The fishbone concept or Ishikawa Diagram OR Cause and effect

The Fish bone concept common name for the Ishikawa diagram, a simple and highly effective problem solving tool devised by a highly respected Japanese quality expert. Also known as a cause and effect diagram, this is a concept every entrepreneur should be familiar with: it provides a visual way of organizing disparate data as to come up with a solution to a problem, or otherwise achieve a desired outcome.

Let us learn how to use fish bone diagrams to create a layout dissecting the task at one, one can benefit from increased perspective on the causes and effect associated with a specific scenario; with such perspective, one should hope to gain the ability to tackle any kind of problem more easily. The purpose of this tool is to break down a complex problem into the simpler underlying causes. The expression fish bone refers to the appearance of this schematics: not unlike a fish skeleton, where the head represents the problem, and each bone sticking out from the vertebra represents factors contributing to the problem.

While building up a fish diagram, one will usually start by drawing the head of the fish, along with a set numbers of bones – usually 4, 6, or 8, associated with the manufacturing industry (Machine, Method, Materials, Man, Measurement), and service industry (Product Price, Promotion, Place ,People, Process and physical evidence) and 4 s (Surroundings, Suppliers, Systems, Skills).

The cause-and-effect diagrams, or Fishikawa shows the causes of a certain event -- created by Kaoru Ishikawa (1990) Common uses of the Ishikawa diagram are product design and quality defect prevention, to identify potential factors causing an overall effect. Each cause or reason for imperfection is a source of variation. Causes are usually grouped into major categories to identify these sources of variation. The categories typically include:

People: Anyone involved with the process Methods: How the process is performed and the specific requirements for doing it, such

as policies, procedures, rules, regulations and laws

Machines: Any equipment, computers, tools etc. required to accomplish the job

Materials: Raw materials, parts, pens, paper, etc. used to produce the final product

Measurements: Data generated from the process that are used to evaluate its quality

Environment: The conditions, such as location, time, temperature, and culture in which the process operates

Ishikawa diagrams were proposed by Kaoru Ishikawa in the 1960s, who pioneered quality management processes in the Kawasaki shipyards, and in the process became one of the founding fathers of modern management.

It was first used in the 1940s, and is considered one of the seven basic tools of quality control. It is known as a fishbone diagram because of its shape, similar to the side view of a fish skeleton.

Causes

Causes in the diagram are often categorized, such as to the 8 M's, described below. Cause-and-effect diagrams can reveal key relationships among various variables, and the possible causes provide additional insight into process behavior.

Causes can be derived from brainstorming sessions. These groups can then be labeled as categories of the fishbone. They will typically be one of the traditional categories mentioned above but may be something unique to the application in a specific case. Causes can be traced back to root causes with the 5 Whys technique.

Typical categories are:

The 8 Ms (used in manufacturing)

(technology) (process)

Material (Includes Raw Material, Consumables and Information.)

Man Power (physical work)/Mind Power (brain work): Kaizens, Suggestions

Measurement (Inspection)

Management

Maintenance

7 Ps (used in service industry)

Product=Service Price

Place

Promotion/Entertainment

People(key person)

Process

Physical Evidence

The 4 Ss

Surroundings Suppliers

Systems

Skills

Questions to be asked while building a Fishbone Diagram

For example if you want to know the problem of Airline industry(cause and effect ) . The 8Ps used in airline Industries P’s: Used in Airlines industries (service industries), the 8 P’s are: Price, Promotion, People, Processes, Place, Policies, Procedures, and Product (or Service).Find whether the problem associated any of the areas like price product place etc.

 

The Zone of tolerance :

The Gap Between desired service and adequate service is the zone of tolerance . The service quality varies across the zone

When the actual service delivery is above the desired service, the customer satisfaction is very high. Such high quality delights the customer. simililarly when the actual service delivery is below adequate service the customers feels cheated and may rate service quality as very poor but within the zone of tolerance. Service quality does not get much customer attention. Beyond or below the zone of

DESIRED SERVICE

ZONE OF TOLERANCE

ADEQUATE SERVICE

tolerance , service quality is perceived as neither high nor low. When one applies for bank loan, getting the loan sanctioned within reasonable time may be rated as service quality within the zone of tolerance but the customer will be delighted if a relationship executive calls up and get the loan amt sanctioned at the earliest.

