Human Resource Management

DEFINITION

It is the process of analyzing and managing an organization’s human resource needs to ensure
satisfaction of its objectives.

THE STAFFING PROCESS

Staffing is the process by which organizations satisfy their human resource needs by forecasting
future needs, recruiting and selecting candidates and orienting new employees.

Process of recruiting, selecting and hiring employees to fill in job opportunities

COMPONENTS OF STAFFING PROCESS

Planning

The organization needs to forecast its human resources requirements so as to

determine (a) the number of employees to hire and (b) the types of skills needed (c)
determine when the employees are needed.

Recruitment

Organizations should develop a pool of job candidates from which to select qualified
employees e.g. running adverts, contacts employment agencies etc.

Selection and hiring

Organization selects and hires people who are to do well at work.

Orientation
 Programs must be set aside to familiarize new employees company policies, safety
codes and those expectations compensations and employee benefits.

Movement

Refers to promotions, demotions, transfers, restricting and training within the

organizations.

Separation

May occur as a result of the employee finding a new job, retiring, becoming disabled,
being fired.

PLANNING

Tools and Techniques

Skills inventory

Refer to a detailed file maintained for each employee that lists his/her level of
education, training, experience, length of service, current job title and salary,
performance history and personal demographics (age, gender, marital status etc.).
These files can help management spot human resources gaps when making plans for
diversifications/expenses.
Job analysis

Refer to the breakdown of tasks for a specific job and the personal characteristics
determined to be necessary for their successful performance.

Categories

Job description

A detailed outline of a position’s essential tasks and responsibilities

Job specification

A listing of the personal characteristic

Replacement chart

Is a diagram showing each position in the organization’s management hierarchy,

with the name of each incumbent and names of candidates eligible to replace him/her.
These charts are confidential – provide a

simple means of forecasting management needs and internal availability.

Expert forecasts

Used to determine an organization’s demand for human resources.

The expert’s predictions are based on underlying assumptions e.g. the expected rate of growth
and the area’s future unemployment rate.
RECRUITMENT

The process of searching, both inside and outside the organization for employees to fill vacant
posts.

FACTORS AFFECTING RECRUITMENT

First regulations

An organization recruiting policies and practices are significantly influenced by the regulatory
environment (get policies/regulations).

Labor unions

Events corruption and illegal/unfair labor practices.

Labor market

If local supply exceeds local demand

SELECTION AND HIRING

Involves filling the vacant posts.

Sources that aid selections include;

CVs (Resumes).

Reference checks – from former employers.

Job applications forms – to gather info on age, education etc.

Realistic job previews – clearly showing the conditions the tasks/requirements of a job.
Interviews.

Tests.

Assessment centers – a human resource selection tool that simulates job situations in order to
assess potential employees’ performance.

ORIENTATION

Is a formal or informal programme that introduces new employees to their job responsibilities,
their core workers and company policies.

Effective orientation programmes serve two purposes,

To inform new employees about benefits, company produces and their routine matters.

To socially orient new employees by the tuning of their job-related expectations, identifying
reporting relationships and setting a tone for their work.

BENEFITS

Promises development of realistic job expectations.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Compensations

Refers to the wages/salaries, bonuses and other monetary items paid to employees in
exchange for their labor. The purpose of any compensation system is to reward workers
equitably and to serve as a means of attracting potential employees and retaining good
employees.
Benefits (aka indirect compensation)

Are pensions, health and life insurance, vacations, sick leaves and similar
nonmonetary remuration for employees.

PERFOMANCE APPRAISALS ,Reviews

Is the process of systematically everlasting each employees’ job-related strengths and weakness,
as well as determining ways of improving his/her performance?

KEY CONCEPTS (class discussion)

Systematically

Everlasting

Job related

Improving

Performance

P.A is essential if the organization is to reward fairly the efforts of good performance, redirect
the efforts of struggling performance and know when to let go of inadequate performances.

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE P.A

Provision of clear feedback to employees on how they are doing.

Allowing managers to make short- and long-range administrative decisions about pay increases,
promotions and transfers on performance.
USES OF P.A

Reward decisions

Basing pay, business and other financial rewards on performances.

Personnel movement

To make decisions on promotion, transfer, demotion on termination.

