Key drivers that impact the quality of education – a holistic approach

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nitin Gupta ◽  
Prem Vrat ◽  
Ravindra Ojha

PurposeThe education sector acts as an input for every other sector and contributes around 7% to the service industry; hence, it is important to identify, measure and analyze the drivers that impact the delivered service quality.Design/methodology/approachThis paper used different approaches to identify measure and analyze the drivers that impact the service quality. In addition to a thorough literature review, qualitative tools like brainstorming, the focused group technique, and the survey technique have been used. Decision-making tools like the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and a quantitative tool, one-sample t-test, with the help of MINITAB software, were used to analyze the inputs received from 179 experts. By using the stated approach, the planned research outcomes have been achieved.FindingsQuality of teachers, quality of students, quality of policies, and quality of facilities have been identified as the key drivers that impact quality of education. The paper highlights that the people quality drivers play a significantly important role in the quality of education when compared to the quality of non-people drivers. From the statistical analysis of the hypotheses, it was inferred that the People quality consisting of the quality of a teacher and the quality of students are the two prominent drivers to the Quality of education. This paper demonstrates the importance of the quality of a teacher and its significance to the quality of education. The recommendations made might be considered for the implementation, which can improve the quality of education in the country.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is focused on the data collected from the experts in the top-ranked management institutes only. The data from the experts from undergraduate institutions and other management institutes could have added more value.Practical implicationsIn the paper, the drivers were identified and further analyzed to suggest that teacher quality is a dominant driver of education quality. The findings also suggest that there should be a high focus on having a great quality teacher as compared to the facilities. The weights identified will enable the researcher to arrive at the overall quality scores of any Institute. As a part of the process, the user just needs to collect the ratings from the end customers (the parents of the students) against each driver, and the institute level scores can be derived. These scores can then be used by the Institute's management to analyze the results and improve upon the weak areas to improve the delivered service quality in the education sector.Originality/valueA holistic approach to exploring major drivers that impact the quality of education is a new approach. Moreover, using different tools like AHP, hypothesis testing, t-test, using the coefficient of variation in a single paper has not been attempted before. The revalidations of accepted hypotheses with respondents is also a new approach.

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajith Tom James ◽  
Jasmin James

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate the service quality automobile garages through development of a service quality index based on the factors influencing service quality.Design/methodology/approachA structural methodology of graph theory and matrix approach is applied for developing the service quality index.FindingsThe automobile maintenance can be considered as a service industry and in order to sustain in the competitive business environment, the service providers must ensure quality in their services. There are several factors that influence the service quality. Each factor is comprised of several sub-factors. Moreover, the factors are interrelated with each other. Modelling of these factors and their interrelations with due consideration of their structure is accomplished through the graph theory. The directed graph (digraph) of the service quality is defined; the nodes of this symbolize the quality influencing factors, while the edges represent their degrees of interrelationships. An equivalent matrix developed from the digraph establishes a service quality function which leads to evaluation of service quality index (SQI). A greater value of the service quality index displays that the organization and functioning of the garage is adequate.Practical implicationsThe methodology can be applied for evaluating as well as comparing service quality of different garages. The observations would be helpful to the managers the garages to make strategies for improving their service quality.Originality/valueThe paper establishes the interrelations among various factors that influence the service quality at automobile garages and develop a numeric index for the evaluation of the same.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajit Kumar Singh ◽  
A.M. Rawani

Purpose Owing to high competition in education sector, quality in education has become utmost important criteria to deliver better education service. For this purpose, it is required to monitor the quality of education. This paper aims to prioritize National Board of Accreditation (NBA) quality parameters in engineering education as per student’s needs using quality function deployment (QFD). Design/methodology/approach This study is conducted among students of an institute of National importance in three stages. Stage 1 involves conducting interview with 23 students to find the student’s requirement from an institute. Further Stage 2 involves importance rating collection through questionnaire survey method. In this stage, 228 students have given a rating of each student’s requirement. Finally, Stage 3 involves establishing correlation between student’s requirement and NBA quality parameters that has been done by 20 academic experts and finally making a QFD matrix for ranking of each NBA quality parameter. Findings The result of the study first indicates that among all students’ requirements, job-oriented requirement is the most important need, and ergonomics-based requirement is the least important need of students. Further, to fulfill their needs, an institute has to focus on each NBA quality parameter. But among all NBA quality parameters, student’s performance is highly desirable quality parameter. Practical implications This study will help top management of engineering institutions in making better policies and strategies for preparing their quality framework. These strategies will indirectly fulfill the customer needs that help in attracting more number of students toward those institutes. Originality/value In India, NBA is one of the leading bodies that monitor the quality of education. On the other hand, the institution has to satisfy the need of customer of education sector; therefore, prioritization of NBA quality parameter as per student’s need is one of the important needs that will help engineering institution to focus on a certain parameter to get a good quality certificate and also attract a number of meritorious students.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annamdevula Subrahmanyam

