Terminología común ATFM

Information in this section contains my own personal review on the literature included on the theoretical framework along with the references of the articles in which I reflect upon. The analysis is the dialect between the theoretical framework and the developed case studies.

After reading literature and articles I have been convinced that services required different process and methods for management and marketing in this world. The literature shows a significant development in the service management and marketing area with the passage of time. In the last three or four decades there has been an industrious expansion and emergence of new topics with in this discipline.

Page | 43 The article development and emergence of service marketing thought by Fisk et al. (1994) has traced the development all the way in the field of service marketing and management. At first critiques has concerned about whether there is difference between goods and services. But after that, this trend decreased and the difference become visible which has become well developed research field today that people was not aware just almost 40 or 50 years ago. So in that context services are very important in the management aspect of the Siemens Corporation with this service based SAP project. It is shown in the case study of Siemens that how the financial and HR consultants management services along with the right e-commerce- SAP information systems, productively affect the enhancement and quality of its stakeholders.

The important discussion in recent years was relating to the four characteristics for service (IHIP), whether they are still applicable to same extent upon the new services as well (Edvardsson et al. 2005; Lovelook & Gummesson 2004). With the changing need and introduction of new services and with the help of latest technology these characteristics of services become less popular. Many scholars think that these characteristics do not work for all services like E-services etc and are not generalized for services (Edvardsson et al. 2005; Lovelook & Gummesson 2004). The article has reflected upon each characteristic in detail and convinced that how and which situation the four or any single characteristic differs and not applicable to the same service. Without reading article one can accept that the IHIP will work for all type of services but in reality that is not the case. I can conclude that all four characteristics are useful to generalize different types of services.

Mr. Edvardsson (1997) has written about the three groups whose needs must be satisfied and services should meet their expectations. The three groups are the customers, employees and owner. The fact related to customer satisfaction not only satisfies the external customer but the internal customer satisfaction is equally important. The internal customers are employees which are very important for the services context. If the employees are not satisfied they will not be motivated, and only the motivated employees can create more value for the customers. The motivated employees can be good source of word of mouth marketing of the service. Now in the case of Siemens it is clearly presented that this facilitation of SAP software works for the great ease of the internal customers that is its employees. So they now get rid of the heavy work load of updating all the data manually into the registers. And they also get rid of maintaining the hassles of bundles of records. They also get rid of the difficulty of finding some information if they need to look up back. Because software works for much better

Page | 44 manner and display all the available information just through one single click. It also works for the beneficial of the external customers that are the people who work in different Government sectors under those districts. Because from now onwards they start getting their pay slips and can clearly maintain the track record of their slips. And they also clearly saw the raises and tax deductions under their slips.

Here we can see a link with the service marketing triangle. The Service marketing triangle is an important model developed for the effective functioning of three marketing functions. These three marketing functions are internal, interactive and external marketing. The service marketing triangle is very helpful for fulfilling the promise to manage expectations. These expectations are delivered by using the traditional marketing and new marketing triangle. It is also very useful for keeping promises with the customers using the service delivery to customers from employees. The employees need to be motivated and company should analyse the employee’s needs for training and must reward them for the effective functioning of the system. So in Case of HBL employees also get motivated because they also no longer need to deal with the bunch of customers every day. And customers also don’t need to waste their precious time by personally visiting the bank for different kind of transactions like to pay different kinds of bills and other transactions.

In my opinion Mr. Edvardsson (1997) thoughts relating to how to motivate and stimulate the employees are very essential and I suggest that all companies should work for this. I have seen almost all of the companies have given and ranked the external customers high as compare to internal customers that are employees. But they don’t think that employees are the primary source from which organization is able to deliver its services. I agreed to that thought, that’s why I think that all the stakeholders are important for the success of the entire business. And business also needs to take care of its stakeholders by taking care of their needs. And it first starts with the internal customers of the businesses that are its employees. Because business can only be reached to its enticing full effect by first fulfilling the demands of its own internal employees. Because when employees are happy then they will definitely put their blasting energies on to the work. So the right and effective information systems in the company like Siemens and HBL works for the ease of both of its internal and external customers.

Another important concept of service marketing literature is co-production of service which has been written by Mr Edvardsson too. He gives emphasis on making the co-producing as

Page | 45 simple as possible for the customers. The customer role as co-producer also support by the Vargo and Lusch (2004). Normann and Ramirez (1993) also discussed that the rolls between the different actors in the process of service co-production can be changed. This article also highlights how organizations can use customers and customers can use the organizational systems to create more favourable experience by using its services. Ramirez’s (1999) article highlights that customer can have different roles in a process and that they can have many different relationships to different actors in that process. This co-production process of service works at HBL because bank develops these kinds of online channels and systems for the convenience of both of its internal and external customer. So value is co-produced when external customers uses these online channels and systems for their daily transactions.

Service management requires energies and attention with time. As the manager needs to understand that service due to co-production with the customer have become very complex. Managers along with understanding of needs of the customer also need to know about customer expectations relating to the behaviours from the employees. The gap model relating to the service is very interesting insight in this field. This model helps us in understanding the integrated view of the customer-company relationship in an effective way. This model has been developed by taking into account the difference between customer expectations and their perceptions in regarding a service. After reading this, I have come to know that the customer gap is the main focus in this model. I think HBL and Siemens information systems works effectively by reducing this gap. Because as I show you the functionality and user friendliness works for the great ease of its customers.

The co-productive view related to values presented in the article by Ramirez (1999) describes that some managed values cannot be measured or monetized. In co-production the offerings are the unit used for analysis. This view also emphasis that values are co-invented and reconciled. Most importantly the value is co-produced with the help of customers for their relationships.

We can understand the concept of co-production with the help of the example from the real life like a teacher provides the services to the students in this scenario. The value is created by the active involvement by the students in the class. Only teacher giving the lecture is not enough for creating value creation process. The more the trust in the relationship between these two actors-teacher and students, the higher will be the value of the process. The speciality and knowledge of teacher in a specific field would be a differentiator among the

Page | 46 other service providers. And it would help in the analysis of his contribution in the service process. Although the reflections and change in behaviours shown by the students in individual and group exams can help in measuring the value produced by the teacher to some extent. But it is not fully measured, in case when students in spite of knowing the concepts unable to transfer in words understandable to the teacher. Same is the case with the user of those information systems at HBL and Siemens because the value can only be co-produced when the customers use them simultaneously.

Booms and Bitner (1981) defined Service scape as the surroundings in which the service is gathered. And the interaction between company and customer is occurred and included with tangible commodities that enhance service performance and communication. It is one of the important conceptual frameworks in service organizations which explore the influences of physical environment towards customers and employees behaviour (Bitner 1992). The service scape model stated that the main detentions of service scape are conditions, space, function, symbols and artefacts. The model stated about customer and employee-response moderators. As the same service is perceived differently by different customers and combined employee responses to the service surroundings as the employees organizations increases the morale of the frontline employee and deliver quality services to customers (Lovelock & Witz 2007). In my view service scape should be designed by taking consideration of the service employees and all the beneficiaries of the service most likely from customers. Service scape due to their ability and role to attract and create effect for the service delivery process has become more important decision for management.

Page | 47 6. DISCUSSION