CHAPTER ONE

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

In the face of heightening competition and customer sophistication, scholars and practitioners are
laying more emphasis on quality service delivery as an important driving force to organizational
excellence. These days, customers have become more knowledgeable and sophisticated in
demanding for their rights partly due to technological upsurge and industrial interplay. As a
result, their expectations of service quality delivery have risen considerably. The service industry
plays an increasingly important role in the economy of many countries. In Today’s global
competitive environment delivering quality service is considered as an essential Strategy for
success and survival (Zeithaml et al., 1990).
Even the public sector organizations have come under increasing pressure to deliver quality
services and improve efficiencies Customer needs and expectations are changing when it comes
to governmental services and their quality requirements. The economic share of the services
currently accounts for more than half the sum of all GNPs worldwide (Cronin,j.j., 1992).
Service quality is an important dimension of organizational performance in the public sector as
the main output of public organizations is services. Moreover, profit is not the ultimate goal of
these public organizations as they have to play different roles such as facilitator, pace setter and
socio-economical developer (Arawati, 2007).
In Ethiopia also the annual growth rate of service sectors is 11.1% and their share out of the total
GDP were about 45% in year 2004 (EFY). Many researchers argue that a central topic in service
Research is service quality (SQ), which is a critical determinant of business performance as well
as firm’s long-term viability. This is because SQ leads to customer satisfaction which in turn has
a positive impact on customer word-of –mouth, attitudinal loyalty, and purchase intentions. Even
the public sector organizations have come under increasing pressure to deliver quality services
(http:/www.mofed.gov.et/).
Several researchers have dealt with service quality in public services (Wisniewski and Donnelly,
1996; Rowley, 1998; Wisniewski, 2001; Brysland and Curry, 2001). Their research shows that,
service quality of public sector is not as expected by the customers and therefore, it is quite low.

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Similarly, a research conducted on customer service quality in Ethiopia (Seyoum, 2012) and
(Mulualem 2013) also reveals the same result. This matter is a concern to the public since they
are the taxpayers and therefore; they expect good services are provided to them as the return
(Abdullah, 2005).
According to Deshmukh (2004) There are more than 19 service scale models in light of the
changed business scenario but the two most widely used scales in practice that measures service
quality are: SERVQUAL and SERVPERF. This thesis investigates service quality evaluation of
Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA) by using SERVPERF model approach to
examine the gap between customers’ general performance perceptions of the service received by
a service encounters.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

In a current world, the heart of excellent service is characterized by service reliability,
performing the service consistently and accurately. When a company performs a service
carelessly, when it makes avoidable mistakes, when it fails to deliver as per promises, it erodes
the customer confidence in its capabilities and undermines its business and future. According to
different researchers Efficient and effective service delivery system becomes the main focus of
governments of many countries due to insistence and hopes from society for local authorities
giving their services up to the quality standard as expected by the taxpayers (Berry, 1991et al.
Mulualem, 2013).

However, in Ethiopia in most cases service is provided in manner that suits the administrative
convenience (i.e. provider) rather than compliance to the recipient interest. In relation to this,
inconsistency of regulation and guidelines among governing institutions that provide related
service as well as lack of coordination and cooperation among various departments within an
institution and between related institutions often hinder efficiency in service delivery. In addition,
the human resource management system and working condition in the civil service do not
motivate employees to provide quality service properly: For example low salary scales, and
motivation not based on merit and performance, does not encourage the employees to give their
best in the government organization. The service users are also not aware of their rights and
obligations regarding how and when to receive the public service (Ministry of Capacity Building
(MCB, 2001).

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Based on the preliminary work experience and observation by the researcher, some duty and tax
payers of the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority face some service quality problems on
their service like lack of professional skilled man power, inability to provide need based and
problem solving services, on time response to client’s request, lack of follow up, out dated
instruments, clear and ambiguous and unclear directives, rules, regulations and manual materials,
and employees are not being courteous enough to taxpayers . These problems have negative
effect on the quality of ERCA’s services and therefore, those trigger me to conduct a research as
most. ERCA service quality is a necessary prerequisite for its services quality improvement.
Hence this study tries to examine the level of service quality by considering the external
taxpayers perception as well as concerned employees towards services rendered by ERCA,
Moreover; the research tries to fill the gap that the researcher see from pervious researches
conducted by Mulualem (2013) since he was only concentrated on the tax payers perception to
assess the level of service quality in ERCA. I try to assess the level of service quality by giving
chance to the concerned employees.

1.3 Objective of the Study

1.3.1 General Objective

The general objective of this study will be to assess the service quality delivered by ERCA to the
tax payers.

1.3.2 Specific Objectives

In light of the above general objective, the specific objectives of the study are:

 To examine the relationship between service quality dimensions and customer

satisfaction;
 To assess the service quality delivery level of the branch office;
 To assess the level of satisfaction of tax payers;
 To recommend possible solutions for service quality problems in the study area.

1.4 Research Questions

1. What looks like the service quality rendered by ERCA to the customers?

2. What looks like the level of satisfaction of tax payers/customers?

3. What are the dominant service quality dimensions and its effect on service quality?
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4. What are the possible solutions for the existing problem?

1.5 Scope of the Study

The research study will limited to Bahir Dar Customs Branch office, which one of the branches
on ERCA. The research will conduct only in Bahir Dar Customs Branch office of ERCA that the
researcher will get relevant sources of data. The proportion sample was taken based on the
number of importers who deal with customs service and employees who directly contact with tax
payers.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The study is highly useful for ERCA to know the overall service quality of its services as
perceived by customers and to be aware of important service quality dimensions for its services
and as a result ERCA can take corrective actions on those issues which need improvement.
Moreover, the research serves as aspiring board for those researchers who want to undertake
further research in this area.

1.7 Limitations of the Study

As in the case of any other research a number of constraints also will apply to this research. It
faces some limitations such related to time constraints to gather information, financial problems
and lack of adequate number of research out puts, articles, books, and literatures on the same
topic related to ERCA.

1.8 Organization of the Thesis

The study will organize in to five chapters. Chapter one of this study will contain introduction,
statement of problem, objective, significance, and scope and limitation of the study. The second
chapter will dedicatedly converse the theoretical and empirical reviews of literatures related to
service quality. Chapter three will focuses on research design and methodology of the study.
Chapter four deal with findings of the study. The last chapter present summary of the findings,
conclusions, and recommendation.

