Managing demand and capacity at the Department of Home Affairs

Scenes of long winding queues have become a standard feature at the Department$’$s offices. South African citizens and residents waste productive time queuing for different daily services. Consumers$’$ expectations regarding the level of service have reached the lowest level, a situation described as unacceptable by customer$-$defined service standards and analysts as a ticking time bomb. The Department has hired you as a marketing consultant to help them manage demand and capacity to resolve excess demand. The people may have confidence in the Department$’$s service delivery and spend their valuable time doing productive work to grow the economy.

Fictitious scenario

Discuss any five $(5)$ factors they must consider when managing service quality expectations. Support your answer to each factor with an appropriate example.

Based on the above scenario, identify five $(5)$ elements that the Department of Home Affairs can implement to increase capacity and smoothen demand in times of excess need. Support your answer to each strategy with a practical example.