In the modern days government organization are operating in a new climate environment of accountability. According to Rennekamp (2000:1), funders want more than accurate record keeping and the summary of what was done with their appropriation. They want information that communicates value of the programs. Therefore, more attention is being paid to customer satisfaction as funding decisions are made. Even when an organization meets its performance goals, few taxpayers want to finance an organization if it's programs are viewed as irrelevant or official are perceived as rude. The major objective of this study is measuring farming community perceptions and expectations of the quality of extension services rendered by the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs (DAEA) within uMngungundlovu District. Research indicates that customers judges service quality based on multiple factors i.e. dimension of service quality : *Empathy - the provision of caring individual attention (statements 1-4), *Responsiveness - the willingness to help the customer (statements 5-9), *Assurance - the knowledge and courtesy of the employees (statements 10-14), *Reliability - the ability to perform the promised service reliably and accurately (statements 15-18), *Tangibles - the appearance of physical facilities, equipment, communication materials (19-22) ( Zeithaml and Bitner 2006 : 153). These five dimensions of customer satisfaction were used as framework for both the collection and presentation of data. The results of the study have shown that all five dimensions of service quality are significantly important as far as extension work is concerned in the DAEA. The average gap score between the extension service perception and expectation for each of service quality dimensions are empathy (-0.23), responsiveness (-0.25), assurance (-0.23), reliability (-0.36) and tangibles are (-0.31). There is a narrow gap between the extension services - perception and expectation for all five dimensions. However the negative differences implies that the expectation scores have exceeded the perception scores. This calls for some level of improvements. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

Abstract available in attached PDF document. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2006.

Thesis (PhD) -- University of Western Sydney, 2001. / " A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of PhD in Marketing, University of Western, Sydney." "Submitted July 2001 and revised February 2002" Bibliography: p. 273 - 285.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (February 23, 2010) Includes bibliographical references (p. 122-138)

Thesis (M.B.A. (Investec Business School))--Rhodes University, 2006.

Since the end of World War II, the service sector has expanded to encompass over 80% of the economy of most developed nations. This places an immense importance on the ability to accurately measure service outputs. However, the most precise method of measuring these outputs is still unclear. This thesis examines Service Quality as a measurement of service outputs, and tests this within an industry-specific context: the low-cost sector of the UK airline industry. This is an industry that has been facing serious challenges since market liberalisation began in 1976. This thesis recognises that offering superior quality may allow airlines to gain a competitive advantage; despite this, there is still no preferred method of measuring Service Quality in this specific context. This PhD therefore examines three methods of Service Quality measurement in the context of the low-cost sector of the UK airline industry: a qualitative method (content analysis), a quantitative survey approach (HiQUAL) and an indexing approach (ALSI). The first study provides an in-depth analysis of the determinants of airline quality through a content analysis study. The second study uses a neglected measurement of Service Quality (HiQUAL) to take a quantitative measurement of Service Quality in the low-cost airline industry. The third study uses measurement (ALSI), an indexing approach, to provide an indication of airline quality. The results of this PhD define the determinants of Service Quality in the low-cost airline industry and confirm the hierarchical nature of Service Quality. This PhD also develops a novel objective metric that represents a shift in ontology from subjective to objective measurements of Service Quality.

The Motor Industry is set in a highly competitive and dynamic global arena constantly shaped by both external and internal forces. From an organisations point of view many of the external or macro forces are largely uncontrollable. Against this backdrop, players in the South African Motor Industry need to find new methods of differentiating themselves from competitors – One manner of performing this strategy is for Motor Dealerships to understand, meet or exceed customer requirements. In this research, the literature survey revealed the concepts of Total Quality Management (TQM) and fail-safing, the meaning of superior customer service and the importance of customer loyalty and retention. Customer service excellence levels of three Williams Hunt dealerships in the Port Elizabeth – Uitenhage metropole were measured by utilizing the SERVQUAL instrument for calibrating service quality. Customer expectations and perceptions were determined by means of the empirical study which yielded a service quality “gap.” From analysis of this gap and related findings, suggested improvements were suggested as a guideline for dealerships to utilise with the aim of improving customer service levels.

