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/ Pergamon

S026 I-5 77(96)00006-4

Tourism Management Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 191-201, 1996

Copy right © 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd

Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved

0261-5177/96 $15.00 + ILOi)

Total quality m ana gem ent in

hospitality an app lication of the

EFQ M model

C sar Cam i s n

Jaume l University Department of Business Management and Marketing Campus Riu Sec 12071

Castelldn Spain

The importance of total quality management (TQM) in the tourist industry has risen to an

extraordinary level because of the change in preferences of tourists behaviour and the growth

of competit iveness of ne w tourist destinations. The application of exist ing, well-tested ideas on

quality improvement is an important issue to tourist enterprises. This paper researches, first,

the process of cultural change in Valencian hospitality organizations originated by these

environment transformations. Among the available models of TQM, we selected the model

proposed by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), as support for the

European Quality Award , to m ake a cross-analysis o f the views of quality from the standpoint of

management and external customers in Valencia s hotel industry. This study presents empirical

evidence on the extent to which the EFQM quality model might assist Valencian hoteliers to

know and to close the gap between perceptions of quality and self-assessed ratings of quality

performance. Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd

K c y w o r d s : t o t al q u a l it y m a n a g e m e n t , s e r v i c e q u a l i t y , q u a l i ty g r a d i n g sy s t e m s , E u r o p e a n Q u a l i t y A w a r d , V a l e n c i m

h o sp i t a l it y i n d u s t r y

Qual i ty i s shaped a t p resen t a s a fundamen ta l

s t ra t egy fo r t he suppor t and imp rovem en t o f com-

pe t i ti veness . E ven thou gh the ge rm o f mos t t ech -

n i q u e s a n d m e t h o d s o f t o t a l q u a l i t y m a n a g e m e n t

(TQM) is located in the indust ry , and especia l ly in

the au tomob i l e i ndus t ry , many o the r sec to rs a re

in t roducing s imi lar pract ices . The general appl icabi l -

i ty o f TQ M ideas , sys t ems and p rocedur es has

genera t ed i ts sp read ing in to an inc reas ing num ber o f

se rvi ce compan ies , t ou r i s t compan ies amo ngs t t hem.

C o n s e q u e n t l y , r e s e a r c h f o c u s ed o n T Q M i m p le -

men ta t ion in t ou r i s t fi rms has g rown in an impor t an t

way. i ~,

The avai lable l i tera ture and wide empirical evi -

dence show the crucia l ro le that the appl icat ion of

ideas on and we l l - t e s t ed approaches t o qua l i t y im-

p rove men t p l ays in t he success fu l d i f fus ion o f TQM

in the touris t business and, speci f ica l ly , in hote l

services . Two factors seem part icularly decis ive:

• The in t roduc t ion o f a TQ M sys t em requ i res la rge -

sca le changes , bo th o f t he manag eme n t t oo l s u sed

and those conce rn ing the o rgan iza t iona l s t ruc -

tu res , a t t i t udes and behav iou r o f a l l t he members

o f t he o rgan iza t ion . The s i ze o f t he t rans fo rma-

t ion necessary reveals that the last ing organiza-

t ional change in to ta l qual i ty impl ies a change in

the cu l tu re o f t he o rgan iza t ion , wh ich shou ld

necessa r i l y be b rough t i n by the managemen t .

• Chang ing the o rgan iza t iona l s t ruc tu re t owards

to t a l qua l i t y means p rov id ing a l l t he members o f

an o rgan iza t ion wi th a sha red va lues sys t em, and

implemen t ing a powerfu l and commonly accep ted

method fo r keep ing th i s a l i ve by means o f con -

t inuous p rac t i ce , cen t red on top managemen t

ac t ion and soc i a l i za t ion work , amongs t wh ich

t ra in ing and recycl ing p lay an essent ia l ro le .

To in se r t t he sys t em o f va lues i n to t he o rgan iza t ion

cu l tu ra l fab r ic and t rans fo rm i ts mem bers ways o f

pe rce iv ing , t h ink ing and ac t ing , requ i res a me thod

of imp lemen ta t ion . The me thod , conce ived as t he

se t o f sys t ems and p rocedures t ha t keep up the da i ly

pract ice of the essent ia l values of to ta l qual i ty in the

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Total quality management in hospitality: C Cam On

I LEADERSHIP

i0

j

I I

8 9 R

PROCESSES 50

14 r

PNOPI~ ON ~ _ . ~ CIISTOMER [

IsMP

ON

J

igure 1 The total quality management model of the

EFQM

entire organization, varies broadly, since each com-

pany has its own version adapted to its culture and

competitive strategy.

Nonetheless, there is a series of broad ideas,

based on a relevant number of successful experi-

ences, that enables us to contrast them empirically.

Amongst these, one might mention methods such as

those of Crosby, 7 Deming, ~ or Juran and Gryna ,9 as

well as the approaches that stem from the different

quality prizes which were started to encourage the

implementation of total quality plans in companies.

These plans are used with increasing frequency as

tools for evaluating and improving the quality

system of a company. The first award was estab-

lished in 1951 in Japan. It was called Deming as a

tribute to the main who, with his teachings about

quality, played a decisive role in the Japanese

economic recovery. In 1987, the Malcolm Baldrige

award was created in the USA. This initiative was

followed in Europe in 1991, when the European

Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM),

together with the European Organization for Quali-

ty (EOQ) and the European Commission, created

the European Quality Award in order to improve

the quality and reliability of products and services. It

takes two forms:

• The European Quality Award , which rewards

the company that is the maximum exponent of

TQM in Western Europe;

• The European Quality Prize , which rewards a

certain number of companies that show the

excellence of their quali ty management as a basic

process of continuous improvement.

The European quality model allows strengths and

weaknesses to be distinguished clearly, focusing on

the relationship among personnel, processes and

results. Processes are the means through which a

company guides and liberates its staff s aptitudes

with the aim of getting results. Therefore, processes

and people are the agents that provide results .

The model that serves as a basis for the European

Quality Award, represented in

Figure 1 ,

forms a

management system that emphasizes maintaining

leadership for achieving quality, formulat ing a policy

and strategy to follow, developing the appropriate

personnel and resources management and guiding

the design of all the processes in the company

towards customers, in order to attain excellence in

results: customer satisfaction, personnel satisfaction,

a positive social impact and some economic results

that allow the achievement of a competitive advan-

tage. Each of the nine elements that appear in the

model matches the criteria used by the EFQM to

evaluate the level of excellence of a company, and

the percentage is the weight given to the element in

question in the self-evaluation (on a total of 1.000

points) . J0

The diffusion of these ideas and methods of tested

efficacy in the tourist firm have been scarce. The

example of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company can

give us an important lesson in this respect. Even

though the reputation of this chain has always rested

on taking care of the high-quality consumer, the

recession at the end of the 1980s led to this firm s

taking a further step along the path to total quality,

in order to cut costs and reduce the variability of the

service. The commitment of its management (which

spends around a quarter of its time on matters

connected with quality) and the staff (on the basis of

empowerment systems) led to the Ritz-Carlton

being awarded the qualification of best company in

the hotel business in 1991 by the three big hotel-

rating concerns, and to winning the Malcolm

Baldrige National Quality Award in 1992.11

In the European tourist business, we believe that

the model supporting the European Quality Award

is a valuable contribution to improving total quality

in tourist services organizations. Embracing the

dynamic of using it would enable comparative

analysis and benchmarking with competing Euro-

pean companies in the future (when a wider data-

base is available).

