Thesis - Final(ready to print)

IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF CAPE PENINSULA UNIVERSITY

OF TECHNOLOGY’S BRAND USING OPEN DAY

by

LEONEL GALVINO LUCIANO SOBRINHO Student no: 208198741

Research report submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree

BACCALAUREUS TECHNOLOGIAE

In

Quality

Faculty of Engineering

CAPE PENINSULA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Supervisor: Prof. M. Moll

Cape Town, South Africa October 2013

ii

DECLARATION

I, Leonel Sobrinho, hereby declare that the contents of this research report

submitted for the degree Baccalaureus Technologiae: Quality at the Cape

Peninsula University of Technology, represents my own original unaided

work, and has not previously been submitted to any other higher education

towards any qualification. Furthermore it represents my own opinions and

not necessarily those of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

Leonel Galvino L. Sobrinho

Signature:

October 2013

iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to thank God Almighty for giving me the strength, courage,

knowledge and perseverance to complete this qualification, as well as

making me believe it was possible. Thank you Father.

A ‘thank you’ is not enough for my mother, Teresa Hebo, as she is my

driving force, my inspiration, my everything. Without you this dream was

never going to become a reality. Love you more than anything in the

world.

My father Paulo Sobrinho, my aunt Irene Sobrinho and my cousin Mário

Diogo, for the unconditional love.

Thank you to my girlfriend Érica, for the support during the tiring sleepless

nights of research. Also for motivating me, caring and showing me love

during hard times. You are the one I chose, you are the one I want to love.

Prof. Moll thanks for being patient while guiding me through this research

study. For your support, encouragement and all the knowledge shared. I

must say ‘I couldn’t have had a better supervisor’.

Thank you to Liiza Gie, for the early explanations of research and for

giving me the idea to research about Open Day.

iv

ABSTRACT

Author: Leonel Galvino L. Sobrinho (ND Management)

Degree: Btech: Quality

Title: Improving CPUT’s brand using Open Day

Institution: Cape Peninsula University of Technology

Department: Industrial and Systems Engineering

Supervisor: Prof. M. Moll

Date: October 2013

Key words: Open Day, higher education, CPUT, TQM

The Higher Education (HE) sector is growing at a rapid rate worldwide.

The sector is an important part of a country as it contributes to knowledge

and development through graduates’ employability. Therefore universities

are turning into marketing in order to create more distinct brands to battle

in the highly competitive HE sector. In this regard universities are forced to

differentiate to attract and retain students.

The main purpose of this research is to investigate whether Open Day

(OD) influences prospective students’ HE institution choice and adds the

perception of quality to the university’s brand. A literature study in the field

of Marketing and Total Quality Management (TQM) was conducted with

the aim of understanding what quality tools would best link with branding

strategies in order to improve Open Day as an event, as well as

perceptions regarding the quality of the Cape Peninsula University of

Technology’s (CPUT) brand.

The methodology chosen as appropriate involves a descriptive research

approach. The data collection method was a survey aimed at prospective

students and parents visiting CPUT’s Open Day. Data collected was

analysed using descriptive statistics and its reliability was proven

consistent by making use of the Cronbach Alpha test.

v

The result of this research study showed that OD indeed adds the

perception of quality to CPUT’s brand, as well as influences prospective

students’ and parents’ decision of enrolling at the institution. The research

further provides evidence that, the majority of prospective students and

parents believe that CPUT creates quality graduates and provides them

with the competencies required by the industry.

vi

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

CPUT: Cape Peninsula University of Technology

OD: Open Day

HE: Higher Education

MCD: Marketing and Communication Department

TQM Total Quality Management

QFD Quality Function Deployment

SQF Substitute Quality Characteristics

Comprehensive University A university that offers a diverse range of academic

programmes (vacational, carrer-focus, professional, and

general formative) of both universities and technikons

type.

University of Technology A university that offers carrer oriented (work-integrated

learning) programmes and prepares graduates for the

world of work.

vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE DECLARATION (ii) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (iii) ABSTRACT (iv) GLOSSARY OF TERMS (vi) LIST OF ANNEXURES (x) LIST OF FIGURES (x) LIST OF TABLES (xi)

CHAPTER 1: SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH

1.1 INTRODUCTION AND MOTIVATION 1

1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE RESEARCH PROBLEM 2

1.3 STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM 3

1.4 THE RERSEARCH QUESTION 3

1.5 INVESTIGATIVE QUESTIONS 3

1.6 RESEARCH PROCESS OBJECTIVES 4

1.7 THE RESEARCH PROCESS 4

1.8 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 5

1.9 DATA COLLECTION DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 6

1.10 DATA VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY 7

1.11 ETHICS 8

1.12 RESEARCH ASSUMPTIONS 8

1.13 RESEARCH CONSTRAINTS 9

1.14 CHAPTER CONTENT ANALYSIS 9

1.15 RESEARCH TIME SCHEDULE 10

1.16 CONCLUSION 11

CHAPTER 2: HOLISTIC OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT

2.1 INTRODUCTION 12

2.2 CAPE PENINSULA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY 12

2.2.1 THE CAPE TECHNIKON 13

2.2.2 THE PENINSULA TECHNIKON 13

2.3 BACKGROUND OF CPUT’S OPEN DAY 14

viii

2.3.1 PREPARATION PHASE 14

2.3.2 ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION STRATEGY 15

2.3.3 ADMINISTRATION 16

2.4 CONCLUSION 16

CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW 3.1 INTRODUCTION 18

3.2 MARKETING 18

3.2.1 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION 19

3.2.2 BRANDING 19

3.2.2.1 Characteristics of brands 20

3.2.2.2 Importance of brands 21

3.2.2.3 Branding in higher education 22

3.3 TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT 24

3.3.1 QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT 30

3.3.2 CONTRIBUTORS TO TQM 33

3.3.2.1 W. Edwards Deming 34

3.3.2.2 Joseph M. Juran 37

3.4 THE LINK BETWEEN MARKETING AND TOTAL

QUALITY MANAGEMENT

40

3.5 CONCLUSION 42

CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 4.1 INTRODUCTION 43

4.2 RESEARCH DESIGN 43

4.3 THE CHOICE OF SAMPLING METHOD 44

4.4 THE TARGET POPULATION 44

4.5 DATA COLLECTION 45

4.6 MEASUREMENT SCALES 46

4.7 SURVEY DESIGN 47

4.8 SURVEY SENTITIVITY 48

4.9 RESPONDENT BRIEFING 48

4.10 THE VALIDATION SURVEY QUESTIONS 49

4.10.1 LIST OF QUESTIONS/STATEMENTS 49

4.11 CONCLUSION 50

ix

CHAPTER 5: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 5.1 INTRODUCTION 51

5.2 METHOD OF ANALYSIS 51

5.2.1 VALIDATION OF SURVEY RESULTS 51

5.2.2 DATA ANALYSIS 52

5.2.3 PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS 52

5.2.4 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS 53

5.2.5 SAMPLE 53

5.3 ANALYSIS 53

5.3.1 QUESTIONNAIRE/STATEMENTS DESCRIPTION 53

5.3.2 RELIABILITY TESTING 54

5.3.3 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS 56

5.3.3.1 Uni-variate Graphs 56

5.4 CONCLUSION 65

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 6.1 THE RESEARCH THUS FAR 66

6.2 ANALOGIES DRAWN FROM THE DATA ANALYSIS 66

6.3 RECOMMENDATIONS TO MITIGATE THE

RESEARCH PROMEM

67

6.4 THE RESEARCH QUESTION REVISITED 68

6.5 RESEARCH INVESTIGATED QUESTIONS REVISITED 68

6.6 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES REVISITED 69

6.7 FINAL CONCLUSION 69

BIBLIOGRAPHY 70

x

LIST OF ANNEXURES

ANNEXURE A: Descriptive statistics 74

ANNEXURE B: Descriptive statistics: Frequency Tables 75

ANNEXURE C: Cronbach Alpha Coefficients 79

ANNEXURE D: Questionnaire 80

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 3.1: House of Quality 33

Figure 3.2: The PDCA Cycle 37

Figure 3.3: Juran’s Quality Trilogy 39

Figure 3.4: Juran’s cost of quality 40

Figure 4.1: Likert Scale 47

Figure 5.1: Greater awareness of the institution 56

Figure 5.2: Promoting CPUT’s core values 57

Figure 5.3: Promoting CPUT’s objectives 57

Figure 5.4: Measurement and improvement on perception

about CPUT

58

Figure 5.5: Attract high quality students 58

Figure 5.6: Environment od equality, freedom and civil

rights

59

Figure 5.7: Environment where student’s social needs are

satisfied

59

Figure 5.8: Environment where parents feel comfortable

leaving their sons in

60

Figure 5.9: Personnel counselling about career choice 60

Figure 5.10: Personnel identify strengths and opportunities

about career choice

61

Figure 5.11: Informed decision of joining CPUT 61

Figure 5.12: Convincing people of the potential to study at

CPUT

62

Figure 5.13: Open Day recruits students who would have

studied elsewhere

62

xi

Figure 5.14: CPUT contributes to knowledge creation and

economic growth

63

Figure 5.15: Professional and quality graduates 63

Figure 5.16: Competencies required by the industry 64

Figure 5.17: Goodwill towards surrounding communities 64

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1: Research time schedule 10

Table 5.1: Statement reference in questionnaire. 53

Table 5.2: Cronbach Alpha Coefficient for different

construct

55

Table 5.3: Cronbach Alpha Coefficient after items were

deleted

55

1

CHAPTER 1: SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH 1.1 INTRODUCTION AND MOTIVATION This chapter discusses all the elements pertaining to the extent of the

study of this research project. The background to the research

problem, the statement to the research problem, the primary research

objectives, the research process, the research question and the

supporting sub-questions are the main elements discussed in the first

chapter, hence they enable the reader to understand the rationale that

lead to this research.

The Higher Education (HE) sector has become one of the fastest

growing industries particularly in developing nations. Enrolment in HE

is projected to increase in the coming years due to the surge in the

university-age population (Curtis, Abratt and Minor, 2009). The HE

sector is an important part of a country’s economy both in terms of its

contribution to knowledge through graduate employability, research

and interaction with the industry.

Although South Africa’s democracy is young, the country is rich in

cultural values and possesses the largest and strongest Higher

Education sector in Africa, offering a full range of courses and

qualifications not always available in other African countries with

smaller HE sector. The South African HE system comprises twenty-

three public HE institutions of which eleven universities, six

comprehensive universities and six universities of technology. These

institutions accommodate more than 892 936 students and employ

nearly 127 969 staff of which 46 579 are academic staff (Council on

Higher Education, 2010).

A large number of universities are turning to marketing and advertising

due to the need to create more distinct brand identities and

considering marketing principles that improve the efforts of attracting

2

and retaining students (Durkin, McKenna, and Cummins, 2012). The

importance of managing and improving the quality of a brand helps to

create and maintain a competitive advantage in the HE sector (Curtis,

et al, 2009) which positively impacts the perception potential students

and parents have regarding a university’s brand.

The research benefits the academic world by suggesting how HE

institutions can improve on perceptions about the quality of their brand

by successfully managing and showcasing a good Open Day. If

universities can successfully improve their brands, students, parents,

the industry and the society at large can benefit from it, as they will

have a better perception of the institution’s education and educational

experience (Curtis et al, 2009).

1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE RESEARCH PROBLEM The research is conducted at Cape Peninsula University of

Technology’s (CPUT) Open Day (OD). CPUT operates in the HE

sector and is one of the six public universities of technology operating

in South Africa. The institution’s Marketing and Communication

Department (MCD) is responsible for hosting the OD once a year with

the support of other departments. Open Day is the biggest marketing

event in CPUT’s calendar. It is targeted at grade 11 and 12 students,

and is aimed at getting these students on campus to interact with

them, expose them to the large variety of courses offered by CPUT

and help them make the right career choice.

Universities battle to attract the same students, therefore a good

brand strategy should be in place to ensure differentiation which leads

to competitive advantage, and results in having an image of prestige.

In this regard universities begun to realise that branding is important

to them as it is for any other institution, therefore started to develop

sustainable brand strategies (Pinar, Trapp, Girard and Boyt, 2011). In

3

this context universities are forced to differentiate, in order to attract

more students.

The rationale to conduct this research is to investigate whether Open

Day influences prospective students’ HE institution choice and adds

the perception of quality to the university’s brand.

1.3 STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM According to Cooper and Schindler (2006:96) (cited by Watkins,

2012:32) the statement of the research problem pertains to a problem

within the research environment, and forms the primary focus of the

research. Against the above background the research problem that is

researched within the ambit of this research study, reads as follows:

‘The Open Day initiative does not contribute fully towards parents’ and

prospective students’ perception regarding the quality of CPUT’s

brand and decision making in enrolling at the institution’.

1.4 THE RESEARCH QUESTION The research question, forming the crux of this research study, reads

as follows:

‘How does Open Day add the perception of quality to CPUT’s brand?’

1.5 INVESTIGATIVE QUESTIONS The investigative questions, which are researched in support of the

research question, are listed below:

Ø How does Open Day contribute to the promotion of CPUT’s brand?

Ø How does Open Day reflect the idea of a student friendly

environment to CPUT’s academic?

4

Ø How does Open Day influence parents’ and prospective students’

higher education choice?

Ø What contribution does CPUT add to society?

1.6 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The research objectives of this research study are listed below:

Ø To determine Open Day’s contribution to CPUT’s brand.

Ø To analyse how prospective students and parents perceive

CPUT’s brand.

Ø To determine Open Day’s influence on parents’ and prospective

students’ higher education choice.

Ø To investigate CPUT’s contribution to society.

1.7 THE RESEARCH PROCESS According to Watkins (2012:36-37) the research process provides an

insight into the process of ‘how’ the research will be conducted, from

formulating the research proposal to final submission of the thesis or

dissertation.

Remenyi, Williams, Money, and Swartz (2002:64-65) (cited by

Watkins, 2012:37) explain the research process as consisting of eight

specific phases, namely:

Ø Reviewing the literature;

Ø formalising a research question;

Ø establishing the methodology;

Ø collecting evidence;

Ø analysing the evidence;

Ø developing conclusions;

Ø understanding the limitations of the research; and

Ø producing management guidelines or recommendations.