Feedback on performance

Identify strengths and weaknesses as well as guidelines on how to build on the strengths
and contracts the weakness.

Training needs

Training programmes to improve certain skills.

PROBLEM WITH P.A

Subjectivity

Bias/flowed assessment.

Rater characteristics (managers will receive low rating, rate others more strictly).

Leniently (placing employees in a group higher than they were for several unprofessional
reasons).

Halo effect (manager allows his knowledge of the employees on one characteristic to color
rating on all other dimensions).
Central tendency (award of average rating to all employees even if their performance varies).

Political issues

The politics often play a role in deciding who gets a raise

MOTIVATION

Definition

Managers and entrepreneurs are tasked with ensuring that things are done through people. For the work
to be done efficiently and effectively, employees need to be motivated. Motivation is concerned with
inducing people to work to the best of their ability. Motivation refers to those schemes designed to
influence and encourage workers to perform outstandingly. It is therefore very important to take a closer
look at theories of motivation and consider motivation of workers seriously.

According to Appleby (1994), motivation refers to the way urges, aspirations, drives and needs of human
beings direct or control or explain their behavior. Maslow (cited in Stoner & Freeman 1989) defines
motivation as those inner and outer factors which cause, channel and sustain the behavior of a person in
order to achieve specific organizational or personal goals.

Theories of Motivation and their implications to the entrepreneur

There are many theories of motivation and any theory or study which aids an understanding of how best
to motivate people at work must be useful. All entrepreneurs have a duty to motivate their employees for
the success of their enterprise. Motivated workers take more pride in their jobs and work better. But
many entrepreneurs do not know how to motivate their staff. Entrepreneurs must know how to apply the
theories of motivation in particular work situations. There are two contrasting approaches that is the
content theories and process theories (cognitive theories)

Content theories attempt to explain those specific things which actually motivate the individual at work.
These theories are concerned with identifying people’s needs and their relative strengths and the goals
they pursue in order to satisfy these needs. Content theories place emphasis on the nature of needs and
what motivates.
Process theories attempt to identify the relationship among the dynamic variables which make up
motivation. These theories are concerned more with how behavior is initiated, directed and sustained.
Process theories place emphasis on the actual process of motivation.

Major content theories of motivation include

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs model

Alderfer’s modified need hierarchy model

Herzberg’s two-factor theory

McClelland’s achievement motivation theory

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory

Maslow’s theory claims that human motives develop in sequence according to five levels of need
arranged in a hierarchy of importance. Maslow’s basic proposition is that people want beings, they
always want more, and what they want depends on what they have already. The hierarchy begins with
the lowest level i.e. physiological needs to the need for love (social), esteem needs to the need for self-
actualization at the highest level. Below is the pyramid to show the hierarchy

,
Physiological needs include homeostasis such as satisfaction of hunger, thirst, shelter deficiency, clothing
deficiency and so on. In fact, homeostasis relates to the body’s automatic efforts to retain normal
functioning.

Safety needs include safety and security, freedom from plain or threat of physical attack, protection from
danger or deprivation, the need for predictability and orderliness.

Love needs that is social needs which include affection, sense of belonging, friendships and both the
giving and receiving of love.

Esteem needs are also referred to as ego needs which relate to self-respect which involves the desire for
confidence, strength, independence and freedom, and achievement. Esteem of others involves reputation
or prestige, status, recognition, attention and appreciation.

Self-actualization needs that is the desire to become more and more what one is capable of becoming
which simply means that one wants to realize his or her potentialities and capabilities.

IMPLICATIONS OF MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS TO THE

ENTREPRENEUR

Once a lower need has been satisfied, it no longer acts as a strong motivator and only unsatisfied needs
motivate a person.
This hierarchy of needs implies that entrepreneurs need to consider seriously the lower level needs if
workers or staff are to cooperate at work. That is the remuneration (salary, wage, fringe benefits) should
meet decent or exclusive physiological needs (shelter, food, clothing). Pleasant working conditions must
also be ensured.

Successful entrepreneurs must consider the safety and security issues such as safe working conditions like
danger warning signs, clean work environment and good health facilities. It is also important to
employees and social security after employment i.e. pension and other related company benefits.