Valen cian tourist comp any an analysis of i ts

chal lenges according to the EFQ M model

This stocktaking of lessons learnt has led to an

interest in research designed to find out whether

tourist businesses in the Valencian community have

proper and suitable TQM plans implemented, with

sufficient consistency to be compared with competi-

tive European or worldwide tourist firms.

The specific choice of the Valencian hotel industry

as the subject for empirical analysis was not only due

to our experience and knowledge of this field, but

also to the intensity of the quality problems which

this reveals. Several studies t~- 4 on the evolution of

the tourist sector during the 1980s and early 1990s

have revealed a series of factors directly responsible

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fo r t he de t e r i o ra t i on o f t he t r a d i t i ona l c ompe t i t i ve

a d v a n t a g e o f t h e V a l e n c i an c o m m u n i t y ' s t o u r is m

produc t .

The ma i n p rob l e m of Va l e nc i a n ho t e l f i rms i s

re l a t e d t o t he f i r s t c r i t e r i on i n t he Europe a n mode l

for qua l i ty:

leadership

Ma na ge me nt a nd bus i ne s s -

me n showe d l i t t l e i n t e re s t i n unde r t a k i ng qua l i t y

i mprove me nt , a l so i gnor i ng t he i r funda me nt a l ro l e

to inspi re and guide in the necessary cul tura l change

t owa rds t o t al qua l i t y . The i r l a c k o f c onv i c ti on c on-

c e rn i ng t o t a l qua l i t y a s a ma i n me t hod fo r c on-

t i n u o u s c o m p a n y i m p r o v e m e n t h a s b e c o m e e v i d e n t

i n t he i r a bse nc e o f c om mi t m e nt , i m por t a n t mi s t a ke s

i n r e c ogni t i on o f e f fo r t s a nd a c h i e ve me nt s o f i nd i -

v i dua l s a nd g roups , no p rov i s i on o f ne c e s sa ry r e -

sources , l i t t l e par t i c ipa t ion wi th cus tomers and sup-

p l i e r s i n i mprove me nt p ro j e c t s , a nd t he i r a l mos t

non-e x i s t e n t i nvo l ve me nt i n p romot i ng qua l i t y i n

t h e i r e n v i r o n m e n t .

Di a gnos i s o f t he p rob l e ms ha s a l so c onf i rme d t he

intens i ty of the cha l lenges ra i sed a t the s t ra tegic

l e ve l , t he s e c ond c r i t e r i on i n t he Europe a n mode l :

policy and strategy

On t he one ha nd , e x t e rna l

s t r a t e g i c a na l ys i s p l a c e s Va l e nc i a n ho t e l c ompa ni e s

in t h e c o n t e x t o f t h e t o u r i s t i n d u s t r y in t h e

M e d i t e r r a n e a n a r e a , w h i c h , a s t h e m i l le n n i u m

a pproa c he s i s f a c i ng up t o a numbe r o f c ha nge s

which could se r ious ly de t rac t f rom i t s t radi t iona l

c omp e t i t i ve a dva n t a ge s . Mos t o f the se c ha l l e nge s

a re c onne c t e d wi t h t he c ha nge s obse rve d i n t our i s t s

be ha v i our , c om bi ne d wi t h t he he i gh t e n i ng o f e f fo r t s

t o a ppropr i a t e t our i s t f l ows . One o f t he mos t i mpor -

tant of these i s the upswing of tour i s t des t ina t ions fa r

f r o m t h e w o r l d ' s m a i n d e m o g r a p h i c a n d e c o n o m i c

c e n t r e s ( W e s t e r n E u r o p e a n d N o r t h A m e r i c a ) .

A l t h o u g h t h e m a i n r e c i p i e n t c o u n t r i e s ( U n i t e d

Sta tes , France , Spa in and I ta ly) s t i l l cont inue to

dra w t he l a rge s t num be r o f v i s it o r s, t he spe c t rum of

a i t e rna t i ve t our i s t p roduc t s c a n be se e n t o be

broa d e n i ng , wi th t he a ppe a ra nc e o f new de s t i na t ions

suc h a s Chi na o r Sa n t o Domi ngo ( i n ge ne ra l , Fa r

E a s t e r n a n d C e n t r a l A m e r i c a n / C a r i b b e a n a r e a s )

which have r i sen to ext raordinary leve ls (such as the

We s t e rn Pa c i f i c ' s 9 . 4% of t he ye a r l y a ve ra ge be -

tween 1990 and 1993) . This change in t rave l le rs '

p re fe re nc e s on t he i r ho l i da y t r i ps a c c ompa ni e s t he

sa t u ra t i on found a s a whol e on t he Europe a n c on t i -

ne n t a s r e c i p i e n t a nd t he dow nwa rd t r e nd o f t r ips t o

p l a c e s i n Af r i c a , Ea s t e rn Europe a nd t he Ne a r Ea s t .

~Ihis fac t re f lec t s another important change in be-

haviour : the devia t ion of tour i s t f lows to regions

a nd / or t our i s t r e sor t s whi ch o f fe r g re a t e r r e a l o r

a ppa re n t s a fe t y fo r t r a ve l l e r s .

Anot he r ke y fa c t o r i n t he c ha nge i n t our i s t s '

be ha v i our , c onne c t e d wi t h t he

customer satisfaction

c r i t e r i on , ha s be e n t he swi ng i n t he i r p re fe re nc e s ,

more a nd more t owa rds t our i s t p roduc t s wi t h a

be t te r qua l i ty/pr ice ra t io . Is 22 This t rend has o f ten

be e n mi sunde rs t ood a s me a n i ng t ha t t our i s t s we re

Fotal quali ty manageme nt in hospital i ty: ( Camis6n

be g i nn i ng t o wa nt more l uxur i ous i ns t a l l a t i ons wi t h

high pr ices , as a resul t of confus ing the concept of

qua l i t y wi t h ' t he mos t os t e n t a t i ous ' o r ' t he mos t

luxurious in tour i s t guide l ines . This fa l lacy should

be se t to r ights , s ince qua l i ty does not necessar i ly

me a n l uxury o r soph i s t i c a t ion , i f t he c l i e nt doe s no t

requ es t thi s. 7 I f a Ri tz hote l comp l ies wi th a ll the

spec i f ica t ions of the Ri tz product as thi s i s de te r-

mine d on the bas i s of i ts cus tomers need s and

requ i rem ents , then thi s i s a qua l i ty hote l ; i f a moun -

ta in hos te l compl ies wi th a l l the spec i f ica t ions tha t

the users dem an d of such prem ises , the n thi s is

q u a l i t y a c c o m m o d a t i o n , w h a t e v e r t h e ' o f f i c i a l

ca tegory in both cases . Luxury or l ack of thi s comes

to mean in prac t ice par t icula r spec i f ica t ions such as

fur rugs or oi lc loth tablec loths , or igina l pic tures by

t op a r t is t s o r c he a p re prod uc t i ons , bu t no t ne c e s sa r i-

ly a higher qua l i ty l eve l .

