An empirical analysis of after sales service and customer satisfaction

In today’s ever changing competitive environment, business cannot survive unless they satisfy their customers. The delivery of after sales service by a company is critical in satisfying customer needs and perceptions. In order to have quality after sales service a proper delivery system has to be in place. This is an empirical study on after sales quality of Pakistan’s automotive battery manufacturer. The research measured the quality of service in Atlas Battery, selling product with the brand name of AGS by using the Servqual method. The data was collected using an instrument from previous study to study the impact of quality of after sales services on customer satisfaction. The main variables effecting customer satisfaction are product quality and social responsibility. The results reveal that customer satisfaction increases with better service delivery.Sales service, customer expectation, human capital, service delivery system, customer satisfaction.

Effect of Direct Participation on Perceived Organizational Performance: A Case Study of Banking Sector of Pakistan

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to find out the association between the HR practices and perceptions of firm performance and to know, understand and investigate the scope of relationship among different types of employee participation (Delegative & Consultative) and organizational performance in banking sector of Pakistan. Methodology: To investigate the relationship that exists between employee participation and firms, performance cross sectional survey design was used for collecting data based on subjective measures. Data was analyzed through MS Excel 2007 & SPSS (17.0), then descriptive, correlations and regression analysis was applied to find out the result for describing empirical and statistical relationship between dependent and independent variables. Findings:  Correlation results shows that the direct participation (Delegative & Consultative) have weak, positive and significant impact on organizational performance. Whereas, regression model results also depicts that employee participation has significant impact on organizational performance. The variation in organizational performance is explained about 23% by the independent variables e.g; delegative & consultative participation which is very minor so, we can conclude that contribution of other HRM variables towards organizational performance is comparatively high. These results are consistent with (Singh, 2004) for the same variable. Research Limitations: The study was limited to only banking sector of Pakistan. This was based on perceived measures that the organizational performance and the forms of direct participation. So the data collected was based on perceptual and subjective measures, generally objective measures are more reliable and consistent to the outcome and results. Practical Implications: Results revealed that direct participation has minor contribution towards organizational performance in Pakistani settings but one could not achieve the desired results by ignoring this key variable. So it is advisable that direct participation must be used in combination of with other HRM variables to boost the performance. Originality/Value: This paper furthers our understanding of the role that employee participation attributes organizational performance. Key Words: Banking Sector, Direct Participation: Delegative & Consultative, HRM Practices, Perceived Organizational Performance, Pakista

Method Development and Validation of Gemifloxacin in Tablet Dosage Form by RP-HPLC

A simple, precise and accurate RP-HPLC method was developed and validated for the estimation of gemifloxacin in the tablet dosage form. The separation was achieved on a reversed-phase C-18 column (250 x 4.6 mm i.d., 5 µm) using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile/acetate buffer of pH 4.5 (70:30 v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min and a detection wavelength of 244 nm. The separation was carried out on an isocratic mode at room temperature. The method was validated as per ICH guidelines for linearity, accuracy, precision, robustness, LOD, LOQ and specificity. The developed method showed good linearity over the concentration range of 50-150 µg/ml (r2=0.995). The average percentage recovery was 99.77%. The LOD and LOQ were 12.678 µg/ml and 14.261 µg/ml, respectively. Based upon validation studies, the developed method can be successfully applied for the routine analysis of gemifloxacin in bulk drugs as well as pharmaceutical dosage forms. Keywords: Gemifloxacin, Tablet dosage form, RP-HPLC, Validation, ICH guideline

A simultaneous measurement of the bb-tagging efficiency scale factor and the ttˉt\bar{t} Production Cross Section at the Collider Detector at Fermilab

The ability to compare results between Monte Carlo and data is imperative in modern experimental high-energy physics analyses. The b-tagging efficiency Scale Factor (SF) allows for an accurate comparison of b quark identification in data samples and Monte Carlo. This thesis presents a simultaneous measurement of the SF for the SecVtx algorithm and the t{bar t} production cross section using 5.6 fb{sup -1} of p{bar p} collision data at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV collected by the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) experiment. The t{bar t} cross section was measured to be 7.26 {+-} 0.47 pb, consistent with prior CDF analyses. The tight SF value was measured to be 0.925 {+-} 0.032 and the loose SF value was measured at 0.967 {+-} 0.033. These are the most precise SF SecVtx measurements to be performed at CDF to date

Corporate Governance and the Systemic Risk:A Test of Bundling Hypothesis

We provide new evidence that the systemic risk of large banks is higher when the external and internal corporate governance mechanisms complement each other. Using a sample of large European banks from 2000 to 2016, we examine the relationship between various internal and external corporate governance mechanisms and the level of systemic risk. Specifically, we analyze how monitoring by institutional investors complements or substitutes various board-level governance mechanisms in determining systemic risk of a bank. Our empirical findings show that external (institutional ownership) and internal (board level) governance mechanisms complement each other to determine the level of systemic risk of a sample of domestic systemically important banks. Our results are robust to the alternative systemic risk measures and additional controls. We conclude that banks have strategic flexibility in terms of configuring their corporate governance structures to attain similar levels of systemic risk

