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This contribution conducts a mini review of the
topic Providing 4P's in Extraordinary Management Services in Whatever Weather
Condition on the paper written by Kwan et al. (2019).
Using the services management in Park Island, Hong
Kong, as a case study, the purpose is to focus on illustrating the significance
of providing 4P’s “Proactive, Protective, Professional and Passionate” in
extraordinary management services in whatever weather condition and on whenever
situation.
Design/methodology/approach: This paper
used the Super Typhoon Mangkhut in September 2018 in Park Island, Hong Kong, as
a case study to illustrate the professionalism exhibited in Park Island
Management Services Limited. The deep thoughts and feelings from residents were
quoted and analyzed. Authors conducted twenty-five in-depth semi-structured
interviews.
Findings: The
inspiring real-life experiences from respondents who have been living in Park
Island were quoted. It has been reflecting the “PARK ISLAND" spirit and
demonstrating the significance of professionalism and extraordinary service
performance for crisis management after super typhoon Mangkhut signal No. 10
were hoisted. Providing 4P’s “Proactive, Protective, Professional and Passionate”
in extraordinary management services in whatever weather condition and on
whenever situation can gain the trust, respect, appreciation and gratitude from
residents to professional property management practitioners.
Practical
implications: Based on the insights gained from interviewees,
providing 4P’s – “Proactive, Protective, Professional and Passionate” in
extraordinary management services in
whatever weather condition and on whenever occasion can exceed residents’ expectations
and enhance the reputation of the property management company.
Originality/value: This paper
urges for the fundamental service philosophy and attitude exhibited from the
property management practitioners to deal with crisis management during the
adverse weather condition.
Keywords: Services
Management, Service Performance, Service Attitude.
SIGNIFICANCE/IMPLICATIONS FOR THEORY AND
PRACTICE
The requirement for
high standard of service quality in management has grown through the years
because customers have become more demanding in an increasingly competitive
business environment. In addition, due to the multidimensional characteristic
of customers that in turn will be influenced by culture, subculture, social class,
family, friends, educational backgrounds, religion, experiences, mass media,
social media and advertising. In this regard, it is very challenging to manage
the diversified customers with different needs and expectations.
Despite all the
challenges for both the management and frontline staff of management are
facing, the staff had demonstrated the motto of “WE SERVE YOU BEST!” While the
most impressive thing was that they provided services from their hearts which
is the golden rule and fundamental philosophy to win the trust, appreciation
and respect from residents’ bottom of their hearts. They have been providing
4P’s – “Proactive, Protective, Professional and Passionate” in extraordinary
management services in whatever weather condition and on whenever occasion!
This study intends
to examine and analyze how to strengthen extraordinary management services for
practitioners as they are under the challenges of managing customers’
expectations in whatever weather conditions and on whenever occasions that will
supplement existing research and expand the findings into untapped areas. The
value of this study is that it helps to answer questions concerning how to
strengthen extraordinary management services performances in whatever critical
weather conditions for management practitioners.
LITERATURE REVIEW
According to Mahatma Gandhi (Nair, 2009), the
father of India, “A customer is the most important visitor on our premises;
he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption
in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He
is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a
favor by giving us an opportunity to do so”. Although Mahatma Gandhi was
not the father of marketing, he was the father of India and his wisdom and
insight from this statement can still be applied in services management.
In the service industry like property management,
quality and perception of quality is essential. Service quality is an abstract
and elusive concept because of the well-known distinctive natures and
characteristics of services which is intangibility, perishability,
heterogeneity and inseparability of production and consumption (Zeithaml et
al., 1985; Rust et al., 1996; Kotler & Armstrong, 2001). Thus, quality can
vary from person to person and from situation to situation (Kandampully, 2002).
Perceived service quality was defined as the
difference between customer expectations and perceptions or also known as gap
analysis (Parasuraman et al., 1985 & 1988). The gap analysis model is based
on the expectancy disconfirmation theory. Expectancy disconfirmation theory
predicts that customers will judge that quality is low if performance does not
meet their expectations and quality increases as performance exceeds
expectations (Oliver, 1993). Hence, customers’ expectations serve as the
foundation on which service quality will be evaluated by customers. In
addition, as service quality increases, satisfaction with the service and
intentions to reuse the service increase.
METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH METHODS
Research on service quality contributions has
traditionally employed a variety of deductive processes, testing a plethora of
hypotheses and pre-determined theories. Service quality researchers have
typically approached the problem from a positivist perspective, utilizing
quantitative research techniques such as surveys and questionnaires and
processing data with the help of statistical data analysis tools. While mostly
deductive in nature, such research tools tend to measure a set of predetermined
hypotheses, searching for answers to the “what” questions and not allowing for
any additional factors to enter the researcher’s process of reasoning (Yin,
1994). Participants in the events context have been shown to demonstrate a
multitude of contributions and it is very likely that their attitudes,
behaviors, perceptions and experiences of service quality differ. In order to
gain a degree of emotional depth, which is not possible to achieve simply by
analyzing quantitative data, a qualitative research approach has been chosen as
a more appropriate research strategy. Qualitative research is considered to be
“concerned with understanding things rather than with measuring them” (Gordon
& Langmaid, 1988, p. 2), whereby the “subjectivity and the authenticity of
human experience” (Silverman, 2010, p. 138) allows the researcher to gain an
insight into the different meanings, perceptions, feelings and attitudes of
research subjects (Holloway et al., 2010; Veal, 2006).
The setting for the present study was the
management performance in Park Island, Hong Kong. The sample group comprised 10
female and 15 male respondents, all aged 31-50. Their education levels were all
postgraduate.
Data collection took place in Park Island. The
researcher undertook one-to-one in-depth semi-structured interviews lasting
approximately 40-60 min, at a nearby café. Participants were given information
about the purpose of the study and written consent was obtained. Topics and
questions were designed to elicit responses regarding each participant’s
attitude, feelings, perceptions and views towards management services. Further
questions and prompts were included to enquire their feelings, perceptions and
attitudes for the services they have experienced. The interviews were digitally
recorded and summaries were written up. Responses were analyzed using manual
coding, scanning the recordings and flagging emergent themes and common views
(Veal, 2006). Finally, the results were grouped into similar conceptual areas
according to prevalent themes.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Super Typhoon Mangkhut has
been the highest typhoon warning issued and the most intense storm in Hong
Kong’s history caused a record storm surge, uprooted some 1,500 trees and left
hundreds of windows smashed all over the city (SCMP, 2018). Typhoon Mangkhut
has strong winds smashed through and destroyed many of Park Island’s facilities
and a vast number of trees. Regardless the extreme adverse weather condition, I
am very grateful that the frontline staff of the Park Island Management Service
Office had stayed in their posts professionally despite the typhoon signal
Number 10’s hoisting. No transport was available in and out and over 100 staffs
had worked for 36 h continuously. The inspiring real-life experiences from
respondents who are living in Park Island are quoted. It has been demonstrating
the significance of service quality for crisis management after super typhoon
Mangkhut signal No. 10 was hoisted. The management and frontline staffs were
fearless to the storm and put their great endeavor to keep performing all their
duties no matter big or small to ensure the safety and security of residents in
critical moments.
Customers expect efficient
and professional attitudes to handle tasks and humanistic and hearty attitudes
to handle customers’ safety and feelings. The real case below illustrates the
importance of performing 4Ps.
“Proactive, Protective,
Professional and Passionate” property management services in whatever weather
condition and on whenever Occasion. Such services were especially important in
the recovery process just when super typhoon Mangkhut signal No. 10 was
cancelled.
“Mr.
Matthew Chan, Assistant Manager of Park Island, had shown his "PARK-I”
services which means “Passionate,
Attentive, Responsive, Kind" and "I can do my best" attitude and
assistance to my sister Amy and her baby to be born in Park Island. After
hoisting Super Typhoon Mangkhut Signal No. 10 in mid-September 2018, Amy found
broken windows and water seepage from defective external walls outside four
rooms. She felt angry to see those defects after spending huge amount of money
moving from one flat to another flat just for waiting to welcome her baby to be
born to move in. She has renovated the new apartment in order to provide the
best living condition for her baby. At that moment, she was pregnant for 29
weeks. She was very worried as time for her pregnancy’s due day was
approaching. Luckily, we are grateful to Mr. Matthew Chan to handle this
incident closely. He checked this incident carefully in person with a
technician. We felt amazing that Mr. Matthew Chan had handled the quotation
procedures for appointing and monitoring the contractor in an extremely
efficient and effective manner. We are very grateful to his professional,
prompt and passionate attitude. He has shown concern not only for the safe
building conditions of the external walls, but also for the safety and health
of Amy and her baby to be born. As Ma Wan is a restricted zone and traffic
control has been applied 24 hours every day, taxi is not permitted to access to
Block 5 area even in emergency conditions that were strictly regulated by the
Transport Department. We reserved a medical service at Union Hospital, a
private hospital in Tai Wai for Amy's baby delivery. We did not prefer calling
ambulance as it would send Amy to public hospital. Thus, we sent an email to
raise our concern to Mr. Matthew Chan again. Whereas, we were very delighted to
receive Mr. Matthew Chan's prompt email reply with a detail table to list out
various ways to depart from Park Island to Union Hospital. He analyzed the pros
and cons of every transportation options in a restricted time period clearly.
