EMBA Pre-Course Essay Assignment Sample

Introduction - Addressing Service Quality Gaps in the Oil Industry: Strategies for Effective Communication and Customer Satisfaction 

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The intangible nature of the service organization, quality and goods play the main role in the satisfaction of the buyer. The service organizations have profit from maintaining quality in their services and goods. Maintaining quality is a difficult task, but it is necessary to maintain these things on a continuous basis in order for service organizations to run their work properly. The aim of this task is to demonstrate the communication gaps well and also describe some strategies and suggestions for the solution of these communication gaps. To reduce these communication gaps is necessary because the service quality reflects the service delivery.

Situation

The situation of the customers is that they are not provided with the efficient quality of crude oil and refined products by the Oilstate Barrow company. Due to this, the customers are facing difficulties in the purchased products because of their low-quality services. The lack of quality in the products which customers have purchased, and they have to pay a high amount of price because of an inefficient communication gap between them and the employee who has taken their order. The problem of the customer is that the quality of the things they have purchased is not efficient and even though the quality of the things is not right, they have to pay a high amount for those things. In suggestion, strategy is applied for customers to get quality in the things they buy and they get satisfied by the products, then the customer's trust will get back. Customers will not be willing to pay full price for Oilstate Barrow want if the items are of poor quality. This role entails establishing tactics for recognising customer needs and resolving communication gaps. As a result, policies have been established in this task so that the customer's complaint can be effectively resolved. 

Service Quality gaps

1. What Is The Difference Between Consumer Expectations And Management Expectations?

This disconnect between customer expectations and management perception occurs when Oilstate Barrow's management or service fails to properly understand what customers want and need from their products and organisations. This gap is held between those two because of insufficient communication. The lack of knowledge of customer needs causes this type of gap. A good communication channel between the consumer and management system will provide a higher level of decision making on the product. For example, because of the communication gap, it is observed by the described in a situation where the employee has been mistaken understanding the needs of the customers and they provide something else to their consumer which they are not get satisfied. In the given situation, the consumer had expected that they would get a high-quality product, but due to the perception of the Oilstate Barrow, they did not have the product according to their needs or wants.

2. Service Quality Specification Gap-Management Perception

When the management or service supplied by Oilstate Barrow company accurately understands what the client wants and requires but does not comprehend performance criteria, a gap between management perception and service quality specification exists. This gap is based on that management may have understood the customer expectation but that understanding thing has not been implemented properly as operating policies. For example, when companies assume consumers want more quantity rather than quality and as a result, when the customer receives their product and not get satisfied because of insufficient quality of product, it will lead to trouble for the organization and consumer too. Understand the need for consumers correctly with their wants and demands or instructions. Due to the communication gap, it is difficult to ascertain the expectations of the consumer and if the Oilstate Barrow prepares the material on its perception and provides it to the consumer, then it will be a loss for both. 

3. Service Delivery Gap-Service Quality Specification

In circumstances involving service employees, there is a disconnect between service quality specifications and service delivery. This circumstance arises as a result of insufficient training, inability, or reluctance to reach the service level. This chasm reveals the Oilstate Barrow organization's employees' flaws. When there is a breakdown of product supply and demand, a service gap is established. Employees lack knowledge about the product and managing the services lead to this gap occurring. For example When the service quality is affected due to the weakness of the workers, then its service delivery is also affected. This gap arises due to a lack of proper guidance to the employees. There was a demand from the consumers that they should get high-quality crude oil and due to the weakness of the employees, they could not create an efficient quality crude oil. This gap arises due to the weaknesses in the work of the employees. 

4. Service Delivery vs. External Communications: What's the Difference?

When consumer expectations are heavily influenced by claims made by Oilstae Barrow company representatives and commercials, a gap between service delivery and external communication exists. This chasm is caused by an assumed expectation that isn't met when the service is delivered. The fourth service gap is the communication gap, which reflects the disparity between the level of service promised and what the customer receives. A variety of messages, including promotional advertising, shape consumer expectations. This gap comes when the company over-promised its delivery service and consumers do not get satisfied as much as they promised. For example when the Oilstate Barrow company has promised to provide high-quality crude oil to the consumers, but in return, they are not able to fulfil that promise then such a gap would have originated. To avoid such a gap, the product should be manufactured according to the promise given to the consumer.

Suggestion

Learn what customers expect

To close these gaps, some strategies have to be adopted. Ensure that a corporation does buyer research before bringing a new change in product or service to the customer to see whether there will be any for the product in question. To prepare the product only after taking complete correct information from the customer. Because knowing the correct form of quality and quantity by taking their information from the consumer leads to no mistake. Make sure the customer desires are taken in the right path or not. Make good communication channels between management and customer for knowledge of the preparing product.

Create the right service quality standard

It is necessary to overcome these gaps to clearly express the idea of service level and business assumptions. Developing some strategies for communication gap to reduce these types of problems because when there is good communication between the two, then it will be easy to make things and what kind of things to prepare. It will also be easy to know and the consumer will not get a shortfall in the purchase of his product. Because of the way the consumers suffered due to the decline in the quality of crude oil, this problem became because there was a communication gap between the consumer and the Oilstate Barrow organization.

Ensure service performance meet standards

Make clear to the employee their role what type of work they are going to be assigned. Because employee work has an effect on customer satisfaction so ensure this thing that employees understand their work of role correctly. Train the employee for organisation betterment because not training the employee leads to trouble, the crude oil quality does not match with consumer satisfaction. If the employee creates good quality crude oil then there is no chance to create any trouble in the customers' satisfaction. Selecting good, appropriate, and reliable technology and equipment to improve staff performance. Employees accomplish their tasks more effectively and correctly when they have access to the appropriate technology and equipment. Employees also teach about the customer's needs, expectations, perceptions and problems. So employees understand the customer's needs and make the product according to their needs and expectations.

Ensure about delivery matches with promise 

It should be ensured that the product of which they had promised to the customer or consumer, the same kind of product should be made. Like there was a promise to keep the quality of crude oil in the right form, then there should be no mistake in the quality of crude oil at the time of delivery. 

Conclusion

Communicating well with the customer and understanding their needs is necessary to prepare the product. Service organizations should not work on their own assumption. By communicating, eliminating those assumptions should work with the employee. Suggested strategies should be adopted so that the customer does not face any problem as crude oil customers face by taking the product with low quality of crude oil and that product does not satisfy them. If a good communication channel is created then the making of the product and selling that product has not any issues and customers get satisfied with the products and services.

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