SERVICE QUALITY OF SECURITY INDUSTRY



Synergy Security Solutions Service Quality At Brown Thomas, Ireland

Abstract

Security services threats have increased significantly in recent years. We identified the gaps between manager perceptions of security threats and the security countermeasures adopted by firms by collecting empirical data from Synergy Security Solutions and its service quality at Brown Thomas. Industry type was seen as the two factors that affected the motivation of firms to adopt security countermeasures, but their implementation did not necessarily affect the threat perceptions of the managers. Analyses of responses suggested that the scope of the countermeasures adopted were not commensurate with the severity of the perceived threats.

This study reviews the literature on service quality (SQ), with an emphasis on the methodological issues involved in developing measurement scales and issues related to the dimensionality of the SQ construct. We selected numerous studies on SQ from well-known databases and subjected them to a thorough content analysis. The review shows that dimensions of service quality tend to be contingent on the service industry.

Acknowledgement

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION6

1.1Quality of Security Service Background7

1.2Managing Variability and Costs of Security Services10

1.3User Choices for Security11

1.3.1Levels11

1.3.2The Notion of Network Modes12

1.3.3Costing for QoSS13

1.4Terminology15

2CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW17

2.1Information security risk analysis17

2.2Case study23

2.3Analysis of security risks23

2.4Background and research framework30

2.4.1Types of IS assets, threats, and security countermeasures30

2.4.2Adequacy of IS security30

2.4.3Summary of fundamental security countermeasures30

2.4.3.1IS security baseline35

2.4.4Factors affecting organizational adoption of IS security36

2.4.5Current study37

2.4.5.1Managerial perceptions of IS security threats to business37

2.4.5.2Security needs in relation to industry37

2.4.5.3Security needs in relation to organizational computerization38

2.4.5.4Research framework39

3CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY40

3.1Recruitment, training, and identification of PSC Staff43

3.2Salary levels of PSC staff44

3.3Setting the scene47

3.4Crisis management50

3.5Key challenges51

3.6Data Interpretation51

3.6.1.1Dimensionality of the SQ construct51

3.6.1.2Comparison with traditional servic quality dimensions54

3.6.1.3Outcome quality versus functional quality56

3.6.1.4Hierarchical structure of the SQ construct57

4CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND FINDINGS58

4.1Results58

4.1.1Organizational computerization level across industries58

4.1.2Influences of industry, computerization, and threat perception on security adoption59

4.1.3Identification of security gaps across industries61

4.1.3.1Current countermeasure adoptions61

4.1.3.2Perceived threat severities62

4.1.3.3The security gaps63

5CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION67

5.1Introduction67

5.1.1Security Guarding67

5.1.2Retail68

5.1.3Mobile & Key Holding68

5.1.4Facilities Management69

5.1.5Event Security70

5.1.6Sports Stadia71

5.1.7Door Supervision71

5.1.8Sectors72

5.1.9Property Management72

5.1.10Public Sector72

5.1.11Retail Parks and Shopping Centres73

5.2Business environment73

5.3Demographic data74

5.4Economic data75

5.5International trade75

5.6Government system75

5.7Legal system76

REFERENCES81

Chapter 1: Introduction

Quality of Service (QoS) mechanisms can be beneficial to both the user and the overall distributed system. QoS users benefit by having reliable access to services. The distributed system whose resources are QoS managed benefits by having more predictable resource utilization and, where supported, more efficient resource allocation. We have previously examined how reliability, predictability and efficiency can be enhanced by including security as a real part of QoS, transforming security from an inflexible performance obstacle into a constructive management tool. We have termed the effects of this inclusion, "Quality of Security Service" (QoSS). The motivation for the work described here is to examine specific methods for managing variability of security services, including choices offered to users, resource cost calculation, and modulation of underlying security mechanisms. Security variability has been discussed in earlier work. Variable packet authentication rates have been discussed with respect to the management of system performance. A Quality of Protection parameter, which manages the level of protection provided to a message communication ...