Kundtjänster har länge drivits av människor, under de senaste åren har det övergått till att utvecklas till en mer teknikdriven process. För många organisationer är virtuella chatbotar det första steget i interaktionen med en kund vilket gör att det blir viktigt att förstå hur chatbotarna påverkar användaren. Nya psykologiska hinder har tillkommit och användarna upplever ofta chatbotar som opersonliga och att de brister i att ge en känsla av mänsklig kontakt. Chatbotar behöver utvecklas och kommunicera mer som människor om de ska kunna nyttjas till sin fulla potential. Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilka identifierade designelement som stödjer känslan av mänsklig kontakt hos chatbotar. Studien genomfördes med en designorienterad forskningsansats där tre stycken centrala kategorier av mänskliga egenskaper identifierades; personlighet och förmågan att uttrycka känslor, utseende och kroppsspråk samt användandet av språk. Dessa i sin tur utvecklades till elva designelement som kunde undersökas med hjälp av en prototyp. Studiens bidrag har resulterat i totalt sju stycken designförslag som utvecklare rekommenderas att följa om de vill stödja känslan av mänsklig kontakt hos chatbotar. / Customer service has long been operated by humans, but in recent years it has become more dependent on technology driven processes. For many organizations, virtual chatbots are the first step of interaction with a customer, which makes it important to understand what impact the chatbot has on the user. New psychological barriers have been added and users often perceive chatbots as impersonal and they lack a sense of human contact. Chatbots need to communicate more like humans if they are to be used to their full potential. The purpose of this study is to investigate which of the identified design elements enhances the feeling of human contact in chatbots. The study was carried out with a design-oriented research approach where three central categories of human characteristics were identified; personality and the ability to express emotions, appearance and body language as well as the use of language. These in turn resulted in eleven design elements that could be examined with the help of a prototype. The final contributions of the study are seven design suggestions that chatbot developers are advised to follow if they want to support the feeling of human contact in chatbots.

No description available.

No description available.

Background: The concept of the chatbot has been around for nearly 60 years. However, service providers have recently increased the integration of chatbots in distinct industries due to the growth in digitalization and advanced technology. Not only that, chatbots can support service providers in becoming more efficient and reducing overhead costs. As a result, this transformation in service offering has influenced customers in various forms. Thus, this study explores Generation Z's perceptions and experiences using chatbots, with a focus on the influence these systems have on their trust. There is little information about this topic, and this study should aid organizations in learning how to better meet customer expectations, which could lead to more promising customer satisfaction in the future. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate customer perceptions and trust in chatbots which is a form of advanced technology in a customer service setting. The aim is to gather empirical evidence from customers' social reality to answer the research question of this investigation. Method: This research conducted an exploratory qualitative study with an inductive research approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 respondents from Generation Z, located in Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, and Germany to achieve a broad perspective regarding their experiences with chatbots. The respondents were selected using the snowball and networking sampling method. The research paradigm of this study is interpretivism, which supports the examination in exploring and gaining knowledge about this phenomenon. Conclusion: The aim of this study was achieved, and the gathered empirical evidence presents further knowledge regarding customers' experiences with chatbots. This study and other relevant examinations prove that the increase of digitalization in customer service settings has an influence on customer experience. Primarily, the empirical findings indicate that there is an overall lack of trust in advanced technology due to the issue of privacy. Although Generation Z has grown up alongside the worldwide digital transformation, they remain cynical and distrustful of the future of technology. Thus, it occurs that there is a lack of customer trust in chatbots. However, this is confirmed by the fact that customers are sharing low pre-expectations towards chatbots. As a result, customers experience a more dissatisfied feeling towards the service provider. On the other hand, the empirical findings reveal that customers' loyalty remains unaltered towards businesses.

Due to the increasing online commerce in Sweden there are more and more companies who are focusing on their online business and more and more customer are buying clothes online. This means that there has been a transition from the physical store form to the online commerce. Based on this development in the market it aroused an interest in studying customer service, online. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to study customers experience of customer service from clothing companies within the online industry in Sweden. This carries out by studying if customers experience that they are being encouraged to customer service, what kind of customer service they prefer and the reasons for it. Therefore, we initially make an introductory study of some of the websites belonging to the following clothing companies: H&M, Gina Tricot, Nelly, Boozt, Ellos and Bubbleroom. The main empirical study consists of 15 participants who are divided into three focus groups. To be able to analyse the collected material, three theories are applied: The Customer Contact Theory, Customer Service Life Cycle theory and Social Presence Theory. In terms of the results we alltogether, observe that the participants experience that companies are encouraging customers to use customer service, mainly through different options available on their website, instead of direct contact over the phone. It is also generally shown that the participants prefer screen-based customer service rather than telephone-based customer service. This study is written in the Swedish language. / På grund av den ökande näthandeln i Sverige fokuserar allt fler företag på sin online verksamhet och allt fler kunder handlar kläder online där det har skett en övergång från den fysiska butiksformen till online handeln. Utifrån denna utveckling på marknaden väckte det ett intresse att studera kundservice online. Syftet med denna undersökning är att undersöka konsumenters upplevelse av kundservice som erbjuds av företag som bedriver online handel inom klädbranschen i Sverige. Detta sker genom att studera om konsumenter upplever att de uppmuntras till kundservice, vilken form av kundservice de föredrar och vad som står bakom detta. Därmed görs det först en inledande studie av en del webbsidor som tillhör klädföretag inom online handeln, närmare bestämt: H&M, Gina Tricot, Nelly, Boozt, Ellos och Bubbleroom. Den huvudsakliga empiriska studien består av 15 deltagare fördelat på tre fokusgrupper. För att analysera det insamlade materialet tillämpas tre teorier: The Customer Contact Theory, Customer Service Life Cycle Theory och Social Presence Theory. När det gäller resultatet observerar vi sammantaget att deltagarna upplever att företag uppmuntrar kunder att använda kundservice, främst genom olika alternativ som finns tillgängliga på deras webbsida istället fördirekt kontakt via telefon. Det visar sig även generellt sett att kunder föredrar skärmbaseradkundservice framför telefonbaserad kundservice.

