Researching about satisfactory level of customers about the water supplying service in district 1, ho chi minh city

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Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 1
1.1. The necessity of research topic .................................................................... 1
1.2. The Object of research ................................................................................. 2
1.2.1. The general object ................................................................................ 2
1.2.2. The detail object ................................................................................... 2
1.3. Methods, subjects and scope of research ...................................................... 3
1.4. The significance of the research topic .......................................................... 4
1.5. Research questions and aim ......................................................................... 4
Chapter 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................... 6
2.1. Theoretical basis .......................................................................................... 6
2.1.1. Service .................................................................................................. 6
2.1.2. The service quality................................................................................ 9
2.1.3. The relationship between customer expectations, perceptions and
satisfaction ....................................................................................................16
2.1.4. Overview of the state water supply services .........................................17
2.2. The SERVQUAL model of Parasuraman (1988) .........................................18
2.3. Construct hypotheses and the research models ............................................21
2.4. The recommended research model ..............................................................22
Chapter 3. METHOD.............................................................................................24
3.1. Research background ..................................................................................24
3.2. Formal research ..........................................................................................24
3.2.1. Sample research ...................................................................................24


3.2.2. Data analysis method ...........................................................................25
3.2.3. Process survey .....................................................................................27
3.3. Develop a scale and the main content to analyze .........................................28

3.3.1. Scale of construction and data encryption ............................................28
3.3.2. Scale of satisfaction .............................................................................29
3.4. Design questionnaire...................................................................................29
Chapter 4. RESULT...............................................................................................30
4.1. The general information about the sample...................................................30
4.2. Rating scale ................................................................................................32
4.2.1. Measure the scale by Cronbach's alpha reliability ................................32
4.3. Testing scale and theoretical model.............................................................34
4.3.1. Checking with CFA (Confirmatory factor analysis), the composite
reliability .......................................................................................................34
4.3.2. Testing estimates with bootstrap ..........................................................36
4.3.3. Testing the hypothesis and difference ..................................................36
Differentiation ...............................................................................................38
Differentiation ...............................................................................................39
Differentiation ...............................................................................................40
4.4. Discussion ..................................................................................................40
Chapter 5. CONCLUSION AND SOLUTION.......................................................41
5.1. Research conclusion ...................................................................................41
5.2. Suggesting solution .....................................................................................41
5.3. Limitations in research ................................................................................42


NGUYEN NGOC MINH PHU
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Public service delivery is an important function of the state to society. Public
service delivery is governed by several of factors, both subjective and objective in
each country, and there is often a shortcoming between the provision of public

services represented by the state and the other side is the demand for public
services, which is represented by the demands of all people in society. In the
process of reforming the state closer to the people, better meeting the needs of
today's citizens, an urgent need set in many countries around the world is to
enhance the role of the government. The article analyzes the factors that affect
people's satisfaction with public services in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
Supplying public services for society is an important function of the State.
Supplying public services is governed by several factors both objectively and
subjectively in any country and there are often inadequacies in the supply of public
services represented by the State and the demand of public services represented by
the people. In the process of State reform moving in the direction of getting closer
to the people and better meeting the demand of the citizens, an urgent requirement
for many countries in the world is to increase the role of the State in the
management and supply of public services. This research analyzes the factors
affecting the satisfaction of people who is customer of the public water supply
service in District 1, Ho Chi Minh city, Viet Nam. So that, Getting experience to
serve the all customers in Viet Nam.
The service industry plays an increasingly important role in the economy of
many countries. In today’s global competitive environment delivering quality
service is considered as an essential strategy for success and survival (Parasuraman
et al., 1985; Reichheld and Sasser, 1990; Zeithaml et al., 1990). Even the public
sector organizations have come under increasing pressure to deliver quality services
(Randall and Senior, 1994) and improve efficiencies (Robinson, 2003). Customer
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needs and expectations are changing when it comes to governmental services and