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 CHAPTER TWO

2. LITRATURE REVIEW

2.1 Concept of Service and Quality

The concepts of service have a great importance. This is because of the role it plays in business
across the world. Service is intangible and normally experienced simultaneously with the
occurrence of production and consumption. It is the interaction between the seller and the buyer
that renders the service to customers. Service could also be viewed as any act or performance
that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in the
ownership of anything .On the other hand services defined as a form of product that consists of
activities, benefits, or satisfactions offered for sale that are essentially intangible and do not
result in the ownership of anything. Services refers to economic activities offered by one party to
another, most commonly employing time-based performances to bring about desired results in
recipients themselves or in objects or other assets for which purchasers have responsibilities
(Groonroos, 1988).

However some scholar’s contends that service and services have different connotations whilst
“service” involves the whole organizations performance in providing the customer with a good
experience, “services” implies something that can be offered to the customer. Needless to say,
“services” by definition are outcome-related or directed at the value created since it is something
of value delivered to a performance to meet customers’ needs. Services are also distinguished
from goods because they possess some unique characteristics (Nimako 2009).

"Quality" means different things to different people. The concept and vocabulary of quality is
elusive. It can be define in different ways depending on the stakeholders. Stakeholders are, as the
name implies, people with some stake or concern in the process. It can be defined differently by
different authors. Crosby, (1984) defines quality as ‘conformance to requirements’, Juran, (1988)
defines quality as ‘fitness for use’, and Eiglier and Langeard, (1987) defines quality as ‘one that
satisfies the customer’. As per the Japanese production philosophy, quality implies ‘zero defects’
in the firm’s offerings.

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2.2 Service Quality
Definitions of service quality hold that this is the result of the comparison that customers make
between their expectations about a service and their perception of the way the service has been
performed. Service quality is defined as the degree of discrepancy between customers’ normative
expectation for service and their perceptions of service performance. The definition of service
quality was further developed as “the overall evaluation of a specific service firm that results
from comparing that firm’s performance with the customer’s general expectations of how firms
in that industry should perform (Parasuraman et al., 1988).

A concept of quality revolves around the idea that quality has to be judged on the assessment of
the user or consumer of the service. The construct of quality as conceptualized in the services
literature is based on the perceived quality. Perceived quality is defined as the consumer’s
judgment about an entity’s overall experience or superiority. Consumer perceptions of service
quality result from comparing expectations prior to receiving the service and their actual
experience of the service. Perceived quality is also seen as a form of attitude, related to, but not
the same as satisfaction, and resulting from a comparison of expectations with perceptions of
performance (Berry L, et al 1991).

As the time evolve, quality concepts such as total quality management (TQM) and new public
management (NPM) have been adopted by many organizations in most developed countries as
early as 1990s. The key objective of NPM, for instance, is to improve the delivery of service
quality by taking a customer-oriented approach integrates data envelopment analysis (DEA) and
neural network (NNs) to examine the relative branch efficiency. The use of the DEA technique
in performance benchmarking of bank branches has evolved from relative benchmarking of
performance in terms of operating efficiency (service quality) and profitability. Therefore,
perceived service quality could be the product of the evaluations of a number of service
encounters and in this case, of tax payers, these could range from encounters with office staff, to
encounters with team leaders, the process owners, etc. As a result, if an organization regularly
provides service at a level that exceeds customer expectations, the service will be evaluated as
high quality. In contrast, if an organization fails to meet customer expectations, the service will
be judge as poor quality (Manandhar, 2002).

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On the other hand According to Gröonroos (1988), service quality is defined as the gap between
customers’ expectation of service and their perception of the service experience. The assumption
behind this definition is that customers form the perception of service quality according to the
service performance they experienced. It is therefore the customer’s perception that rates the
service quality of an entity. Many researchers accept this approach of service quality. Service
quality is commonly defined as a discrepancy between the service quality that is delivered by the
organization and the service performance that employees expect. Perceived service quality is a
consumer judgment which is derived after comparing consumer’s expectations of service with
their perceptions of actual service performance.

2.2.1 Customer Perception

After making a purchase, customers compare the service expected to what is actually received.
Customers decide how satisfied they are with service delivery and outcomes, and they also make
judgments about quality. Although service quality and customer satisfaction are related concepts,
they are not exactly the same. Many researchers believe that customers’ perceptions about
quality are based on long term, cognitive evaluations of an organization’s service delivery
(Lovelock et al, 2002).

Perceptions are defined in various ways. Service quality is a critical component of customers’
perception because it is an antecedent to customer satisfaction. Customer perception is the
process of receiving, organizing and assigning meaning to information or stimuli detected by the
customer’s five senses and opine that it gives meaning to the world that surrounds the customer.
Perceptions are also described as the end result of a number of observations by the customer.
Customers perceive services in terms of quality of services provided and the satisfaction level
attained. Perceived service quality is a consumer’s judgment (a form of attitude) that has an
outcome based on comparisons consumers make between their expectations and their
perceptions of the actual service performance (Strydom, 2000).

Customer perception of service quality influences consumer behavior and intention.

Organizations can provide the best services to their utmost capabilities but if the customer does
not perceive them to be of quality, all is in vain. Thus it is very essential for the service provider
to understand how customers can perceive the service as quality service and carry a euphoric
feeling. It is the responsibility of service providers to understand the factors affecting customer

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perception, elements of service quality and satisfaction to have a competitive edge and to be able
to create a perceptual difference. If all these are considered, then the service provider can target
the customer with a total service experience and the customer perceives the service as quality
and spreads positive word of mouth about the product. Thus perception is one of the factors
affecting customer satisfaction (Dutta, 2009).

Customer perceptions are influenced by many external and internal factors such as culture, social,
psychological and economic factors, making the way in which customer perceives products and
services to be highly subjective. Therefore measuring customer perception of service is
important as the customer’s evaluation of service and future behavior depends on the customer
perception of service. In a situation where there is a gap between perception of service and
expectation, where perception falls completely short of expectation after comparison or where
service meets or exceeds customer expectation, it can result in either a dissatisfied or a satisfied
customer after the service encounter. Customer Expectation Customer expectations may be
described as the desires or wants of the consumer. It is the expectations the customer expects
from the organization and its range of products or services, i.e. what customers feel the
organization should offer them. These expectations are, in most instances, different from what
the customer gets in real-life situations from the organization. What is important here is to focus
on the customer perceptions, rather than on the reality of the performance (Brink, et al 2005).

