Customer Service Management in Africa: A Strategic and Operational Perspective

ISBN-13: 9781032400051 / Angielski / Miękka / 2022 / 360 str.

Ogechi Adeola;Robert Hinson;Terri Lituchy

Opis

Customer Service Management in Africa: A Strategic and Operational Perspective (978-0-367-14337-4, K410515) "Customer Service is Changing!" The message of 34 authors featured in Customer Service Management in Africa: A Strategic and Operational Perspective is clear: Today's consumers are no longer 'passive audiences' but 'active players' that engage with businesses at each stage of product or service design and delivery systems. Consumer demands and expectations are also increasingly being dictated by changing personal preferences, enhanced access to information and expanding digital reality. The customer service principles - strategic and operational - advocated by these authors are universal, but particularly compelling as they apply to Africa's unique and dynamic operating environment. In recognition of the importance of excellent customer service, this comprehensive and well-timed book provides an essential guide on the increasing role of the customer to business success. This book discusses the management and delivery of customer service under seven broad themes: Customer Service as Shared Value, Customer Service Strategy, Customer Service Systems, Customer Service Style, Customer Service Culture, Customer Service Skills and Customer Experience - Advancing Customer Service in Africa. Central questions posed and addressed include: What is the new definition of customer service management? How should organisations position themselves to create value for customers and stakeholders? How should employees project themselves to align with customer service promises made by their organisations? Overall, this book provides strategic and operational insights into effective customer service management in Africa. The customer service management concepts, roles and practices outlined, particularly as they apply to the African context, make it an important addition to scholars' or practitioners' reference works.

Spis treści

Acknowledgements. About the Contributors. Chapter 1 - Introduction to Customer Service Management: A Strategic and Operational Perspective. Chapter 2 - Who is A Customer? Chapter 3 - Defining a Customer-driven Organisation. Chapter 4 - Ethical Customer Service. Chapter 5 - An Institutional Economics-Led Model of Customer Service Strategy. Chapter 6 - Barriers to Implementing Customer Service Strategy. Chapter 7 - Customer Service Systems. Chapter 8 - Application of Digital Technology and Social Media to enhance Customer Service Experience. Chapter 9 - Technology and Social Media in Customer Service. Chapter 10 - Innovation and Customer Service. Chapter 11 - Entrepreneurial Customer Service. Chapter 12 - Leadership and Customer Service. Chapter 13 - Teamwork and Customer Service. Chapter 14 - Customer Service Training. Chapter 15 - Organisational Culture & Customer Service Delivery. Chapter 16 - Cultural Influence on Customer Service Delivery. Chapter 17 - Reward and Recognition Systems in Customer Service Organisations. Chapter 18 - Reward Systems & Customer Service Delivery Among Small And Medium Enterprises In Lagos State. Chapter 19 - Emotional Intelligence. Chapter 20 - Twenty Traits of Customer Service Champions. Chapter 21 - Professional Grooming. Chapter 22 - Presentation Skills. Chapter 23 - Advancing the Services Sector’s Potential in Africa Through Customer Experience: A Conceptual Perspective.

O autorze

Professor Robert Ebo Hinson is the Head of the Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship at the University of Ghana and Acting Director of Institutional Advancement in the same University. Professor Hinson has been consultant to several local and international institutions in Ghana including Standard Chartered Bank, HFC Bank, CAL Bank, Merchant Bank, the Enterprise Group; and Ecobank. Robert also sits on the board of Camelot Limited (a listed company). Professor Hinson started his professional career in advertising and has since becoming an academic taught a diversity of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Apart from his experience in teaching, Prof. Hinson has a keen interest in research and in recognition of his research productivity, was awarded the 2008 Emerati Highly Commended paper Award for a co-authored paper published in Corporate Governance, the 2009 Journal of African Business Best Paper Award, the 2010 Emerati Outstanding paper Award for a co-authored paper published in the Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing and the Best Paper award in the International marketing track at the 2010 Academy of Marketing Conference at the Coventry University Business School, for another co-authored paper.

Professor Hinson is published in or has had papers accepted for publication in rated journals like the International Journal of Public Sector Management, Internet Research, International Journal of Bank Marketing, Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, and the Thunderbird International Business Review. He has delivered invited lectures in the University of Warwick (UK), University of North Texas Business School (USA); and the University of the Free State Business School (Bloemfontein, South Africa).

His current areas of research are services management, e-business, marketing practice, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and international business. Robert holds two doctorate degrees; one in Marketing from the University of Ghana; and a second in International Business from Aalborg University in Denmark.