Purpose This paper aims to identify and test four competing models with the interrelationships between students’ perceived service quality, students’ satisfaction, loyalty and motivation using structural equation modeling (SEM), and to select the best model using chi-square difference (Δχ2) statistic test. Design/methodology/approach The study uses survey research design to gather data regarding attitudes of students about quality of services and their level of satisfaction, motivation and loyalty. A total of 1,439 valid questionnaires were collected from four public universities in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, and the relationships between four variables using SEM are tested. Findings The structural model with direct and indirect relationships between the constructs proves as a best among the competing models. The result supported direct effect of students’ perceived service quality on students’ satisfaction and motivation; and indirect effect on students’ loyalty. Implications and research contributions are discussed and directions for further research are indicated. Research limitations/implications The study considers the examinations of the simple bivariate relationships between service quality, satisfaction, motivation and loyalty may mask or overstate their true relationships due to omitted variable bias. Structural theory with simultaneous measurement of the direct and indirect relationships between students’ perceived service quality, satisfaction, motivation and loyalty adds a unique contribution to the existing field of knowledge, especially higher education sector. Practical implications The results of SEM show that the service quality is a key antecedent to students’ satisfaction, loyalty and motivation. Motivating students for present and future studies with better participation in the process is important to increase quality and efficiency in their output. The best services also make students loyal to the institution. The findings suggested that it would be worthwhile for university’s administration to make proper allocation of resources, to provide better educational services. It is believed that this study has a significant competence for engendering more precise applications related to quality of services, especially concerning students’ satisfaction, loyalty and motivation. Social implications The research provides significant insights and demonstrates good understanding of students’ perceived service quality in the context of Indian universities. The changing nature and need of higher education services and increase in competitive intensity necessitates higher performance levels in the realm of Indian higher education (universities). The study identified that students’ perceived service quality is a key antecedent to students’ satisfaction, motivation and loyalty, which conveys that service quality is an important construct. Originality/value Several points are addressed based on the models identified in the study. First, there is sufficient evidence of a significant bivariate relationship between service quality, satisfaction, loyalty and motivation. Second, although service quality is an important determinant of loyalty, the exact nature of this relationship remains unresolved. Third, it is evident that very few studies have investigated multiple direct links between service quality, satisfaction, motivation and loyalty. Further, there is no reported investigation of whether any or all of these variables directly and indirectly influence loyalty when the effects of service quality, satisfaction, motivation are simultaneously considered in Indian higher education sector. Therefore, to present a more pragmatic picture of these relationships, the study identified the “collective model” that investigates the underlying relationships that exist among these constructs.


Author(s):  
Abdul Muin

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to reveal how the quality of education in this Islamic boarding school is, particularly related to education facilities, curriculum and strategies of education quality improve­ments. This study used the qualitative method. Findings of this study are: first, education infrastructure and facilities are relatively complete and adequate, which are supported by the atmosphere of the Islamic boarding school that is full of simplicity and modesty by habituation in implementing clean and healthy lifestyle. Second, the tafaqquh fi-al din (understanding of religion)-based curriculum compiled by the Islamic boarding school occupies the same degree (equal) to the curriculum prepared by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, so that both tafaqquh fi-al din (understanding of religion) studies and general studi­es have high electability, which is able to increase the quality of education and also generates interest and motivation of the people (parents) to put their children to the Islamic boarding school. Third, education in the Islamic boarding school has a strong independency because it is supported by substantial financial resources.AbstrakTujuan tulisan ini untuk mengungkapkan bagaimana mutu pendidikan di pondok pesantren ini, khususnya berkaitan dengan sarana pendidikan, kurikulum dan sterategi peningkatan mutu pendidik­an. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif. Hasil temuan studi ini adalah: Pertama, sarana dan fasilitas pendidikan relatif lengkap dan memadai, ini didukung oleh suasana kehidupan pondok pesan­tren yang penuh kesederhanaan dan kebersahajaan dengan pembiasaan menerapkan pola hidup bersih dan sehat. Kedua, kurikulum yang berbasis tafaqquh fi-al din yang disusun oleh pondok pesantren ini menempati derajat yang sama (equal) dengan kurikulum yang disusun Kementerian Agama, sehinga baik kajian tafaqquh fi al-din maupun pelajaran umum memiliki electabilitas yang tinggi, hal ini mampu meningkatkan mutu pendidikan dan sekaligus membangkitkan animo dan motivasi masyarakat (orangtua) untuk memasukkan anaknya ke pesantren ini. Ketiga, penyelenggaraan pendidikan di pon­dok pesantren ini memiliki kemandirian yang kuat, karena didukung oleh sumber dana yang besar.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lim Sanny ◽  
Verencia Angelina ◽  
Bernando Budi Christian