Williams (2000), also states that customers are driven by needs, and increasingly expect to
receive excellent service. When service truly satisfies, it enhances the quality of life of
consumers and consumers will want more of the service. Consumers demand faster and better
service and are loyal to organizations that consistently provide the highest levels of service.

2.2.2 Customer Satisfaction

According to Cronin & Taylor, (1992) Customer satisfaction is a short term emotional reaction
to a specific service experience. Following service encounters, customers may evaluate the levels
of satisfaction or dissatisfaction and may use this information to update the perceptions of
service quality. Customers must experience a service before they can be satisfied or dissatisfied
with the outcome. Although researchers have studied the concept of service for several decades,
there is no consensus about the conceptualization of service quality as different researchers
focused on different aspects of service quality. There is no universal, parsimonious, or all-

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encompassing definition or model of quality. However, according to the most common definition
is the traditional notion that views quality as the customer’s perception of service excellence, i.e.
quality is defined by the customer’s impression of the service provided.

Customer satisfaction Perceived service quality is a global judgment or attitude relating to the
superiority of the service, whereas satisfaction is related to a specific transaction On the other
hand, customer satisfaction has frequently been suggested to be the leading determinant of
loyalty. Scholars also suggest that there is a significant positive relationship between customer
satisfaction and customer loyalty/retention. As such, customer satisfaction in this research is
acting as a mediator between service quality and customer loyalty. (Lam, 2006).

2.2.3 Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction

Researchers have attempted to make distinctions between service quality and customer
satisfaction, even if the terms, service quality and customer satisfaction are used interchangeably
in practice. The most common explanation of the difference between the two is that perceived
service quality is a form of attitude (the customer’s relatively enduring affective orientation), a
long-term overall evaluation, whereas satisfaction is an emotional reaction, a transaction-specific
measure (Bitner, 1990).

Lewis et al, (1994) clarified in detail some distinctions between the meanings of quality and
satisfaction. First, the dimensions underlying quality judgment are rather specific, whether they
are cues or attributes; yet satisfaction judgment can result from any dimension, quality related or
not. Secondly, quality perceptions do not require experience with the service or provider;
satisfaction, in contrast, is purely experiential. Third, Rust & Oliver note that quality has fewer
conceptual antecedents, but satisfaction is influenced by a number of cognitive and affective
processes including equity, attribution, and emotion. Given a premise that only customers judge
quality, service quality can also be defined as “a judgment about a service’s overall excellence or
superiority.”

On the other hand, satisfaction can be defined as “a judgment that a product or service feature, or
the product or service itself, provided (or is providing) a pleasure level of consumption-related
fulfillment, including levels of under- or over-fulfillment”. That is, satisfaction is more related to
a judgment of how the service emotionally affects the customer and customer’s experiences,

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while service quality is related to a judgment of the service product itself and is not necessarily
tied to these experiential processes. Empirical Literature on Service Quality in the Public Sector
Public sector services is responsible and accountable to citizens and communities as well as to its
customers. Several researchers have dealt with service quality in public services (Brysland,
2001).

2.3 Service Quality in Public Service

Service quality is an important dimension of organizational performance in the public sector as
the main output of public organizations is services. Moreover, profit is not the ultimate goal of
these public organizations as they have to play different roles such as facilitator, pace setter and
socio-economical developer. The use of a variety of measures of service quality in the private
sector as critical indicators of both organizational performance and general customer satisfaction
is widely accepted and has given rise to considerable empirical research. Organizations operating
in the public sector have also come to the realization that customer service and quality are critical
strategic issues. It has also been noted that public sector service dimensions are somewhat
different from private sector as they are not threatened by competitors and hence lack in
continuous improvement through competitive strategy. (Tahir Iqbal, et al, 2011).

However, it is also widely recognized that public sector organizations, especially in developing
countries like Ethiopia face particular difficulties in measuring service quality. This is a matter
of concern to the public since they are the taxpayers, and it is their taxes that are used to finance
these public sector organizations, and therefore, they expect that good services are provided to
them in return (Abdullah, 2005). Moreover, profit is not the ultimate goal of these public
organizations as they play different roles such as facilitator, pacesetter and socio-economic
developer. Different researches states that Public sector services are responsible and accountable
to citizens and communities as well as to its customers (Arawati et al, 2007).

According to (Brysland et al, 2001) the literature clearly supported the use of SERVQUAL in the
public sector. Service provision is more complex in the public sector because it is not simply a
matter of meeting expressed needs, but of finding out unexpressed needs, setting priorities,
allocating resources and publicly justifying and accounting for what has been done. In addition,
public sector employees are currently confronted with new professional challenges arising from
the introduction of new principles and tools inspired by the shift to new public management.

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Public sector organizations have come under increasing pressure to deliver quality services and
improve efficiencies. Customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction results from experiencing a service
and comparing that experience with the kind of quality of service that was expected.

Many customer satisfaction studies have concluded that there is a significant relationship
between customer satisfaction and loyalty. Hence, the primary objective of service providers is
to develop and provide services that satisfy customer needs and expectations. Customer needs
and expectations are changing when it comes to governmental services and their quality
requirements. However, service quality practices in public sector organizations is slow and is
further exacerbated by difficulties in measuring outcomes, greater scrutiny from the public and
press, a lack of freedom to act in an arbitrary fashion and a requirement for decisions to be based
on law (Teicher et al., 2002).

2.4 Service Quality Dimensions

Sachdev (2004) states that in services marketing literature, service quality has been reported as a
second order construct being composed of first order variables.

Various authors have provided different conceptualizations over time. They include Groonroos‟
(1984) three-component structure (technical quality, functional quality and reputational quality);
Lehtinen (1982) three component conceptualization (interactive, physical and corporate quality);
Hedvall and Paltschik‟s (1989) two dimension model (willingness and ability to serve; and
physical and psychological access); Garvin‟s (1988) nine dimensional approach (performance,
features, conformance, reliability, durability, serviceability, response, aesthetics and reputation);
Oliver and Rust‟s (1994) functional quality, technical quality and environmental quality
construct; Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (PZB) (1988) conceptualization of five dimensions
(tangibles (T), reliability (R), responsiveness (R), assurance (A) and empathy (E) which
eventually led to the development of the SERVQUAL instrument.

