An evaluation of total quality management practices on business performance of the Nigerian telecommunications sector: a case study of MTN Nigeria Limited

This study examines the effects of The Total Quality Management practices on Business Performance of the Nigerian Telecommunications Sector. A review of literatures on TQM shows that no study has been carried out on its application in the Nigerian Telecommunication sector hence the need for this research. To assess the situation One hundred and fifty (150) questionnaires were administered to customers of MTN Limited within the Lagos environ. These customers were randomly selected from five (5) different MTN customer care centres within the five divisions of Lagos State. These divisions include Epe, Ikorodu, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland and Badagry. Thirty (30) questionnaires were administered at each centre. Fifty (50) questionnaires were also administered to employees of MTN and a total of twenty (20) questionnaires were administered to top management in the same organizations. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. Our finding revealed that 90.7% of the changes that occurred in employees’ satisfaction could be traced to the policy and commitment of top management. It also shows that 69.4% of the changes in customer satisfaction could be attributed to continuous training in quality. The study recommended among other things the training of telecommunications personnel on Total Quality Management practices and the adoption of alternative renewable sources of energy like solar to address their energy problems

Towards a better understanding of the e-health user: comparing USE IT and Requirements study for an Electronic Patient Record.

This paper compares a traditional requirements study with 22 interviews for the design of an electronic patient record (EPR) and a USE IT analysis with 17 interviews trying to understand the end- user of an EPR. Developing, implementing and using information technology in organizations is a complex social activity. It is often characterized by ill-defined problems or vague goals, conflicts and disruptions that result from organizational change. Successfully implementing information systems in healthcare organizations appears to be a difficult task. Information Technology is regarded as an enabler of change in healthcare organizations but (information) technology adoption decisions in healthcare are complex, because of the uncertainty of benefits and the rate of change of technology. (Job) Relevance is recognized as an important determinant for IS success but still does not find its way into a systems design process

Service Delivery and Customer Satisfaction in the Public Service Sector:An Ethiopian Experience

The purpose of the study is to assess the existing service delivery and customer satisfaction of selected federal ministries/organizations in Ethiopia. The data collecting instruments employed in the study were questionnaires and key informant interview guides. Primary data was collected using self-administered, structured questionnaire from respondents (165 employees and 423 customers).The data obtained from the above sources were organized, presented and analyzed by using both qualitative and quantitative methods of research analysis. The result shows customers of public service organizations perceived positively that they are satisfied by the overall service delivery of the organizations. However, there were service delivery differences within different sections of every selected public service organizations and among each selected organization, which is statistically significant. The main challenges of public service delivery were lack of accountability, willingness to provide service as per request, sense of belongingness, inconsistencies of rules and regulations, and lack of integration problem among different government service providers. The public service organizations should introduce appropriate and realistic accountability measures; and work together in preparation of their rules, regulations, and procedure consistently so that they would have better integration, which enable them to provide good service delivery to their customers. Keywords: Public service, Service delivery, SERVQUAL, Customer satisfaction, Ethiopia DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/9-9-04 Publication date:September 30th 201

Overcoming Barriers in Supply Chain Analytics—Investigating Measures in LSCM Organizations

While supply chain analytics shows promise regarding value, benefits, and increase in performance for logistics and supply chain management (LSCM) organizations, those organizations are often either reluctant to invest or unable to achieve the returns they aspire to. This article systematically explores the barriers LSCM organizations experience in employing supply chain analytics that contribute to such reluctance and unachieved returns and measures to overcome these barriers. This article therefore aims to systemize the barriers and measures and allocate measures to barriers in order to provide organizations with directions on how to cope with their individual barriers. By using Grounded Theory through 12 in-depth interviews and Q-Methodology to synthesize the intended results, this article derives core categories for the barriers and measures, and their impacts and relationships are mapped based on empirical evidence from various actors along the supply chain. Resultingly, the article presents the core categories of barriers and measures, including their effect on different phases of the analytics solutions life cycle, the explanation of these effects, and accompanying examples. Finally, to address the intended aim of providing directions to organizations, the article provides recommendations for overcoming the identified barriers in organizations

