The study identifies how different stakeholders perceive service quality improvement initiatives in public higher education institutions in Ethiopia. For this purpose, a mixed research methodology was employed. Furthermore, secondary data were collected from a variety of literature and primary data were collected from academic staff and final year students at public higher education institutions using the SERVQUAL scale and through focus group interviews. The collected data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The research findings indicated that all dimensions of the service quality improvement initiatives were perceived by academic staff and studentsto be verypoor. The reasons for these poor or low perceptions were: the high expectationsof the stakeholders, the government’s intention to expand, lack of adequate knowledge regarding the implementation of the BPR process, the lack of motivation by service providers, poor management and the lack of good governance by the universities, inexperienced workers, non-empowered and task specific frontline employees, the low quality of the infrastructure, non-value adding hierarchical structures and approval systems, ethical problems with some service providers, the high staff turnoverand the lack of experienced staff. In addition, at all new universities, construction is underway and as a result,there are problems such as the poor state of the dormitories, classes,bathrooms, recreation areas, lounges, TV rooms, sport fields and internet connectivity, while the libraries are not well stocked with books and periodicals either. This study has recommended that the institutions should have standardised instruments that can be used to measure the status of service quality improvement and deliveryperiodically and to identify the areas that have the highest perceived performance gap scores in order to redeploy some of the resources. It also needs to be pointed out that the service providers lack sufficient knowledge and skillsconcerning the implementation of BPR, thus training is recommended in this regard.It is further recommended that for effective implementation of the BPR process, the importance of the provision of different guiding documents, continuous monitoring of activities and top management support should be kept in mind. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Educational Management)

New Zealand's tertiary education sector has experienced political reform, social changes, economic changes and globalisation in the last two decades, and the sector has become more internationally competitive. DeShields, Kara, and Kaynak (2005) recommended that management of higher education should apply a market-oriented approach to sustain a competitive advantage. Therefore, understanding and managing students' satisfaction and their perceptions of service quality is important for university management if they are to design and implement a market-oriented approach. The purpose of this research is to gain an empirical understanding of students' overall satisfaction in a university in New Zealand's higher education sector. A hierarchal model is used as a framework for the analysis. Fifteen hypotheses are formulated and tested to identify the dimensions of service quality as perceived by university students, to examine the relationship between students' overall satisfaction with influential factors such as tuition fees (price) and the university's image, and to determine the impact of students' overall satisfaction on favourable future behavioural intentions. In addition, students' perceptions of these constructs are compared using demographic factors such as gender, age, and ethnicity. The findings of the study are based on the analysis of a sample of 223 students studying at Lincoln University. Support is found for the use of a hierarchical model and the primary dimensions; Interaction Quality, Physical Environment Quality, and Outcome Quality, as broad dimensions of service quality. Ten sub-dimensions of service quality, as perceived by students, are identified. These are: Academic Staff, Administration Staff, Academic Staff Availability, Course Content, Library, Physically Appealing, Social Factors, Personal Development, Academic Development, and Career Opportunities. The results indicate that each of the primary dimensions vary in terms of their importance to overall perceived service quality, as do the sub-dimensions to the primary dimensions. In addition, the statistical results support a relationship between service quality and price; service quality, image, and satisfaction; and satisfaction and favourable future behavioural intentions. However, there is no statistical support for a relationship between price and satisfaction. The results also suggest that students' perceptions of the constructs are primarily influenced by their ethnicity and year of study. The results of the analysis contribute to the service marketing theory by providing an empirically based insight into the satisfaction and service quality constructs in the New Zealand higher education sector. The study also provides an analytical framework for understanding the effects of the three primary dimensions on service quality and the effects of service quality on constructs including price, image, satisfaction, and favourable future behavioural intentions. This study will assist management of higher education to develop and implement a market-oriented service strategy in order to achieve a high quality of service, enhance students' level of satisfaction and create favourable future behavioural intentions.