Inte rna l s t ra tegic ana lys i s expla ins as wel l some

ot he r o r i g ins o f the qua l i t y p rob l e m s i n t he Va l e n-

c l a n ho t e l i ndus t ry . S t ra t e g i c fo rma l ma na ge me nt

sys tems a re unusua l and, when exis t ing, there i s l i t t l e

incorpora t ion of tota l qua l i ty pr inc iples into pol ic ies

and s t ra tegy. [ t i s infrequent to f ind a formal qua l i ty

sys tem tha t se t s objec t ives , ac t ion plans and per iodic

a u d i t s a n d i m p r o v e m e n t p r o c e d u r e s . T Q M w d u e i n

e nc oura g i ng c ons t a n t i mprove me nt me a ns sc a l i ng

ma na ge me nt de c i s i ons on a n e x t e nde d hor i z on , a n

a t t i t ude t ha t i s no t c ommonl y found i n t he t our i s t

i ndus t ry , l a rge l y t h rough i ts p rob l e m s o f s e a sona l it y .

Personnel management i s another key fac tor in the

qua l i t y d i me ns i on . Compe t i t i ve a dwmt a ge i n t he

hote l bus iness i s c lose ly connec ted wi th i t s organiza-

t iona l abi l i ty , inc luding qua l i ty in human resources .

Service qua l i ty bears a pos i t ive re la t ion to resources

ava i labi l i ty , a f i rm's t ra ining and recyc l ing pol icy,

and the re tent ion of i t s va luable s ta ff in an e ffor t to

decrease the typica l high turnover ra te in the hote l

indust ry. Credib i l i ty in the m essage of qua l i ty to be

t ra nsmi t t e d t o t he whol e o rga n i z a t i on wi l l de pe nd

upon a sens ible choice in these c r i t e r ia . The typica l

Valenc ian hote l f i rm i s charac te r ized prec i se ly by the

oppos i t e : t he s ta f f a re p re domi n a n t l y t e mp ora ry ,

be i ng t he se a sona l l a bour fo rc e e xpa nde d by work-

ers wi th no spec i f ic exper ience in the hote l bus iness ;

there i s a minimum effor t a t t ra ining and recyc l ing

a nd o n l y sl igh t ly pa r t ic i pa t i ve hum a n re sourc e s ma n-

a ge me nt sys t e ms t ha t ge ne ra t e l i t t l e i nvo l ve me nt o f

t h e w o r k e r i n t h e c o m p a n y a n d h i n d e r a n y T Q M

proj e c t . The re fore , t he a bse nc e o f e i t he r sys t e ms fo r

me a sur i ng s t a f f ne e ds , e xpe c t a t i ons a nd l e ve l o f

sa t is fa c t ion , o r p rogra mm e s de s i gne d t o i nc re a se t hi s

sa t i s fac t ion should not cause surpr i se ; in the same

wa y, e x t e rna l s t ud i e s r e se a rc h i ng s t a f f ' s pe rc e p t i ons

of t he i r c ompa ny re por t s e r i ous c onf l i c t s .

Resources management i s no t c h a ra c t e r i z e d by t he

c o n t i n u o u s s e a r ch f o r i m p r o v e m e n t t h r o u g h t h e

opt im iza t ion of f inanc ia l , mater ia l , inf i~rmative and

t e c hnol og i c a l r e sourc e s i n suppor t o f c om pa ny po l i-

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Total quality manag eme nt in hospitality C CamisOn

cy and strategy. Un der a total quality approach, the

hotel firm should focus its material resources on the

improvement of its infrastructure for quality; in-

stead, there is a minimum effort at maintenance and

modernization of installations which, togethe r with

many hotels being old, leads to obsolete and poorly

maintained hotel plant requiring high investment to

fulfil both technical norms set by current legislation

and market requirements. In the same way, tech-

nological resources should be assigned to generate

advantages in differentiation or costs; and the in-

formation system should provide quick, suitable and

safe data for the continuous improvement process,

whereas, in reality, Valencian hotel firms suffer

from notorious technological delay. Examples o f this

are the high number of non-computerized hotels, the

concentration of computing in applications generat-

ing little value or the delay in the introduction of

computerized reservation systems. The concept of

strategic computing as a competitive advantage has

not been applied and may accentuate problems of

lack of competitiveness, particularly as contrasted

with hotel chains working fruitfully for decades with

these innovations. 23

Another basic criterion in the European model is

process management Critical processes (or generat-

ing added-value activities) must be identified, re-

vised and opt imized in order to bette r a business in a

continuous way. For this to occur, innovation and

creativity are essential elements. These administra-

tive guidelines are unusual in the Valencian hotel

industry. Service requirements in each key process

for success in guest satisfaction do not stem, as they

should, from any identificat ion of customers (exter-

nal and internal) needs, but from traditional proce-

dures, the logic of which few stop to think about.

Process management is rarely aimed at auditing and

control of such critical processes, and opportunities

to address potentially improvable areas are missed.

Even less common are the encouragement of in-

novation initiatives and creativity in process im-

provement that either enable conformity with speci-

fications or, by means of redesign of processes,

increase standards to fulfil customers needs.

Lack of market orientation of Valencian hotel

companies results in poorness or non-existence of

customer satisfaction

measuring systems. Attribute s

of the product that add value for the customer and

improve his or her satisfaction are unknown, which

gives no guide to agents for improvement projects.

The

social impact

of tourism is a controversial

issue. Its positive contributions to employm ent crea-

tion and its multiplicative effect upon the economy

are countered by adverse effects on the environ-

ment, natural resources and the town-planning situa-

tion that usually place the tourist business on the

critical wave of certain social movements. In this

sense, Valencian hotel companies have almost com-

pletely failed to make any commitments towards

their environment and incorporate these as new

quality attributes.

Economic results reveal that labour productivi ty is

notably lower than the European average. Organiza-

tional efficiency (measured as workers average per

room) seems higher, but hides an insufficient supply

of staff, an important cause of the low service quality.

These problems and challenges were outlined in

the diagnosis of the situation and perspectives of

tourism in the Valencian community, defined in the

White Book of Tourism in the Valencian Community

(1990). Consequently, programmes and action plans

to try and reach the objective of the Generalitat

Valenciana tourist policy were proposed. This fun-

damental objective would be specified in Valencian

tourist product redefinition. It would be given dif-

ferentiating characteristics from those supplied by

competing dest inations, improving the positioning of

existing demand segments, taking up new market

niches and adapting them to present and potential

demands; and would be responsible for the com-

municat ion of a suitable tourist image for the Valen-

cian communi ty, enabling and emphasizing optimum

conditions for diffusion and placing of tourist pro-

ducts. Responsibility for planning and implementing

Generalitat Valenciana tourist policy rested, until

1991, on both the Valencian Tourist Institute (VTI)

and the Conselleria d Indust ria, Comer~ i Turisme

and, since 1992, the VTI assumed all the competen-

cies. They had to design action programmes

attempting to increase Valencian tourist product

quality, diversification supply, bette rment of promo-

tion and marketing/commercialization systems and

enable effective coordination among different gov-

ernments and sector agents.

In 1991, the Tourist Government Office of Gener-

alitat Valenciana designed a Quality Improvement

Plan for the tourist industry. Its fundamental objec-

tive was to encourage a culture of quality in the

sector, trying to get all implicated agents commit-

ment: businessmen, employees, customers and gov-

ernment. This work would join the infrastructures of

modernization and training effort. Quality improve-

ment of the tourist offer was considered a dynamic

objective since it implies a process of continuous

adaptation to changing market features; because of

that, the plan was not thought of as closed but was

conceived as a plan open to unforeseen and timely

changes. The message to consolidate would be:

Valencian tourism is a synonym for quality of ser-

vice.

Plan objectives were concentrated on two points.

