The problem for this study was to analyze the relationship between human resource development (HRD) manager empowerment and four organizational conditions. Three research questions guided the study. These were: (a) what was a viable starting point for an operational definition of HRD manager empowerment, (b) what was the dimensional nature of HRD manager empowerment, and (c) what was the relationship between HRD manager empowerment and organizational support, trust, communication, and collaboration? A review of the literature from management, education, and psychology was undertaken to answer the first research question. From this literature, HRD manager empowerment was initially operationally defined as (a) access and control over resources, (b) understanding of the business operations, (c) leadership that directs the operations of the HRD department to meet the needs of the company, (d) involvement, impact, and control in the company decision making process, (e) understanding and use of the company's political system for facilitation of company and HRD group goals, and (f) high organizational self-esteem. / Ph. D.

Recurrent themes identified in the narratives of the research participants revealed their perceptions and experiences of the diverse forms of power in this setting, their understanding and interpretation of the meaning of empowerment, and the building of foundations for effective empowering practices. The research findings show how practitioners enhance their own reflexivity as well as those of service partners and users to create a favorable learning environment. They challenged the dominant discourses and produced alternative ones, thus enriching the meaning of education. They also engaged in different dimensions of empowerment, namely (1) the personal dimension as how service users recaptured a sense of competence to meet life challenges and fight for their own benefits; (2) the interpersonal dimension as how practitioners collaborated with school personnel to safeguard student rights and secure social justice; (3) the school and community dimensions as how practitioners initiated positive changes to school policies and mobilized community resources for student development; and (4) the institutional dimension as how practitioners played the advocacy role in the education sector. / The findings provide a knowledge base for an understanding of the significant aspects of power and empowerment in school social work service. The recommendations induced are put into policy, practice, and research categories. They serve as useful information for policy makers to revisit the existing school social work policy to improve the working conditions of practitioners. They give valuable reference materials for youth workers to apply the empowerment approach in actual practice. They also stimulate other intellectuals to explore future directions of social work research in general, as well as youth and school social work studies in particular. / The research findings suggest that empowerment can be generated through a number of ways and understood in terms of dialogical process, reflexive practice, discourse construction, localized actions, collective actions and multiple interventions. The synthesis of these domains opens up the possibility for developing a framework of empowerment-oriented school social work practice. This framework provides a "map" to guide practitioners to work with power in diverse, dynamic, creative, and contextual ways. / This thesis examines the field experiences of Hong Kong school social workers in encountering different forms of power and carrying out empowering practices. A critical social work perspective is adopted to theorize a conceptual framework to explicate the narratives collected through in-depth interviews with 15 frontline school social workers. These research participants were chosen with regard to their service experience, the agencies they belonged to, and the types of schools they served. Using discourse analysis as the research strategy adds a power and political dimension in analyzing their narratives in the Hong Kong context. It gives a comprehensive and detailed description of their reactions to the power relations, performances of flexible roles, generation of new discourses, and use of various strategies to initiate empowering practices. / To Su Ming. / "August 2006." / Adviser: Steven Sek-yum Ngai. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-03, Section: A, page: 1163. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 416-452). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Act, Act 53 of 2003, has made it essential that businesses with more than fifty employees become black empowered in the shortest possible time frame (2-3 years) which is both practically possible and economically feasible. The aim with government's introduction of BBBEE is to address inequalities resulting from the systematic exclusion of the majority of South Africans from meaningful participation in the economy. With the introduction of the BBBEE Code of Good Practice, compliance with the requirements as set out by the government was further defined. A balanced scorecard has been introduced by the Department of Trade and Industry that assists companies to measure their level of integration. Compliance to the legislation has become a necessity for businesses in South Africa to be competitive and to grow. The balanced scorecard and the ever mounting pressure to be competitive have resulted in black economic empowerment (BEE) transactions being more focussed on equity deals than on truly empowerment. A hypothesis is that these types of transactions would not be sustainable due to the nature of the relationships and seeming lack of strategic processes. With the current balanced scorecard, there is also no provision made for the measurement of sustainability. To be competitive remains the key to any business' strategic objectives. This would therefore imply that the BEE transactions should hold a competitive advantage for the business and promote the objective of black economic empowerment as a socioeconomic process, ultimately contributing to the economic transformation of South Africa. It is within this context that the study explored the application of growth strategies and the modelling of these strategies to BEE. An exploratory and mainly descriptive research study was conducted to determine whether a model for sustainable empowerment could be developed using the strategic growth strategies as the framework. Each strategy, namely diversification, mergers and acquisition and strategic alliances was evaluated in terms of its contribution to the competitive advantage of a company. Using the principles from a strategic growth perspective it is believed that a number of concerns for small and medium size businesses in South Africa could be addressed. These include amongst others, growing more competitively through diversification into the core business, selecting partnerships/alliances that match the strategy of the company, avoiding fronting through the establishment of strategic alliances based on the improvement of efficiency and effectiveness, transferring skills and knowledge through diversification, strengthening existing business domain through an alliance that enhances the core strengths of a company. The recommendation to apply a more strategic model to BEE also resulted in the recommendation of a more comprehensive tool to measure the effectiveness and the sustainability of the growth strategy. A recommendation is made to apply the balanced scorecard and to integrate the strategic objectives of the company with the BEE objectives defined by government. The result is a model that reflects the sustainable competitive advantage of a business aligned with its vision and mission. Both the competitive advantage and sustainability are therefore addressed through the model application that would, in all likelihood, also prove to have a direct effect on the financial outcome of the business in the future. BEE, in its legislative form, is unique to South Africa and is a strategic tool to contribute to the economic transformation of South Africa. In a country that is in the process of creating a new middle class, this model could have a distinct impact on other developing countries in the world and further research on the application of a sustainable BEE model to create economic prosperity in the developing society could prove to be of significant value. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ingevolge die Algemene Swart Ekonomiese Bemagtigings (BBBEE) Wetgewing, Wet 53 van 2003, is dit vir sake-ondernemings met meer as vyftig werknemers noodsaaklik om swart bemagtiging in die kortste moontlike tydsbestek (2 - 3 jaar) in werking te stel; 'n tydsduur wat beide prakties haalbaar en ekonomies uitvoerbaar is. Die meerderheid Suid- Afrikaners is van enige betekenisvolle deelname in die ekonomie stelselmatig uitgesluit en die regering se oogmerk met die implementering van die BBBEE is om dié ongelykheid uit die weg te ruim. Met die invoering van die gedragskode is die vlak van inskiklikheid meer breedvoerig gedefinieer. Ter wille van mededingendheid en groei het dit vir sake-ondernemings noodsaaklik geword om hierdie betrokke wetgewing te ondersteun. Die ewewigtige meetinstrument en die voortdurende druk om 'n hoër vlak van mededingendheid het tot gevolg dat daar meer gekonsentreer word op gewone aandeletransaksies as op ware bemagtiging. 