It is importance that business organisations focus on providing the best service to their customers. The survival of the organisation depends ultimately on the service provided. This study explores the elements which affect the provision of service excellence to passengers by flight attendants at South African Airways. The study is adequately supported by a proper and detailed literature study which, in turn is founded on an empirical study on the relevant topic. A field study was conducted on the various stakeholders of the supply chain pertaining to in-flight catering to determine what specific viewpoints, suggestions and limitations there were, with regard to existing packaging, catering utensils and galley equipment used by flight attendants personal service on board the aircraft. Alternatives were considered that could result in the improvement of service provided by flight attendants. The literature review within the scope and limitations of the study therefore concentrated on the specific nature and impact that packaging, catering utensils and galley equipment have on the quality service which flight attendants provide to passengers. The study included a detailed investigation into this part of the supply chain. The reality is that flight attendants are the front-line employees not only for the airline they are employed at, but also for all the stakeholders involved in the supply chain of in-flight catering. By not supporting them and providing them with the right tools to execute their duties affects more than one stakeholder in the supply chain. The empirical part of the study was conducted by interviewing flight attendants employed at South African Airways. The objective was to determine the impact that current packaging, catering utensils and equipment had on the execution of service by the flight attendants. A further survey was conducted to determine passenger perception towards packaging, catering utensils and galley equipment. The research findings clearly indicate the problems passengers and flight attendants are experiencing. The findings indicate the impact of passengers and flight attendants and makes suggests (makes recommendations) improvements to reach the objectives of improved service delivery. / Dissertation (MCom (Business Management))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Business Management / unrestricted

Marine Food group is active within the marine foodservice industry and is established in Finland, Sweden, USA and Singapore. The group both sells galley equipment and spare parts as well as carrying out installation of the marine foodservice areas in both new build vessels and in vessels where an old galley is changed into a new one. The group also provides its customers with turnkey deliveries, which are when the supplier has the overall responsibility for the delivery of a marine foodservice area. Marine Food group transfers goods and services between the enterprises situated in Finland, Sweden and the US and has not established a transfer pricing system for these transactions. The company located in Singapore was recently established and any intra-group transactions have not been conducted yet. This master’s thesis aims at developing a transfer pricing system that could be applicable on these transactions and acceptable to the tax authorities in Finland, Sweden and the US. The elements that should be included when developing a transfer pricing system is functional analysis, economic analysis, an analysis of transactions, selection of transfer pricing method and comparables. The Marine Food group is therefore analyzed based on these elements in order to be successful in developing a transfer pricing system. Furthermore, the transfer pricing rules in Finland, Sweden and USA is examined in order to develop a transfer pricing system that is acceptable to the tax authority in respective country. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has issued Transfer Pricing Guidelines, which are another significant source that are examined when establishing a transfer pricing system for Marine Food group. Spare parts are transferred between the Swedish company, Marine Food AB and the US based company, Marine Food LLC. The transfer pricing method that should be applied in Sweden is the resale price method since Marine Food LLC operates like a reseller for the spare parts. Internal comparables exist and comparability for the purposes of resale price method can be established with reference to both internal and external data. In the US, the comparable profit method should be applied given that it meets the best method rule. The transactions from the Finnish Company, Marine Food Oy and the Swedish company, Marine Food AB consist of installation works and stainless steel furniture. Hence, the transactions both involve goods and services and should be looked at separately. The transfer price for the installation works should be set by using the transactional net margin method. In order to determine the transfer price under the transactional net margin method both internal and external comparables can be used in this case. The transfer price for the stainless steel furniture should on the other hand be established using the resale price method. In order to determine comparability external comparables are used due to lack of internal data. Marine Food AB sells galley equipment and spare parts to Marine Food Oy. The transfer pricing method that should be applied on these transactions is the resale price method since the least complex party in the transaction, Marine Food Oy, act like a reseller of the galley equipment and spare parts. Comparability is to be established with reference to external comparables since internal comparables do not exist.

