This study investigates whether quality management has developed to such an extent that retailers, service repair organisations and consumers are satisfied with product and repair service quality provided by South African manufacturing companies. To investigate these aspects, the colour television industry has been selected because it contains various manufacturing companies of varying sizes and characters, employing different quality policies and performances. It offers relatively standardised products and services, which facilitates intercompany comparisons and employs a simple flow type assembly line process that is representative of other mass production industries. The hypotheses are tested by interviewing four selected populations by means of carefully constructed questionnaires, namely a retail population, a repair service population, a consumer population and a manufacturing population. The empirical results are statistically evaluated in terms of the various manufacturers ability to provide satisfactory product and repair service quality. Consumers and repair service organisations are selected because they represent a broad spectrum of the population with varying, but important opinions on product and repair service quality. Retailers selling colour television receivers are also selected as they play an important role in the management of quality and vary from small independent retailers to large chain stores and discounters. The results obtained from this study show that: • there is a need from the retailers, service repair organisations and consumers for the South African manufacturers to improve the quality of colour television receivers • there is a need by the consumers and the retailers for the manufacturers to improve their repair service quality • there is a need to improve the quality control procedures employed by the colour television manufacturers. / Business Management / D. Com. (Business Management)

Thesis (MTech (Quality)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009 / Corporate governance is viewed as one of the topical issues of the 21st century. Little focus has however been directed to date at the specific application of corporate governance to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) outsourcing companies. The research problem, which was researched reads as follows: “The application of inadequate or poorly formulated governance mechanisms within ICT outsourcing companies invariably lead to poor service delivery and substandard quality of outsourced deliverables, and which could ultimately lead to the outsourcing contract being cancelled at a significant loss of jobs and revenue to the industry”. The research question which was researched to mitigate the research problem, reads as follows: “Can a generic governance framework be formulated to address the specific governance requirements of ICT outsourcing organisations?” As a result, the objective of the research was to assess the extent to which known governance reference models, frameworks and standards address the specific governance requirements of ICT outsourcing companies. The case study research method was utilised for the research as this type of research method allows for the establishment of in-depth data concerning the current governance mechanisms within the target organisation. The research study was supported by a governance efficiency survey conducted on a South African subsidiary of a multinational ICT outsourcing company, where the director‟s duties in respect of IT governance, were assessed. The questionnaire used in this research comprised of closed questions, based on the well known Likert scale. Primary data gleaned from the research survey was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The survey returned that, although best practices pertaining to „governance‟ are mature, openly available and clearly described in literature, they are not necessarily widely adopted. This implies that in many organisations, there is significant room for improvement in the IT governance domain. The research furthermore returned that current known governance reference models, frameworks and standards to a limited extent, address the specific governance requirements of ICT outsourcing companies. A generic IT Governance Framework was developed, providing a valuable contribution to the improvement of customer satisfaction levels, by suggesting practical models for the integration of processes, the organisation design of the service provider and outsource client, and the relationship between „governance‟ and „quality‟.

M.Cur. / Quality health service delivery is a necessity in any health care service and is the responsibility of the management, but it is often not accomplished due to a variety of reasons. The most important determinant is the personnel of the health care service and their level of motivation to provide quality service. The aim of this study was the describing of motivation guidelines for the delivery of quality health service. The study was qualitative and contextual. The research strategy was explorative and descriptive. The study is based on the Botes research model and the Nursing Theory of Wholeness. Several measurements were taken to increase credibility. It is regarded as a prerequisite to explore, describe and implement a quality improvement programme for the specific health service, before motivation guidelines could be described for quality health service delivery. The quality improvement programme was based on literature, with recognition of the context of the health service. The determinants of quality health service delivery were discussed as well as the aim, reasons, prerequisites, contents and principles of the quality improvement programme and the quality improvement process. The realisation of the quality improvement programme was also discussed. The exploring, description and implementation of the quality improvement programme in the health care service is followed by the exploring and describing of factors which motivate and/or demotivate personnel to deliver quality health care service, by means of naive sketches obtained from open questionnaires of two samples. It was verified for accuracy during a feedback interview. The results are used to describe motivation guidelines which is confirmed by literature.

