As the business evolves, organisations are faced with challenges as today’s customers have changed, and demand a value for the products and services purchased. Customer satisfaction is a key factor to business excellence. The health sector and its service providers are faced with such demands, having to ensure customer satisfaction with limited resources. The aim of the study was to investigate a business model that could be implemented within the public sector to render pathology services. Particular reference was given to the National Health Laboratory Service as a provider of choice for rendering medical laboratory services within public health institutions and related departments. The data has been collected using a self constructed questionnaire which has been distributed to the NHLS centers within the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality. 45 percent of the employees, in the region took part in the survey. The study tested the perceptions of the respondents with respect to the business model, specifically the determinants of a business model and its effects. The results of the empirical study revealed that a relationship exists between the business model, its determinants and customer satisfaction. Correlation analysis was done between the business model, customer relation management, continuous improvement, talent management, business process reengineering and customer satisfaction. Conclusions and recommendations have been drawn from the study. The NHLS needs to change its approach to business, invest in people education, training and development, improve its communication strategies with customers and realign its processes in order to maintain business excellence and provide a better service within the public sector

Multi-unit, multi-location organization is one of the most salient characteristics of contemporary enterprise. The transformation in the structure of enterprise from the independent, small-scale operation to the complex, multi-unit, multi-location system has been an integral part of wider societal change. Yet the current functioning of these systems and the processes underlying their transformation is not well understood. Particular deficiencies exist in our understanding of the relationship among the technology, organization and location of multi-unit enterprise. A case study of transformation in the British Columbia laboratory system between 1954 and 1984 shows that the spatial and organizational structure of enterprise is not driven by any single variable and, in particular, technology is not the "prime mover" behind structural change. The process of structural change is a synergistic one in which external environmental factors and strategic choice have a more dominant influence on transformation than does technology. Thus organizational and location options are not dictated, rather they are perceived and selected as a purposeful response to environmental conditions. This conclusion is reached from a critical evaluation of literature drawn from organization theory, decision-theory, cybernetics and the geography of enterprise; and from the case study. In particular, it is shown that in the 1950s and early 1960s, strategic decisions were taken that resulted in relative decentralization of laboratory activity, organizationally (down the hospital hierarchy) and geographically (towards the periphery). These decisions were taken in response to the changing political, social and medical environment. But these decisions clearly predate the availability of technologies that might encourage such dispersion, indicating that technology is not a necessary and sufficient condition for structural change. Technology can have an impact on the degree of centralization in multi-unit enterprise. In certain circumstances, the development and deployment of specific technologies coincides with a strategic decision to either centralize or decentralize activity. In such circumstances, equipment embodied technology can make a powerful contribution in transforming the relative centralization or decentralization of the system, but it does not determine the choice between centralized or decentralized. Rather, it amplifies the chosen direction. These findings have policy and research implications for society, for the urban system, for enterprise, in general, and for the future of the clinical laboratory system of B.C., in particular. / Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies / Graduate

Thesis (MSc.(Chemical Pathology)--Faculty of Health Sciences)-University of Pretoria, 2008. / Summary in English and Afrikaans. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2009. / Title from title screen (viewed 18 May 2009). Includes tables and questionnaires. Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Faculty of Health Sciences. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

Background: The Private Nursing School was founded in 1999 in Durban when the first nursing students started the Nursing program. In 2006 there was an upgrade to the Private Nursing School when a clinical skills laboratory was introduced to enhance the students’ clinical skills. The clinical skills laboratory was furnished with the equipment needed for demonstrations, role-plays and lectures to take place, and a need arose to evaluate the laboratory. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to conduct a process evaluation to evaluate the clinical skills laboratory at the Private Nursing School with regard to the quality of equipment, satisfaction of the students and the efficiency of clinical facilitators. Methodology: A process evaluation was conducted of the clinical laboratory, including a quantitative survey to evaluate the students’ satisfaction (n=97), a quantitative audit of the quality of the equipment, a review of the utilisation of the clinical skills laboratory and semi-structured interviews with the four clinical facilitators. Students from two years were purposively selected for the study as they made the most use of the clinical skills laboratory. Survey tools were developed by the researcher. Findings from the surveys and audits were described and Chi-square test and Mann-Whitney to compare satisfaction and beliefs of the students. Information from the clinical facilitator interviews were analysed for common themes on usage and satisfaction. Results: The students and facilitators reported overall satisfaction with the running of the clinical skills laboratory. The findings of the evaluation showed that the clinical laboratory was reaching the target groups with all students making use of the clinical skills laboratory for the purpose of viewing demonstrations, subjecting skills to assessment or practising skills. The students felt that learning did take place in the clinical skills laboratory with most of the students (94, 96.2%) reporting that knowledge was gained from demonstrations and practice. Almost two thirds of the students (59.8%) felt that the support from the clinical facilitators was beneficial to them. Some quality issues in terms of equipment were identified where damaged equipment could not be used by the support staff and facilitators stating that there was a need to improve the simulation experience for the students so that they can gain the much-needed practical and theoretical knowledge required for their stipulated course. Conclusion: The clinical skills laboratory is functioning at a level that is satisfactory to the nursing students and the clinical facilitators. Future research should be conducted regarding the impact and outcomes of the clinical skills laboratory training on students’ ability to function in the clinical setting. / Thesis (M.N.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.