The University of the West Indies

Open Campus

GROUP PROJECT

GD Films Production Company

By

Shenice Best Williams - 320007249

Megan Thomas - 04018646

Keshann Stewart - 315104409

LaDonna Howell- 03621575

Candie Sutherland- 07007511

A Paper Presented in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements of

EDID 6507- Needs Assessment for Learning and Performance

Trimester II, 2019-2020

December 2, 2019

Course Coordinator: Mrs. Janelle Edward

 Background

GD Films was created to unite production practitioners to generate professional quality

videos for the local and international media market. The company aspires to be a leader in the

film industry highlighting different social and cultural aspects of a wide demography through

collaboration with stakeholders. Its mission is to support and develop the Jamaican Film Industry

through the production of high quality content that represents the cultural diversity and

innovative creations of the people. It is their intention that this will encourage people to share

knowledge and ideas, tell their stories and inspire their audience in relating, emulating and

feeling a part of the experience portrayed.

GD Films is operated by 3 core members: The CEO who also functions as the Director of

Photography and steadicam operator; the Production Coordinator and the accountant. Based on

the small number of core team members, the company has to outsource crew members when it

takes on large scale projects.

Statement of the Problem

In the film industry, a company develops its competitive position by aligning itself with

corporations and projects that will showcase its level of experience and expertise and strengthen

the chances of being selected for job bids that may arise from time to time. GD Films seeks to

increase its profitability and enhance its competitive position in the media production market.

The company aims to achieve an annual project intake of 70-80 jobs which amounts to

approximately 6-7 jobs per month. This should be a mixture of both small and large scale

projects that will maintain steady monthly profits.

 Currently, the company’s job output ranges from 3-4 per month which amounts to 36-48

jobs per year. A steady monthly profit is also not being maintained. In addition, there is the

problem of not being able to develop and fund in-house projects that can be distributed on a

variety of platforms such as television and the internet. These projects will provide a sustainable

income for the company once distributed through the right outlets. Team Educo has been tasked

with investigating the root causes of the performance gaps that exist in order to determine

appropriate solutions that will place the company in the position it desires to be.

Description of the Affected Audience

The target for this needs assessment is bi-fold and includes the employees of the GD

Films Company and the client group of existing and potential clients. These participants are

described below:

● The Chief Executive Officer who is responsible for securing jobs and clients, making

project ideas come to life, selection of crew members, ensuring that projects are executed

and overall project management. He is in his late 30’s and and is passionate about the

growth of the company but also wants to have the right team to work with who shares a

similar vision. At the moment, he is the main camera operator for jobs coming into the

company. In most cases, he has to source a camera assistant who goes along with him on

shoots to do camera preps, change lenses and batteries, etc. Not only does the CEO have

to work assiduously to run the company and get the team to meet estimated targets, but

he has to ensure that he keeps up to date with the latest technology and sharpen his

creative skills so as to be efficient at the work he does for clients. If the company does
 not perform up to standard, it may affect sustainability and how well he is able to

consistently pay staff members at the end of each month.

● The Production Coordinator who performs project management duties such as: project

scheduling, stakeholder communications, budget preparation and management and

company documents maintenance. She is a recent university graduate in her 20’s, and a

previous intern at GD Films. She has been with the company for the past 2 years. She is

the only other employee who works in-office with the CEO and will sometimes go out on

shoots to ensure the smooth running of the production. She has to ensure she does a

thorough job to maintain the integrity of the product and services the company is known

for. Outside of all these tasks, she has to come up with new ideas that the company can

tap into to earn additional income.

● The Accountant who manages the company’s finances, financial records and

administrative tasks. She primarily works remotely but communicates with the team on a

daily basis. She has been with the company for the past 4 years. She has to ensure that the

financial viability of the company is maintained and look for ways in which the company

can earn profits.

● Existing and potential Clients from corporate, independent, non-profit organizations and

other entities. These clients usually request services for content such as advertisements,

music videos, documentaries, short films and features. GD Films’ performance has a

large bearing on whether or not clients contract them in the future but the company would

also benefit from tips that could help them grow in the industry.
 Performance Gaps Stated

Desired Performance Gap/ Discrepancy Actual Performance

Achieve an annual project Underperformance in 3-4 jobs being done per

intake of 70-80 jobs which not meeting estimated month which amounts
amounts to approximately number of jobs intake. to 36-48 jobs per year.
6-7 jobs per month.
Loss of clients through
poor retention.