'n Hipotese is dat hierdie tipe transaksies nie volhoudbaar sal wees nie weens die aard van die verhoudings en skynbare gebrek aan strategiese prosesse. Met die huidige meetinstrument is daar ook geen voorsiening gemaak vir die meting van volhoudbaarheid nie. Van kardinale belang vir enige sake-onderneming is om mededingend handel te dryf. Dit veronderstel dat die BEE-transaksies behoort 'n mededingende voordeel vir die sakewêreld te ondervang en die doelwitte van swart bemagtiging as 'n sosio-ekonomiese proses te bevorder. Hierdie benadering sal mettertyd 'n wesenlike bydrae lewer tot die transformasie van Suid-Afrika. Dit is binne hierdie verband wat hierdie studie die toepassing van groei-strategieë nagevors het en voorts die uitvoering van hierdie strategieë vir BEE toe te pas. 'n Ondersoekende- en hoofsaaklik beskrywende navorsingstudie is onderneem om te bepaal watter model vir standhoudende bemagtiging ontwikkel kan word met gebruik van die strategiese groeistrategieë as raamwerk. Elke strategie, dit wil sê diversifisering, samesmeltings en strategiese alliansies en venootskappe, is in terme van hulle bydrae tot die mededingende voordeel van die maatskappy, beoordeel. Met die toepassing vanuit 'n strategiese groei-perspektief, is die skrywer van mening dat verskeie besorgdhede oor BEE vir klein- en medium sake-ondernemings in Suid-Afrika aangespreek kan word. Dit sluit onder andere in, om mededingendheid te ontwikkel deur diversifikasie in die sake kern, selektering van vennootskappe/ alliansies wat ooreenstem met die strategie van die maatskappy. Ook deur frontering te verhoed deur die vestiging van strategiese samewerking, gegrond op verbeterde doeltreffendheid en doelmatigheid. Voorts deur kennis en vaardigheid oor te dra deur diversifikasie, versterking van die bestaande sakedomein deur samewerking, wat die inherente krag van die maatskappy ondervang. Die aanbeveling om 'n meer betekenisvolle model vir BEE toe te pas het gelei tot 'n aanbeveling vir 'n meer toepaslike instrument om die doelmatigheid en standhoudenheid van die groeistrategie te meet. Ook word aanbeveel dat die ewewigtige meetinstrument toegepas word en die strategiese doelwitte van die maatskappy te integreer met die BEE doelwitte, soos deur die regering gedefinieer. Die uitkoms is 'n model wat die volhoubare mededingende voordeel van 'n sake-onderneming, gerig op sy visie en missie, weerspieël. Beide die mededingende voordeel en volhoubaarheid word dus aangespreek deur die toepassing van die model, wat in alle waarskynlikheid ook sal bewys dat dit 'n direkte invloed op die toekomstige finansiële uitkoms van die sake-onderneming sal uitoefen. BEE, in sy wetgewende formaat, is eie aan Suid-Afrika en is 'n strategiese instrument wat bydra tot die ekonomiese transformasie van Suid-Afrika. In 'n land wat in die proses is van die skepping van 'n nuwe middelklas, kan hierdie model 'n besliste uitwerking hê op ander ontwikkelende lande in die wêreld. Verdere navorsing in die toepassing van 'n volhoudbare BEE-model om ekonomiese vooruitgang in die ontwikkelende samelewing te bewerkstellig kan heel waarskynlik 'n betekenisvolle bydrae lewer.

Thesis (M Social Work)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: An explorative study of the Social Worker's role and responsibilities to develop the leadership potential of grassrootslevel employees in industrial organisations was undertaken. This subject was chosen with requirements in mind, which are necessary for the transformation process to be presented to industrial organisations for the implementation of affirmative action. A comprehensive literature study revealed that social workers can make a positive and essential contribution to organisations, either as an industrial social worker, or an affirmative action specialist, or as a member of the human resources development team. A discussion of the necessary leadership qualities, the implementation of affirmative action, and useful resources that may be used for development programs, is included. The literature study was followed by an empirical study. The empirical study was made with the assistance of questionnaires. The questionnaires were used to collect data on the perceived role of social work in the industrial organisation. Organisations that do utilise social work services were approached for permission and co-operation to complete the questionnaires. Seventeen respondents from fifteen organisations were selected in a random process, for inclusion in the study. The research indicated that social workers have different roles to play in vanous organisations, and with the values, knowledge base and competencies that are brought to the organisation, have a responsibility to ensure that affirmative action and labour equality is brought to fruition. With regard to the implementation of leadership development programs in industrial organisations, it was noted that grassroots level employees were seldom included in the programs, although the majority of social workers believe that all employees should participate in the programs. A summary of the skills and knowledge base required by the industrial social worker to deliver an effective service in the organisation, and to