The first was creation and promotion amongst all the

agents in the sector of interest in quality as the

essential element of competitiveness, thinking about

it as a cornerstone in the strategic plan of a tourist

company. The second was the introduction into the

tourist businesses of tools, techniques and quality

improvement systems, since only by means of the

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i n t r o d u c t i o n a n d u s e o f d e m o n s t r a t e d e f f ic a c y c o u l d

TQM be ne f i t s be r e a l iz e d .

The p ropose d s t r a te gy re s te d on four ba s ic ma in-

s ta ys : qua l i ty s e ns i t i z ing a nd c ommunic a t ion , im-

p la n ta t ion o f too l s a nd te c hn ique s o f qua l i ty ma n-

a ge me n t , t r a in ing in r e spe c t o f qua l i ty a nd p la n

m o n i t o r i n g a n d a n i m a t i o n .

Two pha se s c ou ld be d i s t ingu ishe d in th i s po l ic y :

• A f i rs t s tage , in i t ia ted w ith the 1990s sens i t iz ing

c a mpa ign whose s loga n wa s 'Th ings we l l done

wi th a smi le ' , wa s d i re c te d a t improv ing the

q u a l i t y o f t h e s e r v i c e p r o v i d e d a n d r e c o m m e n d -

ing pleasant dea l ings with new vis i tors and tour-

is ts . This phase was spec if ied in 1991 programmes

a nd s t r e s se d se c to r mobi l i z a t ion towa rds the im-

p o r t a n c e o f q u al i ty . I t d e fi n e d t w o p r o g r a m m e s :

(a)

Q u a l i t y d i f f u s i o n p r o g r a m m e .

This a ime d

to c re a te a f a voura b le op in ion a mongs t bus ine s s -

m e n a n d p r o f e s s i on a l s c o n c e r n i n g th e i m p o r t a n c e

of a nd ne e d fo r qua l i ty in tour i s t f i rms , bo th in

te rms o f the c us tome r s e rv ic e pe r spe c t ive a nd the

c ompa ny ' s own prof i t a b i l i ty , a nd to p rov ide the

n e c e s s a r y m e a n s t o a c h i e v e o p t i m u m m a n a g e -

ment in this f ie ld . I ts main f rui t was a se t of

se mina r s a nd c onfe re nc e s on tha t is sue th rough -

o u t t h e V a l e n c i a n c o m m u n i t y .

(b) Q u a l i t y m a n a g e m e n t p r o g r a m m e . The pur -

pose o f th i s wa s to improve qua l i ty in ma na ge -

me nt a nd se rv ic e p rov ide d in ho te l s by me a ns o f

s tud ie s a nd d ia gnos is o f qua l i ty ma na ge m e nt in

c o m p a n i e s .

• A second s tage , und er t ake n in 1992 and 1993 by

the Va le nc ia n Tour i s t Ins t i tu te , e x te nde d i t s a c -

t ion se t t ing a nd o f fe re d , in the s a me wa y , sub-

s id ie s fo r e la bora t ing Qua l i ty Improve me nt P la ns

tha t ha d ne c e s sa r i ly be e n p re c e de d by a qua l i ty

audit .

B e n e f i ci a r i es o f th e s e q u a l i ty m a n a g e m e n t p r o g r a m -

me s we re ho te l e s ta b l i shme nts , tour i s t c a mps , r e s -

to ra t ion bus ine s se s a nd t r a ve l a ge nc ie s . Subs id ie s

c ou ld a mo unt to 100% of the a ud i t c os t s a nd 50% of

the plan cos ts , bear ing in mind l imits se t every year

fo r ma ximum le ve l s .

Dur ing the 1991-93 pe r iod , 209 c omp a nie s o f the

Va le nc ia n c ommuni ty be ne f i t e d f rom th i s a s s i s ta nc e .

Of th i s , 93% wa s fo r c a r ry ing ou t qua l i ty a ud i t s a nd

t h e r e m a i n i n g 7 % w a s fo r e l a b o r a t i n g i m p r o v e m e n t

p la ns . The sc he me re c e ive d P ta s 79 mi l l ion suppor t

f rom the go ve rn me n t , 77 % of it a s s igned to a ud i t s.

The se f igure s show the in te re s t r a i s e d by the qua l i ty

t o p i c a m o n g a w i de g r o u p / b o d y o f V a l e n c i a n t o u r i s t

c ompa nie s . None the le s s , the y a l so r e ve a l the minor -

i ty c ha ra c te r o f impro ve m e nt p la ns sinc e in te re s t was

ma in ly foc use d on a ud i t ing . Da ta on a pp l ic a t ions fo r

1994, st il l to be f ina l ized, co nf ir m this t rend: 113

a ud i t p ro je c t s (26 . 5% of the m a re ho te l e s ta b l i sh -

m e n t s ) a s o p p o s e d t o 2 9 i m p r o v e m e n t p l a n s ( 6 5 . 5 %

re la t ing to ho te l s ) .

Total quality management in hospitality: C Camis6n

This b r ie f summa ry o f the po l ic y c a r r ie d ou t

e na b le s us to d ra w two impor ta n t c onc lus ions :

• The se a c t ions ha d a no ta b le imp a c t on the Va le n-

c ia n tour i s t indus t ry , s t a r t ing a n inc re a s ing ma n-

a ge r ia l a wa ke n ing to bo th the c ompe t i t ive va lue

of qua l i ty a nd to e x te rna l qua l i ty a ud i t s c a r r ie d

ou t by c onsu l t ing f i rms .

• No neth e les s , i t is t ime to re f lec t on the ac tua l

impa c t the se qua l i ty a ud i t ing a nd improve me nt

po l ic ie s ha s on Va le nc ia n tour i s t c ompa nie s , a nd

to wonde r whe the r th i s e f fo r t i s b ig e nough to

ins t i l in to the m a r e a l qua l i ty c u l tu re , be yond

iso la te d a c t ions a nd t ime ly inve s tme nts . To da te ,

mos t a t t e n t ion ha s be e n d i re c te d to p ra c t ic a l

i s sue s o f how to improve qua l i ty r a the r tha n to

unde rs ta nd ing i t s e s se n t ia l na tu re a nd how to

assure it .

In th i s s e nse , sys te ma t ic p la nn ing o f mode ls a nd

p r o c e d u r e s f o r i m p l e m e n t i n g t o t a l q u a l i t y m a n a g e -

ment is lacking in Valenc ian tour is t companies , as

we l l a s in the improve me nt p la ns imple me nte d

unde r the Pub l ic Tour i s t Admin is t r a t ion . Th is un-

a vo ida b le t a sk i s muc h more c omple x tha n the me re

d e f i n i t i o n a n d m e a s u r e m e n t ( w h e t h e r p e r i o d i c o r

non-p e r iod ic ) o f a s et o f s ta nda rds , tha t , in a ny

eve nt , form s a s tage in the overa l l qu a l i ty process , s

Be ing a wa re o f the se ma l func t ions , the V a le nc ia n

Touris t Ins t i tute ini t ia ted in 1995 a s t ra tegic change

wi th the s ta rt ing o f a 'P rogra m to e nc oura g e the

impla n ta t ion o f to ta l qua l ity ma na g e me nt in the

Valenc ian tour is t f i rm' . I ts objec t ive is the resul t of

re f le c t ion on the ina de qua c ie s o f p re v ious p la ns :

ra i s ing the qua l i ty o f ma na ge me nt a nd se rv ic e p ro -

v ide d by tour i s t e s ta b l i shme nts by me a ns o f pu t t ing

i n t o e f f ec t s ys t em s a n d p r o c e d u r e s o f d e m o n s t r a t e d

e f f ic a c y f o r T Q M .