Misdirected Service
targeting, and niche
development.

Maintain a steady monthly Inconsistent monthly Profits fluctuate because

profit earnings affects the the job intake is not
company’s profitability where it is supposed to
be. The company also
incurs a high production
cost in the services
offered

Develop and fund in-house Lack of content Company currently does

projects to promote ownership which limits not develop its own
sustainable development the potential of a content for distribution
within the company sustainable income on income earning
platforms and they are
not privy to external
funding to offset
production costs
 Methods to Confirm Gaps

In order to confirm the identified gaps, an Organizational Scan will be done to identify

the factors linked to the performance problems to point us in the direction of the right

interventions that will work in the organization’s favor. An examination of GD Films’

organizational capacity and organizational performance was deemed critical in understanding

how it can achieve its intended goals amidst the current challenges. A cause analysis will

uncover the issues that directly or indirectly contribute to the problems so as to efficiently arrive

at feasible interventions.

Organizational capacity will examine the following areas:

1. Human Resources

2. Financial management

3. Operating Structure of the organization

4. Organizational infrastructure (in particular production equipment)

The following areas will be considered in assessing the company’s organizational performance:

Effectiveness in working towards desired performance. This includes effectiveness in

meeting client expectations and providing the relevant services to meet their demands

Financial Viability which includes its sources of funds, how reliable they are and whether

or not they are linked to sustainable growth.

Information from GD Films’ organizational performance scan will be measured against

information that will be collected from other sources primarily through interviews and surveys

with the key stakeholders.

Organizational Scan

An organizational scan was carried out which focused primarily on organizational

capacity and organizational performance. According to Lusthaus et al (2002), “organizational

capacity is the ability of an organization to use its resources to perform”. Based on the nature of

the company, 5 key areas were examined under capacity namely: Human resources, financial

management, organizational structure, infrastructure and process management.

Organizational Capacity

Human Resources

Lusthaus et al. (2002) looks at an organization’s human resources in terms of “human

capital which refers to the knowledge and skills of the labour force” and these human resources

are considered to be the most valuable assets. In the organization under review, it is seen where

the CEO is primarily tasked with firmly establishing the mission and vision of the company and

ensuring that each person employed to the company performs according to these core values.

The following questions were posed to the CEO of GD Films to identify the needs that are

lacking in the organization and ascertain the necessary steps to meet these needs. Would you say

the organization is efficient in its efforts to plan for its human resources needs?

1. What current demands for human capital exists in the company?

2. Does the organization know how and where to identify people with the requisite skills to

meet its needs?

3. What benefits are in place for current employees?

 Based on the responses, it was seen that the company has not been successful in

maintaining the right number of staff members to effectively carry out intended plans. Currently,

the company is short-staffed and one of the main positions it is looking to fill is that of an in-

house video editor, who will more efficiently meet the demands of the market. The company has

had to turn down video editing jobs because of the lack of human capital and not having

sufficient funds to outsource video editors because the process is not very profitable for them.

The organization has opened its doors to interns from major universities who are desirous

of working in the production field with the hope of finding students who could be recruited as

members of the team. However, in most cases the interns do not perform up to standard and the

process ends up not being very rewarding.

In terms of benefits for current employees, there is a system wherein they are given a

bonus at the end of the year for services throughout the year.

Financial Management

The company’s accountant revealed that the company has worked diligently at managing

its finances to ensure it remains in operation. The accountant ensures that all funds are accounted

for and financial statements are produced at the end of each financial year. With this in mind, she

has been able to predict how much funds will be needed to successfully run the company with a

long term view in mind. This has been one of the contributing factors leading to the decision of

the number of projects the company needs to honour as is represented by the optimal

performance outlined in the performance gaps.

However, the company has not been able to secure sufficient financial resources from

jobs to offset costs directly or indirectly related to its in-house expenses. In addition, it has been
difficult to secure grants or loans which could assist with equipment purchase or aid in the

development of in-house content to boost sustainability.

