Quality improvement of barrack life in the Republic of Korea army

The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA) has been making every effort to improve the quality of the barrack-life environment. Recently, ROKA introduced a new scheme that allows soldiers to spend their free time on learning a foreign language and enhancing their computer skills, as well as enjoying more leisure time. In this paper, we use SERVQUAL in order to analyse the effect of the new scheme. The results indicated that the largest gap appears in the basic infrastructure (e.g. space and equipment) to support such free time activities. We learn from the structural equation model based on SERVQUAL that strict commitment from the top management level is necessary to accomplish the goal of the new system. In order to drive strategies to be employed by the top level, we use a hierarchical QFD. The results of QFD imply that it is necessary to allow soldiers to carry more personal property, such as portable cassette players, into barracks and to re-establish both the responsibility and authority of the squad leader and enlisted men. This study result is expected to improve effectively the quality of the barrack-life environment in ROKA.