M.B.A. / The aim of this research is to analyse whether a link exists between employee satisfaction (for the stores studied) and profitability, for the selected Edgars stores analysed

M.Phil. (Engineering Management) / For over a decade, customer satisfaction has received increasing attention in marketing. Customer satisfaction is related to loyalty, which in tum is linked to increased profitability, market share, growth, and decreased costs.8 During the 1980s, Japanese firms won major market shares with their product quality and speed. As most leading western companies caught up with their Japanese competitors on quality, most Japanese firms were focusing on a new strategy to meet and exceed changing customer expectations in the 1990s.1 To produce loyalty to an organization became one of the most popular marketing trends of the last decade.1·32 However, customers remain loyal only as long as they are completely satisfied with the quality of the service or product provided? Research results show that it costs five to seven times more to recruit a new customer than it does to retain one." Numerous research studies have shown that the average customer who is happy with a product and a service tells at least three people of his satisfaction, while a dissatisfied customer tells 9 or 10 people about his dissatisfactionf Knowledge of customers' perceptions and attitudes about an organization's business will greatly enhance its opportunity to make better business decisions." More than 80 percent of innovations in high-performing companies come from customers' ideas.'

M.Tech. (Business Administration) / The purpose of this study was to determine the service quality perceptions of the internal clients who use Radiopark Studios' facilities. This subject is regarded as important in that Radiopark Studios now competes with outside facilities. Internal clients can hire studio facilities and personnel from different production houses. Radiopark Studios should, therefore, improve its clients relationship. The aim was to find out whether there were gaps between the internal clients' service expectations and the services delivered by Radiopark Studios. Zeithaml, Parasuraman, and Berry (1990) Servqual analysis was used as the primary theory base. The researcher investigated the following sections: • Booking office, • Production assistants, • Radio block (studios), • Technicians, • Radio main control, • Security and reception, and • Marketing. The main findings were that there were gaps between the service received by Radiopark Studios internal clients and the service they would like to get. It also showed that Radiopark Studios internal clients were receiving inconsistent service in that some were satisfied with the service delivery whereas others were dissatisfied. Recommendations are made in this report on how to close the service gaps identified in the study.

Patient satisfaction in health care is a combination of need, expectation and the experience of care. It is an intermediate outcome, and may reflect the standard of service the patient received at a health care facility. Health care which does not satisfy the patient, is less effective, because less satisfied patients do not comply with instructions, they take longer to follow up with appointments and they have a poor understanding of their medical condition (Wilkin, Hallam and Dogget, 1994; Al-Assaf, 1998). Many service providers are motivated by the aim of providing fundamental quality care for their patients and therefore, determining the level of patient satisfaction forms a very important part of managing and fulfulling the patients’ health care needs (Smith, 2001a). The aim of this study was to assess the level of patient satisfaction and gather data on patient behaviour at the Technikon Witwatersrand (TWR) Homoeopathy Clinic, as an approach to improve the quality of care at this facility. The information gathered was further intended to demonstrate the quality of health care delivered to the community. A sample group of one hundred patients was randomly selected from a population of two hundred and one patients who consulted the Technikon Witwatersrand Homoeopathy Clinic from February 2004 to May 2004. The patients’ degree of satisfaction with health care provided at the clinic was obtained by means of a telephonic interview (Appendix A), which explored the patient’s experience at the Technikon Witwatersrand (TWR) Homoeopathy Clinic. Most patients had a positive experience at the clinic. Factors that led to a favourable response were: the affordability of the clinic, the quality of the physical exam, the friendliness, the approachability of the senior I I homoeopathy student and the high level of satisfaction of patients regarding their treatment plan. Areas in which patients expressed dissatisfaction with were: the clinic’s accessibility, the accuracy of their diagnosis, the explanation of their medical condition and the explanation of the homoeopathic case taking procedure. Areas of health care delivery identified as problematic were: aspects of patient education in homoeopathy, patient education on their diagnosed condition and certain aspects of service delivery. Valuable information on patient behaviour and patient satisfaction was gathered by this study at the TWR Homoeopathy Clinic, which could be utilised to improve areas of health care delivery at the clinic. / Dr. N. Wolf Dr. S. van Es

M.B.A. / Straddling the tropic of Capricorn, land-locked Botswana spans a vast 581,730 square kilometres in area. The country shares borders with Namibia to the north and west, Zambia and Zimbabwe to the north-east, and South Africa to the east and south. The Botswana Central Statistics Office (CSO) estimate a 2001 population of 1,68 million with an annual growth rate of 2.4% (Annual Economic Report, (2003)). The population is concentrated mainly in the fertile eastern and southern one third of the country. The remaining two thirds of the country's land is covered with the thick sands of the Kgalagadi Desert. Rainfall in the country is sporadic and erratic. According to the 2001 National Census the urban population of the country stands at 52.1% with the capital Gaborone accounting for 10.1% of the country's population. Francistown, the second and only other city, accounts for 4.9% of the country's population. The remainder of the urban population is distributed among 14 smaller urban centres. Gaborone accounts for 26.9% of the country's population between the ages of 25 and 54 years (Annual Economic Report, 2003.) 1.1.2. Communication The communication network is fairly sophisticated with 19.4% of the county's roads paved. The telephone network is fully digital, with Internet, e-mail, fax facilities available in all major centres of the country. Telex, data-switching, satellite-link and voice-mail service are also available nationwide. There are two cellular phone service provides and eleven internet service providers (ISPs). There are 27 Batswana to a telephone. (See Table 1: Botswana Social Statistics 2001 Table 1: Botswana Social Statistics: 2001 Life Expectancy 65.2 Population per Physician 3448 Persons per telephone 27 Persons per radio 95 Daily Newspapers 1 Persons per vehicle 21 Paved roads % 19.4 Primary School numbers 330,767 Tertiary education numbers 128,744 Literacy rate % 70 (Source: Annual Economic Report: 2003) 1.1.3. Economic performance Domestic output, as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is estimated to have grown, in nominal terms from P16.54 billion (SAR 25,47 billion) in 2000/2001 to P16.91 billion (SAR 26,04 billion) in 2001/2002, representing an increase of 2.3%. The increase for the previous year had been 17.2% (Annual Economic Report 2003) A slump in mining, with a growth rate of 3.1% (17.2% the previous year) was the major contributor to the slow growth. Banks, Insurance and Business services also shared significant growth among the non-mining sectors of the economy. (See Table 2: Economic Structure).

