Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the Master’s Degree in Marketing, Durban University of Technology, 2017. / As a result of weaker bargaining power, consumers are often exploited or treated unfairly in the business arena. Whilst consumer abuse is a global problem, South African consumers are more vulnerable due to various socio-economic conditions that affect their ability to negotiate equally in the marketplace. Factors such as poverty and illiteracy contribute to consumer abuse and is perpetuated by the discrimination which was inherent in the apartheid era. Accordingly, the Consumer Protection Act, 2008 (CPA) was promulgated to promote the respect for consumer rights, create awareness, enhance consumer protection and eliminate unfair and dishonest business practices which were prevalent at the time. This study aims to investigate the implications of consumer rights for service delivery within the retail sector. The main objective of this research was to explore the levels of awareness of consumer rights and to identify consumers’ expectations and perceptions of service delivery in relation to the CPA. The research design was quantitative in nature. A questionnaire was designed to assess the levels of awareness of rights and consumers’ expectations and perceptions of the service delivered by retailers, in relation to the service quality dimensions. Using convenience sampling, data was obtained from 337 respondents in the greater Durban area. Data was analysed using SPSS version 24.0 and interpreted using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the gap analysis revealed that the respondents’ perceptions of service quality was consistently lower than their expectations, in respect of several dimensions of service quality. These negative gaps indicate that the level of the delivered service had fallen below the respondents’ expectations of service quality amongst retailers. This implies that respondents’ were dissatisfied with business compliance with provisions of the CPA. Businesses are hence encouraged to take steps to ensure legal compliance, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction and attaining higher levels of service excellence. / M

The aim of graduation theses is to show the application of public services quality methods in town Tabor. Thanks to controlled interview with secretary I wil find out the concrete methods using by the town to improve the quality of its services. Then I will try to explain the esence and benefit of this methods for choice office.

Komposite Web-Mashups stellen durch die intelligente Verknüpfung von User-Interface-Services und anderen Web-Ressourcen einen Mehrwert für Anwendungsszenarien in verschiedenen Situationen des privaten und geschäftlichen Lebens bereit. Obwohl die Verwendung solcher Mashups bereits viele Nutzerzielgruppen erreicht und Anwendungsdomänen erschlossen hat, ist die bedarfsgerechte Auswahl von Anwendungsbausteinen und deren intelligente Komposition immer noch eine große Herausforderung. In dieser Arbeit werden deshalb Konzepte für die verbesserte Durchführung des Erstellungsprozesses und die Nutzung kompositer Web-Mashups entwickelt und vorgestellt. Kernidee ist dabei die Modellierung und Auswertung anpassbarer Qualitätsanforderungen. Erstmals wird es mit Hilfe eines speziell auf die Belange kompositer Web-Mashups zugeschnittenen Modells für Qualitätseigenschaften ermöglicht, solche Anforderungen passgenau für die Auswahl von Anwendungsbausteinen und die automatisierte Auswertung zu nutzen. Neben der Spezifikation von Bedingungen und Vergleichswerten für bestimmte Eigenschaften erlaubt es das ebenfalls hier vorgestellte Metamodell für Qualitätsanforderungen, die Rahmenbedingungen der Auswertung sowie