The dissertation aims to obtain an integrated and comprehensive perspective on measurement issues that play a strategic role in organisations that aim at continuous quality improvement through TQM. The multidimensional definition of quality is proposed to view quality holistically. The definition is dynamic, thus dimensions are subject to evolution. Measurement of the quality dimensions is investigated. The relationship between quality and cost, productivity and profitability respectively is examined. The product quality dimensions are redefined for processes. Measurement is a strategic component ofTQM. Integration of financial measures with supplier-; customer-; performance- and internal process measurement is essential for synergism. Measurement of quality management is an additional strategic quality dimension. Applicable research was integrated. Quantitative structures used successfully in industry to achieve quality improvement is important, thus the quality management maturity grid, cleanroom software engineering, software factories, quality function deployment, benchmarking and the ISO 9000 standards are briefly described. Software Metrics Programs are considered to be an application of a holistic measurement approach to quality. Two practical approaches are identified. A framework for initiating implementation is proposed. Two strategic software measurement issues are reliability and cost estimation. Software reliability measurement and modelling are introduced. A strategic approach to software cost estimation is suggested. The critical role of data collection is emphasized. Different approaches to implement software cost estimation in organisations are proposed. A total installed cost template as the ultimate goal is envisaged. An overview of selected software cost estimation models is provided. Potential research areas are identified. The linearity/nonlinearity nature of the software production function is analysed. The synergy between software cost estimation models and project management techniques is investigated. The quantification aspects of uncertainty in activity durations, pertaining to project scheduling, are discussed. Statistical distributions for activity durations are reviewed and compared. A structural view of criteria determining activity duration distribution selection is provided. Estimation issues are reviewed. The integration of knowledge from dispersed fields leads to new dimensions of interaction. Research and practical experience regarding software metrics and software metrics programs can be successfully applied to address the measurement of strategic indicators in other industries. / Business Management / D. Phil. (Operations Research)

Qualidade em serviços tem sido assunto frequentemente estudado na literatura de marketing de serviços, uma vez que conhecer os fatores que fazem com que os clientes permaneçam adquirindo produtos ou consumindo serviços, permite à empresa direcionar os esforços de marketing, a fim de atingir suas expectativas, maximizando os resultados e promovendo a retenção. Assim sendo, o propósito central deste estudo foi identificar as dimensões e os atributos relacionados à qualidade percebida dos serviços prestados por uma escola de idiomas franqueada, a Wizard, em relação à satisfação dos seus clientes (alunos). Para tanto, após a revisão bibliográfica sobre o tema em estudo, foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa, com caráter exploratório, utilizando-se entrevistas pessoais em profundidade com abordagem semi-estruturada. Em seguida, foi conduzida uma pesquisa quantitativa, com caráter conclusivo, por meio de um survey, utilizando-se as técnicas estatísticas como a análise fatorial, a regressão linear múltipla e a ANOVA. Através da análise fatorial foi possível obter 7 dimensões da qualidade de serviços: (i) professor; (ii) estrutura para ensino; (iii) atendimento; (iv) imagem; (v) material didático; (vi) relação custo versus benefício; e (vii) aparência do ambiente / equipamentos. Além disso, por meio da regressão linear múltipla foi possível explicar 56,9% da satisfação geral em função de apenas seis atributos. Os resultados encontrados possibilitaram a identificação das dimensões da qualidade percebida, assim como, o grau de satisfação dos clientes (alunos). / Submitted by Marcelo Teixeira (mvteixeira@ucs.br) on 2014-06-04T17:44:34Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Graciane Donadello.pdf: 2076808 bytes, checksum: 38874265643afad9d66288bff725e0de (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-04T17:44:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Graciane Donadello.pdf: 2076808 bytes, checksum: 38874265643afad9d66288bff725e0de (MD5) / Service quality has been a subject frequently studied in the service marketing literature, since knowing the factors that make customers remain purchasing products or consuming services. It allows companies to target marketing efforts to achieve their expectations, maximizing results and promoting customer retention. The purpose of this study was to identify the dimensions and attributes related to perceived service quality provided by a franchised language school, Wizard, in relation to their customer satisfaction (the students). Therefore, after the literature review on the subject, an exploratory qualitative survey was conducted, through in-depth personal interviews with semi-structured approach. Next, a conclusive quantitative research was handled through a survey, using statistical techniques like factor analysis, multiple linear regression and ANOVA. Through the factor analysis it was possible to obtain 7 service quality dimensions: (i) teacher, (ii) learning framework, (iii) service, (iv) image, (v) didactic material, (vi) cost versus benefit relationship and; (vii) appearance of the environment / equipments. Furthermore, by the multiple linear regression, it was possible to explain 56.9% of the overall satisfaction on the basis of six attributes. Therefore, the obtained results allowed the identification of the perceived quality dimensions, as well as the students´ satisfaction degree.

