for example, a society that believes that
inequalities amongst people are acceptable. The subordinate-superior relationship tends to be
polarized and there is no defense against power abuse by superiors. Individuals are influenced
by formal authority and sanctions and are in general optimistic about people’s capacity for
leadership and initiative. People should not have aspirations beyond their rank.

Individualism

At a score of 20, China is highly collectivist culture where people act in the interests of
the group and not necessarily of themselves. In-group considerations affect hiring and
promotions with closer in-groups (such as family) are getting preferential treatment. Employee
commitment to the organization (but not necessarily to the people in the organization) is low.
Whereas relationship with the colleagues are cooperative for in-groups they are cold or even
hostile to out-groups. Personal relationships prevail over task and company.

Masculinity/Femininity

At 66, is masculine society-success oriented and driven. The need to ensure success can
be exemplified by the fact that many Chinese will sacrifice family and leisure priorities to work.
Service people (such as hairdresser) will provide services until very late at night. Leisure time
is not so important. The migrated farmer workers will leave their families behind in faraway
places in order to obtain better work and pay in the cities. Another example is that Chinese
students care very much about their exam scores and ranking as this is the main criteria to
achieve success or not.

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Uncertainty Avoidance

At 30, China has a low score on uncertainty avoidance. Truth may be relative though
in the immediate social circles, there is concern for Truth with a capital T and rules (but not
necessarily laws) abound. Nonetheless, adherence to laws and rules may be flexible to suit the
actual situation and pragmatism is a fact of life. The Chinese are comfortable with ambiguity;
the Chinese language is full of ambiguous meanings that can be difficult for Western people to
follow. Chinese are adaptable and entrepreneurial. At the time of writing, the majority (70%-
80%) of Chinese businesses tend to be small to medium sized and family owned.

Long-term Orientation

With a score of 118, China is a highly long term society in which persistence and
perseverance are normal. Relationship are ordered by status and the order is observed. Nice
people are thrifty and sparing with resources and investment tends to be in long term projects
such as real estate. Traditions can be adapted to suit new conditions. Chinese people recognize
the government is by men rather than as in the low LTO countries by an external influence
such as God or the law. Thinking ways focus on the full or no confidence, contrasting with low
LTO countries that think in probabilistic ways.

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 JAPAN

Power distance

At a score of 54, Japan is a mildly hierarchical society. Japanese are always conscious of their
hierarchical position in any social setting and act accordingly. However, it is not as hierarchical
as most of the other Asian cultures. Some foreigners experience Japan as extremely hierarchical
because of their business experience of painstakingly slow decision making process: all the
decisions must be confirmed by each hierarchical layer and finally by the top management in
Tokyo. Paradoxically, the exact example of their slow decision making process shows that in
Japanese society there is no one top guy who can take decision like in more hierarchical
societies. Another example of not so high power distance is that Japan has always been a
meritocratic society. There is a strong notion in the Japanese education system that everybody
is born equal and anyone can get ahead and become anything if he works hard enough.

Individualism

Japan scores 46 on the individualism dimension. Certainly Japanese society shows many of the
characteristics of a collectivistic society: such as putting harmony group above the expression
of individual opinions and people have strong senses of shame for losing face. However, it is
not as collectivistic as most of her Asian neighbors. The most popular explanation for this is
that Japanese society does not have extended family system which forms a base of more
collectivistic societies such as China and Korea. Japan has been a paternalistic society and the
family name and asset was inherited from father to the eldest son. The younger siblings had to
leave home and make their own living with their core families. One seemingly paradoxal
example is that Japanese are famous of their loyalty to their companies, while Chinese seem
job hop more easily. However, company loyalty is something which people have chosen for
themselves, which is an individualistic thing to do. You could say that the Japanese in-group
is situational. While in more collectivistic culture, people are loyal to their inner group by birth,
such as their family and their local community. Japanese are experienced as collectivistic by
Western standards and experienced as individualistic by Asian standards. They are more
private and reserved than most other Asians.

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Masculinity/Femininity

At 95, Japan is one of the most masculine societies in the world. However, in combination with
their mild collectivism, you do not see assertive and competitive individual behaviours which
we often associate with masculine culture. What you see is a severe competition between
groups. From very young age at kindergartens, children learn to compete on sports day for their
groups. In corporate Japan, you see that employees are most motivated when they are fighting
in a winning team against their competitors. What you also see as an expression of masculinity
in Japan is the drive for excellence and perfection in their material production (monodukuri)
and in material services (hotels and restaurants) and presentation (gift wrapping and food
presentation) in every aspect of life. Notorious Japanese work holism is another expression of
their masculinity. It is still hard for women to climb up the corporate ladders in Japan with their
masculine norm of hard and long working hours.

Uncertainty avoidance

At 92 Japan is one of the most uncertainties avoiding countries in the world. This is often
attributed to the fact that Japan is constantly threatened by natural disasters from earthquakes,
tsunamis, typhoons to volcano eruptions. Under these circumstances Japanese learned to
prepare themselves for any uncertain situation. This goes not only for the emergency plan and
precautions for sudden natural disasters but also for every others aspects of society. You could
say that in Japan anything you do is prescribed for maximum predictability. From cradle to
grave, life is highly ritualized and you have a lot of ceremonies. For example, there is opening
and closing ceremonies of every school year which are conducted almost exactly the same way
everywhere in Japan. At weddings, funerals and other important social events, what people
wear and how people should behave are prescribed in great detail in etiquette books. School
teachers and public servants are reluctant to do things without precedence. In corporate Japan,
a lot of time and effort is put into feasibility studies and all the risk factors must be worked out
before any project can start. Managers ask for all the detailed facts and figures before taking
any decision. This high need for uncertainty avoidance is one of the reasons why changes are
difficult to realize in Japan.

Long term orientation

At 80 Japan scores as one of the long term oriented societies. Japanese see their life as a very
short moment in a long history of mankind. From this perspective, some kind of fatalism is not

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strange to the Japanese. You do your best in your life time and that is all what you can do.
Notion of the one and only almighty God is not familiar to Japanese. People live their lives
guided by virtues and practical good examples. In corporate Japan, you see long term
orientation in the constantly high rate of investment in R&D even in economically difficult
times, higher own capital rate, priority to steady growth of market share rather than to a
quarterly profit, and so on. They all serve the durability of the companies. The idea behind it
is that the companies are not here to make money every quarter for the shareholders, but to
serve the stake holders and society at large for many generations to come (e.g. Matshuhista)

UNITED STATES

Power Distance

Imagine walking into your first day of work. People are sitting quietly in their cubicles, quickly
typing away on their computers. As you finish setting up your workstation, your new boss
stomps into the room and begins yelling at you. After what seems like hours of unfair and
judgmental remarks being said to you, he walks away, and you are left there to silently turn
back to your work, unable to say a word. While this scene may be considered overdramatic,
this example portrays what it would be like to work in a company with a high power distance.
Another example, in a lower power distance culture, if one was to want a promotion at their
job, they would be willing to confront their boss and ask for one.

This dimensions deals with the fact that all individuals in societies are not equal- it expresses
the attitude of the culture towards these inequalities amongst us. Power distance Is defines as
the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a
country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. It has to do with the fact that
a society’s inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders.

The United States score low on this dimension (40) which underscores the American premise
of “liberty and justice for all.” This is also evidenced by the focus on equal rights in all aspects
of American society and government. Within American organizations, hierarchy is established
for conveniences, superiors are always accessible and managers rely on individual employees
and teams for their expertise. Both managers and employees expect to be consulted and
information is shared frequently. At the same time, communication is informal, direct and
participative.

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Power Distance Conclusion

To conclude what we've learned about power distance, we now know that power distance is
the amount of power distributed to authority and subordinate figures in their respective
cultures. While some countries, such as the United States, have lower power distances, others
like Saudi Arabia have a high power distance. Certain cultural rules, traditions and expectations
are based off of the culture's power distance, such as being able to confront a boss about a
specific issue, or having to be passive and indirect with a person in a high authority position.

Knowing the different power distances in cultures will help one form and maintain intercultural
knowledge and understandings. Without this knowledge and understanding, confusion,
frustration and even anger may occur. By recognizing and respecting the power distance of a
certain culture, the transition of adapting and acclimating to the new culture will be much
easier, more efficient and understandable.

Individualism

The fundamental issue addressed by this dimensions is the degree of interdependence a society
maintains among its members. It has to do with whether people’s self-image is defined in
terms of “I” or “We”. In Individualist societies people are supposed to look after themselves
and their direct family only. In Collectivist societies people belong to ‘in groups’ that take care
of them in exchange for loyalty.

The United States, with a score of 91 on this dimension, is a highly individualistic culture. This
translates into a loosely-knit society in which the expectation is that people look after
themselves and their immediate families. There is also a high degree of geographical mobility
in the United States and most Americans are accustomed to doing business with, or interacting,
with strangers. Consequently, Americans are not shy about approaching their prospective
counterparts in order to obtain or seek information. In the business world, employees are
expected to be self-reliant and display initiative. Also, within the exchange-based world of
work, hiring and promotion decisions are based on merit or evidence of what one has done or
can do.

Masculinity/Femininity

A high score (masculine) on this dimension indicates that the society will be driven by
competition, achievement and success, with success being defined by the “winner” or “best-

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in-the-field.” This value system starts in school and continues throughout one’s life- both in
work and leisure pursuits.

A low score (feminine) on the dimensions means that the dominant values in society are caring
for others and quality of life. A feminine society is one where quality of life is the sign of
success and standing out from the crowd is not admirable. The fundamental issue here is what
motivates people, wanting to be the best (masculine) or liking what you do (feminine).

The United States score 62 on this dimension and is considered a “masculine” society.
Behaviour in school, work, and play are based on the shared values that people should “strive
to be the best they can be” and that “the winner takes all”. As a result, Americans will tend to
display and talk freely about their “successes” and achievements in life, here again, another
basis for hiring and promotion decisions in the workplace. Typically, Americans “live to work”
so that they can earn monetary rewards and attain higher status based on how good one can be.
Conflicts are resolved at the individual level and the goal is to win.

Uncertainty Avoidance

The dimensions Uncertainty Avoidance has to do with the way that a society deals with the
fact that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let it happen?
This ambiguity brings with it anxiety and different cultures have learnt to deal with this anxiety
in different ways. The extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous
or unknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these is
reflected in the UAI score.

The US scores 46 on this dimensions and therefore, American society is what one would
describe as “uncertainty accepting.” Consequently, there is a larger degree of acceptance for
new ideas, innovative products and a willingness to try something new or different, whether it
pertains to technology, business practices, or foodstuffs. Americans tend to be more tolerant of
ideas or opinions from anyone and allow the freedom of expression. At the same time,
Americans do not require a lot of rules and are less emotionally expressive than higher-scoring
cultures.

Long-term Orientations

The long term orientation dimension is closely related to the teachings of Confucius and can
be interpreted as dealing with society’s search for virtue, the extent to which a society shows

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a pragmatic future-oriented perspective rather than a conventional historical short-term
point of view.

The United States scores 29 on this dimension and is a short-term oriented culture. As a result,
it is a culture focused on traditions and fulfilling social obligations. Given this perspective,
American businesses measure their performance on a short-term basis, with a profit and loss
statements being issued on a quarterly basis. This also drives individuals to strive for quick
results within the work place. There is also a need to have the “absolute truth” in all matters.

Assessment Test:

1. Enumerate the Business Culture of Asia. Explain briefly.

2. Define what is service culture.
3. Enumerate the four problem areas represent four dimensions’ culture.

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 Topic 5:
Vision and Mission of a Service,
Culture and Values of an
Organization and Customer Service

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 VISION AND MISSION OF A SERVICE ORGANIZATION

VISION OF A SERVICE ORGANIZATION

What is Vision?

Vision is the organization’s aspirations; this is how the organization sees itself in the future.

Organization’s Vision Statement

Communicates what the organization wants to be in the future.

Developing Vision Statement

Vision Statement should state what the organization envisions to become in the future. It should
be inspirational and should reflect the organization’s aspirations.

It should answer the following:

What do we want to become?

What will happen as a result of what we do?

Examples of Vision Statement

Starbucks Coffee

Mission Statement:

“To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a
time.”

Vision Statement:

Starbucks coffee does not readily present its vision statement. However, a careful reading of
the company’s website reveals that its vision statement.

“To establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while
maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow.”

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 Apple

Mission Statement:

“Man is the creator of change in this world. As such, he should be above systems and
structures, and not subordinate to them.” – Steve Jobs 1980’s

Vision Statement:

"Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork
and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes
online store.”

Importance of Vision and Mission

“Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision
with action can change the world. If you have just a mission, the action written – and not the
vision, you will not know where you’re going or if you have arrived. - John Barker, The
Power of Vision (1990)

Also, a well-crafted vision and mission statement can help align your company’s efforts and
focus its strengths on goal achievement.

MISSION OF A SERVICE ORGANIZATION

What is Mission

It states the organization’s purpose and actions to fulfill its vision. Basically it answers how
will the organization achieve its vision.

Importance of Mission

A company's mission statement is essentially its statement of purpose. It serves as a guide for
all of the company's decision-making. Shareholders, leaders and employees are generally the
target of the mission. It should help workers within the organization know what decisions and
tasks best align with the mission of the company. A mission statement offers insight into
what company leaders view as the primary purpose for being in business. Some companies
have profit-motivated missions, while others make customers a focal point. Other firms use a
mission to point out more altruistic intentions that ultimately lead to profits.

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Developing Mission Statement

Your mission statement should describe the organization’s overall purpose.

It should answer the following:

What we do?
How do we do it?
For whom do we do it?
When developing mission statements, we should know and understand what the organization
does. The statement should be able to describe the actions of the organizations take in order
to achieve what they have envisioned to be in the future.

Example of a Mission Statement

Chevron Mission Statement from its value:

“Our Company’s foundation is built on our Values, which distinguish us and guide our
actions. We conduct our business in a socially responsible and ethical manner. We respect
the law, support universal human rights, protect the environment, and benefits the
communities where we work.”

CULTURE AND VALUES OF AN ORGANIZATION

What is Culture?
Culture is a pattern of knowledge, belief, behavior, that depends on what is learned or
dictated by the society.

Organizational Culture

Organizational culture is a pattern of shared basic assumptions that was learned by a group as
it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well
enough to be considered valid and therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way
you perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems. -Edgar Schein, 2004

Levels of Culture

According to Edgar Schein, culture has three distinct levels:

Behavior and artifacts, which are most observable in an organization. Architecture,

choice of furniture, dress codes, jokes, and history are organizational artifacts that can

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 be easily identified or related to the organization by someone who may not be part of
the organization.

Values are the professed culture of the organization. These are the stated shared values
by its members, such as loyalty, customer service excellence, respect, etc.

Assumptions are the deepest level of an organization’s culture. These actual values are
the true reflection of the organization’s culture as it in this level where unspoken rules
lie. These assumptions may be difficult to see from within, as it is integrated with the
dynamics of the organization.

TYPES OF CULTURE (According to researcher Jeffrey Sonnenfeld)

Jeffrey Sonnenfield taught for ten years as a professor at the Harvard Business School. He
was an American academic, Lester Crown Professor in the Practice of Management at Yale
School of Management, and Senior Associate Dean for Executive Programs. Sonnenfeld is
the founder of Chief Executive Leadership Institute (CELI), a non-profit educational and
research institute focused on CEO leadership and corporate governance, and the world's first
school for chief executives. His work on strategic staffing presented this model of 4 types of
culture:

1. Academy Culture

Employees are highly skilled and tend to stay in the organization, while working their way up
the ranks. The organization provides a stable environment in which employees can
development and exercise their skills. Examples are universities, hospitals, large
corporations, etc.

2. Baseball Team Culture

Employees are "free agents" who have highly prized skills. They are in high demand and can
rather easily get jobs elsewhere. This type of culture exists in fast-paced, high-risk
organizations, such as investment banking, advertising, etc.

3. Club Culture

The most important requirement for employees in this culture is to fit into the group. Usually
employees start at the bottom and stay with the organization. The organization promotes from
within and highly values seniority. Examples are the military, some law firms, etc.

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 4. Fortress Culture

Employees don't know if they'll be laid off or not. These organizations often undergo massive
reorganization. There are many opportunities for those with timely, specialized skills.
Examples are savings and loans, large car companies, etc.

What are Values?

Important and lasting beliefs or ideals shared by the members of a culture about what
is good or bad and desirable or undesirable. Values have major influence on a person's
behavior and attitude and serve as broad guidelines in all situations. Some common
business values are fairness, innovation and community involvement.

The monetary worth of something in areas such as accounting, economics, marketing

or mathem.
What is Organizational Culture?