However, the five dimensional construct of PZB (1988) happens to be the most universally
accepted and most extensively used. Assurance has been defined as the employee’s knowledge
and courtesy and the service provider’s ability to inspire trust and confidence. This dimension
may differ from one industry to the other. In some it may be very important; in others it may not.
Reliability is about the organization keeping its word. It is defined as the ability to perform the

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promised service dependably and accurately or delivering on its promises. Responsiveness is the
willingness to help customers and provide prompt services. This dimension is concerned with
dealing with customer’s requests, questions and complaints promptly and attentively (Zeithaml et
al 2006).

Andaleeb and Conway (2006) observed that assurance may not be so important relative to other
industries where the risk is higher and the outcome of using the service is uncertain. They
concluded that in the health sector, for example, assurance is a very much important dimension
to clients assessing a hospital or a surgeon for an operation. It is defined as the caring,
individualized attention the firm provides its customers. Like the other dimensions, the
importance of this factor differs from industry to industry. Empathy has been found to be more
suitable and important in enhancing service quality in industries where building relationships
with customers and clients ensures the firms survival as opposed to “transaction marketing”.

Thus Har (2008) has argued that in quick service restaurant setting, the customer look for quick
service and whether the queues at the counters are long and in that context empathy may not be
so important. He however indicated that in fine dining restaurant, empathy may be important to
ensure customer loyalty as the server knows how the customer likes his or her food prepared.

2.5 Service Quality Models

Nitin Seth and S.G. Deshmukh (2004) as cited by Mulualem (2013) states 19 service models in
the light of the changed business scenario and analyze the models for the suitability/need for
modification in the current context.
Those models are listed as follows;
1 Technical and functional quality model
2 GAP model
3 Attribute service quality model
4 Synthesized model of service quality
5 Performance only model
6 Ideal value model of service quality
7 Evaluated performance and normed quality model
8 IT alignment model
9 Attribute and overall affect model

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 10 Model of perceived service quality and satisfaction
11 PCP attribute model
12 Retail service quality and perceived value model
13 Service quality, customer value and customer satisfaction model
14 Antecedents and mediator model
15 Internal service quality model
16 Internal service quality DEA model
17 Internet banking model
18 IT-based model
19 Model of e-service quality

This study will only focuses on a conceptual model of Performance only model (SERVPERF)
with its determinants. Since it enables the management to identify systematically service quality
gaps between number of variables affecting the quality of the offering. The model is externally
focused. So it is applicable for only tax payers. It is capable of assisting the management to
identify the relevant service quality factors from the viewpoint of the costumer.

2.5.1. The SERVQUAL Model

Measuring and evaluating service are not considered as add-ons to the overall delivery of service
quality and there is already a well-established wealth of literature on measuring service quality,
particularly in relation to customer expectations. The meaning of service quality may vary in
different contexts (for a review, see but we refer to the view generally understood in marketing
management (Ghobadian et al., 1994)
The foundation for the SERVQUAL scale is the gap model proposed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml
and Berry With roots in disconfirmation paradigm, the gap model maintains that satisfaction is
related to the size and direction of disconfirmation of a person’s experience vis-à-vis his/her
initial expectations. It is one of the most widely used scales in practice that measures customers’
perceptions of SERVQUAL, and it has been shown to be applicable for a wide range of service
industries. It proposes that customers evaluate the quality of a service on five distinct dimensions:
reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles. The instrument consists of 22
statements for assessing consumer perceptions and expectations regarding the quality of a service.
Perceived service quality results from comparisons by consumers of expectations with their

13
perceptions of service delivered by the service providers. It can be argued that the factor
underpinning the delivering of good perceived service quality is actually meeting the
expectations of the customers. They also suggested that customer expectations are beliefs about a
service that serve as standards against which service performance is judged. Thus, excellent
service quality is exceeding the customers’ expectations. They are stated that the literature
clearly supported the use of SERVQUAL in the public sector. (Zeithaml et al. ,2000).
According to Parasuraman et al. (1985) service quality is a function of the differences between
expectation and performance along the quality dimensions. They developed a service quality
model based on gap analysis. The various gaps visualized in the model are:

Gap 1: (the positioning gap) Difference between consumers’ expectation and management’s
perceptions of those expectations, i.e. not knowing what consumers expect.
Gap 2: (the specification gap) the Difference between management’s perceptions of
consumer’s expectations and service quality specifications, i.e. improper service-
quality standards.
Gap 3: (the delivery gap) Difference between service quality specifications and service
actually delivered i.e. the service performance gap.
Gap 4: (the communication gap) Difference between service delivery and the
communications to consumers about service delivery, i.e. whether promises match
delivery?
Gap 5: (the perception gap) Difference between consumer’s expectation and perceived
service. This gap depends on size and direction of the four gaps associated with the
delivery of service quality on the marketer’s side.
The lower the mean score the larger the gap in service quality and conversely the higher the
mean score, the smaller the gap in service quality. Gaps 1 to 4 are within the control of an
organization and need to be analyzed to determine the causes and changes to be implemented
which can reduce or even eliminate Gap 5, which is the gap reflecting the difference between
customers perceptions and expectations of the firm’s level of service. Surveying of employees
can help to measure the extent of Gaps 2 to 4. This may reveal a difference in perception as to
what creates possible gaps. The above four gaps (1 - 4) concern the causes of poor service
quality in the way the organization is managed. The user quality however is measured by Gap-5

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as the differences between the expectations and perceptions of customers. Gap-5 depends on the
size and direction of the four disconfirmations associated with the delivery of service quality on
the marketer’s side. If gaps 1 to 4 are reduced, then service quality can be improved (Kasper et
al., 2006).

According to this model, the service quality is a function of perception and expectations and can
be modeled as:


k
SQ = j 1
( Pij  Eij )

Where:
SQ = overall service quality;
k = number of attributes.
Pij =Performance perception of stimulus i with respect to attribute j.
Eij = Service quality expectation for attribute j that is the relevant norm for stimulus i.
Customers’ responses to their expectations and perceptions are obtained on a 7-point Likert scale
and are compared to arrive at (P-E) gap scores. The higher (more positive) the perception minus
expectation score, the higher is perceived to be the level of service quality. Brysland and Curry
(2001) stated that the literature clearly supported the use of SERVQUAL in the public sector.

