An analytical instrument to measure the status of an organisation business process capability
- Authors: Vermeulen, Andre
- Date: 2013-05-30
- Subjects: Organizational effectiveness - Measurement
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:7568 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/8431
- Description: D.Phil. (Engineering Management) , This research has its roots in Engineering Management, where the premise of improving and managing efficiency, effectiveness, productivity and quality is the most common and accepted source of organizational excellence and performance. This dissertation addresses a new paradigm for competitive advantage – business processes capability. The notion of capability is first and foremost the primary differentiator of organisational competitiveness ensuring sustained long-term prosperity. The title of this dissertation is essentially imperative of every organisation functioning within the competitive domain to obtain business process capability. Where organisational capability and performance were traditionally considered antonymous, the assimilation of these two notions is fundamental to the assurance of long-term organisational prosperity. Organisations are required, now more than ever, to grow and ensure that optimisation is achievable through well-defined systems and supporting business processes. Organisations need to understand operational and individual business processes as well as their strategic impact they have on the entire supply network. The key to successful process decisions requires taking the following into consideration (a) the best fit for the situation (b) optimisation of one process at the expense of another, (c) processes are building blocks that create a total business value chain which include the cumulative phases of business processes affecting output, customer satisfaction and competitive advantage, (d) there is no distinction between any processes in the value chain either performed by internal or by outside suppliers, and (e) that managers must pay attention to interfacing all processes ensuring cross-functional coordination.
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- Authors: Vermeulen, Andre
- Date: 2013-05-30
- Subjects: Organizational effectiveness - Measurement
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:7568 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/8431
- Description: D.Phil. (Engineering Management) , This research has its roots in Engineering Management, where the premise of improving and managing efficiency, effectiveness, productivity and quality is the most common and accepted source of organizational excellence and performance. This dissertation addresses a new paradigm for competitive advantage – business processes capability. The notion of capability is first and foremost the primary differentiator of organisational competitiveness ensuring sustained long-term prosperity. The title of this dissertation is essentially imperative of every organisation functioning within the competitive domain to obtain business process capability. Where organisational capability and performance were traditionally considered antonymous, the assimilation of these two notions is fundamental to the assurance of long-term organisational prosperity. Organisations are required, now more than ever, to grow and ensure that optimisation is achievable through well-defined systems and supporting business processes. Organisations need to understand operational and individual business processes as well as their strategic impact they have on the entire supply network. The key to successful process decisions requires taking the following into consideration (a) the best fit for the situation (b) optimisation of one process at the expense of another, (c) processes are building blocks that create a total business value chain which include the cumulative phases of business processes affecting output, customer satisfaction and competitive advantage, (d) there is no distinction between any processes in the value chain either performed by internal or by outside suppliers, and (e) that managers must pay attention to interfacing all processes ensuring cross-functional coordination.
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Business processes capability and performance : a South African perspective
- Vermeulen, Andre, Pretorius, Jan-Harm C., Kruger, David
- Authors: Vermeulen, Andre , Pretorius, Jan-Harm C. , Kruger, David
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Optimisation , Business processes - South Africa
- Type: Article
- Identifier: uj:6031 , ISSN 978-1-4673-2853-1 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/10053
- Description: Successful organisations depend on leadership, process optimisation, and utilisation of resources. Optimisation is achievable through well-defined systems and supporting processes that guide organisations towards excellence. Organisations need to understand operational and individual business processes as well as the strategic impact on the supply network. Effective optimisation impacts strategically on quality cost, revenue, investment, and capabilities. Business Process Capability measurements forces organisational leaders, managers and employees to critically analyse existing business processes, and determine gaps identifying existing performances and sub-optimal states. Many organizations in South Africa misunderstand business process capability and measure success on revenue and profits generated hiding inefficiencies that could be concealed by the profits. One of the contributing factors might be that some companies in South Africa lack international competitiveness, do not optimize their business processes nor align business processes and available resources to adhere to organizational goals and calls for radical redesign of business processes resulting from end-to-end fulfilling internal and external customer needs. The paper will show why organisations should base their competitiveness on a value chain and end - to - end business processes optimisation rather than only profit.
