An investigation into service quality at a financial services company

Abstract

It is important for companies to be service oriented and to exceed customer's expectations if they want to prosper in today's unstable market. This research aims to examine how the company tries to achieve its goals aimed at service quality. The study inspects important aspects of quality service provision and investigates whether the company embraces TQM and any engagement approaches with the scope of attaining a higher level of service quality both through its human resources and the way it manages the organization. Through the use of qualitative studies such as interviews with chief officers from different departments, the researcher tried to uncover the culture of the organization and the way this relates to the review of literature on the subject. This was triangulated through quantitative data using questionnaires with the other employees in order to obtain a more complete picture and to further support the qualitative findings. Through the analysis of the results, using SPSS and thematic analysis, it emerged that for the time being the company does not have proper TQM and engagement approaches. From the results derived from the investigation on the chief officers' approach, it appears that these approaches are not being fostered by the chief officers. Lack of communication is evident in the organization and this is due to the fact that the company had been adopting an authoritarian style of management for the past thirty years. Management is now working to achieve a more democratic type of management style. Indeed, results obtained demonstrate that the organization is undergoing change. Whilst respondents showed a tendency of selecting 'more likely to agree', a substantial number chose to be 'neutral'. This may imply that employees are still at the adaptation stage. The researcher provides a number of recommendations which it is hoped will be of value to facilitate this change and which may contribute to helping, the company attain service quality.