2.5.2. Criticisms of SERVQUAL

According to Cronin and Taylor (1992) The SERVQUAL instrument for measuring service
quality has been subjected to a number of criticisms. Most research studies do not support the
five-factor structure of SERVQUAL put forward by and administering expectation items is also
considered unnecessary. In addition, scholars have developed their own performance-based
measure, the SERVPERF. They were amongst the researchers who leveled maximum attack on
the SERVQUAL scale. They argue that the conceptualization and operationalization of service
quality (SERVQUAL) are inadequate measures of the relation between service quality,
customers’ satisfaction and purchase intention. The authors investigated the conceptualization
and measurement of service quality and its relationship with consumer satisfaction and purchase
intentions. They compared computed difference scores with perception to conclude that
perceptions only are better predictor of service quality. They, therefore, opined that expectation
(E) component of SERVQUAL be discarded and instead of it performance (P) component alone
be used. Although, some studies did fail to support its structure defended the use of the different

15
dimensions, based on conceptual and practical grounds. Even if it may be necessary to reword or
modify some of the items, yet the SERVQUAL scale is applicable in a wide range of business
services.

2.5.3 SERVPERF (Performance Only Model)

According to Cronin and Taylor (1992) SERVPERF scale is the unweighted perceptions
components of SERVQUAL, which consists of 22 perception items thus excluding any
consideration of expectations. In their empirical work in four industries found that unweighted
SERVPERF measure (performance-only) performs better that any other measure of service
quality and that it has the ability to provide more accurate service quality score than
SERVQUAL. They argue that current performance best reflects a customer’s perception of
service quality, and that expectations are not part of this concept.
SERVPERF model aimed to provide an alternative method of measuring perceived service
quality and the significance of the relationships between service quality, customer satisfaction
and purchase intentions. In investigating these concepts and the interrelationships between them
Cronin and Taylor’s (1994) argued that: a performance-based measure of service quality may be
an improved means of measuring the service quality construct, service quality is an antecedent of
customer satisfaction, consumer satisfaction has a significant effect on purchase intentions and,
Service quality has less effect on purchase intentions than consumer satisfaction. Being a variant
of the SERVQUAL scale and containing perceived performance component alone, ‘performance
only’ scale called SERVPERF which is comprised of only 22 items. A higher perceived
performance implies higher service quality. Service quality is evaluated by perceptions only
without expectations and without importance weights according to the formula:


k
j 1
Pij
SQ =
Where:
SQ = overall service quality;
k = number of attributes.
Pij =Performance perception of stimulus i with respect to attribute j.

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As a result they presented a performance-based measurement, SERVPERF. The SERVPERF
scale was created mainly in response to the criticism of the SERVQUAL scale. It particularly
sought not to use disconfirmation-based measures as that was perceived to be a flaw in the
SERVQUAL scale. It was built upon the premise that the best operationalization of service
quality is achieved through measures of services’ firm performance.

2.5.4. SERVPERF over SERVQUAL

Both methodologically as well as empirically the SERVPERF model characterizes noticeable
improvement over SERVQUAL model. Methodologically, the SERVPERF scale represents
marked improvement over the SERVQUAL scale. The SERVPERF scale is simpler to manage
as it required only one administration and so avoided the difficulties of measuring both
expectations and perceptions .i.e. reducing the number of items to be measured by 50 per cent,
and it has also been empirically found superior to the SERVQUAL scale for being able to
explain greater variance in the overall service quality measured through the use of single-item
scale. This explains the considerable support that has emerged over time in favor of the
SERVPERF scale (Babakus, 1992).
According to Cronin (1992), and Mulualem (2013) the SERVPERF measure has outperformed
the SERVQUAL scale also when applied in conjunction with the SERVQUAL scale. However
after an investigation of the psychometric properties of the SERVPERF scale and results of a
multi-industry study. They suggest that SERVPERF appears to suffer from the lack of a
consistent and generalizable factor structure.

2.6. Measurement of Quality of Public Services

According to Polidano. C, (1999) it is very difficult to measure the efficiency of public service
delivery since it is involved with many immeasurable factors and its nature makes it difficult to
measure easily, identified some measurement of public service delivery, they are summarized as
follows:

1. Understanding needs of its customers. These identify all types of customers or find out
what they want and need.
2. Design its service in light of this understanding which means creates or reforms services to
suit its customers and delivering as the way they requested.

17
 3. Consult with user regularly by gathering information on user expectations so that service
can respond to changing requirements and circumstances.
4. Introduces healthy and well developed arrangements for delivering service by design and
introduces better ways of delivering a service.
5. Employing and motivating capable staffs, especially on front line and recognize the value
of its staffs at all level ,appreciate the impact of motivated frontline
6. Monitors service performances and learns lesson so that it can innovate by establishing
suitable and credible performance measurement, regularly monitors performance and
carries out effective analysis, applying lessons learned to make service improvement.
7. Rectify when things go wrong-recognize sometimes things go wrong and appreciate and
compensation channels that are accessible to all and efficient to administer.
8. Publicize service and performance levels to all users and communicate information on
service and performance through tried-and-tested methods and innovative approaches.
9. Balances not overburdening service users with rules and demands for information with the
need to safeguard public money.
10. Deliver and repeatedly deliver to the same high standards service (Polidano. C, 1999).

2.7. Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction

Service quality and customer satisfaction are important concepts to academic researchers
Studying customer evaluations and to practitioners as a means of creating competitive advantage
and consumer loyalty. Expectation Disconfirmation Satisfaction Perceived Performance
The academic literature postulates that customer satisfaction is a function of the discrepancy
between a consumer’s prior expectations and his or her perception regarding the patronage of the
service. (Churchhill,1982).
When an experience is better than expectation then a favorable customer evaluation is predicted.
Service quality is defined similarly as a comparative function between consumer expectations
and actual service performance. In the customer satisfaction literature, this model is referred to as
the Disconfirmation (Theory) Paradigm. In the service quality literature it is referred to as the
Gap Model. The terms quality and satisfaction are sometimes used interchangeably, as if they are
essentially one evaluative construct. From the definitions given above, one may conclude that
the two are highly similar. However, several researchers are interested in how they differ. Some
service quality researchers describe satisfaction as a more specific, short-term evaluation (for

18
example, evaluating a single service encounter) and quality as a more general and a long-term
evaluation (Dabholkar, 1993).
On the other hand According to Iacobucci et al (1995), some customer satisfaction researchers
posit quality as the more specific judgments and a component of satisfaction the broader
evaluation. if these two concepts are distinct, then they are worthy of further separate pursuits,
but if they are the same, then more efficient theoretical progress would be made if these
Concepts are studied via convergence in a shared literature. In studying the concepts of service
quality and customer satisfaction there is no difference between quality and satisfaction for
disconfirmation, keeping promises, customization, empathy, friendliness or purchase intentions.
They established that overall, the disconfirmation gap concept is a plausible antecedent for both
quality and satisfaction and that purchase intentions are a plausible consequence for either.
Service quality has been described as a form of attitude related to but not equivalent to
satisfaction that results from the comparison of expectations with performance.
According to Omachonu et al (2008), quality has a long term impact on the satisfaction of
customers. Customer satisfaction and service quality are certainly interlinked and these create
value for the customer or client and help him to make decisions as to whether the service justifies
the cost. The scale for service quality had been observed and critically evaluated as it uses gap
scores, measurement of expectations, positively and negatively worded items, the
generalizability of its dimensions and the defining of a baseline for good quality.