This dissertation focused on identifying personality traits, as measured by the Occupational Personality Questionnaire 32 (OPQ32r) that may act as job performance predictors for customer service centre (CSC) agents in the banking industry. The purpose of this research was to determine whether there are relationships between certain personality traits of customer service centre agents and their job performance. Purposeful sampling was used to involve the entire agent base as participants (N=89). A quantitative empirical study was conducted in which the relationship between the independent variable (personality) and dependent variable (job performance) was investigated. Several personality traits that predicted job performance were identified. Identifying the personality characteristics of individuals who are successful in a CSC environment should aid organisations in creating a better/suitable fit between employees and the requirements of such an environment, thereby improving organisational outcomes. This research adds to current literature gaps in establishing the relationship between personality traits and performance in the context of a customer relations management call centre environment. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Poor quality of information and forecasting create a number of problems for manufacturing companies, such as poor planning of products and insufficient service levels, which leads to increased inventory and stock holding or stockouts and increased total costs. Cussons (UK) Limited is experiencing precisely these problems. Apart from these problems normally associated with forecasting demand for fast moving consumer goods there is an additional problem of reconciling the Western calendar with the Muslim calendar, and a recognition of the effects that Muslim religious holidays, as opposed to Christian religious holidays, have on demand. Muslim religious holidays rotate backwards with regard to the Western calendar, but in fact they occur at known dates and therefore the effect they have on demand for products can be taken into consideration when attempting to forecast demand. An additional problem that influences Cussons' sales in the market is the seasonal pattern of demand. Due to this, there is an increase in demand for Cussons' products during summer months. From the analysis of both data sets it was identified that the warehouse movement data is less variable and more reliable for business forecasting than order data. In this thesis, these forecasting problems are examined as a case study, focusing on these particular problems. To overcome these problems and to improve business forecasting of Cussons' products in the Middle East market, a forecasting strategy has been suggested which will enable Cusson's to reduce the inventories throughout the supply chain and to improve their customer's service.

O setor de serviços, onde os bancos estão inseridos, se caracteriza pelo o uso intenso de recursos humanos, grande heterogeneidade de atividades e simultaneidade entre produção e consumo de produtos/serviços. Este contexto torna bastante complexo e desafiador a proposição de especificações de qualidade que contribuam com o aumento da satisfação e da lealdade dos clientes. Embasado em fundamentação teórica sobre os temas setor de serviços, qualidade, satisfação, imagem corporativa, lealdade e valores humanos, este trabalho se propôs a buscar uma melhor compreensão sobre como estes fatores atuam em uma agência bancária. O estudo foi executado em uma agência bancária de médio porte localizada na região metropolitana de São Paulo. Para cumprir com os objetivos de pesquisa foram realizadas entrevistas, observações durante o expediente bancário e pesquisa de campo com 202 clientes. A fase qualitativa, composta pelas entrevistas e pelas observações, foi transcrita e consolidada segundo a relevância das informações colhidas; na fase quantitativa, após a coleta de dados, foram realizadas análises estatísticas em contexto univariado, bivariado e multivariado por meio das técnicas de Análise fatorial, Análise de conglomerados, Análise de regressão logística e Modelagem de equações estruturais. Os resultados indicam que a qualidade funcional é o fator mais importante da qualidade na agência bancária objeto de estudo. O estudo demonstrou, também, que a capacidade de compreender as necessidades individuais, um relacionamento comercial pautado na transparência e na integridade e o valor humano de responsabilidade sócio-ambiental contribuem na diferenciação entre clientes leais e não leais a agência bancária em questão. O trabalho também indicou que há uma relação direta entre os construtos Lealdade, Qualidade, Satisfação e Valores humanos. / The service sector, in which banks have been inserted, is characterized by the intense use of human resources, heterogeneity and simultaneity of activities between production and consumption of products / services. This condition makes it quite complex and challenging proposing quality specifications that contributes to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. Based in theoretical grounding on service\'s sector main themes, such as quality, satisfaction, loyalty, corporate image and human values issues, this study proposes to seek a better understanding of how these factors work in a bank. The study had been performed in a midsize bank agency located in the metropolitan region of São Paulo. To accomplish research goals, interviews, observations during business hours and fieldwork surveys were made with 202 clients. In the qualitative step, which is consisted by the interviews and observations, the information has been transcribed and consolidated according to relevance. In the quantitative step, after data collection, statistical analyzes were performed in univariate context, bivariate and multivariate analysis through factorial analysis techniques, cluster analysis, logistics regression analysis and structural equation modeling. The results suggests that functional quality is the most important factor in the quality of bank\'s agency object of study. The study also evidenced that the ability to understand individual needs, a business relationship built on transparency and integrity and the human value of social and environmental responsibility contributes in differentiating loyal and non-loyal agency\'s customers. The study also indicated that there is a direct relation between the Loyalty, Quality, Satisfaction and human values constructs.

