Module: LV 5005 Operations Management

Assignment – 1
Service Quality

Submitted to; Submitted by;

U Atar Thaung Htet Khin Po Po Kyaw
L-5 B-1 Digital Campus

Date of Submitted
5 / 4 / 2022

1
Contents

1. Executive Summary......................................................................................................
2. Introduction...................................................................................................................
3. Quality..........................................................................................................................
3.1. The importance of quality..................................................................................
4. Determinants of service quality....................................................................................
5. Process and Layout Strategy.........................................................................................
6. Process and Layout Strategy for Hair Salon.................................................................
6.1. Process Strategy.................................................................................................
6.2. Layout Strategy..................................................................................................
7. Supply Chain Management...........................................................................................
8. Conclusion....................................................................................................................
9. Recommendation..........................................................................................................
10. References.....................................................................................................................

2
1. Executive Summary
This section will start with introducing the operations management and
describing the role of the quality of products or services produced. To understand the
service quality, the determinants of service quality the business should consider are
explained. We will then discuss the process strategy and layout strategy suitable for
the service business like hair salon. The nature of supply chain management and its
activities required for hair salon will be included.

2. Introduction
There are many functions to be carried out for achieving the organization’s
objectives and goals; such as procurement, operations, marketing, finance, etc. One
critical function, operations management, is the business function responsible for
producing a company’s goods and services efficiently and cost-effectively. In another
word, OM is the process of converting a company’s inputs into finished goods and
services to be consumed or used by customers (Sanders, 2018).

3. Quality
The company’s operation function produces the tangible goods or the
intangible services or both. The components and considerations are vary depending on
the nature and types of goods and services produced. Whether the output is good or
service, the common factor to be prioritized is quality. Quality can be defined as the
extent to which the level of performance of the company’s goods or services meets or
exceeds the level of customers’ expectations about those goods or services. The
quality of a product also refers to how well a product can help satisfy customer needs,
performs to its purpose, and matches with the set standards (Team, Understanding
Product Quality, 2021). The concept of quality also depends on how the customers
define it.

3.1. The importance of quality

Quality products can help in maintaining customer satisfaction and loyalty and
reducing the risk and cost because of faulty goods (Quain, 2019). Unlike the tangible
manufactured goods which can be made, stored, checked, and controlled for
maintaining good quality prior to the customers, it cannot be done in maintaining

3
service quality absolutely in advance to the delivery. But some preparations can be
made in advance for service quality. There are using safe and qualified ingredients,
modern equipment, machines and technology, selecting staff based on skills,
experiences and behaviors training staff, and getting feedback from customers about
the satisfactions on service quality and performance.

4. Determinants of service quality

Service quality refers to the degree to which how an organization provides its
services with regard to its customers’ expectations. Generally, the customers purchase
services in response to their specified needs. If the company focuses on high service
quality, it may offer services that matched or exceeded its customers' expectations
(Team, Service Quality, 2021). But the practices used to assure and control the quality
of services are also vary from one company to another.
The criteria used to assess the quality of tangible products may not absolutely
describe service quality. The most common determinants of service quality are
described below with examples about the hair salon.

Reliability
It is the ability of the company to provide the service consistently in a way that
can fulfill the customers’ expectations. It is also defined as the ability to offer the
service as it was promised on a regular basis. It is very critical that the company is
being able to realize the service that they advertise (Samoszuk, 2021).
It is true that the customers coming to the hair salon expect to meet with the
skillful and reliable staff as these staffs are the designers and creators of their
appearances. Well-trained and knowledgeable hairstylists and staff can be the source
of reliability for customers.

Responsiveness
It refers to the company's commitment or ability to provide customers with
prompt and speedy services. Responsiveness can be seen as replying to customer
inquiries, requests, feedback, and wants in a quick manner (Team, Service Quality,
2021). The level of willingness the service provider has to help customers and deal
with their problems states the level of responsiveness.

4
 Hairstyles usually change accordingly to the trends in society and seasonal
demands, such as the hairstyle of celebrities or the colors for the Thingyan Festival.
The ability to respond to those changes creates customers satisfaction with the service
quality and increases new customers and also the business’s image.