Organizational culture includes an organization’s expectations, experiences,

philosophy, as well as the values that guide member behavior, and is expressed in
member self-image, inner workings, interactions with the outside world, and future
expectations. Culture is based on shared attitudes, beliefs, customs, and written and
unwritten rules that have been developed over time and are considered valid (The
Business Dictionary).
Culture also includes the organization’s vision, values, norms, systems, symbols,
language, assumptions, beliefs, and habits (Needle, 2004).
Simply stated, organizational culture is “the way things are done around here” (Deal &
Kennedy, 2000)

Importance of Culture and Values

The Importance of Culture in Organizations

Employees find job satisfaction in belonging to the business culture. Every organization has its
own culture. Since many employees spend 40 or more hours at their workplace, their
organization’s culture obviously affects both their work lives as well as their personal lives.
Organizational culture refers to the beliefs, ideologies, principles and values that the

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individuals of an organization share. This culture is a determining factor in the success of the
organization.

Unity - A shared organizational culture helps to unite employees of different

demographics. Many employees within an organization come from different
backgrounds, families and traditions and have their own cultures. Having a shared
culture at the workplace gives them a sense of unity and understanding towards one
another, promoting better communication and less conflict. In addition, a shared
organizational culture promotes equality by ensuring no employee is neglected at the
workplace and that each is treated equally.

Loyalty - Organizational culture helps to keep employees motivated and loyal to the
management of the organization. If employees view themselves as part of their
organization’s culture, they are more eager to want to contribute to the entity's success.
They feel a higher sense of accomplishment for being a part of an organization they
care about and work harder without having to be coerced.

Competition - Healthy competition among employees is one of the results of a shared

organizational culture. Employees will strive to perform at their best to earn recognition
and appreciation from their superiors. This in turn increases the quality of their work,
which helps the organization prosper and flourish.

Direction - Guidelines contribute to organizational culture. They provide employees

with a sense of direction and expectations that keep employees on task. Each employee
understands what his roles and responsibilities are and how to accomplish tasks prior
to established deadlines.

Identity - An organization’s culture defines its identity. An entity's way of doing

business is perceived by both the individuals who comprise the organization as well as
its clients and customers, and it is determined by its culture. The values and beliefs of
an organization contribute to the brand image by which it becomes known and
respected.

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Importance of Values

Our values are important because they help us to grow and develop. They help us to create the
future we want to experience. Every individual and every organization is involved in making
hundreds of decisions every day. The decisions we make are a reflection of our values and
beliefs, and they are always directed towards a specific purpose. That purpose is the satisfaction
of our individual or collective (organizational) needs.

When we use our values to make decisions, we make a deliberate choice to focus on what is
important to us. When values are shared, they build internal cohesion in a group.

There are four types of values that we find in an organizational setting: individual values,
relationship values, organizational values and societal values.

Individual values - Individual values reflect how you show up in your life and your
specific needs-the principles you live by and what you consider important for your self-
interest. Individual values include: enthusiasm, creativity, humility and personal
fulfillment.
Relationship values - Relationship values reflect how you relate to other people in
your life, be they friends, family or colleagues in your organization. Relationship values
include: openness, trust, generosity and caring.
Organizational values - Organizational values reflect how your organization shows up
and operates in the world. Organizational values include: financial growth, teamwork,
productivity and strategic alliances.
Societal values - Societal values reflect how you or your organization relates to society.
Societal values include: future generations, environmental awareness, ecology and
sustainability.
Value Statements

Every organization has a set of values, whether or not they are written down. The values guide
the perspective of the organization as well as its actions. Writing down a set of commonly-held
values can help an organization define its culture and beliefs. When members of the
organization subscribe to a common set of values, the organization appears united when it deals
with various issues.

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 Values in Organizations- Even if an organization has not explicitly spelled out the
values it uses to guide its actions, it has values. They may be unstated, but they play an
important role in determining how the organization confronts problems and issues.
Values may come from the common purpose for which the organization works, the
organization’s leadership or from other sources.

Guide- Value statements list the principles and ethics to which an organization adheres.
They form an ethical foundation for the organization. These principles and ethics then
guide the behavior of organization members. They assist organizations in determining
what is right and wrong. Members then act in certain ways, using the values as a guide.

Community- Value statements also serve as a reference point for community members
outside the organization. They enable them to understand the beliefs and principles of
the organization. They provide basic information about how the organization operates
and about its perspectives on ethical problems.

Acting Outside Values- When an organization writes down its values, it lays out its
expectations of behaviors for organization members. Individuals in the organization
may be more likely to pursue behaviors that match their own value systems without a
written guide of organizational values. These behaviors may not be in line with the
organization’s values, and they may not be ones the organization wants to promote.
Smaller organizations can confront actions that don’t line up with their values more
easily than large organizations. Written value statements serve as a helpful guide for
organization members in all organizations, but large organizations with several sub-
groups especially benefit from them.

Mission and Goals- Value statements’ ultimate purpose is to encourage behaviors from
organization members that encourage the achievement of organizational goals and its
mission. Leaders of an organization can encourage these behaviors from other members
with a value framework that guides members’ behavior.

Living Out Value Statements- Communication of values is important both internally

and externally. Talk about your organization’s values in meetings and writings.
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 Publicly acknowledge those who have lived out the organization’s values. Give new
members of the organizations copies of the organization’s values, and post them
prominently. Allow members and outsiders to update the organization’s values on a
regular basis. This encourages the feeling of inclusion among organization members.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

OBJECTIVES:

- Define and explain the importance of customer service in their own terms
- Discuss key customer service concepts and how they relate to each other
- Analyze the customer service component of different service companies

TOPICS:

- What is Customer Service?

- Components of Customer Service
- Effective Customer Service

WHAT IS CUSTOMER SERVICE?

IN CUSTOMER SERVICE WE DEFINE

Respect and Integrity as central to the practice of customer service are the concepts of respect
and central to the practice of customer service are the concepts of respects and integrity as they
apply to the principles of reliability, responsiveness, accountability, and communication.

Integrity as they apply to the principles of reliability, responsiveness, accountability and

communication. As values, they provide a stringent framework by which service organizations
operate. By stringent, we mean hard-liner and uncompromising rules that expectedly enhance
the customer experience.

WHAT IT IS NOT

ADVERTISING. Advertising is activity involving producing information to

promote the sale of commercial products or services. As a branch of marketing, it

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 also plays a significant part in making products known to different households. It
provides information about products or services but is, by itself, definitely NOT
customer service.

TAGLINE. A tagline is text placed at the end of advertising copy that aims to
catch and hold the interest of prospective buyers, and persuade them to make a
purchase. Now, while a positive reaction to great customer service may result in
customers continuing their patronage of specific brands or services, a tagline is
NOT a manifestation of customer service.

CATCH-PHRASE. Differentiated from advertising copy, a catch-phrase is a

phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. They originate from
pop-culture and may spread through a variety of mass media, in the same way that
famous movie lines may be used casually in everyday conversation. Indeed, catch-
phrases are identified with the character from which they originated.

By definition, a catch-phrase may be used to wisecrack about a situation. The

same could not be said of customer service; it is NOT a catch-phrase and should
never be treated like one.

JOKE. A joke may be a thing, concept, or person that is made fun of, an insincere
and insulting imitation, or something that may be said or done in order to cause
laughter. Sometimes also considered a witticism, a joke spices up regular
conversation – it adds interest to a conversational topic and during a discourse
helps to keep an audience engaged and awake.

But while it does serve to add to engaging conversation, it does not serve the
interest of customer. It cannot be considered a part of customer service no matter
the perceived communication. It is unheard of that customers would think of
substandard software as funny. In fact, and in all seriousness, customer service is
NO joke.

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WHAT IT IS

PROCESS. As a series of actions or events, customer service does follow a series

of steps that occur at the onset of a customer communicating an issue or concern,
progress to actual issue resolution, and end with receiving customer feedback about
the resolution they received.
The steps taken in such a process differ from one organization to another. These
processes are usually identified based on an organization’s goals and/or objectives.

VALUE. Also referred to as the relative usefulness or importance of something

measured against specific qualities, value is normally assigned by the individual
who perceives the object that is assigned this relative measurement

As such, the value of customer service is measured based on customer feedback,

such as those received through voice of customer (VOC) or customer satisfaction
(CSAT) surveys from the end-consumer of this service: the customer.

OPPORTUNITY. Opportunity is the favorable combination of circumstance, time,

and place.

As an opportunity, customer service is a means for a company to showcase the best

that they can offer by way of pre-sales or post-sales support. In doing so, customers
who are pleased by purchased products and services and other pluses develop a
level of trust for the company that produces the quality output they appreciate. A
relationship is born – and customer loyalty is it is biggest reward.

Customer service is also an opportunity for customer to provide detailed feedback

about what performance areas a company needs to work on, some ideas for
developing new products, or about competitors and what they have to offer.

ORIENTATION. An orientation underscored the direction or way towards which

companies are steering themselves. From this perspective, customer service may be
the goal as much as it is a means to get there.

Knowing the customer is an essential part of creating or programming a customer

service orientation. Customer service entails seeking the customer’s point of view,
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 “anticipating and responding to customer needs”, and seeking to develop solutions
to customer concerns or problems.

If we compare companies that have a customer service strategy or program against

those which do not, often it is the company that practices customer service and
shoots for service excellence that shows the active involvement of customer in the
improvement of the products and services they provide.

Indeed, listening to customers can help in all areas of a business, from developing
new products to finding out more about potential competitors.

GOAL. Referred to as a purpose towards which effort is directed, a goal consists

of several individual objectives with an observable and measurable end-result.
Broader in scope compared to objectives, it typically covers long-term planning and
more generalized concepts.

As a goal, customer service is evident in seasonal changes in how information about

goods and services are communicated, made available, and managed across markets
and geographies. It is also evident in long-term programs formulated by companies
that have a service orientation.

OBJECTIVE. From a business standpoint, an objective is a more specific end that

can be reasonably achieved within an expected timeframe and with the available
resources.

It is what is underlying all the planning and strategic activities of a company and
serves as the basis for policy and performance appraisals. Typically, objectives are
expected to be specific, measurable, achievable, repeatable, and time-bound.

ALIGNING WITH CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS

When companies align with customers and their expectations, this means that they have
resolved to employ every means available to find out more about their customers and what they
value.

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Essentially, understanding customer service means placing a considerable amount of effort into
enhancing the customer’s overall experience with a product or service from pre-sales to post-
sales.

It occurs the moment the customers come into contact with the products or services that the
different firms, manufacturers or service organizations offer.

COMPANY'

SWEET
SPOT

Qualitative Quantitative
Approach Approach

The sweet spot corresponds to the best mix of customer expectations, wants, and needs, and
the ability of the company and its products to meet those needs.

From a broad marketing perspective, this may mean deploying personnel to conduct product
surveys, to observing market trends through their stock market performance, studying their
competition, and going to specific locations to observe the behavior of their target market or
what approach works best.

The process is both qualitative and quantitative in nature and the biggest companies today are
known to practice a creative combination of both. Similar research is, in fact, done periodically
to make sure they strategically align with their customers as accurately as possible.

Assuming results of qualitative (discussions, informal interviews, observations, etc.) and

quantitative efforts (survey, product feedback surveys, etc.) are accurate, this win-win situation
benefits both the customers and the company wooing them.

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 BENEFIT(S)

Customer Satisfaction, excellent product/service, comfort, convenience, post-

sales service, discounts/freebies, accurate information, quality service

Company Profit earnings, market share, satisfaction ratings, customer loyalty,

positive or developmental feedback

Table. Benefits of being able to deliver what customers expect

Note that the terms satisfaction, excellence, comfort, convenience, accuracy, and quality and
loyalty, are qualitative terms that cannot easily be assigned specific numerical value.

COMPONENTS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE

MEETING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS

When we talk about meeting or exceeding customer expectations, what we ultimately want to
find out is if the customer’s perceived value of a product or service is met by the kind and
quality of service they received. Ultimately, this means knowing what customers need.

Professor Noriaki Kano of Tokyo Rika University, and his colleagues classify customer needs
in an effort to measure their satisfaction levels:

BASIC NEEDS
These are expected features or characteristics of a product or service (easy and legible
forms, basic functionality) and are typically “unspoken” or left unsaid. If these needs
are not fulfilled, customers are very dissatisfied.

PERFORMANCE NEEDS
These are standard attributes that can increase or decrease a customer’s satisfaction
based on their degree such as cost/price, ease of use, and speed. Typically, these needs
are “spoken” or voiced.

EXCITEMENT NEEDS
Also referred to as “delighters”, excitement needs pertain to unexpected features that
impress customers and earn the company some “extra credit”. These needs are
“unspoken”, and customers may or may not visibly or verbally express their delight.

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 In contrast, while not getting these would not increase a customer’s dissatisfaction,
receiving them would most certainly increase their satisfaction.

Understanding and identifying with a customer’s needs is the starting point of service-oriented
staff. Then, after finding out what customers need, companies find and identify ways of making
sure that these needs are met.

From this perspective, “meeting customer expectations” is really all about seeing eye to eye on
matters of personal interest. It is a meeting of minds.

Bottom line: “Meeting Customer Expectations” makes customers feel valued.

BUILDING A CUSTOMER SERVICE STRATEGY

Part of ensuring that we focus on what customers need is making sure that we translate this
understanding into a solid structure by building an environment that supports this exact
orientation, one that works as a repeatable process.

Remember that strategies are plans or patterns that generally put together into a cohesive whole
all the elements and aspects that complete it. In the case of customer service, this means
identifying and then defining the critical items that will contribute to a service organization’s
objectives.

To build a customer service strategy:

1. Identify the target customer.

Knowing our customer is really the first step in planning. When we plan, we identify
and create processes that resolve issues, we draw up contingency plans, emergency and
escalation processes and ways to effectively deliver the kind of service that
demonstrates our commitment. It helps us anticipate and prepare for any eventuality.

2. Determine what customers want.

Next to identifying our customers, we need to find out exactly what they need and want
(or expect). What makes them tick is what makes our registers ring.

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 3. Establish an Organizational Culture supportive of Customer Service.
Creating an organizational culture involves getting the buy-in of everyone in the team
across the different departments and functions, and management. It involves
capitalizing on individual and organizational values that would support the attainment
of service goals. It involves hitting the right targets and making sure that processes are
being put in place to contribute to the growth of the organization.

4. Implement an Externally-Oriented Strategic Service Concept.

When we create a complementary culture, we really are establishing how the
organization’s service is designed, marketed, and delivered to target customers. This is
what people on the outside will perceive and learn about the company.

5. Implement an Internally-Oriented Strategic Service Concept.

Here, we establish how the organization’s internal processes will support the customer-
focused vision.
Happy employees generally give more to the organization and advocate its continued
growth. Having them also means a fairly stable or consistent scoring on the customer
satisfaction front. At the same time, leaders are expected to exhibit and promote the
company’s values and support employee decisions and judgment calls. In a general
sense, it means focusing on training and employee development, identifying the right
objectives that would result in quick returns on invested training, and empowering staff.

THE RIGHT PEOPLE

An organization, company, or team is a living organism. It is made up of different parts that

perform a function separately, and then together, while contributing to a service strategy.

This is why organizations screen and then select the best possible people for different tasks.
Apart from finding out what people can bring to the table, companies are now making it part
of their priority to look for competencies that would help potential employees to work
effectively and more efficiently within a diverse setting.

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SERVICE STANDARDS

Service standards are measurable performance levels or expectations that define the quality of
customer contact. They might include, among others:

Response time (or average speed of answer)

Behavioral standards (quality legends)
Customer satisfaction (rate of customer satisfaction vs. expectations)
Service level

We refer to service standards as performance metrics and they often coincide with previously
identified service objectives.

If anything, service standards allow leadership to evaluate, monitor, and then coach employees
to performance in efforts to drive, attain, reach, maintain, or recover high performance. They
are mostly achieved if and when key performance indicators (KPI) or conditions met.

ENGAGING THE CUSTOMER AS PARTNER

Customers are human beings who, more often than not, will be very happy to share what they
know will work for the company.

When they actively voice expectations and recommendations, they express a level of
engagement in non-verbal terms. We can leverage this by treating them as partners in our
development.

Remember that when we treat our customers like business owners, we help create value for the
company and build a more loyal customer base.

EFFECTIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE

REQUISITES OF EFFECTIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE

A WORD ON RESPECT AND INTEGRITY

Central to the practice of customer service are the concepts of respect and integrity as they
apply to the principles of reliability, responsiveness, accountability, and communication.

As values, they provide a stringent framework by which service organizations operate. By

stringent, we mean hard-line and uncompromising rules that expectedly enhance the customer

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experience. Most of these are based on sound common sense while embrace the borderline
between organizational policies and effective interpersonal communications.

COMMON PRINCIPLES IN DELIVERING EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE

1. Build a customer-focused business and sales will follow.

2. Understand customer needs and exceed their expectations.
3. Build a loyal customer base.
4. Welcome customer complaints and resolve them with integrity and efficiency.
5. Consistently study the customer and reevaluate the service.

DELIVERING EFFECTIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE

A WORD ON RESPECT AND INTEGRITY

Central to the practice of customer service are the concepts or respect and integrity as they
apply to the customer service ethic.

As values, they provide a stringent framework by which service organizations operate.