<p>Marine Food group is active within the marine foodservice industry and is established in Finland, Sweden, USA and Singapore. The group both sells galley equipment and spare parts as well as carrying out installation of the marine foodservice areas in both new build vessels and in vessels where an old galley is changed into a new one. The group also provides its customers with turnkey deliveries, which are when the supplier has the overall responsibility for the delivery of a marine foodservice area. Marine Food group transfers goods and services between the enterprises situated in Finland, Sweden and the US and has not established a transfer pricing system for these transactions. The company located in Singapore was recently established and any intra-group transactions have not been conducted yet. This master’s thesis aims at developing a transfer pricing system that could be applicable on these transactions and acceptable to the tax authorities in Finland, Sweden and the US.</p><p>The elements that should be included when developing a transfer pricing system is functional analysis, economic analysis, an analysis of transactions, selection of transfer pricing method and comparables. The Marine Food group is therefore analyzed based on these elements in order to be successful in developing a transfer pricing system. Furthermore, the transfer pricing rules in Finland, Sweden and USA is examined in order to develop a transfer pricing system that is acceptable to the tax authority in respective country. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has issued Transfer Pricing Guidelines, which are another significant source that are examined when establishing a transfer pricing system for Marine Food group.</p><p>Spare parts are transferred between the Swedish company, Marine Food AB and the US based company, Marine Food LLC. The transfer pricing method that should be applied in Sweden is the resale price method since Marine Food LLC operates like a reseller for the spare parts. Internal comparables exist and comparability for the purposes of resale price method can be established with reference to both internal and external data. In the US, the comparable profit method should be applied given that it meets the best method rule.</p><p>The transactions from the Finnish Company, Marine Food Oy and the Swedish company, Marine Food AB consist of installation works and stainless steel furniture. Hence, the transactions both involve goods and services and should be looked at separately. The transfer price for the installation works should be set by using the transactional net margin method. In order to determine the transfer price under the transactional net margin method both internal and external comparables can be used in this case. The transfer price for the stainless steel furniture should on the other hand be established using the resale price method. In order to determine comparability external comparables are used due to lack of internal data.</p><p>Marine Food AB sells galley equipment and spare parts to Marine Food Oy. The transfer pricing method that should be applied on these transactions is the resale price method since the least complex party in the transaction, Marine Food Oy, act like a reseller of the galley equipment and spare parts. Comparability is to be established with reference to external comparables since internal comparables do not exist.</p>

Essa dissertação apresenta um estudo analítico sobre a obra do arquiteto Louis I. Kahn, desde o ponto de vista da sua qualidade espacial, compreendida esta no modo como ocorre a interação entre espaço e usuário. Foram selecionados três edifícios como estudos de caso capazes de representar a síntese evolutiva da concepção de espaço ao longo da obra de Kahn, os quais foram submetidos a uma análise empírica baseada na experiência espacial do observador em movimento, lançando mão de um conjunto de ferramentas no assim denominado método do observador. Os edifícios estudados viabilizam o desenvolvimento de análises que abrangem desde as primeiras obras de Kahn, na década de 1930, até o seu falecimento, em 1974. A análise realizada registra o desempenho dos edifícios em termos de sua legibilidade e funcionalidade, compreendidas como qualidades inerentes ao espaço e ao modo como este condiciona a experiência do usuário, relacionandoas à concepção espacial do edifício. Procura-se ampliar a compreensão dos resultados obtidos à luz da evolução da obra teórica do autor, traçando relações de causa e efeito entre esta e os fenômenos registrados na realidade concreta dos edifícios. O trabalho busca ainda ampliar a compreensão da relação da obra de Kahn com o contexto da produção arquitetônica de sua época, investigando as influências que recebe e as contribuições que oferece, especialmente no que tange à continuidade da arquitetura moderna. / The present dissertation is as an analytical study about the work of architect Louis I. Kahn, focusing on its spatial quality, as funded in the interaction between space and people in motion. Three buildings were selected as case studies in order to capture the evolutionary synthesis of space conception happened during Kahn’s career. Each building was submitted to an empirical scrutiny based upon the spatial experience of a moving observer, using a set of tools named as the “method of the observer”. The buildings investigated are put in relation with other Kahn’s buildings, so allowing the development of an analytical discourse embracing since his first works, in the 1930’s, until his death, in 1974. The analysis registers the performance of the buildings in terms of their legibility and their functionality, both understood as qualities inherent to space and the way they shape the user’s experience, so relating them to the building’s spatial conception. The dissertation intends to enlarge the understanding of the findings by considering the evolution of Kahn’s theoretical work, so bringing cause-effect connections between theory and the registered phenomena in the concrete reality of buildings. Eventually, this study aims to enlarge the understanding of the link between Kahn’s work and the architectural environment of the time, so exploring the influences he received and contributions he gave, especially concerning the evolution of modern architecture.

