Developing a quality expectations instrument for a tax service, based upon a German medium sized multidisciplinary law firm

• Main Author: Birkenheuer, Jens
• Published: University of Surrey 2010
• Subjects: 338.0068
• Online Access: https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.531392

The aim of this case study is to develop a quality expectations instrument (QEI) to measure expectations based upon subjectively perceived quality, utilising a customer perspective and perception for a small medium sized (SME) multidisciplinary law firm (law firm) which incorporates a tax service function. The thesis is structured into a theoretical and a practical part. The aim of the theoretical part is to investigate the necessary scientific theory. The investigation was conducted to answer the question what characterises modern quality management (QM) and furthermore to indicate the methodology of this case study. The question as to what characterises modern QM is best answered by a literature review. In the literature review the concept of quality will be examined, service quality models will be analysed and the question how quality can be planned, generated, controlled, measured and improved will be answered. The literature review ends by combining two existing models of QM, the Model of Donabedian (1966) and the GAP-Model of Parasuraman et al. (1985). Both assumptions were derivated into one theoretical dimension-oriented QEI, which focuses on customer expectations. The section "Methodology" explains the philosophical phenomenological approach of this case study and the reason for the most suitable mixed method approach that was used to operate the findings of the study. The empirical data collection by an interview and a questionnaire survey is described and criteria to ensure face validity, reliability and validity are given. In the practical part, data were first collected by a semi-structured interview which was further developed from the theoretical non-empirical findings. Both, non-empirical findings and the qualitative empirical findings and the evalued data were used to develop a questionnaire. The quantitative empirical collected data were valued by factor analysis as data reduction technique. The outcome was used to develop a QEI to measure expectations utilising the example of a tax service system and process of a German multidisciplinary law firm. The case study ends by giving recommendations for the evaluation and by illustrating the limitations of this case study. This case study is the first step in the process to produce a quality measurement instrument (QMI).