By stringent, we mean hard-line and uncompromising rules that unexpectedly enhance the
customer experience. Most of these are based on sound common sense while some embrace
the borderline between organizational policies and potentially clashing customer expectations.

Moreover, effective customer service is simply an ideal concept towards which service
organizations or companies with customer service leanings move. Simple: An organization is
usually just as effective as they aim to be based on customer feedback regarding support
received.

Over and above this, respect and integrity are they very values that help sustain a service
orientation. Without them, companies have been known to fail, fold, and consequently go
bankrupt.

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Assessment Test:

1. Define Vision and Mission Statement.

2. List the importance of a Vision and Mission statement to the organization.
3. Define and enumerate the three distinct levels of culture according to
Edgar Schein.
4. What is Values? How does it influence the behavior and attitude of a
person?
5. Give at least three importance of culture and values in organization.

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 Topic 6:

The Role of Customers in Your

Business Success

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A business can never place too much emphasis on its customers. The customer is the foundation
of any business' success. One of the primary goals of any marketing strategy should be to
identify and meet the needs of the consumer. Considering customer importance at all stages of
the marketing process helps your company to ensure greater customer satisfaction and increase
its long-term goal of repeat business.

What is customer?
In marketing we tend to use the word customer / customers and consumer almost
interchangeably. However, our customer and the consumer are not strictly speaking the same.
A customer is a person or company who purchases goods and services. A customer becomes a
consumer when he or she uses the goods or services i.e. where there is some consumption.

The Role of Customers in Your Business Success

The primary purpose of a business is to create a customer because it is the customer that will
determine the growth potential of a business. Though, it is imperative to create time and effort
on how you are going to improve your business and services, it is still the customers that will
dictate the success of your business. So, customer service is very vital if you want your business
to succeed.

Customer service is a major factor in making sure you achieve business growth and success. It
can affect your business positively or negatively. This is reason why the whole business plan,
marketing strategies, sales and profit will largely depend on its impact on the customers.
Primarily, you are in business to generate revenue through selling your products and services
to people who are in need of the services. All these people want to know if your products and
services will make impact in their lives and meet their needs.

To make sure that you generate income for your business, you must be willing to satisfy the
desires and needs of your customers. Your whole business is resting on that foundation. Every
decision making must take into cognizance how it is going to affect the customers. You should
make it a point of duty ensure that you have an excellent customer service system.

All strategies you have put in place to ensure you have great marketing and sales will help in
attracting new customers for your business but it is the excellent customer service that keeps
the business going and makes customers wanting to come back. People will only want to do
business with those they are comfortable with and can trust. As a business owner, you must
make sure that you make your customers have that confidence, trust and satisfaction in you by
giving them the best quality service.

This factor has created opportunities for large and small businesses. It affords every business
to offer the best quality service which their organization will be known for. By so doing, they
have been able to distinguish themselves from all the rest in that sector of business.

All businesses must realize that customer service plays a major role in the success of any
business. You must have the ability to focus on the need of your customers rather on your own
selfish gains, and supporting them with all the abilities at your disposal to make sure that they
are 99% satisfied with the services they are getting from you as this is the determinant of their
coming back to patronize you. This will make your business much more cost effective and in

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turn increase the output you are getting in terms of profit because to make you succeed in
business.

CUSTOMER VALUE
Direct Value
▫ Customer contributes directly to our business.
▫ In very simple term, our customers’ direct value is computed by determining
the average revenue each customer brings in per transaction. We check:
Do they renew their subscription every month?
Do they buy what we propose or up-sell?
Do they sign up for additional service?

We count the number of transactions they make each year. Multiply that with the average
revenue they bring each month and you now can get the customer’s revenue value per year.
EXAMPLE:
Let’s say that John pays an average of $21.95 a month for an exclusive membership
subscription. He checks our updates a few times each year and on average would buy twice a
year for a maximum worth of $200 in products. He also transacts with us at least 12 times a
year.
SOLUTION:
$21.95 subscription rate x 12 months = $263.40 total subscription per year
$263.40 + ($200 average transaction per year x 2)= $663.40 total revenue per year
$663.40 / 12 months = $55.28 average transaction per month
If we multiply that figure with the average customer lifetime or average number of years we
expect for them to stay loyal to us as customers, what we’ll get is their customer lifetime
value.
Let’s say that John will be staying with us for another 15 years, then:
▫ $663.40 x 15 = $9,951 customer lifetime worth (15 years)

Theoretically, if we had atleast 5,000 customers who transact in the same manner as John, this
means:
▫ $9,951 x 5000 = $49,755,000

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 Indirect Value
• Value that the customer causes for us as a result of word-of-mouth, positive reviews,
or referrals.
Now, it is a happy fact that happy customers normally tell atleast 5 people about their positive
experience.
That’s theoretical indirect value of:
• $9,951 x 5 = 49,755 revenue / year for 5 referred customers
However, it is more realistic to say that only 25% of customers we get are referrals.
So, if we gave an actual number of 1,500 customers who transact at $9,951 a year, we have:
• $9,951 x 1,500 customers = $14,926,500 from 1500 customers / year
That is:
• $14,926,500 xx 0.25 = $3,731,625 / year from 25% referral
• $3,731,625 + $14,926,500 = $18,658,125 / year from direct and indirect
values of 1500 customers

CUSTOMER TYPES
• Three major classifications:
1. in related to the business
Internal – fellow employees and managers within a workplace
External – people and organizations who have a need for your product
or service and purchased your products or services in exchange for
money
2. In relation to support required

• novice – little or no experience with a product

• advanced – have a good understanding of hardware and peripherals
• talkative – poor listeners who most probably aren’t following instruction

• passive – may not be reacting or responding and may seem like a joy to work
with but actually need more guidance

• Special Needs- customers who may have speech impediments or hearing and
visual difficulties

• Demanding – quick to show authority, demand action and usually get to the
point immediately, quick to get irate

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The Customer
As Value
▫ Customers represent that part of a business that adds to the company’s value
proposition.

As Goal
▫ Goals specify what we want to achieve; in recognizing customers as goals, we
seek to align not only with their expectation but with their ultimate needs.

Customer Service Interactions

2 Basic Forms of Interactions

1. Encounters

Short term and based on minimal contact, customers are treated the same,
with no personal basis for service, there is a lack of personal recognition for both
sides and no special considerations.

2. Relationships

Customers bring in special service, relationships evolve over time, there is a

personal element of trust between two parties, the same relationship is important to
maintaining the business, the nature of relationship may result in special
considerations and relationships are cultivated for quality service.

Of the two, relationships are undisputedly better. They are critical to retaining a
customer’s business.
Why contrast the two?

1. If customers are expecting an encounter and service personnel attempt to build a

relationship, then the company is not meeting the customer’s needs for simple, direct
and uniform service.
2. If they expect personalized service, with someone attending to their specific needs,
noting their concerns and establishing a basis for future contact, customers will not
return if they are treated like encounters.

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

Customer relationship management (CRM) is an approach to manage a company's

interaction with current and potential customers. It uses data analysis about customers' history
with a company to improve business relationships with customers, specifically focusing
on customer retention and ultimately driving sales growth.
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 One important aspect of the CRM approach is the systems of CRM that
compile data from a range of different communication channels, including a company's
website, telephone, email, live chat, marketing materials, and more recently, social media.
Through the CRM approach and the systems used to facilitate it, businesses learn more about
their target audiences and how to best cater to their needs.

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Total Quality Management (TQM) is the continuous process of reducing or

eliminating errors in manufacturing, streamlining supply chain management, improving the
customer experience, and ensuring that employees are up-to-speed with their training.
Total quality management aims to hold all parties involved in the production process
accountable for the overall quality of the final product or service.

TQM was developed by William Deming, a management consultant whose work had
great impact on Japanese manufacturing. While TQM shares much in common with the Six
Sigma improvement process, it is not the same as Six Sigma. TQM focuses on ensuring that
internal guidelines and process standards reduce errors, while Six Sigma looks to reduce
defects.
Total Quality Management (TQM) is a structured approach to overall organizational
management. The focus of the process is to improve the quality of an organizations outputs,
including goods and services, through continual improvement of internal practices. TQM is
considered a customer-focused process and aims for continual improvement of business
operations. It strives to ensure all associated employees work toward the common goals of
improving product or service quality, as well as improving the procedures that are in place for
production.

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK

Customers are the most important people in your business. However, to keep them and to grow
your company, you will need extensive information on them. Keeping a customer profile is not
a choice, but a necessity. You need as much information as you can get hold of if you intend
to make your business successful.

What is Customer Feedback?

Customer feedback is information provided by clients about whether they are satisfied or
dissatisfied with a product or service and about general experience they had with a company.
Their opinion is a resource for improving customer experience and adjusting your actions to
their needs. This information can be collected with different kinds of surveys (prompted
feedback), but you can also find opinions and reviews your clients post online (unprompted
feedback) and collect them using Internet monitoring tools. Both sources are important to get
a full picture of how your clients perceive your brand.

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Top performing companies understand an important role that customer feedback plays in
business. They consistently listen to the voice of their clients.

STEPS IN BUILDING A RESPONSIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE STRATEGY

1. Create a Customer Service Vision

The first step in creating a customer service strategy is communicating the customer service
vision to employees. Employees need to understand what the vision and organizational goals
are for customer service and understand their responsibility to help achieve that vision.

An organization that shares a customer service vision, and teaches customer service skills, will
provide a better customer service experience than an organization that leaves the front-line
employees untrained and unprepared for dealing with customer issues.

2. Assess Customer Needs

Organizations often fail, and waste valuable resources, creating products and services that they
thought the customer wanted, only to find out it was not what the customer wanted at all. The
trick is to find out what it is the customer wants and put together plans to meet those needs.

Organizations can’t meet the needs of their customers without understanding what they want.
The first step in a customer improvement initiative is to talk to the customers to find out their
perception of the services being provided and determining what their needs and expectations
are.

A customer needs assessment is done by soliciting feedback through focus groups, satisfaction
surveys, or customer comment cards, and developing a comprehensive plan to meet and exceed
the customer needs.

Keep in mind that customer needs and expectations are a moving target. What a customer wants
today will be very different from what the customer wants a year or five years down the road.
As things change, expectations and needs change also.

3. Hire the Right Employees

Hiring with the customer in mind is another step in an overall strategy for strong customer
service.

Screening employees and ensuring that they possess the disposition and skill set to help support
a strong customer service environment is important.

Skills can be taught but attitude and personality cannot. It’s a sad fact but not everyone should
interact with customers.

4. Set Goals for Customer Service

Employees only perform at the level they are managed and it takes great leadership to help
employees understand the importance of the customer experience. This is why it is important
to have a strategy to help create and reinforce a service culture. Once customer needs and

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expectations are identified and customer satisfaction is measured, it is time to create goals for
achieving customer satisfaction.

Employees need to understand what the target is so they can help the organization reach their
corporate objectives. For example, if you operate a customer call center, a goal might be to
answer all calls within X number of minutes and hold employees accountable to that standard.
If the standard can’t be met, figure out why and fix it.

5. Train on Service Skills

If you hire right, your employees will have a natural ability to serve your customers well.
However, everyone can benefit from practical teaching on the organization’s approach to
customer service.

The training should explain how the organization would like the employee to behave in every
situation and should help employees understand how to respond to their customers. Employees
need to know what you want them to do.

For example, teach them how to respond to customer complaints, how to be responsive to
customers, how to meet customer needs, when to perform service recovery, how to answer the
phone and your organizations standards for service.

6. Hold People Accountable

Employees should have a good understanding of how their service to the customer affects the
organization’s overall performance and need to be held accountable for achieving customer
satisfaction goals. This is part of a comprehensive performance management system and should
be part of the cultural norm.

For example, share customer satisfaction data with your employees and confront employees
when they are not demonstrating the desired behaviors.

7. Reward and Recognize Good Service

There should be a well thought out system for acknowledging and rewarding employees for
good customer service. Employees need positive reinforcement and should be rewarded when
they demonstrate the desired behaviors of a strong customer service culture.

Having a strong vision and strategy for customer service is a critical component to the success
of any organization. Organizations need to identify who their customers are, what they want
and develop strategies to achieve those customer requirements. A strong customer service
strategy is what separates the successful organizations from the rest.

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DEFINITION OF QUALITY

Customers define quality in various ways. In a general sense, quality may be defined as
meeting or exceeding the expectations of the customer. For practical purposes, it is
necessary to be more specific. Quality has multiple dimensions in the mind of the customer,
and one or more of the following definitions may apply at any one time.

Conformance to specifications – How well a product or service meets the target and
tolerances determined by its designers.
Fitness for use – A definition of quality that evaluates how well the product performs
for its intended use.
Value for price paid – Quality defined in terms of product or service usefulness for
the price paid.
Support services provided – Quality defined in terms of the support provided after the
product or service is purchased.
Psychological criteria – A way of defining quality that focuses on judgement
evaluation of what constitutes product or service excellence.

MANUFACTURING VS. SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS

The definition of quality differs between manufacturing organizations and service

organizations.
Manufacturing organizations produce tangible products, service organizations produce
intangible products.
Defining quality in manufacturing organizations is often different from that of services.
Manufacturing organizations produce a tangible product that can be seen, touched, and directly
measured. The most common quality definitions in manufacturing are:

1) Performance - basic operating characteristics of a product.

2) Conformance - the degree to which a product characteristic meets preset standards.

3) Features - that are included beyond the basic characteristics.

4) Reliability - that the product will function as expected without failure.

5) Durability - which is expected operational life of the product.

6) Serviceability - that how readily a product can be repaired.

In contrast to manufacturing, service organizations produce a product that is intangible product

that cannot be seen or touched. Rather, it is experienced.

Examples include delivery of health care, experience of staying at a vacation resort, and
learning at a university. The intangible nature of the product makes defining quality difficult.

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Also, since a service is experienced, perceptions can be highly subjective. In addition to
tangible factors, quality of services is often defined by perceptual factors. These include;

1) Responsiveness to customer needs.

2) Courtesy and friendliness of staff.

3) Promptness in resolving complaints and atmosphere.

4) Time that a customer has to wait for the service

5) Consistency which is the degree of the service is the same each time.

For these reasons, defining quality in services can be especially challenging.

EVOLUTION OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Now that we know the common definitions of quality, let’s go to customer service
quality management.

Since the 1980s, when ‘quality management’ first became a buzzword, companies have
been pursuing different approaches to raising the quality of their relationship with customers.

Let’s take a look at the evolution of how companies views quality management over
the years.

o Early 20th Century – Quality management was about inspecting products to check for
compliance to specifications.
o 1940s/WWII – Quality management was about using statistical sampling techniques
to evaluate quality, and quality charts to monitor production processes.
o 1960s – Quality was seen as encompassing the whole organization, not just the
production process.
o Late 1970s – Quality as defined by the customer; Quality as a competitive advantage.

o The paradigm shifts in the 1970s and 80s was brought to fore when Japanese brands
like Toshiba and Honda edged out US carmakers in the auto industry, and Toshiba and
Sony invaded the consumer goods market. These brands were producing lower-prices
products with much better quality.
o Designed to build into the product and process design.
o To survive, US companies had to reexamine and revamp their quality programs. Since
then, competition moved to the quality arena. Companies began focusing on improving
quality to be more competitive. National quality awards and quality certifications
became much-coveted. Companies that did not get up to speed simply did not survive.

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 The concept of quality has existed for many years, though it’s meaning has changed
and evolved over time. In the early twentieth century, quality management meant
inspecting products to ensure that they met specifications. In the 1940s, during World
War II, quality became more statistical in nature. Statistical sampling techniques were
used to evaluate quality, and quality control charts were used to monitor the production
process. In the 1960s, with the help of so-called “quality gurus,” the concept took on a
broader meaning. Quality began to be viewed as something that encompassed the entire
organization, not only the production process. Since all functions were responsible for
product quality and all shared the costs of poor quality, quality was seen as a concept
that affected the entire organization.
One of the most empowering tools to come out of the TQM movement is the idea of
quality groups or problem-solving teams. Using an agreed upon problem-solving
method, these groups work to determine the core processes the core of and best possible
solutions for the problem. The ‘fishbone diagram’ or Ishikawa technique in Root Cause
Analysis is an offshoot of TQM.
Having dedicated quality terms is a must among customer service organizations. They
ensure that the implementation of a company’s customer service strategy meets the
agreed standards.

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CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

- is a widely implemented strategy for managing a company’s interactions with customer and
sales prospects.

CRM enables companies to track every aspect of customer relationship. They can
determine who bought what and when they bought it. When companies have a profile on
each customer, they can transform each business interaction into a dialogue. In effect, they
can talk to each customer as if they know him or her. By using CRM technology to
understand the customer’s relationship with the company, a one-on-one relationship can be
created with up to thousands of customers at a time.
Customer who feel they’re in a dialogue with the company – who feel they’re listened to –
tend to become lifelong customers. They will bring in sales to the company while requiring
little to no incentive to continue purchasing. CRM, in the long run, blurs the line separating
sales and service.
The SM Advantage Card is an example of CRM strategy. SM customers can get it at a
minimal cost, and the card gives them access to special deals and discounts when they
swipe it during checkout. The card in turn tracks everything they buy, and allows SM to
create a detailed customer profile based on their purchasing habits. With that information,
SM can offer customers targeted coupons and other programs that will motivate them to
buy more.

ELEMENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL CRM INITIATIVE

People - Everyone in a company, from the CEO to every customer service
representative, must support CRM.
Process – Business processes must be reengineer to bolster its CRM initiative (often
from the perspective of ‘How can this process better service customer?)
Technology – The right technology must be selected to drive the improved processes,
provide the best data to the employees, and be easy enough to operate that users won’t
balk.

CRM used to be viewed as a type of a software, but it has since evolved into a customer
service philosophy that pervades the whole organization.
If one of these three foundational elements is not sound, the whole CRM framework
will fall apart.
A channel is any avenue that enables a company and its customers to communicate with each
other: Internet, email, fax, telephone

Why some CRM initiatives fail?

Installing technology without a business strategy

- Many organizations fall into the trap of deploying tools and technology without creating a
proper CRM-related business strategy.
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Adoption of CRM technology may lag for many reasons, including:

Software that is complicated or difficult to use

Sales people that don't see adequate value in the new system
Poor communication of benefits to users

Efficiency and Effectiveness

Efficiency is skillfulness at avoiding wasted time and effort.

- productivity metric

- how fast one can do something (e.g. average handle time)

Effectiveness is the quality of being able to bring about the intended result.

- quality metric

- how good one is at doing something (e.g. customer satisfaction)

Customer service strategy

7 step-plan to develop and implement a Customer Service Strategy

c) Create Customer Service Vision

d) Assess Customer needs
e) Hire the right employees
f) Set goals for customer service
g) Train on service skills
h) Hold people accountable
i) Reward and recognize good service
Turn Lemons into Lemonade: Customer Complaints into Opportunities

Here are 3 steps to manage customer complaints:

1. Have a complaint tracking process – Complaint tracking is used to capture, monitor, and
analyze customer complaints in order to retain customers. Regardless of the tool you use to
gather this information, the goal is to track customer complaints and follow closely developed
processes and procedures for managing them.

2. Analyze the complaints – Once you’ve tracked the complaints, it’s time to analyze trends
and look for root causes. Make appropriate investments to prevent issues from occurring
again. This shows that you are listening to the customer and making process improvements
based on the feedback that they provide.

3. Make appropriate changes – Once you’ve tracked and analyzed the complaints, it’s time to
make changes. One of our clients is a large fast food chain with over 14,000 restaurants in the
US. We work with them to address two primary business needs: 1) to recover the customer in
the event a negative restaurant experience occurred and 2) to gather specific information to

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provide data and insights to help drive successful operation and growth of their business. Our
efforts at HGS provide them with the ability to recover customers’ business before they are
lost to the competition.

Bill Gates said it best “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”
In a world where “customer is king” businesses have to be proactive when it comes to
customer complaints to retain customers and provide superior customer service.

5 REASONS WHY CUSTOMER SERVICE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN

ANYTHING ELSE

1. THE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE BUILDS TRUST

These days, people will only stay loyal to a company if they have very good reason to.
Otherwise, there is plenty of competition available they could choose to move to. As a result,
you have to work even harder to keep customers and build their trust in your brand. By
providing the best in customer service, you will increase trust, and that could mean the
difference between customer loyalty and customers who jump ship.

2. CUSTOMER SERVICE MATTERS MORE THAN PRICE

When studies and surveys have been completed, they continue to find that a large group of
consumers say that customer service is much more important than price. To get the right
experience, they are willing to pay more.
3. IT WILL BUILD BRAND AWARENESS
If you don’t already know this, then it is time to learn. Word of mouth is the most powerful
ally you have on your side. What your customers say to others could make or break your
business. When you provide the best in customer service, guess what happens? People will
talk about you. They will remember your brand. If they hear someone else talking that they
need a specific kind of company, they are much more likely to say, “Oh, go to this place.
They are great!”
Related: 3 Ways to Get Customers to Give Your Brand Better Reviews

4. GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE REDUCES PROBLEMS

Problems are always going to arise for any business no matter how hard you try to avoid
them. While you can’t run a perfect business with all the perfect customers, you can ensure
friction doesn’t become an issue. If customers know that they can voice complaints and those
issues will be handled properly, they will feel more comfortable doing business with you.
[Tweet “Problems are always going to arise for any business no matter how hard you try to
avoid them.”]

5. IT APPEALS TO THE CUSTOMER

Once upon a time, business was all about closing the sale. It didn’t matter how you got to that
point. These days, you will need to cater to the New Customer. This is someone who expects
to be treated as a person, who wants more from the experience, and who does not want to be
just a number. Better customer service will ensure you are providing them what they want.

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When it comes to a business, nothing matters if you offer poor customer service. Keep these
five things in mind so that you can understand just how important it really is for your own
success. So, make sure you are offering the best in customer service, and enjoy the positive
results.

Assessment Test:

1. What is the role of customer in your business success? Explain.

2. How does customer feedback help your business? Give at least three
reasons.
3. Enumerate the five reasons why customer service is more important than
anything else.

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 TOPIC 7:
CUSTOMER SERVICE

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 CUSTOMER SERVICE

- A series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction; sometimes

used interchangeably with customer relation or customer care.

Consumers buy from people they like; people they can create a relationship with. It's no
longer enough to just provide customer satisfaction, you must create customer loyalty.
Customer service is a vital part of marketing your business.

Personal Leadership

- Personal leadership is the leadership of the self. It is the ability to define a direction for your
leadership and life, and to move in that direction with clarity and consistency.

Principles of Leadership:

1) Compelling Vision
2) Developing Strategies
3) Inspiring people to use their talents to meet a goal for improved business result

Compelling vision- A compelling vision is not about beating the competition or expressed
simply in numbers. It is about being the best you can be.

Compelling visions that move people to action, change their behaviors, focus on key
priorities, and follow the pathway that the leader lays out, have three attributes that can be
summarize under the broad headings of content, context and credibility. Beyond that, they are
developing as part of a collaborative process that engages key stakeholders.

Developing Strategies- Developing strategies is really a way to focus your efforts and figure
out how you are going to get things done. By doing so, you can achieve the following
advantages:

Taking advantage of resources and emerging opportunities

Responding effectively to resistance and barriers
A more efficient use of time, energy, and resources

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Personal and Social Competencies

- The development of your emotional intelligence can be divided into personal and social
competencies.

Personal Competencies- Personal competence is made up of self-awareness, self-

management and self-motivation.

Self-awareness is the ability to recognize your own emotions and their effects on yourself and
other people.

Emotional Awareness
Accurate Self-assessment
Self-confidence

Self-Regulation builds on your self-awareness, using your own self-control to ensure your
emotions do not control you regardless of the situation. It involves using what you know about
your emotions to both manage these emotions and motivate yourself.

Self-control
Trustworthiness
Conscientiousness
Adaptability
Innovativeness

Self-motivation is, in its simplest form, the force that drives you to do things; it is the ability
to do what needs to be done, without influence from other people or situations. People with
self-motivation can find a reason and strength to complete a task, even when challenging,
without giving up or needing another to encourage them.

Achievement Drive
Commitment
Initiative
Optimism
Social Competencies
- The other half of your EQ is related to the 'social' competencies you show within your
life or work role. This requires you to expand your awareness to include the emotions

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of those people around you. You will also need to develop your ability to read the emotional
environment and power relationships you encounter in your role.

Social Awareness- The ability to understand the emotions of others is part of your 'social
awareness, to attain which you need to demonstrate the following competencies:

Empathy
Service Orientation
Developing others
Leveraging Diversity
Political Awareness

Social skills- The other aspect of social competence is that of relationship management. This
means you use your awareness of your own and others' emotions to build strong, effective and
lasting relationships.

It is this part of your EQ that enables you to succeed in inspiring other people and
helping them to reach their full potential. The competencies that Goleman identified
for an individual to operate at a high level of relationship management are:

Influence
Communication
Leadership
Change Catalyst
Conflict Management
Building Bonds
Collaboration and Cooperation
Team Capabilities

Customer-Service Paradigm

Paradigm shift is a way of looking at something differently. It is a trend or change in a

typical pattern or model.

- It seems that the world is evolving so fast these days, and it can be almost impossible to
keep up with the next big thing. Too often by the time you find out about it, it’s old news for
“those in the know” (whoever they are!).

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The whole business paradigm has shifted enormously, especially in the past ten years. The
online world has enabled us to interact with, and do business with, someone on the other side
of the world—and without ever having to set foot in the office, store, or even the country they
are in.

Not long ago you could have a reasonably decent product or service offering, run some
advertisements telling people about why your product or service was so good, give them a
good price and people would buy from you. If it goes well once, you repeat the process, or
you refine it slightly and try again. Of course, this is highly simplified, but the general
premise is the same.

However, with more competition than ever before – no matter what your industry –
businesses all over the world are recognizing that this is no longer a successful business
model. Businesses that are slow on the uptake, are the ones who are falling further and further
behind.

‘Service’ being customer-facing function need to be forefront of this digital revolution. In

today's modern world, way forward is to; incrementally, intentionally and purposefully invest
in service function to achieve sustainable growth and get competitive advantage.
Organization should look into below customer service trends by analysts – Gartner, Forrester
to make customer experience smarter and strategic.

Customer Self-service- Organizations extend and enhance self-service

Self-service is prevalent for Millennial or GenX. Hardly consumer use phone or voice as
channel today because of web and mobile self-service, communities, virtual agents,
automated chat dialogs, or chatbot available as a first point of contact. Companies started
adding self-service capabilities and also will enhance self-service with structured knowledge
management and leverage communities to extend the reach of curated content.

Artificial Intelligence- Organizations introduce automated customer

conversations

Consumers started using introductory versions of intelligent agents like Siri, Alexa, Now and
Cortana. These virtual assistants will carry on seamless Customer Service conversations.
Further Organizations will continue to explore the power of these intelligent agents to add

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conversational interfaces to static self-service content. They will anticipate needs by context,
preferences, and prior queries and will deliver proactive alerts, relevant offers, or content.

Chatbots – Organizations replacing humans with computer

The online text conversation we have with a company’s customer support center may not be
with a live person, but a computer. When a machine can create a positive experience for the
customer, everyone wins. The best chatbots are able to not only respond to requests and
questions, but also recognize when the customer is confused and seamlessly hand off the
conversation to a live customer support representative.

Automation - Robotic process automation (RPA) guidance will standardize and

consistent service delivery

Automation is buzzword. There is continued focus on RPA for automating repetitive rules-
based tasks by enabling virtual assistant, with humans typically only managing exceptions.
This will help organization to optimize cost of contact center by streamlining repetitive tasks.

Data Analytics- Prescriptive advice powers offers, decisions and connections

Organizations will continue to extend and enhance the power of analytics to prescribe the
right set of steps for customers or agents to more effectively service customers. They will
learn to better route a customer to an agent who can most effectively answer a question,
which they base on past success. Organization will also push the right next steps using
customers' current behavior to help preempt future calls.

Personalization creates a better customer experience

Technology has made it easier than ever to track customer preferences and history.
Organizations getting trends and insights which can be used for creating more personalized
experience that caters to a customer’s individual needs.

Video- Bringing customer closer to your organization

Organization started enabling video chat- in real time to provide a more personal and efficient
service experience with due planning and mitigating all technological challenges arise. This
trend will really bring customer closer to organization.

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 Mobile - Field service becomes the face of organization

Expect to see continued focus on using field service mobile technologies, which will
empower field force. These technologies will increasingly leverage self- learning capabilities
to manage scheduling and dispatching, taking into account skills, tasks, work orders, assets,
time sheets, and service policies.

Internet of Things (IoT) insights transform business models

Organization started using support automation to preemptively diagnose and fix issues from
connected devices. Preemptive service wins on all fronts: faster resolution at lower cost,
better planning, and anticipation of future customer needs. This will continue to transform
companies from being product-based to service-based. Connected devices will trigger more
need of IoT enablement and becomes easy to monitor assets.

Mix of both physical and digital world- Augmented and Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual Reality (VR) will allow customer service agents to project their presence into
consumer’s worlds and be with them in their moments of need in digital form. This mix of
physical and digital world will become new norm soon. Technology companies are investing
in building intuitive tools at a scale that brings the cost down, consumers will begin to
regularly experience AR and VR.

Impact creation through “Customer Success” program

Finally, the concept of “Customer Success” seems to be gaining popularity everywhere. The
goal of this customer success program is to ensure that the customer has success with the
organization’s products or services. This program will maintain long-term relationship to
address customer issues, problems and also generate future revenue for the organization so
traditional cost center are being transformed into revenue center.

We are stepping ‘’outside the box.” When we make a paradigm shift we can see, thing
feel and behave differently

Service Orientation

- giving customer satisfaction a high priority. It is listening to, and understanding the
customer and anticipating their needs. It is public facing, or attuned to the needs of people
outside the organization.

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The British Council has defined service orientation as making customers happy by doing
several things effectively:

Being responsive to the customer

Treating them with respect
Keeping customer informed and responding to their requests promptly and efficiently
Being able to deal with request in an appropriate manner
Asking lots of questions so you can understand customer needs in order to deliver the
best service
Remaining committed to helping
Taking into account the customers’ needs rather than your own

These are behaviors-manifestation of how a customer service orientation may be

demonstrated.

Other key behaviors include:

Greeting customers promptly and courteously

Paying attention
Listening and carefully empathizing
Offering relevant information
Paraphrasing to check for understanding
Thanking the customer, when applicable

Service objective

- The objective of customer service is typically to interact with the customers in order to
answer questions, resolve support issues, establish credibility, and nurture relationships.
Most, if not all, companies understand the need for providing customer service. But if
pressed, those whose job and skills don’t directly relate to support might not know their
company’s customer service objectives.

Some examples of Service objectives may be:

1. Implement new shipping procedure that cuts delivery from time to time

2. Increase store visibility by opening service kiosks for quicker repair issues

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 3. Increase overall customer satisfaction by providing direct contact options for repeat
customers

Creating Service objectives really means being able to align our business goals with what our
customers needed.

CUSTOMER
LEAVES
STORE

CUSTOMER CUSTOMER
BUYS ENTERS
PRODUCT STORE

PRINCIPLES OF CUSTOMER SERVICE

Hayashi, Kerly Hironobu B.

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 Figure 1

Customer Buying Cycle

A simple buying cycle may be represented in this manner. This diagram illustrates the
cyclical movement of customers at the point of purchase.

Customer
enters store

Gets Store's Customers

Exclusive
Rebate Card via Receives
Email Samples

Gets
Customer
Coupons in
Visits
mall from
Sample bar
Product
Customer
Buys
Product

Figure 1

Customer Buying Cycle

If customer service efforts were added into the equation, the buying cycle would most likely
look like this. This shows how customer service is delivered in different ways. Here customer
service may occur before a purchase (pre-sale) or afterwards (post-sales).

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Customer Expectations

Customer Expectations are what customers perceive to be values they seek before or after
they purchase a product or service. They are mostly intangible and may differ from one
customer to another to some degree.

Customer service is not pleasing the people in a certain product or service but providing
everything a customer wants when they want it and no matter how unreasonable.

Customer service does not occur when customers start to encounter some difficulty regarding
a product or service they paid for. Essentially, customer service means placing a
considerable amount of effort to enhancing the customer’s overall experience with a
product or service from pre-sales to post-sales. It occurs the moment the customers come
into contact with the products or services that the different firms, manufacturers or service
organizations offer.

Aligning with Customer Expectations

When companies align with customers and their expectations, this means that they have
resolved to employ every possible means available to find out more about their customers and
what they value.

What are your customer’s priorities?

How does a product or service meet your customer’s priorities?
How do customers make decisions now regarding new purchases?
What are their pain points? What are important to them?
What do they want?

It also means listening and reviewing, and responding to feedback we receive about the
products and services we offer.

When we align with customers, we treat them as ‘partners’, as business owners, who
ultimately have insight into what makes customers happy. Exceeding customer expectations
is how we can be assured customers will be back.

1. Reliability

How can we exceed customer expectations by reliability? Here is the list a product or service
should possess.

Empathize
Look at issues from a customer’s perspective. Always.
Own the problem
It is understandable why customers get passed around – a person who doesn’t know
anything really cannot be of much help.

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 Follow up
Sometimes, a quick inquiry to check if a customer’s product or service is working can
show them how you care.
Exercise fairness
Always, it is about putting customer needs and interests at the heart of what we offer-
we should work around them.
Find balance
While performance metrics are acquired, we should balance this with customers’
needs.

Be the expert
Since a lot of more savvy customers can find answers online, when you are called
upon to be the expert, be one. Be savvy about your products and services, know how
to position against the competition, be in the business of knowing.
Make recommendations
As the expert, know when and why alternatives work.
Use scripts with caution
Do not sound robotic.
Reflect
Is there something better? How can you do this better?
Stop trying too hard
It’s better to resolve the issue directly and as simply as possible.

