published_or_final_version / toc / Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

The banking industry has been characterised by changes and a turbulent operating environment. Increased competition, the entry of non traditional players in the market, and a more aware and demanding client base has made it imperative for banks to understand their customers. The need to attract and retain good customers is critical to the top and bottom line, as is the need to effectively sell and cross-sell to the customer. The recognition that it is more costly to gain new customers makes it imperative that maximum value is extracted from the existing customer base. The important trends that defined business in the nineties, such as globalisation, deregulation, and extraordinary technological advancement, made customer facing initiatives both a way for corporations to show that they cared for their customers, as well as a strategic and operating imperative. Customer relationship management (CRM) was viewed as a critical strategic process in order for banks to protect their customer base and to improve stakeholder value. CRM is as much about improving profitability by effectively tapping into the client base, as it is about managing information in a way that ensures that the customer enjoys a consistent experience with the organisation regardless of which channel he/she transacts through. The process is designed to make customers feel that their bank understands and appreciates them. The CRM process must be supported by a well thought out strategy and must contain clear goals. Technology is an essential component underpinning CRM and the supporting processes and procedures. Whilst this is an inescapable fact, CRM is not about plugging in some expensive technology that will solve the organisations problems. On the contrary, it is an initiative that requires commitment and a mindset in order for it to succeed, and an over-arching strategic customer relationship management ethos. This paper will critically examine the CRM strategy as a means of effectively servicing bank customers and leveraging the database to prevent the loss of customers to competitors and increase the value of stakeholders through effective delivery of products and services, and ensuring a consistently good customer experience at all points of contact. Whilst the focus will be on the generic principles of the CRM process as it relates to one major bank, the essentials are true for any other bank or financial institution for that matter. Issues such as the different channels that clients could use to interact with their bank, and how the bank can optimise these interactions will be aired. In addition the rationale for distinguishing between the various categories or segments of customers and how this influences CRM will be discussed. For years organisations and banks in particular have plodded on; treating each customer either the same or indifferently. Interactions were haphazard and often unplanned. The banks relationship with its customer lurched from interaction to inter-action, often without any continuity. Different areas of the bank viewed the customer differently; there was no coherent all encompassing view of the customer. This often led to frustrations for the customer and equally as often, loss of business. The need for a seamless and profitable series of interaction with the customer becomes more and more obvious as the industry becomes more competitive. The process leading up to the implementation of CRM is just as critical as the implementation of the technology itself. For Standard Bank this process started in 1999 after the failed take over bid by Nedcor. The organisation set out to reinvent itself and embarked on a strategy of growth and enhancing stakeholder (shareholders, customers and its people) value. The growth came from entry into new markets such as Africa and Europe, as well as concentrated growth in the domestic market. The company focussed on its existing customer base and sought to increase its penetration by improved cross-sell. The strategy involved an assessment of the internal and external operating environment, and its resources and capabilities. New technology was acquired and new skills were developed to ensure success of the strategy. In this paper, we shall analyse this process and the appropriateness of the strategic customer relationship management as a model for growth. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2004.

Ms Jennie Chua, President and Chief Operating Officer of Raffles International, Singapore once said that if "high-tech" represents the higher spectrum of industries in the manufacturing sector, then "high-touch" would represent the pinnacle of the service industry. "High-touch" is the art of service. It is the personal touch, the extra effort, the Attention and alertness to customer needs and preferences. Excellent service is both a skill and an attitude. Training equips our people with the know-how to provide good service. Excellent service exudes warmth and friendliness, not cold efficiency. Yet how many of our catering companies have reached that pinnacle? For our enterprises to stay productive and competitive in the midst of high business and labour cost, offering excellent service is one differentiating factor. This study was concerned with analysing the Fedics division of KZN, with special emphasis on the customer service. According to Strauss and Frost (2001), there are many trends that are apparent about individuals and businesses, which are important in developing marketing strategy that involves the catering industry. The research analyses the effects of buying behaviour and makes recommendations for the improvement of Customer service, which is an important strategy for any service related organization to survive and grow. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2006.