2.8 Service Delivery in Customs

Customs services are among the public service that should be provided by the governments.
Thus, it is important to understand the working condition of this system. UNCTAD (2006)
identified six elements as standard of customs –Enterprise pillars:- these are (1) Partnership, (2)
Authorization, (3) Security, (4) Technology, (5) Communication and (6) Facilitation.
There is an emphasis on partnering with stakeholders these days. Customs is working with stack
holders ranging from importers, exporters, transit agents, information users, and governments to
international organizations. They are making their interaction in secure ways. This decrease risk
of damage and manipulation customs has a facilitation role in international and regional trade
and commerce. In order to discharge these responsibilities, it displays ICT based systems in its
service delivery such as ASYCUDA. By using it, it is claimed that customs makes clearing of
good easier. Therefore, it is felt that traders would not have much problem to make their

19
importation and exporting thorough the proper channels. This is considered to decrease illegal
and contraband trade.
Customs communication with its subsystem and stakeholders perpetually and periodically to
ascertain the functioning of the partnership the authorization of outgoing and incoming cargo
crossing country boundaries is also part of the job that has to be done customs.
As far as the channel of customs operation is concerned, there are three main actions that have to
be taken to execute customs clearance. The first sets of actions are pre-clearance actions that
have to be carried out prior to arrival of goods. Information is received and analyzed in this stage.
It is the stage of loading declaration about the item unit, quality, value, and tariff, method of
payment and consignor as well as consignee of the cargo that gets into and out of the country’s
boundary.
The second sets of action are goods clearance actions that have to be performed from arrival to
removal of goods. In this step, the cargo will be inspected and its real characteristics are
compared with that of information that has been provided in the declaration filled out prior to
that arrival of goods. Release of goods to remove will be taken after necessary payments are
made. The last sets of action are post- clearance action, which include auditing, differed control
and follow-up (UNCTAD, 2006).

20
CHAPTER THREE

3. METHEDOLOGY

3.1 Research Design and Approach

This study will employ a co relational descriptive research design as the purpose or objectives of
the study. Since the purpose of this research is to assess the service quality delivery in Ethiopian
revenue and customs authority of Bahir Dar branch office, and it describes the state of affairs as
it exists at present and to suggest that can strength the issue and to provide appropriate
recommendations there on.

A concurrent triangulation mixed type of research approaches will employ for this study. The
reason behind this is mixed approach can mix both quantitative and qualitative data in a single
study and it helps to answer how and why questions in the survey. A concurrent mixed approach
used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data at a time. And the researcher bases the
inquiry on the assumption that collecting diverse types of data best provides an understanding of
a research problem.

3.2 Data Collection Tools

The researcher will use different types of data collection tools as mentioned below.

3.2.1 Questionnaire
Questionnaires will be distributed for the respondents (tax payers &concerned employees) to be
easily understandable and readable.a self- administered, structured questionnaire will be
distributed. The questionnaires will both open ended and closed ended.

Respondents will be asked to express their perception on service quality of service provided by
the Ethiopia Revenue and Customs Authority services using a five points of scale of
measurement. In addition to this, separate questionnaires that will suppose to enable respondents
to identify the most important service quality dimensions of services will prepare. This section of
the instruments will enabled participants to allocate several points amongst and identify the most
important quality dimensions ERCA services.

21
 3.2.2 Interview
This instrument enables the investigator with some degree of flexibility in order to get
appropriate information with the right direction in relation to the study area. Based on this from
the branch office some individuals who are believed to have the capacity to provide appropriate
data will be interviewed. Those will the General Manager, the customer service and tax
collection process owners of the branch.

3.2.3 Observation
This instrument will help me to collect data that represent unbiased and independent of
respondents like in the case of interview and the questionnaire data collection techniques. This
method is employed by physically examining and observing the location, documents and other
relevant facts related to this study. In addition to this it helps to observe the way of service
delivery at a place.

3.3 Data Sources

Both primary and secondary sources will be used to make the study more comprehensive in
describing and findings of problems. Primary data will be collected from the respondents of
branch office by interviews, questionnaires and observations. secondary sources; will be
gathered from different published and unpublished documents such as; journal article, books,
websites, research findings, policies, manuals, proclamations and directives and other relevant
materials related to this study were used.

3.4 Sample Design

This part includes population of the study, sampling unit and frame, sampling technique, and
sample size.

3.4.1 Study Population

Specific methods will be used for selecting the target population in the survey including
convenience sampling (to select the specific branch office), and purposive sampling.
The study population is limited to Bahir Dar customs branch office. The selection is based on its
convenience and the researcher’s preliminary knowledge about the area the problem is clearly
occurred.
As I get from my preliminary knowledge there are about around 900 registered tax payers in the
branch offices. In addition to this the population of interest for this study shall include the

22
concerned employees’ i.e customer service and tax collection process owner employees. There
are about 50 employees in the two process owners.

3.4.2 Sampling Unit and Frame

Since it is impractical to obtain information from the entire population of interest, a specific
sample shall be selected to actually participate in the survey. The frame of this study will be tax
payers of the branch office as well as two processes owner employees.

3.4.3 Sampling Techniques

Specific sampling methods that will employ in the study are convenience sampling for external
customers (tax payers) and systematic random sampling for concerned employees. The reason
behind using convenience sampling for external customers are as it will be difficult to contact the
external customers (tax payers) of the public organizations as they do not regularly use the
services. So I shall to select tax payers who regularly use the service to get accurate information
as I want.