5

According to Collis and Hussey (2003:10) (cited by Watkins, 2012:39)

the research process consists of six fundamental stages in the

research process, namely:

Ø The identification of the research problem;

Ø definition of the research problem;

Ø determine how the research is going to be conducted;

Ø collection of the research data;

Ø analysis and interpretation of the research data; and

Ø writing up of the dissertation or thesis.

After considering both types of processes, the researcher chose the

Collis and Hussey method for the purpose of the research project. The

method was chosen for being direct, simple to follow and the

researcher is of opinion that it better suits the research.

1.8 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY Every type of research should have its roadmap and its appropriate

methodology. Research design refers to a logical sequence that

connects the empirical data to a study’s initial research question and

ultimately, to its conclusions (Yin 1994:19) (cited by Watkins,

2012:40). Case study research was selected as research method for

this research study, which is elaborated upon below due to the

importance thereof.

According to Watkins (2012:45) a case study is an empirical enquiry

that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life

context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and

context are not clearly evident. Furthermore:

Ø Case study research aims not only to explore certain phenomena,

but also to understand them in a particular context.

Ø In case study research it is likely to use ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions

due to its explanatory sense.

6

Ø A case study illuminates a decision or a set of decisions – why

they were taken, how they were implemented, and with what

result.

Ø The case study as a research strategy comprises an all-

encompassing method – with the logic of design incorporating

specific approaches to data collection and data analysis.

Ø A case study is typically used when contextual conditions are the

subject of research.

According to Collis and Hussey (2003:82) (cited by Watkins, 2012:46),

case studies are often described as exploratory research used in

areas where there are few theories or a deficient body of knowledge.

In addition, the following types of case studies can be identified:

Ø Descriptive case studies: where the objective restricted to

describing current practice.

Ø Illustrative case studies: where the research attempts to

illustrate new and possibly innovative practices adopted by

particular companies.

Ø Experimental case studies: where the research examines the

difficulties in implementing new procedures and techniques in an

organisation and evaluating the benefits.

Ø Explanatory case studies: where existing theory is used to

understand and explain what is happening.

1.9 DATA COLLECTION DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY Questionnaires will serve as the data collection methodology, as it

falls within the broader definition of ‘survey research’ or ‘descriptive

survey’ (Remenyi et al, 2002:290) (cited by Watkins, 2012:61). The

author defines the concept of ‘survey’ as: “. . . the collection of a large

quantity of evidence, usually numeric, or evidence that will be

converted to numbers, normally by means of a questionnaire”. A

questionnaire consists of a list of questions compiled in order to elicit

7

reliable responses from a chosen sample, with the aim of determining

what the participants do, think or feel.

There are two approaches in structuring questionnaires namely,

quantitative approach (structures close questions) and a qualitative

approach (structures open-ended questions). In this research different

questionnaires will be designed for a particular event and the

researcher will employ convenience sampling as means of drawing

the sample.

1.10 DATA VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY According to Collis and Hussey (2009:204) (cited by Watkins,

2012:74-75) ‘validity’ is concerned with the extent to which the

research findings accurately represent what is happening. More

specific, whether the data is a true picture of what is being studied. On

the other hand ‘reliability’ is concerned with the findings of the

research (Collis and Hussey, 2009:64). The findings can be said to be

reliable if you, or anyone else, repeated the research and obtained the

same results.

The following aspects pertaining data validity and reliability apply to

this research study:

Ø Content validity: content for measuring instrument is the extent

to which it provides adequate coverage of the investigative (sub-)

questions guiding the study. If the instrument contains a

representative sample of the universe of subject matter of

interest, then content validity is good.

Ø Construct validity: in attempting to evaluate construct validity,

both the theory and the measuring instrument being used should

be considered. According to Collis and Hussey (2003:59) (as

cited by Watkins, 2012) construct validity relates to the problem

that there are a number of phenomena, which are not directly

8

observable, such as motivation, satisfaction, ambition and

anxiety.

Ø Internal consistency method: every item is correlated with

every other item across the entire sample and the average inter-

item correlation is taken as the index of reliability.

1.11 ETHICS In the context of research, according to Saunders, et al (2000:130)

(cited by Watkins, 2012:77) “… ethics refer to the appropriateness of

your behaviour in relation to the rights of those who become the

subject of your work, or are affected by it.

The following ethical considerations will be applied to this research

study:

Ø Informed consent: participants should be given the choice to

participate or not to participate, to withdraw from the study at any

time and furthermore be informed in advance about the nature of

the study.

Ø Right to privacy: the nature and quality of participants’

performances will be kept strictly confidential.

Ø Honesty with professional colleagues: findings will be reported

in a complete and honest fashion, without misrepresentation.

Ø Voluntary participation: participants will be informed of what is

required and will not be forced to take part in the research.

Ø Confidentiality/anonymity: confidentiality and anonymity will

apply to questionnaires, as this will lead to participants giving more

open and honest responses.

1.12 RESEARCH ASSUMPTIONS An assumption represents a condition that is taken for granted,

without which the research study would be pointless. The

requirement to state assumptions on which the research is undertaken

9

is based on the fact that it is essential that others know what one

assumes with respect to a research study (Watkins, 2012:80).

The following assumptions apply to this research study:

Ø Participants are comfortable in answering the questions.

Ø Participants are truthful when answering the questionnaire to

contribute to accurate results.

1.13 RESEARCH CONSTRAINTS Collis and Hussey (2009:124-125) (cited by Watkins, 2012:86) refer to

research constrains as limitations and delimitations. The two concepts

are explained below.

Ø Limitations: refers to all the factors hampering the ability of the

research student to conduct the research in a normal manner.

Ø Delimitations: refers to the geographical area where the research

is going to be conducted.

Against the above background the research limitations and

delimitations that apply to this research are as follows:

Ø ‘Limitations’: high schools not allowing the researcher to send

questionnaires to prospective students.

Ø ‘De-limitations’: the research is conducted to an Open Day event

and questionnaires are answered at the event or sent to high

schools attending the event to allow prospective students to help

the researcher into gathering the information for the research.

1.14 CHAPTER AND CONTENTS ANALYSIS The chapter and content analysis applicable to this research project

are the following:

Ø Chapter 1 – Scope of the research: in this chapter the scope of

the research is discussed in particular as it pertains to a specific

research environment. Furthermore, the research problem is

10

elaborated upon, which will not only form the focus of the

research study, but sets the scene for the research. In addition,

aspects pertaining to the research process, investigative

questions, research objectives, research design and

methodology, assumptions and significance of the research, are

elaborated upon.

Ø Chapter 2 – A holistic perspective of the research environment: in this chapter, the reader is provided with a

holistic perspective of CPUT’s Open Day.

Ø Chapter 3 – Literature review: in depth literature review is

conducted on marketing, branding and total quality management.

Furthermore all aspects impacting these areas are explained as

well as a link between branding and quality.

Ø Chapter 4 – Research design and methodology: this chapter

includes research based on a questionnaire, conducted at

CPUT’s Open Day.

Ø Chapter 5 – Data analysis and interpretation of results: in

this chapter the researcher analyses the data collected in

chapter four and interpret its results.

Ø Chapter 6 – Conclusion: this is the last chapter the research is

concluded and recommendations are made.

1.15 RESEARCH TIME SCHEDULE The research time schedule should be structured in such a way to

allow enough time for changes and rework while maintaining a

sustained focus. For the purpose of this research, the time schedule is

presented in the table below.

No. Task Description Start Targeted Completion

1 Topic Selection 27/02/2013 1/03/2013

2 Preparation for topic approval 04/03/2013 30/03/13

11

3 Submission of topic approval 30/04/2013 30/04/2013

4 Research on literature 10/13/2013 31/07/2013

5 Compilation of first proposal draft 31/04/2013 07/05/2013

6 Submission of final proposal 28/05/2013 28/05/2013

7 Gather information for Chapter 2 10/06/2013 30/06/2013

8 Consult supervisor for guidance 20/06/2013 28/06/2013







15 Conclude research 01/10/2013 15/10/2013

16 Submission of final research 21/10/2013 21/10/2013

Table 1.1: Research time schedule (source: own)

1.16 CONCLUSION

In this chapter an introduction and motivation was provided to

substantiate the need for the research to be conducted. The aim of

the research is to mitigate whether Open Day contributes fully towards

prospective students’ and parents’ perception regarding the quality of

CPUT’s brand and decision making in enrolling at the institution. this

chapter served as the basis for the proposed research and provided

the necessary background for the following chapter, which provides

the reader a holistic overview of the research environment.

12

CHAPTER TWO: HOLISTIC OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT 2.1 INTRODUCTION The previous chapter provided a framework for this research study.

This second chapter of the research enables the reader to have an in-

depth understanding of the research environment by outlining the

history of CPUT and Open Day as an event that boosts CPUT’s brand

popularity.

For one to understand CPUT as a brand, one needs to understand the

history of the institution, as it is the foundation of the brand. Hence a

brief history of CPUT is provided to the reader, followed by an

overview of the background of OD.

2.2 CAPE PENINSULA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY’S HISTORY The Cape Peninsula University of Technology is the only university of

technology in the Western Cape, and the largest university in the

region. It was established as a result of the merger between Cape

Technikon and Peninsula Technikon in January 2005 (South African

Technology Network, 2008). The merger was part of a national

process that transformed the HE landscape in South Africa (Cape

Peninsula University of Technology:Online).

The university offers more than 70 career focused programmes at

various campuses and service points such as Bellville, Cape Town,

Granger Bay, Mowbray and Wellington. CPUT hosts more than 50

000 students in disciplines that include applied sciences, business,

education and social sciences, engineering, health and wellness

sciences, and informatics and design (Cape Peninsula University of

Technology:Online).

13

As stated above the institution has its roots in the Cape Technikon

and Peninsula Technikon, which dates back to the 1920’s, therefore a

brief history of these two technikons, is needed.

2.2.1 THE CAPE TECHNIKON Cape Technikon dates from 1920 when the foundation stone of the

Longmarket Street, of the then Cape Technical College was laid in

Cape Town. The representation of the college followed more than 10

years of representations by the community for the consolidation of the

technical courses that had been offered in various venues in town

(Southern African Regional Universities Association:Online).

In the late 1960’s this institution was renamed to Cape College for

Advanced Technical Education due to the new status gained as

College for Advanced Technical Education. However, the Technikons

Act was promulgated a decade later, therefore in 1976 the institution

was allowed to offer degree programmes as it had become known as

Cape Technikon (Cape Peninsula University of Technology:Online).

During the apartheid era educational institutions were forced to serve

specific race groups. Cape Technikon offered courses for white

students, however, it later changed in 1987 due to government

regulations. In 2001 the Boland and Mowbray Education Colleges

were incorporated into the Cape Technikon, forming the Faculty of

Education at sites in Wellington and Mowbray (Cape Peninsula

University of Technology:Online).

2.2.2 THE PENINSULA TECHNIKON Peninsula Technical as it was known at the time, was established to

cater for the solid growth in the coloured community that met the

requirements to be admitted to a HE institution. Classes were firstly

14

conducted in Cape Town until the relocation to the venue in Bellville in

1967 (Southern African Regional Universities Association:Online).

The Bellville venue is today the administrative venue of the Cape

Peninsula University of Technology.

2.3 BACKGROUND OF CPUT’S OPEN DAY Open Day is an event aimed at showcasing Cape Peninsula

University of Technology’s high-quality study programmes in order to

attract as much students as possible to its vast alumni family. Hence

students and staff members gather together to help all who have their

sights set on a successful career from engineering to business, health

and wellness to informatics and design, or education and applied

science (CPUT:Online).

This year event took place at the Cape Town Campus Multipurpose

Hall from the 9th to the 11th of May. Prospective students, parents, and

guardians were encouraged to attend the event with the purpose of

seeing what the university had to offer.

2.3.1 PREPARATION PHASE This phase equips faculty departments with everything necessary

regarding stands and designs, exhibitors’ build up, and evaluation.

It is of utmost importance that a high standard of design is maintained

as far as internal design is concerned. Therefore the MCD advises

participating departments to use relevant and well-presented

advertising material and posters on their stands due to its importance

on catching prospective students attention, and also due to the

difference they make on how the course is viewed and perceived

(CPUT MCD, 2013).

15

During opening times all stands must be completely open, exhibits

uncovered and adequate number of staff must be in attendance not

later than fifteen minutes before the opening time, during the three-

days of the event. According to the MCD (2013) evaluation is done

by means of an evaluation form distributed to the exhibitors as well as

a meeting after the event. Judges are chosen to evaluate the best stall

under the following criteria:

Ø Information display;

Ø visual impact;

Ø learner involvement; and

Ø presentation (personnel and visual).

A service information desk was placed at the entrance of the hall, with

the prime function of welcoming the public and directing all concerned

to the relevant stands, being therefore a point of enquiries (CPUT

MCD, 2013).

2.3.2 ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION STRATEGY A successful advertising strategy was put in place and resulted in a

broad and diverse group of learners being exposed to the exhibition

over the three-day period. The event was advertised in community

newspapers due to their ability to reach more people. These

newspapers included Plainsman, Tygerburger, Athlone News,

Swartland Monitor, Die Courant Freegig, Cape Flat News, Vukani,

Paarl Pos, Overberg Venster, Worcester Standard and Eikestad Nuus

(CPUT MCD, 2013).

Posters advertising the event were put up in the surrounding areas

and distributed to most of the schools, libraries and career advisory

centres in the Peninsula. The OD coordinator performed direct

marketing by ways of school visits and exhibitions. The event was

also advertised on CPUT’s website and generated many queries from

the general public (CPUT MCD, 2013).

16

Good Hope radio launched an advertising campaign two weeks prior

to OD. During the three-day event the radio station provided a live

broadcast including interviews with various CPUT’s academic and

service departments (CPUT MCD, 2013).

2.3.3 ADMINISTRATION OD was organised by a coordinating committee comprising of

representatives of academic and administrative departments.

