Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Management Sciences: Marketing, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / Achieving customer satisfaction has been the goal of every organisation. In recent times, the postal business world over has experienced a sharp decline in the volume of mail due to more efficient alternative channels of communication. The dwindling volumes of mail have necessitated that public postal operators diversify into financial services as one way of generating more revenue. The Malawi Posts Corporation (MPC) is faced with challenges ranging from cash scarcity, increasing competition from banks and other financial services players like mobile phone companies. At the same time, the customer in the modern age is well informed and demanding high quality service. As such, the MPC needs to ensure that customers remain satisfied with the quality standards being delivered in its network. The importance of achieving service quality and satisfaction are enormous. High quality service and customer satisfaction are tools for competitiveness, productivity and profitability. The aim of this study is to analyse service quality in the Malawian public postal service. A modified SERVPERF questionnaire was used to assess customers’ perception of service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The service quality dimensions of tangibles, reliability, empathy, assurance and responsiveness were used to evaluate customers’ perception of service quality. The 400 respondents were selected using convenience sampling and the eight Post Offices where this research was conducted were selected using purposive or judgemental sampling. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data. Spearman rho was used to ascertain the relationship between variables. Man-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare differences between two independent variables. The findings of this study show that customers’ perception of service quality was generally good across all the five service quality dimensions and that all the dimensions of service quality have a positive relationship with customer satisfaction. In addition, the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty was found to be positive and significant. Recommendations are made in respect of improving the service quality dimensions because they have a direct impact on customer satisfaction which in turn affects customer loyalty.

No description available.

M. Tech. Human Resources Management / The objectives of this research are to determine employees perceptions about performance management system contracting, to determine the performance management system evaluation within South African Post Office. It also looks at the perceptions of South African Post Office employees about the outcomes of the performance management system.

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

M.Tech. (Industrial Engineering) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

曹玉騫. / "2009年8月". / "2009 nian 8 yue". / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-133). / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Cao Yuqian. / 引言 --- p.1 / Chapter 第一章 --- 河西地區出土簡牘硏究回顧 --- p.3 / 附：河西四郡建置過程及兩關位置考述 --- p.17 / Chapter 第一節 --- 四郡的建置年代 --- p.18 / Chapter 第二節 --- 兩關位置考述 --- p.25 / Chapter 第二章 --- 居延都尉下轄殄北候官、甲渠候官之烽隧及分布狀況 --- p.30 / Chapter 第一節 --- 殄北候官烽隧建置 --- p.31 / Chapter 第二節 --- 甲渠候官烽隧建置及方位分布 --- p.37 / Chapter 第三章 --- 居延都尉下轄卅井候官之烽隧及分布狀況 --- p.51 / Chapter 第四章 --- 肩水都尉下轄各候官之烽隧及邊塞分布狀況 --- p.66 / Chapter 第一節 --- 廣地候官烽隧建置 --- p.66 / Chapter 第二節 --- 橐他候官烽隧建置 --- p.68 / Chapter 第三節 --- 肩水候官烽隧建置 --- p.70 / Chapter 第四節 --- 肩水都尉轄區其它候官 --- p.83 / Chapter 第五章 --- 居延、肩水地區郵路走向考述 --- p.85 / Chapter 第一節 --- 居延都尉轄區郵驛里程考析 --- p.85 / Chapter 第二節 --- 肩水都尉轄區郵驛里程考析 --- p.98 / Chapter 第六章 --- 居延、肩水地區的烽隧及郵路建設與漢代邊防的關係 --- p.106 / 總結 --- p.119 / 附圖一今日甘肅省與漢代涼州剌史部所轄區域之比較 --- p.123 / 附圖二漢代河西地區塹壕、塞墙分布與郵路走向 --- p.123 / 附圖三張掖郡居延都尉轄區烽隧分布圖 --- p.124 / 附圖四張掖郡肩水都尉轄區烽隧分布圖 --- p.125 / 附圖五張掖郡居延、肩水兩都尉轄區烽隧分布全圖 --- p.126 / 附圖六張掖郡居延一一肩水地區郵路走向圖 --- p.127 / 參考書目 --- p.128