manage the development and training of employees, is included. Some skills that require further development by social workers were identified. It was also found that individuals hold different perceptions and definitions of affirmative action and it's implementation in organisations. The recommendations are, inter alia, that all leadership development programs must be continuously monitored, evaluated and subsequently followed up to assess their applicability and effectiveness. The training of industrial social workers must focus more on the development of negotiating and training skills and stimulation of assertive actions. A larger variety of resources, such as video recordings, role playing, dramatisation, interactive computer programs and small group discussions, can be used in addition, for the training and development of grassroots level employees. Should these recommendations be implemented, industrial social workers can make a significant contribution to the development and improvement of South Africa's economic, political and social situation by extending the potential of the grassroots level employees, who constitute the greatest portion of the total labour force. A group of people can thus be empowered to function optimally and to respond to the guidelines of the White Paper for Social Welfare 1997. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: 'n Verkennende studie oor maatskaplike werkers se rol en verantwoordelikheid om die leierskapspotensiaal van grondvlakwerknemers in bedryfsorganisasies te ontwikkel, is onderneem. Die onderwerp is gekies met die oog op die vereistes wat die proses van transformasie aan bedryfsorganisasies stel om regstellende aksie doeltreffend te implementeer. 'n Omvattende literatuurstudie het aan die lig gebring dat maatskaplike werkers 'n positiewe en onmisbare bydrae het om aan bedryfsorganisasies te lewer, hetsy as bedryfsmaatskaplike werker, as regstellende aksie spesialis of as deel van die menslike hulpbronontwikkelingspan. 'n Bespreking van noodsaaklike leierskapskwaliteite, die implementering van regstellende aksie en hulpmiddels wat vir ontwikkelingsprogramme benut kan word is ook ingesluit. Die literatuurstudie is opgevolg deur 'n empiriese studie. Die empiriese ondersoek is aan die hand van vraelyste uitgevoer. Die vraelyste is benut om data oor die rol van maatskaplike werk in bedryfsorganisasies te bekom. Bedryfsorganisasies wat wel van maatskaplike werkdienslewering gebruik maak, is genader en toestemming en samewerking is verkry. Deur middel van 'n nie waarskynlikheidseleksiemetode is sewentien respondente binne vyftien organisasies in die Kaapse Metropool geselekteer om aan die ondersoek deel te neem. Die navorsing het aangedui dat maatskaplike werkers verskillende rolle in bedryfsorganisasies vertolk, en met die waardes, vaardighede en kennisbasis wat na die organisasie gebring word, 'n verantwoordelikheid het om toe te sien dat regstellende aksie en arbeidsgelykheid in organisasieverband tot volle reg kom. Met betrekking tot die implementering van leierskapsontwikkelingsprogramme in organisasies, het dit aan die lig gekom dat grondvlakwerknemers selde ingesluit word by die programme, alhoewel die meerderheid bedryfsmaatskaplike werkers van mening is dat alle werknemers aan die betrokke programme kan deelneem. 'n Uiteensetting van die vaardighede en kennisbasis wat die maatskaplike werker benodig ten einde effektiewe diens binne 'n bedryfsorganisasie te lewer, asook om die ontwikkeling en opleiding van werknemers te behartig, is voorsien. Enkele vaardighede wat verdere ontwikkeling by bedryfsmaatskaplike werkers verg, is identifiseer. Daar is ook bevind dat individue verskillende definisies en persepsies het met betrekking tot regstellende aksie en die implementering daarvan in bedryfsorganisasies. Die aanbevelings sluit in dat alle leierskapsontwikkelingsprogramme deurlopend, sowel as na afloop daarvan evalueer en ook opgevolg moet word ten einde die toepaslikheid en effektiwiteit daarvan te monitor. Die opleiding van bedryfsmaatskaplike werkers moet meer fokus op die ontwikkeling van onderhandelings- en opleidingsvaardighede, en ook assertiewe gedrag stimuleer. 'n Groter verskeidenheid hulpbronne kan in kombinasie vir die opleiding en ontwikkeling van grondvlakwerknemers gebruik word, soos videoopnames, rollespel, drama, interaktiewe rekenaarpakette asook kleingroepbesprekings. lndien hierdie aanbevelings geïmplementeer word, kan bedryfsmaatskaplike werkers 'n prominente bydrae tot die ontwikkeling en vooruitgang van Suid-Afrika se ekonomiese, politieke en sosiale situasie lewer, deur grondvlakwerknemers, wat 'n groot deel van die totale arbeidsmag uitmaak, se potensiaal te ontgin. Sodoende word 'n geïdentifiseerde groep persone bemagtig om optimaal te funskioneer en word daar terselfdertyd aan die riglyne soos deur die Witskrif vir Maatskaplike Welsyn 1997 bepaal, beantwoord.

