National Westminster Bank
1. Introduction
The purpose of this report is to analyse the case “National
Westminster Bank” (David Woodgate and Nigel Slack, 1992), in order to
identify any existing and potential problems, then after careful
consideration recommend possible courses of action to rectify them.
During the review of the organisation described in the case, the key
issues will be identified and then related to relevant theory.
Analysis will then be made of all relevant factors and recommendations
will be made after consideration of all factors.
Overview of the Case
The case study to be analysed focuses on the St James’s Square branch
of the National Westminster Bank in London’s West End. The case gives
a clear and concise representation of the bank’s structure giving
detailed descriptions of the all the employees roles and functions and
an organisation chart. The focus is then applied to the Records
Section and account opening procedure, which is where the problems are
found and complaints have been registered.
The results of a survey are summarised in the case to show the
apparent level of customer dissatisfaction with the account opening
procedure, the importance of such factors are then highlighted with a
brief description of the level of competition within the banking
industry. The views of are also considered and suggest areas where
current systems may be failing the organisation.
2. Problem
Key Issues
The location of the bank in St James’s square is both a blessing and a
burden to the organisation. The sophisticated clientele resulted in
the bank being the most profitable in its region, yet they also
expected an extremely high level of customer service. This high level
of expectation from the customers resulted in any lapses in service
being highly scrutinised.
The key issues to be addressed within this branch occur in or around
the process of opening accounts which is the responsibility of the
Records Section, they are as follows:
· Customers joining the wrong queue and requiring redirection because
the enquiries desk was “neither well positioned or signposted”.
· Competition is “tough” within the banking industry, particularly in
this branch’s immediate vicinity.
· 36 per cent of customers felt formalities were not properly
explained.
· 76 per cent had not received the sta...
... middle of paper ...
...nt a new system in the
Records Section. After consideration of alternatives it is apparent
that it would be possible and practical for the organisation to do
this without major disruption to the organisational structure.
5. Recommendations
The main recommendation from the findings in this report is for the St
James's Square branch to implement a cell layout in order for the
Records Section to handle its workload.
This would enable them to carry out all their tasks much more
efficiently and fulfil its duties while maintaining customer
satisfaction. To implement such a system the bank will need to employ
a process of windows in which customers are able to come in and open
accounts or to arrange appointments on the phone.
Possible drawbacks with such a service would be that customers would
not be able to open accounts at their convenience and may become
dissatisfied with this process but the quality of product they would
receive is likely to be much improved.
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[1] Statistics derived from a survey the branch carried out in 1989 on
customer's views of their account opening procedures.
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