The Improvement Strategy of Kaohsiung Mayor¡¦s Mailbox via Internal Customer Orientation Abstract Under the circumstances of increasing citizen demands and active participation in civil affairs, to improve citizen satisfaction and service quality is the most important things for the government. Actually, whatever the convenient public services or policy vision, these policies products will have great effects on the real life of the public through government employees¡¦ services. In the process of policy output, government employees¡¦ attitude toward the policy will affect the policy performace, and then, leads to citizen satisfation and loyalty. To let the external customer feel satisfied must gratify the internal customer¡¦s desire first. That is to say, to offer good internal service quality to government employees will generate high loyalty to organization, and naturally, the internal customer will give the excellent service quality to external customer. Mayor¡¦s electronic mailbox is the visualization of ¡§the Electronic Government¡¨ or ¡§the Virtual Government¡¨. In addition to providing policy information, governmental service on line, and enhancing citizen participation in public affairs by network technology, it became the vital policy instrument to implement government commitments, and supplied the grievance solving, information sharing, and policy problems construction. This research will discuss the function of customer orientation and it¡¦s effectiveness to inside customer. It began with the present utilization of Mayor¡¦s mailbox, literature review, in-depth interview, questionnaire, and confirm the positive linkage among internal customer orientation, system management mechanism, e-service quality, and internal customer satisfaction. Data were analysed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation model to test variables and constructs. Finally, this research will put forward a series of proposals, including a short, middle, and long-term improvement strategy for the reference of Kaohsiung city government.

Globalization creates for companies’ new opportunities for business development, as well as new challenges. One of the most prevailing challenges is the ability to create new products and services in accordance to diverse customer needs and requirements, as well as implementation of new technologies in future lines of products. Therefore, companies realize the importance of the Marketing and Sales (M&S) and Product Development (PD) departments. The interface between those two departments plays a decisive role in realization of customer needs and requirements, and application of the right technologies in new products. The speed and accuracy with which the information between the M&S and PD department is exchanged directly influences success of one’s products on the market. Consequently, companies strive to achieve greater level of cross-functional integration within the interface, by overcoming barriers to integration, and improving the quality of internal services by utilizing computer based Information Systems (IS). The role of IS in supporting cross-functional work environment is growing, thus companies of all size make investment in IS. Nonetheless, these investments very often fail or not bear expect results, due to lack of alignment of the investment with the business. This thesis documents a diagnosis undertaken for the Case Company. In recent years the Case Company experienced rapid international expansions and fast growth, which in turn exposed a whole new range of problems. The existing work routines turned out to be inadequate to maintain international expansion and growth. A great deal of these problems was enrooted directly in the interface between the M&S and PD departments. Therefore, the company realized a need to isolate and eliminate them, and further foster the cross-functional integration and information flows within the interface by implementation of a computer based Information System. The purpose of this thesis is to enhance the understanding of the integration and communication process within the M&S and PD departments at the Case Company. In order to fulfil the purpose the Enterprise Knowledge Development modelling technique was employed. This allowed tracing the problems to their roots, by mapping business processes, goals, rules, actors, as well as clarification of concepts. As a result an objective snapshot of the current cross-functional integration between the M&S and PD departments was created. Further, this snapshot was compared against a great body of literature in the field of Product Development and Management and Process Management. The comparison made it possible to indicate areas for potential future improvements. The proposed change needs aimed at enhancing the internal customer satisfaction. Last but not the least in deep analysis of the current cross-functional relations within the interface made it feasible to suggest (with literature assistance) initial vital functions of a computer based Information System to enhance the integration and information flows within the studied interface at the Case Company. The proposed functionality corresponds to the current, as well as anticipated needs of the interface that has been derived based on requirements of the actors to fulfil goals and satisfy organizational processes.