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- Authors: Vermeulen, Andre , Pretorius, Jan-Harm C. , Kruger, David
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Optimisation , Business processes - South Africa
- Type: Article
- Identifier: uj:6031 , ISSN 978-1-4673-2853-1 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/10053
- Description: Successful organisations depend on leadership, process optimisation, and utilisation of resources. Optimisation is achievable through well-defined systems and supporting processes that guide organisations towards excellence. Organisations need to understand operational and individual business processes as well as the strategic impact on the supply network. Effective optimisation impacts strategically on quality cost, revenue, investment, and capabilities. Business Process Capability measurements forces organisational leaders, managers and employees to critically analyse existing business processes, and determine gaps identifying existing performances and sub-optimal states. Many organizations in South Africa misunderstand business process capability and measure success on revenue and profits generated hiding inefficiencies that could be concealed by the profits. One of the contributing factors might be that some companies in South Africa lack international competitiveness, do not optimize their business processes nor align business processes and available resources to adhere to organizational goals and calls for radical redesign of business processes resulting from end-to-end fulfilling internal and external customer needs. The paper will show why organisations should base their competitiveness on a value chain and end - to - end business processes optimisation rather than only profit.
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Critical success factors for Six Sigma Design and deployment to compliment lean operational strategy towards Capability Maturity
- Viljoen, Albert J., Vermeulen, Andre, Pretorius, Harm C.
- Authors: Viljoen, Albert J. , Vermeulen, Andre , Pretorius, Harm C.
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Six-Sigma , Design For Six- Sigma , Lean Six- Sigma
- Language: English
- Type: Conference proceedings
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/274465 , uj:29284 , Ciation: Viljoen, A.J., Vermeulen, A. & Pretorius, H.C. 2018. Critical success factors for Six Sigma Design and deployment to compliment lean operational strategy towards Capability Maturity.
- Description: Abstract: Please refer to full text to view abstract.
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- Authors: Viljoen, Albert J. , Vermeulen, Andre , Pretorius, Harm C.
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Six-Sigma , Design For Six- Sigma , Lean Six- Sigma
- Language: English
- Type: Conference proceedings
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/274465 , uj:29284 , Ciation: Viljoen, A.J., Vermeulen, A. & Pretorius, H.C. 2018. Critical success factors for Six Sigma Design and deployment to compliment lean operational strategy towards Capability Maturity.
- Description: Abstract: Please refer to full text to view abstract.
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Developing and improving quality efficiency in the South Africa energy industry
- Vermeulen, Andre, Pretorius, Jan-Harm C., Motjoade, V., Kruger, David
- Authors: Vermeulen, Andre , Pretorius, Jan-Harm C. , Motjoade, V. , Kruger, David
- Date: 2015-08-06
- Subjects: Energy industries - South Africa - Quality control
- Type: Article
- Identifier: uj:5213 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/14497
- Description: Businesses today need to be more effective and efficient in order to design the best products and provide outstanding services to their customers. The purpose of this research is to develop and improve quality efficiency while sustaining continuous improvement at a South African Energy provider's Mpumalanga plant, which is one of the nine regions in South Africa. Accomplishing quality efficiency is challenging, as customers expect quality of service at all times. In general an organisation's or a business's success depends on the reliability of delivering electricity. Therefore the South African Energy provider should be able and capable to deliver electricity at all times. Current research results revealed that: (1) organisations need to do more to raise quality awareness and inform other employees about the quality unit, (2) organisations should go the extra mile in planning, monitoring and evaluating quality, (3) departmental quality objectives and goals should involve employees in formulating the goals and objectives, eliminating misunderstanding and mistakes committed by the workforce where quality is concerned, (4) management should be committed and involved in accomplishing quality efficiency in any capacity and making sure that continuous improvement is sustained, (5) commitment by management and employee recognition will improve capability, performance and innovation. The research study accordingly has a realistic and methodological significance in terms of achieving and improving quality efficiency and sustaining continuous improvement in providing energy in South Africa.