Assurance
Assurance is the knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to
convey trust and confidence. Customers may desire businesses to be the experts or
professionals in the service they operate. For creating assurance of service quality, the
business needs to inform about the expertise of the business to customers, which can
be done by means of displaying business identifications, accreditations,
authorizations, or customer recommendations (KLOKKENGA, 2020).
For hair salons, the records of hair designs created can be shown on social
media or at the physical location. Some hair salons create their own Facebook pages
and advertise their creations and customers’ feedback for gaining customers’ trust and
confidence in their service.

Tangibles
Even though the service is intangible, the physical or tangible equipment,
materials and facilities have the indirect expression of the quality of service. The
appearance is not always the most critical factor for service but it makes a change in
customer’s perception of the business, particularly when the business promises for
providing the best or luxury experience (KLOKKENGA, 2020).
Entering into an attractively decorated, clean hair salon with perfectly dressed
staff would certainly affect the opinion of the service. Modernized right facilities and
tools such as razor, texturizing iron, and hairdryer can be useful for the ease of
creating hair designs and also for showing the standards of hair salons.

Empathy
It is about how the business pays attention to customers to provide the best
service experience to its customers. It is important to pay attention individually to
express that the business performs the best to satisfy customers’ needs (Service
Quality, 2021).

5
 Customers of hair salons are very different from one another. They possess
their own ideas, styles, likes and preferences. From the side of a hair salon, it is
necessary to provide or create services appropriate to the individual customers. For
example, as the shape of the face and body can determine the best suitable hairstyle,
the service providers need to see it.

5. Process and Layout Strategy

We all know that if we decided to start a business, we must first consider what
kind of product(s) or service(s) are offered. Another consideration is to create the
production or operation process strategy to produce the intended output with set
standards. Process strategy is defined as the business approach to converting inputs or
resources into intended output. The focus of a process strategy is to set up an
operation process that fits with product specifications (Marta Alarcón, 2014). There
are four types of process strategy; mass customization, product focus, repetitive focus,
and process focus. They are typically determined by the volume and the degree of
product standardization.
At the same time, decisions about placing the machines, facilities, equipment
or tools required for producing the output must be made. Layout strategy means the
way for the placement of resources while designing to support the efficient flow of
materials or customers from one place to another in the production or service system.
The three most common layout strategies are product layout, process layout and
fixed-position layout (Stevenson, 2018).

6. Process and Layout Strategy for Hair Salon

6.1. Process Strategy
Among the four process strategies mentioned above, process focus is the most
suitable strategy as the hair salon is a kind of service business. Process focus, also
called intermittent processes, are a way in which the required facilities are grouped
and organized around respective functions or processes. This strategy provides a high
level of product/ service flexibility as it moves through the particular processes (JAY
HEIZER, 2017).
The services of hair salon have the high level of customization and variety. As
customers are different, the services must be customized for their desired hair styles.

6
There are also many changes in attributes when creating hair styles, for example, hair
washing services are often vary depending on the price, or the quality of shampoo
ingredients. Also, the hairstyles are such different as curly bangs, contoured layers,
retro shag, texturized mid-length cut, etc. Each individual comes with own ideas and
desires, so the business is up to designing them. That is why the process focus
strategy is the most suitable for the hair salon.

6.2. Layout Strategy

For the hair salon, the proper layout strategy that facilitates the flow of operations is
the process layout. Process layout, sometimes called as functional layout, is the design to
process items or provide services that consist of many variations in processing requirements
and require various changes and adjustments to equipment (Stevenson, 2018). It is highly
efficient when offering variety of products or services or when handling customers, or clients
with their respective needs (JAY HEIZER, 2017). The floor plan is arranged by grouping
similar processes or items placed together (Tynan, 2022).
At the hair salon, there are a wide variety of customers and their desires and wants for
hair design are differ from one another. These may be Haircuts and trims, Highlights,
Volumizing Hair Treatments, Healthy Scalp Treatment, Luxury Blow Dry, etc. For these
differences, the equipment or facilities cannot be arranged in sequence. It must first consider
the similar activities and equipment used for those activities. The reception and the place to
take a rest should be placed near the entrance and sufficient furniture should be provided. The
place of hair washing should be in a separate room for customers’ comfortability and security.
Grouping hair treatment equipment and machine, and placing each trolley with stylist tools
near the styling chair are very basic considerations. The proper layout and decorations can
attract customers’ interest and create impression about the salon.