Purpose Small-medium enterprise (SME) service industry is an industry that continues to experience growth in developed and developing countries, including Indonesia. SME service industry that engaged in the service industry, namely, rental for generator set, air conditioner and sound system. In recent years, this SME has been experienced in declining in sales and getting some complaints from their customers. Many studies suggest that service quality and customer satisfaction are the key factors in the service industry. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the quality of service based on the customer’s perspective. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected using a combination of literature review, interview, brainstorming and questionnaires and analyzed by using importance-performance analysis (IPA) and quality function deployment (QFD) model. Findings This research resulted in nine technical requirements that allow the company to focus on these attributes to help the company enhance its customer satisfaction. Practical implications Based on the theory, applying service quality, IPA and also QFD will result in customer satisfaction. Practically the enhancement in customer satisfaction is not as easy as expected. Nowadays, customers always expect more and more and it is impossible to fully captured customers’ needs and always satisfy customers. Nevertheless, for this research company can understand their customers better, companies can evaluate their performances based on the customers’ perspective and know their customers’ needs. The company also know their strengths and weaknesses to allocate the resources and maximize their potential. Last but not least, the company is able to know their strategic priority that needs to be done for their better performance in the future to fulfill their customers’ needs and hope to enhance their customer satisfaction Originality/value A lot of research about customer satisfaction but still limited especially in the service industry in Indonesia using a combination of IPA and QFD model. So this research will give benefit for SMEs in Indonesia to allocate their resources more effectively by looking at the results of the four quadrants of IPA and house of quality (HOQ) framework can be used for a company as the references for their priority strategic option. Yet, to keep improving, the company recommended reviewing HOQ periodically.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Armando López-Lemus

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the influence exerted by a quality management system (QMS) under ISO 9001: 2015 on the quality of public services organizations in Mexico. Design/methodology/approach The methodological design was quantitative, explanatory, observational and transversal, for which a sample of 461 public servants from the state of Guanajuato, Mexico was obtained. To test the hypotheses, a structural equation model (SEM) was developed through the statistical software Amos v.21. For the analysis of the data, software SPSS v.21 was used. Regarding the goodness and adjustment indices of the SEM (χ2 = 720.09, df = 320, CFI = 0.933, TLI = 0.926 and RMSEA = 0.05) which, therefore, proved to be acceptable. Findings According to the results obtained through the SEM model, the QMS under ISO 9001: 2015 is positively and significantly influenced tangible aspects (β1 = 0.79, p < 0.01), reliability (β2 = 0.90, p < 0.01), related to response quality (β3 = 0.93, p < 0.01), guarantees (β4 = 0.91, p < 0.01) and empathy (β5 = 0.88, p < 0.01) of the quality related to public services in Mexico. The study’s key contribution is that it discovered that implementing a QMS in accordance with the ISO 9001: 2015 standard has an impact on the quality of public services, with the most influential quality of response. Similarly, the assurance and dependability of service quality turned out to be important in providing public service quality. Research limitations/implications In this paper, the QMS was only evaluated as a variable that intervenes in the process of obtaining quality in public service under the ISO 9001 standard in its 2015 version. In this regard, the results’ trustworthiness is limited to the extent that the findings may be generalized in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico’s public service. As a result, the scientific community is left primarily focused on service quality to promote new future research. Practical implications The ISO 9001: 2015 standard’s QMS is one of the tools for success in both the commercial and government sectors. However, there are practical limitations, which focus on the time during which managers exercise their vision in the public sector: first, the dynamics that managers play in public policy; second, the length of time they have served in public office; and third, the interest of directors of public institutions to improve the quality of service provided by the government. Other practical consequences concern organizational culture and identity, public servant commitment, senior management or secretaries of government, as well as work and training. Originality/value The findings of this paper are important and valuable because they foster knowledge generation in the public sector through the ISO 9000 quality area. A model that permits the adoption and implementation of a QMS based on the ISO 9001: 2015 standard in public organizations that seek to provide quality in their services offered to the user is also presented to the literature. Similarly, the paper is important because there is currently insufficient research focusing on the variables examined in the context of public service in Mexico.