Planning meetings were help prior to the event. All schools in the

Western Cape were invited to the event. Follow up was done with

selected schools that did not respond to the initial invitation. During

the week of the event another letter was faxed to schools as a

reminder (CPUT MCD, 2013).

Schools participating at OD received an information package

containing application forms, brochures, and promotional material,

whilst learners received course booklets, a CPUT pen, and a pencil

bag.

Departments worked hard to create displays that were visually

attractive and interactive. Students assisting at the stands were

professional in their attitude and promoted their courses with

enthusiasm. These students were provided with refreshments in order

for them to sustain themselves and motivate them to work towards the

successfulness of the event (CPUT MCD, 2013).

2.4 CONCLUSION After having a holistic overview of how OD works and how it

contributes to CPUT’s brand it is important to note that, OD has

clearly been boosting CPUT as a brand, making it more popular

amongst prospective students. The increase in the number of

17

students enrolling the institution is a strong indicator that the event’s

advertising strategies are effective and therefore contributing to the

recruitment strategy.

The following chapter articulates a literature study supporting the

research problem previously rose in chapter one.

18

CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW 3.1 INTRODUCTION Saunders, et al. (2000:42) (cited by Watkins, 2012:35-36), are of the

opinion that reviewing the literature is essential thus this statement in

particular, as a project assessment criteria usually requires one to

demonstrate awareness of the current state of knowledge of a

particular subject, its limitations and how the research fits into the

wider context. In addition, the literature review demonstrates the

depth (quality and quantity) of academic reading the student has

undertaken, prior to embarking on the formulation of the research

proposal.

This chapter is a review in the field of marketing and total quality

management. This review is outlined in three parts. The first part is

concentrated in marketing where aspects such as customer

satisfaction and branding are discussed. The second part is focused

on total quality management where aspects pertaining to it such as

the definition of quality, quality function deployment and leading

contributors to total quality management are addressed. The third part

details a link between marketing and total quality management.

3.2 MARKETING Boshoff et al. (2008:4) explain that the concept of marketing is highly

misunderstood due to the fact that people commonly associate or

relate the concept in discussion to selling and advertising. However

marketing includes these concepts and much more. Marketing is

therefore a set of activities used to implement a philosophy, an

attitude and a perspective that stresses customer satisfaction.

Marketing is a critical business function for attracting customers by

communicating the value of a product or service with the purpose of

19

selling it. In case of a University which is the focus of this research,

ensuring that the core activity is sustained by stakeholder needs and

wants, to ascertain that the service provided offers tangible results to

add value to the target audience (Durham University:Online).

The most important primary goal of marketing is customer satisfaction

and loyalty. Without satisfying customer needs no firm can survive

over the long term (Boshoff et al, 2008:5).

3.2.1 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Customers are the sole reason for the existence of businesses,

therefore making sure they are satisfied is key to survival and well

being of organisations. Obtaining high levels of customer satisfaction

is important to organisations because a satisfied customer might

become a loyal customer, which is a guarantee of repeated sales and

good word-of-mouth.

Customer satisfaction is defined as the degree to which a business’

product or service performance matches the expectations of the

customer. Thus, if performance matches or exceeds expectations the

customer is satisfied, if it happens otherwise then the customer is

dissatisfied (van Vuuren, Roberts-Lombard and Tonder, 2012: 84).

3.2.2 BRANDING Murphy (1992:1) explains that the ways in which brands have

developed over the years are essentially threefold. First, legal

systems have recognised the value of brands to both consumers and

producers. Secondly, the concept of branded goods has been

extended successfully to embrace services; hence service brands

now generally enjoy the same statutory rights as product brands.

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, the ways in which branded

products or services are distinguished from one another have

20

increasingly come to embrace non-tangible factors, as well as such

real factors as size, shape, make-up and price.

Branding is therefore regarded as the main tool marketers use to

distinguish their products from the competitions (Boshoff et al,

2008:214). Hankinson (2004) (cited by Chapleo, 2010) argues that

branding has its roots in product marketing and its application in areas

such as education is limited.

Chernatony and McDonald (1992:17-18) stress that successful brands

are the focus of marketing resources, and represent valuable

marketing assets. Hence, because consumers recognise and

appreciate the added value of successful brands, they are able to

sustain a higher price premium over equivalent commodity items and

generally generate health profits. Brands are successful when

developed with a clear statement of intent about the product or

service’s purpose, the specific group of customers the brand is

targeted at, and a commitment to equipping the brand with the right

types of resources to achieve the stated purpose.

Branding is a creative process, which uses research techniques and

skills of a number of specialists. It is focused on creating

distinctiveness, to be distinctive takes courage to refuse to follow the

herd due to the fact that being unique gives to customers what other

brands cannot, therefore can be highly rewarded (Murphy, 1992:12).

3.2.2.1 Characteristics of brands Chernatony and McDonald (1992:20) are of the opinion that a brand

adheres to a model which shows the extent to which a product or

service can satisfy customers needs. A brand consists of the following

characteristics:

21

Ø Generic: refers to the product or service that meets the user’s

basic need. It is the easiest aspect for competitors to copy due to

the fact that it refers to the product or service intended use.

Ø Expected: refers to the engineered value added to the product or

service in order to satisfy a specific target’s minimum purchase

conditions (functional capabilities, availability or pricing).

Ø Augmented: refers to the ways in which the brand is able to add

value in order to satisfy non-functional (emotional) and functional

needs.

Ø Potential: it is the characteristic, which provides a brand with

distinctiveness as it relates to creativity, an aspect that only

experienced and mature brands can manage.

To succeed in the long run a brand must offer added value over and

above the basic product characteristics (Chernatony and McDonald,

1992:21).

3.2.2.2 Importance of brands Brands that are well adapted to the environment, and thus survive and

flourish are considered by consumer to be powerful and important

brands. They represent an organisation’s excellent marketing skills,

therefore act as a credible guarantee for a product or service allowing

the customer to identify added value. Brands relate to the

development and maintenance of products or services attributes and

values that are coherent, appropriate, distinctive and appealing to the

customer, that is the reason why the end result must be differentiated

from the brands of the competitors, giving the consumers a reason to

chose one brand over all the others (Murphy, 1992:3).

When consumers choose a brand over all other brands it becomes a

valuable asset (competitive advantage). This competitive advantage

should be maintained by giving consumers the values they require in

a long and never-ending term, due to the fact that it gives

22

organisations an edge comparing to others. Competitive advantage in

this context refers to a brand that embraces a set of values that

consumers perceive to be unique, therefore they reject or tend to

reject alternatives that may not posses all these values (Murphy,

1992:4).

3.2.2.3 Branding in Higher Education The concept of marketing has grown in importance for universities

across the world. As a result sectorial competition has increased,

highlighting the need to create more distinct brands and forcing

universities to fully consider marketing principles as they improve their

efforts to attract and retain students both in the domestic and

international markets (Brookes, 2003; Domino et al., 2006; Bennett

and Ali-Choudhury, 2009) (cited by Durkin, McKenna and Cummings,

2011).

The aim of developing a brand for HE institutions is to enable the

various universities to attract students and to differentiate their

education from its major competitors. HE institutions need to develop

and/or maintain a distinct image to create a competitive advantage in

an increasingly competitive market. Such a distinct image is likely to

impact a student’s willingness to apply to an institution (Ivy, 2001)

(cited by Durkin, McKenna and Cummings, 2011), however students

will only enrol at an institution if the investment seems attractive to

them in terms of the economic return (Lang, 2005; Moogan et al.,

2001) (cited by Curtis et al, 2009).

A strong HE brand has increased ability to compete for the best

students, gain alumni membership and support (Judson et al., 2009)

(cited by Makgosa, 2012). From the students’ viewpoint, branding

serves as a promise to meet their expectations and facilitates

decisions relating to the selection of which institution to attend.

Branding is also more critical for higher education institutions, since

23

education as a product is experiential, intangible and its perceived

value is difficult to assess prior to consumption (Lowrie, 2007) (cited

by Curtis et al, 2009).

Curtis et al (2009) citing the study of Heaney and Heaney (2008);

Lang (2005); and Lowrie (2007); explain that a HE brand provides a

life-long bond with the university and provides students with a sense

of identification with the brand even after graduation (award of a

degree). Examples of strong brands in HE include Oxford University,

Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and

University of Liverpool. These institutions actively engage in

promoting their reputations as brand names. These brands provide

clear positioning in consumer’s minds. As a result, customers know

exactly what those names stand for.

Today, branding HE institutions has become an effort not only for the

marketing department, but also the university as the whole (Chapleo,

2007). The marketing of education is an important component for

successful recruiting of students, faculty and staff, and for increasing

market share of resources. Successful branding requires an alignment

of resources within the institution, led by the institution’s president,

and focuses on an integrated institution’s strategy (Blanton, 2007;

Heaney and Heaney, 2008) (cited by Curtis et al, 2009).

The corporate image represents the end product of branding. In the

HE environment, universities with distinct images are in a better

competitive position in the marketplace, as students only associate

with reputable institutions or institutions that gives them some sort of

recognition or belonging.

In this context the researcher is of the opinion that CPUT is branding

itself as a home for the community and all African countries. By doing

that the institution is engaging on a process of becoming competitive

not only in South Africa but in Africa as a whole, due to the fact that

24

international students from all over Africa, depending on the

experience they acquire from CPUT will use word-of-mouth to brand

the institution outside South Africa.

3.3 TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT Total Quality Management (TQM) has its roots attached to when

statistical theory was firstly applied to product quality control. The

concept became popular and was further developed by the Japanese

who were constantly improving and pushing for perfection, while the

Americans were satisfied with an acceptable quality. The conventional

thinking at the time was that higher quality could only be achieved at a

higher cost. The Japanese were proving the Americans wrong, and

today we can see that a superior quality not only raises customer

satisfaction but increases market share. Increased market share on

the other hand provides the organisation the power to have

economies of scale, which may drive costs down.

TQM deals with quality, therefore it is important to understand what

quality is, before a detailed literature on total quality management is

given. The concept “quality” encompasses a lot of definitions and it

means different things to different people. Garvin categorised five

approaches to quality: the transcendent, product-based, user-based,

manufacturing-based and the value-based.

Ø Transcendent approach to quality: quality is achieving or

reaching for the highest standard as against being satisfied with

sloppy or fraudulent. However, these items may not represent

quality to everyone, and this lack of objectivity creates a problem

for the worker who is striving for quality in a business environment

(Rao et al. 1996:26). Tenner and DeToro (1992:30) explain that quality is understood

only after exposure to a series of objects that develop its

characteristics. The idea behind this definition is that quality cannot

25

be defined, because one can only recognise quality once in its

presence. Ø Product-based approach to quality: according to Rao et al.

(1996:26) this approach identifies specific features or attributes

that can be measured to indicate higher quality. In this regard if an

attribute is desired, greater amounts of that attribute would label a

product or service as one of a higher quality (Tenner and DeToro,

1992:30). This approach is characterised by its objective measures

of quality, and its disadvantage is that it assumes that the absence

or presence of an attribute implies higher quality (Rao et al.

1996:27).

Ø User-based approach to quality: the user-based approach to

quality emphasizes the aim of satisfying the user’s expectations.

Therefore quality is dependent on the user’s evaluation (New Age

Publishers:Online). Juran (cited by Rao et al. 1996:27) refers to

this approach as fitness for use. It implies learning how the user

plans to use the product and making the product fit that need.

Tenner and DeToro (1992:30) argue that the ability to satisfy the

customers’ requirements, expectations, or wants is the sole

criterion quality will be determined.

An organisation adopting this view of quality needs to accurately

identify its target market, identify its needs, design, construct, and

then deliver the appropriate product. To achieve success using this

approach all of the functions contributing to the value of the

product must be involved and correlate (Rao et al. 1996:27).

Ø Manufacturing-based approach to quality: Crosby (cited by Rao

et al. 1996:27) described quality as conformance to a set of

requirements. Engineering specifies the product characteristics,

and the more closely manufacturing can conform to those

requirements, the better the quality of the product. Tenner and

DeToro (1992:30) add that failure to meet these requirements is a

deviation, and, as such represents lack of quality.

26

This approach has the advantage of providing objectively

measurable quality standards and of reducing the costs of quality

(Rao et al. 1996:27). The disadvantage of this measure lies on its

lack of concern for the customer’s preferences. It assumes that if

product specifications are met the customer would ultimately be

satisfied (Tenner and DeToro, 1992:30).

Ø Value-based approach to quality: the value-based approach

explains that value is one attribute of quality. The purchase

decision involves trading off the quality against the price, because

many of the attributes of quality are subjective assessments, the

assessment is not effective in introducing objective criteria (Rao et

al. 1996:28). Therefore quality under this approach consists of

offering a product or service to a customer with certain

characteristics at an acceptable price (Tenner and DeToro,

1992:30).

Unfortunately most of these approaches are subjective. Although the

manufacturing and product-based approaches are the most objective,

both fail to account sufficiently for customer preferences. In this

context Garvin created the eight dimensions of quality for a better

understanding of the elements of quality as perceived by the user.

According to Rao et al. (1992:29-30) Garvin’s eight dimensions of

quality are as follows:

Ø Performance: refers to the primary characteristics of the product

or service, these characteristics are usually measurable.

Ø Features: are additional characteristics that enhance the product

or services appeal to the user.

Ø Reliability: is the assurance that a product will not fail within a

specific time period. Although Garvin states that reliability is more

relevant to durable goods there are examples of reliability as a key

element of a service.

Ø Conformance: is the precision with which the product or service

meets the specified standards. It simply means that the greater the

27

deviation from the intended value, the less satisfied the customer

will be.

Ø Durability: measures the length of a product’s life. When a

product can be repaired it will be used until it is no longer

economical to operate it.

Ø Serviceability: it is the speed to which the product can be put into

service when it breaks down, as well as the competence and

behaviour of the service person.

Ø Aesthetics: is the subjective dimension indicating the kind of

respond a user has to a product. It represents the ways and

individual responds to the look, feel, sound, taste and smell.

Ø Perceived quality: it is the quality attributed to a good or service

based on indirect measures.