7. Supply Chain Management

The supply chain is defined as the network of entities and activities required to
accomplish for producing and delivering the finished goods and services to the final
customer. Supply chain management (SCM) is the design and management of flows of
products, information, and funds throughout the supply chain (Sanders, 2018).
The supply chain activities of hair salons include procuring salon products, training
staff, advertising the available services, providing services directly to customers, following up
the customers, etc. The smoother the supply chain, the easier the service operation. Suppliers
of hair products must be chosen based on many assessment criteria, and the products should

7
be tested for creating the business’s reliability and assurance. The probability of surplus or
shortage of hair products and other accessories should be carefully assessed by the expertise
of inventory management.
Qualified hairstylists should be carefully selected, tested and hired. They are also the
architects of a business’s reputation. Information is crucial between customers and
hairstylists. The stylists can create accordingly when they know what the customers want, and
sometimes, the stylists should advise customers about the appropriate styles. To be able to
provide better services, the stylists and all staff should learn about customers’ changing
demands and trends.

8. Conclusion
If there are no operations or any breakdown in operations, there would be no
products to sell, whether tangible goods or intangible services. Expectations for
service from a high-end cosmetics shop may differ from the expectations of customers
for shopping at Walmart (KLOKKENGA, 2020). The quality can express the value a
company places on its customers’ satisfaction. Service quality is an essential
component of the overall customer experience, so it’s vital to know how to measure
your service quality (KLOKKENGA, 2020). Moreover, the quality of either goods or
services is also the result of how the business develops and implements its process
strategy and layout strategy. The mutual benefits between business and customer may
gain through paying attention to and systematically controlling the various activities
included in the supply chain.

9. Recommendation
To be a successful business, the role of operations management must be
understood and its related decisions should be made carefully by paying attention. For
customer loyalty and business reputation, every product or service provided must be
qualified with standards. Service quality offered by the company can directly
influence its ability to satisfy customers’ needs and expectations competitively. The
know-how of supply chain management for our business is also essential for
producing and distribution of goods and services and controlling the whole activities
involved in business processes.

8
10.References
Bhargava, V. (n.d.). Service Quality. Retrieved from businessmanagementideas.com:
https://www.businessmanagementideas.com/service-marketing/service-
quality/20971#Service_Quality_Characteristics_and_Objectives
Greasley, A. (n.d.). Layout Design . Retrieved from sk.sagepub.com:
https://sk.sagepub.com/books/operations-management/n5.xml
JAY HEIZER, B. R. (2017). Operations Management (12th ed.). Pearson.
KLOKKENGA, B. (2020, November 9). How to measure the 5 dimensions of service
quality. Retrieved from getfeedback.com:
https://www.getfeedback.com/resources/cx/how-to-measure-the-5-
dimensions-of-service-quality/
Marta Alarcón, J. M. (2014, December 19). Process Strategy . Retrieved from
omiupo1415.wordpress.com:
https://omiupo1415.wordpress.com/2014/12/19/4-a-process-strategy/
Quain, S. (2019, February 12). Why is Quality Important for a Business. Retrieved
from smallbusiness.chron.com: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/quality-
important-business-57470.html
Samoszuk, S. (2021, December 6). Service Quality: Definition & Dimensions.
Retrieved from study.com: https://study.com/academy/lesson/service-quality-
definition-dimensions.html
Sanders, N. R. (2018). Supply Chain Management (2nd ed.). WILEY.
Service Quality. (2021, April 29). Retrieved from feriors.com:
https://feriors.com/service-quality-servqual-definition-customer-satisfaction/
Stevenson, W. J. (2018). Operations Management (13th ed.). United States of
America: McGraw-Hill Education.
Team, I. E. (2021, March 11). Service Quality. Retrieved from indeed.com:
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/service-
quality#:~:text=What%20is%20service%20quality%3F,a%20response%20to
%20specific%20needs.
Team, I. E. (2021, June 10). Understanding Product Quality. Retrieved from
indeed.com:
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/product-quality