Integrating service design principles and information technology to improve delivery and productivity in public sector operations: The case of the South Carolina DMV

Abstract

One relatively unanswered question regarding operational efficiency and effectiveness is whether and how public sector or government operations can employ service strategy and design concepts to deal with the conflicting objectives of minimizing expenditures while providing for an increasing number of ''causes'' [Haywood-Farmer, J., Nollet, J., 1991. Service Plus: Effective Service Management, G. Morin Publisher, Quebec]. In this paper, we argue that the mechanism that permits or enables simultaneous success on these dimensions in public sector operations is information technology applied in conjunction with a unified set of service operations concepts. To demonstrate this contention, we employ an adaptation of the Goldstein et al. [Goldstein, S.M., Johnston, R., Duffy, J., Rao, J., 2002. The service concept: the missing link in service design research? Journal of Operations Management 20 (2), 121-134] service planning design framework, taking issue with some interpretative aspects of their strategic model. The modified planning framework was applied to an initiative in South Carolina state government to improve operations and technology deployment at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The detailed and ongoing case study illustrates the utility of a broad service-based, IT-enabled approach to designing a government service, while simultaneously demonstrating that operational service alignment is the key to avoiding results that have long been labeled a dilemma in the public sector. #

Service delivery system design: characteristics and contingencies

“…Another study by Karwan and Markland (2006) provides further support for the service strategy triad as a conceptual model. They examine the design of front-office and back-office activities and the use of technology in the service delivery system of government operations.…”

“…the service concept) and the delivery system that provides the service has been suggested in several conceptual models (Armistead, 1990;Collier and Meyer, 1998;Kellogg and Nie, 1995;Shostack, 1987). In addition, previous work has emphasised that the alignment of the service concept with service system design is a pre-requisite for improved performance (Heskett, 1987;Karwan and Markland, 2006;Kellogg and Nie, 1995). For instance, Roth and Menor (2003) argue that an organisation which realises the alignment will benefit from increased competitiveness and improved competitive capabilities.…”

The New Paradigm of Management in Design Organization: The Reality of Bottom-line Effectiveness in Design Organization's Management Needs

“…First, although design services are under-researched in OM there is extant theory. As a result, it was necessary to undertake both confirmatory, albeit without formal hypotheses [32], and exploratory research seeking to develop novel insight, understanding and theory enhancement [18]. Second, a key aim was to explore the nature of management philosophy within a specific organisational and institutional context.…”

Process design principles in service firms: Universal or context dependent? A literature review and new research directions

“…It should be noted that the service concept is often described in the literature as the set of tangible and intangible elements that constitute the service offering (Sasser et al, 1978;Edvardsson and Olsson, 1996). Additionally, previous work suggests that the strategic alignment of the service concept with the service process is a prerequisite for improved performance (Heskett, 1987;Kellogg and Nie, 1995;Karwan and Markland, 2006). A study by Silvestro and Silvestro (2003) provides empirical evidence that failure to realise the alignment has a detrimental effect on performance.…”

“…Profitability Conceptual Karwan and Markland (2006) Service concept defined as a set of tangible and intangible elements Front-office and back-office (focus on the "line of visibility")…”