1、標題：Service Quality: A Study of the Luxury Hotels in Malaysia原文：During 1997 until 2002, the Malaysian economy experienced slower growth as compared to previous years. This was due to global events such as the September 11 attacks, global economies slowdown, the Bali bombings, the Severe Acute Respira

2、tory Syndrome (SARS), and bird flu. All this had caused a significant impact on the travel and tourism industry in Malaysia.The numbers of inbound and outbound tourists have been decreasing due to an avoidance of travel. Tourism arrivals to Malaysia dropped from 13.29 million in 2002 to 10.58 millio

3、n in 2003 (fell by 20.4%). However this decrease was not as serious as those that were experienced by some of Malaysias neighboring countries like Singapore and Indonesia. This was perhaps due to the aggressive promotional activities by the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (Tourism Malaysia). Touris

4、m Malaysias aggressive promotions and the economic relief package extended by the government to the players in the travel industry enabled the industry to recover quite well. The promotional efforts of Tourism Malaysia as well as Malaysias increasingly strong reputation as a center for international

5、 events, for example the OIC Conference, the F1 Grand Prix, etc., boosted the slow economy and ensure that the balance of tourism payments still remain positive. Furthermore, due to Bank Negara Malaysias policy on keeping the US$ peg for the past few years, the relatively weaker Malaysian currency h

6、as become a positive factor for inbound tourism, while making outbound tourism more expensive. At the same time, domestic tourism has been steadily increasing over the period, rising 11% in 2002 to 22.2 million trips. This is because Tourism Malaysia by carrying out programmes such as Cuti-cuti Mala

7、ysia that are aimed at encouraging domestic travel has undoubtedly contributed to the increase (Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, 2004).However, the hospitality industry that was still experiencing severe oversupply and occupancy rates have been severely affected by the SARS and bird flu crisis. Ind

8、ustry sales grew in 2002 but experienced a drastic decrease in 2003. The industry was highly competitive especially with the opening of more hotels. The number of hotels supply has increased 5.7% and the number of hotel rooms supply has increased 4.4% from year 2001 to year 2002 (Malaysia Tourism Pr

9、omotion Board, 2004). However, the year 2004 began on an encouraging and positive note. In January, Malaysia saw the arrivals of 1.4 million tourists, which was the highest monthly arrival in the history of the industry (The Star, 20 March 2004). Furthermore, hotels in Kuala Lumpur recorded an avera

10、ge occupancy of 61% for January 2004 (The Star, 25 March 2004) and tourist arrivals to Malaysia are expected to increase by 6.9% to 14.3 million by 2005 (The Star, 20 March 2004).The main concern for the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) for year 2004 was the issue of recognition of hotel worker

11、s as professionals. The Malaysian Association of Hotels Training and Education Centre is now working towards promoting regular training and enhancing training programmes for hotel workers so that they would be recognized as professionals and increase the service quality (The Star, 25 March 2004).Hot

12、el ClassificationHistorically, hotel classification systems were formed to ensure safe and reliable lodging and food for travelers at a time when very few such trustworthy establishments existed. In the past fifty years, hospitality has reached the status of a mature industry with the unprecedented

13、growth of international tourism. As a result, the focus of hotel classification systems has shifted from consumer protection to consumer information. Presently, standardization and competitive marketing of hotel services to foreign customers and tourist professionals have appeared as driving forces

14、for instituting a local or national hotel classification system (WTO and IH&RA, 2004). According to a research study by World Tourism Organization (WTO) and International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA) (2004), the most widely used graphical symbol in hotel classification is the s

15、tar. The classification systems are mostly set up by the countries governments, and the Tourism Board and establishments are only consulted. Subsequently, they are adopted into the Tourism Law, the State Constitution or regional constitutions.In Malaysia, the official hotel classification system is

16、enforced by Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism Malaysia and it is a mandatory system. It is necessary for a hotel to be classified before it can obtain license/ permission/ registration to operate. The classification authority in Malaysia is a panel set up under the Ministry of Culture, Arts and

17、Tourism Malaysia, which consists of ministry officials and members from non-governmental organizations, such as hotel associations, tour operator associations and other relevant government agencies (WTO and IH&RA, 2004). There are two hotel classification schemes, namely the Star Rating (from on