zuzuordnende Aktionen festzulegen. Schwerpunkte der Arbeit sind außerdem der Prozess der qualitätsbewussten Komposition, die Nutzung der resultierenden Web-Mashups sowie die dazu gehörende Referenzarchitektur. Die betrachteten Anwendungsszenarien decken insbesondere die Teilprozesse der Auswahl von Kompositionsfragmenten, die Erweiterung in Betrieb befindlicher Anwendungen sowie die intelligente Adaption innerhalb der Laufzeitplattform ab. Neben Werkzeugen zur Modellierung und der automatisierten Auswertung von Qualitätsanforderungen setzt die Referenzarchitektur das kontextsensitive Monitoring von Qualitätseigenschaften um. Ein weiterer Fokus liegt auf der unscharfen Spezifikation anpassbarer Qualitätsanforderungen, da zur Zielgruppe insbesondere auch Menschen ohne Programmiererfahrung, jedoch mit guter Kenntnis in aktuellen Web-Technologien und in der jeweiligen fachlichen Domäne, zählen. Diese Ausrichtung wird sowohl bei der Modellierung mit Fuzzy-Mengen als auch in Form von Interaktionskonzepten berücksichtigt. Anhand typischer Anwendungsfälle und unter Zuhilfenahme einer implementierten Infrastruktur und Anwendungslandschaft werden die vorgestellten Konzepte validiert und optimiert. Dabei fließen sowohl die Meinungen von Nutzern und Experten als auch die Betrachtungen zur Komplexität ressourcenintensiver Vorgänge sowie die Ergebnisse von Performance-Analysen ein. Durch das Verwenden der Modelle, Konzepte, Prozesse und Architekturen dieser Arbeit wird somit eine verbesserte Erstellung, Verfeinerung und Nutzung bedarfsgerechter, situativer Mashup-Anwendungen mit Hilfe anpassbarer Qualitätsanforderungen ermöglicht.:Kapitel 1 Motivation und Zielstellung Abschnitt 1.1 Problemdefinition Abschnitt 1.2 Forschungsthesen Abschnitt 1.3 Forschungsziele Abschnitt 1.4 Abgrenzung Abschnitt 1.5 Aufbau der Arbeit Kapitel 2 Grundlagen der Entwicklung und Nutzung kompositer Web-Mashups Abschnitt 2.1 Charakteristika und Einordnung des Anwendungstyps Abschnitt 2.2 Entwicklungsmethoden und Anwendungsszenarien Abschnitt 2.3 Rollen im Entwicklungsprozess von Web-Mashups Abschnitt 2.4 Qualitätseigenschaften und -anforderungen im Kontext von Web-Mashups Kapitel 3 Stand der Forschung und Technik Abschnitt 3.1 Normen und Standards für Qualitätsmodelle bei Softwareprodukten Abschnitt 3.2 Strukturierung und Erstellung von Qualitätsmodellen Abschnitt 3.3 Anforderungsmodellierung mit Aufgaben und Fuzzy-Mengen Abschnitt 3.4 Bewertungskriterien und Übersicht der Cluster für existierende Arbeiten Abschnitt 3.5 Qualität in Web-Mashups Abschnitt 3.6 Qualitätsanforderungen im Web-Engineering Abschnitt 3.7 Qualitätseigenschaften und -anforderungen bei der Auswahl und Komposition von Web-Services Abschnitt 3.8 Qualitätsanforderungen in kompositen Softwaresystemen Abschnitt 3.9 Fazit zum Stand der Forschung und Technik Kapitel 4 Modellierung von Qualitätseigenschaften für Mashups Abschnitt 4.1 Modellüberblick und Abhängigkeiten Abschnitt 4.2 Anforderungen an das Eigenschaftsmodell Abschnitt 4.3 Metamodell zur Strukturierung von Qualitätseigenschaften Abschnitt 4.4 Unscharfe Eigenschaftswerte mit Fuzzy-Mengen Abschnitt 4.5 Nutzung von Qualitätseigenschaften in der Mashup-Plattform Abschnitt 4.6 Referenzmodell der für Mashups typischen Qualitätseigenschaften Abschnitt 4.7 Zusammenfassung und Bewertung des Modells für Qualitätseigenschaften Kapitel 5 Festlegen und Auswerten von Qualitätsanforderungen Abschnitt 5.1 Herausforderungen im Umgang mit Anforderungen Abschnitt 5.2 Qualitätsanforderungen in der Mashup-Architektur Abschnitt 5.3 Aufbau von Qualitätsanforderungen Abschnitt 5.4 Erzeugen und Bearbeiten von Qualitätsanforderungen Abschnitt 5.5 Auswertung von Qualitätsanforderungen Abschnitt 5.6 Zusammenfassung Kapitel 6 Qualitätsbewusster