M.Tech. Business Administration. Business School. / Total Quality Management (TQM) is known for its success in transforming Japan from economic ruin after World War II into a world economic power. Telkom South Africa (SA) wants to develop a customer centric culture that permeates the entire organisation through people, processes and systems, with the objective of making Telkom the customer's ICT service provider of choice. The research show that by applying TQM principles at Telkom SA will increase customer satisfaction and assist Telkom SA in becoming a leading employee and customer centric ICT solutions service provider. Certain TQM principles which apply to the manufacturing sector can equally be applied to a service organization like Telkom SA, while certain TQM principles have to be adapted to apply to a service organisation.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits Business School, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg South Africa. In fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Management in Strategic Marketing / Purpose: Private Banks are constantly seeking ways to build strong relationships with their most profitable customers. Despite this, there is limited research on CRM in the private banking industry of South Africa. The study assesses the role of internal stakeholders in the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) eco-system within South African in private banks. Design/Methodology/Approach: Drawing on the stakeholder and the resource based theories, the researcher conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of 20 research participants across the four leading private banks in South Africa. Findings: The research findings from the sample of 20 participants suggest that a highly skilled and experienced workforce is a primary driver of effective CRM implementation. Objectives and goals of the CRM eco-system have to be clear and employees need to be incentivised and motivated. Recommendations: Private banks need to continuously up-skill and retain experience employees in order to achieve high CRM objectives. Private banks need to have clear objectives and goals of implementing the CRM eco-system and employees need to be motivated and rewarded fairly for their contribution in successfully implementing the CRM eco-system. Implications: The internal stakeholders need to possess exceptional relationship management skills; have the ability to realise the importance of share of wallet; employ a customer-centric marketing approach; most importantly have a minimum experience of five years within the personal relationship banking industry. Key words and phrases: Customer Relationship Management (CRM), internal stakeholder, stakeholder theory, private banks, resource based view (RBV) / GR2018

Despite the extensive research undertaken in the subject area of services marketing, much is still unknown to service providers of specific services in terms of service delivery concepts. This study attempts to address this limitation. The study revolves around the customer relationship management and service quality of banks. Service firms, including banks, are vitally important to the economy of any country, as they contribute to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employment rate. However, to survive in a complex, competitive business environment, service firms are required to focus on their clients’ needs. Specifically, banks can focus on their relationships with clients and levels of service quality. In order to establish the influence of selected variables on the customer relationship management (CRM) of banks and the influence of CRM on the service quality of banks, an empirical investigation was conducted. The aim of this study was to quantify significant relationships among selected variables; therefore the positivistic research paradigm was used. The sample consisted of banking clients in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan area. The sample size was 290, with a response rate of 91.03%. The empirical investigation revealed that significant positive relationships exist between both the knowledgeability, and attitude, of bank employees and a bank’s CRM. These relationships imply that more extensive knowledgeability of bank employees and bank employees with more positive attitudes lead to improved, maintained relationships between a bank and its clients. In addition, the empirical investigation revealed that CRM positively influences the service quality of banks. This relationship implies that if a bank successfully maintains relationships with its clients, the bank’s level of perceived service quality would increase. Additionally, the empirical investigation has shown the relationship between a banking client’s age and the CRM of a bank. The higher the age of a banking client, the more that client considers the CRM of a bank to be important. There exists a relationship between a banking client’s education level and the perceived service quality of a bank. If a banking clients’ education level increases, the importance of their bank’s service quality decreases and, conversely, a banking client with a lower level of education regards the service quality level of a bank as more important than higher qualified clients. The study indicated that strategies to improve, specifically, the knowledgeability and attitude of bank employees can and should be implemented by banks in ways to positively influence their CRM and ultimately their service quality. In effect, this will increase client satisfaction and ensure client loyalty to the bank. Ultimately, this will contribute to the bank’s success, which will ensure economic stability and prosperity for a country.