Social needs of workers have impact on the performance. Workers need to be loved and as such
entrepreneurs need to instill a sense of belonging in workers. Entrepreneurs also need to employ friendly
supervision, cohesive work group, and team spirit and general sound relations with employees. Workers
also need professional associations to meet their professional associations to meet their professional
problems.

Another area of concern is self-esteem. In this case entrepreneurs should make use of social recognition,
job title, high status job and feedback from the job itself if employees are to be motivated in their work.

Self-actualization is one aspect that does motivate employees i.e. workers are motivated by challenging
job, opportunities for creativity, achievement in work and advancement in the organization and as such
entrepreneurs should not that.

Herzberg’s two factor theory

Hygiene theory
He presents his tow factor theory of motivation which elaborates the differences between higher and
lower needs. This theory states that factors which create satisfaction at work are those stemming from the
intrinsic content of job e.g. recognition and responsibility, meaning and challenge. These satisfy higher
needs. These are called satisfiers or motivators or growth factors. Another set of factors which
entrepreneurs must take cognizance of is dissatisfiers or hygiene factors. These factors stem from the
extrinsic job context e.g. working conditions, pay, and supervision. These satisfy lower needs. An
important point to note in this theory is that as dissatisfaction stems from lower needs not being satisfied,
when these are satisfied, this only removes dissatisfaction and does not increase motivation.

If hygiene factors did not reach a certain standard e.g. salary, working conditions, job security, poor
supervision workers feel bad about their jobs and unhappy. Hygiene factors are also called preventive
factors. Positive motivation and a feeling of well-being could only be achieved, not by just improving
these hygiene factors but by improving genuine motivators such as recognition, achievement
responsibility, advancement and the work itself.

Below is a representation of Herzberg’s two-factor theory:

Hygiene or Maintenance factors

Salary, job security, working conditions, Level of quality of supervision, company

Policy and administration, Interpersonal relations, The Dissatisfiers

Motivation & job satisfaction

The satisfiers:

Sense of achievement, Recognition, Responsibility, Nature of work, Growth and advancement,

Opportunity of creativity

Motivators/growth factors
NB: The Motivation – hygiene theory of Herzberg is an extension of Maslow’s Hierarchy. The
emphasis in this theory is that entrepreneurs must consider both the hygiene factors and the growth
factors/motivators.

Importance of motivating employees

Increased productivity

Increased efficiency and effectiveness

Good corporate image building

Increased sales and profits

Good customer relations

Promotes team spirit (team work) or cooperation and support by employees

Promotes entrepreneurship by employees that is innovativeness, creativity and initiative ness resulting in
the growth or expansion of the enterprise

CHAPTER 4

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
OBJECTIVES

By the end of this unit you should be able to:

Define management

Discuss the management functions

Describe the roles of management

Outline the principles of management

Business

A business is a social and or a commercial entity that thrives to satisfy the needs and wants of
consumers at the same time making more profits. As such, entrepreneurs have to manage the
factors of production, i.e. land, labour and capital so as to achieve the business objectives.
Businesses can be in any of the following sectors of the economy; farming, mining, retailing, art
and craft, wholesaling etc. Thus, this chapter will focus on the functions of management as well
as the roles of management in an enterprise.

Management

Management has been described as a social process involving responsibility for economic and
effective planning and regulation of operation of an enterprise in the fulfillment of given
purposes. It is a dynamic process consisting of various elements and activities. These activities
are different from operative functions like marketing, finance, production, purchasing, human
resource etc. Rather these activities are common to each and every manager irrespective of his
level or status. According to Henry Fayol (the father of management) managing means planning,
forecasting, organizing, motivating, leading and controlling activities in a business so as to
achieve common objectives.
Stoner and Freeman (1995) described management as the art of making things done through
other people.

They went on to say that it means deciding what to do and getting others to do it.

Thus, management is a process (and not an event) that entails planning, leading, organizing and
controlling of resources (human resource, capital, financial resources etc.)

Manager

Managers are people who get things done through other people. They make decisions; allocate
resources and direct activities of others to attain goals. A manager may be the owner, operator or
founder of an organization as well as hired by an organization to give it direction. Managers are
employed so that the operations of these organizations become more efficient and effective.

FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT

Different experts have classified functions of management. A manager must organize these
functions in order to reach company goals and maintain a competitive advantage. There are four
fundamental functions of management. For theoretical purposes, it may be possible to separate
the function of management but practically these functions are overlapping in nature i.e. they are
highly inseparable. Each function blends into the other and each affects the performance of
others. The functions are discussed below;

PLANNING
 It is the first tool and the basic function of management. The difference between a successful
and an unsuccessful manager lies within the planning procedure. Planning is the logical
thinking through goals and making the decision as to what needs to be accomplished in order
to reach the organization’s objectives. It deals with chalking out a future course of action
and deciding in advance the most appropriate course of actions for achievement of pre-
determined goals. Thus, planning is deciding in advance- what to do, when to do and how to
do it. It bridges the gap from where the organization is and where it wants to be. Planning is
necessary to ensure proper utilization of human and non-human resources and helps in
avoiding confusion, uncertainties, risks, wastages etc.

The following are involved in planning;

defining objectives and standards to be achieved

deciding who is going to do it

determining the actions and activities to be done in order to achieve the objectives and standards

determining the resources to use

determining the time-frame for the activities

assigning responsibilities

designing a control procedure

Manager’s questions in planning

where are we? -in terms of goals, resources, standards etc.

where do we want to go? –objectives, markets, customers etc.

how do we get there? –strategies to reach the intended destination (time, resources, marketing
mix)

are we getting there?

B. LEADING

Leading is the ability to initiate action, guide, supervise and direct others (subordinates) in
pursuit of a common goal. Organizational success is determined by the quality of leadership that
is exhibited. “A leader can be a manager, but a manager is not necessarily a leader,” said
Gemmy Allen (1998). Those in leadership role must be able to influence/ motivate workers to an
elevated goal and direct themselves to the duties or responsibilities assigned during the planning
process (Allen, G., (1998). Leadership has the following elements;

directing – it is that part of managerial function which actuates the organizational methods to
work efficiently for achievement of organizational goals, and sets in motion the action of people
because planning ii the mere preparation for doing work.

staffing-the main purpose is to put the right man on the right job. There should be proper and
effective selection, appraisal and development of personnel to fill the roles designed on the
structure. It thus involves manpower planning, recruitment, selection, placement, training and
development, remuneration and promotion and transfer.

supervision- implies overseeing the work of subordinates by their superiors. It is the act of
watching and directing work and others.
motivation- means inspiring, stimulating or encouraging the subordinates to work with zeal.

communication- the process of passing information, experience, opinion etc from one person to
another. It is a bridge of understanding.

C. ORGANISING

It is the process of bringing together physical, financial and human resources and developing
productive relationships amongst them for the achievement of organizational objectives.
According to Henri Fayol, “To organize a business is to provide it with everything useful for its
functioning i.e. raw materials, tools, capital and personnel. To organize a business involves
determining and providing human and non-human resources to the organizational structure.
Thus, a manager must know his subordinates and what they are capable of in order to organize
the most valuable resource a company has, its employees. This is achieved through management
staffing the work division, setting up the training for the employees, acquiring resources and
organizing the work group into a productive team. The manager must then go over the plans with
the team, break assignments into units that one person can compete, link related jobs together in
an understandable well-organized style and appoint the jobs to individuals. Organizing as a
process involves;

identification of activities

classification or grouping of activities

assignment of duties

delegation of authority and creation of responsibility

coordinating authority and responsibility relationships

Principles of organizing

unity of command –an employee must receive commands from one supervisor only.

span of control-refers to the number of employees that report to one supervisor.

full authority and responsibility.

D. CONTROLLING

It implies a measurement of accomplishment against the standards and correction of deviation if

any to ensure achievement of organizational goals. The purpose of controlling is to ensure that
everything occurs in conformities with the standards. An effective system of control helps to
predict deviation before they actually occur. According to Theo Heiman, “Controlling is the
process of checking whether or not proper progress is being made towards the objectives and
goals and acting if necessary, to correct any deviation.” Controlling depends on accurate,
reliable and enforceable standards and on monitoring of performance by people, machines and
processes. Therefore, controlling has the following steps;

establishment of standard performance

measurement of actual performance

comparison of actual performance with the standards and finding out if there are any deviations

taking of corrective action if necessary.