Entwicklungs- und Nutzungsprozess Abschnitt 6.1 Entwicklung und Nutzung von Web-Mashups mit Qualitätsanforderungen Abschnitt 6.2 Aktionen im Kontext von Qualitätsanforderungen Kapitel 7 Validierung und Implementierung Abschnitt 7.1 Validierungsmethodik Abschnitt 7.2 Überblick der implementierten Infrastruktur Abschnitt 7.3 Implementierung von Kompositionsfragmenten Abschnitt 7.4 Implementierung der Referenzarchitektur Abschnitt 7.5 Implementierung der Werkzeuge Abschnitt 7.6 Nutzerstudie zum Anforderungsassistenten Abschnitt 7.7 Validierungsergebnisse zu Performance und Awareness-Indikatoren Abschnitt 7.8 Diskussion zur Validierung und Implementierung Kapitel 8 Zusammenfassung, Diskussion, Bewertung und Ausblick Abschnitt 8.1 Zusammenfassung der Kapitel Abschnitt 8.2 Diskussion und Bewertung der Forschungsergebnisse Abschnitt 8.3 Ausblick auf aktuelle und künftige Arbeiten Anhang A Metamodelle und Schemata Anhang B Referenzmodelle Anhang C Komponentenimplementierungen Anhang D Werkzeuge Anhang E Dienste, Verwaltung und Tests

Thesis (M. Tech.(Tourism and Hospitality Management)) -- Central university of Technology, Free State, 2010 / Globally, tourism is increasingly referred to as the world's biggest industry. As tourism increases so the consumer’s demand for quality in all its related products and services increase. Superior customer service can therefore be viewed as one of the most effective strategies to create a sustainable competitive advantage. The delivery of excellent service is crucial if a tourism destination such as the Sol Plaatje Municipal Area in the Northern Cape, South Africa, is to enhance its visitors’ experience and ensure their extended stay. One of the key constraints to tourism growth that has been identified is the lack of product and service quality. The primary goal of the study therefore was to investigate the perceptions of tourists on the quality of tourism service in the Sol Plaatje Area. Another primary goal was to determine the quality of service by conducting unstructured interviews with role-players in the local tourism industry. Secondary objectives were set, namely to determine the service needs of foreign and domestic tourists, and to make recommendations and suggestions to increase service quality in the Sol Plaatje Area. A questionnaire was used as a measuring instrument and distributed to domestic and foreign tourists. Three sampling points were selected to conduct the survey (250 questionnaires), namely the departure hall of Kimberley Airport, the Big Hole and the McGregor Museum. Results indicated that although the majority of tourists (83.4% of domestic and 93.8% of foreign respondents) were generally satisfied with the service they received and would promote the Sol Plaatje Municipal Area as a tourist destination, a large number of respondents (32.1%) rated their satisfaction with service delivery as average to poor. This is an indication that improvement is needed in the delivery of quality service. Unstructured interviews (conducted by the researcher) with 20 major role-players in the local tourism industry indicated that the majority (60%) perceived the service delivery in the Sol Plaatje Municipal Area as average to poor and not exceeding the expectations of tourists. Overall, the results indicated the need for the Sol Plaatje Municipal Area to improve its tourism service delivery in order to exceed tourist expectations and compete with other destinations locally and abroad. The findings of this study contribute valuable information and insights into the quality of service delivery in the Sol Plaatje Municipal Area. It will therefore be beneficial to all tourism stakeholders to provide visitors with the best service experience in the Sol Plaatje Municipal Area.