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 2. Responsiveness

Possessing sensitivity to another party’s needs as characterized by quickness to respond

appropriately to given situations.

Meet or exceed expectation

Help promptly and courteously
Follow up
Minimize disruptions and inconvenience

To avoid misunderstanding on how the speed affects the quality of service, never make
promises or a lie to it.

Responsiveness loses its impact when the actual response via the provided resolutions
both inappropriate and useless.

Therefore, it is necessary that customer service personnel develop the kind of acumen for
knowing the customer.

Communication: If getting support requires more time than is acceptable, especially if

this is measured against a customer’s threshold, then the quality they are provided is considered
not only poor but useless.

3. Accountability
An obligation to account for activities, accept responsibility for them, and to disclose
results in a transparent manner. Accountability is associated in governance and ethics and
described as a quality defining how a party recognizes how they may be called to account
for actions or activities.

Customer Needs
Resolving Issues
Improving a Process

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 From a customer service standpoint, accountability connotes responsibility for products
or decisions and information regarding products and services, customers are certainly
more vocal about calling companies to ask for this.

Accept/Own responsibility for customer satisfaction

Focus on problem resolution
Never pass blame or make excuses
DO NOT make up answers

Customer Needs

Remember that knowing what our customers need largely depends on how well we know
them. To a very large extent, customers expect customer service personnel to know why they
buy a company lives up to the value they advertise. And in case when this is vague and unknown
it is considered alright task.

4. Communication
The two-way process of reaching a shared or collaborative understanding where
participants exchange information and create and share meaning.

Resolving Issues

People have different ways of learning and have different speeds of absorbing learning. When
we talk about issue resolution, we think immediately about what types of issues customers may
be faced with. These issues always are a matter of a lack of information, so that providing
information or a credible source from which to get this information, usually resolve the issue.

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Improving a process

Resolving an issue and defining how to arrive at the resolution is also a matter of improving a
process. When talking about a process, we refer to methods that result in the transformation or
movement of products along a manufacturing path.

Customers are known to be just as vocal about their criticism of certain process especially when
these get in the way of getting their issues resolved. But companies don’t just make these
changes instantaneously at the moment when a customer raises an objection.

How processes improvement is enacted

Defining goals and purposes

Determining customers
Aligning business processes to realize the organization’s goals

Communication
An activity involving the conveyance of information. There are two parties involved: the
sender of the information, and the receiver of the information.
Clarity of Communication
Communication cannot be considered successful unless it is understood
and bears the same meaning for parties involved in the exchange of information. This is
why clarity is an aspect always most valued when providing service.
o Develop empathy
o Listen effectively
o Check Understanding (5 wives, 1 husband)
o Repeat, rephrase, paraphrase
o Conform understanding
o Be observant
o Use silence

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Feedback

An important part of communication is the section that gives communication more meaning:
Feedback. Feedback confirms, affirms, even challenges any received information. And it is a
challenge that often makes service professionals quake in their boots. Service personnel, so far
away from management and those who created certain procedures fear that customers would
state horrible things about their products, their process, and their company.

Rules of Feedback

From which empowerment could be gained.

1. Believe that cu8tomers possess good ideas

2. Gather feedback at every opportunity.
3. Focus on continuous improvement.
4. Actively solicit good-and bad-feedback.
5. Don’t spend too much to gather feedback.
6. Seek real-time feedback.
7. Make it easy for customers to provide feedback.
8. Share feedback throughout the organization
9. Use feedback to make changes quickly.

DELIVERING EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE

Delivering excellent customer service is a highly important part of every business.

Companies that are unable or unwilling to properly service their customers stand to lose the
customer’s business. However, several key variables or characteristics set excellent customer
service a part from mediocre customer service. A company that best demonstrate this this
excellent customer characteristic will have a distinct advantage over its competition.

Customer service skills include the ability to make a good impression to customer.
Representatives must know how to project a professional image, both in the way they act and

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dress. They must be courteous to customers, handle their questions and issues in an easy going
manner and demonstrate a key knowledge of the company’s product and services.

Customer service is important to an organization because it is often the only contact

a customer has with a company. Customers are vital to an organization. Consequently, when they
have a question or product issue, they expect a company's customer service department to
resolve their issues

An excellent delivering of customer service can increase:

1. Customer satisfaction- Provides marketers and business owners with a metric that they
can use to manage and improve their business

2. Customer loyalty- Can generally equate to general engagement, if your consumers are
willing to spend time engaging with your brand they are becoming loyal.

3. Customer Experience- Can increase advocacy and referrals

Types of customers

1. Internal customer- directly connected with the company

2. External customer- someone who uses your company's products or services but is not
part of your organization.

Needs of a customer

1. Practical Need- business need of the customer; the reason why they contacted your
business or organization

2. Personal Need- emotional need of the customer.

STEPS IN SERVICE EXCELLENCE

ACKNOWLEDGING CUSTOMERS
Is perhaps the most important customer service behavior it serves as the starting point for every
encounter. The catch is that “what you focus on, you get more of”—and you don’t want to
encourage the customer to continue being difficult or continue angry behavior that interferes with

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helping the customer. Acknowledging without Encouraging really involves the combination of
two techniques.
The first set involves using both empathy statements and refocus statements together. First,
you acknowledge the feelings in a short sentence and, without stopping, you refocus or steer the
conversation back to the problem and away from the customer’s emotions.
Similarly, you can do the same thing around demonstrating your understanding of the facts of
the customer’s situation by combining active listening with refocusing. Reflect back your
understanding of the customer’s situation and then refocus back to problem solving.

Six Things Every Customer Loves to Hear An acknowledgement.

We all have a human need to be acknowledged and noticed.

Good morning.

I’ll be with you in just a moment. Hi, how are you today?

An employee who chooses to stop for a moment and acknowledge a customer with a smile and a
hello will never come across as indifferent. But, consider for a moment, how the customer feels
when the opposite happens. When the employee chooses not to acknowledge the customer.

Thank You. A sincere thank you when receiving payment or when a transaction is completed may
not seem like much, but when it’s missing, customers notice.

I understand. You’ve heard the cliché about walking in someone else’s shoes? That’s empathy.
Saying, “I understand” is expressing empathy. The best discussion I have ever read about empathy
and the role it plays in interpersonal communication can be found in Stephen Covey’s book, The
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. In “Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be
Understood,” Covey describes the principles of empathic communication. Empathic
communication is the essence of customer service when a customer isn’t happy or has a problem.
Do you listen and seek first to understand? Or do you talk and explain without first trying to
understand why your customer is upset? What about your employees? Do they seek first to
understand and then reassure their customers by saying so? Many customer concerns and issues
can be diffused with the words, “I understand.”

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I’m sorry. Whether something is your fault or not, saying, “I’m sorry” when things go wrong
seems like common sense. Yet, many employees choose not to apologize because they believe it
places blame. Do your employees apologize just because something went amiss? Or do they hold
back because they feel like they’re accepting blame? Sorry doesn’t have to mean it’s your fault.
Saying “I’m sorry” is about recognizing the customer’s feelings. It helps diffuse the situation by
offering empathy. And, it acknowledges the hassle. I’m sorry this happened I’m sorry for the mix-
up. I’m sorry you didn’t like it. Sometimes that’s all a customer wants. And, making the choice to
say, “I’m sorry” communicates that you care about the customer and what has happened.

For you. There’s no indifference here. These two little words personalize the service. Instead of
“I’ll check,” say “I’ll check that for you.” Hear the difference? Those two words add significance.
And, when an employee adds those two words, there’s a connection and almost always, there is
eye contact. Let me look that up for you. What can I do for you? Let me take care of that for you.
You get the idea.

Their name. There’s nothing like the sound of your name to make you perk up and listen and feel
cared about. That human connection will also make things easier if you have a problem with that
customer in the future. I’ll go back to that store again. But only for one reason: to purchase a
product that isn’t easy for me to find elsewhere. It won’t get add-on business. It won’t get impulse
purchases. I won’t pay full price. And, I’ll do my part to bear out the statistics that customers will
tell 7 to 10 people about a poor service experience. As a matter of fact, I think I already have.

1. ESTABLISHING RAPPORT
Rapport is a friendly, harmonious relationship; especially: a relationship characterized by
agreement, mutual understanding, or empathy that makes communication possible or easy. It is all
about highlighting common interests and establishing a mutual feeling of friendliness. When
people like each other – whether in business, friendship, or both – they tend to help each other.
Most salespeople are naturally enthusiastic, positive, and outgoing people, but that doesn’t
necessarily mean everyone will like you off the bat.

Here are three ways you can increase your rapport rating with prospects and customers:

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Match your customer’s style. Pay attention to how your customer prefers to communicate and
get in step. Does your customer prefer to get right down to business, or warm up by engaging in
small talk? What kinds of things does he or she find funny, interesting, or intriguing? If your
customer talks quickly and loudly, make an effort to match that energy.

Trust builds rapport. Your customers will learn to trust you if you do what you say. Keep your
commitments, call when you say you will, and always follow through. Be careful not to make
promises you might not be able to keep. Too many salespeople make well-intentioned
commitments, only to find themselves unable to find time to fulfill them. They may not always
lose a sale because of this, but they’re certainly not building the kind of trust that will make that
customer anxious to give referrals.

Another way to build trust is to demonstrate that you’re interested in their well-being — beyond
your own profit potential. Know and appreciate your customers’ needs beyond your product. See
what you can do to help them meet those needs. Little things like finding information for them or
putting them in touch with other suppliers tend to make a big difference.

Practice reciprocity. When you treat people in a certain way, they tend to want to treat you in the
same way. Find ways to treat your customers as valued members of your professional and even
social circle. In life and in business, the little things make a big difference

2. ACTIVE LISTENING
Listening forms, the foundation of any effective customer service interaction, and it is one of
the most powerful tools available for turning a negative experience into a positive one.

There are five key active listening techniques. They all help you ensure that you hear the other
person, and that the other person knows you are hearing what they say.

Pay Attention. Give the speaker your undivided attention, and acknowledge the message.
Recognize that non-verbal communication also "speaks" loudly.

Look at the speaker directly.

Put aside distracting thoughts.

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Don't mentally prepare a rebuttal!

Avoid being distracted by environmental factors. For example, side conversations.

"Listen" to the speaker's body language .

Show That You're Listening. Use your own body language and gestures to convey your attention.

Nod occasionally.

Smile and use other facial expressions.

Note your posture and make sure it is open and inviting.

Encourage the speaker to continue with small verbal comments like yes, and uh huh.

Provide Feedback. Our personal filters, assumptions, judgments, and beliefs can distort what we
hear. As a listener, your role is to understand what is being said. This may require you to reflect
what is being said and ask questions.

Reflect what has been said by paraphrasing. "What I'm hearing is," and "Sounds like you are
saying," are great ways to reflect back.

Ask questions to clarify certain points. "What do you mean when you say." "Is this what you
mean?"

Summarize the speaker's comments periodically.

Defer Judgment. Interrupting is a waste of time. It frustrates the speaker and limits full
understanding of the message.

Allow the speaker to finish each point before asking questions.

Don't interrupt with counter arguments.

Respond Appropriately. Active listening is a model for respect and understanding. You are
gaining information and perspective. You add nothing by attacking the speaker or otherwise
putting him or her down.

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Be candid, open, and honest in your response.

Assert your opinions respectfully.

Treat the other person in a way that you think he or she would want to be treated.

3. EXCEED EXPECTATIONS
If you exceed a limit or rule, you go beyond it, even though you are not supposed to, offer new
and existing customers above and beyond what services they are expecting to get from you. Leave
them saying, ‘wow’ and wanting to come back. Simply, put exceed customer expectation means
to do more than is required of you.

For most organizations, just meeting their Customer’s expectations would provide a good
experience. To create a great experience, you have to define which areas that Customers most
value and exceed these aspects of the Customer Experience. Defining these areas implies knowing
what the Customer’s Expectations are.

4. CONFIRMING SATISFACTION
Confirming customer satisfaction not only makes it clear that all needs and requests have been
handled, but also allows an employee to feel good about successfully assisting a customer.

Before ending the transaction or closing out a work order is incredibly important. Doing so
demonstrates three essentials value:

1. The organization is committed to satisfying the customer that you care enough to ask.
2. That it is customer who gets to decide that the issue has been resolved.
3. That you are willing to do what it takes to resolve the situation, to continue the process.
STEPS IN DEALING WITH AN ANGRY CUSTOMER

1. Listen and respond with empathy.

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 Pay attention, physically and mentally, to what's happening. Listen carefully, and
note the key words and phrases that people use. Respond encouragingly to the concern or
problem that the customer is telling.
2. Ask question to get the specifics of the complaint or issue.
Prove that your company is different from the rest and actually listen. Start by
asking the simple question, “Would you please tell me exactly what the concern is and then
I will see if I can do something about it?” Once you have done this, don’t do anything else.
Regardless of whether it’s a face-to-face business or a phone call, close your mouth, open
your ears and listen to everything the customer has to say. They may be angry and need to
vent but remember that it’s not personal. Ask for permission to make notes if that will help,
but don’t do anything else except focus solely on the customer and their issue.

3. Summarize the customer’s issue to get an agreement.

4. Offer a choice of alternatives to fix the issue.
Share your proposed solution and check with the customer to ensure your proposed
solution will address their needs. Do not move on to resolve a situation until the customer has
agreed.

5. Let the customer decide which alternative to use.

6. Follow through on what you have agreed on.
Take responsibility for resolving the customer’s problem. If you’re in a retail shop or
office, they may have to sit and wait while you work to find a resolution. If it’s a phone
complaint, ask if you can call them back once you have a solution for them so they don’t have
to wait on the phone for an undetermined amount of time. Also, let them know when you will
call them back — then honor that commitment. This may require you speak to another staff
member if they were responsible or have more details. You may need to seek help from a
manager if you don’t have the answers and don’t know how to find them yourself. Generally,
there are company guidelines for solving complaints and so you should be able to follow
standard procedures.

7. When possible, do something extra.

Customer service complaints give you the opportunity to rectify problems and ensure they don’t
happen again. They can be learning experiences and if handled properly, not only will

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you retain the customer’s loyalty, but a great recovery offers the opportunity to build a more loyal
customer than one you simply satisfied.

Assessment Test:

1. What is the role of customer service in your business? Explain.

2. Explain the customer buying cycle.

3. List some reasons why delivering excellent customer service is a highly

important part of every business.
4. Enumerate the steps in service excellence. Explain Briefly.
5. How to handle an angry customer? What are the steps to do?

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 TOPIC 8:
Internal Company Methodology and
Standards

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Service Standards

A quality or objective of a service that a service provider aims to achieve and maintain,
measured in terms of the corresponding performance indicators, service levels, and targets. Service
standards are important for customers, potential customers, employees and management of a
business. They help to define what a customer can expect and to remind management and
employees of the challenge and obligations that they face.

Service Quality

A quality or ideal that describes the basic way an organization treats its customer. Service
quality measures how well a service is delivered compared to customer expectations. Businesses
that meet or exceed expectations are considered to have high service quality. Let's say you go to a
fast food restaurant for dinner, where you can reasonably expect to receive your food within five
minutes of ordering. After you get your drink and find a table, your order is called, minutes earlier
than you had expected! You would probably consider this to be high service quality. A customer's
expectation of a particular service is determined by factors such as recommendations, personal
needs and past experiences. The expected service and the perceived service sometimes may not be
equal, thus leaving a gap. The service quality model or the ‘GAP model’ developed in 1985
highlights the main requirements for delivering high service quality. It identifies five ‘gaps’ that
cause unsuccessful delivery. Customers generally have a tendency to compare the service they
'experience' with the service they ‘expect’. If the experience does not match the expectation, there
arises a gap.

After extensive research, Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Berry found five dimensions’ customers use
when evaluating service quality. They named their survey instrument SERVQUAL.

In other words, if providers get these dimensions right, customers will hand over the keys to their
loyalty. because they’ll have received service excellence. According to what’s important to them.

The five SERVQUAL dimensions are:

TANGIBLES- Appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication

materials
RELIABILITY- Ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately
RESPONSIVENESS- Willingness to help customers and provide prompt service
ASSURANCE- Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and
confidence
EMPATHY- Caring, individualized attention the firm provides its customers

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Not All Dimensions Are Equal
All dimensions are important to customers, but some more than others. Service providers
need to know which are which to avoid majoring in minors. At the same time they can’t focus on
only one dimension and let the others suffer.

The 5 Service Dimensions Customers Care About

#1 Just Do It
RELIABILITY: Do what you say you’re going to do when you said you were going to
do it.
Customers want to count on their providers. They value that reliability. Don’t providers yearn to
find out what customer’s value? This is it. It’s three times more important to be reliable than
have shiny new equipment or flashy uniforms. Doesn’t mean you can have ragged uniforms and
only be reliable. Service providers have to do both. But providers’ first and best efforts are better
spent making service reliable.

