| Abstract | The ultimate goal of the strategic quality management is not only to gain quality products or
services, but it is also boarder including to create a "culture of excellent" and to improve the
quality of work for better customer services. ·
The strategic management of quality in tourism industry is more difficult than in the
manufacturing sector because of three unique characteristics: Intangibility, which causes
difficulties in outcome measurements; Heterogeneity, by which the quality depends on a vast
different kind of services; and Inseparability of production and consumption, by which the
service provider have no time to test products/services before they reach to clients.
A model of quality and quality management has been a hot issue in academic and practical
researches during the last decade. In fact, there is hardly an "one-to-fit-all" solution.
Saigontourist (SGT), a leading company in Vietnam tourism, has developed itself quality
strategies during the last 20 years. It is nowadays recognized by partners and customers as a
quality company with "prestige, warmly welcome, and professional teams".
In this research, we studied operations of SGT in terms of quality management basing on the
gap analysis of SERVQUAL model. By analyzing the service delivery process in comparison
with IS0-9004 guidelines, we suggested a framework for the company to implement
continuous improvement to enhance its competitive advantages in such a dynamic industry.
The study pointed out a number of findings and recommendations for SGT and tourismrelated firms in their quality journey.
First, to assure the success of quality improvement program in tourism industry, the
following points should be focused:
• The top management commitment and leadership,
• The important role of continuous training and development activities
• The involvement of supplier and environment in quality improvement programs.
• Customer focus issue and the managing of "moment of truth" in daily activities.
Second, the application of quality improvement varies from one company or country to
another. It depends on a number of factors such as the culture, economic and technology
infrastructure, the top management viewpoint and philosophy. However, an applicable
framework of quality management for tourism companies in emerging economies like
Vietnam could include five major components namely, Human resource development,
Planning for the quality, Quality system designing, Measurement and feedback system
designing, and Changing the organization culture.
Last but not least, for SGT, we recommended an action plan toward the continuous
improvement as an APPCI program (Assessment, Planning, Prioritizing, Communicating,
and Implementing). |