<p>Globalization creates for companies’ new opportunities for business development, as well as new challenges. One of the most prevailing challenges is the ability to create new products and services in accordance to diverse customer needs and requirements, as well as implementation of new technologies in future lines of products. Therefore, companies realize the importance of the Marketing and Sales (M&S) and Product Development (PD) departments. The interface between those two departments plays a decisive role in realization of customer needs and requirements, and application of the right technologies in new products. The speed and accuracy with which the information between the M&S and PD department is exchanged directly influences success of one’s products on the market. Consequently, companies strive to achieve greater level of cross-functional integration within the interface, by overcoming barriers to integration, and improving the quality of internal services by utilizing computer based Information Systems (IS). The role of IS in supporting cross-functional work environment is growing, thus companies of all size make investment in IS. Nonetheless, these investments very often fail or not bear expect results, due to lack of alignment of the investment with the business.</p><p>This thesis documents a diagnosis undertaken for the Case Company. In recent years the Case Company experienced rapid international expansions and fast growth, which in turn exposed a whole new range of problems. The existing work routines turned out to be inadequate to maintain international expansion and growth. A great deal of these problems was enrooted directly in the interface between the M&S and PD departments. Therefore, the company realized a need to isolate and eliminate them, and further foster the cross-functional integration and information flows within the interface by implementation of a computer based Information System.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to enhance the understanding of the integration and communication process within the M&S and PD departments at the Case Company. In order to fulfil the purpose the Enterprise Knowledge Development modelling technique was employed. This allowed tracing the problems to their roots, by mapping business processes, goals, rules, actors, as well as clarification of concepts. As a result an objective snapshot of the current cross-functional integration between the M&S and PD departments was created. Further, this snapshot was compared against a great body of literature in the field of Product Development and Management and Process Management. The comparison made it possible to indicate areas for potential future improvements. The proposed change needs aimed at enhancing the internal customer satisfaction. Last but not the least in deep analysis of the current cross-functional relations within the interface made it feasible to suggest (with literature assistance) initial vital functions of a computer based Information System to enhance the integration and information flows within the studied interface at the Case Company. The proposed functionality corresponds to the current, as well as anticipated needs of the interface that has been derived based on requirements of the actors to fulfil goals and satisfy organizational processes.</p>

Den reviderade versionen av standarden för kvalitetsledningssystem, ISO 9001, publicerades i september 2015. Tidigare forskning visar att flera undersökningar har funnit en positiv inverkan av ISO 9001 medan andra studier inte kunnat fastställa detta resultat. Syftet med studien var att undersöka de främsta förändringarna i reviderade ISO 9001 som uppfattades möta företags och organisationers interna kunders behov. En kvalitativ undersökning genomfördes i form av intervjuer med tio respondenter. Resultatet av intervjuerna visade att standarden ansågs ge förutsättningar för att kunna bygga ett kvalitetsledningssystem som är anpassat till behoven i organisationen. I den reviderade standarden har ledningen ett tydligare ansvar för kvalitetsledningssystemet vilket är den förändring som främst uppfattades möta de interna behoven. Studiens resultat är ett bidrag till företag och organisationer som önskar öka sin kunskap om vilken kundnytta ISO 9001:2015 kan bidra med till de interna kunderna. / The revised version of the standard for quality management, ISO 9001, was published in September 2015. Previous research has shown that several studies have found a positive effect of the standard while other studies have not been able to determine this result. The aim of the study was to examine if the main changes in the revised ISO 9001 was perceived to meet companies and organizations internal customers needs. A qualitative study was conducted in the form of interviews with ten respondents. The result of the interviews showed that the standard was considered to provide the conditions to build a quality management system that is tailored to the needs of the organization. In the revised standard, management has a clear responsibility for the quality management system which was the change that was primarily conceived to meet the internal needs. The results of the study are a contribution to companies and organizations that wish to increase their knowledge aboutthe customer benefits which ISO 9001: 2015 may contribute to the internal customers.

Nowadays, employee benefit system is almost a must for all big companies. It is closely related with such areas as employee motivation and stimulation which are explained in details in the first chapter of the thesis. The following chapter is focused on employee benefits themselves taking into consideration legal and tax framework. After the theoretical introduction into the employee benefit problematic and related areas there is a case study of company Linde Gas a.s. The case study includes general overview about the company followed by the analysis of current employee benefit system. Final chapter suggests possible improvements for the employee benefit system of Linde Gas a.s.