their quality requirements. However, service quality practices in public sector
organizations is slow and is further exacerbated by difficulties in measuring
outcomes, greater scrutiny from the public and press, a lack of freedom to act in an
arbitrary fashion and a requirement for decisions to be based in law (Teicher et al.,
2002).
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Develop a method of measuring the satisfaction of citizens and organizations
with respect to the service of state administrative agencies to assess the quality of
service delivery the work of public administrations. So that, the state administrative
bodies grasp the requirements and expectations of people and organizations to take
measures to improve the quality of their service and service delivery in order to
improve the satisfaction and interests of the people, organizations.
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A Identifying the factors, criteria and criteria for measuring the satisfaction of
citizens and organizations with respect to the service of state administrative
agencies shall apply to all administrative services provided by the Official state
administration provided.
A Identifying the questionnaire of sociological investigation according to
criteria, criteria of composition, suitable for each type of administrative service.
A Determining the satisfaction of citizens and organizations for the service of
state administrative agencies.
A Publishing the service Satisfaction Index.

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Methods of research:
13*.4.521+ 13/321:8 Before conducting formal study, the survey was

conducted with about 30 clients to spot the deficiencies and remain in the
questionnaire design, the missing content must be supplemented, at the same time
used. Using group discussion techniques, experts to correct, add observation
variables. It aims to develop criteria for assessing, correcting, removing or
supplementing questions. The result of this step is to build one official questionnaire
for the research.
;;.:.2* 13/321:8 Using real questionnaire survey techniques is currently in
district 1 to collect data. The sample is selected in the NonAprobability way, it is
convenient with sample size n = 289. This research aims to examine the
measurement scale and research model. The scale is evaluated through two steps:
Analyze the reliability of the scale using Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficient
and fractions of the CFA discovery factor is implemented through statistical data
processing software
SPSS 20.0. After obtaining the factors, continuing proceeds with the CFA
analysis and SEM to test model and research hypothesis using AMOS 20.0.
)<=3:6/ 0; 13/321:8 The subjects of research are state administrative agency
and people who use the water supply service of administrative agencies in district 1,
Ho Chi Minh city, Viet Nam.
Scope of research:
The scope of the project is to measure the satisfaction of people and
organizations with regard to public water supply services of state administrative

agency in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

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Customer satisfaction assessments will help the authority leaders identify the
desires of customers for service quality and the key factors that affect satisfaction.
The results of the study will provide the agency's departments with a detailed
view of the quality of their service and the level of customer satisfaction at the time
of the research. As a provider of products and services, the public agency will
evaluate the accuracy of its service to meet the needs of customers. Through this,
the agency continues to have investment policies, further adjusted to the quality,
service, attitude, ... in order to satisfy the needs and increasing demand of customers
are using this service.
Thereby, it is possible to identify factors that need to be improved to improve.
Quality of service, from which the topic proposed some specific solutions to
the leader of administrative agency to create the basis for improving the quality of
service, improves the satisfaction of customers.
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The main question of this research is what factors affect the customers’

satisfaction have on the water supplying service in District 1, Ho Chi Minh city,
Viet Nam?
The specific questions that are researched in this thesis are:

1. What expectations does customer have on the water supplying service
quality to become satisfied?
2. What perceptions does customer have about the service quality of the water
supplying quality in District 1, Ho Chi Minh city, Viet Nam?
3. What are the differences between the expectations and the perceptions (5
gaps in the SERVQUALAmodel)?

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Our aim is to research and analyze about the role of service quality for
creating customer satisfaction on the water supplying service. We want to find out
the gap between expectations and perceptions through the customer point of view.
Contribution: From the result of this caseAstudy the organization will be able
to identify their quality of service and they can also find out their week service
points. By using our result they can improve their further service delivery.

