ABSTRACT
Customer service is the most important aspect of every business that builds its processes on
the basis of customers going through the queue before receiving any service from the
organization. These businesses become ineffective and inefficient if the queues are not
moving well or the queues are not fluid. This research was inspired by the customer service of
MTN Sokoto branch. System Dynamics was used in order to solve the overcrowd problem of
the organization. System Dynamics is a methodology used for studying, understanding and
managing dynamic models of different kinds of businesses. In short, System Dynamics could
be used as an approach where models are created and used in order to simplify reality. The
problem MTN customer service is facing with its queuing system is one of those realities
System Dynamics can help understand. The System Dynamics model that has been produced
from this research can be used in order to understand how queuing systems work. The model
could be used to solve a number of problems MTN Sokoto branch can encounter and then
policies would be developed in order to have a better Customer Service. There are a number
of variables that have been generated in other to understand the causality and feedback of the
system.
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Table of Contents
DECLARATION …………………………………………………………………………………………………i
ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………………………….ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT …………………………………………………………………………………..iii
LIST OF FIGURES ……………………………………………………………………………………………vi
LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………………………………….vii
ACRONYMS…………………………………………………………………………………………………..viii
CHAPTER ONE …………………………………………………………………………………………………1
1 INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………………………1
1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY …………………………………………………………………1
1.2 PURPOSE OF STUDY…………………………………………………………………………..2
1.3 TARGET OBJECTIVES…………………………………………………………………………2
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS……………………………………………………………………..2
1.5 OUTLINE OF REPORTS……………………………………………………………………….3
CHAPTER TWO ………………………………………………………………………………………………..4
2 LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………………………………………………4
2.1 INTRODUCTION OF SYSTEM DYNAMIC……………………………………………4
2.2 FEEDBACK………………………………………………………………………………………….5
2.3 TIME DELAYS …………………………………………………………………………………….5
2.4 STOCK AND FLOWS……………………………………………………………………………5
CHAPTER THREE …………………………………………………………………………………………….6
3 METHODOLOGY ……………………………………………………………………………………….6
3.1 AREA OF STUDY…………………………………………………………………………………6
3.2 METHOD OF SAMPLING …………………………………………………………………….6
3.3 INSTRUMENT USED IN COLLECTING DATA …………………………………….6
3.4 RESOURCES USED ……………………………………………………………………………..7
CHAPTER FOUR……………………………………………………………………………………………….8
4 THE MODEL ………………………………………………………………………………………………8
4.1 STOCKS AND FLOWS ……………………………………………………………………….10
4.2 WAITING BACKLOG…………………………………………………………………………10
4.3 TOTAL CLIENTS REJECTED……………………………………………………………..11
4.4 PROCESSING BACKLOG …………………………………………………………………..11
4.5 CONTROL BACKLOG………………………………………………………………………..11
4.6 PAYMENT BACKLOG ……………………………………………………………………….12
4.7 TOTAL CLIENTS TREATED ……………………………………………………………..12
4.8 TOTAL CLIENTS IN …………………………………………………………………………..13
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4.9 AUXILIARY VARIABLES ………………………………………………………………….13
4.10 CONSTANTS…………………………………………………………………………………..14
4.11 CAUSALITY AND FEEDBACK LOOPS …………………………………………..15
CHAPTER FIVE ………………………………………………………………………………………………17
5 SIMULATIONS AND RESULTS ………………………………………………………………..17
CHAPTER SIX…………………………………………………………………………………………………19
6 CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………………………………….19
6.1 RECOMENDATION……………………………………………………………………………19
7 Refference………………………………………………………………………………………………….20
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 4.1 MTN queuing processes……………………………………………………………………….8
Figure 4.2 Staff in each process…………………………………………………………………………….9
Figure 4.3 Basic Stocks and Flows………………………………………………………………………10
Figure 4.4 causality and feedback loop…………………………………………………………………16
Figure 5.1 base case diagram………………………………………………………………………………17
Figure 5.2 better case diagram…………………………………………………………………………….18
Figure 5.3 worse case diagram…………………………………………………………………………….18
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 Auxiliary variables…………………………………………………………………………………14
Table 2 Constants………………………………………………………………………………………………15
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ACRONYMS
SD System Dynamics
QS Queuing System
CS Customer Service
1
CHAPTER ONE
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Customer Service is very important in every organization. Customers are actually quick to
make complaints, especially when it involves customer service and waiting. Mostly, the
customers or clients talk about what they could be doing while waiting or how their valuable
time has been wasted. Today, it is odd for the customers to wait in line and not be addressed
by the staff. Basically if the customers will have to wait for 15 minutes to see a staff face,
then surely they will feel their time has been wasted. Definitely if you cannot talk to the
customers right away, how will your customers ever feel valued? The valuable personal time
of the customers is wasted if attention is not giving to them right away. If that attention is not
granted, how will the customer ever feel valued?
Strategies like having newspapers, TV around need to be implemented to in order to help
customers wait patiently in the queue. Taking advantage of that, we can actually improve
customer experience in waiting lines. The interest of the customer can be caught during that
period in time. There is the need to make your customer feel they are already receiving
service while waiting. Queuing system improves the experience of the customer by analyzing
wait times and also generating reports. By doing so, you will know exactly what the
customers are experiencing, and based on that you can draw out decisions based on your
findings.
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The MTN Customer Service is facing a problem of overcrowd in its queuing system. Trying
to solve the problem will help us find the possible right decisions to make in order to clear as
many clients as possible. (Lee)
1.2 PURPOSE OF STUDY
This research will explore the dynamics of the MTN Customer Service Queuing system and
find possible ways of clearing customers as fast as possible in order to prevent overcrowd.
The model to be created will serve as a tool that will give the understanding of queuing
system. The model will help find approaches to efficient and effective queuing system.
1.3 TARGET OBJECTIVES
This research paper has the following objectives:
To develop the model of a system to explain its behavior over time.
To determine the factors leading to a fluid movement of people through
different processes.
This research paper has the following objectives:
To develop the model of a system to explain its behavior over time.
To determine the factors leading to a fluid movement of people through different
processes.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The intended answers to the questions of this research;
Does the system dynamics approach apply to Queuing Systems?
3
Can the proposed model actually help overcome overcrowd in queues in order
to have good customer services.
1.5 OUTLINE OF REPORTS
These are the topics to be discussed in the project report;
Chapter 1: Gives a general knowledge on the expectations of a queuing system and its impact
on customers. This is where the problem statement, target objectives and the research
questions have been identified.
Chapter 2: This is where the literature review is being carried out. Here we give the
definition, history and origin of System Dynamics.
Chapter 3: This chapter talks about the methodology that has been used in order to carry out
the project and the method of sampling that was used. Also the instruments that have been
used to collect the data will be mentioned here.
Chapter 4: This chapter explains the model that was created. Here we explore the causal
feedback loops in the model.
Chapter 5: This is where the simulations results are explained.
Chapter 6: This is where we have the conclusion of the report and recommendations.
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