Job satisfaction has enjoyed a long history of investigation by many scholars in a great diversity of situations. Few studies have been done, however, in the public sector. Earlier studies were restricted in terms of theoretical approach and also methodologically flawed when they ignored the measurement problems in their analysis. The major purposes of this study have been to present a refined model of job satisfaction and to test it with more caution on measurement problems. The structural equations model with latent variables is the approach used to estimate the model. The data were from the Federal Employee Attitude Survey. These data were analyzed by using a computer program called LISREL. The results confirm the findings reported by the job design school. That is, individuals with high growth need strength tend to have positive perceptions about their jobs and consequently are satisfied with them. This study also suggests the direct and indirect effects of goal setting. Race, age, job status, and job longevity are found to have low effects upon job satisfaction. All these findings support the previous research. However, this study indicates the insignificant effects of feedback, sex, and educational level upon job satisfaction. The rejection of sex and educational level confirms the previous research. The rejection of feedback is surprising, however, since it contrasts with the consistent reports on the importance of feedback as a significant determinant of job satisfaction. Overall, the model proposed in this study can explain over 70 percent of variation in job satisfaction, which is considerably high. A major contribution of this study is the introduction of the structural equations model with latent variables as a standard approach to develop and test models in organization research. This study also has important ramifications for practitioners at various levels. Generally, it reminds them of the important role of individual characteristics and goal setting as significant determinants of job satisfaction. All in all, this study serves as a beginning of a very long step attempted to understand job satisfaction. The refined model proposed should be replicated to test whether it can generalize to other samples in both the private and public sectors. / Ph. D.

by Wong Yiu. / Bibliography: leaf 100 / Thesis (M.Ph.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1986

by Lee Lai Shan, Cindy. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 177-180). / LIST OF TABLES / Chapter CHAPTER 1 --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter CHAPTER 2 --- VOLUNTARY EXPORT RESTRAINT (VER)- AN OVERVIEW / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.8 / Chapter 2.2 --- What is a VER? --- p.9 / Chapter 2.3 --- Why is VER adopted? --- p.10 / Chapter 2.4 --- Characteristics of VER --- p.13 / Chapter 2.5 --- Conclusion --- p.16 / Chapter CHAPTER 3 --- LITERATURE REVIEW / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.17 / Chapter 3.2 --- Theoretical Studies --- p.19 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Heterogenous Product Approach / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Homogenous Product Approach / Chapter 3.3 --- Empirical Studies --- p.31 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Heterogenous Product Approach / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Homogenous Product Approach / Chapter 3.4 --- Conclusion --- p.43 / Chapter CHAPTER 4 --- QUALITY EFFECT OF VER REVISITED / Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.44 / Chapter 4.2 --- The Model --- p.47 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Assumptions / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Analysis / Chapter 4.3 --- Conclusion --- p.60 / Chapter CHAPTER 5 --- EMPIRICAL STUDY: MEASURING QUALITY ADJUSTMENT OF HONG KONG'S CLOTHING EXPORT UNDER VER / Chapter 5.1 --- Introduction --- p.65 / Chapter 5.2 --- Hong Kong's Clothing Export -- An Overview --- p.69 / Chapter 5.3 --- Multifibre Arrangement (MFA) and Its Relationship with Hong Kong's Clothing Export --- p.77 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- Multifibre Arrangement / Chapter 5.3.2 --- Multifibre Arrangement and Hong Kong / Chapter 5.4 --- Methodology --- p.84 / Chapter 5.5 --- Data --- p.92 / Chapter 5.6 --- Results and Analysis --- p.102 / Chapter 5.6.1 --- Aggregate Export of Clothing / Chapter 5.6.2 --- Restricted Vs Unrestricted Clothing / Chapter 5.6.3 --- Restricted Clothing by Types of Material / Chapter 5.6.4 --- Restricted Clothing by Types of Clothing / Chapter 5.7 --- Conclusion --- p.167 / Chapter CHAPTER 6 --- SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS --- p.170 / REFERENCES --- p.177 / APPENDIX 1 CLASSIFICATION OF QUOTA CATEGORIES IN HONGKONG-US AGREEMENT (1993) --- p.181 / APPENDIX 2 CLASSIFICATION OF QUOTA CATEGORIES IN HONGKONG-EC AGREEMENT (1993) --- p.183