Thesis (M.B.A.: Business Studies Unit)-Durban University of Technology, 2007. 127 leaves / Retailing no longer involves just growth or expansion into new product, consumer segments or geographic areas. Organisations are now learning to shift their emphasis to managing under conditions of modest, zero or for some organisations, under negative growth. This is to a large extend has been the result of changing consumer behaviour, the emergence of new competitors, global economic recession, and rapid technological advances in the retailing industries. These pressures of business today make many people think that the only thing that counts is financial success, i.e. being the investor of choice. In successful organisations everyone's energy is focused on the "Triple bottom line" as the target. That is, if the organisation has been built the right way, it will be the Provider of Choice, Employer of Choice, and Investor of Choice. The leaders of these organisations believe that people, their customers and business partners are as important as their bottom line. These companies realise that profit is the applause you get for taking care of your customers and creating a motivated environment for your people. Despite its importance, this topic has been given little attention in the academic literature. In the case of retailing, services are designed more to augment the core offering or add value rather than represent the core offering itself? The limited and fragmented research on retail services focuses on specific areas such as quality issues and store image. Thus given this void in the literature, the bases of the study would be to approach retail services as a strategic perspective by focusing on the service orientation of a retailer's business strategy. If a retailer decides to strategically augment its products with services, it is essential that the retailer make this change systematically with a long-term orientation. The study would involve examining one level of service orientation, i.e. individual level. In this research stream, a service orientation is treated as a personality measure whereby certain people are more service orientated than others. / M

Thesis (M.M. (Business Executive Coaching))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits Business School, 2017 / The body of knowledge on transformation is growing and previous researchers have set a foundation by focusing on different aspects of B-BBEE and legislative redress. Scientific research on coaching as a tool to facilitate legislative redress is emerging. The objective of the research was to add to the emerging body of knowledge and uncover how South African businesses approach transformation, what processes and resources they use and what best practices are applied and if opportunities existed to introduce new concepts and frameworks, such as Coaching. The study used qualitative research methodology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with two employees in four different organisations, four technical signatories in two verification agencies and four B-BBEE consultants. The organisations who participated in the research qualified as level, one, two and three contributors to B-BBEE. It was assumed that the B-BBEE level would indicate the extent of transformation in the organisations. Transformation in South Africa remains a contentious issue for business and employee responses to redress range from positive to negative. Organisations have been slow to respond to the people aspects of transformation. From the research, it was evident that organisations, verification agencies and consultants interchanged B-BBEE and transformation, implying that in South Africa, the concepts were similar, if not the same. Organisations’ responses to B-BBEE were still very reactive and at the time of the interviews, the respondents all expressed varying levels of concern to the gazetting of the amended B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice. The view held, was that the amended codes would require organisations to take a more strategic view of transformation. Only one of the four organisations interviewed confirmed that they had a transformation strategy. As for the other organisations, the strategies could be described as emerging Best practice is beginning to emerge and on some elements of the scorecard, improvements can be seen as organisations adapt approaches to yield a return on investment. Coaching as a resource to facilitate transformation was approached with caution even though the respondents recognised that third party interventions were necessary. The research builds a case for coaching as a tool to embed learning and development as organisations shift from a tactical response to B-BBEE to a more progressive or authentic goal. / MT2017