3.4.4 Sample
As it is known ERCA has delivered different service for different clients and from those who
were served, some amount of importers who have taken at least importing service in these branch
offices will used as the sample. For tax payers first i use systematic random sampling to select a
sample form a population of 900. Then I will use convenience sampling to get those categories
of importers who routinely interact with the office and as such will have some in-depth
knowledge and better understand the concerns and needs of the study. For employees of the two
process owners the researchers simply use systematic random sampling from a population of 50.
In addition to these, three individuals who will believe to have the capacity to provide data will
be selected for the purpose of interview. These people will the General Manager, the Human
Resource team leader and one process owner on clearance process of the organizations.

3.4.5 Sample Size

The study will employ Yamane’s (1967) a simplified formula to calculate sample sizes as cited
in Israel (1992). A 95% confidence level and 5% of the precision is assumed for this study. And
this simplified formula is:

23
Where n is the sample size, N is the population size, and e is the level of precision.

n= N
1+N(e)2

Therefore, since the total target population of this study is 951 the desired sample size of the
study was:

n= N/ [1+N (e) 2],

Where, N=950 and e=0.05

Then n=950 / [1+ (950) (0.05× 0.05)] =950/ 1.6275=281 n=281

The desired sample size from each stratum is shown below;

Tax payers of the branch--------------281(281/950) =266

Employees of two process owners------281(50/950) =15

Total---------------------------------------------------- 281

According to Kothari (2004) Size of the sample should be determined by a researcher keeping in
view the following points: Nature of universe, number of class proposed, nature of the study,
type of sampling and etc. Universe may be either homogenous or heterogeneous in nature. If the
items of the universe are homogenous, a small sample can serve the purpose. But if the items are
heterogeneous, a large sample would be required. Technically, this can be termed as the
dispersion factor. Based on this truth I am decide to reduce the sample of tax payers by 50%
since those tax payers are homogenous in nature. So the sample will be 148 (133 from tax payers
and 15 from employees).

3.5 Data Analysis and Presentation

After editing will be done the data will be quantitatively and qualitatively analyze. Quantitative
data analysis will be analyzed t by using of Microsoft word 2010. The Statistical Package for the
Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 will employed to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics
particularly mean and standard deviation analysis were used to measure respondents’ perception
scores.

24
Generally simple descriptive statistics will be used to assess the service quality perception on
customers of tax and customs services and percentage will also employed to identify the
important service quality dimensions for the customers’ of tax and customs service. Also to
illustrate the result, tables and other graphs and charts will be used.

The inferential statistics test hypothesis will be conducted as follows. The Ho and HA
hypothesis and their alternative models will be

1. For non parametric test of spearman correlation coefficient between service

quality dimension and customer satisfaction
Ho.
HA.
2. For non parametric test of related ordinal measures of Friedman
Ho.
HA.

25
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ANNEX I
Ethiopia Civil Service University
College of Finance and Management and Development
Department of Customs Administration
Questionnaires to Be Filled by tax payers
Dear Respondents;
This questionnaire is prepared by Alene Gashu who is pursuing his postgraduate Studies in the
Ethiopian Civil Service University, College of Finance management and development in
Customs Administration Masters Program. The purpose of this questionnaire is, therefore, to
conduct a study on the title of “assessment of service quality delivery in ERCA: The Case of
Bahir Dar Branch In fulfillment of requirement of Masters Degree in Customs Administration.
Your response will help decision makers to simplify and harmonize the service quality delivery
problems in ERCA in general and in this branch in particular. Please do not hesitate to answer
all the questions provided honestly, all your responses will be remained confidential and the data
will be used only for the academic purpose not be revealed by any case to anyone else.
Thank you in Advance!

29
SECTION-ONE
Demographic Information

Instruction: please tick (√) the box your response the following questions.

Gender: Male / Female

Age: below 18 years 18 -30 years 31- 45 years 46-60 years above 60 years

Education level
A. TVET (Certificate) ------ C. Degree holder--------
B. Diploma holder-------- D. MA and above------
Business Category

Which categories of the following organization do you belong?

Government organization
International Organization
Production Enterprise
Financial Institution
Service Enterprise
Other (private distributer and sellers, personal users….)

Dimensions of service quality

Please rate the following five dimensions of service with twenty six criteria based on the given
scale of measurement in the table below.

Five Dimensions and Twenty Six Criteria Measurement scale

Code
Disagree

Disagree
Strongly

Strongly
I don’t

Agree

agree
know

Tangibility
The branch has modern service rendering T1
equipment ( including walk thorough x-ray
machines, luggage scanning x-ray machine,
cargo tracking … ) to its clients
The branch equipments are not frequently T2
broken down
The branch has good and convenient service T3
rendering facilities ( including parking area,

30
office layout, place and Time ) to handle it
clients
The branch’s network not always interrupted T4

The room and building at the branch are clear, T5

attractive and inviting for
clients/taxpayer/customers.
Reliability
The branch delivers its promises in making its R1
clients happy.
When you have problems, the branch staffs R2
show a genuine interest in solving them.
The branch performs the service at right time. R3
The branch insists on error-free service. R4
the staffs have an efficient and well maintained R5
records or profiles of those involved import
and export trade
The rules, regulations and procedures are R6
transparent and consistently applied to its
client.
Responsiveness
Staffs at the branch tell you exactly when Rs1
services will be performed.
The branch has adequate staffs to execute its Rs2
service promptly.
The branch has very helpful and cooperative Rs3
staffs
Staffs are never too busy to respond to your Rs4
request.
Assurance
The branch has confident and self re-assuring A1
staffs.
You feel safe in the delivery of service. A2

The branch has staffs who understand the A3

customs law and procedures.
The branch has staffs who know about their A4
responsibilities.
Staffs and managements of the branch are A5
consistently polite, respectful, and courteous
with you
The branch has professional, competent and A6
knowledgeable staffs who can answer any
question.
Empathy
The branch gives you gives you individual E1

31
attention.
The branch has opening hours convenient to all E2
its clients.
The branch treat its taxpayers with respect E3

The staffs have the interests of their clients at E4

heart.
The staffs understand your specific needs. E5

SECTION TWO

Weight of five Dimensions

Instruction: Please allocate a weight of 100 points among the five dimensions ERCA service
quality in order to identify which dimensions of service quality is more important than others to
the tax payers of the service provided by ERCA.