He is so attentive and dedicated to follow our inquiries no matter big or small
issues in a thoughtful manner.
“We
appreciate not only for his efficient and professional attitude to handle task,
but also for his humanistic and hearty attitude to handle customers' safety and
feelings in such sincere manners. Matthew Chan is so caring to follow up the
external walls and my health condition; he always speaks in a very caring tone.
He came to resident’s apartment to check the repairing progress in a very
attentive and responsible way. He explained to my father in law patiently. He
did final checking to ensure the standard of the repaired external walls”.
“I am
so grateful for Mr. Matthew Chan 's caring manner extended to me as well as his
highly efficient post- crisis management after Super Typhoon Mangkhut Signal
No. 10 was hoisted that damaged many facilities in apartments and public areas.
On behalf of my baby to be born and my husband, we would like to let Mr.
Matthew Chan know how much we appreciate and are grateful
for his passionate and professional assistance”.
Customers appreciate not only for the handling of
this single case after Super Typhoon Mangkhut Signal No. 10 was hoisted, but
also for all his great efforts paid in managing facilities under whatever
weather conditions and on whenever situations. Most importantly, he strives the
best to meet customers' need and exceed customers' expectations in such a
heart-warming way. His action demonstrated that property management is not just
focusing on functional, technical and image issues, but also for taking care of
residents’ psychological conditions such as feelings and emotions.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
To
conclude, providing 4P’s ~ “Proactive, Protective, Professional and Passionate”
in extraordinary management services and demonstrating the spirit of "PARK
ISLAND” in whatever condition and on whenever occasion has been demonstrated in
Park Island’s case.
Based
on the above case study, we learnt that the extraordinary service performance
is not just performed in a single case under specific occasions. It is all
about providing continuous services from the hearts of management staff
throughout the years in whatever fine or adverse weather conditions, on
whenever calm or challenging moments, in ordinary or special days. The
dedicated efforts to provide extraordinary services in 24 h, 7 days in a week,
365/366 days in a year are appreciated.
RECOMMENDATIONS
TO SERVICES MANAGEMENT COMPANIES
·
To provide regular training to enhance crisis management.
·
To strengthen and nurture a caring organizational culture to all services
representative from their hearts.
·
To conduct monthly sharing sessions to strengthen the mutual support
among team members.
·
To continue providing 4P’s – “Proactive, Protective, Professional and
Passionate” in extraordinary management services in whatever weather condition
and on whenever occasion.
LIMITATIONS
Like
all research, this study has several limitations which the authors attribute to
the relative weakness of interviews to present valid, reliable and trustworthy
empirical evidence. Consequently, it is recognized that the results of this
study present a snapshot of thoughts and feelings amongst the residents in Park
Island. Although the authors make no claims regarding the generalization of the
results, this study has indicated a concentration of the service quality of
management in Park Island. This finding should be of interest to management
companies which strive to provide quality management services to exceed
customers’ expectations.
FUTURE
RESEARCH
This
study provides several directions for future research. Work can focus on
identifying the barriers to implementing programs of service quality as well as
customers’ satisfaction and ways to overcome those barriers. In addition,
efforts should be made to narrow down the gap of perceptions between customers
and property managers. Also, future research should also go beyond the
dimensions investigated in this research to include other dimensions of
quality, particularly culture which may be challenging in a multiracial
country. Lastly, future research can also explore new techniques that provide
meaningful insights into service quality and customers’ satisfaction in crisis
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