Ogechi Adeola is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria. She commenced her career over two decades ago with Citibank Nigeria, before moving to academia. She holds a doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from Alliance Manchester Business School, UK (Alliance MBS). She is a 2016 Visiting International Fellow, Open University Business School, UK; a 2017 Paul R. Lawrence Fellow, Chicago; guest lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School; and Associate Dean, University of the People, USA. She is Nigeria’s Country Coordinator of Savings Groups for Africa (SG4Africa); co-investigator of a Research England-funded project documenting women’s entrepreneurial tourism efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa; and founder of Empowering African Women, funded through the 2017 Ignition Award of MBS. She was a 2018/2019 Nigerian project team member of IT for Change (India); and an Alpha team member of the Centre for Global Enterprise (CGE), engaged as virtual consultants for the London Taxi Company, UK in 2015 and Texas Capital Bank, USA, in 2018.

She has published academic papers in peer-reviewed scholarly journals. Her co-authored papers won Best Paper Awards at international conferences in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. Her research focuses on strategic entrepreneurial marketing in sub-Saharan Africa. She has been a guest speaker and discussant at local and international conferences. In 2019, she was invited by The World Bank Group’s We-Fi (Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative), to serve as a Panellist at the Freetown Forum on Women Entrepreneurship in Tourism which took place in Freetown, Sierra Leone. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Strategic Management, Nigeria and the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria. ¿Adeola, is the Academic Director of Lagos Business School (LBS) Sales & Marketing Academy.

Dr. Terri R. Lituchy has her PhD in International Organizational Behavior from University of Arizona. She has taught around the world including: US, Mexico, Canada, Trinidad, Barbados, Argentina, France, UK, Czech Republic, Japan, China, Thailand and Malaysia. She teaches courses on Organizational Behavior, Cross-Cultural Management, International Negotiations, and Women in International Business to name a few. Her research interests are in cross-cultural management and international organizational behavior. Dr. Lituchy’s current project, LEAD, Leadership Effectiveness and Motivation in Africa, the Caribbean and the Diaspora has received many awards as well as grants from the SHRM Foundation, Emerald Publishing, McMaster University, University of the West Indies, Concordia University, and SSHRC. Dr. Lituchy has published books on Successful Professional Women of the Americas (Elgar Publishing, 2006), Gender and the Dysfunctional Workplace (Elgar, 2012) and Management in Africa (Routledge, 2014), and LEAD: Leadership Effectiveness in Africa and the African Diaspora (Palgrave, 2017). Dr. Lituchy has over 35 published journal articles. In her spare time, Terri enjoys traveling, photography, bird watching, and learning about other cultures.

Professor Okoe Amartey joined the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) eleven (11) years ago as a lecturer in the Department of Marketing. He was among the first batch of lecturers employed to augment the staff strength of the faculty when the Degree program was introduced. UPSA (previously named Institute of Professional Studies) was established 50 years ago with the focus on Professional Accounting and Management programs.

A product of Aquinas Secondary School and Prempeh College, Professor Okoe has extensive experience in both industry and academia. He obtained his Ordinary Level Certificate from Aquinas Secondary School in 1986 and Advanced Level Certificate from Prempeh College, Kumasi in 1988. He further obtained Bachelor of Arts (Economics with Sociology), Master in Business Administration (Marketing Option) and Master of Philosophy in Marketing, all from the University of Ghana. He also holds a professional marketing qualification from the Chartered Institute of Marketing UK. In addition, he holds a Doctorate of Business Administration from the SMC University in Switzerland.

Professor Okoe has occupied several positions in the Department of Marketing, Faculty of Management at the University. In 2006, he was appointed as the Head of the CIM Unit and in 2008 got promoted to the position of Head of Marketing Department. After successfully serving two terms (8 years) as Head of Department, he was appointed as the Dean of the Faculty of Management Studies in September, 2014. His meteoric rise continued when exactly a year later he was appointed as the Acting Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University.

The Governing Council of the University of Professional Studies approved his promotion from the rank of a Senior Lecturer to Associate Professor in Management in the Department of Marketing of the University effective December, 2015 and now serves as the substantive Pro Vice Chancellor of the University. He has 21 publications in reputable and ranked journals. He has just been named in the prestigious Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2016 for his paper "Consumers' attitude towards social media advertising and their behavioral response: the moderating role of corporate reputation" published in Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing 2015 Vol. 9 No.4. Currently, he serves as the vice president of the consumer advocacy center, Ghana. He is married with three children.