Application of the SERVQUAL instrument in a social work organisation

Abstract

All organisations, profit as well as nonprofit, are increasingly coming to the realization that trying to compete solely on costs leads to ineffectiveness and a weaker financial position. Competing on the basis of product or service differentiation is becoming increasingly futile because products and services are becoming less and less unique. To ensure survival, effectiveness and competitiveness, organisations must provide services of exceptionally high quality. Providing services of high quality has proven to be the single most important factor contributing to organisational success and well-being. Providing services of superb quality also presents an important opportunity for organisational differentiation. A major requirement for successful management is effective measurement. This study is motivated by the limited research and resulting limited literature available on this subject in social work. The development of the SERVQUAL instrument offers a possible reliable and valid device for the measurement of service quality in social work. However, SERVQUAL has not been subjected to rigorous testing for reliability and validity in a social work organisation. In this research SERVQUAL was used to measure the quality of services in a social work organisation. The aim of this research was to determine the applicability, reliability and validity of the instrument in a social work organisation. Attention was given to literature that focuses on service quality, its measurement and management. The empirical research involved executives, social workers and clients of the social work organisation. It was found that SERVQUAL can be applied to social work services and it proved to be a reliable and valid instrument for measuring service quality. However, further research is necessary to improve the quality of services to clients and directions for future research are indicated.