Re: customers

[Roy Greenhalgh <rgreenh@attglobal.net>]

Dr. Carole L. Touchinski wrote:-

I am currently engaged in the study of the non-profit organization
customer. It is a very fascinating process to say the least. A few areas
I would love thoughts, feedback and suggested reading on... 1) Customer
Feedback Loops 2) Customer Satisfaction vs. What the Customer Values about
the organization and the study of Customer Flow through the organization.

Carole

I got into the same groove: just what happens inside a customer feedback
loop?  I found that the Deming/Shewhart PDSA process didn’t help me.  I
wanted to try and predict or forecast, using the historical data I had
already gathered but away from the customer's environment. I then turned to
looking at Senge’s “Systems Thinking” (The 5th Discipline and the
Fieldbooks) where he uses causal loops extensively.  This then takes you
along 2 routes (a) system archetypes, with additional work done by Prof.
Eric Wolstenholme in the UK.  (Eric recently received the Systems Dynamics
Society’s top award in 2004 for his work on archetypes.  See Systems
Dynamics Review Vol. 20, No. 4  “Using generic system archetypes to support
thinking and modelling”).  And (b) systems dynamics itself.  SD lets you do
the whole thing.

I have found Bob Cavana’s book “Systems Thinking and Modelling” ISBN
1-877258-00-8 (still available from Amazon etc) to give a good understanding
for a learner.  His case studies are a mix of NGO, not-for-profit and
commercial.  He even has variation on the famous MIT Beer Game.  As he
provides the models, and “run-time” software, you can use them and see the
effects of policies, change policy values and change policy structures as
well.  Real good stuff.

>From this you should be able to construct simple causal loop diagrams,
simulation models, use the data you have, and begin to see how feedback
loops affect behaviour.

Roy Greenhalgh