Operating Structure

Meyer, 1995 points out that the operating structure of an organization includes how labor

is divided which includes authority and responsibility and also the coordination of labour and

this structure must be assessed to see whether it is facilitating or preventing the company’s

movement towards accomplishing its desired goals. In the case of GD Films, roles and

responsibilities are not evenly distributed so you find that persons are performing in more than

one capacity. For example the CEO, who, outside of being in charge of the overall operation of

the company, is also tasked with being the main videographer and photographer, among

performing other roles. This sometimes works to inhibit efficiency in the organization as there

are times when the attention given to one area is greater than another that is equal in importance.

Organizational Infrastructure

In looking at the organizational infrastructure, in particular production equipment, it was

seen that while the company uses high quality equipment in its operations that are capable of

producing the high quality products it is known for, most of them are not company-owned.

Equipment deficiency is mainly a result of the high cost of bringing new equipment into the

country. The company however does not entirely escape high costs because it is also very costly

to do rentals.
 Organizational Performance

The company has managed to efficiently meet client expectations through its strategy of

finding out from them directly what their needs are and walking them through the process of

what can be done to help them achieve those needs. GD Films offers equal dedication towards all

clients and ensure that they are happy with the high quality service and end product that is

delivered in a timely manner. However, the CEO has noted that the company has to improve in

this area if it is to meet the desired outputs and remain competitive in the industry.

In terms of financial viability, the company gets its revenue from the jobs completed for

external clients. These products are not owned by the company and as such represents a one-time

earning. The company has not been able to produce its own content to facilitate a reliable

alternative source of funds to promote sustainability. The company has managed to pay the bills

to keep the company in operation and also provide monthly salaries for staff members but has

not been able to account for any real profits. As seen in Lusthaus et al (2002), for an organization

to perform well it has to “pay attention to its ability to generate the resources it requires” so it

must not only be able to pay its operational bills but should have some “excess of revenue over

expenses”.

Data Collection

The research design for this needs assessment is a mixed method enquiry. The data will

be derived using three main data collection techniques: Interviews, Surveys and Document

Reviews. The information gathered will be used to redefine the data collection aims and

methods, guide the further analysis to follow, such as the gap and cause analysis, and to

ultimately prescribe a means of intervention to address the problem stated above.

Data Collection Methods

Interviews- The interview process allows for in depth responses and follow up questions

and will be conducted at the initiation of the needs assessment activity with the first group of key

stakeholders, the staff of GD Films. We have designed a 3 phase interview process, where the

first interview will be a structured process with pre-constructed questions. The second interview

will follow an unstructured, informal style, to help the assessor gain further insight into areas

highlighted in the first set of interview responses. The last interview will also be informal, and

serve to consolidate the data findings and form conclusive ideas on the needs of the company.

Surveys- This tool will be employed after the interview process, and be administered to

present and prospective clients via an online platform which is cost effective and the results can

be easily quantified and analysed. The questions will be constructed using the data collected in

the interviews. The survey will serve as insight from the target on their perspective of the needs

they have that are currently not met by GD Films and suggestions as to how the company can

improve its performance.

Document/ Data Review- Our final data collection tool will be used by the assessor to

fill in the information gaps of the interviews and surveys. The documents used will include the

companies executive plan, financial records, client and employee records, as well as the contracts

and records from previous projects.

Factors Affecting Data Collection Methods

The two most impactful factors affecting the data collection process are listed below:
 1. The availability of the potential and present customers to participate in the data collection

process.

2. The process of obtaining the documents for the data review proved to be a bit tedious as

the company did not want to divulge too much information that was considered

confidential.

Data Collection Protocol

The following protocol was used to ensure the data collection process was initiated with the

correct permission, and decorum.

1. Initial meeting with GD Films CEO, and introduction to staff.

2. Signing of official contracts that employ and describe the services of Team Educo.

3. Development and review of data collection tools by the CEO.

4. Notification of staff members on the schedule for data collection.

5. Distribution of invitations to clients for their participation in the data collection process.

6. Signing of consent to present information gathered via interviews/surveys.

7. Data collection begins using the tools in Appendix A and Appendix B.

8. Weekly reports issued to organizational leads, and relevant participants.

9. Data analyzed.

10. Findings distributed for participant review.

11. Final Report submitted, after review.

 Data Analysis

Interview Analysis Report

Following the interview with the CEO of GD Films, it was seen that outsourcing crew

members puts a big dent in the budget because of the high rates they have to pay for their labour

as opposed to having full time employees who could be paid a standard monthly salary. It is

difficult for the company to escape paying these rates as the alternative would have been to turn

down the jobs and this results in a loss of revenue for the company.