2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Elina Jaakkola ◽  
Harri Terho

PurposeThe quality of the customer journey has become a critical determinant of successful service delivery in contemporary business. Extant journey research focuses on the customer path to purchase, but pays less attention to the touchpoints related to service delivery and consumption that are key for understanding customer experiences in service-intensive contexts. The purpose of this study is to conceptualize service journey quality (SJQ), develop measures for the construct and study its key outcomes.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a discovery-oriented research approach to conceptualize SJQ by synthesizing theory and field-based insights from customer focus group discussions. Next, using consumer survey data (N = 278) from the financial services context, the authors develop measures for the SJQ. Finally, based on an additional survey dataset (N = 239), the authors test the nomological validity and predictive relevance of the SJQ.FindingsSJQ comprises of three dimensions: (1) journey seamlessness, (2) journey personalization and (3) journey coherence. This study demonstrates that SJQ is a critical driver of service quality and customer loyalty in contemporary business. This study finds that the loyalty link is partially mediated through service quality, indicating that SJQ explains loyalty above and beyond service quality.Research limitations/implicationsSince service quality only partially mediates the link between service journey quality and customer loyalty, future studies should examine alternative mediators, such as customer experience, for a more comprehensive understanding of the performance effects.Practical implicationsThe study offers concrete tools for service managers who wish to understand and develop the quality of service journeys.Originality/valueThis study advances the service journey concept, demonstrates that the quality of the service journey is a critical driver of customer performance and provides rigorous journey constructs for future service research.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 424-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafikul Islam ◽  
Selim Ahmed ◽  
Dzuljastri Abdul Razak

Purpose – This paper aims to identify the gaps and differences between customer expectations and perceptions on service quality of Islamic banks in Malaysia based on six dimensions of service quality, namely, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, tangibles and Islamic Shari’ah compliance. Design/methodology/approach – This study surveyed 179 customers who have first-hand experience with Islamic banking services in Malaysia. The research data were analysed using reliability analysis, independent samples t-test and one-way analysis of variance. Findings – The results indicated that customers’ perceptions failed to meet their expectations on the service quality of Islamic banks in Malaysia. The results also indicated that those customers (respondents) aged below 30 years have higher expectations on empathy from the Islamic banking service compared to other age groups. However, there is no significant difference between customer expectations and perceptions of Islamic banking service quality based on educational background and occupation. Research limitations/implications – This research focused solely on Islamic banks in Malaysia and thus the results might not be applicable for other conventional banks. Originality/value – The findings are expected to provide guidelines for enhancing the satisfaction level of clients of the Islamic banking system in Malaysia and other countries.


2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 490-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ebrahim Ahmadi ◽  
Mohammad Mosaferi ◽  
Leila Nikniaz ◽  
Jafar Sadegh Tabrizi ◽  
Mohammad Asghari Jafarabadi ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the quality of the frying oil used in restaurants, fast food establishments, and confectionary stores. The compliance of used frying oils with the quality standards as determined by the peroxide value (PV) and the total polar materials (TPMs) is investigated by analyzing 375 samples of oil. Design/methodology/approach The PV was measured according to the national standard procedure number 4179, while the TPM was determined using a Testo 270 cooking oil tester. Frying oils with a PV>5 mEq/kg and a TPM>25 percent were considered to be non-edible. For a comparison of groups, the Mann-Whitney and Spearman correlation tests were used, and p<0.05 was considered significant. Findings The maximum TPM and PV recorded for frying oils in fast food restaurants were 97.5 percent and 77.9 mEq/kg, respectively. The results also revealed that 60 percent of samples were non-edible according to the TPM, while 58.9 percent of the oil samples were non-edible because of the PV. TPM and PV correlated well with each other (r=0.99, p<0.001) and with oil replacement intervals (r=0.90, p<0.001). The relationship between the TPM and PV was stronger in the polynomial model than the linear model. The following equation was obtained: peroxide (mEq/kg oil)=0.0043 TPM2 (%)+0.1587 TPM (%)–0.6152. Originality/value Considering the current limitations in official supervision by health authority, on-site self-monitoring of the TPM using the Testo 270 cooking oil tester by sellers as a solution seems a new approach. Food stores, restaurants, and confectionary stores should be equipped with TPM analyzers to determine the quality of the frying oil and the timely replacement of non-edible oils.


2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 1058-1080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenbin Sun ◽  
Jing Pang

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between service quality and firms’ global competitiveness in the service industry. A set of moderating effects is formulated to further reveal how the relationship varies under different situations. Design/methodology/approach This paper tests the model with data collected from multiple sources such as World’s Most Admired Companies and COMPUSTAT. Two types of robust regressions for panel data are employed in the empirical model estimation. Findings Service quality is found to significantly drive global competitiveness. Specifically, its impact is stronger for large service firms and when the global environment is characterized as low munificence, high dynamism, or high complexity. Practical implications The paper provides a set of implications for managers of service firms regarding global expansion and quality management. It generates useful guidelines of maximizing the power of service quality when a firm’s global competitive advantage is considered. Originality/value This paper takes the first attempt to formulate service quality’s influence on firm’s global competitiveness with a consideration of specific situational factors.


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