After you have selected a local service organisation from the list of service categories, conduct a literature review to critically examine the concept of Customer Service Management. Then apply the theory on customer service management to the service organisation you have selectedThe literature review is the foundation of the Research Report, and must include no less than ten (10) academic journal articles, dated no earlier than 2008, that examine Customer Service Management.
Then discuss whether the theory in the articles applies (or does not apply) to your selected service organisation. Articles can be on any part of customer service management. For example: Wait management, service recovery, customer involvement in service, etc..
Failure to review the required number of academic journal articles will result in low (or no) marks being awarded for the Research criteria (see the marking formats for both Research Reports). The purpose of the literature review is to ensure that you consider all the important aspects of customer service management that may not be discussed in the required text – do not use direct quotes from the academic journal articles. Instead, summarise the relevant literature on the topic and apply your analysis of that literature to the selected local service organisation; do not forget to cite the authors of the literature as the sources of your analyses; both in the text (surnames and date), and in the complete list of References in alphabetical order – surnames first, then initials – at the end of the Research Reports. Referencing your research is one of the marking criteria.
Note: there are penalties for plagiarism.
Summarising journal articles on the topic
Summarising a journal article goes beyond merely listing the main issues. You should re-compose, in your own words, the embedded ideas in each journal article to form new text for your group Research Report. Whereas outlining depends on analysis of each paragraph in an article, summarising requires a synthesis of the relevant theory and practice of the topic in the article.
Critical evaluation of the key concepts (of the topic), and their application to the selected service organisation, should be written in your words and in a condensed form, to construct meaning. That critical evaluation will develop a deeper understanding of the key concepts associated with topic and its application to the service organisation.
[Source: Axelrod, R. B. and Cooper, C. R. (1994), The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing. New York: St Martin’s Press. (pp 451-452)].
Your literature review will enable you to write a group Research Report of no less than 2500 words and no more than 3000 words.
When you are researching the Customer Service Management literature do not substitute web-pages and/or blogs, such as Wikipedia, for academic journal articles because it is very unlikely that those web-pages will have the academic rigour required for you to develop an in-depth understanding of the topic.
Issues to consider in completing Research Report
In conjunction with the ten summaries on customer service management described above, your Research Report will critically evaluate how your selected service organisation manages its customer service strategies. Your Report will also address the following issues.
• What is customer service? What are the differences between customer service offered by the manufacturers of tangible goods and that offered by service organisations?
• Explain how the service organisation creates value for its customers. What are the basic factors that shape the customer service function that can exist between a service organisation and its customers? Fully explain which customer service function is the most important for the selected service organisation and its target customers? (Re-view the segmentation profile of the target market customers that was developed for Research Report 1).
• What is the nature of the relationship that exists between the selected service organisation and its customers? Fully explain the strengths and limitations of the service organisation’s customer service.
• What are the essential elements that must be considered for effectively implementing a Customer Service program?