Stochastic Model of Waiting Time: A Case of Two Selected Banks in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis

Queue is an act of joining a line to be served and it is part of our everyday human involvement. The objectives of the study focused on using a mathematical model to determine the waiting time of two selected banks as well as compare the average waiting time between the banks. The study uncovered the extent of usage of queuing models in achieving customer satisfaction as well as permitting to make better decisions relating to potential waiting times for customers. The study adopted a case study and observational research with the source of data being primary. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the two banks under study with the target population comprising of all the customers who intended to transact businesses with the banks within the period of 11 am to 12 pm. The sample sizes for the first, second and third day of the first bank are twenty-eight (28), seventeen (17) and twenty (20) respectively with three servers on each day whereas that for the first, second and third day of the second bank is twenty (20), nine (9) and seventeen (17) with two servers on each day. A multiple server (M/M/s) Model was adopted, and Tora Software was the statistical tool used for the analysis. Findings of the study revealed that the second bank had a higher utilization factor than the first bank. Also, the number of customers in the banking hall of the second bank was higher than that of the first bank during the entire period of observation. Finally, it takes customers of the first bank lesser minutes to complete their transaction than the second bank. In conclusion, the three days observations revealed different banking situations faced by customers in both banks which had effect on waiting time of customer service. The waiting time of customer service has effect on the number of customers in the queue and system, the probability associated with the emptiness of the system and the utilization factor. Based on the results, the study recommended, inter alia, that the management of the second bank should adopt a three-server (M/M/3) model.

Customer Retention: Behaviour Perspective Model of Ghanaian Telecommunication Industry Using Multinomial Regression Analysis

To stay competitive, the mobile telecommunication companies spend millions of Ghana cedi each year on building long-term relationships with their customers. Marketing managers are constantly challenged with the problem of where to channel the limited resources in order to retain existing customers. This study approaches the customer retention problem in the mobile phone sector from a behavioural perspective, applying the Behavioural Perspective Model as the main analytical framework and further exploits some other factors that influence customer retention. The model includes a set of pre-behaviour and post-behaviour factors to study consumer choice, and explains its relevant drivers in a viable and comprehensive way, grounded in radical behaviourism. Data for the analysis were collected from tertiary students from Accra and Takoradi. Data collected were analysed using the multinomial regression technique. Analysis of the data revealed that the Behaviour setting factor is the only significant element in Behaviour Perspective Model. Further exploitation of behaviour situation revealed that the number of networks a customer uses, previous experience of a customer and customer’s intention are significant factors in determining customer retention in Ghana’s mobile telecommunication industry.

Major Determinants that Influence the Choice of Brand of Mobile Phone

The study examines whether there is an association between brand of mobile phone used and occupational status, educational level and satisfaction level. Influence of mobile phone usage was also examined. Data were collected on 478 mobile phone users. Convenient sampling method where the respondents were interviewed as they were encountered was used. Statistical analysis methods such as descriptive statistics, chi-square test statistic, one sample t-test, were applied. The study indicated that Samsung is the most used mobile phone brand. The study also revealed that the major factors that influence the choice of a brand of mobile phone are price, the number of features, battery capacity, quality and fashionableness. The study discovered that there is no association between mobile phone brand used and educational level. The study reveals that there is an association between brand of mobile phone used and satisfaction with performance. Conclusion can be drawn that majority of the respondents often used their mobile phone application and were satisfied with the attributes of their mobile phone.