Repositioning Customer Service as an Emotional Intelligence-Driven Capability in Diploma-Level Business Education: A Conceptual Framework

This conceptual paper examines higher education business curricula, focusing on the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) Body of Knowledge (BoK) for Diploma in Business programmes. A business diploma serves a dual-pathway objective: preparing graduates for immediate entry into the workforce at the frontline supervisory level or equipping them with the theoretical foundation to pursue a Bachelor’s degree. Despite this, current frameworks relegate customer service to a minor subtopic embedded within marketing modules. Empirical literature and modern service crises demonstrate that frontline supervision depends heavily on behavioral, emotional, and operational competencies rather than macro-marketing analytics. Through a synthesis of regulatory benchmarks, industry service failures, and generation-specific psychological profiles, this paper develops an operationalized framework bridging Generation Z attributes, Emotional Intelligence (EI) development, and professional readiness. We argue that customer service should be repositioned as an independent, standalone core knowledge domain within business diploma syllabi to enhance graduate employability, cultivate resilience, and mitigate organizational reputational risk.