Accommodating Multiple Objectives in the Design of Customer Treatment Operations
International Journal of Operations & Production Management
ISSN: 0144-3577
Article publication date: 1 March 1988
Abstract
An examination of the extent to which design principles based on commercial ideas of customer satisfaction and resource productivity are relevant in operating systems where there are multiple customers for the service, or where the customer is dependent on the service provider is carried out. Three types of dependency are identified: benefit‐related, professional and monopolistic. It is argued that, in the case of dependent customers, there are pressures which encourage the use of design principles based on customer satisfaction and resource productivity, but that there is little direct incentive to do so. Where there are multiple customers, identification of what constitutes customer satisfaction is complex, and the application of design principles based on customer satisfaction is difficult. One strategy used to accommodate multiple customer needs, professionally dependent customers, and resource utilisation demands is described. Some design features drawn from this case form the conclusion.
Keywords
Citation
Morris, B. (1988), "Accommodating Multiple Objectives in the Design of Customer Treatment Operations", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 86-94. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb054828
Publisher
:MCB UP Ltd
Copyright © 1988, MCB UP Limited