To grow in competitive environments, the organizations have to improve processes and people abilities thru information technology and make strategic decisions about information quality demand, in their in-house supply chains, to delivery quality service. However, guarantee customers demand and satisfy employees needs, request appropriate information management, what can be expensive and difficult. For that reason, information supply thru the process chain, demands an efficient structure to understand what these subsidies symbolize and why they are so important to delivery services with quality. Thus, the objective of this research is to evaluate the information flow quality in a services organization in-house supply chain, to identify the information quality dimensions that allow the progress of planned results attainment. For this, it was conduced a case study at CTBC Telecom, a regional telecommunications player in Brazilian southeastern, with a good social-economics representation. The specific focus of appreciation was the NetSuper, a broad band service (ADSL). The analysis identified the main information quality dimensions to the executives and their distortions that compromise these subsidies quality. For this, CTBC Telecom inhouse supply chain was drawn, the information flow of this chain was justified, the dimensions quality were ranked to prioritize those most important at the managers perception and the complete view of information flow process was described. Afterwards, the salesmen information knowledge level, about NetSuper service, was identified and also their satisfaction with the quality of information, processes and other subsidies for sales, for then, verifies the information quality loss. The research is descriptive and, predominantly qualitative. For data gathering it had been applied half-structuralized interviews with managers, document analyses and a structuralized questionnaire to a representative salesmen sample of direct and indirect channels. Data were tabulated and interpreted applying frequency analysis, dynamic tables and graphical exits. This case study evidenced that managers perceive the information quality loss, confirmed by the questionnaires data from salespeople, which evidence their lack of knowledge about the product advantages and attributes. Sales force sample highlighted some specific needs on quality dimensions that would improve the information quality flow. But, by the results, it was evidenced that the most important quality dimensions for CTBC Telecom Company are not dealt with priority in the Organization, what demonstrate that a model of integrated management of processes is needed. Further on this, it was recommended a scheme for an information quality management structure, referenced on the theoretical models of Supply Chain Management (Lambert, 2004) and Services Quality Gaps (Zeithaml and Parasuraman, 2004). Subsequent studies should include suppliers and consumers in the analysis, enclosing, by this, all relationships of the chain in which the information flows. Another investigative aspect is the adoption of measurement patterns of the information quality for all actors of the in-house supply chain, to survey the quality of the information. / Para crescer em ambientes competitivos, as organizações devem aprimorar processos e competências internas, por meio da tecnologia, e tomar decisões estratégicas sobre a demanda por qualidade da informação. Porém, atender o mercado e responder às necessidades dos clientes internos por informações com qualidade, exige gestão integrada, o que pode ser caro e difícil. Por isso, disseminá-las na cadeia de suprimentos interna, exige uma estrutura de processos eficazes, para compreender o que estes subsídios representam e por que são importantes para a entrega de produtos com qualidade. Assim, o objetivo desta pesquisa é avaliar a qualidade das informações que permeiam o fluxo da cadeia de suprimentos interna de uma organização de serviços, verificar a perda e identificar as dimensões de qualidade das informações que facilitam a obtenção dos resultados planejados. Para isso, valeu-se do estudo de caso na CTBC Telecom, operadora de telecomunicações que atua em parte do sudeste brasileiro com relevante representatividade socioeconômica. O foco específico de apreciação foi o serviço de acesso à Internet por banda larga, o NetSuper. Na análise identificaram-se as dimensões da qualidade das informações mais relevantes para os gestores e as distorções que comprometem a qualidade desses insumos. Para isso, desenhou-se a cadeia de suprimentos interna da