The service sector of the global economy is undoubtedly growing and increasingly highlighting the criticality of service quality to enhanced profitability in most service organisations. The demand for accountability from different stakeholders, including clients, has also made service quality a highly debated, researched and most powerful competitive trend shaping marketing and business strategy. Developing reliable measurement instruments of service quality and strategies for the improvement of service quality invariably become the most important responsibilities for managers in many organisations. In the absence of conceptual clarity on service quality, divergent views on the dimensionality of service quality and the lack of a psychometrically valid service quality measure in archival institutions, this study set out to develop and subsequently validate a measurement instrument to assess service quality in an archival institutional setting. The two research questions investigated in this study were: (1) what are the dimensions for measuring service quality in archival institutions, and (2) how can the dimensions of service quality in archival institutions be measured effectively. The methodology for this study involved a two-phased qualitative and quantitative analysis addressing these two research questions. The study followed the standard psychometric procedure for developing constructs. This research has resulted in the important findings and relevant conclusions for both academics and practitioners interested in service quality in the archival environment. The service quality measurement instrument formulated is called ARCHIVqual and has three dimensions, namely (1) security of information (with 4 items), (2) integrity of information (with 3 items) and (3) usability of information (with 2 items). Besides measuring service quality in the archival environment, ARCHIVqual will also serve as a tool for conducting periodic surveys thereby identifying specific problematic areas in archival institutions. / Graduate School for Business Leadership / DBL

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Technology: Marketing, Durban University of Technology, 2012. / The aim of this study is to investigate service quality at retail banks, such as Standard Bank, ABSA Bank, First National Bank and Nedbank in Durban. The four objectives of this study are set as: Firstly, to identify the level of satisfaction with customer service received from different retail banks in Durban; Secondly, to identify customers’ expectations in terms of quality services provided by retail banks; Thirdly, to ascertain the perceptions of customers towards the service provided by retail banks in Durban; Fourthly, to measure the gaps between customer expectations and perceptions of service quality, using a modified version of the SERVQUAL model. The instrument used to assess the retail bank customer’s expectation and expectations of service quality, was the SERVQUAL questionnaire, measuring expectations and perceptions according to five quality dimensions. A total of 448 students were surveyed. Quota sampling was used in this study, in order to improve representativeness. Using quota sampling involves selecting the characteristics that are required in the sample and then sampling until enough representatives of each category are achieved. Although this is a form of non-probability sampling, a quota sample can provide a good approximation to a probability sample. It means that distributing questionnaires to a certain group would be stopped after the prescribed quota is reached. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. Conclusions and recommendations were thereafter drawn from the literature and the findings of the study. The study shows that retail bank customer expectations of service quality exceeded their perceptions in the five service quality dimensions used in the SERVQUAL questionnaire. This study is also important because it will assist bank managers to convert negative perceptions to positive impressions. Consequently, customers will benefit from the improved, outstanding customer service.