A Research Report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Commerce in Accounting in the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management at The University of the Witwatersrand September 2016 / Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) or Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) is an important means by which the South African government aims to address the social injustices of the past as well as eliminating inequalities between white capital and the black majority (Fauconnier and Mathur-Helm, 2008). The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has been tasked with overall responsibility for instituting and monitoring the laws that govern BEE. Since the introduction of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act no. 53 of 2003 (Ferreira and Villiers, 2011) and the codes of good practice of 2007, a number of amendments were made in response to deficiencies identified, the most material being the Amended Codes of Good Practice of 2013, which were effective from 1 May 2015. This research paper sought to investigate the impact and cost implications of the 2013 amendments to the BBBEE Codes of Good Practice (new codes) on companies within the industrial goods and services sector of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). This was done relative to the 2007 BEE Codes of Good Practice (old codes). The main purpose of the study was to explore the impact and related costs of implementing the changes in the BBBEE codes on a sample of JSE listed companies obtained from the Empowerdex Top 100 2015 survey. The sample selected was those companies in the industrial goods and services sector. The methodology used was an exploratory study using semi-structured, in-depth interviews with the executives responsible for BBBEE or transformation, as it sometimes called, in each company. While an interview questionnaire was used, the questions asked were fairly open-ended which allowed the subject to be explored fully in each setting. This enabled the researcher to also understand the practicalities of implementing the BBBEE codes within each company and each industry. The results of the study indicated that most companies found it difficult to maintain their BBBEE ratings, with indicative ratings showing a likely overall average drop of three levels. In addition, further discounting in the rating may result from not meeting the sub-minimum levels of the three priority elements. These elements are; ownership, skills development as well as enterprise and supplier development (ESD). Overall, in terms of the impact and challenges in implementing the new codes, companies found that the new codes were onerous, complex in some instances, vague in others, with a potential for misinterpretation and possible manipulation. ESD was found to be the most challenging of the new elements to implement and likely to have the most impact on companies, whereas skills development, which has been doubled from 3% to 6% of the payroll leviable amount, had the biggest impact in terms of cost as assessed on the new codes. Notwithstanding the perceived challenges, companies acknowledged that BBBEE was not only a moral imperative (Fauconnier and Mathur-Helm, 2008), but also a business imperative (Arya and Bassi, 2009) and a licence to trade in South Africa. The study had four main limitations. Firstly, that companies investigated were selected from the Empowerdex Top 100 most empowered companies 2015 survey, completed in May 2015. Within those, only the ones in the industrial and services sector were included in the study. Secondly, that all companies interviewed, regardless of sector, responded to the questions with respect to the generic scorecard, as no sector charters were enacted at the date of writing the research report. Thirdly, the ability to secure the appropriate number of interviews was key, which may affect the quality of the responses and conclusions reached. Finally, because the new codes were implemented on 1 May 2015, which is less than a year from the date of this research report, there is a limitation that limited information is available on the new codes. The effective implementation date of the new codes, means that very little research is likely to have been conducted on the new codes; or the likely impact they could have on companies; or the critical changes between the old codes (2007) and new codes (2013). The researcher hopes this study will enable greater understanding of the codes and assist listed and other companies in strategic decision-making (Horwitz and Jain, 2011) and implementation of transformation initiatives. Furthermore, issues raised as contentious, confusing or due for improvement can be further researched and possibly used by policy-makers as input to future changes in the codes. Further research can also be conducted three to five years from now when the amended codes have been in place for a period that allows implementation by companies. This can either be conducted using a case study that tracks the BBBEE strategies, initiatives and ratings over that period within one company. Alternatively, the researcher can select any one of the five elements and investigate how it has been implemented in different companies over a specific period. / MT2017