Impl e me n ta t ion o f th i s p rog ra m me is e s ta b l i she d

in two phases . The f i rs t is addressed a t sens i t iz ing

a nd t r a in ing tour is t f irms ma na ge rs th rough a

c ourse on 'To ta l Qua l i ty in the Tour i s t F i rm ' , ba se d

on se l f - e va lua t ion s tudy c a se s a nd a pp l ic a t ion o f the

E F Q M m o d e l f o r T Q M . C o m p a n i e s t h at s h ow in -

te re s t a nd a p t i tude dur ing th i s s ta ge e n te r , a t no

a dd i t iona l c os t , a s e c ond pha se , in whic h the y a re

ass is ted by exper ts to deve lop se lf -assessmeni fol-

l o w in g t h e c r it e ri a o f th e E u r o p e a n m o d e l o f T Q M .

The ob je c t ive i s to p la c e the e n te rp r i s e on the

t h r e s h o l d o f t h e r e a l i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f a T Q M

sys te m.

O b j e c t i v es a n d m e t h o d o l o g y o f t h e e m p ir i c a l

study

As a previous step to the implementation of this

* The results of th is empirical analysis are partially based on I

K0ster and S Cru z, The Valencian Hospitality nterprise and the

European Quali O Aw ard, Research Paper, Faculty of Economics

and Business Sciences, University of Valencia, 1994.

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Total quality management in hospitality: C Camis6n

p r o g r a m m e , a n e m p i r i c a l s t u d y w a s c a r r i e d o u t o n

the Valenc ian hote l bus iness . I ts main a im was to

a na lyse the e x i s t ing ga p be twe e n the pe rc e p t ion o f

t h e i r q u a l i t y b y t h e i r c u s t o m e r s a n d t h e s e l f -

e v a l u a t i o n b y t h e i r m a n a g e m e n t o n t h e i r c o m p a n i e s '

q u a l it y p e r f o r m a n c e o n t h e b a s is o f th e E u r o p e a n

qua l i ty mode l . A fu r the r a im wa s to ma ke a n

a t te mpt to s t imula te p roc e s se s o f s e l f - e va lua t ion in

the g roup e xa mine d a s to the i r own qua l i ty , to b r ing

up doub ts a nd a re a s fo r pos s ib le improve me nts .

The s tudy wa s c a r r ie d ou t th rough two ' pa r t i a l ly

inde pe nde n t ' e mpi r ic a l inve s t iga t ions , s inc e the y re -

s p o n d e d t o o n e a n d t h e s a m e m o d e l o f s e lf -

e va lua t ion o f to ta l qua l i ty a nd re f le c te d the s a me

re a l i ty , to ta l qua l i ty o f the Va le nc ia n ho te l bus ine s s ,

e ve n though th i s s te ms f rom d is s imi la r a pproa c he s :

m a n a g e m e n t a n d e x t e r n a l c u s t o m e r s .

The f i r s t s t e p in the e va lua t ion p roc e s s wa s to

de s ign the que s t ionna i re to ob ta in a c c ura te da ta .

Be a r ing in mind the a ims o f the r e se a rc h wo rk , i t

wa s ne c e s sa ry to de s ign two d i f f e re n t que s t ion-

na i re s , one fo r the ma na ge m e nt o f the bus ine s s in

q u e s t i o n a n d a n o t h e r f o r t h e e x t e r n a l c u s t o m e r s o f

the sa id hote ls .

T o d e t e r m i n e t h e r e l e v a n t v a r ia b l e s to b e s t u d i e d ,

e a c h o f t h e n i n e c ri t e ri a o f t h e E u r o p e a n T Q M

mode l wa s d iv ide d in to s e c t ions . Ea c h se c t ion wa s

e va lua te d th rough one o r s e ve ra l que s t ions , whic h

we re s c ore d f rom 0 to 100 on a ba si s o f two

c ombine d fa c to r s : the de gre e o f e xc e l le nc e o f the

m e t h o d a d o p t e d a n d t h e d e g r e e o f i m p l a n t a t i o n o f

t h e m e t h o d Table 1). The qua l i f i c a t ion o f e a c h

se c t ion was the a r i thm e t ic me a n o f the que s t ions in

i t. The e v a lua t ion o f e a c h c r i t e r ion wa s the a r i thme -

t ic me a n o f the q ua l i f i c a t ions o f i t s s ec t ions . Sc or ing

on each c r i te r ion was done by weight ing i ts assess-

me n t (in ) by the r e spe c t ive f a c to r the mod e l g ives

to i t a nd the re by ge t t ing the to ta l e va lua t ion in

po in t s . The ove ra l l e va lua t ion i s the a dd i t ion o f the

po in t s in e a c h c r i t e r ion .

Al l in a l l , the doc ume nt fo r the ma na ge rs ' s e l f -

e va lua t ion ha d 33 i t e ms to be a s se s se d , whi l s t the

one fo r the c us tome rs on ly ha d 23 , a s the i t e ms

'Po l ic y a nd s t r a te gy ' a nd 'Ec ono mic re su l t s ' we re no t

i n c l u d e d s i n c e t h e y w e r e c o n s i d e r e d n o t t o b e

m e a s u r a b l e , a p p r e c i a b l e o r k n o w n b y t h e c u s t o m e r s

of the r e spe c t ive ho te l bus ines s . In a ny e ve n t , the

ta ng ib le a nd in ta ng ib le i t e ms tha t the p r io r r e se a rc h

show e d to be impo r ta n t we re inc lude df l 4-27

Be f ore s ta r t ing re al work on se l f - a s se s sme nt , ma n-

a ge r s o f the ho te l s to be e va lua te d we re t r a ine d in a

two-da y se mina r . Dur ing th i s, the y we re t r a ine d in

t h e E u r o p e a n T Q M m o d e l f u n d a m e n t a l s an d

me thodo logy , a nd a n ove ra l l s e l f - e va lua t ion c a se

wa s s tud ie d . Ea c h ho te l wa s a s s igne d a tu to r e xpe r t

i n T Q M f r o m a t h r e e - p e r s o n t e a m t h a t h e l p e d t h e

ma na ge rs dur ing the c omple te s e l f - a s se s sme nt p ro -

c e s s in the r e so lu t ion o f me thodo log ic a l doub ts .

T h e f i na l s a m p le o f c o m p a n i e s e x a m i n e d c o n s i s t ed

of 38 ho te l s , whic h we re s tud ie d on the ba s i s o f two

s e g m e n t a t i o n c r it e ri a : t h e t y p e o f a c c o m m o d a t i o n

bus ine s s (d i f f e re n t ia t ing be twe e n u rba n , in la nd a nd

se a s ide ho te l s ) a nd the ' o f f icia l ' qua l i ty o f the e s ta b-

l i shme nt ( f rom one to f ive s ta r s ) .

T h e c o n s u m e r r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s a m p l e w a s se l e c t ed

a t r a ndom a nd wa s ma de up o f 250 pe r sons who

we re c us tome rs o f a t l e a s t one ho te l loc a te d in the

Va le nc ia n c ommuni ty . The re wa s no d i sc r imina t ion

as to age , sex or leve l of inco me. I t was suff ic ient for

the pe op le in te rv ie we d to ha ve be e n in a ny ho te l

f rom the s a mple be ing s tud ie d . The pe r sona l in te r -

v ie w wa s use d a s a work too l , by me a ns o f a c lose d

s t r u c t u r e d q u e s t i o n n a i r e . T h e s a m p l e s c h o s e n w e r e

a ske d a bou t the i r pe rc e p t ion o f the s t ruc tu r ing a nd

ma na ge me nt o f qua l i ty a t the ho te l s a t whic h the y

s ta ye d . The que s t ionna i re ga ve in fo rma t ion on a

ma ximum of th re e d i f f e re n t ho te l s a t whic h e a c h

c us tome r in te rv ie we d ha d s ta ye d . The f ie ld work

wa s c a r r ie d ou t dur ing the m onths o f Ju ly a nd

August 1994.