Zone of tolerance varies across customer and situation. For example a person is in hurry waits in a queue to buy railway ticket may get frustrated and rate service quality poorly and same customer may show more tolerance if he is not in hurry.

Innovation in services

Services Innovation is mainly about creating newer experiences for the consumer using new technology, changed processes and more importantly, improved human factors. It is the design and delivery of new services, more efficiently in a fail-proof manner. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have been great enablers of Service Innovation. “Self Service”, one of the best service innovations has been made possible mainly because of advances in ICT. Services meant innovative use of the technology for automation, efficiency and productivity improvement. Most ICT users are now trying to leverage technology for creating new and unique experiences for their customers. So the expectation from technology is not only efficiency and productivity but design and creation of innovative new services as well. Professional services companies including IT services and solutions providers have a great opportunity to spearhead these innovation services.

The growing global services economy offers several opportunities. For instance, by 2030 it is estimated that the working population as a percentage of total population in most countries will be on the decline. In India it will continue to go up. So, innovative Elderly Care will be a much-needed service in many countries.

Design services will be another major opportunity, as an increasing need for customized products and services will necessitate shorter product cycles and a need for flexibility. Consumer goods such as cell phones, automobiles, and fashion accessories and tourism offer ample exemplification of these opportunities.

Another example is that of design intensive manufacturing. The current often repeated model is that of “manufacturing in China and services from India”. However there is now new emerging thinking that talks of India becoming a hub of design intensive, low volume manufacturing. Design will be a major service that will actually create new manufacturing opportunities. Other examples include services around intelligent buildings, energy efficient environments, E-health networks, personalized food and intelligent transportation.

Indian organizations can innovate in services not only to exploit those innovations within the country but to export those service innovations as well. Similar to India, the European Union has diversity in language, culture, consumption habits, climate and geographical terrain. India can be a good test bed for a variety of products and services that need heterogeneity. One such example is the case for clinical trials. Pharmaceutical and Biotech companies in India can leverage India’s vast genetic pool of patients and apply cutting edge information technology for drug discovery and discovery of new chemical and biological entities. They can also accelerate clinical trials in a far more cost effective manner. Services also offer excellent opportunities for entrepreneurs. Unlike in new product ventures, service organizations have low entry and exit barriers. Further, most product companies would need some element of customization for the product to be adopted by the customer and this would lead to a lot of opportunities for service organizations. Alternate delivery models such as Software-as-a-Service and Software Assembly also offer myriad opportunities for small service providers along the service delivery process.

Classification of services

Services can be classified in the following way:

I. By the end user of the services.

i. Individual consumer as an end user E.g. Insurance, Banking, Personal finance, hairdressing.

ii. Business to Business end user. E.g. When Tata Steel asked O&M, the advertising agency to

design its advertising campaign. E.g. When ACC asked Thompson press to print its annual report.E.g.

When Infosys asked PWHC (Price, Water, House Cooper) to do its accounting and certify its accounts.

iii. Industrial Endurers.E.g. ONGC would require for its drilling rigs maintenance, repair, operation from

Essar, Gujarat.E.g. Godrej Housing the real estate would require services from the best controlled

companies. E.g. many industries would require assistance from BMC for hygiene and garbage clean-up

and maintenance.

I. By the degree of tangibility.

Highly Tangible E.g. Car rental, vending machines, telecommunications.

Service linked to tangible goods E.g. Domestic appliance repair, car service.

Highly intangible E.g. Psychotherapy, Consultancy, legal services.

II. Services can be broken down into LABOUR INTENSIVE (PEOPLE BASED) and Equipment

based services. This also can be represented by DEGREE OF CONTRACT

People based services: High Contact E.g. Education. Dental care, restaurants and medical service.

Equipment based: Low Contact E.g. Automatic car wash, vending machine, cinema.

III. The expertise and skills of service provider

Professional E.g. Medical services, accountancy, tutoring.

Non Professional E.g. Baby sitting, care taking and casual labor.

