Largely due to the technological development in the field of telecommunications, as well as the integration of telecommunications and information technology, the call centre industry has shown remarkable growth worldwide (Burgess & Connell, 2004;Holman, 2003;Moller, Crous & Schepers, 2004;Paulet, 2004;Russel, 2004). Especially since the 1990s, call centres have become the latest and clearest expression of efforts aimed at rationalising the provision of service through the use of communication and information technologies (Russel, 2004). This is commonly regarded as a direct result of organisations' attempts to provide customer service at a significantly lower cost (Paulet, 2004) in response to information and communication technology developments, business outsourcing practices, and internal reorganisation of enterprises (Burgess & Connell, 2004). Burgess and Connell (2004) contend that call centres are progressively becoming globalised operations and that call centre jobs are increasingly found outside the wealthy economies. In addition to this, these authors note a trend that is becoming more and more apparent, namely the relocation of call centres to countries with large pools of skilled and relatively cheap labour. As a consequence, a significant number of call centres are being relocated from Europe, North America and Australia to India, the Philippines and South Africa. According to Van Gass (2003), South Africa became attractive as a place to host call centres, particularly since the establishment of a second undersea fibre optic telephone link with Europe in February 2003. He further states that the world-class service levels of call centre staff in South Africa results in this country providing better opportunities than India.However, as Fielding (2004) reports, call centres that began to emerge in the 80s became victims of their own success by fuelling an increase in the quantity of customer demand for immediate better service. This resulted in working conditions not always being conducive to optimal consulting performance, and has lead to call centres being labelled as "sweat shops" of the nineties (Moller et al., 2004); "electronic sweatshops" (Healy & Bramble, 2004;Holman, 2003; Russell, 2004;Wickham & Collins, 2004); "dark satanic mills of the twenty first century" (Holman, 2003); "modern factories" (Bagnara, Gabrielli & Marti, 2000); modern forms of Taylorism (Zapf, Isic, Bechtoldt & Blau, 2003), and "white collar factories" (Wickham & Collins, 2004). 2003). Yet, the majority of studies are quantitative in nature, with a focus towards specific aspects in call centre settings compared to other work settings. This study aims to describe the general experience of work in a call centre environment, without emphasising a certain issue or stressor. The objective behind this approach is to determine aspects that are not necessarily stress related or negative in their environment but also potentially related to positive experiences.For the purpose of this study, a call centre is defined as a place where...

This article examines the appropriateness of applying the South African Excellence Model for public service performance excellence in developing a strategy to enhance health service delivery and performance excellence in a state department. The results achieved by the application of the South African Excellence ModeI for Public Service Performance Excellence Self-assessment Questionnaire provide potential benefits for the state department to enhance health service delivery and performance excellence. The Excellence Model identifies the department's strengths and areas for improvement based upon well-established internationally accepted theoretical frameworks and recognised criteria for performance excellence. From this study it is inferred that determining health service performance excellence continues to be a challenge in the department. OPSOMMINGHierdie artikel ondersoek die geskiktheid van die toepassing van die Suid-Afrikaanse uitnemendheidsmodel vir openbare sektor prestasieuitnemendheid as die ontwikkeling van 'n strategie vir die bevordering van gesondheidsdienslewering en prestasieuitnemendheid in 'n staatsdepartment. Die resultate behaal met die toepassing van die Suid-Afrikaanse uitnemendheidsmodel vir openbare sektor prestasieuitnemendheidselfbeoordelingsvraelys bied potensiële voordeel vir die staatsdepartement om gesondheidsdienslewering en prestasieuitnemendheid te bevorder. Die uitnemendheidsmodel identifiseer die department se sterkpunte en ontwikkelingsareas gebaseer op internasionaal-gevestigde, teoretiese raamwerke en erkende kriteria vir prestasieuitnemendheid. Van hierdie studie kan dit afgelei word dat gesondheidsdiensprestasieuitnemendheid steeds 'n uitdaging in die departement bly.gevolg deur 'n iteratiewe itemontleding. Die voorlopige bevindinge dui daarop dat die vraelys toegepas kan word vir die beoordeling van 'n kliëntintimiteitskultuur.

The financial advisory business, specifically the business of providing advice to the semi-affluent investor, is on the brink of a major evolution. Its staggering growth rate over the past five years, a compounded annual growth rate of 34%, is unsustainable .A contributing factor to this evolving situation is the commoditization of goods and services. This is due in large measure to the fact that the financial services industry is and also will increasingly be a lucrative class action litigation target for lawyers. The response of the industry to these attacks is conformity through meeting compliance requirements. Compliance issues along with the increased use of technology are commoditizing many individual services provided by advisory firms and diminishing their value-add. Increasingly financial advisors are unable to compete on the basis of low margin commoditized products or services and are losing their ability to differentiate themselves (Bulazo, 2004;Hurley et al., 2004;Valli, 2004;Zalewski, 2004).The resultant commoditization of goods and services is also alienating the client who is increasingly seeking individual value-and meaning-centered advice (Sullivan, 2004). Clients who are better informed than in the past and demanding better advice for their money are highly frustrated with the reduced value creation that is taking place in a highly commoditized industry and are demanding "psychological self-determination," a term coined by Zuboff and Maxmin (2002, p. 33). That is the ability to feel that they have greater ownership of their personal and financial futures. This reflects a shift in the structure of consumption to what Zuboff and Maxmin (2002, p.171) call the individuation of consumption. The message from the client now is "I am willing to buy that which will enable me to live an ever more individuated life. I am willing to buy that which will enable me to make myself, to know myself, and to be myself. I am willing to buy aid and succour in my quest for psychological self-determination".In response to these changes in the nature of the industry and the client, niche financial advisory firms are shifting their business models from traditional transaction-based compensation systems to fee-based programs in order to compete for semi-affluent clients. A move from commoditybased selling to solutions-based counseling. What is required then of the future dominant advisory firm is an understanding of their clients from more than just a financial perspective if they intend to be able to tailor their advice to each client's specific needs (Slowik et al., 2000).Understanding clients, however, is a multi-faceted challenge. For most semi-affluent clients, wealth is just a means to an end. They are not interested in good investment products. Rather good investment products serve only as potential solutions to clients' problems Slowik et al., 2000). However the experience of many financial advisors is that their clients are far better at building wealth than at employing it to meet their goals and needs. Altho...