Page 43 - MYM 2016

Name of sector
corruption & irregularities faced by households (%)
2010
2007
Judiciary
88.0
47.7
Law Enforcement
79.7
96.6
Land Administration
71.2
52.7
Tax & Customs
51.3
25.9
Electricity
45.9
33.2
Agriculture
45.3
-
Local Government
43.9
62.5
Health
33.2
44.1
Insurance
19.2
-
Banking
17.5
28.7
Education
15.3
39.2
NGO
10.1
13.5
Others
34.1
35.5
Overall
84.2
66.7
the public or private sector, suggesting that the quality of the service providers in each of the two sectors is no di erent. Business professionalism
is a mindset that takes time to acquire and embed in an organization’s DNA. While it is expected
that such professionalism would be heeded and acquired faster in the private sector, where it can drive an organization’s survival and success, that mindset has apparently not taken root. Perhaps the overwhelming demand for services where supply shortages are chronic, in a country with a bur- geoning population, does not provoke the need to acquire such a mindset yet, whether the provider is from the public or private sector. e other nding was as expected: when alternatives are available, people will not tolerate poor service providers and will be more inclined to terminate the relationship. Yet, the inclination to switch was not intense, per- haps suggesting a lack of faith in the alternative providers of service.
Also, when a service provider was willing to resolve a complaint, customers were marginally more likely to return to the same provider. e qualitative interviews suggested a good reason: that complaint resolution is o en not delivered satisfactorily.
It is important to emphasize that poor service provision poses serious problems for organiza- tions in the developing world in an era of greater competition and globalization. Instead of building relational bonds, such behavior primes custom-
ers to sever the link, especially when an alternate provider is available. Preference for international banks, neighboring country hospitals, foreign edu- cation systems, and out-of-country vacations are all indicators of poor in-country service delivery.
From a policy perspective, it is important to create more choices for customers. Being tied to cer- tain service providers and being unable to sever ties with them, despite receiving poor services, creates unfavorable conditions for customers while giving the service providers huge leverage to misappropri- ate. For example, during the qualitative interviews, one customer indicated that during a major holiday, her electric supply was disrupted. Upon complaint, a technician o ered to restore it, but for a signi cant private payo . Having no recourse, she lamented,
fig. 1: corruption and irregularities faced by bangladeshi households in di erent sectors. source: transparency international
MarketiNg for social chaNge
“What can I do? No one will even record my com- plaint, and I need the electricity.”
Unfortunately, many service recipients do
not complain even a er receiving horribly poor services. Service failures in the developing world heighten the miseries of customers who have nowhere to turn. Policy is needed to enable cus- tomers to exercise their rights to nd services they deem most t, thereby driving poor service provid- ers to improve or go out of business. Laws are also needed to protect customers when things go wrong so that customer complaints are immediately acted upon or providers made to pay a he y price. Most importantly, what the existing situation suggests is the large opportunity space available to those who understand what a customer means. For them, the market awaits to respond with rich rewards. ■
Syed Saad Andaleeb is the Vice Chancellor of BRAC University, Bangladesh, and Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Pennsylvania State University, USA.
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