#2 Do It Now
RESPONSIVENESS: Respond quickly, promptly, rapidly, immediately, instantly.
Waiting a day to return a call or email doesn’t make it. Even if customers are chronically slow in
getting back to providers, responsiveness is more than 1/5th of their service quality assessment.

Service providers benefit by establishing internal SLAs for things like returning phone
calls, emails and responding on-site. Whether its 30 minutes, 4 hours, or 24 hours, its important
customers feel providers are responsive to their requests. Not just emergencies, but everyday
responses too.

#3 Know what you’re doing

ASSURANCE: Service providers are expected to be the experts of the service they’re
delivering. It’s a given.
SERVQUAL research showed it’s important to communicate that expertise to customers. If a
service provider is highly skilled, but customers don’t see that, their confidence in that provider
will be lower. And their assessment of that provider’s service quality will be lower.

#4 Care about Customers as much as the Service

EMPATHY: Services can be performed completely to specifications. Yet customers
may not feel provider employees care about them during delivery. And this hurts customers’
assessments of providers’ service quality.
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For example, a day porter efficiently cleans up a spill in a lobby. However, during the clean-up
doesn’t smile, make eye contact, or ask the customer if there is anything else they could do for
them. In this hypothetical the provider’s service was performed fully. But the customer didn’t
feel the provider employee cared. And it’s not necessarily the employees fault. They may not
know how they’re being judged. They may be overwhelmed, inadequately trained, or
disinterested.

#5 Look Sharp
TANGIBLES: Even though this is the least important dimension, appearance matters. It
is just not as much as the other dimensions.
Service providers will still want to make certain their employees appearance, uniforms,
equipment, and work areas on-site (closets, service offices, etc.) look good. The danger is for
providers to make everything look sharp, and then fall short on RELIABILITY or
RESPONSIVENESS.

Customers’ assessments include expectations and perceptions across all five

SERVQUAL dimensions. Service providers need to work on all five, but emphasize them in
order of importance. If sacrifices must be made, use these dimensions as a guide for which ones
to rework.

Total Quality Management

TQM is a management system for a customer-focused organization that involves all

employees in continuous improvement of all aspects of the organization. TQM may be defined in
various ways, but it all boils down to one point; Total Quality Management is all about
improving the quality of the products and services of an organization in order to satisfy its
customers.

Principles of TQM

Be customer focused
In all quality improvement plans you make or implement, keep in mind that
quality is determined by the customers. It will be the customers who can say that your
improvement efforts in any aspect of the organization are working and worthwhile.

Employee Involvement

The organization must work together to work better. Therefore, you must
empower your people and ensure that they are involved. You must provide the proper
environment.

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 Continuous Improvement
Use analytical, quality tools and creative thinking to become more efficient and
effective.

Fact-Based Decision Making

Decide based only on data, and not on personal and situational thinking.

Key performance Indicator

A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a measurable value that demonstrates how

effectively a company is achieving key business objectives. Organizations use KPIs to evaluate
their success at reaching targets. They demonstrate how effectively a company is achieving key
business objectives, and they can span across industries, departments or individual tasks. KPIs
are evaluated over a specified time period, and are compared against past performance metrics or
acceptable norms.

Without establishing and tracking proper key performance indicators, companies would
be left in the dark about their performance. They might feel that they are having success, but
what kind of success? And compared to what? They may know which metrics are trackable, but
which ones should they track? With KPIs in place you can set appropriate goals, develop
strategies to reach them and evaluate your progress, and eventually have a historical record of
your business performance.

If you work in the highway division of a transportation authority, a key performance

indicator could be to track the average driver’s speed from July to November, as many accidents
happened during this time the previous year. In this case, it would be helpful to know that from
July to November the average driver cruises at 60 km/h—which is 10 km/h higher than the
posted speed limit of 50 km/h, and 6 km/h higher than they typically drive during all other
months.

Metrics

A metric is a quantifiable measure that is used to track and assess the status of a specific
process. Metrics are important because they are comprised of a wide swathe of all trackable
areas. With metrics, think broad. With key performance indicators, think deep.

Metrics vs Key Performance Indicators

KPIs are measurable values that show you how effective you are at achieving business
objectives. Metrics are different in that they simply track the status of a specific business
process. In short, KPIs track whether you hit business objectives/targets, and metrics track
processes.

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 “In its simplest form, a KPI is a type of performance measurement that helps you
understand how your organization or department is performing,” writes Ted Jackson, the founder
of ClearPoint Strategy. “A good KPI should act as a compass, helping you and your team
understand whether you’re taking the right path toward your strategic goals.”

Every KPI is a metric, but not every metric is a KPI

Think of metrics like a hockey team. Every single person on the team is a player. But
within the team there is a smaller group charged exclusively with stopping the puck, known as
goalies. There are also other players on the team – defensemen, centers, wingers. None of them,
however, are goalies. It’s the same with KPIs and metrics. There are tons of metrics out there.
Clicks. Percentage of new sales. Subscription revenue.

But not all of them are KPIs. KPIs are the most important metrics you have – the ones
that really underscore what your key business goals are.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SERVICE QUALITIES AND SERVICE STANDARDS

Service Quality – Is a quality or ideals that describe the basic way an organization treats its
customers.

Service Standards – Is a quality or objective of a service or service provider aims to achieve

and maintain measured in terms of the corresponding service indicators, service levels, and
targets.

IMPORTANCE OF SERVICE STANDARD

• Service Quality is important because it reflects your company or organization. It is
important because customers often talk about the different experiences that they
encounter in every transaction or service that a company gives to them.

IMPORTANCE OF SERVICE STANDARD

• It gives your organization a clear image
• It is a great tool for measuring how well target levels of service are met by the members

STEPS IN DEVELOPING SERVICE STANDARD

1. Defining your Service sequence

2. Mapping out the steps
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 3. Determining your experience enhancers
4. Convert your experience enhancers into standards

Criteria for Effective Service Standards

According to Karen Leland and Keith Bailey of Sterling Consulting Group Inc., and
authors of Customer Service for Dummies, these seven criteria make a service standard effective.

Specific
Standards tell service people precisely and exactly what is expected of them. Customers don’t
have to guess about your expectations or make anything up.

Concise
Standards don’t explain the philosophy behind the action. Instead, they get right to the point and
spell out who needs to do what by when.

Measurable
Because actions in a standard are all specific criteria, they are observable and objective, which
makes them easy to qualify.

Based on customer requirements

Standards need to be based on customer requirements and not just your industry’s standards.
Companies that fulfill their customers’ expectations have an advantage over competitors that do
not.

Written into job descriptions and performance reviews

Including standards in members’ job description or assignment and performance reviews makes
them adhere to these standards.

Jointly created with the members of the organization

The best standards are created together by management and members based on their
understanding of customer needs.

Fairly enforced
Standards that are enforced for some people and not with others quickly erode. Organization
wide standards require everybody to conform to them, including the top management.
Department specific standards apply to everyone within the department, including its leader.

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Goals and Performance Drivers

Goals are measurable business objectives that reflect the organization’s mission and
vision.
Performance drivers are measured processes and behaviors that influence achieving the
organization’s goals.
Goals and performance drivers are different from KPIs.
The relationship between goals and performance and KPIs.
State

There are different drivers, depending on the objectives of the organization and the industry it
belongs to. These drivers can be grouped into four areas:

Cost Control
Customer Satisfaction
Revenue Generation
Employee Satisfaction

Customer Satisfaction

What is customer satisfaction?

Customer Satisfaction is the number of customers, or percentage of total customers,

whose reported experience with a firm, its products, or its services (ratings) exceeds specified
satisfaction goals.

For every organization, customer satisfaction is among the important indicators of how
the organization is doing, especially for service organizations.

Every organization works for their customer’s satisfaction. This is possibly the greatest
goal, since customer satisfaction has a great impact on the over- all business.

Customer satisfaction measures how a product or service of an organization meets or

surpasses its customer’s expectation.
Customer satisfaction is usually seen as one of the organization’s key performance
indicators.
Customer satisfaction ratings affect the operation and strategy of an organization.

Purpose of Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction send a message about the importance of tending to customers and
ensuring that they have a positive experience with the company’s services.

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 Customer satisfaction can be the best indicator of how likely it is that the customer will
become a repeat customer.

Methods to measure Customer Satisfaction

Surveys
Third- party researchers
Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Social Media Monitoring

American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)

American Customer Satisfaction Index is an economic indicator that measures the

satisfaction of consumers across the US economy.

The ACSI benefits business, researchers, policymakers, and consumers alike by serving
as a national indicator of the health of the U.S economy, as well as a tool for gauging the
competitiveness of individual firms and predicting future profitability.

ACSI as Financial Indicators

ACSI scores act as a strategic tool for gauging the competitiveness of individual firms
and predicting future profitability. Research using ACSI data demonstrates the relationship
between customer satisfaction and the financial performance of individual firms. An
organization’s customer satisfaction performance, as measured by ACSI’s methodology, can
predict how well the firm will perform in terms of corporate revenue and earnings growth.

ACSI as Macroeconomic Indicator

Consumer spending accounts for 70% of U.S gross domestic product (GDP), which
means that changes in customer satisfaction as measured by the ACSI also correlate with
changes in GDP. That is, increases or decreases in the national ACSI score have been shown to
predict changes in GDP growth. As GDP is a measure of the quantity of economic output and
ACSI a measure of its quality, economic growth is dependent on producing not only more, but
also better, products and services.

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 “HDI Customer Satisfaction Index”

What is HDI?

HDI is the world's largest membership association for IT service and support
professionals and the premier certification body for the industry. Founded in 1989, HDI's
mission is to lead and promote the IT service and support industry by empowering its members
through access to timely and valuable industry information, including reports and publications;
encouraging member collaboration through events and online forums; and establishing
internationally recognized, standards-based industry certification and training programs.

What is HDI Customer Satisfaction Index?

HDI Customer Satisfaction Index (HDI-CSI), a new third-party survey and reporting
service that offers IT support centers, help desks and service desks with secure, reliable, robust,
and, statistically valid customer satisfaction measurement data. HDI-CSI provides customer
satisfaction scores, including valuable comparisons against organizational goals as well as
comparisons to peers in the same industry. Developed specifically for the technical service and
technical support industry by a team of IT practitioners and customer service professionals, the
HDI CSI Service is a user-friendly, web-based, secure tool that helps support centers measure
customer satisfaction.

Benefits:

Create & Track Statistics

Identify trends in your support center's customer satisfaction. Has your customer satisfaction
rating improved in the last year? Who's your top performing agent this month? How does
your current customer satisfaction rating compare to your rating this time last year?

Benchmark Your Performance

Compare your support center's performance to industry averages and see how your center
measures up.

Save Time With Turnkey Reports

Download and review data easily; generate reports for specific timeframes, in multiple file
formats, for one or more of your support centers, agents and industry. Save even more time
by scheduling reports to be emailed to you weekly or monthly!

Increase Customer Satisfaction

Recover customers quickly by configuring the alert feature to notify you when one of your
customers responds unfavorably.

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Assessment Test:
1. Describe service standard and service quality.

2. Enumerate the five SERVQUAL dimensions and explain briefly.

3. Explain this statement. “Without establishing and tracking proper key

performance indicators, companies would be left in the dark”.

4. What is customer satisfaction? How it is important to the business?

5. Describe and differentiate the American Customer Satisfaction index

from HDI Customer satisfaction index.

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 TOPIC 9:
Project Management

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PROJECT

In contemporary business and science, a project is an individual or collaborative

enterprise, possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned, usually by a project
team, to achieve a particular aim. A project may also be a set of interrelated tasks to be executed
over a fixed period and within certain cost and other limitations.

It may be a temporary (rather than permanent) social systems as work systems that is
constituted by teams within or across organizations to accomplish particular tasks under time
constraints. A project may be a part of a wider programmed management

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The practice of initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing the work of
a team to achieve specific goals and meet specific success criteria at the specified time. A project is
a temporary endeavor designed to produce a unique product, service or result with a defined
beginning and end (usually time-constrained, and often constrained by funding or staffing)
undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added
value. The temporary nature of projects stands in contrast with business as usual (or
operations) which are repetitive, permanent, or semi-permanent functional activities to produce
products or services. In practice, the management of such distinct production approaches requires
the development of distinct technical skills and management strategies.

The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals within
the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at
the beginning of the development process. The primary constraints are scope,
time, quality and budget. The secondary and more ambitious challenge is
to optimize the allocation of necessary inputs and apply them to meet pre-defined objectives. The
object of project management is to produce a complete project which complies with the client's
objectives. In many cases the object of project management is also to shape or reform the client's
brief in order to feasibly be able to address the client's objectives. Once the client's objectives are
clearly established they should impact on all decisions made by other people involved in the project
- project managers, designers, contractors, sub-contractors, etc. If the project management

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objectives are ill-defined or too tightly prescribed it will have a detrimental effect on decision
making.

PROJECT LIFE CYCLE

The Project Management Life Cycle has 4 Phases:

Initiation
Planning
Execution
Closure

Each project life cycle phase is described below, along with the tasks needed to complete it. You
can click the links provided, to view more detailed information on the project management life
cycle.
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Business Case

The business case provides justification for undertaking a project or program. It evaluates
the benefit, cost and risk of alternative options and provides a rationale for the preferred solution.

Elements of a Business Case:

Title Page is the first impression a reader gets of a business case. Ensure it is simple, neat
and orderly, easy to read and balanced.

Table of Contents lists the major headings and the page on which each is found. This will
be the last section completed, but is placed following the title page.

Executive or Project Summary is the first and most important selling tool. It is where the
critical impression of the project is created. Therefore, it is important to summarize the
most important elements of the project in a concise and compelling manner, and keep it to
two pages at most. Explain the reason for the project and what the benefits will be.
Mission Statement is a concise, general statement of what the project manager intends to
achieve by completing the project. In one sentence it explains what is to be done, for whom,
and why.
Objectives of the Project must be stated clearly; one short statement for each, without
accompanying arguments or documentation. Objectives are Specific, Measurable,
Achievable, Realistic and Timely (S.M.A.R.T.).
Performance Measures evaluate the success of the project, by indicating how the project
will meet the objectives listed at the beginning of the business case.
Needs Assessment can identify a problem and explain why the problem needs to be
corrected, or illustrate the purpose of intended changes. It provides the information as to
whether the project should be undertaken at all. The report, in abbreviated form, becomes
part of the business case.
Technical Analysis outlines the technical information used to make the decision, and tells
why the proposal represents the best or most cost-effective solution.

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 Project Work Plan spells out the terms that will form the basis of any contracts, including
the jobs to be done, the time frames and milestones. It also names those responsible for
managing the project and contracts as soon as they are known. While you will use a
detailed work plan listing subcontractors, detailed processes and reporting mechanisms to
manage the project, it is not necessary to include this in the business case.
Financial Plan shows how the project will be financed and how returns, if any, will be
credited. Give an explanation of why program funding is necessary and how funds will be
used in the introductory paragraph.

Business Case Template will help you build a Business Case for your project or organization.
By completing the sections included within this template, you can document the return on
investment for your solution, thereby creating a compelling Business Case for approval by your
sponsor.

It will help you identify the detailed benefits and costs of your solution, giving your sponsor
confidence that the solution recommended is the most viable solution available. This will help
you to gain approval of the business case and secure the funding you need, to get started.

By using this Business Case Template, you can:

Research the business problem or opportunity

Identify the alternative solutions available
Quantify the benefits and costs of each solution
Recommend a preferred solution to your sponsor
Identify any risks and issues with implementation
Present the solution for funding approval

This Business Case Template also includes:

Real-life examples in each section

Detailed procedures guiding you step-by-step
Tables to help you quantify the benefits and costs

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Guidance on the methods of choosing a preferred solution
A best practice approach to ensure your success.

This template is unique, as it includes all of the detailed procedures needed when writing
Business Cases within your organization. It takes you through the process of completing a
Business Case, giving you practical examples along the way. Written by experts, this template
will enable you to create a solid Business Case quickly and easily, saving you time and money.

Terms of reference (TOR) define the purpose and structures of

a project, committee, meeting, negotiation, or any similar collection of people who have agreed
to work together to accomplish a shared goal.[ Although the terms of reference of a project are
often referred to[as the project charter. there are significant differences between the two. This
article will describe the import of a TOR containing detailed definitions however, a project
charter is defined as containing high-level requirements, assumptions, constraints and
descriptions as well as a budget summary without detail and a milestone-only schedule

Terms of reference show how the object in question will be defined, developed, and verified.
They should also provide a documented basis for making future decisions and for confirming or
developing a common understanding of the scope among stakeholders. In order to meet
these criteria, success factors/risks and constraints are fundamental. They are very important for
project proposals.

Creating detailed terms of reference is critical, as they define the:

vision, objectives, scope and deliverables (i.e. what has to be achieved)

stakeholders, roles and responsibilities (i.e. who will take part in it)
resource, financial and quality plans (i.e. how it will be achieved)
work breakdown structure and schedule (i.e. when it will be achieved)

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TORs should include:

success factors, risks and constraints.