Qual i ty o f the Valen c ian hote l bus iness

c u s t om e r s v s m a n a g e m e n t

The re su l t s o f the r e se a rc h Tables 2 and 3) f i rs t

r e ve a l s e r ious d i s a gre e me nts in the e va lua t ion o f the

to ta l qua l i ty o f the Va le nc ia n ho te l bus ine s s by i t s

c us tome rs a nd ma na ge me nt . In ge ne ra l , the e va lua -

t ions by the c us tom e rs o f the to ta l qua l i ty o f the

ho te l s s tud ie d a re l e s s f a voura b le tha n the qua l i ty

a s se s se d b y t h e m a n a g e m e n t .

The mos t a c u te d i f f e re nc e s we re found in the

cr i te r ia of cus tomer sa t is fac t ion and s ta ff sa t is fac-

t ion , showing a n a s se s sme nt by the ma na ge me nt o f

the i r pe r fo rma nc e in qua l i ty qu i te a bove the qua l i ty

pe rc e ive d by c us tome rs . Th is f a c t c ou ld ind ic a te the

bus ine s s ' s ignora nc e a s r e ga rds the p rob le ms o f

a t t i tude , a p t i tude a nd in te gra t ion in the o rga n iz a t ion

of i ts own h uma n re sourc e s . Th is po in t i s pa r t i c u la r ly

se r ious , s inc e the r e se a rc h ha s shown the im por ta n c e

in c us tome r s a t i s fa c t ion o f t r a in ing , mot iv a t ion , pa r -

t ic ipa t ion and sa t is fac t ion of s ta ff . 2s Th e lowest

qua l i f i c a t ion wa s g ive n to r e sourc e s , bo th by ma n-

a ge me nt a nd by c us tome rs . I t c a n be s e e n tha t the

ho te l s a na lyse d ha d a p rob le m wi th the r e sourc e s

a va i la b le , whic h a f fe c t s the l e ve l o f e qu ipm e nt a nd

the r a nge o f s e rv ic e s o f fe re d .

T h e m a n a g e m e n t ' s o v e r v a l u a t i o n o f q u a l i t y c a n

a l so be a ppre c ia te d i f we c omp a re the ove ra l l r e p re -

se n ta t ive ma rk o f the o rga n iz a t io n ' s to ta l qua l i ty

(540 . 75 po in t s ) w i th the s ta nda rds o f e xc e l le nc e o f

t h e c o m p a n i e s t h a t w o n t h e E u r o p e a n Q u a l i t y

Aw a rd in e a r l i e r ye a r s . I f we c omp a re the s e lf -

a s se s sme nts in e a c h o f the n ine c r i t e r ia wi th the

d is t r ibu t ion o f ma rks ob ta in e d by the o rga n iz a t ions

whic h e n te re d fo r the EFQM in 1992 Table 4), we

o b s e r v e V a l e n c i a n h o t e l m a n a g e m e n t p l a c e d t h e m -

se lve s in the c a te gory a ge n ts , e xc e p t fo r r e sourc e s ,

196

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Total quality m anag emen t in hospitality: C ('amisd n

Fable 1 Scoring system of enablers and results in the EFQM model

Approach/results Score (% ~ Deployment/scope

Enablers

T h e a s s e s s o r s c o r e s ea c h p a r t o f t h e e n a b l e r s c r i t e r i a o n t h e b a s i s o f t h e c o m b i n a t i o n o f t w o f a c t o rs :

1. F h e d e g r e e o f e x c e l l e n c e o f y o u r a p p r o a c h ,

2 . T h e d e g r e e o f d e p l o y m e n t o f y o u r a p p r o a c h .

A n e c d o t a l o r n o n - v a l u e a d d i n g I)

S o m c e v i d e n c e o f s o u n d l y b a s e d a p p r o a c h e s a n d p r e v e n t i o n - b a s e d 2 5

s y s t e m s . S u b j e c t i v e t o o c c a s i o n a l r e v i e w . S o m e a r e a s o f i n t e g r a t i o n i n t o

normal o p e r a t i o n

E v i d c n c c o f s o u n d l y b a s e d s y s t e m a t i c a p p r o a c h e s a n d p r e v e n t i o n - b a s e d 5 (I

s y s t e m s . S u b j e c t t o r e g u l a r r e v i e w w i t h r e s p e c t t o b u s i n e s s

c f f c c t i v e n e s s . I n t e g r a t i o n i n t o n o r m a l o p e r a t i o n s a n d p l a n n i n g w e l l

e s t a b l i s h e d

( ' l e a r e v i d c n c c o f s o u n d l y b a s e d s y s t e m a t i c a p p r o a c h e s a n d p r e v e n t i o n - 7 5

b a s e d s y s t e m s . C l e a r e v i d e n c e o f r e f i n e m e n t a n d i m p r o v e d b u s i n e s s

c f l e c t i v e n c s s t h r o u g h r e v i e w c y c l es . G o o d i n t e g r a t i o n o f a p p r o a c h i n l o

n o r m a l o p c r a t i o n s a n d p l a n n i n g

( 7 le a r e v i d c n c c o f s o u n d l y b a s e d s y s t e m a t i c a p p r o a c h e s a n d p r e v e n t i o n - l (l l) A p p l i e d t o f u ll p o t e n t i a l i n a ll

b a s e d s y s t e m s . C l e a r e v i d e n c e o f r e f i n e m e n t a n d i m p r o v e d b u s i n e s s r e l e v a n t a r e a s a n d a e t i v it i c s

c f t c c t i v e n c s s t h r o u g h r e v i e w c y c le s . A p p r o a c h h a s b e c o m e t o t a l l y

i n t e g r a t e d i n t o n o r m a l w o r k i n g p a t t e r n s . C o u l d b e u s e d a r o l e m o d e l f o r

o t h e r o r g a n i z a t i on s

F o r b o t h ' A p p r o a c h ' a n d D e p l o y m e n t ' , t h e a s s e s s o r m a y c h o o s e o n e o f fi ve le v el s 0 % , 25 , 50% , 7 5% , o r 100% ; ,i s p re sen t ed in the

c h a r t , o r i n t e r p o l a t e b e t w e e n t h c s c v a l u e s .

Results

T h e a s s e s s o r s c o r e s e a c h o f t h e r e s u l t s c ri t e r i a o n t h e b a s i s o f t h e c o m b i n a t i o n o f t w o f a c t o r s :

I . T h e d e g r e e o f e x c e l l e n c e o f y o u r r e s u l t s .