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Chapter 1 gives an overview of the research topic. This chapter will preface to
introduce relevant theories as the basis for the research design. This chapter consists

of two parts. The first is a theoretical summary of the main concepts of research:
service, customer satisfaction, general issues of water supply services. Next, models
previously studied in the world and in the country are the basis for proposing
research models in the next chapter.
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In economics, a service is a transaction in which no physical goods are
transferred from the seller to the buyer. The benefits of such a service are held to be
demonstrated by the buyer's willingness to make the exchange. Public services are
those that society (nation state, fiscal union, regions) as a whole pays for.
Using resources, skill, ingenuity, and experience, service providers benefit service
consumers.
According to Parasuraman et al. (1988), service quality can be defined as an
overall judgment similar to attitude towards the service and generally accepted as an
antecedent of overall customer satisfaction (Zeithaml and Bitner, 1996).
Parasuraman et al. (1988) have defined service quality as the ability of the
organization to meet or exceed customer expectations. It is the difference between
customer expectations of service and perceived service (Zeithaml et al., 1990).
Perceived service quality results from comparisons by customers of expectations
with their perceptions of service delivered by the suppliers (Zeithaml et al., 1990).
If expectations are greater than performance, then perceived quality is less than
satisfactory and hence customer dissatisfaction occurs (Parasuraman et al., 1985;
Lewis and Mitchell, 1990).
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Distinguishing services' characteristics of intangibility, heterogeneity, and
inseparability make them more difficult to evaluate than goods.
First, most services are intangible. 'They cannot be seen, felt, tasted, or
touched in the same manner in which goods can be sensed. They cannot be counted,
measured, inventoried, tested, and verified before sale to assure quality. Services
cannot be displayed, physically demonstrated or illustrated; therefore they possess
few search properties and many experience properties. Because of intangibility, it is
difficult to understand how consumers perceive services and evaluate service
quality (Bitner 1990; Cowell 1989; Lovelock 1984; Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and
Berry 1985; Zeithaml 1981).
Second, services are heterogeneous: their performance often varies from
producer to producer, from customer to customer, and from day to day. Since
service cannot be inventoried, performance depends to some extent on the level of
demand. What the firms intend to deliver may be entirely different from what the
consumer receives. Heterogeneity results in high experience qualities, for
consumers cannot be certain about performance on any given day, even if they use
the same service provider on a regular basis (Wu, L., International Marketing
Review, 22 (3) (2005))
Third, production and consumption of many services are inseparable. Tangible
goods are produced, sold and then consumed separately. But in services, the final
elements of the service assembly process usually take place simultaneously with
consumption, so that the customer is much more likely to meet the service
production process in operation. Due to this inseparability, the buyer usually
participates in producing the service, thereby affecting the performance and quality
of the service. The service firm may have less managerial control over quality in
labor intensive services, and services where consumer participation is intense (Arun

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Kumar G., Manjunath S. J., Naveen Kumar H., International Journal of Engineering
and Management Sciences, 3 (3) (2012),)
Beatson et al. (2008) found that perceived employee satisfaction, perceived
employee loyalty, and perceived employee commitment had a sizable impact on
perceived product quality and on perceived service quality. According to Kotler
Philip, Wong Veronica, Saunders John, Armstrong Gary, Prentice Hall (2005),
contact employees represent the organization and can directly influence customer's
satisfaction; they perform the role of marketers. Whether acknowledged or not,
service employees perform marketing functions. They can perform these functions
well, to the organization’s advantage, or poorly, to the organization’s detriment.
According to Bettencourt and Gwinner FLE has the opportunity to tailor in realA
time not only the services the firm offers, but also the way in which those services
are delivered. Customer actions, reactions and other characteristics can have a
profound influence on the actions and mannerisms of frontAline service personnel
(Matzler et al., 2004). Customers largely establish their impressions of the
organization’s level of service provision based on their encounters with FLE.
Therefore employees involved in the delivery of frontAline services can provide
valuable information for improving service. FLE are knowledgeable about the
strengths and weaknesses of the service through their contact with customers and
this is an important form of feedback that can be used by organizations in decisionA
making to better serve customers. Research has established a positive correlation
between the attitudes of employees and those of customers, including employee and
customer perceptions of service quality.
In sum, the intangibility, heterogeneity, and inseparability of services lead

