DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Define service culture. Why is service culture so important? Can a manufacturing firm have a
service culture? Why or why not?
As defined by Christian Grönroos and cited in the text, a service culture is “a culture where an
appreciation for good service exists, and where giving good service to internal as well as ultimate,
2. Why are service employees critical to the success of any service organization? Why do we include an
entire chapter on service employees in a marketing course?
Because services are typically delivered by people to people, the employees who communicate about
and actually deliver the service are critical to the organization’s success. As stated near the beginning
of the chapter:
They are the service.
Each of the above ideas is developed on p. 320 of the text. Further, there is considerable research that
suggests that employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction are correlated. Organizations that
3. What is emotional labor? How is it different from physical or mental labor?
Emotional labor is a term coined by Arlie Hochschild in her book The Managed Heart (note 26 in the
chapter). It is the type of labor that goes beyond physical or mental skills, drawing on employees’
4. Reflect on your own role as a frontline service provider, whether in a current job or in any full –
or part-time service job you have had in the past. Did you experience the kinds of conflicts described in
the boundary-spanning roles section of the chapter? Be prepared with some concrete examples for class
discussion.
This question allows students to make more concrete, through application, the types of conflicts
discussed in the text on pp. 325-328. Students will generally provide excellent and clear examples.
The four major sources of conflict are:
person/role conflicts: employees feel that they must suppress their own personalities,
organization/client conflicts: employees are faced with conflicting needs of the organization
interclient conflicts: these conflicts occur when the employee is serving multiple customers
quality/productivity trade-offs: in many instances, employees are asked to provide both high
5. Select a service provider (your dentist, doctor, lawyer, hair stylist) with whom you are familiar, and
discuss ways this person could positively influence the five dimensions of service quality in the
context of delivering his or her services. Do the same for yourself (if you are currently a service
provider).
This question allows students to see how the dimensions of service quality (reliability, assurance,
tangibles, empathy, and responsiveness) are reinforced by individual employees at the service
6. Describe the four basic human resource strategy themes and why each plays an important role in
building a customer-oriented organization.
The four basic themes are shown in Figure 11.4, and each is discussed in some detail on pp. 328-340.
It is important to point out that at the center of Figure 11.4 is the purpose for developing the four
7. What is the difference between service competencies and service inclination? Provide examples
(preferably from your own work context or from another context with which you are familiar). Why
do service employees need training in both?
Service competencies are those basic skills, knowledge, and capabilities needed to perform a
particular job. For example (other examples are provided in the text):
a medical doctor must have a degree from a certified medical school, have passed certain
a sanitation engineer (garbage collector) must be able to drive a particular type of large
In addition to the service competencies required to do the job, service employees also need service
inclination, an interest in providing courteous, caring, responsive and empathetic service. They need
training in listening, problem-solving, communication and interpersonal skills. Many times, it is the
8. Is empowerment always the best approach for effective service delivery? Why is employee
empowerment so controversial?
This question can provide quite a long and meaningful discussion since empowerment is a well-used
and often poorly understood concept. If the instructor plans to use this question for a lengthy
the business strategy is one of differentiation and customization
customers are long-term relationship customers
A production line approach is most appropriate when the opposite conditions hold.
Employee empowerment is controversial for a variety of reasons:
it is often poorly understood
poorly designed empowerment strategies are tried and fail to produce results