18、e- to five-star), and the Orchid Rating (from one- to three-orchid). The Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism Malaysia introduced the Orchid Classification Scheme in order to accommodate those hotels such as beds and breakfast, inns, boarding houses, rest houses and lodging houses, which do not qua

19、lify for any Star Rating (Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism Malaysia, no date).In this research, focus was given to the luxury hotels. Only those hotels rated four-star (4S) or five-star (5S) were included in the research study.Influence of Service Quality in HospitalityKing (1995) mentioned tha

20、t hospitality in the commercial setting is a specific kind of relationship between individuals, which in this context is the hospitality service provider and customer. In this relationship, the host understands the needs and wants of the customer, which give pleasure to the customer and enhance his

21、or her wellbeing and comfort. The host will deliver with generous and flawless face-to-face interactions. The objective is to enhance guest satisfaction and develop repeat business.Kandampully (2000) revealed that service quality is crucial to the success of any service organization. As the customer

22、s participate in the production and consumption of services, they interact closely with various aspects of the organization. This inside knowledge gives them the opportunity to assess critically the services provided, in particular the quality of service. Customers will assess service quality by com

23、paring the service they get with the service they desire. Hence, service quality plays a critical role in adding value to the overall service experience. Since superior quality is one of the crucial factors within the control of the hospitality service provider, Lee, Barker, & Kandampully (2003)

24、 suggested that enhancing the quality of service at all levels of service delivery has therefore become mandatory for organization survival.The purpose of this study is therefore to assess the expectations and the perceptions of service quality dimensions in Malaysias luxury hotels from the hotel cu

25、stomers perspective by applying a modified version of the SERVQUAL model (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry, 1988). This study has the following objectives: to determine the service-quality attributes that constitute fundamental service-quality dimensions in evaluating hotel operators;to examine and

26、to compare relative importance attached by customers in terms of their expectations and perceptions bytype of hotels (four-star or five-star hotels); andto identify the role of service quality towards customer satisfaction in the hospitality industry.LITERATURE REVIEWConcept of ServiceFor the last t

27、wo decades, economies have experienced an extensive social and economic transformation globally. One of the most significant of these changes is the increased rate of spending on services. Service industries are leading the economy. Services lie at the hub of the economic activity of society and are

28、 linked closely with many other sectors of the economy (Kandampully, 2000). Services are not limited to the service industries, for example, a manufacturer like IBM can be highly involved in the service business. Services are deeds, processes and performance. The broad definition of services suggest

29、ed that intangibility as a key factor of deciding whether an offering is a service (Zeithaml and Bitner, 2003).Services are generally described in terms of four unique characteristics, namely intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity, and perishability. Intangibility can be defined as something t

30、hat cannot be touched, seen, tasted, heard, or felt in the same manner in which goods can be sensed (Groth and Dye, 2000). It has been said that intangibility is the single most important difference between products and services (Santos, 2002). Due to the intangibility characteristic of services, th

31、e firm may find it hard to understand how consumers perceive their service and evaluate service quality (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry, 1985).Services possess the inseparability characteristic since the service provider usually creates or performs the service at the same time as the full or parti

32、al consumption of the service take place. The conversion is highly visible and it is not possible for the service provider to hide any mistake or quality shortfall. Furthermore, the involvement of the customer in the delivery process introduces an additional factor, which causes the service provider

33、s to have little or no direct control over the service experience (Ghobadian, Speller, and Jones, 1994). With this condition, the consumers input becomes vital to the quality of service performance (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry, 1985). There are high degrees of variability in the performance of

34、services. Services are difficult to standardize, in contrast to manufactured goods. The quality of a service can vary from producer to producer, from customer to customer, and from day to day (OBrien and Deans, 1996). Service providers have to rely heavily on the ability of their staff to understand

35、 the requirements of the customer and react in an appropriate manner (Ghobadian, Speller, and Jones, 1994).Perishability is a characteristic of services that prevents them from being stored, warehoused, or inventoried (Lamb, Hair, and McDaneil, 2000). Unlike manufactured goods, it is impossible to h

36、ave a final check on quality. It needs to be done right at the first time (Ghobadian, Speller, and Jones, 1994).Measuring Service Quality GapsLewis (1987) suggested that what can be measured are the differences between the abstractions. So, it is the logic that if we can measure the difference betwe