them to possess few search qualities and many experience qualities. Additionally,
service marketers most often have limited influence over the delivery of the service
and therefore have limited control over service quality. The situation is similar to a
good's marketer trying to promote, position, or define an always changing product
that the customer has not yet seen.
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According to Parasuraman et al. (1991), companies can get their competitive
advantage by using the technology for the purpose of enhancing service quality and
gathering market demand.
Service quality is an important driver of customer satisfaction and behavioral
intention. Numerous quantitative studies have shown that service quality is a
predictor of customer satisfaction (Bitner et al., 1990; Cronin and Taylor,
1992; RamseookAMunhurrun and Naidoo, 2011; Sudin, 2011). Satisfaction means
providing goods and services that create specific levels of perceived value for the
customer so that the customer remains engaged positively with the organization
(Wicks and Roethlein, 2009).
For decades, many researchers have developed a service perspective
(Zeithaml, 2009, Ramsaran and Fowdar, 2007). Chang (2008) describes that the
concept of service quality should be generally approached from the customer’s
point of view because they may have different values, different ground of
assessment, and different circumstances. Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1990)
mention that service quality is an extrinsically perceived attribution based on the
customer’s experience about the service that the customer perceived through the

service encounter. According to the work of Kumra (2008), service quality is not
only involved in the final product and service, but also involved in the production
and delivery process, thus employee involvement in process redesign and
commitment is important to produce final tourism products or services.
Another research study on service quality is presented by Grönroos (2007)
who focuses on a model that is a comparison between customer expectations of the
service and their experience of the service they have received before. This model is
named “total perceived service quality”. As he emphasizes on what customer is
really looking for and what they evaluate, the service quality is based on two
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dimensions. The first dimension is the technical quality and this dimension refers to
the outcome, what is delivered or what the customer gets from the service. The next
dimension is the functional quality which refers to the manner in which the service
is delivered or how it is delivered. Both dimensions affect the corporate image and
the perception of quality in various ways. According to total perceived service
quality model, perceived quality of a service is not only affected by the experiences
of the quality dimensions that the consumer used for evaluating whether quality is
perceived as good, neutral, or bad. It is al also affected by the perceived quality of
given service as well as the outcome of the evaluation process.
Chang (2008) support the earlier line of thinking by Grönroos but
Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry developed “The Gap Analysis Model”, which is
a well known model of service quality. This model shows an integrated view of the
consumerAcompany relationship. The main idea of the model is focused on the
premise that service quality is dependent on the size and direction of the five gaps
that can exist in the service delivery process.

Gap 1: The gap between customer expectations and those perceived by
management to be the customer's expectations.
Gap 2: The gap between management's perception of consumer expectations
and the firm’s service quality specifications.
Gap 3: The gap between service quality specifications and service.
Gap 4: The service delivery, external communication gap.
Gap 5: The perceived service quality gap, the difference between expected and
perceived service (Parasuraman et al, 1990).
The first four gaps are identified as functions of the way in which service is
delivered from the service provider to the customer, while gap number five is
connected to the customer and as such is considered to be the truth of service
quality. Gap five is also the gap that the SERVQUAL instrument influences.

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Edvardsson (1996) mentioned that it is important for a service organization to
define the level of quality at which to operate; he argued that it is more relevant to
speak of the “right quality” than of merely high quality.
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Investigations have confirmed that reliability is the most important dimension,
and tangibility is less relevant to the quality of service from the perception of the
user. In view of this, some dimensions may be more accentuated than others,
depending on the type of service provided.

