Abstract:
Quality service provision remains elusive for most organizations. Like other government
services before, LAPCAS was initiated as an information technology tool to improve service
delivery to members of the public. This study evaluates the initiatives used to market and
publicize this project and the success rates of those initiatives. To gauge the perception of the
public to this initiative, the study measures the service experiences of a sampling of members
of the public at three different locations to conclude on the perceptions they hold on the
project.
The study followed two methods of collecting data. Face to face interviews were conducted
with public relations practitioners at the selected locations to establish the official marketing
and publicity strategies adopted for the LAPCAS project, their success rates and thier internal
reviews. Self-administered administered questionnaire were the second data collection used
by the study to measure public perceptions of the service quality of services related to the
LAPCAS project. The questionnaires were issued to members of the public who had just
accessed LAPCAS services to gauge their service experience against their expectations,
which in this case were the publicized service standards.
Results of the interviews show that Kgotla meetings, outreach and satellite offices,
advertising fliers, radio and television programs, exhibition shows and social media were
some of the initiatives used to publicize the project. The combined effect of the measures had
a success rate of between 80% and 85% in reaching the targeted audience. Having reached
the majority of the target audience, what was the service experience of the public?
Using SERVQUAL service quality measure, the study results indicate that the sample
perceived the service offered by staff as being reliable and responsive, with a strong majority
of the sample decrying lack of assurance as a concern. The study methodology and results
can be useful to service organizations seeking to identify service deficiencies within their
processes and operations. The results could be used to develop human resource training
manuals for organizations. The research also contributes the existing body of knowledge,
more especially to non-existent research on the LAPCAS project in Botswana.