Quality of service becomes the main avenue that could be used to gain sustainable competitive advantage. This is due to the fact that the environment within which organisations operate continues to change with respect to customer expectations. The financial sector, in particular the banking industry is not left behind and players in this industry also strive to “up their game” in the competitive market-place. It has become increasingly important for organisations to find ways, not only to reach the top, but to maintain on-going long-term relationship with their customers. This can result in long-term benefits, both for the organisation (by improving marketing productivity) and for the customer (by delivering better quality products). This paper assesses the perception the Business clients/ customers within a business banking environment have about relationship management by Meeg bank in East London branch town of Eastern Cape. A literature survey was undertaken into the importance of Customer Relationship by bank. Questionnaires were sent to all employees of the business clients for their views on Customer Relationship Management (CRM). The result the show importance of the commitment of all employees’ especially senior management is essential for the success of CRM efforts in improving the quality of service offered by an organisation. The research also confirmed the importance of having wide range of options in form of products offered. This will not only benefit the bank in terms of higher profits, but will give the bank the competitive advantage in the market place.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the Masters Degree in Technology: Marketing, Durban University of Technology, 2013. / South Africa is experiencing an expansion of pharmacy chains. Globalization and deregulations have increased competition within the retail pharmacy sector. In this highly competitive sector, the most important strategy for a pharmacy chain to obtain customer satisfaction and maintain market profitability is attributed to customer-focus. The pharmacy chain needs to ensure that the customer remains the cornerstone of their business strategy and that they are able to “delight†the customer. Customer satisfaction has many benefits for the pharmacy chain, such as higher revenues, higher customer retention and increased market shares. Superior service quality and customer satisfaction must be promoted and maintained in order for the pharmacy chain to be the pharmacy of choice. The aim of this study is to measure levels of customer satisfaction at a selected pharmacy chain within the greater Durban area. The instrument to assess the customer’s expectations and perceptions of customer satisfaction is the SERVQUAL questionnaire, measuring expectations and perceptions according to five quality dimensions. These quality dimensions include tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. Four hundred customers were surveyed using the SERVQUAL questionnaire. The respondents were selected using non-probability sampling within which convenience sampling was applied. Data is analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. Conclusions and recommendations are drawn from the literature and the findings of the study. The study shows that customers’ expectations exceeded their perceptions on the five service quality dimensions used in the SERVQUAL questionnaire. Improvements are necessary in certain customer satisfaction dimensions. Therefore, it is recommended that the selected retail pharmacy chain attend to these gaps and ensure that necessary strategies are implemented in order to offer superior customer service in the face of growing competition. / M

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Business Administration, Durban University of Technology, Durban, 2007. / Organizations in the service sector had to make a radical shift in their strategy to embrace customer-centered philosophies in order to maintain a sustainable business. Without realignment to the new demands and with ever increasing pressures, a superlative customer service cannot be achieved. Companies are increasingly placing greater emphasis on customer satisfaction. Customers are becoming more and more sophisticated due to globalization. Customers are no more buying a product alone, but an accompanying service satisfaction. There appears to be a huge gap between perceived and expected service levels. A concerted effort should be made to either narrow or eliminate this gap. DuPont Performance Coatings is a major supplier of coatings to the automotive industry. It was, therefore, necessary to measure Toyota South Africa Manufacturing's perception of service quality provided by DuPont Performance Coatings. Once the levels of customer satisfaction within Toyota South Africa Manufacturing are measured, it could be used as a basis for recommendations towards improving the service levels of DuPont Performance Coatings. The study involves the use of the SERVQUAL instrument in order to ascertain any actual or perceived gaps between customer expectations and perceptions of the service offered. The study also determines how the management of service improvement can become more logical and integrated with respect to the prioritized service quality dimensions and their strategy to decrease service quality gaps. On behalf of DuPont Performance Coatings, the research objectives were, firstly, to identify Toyota South Africa Manufacturing's expectations in terms of quality services provided; secondly, to ascertain the perceptions of Toyota South Africa Manufacturing towards the service provided by DuPont Performance Coatings; thirdly, to measure the gaps between the expectations and perceptions by Toyota South Africa Manufacturing, using the SERVQUAL score, and, finally to calculate and measure the score of the five SERVQUAL dimensions. The researcher has opted for a census because the entire population that deals with DuPont Performance Coatings is relevant. Each member of the population was classified in certain biographical variables. Eighty respondents were surveyed, using the SERVQUAL questionnaire, and the data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. The study showed that Toyota South Africa Manufacturing's expectations of service quality exceeded their perceptions on the five service quality dimensions used in the SERVQUAL questionnaire. The smallest dimension gap score proved to be tangibles, while the largest gap score in the study proved to be reliability, followed by assurance. / M