This study was conducted among clients of Mediterranean Shipping Company with three principal aims in mind. Firstly, adopt the appropriate measuring instrument to measure customer satisfaction levels within MSC, using the five SERVQUAL dimensions namely Tangibles, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance and Empathy. The second is to measure the levels of customer satisfaction within MSC and lastly to make recommendations towards improving the levels of service quality and ultimately begin implementing a customer orientated quality assurance programme within MSC. The results show that there are significant differences between the respondents' expectation and their perceptions. All five dimensions showed that customers' expectations exceeded their perceptions, with Tangibles having the smallest gap and Reliability having the largest gap. It has been the talk of many customers that MSC provides very good service to their customers. On the contrary, this study reveals that there is still some level of dissatisfaction among the customers. Therefore, it is hoped that this study would contribute to MSC's understanding of their clients' perception of service quality and develop a marketing strategy that will increase their customers' level of satisfaction and improve their relationship with MSC. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

The development of relationship marketing, which is oriented towards developing lasting relationships with clients, emerged in the 1990's. The concept suggests that by better understanding customers on an individual level and by delivering to them information, products and services targeted to their specific needs, marketers can develop a long-term relationship with them that translates into worthwhile profits. Thus, relationship marketing focuses on customer orientation, with high service emphasis and high customer contact. Relationship marketing uses improved information technology to regularly communicate with firm customers and to base product/service offerings on the customer's buying behaviour. Computer linkages, advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, sponsorships, publicity, special events and exhibitions aid communication among channel members and also create a relationship between buyer and seller. Whilst research has been conducted on a general aspect of relationship marketing, there appears to be no significant study on how communication efforts can promote relationship marketing in the cellular industry. It is the intention of this study to examine the way in which relationship marketing is currently being employed in the cellular industry and to assess how improved communication can result in the effective application thereof. The objectives of this study are to investigate whether the communication efforts of the cellular operating companies are satisfying customers, to establish if the communication tools used by the companies are effective in promoting relationship marketing and to explore whether existing customers will become advocates of the company. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Research Administration at the University of KwaZulu -Natal. All subjects were aware of the purpose of the study and the aims and objectives. All subjects signed and consented to be part of the study. The target population consists of existing cellular phone users from whom the researcher attempted to draw conclusions and make generalizations. In KwaZulu-Natal, 251 cellular phone users volunteered and participated in this study. Informed consent was required of each of the respondents. 53% were contract customers and 38% were prepaid customers. There were 94 males (38%) and 141 females (56%) in the sample. The overall response rate was 83.7%. The main results yielded from this study indicated that cellular phone users were satisfied with the communication efforts of their service providers. Therefore, the communication tools used by their service providers were effective in creating, maintaining and enhancing relationships with their customers. Also it was very evident that existing customers are advocates of their service provider and will continue to be so into the future. This study recommends that customers must understand and be informed of the future direction that their service provider will take. They must be informed of long and medium term plans, new developments and any fundamental changes that are going to take place. Since service is the nerve centre of any organization, service providers must improve on their service to customers. Service providers should conduct regular satisfaction surveys to get feedback from customers and monitor their attitudes towards them and assess the performance on their accounts. The fulfilment of these recommendations will promote and enhance relationship marketing in the cellular industry. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2006.

While many publications comment on successful relationships, it was necessary to specifically analyze the relationship between public relations practitioners and their clients. Using traits gathered in the literature review, the researcher prepared a Q study to identify, "Which relationship traits do agency representatives and client counterparts find most important?"Subjects included principals of agencies listed in the 2004 Indianapolis Business Journal's "Book of Lists," and their clients. Each respondent ranked the Q statements two times, once reflecting their own attitudes and another reflecting the attitudes of their counterpart.Of the twelve traits studied, eight were ranked as highly important to participants. Also, the researcher surmised that clients better understand their relationships, ranking three of five traits as highly important when assuming their counterparts' roles. In contrast, agency partners ranked two of the five traits that their counterparts found highly important. / Department of Journalism