37、en expectations and perceptions, which is defined as perceived quality, therefore we can determine the level of satisfaction. This concept is quite similar with Parasuramans (1985) service quality model, which applied the expectancy-disconfirmation theory. Parasuraman (1985) defined service quality

38、in ten major dimensions that consumers use in forming expectations about and perceptions of services. In a later research, Parasuraman (1988) revised and defined the service quality in five dimensions reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles. The model suggested service quality

39、 as the gap between customers expectations (E) and their perception of the service providers performance (P). Hence, the service quality score (Q) can be measured by subtracting customers perception score from customers expectations score:Q = P - ELamb, Hair and McDaniel (2000), and Zeithaml and Bit

40、ner (2003) have also discussed that there are five key discrepancies that can influence customer evaluations of service quality:Gap 1 is the gap between customers expectations and managements perceptions of those expectations.Gap 2 is the gap between managements perception of what the customer wants

41、 and specifications of service quality.Gap 3 is the gap between service quality specifications and delivery of the service.Gap 4 is the gap between service delivery and what the organization promises to the customer through external communication.Gap 5 is the gap between customers service expectatio

42、ns and their perceptions of service performance.Therefore, it shows that customers expectations towards a specific hotel stay will influence their perceptions, and this will have a great effect on their satisfaction towards the service they get.Zeithaml and Bitner (2003) stated that in order to mana

43、ge service quality, it is important to manage the gaps between expectations and perceptions on the part of management, employers and customers. The most important gap (Gap 5) is that between customers expectation of service and their perception of the service actually delivered. Hence by referring t

44、o the gap model, it states that a service marketer must close the customer gap (Gap 5). In order to do so, the service provider must close the four other gaps (Gap 1, 2 3, and 4) within the organization that inhibit delivery of quality service. Serious action must be taken because how the customers,

45、 in these case hotel customers, perceive the level of service performance that meets their expectations will reflect on the quality of service provided by the organization.According to Lewis (1987), the gaps measurement may be a significant marketing tool. It also has the advantage of being less abs

46、tract, even though not completely. It also considerably eases the task of measuring service quality.出處：Pei Mey Lau; Akbar, Abdolali Khatibi; Yong Gun Fie, David. Service Quality: A Study of the Luxury Hotels in MalaysiaJ.Journal of American Academy of Business.2005.07(09),pp.46-55標題：服務質量：對馬來西亞豪華飯店的研

47、究譯文：簡介由于全球諸多事件，諸如美國911事件，全球經濟疲軟，巴厘島爆炸案，SARS和禽流感等的發生，致使1997年至2002年間馬來西亞的經濟發展較之前緩慢了許多。這些事件的發生均對馬來西亞的旅游產業造成了重大影響。為避免旅游期間遇到麻煩，境內外旅客大幅減少。馬來西亞旅游人數從2002年的1329萬下降至2003年的1058萬（跌幅20.4%），但即使如此，跌幅仍小于其周邊國家如新加坡和印尼。這其中也許有因為馬來西亞旅游促進局積極宣傳的一份功勞。馬來西亞旅游當局的積極促進和經濟救濟方案使旅游行業復蘇的相當不錯。通過伊斯蘭會議組織會議、F1大獎賽等的活動的推廣工作，使馬來西亞逐漸成為一個日益

48、強大的國際活動中心，促進了經濟發展，確保旅游業的國際收支依舊保持樂觀。此外，由于馬來西亞國家銀行過去幾年對保持美元的匯率政策，原本較弱的馬來西亞貨幣在使境外旅游更加昂貴的同時，使境內旅游更為便宜方面已成為一個積極的因素。與此同時，國內旅游在此期間一直在穩步增加，2002年達到2220萬人次，增幅達到11%。這是因為馬來西亞旅游局通過開展諸如Cuti-cuti馬來西亞等方案鼓勵國內旅游發展，這無疑有助于國內旅游的增長（馬來西亞旅游促進局，2004）。然而，飯店業仍面臨著嚴重的供過于求，入住率嚴重受到SARS和禽流感危機的影響。2002年行業銷售增長，但在2003年經歷了大幅度下降，該行業競爭激烈