Thesis (M.Com. (Marketing Management and Information Systems))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic and Business Sciences, 2012. / In today‟s increasingly dynamic and competitive markets, organizations are continuously pressurized to meet financial targets in order to realise company goals in an efficient and effective manner. The banking sector in South Africa has, for a very long time, operated in a predominantly oligopoly market, however, due to increasing pressure from new entrants like Capitec Bank, there has been a shift of focus to ensuring long term profitability and competitiveness as the new entrants are constantly implementing strategies that cause customer switching. The literature reveals that long-term profitability requires that a firm implements sustainable development projects to ensure long-term profitability. However, many of the profitability models in use today do not have a variable for sustainable development and yet it is a key factor in drawing returns on investment. This study adopts the South African banking sector and investigates the applicability of Rust, Lemon and Zeithaml‟s (2004) return on investment model for the various initiatives that the banks have implemented. From qualitative research with the banks, it was found that sustainable development forms a large part of the annual budget with the aim of improving the brand perceptions and increasing the likelihood of customer retention and attraction. However, the results from the bank‟s customers reveal that the initiatives being sponsored by the banks have very little effect on their decision to switch or remain banking with a specified bank. Basic customer satisfaction techniques like clear communication and customer care still outweigh any corporate initiative like sponsoring the local soccer league thus although these initiatives do benefit to keep the brand name in customer‟s minds, they do less in realising returns. The model reveals a technique to quantify return on investment taking into account factors like sustainable development and it was found that the model is applicable and useful in a South African setting. Recommendations include applying the model to gauge not only the possibility of returns but also how much a company can expect to receive after investing a specified amount of money on any initiative. This model will be very useful for planning especially for capital intensive projects as the current economic environment cannot accommodate for misappropriation of funds. / MT2017

This study examined whether customer care initiatives are being implemented on South African e-commerce web sites. The customer care initiatives are categorised into four sections: • General section which assessed the website's content, • Contact section which assessed vanous contact mechanisms and community development, • Security section which determined the security aspects of the web site, and • Ordering section which assessed the payment options, shipping and tracking the order. A search engine was used to generate a random sample of web sites that engaged in e-commerce. The web sites were then assessed against a checklist to determine if the 58 customer care initiatives were present or not. In order to capture the data, a generic Internet browser was developed so that the top half of the screen comprised the web site and the lower half of the screen contained the checklist. As the initiatives in the checklist were captured, the data was transferred into a database where it was later analysed both in the database and in a spreadsheet. The results revealed that, on the whole, the web sites fared well in the General section particularly with respect to the designs of the web sites. However, it was apparent that more commitment is needed in the Contact, Security and Ordering sections of web site design. The main recommendations include greater management commitment towards the more costly technologies such as encryption software to increase the security of online financial transactions and protect personal information; the inclusion of shopping basket technology and the inclusion of search facilities on the web sites. To a lesser extent there needs to be more commitment towards the creation of communities via the web site. / Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Technology: Information Technology, Durban Institute of Technology, 2005. / This thesis investigates the applicability of certain software testing methodologies as the basis from which the new field of Web-based application testing can arise. In particular, it concentrates on performance testing issues and Web application testing, as these are responsible for ensuring the survival of a business organization in the new global competitive age presented by the Web and Internet technology. / M

The impetus that informs the drive for developmental state that promotes growth and development centres on the local capacity of the local sphere of the government to effectively discharge its responsibilities. The essence of this study is to evaluate the training of officials in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality and assess the extent to which service delivery has impacted on the lives of the community within this area.