有線電視立法至今，有線電視系統業者間的競爭始終激烈，如何維持舊有的訂戶與增加新客戶，是有線電視系統業者所努力的課題，在有線電視產業強烈的競爭壓力下，如何爭取客戶的支持是業者努力的目標。本研究之宗旨在於以「客戶服務」的觀點出發，探討有線電視系統業者推行ISO 9002認證，藉由 ISO 9002品質系統運作於客戶服務部門之作業程序，達到部門服務品質的一致性，創造公司的競爭優勢。據此，本研究之主要目的如下： （一） 探討ISO 9002品質系統認證對有線電視客戶服務部門的意義。 （二） 探討有線電視客戶服務部門推動ISO 9002品質系統認證對客戶服務品質的影響。 （三） 探討有線電視客戶服務部門推行ISO 9002品質系統認證各項品質要求要項的內容、合適性評估與優先性 評估。 （四） 根據前述各項研究之結論，對有線電視系統業者提出具體的建議。 由於目前國內唯有一家有線電視系統通過ISO 9002認證，但其認證範圍多在工程施工品質方面。故本研究之進行主要以文獻探討、個案研究、兩次深度訪談及實地觀察等研究方法與工具，探討客戶服務部門之ISO 9002品質系統之作業程序與範圍。獲致之研究結論如下： 壹、ISO 9002品質系統對有線電視系統業者的意義。 （一）ISO 9002品質系統架構觀念 有線電視屬於「服務導向」的產業，適合以ISO 9002品質系統來進行品質管理或品質保證。業者在推行ISO 9002品質系統時，應以本身企業之運作目標與遠景，訂定明確的品質計劃，追求持續改善的品質系統，依循其品質制度的精神，徹底落實並不斷改善企業之品質系統，如此才能提昇企業的競爭力。 （二）ISO 9002品質系統對有線電視系統業者內部與外部之助益 貳、有線電視在推行ISO 9002品質系統時應注重與其它服務業的差異。 參、有線電視系統業者應釐清客戶服務部門之工作職掌與作業程序。 肆、有線電視客戶服務部門應用ISO 9002品質系統之適用範圍與內容。 伍、ISO 9002品質系統能夠提昇客戶服務部門之服務品質。 （一）幫助企業內部管理機制健全化。 （二）確保客戶服務品質，達到顧客滿意。 陸、客戶服務部門推行ISO 9002品質系統的合適性評估。 研究結果顯示，有線電視客戶服務部門作業程序，適合以ISO 9002品質系統來確保其服務品質， 其中以【4.9 流程管制】的得分最高。 柒、客戶服務部門推行ISO 9002品質系統要求條文的優先順序。 研究資料顯示客戶服務部門之作業程序以【4.9流程管制】得分最高。業者在推行ISO 9002品質系統時，應以此項最為優先。

<p><strong>Aim:</strong> More and more organizations worldwide want to develop products for global markets. At the same time, they need to make their products available in the global market to be competitive. One of today's trends to solve this problem of making products in the global market is by involving logistics to manage complex distribution requirements. Organizations have developed strategic alliances with companies all over the world to manage their logistics operations network. (www.chrobinson.com).</p><p>My research was aimed at understanding the coordination of logistics activities at the terminal.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Method:</strong> I based my study on a combination of descriptive and exploratory type. As regards descriptive I presented my data collected in a descriptive analysis. Also I used the exploratory research to know exactly the implementation of logistics activities at Schenker's terminal and also to observe the activities, conduct interviews and administer questionnaires.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Result & Conclusions:</strong> The major results of my findings revealed that the existing management procedure of the outbound logistics system at Schenker terminal which involves material handling, transportation, distribution, cross-docking, customer service and information systems could not be seen as lean and agile. This is because of the existence of many problems faced by the terminal such as congestion, flows inefficiencies, excess scrap, too much manual documentation,  delays in deliveries, damages, poor customer service, return goods, idle equipment (forklift and trucks) and personal and high cost of operations.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Suggestions for future research:</strong> The study is limited in the sense that it does not include the whole supply chain; the terminal is just a part in the supply chain and whatever problems that are encountered are not experienced in the whole supply chain. This could lead to a broader basis of a future research project.</p>