The focus of this study is the effective prioritization of customer requirements in collaborative product development. The CR priorities are often retrieved by questioning and interviewing targeted customers. But the targeted customer might not always be easily questioned, because they might not always be obvious or clearly known. If customers might be known, they might not be able to distinct the priorities for CR's, because everything is important to them. Moreover concerns of the developer's organization and the society might not get the necessary attention and it might be asked too much from the customer to trade off all customer requirements (CR's) by their own. Because the resources for an extensive customer interviewing might lack anyway the stakeholders might prioritize the CR's on their own. Efforts have already been undertaken to support cross-functional stakeholder groups in finding priorities of CR's. Most of the investigated methods lacked the ability to distinct the importance of CR's by a relative amount or were not able to integrate the interdependency of stakeholders in other ways than a tiresome negotiation processes. With the proposed Urn-Scheme approach the stakeholders register their own individual priorities based on their perceptions of what the relative priorities of the CR's might be. Furthermore the method supports the stakeholders in considering the opinions of all other stakeholders. The extent of taking others and own opinion into account is based on quantified social interdependencies, i.e. in this study measured trust and trustworthiness into the capability of every voter to understand costumers' perceived desired product quality. The summed up trustworthiness in prioritizing CR's of every stakeholder is used in a further step to finally transform the individual priorities to relative priorities of CR's from the whole group. With the amplification of votes from the stakeholders, who are trusted to prioritize better than others, an improvement of the decision making process will be achieved. A careful developed, easily to understand mathematical framework builds the fundament for manifold analysis of the obtained voting results, e.g. consensus analysis, priority significance check. Moreover the framework makes the proposed method transparent and the obtained results well documented for later reference. / Graduation date: 2005

The purpose of this study was to assess satisfaction with the season ticket selling process administered by a minor league baseball franchise. Minor league sport organizations rely heavily on season ticket sales and retention, therefore, knowing the perceptions of consumers gives organizations an opportunity to fulfill consumer needs. Respondents (N=615) to a consumer satisfaction survey included season (N=365) and non-season (N=250) ticket holders of a southern Triple-A baseball team. Results indicate ineffective television and radio advertisements, favorable experience with the purchasing process, fair and appropriate price, consumer ticket use related to perceived team connection, and repurchase intention was not based on club’s win-loss. Future investigations should distinguish if perceptions change longitudinally when managers attempt to address consumer needs.

Thesis (D. Phil. Communication Management)--University of Pretoria, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 222-233).

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1981.

