Process Management – 7th P
⚪ Process management assures service availability
and consistent quality
⚪ Without sound process management, balancing
service demand and supply would be extremely
difficult
⚪ Operations management is the interactive
experience that would deliver the service benefits
Issues in Process Management
Area of operation Explanation
Process Planning Operation specification to achieve
and Control service output in terms of quantity,
quality, delivery and cost
Operations Detailed specification of each sub
Planning system
Facilities Design Design, layout, location, material
handling and maintenance
Scheduling Detailing the timing at which service
operation should be completed
Issues in Process Management
Area of operation Explanation
Inventory Planning Planning and controlling the inventory
and Control of people and capacity
Quality Control Maintaining quality standards
Operations Control Information flows and insuring that
operations are undertaken as per
schedule
Forecasting and Anticipating demands and forecasting
Long-term Planning capabilities that need to be inducted
Developing a Blueprint
1. Identify key activities in creating and delivering service
2. Define “big picture” before “drilling down” to obtain a higher level of
detail
3. Distinguish between “front stage” and “backstage”
4. Clarify interactions between customers and staff, and support by
backstage activities and systems
5. Identify potential fail points; take preventive measures; prepare
contingency
6. Develop standards for execution of each activity— times for task
completion, maximum wait times, and scripts to guide interactions
between employees and customers
Key Components of a Service Blueprint
1. Define standards for front-stage activities
2. Specify physical evidence
3. Identify principal customer actions
4. Line of interaction (customers and front-stage personnel)
5. Front-stage actions by customer-contact personnel
6. Line of visibility (between front stage and backstage)
7. Backstage actions by customer contact personnel
8. Support processes involving other service personnel
9. Support processes involving IT
Blueprinting the Restaurant Experience:
A Three Act Performance
⚪ Act 1: Prologue and Introductory Scenes*
⚪ Act 2: Delivery of Core Product
● Cocktails, seating, order food and wine, wine service
● Potential fail points: Menu information complete? Menu intelligible? Everything on
the menu actually available?
● Mistakes in transmitting information a common cause of quality failure—e.g. bad
handwriting; poor verbal communication
● Customers may not only evaluate quality of food and drink, but how promptly it is
served, serving staff attitudes, or style of service
⚪ Act 3: The Drama Concludes
● Remaining actions should move quickly and smoothly, with no surprises at the end
● Customer expectations: Accurate, intelligible and prompt bill, payment handled
politely, guest are thanked for their patronage
Blueprinting the Restaurant Experience:
Act 1
Timeline Act 1
Service Standards W
W W
and Scripts Make Valet
Coat Room …
Stage
Physical Reservation Parking Line of
interaction
Evidence
Front -
Greet Greet, take
Accept Contact person
customer, coat, coat (visible actions)
reservation
take car keys checks
Line of
visibility
- Stage
Check Hang coat with Contact person
availability, Take car to visible check (invisible action
insert booking parking lot numbers
Back
Line of internal
Maintain Maintain Maintain physical
reservation (or rent) facilities/ interaction
Support
system facilities equipment
Processes
Standardization vs. Customization
⚪ According to Shostack, any service process is a
combination of both complexity and divergence
⚪ Complexity of process steps & sequences that
constitute the process
⚪ Divergence Degree of freedom or variability allowed
in a process sequence
⚪ Standardization High Complexity + Low Divergence
⚪ Customization Low Complexity + High Divergence
Alternative Directions of Structural Changes
Strategic Advantages Disadvantages
Options
•Uniformity would reduce •Inflexibility in operating
cost, improve productivity procedures
and make distribution •Lower customization
easier and thus consumer
Reduced
•Increase perceived rejection in spite of low
Divergence reliability, uniform service cost
quality, and greater
service availability
•Greater customization & •Difficult to manage,
thus niche positioning control and distribute
•Less volume dependent •Limited number of
Increased
•More margins as market customers may be
Divergence may respond positively to available who are willing
personalization to pay the price that
customization demands
Alternative Directions of Structural Changes
Strategic Advantages Disadvantages
Options
•Indicates a specialization •Competitively risky if
strategy other provider
•Narrowing the service continues to offer
offering makes distribution more extensive full
Reduced
& control easier service alternative
Complexity •Perceived positively in the
market provided it stands
out
•Indicates a strategy to gain •Can be a barrier in
greater penetration providing innovative
•Can increase efficiency by and superior service
Increased
maximizing the revenue quality
Complexity
