| The conventional approach to improving public service delivery in Ghana has mainly been along macro-level structural and fiscal dimensions. However, at the core of service delivery lies the interpersonal interaction itself - one of the components by which service recipients perceive and rate overall service quality. This exploratory study adopts a micro-level approach and investigates how frontline workers and clients in public agencies conceptualize service quality, and how important the service interaction is to them, compared to other components of the service encounter. The study attempts to answer three key questions. First, how do recipients as well as service providers define or conceptualize "service quality"? Secondly, how important is the interpersonal interaction to both street-level bureaucrats and clients, compared to other factors such as the service environment and tangible outcomes of the service encounter? Lastly, how do demographic factors such as age and gender influence the quality of the interaction itself, and consequently, the perception of quality? Set in Ghana, 2 focus group discussions with 5 participants each, and 35 individual interviews were conducted. Findings suggest that both clients and frontline workers consider the tangible outcome of their visit the most important dimension of the service encounter. To a limited extent, some findings support the proposition that clients consider the interaction as a top priority, while the frontline worker considers the environment a top priority. The study illuminated that socio-cultural factors as well as the role of literacy and standardization of procedures play a major role in how public servants and clients perceive service quality in public agencies. This finding is unique because the factors identified are almost invisible in the general literature on service quality in the public sector. The insights gained and lessons learned are useful as intellectual resources in informing efforts geared toward service improvement and the restoration of public trust in the public service through service encounters.;Keywords: Service Encounter, Service Interaction, Service Quality, Service Delivery, Service Improvement, Ghanaian Public Sector, Quality Management... |
