The effectiveness of internal marketing strategies of private tertiary education institutions (PTEIs) in an emerging market

The main purpose of this research was to determine if internal marketing (IM) activities are fulfilling their intended purpose of creating customer centred employees. Such IM activities are designed to enhance employee productive behaviour (EPB). The target population of this study consisted of academic staff from the Private tertiary education institutions (PTEIs) in Gaborone, Botswana. The questionnaires were hand delivered to a sample size of 140 respondents. The descriptive research method as well as the quantitative research approach was used in this study. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire, and analysed to compute factor analysis. The findings of this study show that the majority of the employees (96%) understood that the IM strategies motivate employees and was most importantly influenced the purposes of IM strategies. Two factors explained the ways management designed IM strategies: Management’s focus on the organizational goals and disregard for employees. The results of this study show that most of the employees (88%) believed that management unilaterally design IM strategies. Leadership and management of tertiary education institutions could apply the recommendations proposed by this study to create customer centred employees. In addition, recognizing the need for marketing faculty to make marketing knowledge creation and dissemination more relevant to education institutions. To accomplish this goal, more academic research can be targeted toward internal marketing for tertiary education institutions

An empirical investigation into in-service training at North West Provincial Department of Agriculture

Farmers’ (emerging and commercial) results do not only reflect performance but also depict the quality of learning and teaching that they have received. However, the focus seems to be only on farmers’ results, particularly emerging farmers results’ (rural areas), without regard to other facets of the Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Environment which have a direct impact on the farmers’ results. Amongst others, there are extension officers and inservice trainers who need to be taken into account to ascertain the quality of service that farmers receive. This study focuses on the provision of in-service training through the cascade model of training in the North West Provincial Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Environment (DACE). While their training approaches are varied and enjoyed by most extension officers, there are inconsistencies in terms of the evaluation of the in-service training sessions. The results show, both the in-service trainers and extension officers are satisfied with in-service training in the Provincial Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Environment. However, in-service training in general needs to be reviewed in order to maximize the implementation of effective skills development within of the department.Key words: Farmers, in-service training, North West Provincial Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Environment (DACE), extension officers, cascade model,  skills development

Exploring the tourism potential of Mafikeng, South Africa

The majority of tourism-related studies are done with the consumer, namely the tourist, in mind. This paper, however, aims to explore the way in which the impact and potential of tourism is perceived by the local population in and around Mafikeng, the capital city of South Africa’s North West Province. During this investigation, data was collected in two different ways. Firstly, focus group interviews were held with senior marketing students in order to identify relevant variables (activities) related to the impact and potential of tourism. These variables were then used to design a Likert scale (5-point attitude) question. This questionnaire was distributed to a sample drawn from a population that consisted of local inhabitants of the Mafikeng (also known as Mahikeng) area. A quantitative analysis of the 128 responses was conducted in order to determine the perceptions of local residents. Various groupings of perceptions were identified through a cluster analysis. The study found that local residents generally had a positive perception of the impact and potential of tourism in the Mafikeng area. In addition, this research has also made a contribution to the development of a profile of the local residents regarding general perceptions of tourist activities in the Mafikeng area. The different perceptions identified during the cluster analysis have the potential to inform future research

Strategies for branding the city of Gaborone as a tourist destination.

City branding is a 21st century phenomenon that has been enthusiastically embraced by cities in high income countries. In emerging markets or developing countries city branding has not received much enthusiasm for arguably varying reasons. Cities brand themselves as viable destinations for possible investment, tourist destinations and to work in. City branding reduces risk for the customer or the traveller and acts as a sign of quality. Branding a city is an endeavour to enhance brand equity and to strengthen the core values of the city which results in competitiveness. The main objective of this study was to investigate possible strategies or ways of branding the city of Gaborone into a competitive city brand. The study used content analysis as a research technique and the respondents of this study came from the private sector and the academia. The findings of this study show that branding the city of Gaborone could result in a unique selling proposition and a well-thought city identity. The respondents indicated that Gaborone was unknown and could not compete against cities like London, Paris and Cape Town as a tourist destination. The second theme emerging from the findings of this study was that branded cities compete better than unbranded cities due to their identities and characteristics. It could be argued that a city must look at elements or characteristics that it can leverage on in order to become competitive. For example, the findings of this study showed that peace and security could be used to brand the city of Gaborone. However, it is important to note that peace and security on their own are not a tourist attraction but merely enablers for the branding of a city. The findings also showed that visitors, students and investors looked for personal safety before they could choose to visit a place. Branding a city undoubtedly influences customers’ perceptions about the city and can create a good reputation for the city. Gaborone, if branded well, would possibly have its current level of brand equity enhanced for future enhanced tourist attractiveness

Global exchange and accumulation of non - native plants

All around the globe, humans have greatly altered the abiotic and biotic environment with ever-increasing speed. One defining feature of the Anthropocene epoch1, 2 is the erosion of biogeographical barriers by human-mediated dispersal of species into new regions, where they can naturalize and cause ecological, economic and social damage3. So far, no comprehensive analysis of the global accumulation and exchange of alien plant species between continents has been performed, primarily because of a lack of data. Here we bridge this knowledge gap by using a unique global database on the occurrences of naturalized alien plant species in 481 mainland and 362 island regions. In total, 13,168 plant species, corresponding to 3.9% of the extant global vascular flora, or approximately the size of the native European flora, have become naturalized somewhere on the globe as a result of human activity. North America has accumulated the largest number of naturalized species, whereas the Pacific Islands show the fastest increase in species numbers with respect to their land area. Continents in the Northern Hemisphere have been the major donors of naturalized alien species to all other continents. Our results quantify for the first time the extent of plant naturalizations worldwide, and illustrate the urgent need for globally integrated efforts to control, manage and understand the spread of alien species