Leadership, empowerment and customer satisfaction in teaching institutions

TQM Journal - Tập 23 Số 4 - Trang 388-402 - 2011
SeemaArif1, MaryamIlyas2
1Faculty of Management Studies, University of Central Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
2College of Statistical & Actuarial Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

Tóm tắt

PurposeBy studying the leadership role of management and faculty in a Pakistani University to find out gaps in the delivery of technology integrated services in enrolment and advisory capacity offered at the beginning of every new term at the University of Central Punjab in Lahore, Pakistan, this paper seeks to find the impact of the process of service delivery on customer loyalty and positive word of mouth, the key objectives for attaining quality.Design/methodology/approachA mixed methods approach, comprising survey and interviews were used to investigate customer satisfaction. Factorial analysis and SEM modeling was applied to quantitative data, whereas coding and interpretive analysis were used for qualitative data.FindingsThe results highlight the differences in leadership style adopted by management and faculty. The SEM model suggests that, as long as students lack autonomy and perceive a lack of empowerment of faculty, their satisfaction with the enrolment and advisory services will be affected negatively and will result in negative outcomes on word of mouth.Research limitations/implicationsThe small sample and contextual nature of study limit the scope of generalization. However, the analysis contributes toward improving the leadership approach of Pakistani management and faculty at private universities.Originality/valueThe study identifies the challenges faced by the management in providing customer satisfaction with the services by approaching the problem from a different angle, i.e. leaders' use of their cognitive resources and their relationship focusing on customer satisfaction. It extends the research literature on leadership styles as being applicable to student services available.

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