The concept of quality was explained and is now understood,

therefore total quality management can be defined and all aspects

pertaining to it explained.

TQM evolved from many different management practices and

improvement processes. TQM is a process-oriented system built on

the belief that quality is a matter of conforming to a customer's

requirements. These requirements can be measured, and deviations

from them can then be prevented by means of process improvements.

Managers can implement TQM in any organisation (manufacturing,

service, non-profit, or government) as it will improve overall products

and service quality, reduce costs, satisfy customers and improve

bottom line financial performance (Walton, 1986) (as cited by Powel:

Online).

Total Quality Management is defined as an integrated management

philosophy and set of practices that emphasises continuous

improvement, customer satisfaction, reducing rework, long range

thinking, increased employee involvement and team work, process

redesign, team based problem solving, constant measurement of

28

results, closer relationships with suppliers and management

involvement (Powel: Online).

In the above definition one can find the following ingredients

necessary for TQM to flourish in any company: customer satisfaction,

continuous improvement, management involvement and team based

problem solving.

Jablonski (1992:101) stated that customer satisfaction, both internal

and external is a function of quality of service, quality of product, and

quality of treatment. Therefore the achievement of improvement

usually requires that organisations’ teams reconsider their current

level of commitment to satisfy their customers. TQM is customer

oriented; a lot of authors emphasize the importance of a customer

focus philosophy when adopting TQM as it affects the organisation’s

performance.

According to Jablonski (1992:21) management’s involvement comes

about by practicing TQM. The author explains that recognising the

capabilities and contributions employees can make to improve

business will begin to chip away at the traditional barriers that

separate management and labour. However it does not happen

overnight and will only occur if management listens, and the workforce

feels involved with the ownership of the process.

Continuous improvement means accepting small incremental gains as

a step in the right direction towards TQM. It recognizes that

substantial gains can be achieved by the accumulation of many minor

improvements (Jablonski, 1992:22).

The Total Quality Management initiatives that have produced

significant success and that have begun to realise the goal of

continuous improvement all have in common one obvious and

dominant characteristic known as “team work”. Teamwork is the major

29

strategy and underlying framework of TQM, thus Total Quality

Management is a team centred and a team driven activity (Kinlaw,

1992). In this context researchers have concluded that TQM involves

the following principles:

Ø Customer focus: no matter what an organisation does to foster

quality improvement the customer ultimately determines the level

of quality (American Society for Quality:Online), thus no matter

how many resources are pulled to train employees, upgrading

machines, incorporating design and standards, the customer is the

ultimate judge (Etech Global Services:Online). Ø Total employee involvement: total employee commitment can

only be achieved once fear has been driven from the workplace,

when empowerment has occurred and management has provided

proper environment (American Society for Quality:Online). Ø Continual improvement: considered a major component of TQM,

continual improvement will lead to improved and higher quality

processes (Etech Global Services:Online). The American Society

for Quality (Online) explains that continual improvement drives an

organisation to be both analytical and creative in finding ways to

become more competitive and more effective at meeting

stakeholders’ expectations. Ø Strategic and systematic approach: in order to achieve its goals,

vision and mission the organisation must adopt a strategic and

systematic approach, due to the fact that a strategic plan is of

utmost importance to ensure that quality becomes the core aspect

of all business functions (Etech Global Services:Online). Ø Integrated system: organisation’s departments have different

functionality purposes and these purposes are interconnected with

various horizontal processes focused on TQM. It is very important

to promote a quality work culture, ensuring that everyone in the

organisation understands the quality policy, standards and

objectives. By adopting a quality work culture the organisation will

achieve a competitive edge, continual improvement and meet or

exceed customer expectations (Etech Global Services:Online).

30

Ø Decision-making: TQM requires organisations to collect and

analyse data to improve quality, decision-making accuracy,

achieve consensus and forecasts. It is important to base decision-

making on statistical figures in order to avoid mistakes and

empirical decisions (American Society for Quality:Online). Ø Communication: it is as important as all the above-mentioned

principles. Communication plays a crucial role in motivating and

improving employees’ morale during daily routine operations

(American Society for Quality:Online). The researcher is of the opinion that, the key to obtaining competitive

advantage through TQM is to adopt a leadership philosophy whereby

management is fully involved, encourages teamwork and empowers

the workforce. It will drive fear away, generate free range of thinking,

involvement and everyone working together towards achieving

organisational goals and striving to continually meet or exceed

customer’s expectations.

3.3.1 QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT Cohen (1995:2) stresses that TQM uses tools to assist in creative

thinking and problem solving. These are not physical tools; instead,

they are methods that relate ideas to ideas, ideas to data and data to

data, encouraging team members to communicate more effectively

with each other to formulate solutions to business problems. Quality

Function Deployment is an adaption of some of these tools.

Quality Function Deployment (QFD) also known as “house of quality”

(HOQ) is a comprehensive quality system that systematically links the

needs of the customer with various business functions and

organisational processes, such as marketing, design, quality,

production, manufacturing, and sales, aligning the entire company

towards achieving a common goal (QFD Institute:Online).

31

Stated and unstated customer needs or requirements above

mentioned are captured in a variety of ways such as interviews,

surveys, focus groups, customer specifications, and observation. This

understanding of the customer needs is then summarised in a product

planning matrix or house of quality (IEEE Long Island:Online). These

matrices are used to translate objectives (whats) into the responses

(hows), therefore QFD provides a method for evaluating ‘how’ a team

should accomplish the ‘whats’ (Cohen, 1995:2).

QFD was invented to support the product design process, but today

its application goes beyond these activities and it can be applied in the

following activities such as ‘a university course design’. The ‘whats’ in

this example relate to the needs of students for acquiring skills and/or

knowledge in a certain area. The ‘hows’ relate to course module and

course teaching style (Cohen, 1995:21).

According to Cohen (1995:69-73) there are seven sections within the

HOQ namely:

Ø Customer needs and benefits: often called ‘the voice of the

customer’, the customer needs section is usually the first section to

be constructed, since the needs are normally derived from the

actual words of the customers. Once gathered customer wants are

arranged into a hierarchy whereby the most detailed needs are

place at the lowest level and the most abstract needs in higher

levels of the hierarchy. It is important for product development

teams to understand their customer needs well to avoid slow

product planning or non-competitive products.

Ø Planning matrix: it is a crucial step in product or service planning,

as it requires a high-level product or service goal setting

(combining the organisation’s business priorities with the customer

priorities). The planning matrix has information regarding how

important the need of the customer is, how well the team’s most

similar product or service meets customers’ needs, and how well

the competition’s most similar product or service meets customers’

32

needs. The answer to these questions combine to create

prioritisation of the customer needs.

Ø Technical response: it is a product or process requirements

stated in the organisation’s internal language. The most common

information placed here includes: independent measurement or

metrics and product or service requirements or capabilities. This

type of information is called Substitute Quality Characteristics

(SQC), thus represents the voice of the developer.

Ø Relationship: for each cell in the relationship section the team

enters a value that reflect the extent to which the SQC contributes

to meeting the voice of the customer. This value, along with the

prioritisation of the customer needs establishes the contribution of

the SQC to overall customer satisfaction.

Ø Technical targets: located at the bottom of the HOQ, the

technical targets are normally expressed in language compatible

with the language of the SQC.

Ø Technical correlation matrix: usually regarded as the final step

in completing the house of quality. It is therefore used to record the

way in which the substitute quality characteristics either support or

block each other. The result often helps QFD teams to identify

design bottlenecks, and key communication paths among

designers.

33

Figure 3.1: House of Quality (source: Cohen:1995:70)

3.3.2 CONTRIBUTORS TO TQM Organisations that want to embark on a quality journey need to

analyse the studies, thinking and tools developed by the most

influential writers on the topic. Edwards Deming, Joseph Juran, Kaoru

Ishikawa, Philip B. Crosby and other quality gurus were pioneers on

the topic, thus played an important role in trying to make a common

sense out of what they believed would change the way organisations

operate and the way of doing business.

After an investigation about Juran’s quality trilogy (Juran and Godfrey,

1999), Crosby’s four absolutes of quality management (Rao et al.

1996) and Deming’s fourteen points to quality improvement and seven

deadly diseases (Rao et al. 1996), the researcher decided to use

Edwards Deming’s management principles and Juran’s quality trilogy,

since both authors principles and ideas correlate, therefore if they are

combined better quality results can be achieved.

34

3.3.2.1 W. Edwards Deming Edwards Deming was the first American to introduce quality to the

Japanese on a large scale (Rao et al. 1996:37). He trained Japanese

engineers and was credited by them for assisting in their remarkable

recovery after the devastation of the World War II. Deming

emphasised that quality is primarily the result of senior management

actions and decision, and not the result of workers’ action. He

believed that only managers have the power to allocate resources,

provide training to employees and provide the necessary environment

to achieve quality. In addition to that Deming defended the use of

statistical quality control since it allows accurate diagnosis and

solution of problems.

Deming’s contributions to quality explained in this research include:

the fourteen points, and the PDCA cycle.

According to Deming (1986:17) the fourteen points to quality

improvement are as follows:

Ø Point 1 – Create constancy of purpose: Deming believed that

many organisations have short-term goals and do not look fifteen

to twenty years ahead. The constancy of purpose should be

created to allow continual improvement of products and services,

therefore resources should be allocated to provide for long-range

needs, with a plan to become competitive, to stay in business, and

to provide jobs.

Ø Point 2 – Adopt a new philosophy: the author talks about a new

philosophy of change, because we can no longer live with

commonly accepted levels of delays, mistakes, defective

materials, and defective workmanship. There is a new way of

doing business therefore it is necessary to adopt this philosophy

and stop the continued decline of industry.

Ø Point 3 – Cease dependence on mass inspection: dependence

on mass inspection should be ceased in order to improve quality.

35

To build quality products or services quality should be instituted

into the product or service itself. Ø Point 4 – End the practice of awarding business on the basis

of price: instead, minimise total cost. Move towards a single

supplier for any one item, based on a long-term relationship of

loyalty and trust.

Ø Point 5 – Constantly improve the system: improve constantly

and permanently the system of production and services, to

improve quality and productivity, and thus constantly decrease

costs. It is management’s job to work continually on the system

and institute innovation of product, service, and process. Ø Point 6 – Institute training on the job: people must have the

necessary training and knowledge to perform their job. Since the

organisation is embarking on a continuous improvement journey

people will require new skills to keep up with the change. Training

helps employees better perform tasks and increases motivation

levels. Ø Point 7 – Improve leadership: the aim of supervision should be

to help people, machines, and gadgets to do a better job.

Therefore management should encourage employees in this

regard. Ø Point 8 – Drive out fear: encourage effective two-way

communication and other means to drive out fear throughout the

organisation, so that teamwork is emphasised and everybody may

work effectively and more productively for the company. Ø Point 9 – Break down the barriers between departments:

teamwork among different departments in the organisation is

essential for effective productivity and quality improvement to take

place. Departments should work together because they are

interrelated and their work contributes to the overall organisational

goals. Ø Point 10 – Eliminate slogans: eliminate the use of slogans in the

workforce, demanding zero defects and new levels of productivity.

36

The bulk of causes of low quality and low productivity belong to

the system, and thus lie beyond the power of the workforce.

Ø Point 11 – Eliminate work standards: eliminate work standards

on the factory floor, since they are often symptoms of

management inability to understand the work process. Working

towards meeting numerical quotas usually leads to cutting corners

and diminution in quality. Ø Point 12 – Remove barriers that discourage employees from

doing their jobs: employees should feel valued by the

organisation they work for, therefore, their suggestions and

complaints should be considered. The responsibility of supervisors

must switch from pressuring employees to meet sheer numbers to

quality. Ø Point 13 – Institute education and self-improvement: it is more

related to organisational learning as it requires a structure that

reinforces and rewards learning. An educated workforce will be

more creative and innovative towards quality improvement.

Ø Point 14 – Put everybody to work: put everybody in the

company to work to accomplish the transformation. This structure

must include the whole organisation including top management

because continuous improvement is a common goal. The author stressed the importance of the PDCA cycle as a guide for

improvement in his book ‘Out of Crisis’ (Deming, 1986:11). The PDCA

cycle is a never ending four steps cycle. The picture below illustrates

it.

37

Figure 3.2: The PDCA cycle (source: Out of the crisis, Deming 1986). Ø Plan: this phase includes the development of a plan for improving

quality of the organisation.

Ø Do: the plan developed on the previous step is now executed, and

it is usually carried on a small scale. During this phase organisations

delegate authority and responsibility clearly, hence, it is important to

keep records of everything to allow analysis at a later stage.

Ø Check: the results of the execution of the plan are now analysed

to determine what was learned and where changes need to be

implemented. Ø Act: after the analysis done in the previous step the organisation

has to decide whether to adopt or abandon the changes. In case of

complex problems several cycles are need, so organisations go

back to follow all the steps in order to achieve continuous

improvement. 3.3.2.2 Joseph M. Juran Joseph M. Juran has published several references and training

material on managing for quality, a field in which he was one of the

pioneers (Juran and Godfrey, 1999) thus that is the reason the

researcher decided to include Juran in this research. Juran arrived in

Japan four years after Deming, founded the Juran Institute in 1979

(Rao et al. 1996:40), helped the creation of the U.S Malcom Baldrige

National Quality Award, and has received medals and awards from

38

fourteen countries.

Juran and Godfrey (1999) argue that managing for quality makes

extensive use of three managerial processes, which Juran named the

Quality Trilogy, these processes are namely:

Ø Quality planning: refers to identifying the customer. After

determining the customer’s needs, it is necessary to develop the

product or service to meet those needs and establish quality goals

that included the minimum possible cost without compromising the

quality of the product or service. Process design is the next stage,

whereby the process should be tested capable of producing the

product or service. Finally the process should be transferred to the

operations and management should ensure that everybody is

involved and appropriately trained.

Ø Quality control: in order to control, standards of performance

must be established. Management should then measure actual

performance against standard performance and take action on the

difference. The author advocated that quality control should be

delegated to the lowest possible level, and if possible, the workers

responsible for performing the task should be the ones doing it.