IV. The overall business orientation ( Profit)

Not for Profit The Scouts Association, charities, and public sector leisure facilities.

Commercial Banks, Airlines, tour operators, hotels and catering services.

SERVICE GUARANTEE

A service guarantee is a statement that clarifies what the customers can expect from a service, and what the company will do to rectify the situation if the service does not meet expectations. The guarantee clearly states the level at which the service should be delivered, and indicates the costs of failing to do so. Companies issuing Service Guarantees should learn from service failures, set standards for service

delivery for both employees and customers, and increase satisfaction and retention of customers.

For example take the Customer Service Guarantee of Otter Tail, a power company.

We will provide timely, courteous customer service. If we're ever discourteous or if your inquiry is not handled in a timely manner, please let us know. Your comments will help us to serve you better.

We will connect your service by the date promised. If we fail, we'll award you $50 for each working day we're late up to $250.

We will repair a rental security light within five working days of your notifying us that it's broken, or you'll receive one month of free electric service for the light.

We will provide you with an accurate bill. If your bill is ever inaccurate, in addition to correcting it, we'll award you 10 percent of the error. The minimum award will be $10, the maximum $500. This does not apply to estimated or prorated bills or to self-read meters.

MOMENTS OF TRUTH (MOT) -The service encounter

A service encounter means any episode in which the customer comes in contact with any aspect with the organization and gets an impression of the quality of its service. The service encounter is popularly now known as a Moment of Truth .The usage of the term in services gives drama to the encounter by the customer with the service process, service providers and the service firm.

Let’s take a few examples of service encounter to understand its all pervasiveness

1) Seeing an advertisement of the firm

2) Having a telephonic enquiry session with the service firm

3) Being greeted in the entrance

4) The impression while waiting in a queue

5) The quality of the interaction between the service provider

CIT (Critical incidents in service Encounters)

There are several attempts in evaluating the quality of services and the “service encounters” .One of the

evaluation methods is critical incident technique. This was applied in diagnosing the favorable and

unfavorable incidents through collection of 700 incidents from customers of airlines , hotels and

restaurants. Out of this analysis the authors have tried to classify the result of this study which given in

nutshell below BITNER AND BOOMS technique is used for collecting and categorizing critical

incidents in service delivery that contribute to or detract from the customers service experience in a

significant way

1. Employee response to service delivery system failure

Unavailable service

Unreasonably slow service

Other core service failure

2. Employee response to customer needs and request

Customer with special needs

Expressed customer preference

3. Problematic customer Behavior

Drunkenness

Verbal abuse

Breaking co. policies

Un co operative behaviour

Customers involvement in services :

Another role customers can play in services delivery is that of contributor to their own satisfaction and

ultimate quality of the services they receive. Customers may care little that they have increased the

productivity of the organization through their participation but they likely care a great deal about

whether their needs are fulfilled. Effective customer participation can increase the likelihood that

needs are met and that the benefits the customer seeks are actually attained .Think about services such

as health care , education , personal fitness and weight loss, where the service outcome is highly

dependent on customer participation . In these cases, unless the customer performs her role

effectively , the desired service outcomes is not possible.Technical and functional skills of the

customer is equally important . It refers to the technical and functional skills people possess in order to

get the best services from providers. Research suggest that customers who believe they have done their

part to be effective in service interactions are more satisfied with the service . for eg Banking services

Technical quality of customer inputs could be

You clearly explained what you wanted the bank employee to do

You gave proper information to the bank

You tried to co operate with the bank employee

You understand the proper procedure associated with this service

Functional (skills ) inputs of customer:

You are friendly to the bank employee

You have a good relationship with the bank employee

You are courteous to the bank employee

Technical and functional skills of people

The technical skill of the people can be measured in terms of the actual output of the service

operation process. If refers to area of specialization of employees .For eg. A patient who comes out of

a hospital after undergoing a surgery can judge the technical skill as he continues to recuperate .

On the other hand the process of service in terms of interaction between the customer and the service

provider defines the functional skill of the people. For eg: the functional sill of people in hospital

services primarily depends how the doctors and the staff of the hospital treat the patient during his

stay.

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