M.Com. (Business Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Housing is one of the cornerstones of rebuilding our social structures and creating wealth in the economy of South Africa. The lack of access to finance in the low-income market has been viewed as a stumbling block in the delivery of affordable housing. Several policies have been introduced in the past to meet the promise that the government made in the White Paper on Housing Policy and Strategy in 1994, where they promised to successfully eradicate the housing challenge by increasing the delivery of houses; none of the results inspire confidence. The purpose of this exploratory research was to analyse the impact of the Financial Sector Charter in the creation of housing stock for the low-income market. The researcher interviewed seven passionate, experienced experts in low-income housing, using in-depth face-to-face interviews. These interviewees were secured using a snowball sampling technique. The key findings from the study revealed that there has been an improvement in the access to finance within the low-income market. Banks have moved a step further from the traditional approach by coming up with innovative products. Although this is encouraging, there are a number of inhibiting factors that negatively impact the delivery of housing; these include the flawed legislative procedures in rezoning of land, the process for township establishment and inefficiencies that exist within government housing structures. New policies can continue to be introduced, but if these inhibiting factors are not addressed the results will remain disappointing. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The thesis concerns quality of service in the context of business advisory services. The economic rationale for improving any quality standard is based on the theory that by creating customer satisfaction and a perception of service quality, an organisation can retain its existing customers and attract new business, thus improving market share. This argument is based on the assumption that by improving the quality of the service delivered to customers, product offerings can be differentiated in such a way as to improve customer value. This is a customer defined approach to quality and assumes that the provider has understood and responded to customer requirements. In order to achieve this it is necessary to understand the particular situational characteristics of this market and the criteria customers use to assess the service they receive. In order to investigate service quality in business advisory services, the public relations industry in Scotland is considered as a specific case. Public relations is a business advisory service concerned with the management of image or reputation. However it is not a homogeneous product and is made up of a number of specific functions that equate to two main product variants. Based on these product variants, the research identifies three main purchaser groups in Scotland. However, although outcome expectations are consistent across purchaser groups, there are different expectations of the process of delivering the service according to the product variant purchased. The research concludes that when purchasers are buying a task level service their perceptions of quality are based upon tangible, measurable service features, whilst purchasers of a managerial product variant are concerned with process factors that lead to developing a relationship of trust. There are also a number of 'bottom-line' expectations, common across purchaser groups, which are essential to a perception of quality. Service quality, in the business advisory service context, is dependant on recognising what constitutes the core product and tailoring the process of delivery to satisfy purchaser expectations. The implications of this research are that an understanding of context is essential when considering service quality, in order that customer expectations and provider delivery combine to achieve added value. Secondly, that product definitions are required in determining the expectations associated with performance quality; and thirdly, that customer segmentation based upon product variant is a viable proposition in business advisory services.

M.Com. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Thesis (M.A.)--Bowling Green State University, 2009. / Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 66 p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Also available in print.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-76).

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Urban Planning and Environmental Management / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the applicability of Baxter and Matear's (2004) intangible relationship value (IRV) model in service industries. This model attempts to characterise the nature of the intangible relationship value that flows through a business-to-business buyer-seller relationship from the seller's perspective. However, the testing of that model has previously been restricted to the manufacturing sector (Baxter & Matear, 2004; Zhang, 2004). Considering the differences between the manufacturing and service sectors, it is necessary to examine the applicability of Baxter and Matear's IRV model in service industries. As a part of the examination of the model, a literature review was first performed; it concluded that the IRV model has potential to be applied in service industries.As a second step in the examination of the model's applicability, based on the data collected from 82 business service and consulting companies, an exploratory factor analysis found that the IRV in these companies was reflected in two dimensions: the human intangible relationship value and the structural intangible relationship value. The human intangible value was in turn reflected in three dimensions: competence, attitude, and intellectual agility. The structural intangible value was likewise reflected in two dimensions: relationships, and renewal and development. In addition, this intangible relationship value in service industries was confirmed to be associated with the future financial performance of the relationship. These findings indicate that the broad structure of the Baxter and Matear (2004) model was replicated in the service industries surveyed. However, one contrast in the current study with that of the Baxter and Matear model is that this study did not identify the "organization" dimension.Although this thesis has made a clear contribution to the marketing literature and provided some suggestions to managers in service industries, it has a few shortcomings. For example it had a small sample size, and did not evaluate the influence of time on relationship value. There is also some uncertainty concerning the reason for the lack of identification of the sixth value dimension, organization, which was clearly identified in studies in the manufacturing sector. Therefore, the applicability of the Baxter and Matear (2004) IRV model in the service sector needs to be further researched.