selection, placement and training of new recruits. Broad strategic
issues relating to the many learning points within the case are as
follows:
Broad marketing and strategic issues:
● improving service quality
● managing rapid growth
● managing a diverse range of cross-cultural issues, particularly the dom-
inance of French nationals in management positions in the American
zone
● examines how organizational policies affect the attitudes of customer
contact staff
● managing customer expectations
● organizational structure and design.
Relationship marketing issues:
● managing recruitment markets, including:
● selection of staff
● placing staff/job rotation
● training staff
● managing internal markets
● how employee morale influences customer satisfaction in service busi-
nesses
● the financial and strategic costs of high employee turnover
● the impact of employee retention on customer retention
● employees as part-time marketers and primary sources of variation in
service quality
● managing the organizational climate and culture and implementing
change in a company with a strong corporate culture
● failing to adopt a relationship marketing approach.
This case may also provoke some discussion about the ethics of
over-hiring and the merits of having a director for human resources
in the American zone who doesn’t have the authority over promo-
tions and management assignments. There are also linkages with
other relationship markets, including referral and customer
markets.
The recruitment and internal market domains 329