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 (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: With globalisation and the accompanying increase in international trade there is a great drive towards performing risk assessments on the quality of products. Such assessments are of particular importance within the food and drug industry, so much that this approach is also being adapted by the FDA in their analysis of the quality of products and probable risks to it. The pharmaceutical industry is heavily regulated to reduce or eliminate the production and distribution of poor quality products. Pharmaceuticals have to be of high quality as people's lives depend on it. Many pharmaceutical companies import raw materials from international manufacturers or international agents. In most cases the raw material or the products have to go through a long and complicated supply chain. The more parties involved in the supply chain, the greater the risk to product quality. Supply chain partnerships have therefore become critical to manage these risks to product quality throughout the supply chain. In order to manage risks to product quality, it has become vital to perform product quality risk assessments, especially through the supply chain. In this study the Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA) is used to perform a risk assessment of risks to product quality throughout the supply chain. To obtain the criticality of the risks the Failure Mode Effect and Criticality Analysis (FMCEA) is applied. Quality improvement systems which contribute towards managing the risks to product quality are also discussed in this report. By managing quality risks to pharmaceutical products along with using quality as a strategy, the pharmaceutical company contributes towards improved health for patients as well as customer satisfaction, business success and excellence. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die toepassing van die analise van die risiko op produkte is vinnig besig om te vermeerder. Die FDA gaan dit toepas in hulle analise van die kwaliteit van produkte en die risiko wat daarmee gepaard gaan, in die voedsel en medisyne bedryf. Die farmaseutiese industrie word baie streng gereguleer om te verhoed dat die produksie en distribusie van swak kwaliteit produkte ervaar word. Farmaseutiese produkte moet van hoë gehalte wees, omdat die gesondheid van pasiënte daarvan afhang. Baie farmaseutiese maatskappye bestel rou materiale van oorsese makelaars en in baie gevalle moet die rou materiale deur 'n lang en gekompliseerde voorsieningsketting gaan. Hoe meer agente betrokke is, hoe hoër word die risiko met respek tot die kwaliteit van die produk. Die voorsieningsketting speel 'n kritiese rol om te verseker dat risikos beheer kan word, omdat elke party verantwoordelik is vir die lewering van kwaliteitsprodukkte. Om te verseker dat risikos beheer word, het dit belangrik geword om risiko analise te doen op die kwaliteit van produkte, veral wanneer in die voorsieningsketting. In hierdie studie word die "Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEAJ' gebruik om 'n risiko analise te doen met betrekking tot risikos op 'n produk se kwaliteit wanneer in die voorsieningsketting. Die "Failure Mode Effect, and Criticality Analysis (FMECAJ', word ook toegepas om te bereken hoe krities die risiko is. Verbeteringstelsels wat bydra tot die beheer en kontrole van risikos vir produk kwaliteit word ook in hierdie studie bespreek. Deur die risikos te beheer op die kwaliteit van produkte, dra die farmaseutiese maatskappy by tot beter gesondheid vir pasiente, en verseker klient satisfaksie en suksesvolle besigheid.

Thesis (MA--Art and Design) -- AUT University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references. Also held in print (65 leaves : col. ill. ; 22 x 30 cm.) in City Campus Collection (T 658.5752 BOU)

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

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stockholm University, 2005. / Additional loose-leaf abstract of thesis inserted. "June 2005". Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis consists of three independent chapters on entry deterrence. The first two chapters consider the use of contracts as a barrier to entry, while the final chapter examines the possibility of firms expanding their product lines to deter entry in a vertical differentiation model. In Chapter 1, the role of exclusive dealing contracts in the liner shipping industry is investigated. It is shown that if the entrant is capacity-constrained, exclusive dealing contracts can be an effective entry barrier, even if the entrant has a lower cost. Chapter 2considers an industry with two stages of production. It is shown that an upstream incumbent is able to deter the entry of a more efficient producer by establishing long-term contractual relations with downstream firms, provided the downstream firms are in direct competition against each other. Chapter 3 considers the question of entry deterrence in a one-dimensional market where goods are differentiated by quality. It is shown that an incumbent firm may decide to produce several products solely for the purpose of deterring entry. Again, it is possible that a lower-cost entrant is deterred. In all three chapters, the welfare consequence is clear: social welfare is lower, since more efficient entrants are excluded from the market.

In order to survive in today's competition, organisations are faced with a challenge of continuous improvement. At the core of any improvement efforts in the production and marketing of goods and services there is. quality improvement. Product or service quality has become one of the elements that give an organisation a competitive edge over its competitors, since today's customers logically take purchasing decisions based on what they pay for versus the price paid. For businesses, a race to customer satisfaction is infinite, customer satisfaction is no longer a choice but the only means for survival for many organisations. Therefore, organisations do all that is in their powers to satisfy customers, retain or increase the market share, make profit and survive in the business. In view of such a tough business environment it has become necessary to study the two important business concepts namely product quality and customer satisfaction. The question is whether the efforts put on producing and supplying the best quality of products enhance customer satisfaction. In other words, are the two concepts related in some way? The aim of this study is to describe relationships between product quality and customers satisfaction in the aviation market of the oil industry, specifically Air BP market. Since customer satisfaction is also manifested through other ways like product demand and customer loyalty, the research also studies the relationships between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, as well as' customer satisfaction and product demand. Finally the relationships between product quality, product demand and customer loyalty are studied as indications of customer satisfaction. While emphasising on relationships, the study also describes the significance and importance of various quality dimensions to Air BP customers. It explains various quality definitions and dimensions and determines the most significant ones to the aviation market. The study also looks at the importance of product quality in comparison with price and service given to customers. Finally conclusions are drawn on the hypotheses and recommendations are given to Air BP. While the study recommendations are not prescriptive, they provide necessary information relevant to Air BP Marketing in a pursuit for customer satisfaction, customer retention and market share. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.