by Cyril Chi-kin Chow. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical (leaves 165-184). / ABSTRACT --- p.i / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.vii / LIST OF TABLES --- p.viii / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.x / CHAPTER / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / The Retail Banking Industry --- p.1 / Retail Banking in Hong Kong --- p.4 / The Present Research Focus --- p.8 / Significance of Research --- p.9 / Organization of Thesis --- p.10 / Chapter II. --- REVIEW OF LITERATURE --- p.11 / Literature on Service Marketing --- p.11 / Services as Activities --- p.12 / Services as Experiences --- p.13 / Services As Molecular Marketing Entities --- p.13 / Services As Processes --- p.14 / Services As Systems --- p.15 / Service Classification --- p.17 / Literature on Quality and Service Quality --- p.19 / Definition of Quality --- p.19 / Approach to Quality Management --- p.21 / Perceived Service Quality --- p.25 / Service Quality Gap Theory ´Ø --- p.26 / Issues in Service Quality Measurement --- p.33 / Literature on Satisfaction / Dissatisfaction --- p.39 / Expectancy Disconfirmation Theory --- p.40 / Attribution Theory --- p.42 / Equity Theory --- p.43 / Dyadic Role Expectation Theory --- p.44 / Catastrophe Theory --- p.44 / Service Quality - Satisfaction Link --- p.48 / "Transactional, Contractual, and Relational Service Exchanges ´Ø" --- p.51 / Transactional Exchange --- p.54 / Relational Exchange --- p.54 / Contractual Exchange --- p.56 / Chapter III. --- TOWARD A GENERIC MODEL OF SERVICE QUALITY --- p.60 / Service Quality Dimensions --- p.60 / Product Quality --- p.62 / Service Recovery Quality --- p.64 / Social and Structural Relationship Quality --- p.66 / Service Quality Measures --- p.67 / Service Adequacy --- p.67 / Service Superiority --- p.68 / Degree of Tolerance --- p.68 / Generic Service Quality Model --- p.70 / Dimensionality --- p.70 / Perceived Quality Importance --- p.71 / Service Satisfaction / Dissatisfaction --- p.74 / Comparison of the Generic Model and PZB Model --- p.74 / Chapter IV. --- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY --- p.77 / Research Design --- p.77 / Focus Group Research --- p.79 / Pretest --- p.82 / Sampling --- p.82 / Operationalization of Measures --- p.83 / Forms of Service Exchange --- p.79 / Service Quality --- p.86 / Satisfaction --- p.87 / Dissatisfaction --- p.87 / Loyalty and Switching Intent --- p.87 / Importance of Quality Dimensions --- p.87 / Survey Response --- p.88 / Response Rate --- p.88 / Respondent Characteristics --- p.89 / Service Exchange Respondent Grouping --- p.90 / Reliability of Measures --- p.91 / Validity of Measures --- p.92 / Convergent and Discriminant Validity --- p.92 / Concurrent and Predictive Validity --- p.94 / Chapter V. --- RESULTS --- p.96 / Generic Service Quality Model --- p.96 / Dimensionality --- p.96 / Noticeable Differences in Service Quality Dimensions --- p.98 / Perceived Quality Importance --- p.100 / Service Satisfaction --- p.102 / Service Dissatisfaction --- p.104 / Model Comparison --- p.106 / Explanatory and Predictive Power --- p.107 / Adequacy of Explanation --- p.108 / Domain of Application --- p.108 / Chapter VI --- SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS --- p.110 / Objectives and Focus of the Research --- p.110 / Operationalization of Constructs --- p.112 / Reliability of Research Instruments --- p.114 / Validity of Research Instruments --- p.115 / Response Rate and Sample Representativeness --- p.116 / Summary and Interpretation of Findings --- p.116 / Significance of the Research Contribution --- p.119 / Contribution to Theory --- p.119 / Contribution to Practice --- p.122 / Contribution to Methodology --- p.124 / Evaluation of Theory from the Philosophy of Science --- p.126 / Directions For Future Research --- p.128 / Better Construct Measurement --- p.128 / Better Data Collection Methodology --- p.129 / Causal Experimental