Work performance evaluations are a form of control as it connects performance assessments to
rewards and corrective actions. Evaluating employees is a continual process that takes place
regularly within a company.

ROLES OF MANAGEMENT

The ten management roles of a manager identified by Mintzberg

Mintzberg intensively studied five CEOs and their organizations, along with a calendar of their
scheduled appointments for a month. Additional data collected during a week of structured
observations included anecdotal data about specific activities, chronological records of activity
patterns, a record of incoming and outgoing mail, and a record of the executive’s verbal
contacts with others. On the basis of this data, Mintzberg divided managerial activities into
interpersonal, informational and decisional roles.

Mintzberg’s ten management roles are a complete set of behaviors or roles within a business
environment. Each role is different, thus spanning the variety of all identified management
behaviors. When collected together, as an integrated whole (gestalt), the capabilities and
competencies of a manager can be further in a role specific way. In a sense therefore they act as
evaluation criteria for assessing the performance of a manager in his role.

Mintzberg’s ten managerial roles

ROLES DESCRIPTION EXAMPLES OF

 ACTIVITIES

INTERPERSONAL

Figurehead Symbolic head, obliged Greeting visitors, signing

to perform a number of documents
team duties of a legal or
social nature

Responsible for the

motivation of Performing all activities
Leader
subordinates, staffing that involves
and training, selects and subordinates
disciplines.

Maintains a network of
outside contacts and
Liaison informers who provide Acknowledging mail,

favors and information external board work

INFORMATIONAL
Monitor -Seeks and receives wide -reading periodical and
range of special reports
information
-maintaining personal
-nerve center of internal contacts
and external information
-installation and
about the organization
maintenance of
information systems

Transmits information Holding meetings,

from outsiders or from making phone calls to
Disseminator the subordinates to relay information,
members of the sending memos
organization

Transmits information to
Holding board meetings
outsiders on
and giving information
organizational policies,
to the media
actions, results etc.
Spokesman
through speeches and
reports.

DECISIONAL
Entrepreneur Initiates new projects, Organizing strategy
spot opportunities, review sessions to
identify areas of develop new
business developments programmes

Disturbance handler Responsible for Resolving conflicts

corrective action when among staff, adapt to
organization faces external changes and
unexpected disturbances organizing strategies that
and crises involves disturbances
and conflict

Scheduling, requesting,
Resource allocator Responsible for the
authorization and
allocation of
budgeting activities
organizational resources
of all kinds, setting of
priorities, budgeting

Responsible for
Participating in
representing the
collective bargaining
d. Negotiator organization at major
negotiations with unions,
suppliers and generally
defend interests
The roles point to managers needing to be organizational generalists and specialists because of;

system imperfections and environmental pressures

their formal authority is needed even for certain basic routines

in all of this they are still fallible and human

The explanations above justify managerial purposes in terms of;

designing and maintaining stable and reliable systems for efficient operations in a changing
environment

ensuring that the organization satisfies those that own it

boundary management- maintaining information links between the organization and players in
the environment.

MANAGEMENT SKILLS

For a manager to carry out the management functions and roles effectively, some management
skills are required at defined levels.

Management skills and levels

Technical skills
 Include knowledge of and proficiency in a certain specialized area such as engineering,
computers, and finance etc. e.g. an accounting manager should be proficient and
conversant with accounts receivables and account payable, to enable him to help the
accounting clerks who might have some problems. The first line managers and middle
management are more involved in the technical aspects than top management.

Human skills

Refer to the ability to work with other people both individuals and in groups. The human
skills are important at the top levels of management, as they are at the lower levels.
Subordinates are more forthcoming and offer their best abilities when working under a
manager with good human skills. These managers are good communicators; they
motivate, lead and inspire enthusiasm and trust among their subordinates.

Conceptual skills

Are defined as the ability to think and conceptualize lines and abstract situations, to see the
organization as a whole and the relationships among its various sub-units and to visualize how
the organization fits into its environment. Conceptual skills are needed by all managers at all
levels but these skills become more important as we move up to the top management positions.
Principles of Management

Managers must observe Fayol’s 14 principles of management when carrying out their duties;

Division of labor-work should be divided into smaller units that permit specialization.