The result of the analysis as a whole verified that there is a set of key
discrepancies or gaps, consisting of the differences between users' expectations and
what are actually offered. These gaps can be the main obstacle for users to perceive
the provision of such services as highAquality.
When perceptions are higher than expectations, the gaps are narrow and there
are high levels of satisfaction, considering the excellent service and quality. Five
corporate gaps are emphasized that are usually encountered between the
expectations and perceptions of users. These are:
• Gap 1: refers to consumer expectations and the perception of management
towards them. The service providers do not always understand what requirements
connote excellence of quality for consumers.
• Gap 2: is the specification of the quality of the services defined by the
translation of perceptions that management has of the expectations of users. This
discrepancy is due to the lack of specification of the offer, adjusted to the wishes of
the consumers.
• Gap 3: relates to the actual performance of service in the face of previously
established specifications.
• Gap 4: relates to the service actually provided and external communications
(service specifications announced in the media or other communication channels).
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• Gap 5: This was established as a function of the four previous shortcomings,
namely Gap 5 = f [gap 1, gap 2, gap 3, gap 4].
In summary, one can consider the following definitions for the gaps:
Gap 1A Not knowing what users want to receive.
Gap 2A Not selecting the right design of the service and established standards.

Gap 3A Not delivering the standard the service.
Gap 4A Not marrying performance with promises.
Gap 5A Established according to the four previous gaps;.
Gap 5 = f [gap 1, gap 2, gap 3, gap 4].
Figure 1 illustrates the shortcomings or gaps in service quality.
To perform the measurement of user satisfaction it is necessary to focus on the
expectations and perceptions that the user has about the offered services. The
concept of perceived quality, used both for services as well as for products, has
been understood as superiority or excellence, while the concept of service quality is
more abstract and intangible. In the absence of objective measures, it may be
considered appropriate that the evaluation is performed by measuring the perception
of the service by the user.

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Figure 1: Service Quality GRAP Model
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The quality of service that is measured by multiple elements and accurate.
These elements depend on services and environment services. Multiple authors
found research that you are all popular and best types of the standards of the
standards of the Parasuraman et al.
Model of 5 grapes are a general theoretical model of substance amount of
service. In order to be able to practice Parasuraman (1985) and his colleagues tried
to build a scale in each service area, by which any service quality is also perceived
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by customers based on 10 components, including: (1) Reliability, (2) Satisfy, (3)
Serving capacity, (4) Accessibility, (5) Service style, (6) Information, (7) Trust, (8)
Safety, (9) Customer, Understanding, (10) Figure (cf. Bexley J.B, 2005).
This model has the advantage of covering every aspect of the service, however
all 10 the composition of the SERVQUAL scale is too complex to be difficult to
analyze. Thus, Parasuraman et al. (1988) revised and formulated a new model of
five basic components.
The relationship between the original Parasuraman model (1985) and the
calibration model (1988) is presented as follows:
Table 1: Relationship between the Parasuraman model (1985) and (1988)
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Tangibles

Tangibles

Reliability

Reliability

Competence

Assurance

Responsiveness

Responsiveness

Courtesy
Credibility
Security
Access

Empathy

Communication
Understanding customer
Source: Zeithaml, Parasuraman & Berry (1988) by Bexley J.B (2005)
Inheriting the doctrine of Parasuraman et al (1988), Johnson and Silvestro
(1990)
Also summarizes 5 other factors of service quality:
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(1) Helpfulness
(2) Care
(3) Commitment
(4) Functionality
(5) Integrity
At the same time, Gronroos (1990) conducted the study and presented six
components of service quality measurement:

(1) Professionalism and skills
(2) Attitudes and behavior
(3) Accessibility and flexibility
(4) Reliability and trustworthiness
(5) Reputation and credibility
(6) Recovery
In 2001, Sureshchandar et al also introduced five quality influencing factors of
services include:
(1) Core service
(2) Human element
(3) NonAhuman element
(4) Tangibles
(5) Social responsibility
Elements of service quality measurement vary widely depending on the
different research area. Therefore, the research literature outlined above is a
reference basis for the specific definition of service quality scales in the public
service sector.