49、，尤其是隨著越來越多的飯店開業。從2001年至2002年，飯店的供應量增加了5.7%，而飯店房間的供應數量增加了4.4%（馬來西亞旅游促進局，2004）。然而，2004年是一個令人歡欣鼓舞的年份。一月份，馬來西亞迎來了140萬旅客，這是歷史月度到達的最高行業記錄。此外，2004年1月吉隆坡飯店的平均入住率為61%（The Star，2004.03.25），到2005年馬來西亞的旅客人數預計將增加6.9%至1430萬（The Star,2004.03.20）。2004年馬來西亞飯店協會(MAH)關注的重點是工作人員作為專業人士的認可問題。馬來西亞飯店培訓教育中心現正努力促進和加強對飯店工作人員的

50、定期培訓，使他們成為被認可的專業人士，并以此提高服務質量（The Star,2004.03.25）。飯店分類從歷史上看，飯店分類制度的形成，是為確保旅客安全可靠的食物和住宿。在過去五十多年里，國際旅游產業接待已經發展到了一個成熟的地位，因此，飯店的分類系統的重點已經從保護消費者轉變為消費信息了。目前，針對外國消費者和旅游專業人士的飯店標準化和競爭性市場表現為對于地方或國家實行飯店分類制度的一個驅動力（WTO and IH&RA, 2004。據世界旅游組織（WTO）和國際酒店及餐館協會（以下簡稱IH&RA）（2004）的調查研究顯示，星級是最廣泛使用的圖形符號。分類系統大多是由國

51、家政府所設立，旅游局和旅游機構僅是作為顧問。隨后將通過旅游業的法律，國家憲法或地方憲法。在馬來西亞，官方飯店分類制度是由馬來西亞文化、藝術和旅游部強制執行的，一家飯店必須先分類，才能取得牌照/許可/注冊資格。馬來西亞飯店的分類是按照文化、藝術和旅游部門的權威文化所進行的，包括政府官員和非政府組織如飯店協會，旅游經營商協會和其他相關政府機構（WTO和IH&RA, 2004）。飯店有兩種分類法，即星級（從1至5星級）和蘭花等級（從一到三蘭）。文化、藝術和旅游部介紹了馬來西亞蘭花分類計劃，以使如床和早餐，客棧，旅店和招待所等不符合任何星級的住所有所適應（文化、藝術、旅游局。無日期）。在此研究

52、中，重點是考慮豪華飯店，僅那些四星級（4S）或五星級（5S）酒店列入了這次的研究調查中。服務質量的影響King（1995）提到，在一個商業環境下好客是個人之間的關系，在這里則是熱情周到的服務供應商和消費者的關系。在這種關系中，主人了解消費者的需求，使其愉悅，提高他或她的幸福指數。主辦單位提供優厚的和完美的面對面的交流。我們的目標是提高客戶滿意度和重復業務發展。Kandampully(2002)顯示，服務質量是任何服務組織成功的至關重要的因素。正如客戶參與服務的生產和消費，他們密切與該組織的各個方面互動，使他們有機會批判評估提供的服務，特別是服務質量。通過比較，客戶將評估他們得到的服務與他們期望

53、的服務的質量，因此，服務質量在整體的增值經驗中發揮了關鍵作用。由于上乘的服務質量是提供商控制的關鍵因素之一，Lee.Barker和Kandampully(2003)建議，加強在各個層面提供的服務質量已成為組織生存的關鍵，因此應是強制性的。該研究的目的是評估期望服務與通過應用SERVQUAL模型（Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry, 1988）修改后的服務質量的比較。該研究有以下目標：1 確定服務質量的根本屬性，構成飯店經營服務質量評估標準2 審查和比較客戶相對重視的飯店類型和期望3 確定客戶對服務質量滿意度在服務行業中的作用文獻回顧服務理念在過去20年，經濟經歷了一個廣泛的全球社會和經濟變革。這些變化帶來的最重要的一項是在服務方面的支出增長速度。服務行業處于經濟的領先地位，服務處于社會經濟活動中心，與經濟直接掛鉤（Kandampully，2000）。服務并非僅限于服務行業，例如像IBM制造商也可高度參與服務業務。服務是行動，過程和性能。