Evaluate the ‘challenges’ faced by service managers when attempting to manage quality”

Quality management is seen as the most essential part when it comes to the organisation of a business and possible the most important and complex component of business strategy (Golder et al. 2012: 1). It can be argued that the success of a business is down to the management of quality. This means managers must deal with meeting both internal and external expectations set in order to excel. Quality is a concept that has to be applied throughout the business and must involve everyone within the organisation and it is through this we see the implementation of total quality management (TQM), defined by Dale (2003) as ‘an ever evolving practice…which meet and hopefully exceed the needs and expectations of customers’ (Dale, 2003: 4). The results of defining quality are seen as quite subjective however, Kelemen (2005) notes that ‘quality is a political, cultural and social process’ and an organisation is ran based on their managers perception and understanding of what quality is which has a direct effect on the reputation set. It is from the understanding of this that we are able to see the importance and impact that quality has. The main objective of this essay is to focus on the differences between production and service managers in regards to the control, development and measurement of quality and the challenges managers must face in order to control these aspects in regards to quality.

Products and service are important parts of quality management; this is due to the idea that customers have an expectation on the service or product they should receive. So why then are services considered a difficulty to manage in regards to quality? Well firstly, unlike products, services are both intangible and simultaneous, meaning that services do not generally include a physical manifestation or substance. Kelemen (2005) notes that the service between the seller and customer are in fact inseparable and the customer themselves are involved in the creation of a service,

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