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Kotler (2003) advances a discussion that explains Satisfaction as a person's
feelings of happiness or displeasure as a result of comparing a product's outcome in
relation to his or her expectations. Stemming from this review, customer satisfaction
is described as the result of a cognitive and affective evaluation, where some

comparison standard are determined and compared to the actually perceived
performance. If it happens that the expected performance exceeds perceived
performance then, customers become dissatisfied. On the other hand, if the
expectation is more than perceived performance, customers turn to be happy and
satisfied. Otherwise, when the perceived performance equals to expectations,
customers are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied creating what he termed as
indifferent or neutral stage.
Homburg et al. (2005) found significant quality differences in the impact of
the factors on customer beliefs about service quality and therefore satisfaction. In
addition, Walls et al. (2011) performed a metaAanalysis of quality management
studies and concluded that customer experiences are multidimensional and unique
to each situation and consumer, suggesting that in this domain, quantitative
methodology may not be universally generalizable.
A number of studies report that customer’s satisfaction is influenced by a
number of factors and according to Peprah (2014), the following factors play a
critical role in the satisfaction of customers; the attitudes of staff toward customers,
the capacity to deliver prompt service without wasting time, ability to disseminate
information to customers and the availability of upAtoAdate equipment.
Gibson (2005) found in his studies that satisfied customers become repeat
purchasers of a product or service and provide positive word of mouth. That means
that it is important to understand what factors that influences customer satisfaction
in order to create good products or services. Zeithmal and Bitner (2003) expands
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this discussion and describes that there is an overwhelming interest in service
quality and the reason for that is that both practitioners and researchers believe that

quality is crucial for the success of any business organization. The construct has
great impact on customer satisfaction, repeat purchase behavior and in the long run
also the profitability of the organization. Bitner (1990) also mentions that if the
service is affective it has a direct and immediate affect on the customer satisfaction.
Zeithaml and Bitner (2003) argue that customer satisfaction has become a
major contributor for enhancing a service company such as long term profitability,
customer loyalty, and customer retention. That means for example that it is
important to encourage the staff to deliver the right service to the right people in
reasonable time and showing good manner. Satisfied customers may also give
positive word of mouth and for that reason attract new customers and create long
term business profit.
Oliver (1980) suggest that in order to create customer satisfaction it is
important for the company managers to identify which product or service attributes
that can enhance customer satisfaction or delightfulness, than the performance can
be improved and it will also be possible to find out which attributes that are
expected by the customers (expected attributes can create dissatisfaction by their
absence). Many researchers argue that customer satisfaction has big impact on
customer intentions to repurchase (Cronin, Brady, and Hult, 2000). Andersson and
Furnell (1995) also argue that satisfaction is an indicator of intentions to return to
the supplier.
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Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities commercial
organizations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of
pumps and pipes Irrigation is covered separately.

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The SERVQUAL model proposes that customers evaluate the quality of a
service on five distinct dimensions: reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy,
and tangibles. The SERVQUAL instrument consists of 22 statements for assessing
consumer perceptions and expectations regarding the quality of a service. Perceived
service quality results from comparisons by consumers of expectations with their
perceptions of service delivered by the service providers (Zeithaml et al., 1990). It
can be argued that the factor underpinning the delivering of good perceived service
quality is actually meeting the expectations of the customers. Thus, excellent
service quality is exceeding the customers’ expectations. Zeithaml and Bitner
(2000) suggested that customer expectations are beliefs about a service that serve as
standards against which service performance is judged.
Parasuraman et al. (1988) suggested that customer expectations are what the
customers think a service should offer rather than what might be on offer. Zeithaml
et al. (1990) identified four factors that influence customers’ expectations: wordAofA
mouth

communications;

personal

needs;

past

experience;

and

external

communications. A gap is created when the perceptions of the delivered service is
not as per the expectations of the customer. This gap is addressed by identifying and
implementing strategies that affect perceptions, or expectations, or both
(Parasuraman et al., 1985; Zeithaml et al., 1990). Parasuraman et al. (1988) stated
that SERVQUAL had been designed to be “applicable across a broad spectrum of
services” and the format could be adapted to fit specific needs, and that it would be
most valuable when used to track service quality trends periodically. They proposed
that the SERVQUAL model could be extended to measure gaps in quality and could
therefore be used as a diagnostic tool to enable management to identify service
quality shortfalls. The gap score is calculated by the perception statements being
deducted from the expectation statements. If any gap scores turn out to be positive
then this implies that expectations are actually being exceeded. This allows service