Organização, explicou-se o fluxo das informações nessa cadeia, elaborou-se um ranking para priorizar as dimensões da qualidade na percepção dos gestores e descreveu-se o processo de repasse das informações. Em seguida, identificou-se o nível de conhecimento dos vendedores sobre as informações do NetSuper e a sua satisfação com a qualidade dessas informações, dos processos e demais subsídios para vendas, para então, verificar a perda da qualidade. A pesquisa é descritiva e, predominantemente qualitativa. Para a coleta de dados aplicaram-se: entrevistas semi-estruturadas com gestores, análises de documentos e questionário estruturado a uma amostra de vendedores dos canais de vendas diretos e indiretos. Para tabular e interpretar os dados aplicou-se análise de freqüência, tabelas dinâmicas e saídas gráficas. No estudo constatou-se que os gestores percebem a perda da qualidade das informações, comprovada nos canais de vendas, pelas evidências de baixo conhecimento sobre o produto e a carência dos vendedores na ênfase em dimensões da qualidade que facilitariam o fluxo de informações. Nos resultados, ficou constatado que as mais relevantes dimensões da qualidade para a CTBC Telecom, não são tratadas com prioridade nos processos e que a Organização necessita de um modelo de gestão integrada. Diante disso, apresentou-se uma proposta de estrutura de gestão da qualidade das informações, tendo como referência os modelos teóricos de Gestão da Cadeia de Suprimentos e de Lacunas da Qualidade em Serviços. Estudos posteriores devem incluir a análise com fornecedores e consumidores, abrangendo toda a cadeia de relacionamentos por onde permeiam as informações. Outro aspecto a investigar é a adoção de meios de medição da qualidade das informações nos elos da cadeia de suprimentos interna para aferir a sua qualidade. / Mestre em Administração

Aujourd'hui l'image de marque des chaînes de distribution est un élément central deleur succès. La plupart d'entre elle ont des programmes destinés à mesurer lesdifférentes dimensions de leur performance au niveau du point de vente, de lasatisfaction de leur client, de la qualité de leur relation-client et de leur image demarque.Ces facteurs sont supposés contribuer à la fidélité des clients. La question est d'enconnaître le poids relatif. L'objet de cette recherche est d'en proposer un modèleintégré et d'en tester la valeur empirique, dans le cas d'une chaîne de distributioniranienne, sur la base d'un échantillon de 500 consommateurs. La qualité des pointsde vente, la satisfaction des consommateurs, l'image de marque de l'entreprise, et laqualité de la relation sont intégrés dans un modèle explicatif de la fidélité desconsommateurs. Effort rarement fait, la littérature ayant testé séparément lesdifférentes hypothèses. / Today, the most successful corporate image in the world are retailing and chain stores. Most chainstores and retailing companies have research programs designed to measure Point of Sale (Store),Customer Satisfaction (Experience), Brand Image (Corporate Image) and Quality of relationship.Such programs are designed to allow management to measure store (POS) constructs and relationswith corporate image, satisfaction, quality of relationship and store loyalty. This constructs provideessential information to guide efforts to increase the excellent variability in stores and will help toensure there continued loyalty and patronage. There is evidence as to the link between store qualityand excellence chain store performance and chain store –level data suggests as link between higherstore quality, higher corporate image, higher customer satisfaction, higher loyalty and improved themarket share, customer share and profitability.The survey effect of Store Quality Dimensions as a POS toward Customer Satisfaction and LoyaltyDimensions, to creating the loyal customers is one of the most important in literature of this thesis.There have been different but homogenous approach for considering research constructs. Thecustomer - based approach, the financial approach and combination approach. While this studyfocus on customer approach and survey the effective process of “SQD ---CS---LD path” in chainstore industry.This constructs used to operationalization of customer loyalty as target objective of model .we usedthe store quality as an antecedent of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty and called “SQDbased-LD” approach. The contribution of this study is formulating and development of aconceptual framework that integrates the constructs of model and extraction of SQD – LD Modelin Iran chain stores.

