Jaime Giancola, an MBA student, has recently completed an operations management course in which aggregate production planning (APP) was one of the topics. She believes that that her family's business, Cataumet Boats, which her grandparents started and which her mother and uncle now own, might benefit from applying APP concepts to identify the different ways they might schedule workers, which could be especially valuable during the peak demand seasons of fall and spring. The goal of using APP is to reduce labor costs without sacrificing the high level of customer service that Cataumet Boats is known for providing.
At the age of 39, Solmaz Altın took over the helm at Allianz Turkey. Solmaz quickly realized that, although the insurance market was thinly penetrated in Turkey, the company was operating in a very competitive environment with pressure on prices and, hence, cost control. Consequently, customer satisfaction was suffering. Despite the growing Turkish economy and a favorable regulatory environment, Solmaz was struggling to grow the company without further sacrificing customer satisfaction or profitability. Used as part of a course on service excellence, the case provides an insurance context in which to explore the link between customer satisfaction and competitive performance and challenges the students to ponder the extent of the relationship between customer satisfaction and financial performance. In the (A) case, the Allianz Turkey executives focus their initial efforts on the claims process of the automobile insurance business-a lowly rated segment of the insurance industry by their policyholders. They begin by creating a map of the customer experience and then doing extensive consumer research to determine what really matters to the policyholder. The insights gleaned from the detailed consumer analysis are quite different than the original beliefs of the management team. Students must devise a new customer service model for the claims process based upon the customer analysis. The (B) case describes the new customer service model for the claims process and the resulting increase in customer satisfaction as measured by the Net Promoter Score (NPS) metric. Students must first decide whether the initial effort is a success and then develop a plan for the future.
At the age of 39, Solmaz Altın took over the helm at Allianz Turkey. Solmaz quickly realized that, although the insurance market was thinly penetrated in Turkey, the company was operating in a very competitive environment with pressure on prices and, hence, cost control. Consequently, customer satisfaction was suffering. Despite the growing Turkish economy and a favorable regulatory environment, Solmaz was struggling to grow the company without further sacrificing customer satisfaction or profitability. Used as part of a course on service excellence, the case provides an insurance context in which to explore the link between customer satisfaction and competitive performance and challenges the students to ponder the extent of the relationship between customer satisfaction and financial performance. In the (A) case, the Allianz Turkey executives focus their initial efforts on the claims process of the automobile insurance business-a lowly rated segment of the insurance industry by their policyholders. They begin by creating a map of the customer experience and then doing extensive consumer research to determine what really matters to the policyholder. The insights gleaned from the detailed consumer analysis are quite different than the original beliefs of the management team. Students must devise a new customer service model for the claims process based upon the customer analysis. The (B) case describes the new customer service model for the claims process and the resulting increase in customer satisfaction as measured by the Net Promoter Score (NPS) metric. Students must first decide whether the initial effort is a success and then develop a plan for the future.
A restaurant chain based in California offers made-to-order sandwich wraps using fresh, healthy ingredients. The founders of the company take a very active role in day-to-day business and tightly control every aspect of the restaurant operation from hiring store managers to planning the menu. Management is concerned that employee turnover is high, customer satisfaction is decreasing, and revenue growth is flat. The newly hired human resources leader believes addressing employee turnover can help solve the other problems. She develops a profit-sharing program as a pilot at two restaurants. The managers in the pilot program have their compensation tied directly to restaurant profits. The program also allows managers to customize menus, work with local suppliers, and try different promotion ideas. After six months, profits at the pilot locations improve while customer reviews are mixed. The HR manager must review the complete results and decide whether to roll out the pilot program to more locations, modify the program, or abandon it altogether. Students consider the operational challenges of running a service business and the issues related to compensation, change management, and employee autonomy.
Tom Green, an aggressive young sales executive at self-service kiosk company D7 Displays, has been promoted to senior marketing specialist by Shannon McDonald, his division VP. Shannon had warned Tom that she was taking a chance with him and that he'd have to learn fast and work well with his new boss, Frank Davis, who wouldn't have chosen Tom for the position. On the job, Tom finds himself at odds with Frank and challenges him openly at a well-attended meeting. Frank begins to formally document deficiencies in Tom's performance, and McDonald falls in line with Frank. With his back against the wall, Tom must carefully consider his next move. Harvard Business School professor W. Earl Sasser presents the fictional case. Jeffrey Pfeffer, of Stanford University, and Paul Falcone, of Time Warner Cable, offer their expert commentary.
Tom Green, an aggressive young sales executive at self-service kiosk company D7 Displays, has been promoted to senior marketing specialist by Shannon McDonald, his division VP. Shannon had warned Tom that she was taking a chance with him and that he'd have to learn fast and work well with his new boss, Frank Davis, who wouldn't have chosen Tom for the position. On the job, Tom finds himself at odds with Frank and challenges him openly at a well-attended meeting. Frank begins to formally document deficiencies in Tom's performance, and McDonald falls in line with Frank. With his back against the wall, Tom must carefully consider his next move. Harvard Business School professor W. Earl Sasser presents the fictional case. Jeffrey Pfeffer, of Stanford University, and Paul Falcone, of Time Warner Cable, offer their expert commentary.