With global competition becoming a key concept in the majority of companies worldwide, it is necessary for organisations to develop operations strategies that enable them to meet their customers‘ needs. Organisations will never be capable of reaching future goals without their customers. For this reason it is imperative for organisations to identify what competitive factors are required by the market, and which performance objectives are needed in order to increase the competitiveness of the organisation. In this research, Chapters 1 and 2 were used to identify the main and subproblems of the research, to delimit the research and to provide literature background to operations strategies and related operations topics. The empirical study in Chapter 3 was used to gather information pertaining to the specific requirements of ESA’s customers, and the operations performanceof ESA. Chapter 4 was used to analyse the data gathered from the empirical study. From this analysis it was possible for the researcher to identify the specific requirements of ESA’s customers and the operations performance of ESA. Chapter 5 was used to provide recommendations to bridge the performance gap between the customer requirements and the operations performance of ESA. By effectively implementing all of the recommendations suggested in this research, ESA will be able to improve its operation performance and meet the specific requirements of its market and its customers.

The tourism and hospitality industry has made a meaningful contribution to the development of the South African economy. Not only the hotels, but also the demand for self-catering holiday properties such as guest houses and bed-and-breakfast (B&B) establishments is increasing which could boost the tourist industry. Moreover, the prospect of the self-catering holiday properties in South Africa is extremely positive, particularly when the country is given the opportunity to hold the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Thus, expectations and perceptions are significantly shaped and transformed by the prosperous environment. The self-catering holiday properties should provide the best possible service to international and domestic tourists and ensure that their needs are fully met. The general purpose of this study was to evaluate the service quality of guest houses and B&Bs in the Nelson Mandela Bay by comparing guests’ expectations and perceptions. The results of this study could assist the managers of guest house and B&B in improving its service performance to more effectively fulfil the needs of dynamic tourist market. The literature study provided an overview of tourism industry from the management and marketing perspectives, services marketing and a detailed discussion of service quality focusing on the nature of services, determinants of service quality and techniques for measuring service quality. The SERVQUAL model and its derivative, Lodging Quality Index (LQI), were adapted for measuring the guests’ perceived service quality in this research. ii The empirical data was collected by means of a survey, using a self-administered questionnaire distributed to guests who were staying at guest houses or B&Bs in the Nelson Mandela Bay identified in terms of convenience sampling. One hundred and five useable questionnaires were received. The empirical findings based on the perception-minus-expectation (P-E) gap analysis showed that the perception mean scores were consistently lower than the expectation mean scores. This implies that guests perceived service quality of guest house and B&B to be relatively low. It is recommended that the managers of guest houses and B&Bs should: {u10007A} uniform the employees; {u10007A} use every tool to figure out what the guest wants; {u10007A} establish specific working procedures and help employees to understand their job responsibilities and mangers’ expectations; {u10007A} invite suggestions of existing located facilities from guests, and move the inconvenient facilities if possible; {u10007A} employ a communication audit to evaluate the overall quality of the communication system by comparing communication objectives to actual performance; {u10007A} combine useful destination information from different sources and update them on the website frequently; and {u10007A} apply an attracting layout to build positive image.

Contact Centres (CCs) are at the forefront of interaction between an organisation and its customers. Currently, 17 percent of all inbound calls are not resolved on the first call by the first agent attending to that call. This is due to the inability of the contact centre agents (CCAs) to diagnose customer queries and find adequate solutions in an effective and efficient manner. The aim of this research is to develop an intelligent user interface (IUI) model to support and improve CC operations. A literature review of existing IUI architectures, modelbased design and existing CC software together with a field study of CCs has resulted in the design of an IUI model for CCs. The proposed IUI model is described in terms of its architecture, component-level design and interface design. An IUI prototype has been developed as a proof of concept of the proposed IUI model. The IUI prototype was evaluated in order to determine to what extent it supports problem identification and query resolution. User testing, incorporating the use of eye tracking and a post-test questionnaire, was used in order to determine the usability and usefulness of the prototype. The results of this evaluation show that the users were highly satisfied with the task support and query resolution assistance provided by the IUI prototype. This research resulted in the design of an IUI model for the domain of CCs. This model can be used to assist the development of CC applications incorporating IUIs. Use of the proposed IUI model is expected to support and enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of CC operations. Further research is needed to conduct a longitudinal study to determine the impact of IUIs in the CC domain.