ROAD TRANSPORATION MANAGEMENT AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

This study fall within the area of transportation management, transportation management deal with how business firm or organization involves in transportation business adopt or choose management tools that will help them achieve the objective which they have set themselves there by implementing its vision.

Thus it provides the theoretical and conceptual foundation on the management behavior of business organization in transportation management.

The relevance of management to an organization is that it provides the organization with the policies and strategies that gives the organization the overall concept or nature of its business.

Hence management is defined process by which manager create, direct, maintain and operate purposive organization through systematic co-coordinated co-operative human effort.

This study intends to understand how managers perceive or visualize the customers or commuters who patronize their business. To know whether managers know the relevance of commuters to success or their organizations, to know whether managers know the relevance of commuters to success of their organizations.

Lastly, for any business to successes, management must device strategies that will help the organization achieve its objectives. The question now is how do manager perceive the concept of strategy formulation? Managers are subject to environmental turbulence, surprises and constraints. And these forms the basis on which mangers should base their strategy and its is only managers who are knowledgeable on strategies in response to changes in their environments.

Briefly, the study is descriptive explorative. Major achievers of the research will be achieved by answering certain research questions.

1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

In Nigeria the need for an effective transport system becomes more obvious if taken into consideration the large size of the country and the need to disperse development move. The inability of Nigerians to device a better transportation system has been a detraction of the growth of the economic social and political life of the economy.

Prominent among the problem, includes traveling difficulty lateness to work, movement of agricultural product, goods and services from area of production to area of utilization.

The federal government of Nigeria offer appraisal of the chafic transport system launched in federal urban mass transit programme (FUMTP) in January 1988.

Consequently in order to ensure the continuity of existence of mass transit service, the manager need to device achious programme capable of alternating the retaining passengers patronage. Such actions programme can apply be christened.

STRATEGY

And for them to be effective strategy, there has to be effective management.

Management according to Mapacland (1974): defines management as the “ process by which managers create, direct, maintain systematic co-ordinate co-operative human effort”

Brech (1972): define “ management is concerned with seeing the job get done efficiently, its tasks all center on decisions for planning and guiding operation that are going on the enterprise.

This goes to direct or show the managements the behavior of an organization towards planning, organizing control and directing of achievers of the business.

Given the vital role which management plays in the success of the organization we can visualize that most of the mass transit servicing companies do not know what their management function areas.

Ejiofor Pita in his statement says that management may therefore been seen as the function of executive leaderships anywhere.

In recognition of the importance and necessity of effective management the researcher has decided to embark on the study of transportation management in urban mass transmit.

1.2       PROBLEM ASSOCIATED WITH THE SUBJECT MATTER

For the fact that many people invest in the transport industry, effective transportation management is lacking in most transport companies. This has led to commuter being dissatisfaction the management researcher into investigation into “transportation management and customers satisfaction in the mass transit companies, Enugu North Transit.

1.3       PROBLEM THAT THE STUDY WILL BE CONCERNED

The problem that the study will concern includes.

v  To highlight on the best way to apply management order to achieve efficiency and productivity.

v  To help transport managers to be consumer oriented.

v  To make recommendation on that could be useful in solving the problems encounter in transportation management that lead to customers dissatisfaction.

v  To create knowledge about transportation management in urban mass transit service in particular.

v  To investigate how customers are satisfied with the management of the companies.

1.4       THE IMPORTANT STUDYING THE AREA.

The importance of this study lies on the areas of transportation management proper. It serves as a guide for the management of urban mass transit services on how best to formulate a strategy in order to attain objectively, effectively efficiency and customer’s satisfaction.

It is important for the intending investor on how to manage his transport business in other to achieve customer satisfaction and continuous patronage.

It is also vital for the management student because it provides an empirical study on the concept of management particularly as it relates to urban mass transit services or transportation business.

Lastly, the study is to immense benefit in the area of recommendation that would help in improving the general performance of the company in question.

1.5       DEFINITION OF TERMS

Business Organization: Business organization are organization primarily oriented toward economic production, they involved in input through put and output activities.

Competitive Advantage: The search for opportunities within the product market scope and the development of the business idea where it has distinctive competence, which provides it differential advantage over its competitors.

Corporate Strategy: Corporate strategy is actually the integrated strategy of an organization, which provides ideas of the overall concept of the business.

Culture: A form or type or civilization of a certain race or nature and the customers associated with it.

Decision Making: The process of identifying and the customs associated with it.

Environment: Those entities customers, institution organization competitor etc that a formal organization deals with but has no control over them is referred to as environment.

Goal: Organizational goal provides a sense of direction to an organization. According to Stinesr (1982) organizational goal include, purpose mission and objective. It is finacritic.

Mission: Is the specific or unique business activity or productive services it actual produces for a segment of the market. Hence it defines the market relationship of business organization.

Management: The process of planning organizing leading and controlling the aware of organization members and of using available organizational resources to reach stated organizational goals achievement.

Organizational Structure: The way in which organizations activities are divided, organize and coordinated.

Policy: A standing, plan that establishes general guideline for decision-making.

Planning: The process of establishing goal and suitable courses of action for achieving them.

Purpose: The purpose of an organization is its primary role as defined by the society in which it operates.

Strategy: The broad program for defining and achieving organization objectives, the organizations response to its environment over time.

Strategic Planning: This is the purpose of selecting an organizations goal determine the polices and strategic programme necessary to achieve specific objectives enroute to the goals, and establishing the method necessary to assure that policies and strategic programme are implemented. Actively formulating a strategy called strategic planning.

Transportation: This is the means where by goods and passengers are carried from one place to another.

Mode of Transport: These are variety of methods by which goods and passenger are transported.

Commuters: These are people that commutes or that travel by bus; train, from one place to another.