Ao abordar as relações entre selos postais e história, a literatura filatélica ocupa-se, fundamentalmente, em situar a origem do moderno mecanismo tarifário dos correios, atendo-se também a outros detalhes técnicos como a evolução dos métodos de impressão e das características gráficas. Quanto ao simbolismo exibido nas estampas, é corrente a idéia segundo a qual os selos narram a História do país emissor por registrarem seus principais personagens, eventos e tradições, avaliação que transcende o meio filatélico e pode ser considerada de senso comum. Esta dissertação adota a perspectiva de análise sugerida pelo historiador britânico Eric Hobsbawn, que considera os selos postais um dos principais suportes materiais de que dispõe o Estado moderno para promover a massificação das tradições nacionais e, como tal, um indício privilegiado para se compreender as estratégias de elaboração da história oficial. Embora coloque o selo postal brasileiro em perspectiva cronológica ampla, para apreender-lhe a trajetória enquanto linguagem, a pesquisa privilegia o contexto em torno da transformação dos Correios em empresa pública pelo governo militar, em 1969. Um dos destacados aspectos da modernização da instituição foi transformação do selo postal brasileiro, cuja emissão foi reestruturada em termos qualitativos e quantitativos durante a década de 70, política complementada pela divulgação e incentivo à prática da filatelia. Nos selos emitidos a partir de então, observa-se a ampliação das matrizes de representação no que diz respeito à historicidade: além do usual registro da História tradicional, passam a compor o índice filatélico outras representações do passado, como a cultura popular e o folclore, além da propaganda das realizações governamentais, que remete ao futuro afinal tornado presente pelo governo militar. / When approaching the relations between mailing stamps and History, the philatelical literature has mainly dealt with pointing out the origins of the post offices modern tariff mechanisms, and has also payed attention to other technical details like the printing methods evolution and the graphic features. Concerning to the symbolism shown in the pictures, it’s usual the idea that the stamps narrate the country’s History, due the fact they register the country’s main characters, events and traditions. This valuation exceeds the philatelical milieu and can be considered as the common sense. This paper adopts the analysis perspective suggested by the British historian Eric Hobsbawn, who considers mailing stamps as one of the main material basis the modern State has to promote the national traditions massification. Therefore, it’s a privileged sign to understand the official History elaboration strategies. Although we place the Brazillian mailing stamps in a broad chronological perspective, to grasp its path as a language, this work privileged the context around the Correios transformation in a public company, by the military government in 1969. One of the emphazided features of the institution modernization was the Brazilian mailing stamps transformation, of which emission was reestructered in qualitatives and quantitatives terms during the 70’s. This policy was complemented by the spreading and incentive to the philatelical practice. On the stamps printed from that moment on, it’s possible to observe the enlargement of the matrices representation concerning to the historicity: beyond the usual register of the traditional History, other representations about the past started to compose the philatelical index, like the popular culture and the folklore; besides the government propaganda showing Brazil as a powerful country, announcing a future that had finally become present.