Class of 2005 Abstract / Objectives: The level of nurses’ satisfaction relative to pharmacy services provided at a rural medical center was evaluated and compared to data collected in a previous study at the same institution. Information obtained was utilized to determine potential areas for pharmacy service improvements. Methods: This project employed a survey research design in order to acquire demographic and descriptive data. The instrument contained 43 items including 34 scaled, 7 demographic, and 2 open-ended items. Aspects assessed by this instrument included accessibility of pharmacists, accuracy of medication delivery, quality of drug information services, and perceptions of pharmacists’ value by nursing staff. All inpatient nurse practitioners, licensed practical nurses, and registered nurses who were employed at the medical center in the winter of 2004 were eligible to participate in this study. Results: A total of 199 surveys were returned for a response rate of 43.9%. The overall level of nurses’ satisfaction with pharmacy services at the medical center had not significantly changed between the years of 2000 and 2004; however, several specific areas of pharmaceutical services changed over time. The level of nurses’ satisfaction with pharmacy services was increased in relation to the communication between pharmacists and nurses and decreased in relation to technology associated pharmacy services. Implications: The data obtained using the instrument was evaluated in order to make recommendations to the medical center Department of Pharmacy. An instrument was developed and validated to discern nurses’ level of satisfaction with pharmacy services. This methodology may be used at other institutions.

The nature of relationships that consumers form with their brands has been well documented in the marketing literature, but research conducted to date has not focused on the relationships that low income consumers form with brands, despite this being an extremely important market globally. Through understanding the consumer-brand relationships with low-income consumers better, companies have greater opportunities for new markets as well as leading to increased innovation. This paper highlights low-income consumers as value-conscious consumers through the brand relationships they have. Results from thirteen in-depth, face-to-face interviews with 13 women from Alexandra Township in South Africa are presented. Low-income consumers form many different relationships based on value, quality, choice and service, to name a few – with very few relationships being based on price. The low-income consumer requires trustworthiness, innovativeness and a willingness to do things differently. Understanding of their situation and a willingness of management to design processes and procedures around this is found to relate to improved relationships with an extremely brand-loyal market. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The research project investigated the applicability of the Service-Profit Chain model in the context where there are bottom of the pyramid customers who service bottom of the pyramid consumers in a middle income country. All businesses are concerned about creating value for themselves. In the past a lot of initiatives have focused on internal restructuring measures as well driving one of the most valuable assets they have their brands. However, there is now a growing realisation by businesses driven by a number of factors that a the management of customer relations is one of the most effective tools to manage and increase profitability. In view of the increasing emphasis that is being placed on the role of customers in creating value for businesses the service-profit chain is an appropriate response to how businesses can go about managing customer profitability. The research project was done using a quantitative research method with customers of one of the leading softdrinks beverage companies in the country. Prior to this a thorough literature review was conducted which showed the relevance of the service-profit chain model in managing customer profitability. The main finding from the research is that the service-profit chain does not apply to the context described above and in the study. This is mainly because there was no relationship found between customer loyalty and customer profitability. However, the last chapter proposes a model to help with establishing this relationship. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

The results of the exploratory research revealed the existence of perceptions and myth amongst low-income consumers in respect of the banking sector. Numerous pieces of research have been undertaken deriving reasons for people’s continued refusal to access the banking sector. Some of these reasons have been cited as cost, access and complexity of available products. A key factor to success in reducing the number of unbanked consumers in South Africa is the understanding of the aspects of human psychology that drives consumer behaviour. This was an exploratory piece of research that derived its questions from the disciplines of Philosophy, Behavioural Economics, Social Psychology and Strategy. The questions this research sought to answer were viz • What are the myths and perceptions people have about the banking sector? • How do myths and perceptions influence consumer behaviour in respect of financial services? As a result of it being exploratory research, qualitative surveys using in depth interviews was the chosen methodology. The results of the qualitative survey revealed the existence of perceptions and myths among consumers in the Banking Sector. The extent, to which these impacted consumer behaviour, was derived from a combination of direct feedback from the participants and a sense of what could potentially happen. The concluding discussion points out that sustainable solutions will follow an organisational approach, which reveals a deep respect for these consumers as capable human beings who require a collaborative (and not paternalistic) partner to improving their lives. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

In South Africa’s automotive industry where product features are very similar among vehicles, where there is huge competition between the vehicle brands, whether they are imported or locally produced, what is the leverage one can use to gain a competitive advantage? What will be the means of differentiation? The answer and the ultimate business advantage may very well be customer service excellence. In an effort to measure service excellence, South African customer satisfaction questionnaires, have historically via the questions that they ask and the weightings they give to these questions emphasised the transactional component of customer satisfaction. South African automotive retailers however need to understand the relationship component of the satisfaction of customers. This research shows that the current definition of Customer satisfaction does not measure this relation component as defined by emotional intelligence of the service advisors. Suggestions are given at the end of the report as to how this situation can be changed and the advantages that can be taken for automotive retailers. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted