Analyzing Consumer Banking Services in Singapore

Identifying the Subject and Its Service Offerings

Section A

Note: Where applicable, your answers in this ECA shall be based on the new SPRING Singapore Revised Business Excellence (BE) Framework

Question 1

Singapore aims to be an international financial centre that provides services to its domestic economy as well as to the entire Asia Pacific region. The banking industry is a key player in the country’s financial market segment, and it is one of the strongest in the world. The government has consolidated the local banks into three key players so that they can emerge as powerful regional banks. To escalate the Financial Hub status, the government also has deregulated the banking sector to attract large international banks to provide full range of banking services here.

In this ECA, we will focus on banks that offer consumer banking services in Singapore. You have to choose a bank (thereafter called the ‘subject”) that you are one of its customers. You can also choose to analyse other areas of its banking business, e.g. corporate banking or private and privilege banking. Your answers shall be based on your experiences, observations, researched information from multiple sources such as the bank’s website, press releases and annual reports, and the application of BE theories and models.

(a) Identify the subject. Describe one (1) aspect of its service that delights you. Discuss two (2) business or operational challenges that it is currently facing. Cite the sources of your information.
(b) Distinguish an excellent achievement of the subject from a positive media coverage (references required) based on any one (1) of the following areas:

(i) Business Excellence,
(ii) Service Excellence, or
(iii) Operational Excellence

Question 2

(a) The following is a simplified Business Excellence self-assessment tool. Assume that you are a SPRING Singapore’s Business Excellence assessor performing an assessment on the subject. You are required to practice and rate the subject according to the statements. For each statement, explain the rating that you have assigned to the subject by providing evidence, reasons or comments. Finally, you must compute the Total Rating and Percentage Total.

Note: You need to provide your answer in a table format similar to the one below, without the “Statements” column.

Evidence, reasons or comments on the rating assigned.

Leadership: The bank has a clear vision and mission, they are clearly communicated to all stakeholders.

Leadership: The bank involves stakeholders to contribute to the community and the environment.

People: The bank provides learning and development opportunities to achieve organisational and personal growth.

Strategy: The bank develops long and short-term strategies to achieve organisational goals.

Process: The bank engages key suppliers and partners to co-create products and services.

(b) Assume that a foreign bank was awarded a license to offer consumer banking services in Singapore recently. To provide convenient services to its potential customers, the bank wants to develop and launch a Mobile Phone Banking (MPB) App within a few months. If you are a business consultant, discuss how you would advise the foreign bank on using the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle for the MPB App development process, and the subsequent improvement process. You must relate the process to the 4 stages of the PDCA cycle.

Question 3

Write a short essay of not more than 700 words (indicate word count at the end of your answer) on the following:

For the subject’s consumer banking service, identify four (4) “moments of truth”.

Apply knowledge to enhance business excellence and discuss how the subject can or has enhanced the five Attributes of Service Quality (Reliability, Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy and Responsiveness) to provide excellent consumer banking services. For each attribute, relate the subject’s effort to one of Deming’s 14 Points, and discuss how the enhanced attribute can address at least one moment of truth identified.

Note: You can repeat the same Deming’s point(s) in different attributes but you must use at least four (4) distinct Deming’s Points to relate to all the attributes.

Section B

With reference to Question 3 in Section A, assume that you are the Business Consultant of your current consumer banking service provider (i.e. the subject). You are contracted to advise on its business excellence journey. You are to prepare a presentation to the subject’s top management on the following:

1. Identify four (4) critical “moments of truth”.

2. Discuss how the bank can enhance the five Attributes of Service Quality to address the moments of truth. Relate the effort in each attribute to the relevant Deming’s Points.
Prepare a video recording of the presentation of at least 3 minutes but not exceeding 6 minutes. There are two methods for ECA video assignment submission; either Record Media or Upload Media. For Upload Media, please note that your file size should be no more than 500MB and the format is in .mp4.

Section C

Prepare a set of PowerPoint presentation upon which the video presentation is based. Please note that the PowerPoint must be converted to PDF before submission to Canvas.