Design --- p.130 / Replication Study Required --- p.130 / Limitations --- p.131 / EXHIBITS / Exhibit 1 All Users' SERVQUAL MSS Factor Structure --- p.132 / Exhibit 2 All Users' Generic Service Quality Model MSS Factor Structure --- p.133 / Exhibit 3 Transactional Users' MSA Structure --- p.134 / Exhibit 4 Transactional Users' MSS Structure --- p.135 / Exhibit 5 Contractual Users' MSA Factor Structure --- p.136 / Exhibit 6 Contractual Users' MSS Factor Structure --- p.137 / Exhibit 7 Relational Users' MSA Factor Structure --- p.138 / Exhibit 8 Relational Users' MSS Factor Structure --- p.139 / APPENDICES / Appendix I Measures --- p.140 / Appendix II Respondent Characteristics --- p.144 / Appendix III Results of One Way Analysis of Variances --- p.145 / III-A Minimum Service Expectations --- p.145 / III-B Desirable Service Expectations --- p.146 / III-C Measures of Service Adequacy (MSA) --- p.147 / III-D Measures of Service Superiority (MSS) --- p.148 / III-E Measures of Tolerance Range --- p.149 / III-F Perceived Service Quality Dimension Weights --- p.150 / III-G Behavioural Intent and Behaviour --- p.151 / Appendix IV Research Covering Letter --- p.152 / Appendix V Questionnaire One (3-Column Format) --- p.153 / Appendix VI Questionnaire Two (2-Column Format) --- p.159 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.165 / CURRICULUM --- p.183

[pt] Nas últimas décadas, tem-se observado um crescente interesse nas tecnologias relacionadas a ambientes de comunicação móvel sem fio. Em grande parte, esse interesse vem acompanhando o crescimento do mercado de telecomunicações, mais especificamente dos sistemas de telefonia móvel celular. Os usuários vêm absorvendo rapidamente essas tecnologias, originando novas necessidades, como a utilização de serviços de dados multimídia, que exige garantias de qualidade. Nesse contexto, um dos desafios encontrados é conseguir a utilização eficiente do limitado espectro de freqüências disponível, fornecendo serviços com qualidade para os usuários. Esta dissertação propõe uma arquitetura para provisão de qualidade de serviço -QoS- fim-a-fim em redes móveis sem fio, levando em consideração características inerentes a esses ambientes. Para alcançar esse objetivo, são propostas modificações aos frameworks para provisão de QoS em ambientes genéricos de processamento e comunicação, visando atender às necessidades trazidas pelas redes móveis, gerando uma arquitetura adaptável para fornecer QoS em ambientes que ofereçam suporte à mobilidade. Uma instanciação dos frameworks para provisão de QoS em redes móveis sem fio é descrita através de um cenário de mobilidade, no qual é simulada uma rede infraestruturada de serviços integrados funcionando sobre o IP Móvel, de modo a validar a peoposta. / [en] In the last decades, increasing interest has been observed in technologies related to wireless mobile communication environments. Great part of such interest follows the growth in the telecommunications industry, more specifically of cellular mobile telephony systems. Users are quickly absorbing these technologies and generating new necessities, such as the use of services of multimedia data, which demand quality assurance. In this context, one of the challenges is the efficient use of the limited frequency spectrum available, providing users quality services. This thesis proposes an architecture for the provision of end-to-end QoS in wireless mobile networks, taking into account inherent characteristics of these environments. To reach this purpose, modifications were proposed to the frameworks for QoS provisioning in generic processing and communication environments, aiming to fulfill the necessities brought by mobile networks, generating an adaptable architecture to offer QoS in environments that support mobile connections. In order to validate the proposal, an instantiation of frameworks for QoS provisioning in wireless mobile networks is described by means of a mobility scenario in which an infrastructure network of integrated services is simulated working over Mobile IP.