Estimating the Production Potential of Major Crops in Pakistan’s Irrigated Agriculture during the 21st Century

Land and irrigation are the basic resources in agriculture. The role and importance of these resources and their contribution towards productivity, in the context of the country’s increasing population, can hardly be exaggerated. Pakistani agriculture is set in a very distinctive situation of an increasing population on the one hand and diminishing resources on the other. The population of Pakistan was reported to be 131.63 million in 1996 and is projected to be 207 million in 2013 [Pakistan (1996) and WSIP (1990)]. The agriculture sector has to face the difficult task of doubling the existing food production by the turn of this century. The situation demands horizontal and vertical growth in the productivity, either by bringing more land under cultivation, or by increasing the cropping intensity of the existing land resources. This can also be accomplished by bringing more land under cultivation from the cultivable uncultivated area (a large proportion of which exists on medium and large farms under waterlogged or saline conditions). In this context, it becomes important to identify the nature of the relationship that exists between farm size and unculturable wastelands and the kinds of changes the green revolution/SCARPs projects introduced to this relationship.

Supply chain integration in broiler contract farming and business performance: Knowledge based view perspective

This concept paper aims to investigate the relationship between knowledge sharing practices within and between business partners as a framework for integration, and to examine the effect of these practices on business performance. Data will be collected from broiler contract industry in Malaysia.SPSS (Statistical Package of Social Sciences) will be used for data analysis. Three knowledge related constructs (internal knowledge integration, knowledge integration with growers, and knowledge integration with integrators) will be examined towards business performance.Further, these three variables collectively will explain relationship towards business performance.The relationships will be identified to support for the effectiveness of knowledge based collaboration. Managers can use this as a tool to conceptualize how their business can develop internal integration and collaborative relationships with their trading partners

Evaluating effective spare-parts inventory management for equipment reliability in manufacturing industries

The spare part management function is critical from an operational perspective especially in asset intensive industries such as refineries, chemical plants, paper mills, automotive manufacturing, and oil mills.Given the determinants like demand, unpredictability, part substitution, and tight control on spare parts inventory coupled with high service level expectations; the exigency of spare parts management in manufacturing operations cannot be underrated.In most organizations, a constant scrimmage persists over the stocking, ordering, and maintaining of products required by maintenance and operations. The Materials Management and Purchasing functions are often vied against Maintenance, Facilities, Engineering, and Operations with respect to; the number and types of stock keeping units, capital and critical spares, obsolete inventory, inventory investment, and turnover and program operation. This paper evaluates best practices in the Maintenance Repairs & Overhauls, discusses the ABC classification scheme, and elaborates on the role of maintenance storeroom as service provider

Prepotence of biowrap model for micro green energy: A case for biodiesel for rural communities

Dwindling fossil resources, such as petroleum oils and coal, and the over dependence on imported fuels has prompted countries to look for internal resources to meet escalating energy demands. Micro energy from biofuels is one of the viable renewable energy options new technologies provide that can transform the remote rural communities.This paper outlines Bio-WRAP model developed by the author and illustrates that the oil obtained from amenity plantings and riparian buffers, including coconut and oil palm, can be a sustainable alternative to diesel fuel.The paper concludes that biofuels are sustainable alternative to fossil fuels and biodiesel is a green energy source for agriculture, transport and power generation at micro level use in rural communities

Impelling innovation at a Canadian automotive plant

In industrialized countries manufacturing firms are facing significant change resulting from mass customization, shortening product life cycles, increasing technological change, and the entry of international competitors into their markets as witnessed by the automotive and electronics industries. ‘Process Innovation’ is one of the key areas where innovation is exigent.It pertains to finding better or more efficient ways of producing existing products, or delivering existing services. Making innovation a ubiquitous capability in manufacturing is fundamentally a leadership challenge. It needs a tangible organizational infrastructure that makes managers accountable at all levels for driving, facilitating, and embedding the innovation process into every part of the culture.This paper construes the process of ‘impelling and managing innovation’ at an automotive metal stamping plant in Canada, during the 2007-2009 financial crises in North America. The paper discusses the processes, psychological and physical environment, organisational culture, economic climate, and program content; rationale, significance and denouement.The paper concludes that idea management systems don't replace traditional departments and processes involved in new services, products, or strategies.They serve as an adjunct to them and provide a framework that can help organizations turn innovation into an enterprise-wide discipline-and a sustainable process that drives growth in good times and bad. Auto industry is going to remain important, for local, regional and national economies, as well as for the future of the planet if ecologically sustainable transport systems are to be developed; it will, no doubt, remain an important topic in academia