No. ERCA service quality dimension Weight

1 Tangibles (appearance of physical facilities, equipments,
and personnel)
2 Reliability (ability to perform the promised service
dependably and accurately)
3 Responsiveness (willing to help )
4 Empathy (provision of individually care, easy access good
communication and attention to taxpayers)
5 Assurance (the knowledge , credibility)

Please indicate your overall perception towards the service quality given by the branch office.

Very Bad Bad Fair Good Excellent

32
 1 2 3 4 5

If any please try to indicate any other problem that can determine the quality of service in the
branch office
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ANNEX II
Ethiopia Civil Service University
College of Finance and Management and Development
Department of Customs Administration
Questionnaires to Be Filled by concerned employees
Dear Respondents;
This questionnaire is prepared by Alene Gashu who is pursuing his postgraduate Studies in the
Ethiopian Civil Service University, College of Finance management and development in
Customs Administration Masters Program. The purpose of this questionnaire is, therefore, to
conduct a study on the title of “assessment of service quality delivery in ERCA: The Case of
Bahir Dar Branch In fulfillment of requirement of Masters Degree in Customs Administration.
Your response will help decision makers to simplify and harmonize the service quality delivery
problems in ERCA in general and in this branch in particular. Please do not hesitate to answer
all the questions provided honestly, all your responses will be remained confidential and the data
will be used only for the academic purpose not be revealed by any case to anyone else.
Thank you in Advance!

33
Demographic Information

Instruction: please tick (√) the box your response the following questions.

Gender: Male / Female

Age: below 18 years 18 -30 years 31- 45 years 46-60 years above 60 years

Education level
A. TVET (Certificate) ------ C. Degree holder--------
B. Diploma holder-------- D. MA and above------

Weight of the five Scale of Measurement

Please allocate a weight of 100 points among the five dimensions of ERCA service quality in
order to identify which dimensions of service quality is more important than others to the tax
payers of the service provided by the branch office.

No. ERCA service quality dimension Weight

1 Tangibles (appearance of physical facilities, equipments,
and personnel)
2 Reliability (ability to perform the promised service
dependably and accurately)
3 Responsiveness (willing to help )
4 Empathy (provision of individually care, easy access good
communication and attention to taxpayers)
5 Assurance (the knowledge , credibility) In what
level your
clients are
satisfied by
the service that the branch office delivered?

1. Very high 2.high 3.medim 4.low 5.very low

According to your understanding what are the major problems that encounter you to not give
better service for the clients?

1. quality of physical facilities

2. equipment and office environment

34
3. not motivated by the salary
4. ERCAs rule, regulation and proclamation problem
5. Please State if any other-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.

ANNEX III

Ethiopia Civil Service University

College of Finance and Management and Development
Department of Customs Administration
Interviews to Be Filled by manager and selected process owners
Dear Respondents;
This questionnaire is prepared by Alene Gashu who is pursuing his postgraduate Studies
in the Ethiopian Civil Service University, College of Finance management and
development in Customs Administration Masters Program. The purpose of this
questionnaire is, therefore, to conduct a study on the title of “assessment of service
quality delivery in ERCA: The Case of Bahir Dar Branch In fulfillment of
requirement of Masters Degree in Customs Administration. Your response will help
decision makers to simplify and harmonize the service quality delivery problems in
ERCA in general and in this branch in particular. Please do not hesitate to answer all the
questions provided honestly, all your responses will be remained confidential and the

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 data will be used only for the academic purpose not be revealed by any case to anyone
else.
Thank you in Advance!
Interview questions
1. please specify what looks like the service delivered by the branch office for tax payers
2. In what level the tax payers are satisfied by the service that the branch office delivered?
3. What do you think about the problems behind low performance of service quality in the
branch?
4. Is there any training for the staffs about client care and service quality?
5. According to your opinion, what will be the solutions for problems faced by tax payers in
the time service delivery?

Table of Contents

Title Page

CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................................................... 1

1. INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background of the Study ....................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................................... 2
1.3 Objective of the Study ........................................................................................................... 3
1.3.1 General Objective ........................................................................................................... 3
1.3.2Specific Objectives .......................................................................................................... 3
1.4 Research Questions ............................................................................................................... 3

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 1.5 Scope of the Study................................................................................................................. 4
1.6 Significance of the Study ...................................................................................................... 4
1.7 Limitations of the Study ........................................................................................................ 4
1.8 Organization of the Thesis .................................................................................................... 4
CHAPTER TWO .......................................................................................................................... 5
2. LITRATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................................... 5
2.1Concept of Service and Quality ............................................................................................. 5
2.2 Service Quality ...................................................................................................................... 6
2.2.1 Customer Perception....................................................................................................... 7
2.2.2 Customer Satisfaction ..................................................................................................... 8
2.2.3 Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction .................................................................... 9
2.3 Service Quality in Public Service........................................................................................ 10
2.4 Service Quality Dimensions ................................................................................................ 11
2.5 Service Quality Models ....................................................................................................... 12
2.5.1. The SERVQUAL Model ............................................................................................. 13
2.5.2. Criticisms of SERVQUAL .......................................................................................... 15
2.5.3 SERVPERF (Performance Only Model) ...................................................................... 16
2.5.4. SERVPERF over SERVQUAL ................................................................................... 17
2.6. Measurement of Quality of Public Services ....................................................................... 17
2.7. Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction ........................................................................ 18
2.8 Service Delivery in Customs ............................................................................................... 19
CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................... 21
3. METHEDOLOGY .................................................................................................................. 21
3.1 Research Design and Approach .......................................................................................... 21
3.2 Data Collection Tools.......................................................................................................... 21
3.2.1 Questionnaire ................................................................................................................ 21
3.2.2 Interview ....................................................................................................................... 22
3.2.3 Observation ................................................................................................................... 22
3.3 Data Sources ........................................................................................................................ 22
3.4 Sample Design..................................................................................................................... 22
3.4.1 Study Population........................................................................................................... 22

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 3.4.2 Sampling Unit and Frame ............................................................................................. 23
3.4.3 Sampling Techniques ................................................................................................... 23
3.4.4 Sample .......................................................................................................................... 23
3.4.5 Sample Size .................................................................................................................. 23
3.5 Data Analysis and Presentation ........................................................................................... 24
References .................................................................................................................................... 26
ANNEX I ...................................................................................................................................... 29
ANNEX II .................................................................................................................................... 33
ANNEX III ................................................................................................................................... 35

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