David Garvin’s Framework for Product Analysis
David Garvin, a pioneer in organisational learning and a professor at Harvard Business School, had focused on the importance of quality and its several dimensions for businesses in his research paper published in 1987 in Harvard Business Review (Veselova, 2018). He proposed eight dimensions of quality that he addressed in his framework for product analysis which will be explained further in the report. The framework will determine the product quality of a proposed COVID-19 vaccine that will be released into the market.
The performance of a product denotes its primary operating features, and most consumers judge the quality of the product by its performance. In the case of medical products, performance stands for courteous and prompt service. Since the performance dimension of the framework is associated with measurable attributes, products of different brands can be ranked by assessing their performance aspects (Syahrial et al., 2018). Overall performance can be difficult to rank, particularly when the benefits do not satisfy the needs of every customer.
The vaccine will provide protection against the SARS-COV-2 (coronavirus), hospitalisation and even death. The vaccine will not only benefit the consumer, but it will reduce transmission, hence benefitting the entire community. The vaccine will be developed using live-attenuated microbes, which use a live but weakened virus. This approach of using a similar technology that was used to develop the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps and rubella), shingles and chickenpox have the potential to be manufactured at a huge scale.
The second dimension of the product quality assessment framework is also referred to as the second factor of performance. Features support the basic performance; for example, automatic updates in a smartphone can be referred to as one of its features as it increases the appeal of the product to its users. The important thing about the feature is that it involves measurable and objective attributes (Dhasan & Aryupong, 2019). For some, quality depends on the number of options a product can provide. Usually, feature and performance are difficult to separate since the feature is a secondary aspect of performance.
Live-attenuated vaccines create a long-lasting and strong response against the virus since they share similarities with the natural virus that they fight against (World Health Organization, 2021). Only one or two doses of this vaccine will provide protection for a lifetime against the coronavirus. Therefore, the primary features of the vaccine will be:
- Stronger immune system
- Well-established technology
- B and T cells are involved in the process of immune response
- The manufacturing process is simple and hence can reach the consumers at a rapid rate (Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, 2020).
Reliability is referred to the operation of the product, and this aspect is about how well the product works and what the probability of it malfunctioning or breakdown is. Garvin identified three factors to measure reliability which are:
- The mean time it takes for the product to fail for the very first time (Veselova, 2018).
- The mean time between two consecutive failures
- The rate of failure per unit time.
The reliability factor is used to measure how long a product can stay functional and if it requires maintenance (Veselova, 2018). This vaccine will be developed for adults of all age groups, and its functionality will remain lifelong. However, due to the nature of the COVID-19 virus developing subsequent variants, we will recommend users to administer at least two dosages of the vaccine, around 3-4 months apart, to help them develop a stronger immune system to fight the virus for a lifelong period.
Performance and Feature Dimensions of the Framework
Conformance is the ability of the product to meet established standards. The degree of meeting those standards in terms of functioning features and design of the product is referred to as conformance. When new products are developed, specific standards are fixed for the clarity of materials used, and specific proportions and dimensions are fixed for the parts utilised. These parameters can be considered as target norms, with deviation from the objective allowed only under a certain range.
The vaccine will complete a clinical trial process to assess the conformity of standards, and all side effects will be measured. After the complete success of the trial process, the vaccines will be authorised to start bulk manufacturing. The vaccines will be packed in standard glass vials and will be stored in cold storage as per set standard guidelines (World Health Organization, 2020). The packaging will be able to withstand temperature fluctuations and endure the risk of global transportation. The temperature will be maintained as per standard guidelines as incorrect temperatures can ruin the vaccine. The maximum and minimum temperatures will be tested before the release, and every vial will conform to the set standards.
Durability is the dimension that signifies the degree to which extent a product can survive stress. It can also be regarded as the dimension that measures the life span of the product. There are significant implications of this dimension, and the first one is that it proposes that there is a direct relation between reliability and durability. A product that has the tendency to fail more regularly has more probability of being discarded than a product that is more durable (Dhasan & Aryupong, 2019). Secondly, the approach also insinuates that the figures of durability require to be analysed and transcribed with care.
The vaccine will be administered in two dosages in order to strengthen its durability action. The second dose will be administered 3-4 months after the first one. It is also recommended that to retain the effects of the vaccines for a longer period; a booster dose will increase the durability as well as the reliability of the vaccine. A booster dose is usually half the strength of the primary vaccines (World Health Organization, 2022).
The serviceability dimension implies courtesy, speed, ease of refit and repair, and competence. Consumers concern themselves with more than just durability and reliability; they observe the time taken for repair and the speed of repair, which displays the degree of competence. Competence is also measured by the way the service appointments are taken care of and if the conflict is resolved immediately. The consumer’s final decision regarding the quality of the product is dependent on the company’s way of dealing with procedures where complaints are promptly addressed (Hoe & Mansori, 2018).