[pt] A medição da percepção da qualidade de serviços de marcenaria é um tema muito pouco estudado pelos pesquisadores, embora essa seja uma área de negócios com grande potencial de crescimento e muitas vezes administrada de maneira intuitiva pelos próprios artesãos. Como a análise da literatura concernente ao desenvolvimento de modelos medindo a percepção da qualidade de serviços demonstra a existência de controvérsia entre os principais autores e a conseqüente dificuldade em obter um modelo global e consensual, optamos por desenvolver um modelo específico para o contexto em questão. Assim, definimos os atributos -confiabilidade, tangibilidade, atendimento e preço- e seus respectivos níveis -três-, e os utilizamos em uma pesquisa sobre percepção da qualidade de serviços de marcenaria. Por meio da análise conjunta revelamos a importância relativa dos atributos, com destaque para a confiabilidade e para o atendimento; bem como a utilidade de cada atributo em seus respectivos níveis. Relatórios de análise da evolução da importância relativa e da utilidade com relação às características socioeconômicas dos participantes da pesquisa revelaram tendências de diferenças relacionadas a tais variáveis, que podem funcionar como indicadores da existência de possíveis segmentos de mercado. Obtivemos altos valores de correlação linear e significância da análise conjunta, o que indica que o modelo tem um alto poder preditivo da preferência entre opções de serviços compostos por diferentes níveis dos atributos em questão e é estatisticamente significativo. Já a análise de clusters não permitiu a definição clara de segmentos de consumidores, muito melhor demonstrados pelos relatórios anteriormente citados. Os resultados deste trabalho podem orientar os administradores de marcenarias a estabelecer combinações ótimas de atributos e seus níveis a serem oferecidos ao consumidor; gerenciar de maneira efetiva esses atributos; estabelecer níveis de preços; segmentar mercados e posicionar seus serviços, desenvolvendo programas de marketing adequados; e ainda fazer análises competitivas e avaliar como os consumidores atribuem valor ao serviço; sem perder de vista a viabilidade de execução e prestação lucrativa do serviço. Sugerimos ainda a aplicação do modelo aqui desenvolvido em outros contextos de serviços, de maneira a testar sua aplicabilidade e adequação a outras áreas de negócios. / [en] The measurement of quality perception in joinery services is an area that has, so far, inspired very few marketing research studies, although it is a business with a great growth potential, which has been often managed in an intuitive manner by the artisans themselves. The models for analysing services quality perceptions, as developed by the main authors in the field, have not been easily accepted and, consequently, there has been some difficulty in building a more global and consensual model. For this reason, we have chosen to develop a specific model, that would fit the context studied, which includes attributes - trustfulness, tangibility, consumer servicing and price- and their levels -three-. Using such attributes we studied the perception of quality in joinery services. Performing conjoint analysis we found the relative importance given to each attribute, emphasizing trustfulness and consumer service as well as the utility of each attribute in its respective level. Reports comparing the relative evolution of the importance and utility according to respondents` social and economic features revealed different trends related to such variables that may indicate potential market segments. We obtained high values of linear correlation and observed conjoint analysis significance, indicating that the model itself has a high predictive power of showing preference for options of services composed of different attribute levels, and is statistically significant. On the other hand, the clusters analysis did not provide a clear identification of consumer segments, which were better shown in the reports previously mentioned. The results of this study may guide joinery managers to develop ideal attribute level combinations to be offered to the consumer; as well as effective ways to manage these attributes; settle price levels; identify market segmentation and target their services, developing adequate marketing programs; and in addition, perform competitive analysis and also estimate how consumers assess services; at the same time keeping in mind the feasibility of execution and maintaining desirable profit levels. We suggest the application of this new developed model in different service business areas, so as to test its applicability and adequacy.

SUMMARY Aim of the study – to assess the attitudes of patients and their partners to the quality of service in the secondary and tertiary obstetrical in-patient clinics. Objectives: 1) to evaluate the attitudes of patients to the quality of obstetrical care services; 2) to compare the quality of services among secondary and tertiary obstetrical clinics; 3) to determine the factors influencing the satisfaction with obstetrical care services; 4) to evaluate the attitudes of patients’ partners to the quality of obstetrical care services. Methods: The anonymous survey of parturient women (patients) and their partners (participants in childbirth) was performed in different obstetrical clinics since 1st January to 30th December 2004. The survey was conducted in the secondary care obstetrical in-patient Silutė (level A) and Panevezys (level B) clinics and also in the tertiary care Kaunas obstetrical in-patient clinic (Hospital of Kaunas University of Medicine). The number of participants was following: in Silute; 304 parturient women and 145 their partners, in Panevezys 416 and 253 and in Kaunas 256 and 111 respectively. Response rate varied between 73% and 96%. The difference between categorical variable was assessed using chi-square (χ²) test. Correlation analysis was performed using Spearman coefficient of rank correlation. Results: Majority of respondents were satisfied with childbirth (91% ) and postnatal care (95%). The satisfaction with quality of services was not related... [to full text]