The terms of reference are created during the earlier stages of project management by the
founders of the project in question, immediately after the approval of a project business case.
They are documented by the project manager and presented to the project sponsor or sponsors
for approval. Once the terms have been approved, the members of the project team have a clear
definition of the scope of the project. They will then be ready to progress with implementing the
remaining project deliverables.

This phrase "terms of reference" often refers to the task(s) assigned to a consultant or advisor.
Such a consultant or advisor may be engaged via a contract with general terms of engagement
that also incorporate the terms of reference that specifically describe the consultant's task.

Project Team

an organized group of people who are involved in performing shared/individual tasks of

the project as well as achieving shared/individual goals and objectives for the purpose of
accomplishing the project and producing its results. The team consists of the full-time and part-
time human resources supposed to collaboratively work on producing the deliverables and
moving the project towards successful completion.

A group of people turns into a team when every person of the group can meet the
following conditions:

Understanding the work to be done within the endeavor

Planning for completing the assigned activities

Performing tasks within the budget, timeline, and quality expectations

Reporting on issues, changes, risks, and quality concerns to the leader

Communicating status of tasks

Being a person who can jointly work with others

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So, when you look for candidates to your project group, first make sure a candidate is ready to
meet all the conditions; otherwise switch to another candidate. If you understand this, you get
more chances to find the best candidates.

Three Conventional Roles

Every team, regardless of the project type, size and nature, has three roles (defined as
“conventional”). These roles are:

Leader. A project team leader is a person who provides leadership and guidance to the
team and takes responsibility for the results of teamwork. The team leader role involves
the development and encouragement of the team through training, leading, motivation,
recognition, rewarding and other activities that stimulate or force team members to do the
required tasks.
Member. A project team member is a person who is actually involved in doing assigned
tasks. Team members directly access the project and actively evolve its processes.
They’re subordinated to the team leader.
Contributor. A project team contributor is a person or an organization that participates
in teamwork but is not actually involved in performing tasks and carrying out project
team responsibilities. Contributors help improve the project through giving valued
suggestions, expert judgment and consultation. They aren’t responsible for the project
results. Often project team contributors have an interest or concern in the project, so they
facilitate successful completion.

When organization of the project team is appropriate, all the roles are allocated adequately.
Successful teams often work under the direction and supervision of project managers who
oversee the work of the team leader and provide expert advice to team members. In this situation,
contributors work in collaboration with the managers.

Responsibilities and Duties

A team can be responsible for a variety of duties and responsibilities, depending on the
project they’re involved in. Good project team organization entails proper setting of team

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responsibilities and duties, while considering specific goals and objectives of the project. Here’re
several common responsibilities and duties of a project team:

Gaining the right understanding of the amount and scope of assigned work
Following the planned assignments
Increasing the details level per task and activities, if needed
Completing the assigned tasks within the constraints of scope, quality, time and cost
Inform the leader of any issues arisen
Proactively communicate and collaborate with other team members

Project Office

A project office is typically a trailer or other short-term facility that is used as an office
for a project. Normally they are used whenever office facilities are needed near a long-term
temporary endeavor. Supports the Project Manager in the management and administration of the
project. In the smallest projects, the Project Manager may need to do such things personally. In
the largest projects, there is likely to be a whole team of people providing services to the Project
Team.

A Project Office might only be administrative in nature. In other cases, a whole range of
cross-project specialist issues and services might be provided. Where a project has several sub-
teams addressing different, but related, aspects of the project, it is often necessary to identify
individuals to control common issues across the various aspects. These roles might be placed in
specific sub-teams or they might be defined as functions within the Project Office.

Role Description

Administrator Handles day-to-day administration such as team

communications, procedural controls (eg documentation
control, issues control), filing, organising meetings, tracking
whereabouts of participants, obtaining facilities, services and
materials as required.

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 Project planning and Handles the main detailed workload of creating, consolidating
tracking assistant and managing project plans. Processes timesheet data.
Updates progress tracking, information and reports.

Secretary Provides a resource for all typing needs. Receives and routes
telephone calls.

Project Office Manager Manages overall Project Office functions. Typically, the Project
Office Manager is also the lead for the specialized project
management tasks such as detailed planning and tracking.

Graphics support Specialist graphics staff to create visual content - eg website

content, presentations, diagrams

Technical support Installs and maintains the team's technology - eg servers,

networks, PCs, software. Provides technical assistance to team
members.

Change Manager / Responsible for organizational/behavioural change

specialist(s) management. Assesses needs for change. Plans strategy and
tactics to achieve that change. Manages and controls activities
to bring about change.

Training Manager / Provides specialist advice on needs for training. Defines

specialist(s) training programs. Creates training content. Organizes training
resources: venues, facilities, trainers. Ensures adequate training
is received as required.

Solutions Architect Has responsibility for the design of the overall business
solution, including applications, processes, organisational
design, procedures, facilities, etc.

Testing Manager / Provides specialist advice on needs and approaches for testing.
specialist(s) Defines and oversees testing programs.

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 Web Master Responsible for the creation, development and maintenance of
the project's website(s). Provides specialist advice regarding
web components of the business solution.

Technology Architect Has overall responsibility for the technology architecture.

Ensures the technology design meets all needs, across sub-
teams and functions.

Configuration Manager Responsible for the version control of the various deliverable
components.

Quality Manager Oversees the Quality Processes. Identifies specific quality

requirements. Monitors work and deliverables to ensure
requirements are being met. Audits completed work and
deliverables for compliance with Quality Standards.

Communications Handles external and internal communications relating to the

specialist(s) project. Establishes needs for communication in conjunction
with the Change Manager. Determines best media and
distribution channels. Creates communications. Monitors
effectiveness.

Security Manager / Provides specialist advice on needs and approaches for security.
specialist(s) Builds, tests, controls and maintains security features.

Database Manager Responsible for the creation, development, tuning and

maintenance of the project's database(s). Ensures standards and
compatibility of usage across the various sub-teams and
functions.

Organizational Design Provides specialist advice on needs and approaches for creating
Manager / specialist(s) or changing organizational structure, defining job descriptions,
assessing skills requirements, recruiting, laying off staff, etc.

Project Accountant Deals with all financial aspects. Has prime responsibility for
creating and managing the Benefit Case. Tracks and reports

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 progress against financial targets (budget, expected benefit).
Handles the financial dealings of the project, eg. purchases,
payments to sub-contractors.

Project planning

Project planning refers to everything you do to set up your project for success. It’s the process
you go through to establish the steps required to define your project objectives, clarify the scope
of what needs to be done and develop the task list to do it.

PROJECT SCOPE

It defines what the project's end product is, what work it will take to deliver it, how much
it will cost and when it will be done.

A project scope statement is a written document that includes all the required information for
producing the project deliverables. More detailed than a statement of work, the project scope
statement helps the project team remain focused and on task.

The scope statement also provides the project team leader or facilitator with guidelines for making
decisions about change requests during the project. It is natural for parts of a large project to
change along the way, so the better the project has been scoped at the beginning, the better the
project team will be able to manage change.

The project scope statement also establishes what is not included in initiatives, either implicitly or
explicitly. Objectives and tasks not listed in the project scope statement should be considered out
of scope. Project managers can also list specific work that will not be part of the project.

PROJECT RESOURCES

Resource plan is a detailed assessment of the resources required to complete all project
task.

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 In project management terminology, resources are required to carry out the project tasks.
They can be people, equipment, facilities, funding, or anything else capable of definition (usually
other than labour) required for the completion of a project activity.

3 Types of Essential Resources

People
The team management part is often the hardest part of the project, especially if you haven’t
had to lead a team in the past. Managing their workload can be tricky too, as most of your project
team members won’t work solely on your project. They will have day jobs and may be involved
in other projects at the same time.
When you know what individuals you need it becomes a lot easier to do your resource
planning, which should help you balance those peaks and troughs of availability in the team. Spend
some time thinking through the different skill sets that you need and the kind of tasks that are
required on the project. Even at this early stage you can still get a good idea of who needs to be
involved.
You’ll have to work out who is needed on the project at what times, based on your project
schedule. You’ll need to bring in different types of subject matter experts at different times, and
each one will have to know enough about the project’s objectives to get their part done
successfully.

Capital
Your project needs money, because it will need to pay for things, even if that is only your
salary (let’s assume that you aren’t working on this project for free, although I know that does
happen as people often volunteer to put their project management skills to good use for charities,
for example).
Talk to your sponsor about their expectations for the money that needs to be spent. It’s
important that they have a realistic idea about how much the project will cost, and you can help
them do that once you have undertaken some of the planning.
If you don’t have enough cash for your project then you won’t be able to get everything done. It’s
that simple: the budget funds the work and when it runs out the work has to stop. If they want the
project to be completed successfully then it needs to be adequately funded.

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You’ll need to know how much money you are spending because it helps you establish whether
you are on track or not.
Material Goods
Projects also use up assets. Assets, or goods, vary from project to project but it’s highly
likely that your project will need some kind of tangible resource. It’s normally what you use the
project budget to buy.
Examples include:
Software licenses
Hardware like technical infrastructure such as cabling or switches for the IT
equipment
Equipment or machinery (which you might hire for the life of the project or buy)
Property (again, it might be something you hire for the project such as a
temporary cabin on a building site).
You’ll also make use of assets that the company already has although you may have to
budget for borrowing them, or schedule in the right time to use them so that you don’t clash with
another project. An example might be a testing lab that you need to book in advance.
This type of resource is particularly important to get right because not planning to use it
can create huge problems for your project. If you don’t get particular software elements, for
example, they could take weeks to ship from the manufacturer and add considerable delay to the
project.
Resources of all types are important to get you project off the ground and successfully
moving in the right direction. The more effort you put into thinking through the types of project
resources you need and requesting them far enough in advance to ensure that they are ready for
you when you need them, the easier it will be for you to complete your project on time, on budget
and to the required specifications.

PROJECT FINANCES

The financial plan estimates the amount of money required to each stage of the project.

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 It quantifies the cost of labour, equipment and materials, and defines an expense schedule,
which enables PM (Project Manager) to analyze forecast versus actual spending throughout the
project.

PROJECT SCHEDULE

In project management, a schedule is a listing of a project's milestones, activities, and

deliverables, usually with intended start and finish dates. ... A schedule is commonly used in
the project planning and project portfolio management parts of project management.

How to Schedule a Project

Before going deeper into project scheduling, let’s review the fundamentals to project
scheduling. Project scheduling occurs during the planning phase of the project. You have to ask
yourself three questions to start:

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1. What needs to be done?
2. When will it be done?
3. Who will do it?

Once you’ve got answers to these questions, then you can begin to plan dates, link activities, set
the duration, milestones and resources. The following are the steps needed to schedule a project:

Define Activities

What are the activities that you have to do in the project? By using a Work Breakdown Structure
(WBS) and a deliverables diagram, you can begin to take these activities and organize them by
mapping out the tasks necessary to complete them in an order than makes sense.

Do Estimates

Now that you have the activities defined and broken down into tasks, you next have to determine
the time and effort it will take to complete them. This is an essential piece of the equation in order
to calculate the correct schedule.

Determine Dependencies

Tasks are not an island, and often one cannot be started until the other is completed. That’s called
a task dependency, and your schedule is going to have to reflect these linked tasks. One way to do
this is by putting a bit of slack in your schedule to accommodate these related tasks.

Assign Resources

The last step to finalizing your planned schedule is to decide on what resources you are going to
need to get those tasks done on time. You’re going to have to assemble a team, and their time will
need to be scheduled just like the tasks.

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PROJECT PROCUREMENT

Project Procurement Process also called “Project Procurement Management Process” is a

method for establishing relationships between an organization’s purchasing department and
external suppliers to order, receive, review and approve all the procurement items necessary for
project execution. The supplier relationships are managed on a contractual basis. The process aims
to ensure timely delivery of the purchased items which are selected and acquired according to the
specifications and requirements set up by the purchasing department and approved by the project
manager.

5 major steps:

Specification. This step involves the purchasing department in communicating with the
project manager to develop and approve a list of procurement items necessary for project
implementation. The department must specify the approved items to external vendors.

Selection. This step of the project procurement process requires the department to find
potential suppliers which can procure the necessary items, according to the specifications.
For this purpose, the department needs to set vendor selection criteria, which may include
such measures as Delivery, Service Quality, Cost, and Part Performance.

Contracting. The department must communicate with the suppliers on delivery dates and
payment conditions in order to ensure “on-time” delivery of the ordered items within the
stated project budget. All the conditions should be listed in a procurement contract. Also a
detailed delivery schedule should be negotiated with the procurers and approved by the
purchasing department.

Control. Success of the procurement management process depends on how the purchasing
department controls the delivery and payment processes. Through arranging regular
meetings with the vendors, tracking delivery progress, reviewing the ordered items against
the approved product specifications, and making necessary changes to the procurement
contract, the department can control the process and ensure successful accomplishment.

Measurement. The final step of the project procurement management process refers to using
a system of performance indicators and measures for assessing the effectiveness and success

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 of the entire process. The project manager needs to set up such a system and the purchasing
department needs to use it in measuring the process. Special meetings and workshops can be
conducted to view KPIs, intermediate results of staged delivery, performance of procurers,
adherence to product specifications, communications with suppliers, and the like. In case any
deviations or gaps are revealed the department should notify the project manager and make
necessary changes to the procurement plan.

Project Procurement Plan

Planning of project procurements is carried out within the procurement process and results
in developing a plan. A procurement plan is a convenient tool for organizing and managing
activities and tasks related to the procurement management process. A template of the plan is to
be designed by the purchasing department in cooperation with the project manager. A project
procurement plan should be reviewed and approved by the project manager before any supplier
relationships get started.

A project procurement plan template documents:

Deliverables to be procured by proposed agreements/contracts.

Effective resource management strategies for negotiating and managing the

agreements/contracts.

The need for staged delivery and desirability of testing the procured items before introducing
them into the implementation process (this item is optional).

The chosen procurement method (payments, expressions of interest, request for price/quote,
request for tender).

Key stages of the process for selecting suppliers and vendors.

The model of procurement funding.

The sample of procurement contract/agreement.

References to quality approvals, quality assurance and risk management

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PROJECT QUALITY

Project quality management is all of the processes and activities needed to determine and
achieve project quality.

But what does "quality" really mean?

At its most basic level, quality means meeting the needs of customers. This is also known as
"fit for use."

I like this simple definition of quality because its focus is where it should be, on the customer. This
basic definition also implies that the requirements of the project have been met since the
requirements should reflect the customer's needs if collected properly.

As the project manager, there are three key quality management concepts that will help you
deliver a high quality project...

Customer Satisfaction
Prevention over Inspection
Continuous Improvement

3 KEY QUALITY MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS

1. Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is a key measure of a project's quality. It's important to keep in mind
that project quality management is concerned with both the product of the project and
the management of the project.

If the customer doesn't feel the product produced by the project meets their needs or if the way the
project was run didn't meet their expectations, then the customer is very likely to consider the
project quality as poor, regardless of what the project manager or team thinks.

As a result, not only is it important to make sure the project requirements are met, managing
customer expectations is also a critical activity that you need to handle well for your project to
succeed.

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 2. Prevent over Inspection

The Cost of Quality (COQ) includes money spent during the project to avoid failures and
money spent during and after the project because of failures. These are known as the Cost of
Conformance and the Cost of Nonconformance.

Cost of Conformance Cost of Nonconformance

Prevention Costs Internal Failure Costs

Training Rework
Document Processes Scrap
Equipment
Time To Do It Right

Appraisal Costs External Failure Costs

Testing Liabilities
Destructive Testing Loss Warranty Work
Inspections Lost Business

The cost of preventing mistakes is usually much less than the cost of correcting them.

3. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

Continuous improvement is a concept that exists in all of the major quality management
approaches such as Six Sigma and Total Quality Management (TQM). In fact, it is a key
aspect of the last concept, prevention over inspection.

Continuous improvement is simply the ongoing effort to improve your products, services, or
processes over time. These improvements can be small, incremental changes or major,
breakthrough type changes.

From a project perspective, this concept can be applied by analyzing the issues that were
encountered during the project for any lessons learned that you can apply to future projects. The
goal is to avoid repeating the same issues in other projects.

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PROJECT COMMUNICATION

A communication plan for emergency situations must address ways both

electronic and non-electronic communication channels should be used to disseminate
information.

Key components to a well-thought out communication strategy plan:

Develop the purpose. This is your team’s mission statement, the “why” behind everything
you’re doing on this project.
Set the goals. Once you have the purpose in place, you can realistically set your goals for the
project. What are the primary indicators of success?
Determine the key players. Which team members and stakeholders need to be involved, and
to what extent? Who should be at all the meetings and who should only be involved from an
approval standpoint? Does everyone understand their roles?
Discuss task dependencies, and how they’ll be met (or not). Make sure to look for
potential roadblocks and risks along the way. On top of that, each team member should know
what needs to be done before they get started on their task.
Be realistic on time and scale. Deliver what you say you’re going to deliver. And,
remember the cardinal rule of project management–don’t overpromise!
Adjust when needed. Just like most things in life, a project won’t probably go like you plan.
Be flexible enough and honest with your team to adjust on the fly when needed.