Background: Due to the deregulation of the European airline industry within the 1980’s, competition between airlines has intensified greatly. The emergence of low-cost carriers has given rise to the competition on price. However, meeting customer demands and delivering high-quality service, beyond the mere price factor, is still crucial for an airline’s survival. Previous literature has focused on the interactive marketing aspect between employees and passengers when it comes to service quality and customer satisfaction. Today, there is a gap between what management does to satisfy its employees. This research will evaluate what should be done by management in order to meet customer expectations and perform an excellent service.   Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine how Germania’s management inhibited its employees in delivering superior service quality and how distributed communication within the Service Marketing Triangle negatively affects the Internal Marketing Model. The study’s empirical findings contribute to existing internal marketing literature and result in an extension of the Internal Marketing Model according to Ahmed and Rafiq (2002).   Method: A qualitative method consisting of semi-structured interviews with four former airline employees and two focus groups of 13 students was applied. This setup gives insight into both the consumer and employee perspective. Additionally, to handle the great amount of data, a thematic analysis was applied.   Conclusion: This study shows how Germania inhibited its employees from performing their work and deliver the service quality that was expected by customers. These inhibitions were mainly found in the tools that the company provided. The shortcomings can be found within the Service Marketing Triangle and an extension of the Internal Marketing Model is concluded from these. The findings and existing theory prove, that employee motivation, job satisfaction and employee empowerment are crucial aspects when it comes to meeting customer expectations and hence, delivering excellent service. The degree of the employees’ empathy, competence, and professionalism determine, whether the customer is satisfied and whether they are loyal to the airline.

Purpose: The aim of the study is to gain a holistic understanding of the reflection ofemployee empowerment practiced in the customer's perception of service quality in serviceencounters. Research Method: Exploratory research method based on a single case study Results: Through the analysis of both primary and secondary data, it has been found thatemployee empowerment practice is reflected in customer perception of service quality through improved service delivery provided by empowered frontline employees. Research limitations: This is a single case study, which is confined to the activities of onesmall company related to the health industry in Mexico. The choice of conducting theresearch only focusing on one company ignoring others can not open a true reflection of theentire problem. Practical implications: The results may be applicable for companies which in some extenthave similar retailing and services activities. Originality/value: This research makes a contribution to the existing literature on employeeempowerment by adding relevant qualitative data.

Thesis (M.B.A.: Business Studies Unit)-Durban University of Technology, 2007. 127 leaves / Retailing no longer involves just growth or expansion into new product, consumer segments or geographic areas. Organisations are now learning to shift their emphasis to managing under conditions of modest, zero or for some organisations, under negative growth. This is to a large extend has been the result of changing consumer behaviour, the emergence of new competitors, global economic recession, and rapid technological advances in the retailing industries. These pressures of business today make many people think that the only thing that counts is financial success, i.e. being the investor of choice. In successful organisations everyone's energy is focused on the "Triple bottom line" as the target. That is, if the organisation has been built the right way, it will be the Provider of Choice, Employer of Choice, and Investor of Choice. The leaders of these organisations believe that people, their customers and business partners are as important as their bottom line. These companies realise that profit is the applause you get for taking care of your customers and creating a motivated environment for your people. Despite its importance, this topic has been given little attention in the academic literature. In the case of retailing, services are designed more to augment the core offering or add value rather than represent the core offering itself? The limited and fragmented research on retail services focuses on specific areas such as quality issues and store image. Thus given this void in the literature, the bases of the study would be to approach retail services as a strategic perspective by focusing on the service orientation of a retailer's business strategy. If a retailer decides to strategically augment its products with services, it is essential that the retailer make this change systematically with a long-term orientation. The study would involve examining one level of service orientation, i.e. individual level. In this research stream, a service orientation is treated as a personality measure whereby certain people are more service orientated than others.