Authority and responsibility-organizational structure should clearly show levels of authority and
responsibility.

Discipline-discipline results from good leadership at all levels of the organization. It is necessary
to develop obedience, diligence and respect.

Unity of command- an employee must receive commands from one supervisor only.

Unity of direction-all operations with the same objectives should have one manager and one plan
only.

Subordination of individual interest to the common good- the interests of an individual or group
should not take precedence over interests of the organization.

Remuneration-rewards for work should be fair to the worker and employer.

Centralization- the proper degree between centralization and decentralization should be found.
Hierarchy- the line of authority in the organization should run in order of rank from top
management to the lowest level of the organization.

Order- resources should be in the right place at the right time.

Equity- managers should be fair to the employees and treat the equally.

Stability of staff- a low staff turnover rate enhances the attainment of goals.

Initiative- subordinates should be given the freedom to conceive and carry out their plans, even
though some mistakes may result.

Team spirit – team work gives the organization a sense of unity.

SUMMARY

Management is a process of deciding what to do and getting others to do it. As such, it is

important for the management to perform the management functions (planning, leading,
organizing and controlling- PLOC) with diligence so as to facilitate the accomplishment of set
organizational goal. Entrepreneurs should thus seek knowledge on how to be effective and
efficient in their various areas of operations considering the environments in which they operate
in. Thus, management of business works shops, seminars and other discussion and consultative
forums can be organized to encourage exchange of ideas. Appropriate management style should
also be chosen depending on the environment.

ACTIVITY

List the four management functions.

Match the following activities with the appropriate management function

monitoring to check whether a budget is being followed

deploying human resources to different departments

setting organizational goals and the mission statement

giving rewards to staff performing well?

State the role that is associated with each of the following statements

a manager representing his organization at a special award ceremony

resolving conflicts between 2 divisions of the same organization

restructuring the organization so that it becomes more responsive to clients

making a presentation on the organization

 CHAPTER 5

CUSTOMER CARE

OBJECTIVES

By the end of the unit you should be able to:

Define customer care

Discuss the tips of customer care

Explain the benefits of customer care to the entrepreneur

Design a customer programme and charter

Customer care

is the manner in which customers are treated by the business?

Customer care creates a new orientation in an organization with and increasing focus on improving the
delivery of the needed services by the customers.
This should always be viewed as the clientele having rights and expectations that must be fulfilled.

As an entrepreneur one needs to appreciate that customer care should be part and parcel of his/her
business operations if you intend to achieve success.

The customer care vision by organization embraces employees that put its customers first and that is open
transparent, accountable and responsive

The customer is king and always right as a way of doing business

The customer is always observed as having a right to demand quality services from the organization

In the modern business world, there is an increasing focus on enhancing service delivery and on
ascertaining that the delivered as promised

An entrepreneur should be responsible, accessible and quick to help source problems

Should be reliable and deliver what he/she promises on time

Should be knowledgeable and courteous

Should be empathetic and should understand the needs of customers

Work area should always be clean and organized.

Ten tips for customer care

Reliability

this refers to consistency of performance and dependability

perform the service right the first time fulfill promises

be impartial and avoid favoritism

Be firm with friends and relatives as far as business transactions are concerned.

Responsiveness
this refers to the willingness as well as readiness of the entrepreneur or his employees in providing the
services within reasonable time immediately if not sooner

Competence

-This refers to the possession of the required skills and knowledge by those who deliver the services
to the customer. This will create confidence.

Accessibility

this refers to the degree of approachability and ease of contact of the entrepreneur or his employees

drop what you are doing ignored to greet and serve customer

Courtesy

This refers to politeness, respect, consideration and friendliness of your organization’s contact such as
receptionist, secretaries, telephones, etc., they must be polite and courteous at all times – remember, a
smile goes a long way.

Communication

keep your customer well informed in a language and style they understand

it is important to hear and understand what your customers are saying

communicate effectively with your suppliers as well

Credibility

this refers to being trustworthy and faithful

put customers at heart

they should feel that he/she is given priority and should have the trust that any order will be executed and
received when expected

Security

customer should be protected from danger, risk or doubt within the premises

Knowledge of Customer

the entrepreneur should know the client specific requirements

be able to recognize regular clients

strive to provide individualized attention

Understand what makes them buy is it need Price?

Tangibles

This could include the physical evidence (i.e. building, good handling, tools, equipment, packages etc.).
This could also include the appearance of your personnel

employees must be neat, orderly and clean

Benefits/importance of customer care

If customers are put first, the entrepreneur will be rewarded with new business and increased profit
margins and sales.

Customer care creates new customers

Constructive consumer dialogue enables the entrepreneur to know and understand what the customers’
needs and wants

It builds good relationships and loyalty with customers

Can make passive customers become in violated participants (i.e. loyalty)

Create corporate excellence

Build good reputation and good image i.e. it is a tool for good corporate image building

Business can become a market driven entity as you get information on what your customers need and
want.

Perquisites of meeting Customers’ expectations

be courteous and tactful

be friendly and helpful

deal promptly and decisively with customers

rectify faults quickly and keep promises

listen to customers attentively and respond promptly

avoid being sarcastic when dealing with customers

present information logically and comprehensively

stick to your commitments

Always inform your customers on what happens at your business if it may affect them (i.e. sale, new
product? Services
be fair and honest when dealing with customers

demonstrate the right skills at the right time

always give customers professional treatment

know the customers business and needs

Who gets to decide if a customer service is good?

customer service is a function of your customers perceptions not your standards in other words, the
customers gets to decide if he or she has received good services

even though all of your standards may have been met if the customer does not feel well served, your
customer service is poor

customer satisfaction is ultimately the result of the sum total of the customer’s experience

Customer satisfaction is ultimately the result of the sum total of the customer’s experience at your
establishment.

Customers come back to a place that has provided a pleasant experience for them. Thus, owners and
managers need to focus not on tangible as ends themselves but on how all the particulars combine to
create a certain experience.

Prime examples of poor customer care

poor delivery and accessibility of services

poor quality and state of merchandise

existence of long queues of customers waiting to be served

4. dirty environment of business

5. failure in meeting client expectations

 Dealing with unprincipled customers

never show that customer is wrong or behaving badly

always take it that he/she is right

appreciate and understand at there should be some customers who visit your business with hidden agenda
and ulterior motives (i.e. competitors of those interested in policing I’ve price control monitors

make very attempt to deter their bad intentions by being upright in your dealings

You can defeat unprincipled customers by taking the following steps:

continue to show a good image of your business

smile when talking to customers

accept blunders where you can realize them promise to improve and make an apology

avoid arguing with customers

always hold your composure and avoid losing your temper in front of your customer

Building Customer Trust

From a customer’s point of view, there is probably no concept more important than trust. How can you
strengthen customer trust?

Keep your promises

Make promises that you can keep

do everything to keep the commitments you make

if you cannot fulfill the promises let the customer know

call back if you promise even if you don’t have the information the customer is expecting

Following up on an order to be sure everything is okay.

Properly hold complaints all the time.

Make recommendations that are best for the customers.

Recommend a competitor when there’s a need that you can’t satisfy.

Make yourself available after the sale.

Creating Customer Comfort

Customer care is also defined as meeting needs and creating comfort. Meeting needs is a given, creating
comfort is a function of enabling the customer to feel a sense of control when he/she is at your business.
Customers feel in control when they know the drill i.e. when they know how things work and how to get
things done

Develop and maintain a customer charter

Make sure that there is availability and visibility of both a mission statement and customer charter. The
customer’s charter will remind your workers always to abide by its contents and will assure customers of
their expectations of the services and what move to take if they are not met. Your customers’ charter
should indicate the standards of services to be delivered and the way in which the worker will perform
their duties

Telephone

number of rings before the telephone is answered are given

Enquires

short turnaround time

follow up

courtesy options offered to caller

Correspondence

Correct

Shorthorn around time

Acknowledgement of receipt

Delivery deadlines met

Delays explained and apology given

Outgoing services

automatic follow up

customer feedback

be sure that your customer’s charter informs clients about the availability of a system of redress in case
of grievances