The construction industry forms an important part of national economies from the United States and the United Kingdom to Australia and Singapore. The industry is a large employer and is described as being traditional, fragmented, adverse in culture and poor in quality. It has a specific problem of two types of production, namely design and actual construction. Human resource issues are neglected as the industry operates by project management, which does not allow for systematic and long term organisational development. These factors, in short, have caused the industry to remain disintegrated. / The purpose of this research was to investigate how a process of integrating internal and external customers and technology could be developed and implemented in the building components industry. The research problem revolved around the customer orientation concept, which other industries claim to have implemented successfully. The research problem was conceptualised as lack of internal and external customer orientation. / The research was carried out in a company called Eastern Pretech Pty. Ltd in Singapore, and more particularly in its precast concrete division, which is a unit of analysis employing some 80 staff members and 300 workers. The sequential order of work-design, production, delivery and installation- had created disintegration in the approach to external customers. The products of the division included design, manufacturing and delivery/installation of structural frames of buildings, including columns, beams, slabs and walls. / For the purpose of undertaking the investigation the researcher developed an exploratory case study strategy, which was justified as being an inquiry into unknown phenomena where no similar studies had been made in the precast concrete industry or in the construction industry in general. Because of the exploratory nature of the inquiry there were no hypotheses to be tested, but rather research questions to be answered. / The researcher justified the use of participant action research for the purpose of the investigation. The research design was divided into conceptual and action research method stages. The conceptual stage included the past experience and interest of the researcher and well as the literature review, and the action research method stage included the case study analysis and thesis writing. The researcher was a participant observer when carrying out the case research. / In conclusion, the exploratory case study strategy resulted in rich data, which showed evidence of change occurring and integration happening. The action research case study was concluded in a real life situation, where the uncertainty of outcomes and almost impossibility of forecasting results allowed the researcher to use imagination in constructing new concepts and theories using the participant action research method. The results included the development of an ICO model which can form the basis for further investigations. The research made contributions to marketing and other aspects of management- in particular to customer orientation, total quality management and the organisational development literature in the area of construction. The research also fulfilled the dual goals of action research by contributing to knowledge and practice. / Thesis (PhDManagement)--University of South Australia, 2002.

This study investigates the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction and academic achievement in private institutions of higher learning. Service quality is especially important to the institutions of higher learning in Malaysia as they are gearing themselves to become exporters of premier education services. / The concept of service quality is operationalized by the following variables: Human element of service delivery; Tangibles of service-servicescapes; Core service or service product; Systemization of service delivery: non-human element; Social responsibility. A research framework was developed and twelve hypotheses were posited and tested. Data was collected using the survey method. Survey questionnaires were hand-delivered to the respondents who volunteered to be participants in this study. Respondents were given the information sheets, along with verbal and written instructions. They were to complete the questionnaires and return to a mailbox on the campus. A total of 331 representative samples of the population were obtained from the private institutions of higher learning by using the “Private Institutions of Higher Learning Directory” as a sampling frame, excluding private institutions of higher learning which had ceased their operations. / The data was analysed by using descriptive statistics and inferential analysis. Statistical analyses used were the Pearson correlation and multiple regressions. Descriptive statistics were also employed. The results revealed that each of the service quality variables has a relationship with customer satisfaction and academic achievement. Using multiple regression analysis, the predictor variables indicated that all the five variables could explain 44.9% of variation that occurred in customer satisfaction, whereas, for the relationship between the predictor variables and academic achievement there was a 13.7% of variation explained. Amongst the variables, human element of service delivery, tangibles of service-servicescapes and core service/ service product have significant and positive relationships with customer satisfaction, whereas, core service or service product has a significant relationship with academic achievement. / Therefore, these variables deserve to be monitored and tailored appropriately in order to enhance organizational performance through customer satisfaction and academic performance. In conclusion, this study provides an insight into further understanding of how to enhance organizational performance by implementing excellent service quality management practices and simultaneously gives due emphasis to customer satisfaction and academic achievement. / Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration)--University of South Australia, 2005.

Thesis (DBusinessAdministration)--University of South Australia, 2004.

Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration) )--University of South Australia, 1999.