20 Aug 1)The third-quarter quality figures for the customer call center you manage have been posted.

1)The third-quarter quality figures for the customer call center you manage have been posted. Although your numbers look good, you quickly notice that, compared to other call centers in the company, your ratings for customer service are below average. Given that part of your bonus is tied to these figures, you are obviously concerned and very motivated to fix the problem. You call your counterparts in other call centers to see what they’ve been doing recently and to generate some ideas that might influence customer service. One manager said she instituted a new game called “Answer the Call for Baseball,” where the top 10 customer service representatives get to take off work for a midday baseball game. Another manager in a successful call center has increased his monitoring of reps on the phone and is intervening immediately when a rep doesn’t perform well. A third manager hasn’t done much of anything innovative and said, “I guess my customers are easier to handle than yours.” You sit back in your chair, perplexed to say the least. What is the problem here? What other information would be useful? How would you begin to improve your customer service quality rating? Is the problem definitely with your reps, or could it be something else?

2)Using your textbook, LIRN-based research, and the Internet, apply the learning outcomes for the week/course and lecture concepts to one of the following scenarios:

·As applied to your current professional career

·As applied to enhancing, improving, or advancing your current professional career

·As applied to a management, leadership, or any decision-making position

·As applied to a current or future entrepreneurial endeavor

OR

·Using your textbook, LIRN-based research, and the Internet, apply the learning outcomes for the week/course and lecture concepts to a business organization that exhibits and demonstrates these concepts. You should develop a summary of the organizations strategy and how they use these concepts to compete.

This is a learning and application exercise designed to give you an opportunity to apply concepts learned in a pragmatic and meaningful way that will enable you to gain valuable and relevant knowledge in an effort to augment your skill set and enhance your professional careers.