Top Communication Skills in Project Management

1. Listen. Effective project managers don’t just wait for their turn to talk. They listen to their
team–both the good and the bad–to really understand issues and look for ways to fix them.
2. Place an emphasis on efficiency over speed. They make sure their team knows that going 10
miles an hour toward a specific destination is much better than going 30 miles an hour in
circles.
3. Ask questions. Listening is one thing, but to get to the bottom of processes and situations,
good project managers are willing to get their hands a little dirty and ask questions.

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4. Respect their team. As we’ve said, project management is all about relationships. When you
treat your team well, they’ll (usually) treat you well in return. Be nice!
5. Keep everyone in the loop. Just because the project manager knows what’s going on, that
doesn’t mean everyone else does. Good PMs send out monthly, weekly, even daily updates in
some cases. Everyone involved needs to be informed and up to date.

How Project Managers Successfully Communicate

Think about your project management communications in terms of routines. As a PM, you want
to be sure that you’re moving the information flow in a way that’s expected. This allows your
team to easily share information and ask for more when needed.

1. SET PROJECT EXPEC TATIONS

When you kick off a project, make sure everyone including both your team and stakeholders
know what’s expected of them throughout the course of the project. You also need to know what
everyone else expects from you.

Some good ways to do this:

Map the project with a Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed (RACI) chart.
Discuss your project goals and plan.
Discuss what forms of communication you’ll use during the project.

The most important thing is to get the details on the table and ask, What does success and failure
look like on this project?

When you’re honest about what a project win looks like whether it’s on the administrative end or
the front-line communications you’ll have a much easier time setting expectations at the
beginning.

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2 . D I S C U S S P R O J E C T D E LI V E R A B LE S
If you’re not actively checking in on your deliverables and reviewing them as a team, you’re
missing a huge opportunity to collaborate and build a stronger product. When building your plan,
make sure you’ve built in time to review, discuss and critique your team deliverables.

This generates more confidence in what you’re building and will also keep team members
accountable for project decisions. By just having a short review and discussion, you’re taking
steps to eliminate a risk that a current deliverable will have a negative impact on your scope later
on.

3. CONDUCT ST ATUS ME ETINGS

Regularly hold status meetings otherwise known as scrums or stand-ups. These brief get-
togethers are necessary to keep everyone informed about progress and blockers. Decide together
if you want these meetings to be daily (15 minutes) or weekly (50 minutes).

Productive meetings will include:

Designated note-taker.
Written agenda.
Updated status report.
Actionable next steps and goals.
Post-meeting recaps to keep all meeting attendees accountable.
A scheduled next meeting.

Make sure your stakeholders are in the know as well so they’re seeing progress and know where
they fit in the process.

4. ASK QUESTIONS
Being a PM requires you to be inquisitive you have to understand processes, people, and
deliverables. Chances are, you’ll work with someone who comes up with a new way of working

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or takes a new spin on something you’re working on. That’s awesome! Just make sure you
understand it and that you can articulate the what, why, when, and how of that new thing.

Most important, never be afraid to ask questions. In the end, it’s a win-win situation for you and
your team, because the more you understand the work, the easier it is for you to advocate for it
with stakeholders or plan for similar activities in future projects.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

Project Implementation

Project Implementation
Putting Plan into Action
Monitoring at Checkpoints

Project Implementation- is usually the longest stage of the project. This is when the project
plan is actually activated, deliverables are constructed, and project activities are done.

The implementation phase involves putting the project plan into action. It’s here that the project
manager will coordinate and direct project resources to meet the objectives of the project plan.
As the project unfolds, it’s the project manager’s job to direct and manage each activity, every
step of the way. That’s what happens in the implementation phase of the project life cycle: you
follow the plan you’ve put together and handle any problems that come up.

The implementation phase is where you and your project team actually do the project work to
produce the deliverables. The word “deliverable” means anything your project delivers. The
deliverables for your project include all of the products or services that you and your team are
performing for the client, customer, or sponsor, including all the project management documents
that you put together.

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This stage involves:

People and resource coordination

Project activity integration
Performing activities according to project management plan.

Putting the Plan into Action- in this phase, the deliverables are built, and project plans are
activated. This phase requires the physical construction of each deliverable for acceptance by
customer. The actual activities depend on the type of the project. Deliverables are the output of
the project and there are two ways to build deliverables:

Waterfall way- each activity is undertaken in sequence until the deliverable is finished.
Iterative way- recursion of each deliverable is constructed until the deliverable meets the
requirements of the plan or the customer.

Ensuring High level of Teamwork

It is important that the project team works together. Therefore, as Project Managers, we
must ensure that all members are highly involved in project activities through:

Delegation
Volunteerism
Decision-Making

Project Implementation
Activities

Putting plan into

Activate Plan
action Build Deliverables

Delegation
Volunteering
Decision-making
Monitoring at
checkpoints

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 Formative
Evaluation

Delegate tasks to members since you cannot be in all places at the same time
Effective delegation is important, as you must entrust tasks properly.
Delegation also allows one to work on other important tasks and empower others when
they learn new skills
A good candidate has:
o The optimal skill to execute the task at the moment
o A high level of interest in the area
o A need to further develop in a particular area
o The time to do the task
Volunteerism provides opportunities for people to volunteer for certain tasks or role as
this can help make participating in the project more meaningful for them.
Guidelines on decision-making and levels of authority should also be made clear, as well
as interim or final reports that may be required.

Monitoring Checkpoints

While everyone in the project team is working on their deliverables or activities, the
project manager should implement a series of management processes to monitor and control the
activities being undertaken.

Monitoring and Controlling includes:

Where we are – measuring the ongoing project activities

Where we should be – monitoring the project variables vs. the project management plan
and project performance baseline
How can we get on track – identify corrective actions to address and risks properly.

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 Influencing the factors that could get around integrated change control so only approved
changes are implemented.

Guidelines for Meetings – regular meetings, use of monitoring tools and formative evaluation
are important in this phase.

What has happened?

What still needs to happen?
What problems is the teams facing?
What are hotspots and possible resolutions?

Be clear about meeting the objectives and record the important notes and delegated tasks
during the meeting. Be conscious of the time by trying to start and end as scheduled and
distribute copy of the minutes as soon as possible.

Management Processes

A series of management processes is necessary to monitor and control project

implementation. This allow the project manager to see potential issues and variances from the
project plan. This way, we can easily find a work-around to troubleshoot the issue.

Time Management – is the process within which time spent by staff doing project tasks is
recorded against the project plan. This process allows the project manager to see if tasks
are completed on time and to control time spent on each task.
Cost management – formally identifies, approves, records all cost and payments made
within the project. This controls the way cost is incurred by making sure that only approved
expenses take place.
Quality Management – is the process by which the quality of the outputs is assured and
controlled for the project, using QA and Quality Control techniques.
Change Management – change management defines, evaluates and approves any changes
to the project plan, which includes deliverables, scope, timelines or resources. This helps
the project manager track changes as they occur and control the effect they have on team
and the project.

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 Risk Management – as there are changes, there may also be risks to the project. Risk
management is the process by which these are formally identified, quantified, and managed
during the project when they are identified the soonest, the impact can be quantified and
immediate action can b taken to prevent it from actually happening.
Issue Management – this is the method by which issues currently affecting the ability of
the project to produce the required deliverable are formally managed. Issue management
is done when there are issues that need immediate attention such as lack of funds,
insufficient resources, or tight deadlines.
Procurement Management – is the process by which the product is sourced from an external
supplier. This process is implemented whenever the project requires purchasing from an
external supplier.
Acceptance Management – is the process by which project outputs and other deliverables
are presented to the project sponsor/client for review and sign-off.
Communication Management – is an important factor in managing a project.
Communication management is the process by which formal communication is identified,
created, reviewed and dent within a project. Proper communications pf any development,
change or reports should be sent to the organization and all stakeholders.

Formative Evaluation – conducting both evaluations allow the organization or the stakeholders to
look at how the project is implemented and the results achieved so far.

At the end of the implementation phase, the project should be evaluated to ensure that
project has achieved its objectives as planned.

This can be performed in two ways:

Implementation evaluation – this evaluation assesses whether a project s being

implemented as planned such as delegation of the right members, task completion,
adherence to schedule, budget, etc.
Progress Evaluation – this evaluation assesses progress in meeting goals by comparing
current results with set targets.

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 PROJECT EVALUATION AND CLOSURE

This report aims to discuss and familiarize the students with the last phase of Project
Management, the Project Evaluation and Closure.

Introduction

“Congratulations, your project went well!” This is probably the best thing you will hear
at the end of your project. However, the project is not yet done until evaluation has been
performed and the project is formally closed.

This is what we are going to discuss in this session. The last leg of Project Management:
Project Evaluation and Implementation.

Project Evaluation is the part of the last phase of Project Management.

This phase provides the project team the opportunity to look back and share their
thoughts on how the project went and give their suggestions and recommendation if the project
was to be done again.

For example, after a production, the cast and crew of an event or theater organization
gather around and would talk about what happened during the event. What do you think the crew
and the members of the organization would talk about? Possible answers are:

How the seminar/event went

The issues/problems/challenges that happened
The good things that made the event better

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Project Lifecycle

Initiation Execution

Goals Status reports

Specifications Changes
Tasks Quality
Responsibilities Forecasts

Planning Closure

Schedules Transfer documents

Budgets Release staff
Resources Release resources
Staffing Lessons learned
Risks

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Project Closure Activities

Project Closure

Summative Evaluation

A summative evaluation is a documented post-implementation review of the project.

It assesses the project’s performance against the established objectives and followed the
management process outlined in the planning phase.

Phases of Closing a Project

Administrative Closure (the final completion and closure of the project)

Post-Implementation Meeting (meeting done at the end of a project where the team
talks about project’s success, challenges, and opportunities)
Project Report (a document that summarizes the project and actual work
accomplished by the project team)
Celebration (enhances relationships, builds pride, show gratitude and appreciation)

Questions to be-asked in a summative evaluation:

Was the project successful

What were the project’s strengths and weaknesses?
What were the challenges or opportunities during implementation?
What components were the most effective?

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 Did it achieve the objectives outlined in the plan?
Was the allotted budget enough?

Assessment Test:

1. Describe the project life cycle.

2. What are the importance of the business care templates?
3. Enumerate the roles of a project team. Explain each.
4. List the importance of project planning in business.
5. What are the three key quality management concepts?
6. Describe the last phase of project management.

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REFERENCES:

http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~asuomca/diversityinit/definition.html

http://businessculture.org/business-culture/

https://www.salesforce.com/eu/learning-centre/crm/crm-systems/

(2018, January 13). EUROPEAN STANDARDS. Retrieved from

https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/european-standards_en

____________. (2018, January 13). SERVICE STANDARDS. Retrieved from

https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/services/service-standards_en

____________. (2018, January 13). What is a European Standard (EN)?. Retrieved from
https://www.cencenelec.eu/standards/DefEN/Pages/default.aspx

____________. (2018, January 13). European Union Countries. Retrieved from

https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/countries_en

____________. (2018, January 13). 21 Fun Facts about Europe. Retrieved from
http://www.wsaeurope.com/blog/21-fun-facts

https://www.commisceo-global.com/country-guides/italy-guide

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 Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Midterm Examination
Service Culture

Name: Date:
Course/Section: Subject:

TEST I. True or False. Write TRUE if the statement is correct and FALSE if not. (2 point
each).

____________1. Personal values are what we refer to as convictions about we feel are important
and attractive, advantageous, or beneficial and we all possess a unique and complex combination
of them.
____________2. Understanding the areas of self-awareness provide us with insights on how
aspects of our lives tend to influence our personal development.
____________3. Social Learning Theory assumes that people have psychological needs that are
the basis for self-motivation and personality integration.
____________4. Private self pertains to attributes that a person does not know about himself or
herself but is known by others
____________5. Habits are behaviors we repeat routinely and often enough, even automatically
that they tend to be unconscious.

TEST II. Identification. Identify the following word below.

____________1. It is based on the principle that organisms are born with certain psychological
needs, that these needs prod the organisms into action in order to satisfy them, and that drives are
lessened when the needs are met.
____________2. This theory assumes that we have needs that are formulated over time based on
our experiences.
____________3. The act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives.
____________4. A person's motivation is really based on taking pleasure in an activity rather than
looking for an external reward.
____________5. It is a process that aims to improve performance and focuses on the ‘here and
now’ rather than on the distant past or future.
____________6. It is a step-by-step process that starts with establishing goals and concludes when
team members declare “Will commitment”.
____________7. It is the willingness to learn product and service information.
____________8. It refers to proficiency in using and manipulating various computer hardware,
software and internet applications.
____________9. A person you would want to emulate in terms or career and/or lifestyle.
____________10. Someone who knows you, your strengths and your weaknesses.

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TEST III. Multiple Choice. Select the best answer for each question.

__________1. It refers to individual characteristics over which an individual has little or no

control, such as biologically-determined characteristics including race, sex, age, certain physical
attributes as well as the family and society into which he or she is born.

a. Culture
b. Diversity
c. Values
d. Barriers

__________2. This sense of partnership often makes for a happier customer who is more likely to
do repeat business and refer a potential new customer.

a. Centralization and Sharing of Data

b. Better Customer Service
c. Improved Marketing Efforts
d. Higher Customer Satisfaction

__________3. It measures the customer's evaluation via recent consumption experience of the
quality of a company's products or services.

a. Perceived Quality
b. Perceived Value
c. Customers Expectation
d. Customer Loyalty

__________4. It measures the customer's anticipation of the quality of a company's products or

services.

a. Perceived Quality
b. Perceived Value
c. Customers Expectation
d. Customer Loyalty

__________5. A combination of the customer's professed likelihood to repurchase from the same
supplier in the future, and the likelihood to purchase a company’s products or services at various
price points (price tolerance).

a. Perceived Quality
b. Perceived Value
c. Customers Expectation
d. Customer Loyalty
TEST IV. Enumeration.

1. Enumerate the benefits of diversity in Asian Service Expectation. (10 points)

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 2. Enumerate the Things to Do when you are in Asia. (10 points)
3. 3D’s of Excellent Customer Experience. (3 points)
4. Give 2 things that help us to develop empathy. (2 points)

TEST V. Word Hunt. Search up, down, forward, backward, and diagonally to find the hidden
words. The words are all related to Topic 5. After finding the 10 hidden words, try to explain it
briefly.

V E R T U D X B F T A V
M I S S I O N N S A D A
S D S N F H L P D G V L
C U N I T Y E W E L E U
S D F U O R G E T I R E
A C H J U N F V H N T S
N J H T A F V R N E I M
H N L O Y A L T Y M S S
F U D G R S D V D C I X
C O M P E T I T I O N D
D P F D L A O G A Q G W

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 Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Final Examination
Service Culture

Name: Date:
Course/Section: Subject:

TEST I. True or False. Write TRUE if the statement is correct and FALSE if not. (2 point
each).

____________1. Customer relationship management uses data analysis about customers' history
with a company to improve business relationships with customers, specifically focusing
on customer retention and ultimately driving sales growth.
____________2. Total Quality Management is an approach to manage a company's interaction
with current and potential customers.
____________3. The first step in creating a customer service strategy is communicating the
customer service vision to employees.
____________4. The reason why some CRM initiatives fail is because many organizations fall
into the trap of deploying tools and technology without creating a proper CRM-related business
strategy.
____________5. Customers are the most important people in your business.

TEST II. Identification. Identify the following word below.

____________1. It is the quality of being able to bring about the intended result.
____________2. It is skillfulness at avoiding wasted time and effort.
____________3. It is the leadership of the self. It is the ability to define a direction for your
leadership and life, and to move in that direction with clarity and consistency.
____________4. It is the ability to recognize your own emotions and their effects on yourself and
other people.
____________5. This requires you to expand your awareness to include the emotions of those
people around you. You will also need to develop your ability to read the emotional environment
and power relationships you encounter in your role.
____________6. It is a way of looking at something differently. It is a trend or change in a typical
pattern or model.
____________7. Are what customers perceived to be values they seek before or after they
purchase a product or service. They are mostly intangible and may differ from one customer to
another to some degree.
____________8. Possessing sensitivity to another party’s needs as characterized by quickness to
respond appropriately to given situations.
____________9. The two-way process of reaching a shared or collaborative understanding where
participants exchange information and create and share meaning.

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____________10. It is important to an organization because it is often the only contact
a customer has with a company.

TEST III. Enumeration.

1. Enumerate the Five SERVQUAL dimensions. (5 points)

2. What are the criteria for an effective service standard? (7 points)
3. Four phases of Project Management Life Cycle. (4 points)
4. 3 types of Essential resources. (3 points)

TEST IV. Essay.

1. Explain this statement. “Without establishing and tracking proper key performance
indicators, companies would be left in the dark”. (5 points)
2. Describe the project life cycle. (5 points)
3. Enumerate the roles of a project team. Explain it in your own words. (6 points)
4. List the importance of project planning in business and explain it briefly in your own words.

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