Η παρούσα εργασία αποσκοπεί στο να διερευνήσει τις αντιλήψεις των φαρμακοποιών ως επιστημόνων υγείας απέναντι στα συμπληρώματα διατροφής, αλλά και τις πρακτικές επιλογής και προώθησης των σκευασμάτων αυτών στο φαρμακείο. Τα δεδομένα συλλέχθηκαν με τη βοήθεια ειδικά διαμορφωμένου ερωτηματολογίου που απευθυνόταν σε επαγγελματίες φαρμακοποιούς. Συγκεντρώθηκαν 100 ερωτηματολόγια από διάφορους νομούς της βόρειας Ελλάδας κυρίως, με προσωπική συνέντευξη, τηλεφωνική επικοινωνία καθώς και αποστολή στο χώρο εργασίας για τα πιο απομακρυσμένα φαρμακεία. Οι φαρμακοποιοί του δείγματος εμφανίστηκαν συγκρατημένοι όσον αφορά την ικανοποίηση απ’ τις πωλήσεις των συμπληρωμάτων διατροφής στα φαρμακεία τους. Εξίσου επιφυλακτικοί παρουσιάστηκαν και ως προς την τάση να συστήνουν κάποιο σκεύασμα με δική τους πρωτοβουλία σε περιπτώσεις που πιθανώς να αφορούν κάποιο πρόβλημα υγείας. Στοιχεία Μάρκετινγκ των συμπληρωμάτων διατροφής όπως η ισχύς της εμπορικής ονομασίας και η φήμη της παραγωγού εταιρίας φάνηκαν να επηρεάζουν καθοριστικά τόσο τις επιλογές των πελατών, κατά τη γνώμη των φαρμακοποιών, όσο και τις δικές τους επιλογές ως προς τα σκευάσματα που θα επιλέξουν να διαθέτουν στο φαρμακείο τους. Ως βασικότερος παράγοντας σύστασης κάποιου συγκεκριμένου σκευάσματος από τους φαρμακοποιούς αναδείχθηκε η πίστη στην αποτελεσματικότητά του. Γενικά το δείγμα εμφανίστηκε θετικό ως προς την αναγκαιότητα των συμπληρωμάτων διατροφής εξαιτίας των συνθηκών που επιβάλλει ο σύγχρονος τρόπος ζωής και συγκρατημένο ως προς την ανεπιφύλακτη σύσταση και προώθησή τους στο φαρμακείο. Επιπρόσθετα, σημείωσε ότι η συντριπτική πλειοψηφία των πελατών που έρχονται στο φαρμακείο αναζητώντας κάποιο συμπλήρωμα ζητούν τη συμβουλή του φαρμακοποιού ως προς την επιλογή τους, ενισχύοντας το συμβουλευτικό ρόλο του φαρμακοποιού στη διάθεσή τους. Τέλος, οι ερωτηθέντες δήλωσαν λιγότερο ενημερωμένοι σχετικά με τα συμπληρώματα διατροφής, απ’ ότι σίγουροι για τις σχετικές συμβουλές/ συστάσεις τους προς το κοινό. Αν και στη θεωρία τάχθηκαν υπέρ της αναγκαιότητας των συμπληρωμάτων διατροφής σε μια πληθώρα ανθρώπων λόγω του σύγχρονου τρόπου ζωής, εντούτοις οι φαρμακοποιοί του δείγματος εμφανίστηκαν πιο συντηρητικοί στην πράξη όσον αφορά την σύσταση και προώθηση τους. Όσο αντιλαμβάνονται να επηρεάζουν τα προϊόντικα στοιχεία των διαφόρων συμπληρωμάτων διατροφής τις επιλογές του αγοραστικού κοινού, άλλο τόσο φάνηκε να καθορίζουν τις επιλογές των φαρμακοποιών σχετικά με τα σκευάσματα που επιλέγουν να διαθέτουν στο φαρμακείο τους. Σημαντικό ρόλο στις επιλογές τους διαδραματίζει και η σχέση του φαρμακοποιού με την παραγωγό εταιρία (εμπιστοσύνη στο κύρος της εταιρίας και την αποτελεσματικότητα των σκευασμάτων της, ευελιξία της εταιρίας στη συνεργασία με τον φαρμακοποιό). Γενικά όσο πιο ικανοποιημένοι δήλωσαν οι φαρμακοποιοί απ’ τις πωλήσεις των συμπληρωμάτων διατροφής στο φαρμακείο, τόσο πιο ενημερωμένοι σχετικά εμφανίστηκαν. Η αυτοπεποίθηση των φαρμακοποιών για τις συμβουλές/ συστάσεις τους επηρεάζεται τόσο από την σχετική ενημέρωση τους όσο και από την επαγγελματική τους εμπειρία. / To explore the beliefs of pharmacists as health care professionals towards food supplements and their practices of choosing, recommending and promoting such products. Data was collected by administering a specially designed questionnaire to be completed by community pharmacists. 100 questionnaires were gathered coming from various areas, mostly in the north of Greece using personal interviews, phone interviews as well as by mailing the questionnaires to professionals based at distant areas. The pharmacists of the sample appeared merely satisfied from the sales of food supplements in their pharmacies. They also appeared reserved towards taking sole responsibility of suggesting a supplement, in cases that could involve some health problem. Certain Marketing elements such as the brand name and the prestige of the company seemed to play a key role in the buying decision of the customers from the pharmacists’ view, as well as in their own decisions over which supplements they will include for sale in the pharmacy. The belief in the effectiveness of the product was regarded as the most important reason for suggesting a certain supplement. Generally, the sample appeared more likely to believe in the necessity of food supplements as a result of the current way of living, though reserved as far as uninhibitedly suggesting and promoting their use. It was also noted that the majority of customers seeking to purchase a food supplement, ask for the pharmacist’s opinion and suggestion instead of picking one on their own, which reinforces the counseling role of the pharmacist in the buy. Finally, the pharmacists stated to be more confident over their advice/ suggestions, rather than well-informed as far as food supplements are concerned. The pharmacists included in the research seemed skeptical about the wide use and promotion of food supplements, though in theory they appeared to agree with the fact that they are necessary to various people due to the current way of living. The more they believe that certain marketing elements of these products affect the customers’ buying decisions, the more likely they are to be affected by these elements in deciding which supplements to include for sale in their pharmacies. As far as these decisions are concerned, the relationship with the producing company plays an important role (trust in the company’s credibility and its products’ effectiveness, flexibility of the company in terms of pharmacist’s needs). Generally, the more satisfied the pharmacist was from the sales of food supplements in the pharmacy, the more informed about them he/she stated to be. The confidence of the pharmacists as far as their suggestions are concerned is affected by how well-informed they are and by their experience behind the counter.

Thesis (M.B.A.)-Business Studies Unit, Durban University of Technology, 2007. xiii, 112 leaves. / Interest in the quality of university education has grown considerably over the last decade. Higher education institutions are increasingly placing greater emphasis on meeting students’ expectations and needs. As universities become more student orientated, student perceptions of higher educational facilities and services are becoming more important. It is apparent that there is a need to measure students’ perceptions of service quality at the Durban University of Technology. To investigate students’ perceptions of service quality, a study was conducted which was guided by four objectives. These objectives were: firstly, to identify students’ expectations in terms of higher educational services provided; secondly, to ascertain the perceptions of students towards the service the Durban University of Technology provides; thirdly, to measure the gaps between the expectations and perceptions, using the SERVQUAL score, and fourthly, to calculate and measure the score of the five SERVQUAL dimensions.

The management of the Johannesburg Zoo is currently attempting to 'turnaround' the entity. Being a part of the team that assisted the Johannesburg Zoo to formulate its business plan in 2004, the researcher developed an affiliation to the zoo and was motivated to assist management with their efforts by conducting this study. The major problem identified for the Johannesburg Zoo was that of how to secure the support of current patrons and increase patronage particularly in respect of the increasing support of alternate entertainment offerings. The study employed structured open-ended questionnaires to collect data from selected patrons and employees of the zoo. The findings of the study, following the literature review and analysis of findings from the field, resulted in a number of conclusions. First, the researcher realized that the Johannesburg Zoo has experienced a 'decline and crisis' phase in previous years. Happily, the researcher also discovered that there were triggers for changes that encouraged the formulation of a recovery strategy. The researcher has used these very triggers to offer robust recommendations to revitalize the zoo in terms of the product offering, marketing, financial and operational initiatives. / Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2006.

Thesis (M.A.)--International School of Theology, 1988. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 133-136).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Australia, 2007.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1981. / Also available in print.