Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Historically organisations have had the "luxury" of being able to anticipate future developments and respond to them in good time due to, firstly, the comparatively slow pace of change and, secondly, the past being a relatively good predictor of the future. The second half of the 20th Century bears witness to some of the most dramatic changes and developments experienced by mankind. Most notable of these were globalisation, de-regulation, the emergence of the information/knowledge economy and, perhaps most significant of all, the changes brought about by the Internet. The underlying assertion of this report is that, given the current, complex, dynamic and sometimes volatile nature of changes in the external environment, in order to ensure a sustainable competitive advantage, organisations will be forced to consider carefully the dynamics of the environment in which they operate and to build their plans around these dynamics. This report briefly traces the evolution of strategic planning to its current status prior to providing a detailed analysis of the nature of environmental scanning and its applicability to strategic planning. The report provides a theoretical rerview of environmental scanning and a discussion of some of the tools and techniques of environmental scanning. Within this context the report provides a brief indication of the extent of the practice of environmental scanning within the financial services sector of South Africa. The conclusion assesses the findings of the current state of the practice of environmental scanning against the theory, with the view to providing an insight into the extent to which environmental scanning is applied in South Africa. Possible future directions of research and development of the practice are also identified. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Histories gesproke, het instansies oor die "luukse" beskik om toekomstige ontwikkelinge vooruit te kon waarneem en betyds op hulle te reageer, eerstens weens die betreklike stadige pas van verandering en tweedens, omdat die verlede 'n betreklike goeie voorspeller van die toekoms was. Die tweede helfte van die 20ste eeu getuig van sommige van die mees dramatiese veranderinge en ontwikkelinge wat deur die mens ondervind is. Die mees uitstaande was globalisering, deregulering, die verskyning van die inligting/kennis-ekonomie en, dalk die mees uitstaande van almal, die veranderinge wat deur die Internet teweeggebring is. Die onderliggende stelling van hierdie verslag is dat, gegewe die huidige, komplekse, dinamiese en soms onbestendige aard van veranderinge in die eksterne omgewing, om 'n mededingende voordeel te verseker, sal instansies geforseer word om die dinamika van die omgewing waarin hulle werk, versigtig te oorweeg en om hulle planne om hierdie dinamika te bou. Hierdie verslag speur kortliks die ewolusie na van strategiese beplanning tot sy huidige status gevolg deur 'n omvattende analise van die aard van omgewingsondersoeke en die toepaslikheid daarvan op strategiese beplanning. Die verslag voorsien 'n teoretiese oorsig tot omgewingsondersoeke en 'n bespreking van sommige van die instrumente en tegnieke van omgewingsondersoeke. Binne hierdie konteks voorsien die verslag 'n kort aanduiding van die omvang van die uitvoering van omgewingsondersoeke binne die finansiele dienstesektor van Suid-Afrika. Die slot som die bevindings op van die huidige toestand van die praktyk van omgewingsondersoeke volgens die teorie, met die oog op voorsiening van 'n insig in die mate waartoe omgewingsondersoeke in Suid-Afrika toegepas word. Moontlike toekomstige rigtings van navorsing en ontwikkeling van die praktyk word ook geidentifiseer.

<p>Background: In the existing branding literature there is no distinction made between theories for building product- and services brands although services have very different characteristics compared to products. The services characteristics imply that the customer has a high need of reassurance that the right brand choice is being made, which ought to bring forth the role of trust in the relationship between the customer and the service brand. </p><p>Purpose: The purpose is to analyze the process of building a service brand and the role of trust in this process. </p><p>Delimitations: The study will include the financial service sector since the complexity of services is brought to its head in this case. Realization: In total, 13 interviews were conducted with company representatives at SEB and Östgöta Brandstodsbolag, a Brand Consultant and customers of financial service companies. </p><p>Results: We suggest that when it comes to the process of building a service brand, the emphasis of the elementsdiffer somewhat compared to the building of product brands, where the emphasis is put on brand identity and in particular trust. When it comes to trust, a positive reputation could initially serve to signal trust but it is the actual encounter with the staff that determines the trustworthiness of the service brand.</p>

Background: In the existing branding literature there is no distinction made between theories for building product- and services brands although services have very different characteristics compared to products. The services characteristics imply that the customer has a high need of reassurance that the right brand choice is being made, which ought to bring forth the role of trust in the relationship between the customer and the service brand. Purpose: The purpose is to analyze the process of building a service brand and the role of trust in this process. Delimitations: The study will include the financial service sector since the complexity of services is brought to its head in this case. Realization: In total, 13 interviews were conducted with company representatives at SEB and Östgöta Brandstodsbolag, a Brand Consultant and customers of financial service companies. Results: We suggest that when it comes to the process of building a service brand, the emphasis of the elementsdiffer somewhat compared to the building of product brands, where the emphasis is put on brand identity and in particular trust. When it comes to trust, a positive reputation could initially serve to signal trust but it is the actual encounter with the staff that determines the trustworthiness of the service brand.