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- Authors: Vermeulen, Andre , Pretorius, Jan-Harm C. , Motjoade, V. , Kruger, David
- Date: 2015-08-06
- Subjects: Energy industries - South Africa - Quality control
- Type: Article
- Identifier: uj:5213 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/14497
- Description: Businesses today need to be more effective and efficient in order to design the best products and provide outstanding services to their customers. The purpose of this research is to develop and improve quality efficiency while sustaining continuous improvement at a South African Energy provider's Mpumalanga plant, which is one of the nine regions in South Africa. Accomplishing quality efficiency is challenging, as customers expect quality of service at all times. In general an organisation's or a business's success depends on the reliability of delivering electricity. Therefore the South African Energy provider should be able and capable to deliver electricity at all times. Current research results revealed that: (1) organisations need to do more to raise quality awareness and inform other employees about the quality unit, (2) organisations should go the extra mile in planning, monitoring and evaluating quality, (3) departmental quality objectives and goals should involve employees in formulating the goals and objectives, eliminating misunderstanding and mistakes committed by the workforce where quality is concerned, (4) management should be committed and involved in accomplishing quality efficiency in any capacity and making sure that continuous improvement is sustained, (5) commitment by management and employee recognition will improve capability, performance and innovation. The research study accordingly has a realistic and methodological significance in terms of achieving and improving quality efficiency and sustaining continuous improvement in providing energy in South Africa.
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Enhanced customer satisfaction through retail service quality (RSQ) : a study of in-store and online shoppers in the retail clothing industry
- Sukdeo, Nita, Vermeulen, Andre
- Authors: Sukdeo, Nita , Vermeulen, Andre
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Retail service quality (RSQ) , Customer loyalty , Customer satisfaction
- Language: English
- Type: Conference proceedings
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/397923 , uj:33101 , Citation: Sukdeo, N. & Vermeulen, A. 2019. Enhanced customer satisfaction through retail service quality (RSQ) : a study of in-store and online shoppers in the retail clothing industry.
- Description: Abstract: With the aim to augment the number of customers in the retail sector, organisations attempt to assess customer satisfaction and loyalty level achieved in their sector. Retail service quality (RSQ) is a fundamental factor in determining the success of service organisations. The study aims at investigating in-store shoppers’ as well as online shoppers’ level of satisfaction. This paper’s purpose is to correlate the quality of retail service to customer satisfaction as well as loyalty in the framework of the retail industry in Johannesburg. The literature review enabled the identification of key elements of loyalty of customer, the quality of service and the satisfaction of customer. Literature has shown that the quality of service is significantly correlated with customer loyalty customer satisfaction. With the end goal of this investigation in mind, in-store shoppers were carefully chosen, as these customers prefer to frequent the stores due an enriched shopping experience. A structured mall intercept questionnaire was administered to 500 in-store retail shoppers in selected shopping malls, in the greater Johannesburg area. Simple random sampling was conducted in order to obtain a conducive sample size. A response rate of 476 out of 500, which equates to 95%, was obtained. Online shoppers also form part of the basis of the study, since organisations are progressing toward a digital era, shoppers can purchase item within the comfort of their homes and take advantage of products beings delivered to their door. In this regard, an online questionnaire was administered to 200 online retail shoppers. A response rate of 187 out of 200, which equates to 93%, was obtained. A proposed research framework and research hypotheses were developed through the information derived from existing researches and literature reviews, and thereafter the relevant hypotheses were tested through multiple regression analysis. Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient and exploratory factor analysis were employed to verify the reliability and validity of the measuring instrument, respectively. The results of the study empirically indicated a strong positive link between customer loyalty and service quality including the quality of service and customer satisfaction with regard to in-store and online shoppers. This indicated that clients are happy with the quality of service supplied by retailer stores, leading to the loyalty of customer and repeat purchases, eventually.
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- Authors: Sukdeo, Nita , Vermeulen, Andre
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Retail service quality (RSQ) , Customer loyalty , Customer satisfaction
- Language: English
- Type: Conference proceedings
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/397923 , uj:33101 , Citation: Sukdeo, N. & Vermeulen, A. 2019. Enhanced customer satisfaction through retail service quality (RSQ) : a study of in-store and online shoppers in the retail clothing industry.