This case study was undertaken from mid 2003 to December 2005. It investigates the influence of the Corporate Services Centre (CSC) on customer (patient) service quality in the East London Hospital Complex (ELHC). This approach was justified on the basis that even though most patients do not have enough knowledge of clinical practices in order to make an accurate assessment on their quality, the same patients would readily appreciate factors such as faster turnaround times, drug availability and cleanliness. The study focuses on both service providers and end users for a quality health service delivery by looking at the potential of the shared corporate services centre. This was done by identifying important areas for improvements, such as response times, waiting periods and other aspects of the various services. The ELHC was formed from the merger of Frere and Cecilia Makiwane Hospitals, with a distance of 26km between the two institutions. The complex itself was in its infancy stages, having had to go through a process of re-engineering, rationalisation and standardisation of the two hospitals. The study seeks to answer the following key question: What has been the contribution of the corporate service centres in relation to health care service quality? The study examines the impediments to the realization of full potential of the Corporate Services Centre (CSC) through expedited decision-making and improved turnaround times. The main functions of the CSC were Procurement and Asset Management; General Administration (including but not limited to Transport, Office equipment, Patient Administration, Office Support, and Professional Secretariat Support); Financial Management and Administration; and Human Resource Management and Human Resources Administration. The study recommends that the CSC, to justify its existence, needs to consult with the clinicians and the patients to better understand what their needs and aspirations are. The study also emphasizes that the CSC is there purely to remove the administrative load and ease the processes and the biggest mistake is to make it an authority over the hospital, instead of being a support. Finally, it was realized that a lot of structural changes, business processes and organisational cultural changes are essential if one wants to create an impact through shared corporate services.

The South African government like most governments around the world create public entities to perform functions on its behalf and achieve particular objectives ranging from facilitating investments, delivering services or providing goods and advice. These public entities receive annual funding either whole or in part from the national fiscus and report to parliament through their respective Ministries. In the 2005/6 financial year government funded Umalusi 7, 69 million rands through direct transfer payments from the Department of Education, excluding any indirect payments from other governmental structures. Many public entities, about three hundred and thirty odd or so in South Africa, were promulgated to ensure and improve service delivery to the nation. However, they were not intended to be seen as an extension of their reporting departments. This research work evaluates the effectiveness of Umalusi in the education regulatory system and seeks to find ways to improve public entity effectiveness using the South African Excellence Model (SAEM) as the base tool to measure organisational effectiveness. A brief conclusion to this study is that Umalusi as a public entity, is adequately meeting its intended purpose. This is confirmed through its annual reports having never received a qualified audit since its inception. This research triangulates the results of the South African Excellence Model, the Questionnaire to senior education officials and the Auditors' Reports to confirm that Umalusi is effective as a public entity in the South African regulatory system. / Busniness Management / M.Tech. (Busniness Administration)

Thesis (MTech (Consumer Science)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2010 / Globally, and in South Africa, consumers have become concerned about living healthier lifestyles as well as acquiring an understanding of health and using self-medication as disease preventative measures. This has resulted in an expanding consumer interest in functional foods and the non-nutrient bioactive ingredients in foods that support health. The aim of this study therefore was to determine: (i) the level of awareness, knowledge and understanding (i.e. acceptance) of functional foods and a number of bioactive food ingredients of health conscious consumers in two adjoining subcouncils of the City of Cape Town and (ii) the demographic, health and lifestyle characteristics and other socioenvironmental influences affecting their acceptance of bioactive ingredients in functional foods to describe the consumer market for functional foods and the bioactive food ingredients investigated. For the purpose of this study two groups of respondents representing the health conscious consumer were purposefully sampled. One hundred and thirty nine respondents representing the health conscious market, which includes gym subscribers and dietary supplement users, anonymously and voluntarily participated (67% response rate) from the two subcouncils, De Grendal and Blaauwberg, representing a higher economically active segment of the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality.

The South African government like most governments around the world create public entities to perform functions on its behalf and achieve particular objectives ranging from facilitating investments, delivering services or providing goods and advice. These public entities receive annual funding either whole or in part from the national fiscus and report to parliament through their respective Ministries. In the 2005/6 financial year government funded Umalusi 7, 69 million rands through direct transfer payments from the Department of Education, excluding any indirect payments from other governmental structures. Many public entities, about three hundred and thirty odd or so in South Africa, were promulgated to ensure and improve service delivery to the nation. However, they were not intended to be seen as an extension of their reporting departments. This research work evaluates the effectiveness of Umalusi in the education regulatory system and seeks to find ways to improve public entity effectiveness using the South African Excellence Model (SAEM) as the base tool to measure organisational effectiveness. A brief conclusion to this study is that Umalusi as a public entity, is adequately meeting its intended purpose. This is confirmed through its annual reports having never received a qualified audit since its inception. This research triangulates the results of the South African Excellence Model, the Questionnaire to senior education officials and the Auditors' Reports to confirm that Umalusi is effective as a public entity in the South African regulatory system. / Busniness Management / M.Tech. (Busniness Administration)