Tom Green, an aggressive young sales executive at self-service kiosk company D7 Displays, has been promoted to senior marketing specialist by Shannon McDonald, his division VP. Shannon had warned Tom that she was taking a chance with him and that he'd have to learn fast and work well with his new boss, Frank Davis, who wouldn't have chosen Tom for the position. On the job, Tom finds himself at odds with Frank and challenges him openly at a well-attended meeting. Frank begins to formally document deficiencies in Tom's performance, and McDonald falls in line with Frank. With his back against the wall, Tom must carefully consider his next move. Harvard Business School professor W. Earl Sasser presents the fictional case. Jeffrey Pfeffer, of Stanford University, and Paul Falcone, of Time Warner Cable, offer their expert commentary.
Playa Dorada Beach & Resort in Boca Raton, Florida, faces a growing seasonal demand for tennis services. The number of guests is expected to double in the next few years, and while the tennis facilities are a popular and well-promoted amenity at the resort, court space is limited. The director of tennis operations analyzes court capacity, usage history, pricing, and other factors as he assembles a plan for expansion. He must also consider how his strategy affects other divisions of the Playa Dorada Corporation, including finance, operations, marketing, and sales. Can he transform the resort's tennis operations into a profit center? To prepare for case discussion, students complete a quantitative analysis of past and expected future usage of the tennis facilities and formulate a growth strategy.
This is the fourth in a 35-year series of HBS cases on an organization that has changed the rules of the game globally for an entire industry by offering both differentiated and low-price service. The focus of the case is on whether Southwest Airlines should buy gates and slots to initiate service to New York's LaGuardia airport, which does not fit the airline's profile for cost, ease of service, and other factors. The bigger issue is how the organization should deal with competition that has successfully emulated more and more of what it does in an operating environment that has changed significantly. Hence the subtitle, which was suggested by Herb Kelleher, Southwest's Chairman and CEO, Emeritus.
In exemplary service organizations, executives understand that they need to put customers and frontline workers at the center of their focus. Those managers heed the factors that drive profitability in this service paradigm: investment in people, technology that supports frontline workers, revamped recruiting and training practices, and compensation linked to performance. They also express a vision of leadership in somewhat unconventional terms, referring to an organization's "patina of spirituality" and the "importance of the mundane." In this article, Heskett, Jones, Loveman, Sasser, and Schlesinger take a close look at the links in the service-profit chain, which puts hard values on soft measures so that managers can calibrate the impact of employee satisfaction, loyalty, and productivity on the value of products and services delivered. Managers can then use this information to build customer satisfaction and loyalty and assess the corresponding impact on profitability and growth. Describing the links in the service-profit chain, the authors explain that profit and growth are stimulated by customer loyalty; loyalty is a direct result of customer satisfaction; satisfaction is largely influenced by the value of services provided to customers; value is created by satisfied, loyal, and productive employees; and employee satisfaction, in turn, results from high-quality support services and policies that enable employees to deliver results to customers. By completing the authors' service-profit chain audit, companies can determine not only what drives their profit but how they can sustain it in the long term.
The leadership team of Rackspace, faced with accommodation of its service offering and dwindling financial reserves, decides to make customer focus the rallying cry of its new strategy. This short case was designed as the discussion igniter for a series of short video clips describing the shift to a more customer-focused approach.
The case describes the dilemma of a marketing manager, Thomas Green, who, after being rapidly promoted, is harshly criticized by his boss, Frank Davis. Green and Davis disagree on work styles and market projections. Green believes the sales goals set by Davis are based on "creative accounting" and grossly overstate the current market environment. A mood of silent conflict develops quickly between the two men, and Green is concerned that Davis is building a case to fire him. Green's situation is one in which his failure to adapt his work style and fully understand the demands and boundaries of his new position may lead to his discharge. A factor in the background is Green's relationship with his boss's boss.
Acting on his vision to make the World Bank a knowledge institution, bank President Wolfensohn announces the creation of an Information and Knowledge Management Council and an Information Solutions Group, headed by a newly nominated CEO, Mohamed Muhsin. This case describes Muhsin's intentions as well as those of the head of the bank's knowledge-management initiative.
Most managers rejoice if the majority of customers that respond to customer-satisfaction surveys say they are satisfied. But some of those managers may have a big problem. When most customers are saying they are satisfied but not completely satisfied, they are saying that they are unhappy with some aspect of the product or service. If they have the opportunity, they will defect. Companies that excel in satisfying customers excel both in listening to customers and in interpreting what customers with different levels of satisfaction are telling them.
Explores the uses of scanning technology, interactive software, and powerful data bases to assist customer relations representatives in resolving customer complaints. Competitive alliances in international markets are noted, but the focus is on the evolving commitment to customer service and the measures, technology, and economics that come into play to recover customers who have complained.
Explores the interface of an information system that keeps track of guests and their preferences, and the people systems that deliver multiple services at Ritz-Carlton hotels. The luxury hotel chain's unique service credo and commitment to quality principles are discussed as well as the attention to hiring and training. At the heart of the case is the Ritz-Carlton commitment to serving the customer.