The objectives of this research are to explore the relationships among service chains of electronic government services. This research proposes models (1) to explore the linkages among internal marketing, internal service quality, and internal customer satisfaction in electronic government services, i.e. the internal service chain; (2) to explore the linkage between external service quality and external customer satisfaction, i.e. the external service chain; and (3) to employ the concept of the service profit chain model and the public sector service value chain model to explore the linkage between internal and external service chains. Two kinds of surveys, employee and citizen surveys, were conducted to collect data for this research on two cases including the Kaohsiung Citizen Electronic Complaint System and the National Science and Technology Museum Collection Management System. Internal and external customer data was matched through individual-level instead of group-level used in most studies. Structural equation modeling and Ordinary Least Squares regression analysis were used to test proposed models. The research results support the proposed hypotheses, including (1) internal marketing positively influences internal service quality; (2) internal marketing positively influences internal customer satisfaction; (3) internal service quality has positive influence on internal customer satisfaction; (4) external customer satisfaction is influenced by external service quality; with the exception of (5) the relationship between internal customer satisfaction and external service quality receiving no significant support. Managerial implications are presented for public managers to better serve internal and external customers. Further studies are encouraged to include service-specific variables and technology-specific variables to examine the internal-external link of customer perceptions.

För att förbättra servicekvaliteten är kartläggning och mätning av kundupplevelse en viktig del av förbättringsarbetet. Detta är mestadels studerat ur den externa kundens perspektiv, och inte lika ofta ur den interna kundens. Syftet med denna studie var att utforska förekomsten av olika dimensioner av intern kundupplevelse inom en organisation och undersöka deras relation till andra mått på kundupplevelse. Dessutom syftade studien till att utforska de interna kundernas perspektiv på kvaliteten på den levererade servicen. Fokus för studien var eftermarknadsavdelningen i den svenska delen av ett globalt företag inom tillverkande industri. En kvalitativ metod användes och data samlades in med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer och analyserades med en induktiv tematisk ansats. Resultatet visar sex dimensioner som påverkar den interna kundupplevelsen: Kommunikation, Beteende, Systemstöd, Personlig kontakt, Teknisk kompetens och Fungerande processer. Denna studie ger insikt i viktiga faktorer för att möta interna kunders behov och förväntningar. Även om det finns vissa skillnader, kan dessa dimensioner jämföras med andra dimensioner av kundupplevelse och servicekvalitet. Resultaten indikerar att befintliga mätverktyg utformade för extern kundupplevelse också bör kunna tillämpas i interna sammanhang. Denna studie bidrar till att utöka den begränsade kunskapen om intern kundupplevelse. / In order to improve service quality, mapping and measuring customer experience is a vital part of improvement efforts. This is however mostly studied from the external customers point of view, and studies on internal customer experience are scarce. The aim of this study was to explore the existence of different dimensions of internal customer experience within an organisation and examine their relationship to other measures of customer experience. In addition, the study aimed to explore the internal customers’ perspectives on the quality of the service delivered. The focus of the study was the after sales department in the Swedish branch of a global manufacturing company. A qualitative method was used and the data was collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed by an inductive thematic approach. The result shows six dimensions that affect the internal customer experience: Communication, Behavior, System support, Personal contact, Technical competence and Functional processes. This study provides insight into significant factors in meeting internal customer needs and expectations. Although there are some differences, these dimensions compares with those found in other studies on customer experience and service quality. The results indicate that existing measurements of external customer experience should also be applicable to internal settings. This study contributes to expanding the limited knowledge of internal customer experience.