Qualidade em serviços tem sido assunto frequentemente estudado na literatura de marketing de serviços, uma vez que conhecer os fatores que fazem com que os clientes permaneçam adquirindo produtos ou consumindo serviços, permite à empresa direcionar os esforços de marketing, a fim de atingir suas expectativas, maximizando os resultados e promovendo a retenção. Assim sendo, o propósito central deste estudo foi identificar as dimensões e os atributos relacionados à qualidade percebida dos serviços prestados por uma escola de idiomas franqueada, a Wizard, em relação à satisfação dos seus clientes (alunos). Para tanto, após a revisão bibliográfica sobre o tema em estudo, foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa, com caráter exploratório, utilizando-se entrevistas pessoais em profundidade com abordagem semi-estruturada. Em seguida, foi conduzida uma pesquisa quantitativa, com caráter conclusivo, por meio de um survey, utilizando-se as técnicas estatísticas como a análise fatorial, a regressão linear múltipla e a ANOVA. Através da análise fatorial foi possível obter 7 dimensões da qualidade de serviços: (i) professor; (ii) estrutura para ensino; (iii) atendimento; (iv) imagem; (v) material didático; (vi) relação custo versus benefício; e (vii) aparência do ambiente / equipamentos. Além disso, por meio da regressão linear múltipla foi possível explicar 56,9% da satisfação geral em função de apenas seis atributos. Os resultados encontrados possibilitaram a identificação das dimensões da qualidade percebida, assim como, o grau de satisfação dos clientes (alunos). / Service quality has been a subject frequently studied in the service marketing literature, since knowing the factors that make customers remain purchasing products or consuming services. It allows companies to target marketing efforts to achieve their expectations, maximizing results and promoting customer retention. The purpose of this study was to identify the dimensions and attributes related to perceived service quality provided by a franchised language school, Wizard, in relation to their customer satisfaction (the students). Therefore, after the literature review on the subject, an exploratory qualitative survey was conducted, through in-depth personal interviews with semi-structured approach. Next, a conclusive quantitative research was handled through a survey, using statistical techniques like factor analysis, multiple linear regression and ANOVA. Through the factor analysis it was possible to obtain 7 service quality dimensions: (i) teacher, (ii) learning framework, (iii) service, (iv) image, (v) didactic material, (vi) cost versus benefit relationship and; (vii) appearance of the environment / equipments. Furthermore, by the multiple linear regression, it was possible to explain 56.9% of the overall satisfaction on the basis of six attributes. Therefore, the obtained results allowed the identification of the perceived quality dimensions, as well as the students´ satisfaction degree.

The study identifies how different stakeholders perceive service quality improvement initiatives in public higher education institutions in Ethiopia. For this purpose, a mixed research methodology was employed. Furthermore, secondary data were collected from a variety of literature and primary data were collected from academic staff and final year students at public higher education institutions using the SERVQUAL scale and through focus group interviews. The collected data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The research findings indicated that all dimensions of the service quality improvement initiatives were perceived by academic staff and studentsto be verypoor. The reasons for these poor or low perceptions were: the high expectationsof the stakeholders, the government’s intention to expand, lack of adequate knowledge regarding the implementation of the BPR process, the lack of motivation by service providers, poor management and the lack of good governance by the universities, inexperienced workers, non-empowered and task specific frontline employees, the low quality of the infrastructure, non-value adding hierarchical structures and approval systems, ethical problems with some service providers, the high staff turnoverand the lack of experienced staff. In addition, at all new universities, construction is underway and as a result,there are problems such as the poor state of the dormitories, classes,bathrooms, recreation areas, lounges, TV rooms, sport fields and internet connectivity, while the libraries are not well stocked with books and periodicals either. This study has recommended that the institutions should have standardised instruments that can be used to measure the status of service quality improvement and deliveryperiodically and to identify the areas that have the highest perceived performance gap scores in order to redeploy some of the resources. It also needs to be pointed out that the service providers lack sufficient knowledge and skillsconcerning the implementation of BPR, thus training is recommended in this regard.It is further recommended that for effective implementation of the BPR process, the importance of the provision of different guiding documents, continuous monitoring of activities and top management support should be kept in mind. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Educational Management)