Browsing by Author "Kurtz, Erna Irene"
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- ItemAn assessment of customer care services in the public sector - a study of the Government Institutions Pension Fund in Namibia(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-12) Kurtz, Erna Irene; Lange, Junay; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.ENGLISH SUMMARY : This thesis examines the quality of service from the perspective of customers’ expectations of the quality of service compared to actual service delivery in the Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF). The main goal of the public sector is to render services to the public; hence, it is essential that those services are of good quality and delivered equitably. Seventy-five (75) walk-in members/clients of the GIPF (respondents) from various ministries and government agencies were interviewed. The public sector represents roughly more workforce in the economy compared to the private sector. Therefore, improving productivity in the public sector has a tremendous impact on a country’s economic growth and development. Consequently, improved public sector productivity leads to a higher standard of living for the citizens. The service sector is in a state of rapid change, reflecting a variety of factors from regulatory changes to globalisation and use of new technologies. The net effect is increased competition. A clear understanding of the distinctive characteristics of service management is needed if service businesses are to succeed. Trade liberalisation as well as structural adjustment programmes brought about a lot of changes to the Namibian economy. All sectors were forced to change their business strategies as a way of accommodating these changes. The service sector was not spared either. In actual fact, it is the most affected of all. The public sector saw itself opening up the market to new entrants. The number of pension fund administrators in the market increased to ten from a total of three before these developments took place. More players in the market meant more competition, as they would be servicing the same market that, in this instance, had not really changed in size. With all this tug of war, most public offices came up with ways to improve their customer services, such as setting up a customer care department. However, members of the GIPF feel that there are a number of issues its current customer care service needs to address which is summarised as follows: - Long waiting time in queues for service - Ignoring customers at point of service - Speeding up enquiries into customer queries - Setting up of convenient working hours. The above refer to the most crucial findings of the study based on data captured by means of members’ responses to the research questionnaire. Members of the fund generally acknowledged that the GIPF needs to operate in line with technological development and in the customers’ best interests, as no service organisation is complete today if it lacks knowledge and experience of customer care service. These aspects are discussed in more details in the thesis.