This study aims to examine the consistency between ascribed values and the prevailing culture in a company. The theoretical framework for the work consists of theories and concepts taken from offensive quality development and organizational culture. The understanding of organizational culture has been of the utmost importance to be able to analyze the employees' perceptions of the prevailing culture. For improvement measures to be sustainable, a deep understanding of the business's culture is needed. A cultural analysis was used with the associated letter method where the employees' perceptions were obtained through the letter responses. The letters have been analyzed using a cultural analysis model created by Gunnar Berg. The survey compared the company's attributed values with the current culture. Initially, the company's management believed a certain discrepancy existed between the ascribed values and the prevailing culture. By extracting different themes from the employees' letter responses and analyzing them with the help of the theoretical aspects, a certain discrepancy but even greater congruity between the formal values and the prevailing culture in the company was identified. Several areas for improvement were also suggested by the employees in the letter replies, which the management of the company is recommended to take advantage of. In conclusion, an implementation proposal is presented for the company on how they can use the results from this study to further increase consistency between the culture and the formal values. / Syftet med denna studie är att klargöra överensstämmelsen mellan uttalade värderingar och den rådande kulturen i ett företag.   Den teoretiska ramen för arbetet består av teorier och begrepp hämtade från offensiv kvalitetsutveckling och organisationskultur. Förståelsen av organisationskultur har varit av yttersta vikt för att kunna analysera medarbetarnas uppfattningar om den rådande kulturen. För att förbättringsåtgärder ska vara hållbara behövs en djupgående förståelse av verksamhetens kultur. Som metod användes en kulturanalys med tillhörande brevmetod där medarbetarnas uppfattningar hämtades genom brevsvaren. Breven analyserades med hjälp en kulturanalysmodell skapad av Gunnar Berg. I undersökning jämfördes företagets uttalade värderingar med den aktuella kulturen. Inledningsvis hade företagets ledning en uppfattning om att det fanns en viss diskrepans mellan de uttalade värdena och den rådande kulturen. Genom att ta fram olika teman ur medarbetarnas brevsvar och analys av dessa med hjälp av de teoretiska aspekterna identifierades det en viss diskrepans men än större kongruens mellan formella värdena och den rådande kulturen i företaget. Även ett antal förbättringsområden föreslogs av medarbetarna i brevsvaren som ledningen i företaget rekommenderas att ta till vara. Avslutningsvis presenteras ett implementeringsförslag för företaget om hur de kan med studien som grund arbeta vidare för att öka samstämmighet än mer mellan kulturen och de formella värdena.

Kring grundskolemedarbetares delaktighet förbättringsarbete är forskningslandskapet tunt, speciellt beträffande studier där forskningsförfarande som förutsättningslöst tillåter multivetenskapliga fynd, praktiserats. För att fylla det gapet har Grundad Teori använts med intervjuer, fokusgruppsintervjuer och observationer för att uppnå studiens syfte, som var att förutsättningslöst, ur ett medarbetarperspektiv, bidra med ny teoribildning kring medarbetares delaktighet i förbättringsarbete inom grundskola. Mer specifikt innebar det att undersöka vilka faktorer som påverkar grundskolepersonals delaktighet i sin verksamhets förbättringsarbete. Det innefattade även att undersöka eventuella samband mellan dessa faktorer, samt hur de eventuella sambanden påverkar grundskolepersonals delaktighet i sin verksamhets förbättringsarbete. Resultatet visade att förutsättningar behöver tillgodoses för att öka sannolikheten för att medarbetare ska vara delaktiga i förbättringsarbete. Även ledarskapsstilen har betydande påverkan. Emellertid kan medarbetare utveckla både negativa och positiva attityder gentemot förändring om förutsättningarna saknas, till viss del beroende på deras personlighetsdrag, vilka även avgör deras behov samt hur de bör matchas med kollegor. Därför behöver ledare beakta personlighetsdrag både beträffande behov och sammansättning av arbetsgrupper. Vidare har fenomenet samverkan, enligt resultatet, en betydande positiv effekt på grundskolemedarbetares delaktighet i förbättringsarbete. Genom dessa fynd kan studien tillskriva etablerad teoribildning och tidigare forskning relevans även inom domänen grundskola / Regarding compulsory school staff’s participation in their school’s improvement activity, the area of research is thin, especially regarding research approaches which allows unconditional multidisciplinary findings. To fill this gap this study has been using Grounded Theory, with interviews, focus group interviews and observations, to achieve the purpose of this study, which was to, with an unconditionally approach, provide a new theory from an employee perspective, of employee’s participation in improvement activity, within compulsory school. More specific, this meant investigating the factors that influence compulsory schools staff participation in their work of improvement. It also included examining possible correlations between these factors, as well as how these possible correlations affect compulsory school staff's participation in their improvement activities.   The findings showed that prerequisites need to be met to improve the probability of employees participating in work of improvement. The kind of leadership practiced also have great impact. However, employees can develop both negative and positive attitudes towards change if the prerequisites are not met, in part depending of their personality traits, which also determine their needs as well as how they need to be matched up with co-workers. Leaders therefore need to take personality traits into consideration regarding both needs of the employees and team composition. Furthermore, the phenomenon of teamwork has, as the result shows, a greatly positive impact on compulsory school staff’s participation in improvement activities. With these findings this study recognizes established theories and previous research, as valid even within the domain of compulsory school. / <p>2020-06-26</p>