Search results

IT is a very encouraging sign to those interested in the welfare of children that so much attention is being bestowed upon them by library authorities. On every side activity is apparent: most new buildings have a room set aside for the exclusive use of juveniles, and many old buildings are being adapted and special provision made for the young. In these circumstances a brief summary of practical requirements may not come amiss.

For the past several decades women have been moving into the United States workforce in greater numbers and they have been gaining access to the types of jobs that were, traditionally, performed exclusively by men. Despite this progress, they are still having difficulty penetrating the so‐called “glass ceiling” into upper management positions (Alimo‐Metcalfe 1993; Tavakolian 1993). Many reasons have been advanced, but the most compelling of these concerns the “glass walls” that support the “glass ceiling”. The “glass walls” refer to those invisible barriers that limit the ability of women and minorities to gain access to the type of job that would place them in a position to break through the “glass ceiling” (Townsend 1996). If women are to gain parity with men in the workforce, they need to succeed in the positions that lie inside the “glass walls” that will enable them to rise through the “glass ceiling” to upper management.

Introduction Perhaps one of the most embarrassing and painful things that can occur in dealing with another is to suggest that a person would commit an immoral act and then find that the person considers the act to be totally out of character: “I'm not that kind of person.” An industrial salesperson would certainly wish to avoid a suggestion that would violate the ethical precepts of a buyer. However, it is difficult to assess what a particular buyer might consider to be ethical.

It is important for the industrial marketer to understand and effectively manage the process of complaining behavior in which dissatisfied buyers typically engage. By better managing this process, marketers can improve customer loyalty and prevent buyers from undertaking further complaining behavior which may damage the seller’s reputation. Reports on the types of order problems that occur with suppliers, as well as buyers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of supplier responses to different types of complaints from the buyer.

As competition becomes more intense and environmental factors become more hostile, the concern for service quality grows. If service quality is to become the cornerstone of marketing strategy, the marketer must have the means to measure it. The most popular measure of service quality is SERVQUAL, an instrument developed by Parasuraman et al. (1985; 1988). Not only has research on this instrument been widely cited in the marketing literature, but also its use in industry has been quite widespread (Brown et al., 1993).

This paper examined engineers’ satisfaction with services of a building permission unit at a local municipality using a focus group, a questionnaire and follow‐up interviews. Obtained satisfaction indexes are reported. Differences in satisfaction levels were tested using parametric t‐tests and Kruskal‐Wallis non‐parametric tests according to engineer’s specialization, size of office and number of building projects submitted to the building permission unit. The results indicate no significant statistical differences in satisfaction levels based on specialization (civil engineers versus architectural engineers), size of the consulting office, or the number of projects submitted. However, satisfaction indexes were not high. They were about 60 per cent.

Contemporary research on service quality and satisfaction has limitations. First, current satisfaction models treat the consumer as an isolated individual, not considering the social context of the service provision. Second, while satisfaction and quality are thought to be process outcomes, the dominant survey research approaches are not well suited to learning about processes. Finally, popular paradigms assume consumers’ determination of service quality and satisfaction is based solely on a set of attributes. Symbolic interaction and ethnographic methods expand the theoretical basis of service quality/satisfaction research beyond an individually centered psychological view to consider social influences and processes, thereby providing a deeper understanding of how consumers experience quality and satisfaction. The knowledge gained from this approach is easily accessible to service managers and may serve to improve employee recruiting, training and evaluation. Examples of employing symbolic interaction and ethnographic methods are provided. Actions to improve the management of service providers are listed