The Role of Management in the Provision of Quality Service in a Tertiary Institution: The Case of University of Botswana

Abstract

This article provides an analysis of the role of management in the provision of quality service in the University of Botswana (UB). Students are internal customers and their experiences are based on the overall assessment of service delivery as it is a critical component in tertiary institutions. Generally, the UB students’ perceived experiences with service delivery are considerably lower than their expectations and desires of services provided by the institution. Particular areas of concern are, amongst others: problems with online registration; information enterprise resource planning (iERP) system failure; poor class attendance by lecturers; and lack of support from managerial staff to both lecturers and students. The researcher used secondary sources of data. In a nutshell, the findings indicate that in most cases, management is not up-to-date with student expectations in terms of quality service delivery; hence inadequacies in University service quality standards. The paper recommends that the UB’s management should be trained on internal customer satisfaction so that they play a significant role in ensuring competitive advantage through providing quality services. In view of the fact that provision of quality service will help drive UB towards achieving its vision to be a leading centre of academic excellence in Africa and the world, UB should put measures in place in order to ensure full employee and management engagement on quality service delivery.