For the course Principles of Marketing we had to either introduce a new product or to better a product or service for the Faculty of Social Economics. We, Amy Barry and Andrew Paul, decided to better the service of the secretariat. Seeing that both of have had bad experiences using that service here at school, we decided to better that service. We also decided on this service because this a very important part of the Faculty of Social Economics, because this is what is considered the nerve station of that faculty.

As follows, we will give brief descriptions of the current situation is and elaborate on each point. And then we will explain what we will do to improve it.

The subjects that we will tackle are as follows:

> Personnel competency,

> Work hours and office location,

> Manuals,

> Notifications, and

> Student services.

Personnel competency

What we consider personnel competency is the way that the staff deals with the students, and the way that they handle problems and help the students. In this section we will also talk about how they relay information to the students.

> Current situation

There are not enough workers to handle all the work and students that are coming there for help, which causes a very stressful situation. Because of this the few workers that are there have a very short temper and it seems that they don’t know how to deal with that situation. We also find that they don’t have the right attitude for the job that they are doing. Because of this they treat the students in a very inappropriate manner. And also the secretariat has the tendency to give incorrect information to students, because sometimes a student might have a question and they would tell you that it’s on the blackboard, even if that is not the case. We also feel that at times they are not interested in the students well being.

> Improvements

The most important thing to do is to start by sending all the current workers to a management skills course. This is so that they can learn to deal with the situations that present themselves within their job. Secondly we will bring in more workers, and we will make sure that they have also gone through the management skills course. We will also make sure that these new workers and also the current workers have the wellbeing of the students at heart. Also when students come with problems, they should not just try brush them of by telling them that the information is available online, but actually, perform a research if possible together with the student, to see if you can come to a conclusion.

Work hours and office location

With this we mean the office hours that they are open to receive students. And with location we don’t only mean where the office is situated but also the size.

> Current situation

The hours that they are open are very inappropriate for the student because at those times most students have class and are unable to go to the office. The hours that they are open are limited, and with the amount of students that make use of this service there is not enough time to handle all of there problems. For all the work that goes on, and the amount of students that go in that office, there is not enough space.

> Improvements

We suggest that the opening hours should be from 8pm to 5 pm, with a one hour lunch period at noon. And student office hours will be from 9.30 am to 12 pm and then again from 2.30 pm to 5 pm. So you see that in between the student hours there is enough time for the workers to handle other stuff. That also has to be done. And as for the location, we don’t find that the current location is particularly bad, but they should either move to a larger office where there is more space to do everything that has to be done, and more space to accommodate all the students that are currently coming in there.

Manuals

In this section we will talk about the fact that they don’t distribute the Mentorate, Management skills and Student manuals anymore via themselves.

> Current situation

They have decided to put these manuals online on the blackboard so that the student can print them and have them for themselves. They do not distribute these manuals any longer.

> Improvements

We do not think that this should be the case, because it is supposed to be a service from the school to make those manuals available to the students. We understand the fact that they would say that they are cutting on costs, but in that case you could ask for a low price to compensate for those costs. Although that price should not be too high because, there already is a problem with the financial aid. We also feel that these manuals should be distributed through the secretariat because not all students have the possibility to download and print the manuals that are needed. We must keep in mind that these manuals should be distributed in time for when these classes have started.

Notifications

This is also a very important part of the secretariat because the students should know in time about class cancellations, changes and teachers that are unable to come to class.

> Current situation

Right now it is not operating as it is supposed to be, at time you might just happen to hear about a class change or rescheduling. Also when teachers are not able to make it to class they should be able to let us know on time, because some students have to come from quite a distance to attend class, and it is not the best feeling to come all the way to school and there is no class.

> Improvements

They should post the notifications at least one the day prior to the scheduled changes, so that students can know what to expect the following day at school. They sometimes port the notices on the blackboard, but they must bare in mind that not all students have access to the blackboard and that they depend solely on the notifications that are made at school. In some cases we understand that it not possible to notify teacher absences from the day before, but in that case you should have specific rules made with the teachers to notify the secretariat on time that they are not able to make it to school on that day.

Grades

This a very important part concerning the students. Because it is important for them to be able to find out what their grades are so that they know what has to be done the following year.

> Current situation

Not all subject grades are posted online and for that reason lots of students are coming to the secretariat to find out what their grades are. When you get there, they stand there ground on telling you that the grades are online, but they don’t actually review to see if that is really the case. Because of this problem that occurs often at the end of the year, most students refrain from searching for their grades, and consequently are not sure about the grades that they have obtained over the year.

> Improvements

They should make sure that all the teachers have handed in their grades and have them in a neat file put away, so that if in any cases the grades were not placed online the students would still have easy access to their grades. This is very important because that is the main reason why students are attending this school, and if they are unable to get their grades, they loose their motivation for attending school, because there is no way for them to find out what has happened over the past year.