2 . T h e s c o p e o f y o u r re s u l t s .

necdota l I)

S o m e r e s u l t s s h o w p o s i t iv e t r e n d s . S o m e f a v o u r a b l e c o m p a r i s o n s w i t h 2 5

o w n t a r g e t s

M a n y r e s u l t s s h o w p o s i t i v e t r e n d s o v e r a t l e a s t 3 y e a r s . F a v o u r a b l e 5 0

c o m p a r i s o n s w it h o w n t a r g e t s i n m a n y a r e a s . S o m e c o m p a r i s o n s w i t h

e x t e r n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s . S o m e r e s u l t s a r e c a u s e d b y a p p r o a c h

M o s t r e s u l t s s h o w s t r o n g l y p o s i t i v e t r e n d s o v e r a t l e a s t 3 y e a r s . 7 5

F a v o u r a b l e c o m p a r i s o n s w i t h o w n t a r g e t s i n m a n y a r e a s . F a v o u r a b l e

c o m p a r i s o n s w i th e x t e r n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s i n m a n y a r e a s . M a n y r e s u l t s a re

c a u s e d b y a p p r o a c h

Strong ly pos i t ive t ren ds in a l l a rea s over a t leas t 5 years . Exce l l en t l t) l)

c o l n p a r i s o n s w i t h o w n t a r g e t s a n d e x t e r n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s i n m o s t a r e a s .

' B e s t i n C la s s i n m a n y a r e a s o f a c t i vi t y . R e s u l t s a r e c l e a rl y c a u s e d b y

a p p r o a c h . P o s i t i ve i n d i c a t i o n t h a t l e a d i n g p o s i t i o n wi ll b e m a i n t a i n e d

L i n l e e f f e c t i v e u s a g e

A p p l i e d t o a b o u t o n c - q u a r t c r o f t h e

p o t e n t i a l w h e n c o n s i d e r i n g a ll

r e l e v a n t a r c a s a n d a c t i v i t i c s

A p p l i e d t o a b o u t h a l l t h e p o t e n t i a l

w h e n c o n s i d e r i n g a l l r e l e v a n t a r e a s

and ac t iv i t ies

A p p l i e d t o a b o u t t h r e e - q u a r t e r s o f

t h e p o t e n t i a l w h e n c o n s i d e r i n g a ll

r e l e v a n t a r e a s a n d a c t i v i t i e s

R e s u l t s a d d r e s s f e w r c l c v a n t a r e a s

and ac t iv i t ies

R e s u l t s a d d r e s s s o m e r e l e v a n t a r e a s

and ae t iv i tes

R e s u l t s a d d r e s s m a n y r e l e v a n t a r e a s

and ac t iv i t ies

R e s u l t s a d d r e s s m o s t r e l e v a n t a r e a s

and ac t iv i t ies

Resu l ts addr ess ; `i ll re leva n t a reas a nd

f a c e t s o f t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n

F o r b o t h ' R c s u l t s ' a n d ' S c o p e ' , t h e a s s e s s o r m a y c h o o s e o n e o f f i ve le v e l s 0 % , 2 5 % , 5 0 % , 75 , o r 1 0 0 % a s p r e s e n t e d i n t h c c h a r t , o r

i n t e r p o l a t e b e t w e e n t h e s e v a l u e s .

S o u r c e : E F Q M ( 1 9 9 4 ) .

n o r m a l ly w i t h in t h e t o p 2 5 o f E u r o p e a n c o m -

panies . In resu l t s , the soc ia l impact and economic

resu l t s a lso rece ive h igh marks , a l though the most

outstanding fac tor i s th is group's convic t ion that i t s

staff 's sat isf act ion level is on a par with the 10 of

e x c e l l e n t c o m p a n ie s in E u r o p e , a n d e v e n t h a t c u s -

t o m e r

sa t is fa c ti on ha s no c omp a r i son w i t h a ny c a nd i

da te for sa id year .

A

more se gm e nt e d a na l ys is o f t he sa mpl e e na b l e s

the op in ions to be adjusted and to obta in four

re levant conc lus ions:

U r b a n h o t e l s e m e r g e a s t h e a c c o m m o d a t i o n b u s i -

ness with greater s tandards of exce l le nce , f rom

t h e s t a n d p o in t s o f b o t h c u s t o m e r s a n d m a n a g e -

m e n t .

The widest gap can be observed in coasta l hote ls ,

in which cu stomer s ' d issat i s fac t ion i s ev ident in a ll

criteria. These. appear to be the hotels least

adapted to their custom ers ' needs and require -

ments , They are part icu lar ly cr i t ica l in resources ,

r e v e a l in g t h e i r a w a r e n e s s o f t h e o b s o l e s c e n c e o f

insta l lat ions and the broad margin of improve-

97

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Total quality management in hospitality: C CamisOn

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Total qual ity m ana gem ent in hospitalit.~ : C ( am isd n

Table 4 Assessm ent distribution of applicant enterprises for European Quality Awar d 1992)

% mark

Criteria

0-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41 -50 51-60 61-70 71-80 81-90

Lea ders hip 0 I 5 30 20 20 25 0 0

Pol. and strat. 0 5 10 25 20 15 10 5 10

Pers . manag. 0 0 5 25 20 15 25 10 (I

Re sour ce s 5 0 5 15 25 15 20 15 0

Pr oces ses 0 0 5 25 35 1(~ 10 15 (I

Cli ent sat isf . 0 5 15 20 20 111 10 20 0

Pers n. sat isl . 0 10 20 25 0 2( 15 10 11

Social imp act 0 5 10 30 15 25 5 10 0

Ec on. re su lt s 0 0 5 25 30 1(I 10 211 0

Source: European Foundation for Quality Management (1994).

me nt i n e qu i pme nt . The y a re a l so t he one s wi t h a

management t eam tha t i s the leas t c r i t i ca l and

re a dy t o r e c ogni z e a re a s t ha t c a n be i mprove d ,

proba b l y , a s t he i r own c us t ome rs po i n t ou t , be -

c a use t he i r l e a de r sh i p po t e n t i a l a nd c ommi t me nt

towards tota l qua l i ty i s low.

• A c le a r ne ga t i ve r e l a t i onsh i p be t we e n e c onom i c

prof i t a b i l i t y ( s t a t e d by t he c ompa ny) a nd t he ga p

pe rc e i ve d i n s e l f - a s se s sme nt o f qua l i t y -qua l i t y

p e r f o r m a n c e a p p e a r s .

• Cus t ome rs ' pe rc e p t i on o f t he soc ia l i mpa c t o f

the

hot e l s me a ns a ne ga t i ve va l ua t i on o f t he i r i n t e gra -

t i on i n t o t he e nv i ronme nt . Th i s a spe c t r e qu i re s

spec ia l a t t ent ion, s ince the leve l of soc ia l de-

ma nds on c ompa ni e s i s g rowi ng c ons i de ra b l y a nd

wi l l be re f lec ted in the sca le of a t t r ibutes which

ma ke up t he c onsume r ' s purc ha se de c i s i on s t a n-

da rds . Spe c i a l l y wor ry i ng i s t he e va l ua t i on ma de

of the coas ta l hote l s , which a re severe ly c r i t i c ized

a nd he l d r e spo ns i b l e fo r t he l a ck o f e f f i c i e nc y t ha t

Va l e nc i a ' s a na rc h i c t our i s t de ve l opme nt ha s

c a use d a l ong i t s whol e s e a boa rd . In t he c a se o f

inhmd hote l s , thi s const i tutes an invi ta t ion to t ake

he e d o f t he sc a l e o f va lue s o f i ts ob j e c t i ve ma rke t ,

whi c h i s h i gh l y c onc e rne d wi t h e nv i ronme nt a l

i mpa c t a nd c onse rva t i on o f he r i t a ge .