Essa dissertação apresenta um estudo analítico sobre a obra do arquiteto Louis I. Kahn, desde o ponto de vista da sua qualidade espacial, compreendida esta no modo como ocorre a interação entre espaço e usuário. Foram selecionados três edifícios como estudos de caso capazes de representar a síntese evolutiva da concepção de espaço ao longo da obra de Kahn, os quais foram submetidos a uma análise empírica baseada na experiência espacial do observador em movimento, lançando mão de um conjunto de ferramentas no assim denominado método do observador. Os edifícios estudados viabilizam o desenvolvimento de análises que abrangem desde as primeiras obras de Kahn, na década de 1930, até o seu falecimento, em 1974. A análise realizada registra o desempenho dos edifícios em termos de sua legibilidade e funcionalidade, compreendidas como qualidades inerentes ao espaço e ao modo como este condiciona a experiência do usuário, relacionandoas à concepção espacial do edifício. Procura-se ampliar a compreensão dos resultados obtidos à luz da evolução da obra teórica do autor, traçando relações de causa e efeito entre esta e os fenômenos registrados na realidade concreta dos edifícios. O trabalho busca ainda ampliar a compreensão da relação da obra de Kahn com o contexto da produção arquitetônica de sua época, investigando as influências que recebe e as contribuições que oferece, especialmente no que tange à continuidade da arquitetura moderna. / The present dissertation is as an analytical study about the work of architect Louis I. Kahn, focusing on its spatial quality, as funded in the interaction between space and people in motion. Three buildings were selected as case studies in order to capture the evolutionary synthesis of space conception happened during Kahn’s career. Each building was submitted to an empirical scrutiny based upon the spatial experience of a moving observer, using a set of tools named as the “method of the observer”. The buildings investigated are put in relation with other Kahn’s buildings, so allowing the development of an analytical discourse embracing since his first works, in the 1930’s, until his death, in 1974. The analysis registers the performance of the buildings in terms of their legibility and their functionality, both understood as qualities inherent to space and the way they shape the user’s experience, so relating them to the building’s spatial conception. The dissertation intends to enlarge the understanding of the findings by considering the evolution of Kahn’s theoretical work, so bringing cause-effect connections between theory and the registered phenomena in the concrete reality of buildings. Eventually, this study aims to enlarge the understanding of the link between Kahn’s work and the architectural environment of the time, so exploring the influences he received and contributions he gave, especially concerning the evolution of modern architecture.

Essa dissertação apresenta um estudo analítico sobre a obra do arquiteto Louis I. Kahn, desde o ponto de vista da sua qualidade espacial, compreendida esta no modo como ocorre a interação entre espaço e usuário. Foram selecionados três edifícios como estudos de caso capazes de representar a síntese evolutiva da concepção de espaço ao longo da obra de Kahn, os quais foram submetidos a uma análise empírica baseada na experiência espacial do observador em movimento, lançando mão de um conjunto de ferramentas no assim denominado método do observador. Os edifícios estudados viabilizam o desenvolvimento de análises que abrangem desde as primeiras obras de Kahn, na década de 1930, até o seu falecimento, em 1974. A análise realizada registra o desempenho dos edifícios em termos de sua legibilidade e funcionalidade, compreendidas como qualidades inerentes ao espaço e ao modo como este condiciona a experiência do usuário, relacionandoas à concepção espacial do edifício. Procura-se ampliar a compreensão dos resultados obtidos à luz da evolução da obra teórica do autor, traçando relações de causa e efeito entre esta e os fenômenos registrados na realidade concreta dos edifícios. O trabalho busca ainda ampliar a compreensão da relação da obra de Kahn com o contexto da produção arquitetônica de sua época, investigando as influências que recebe e as contribuições que oferece, especialmente no que tange à continuidade da arquitetura moderna. / The present dissertation is as an analytical study about the work of architect Louis I. Kahn, focusing on its spatial quality, as funded in the interaction between space and people in motion. Three buildings were selected as case studies in order to capture the evolutionary synthesis of space conception happened during Kahn’s career. Each building was submitted to an empirical scrutiny based upon the spatial experience of a moving observer, using a set of tools named as the “method of the observer”. The buildings investigated are put in relation with other Kahn’s buildings, so allowing the development of an analytical discourse embracing since his first works, in the 1930’s, until his death, in 1974. The analysis registers the performance of the buildings in terms of their legibility and their functionality, both understood as qualities inherent to space and the way they shape the user’s experience, so relating them to the building’s spatial conception. The dissertation intends to enlarge the understanding of the findings by considering the evolution of Kahn’s theoretical work, so bringing cause-effect connections between theory and the registered phenomena in the concrete reality of buildings. Eventually, this study aims to enlarge the understanding of the link between Kahn’s work and the architectural environment of the time, so exploring the influences he received and contributions he gave, especially concerning the evolution of modern architecture.