beSMART

THE EFFECTS OF DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS ON PERCEIVED CUSTOMER SATISFACTION BETWEEN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE BANKS: TURKEY EXAMPLE

The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of demographic factors on perceived customer satisfaction between public and private banks in Turkey. To achieve this aim we conducted a survey among the six geographic regions in Turkey. We choose the biggest cities of these regions for sample (İstanbul, İzmir, Ankara, Antalya, Kahramanmaraş and Sinop). We used a composite scale, which were used for several studies (SERVQUAL, Parasuraman, Zeithalm and Berry (1985) Wu ve Liang (2009)). One hundred surveys are gathered from each city. Totally 600 surveys were returned. We conduct analyses with the SPSS 20.0 program. Explanatory factor analyses, t-tests, correlation and regression analyses were conducted. As a result, we found that, selection had a positive and significant relation with Competence and Credibility. In addition, gender had a positive and significant relation with Accessibility and negative relation with Sensitivity. Moreover, age and marital status had positive and significant relation with Credibility.    

Customer, satisfaction, demographics

Aniceto B. Berou Jr.1

The decision on whether to get employed or to venture in entrepreneurship is an issue that is based mainly on culture. The purpose of this study was to develop a theory on understanding the “culturally Filipino” perspective of making decisions directed towards landing on employment or venturing on entrepreneurship. Assumptions on this study include: (1) Filipino parents consider education a key towards employment; (2) people’s perceptions matter and influence one’s behavior; (3) most Filipinos with Filipino descent are not prepared to become entrepreneurs; (4) individuals tend to make decisions relative to what and how others expect of them; and (5) the Filipinos’ decision to choose employment over entrepreneurship produces a negative economic impact to the country. Propositions include: (1) employment to be viewed as the most important goal for most Filipinos; (2) most Filipinos listen to what others say first before making a decision; (3) most Filipinos do not contribute much to the economic development. These factors contribute to the development of the Culture-Based Decision in Economics Theory.

ENHANCING FARMER TO FARMER INFORMATION EXCHANGE THROUGH THE USE OF MOBILE PHONES IN NIGERIA

A. Abdullahi, C.J Garforth and P.T. Dorward.

Information and knowledge are the major socio-economic transformation drivers and presently the most important factors of development in the world. Agricultural information is important in promoting agricultural production of farmers. The information is obtained from various sources, depending on the type and use to which the information is considered for. Despite an overwhelming increased in the number, access and use of various Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), especially mobile phones in Nigeria, it was argued that farmer to farmer exchange and sources of agricultural and related information has not been researched recently. This paper examines whether, or not farmer to farmer information exchange is enhanced through various uses of mobile phones and other ICTs. A focus group discussion was used to collect data from fifteen farmers in Kurje village (Agricultural Development Project (ADP) Zone II) of Kano State (Nigeria) for the effectiveness of the various information sources considered relevant to information exchange. A survey was also conducted in each of the three ADP zones (I, II and III) with thirty participants. Thus a total of ninety participants were involved in the survey for the access and use of information in the area. Binary logit regression analysis was used to analyse the effect of demographic characteristics influencing access and use of information in the three ADP zones. The result of the FGDs shows that information obtained through extension agents has positively changed when mobile phones were introduced. Virtually all the farmers agreed that fellow farmers, lead farmers and media were the sources through which these information types (strategic, operational, technical, policy and marketing) were obtained. The result of the survey indicates that 82% of the respondents had access to various information in the community and 64% use the information obtained in one form or another. With more than 70% of them being farmers, it was found that 95% had access to agricultural related information and shared such information with other farmers. It was found that gender, educational status and farming experience were significantly related to access and use of information in the study area. Therefore, these factors need to be considered in promoting access and use of information among individuals. For enhancing information exchange among farmers in the area, use of the following information sources i.e. fellow farmers, lead farmers and media should be prioritised for the following information types: strategic, operational, technical, policy and marketing. 

TEACHERS’ COMPETENCE  AND  LEARNERS’ PERFORMANCE
 IN THE ALTERNATIVE LEARNING SYSTEM TOWARDS
AN ENRICHED  INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM

This study generally looked into the teacher’s competence and learner’s performance in the Alternative Learning System. It specifically determined the teacher-learner respondent’s profile, their competence using Competency Based Examination. This research aimed to determine the relationship between teachers’ competence and learners’ performance in the Competency Based Examination. The research investigation covered two groups of respondents namely; (1) learner-respondents who are the ALS learners and (2) the teacher-respondents who are instructional managers (IMs) and mobile teachers (MTs). The descriptive survey method was employed in this study. The instructional managers (IMs) and  mobile teachers (MTs), who were officially teaching learners in the different Community  Learning Centers (CLC) or schools implementing the Alternative Learning System Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) Program  for C.Y. 2012 were included in this study. It was found out that no significant relationship exists between teachers’ competence and certain socio-demographic profile such as gender and educational background. While teachers’ years of teaching experience in ALS, salary and performance rating are found to have significant relationship. Among the learners, gender and distance of residence from the community learning center had a significant relationship to their performance. Furthermore, there is no significant relationship between the teachers’ competence and learners’ performance. Based on the findings, an enriched instructional program was prepared for the implementation of the delivery system of the Alternative Learning System (ALS) Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) Program. As regards teachers’ competence, the following weaknesses were identified:  Manifest a thorough knowledge of the subject matter; formulate questions to clarify a lesson; usage of various aids to make the subject matter in the module more interesting to learners; make use of a variety of teaching strategies to make the lessons in the module more interesting; and provide challenging task applicable to real life situations.

Alternative Learning System, Competency-Based Examination, teacher’s competence, and learner’s performance

THE LEVEL OF JOB SATISFACTION AND COMPETENCIES OF JOLLIBEE MANAGERS IN
SELECTED BRANCHES IN THE NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION:
A PROPOSED MANAGERIAL SKILLS INTERVENTION

This research is about the level of satisfaction of Jollibee Managers in the National Capital Region. A determination of competencies of the subject respondents was also made to assess their managerial skills using the instrument developed by Whetten and Cameron. Specific demographic profile of the respondents was also looked into e.g. age, gender, civil status, highest educational attainment, length of service and NCR clusters  to evaluate whether job satisfaction and managerial competencies varies when classified according to these profile variables. Finally, the researcher determined if relationship exists between job satisfaction and managerial competencies. The main output of the study is to propose managerial skills intervention that may be applied by Jollibee Corp. to its store managers to further hone the competencies and job satisfaction.

Job Satisfaction, Competencies, Managerial Skills