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the service quality that the SANBS provides to its customers, by measuring customers’ perceptions and their expectations of service quality provided by the supplier of blood transfusion services. The organization that is used for this study is the South African National Blood Service (SANBS). Specifically the study seeks to: 1. Determine the extent to which customers are satisfied or not satisfied with the service they receive from the SANBS using the ten-dimensional format of SERVQUAL model, modified to the specific service quality requirements of the blood transfusion service industry. 2. Establish customers’ perceptions of the service they receive using a multiple-item scale (SERVQUAL) for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. 3. Establish customers’ expectations of the service, and compare them to their perceptions of the service they currently receive. The comparison is made along each service quality dimension, across different parts of same service on a geographical basis, and across different customer groups on a customer category (or type) basis. 4. Recommend implementation of appropriate service quality performance improvement procedures where necessary. Study design and methods: The data for the study came from the SANBS’ customer perception and expectation survey conducted in 2005. Questionnaires were sent out to hospitals that use products and services provided by the SANBS in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces of South Africa. The questionnaire was based on the multiple-item SERVQUAL model for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality, modified and tailored to specific service quality requirements of the blood transfusion service industry. Questionnaires were sent out to 113 (69.3%) hospitals out of a total of 163 blood-utilizing hospitals in the two provinces. Of the 113 hospitals, 92 (81.4%) responded, with questionnaires rendered unusable. The final sample size is 88 and is included in the final study database. The data is analyzed by comparing different parts of the service on a geographical basis namely KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape zones. The data is also analyzed by comparing different customer groups namely the Rural State Hospitals, the Urban State Hospitals and Private Hospitals. Results: The result confirms the research (alternative) hypothesis (H1 : μ1 ≠ μ2), and rejects Ho. The overall expectations ratings are higher than the perceptions ratings, and the KwaZulu-Natal expectations ratings are higher than the Eastern Cape ratings. The expectations of private hospitals and rural state hospitals have a higher rating than that of urban state hospitals and the perceptions of private and urban state hospitals have a higher rating than that of rural state hospitals. The largest service quality gap is the accessibility dimension which relates specifically to approachability and ease with which customers can access staff at different levels of the organization by e-mail, and includes accessing of knowledgeable blood bank personnel and medical staff of SANBS, but may also relate to the distance of hospitals from the nearest blood bank, all of which are situated in urban state hospitals. The mean difference for accessibility is the highest followed by the understanding customer mean difference. The mean differences for the other dimension categories are significantly less than that of the largest two dimensions, but not significantly different amongst themselves. The mean difference for rural state hospitals is the largest followed by private hospitals and urban state hospitals. The mean difference for rural state hospitals is greater than that for urban state hospitals in both zones, but the mean difference for private hospitals is greater in KwaZulu-Natal than in the Eastern Cape. The dimension means of differences for rural state hospitals are greater than that for urban state hospitals. According to the correlations between expectations and perceptions for different dimensions, there is a weak or no linear relationship between expectations and perceptions. Conclusion: This empirical study supports the literature on the provision of service quality, and concludes that there is a statistically significant difference or gap between the services offered by the SANBS as perceived by its customers, and the expectations of its customers. The study substantiates the need for management of blood transfusion services to take into account customer perceptions of service quality and their expectations, and upon identification of gaps, to implement appropriate service quality improvement processes, rather than take a one sided view of their (SANBS’) own perception of service quality.

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the Masters Degree of Technology: Quality, Durban University of Technology, 2011. / Quality management has not been developed and marketed well in South African based small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME‟s). The focus of SMME‟s has been on product price. In order to improve small business initiatives a culture or the behaviour towards quality needs also to be embraced by SMME‟s. Debenham (2008) finds that focussing on price alone indicates that SMME‟s do not grow and become sustainable. Support from both government and the private sector has focussed primarily on providing financial aid to SMME‟s. Ninety percent of South African small businesses largely remain in the survival stage because of a lack of skills and resources. It has become clear that financial support alone is not enough to grow and sustain SMME‟s. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect that the ISO 9001 quality management system (QMS) has on SMME‟s in the Greater Durban Area with the view to determine the contribution it has made in terms of growth and survival of those SMME‟s. This was a qualitative study investigating SMME‟s in the Greater Durban Metropolitan Area. The sampling frame was made up of two groups of SMME‟s. Unstructured interviews were conducted at 40 SMME‟s, comprising of 20 SMME‟s who have implemented ISO 9001 QMS(have the control/case) and 20 SMME‟s who have not implemented ISO 9001. The raw data was coded into categories and themes. Descriptive statistics, using the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS), was used to analyse the data. The study indicates that the majority of respondents from both groups had a positive perception towards the ISO 9001 QMS contributing to their growth and survival.

Mini-study project (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A study project is presented on the development and implementation of a Quality Management System for the Eastern Cape Technikon, that being informed by the Higher Education Legislation of the Republic of South Africa and its Statutory Bodies in an attempt to ensconce the provision of quality teaching and learning, academic and developmental research, and academic support services in Higher Education. Beginning with the conceptualisation of quality as a concept, evolving to being a quality system, and followed by how, when successfully developed and implemented, can it be monitored and evaluated for the achievement of Higher Education objectives, both nationally . and internationally. Emphases is on how the Eastern Cape Technikon can be successfully effective, efficient and economical in its attempt to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate such a system in comportment that will appropriately fit its programmes, including its operations in general, to the national agenda of providing quality higher education that is opportune for all, especially for the bucolic, rural and underdeveloped community that Eastern Cape Technikon seeks to serve. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: geen opsomming