The a na l ys i s a c c ord i ng t o t he ' o f f i c i a l ' c a t e gory o f

the es tabl i shment shows some s igni f icant fac t s :

• There i s a sus ta ined growth in a l l the agents '

c r i t e r i a , bo t h i n t he qua l i t y pe rc e i ve d by t he

c us t ome r a nd t he qua l i t y r e c ogni z e d by ma na ge -

me nt , a s the n um be r o f st a rs i nc re a se s , whi ch

shoul d be a t t r i bu t e d t o h i ghe r qua l i t y i n huma n

r e s o u r ce s m a n a g e m e n t a n d t o b e t t e r p r o v is i o n o f

asse t s . Therefore , as the 'off ic ia l ' qua l i ty goes up,

so doe s t he a gre e me nt be t we e n t he qua l i t y pe r -

c e i v e d b y b o t h c u s t o m e r a n d m a n a g e m e n t .

• This para l le l progress i s l ess accentu a ted in

the

resul t s , and par t icula r ly in cus tomer sa t i s fac t ion.

I t shou l d be de duc e d f rom t h i s da t a t ha t t he

'offic ia l ca teg ory could be a goo d indica tor of

des ign qua l i ty , but i s not necessar i ly so for

the

qua l i t y o f c onformi t y a nd t he qua l i t y o f s e rv i c e ,

whi c h unde rg o c e r t a i n s t a gna t ion , be c a use o f an

i mpor t a n t ga p be t we e n t he spe c i f i c a t i ons

a c h i e ve d i n t he r e nde r i ng o f t he se rv i c e a nd t he

c us t ome r ' s pe rc e p t i on o f qua l i t y o f t he se rv i c e

re nde re d . Th i s c onc l us i on i s i mpor t a n t fo r t he

de ba t e now i n p rogre s s a s t o t he e qu i va l e nc e o f

the di f fe rent sys tems for hote l qua l i ty

c a t e gor i z a t i on . > '~°

One - a nd t wo-s t a r ho t e l s fo rm a h i gh- r i sk g roup ,

owi ng t o t he i r l a c k o f knowl e dge o f t he qua l i t y

d e m a n d e d b y t h e m a r k e t a n d t o t h e i r i g n o r a n c e

of i mpor t a n t non-qua l i t y a re a s whi c h mus t su re l y

l ie a t the or igins of the unsa t i s fac tory economic

resul t s achieved by these hote l s .

An i nve r se r e l a t i on be t we e n qua l i t y o f e c onomi c

re su l ts a nd t he ga p c a n be obs e rve d , a l t hough t h is

t rend breaks in four-s ta r hote l s . A poss ible ex-

plana t ion of thi s may l i e in the f inanc ia l repercus-

s ions of the spec ia l ly intense 'p incer e ffec t ' suf-

fe re d by t h i s g roup , c a use d by ho t e l s wi th g re a t e r

qua l i ty o f de s i gn a nd , poss i b ly , g re a t e r qua l i t y o f

c onformi t y a nd se rv i c e (ma i n l y f i ve - s t a r ho t e l s ) ,

a nd ho t e l s wi t h de s i gn qua l i t y a da p t e d t o t he

ne e ds a nd re qu i re me nt s o f t he i r c us t ome rs a nd

more c ompe t i t i ve p r i c e s (mos t l y t h re e - s t a r

hote l s ) .

o n c l u s i o n s

TQ M is s e e n t o be a n e sse n t ia l ma n a ge m e nt t e c hnol -

ogy fo r la y i ng t he found a t i ons o f c ompe t i t i ve ne ss fo r

t our i s t c onc e rns a nd t he i r s e a rc h fo r e xc e l l e nc e a t

t he p re se n t t i me , c ha ra c t e r i z e d by a n u rge n t ne e d t o

c onf r on t t he un i ve r sa l i z a t ion o f the e c o nom y a nd a

hos t i l e a nd t u rbu l e n t e nv i ronme nt i n whi c h c ompe t i -

t i v e n e s s r e q u i r e s m o r e a n d m o r e m a n a g e m e n t

capac i ty .

Ne ve r t he l e s s , e mpi r i c a l r e se a rc h de ve l ope d on t he

E F Q M m o d e l o f T Q M a s a s u p p o r t f o r t h e E u r o -

pe a n Q ua l i t y Awa rd a nd on t he two ' pa r t i a ll y de pe n-

de n t ' s t age s o f t he me t h odo l ogy we c ons t ruc t e d

revea ls grea t backwardness in Valenc ia ' s hote l in-

dus t ry on the road towards tota l qua l i ty , which i s

pa r t i c u l a r l y a c u t e i n t he c oa s t a l a c c ommoda t i on

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Total quality ma nag emen t in hospitality: C Cam is6n

sector of low official quality (one to three stars).

On the one hand, the research allowed us to

discover the existence of serious distancing between

the quality perceived by the customer and the quali-

ty recognized by management, mainly in customer

satisfaction and personnel satisfaction criteria. The

management of the Valencian tourist business con-

sider they have already implemented reliable and

suitable TQM programmes which will enable them

to catch up with the European companies considered

as excellent, or even surpass them in some criteria.

These views seem to be on an exercise in self-

indulgence rather than constituting critical self-

evaluation work. There is a worrying lack of con-

sciousness by the hotel management concerning the

improvement possibilities still hidden in their orga-

nizations that may impede their actions for con-

tinuous betterment.

To surpass the significant gap between the diverg-

ing perceptions of tourists and hotel managers, the

Valencian hotel industry must assign ideas of well-

tested efficacy to improving quality, the EFQM

model among them. Bringing the manager per-

spective close to the consumer perspective demands

the implementation of a management style orien-

tated to the market, and the introduction of an

organizational change to total quality management.

Valencian hotel managers must emphasize their role

as leaders in this cultural change, and intensify their

efforts to infuse their industry with a value system

designed in favour of the client (which will require

an obsession with customer satisfaction) and the

protagonists in this process (care of front-line per-

sonnel, client-supplier focus, commitment and

empowerment, and training at all levels).

Research, therefore, strengthens the importance

of quality self-evaluation by the hotel industry.

Regular and systematic revision by companies of

activities and results may lead to a wide range of

advantages, amongst them:

• measuring the degree of matching of customers

needs and expectations, and comparing the re-

suits with perceived quality;

• acting as a basis for the strategic process, identify-

ing improvement activities;

• controlling competitiveness in quality with the

help of benchmarking exercises.

On the other hand, the study has provided evidence

of the scant value of the official qualification sys-

tems for hotels, owing to their concentration on the

physical standards made material in the quality of

design, and to the fact that they ignore service

standards. The slowing down of the conformity

quality growth as the official quality (a good indica-

tor of design quality) goes up should lead to reflec-

tion by hotel man agem ent, since it implies an impor-

tant loss of profitability. We know that costs increase

with quality of design, and that this greater invest-

merit is only economically justifiable when it gener-

ates company income differentiating this from its

competitors; and, conversely, costs go down as the

conformity of quality rises. Consequently, Valencian

hotel companies with the highest official qualifica-

tions could be undervaluing the business opportuni-

ties the greater design quality of their establishments

offers, as their conformity and service quality are not

on a par with the design specifications in which the

needs and requirements of their customers are

framed. Both these phenomena involve higher costs

or losses of income which detract from their operat-

ing accounts.

The development of new systems of qualification,

able to evaluate the total quality of a hotel business,

is coming forward as a. promising area for research

and is of undoubted usefulness, owing to its con-

tribution to eliminating information asymmetry.

cknowledgement

This study benefited from a grant from the Spanish

Education and Science Ministry (ref PB93-0692,

DGICYT).

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