M.Comm. / The knowledge-based service industry consists of numerous professional practices. The nature of the service is a function of the type of knowledge offered e.g. technical specialists, artistic design specialists and legal specialists to name but a few. Providing a service instead of a product to satisfy a need in the market requires special unique skills and approaches. Since most professional practices are small, the total management task is the responsibility of the partners or the board of directors. In an area of specialisation, such as engineering, general management skills are also required. Knowledge of finance, marketing, personnel, operations and general management aspects are important. The study incorporates a broad set of issues from economic aspects to management functions to determine what the critical success factors (CSFs) should be to ensure the success of small professional knowledge-based organisations. Internal factors are considered and related to how the firm operates. The study extends externally to examine how clients perceive the services rendered. From a general point of view, managerial competence is rated as the most important critical success factor. It influences the relationship between the client and the professional providing the service. The role of the client's opinion is important when providing an effective service. It is vital to know what the client needs and how to satisfy the needs. Use is made of a service - quality rating model to determine where customer expectations are not being met. The study is concluded by recommending that the CSFs be actively used to focus the firm's internal activities and resources on the external client requirements. In essence, management must do more active work, in areas such as cost control, where clients feel they are being neglected. More attention needs to be focused on the tangible aspects of service delivery. To bring about success as well as attending to the listed CSFs, training was deemed to be necessary with regards to quality management, financial management, marketing management and personnel management. All action plans that could be developed by the service provider need to be simple to implement on an ongoing basis. Time and effort is to satisfy a client's needs. The results of this study indicate that management should focus their efforts on the tasks of management. It does not suggest that they actually do the work of transforming knowledge into tangible products. It does say that management should actively influence those people who do the work of knowledge transformation. The client should always be the centre of the firm's activities.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:10012 |
| Date | 11 September 2012 |
| Creators | Midlane, Anthony Robert |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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