Ø Quality improvement: initiates by providing the need for

improvement and establishing specific improvement projects. The

appropriate team had to be organised with the necessary

resources, training and motivation to guide the project, discover

the causes, and stimulate remedies that work under operating

conditions. Finally mechanisms to control the new process and

hold the gains have to be developed.

39

Figure 3.3: Juran’s Quality Trilogy (source: Juran’s Quality Handbook 5th Edition,

1999)

Figure 3.3 above illustrates the relationship among the three

processes in the Quality Trilogy. At the beginning is Quality Planning.

When the product or service and the process design are completed,

the operators become responsible. The errors made during the initial

planning phase result in 20% of work being redone due to quality

deficiencies. These errors increases costs, therefore Juran labelled it

‘chronic waste’. A sudden ‘sporadic spike’ raises costs to over 40%. It

happens due to an unplanned event such as power failure or human

error, but it easily brought under control. At some point management

recognises the cost of chronic waste as being excessive, therefore a

quality improvement project is initiated and succeeds in reducing the

chronic waste, establishing a new quality control zone (Rao et al.,

1996:41).

Rao et al. (1996:42) explain that Juran also created the concept of

‘cost of quality’ due to the fact that he felt that a cost measure would

be an effective form of communication. Figure 3.4 below shows that

cost of conformance (appraisal and prevention) increase as the defect

40

rate declines. However the costs of non-conformance (internal and

external failures) decrease. The trade-off leads to an optimal

conformance level. This approach implies that zero defects is not a

practical goal, due to the fact that for a certain level of quality the

costs of conformance would exceed those of non-conformances.

Figure 3.4: Juran’s Cost of Quality (source: Rao et al. Total Quality Management,

1996)

3.4 THE LINK BETWEEN MARKETING AND TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT After reviewing the literature on marketing and total quality

management, the researcher is now knowledgeable to explain an

understanding of the link pertaining the two subjects.

For the researcher the link lies in three distinct categories namely:

Ø Customer satisfaction and quality (fitness for purpose): marketing focuses on attracting and satisfying customers with

quality products. In both perspectives the customer is the focus

and determines quality; therefore fitness for purpose combines

customer satisfaction with quality. Rao et al., (1996:27) explain

that customer satisfaction reflects the attitudes of the consumer,

thus the product or service needs to be appropriate for the

intended use. However, customer satisfaction sometimes is not

achieved for reasons that have nothing to do with the quality of the

41

product, due to the fact that the customer may not understand or

appreciate the benefits of the product or service right away. Hence

until the customer acknowledges the benefits of the product or

service the product is not considered to have a good quality.

In this context, organisations need to develop products or service

taking into considerations customer needs, because products or

services are only accepted by customers if they meet or exceed

their expectations. Expectations on the other hand are driven by

the need that needs to be satisfied.

Ø Cost effective (value for money): customers want good

products, but they want to get the value of the product or service

they purchase without overpaying. For this reason the price or

value of a product or service is directly attached to its quality. Gale

and Swire (2006:2) argue that customers will compare a product or

service against the competition in order to understand strengths

and weaknesses to decide what product or service gives them the

best value at an affordable price.

For the HE sector, students seek for institutions that provide the

best education for what they can afford. It includes the quality of

the lecturers, infrastructure, technology offered and of course

reputation due to the fact that it plays a big role once they graduate

and therefore have to face the industry.

Ø On time: customers want products or services available to them

when they want it, because if it takes too long it makes no sense to

purchase it, even if it fits the purpose or if it is cost effective. Due to

the fact that the desire to satisfy a certain need is influenced by the

time customers feel that need. For this reason organisations trying

to attract customers need to ensure that their marketing

department understands customer needs and their behaviour in

order to have quality products or services at the right place at the

right time.

42

3.5 CONCLUSION This chapter presented an in-depth literature review on the concepts

of Marketing and TQM. Both concepts were explained with the focus

of understanding the concepts pertaining to it.

In the following chapter, the survey environment is elaborated upon,

as well as the data collection method and the target population.

43

CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 4.1 INTRODUCTION The previous chapter provided an explanation of relevant literature for

this research study. This chapter presents the methodology used to

conduct the survey in order to provide relevant answers to the primary

research question and sub-questions proposed in chapter one. An

empirical survey is presented for measurement in order to draw

conclusions and to provide recommendations.

4.2 RESEARCH DESIGN Research design refers to a logical sequence that connects the

empirical data to a study’s initial research question and ultimately, to

its conclusions (Yin 1994:19) (cited by Watkins, 2012:40). A research

design is therefore an action plan presenting the roadmap and the

appropriate methodology used to answer the initial problem, which

reads as follows:

“The Open Day initiative does not contribute fully towards parents and


brand and decision making in enrolling at the institution”.

According to Collis and Hussey (2009:82) (cited by Watkins, 2012:45-

46) case studies are often described as exploratory research used in

areas where there are few theories or a deficient body of knowledge.

In addition, the following types of case studies can be identified:

Ø Descriptive case studies: where the objective restricted to

describing current practice.

Ø Illustrative case studies: where the research attempts to

illustrate new and possibly innovative practices adopted by

particular companies.

44

Ø Experimental case studies: where the research examines the

difficulties in implementing new procedures and techniques in an

organisation and evaluating the benefits.

Ø Explanatory case studies: where existing theory is used to

understand and explain what is happening.

In this study a descriptive case study is used to reach the objectives of

the research, as the current practice of the institution needs to be

highlighted, described and analysed in order to provide a positive

contribution to the business and academic world.

4.3 THE CHOICE OF SAMPLING METHOD Collis and Hussey (2009:209) (cited by Watkins, 2012:63) argue that a

sample is made up of some members of the population. Hence the

authors list the following three non-probability sampling methods:

Ø Convenience sampling: does not identify a subset of the

population and makes use of people that are readily available.

Ø Quota sampling: selects respondents in the same proportion that

they are found in the general population, but not randomly.

Ø Purposive sampling: used for a particular purpose or a specific

requirement being that the researcher should state why a

particular sample was selected.

Convenience sampling was chosen as a sampling method for this

research. Due to the fact that it works best for evaluating events,

where it is easier to get people willing to collaborate with the research.

4.4 THE TARGET POPULATION With any survey, it is necessary to clearly define the target population,

which Collis and Hussey (2009:209) (cited by Watkins, 2012:63)

define as “a set of people or any other collection of items under

consideration for the purpose of the research”.

45

Collis and Hussey (2009:209) (cited by Watkins, 2012:63) define

‘sampling frame’ as a list or any other record of the population from

which all the sampling units are drawn. Forty-six prospective students

and/or parents were selected from CPUT’s Open Day as the target

research population. The selection took place via a randomised

selection process, to ensure that the target population had an equal

opportunity to participate in this research study.

4.5 DATA COLLECTION Watkins (2012: 66-74) explains the following data collection methods:

Ø Focus groups;

Ø game or role playing;

Ø in-depth surveys;

Ø large scale surveys;

Ø laboratory experiments;

Ø scenario research;

Ø interviews;

Ø observation;

Ø critical incident technique;

Ø diaries;

Ø protocol analysis;

Ø repertory grid technique;

Ø data triangulation; and

Ø questionnaires.

Self-administered questionnaires served as the primary data collection

in this research study, which falls within the broader definition of

‘survey research’ or ‘descriptive survey’. The concept of ‘survey’ is

defined as the collection of a large quantity of evidence, usually

numeric, or evidence that will be converted to numbers, normally by

means of a questionnaire”. A questionnaire consists of a list

structured of questions compiled in order to elicit reliable responses

from a chosen sample, with the aim of determining what the

46

participants do, think or feel (Remenyi et al, 2002:290) (cited by

Watkins, 2012:74).

There are two approaches in structuring questionnaires namely,

quantitative approach (structures close questions) and a qualitative

approach (structures open-ended questions). In this research the

quantitative approach will be used (Remenyi et al, 2002:290) (cited by

Watkins, 2012:74).

The researcher decided to distribute the questionnaires during OD.

This ensured that the researcher received all the questionnaires back

from the target population, without delay. However, not distributing the

questionnaires at the event would reduce the number of

questionnaires filled due to the impossibility in reaching the target

population.

4.6 MEASUREMENT SCALES The survey is based on the Likert scale, where respondents are asked

to respond to each of the statements, by choosing one of the five

agreement choices (Emory and Cooper, 1995:179) (cited by Watkins,

2012:177).

The advantages of using the well-known Likert scale according to

Emory and Cooper (1995:180-181) (cited by Watkins, 2012:177) are

namely:

Ø Easy and quick to construct;

Ø each item meets an empirical test for discriminating ability;

Ø the Likert scale is probably more reliable than the Thurston scale,

and it provides a greater volume of data than the Thurston

differential scale; and

Ø the Likert scale is also treated as an interval scale.

47

Interval scales have the benefit that the scale data can be analysed by

virtually the full range of statistical procedures. Interval scales facilitate

meaningful statistics when calculating means, standard deviation and

Pearson correlation coefficients. 1 2 3 4 5

Strongly

Disagree

Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly

Agree

Figure 4.1: Likert scale (Source: Emory and Cooper 1995: 179) (cited by Watkins,

2012:177).

4.7 SURVEY DESIGN Leedy and Ormrod (2001:196) (cited by Watkins, 2012:154) are of the

opinion that a survey is simple in design due to the fact that the

researcher poses a series of question to willing participants,

summarises their responses with percentages, frequency counts, or

more sophisticated statistical indexes, and then draws inferences

about a particular population from the responses of the sample.

A questionnaire-based survey should be executed in accordance with

the following process:

Ø Evaluate the research question, the investigative sub-questions,

and the key research objectives.

Ø Consider any other information, which is relevant to the research

and include such information in the questionnaire.

Ø Identify the sample frame from the target population and select a

representative sample.

Ø Choose an interviewing method.

Ø Conduct a pilot survey to ensure that the questions are easily

understood, and clear to the respondents.

Ø Conduct the survey.

Ø Data processing follows.

Ø Data analysis.

Ø Report formulation.

48

In this research a descriptive survey is used, due to the fact that the

more adequate the description, the greater is the likelihood that the

units derived from the description will be useful in subsequent theory

building (Emory and Cooper, 1995:11) (cited by Watkins, 2012:61).

According to Watkins (2012:154) descriptive surveys are commonly

used in business and management.

Watkins (2012:155-158) explains that the critical aspect of a good

questionnaire design is to ensure that the questionnaire addresses the

primary theme of the proposed research study. Therefore questions or

statements within the survey are designed with the following principles

in mind:

Ø Avoidance of double-barrelled statements;

Ø avoidance of double-negative statements;

Ø avoidance of prestige bias;

Ø avoidance of leading statements; and

Ø avoidance of the assumption of prior knowledge

4.8 SURVEY SENSITIVITY This research study is not conducted in an environment of sensitive

nature. Therefore this is not applicable under this chapter.

4.9 RESPONDENT BRIEFING Prior to distributing the questionnaire to respondents, the researcher

provided each respondent with detailed information pertaining to the

questionnaire as well as the objective of the research. Questionnaires

were accompanied by a letter (refer to Annexure D) explaining the

confidentiality of the research and that answers could not be traced to

any individual.

49

4.10 THE VALIDATION SURVEY QUESTIONS The researcher developed a questionnaire to determine the level of

understanding of the research problem to be uncovered. Validity is

concerned with the extent to which the research findings accurately

represent what is happening (Collis and Hussey, 2009:204) (cited by

Watkins, 2012:74-75). Results from the survey obtained are to be

analysed in terms of descriptive statistics using Moonstas.

4.10.1 LIST OF QUESTIONS/STATEMENTS The following list of statements was posed to respondents as Section

1 in the survey:

Ø Statement A: Open Day creates greater awareness of the

institution.

Ø Statement B: Open Day promotes CPUT’s core values.

Ø Statement C: Open Day promotes CPUT’s objectives.

Ø Statement D: Open Day attempts to measure and improve on

perceptions about CPUT.

Ø Statement E: Open Day attempts to attract high quality students.

The following list of statements was posed to respondents as Section

2 in the survey:

Ø Statement F: CPUT provides an environment of equality, freedom

and civil rights.

Ø Statement G: CPUT provides an environment where students’

social needs are satisfied.

Ø Statement H: Open Day provides an environment where parents

feel comfortable leaving their sons/daughters in.

Ø Statement I: Personnel at Open Day counsel about career choice.

Ø Statement J: Personnel at Open Day identify strengths and

opportunities about potential students’ career choice.

50


3 in the survey:

Ø Statement K: Open Day provides sufficient information for an

informed decision of joining CPUT.

Ø Statement L: Open Day convinces prospective students who were

uninformed of the potential of studying at CPUT.

Ø Statement M: Open Day recruits new students who would have

studied elsewhere.


4 in the survey:

Ø Statement N: CPUT contributes to knowledge creation and

economic growth.

Ø Statement O: CPUT creates professional and quality graduates.

Ø Statement P: CPUT provides its graduates the competencies

required by the industry.

Ø Statement Q: CPUT displays goodwill towards the surrounding

communities in which it operates.

4.11 CONCLUSION The objective of this chapter was to describe the survey methodology

adopted in this research study. Hence it was discussed under the

following headings:

Ø Introduction;

Ø target population;

Ø data collection;

Ø measurement scales

Ø survey design;

Ø survey sensitivity; and

Ø the validation survey questions.

In the next chapter data analysis is to be conducted and the survey

results interpreted.

51

CHAPTER 5: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS 5.1 INTRODUCTION The previous chapter presented the structure of the research process

whereas this chapter discusses the statistical analysis of the

questionnaires. Data analysis refers to the computation of measures

along with searching for patterns of relationship that exist among the

collected data (Kothari, 2004:122). The aim of this chapter is to

determine whether Open Day fully contributes towards parents’ and


brand. In this chapter the data obtained from the completed

questionnaires will be presented and analysed.

Watkins (2012:178) explains that, in most social research data

analysis involves three major steps, namely:

Ø Cleaning and organising the data for analysis (data preparation

step);

Ø describing the data (descriptive statistics step); and Ø testing hypothesis and models (inferential statistics).

5.2 METHOD OF ANALYSIS 5.2.1 VALIDATION SURVEY RESULTS A descriptive analysis of the survey results returned by the research

questionnaire respondents is reflected in paragraph 5.3.3. The

responses to the questions obtained through the questionnaires are

indicated in summative table format for ease of reference. Data

validation is the process of ensuring that a programme operates on a

clean, correct and useful data. The construct validation, however, can

only be taken to the point where the questionnaire measures what it is

supposed to measure. Construct validation should be addressed in

52

the planning phases of the survey, and when the questionnaire is

developed. This questionnaire is aimed at measuring Open Day’s

contribution to the perception of quality to CPUT’s brand.

5.2.2 DATA FORMAT The respondents’ data was received in questionnaires, which was

captured on Microsoft Excel database. It was then imported into

Moonstats for analysis and interpretation. These questionnaires data

was captured twice and then the two datasets were compared to

ensure that the information was correctly captured. When the

database was developed, use was made of the rules with respect to

the questionnaire, which set boundaries for the different variables

(statements) according to the Likert scales. The boundaries are

explained below:

Ø ‘Strongly disagree’ is coded as 1.

Ø ‘Disagree’ is coded as 2.

Ø ‘Undecided’ is coded as 3.

Ø ‘Agree’ is coded as 4

Ø ‘Strongly agree’ is coded as 5.

5.2.3 PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS The Cronbach Alpha test (refer to paragraph 5.3.2) illustrates the

reliability of the variables (statements) in the questionnaire posed to

the respondents from the CPUT OD. A Uni-variate descriptive

analysis was performed on all the original variables, with the aim of

displaying charts for ease interpretation, frequencies, percentages,

cumulative percentages, means, standard deviations, range, median

and mode. These descriptive statistics are discussed in paragraph

5.3.3 (also refer to Annexure A and B).

53

5.2.4 INFERENTIAL STATISTICS The following inferential statistics is performed on the data:

Ø Cronbach Alpha: in order to test the reliability of the construct.

5.2.5 SAMPLE The target population forming the sample frame are prospective

students, parents and or guardians, who attended CPUT’s OD. A

convenient sample was drawn and the number of the target

population that completed the sample was fourty-six.

5.3 ANALYSIS 5.3.1 QUESTIONNAIRE/STATEMENTS DESCRIPTION Questionnaire statements are shown in Table 5.1 below, with each

variable name and the different sections of the questionnaire.

Table 5.1: Statement reference in the questionnaire

Statement Variabl

e Name

Section 1: Open Day contributes to the promotion of CPUT’s brand.

a. Open Day creates a greater awareness of the institution. Q1A

b. Open Day promotes CPUT’s core values. Q1B

c. Open Day promotes CPUT’s objectives. Q1C

d. Open Day attempts to measure and improve on perceptions about

CPUT.

Q1D

e. Open Day attempts to attract high quality students. Q1E

Section 2: Open Day reflects the idea of a student friendly environment to

CPUT’s academic.

f. CPUT provides an environment of equality, freedom and civil rights. Q2F

g. CPUT provides and environment where students’ social needs are

satisfied.

Q2G

h. Open Day provides an environment where parents feel comfortable Q2H

54

leaving their sons/daughters in.

i. Personnel at Open Day counsel about carrier choice. Q2I

j. Personnel at Open Day identify strengths and opportunities about

potential students’ career choice.

Q2J

Section 3: Open Day influences parents and prospective students’ higher education choice.

k. Open Day provides sufficient information for an informed decision of

joining CPUT.

Q3K

l. Open Day convinces people who were uninformed of the potential to

study at CPUT.

Q3L

m. Open Day recruits new students who would have studied elsewhere. Q3M

Section D: Quality Management Implementation.

n. CPUT contributes to knowledge creation and economic growth. Q4N

o. CPUT creates professional and quality graduates. Q4O

p. CPUT provides its graduates the competencies required by the

industry.

Q4P

q. CPUT displays goodwill towards the surrounding communities in which

it operates.

Q4Q

5.3.2 RELIABILITY TESTING Cronbach’s Alpha is an index of reliability associated with the variation

accounted for the true score of the underlying construct. Construct is

the hypothetical variables that are being measured (Schindler &

Cooper, 2003:216-217) (cited by Botha, 2010:52).

Table 5.2 shows the reliability test (Cronbach Alpha Coefficient)

performed on sets of items (statements), to measure internal

consistency with respect to the responses rendered in the

questionnaires. The test was calculated for each construct as well as

the overall scale (questionnaire). In general a Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.7

is the criterion used to establish an acceptable level of reliability

(Nunnaly 1978; Robinson, Shaver and Wrightsman, 1991) (cited by

Hassad, 2009:3).

55

The values obtained for the overall scale Cronbach’s Alpha

questionnaire is 0.814, which is higher than the acceptable level 0.70

indicating therefore that the questionnaire is reliable and consistent.

However variables from Q1A to Q1E and Q3K to Q3M may be multi-

dimensional. This problem can be dealt with by deleting the items that

add inconsistency to the questionnaire. After deleting variables Q1C

to Q1E the Cronbach’s Alpha increased and is now considered

moderate.

Table 5.2: Cronbach Alpha Coefficient for different construct.

Statements Construct Cronbach’s Alpha

Strength of Association

Q1A – Q1E Promotion of

CPUT’s brand

0.482 Bad

Q2F – Q2J Student friendly

environment

0.716 Good

Q3K – Q3M Higher education

choice

0.353 Bad

Q4N – Q4Q Contribution to

society

0.726 Good

Table 5.3: Cronbach Alpha Coefficient after items were deleted.

Statements Construct Cronbach’s Alpha

Strength of Association

Q1A – Q1B Promotion of

CPUT’s brand

0.671 Moderate

Q2F – Q2J Student friendly

environment

0.716 Good

Q2I – Q3L Higher education

choice

0.66 Moderate

Q4N, Q4P

and Q4Q

Contribution to

society

0.808 Very Good

56

Thus items (statements) Q1C, Q1D, Q1E were deleted from the

reliability coefficient to ensure that the section in question becomes

more consistent and reliable. The same applies to statements Q3M

and Q4O.

5.3.3 DESCRIPIVE STATISTICS The data containing descriptive statistics for all the variables in the

questionnaire, with frequencies in each category and the percentage

out of the total number of questionnaires completed is shown within

the ambit of Annexure A and B. It is important to note that the

descriptive statistics are based on the total sample.

Each section of the questionnaire is interpreted below and illustrated

by means of a bar graph. Therefore, the following presents the

findings for each section of the questionnaire.

5.3.3.1 Uni-variate Graphs Section 1: Open Day contributes to the promotion of CPUT’s brand.

Barchart for Q1A

ValueSD D UN A SA

Freq

uenc

y

26242220181614121086420

2.17 % 4.35 % 4.35 %

41.3 %

47.83 %

Figure 5.1: Greater awareness of the institution.

The above chart illustrates the responses of prospective students and

parents or guardians’ regarding the greater awareness Open Day

creates to CPUT. Respondents agree the most with the statement

57

(89.13% agree and strongly agree), thus only 6.52% disagree and

strongly disagree, and the remaining 4.35% were undecided.

Barchart for Q1B

ValueSD D UN A SA

Freq

uenc

y

242220181614121086420

2.17 %6.52 %

15.22 %

43.48 %

32.61 %

Figure 5.2: Promoting CPUT’s core values.

The respondents indicated that Open Day promotes CPUT’s core

values by agreeing in majority (76.09% agree and strongly agree) with

the statement. The number of undecided respondents was 15.22%

whilst the ones that disagreed amount to 8.69% (disagree and

strongly disagree).

Barchart for Q1C

ValueD UN A SA

Freq

uenc

y

242220181614121086420

10.87 %

19.57 %

43.48 %

26.09 %

Figure 5.3: Promoting CPUT’s objectives.

The majority of the respondents (69.57%) agree and strongly agree

with the statement ‘Open Day promotes CPUT’s objectives’. However

19.57% are undecided and 10.87% of the respondents disagree with

the statement.

58

Barchart for Q1D

ValueD UN A SA

Freq

uenc

y

20

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

2.17 %

30.43 %

36.96 %

30.43 %

Figure 5.4: Measurement and improvement on perception about CPUT.

It is important to note that there is a fair undecided factor of 30.43%.

However 67.39% agree and strongly agree with the statement ‘Open

Day attempts to measure and improve on the perceptions about

CPUT’ and 2.17% disagree.

Barchart for Q1E

ValueSD D UN A SA

Freq

uenc

y

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

6.52 %4.35 %

30.43 %32.61 %

26.09 %

Figure 5.5: Attract high quality students.

The respondents indicated that Open Day attempts to attract high

quality students by agreeing in majority (58.7% agree and strongly

agree) with the statement. The number of undecided respondents is a

factor as it account to two quarters (30.43%) whilst respondents that

disagreed amount to 10.87% (disagree and strongly disagree).

59

Section 2: Open Day reflects the idea of a student friendly environment to CPUT’s academic.

Barchart for Q2F

ValueD UN A SA

Freq

uenc

y

2220181614121086420

6.52 %

19.57 %

32.61 %

41.3 %

Figure 5.6: Environment of equality, freedom and civil rights

Respondents agree the most (73.91% agree and strongly agree) with

the statement ‘CPUT provides an environment of equality, freedom

and civil rights, thus only 6.52% disagree, and the remaining 19.57%

were undecided.

Barchart for Q2G

ValueSD D UN A SA

Freq

uenc

y

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

2.17 % 2.17 %

28.26 %

32.61 %34.78 %

Figure 5.7: Environment where students’ social needs are satisfied.

It is clear from the above chart that most of the respondents agree

(67.39% agree and strongly agree) with CPUT providing an

environment where students’ social needs are satisfied. A fair number

60

of respondents were undecided (28.26%) whilst a small number was

equally distributed between agree and disagree (2.17%).

Barchart for Q2H

ValueSD D UN A SA

Freq

uenc

y

20

18

16

14

12

108

6

4

2

0

2.17 %4.35 %

17.39 %

36.96 %39.13 %

Figure 5.8: Environment where parents feel comfortable leaving their sons in

The respondents indicated that Open Day provides an environment

where parents feel comfortable leaving their sons or daughters in, by

agreeing (76.09% agree and strongly agree) with the statement. The

number of undecided respondents accounts to 17.39% and

respondents that disagreed amount to 6.52% (disagree and strongly

disagree).

Barchart for Q2I

ValueSD D UN A SA

Freq

uenc

y

242220181614121086420

6.52 %8.7 %

6.52 %

45.65 %

32.61 %

Figure 5.9: Personnel counselling about career choice


with the statement ‘Personnel at Open Day counsel about career

choice’. However 15.22% disagree and strongly disagree and 6.52%

of the respondents were undecided with the statement.

61

Barchart for Q2J

ValueSD D UN A SA

Freq

uenc

y

20

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

2.17 %4.35 %

19.57 %

36.96 % 36.96 %

Figure 5.10: Personnel identify strengths and opportunities about career choice.

Respondents were equally distributed between agree and strongly

agree (36.96% respectively) with the statement ‘Personnel at Open

Day identify strengths and opportunities about prospective students’

career choice’, thus only 6.52% disagree and strongly disagree, and

the remaining 19.57% were undecided.

Section 3: Open Day influences parents and prospective students’ higher education choice.

Barchart for Q3K

ValueSD D UN A SA

Freq

uenc

y

242220181614121086420

6.52 %4.35 % 4.35 %

43.48 %41.3 %

Figure 5.11: Informed decision of joining CPUT

The respondents indicated that Open Day provides sufficient

information for an uninformed decision of joining CPUT by agreeing in

majority (84.78% agree and strongly agree) with the statement. The

62

number of undecided respondents was 4.35% whilst the ones that

disagreed amount to 10.87 % (disagree and strongly disagree).

Barchart for Q3L

ValueSD D UN A SA

Freq

uenc

y

242220181614121086420

2.17 % 2.17 %

17.39 %

45.65 %

32.61 %

Figure 5.12: Convincing people of the potential to study at CPUT

Respondents agree in majority (78.26% agree and strongly agree)

with the statement ‘Open Day convinces people who were uninformed

of the potential to study at CPUT’. However 17.39% were undecided

and 4.34% disagree (disagree and strongly disagree).

Barchart for Q3M

ValueSD D UN A SA

Freq

uenc

y

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

6.52 %8.7 %

26.09 %

34.78 %

23.91 %

Figure 5.13: Open Day recruits students who would have studied elsewhere.

The respondents indicated that Open Day recruits new students who

would have studied elsewhere, by agreeing (58.69% agree and

strongly agree) with the statement. The number of undecided

respondents is 26.09% and respondents that disagreed amount to

15.22% (disagree and strongly disagree).

63

Section 4: CPUT contributes to society.

Barchart for Q4N

ValueSD D UN A SA

Freq

uenc

y18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

6.52 %

2.17 %

21.74 %

34.78 % 34.78 %

Figure 5.14: CPUT contributes to knowledge creation and economic growth.


with the statement ‘CPUT contributes to knowledge creation and

economic growth’. However 21.74% are undecided and 8.69% of the

respondents disagree and strongly disagree with the statement.

Barchart for Q4O

ValueSD UN A SA

Freq

uenc

y

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

4.35 %0 %

6.52 %

56.52 %

32.61 %

Figure 5.15: Professional and quality graduates

The respondents (89.13%) agree and strongly agree with the

statement ‘CPUT creates professional and quality graduates’.

However 6.52% are undecided and 4.35% of the respondents strongly

disagree with the statement.

64

Barchart for Q4P

ValueSD D UN A SA

Freq

uenc

y

25

20

15

10

5

0

2.17 %6.52 %

10.87 %

52.17 %

28.26 %

Figure 5.16: Competencies required by the industry.

Respondents agree with the statement ‘CPUT provides its graduates

the competencies required by the industry’ (80% agree and strongly

agree). However 10.87% are undecided and 8.69% disagree and

strongly disagree.

Barchart for Q4Q

ValueSD D UN A SA

Freq

uenc

y

2826242220181614121086420

6.52 %2.17 %

19.57 %

50 %

21.74 %

Figure 5.17: Goodwill towards surrounding communities

Respondents agree the most with the statement ‘CPUT displays

goodwill towards the surrounding communities in which it operates’

(71.74% agree and strongly agree). However 19.57% are undecided

and 8.69% disagree and strongly disagree.

65

5.4 CONCLUSION As for the results obtained through this survey on whether Open Day

adds the perception of quality to CPUT’s brand, the following

analogies can be drawn from this research:

Ø The respondents show a high degree of agreement regarding

Open Day’s contribution to the promotion of CPUT’s brand.

Ø The majority of respondents are of the opinion that Open Day

creates greater awareness of the institution

Ø Open Day reflects the idea of a student friendly environment to

CPUT’s academic by providing an environment of equality,

freedom and civil rights.

Ø Open Day influences respondents’ higher education choice as it

informs them the potential to study at CPUT.

Ø Respondents indicate that CPUT contributes to society and

creates quality graduates with the competencies required by the

industry.

Ø CPUT displays goodwill towards surrounding communities in which

it operates.

Although the respondents mostly agree with all the statements of

survey, the reader’s attention is to be drawn to the fact that there is a

fair amount of undecided respondents regarding the following:

Ø Open Day’s attempt to measure perceptions about CPUT.

Ø Open Day’s attempt to attract high quality students.

Ø CPUT provision of an environment where students’ social needs

are satisfied.

Ø Open Day recruiting students who would have studied elsewhere.

The researcher is of the opinion that the fair amount of undecided

respondents refers to the fact that they are not yet part of the

institution, therefore they cannot decided whether they agree or

disagree with the statements.

66

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 6.1 THE RESEARCH THUS FAR: A REFLECTIVE PERSPECTIVE In the research thus far, the extent of the research was elaborated

upon in Chapter one which indicated the research problem, the

research question and research objectives. A holistic perspective on

the research environment was provided within the ambit of Chapter

two. In Chapter three, a literature review was conducted with specific

focus on the following:

Ø Marketing;

Ø customer satisfaction;

Ø branding in higher education;

Ø TQM

Ø QFD; and

Ø the link between marketing and TQM.

In Chapter four, the research design and methodology was elaborated

upon in detail to ultimately culminate in Chapter five, where the survey

data was analysed and interpreted. In this final Chapter six, the

research is to be concluded and final analogies drawn.

6.2 ANALOGIES DRAWN FROM THE DATA ANALYSIS As from the results obtained through the survey from the previous

chapter the following analogies can be drawn from this survey:

Ø The respondents show a high degree of agreement regarding

Open Day’s contribution to the promotion of CPUT’s brand.

Ø Open Day reflects the idea of a student friendly environment to

CPUT’s academic by providing an environment of equality,

freedom and civil rights.

Ø Respondents confirm that CPUT contributes to society and creates

quality graduates with the competencies required by the industry.

67

Ø Open Day influences respondents’ higher education choice as it

informs them the potential to study at CPUT.

Ø A fair amount of respondents is undecided about Open Day’s

attempt to measure perceptions about CPUT, and the provision of

an environment where students’ social needs are satisfied.

6.3 RECOMMENDATIONS TO MITIGATE THE RESEARCH PROBLEM The research problem that was researched within the ambit of this

dissertation reads as follows:

‘The Open Day initiative does not contribute fully towards parents’ and

prospective students’ perceptions regarding the quality of CPUT’s

brand and decision making in enrolling at the institution’.

To mitigate the research problem the following recommendations

culminated as a result of the literature review and the data analyses:

Ø Marketing’s primary goal is to satisfy customers, thus the survey

revealed that a fair amount of respondents is unaware or

undecided about CPUT satisfying students social needs, therefore

strategies to adjust that problem should be implemented.

Ø An informed customer is the one that makes the right decision

according to his or her needs. In this regard Open Day is providing

sufficient information for a decision of joining CPUT, therefore the

Marketing and communication department should be

congratulated.

Ø Open Day is providing CPUT with a distinct image, which helps in

recruiting students who would have studied elsewhere, but

improvement needs to be done in this regard due to the number or

undecided survey respondents.

Ø The survey revealed that respondents are unaware or undecided

regarding Open Day’s attempt to measure and improve on

68

perception about CPUT as well as Open Day’s attempt to attract

high quality students. Therefore this matter should be addressed.

Ø The survey lastly revealed that the MCD is positively working

towards boosting the university’s brand as well as convincing

parents and prospective students to make the decision of enrolling

at the institution. Therefore the good job should look for continuous

improvement and maintaining a high standard.

6.4 THE RESEARCH QUESTION REVISITED The research question, which forms the crux of this research study

reads as follows:

‘How does Open Day add the perception of quality to CPUT’s brand?’

According to the findings in Chapter five, OD creates greater

awareness of the institution, promotes the institution’s core values,

provides an environment where parents feel free to leave their sons

and daughters in, provides sufficient information for a decision of

enrolling at CPUT and recruits students who would have studied

elsewhere. Therefore the researcher is able to state that the research

question was answered.

6.5 RESEARCH INVESTIGATIVE QUESTIONS REVISITED The following investigative questions were researched in support of

the research question:

Ø How does Open Day contribute to the promotion of CPUT’s brand?

Ø How does Open Day reflect the idea of a student friendly

environment to CPUT’s academic?

Ø How does Open Day influence parents’ and prospective students’

higher education choice?

Ø What contribution does CPUT at to society?

69

6.6 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES REVISITED The key research objectives, which were formulated in Chapter one

read as follows:

Ø To determine Open Day’s contribution to CPUT’s brand.

Ø To analyse how prospective students’ and parents’ perceive

CPUT’s brand.

Ø To determine Open Day’s influence on parent’s and prospective

students’ higher education choice.

Ø To investigate CPUT’s contribution to society.

6.7 FINAL CONCLUSION Open Day proved to be an effective tool in the pursuit of improving

perceptions about CPUT’s brand, as CPUT aims to become reference

of education in Africa. Nevertheless, it is critical to invest in brand

strategies linked with quality principles in order to create a distinct

brand (image of prestige) that will attract and retain more students.

70

BIBLIOGRAPHY

American Society for Quality. n.d. Total quality management.

http://asq.org/learn-about-quality/total-quality-

management/overview/overview.html. [Assessed 15/08/2013].

Anderson, K. & McAdam, R. (2004). A critique of benchmarking and

performance measurement, lead or lag?. Benchmarking: An

international Journal, Vol.11,No. 5, pp. 465-483.

Babbie, E. 2005. The basics of social research. Belmont: Thomson

Wadsworth.

Boshoff, C., Hair J., Lamb, C., McDaniel C., Terblanche, N. 2008.

Marketing.3rd Edition. Oxford Southern Africa.

Botha, M. 2010. Employee satisfaction as a catalyst for improved

efficiency, productivity and customer satisfaction. Master of

Technology. Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

Cape Peninsula University of Technology. n.d. History.

http://www.cput.ac.za/about/history. [Assessed: 10/06/2013].

Cape Peninsula University of Technology. 2013. CPUT Open Day.

http://www.cput.ac.za/newsroom/news/article/1530/cput-open-day.

[Assessed 14/06/2013].

Chapleo, C. 2010. What defines successful university brands. Journal

of public sector management. www.emeraldinsight.com/0951-

3558.htm. [Assessed: 10/05/2013].

Chernatony, L. & McDonald, M. 1992. Creating powerful brands.

London.

Cohen, L. 1995. Quality function deployment: how to make QFD work

71

for you. USA.

Collis, J. & Hussey, R. 2003. Business Research: A practical guide for

undergraduate and post graduate students. Hampshire: Palgrave

Macmillan.

Collis, J. & Hussey, R. 2009. Business Research: A practical guide for

undergraduate and post graduate students. Hampshire: Palgrave

Macmillan.

Cooper, D.R. & Schindler, P.S. 2006. Business research methods.

Boston: Mcgraw-Hill.

Council on Higher Education South Africa (CHE). 2010. Higher

Education in South Africa. http://www.che.ac.za/heinsa/. [Assessed

03/05/2013]

Council on Higher Education South Africa (CHE). 2010. Universities of

Technology: Deepening the debate.

http://www.che.ac.za/documents/d000205/Kagisano_No_7_February2

010.pdf. [Assessed 25/05/2013]

CPUT Marketing and Communication Department. 2013. Exhibitors

Manual. Cape Town: CPUT Marketing and Communication

Department.

Curtis T, Abratt R, & Minor W. Corporate brand management in higher

education: the case of ERAU. Journal of Product and Brand

Management. www.emeraldinsight.com/1061-0421.htm. [Assessed

25/03/2013].

Dahlgaard, J.J. Kristensen, K. & Kanji, G.K. 1998. Fundamentals of

TQM. London.

72

Deming, W.E. 1986. Out of Crisis. Cambridge.

Durham University. 2013. Marketing.

https://www.dur.ac.uk/communications.office/marketing. [Assessed

12/05/2013].

Durkin,. McKenna,. and Cummings,. 2011. Emotional connections in

higher education marketing. International Journal of Educational

Management. www.emeraldinsight.com/0951-354X.htm. [Assessed

12/05/2013].

Engagement Australia. 2012. Educating for Community Engagement

Practice and Scholarship in South African Higher Education

Institutions: A Case Study of the University of Fort Hare.

http://engagementaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/5.2.1-

Educating-for-Community-Engagement-Practice-and-Scholarship-in-

South-African-Higher-Education-Institution-Margie-Mastrie.pdf.

[Assessed 03/05/2013].

Etech Global Services. 2013. Principles of total quality management.

http://www.etechgs.com/blog/post/Principles-of-Total-Quality-

Management-(TQM).aspx.[ Assessed 20/08/2013].

George, S. & Weimerskirch, A. 1998. Total quality management:

strategies and techniques proven at today’s most successful

companies. Toronto.

Hassad, R. Development and validation of a teaching practice scale

for instructors of introductory statistics at college level.

http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED506525.pdf. [Assessed 2/10/2013].

IEEE Long Island. n.d. Quality Function Deployment.

http://www.ieee.li/tmc/quality_function_deployment.pdf. [Assessed

23/05/13]

73

International Education Association of South Africa. n.d. International

Students: Trends in South Africa.

http://www.ieasa.studysa.org/images/12_StudySA/HE_in_context.pdf.

[Assessed 03/05/2013].

International Education Association of South Africa. n.d. South African

Higher Education: Facts and figures.

http://www.ieasa.studysa.org/resources/Study_SA/Facts_Figures_sec

tion.pdf. [Assessed 05/03/2013].

Jablonski, R.J. 1992. Implementing TQM. San Diego. California.

Judson, K. M., Aurand, T. W., Gorchels, L., & Gordon, G. L. (2009).

Building a university brand from within: university administrators’

perspectives of internal branding. Services Marketing Quarterly.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1533296082467722. [Assessed 07/05/2013].

Juran, M.J. & Godfrey, B.A. 1999. Juran’s quality handbook. 5th

edition. USA.

Knoxx S. 2004. Positioning and Branding your organization. Journal of

Public and Brand Management.

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=1061-

0421&volume=13&issue=2&articleid=857839&show=html. [Assessed

19/03/2013].

Kothari, C.R. 2004. Research methodology: methods and techniques.

India.

Leedy, P.D. & Ormrod, J.E. 2001. Practical research Planning and

Design. New Jersey: Merrill Prentice Hall.

74

Leedy, P.D. & Ormrod, J.E. 2010. Practical research Planning and

Design. Boston: Pearson Education International.

Logman M, 2004. The LOGMAN model: a logical brand management

model. Journal of Public and Brand Management.

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=1061-

0421&volume=13&issue=2&articleid=857838&show=html. [Assessed

19/03/2013]

Lowrie, A. (2007). Branding higher education: equivalence and

difference in developing identity, Journal of Business Research.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2007.01.024. [Assessed

22/05/2013].

Makgosa, R. 2012. Rebranding an institution of higher education in

Botswana. Business and economic research.

http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/ber.v2i2.1926. [Assessed 12/05/2013].

Murphy, J.M. 1992. Branding: A key marketing tool. 2nd edition.

London.

New Age Publishers. n.d. Meaning of quality.

http://www.newagepublishers.com/samplechapter/002126.pdf.

[Assessed 10/08/2013].

Omachon, V. & Ross, J. 2005. Principle of total quality management.

New York.

Pierson Blue Skies. 2011. A new horizon: Higher Education in South

Africa. http://pearsonblueskies.com/2011/a-different-horizon-higher-

education-in-south-africa-2/. [Assessed 03/05/2013].

Pinar M, Trapp P, Girard T & Boyt T. Utilizing the brand ecosystem

framework in designing branding strategies for higher education.

75

Internal Journal of Education Management.

www.emeraldinsight.com/0951-354X.htm. [Assessed 25/03/2013]

Powel, T. 1995. Total quality management as a competitive

advantage: a review and empirical study. Strategic management

journal. http://www.thomaspowell.co.uk/article_pdfs/TQM_as_CA.pdf.

[Assessed 16/05/2013]

Quality Function Deployment Institute. n.d. What is QFD.

http://www.qfdi.org/what_is_qfd/what_is_qfd.htm. [Assessed

22/05/2013].

Rao, A. Carr, P. L. Dambolena, I. Kopp, J.R. Rafii, F. Schlesinger,

F.P. 1996. Total quality management: A cross-functional perspective.

USA.

Remenyi, D. Williams, B. Money, A. & Swartz, E. 2002. Doing

research in business and management. London: Sage

Reverso. n.d. Dictionary: English definition of university of technology.

http://dictionary.reverso.net/englishdefinition/university%20of%20tech

nology. [Assessed 07/05/2013].

Sallis, E. 2002. Total quality management in education. USA.

Saunders, M. N. K. Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2000). Research

methods for business students. Edinburgh Gate: Pearson Education.

Schiffman, L.G. & Kanuk, L.L. (2007). Consumer behavior. 9th ed.

Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice-Hall.

South African Technology Network. 2008. Cape Peninsula University

of Technology. http://www.satn.co.za/cape-peninsula-university-of-

technology. [Assessed 10/06/2013].

76

South African Government online. 2004. Creating comprehensive

universities in South Africa: A concept document.

http://www.info.gov.za/view/DownloadFileAction?id=70361. [Assessed

25/05/2013].

Southern African Reginal Universities Association. n.d. Cape

Peninsula University of Technology: History.

http://www.sarua.org/?q=content/cape-peninsula-university-

technology-history. [Assessed 11/06/2013].

Tenner , R.A. & DeToro J.I. 1992. Total quality management: three

steps to continuous improvement. USA.

The Economist. 2009. Total quality management.

http://www.economist.com/node/14301657. [Assessed 19/03/2013].

Times Higher Education. 2012. Africa’s scramble for regeneration.

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-

rankings/2011-12/world-ranking/analysis/best-universities-africa.

[Assessed 03/05/2013]

University of North Carolina Wilmington. n.d. Marketing.

http://uncw.edu/career/marketing.html. [Assessed 16/05/13].

Van Vuuren, T. Roberts-Lombard, M. and van Tonder, E. 2012.

Customer satisfaction, trust and commitment as predictors of

customer loyalty within an optometric practice environment.

www.ajol.info/index.php/sabr/article/download/85468/75399.

[Assessed 22/09/2013].

77

Watkins, J. A. 2012. Theses/Dissertations/Research Reports: A

Practical guide for Students of Academic Research. Cape Town:

Content Solutions

Willey. n.d. Total quality management.

http://www.wiley.com/college/sc/chap5.pdf. [Assessed 19/05/2013].

78

ANNEXURE A: Descriptive Statistics

Variable N Mean StdDev Minimum Maximum Range ------------------------------------------------------------------ Q1A 46 4.28 0.91 1.00 5.00 4.00 Q1B 46 3.98 0.98 1.00 5.00 4.00 Q1C 46 3.85 0.94 2.00 5.00 3.00 Q1D 46 3.96 0.84 2.00 5.00 3.00 Q1E 46 3.67 1.12 1.00 5.00 4.00 Q2F 46 4.09 0.94 2.00 5.00 3.00 Q2G 46 3.96 0.97 1.00 5.00 4.00 Q2H 46 4.07 0.98 1.00 5.00 4.00 Q2I 46 3.89 1.16 1.00 5.00 4.00 Q2J 46 4.02 0.98 1.00 5.00 4.00 Q3K 46 4.09 1.11 1.00 5.00 4.00 Q3L 46 4.04 0.89 1.00 5.00 4.00 Q3M 46 3.61 1.14 1.00 5.00 4.00 Q4N 46 3.89 1.12 1.00 5.00 4.00 Q4O 46 4.13 0.88 1.00 5.00 4.00 Q4P 46 3.98 0.93 1.00 5.00 4.00 Q4Q 46 3.78 1.03 1.00 5.00 4.00 ------------------------------------------------------------------

Variable N Median Mode ------------------------------------ Q1A 46 4.00 5.00 Q1B 46 4.00 4.00 Q1C 46 4.00 4.00 Q1D 46 4.00 4.00 Q1E 46 4.00 4.00 Q2F 46 4.00 5.00 Q2G 46 4.00 5.00 Q2H 46 4.00 5.00 Q2I 46 4.00 4.00 Q2J 46 4.00 4.00* Q3K 46 4.00 4.00 Q3L 46 4.00 4.00 Q3M 46 4.00 4.00 Q4N 46 4.00 4.00* Q4O 46 4.00 4.00 Q4P 46 4.00 4.00 Q4Q 46 4.00 4.00

------------------------------------

79

ANNEXURE B: Descriptive statistics: frequency tables

Frequency table for Q1A

-------------------------------------- Value N % Cum. % -------------------------------------- SD 1 2.17 2.17 D 2 4.35 6.52 UN 2 4.35 10.87 A 19 41.30 52.17 SA 22 47.83 100.00 --------------------------------------

TOTAL 46 100.00 --------------------------------------

Missing cases: 1

Frequency table for Q1B -------------------------------------- Value N % Cum. % -------------------------------------- SD 1 2.17 2.17 D 3 6.52 8.70 UN 7 15.22 23.91 A 20 43.48 67.39 SA 15 32.61 100.00 --------------------------------------

TOTAL 46 100.00 --------------------------------------

Missing cases: 1

Frequency table for Q1C -------------------------------------- Value N % Cum. % -------------------------------------- D 5 10.87 10.87 UN 9 19.57 30.43 A 20 43.48 73.91 SA 12 26.09 100.00 --------------------------------------

TOTAL 46 100.00 --------------------------------------

Missing cases: 1

Frequency table for Q1D -------------------------------------- Value N % Cum. % -------------------------------------- D 1 2.17 2.17 UN 14 30.43 32.61 A 17 36.96 69.57 SA 14 30.43 100.00 --------------------------------------

TOTAL 46 100.00 --------------------------------------

Missing cases: 1

Frequency table for Q1E -------------------------------------- Value N % Cum. % -------------------------------------- SD 3 6.52 6.52 D 2 4.35 10.87 UN 14 30.43 41.30

80

A 15 32.61 73.91 SA 12 26.09 100.00 --------------------------------------

TOTAL 46 100.00 --------------------------------------

Missing cases: 1

Frequency table for Q2F -------------------------------------- Value N % Cum. % -------------------------------------- D 3 6.52 6.52 UN 9 19.57 26.09 A 15 32.61 58.70 SA 19 41.30 100.00 --------------------------------------

TOTAL 46 100.00 --------------------------------------

Missing cases: 1

Frequency table for Q2G -------------------------------------- Value N % Cum. % -------------------------------------- SD 1 2.17 2.17 D 1 2.17 4.35 UN 13 28.26 32.61 A 15 32.61 65.22 SA 16 34.78 100.00 --------------------------------------

TOTAL 46 100.00 --------------------------------------

Missing cases: 1

Frequency table for Q2H -------------------------------------- Value N % Cum. % -------------------------------------- SD 1 2.17 2.17 D 2 4.35 6.52 UN 8 17.39 23.91 A 17 36.96 60.87 SA 18 39.13 100.00 --------------------------------------

TOTAL 46 100.00 --------------------------------------

Missing cases: 1

Frequency table for Q2I -------------------------------------- Value N % Cum. % -------------------------------------- SD 3 6.52 6.52 D 4 8.70 15.22 UN 3 6.52 21.74 A 21 45.65 67.39 SA 15 32.61 100.00 --------------------------------------

TOTAL 46 100.00 --------------------------------------

Missing cases: 1

Frequency table for Q2J

81

-------------------------------------- Value N % Cum. % -------------------------------------- SD 1 2.17 2.17 D 2 4.35 6.52 UN 9 19.57 26.09 A 17 36.96 63.04 SA 17 36.96 100.00 --------------------------------------

TOTAL 46 100.00 --------------------------------------

Missing cases: 1

Frequency table for Q3K -------------------------------------- Value N % Cum. % -------------------------------------- SD 3 6.52 6.52 D 2 4.35 10.87 UN 2 4.35 15.22 A 20 43.48 58.70 SA 19 41.30 100.00 --------------------------------------

TOTAL 46 100.00 --------------------------------------

Missing cases: 1

Frequency table for Q3L -------------------------------------- Value N % Cum. % -------------------------------------- SD 1 2.17 2.17 D 1 2.17 4.35 UN 8 17.39 21.74 A 21 45.65 67.39 SA 15 32.61 100.00 --------------------------------------

TOTAL 46 100.00 --------------------------------------

Missing cases: 1

Frequency table for Q3M -------------------------------------- Value N % Cum. % -------------------------------------- SD 3 6.52 6.52 D 4 8.70 15.22 UN 12 26.09 41.30 A 16 34.78 76.09 SA 11 23.91 100.00 --------------------------------------

TOTAL 46 100.00 --------------------------------------

Missing cases: 1

Frequency table for Q4N -------------------------------------- Value N % Cum. % -------------------------------------- SD 3 6.52 6.52 D 1 2.17 8.70 UN 10 21.74 30.43 A 16 34.78 65.22 SA 16 34.78 100.00

82

-------------------------------------- TOTAL 46 100.00

-------------------------------------- Missing cases: 1

Frequency table for Q4O -------------------------------------- Value N % Cum. % -------------------------------------- SD 2 4.35 4.35 UN 3 6.52 10.87 A 26 56.52 67.39 SA 15 32.61 100.00 --------------------------------------

TOTAL 46 100.00 --------------------------------------

Missing cases: 1

Frequency table for Q4P -------------------------------------- Value N % Cum. % -------------------------------------- SD 1 2.17 2.17 D 3 6.52 8.70 UN 5 10.87 19.57 A 24 52.17 71.74 SA 13 28.26 100.00 --------------------------------------

TOTAL 46 100.00 --------------------------------------

Missing cases: 1

Frequency table for Q4Q -------------------------------------- Value N % Cum. % -------------------------------------- SD 3 6.52 6.52 D 1 2.17 8.70 UN 9 19.57 28.26 A 23 50.00 78.26 SA 10 21.74 100.00 --------------------------------------

TOTAL 46 100.00 --------------------------------------

Missing cases: 1

83

ANNEXURE C: Cronbach Alpha Coefficients RELIABILITY /VARIABLES=Q1a Q1b Q1c Q1d Q1e /SCALE('ALL VARIABLES') ALL /MODEL=ALPHA /STATISTICS=CORR /SUMMARY=CORR.

RELIABILITY /VARIABLES=Q2f Q2g Q2h Q2i Q2j /SCALE('ALL VARIABLES') ALL /MODEL=ALPHA /SUMMARY=CORR.

Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's

Alpha

Cronbach's

Alpha Based on

Standardized

Items

N of Items

.716 .716 5 RELIABILITY /VARIABLES=Q3k Q3l Q3m /SCALE('ALL VARIABLES') ALL /MODEL=ALPHA /SUMMARY=CORR.


Cronbach's

Alpha

Cronbach's

Alpha Based on

Standardized

Items

N of Items

.353 .388 3

RELIABILITY /VARIABLES=Q4n Q4o Q4p Q4q /SCALE('ALL VARIABLES') ALL /MODEL=ALPHA /SUMMARY=CORR.


Cronbach's

Alpha

Cronbach's

Alpha Based on

Standardized

Items

N of Items

.482 .492 5

84


Cronbach's

Alpha

Cronbach's

Alpha Based on

Standardized

Items

N of Items

.726 .717 4

Cronbach Alpha after items were deleted RELIABILITY /VARIABLES=Q1a Q1b /SCALE('ALL VARIABLES') ALL /MODEL=ALPHA /SUMMARY=CORR


Cronbach's

Alpha

Cronbach's

Alpha Based on

Standardized

Items

N of Items

.671 .672 2 RELIABILITY /VARIABLES=Q2i Q2j Q3k Q3l /SCALE('ALL VARIABLES') ALL /MODEL=ALPHA /SUMMARY=CORR.


Cronbach's

Alpha

Cronbach's

Alpha Based on

Standardized

Items

N of Items

.660 .661 4 RELIABILITY /VARIABLES=Q4n Q4p Q4q /SCALE('ALL VARIABLES') ALL /MODEL=ALPHA /SUMMARY=CORR.


Cronbach's

Alpha

Cronbach's

Alpha Based on

Standardized

Items

N of Items

.808 .812 3

85

ANNEXURE D: Questionnaire

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

(Bellville Campus) Telephone: +27 +21 959 6600

Email: [email protected] Department: Industrial and Systems Engineering

Date: 09 May 2013

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

This letter serves as confirmation that this survey is to assess if Open

Day adds the perception of quality to CPUT’s brand. The survey is the

method chosen by the researcher to collect data for a final research

report for a BTech in Quality. The researcher is under the supervision

of Professor Mellet Moll.

The survey is anonymous and responses cannot be traced to any

individual. The information provided by the respondent will be kept

confidential and it is only required for academic purposes. However

the report may be used by CPUT if deemed fit to use.

You are requested to tick under each statement of the survey that

best suits your level of agreement or disagreement after reading it.

The time taken to complete this survey is highly appreciated.

Yours Sincerely

Leonel Sobrinho

________________

86

QUESTIONAIRE: IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF CPUT’S BRAND USING OPEN DAY Please answer the following questions as honestly as possible by giving each a rating, by referring to the grid below. Please mark the appropriate block with “X”. 1 2 3 4 5 Strongly Disagree

Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly Agree

(1) Open Day contributes to the promotion of CPU’s brand

(a) Open Day creates greater awareness of the institution.

1 2 3 4 5

(b) Open Day promotes CPUT’s objectives. 1 2 3 4 5

(c) Open Day promotes CPUT’s objectives. 1 2 3 4 5

(d) Open Day attempts to measure and improve on perception about CPUT.

1 2 3 4 5

(e) Open Day attempts to attract high quality Students.

1 2 3 4 5

(2) Open Day reflects the idea of a student friendly environment to CPUT’s academic

(f) CPUT provides an environment of equality, freedom and civil rights.

1 2 3 4 5

(g) CPUT provides an environment where students’ social needs are satisfied

1 2 3 4 5

(h) Open Day provides an environment where parents feel comfortable leaving their sonsdaughters in.

1 2 3 4 5

(i) Personnel at Open Day counsel about career choice.

1 2 3 4 5

(j) Personnel at Open Day identify strengths and opportunities about potential student’s career choice.

1 2 3 4 5

(3) Open Day influences parents’ and prospective students’higher education choice

(k) Open Day provides sufficient information for an informed decision of joining CPUT.

1 2 3 4 5

(l) Open Day convinces people who were uninformed about the potential to study at CPUT.

1 2 3 4 5

(m) Open Day recruits students who would have studied elsewhere.

1 2 3 4 5

87

(4) CPUT contributes to society

(n) CPUT contributes to knowledge creation and economic growth.

1 2 3 4 5

(o) CPUT creates professional and quality graduates.

1 2 3 4 5

(p) CPUT provides its graduates the competencies required by the industry.

1 2 3 4 5

(q) CPUT displays goodwill towards the surrounding communities in which it operates.

1 2 3 4 5

Documents

Thesis - Final(ready to print)