CALL CENTERS (CENTRES) - Faculty of Industrial Engineering and ...

identifies missed opportunities to learn from the growing call centre literature and from service
shops in other industries.
Keywords: Service design, NHS Direct, Strategic alignment, National Health Service, Call centre
service, Operational objectives, Strategic misalignment
(Appears also in Section X.)
87. Sturdy, Andrew and Peter Fleming. Talk as technique—a critique of the words and deeds distinction
in the diffusion of customer service cultures in call centres, The Journal of Management
Studies, 40 (4), 2003, 753.
Abstract. This paper critically explores the common distinction made between words and deeds
(or ideas and techniques) in the diffusion of management knowledge literature. The concern with
whether management ideas are really being implemented in an organizational context intuitively
points to the possibility of a contrast between simply talking about a practice or ‘hype’ and practical
implementation. Drawing on empirical research on the diffusion of customer service culture
in two call centres where ‘verbal labour’ predominates, it is argued that this distinction is important,
but overdrawn. Eschewing discursive reductionism, the concepts of ‘talk in work’ and
‘talk about work’ are developed to illustrate how talk can be a technique of implementation in
its own right.
Keywords: Studies, Communication, Management theory, Customer services, Call centers
88. Adria, Marco and Shamsud D. Chowdhury. Centralization as a design consideration for the
management of call centers, Information & Management, 41 (4), 2004, 497–507.
Abstract. A call center and its associated information technology (IT) provide an opportunity
to redesign and improve service-delivery operations. Managers at all levels should understand
the role of organizational design as call centers are established or expanded, in particular, the relative
centralization (distribution of authority) associated with delivering services to customers.
This article argues that centralization moderates and influences the organization’s efforts to improve
customer service through the implementation of the call center and its IT. If managers
fail to capitalize on the particular way that centralization moderates between IT and competitive
strategy, the organization may not enjoy an important benefit of the call center which
is competitive advantage through increased efficiency and improved customer service. Based
on survey responses from 68 call-center managers, the authors found that both centralization
and decentralization are associated with call-center service operations. While the call center
provides managers with the ability to influence decision-making (centralization), there are also
opportunities for agents in the call center to exercise authority in managing the organization’s
communications with customers (decentralization). Implications for organizational practice are
considered.
Keywords: Call centers, Centralization, Decentralization, Organizational design, Customer service
89. Dean, Alison M. Rethinking customer expectations of service quality: Are call centers different?
The Journal of Services Marketing, 18 (1), 2004, 60–78.
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