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managers to review whether they need to reAdeploy resources to areas of under
performance (Wisniewski, 2001). The SERVQUAL instrument ascertains the level
of service quality based on the five key dimensions and also identifies where gaps
in service exist and to what extent (Picture 1):

Picture 1: Servqual model of Parasuraman
The lower the mean score, the larger is the gap in service quality and
conversely the higher the mean score, the smaller the gap in service quality. Gaps 1
to 4 are within the control of an organization and need to be analyzed to determine
the causes and changes to be implemented which can reduce or even eliminate Gap
5, which is the gap reflecting the difference between customers perceptions and
expectations of the firm’s level of service. Surveying of employees can help to
measure the extent of Gaps 2 to 4 (Zeithmal et al., 1990). This may reveal a
difference in perception as to what creates possible gaps.
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Service Quality in the Public Service
Public sector services are responsible and accountable to citizens and
communities as well as to its customers. Several researchers have dealt with service
quality in public services (Wisniewski and Donnelly, 1996; Rowley, 1998;
Wisniewski, 2001; Brysland and Curry, 2001). Brysland and Curry (2001) stated
that the literature clearly supported the use of SERVQUAL in the public sector.
According to Gowan et al. (2001), service provision is more complex in the public
sector because it is not simply a matter of meeting expressed needs, but of finding
out unexpressed needs, setting priorities, allocating resources and publicly justifying

and accounting for what has been done. In addition, Caron and Giauque (2006)
pointed out that public sector employees are currently confronted with new
professional challenges arising from the introduction of new principles and tools
inspired by the shift to new public management. Anderson (1995) also measured the
quality of service provided by a public university health clinic. Using 15 statements
representing the fiveAdimensions of SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al., 1988), she
assessed the quality of service provided by the clinic at the University of Houston
Health Center. Patients were found to be generally dissatisfied with the five
dimensions of SERVQUAL. The highest dissatisfaction was felt with assurance. On
the other hand, tangibles and empathy exhibited the lowest level of dissatisfaction.
Using the SERVQUAL approach, Wisniewski (2001) carried out a study to assess
customer satisfaction within the public sector across a range of Scottish Councils
services. In the library service, the analysis of gap scores revealed that tangibles and
reliability had negative gaps which indicate that customer expectations were not
met.
On the other hand, responsiveness and assurance were positive implying that
customer expectations were actually exceeded by the service provided.
Furthermore, Donnelly et al. (2006) carried out a study to explore the application of
SERVQUAL approach to access the quality of service of Strathclyde Police in
Scotland. The survey captures customers’ expectations of an excellent police
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service and compares these with their perceptions of the service delivered by
Strathclyde Police. The paper also reports on a parallel SERVQUAL survey of
police officers in Strathclyde to examine how well the force understands its
customers’ expectations and how well its internal processes support the delivery of

quality services in the police department. It was found that Strathclyde Police
appears to have a good understanding of the service quality expectations of their
customers as represented by the responses of elected councilors in the area covered
by the force. There is room for improvement in service quality performance both
from the viewpoint of the customer and through police force attention to the
definition of, and compliance with, service quality standards. Agus et al. (2007)
carried out a research to identify management and customer perceptions of service
quality practices in the Malaysian Public sector. It is important to note that whereas
the SERVQUAL model focused on identifying “gaps” between expectations and
actual delivery, their model focused only on perceptions of actual service delivery.
They used nine of the ten service dimensions identified by Parasuraman et al.
(1985). Their study looked at the perceptions of management and customers,
thereby excluding the views of FLE. It is thus observed that most of the studies to
date, have concentrated on service quality in US and European public service
sector, while some more recent studies have looked at service quality in developing
countries (Agus et al., 2007).
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According to Parasuraman (1994), the controversy that arises from quality

evaluation and satisfaction is the assessment between a particular transaction and a
general assessment. While service quality researchers start from the assumption that
satisfaction is an evaluation based on a particular transaction and quality is a general
assessment made after a cumulative assessment process. Satisfaction researchers
have opposing views.

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