However, in the case of vaccines serviceability dimension cannot be taken into consideration when making efforts for addressing the quality control issues. Serviceability can only be applied to products that can be replaced or repaired. In the case of vaccines, replacement is not possible after the doses have already been administered. Hence this dimension will not be emphasised.
Benefits of Proposed COVID-19 Vaccine
Aesthetics is described in the framework as the tastes, feels, looks, sounds or the smell of a product and is subjective in nature. It is a reflection of personal judgment and individual preferences, and it is hard to please every customer.
In the case of the aesthetics of the COVID-19 vaccine, the looks, smell, and taste are matters that do not concern an emergency medication production. Hence this dimension will not be focused on. However, we will make efforts in producing a product that corroborates with the standards in terms of packaging and materials used.
Consumers often do not have full information about the features of a product or solution. As a result, they compare things using indirect assessments. Durability cannot be immediately experienced, but it can be deduced from the product’s varied functional and symbolic characteristics (Hazen et al., 2017). In this context, the brand image, promotion, and imagery are important for establishing the customers’ idea of quality. The most significant factor affecting perceived quality is reputation. It has a profound impact on how people perceive a product. Sony, for instance, offers excellent televisions and camcorders, and it also manufactures excellent cell phones. Honda’s motorcycles are just as good as its sedans. It’s an unspoken analogy in which consumers compare a company’s new product range to its previous product category.
However, this dimension will not be focused on since vaccines are not a type of product that consumers will compare with the reputation of the brand when it is an urgent need. That may be the case a few years down the line when many reputable firms would have developed the vaccines, and the consumers would get the option to perceive the product by the brand’s reputation. Since vaccines are not a commercial commodity, the perceived quality dimension will not be considered for the quality assessment.
In conclusion, the response to the question provides a product quality assessment by using Garvin’s framework to base their efforts and focus on developing the new COVID-19 vaccine. The dimensions of the framework show that the areas where efforts need to be made in order to achieve a favourable outcome are performance, reliability, features, conformance, and durability, and the dimensions that do not require great attention are serviceability, and aesthetics and perceived quality.
Reference
Dhasan, D., & Aryupong, M. (2019). Effects of product quality, service quality and price fairness on customer engagement and customer loyalty. ABAC Journal, 39(2).
https://www.assumptionjournal.au.edu/index.php/abacjournal/article/view/3959
Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance. (2020). What are whole virus vaccines and how could they be used against COVID-19?. Gavi.org. Retrieved 18 April 2022, from
https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/what-are-whole-virus-vaccines-and-how-could-they-be-used-against-covid-19.
Hazen, B. T., Boone, C. A., Wang, Y., & Khor, K. S. (2017). Perceived quality of remanufactured products: construct and measure development. Journal of Cleaner Production, 142, 716-726.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yacan-Wang/publication/305823582_Green_information_green_certification_and_consumer_perceptions_of_remanufctured_automobile_parts/links/608e12d6458515d315edcefb/Green-information-green-certification-and-consumer-perceptions-of-remanufctured-automobile-parts.pdf
Hoe, L. C., & Mansori, S. (2018). The effects of product quality on customer satisfaction and loyalty: Evidence from Malaysian engineering industry. International Journal of Industrial Marketing, 3(1), 20.
https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/57888289/The_Effects_of_Product_Quality_on_Customer_Satisfaction_and_Loyalty_-_Engineering_Industry-with-cover-page-v2.pdf?Expires=1650321433&Signature=IFRxlDwhDmLMGiAYm68MMhEKgbMVdnda15EUTF-wQPONEurj1LGk9691XI-5AlS7jtCijK3HxNDDNh~-iK9iuR1wcwEHrSHRkx-7xAlQf~HmOuiadaOgLlB0gZndqfHkgv62zm7sqDPt7r0JNxXpgBrmBzSsQDVnMWvn86rZ2IxHtRcAFIiA3jf86fbQHYJA66u3TxxPQSyQV6hGReEJQZk35d8J6OSciMRBl0hGA23LsjcXMiMdqVsuWDAoguEMpPz4SQyV7zE7U2IVfeBfkYJSLzk-CvCrw1bjKLeWlKvAnLJI-hhS5pn9qtuDmYjqUONJUyEgj-gxaJ1vY2vpkQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA
Syahrial, E., Suzuki, H., Schvaneveldt, S. J., & Masuda, M. (2018). Customer perceptions of mediating role of ownership cost in Garvin’s dimensions of quality. Journal of Japan Industrial Management Association, 69(2E), 95-112.
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jima/69/2E/69_95/_pdf
Veselova, A. (2018). Quality dimension in the context of consumers. Economic and Social Development: Book of Proceedings, 11-22.
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World Health Organization. (2021). The different types of COVID-19 vaccines. Who.int. Retrieved 18 April 2022, from https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/the-race-for-a-covid-19-vaccine-explained.
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