CUSTOMER

ORIENTED
BUREAUCRACY
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN SERVICE WORK
19/20
DR SIMON BISHOP
E: SIMON.BISHOP@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
T: 0115 84 60660
AD. B2 BUSINESS SCHOOL NORTH, JUBILEE CAMPUS
THIS SESSION
Introduce the customer oriented bureaucracy as a central
concept of the course

Look at ways in which HRM is shaped within customer

oriented bureaucracy

Consider the case of ‘the bank’

 INTRODUCING THE COB
(KORCYNSKI, 2002)
BIG DEBATE 1. How much power and agency do consumers
have? Do customers be like:

Thoughtless
zombies and the
‘victims’ of
Vs efficiency seeking
organisations
Consumers as central driving (McDonaldation
force of economy and free to thesis – week 3)
chose the best service on
offer? (assumed in much
‘service management’
literature – week 2)

COB Premix 1. Consumers have agency and are ‘structured’ by production

organisations. Producer organisations must avoid making people feel like they are
being controlled (for profit).
 INTRODUCING THE
COB
BIG DEBATE 2. Are consumers rationally fulfilling needs or
exploring their desires?
Chasing irrational desires
ad participating in
consumption as a project of
self identity (Du Gay – week
3)

Rationally selecting the

vs
optimum service and speed
of operations (Zeynep Ton –
week 2)?

COB Premix 2. Consumers have both needs and desires. Producer

organisations must cater to both.
 COMPONENTS OF SERVICE QUALITY (SERVEQUAL)
PARASURAMAN, ZEITHAMI AND BERRY (1985)

Quality measured by customer PERCIEVED SERVICE

QUALITY minus EXPECTATIONS along 5 dimensions:
• Reliability
Perform promised service dependably and accurately (e.g. accurate
prescriptions)
• Responsiveness
Willingness to help customers promptly (e.g. avoid queues)
• Assurance
Knowledge/courtesy of employees and ability to convey trust and
confidence (e.g. knowledge of treatments, politeness and respect)
• Empathy
Provision of caring, individualized attention to customers (e.g. active
listening)
• Tangibles
Physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materials
(e.g. appearance of premises and staff)
 THE CUSTOMER ORIENTED
BUREAUCRACY
Consumers want to feel in charge within service interactions,
but also receive efficient, responsive service. Organisations
must uphold ‘the enchanted myth of customer sovereignty (see
clip million $ wedding)

Organisations failing to conceal a lack of customer sovereignty

leads to disillusionment (Michael Douglas in ‘Falling Down’)

‘COB captures the requirement for the organisation to be both

formally rational, to respond to competitive pressures to appeal
to customers wishes for efficiency and to be formally irrational,
to enchant, responding to the customers’ desire for pleasure
particularly through the perpetuation of the enchanting myth of
customer sovereignty’ (Korcynski, 2002: p64)
 FEATURES OF THE CUSTOMER-ORIENTED
BUREAUCRACY
Dimension COB (adapted from Korcynski, 2002)
Role of HRM (as a general Needs to engender both efficient service and customer-oriented worker
function rather than dept.) behaviour. Need to cope with tensions
How does the manager seek to manage her staff to deal with these duel
imperatives?
Labour process Quantity and Quality
What are the quantitative (numerical targets/throughput) and qualitative
(quality) aspects of working at the bank?
Division of labour Efficient task completion and customer relationship
How is work organised to achieve efficient task completion and customer
relationship?
Form of control (imperfect) Bureaucratic controls and customer norms
In which instances can we see the banks rules controlling employees
behaviour? And customers expectation?
Affect Rationalised emotional labour
How are staff expected to manage their (and customers) emotions?
Flexibility Maintaining internal stability and adapting to customer variability
In which instances do we see flexibility for customers individual
circumstances
Key management role Shaping a fragile social order
What are the everyday things the manager does to cope with various
tensions?
ISSUES WITH UNDERSTANDING
SERVICE WORK THROUGH THE COB

Do these concerns really only occur with ‘front line’ staff -

‘back office’ service employees also often very well aware of
customer demands (Sherman, 2007)?

How different are customer service organisations from other

organisations? Others suggest that customer service is only
a small part (Edwards, 2013)

What about new forms of digital service interaction? New

service technology cuts out direct customer interaction.
ANNOUNCEMENTS