Industrial selling is considered to be one of the highly challenging tasks and sales personnel are exploring new strategies and tools to stay ahead of the competition to achieve organizational objectives. The study has focused on adding to the academic knowledge of the use of an innovative and creative sales tool to enhance the performance of the function. For this purpose, with the professional experience of research team members, the use of Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) is taken into the account as the tool. Though the LCCA is generally accepted as an instrument used by organizational procurement departments, it has been observed that there is a strategic and functional importance of academically studying the role of the during the industrial sales process, how it has been utilized during the interaction with various members in the organizational decision-making process and the role of the other internal departments in applying it. It was our utmost faith, it would be an interesting and insightful area of academic exploration while addressing relatively considerable the drought in academic studies on industrial sales. The topic was selected based on the researchers’ previous experience followed by thorough literature research in identifying the knowledge gap on the topic. The empirical data collection was carried out over two industries, namely, Protective Coatings (Industrial paints) and Luxury bathroom fixtures and fittings in India Subcontinent. Data was gathered using semi-structured interviews with sales professionals who have been selected based on the researchers’ personal contacts. The gathered data were analyzed using qualitative techniques.  The study showed that the LCCA plays a significant role in different stages of the Industrial sales process as a sales tool and it has helped the sales personnel to a greater extent during their interaction with various members of the organizational buying unit. Unanimously, it was accepted by the members of the sales department that the other departments are instrumental in the effective use of the LCCA. The LCCA is a tool that can be utilized in the industrial sales process and that other industries can use as well. The idea might be used by sales teams in other companies, such as those that build bridges, railways, and roads, recycle, enforce traffic laws, manufacture building materials, and so forth. The study found that LCCA is used by enterprises as a tool in the industrial sales process. In the Presentation and Demonstration phase of the sales process, the instrument is heavily utilized. The sales team's satisfaction with LCCA has increased due to its proactive role in lowering DMU objections.

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.

This paper aims to define methods for measuring CLV in the segment of internal customers of companies operating in the financial market. It's about finding such a method to determine the value of internal customers to predict and measure whether an internal customer pays off to the company. The standalone task is to quantify the internal customer's contributions to the overall value of the company. The area of CLV determination for internal customers of the company is not described in the literature. From this point of view, the determination of CLV internal customers in the strategic management system will be a major scientific achievement. Similarly to external customers (markets), as well as internal customers express greater or lesser affinities with their behavior and performance, in the first case the brand and in the latter case the employer. Therefore, CLV modeling for internal customers requires qualified predictions and expressions of a whole range of both hard (eg, cash flow indicators) and Soft (indicators of qualitative research such as loyalty) of indicators and their use in the calculation of CLV internal customers. An important prerequisite for CLV for both internal customers is their segmentation.

The role of purchasing has been evolving during the last years, increasing its strategic importance inside the organization. Traditionally viewed as a supportive function impacting only the bottom-line of the company, the main performance indicators for purchasing were cost-reduction and savings. Nowadays, organizations recognize the importance of the value added generated in the purchasing processes and they are broadening their vision of purchasing as a strategic contributor of value in both economical and intangible aspects.   One of the main intangible value contributions from the purchasing department (PD) of any company is the one provided to its internal customers; measured in the level of internal service quality and customer satisfaction. An adequate internal customer relationship management can translate into advantages for the PD, improving its strategic position in the organization, and in benefits for the company, increasing directly or indirectly its business performance.   The purpose of this research study was to understand how the purchasing department can create value inside an organization, how that value is measured and how it can be increased; being the central focus on the internal customers of the department. This research work was conducted as a single case study performed in a multinational company from the telecommunication industry. Qualitative data was gathered through structured interviews, formal and informal meetings with personnel from the company and a survey to triangulate the information. The objective was to determine the most important value adding factors for the internal customers of the purchasing department and evaluate their satisfaction level.   Two models for assessing the value contributed by the PD were the grounding for developing the tools used in the achievement of the objectives; one of them was based on the SERVQUAL model and the other one on the concept of meaningful involvement. Using inputs from both, a model for evaluating the value added to internal customer was proposed. In addition, the author identified improvement opportunities, related mainly with relationship management in the company and she suggested improvement measures accordingly. Finally, future courses of action were recommended, relating the value added concept with purchasing maturity models.

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.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master in Philosophy Public Management, Durban, University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / This research investigated internal service quality perceptions held by DUT Writing Centre tutors. This research is important because literature is indicative of the fact that internal service quality is a precursor to external service quality. The study employs a mixed method approach. An adapted SERVQUAL Battery termed by Frost and Kumar (2000) as INTSERVQUAL was used to gather the quantitative data. The qualitative data was from a secondary source which was focus group discussions and was analysed using thematic analysis. This study utilised the survey method and a census was conducted to investigate the service quality dimensions. The quantitative results were analysed by use of descriptive and inferential statistics by SPSS 24 program. Five dimensions being reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles were measured by the instrument and a GAP analysis of the expectation and perception scores was done. It was found that the highest gap was in the tangibles dimension and the lowest gap in the reliability dimension. The research objectives were as follows: • To determine Writing Centre tutors’ expectations of internal service quality at DUT writing centres; • To evaluate Writing Centre tutors’ perceptions of internal service quality at DUT writing centres; • To identify gaps between expectations and perceptions of internal service quality at DUT writing centres; and • To identify customer service expectations and perceptual differences in relation to biographical variables in the population. / M

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.

Application of supply chain management is still relatively recent practice, but it's importance is growing over time. Today, in the era of customer centricity, in order to become competitive firms shouldn't avoid collaboration with it's supply chain partners. Purpose of my thesis was to find out how supply chain management can contribute to building relationship with customers, who are the basis of any existing company. First part summarizes knowledge about supply chain, compeptitive strategies, customers, types of supply chains and customer relationship management. Particular part is dedicated to customer service and how supply chain management can contribute to it's improving. It describes also what meaning has customer service for future competitiveness. In second part, I presented the case of Zappos.com. E-retailer, which aligning entire functional strategies and whole supply chain to common strategic purpose managed to build excellent relationship with it's customers.