- Description: Abstract: With the aim to augment the number of customers in the retail sector, organisations attempt to assess customer satisfaction and loyalty level achieved in their sector. Retail service quality (RSQ) is a fundamental factor in determining the success of service organisations. The study aims at investigating in-store shoppers’ as well as online shoppers’ level of satisfaction. This paper’s purpose is to correlate the quality of retail service to customer satisfaction as well as loyalty in the framework of the retail industry in Johannesburg. The literature review enabled the identification of key elements of loyalty of customer, the quality of service and the satisfaction of customer. Literature has shown that the quality of service is significantly correlated with customer loyalty customer satisfaction. With the end goal of this investigation in mind, in-store shoppers were carefully chosen, as these customers prefer to frequent the stores due an enriched shopping experience. A structured mall intercept questionnaire was administered to 500 in-store retail shoppers in selected shopping malls, in the greater Johannesburg area. Simple random sampling was conducted in order to obtain a conducive sample size. A response rate of 476 out of 500, which equates to 95%, was obtained. Online shoppers also form part of the basis of the study, since organisations are progressing toward a digital era, shoppers can purchase item within the comfort of their homes and take advantage of products beings delivered to their door. In this regard, an online questionnaire was administered to 200 online retail shoppers. A response rate of 187 out of 200, which equates to 93%, was obtained. A proposed research framework and research hypotheses were developed through the information derived from existing researches and literature reviews, and thereafter the relevant hypotheses were tested through multiple regression analysis. Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient and exploratory factor analysis were employed to verify the reliability and validity of the measuring instrument, respectively. The results of the study empirically indicated a strong positive link between customer loyalty and service quality including the quality of service and customer satisfaction with regard to in-store and online shoppers. This indicated that clients are happy with the quality of service supplied by retailer stores, leading to the loyalty of customer and repeat purchases, eventually.
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Implementation of quality assurance practices and effectivess of road construction industry : a case of South African local municipalities
- Nyakala, Stephen, Vermeulen, Andre, Pretorius, Jan-Harm, Munyai, Thomas
- Authors: Nyakala, Stephen , Vermeulen, Andre , Pretorius, Jan-Harm , Munyai, Thomas
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Quality assurance , Processes , South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Conference proceedings
- Identifier: http://ujcontent.uj.ac.za8080/10210/383301 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/249291 , uj:25934 , Citation: Nyakala, S. et al. 2017. Implementation of quality assurance practices and effectivess of road construction industry : a case of South African local municipalities.
- Description: Abstract: The road construction industry in South Africa suffers from major inefficiency, poor strategic planning and poor quality of infrastructure. Data from Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) emerging contractors and local government suggest that projects suffer from 30.1 percent to 39.4 percent inefficiency, lack of strategic planning and poor quality of rural road building. Inadequate planning and management control has been identified as a major source of inefficiency. The objective of this paper is to discuss and analyse the difficulties and inadequacies of quality assurance processes and to use the findings of the research to recommend how the quality assurance processes can be implemented to improve efficiency. This paper sought to develop a system that explains the rural roads construction projects in South Africa. A quantitative research approach was adopted using the survey method in which a questionnaire was administered to 160 randomly selected project/construction managers, architects, quantity surveyors, client/managers and administrators of a South African local government department. Descriptive statistics were analysed using frequencies, percentages, arithmetic mean and standard deviation, whilst Pearson correlation was used to measure the strength of the relationships and confirmatory factor analysis...
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- Authors: Nyakala, Stephen , Vermeulen, Andre , Pretorius, Jan-Harm , Munyai, Thomas
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Quality assurance , Processes , South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Conference proceedings
- Identifier: http://ujcontent.uj.ac.za8080/10210/383301 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/249291 , uj:25934 , Citation: Nyakala, S. et al. 2017. Implementation of quality assurance practices and effectivess of road construction industry : a case of South African local municipalities.