Este estudo trata do desenvolvimento da rede de arte postal na América Latina desde o seu início no final da década de 1960 até a sua presença da XVI Bienal de São Paulo em 1981. Para isso, são retomadas as redes latino-americanas de trocas de poesia experimental estruturadas na década de 1960. Em seguida, são descritas as trajetórias de alguns dos protagonistas da arte postal nesta região, bem como as exposições e publicações coletivas que eles organizaram. Nesse momento, são abordadas as manifestações da rede de arte postal na Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Colômbia, El Salvador, México, Uruguai e Venezuela. Por fim, é analisado o caso específico do Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo (MAC USP), explicitando como essa instituição conectou-se organicamente à rede. Esta pesquisa tem como ponto de partida acervo de arte conceitual do MAC USP e acompanha a expansão da rede a partir das grandes mostras coletivas realizadas entre 1972 e 1981 na América Latina. Além disso, destaca a relação da arte postal com as ditaduras militares como decisiva na caracterização desta prática entre os latino-americanos. / This study is about the development of the mail art network in Latin America since its beginning at the end of the 60s until its presence on the XVI Biennial of São Paulo in 1981. For this purpose, the Latin American networks of experimental poetry exchange, structured in the 60s, are recaptured. After this, the trajectories of some of the mail art protagonists in this region are described, as well as the collective exhibitions and publications that they organized. At this point, the demonstrations of the mail art networks in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela are approached. Finally, the specific case of the Museum of Contemporary Art of the University of São Paulo (MAC USP) is analyzed, explaining how that institution connected itself organically to the mail art network. This research starts with the conceptual art collection of the MAC USP and follows the expansion of the network from the large collective exhibitions performed between 1972 and 1981 in Latin America. Besides that, it emphasizes the relation between mail art and the military dictatorships as a decisive part of the characterization of this practice among Latin American.

隨著保險市場的開放，國人對保險的接觸相對的提高，而簡易壽險係屬於 較特殊的一環，從開辦以來一直由郵政儲金匯業局所獨佔，由交通部主管 ，並受財政部監督。直至民國八十年二月十五日公佈新的簡易人壽保險法 之後，其獨佔才被廢止。基於此本研究意欲探討消費者對郵政簡易壽險( postal insurance)的認知(cognition)與其所抱持的態度(attitude)。本 研究經過實證調查結果顯示，郵政簡易壽險的購買群對於產品的認知較非 郵政簡易壽險購買群來的高；而在態度方面，『對產品設計的態度』、『 對郵政簡易壽險嫌惡的態度』、『對產品保障的態度』等三個因素與購買 狀況有顯著的差異；此外郵政簡易壽險的購買群與非郵政簡易壽險購買群 在人口統計變項的『職業』、『教育程度』上有顯著的差異；至於認知程 度與『購買原因』、『不購買原因』間並無顯著相關。當前正值台灣加入 GATT之後面臨保險全面開放之難題，而國人對簡易壽險的削減給付、核保 優待尚未十分清晰，且對一般保險的告知義務、契約終止、政府監督的概 念尚有待加強，政府和其他保險相關機構對簡易壽險整體概念的加強是時 候了。

<p>Postal work is performed in very different settings, and the works are e.g., drivers, letter carriers, postal sorters, and counter clerks. A finding that a small group of parcel sorters with a good psychosocial work situation had much lower health complaints than comparable workers with a worse psychosocial situation at work, indicated that it might be possible to improve mental and physical health among postal employees by improving work organization.</p><p>The theoretical framework for this thesis is the demands-control-support (DCS) model by Karasek, Theorell, and Johnson. Two cross-sectional studies were performed with questionnaires. In a study on 144 workers at a postal terminal it was found associations between low support from superiors and high psychological work demands, on one hand and gastrointestinal and sleep problems on the other. In another study on 655 postal workers in 6 different occupations, high psychological work demands and low skill discretion was associated with low-back pain, and low social support at work with neck pain. In this study, the associations differed significantly between men and women.</p><p>A follow-up study on the postal terminal (136 persons) was performed 8 and 12 months after an organizational change took place. The changes were aimed at improving the shift system, and psychosocial work situation. Authority over decision and skill discretion increased, and sick-leave decreased during the follow up period. Changes in contact with superiors, team-mates, and skill discretion were associated with changes in gastrointestinal and sleep complaints. In another follow up study, 82 individuals were studied before and 1 year after improvement of the psychosocial work environment. Musculoskeletal complaints were significantly reduced in the intervention group but not in the control group. Increased support from superiors was associated with less symptoms. Younger age and higher authority over decisions at baseline was associated with reduced symptoms at follow-up.</p><p>The main findings of this thesis are that there are significant associations between psychosocial work situation among postal workers and psychosomatic and musculoskeletal symptoms, and that it is possible to reduce symptoms and sick-leave, by changes of organization, and improvement of the psychosocial work situation </p>