A Dyadic Composition to Foster Virtual Team Effectiveness: An Experimental Study

The importance of effectiveness for virtual teamwork continues to gain momentum as technology and globalization of work accelerate. The implementation of virtual teams provides one approach to enhance competitiveness, overcoming the disadvantages of space and time differences through collaborative technologies. The influence of structure to virtual team performance has not been clearly established in the literature. The purpose of this research study was to investigate the effectiveness of a dyad structured approach for virtual teams using a quasi-experimental research design. This research investigated four questions related to the influence of structure on virtual team effectiveness related to task performance, communication frequency, and team satisfaction. Research questions included: (1) How does a dyad structure influence virtual team performance?, (2) What is the impact of a dyad structure on virtual team effectiveness with respect to task outcome?, (3) What is the impact of a dyad structure on virtual team effectiveness with respect to team satisfaction?, and (4) What is the impact of dyadic communication on virtual team effectiveness in terms of reducing overflow communication? The research approach was a quasi-experiment design to test the effect of a dyad structure, compared to self-structured, design on virtual team performance. A total of one-hundred eleven participants were placed in thirty-eight virtual teams, including dyad and self-structured assignments. The participants included graduate and undergraduate students from different universities in the US, Israel, Colombia, and the Netherlands. The teams completed a task using a web-based virtual environment, reached a team decision, and reported their satisfaction and perceptions of the experience through a self-reporting web-based survey. Hypotheses on task performance, team satisfaction, and the amount of communication were tested for differences between dyad structured and self-structured virtual teams. Statistical analyses were conducted to assess differences between the dyad and self-structured teams. The results showed significance differences between the two virtual team structural configurations. Dyadic teams performed better in arriving at the task solution using less communication to finish the task. Dyadic teams were also more satisfied with their task solution than the self-structured teams. However, results indicated that dyadic teams were not satisfied with operating as a dyadic team in this study. The research also demonstrated that team satisfaction was the most significant predictor of virtual team effectiveness. The research document concludes with implications for further research and suggests guidance for improved effectiveness in design and implementation of virtual teams

SUPPLY CHAIN INTEGRATION IN THE FOOD AND CONSUMER GOODS INDUSTRIES

The interorganizational structures necessary to implement and achieve the logistical performance improvements identified in the Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) initiative and related supply chain management concepts are difficult to develop. Firms continue to struggle to implement integrated programs and techniques, particularly with respect to changing operating structures, relationships, and mindsets to facilitate true supply chain integration. This research explores the logistical strategies and structures used by selected food and consumer goods firms to integrate their supply chains. It illustrates effective integration strategies and identifies critical success factors and barriers to successful ECR implementation. A framework is used to guide managers in developing the competencies essential to integrating the supply chain and to establishing the relationships necessary to operate in an ECR environment. The framework, entitled Supply Chain 2000, depicts supply chain value creation as achieving synchronization and coordination across four critical supply chain flows: product/service; market accommodation; information; and cash.Industrial Organization,

Quality and customer satisfaction perspective in organisations by gap and total quality improvement methods

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Emergent Customer Team Performance and Effectiveness: An Ex Post Facto Study on Cognition and Behavior in Enterprise Systems Implementation

Implementing enterprise systems usually involves a partnership between the customer organization’s internal team and an external team with professionals from the technology supplier and the business consultants. On both sides, team performance (a process) and team effectiveness (an outcome) emerge partly due to the unpredictable effects of the interaction between human factors at the individual level. Thus, a team’s dynamics and achievements may not fully correspond to its members’ individual characteristics—for instance, a modest team may be formed by outstanding individuals, and an outstanding team may be formed by modest individuals. With an ex post facto approach and a case study on a successful ERP customization project, we studied the interaction effects between human factors (here represented by cognition and behavior) that lead to team performance and effectiveness. Moreover, we focused on the customer side of teamwork due to gaps identified in the literature. Individual team members in our study did not score the highest in several cognitive and behavioral measures; thus, we conclude that a high-performance, effective team does not necessarily possess a theoretically ideal cognitive and behavioral archetype. This study further contributes to the ambiguous debate on performance and effectiveness, their emergent nature, and the role of team management