- Description: Abstract: The road construction industry in South Africa suffers from major inefficiency, poor strategic planning and poor quality of infrastructure. Data from Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) emerging contractors and local government suggest that projects suffer from 30.1 percent to 39.4 percent inefficiency, lack of strategic planning and poor quality of rural road building. Inadequate planning and management control has been identified as a major source of inefficiency. The objective of this paper is to discuss and analyse the difficulties and inadequacies of quality assurance processes and to use the findings of the research to recommend how the quality assurance processes can be implemented to improve efficiency. This paper sought to develop a system that explains the rural roads construction projects in South Africa. A quantitative research approach was adopted using the survey method in which a questionnaire was administered to 160 randomly selected project/construction managers, architects, quantity surveyors, client/managers and administrators of a South African local government department. Descriptive statistics were analysed using frequencies, percentages, arithmetic mean and standard deviation, whilst Pearson correlation was used to measure the strength of the relationships and confirmatory factor analysis...
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The correlation between TQM Constructs and supplier performance
- Sukdeo, Nita, Vermeulen, Andre, Pretorius, J.H.C.
- Authors: Sukdeo, Nita , Vermeulen, Andre , Pretorius, J.H.C.
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Total Quality Management (TQM) , Supply Chain Management (SCM) , Supplier Performance
- Language: English
- Type: Conferende proceedings
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/92175 , uj:20197 , Citation: Sukdeo, N., Vermeulen, A., & Pretorius, J.H.C. 2016. The correlation between TQM Constructs and supplier performance.
- Description: Abstract: In today’s highly competitive environment, it is imperative to develop strong relationships with suppliers in order to improve the quality of products and services provided. The purpose of this paper is to present the correlation between total quality management (TQM) constructs of (i) leadership, (ii) employee involvement, (iii) customer focus, (iv) supplier relations, in terms of supplier performance with the aim of improving organisational performance.
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- Authors: Sukdeo, Nita , Vermeulen, Andre , Pretorius, J.H.C.
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Total Quality Management (TQM) , Supply Chain Management (SCM) , Supplier Performance
- Language: English
- Type: Conferende proceedings
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/92175 , uj:20197 , Citation: Sukdeo, N., Vermeulen, A., & Pretorius, J.H.C. 2016. The correlation between TQM Constructs and supplier performance.
- Description: Abstract: In today’s highly competitive environment, it is imperative to develop strong relationships with suppliers in order to improve the quality of products and services provided. The purpose of this paper is to present the correlation between total quality management (TQM) constructs of (i) leadership, (ii) employee involvement, (iii) customer focus, (iv) supplier relations, in terms of supplier performance with the aim of improving organisational performance.
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Total quality management adoption by process engineering design firms in South Africa
- Njenge, L., Vermeulen, Andre, Pretorius, J.H.C.
- Authors: Njenge, L. , Vermeulen, Andre , Pretorius, J.H.C.
- Date: 2015-06-08
- Subjects: Product quality , Total quality management , Process engineering - South Africa
- Type: Article
- Identifier: uj:5133 , ISBN 9781775921110 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/14099
- Description: The study investigates the effects of Total Quality Management (TQM) implementation on process engineering design firms. Secondly, the study investigates the extent of TQM adoption by South African process engineering design firms. Lastly, the study investigates the perceived importance of TQM principles. The study reveals that 70% of the firms which participated in the survey have formally adopted TQM while 30% have not. Although the firms which have not formally adopted TQM are implementing TQM principles, they have not been able to implement the principles as well as the firms which have formally adopted TQM. It also reveals that TQM implementation improves employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction, and financial performance while providing a vision that channels the entire organisation towards improvements in product quality and customer†related performances
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- Authors: Njenge, L. , Vermeulen, Andre , Pretorius, J.H.C.
- Date: 2015-06-08
- Subjects: Product quality , Total quality management , Process engineering - South Africa
- Type: Article
- Identifier: uj:5133 , ISBN 9781775921110 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/14099
- Description: The study investigates the effects of Total Quality Management (TQM) implementation on process engineering design firms. Secondly, the study investigates the extent of TQM adoption by South African process engineering design firms. Lastly, the study investigates the perceived importance of TQM principles. The study reveals that 70% of the firms which participated in the survey have formally adopted TQM while 30% have not. Although the firms which have not formally adopted TQM are implementing TQM principles, they have not been able to implement the principles as well as the firms which have formally adopted TQM. It also reveals that TQM implementation improves employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction, and financial performance while providing a vision that channels the entire organisation towards improvements in product quality and customer†related performances
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