The CEO has sought to use the internship program as the main avenue to recruit potential

full-time employees however, with the exception of the current Production Coordinator, they

have not satisfied the requirements that would be in line with the standards of the company. In

addition, he has never had to train staff members before.

The primary causes for not developing in-house content has been linked to lack of

adequate labour force and insufficient funds to cover production costs. The CEO also revealed a

desire for sponsorship that would help to offset some of these costs.

In relation to customer retention, the CEO declined to answer what that rate would be but

agreed that they got referrals from clients. Consequently, this prompted us to find out from the

clients the nature of their relationship with the company, what they liked most and least about

their services and the qualities they in turn are looking for in similar production companies. See

Survey analysis for these findings.

Cash flow in the company is somewhat steady but there is room for improvement as the

company is not realizing a yearly surplus. When asked if he is charging enough to grow the
business the CEO confirmed that his prices are reasonable but he still gets asked to lower his

prices, which he does based on the uniqueness of the situation. This is also in line with the

company’s mantra of extending its services to bring about guaranteed customer satisfaction.

Survey

The data collected by the survey rendered online, is Qualitative in nature, and will be

described and presented in the following sections. The Key findings will summarize the most

important aspects of the data analysis and focus our efforts in the rest of the needs assessment

report. Certain themes were recognized in the data analysis and thus the results are organized as

follows:

1. GD Films’ Client History

2. GD Films’ Strengths

3. GD Films’ Weaknesses

Survey Analysis Report

Client History

The data collected in the survey showed that the participants were 65% male and 35%

female. This was confirmed to be reflective of the general population of clients. Ten percent of

the participants were occupied under the Government while 20% each worked in the Private

sector or Non-Governmental Organizations. Fifty percent of the respondents were from the

Advertising field. This was also reflective of the total client population, as the largest client

group were Ad Firms and the smallest Government. Half of respondents had interacted with the

company and its services less than 6 months ago, while 30 and 20 % of the respondents engaged
before July 2019. This helps our investigation to examine both new and older opinions of the

company, and thus make a sound decision. Of the 20 participants in the survey, 45% of them

contracted GD Films for their projects while 55% either chose another production company

(20%) or dissolved the contract between themselves and the company before the end of the

project (35%).

Company Strengths

Of the 45% of persons who contracted GD Films for their project, 56% percent said it

was because of the high quality service. Another 34% said it was because of their competitive

price and the final 11% said it was because of the competence of the staff. These clients used the

company for Videography (56%), Production (22%), Directing (11%) and Video Editing (11%).

Of that list the best services, as rated by the customer, were Videography (78%) and Production

(22%). These clients, who had previously contracted the company recommending the following

areas to focus on improving their services: improve the quality of service and marketing (34%),

employ more innovative solutions to client needs (33%), improve on employee soft skills (22%),

and lower the cost of services (11%). None of the respondents indicated that GD Films should

provide more holistic services, which indicates that the services provided are enough.

Company Weaknesses

Of the 45% who employed GD Films’ service, the group indicated that their worst

services were Video Editing (45%), Directing (33%), and Videography and Production (11%

each). The 55% of respondents who chose not to use GD Films for the completion of the project

explored their reasons why. Of the group 35% were contracts lost by the company which

indicates a problem in client retention during the filming process. Of the entire group, 64%
indicated that the company’s portfolio was outdated. Twenty-seven percent said the rates for

services were too expensive and 9% revealed that they had received negative feedback on the

company. Forty-six and forty-five percent of these participants showed that the company’s they

hired had an up-to-date portfolio and used modern trends in the industry in their work. Nine

percent said their hires were because of their good reputation in the field. Finally, the survey

revealed that what they were seeking most from service providers was high quality, modern

productions and affordability.

Key Findings

1. The company’s largest client audience were from the Advertising Industry, and should

thus be the focus of their marketing efforts.

2. There is a leak in client retention within the organization.

3. The stronghold service in the company was videography, while video editing was their

weakest rated service. These should therefore require some attention to maintain and

improve the company’s services.

4. The portfolio of the company needs to be updated and modern trends in production

projects should be incorporated in the work of the company.

5. The company would see greater financial results from having full time employees than

having to outsource people for jobs.

6. The limited number of employees along with insufficient funds/ sponsorships have

hindered the company’s ability to develop company owned products that can assist in its

sustainable development.
 Presentation of Raw Data

The following images illustrate the findings of the Survey conducted for this Needs Assessment.

Figure 1. Showing the Percentage of Male and Female participants.

Figure 2 . Showing the Work Background of the Participants.

 Figure 3 . Showing the participants engagement history with GD Films.

Figure 4 . Showing the means through which the participants engaged with GD Films.
Figure 5 . Showing the percentage of participants who worked with GD Films.

Figure 6. Showing the reasons clients chose to work with GD Films.

Figure 7. Showing the services GD Films was contracted for by clients.

Figure 8 . Showing the clients view of GD Films best services.

 Figure 9 . Showing the clients view on services that are not the best.

Figure 10. Showing the participants recommendations for the company.

 Figure 11. Showing the reasons GD Films was not contracted.

Figure 12. Showing the characteristics identified in other contracted firms.

 Figure 13. Showing the desired needs of the clients.

Cause Analysis

Cause Analysis Procedures & Tools

Having pinpointed the performance gaps, a cause analysis was then carried out to identify

possible causes of these performance problems. Van Tiem et al (2004) states, “Cause analysis

determines why the performance gap exists and how it affects the unique mission, needs, wants,

and desires of the organization.” Drivers or causes of the gap were identified, classified and

prioritized and the possible reasons for their existence were proffered. The data gleaned were

used to determine potential solutions to GD Film’s performance issues. Data were compiled from

interviews and surveys of key stakeholders, summarized and analyzed in the table below.
Cause Analysis Results

Table 1

Cause Analysis

Performance Performance Classification Priority Cause Examples Tools used

Drivers (or Questions of Driver / Level of
Causes of Gap) Cause Driver /
Cause (based
on high/low
impact on
performance
environment)
1- (highest)

Lack of How well are Work Information Interviews

Environmental GD Film’s Environment relay,
Support (Data, employees (6) communication
Information given data, and feedback are
and Feedback) information, up to standard.
feedback to
perform when
they are
needed?
Lack of How well are Environment Lack of human Interviews
Environmental staff of GD resources.
Support (Work Films supported (1)
Environment with resources, Lack of
Support, tools, production tools
Resources, equipment? and equipment.
Tools)
Lack of financial
resources.

Lack of GD
Films
distributive
material.

Lack of
sponsorship.

Lack of training
in industry
specific skills.

Lack of How well do Work (3) No rewards for Interviews

Environmental GD Film’s environment extra hours
Support employees see worked.
(Consequences, the results or
Incentives, consequences No compensation
Rewards) of what they for taking up
do? How well extra duties.
are they
No incentives
rewarded or
present for
provided with
exceptional
incentives?
performance.
Skills and How well do Worker Permanent Document
Knowledge GD employees' employees Review
knowledge and (4) possess the
skills match requisite
performance knowledge and
requirements? skill set to
perform some
tasks.

Some interns are

not adequately
qualified.

Individual How well Worker Permanent Interviews

Capacity employees of employees have
GD Films (2) the capacity to Document
perform? perform within Review
their remit to
some extent.

Lack of How well are Worker Employees are Interviews

Repertory of GD Film’s willing to go the
Behavior employees (5) extra mile but
(Motivation motivated to not all the time.
and perform? Are
Expectations) expectations Extra workload
realistic? can be
overbearing with
unrealistic
deadlines.
 Explanation of Findings

Using Chevalier’s Behavior Engineering Model (2003) in GD Film’s context helped to

identify barriers to optimal individual and organizational performance and shed light on specific

causes which were contributing to the performance gap.

Table 2

Updated Behavior Engineering Model

 GD Films was not performing at an optimal level due to factors highlighted above.

Causes impacting performance were attributed to both a lack of environmental support as well as

individualistic factors, with a greater lean towards environmental factors having a greater

influence on performance problems. The data assembled from a plurality of sources served to

shed light on all the significant factors responsible for causing performance gaps. This

information was then assembled using a Root Cause Summary Table.

Table 3:

Root Cause Analysis

 Data showed that the human resource issue was the primary driver affecting the general

performance output of GD Films. This caused a domino effect whereby a lack of manpower

triggered outsourcing of personnel which in turn negatively impacted the financial resources of

GD Films. The outsourcing of equipment and absence of income generating GD Film content

further contributed to financial strains. It also follows that with extra staff coming onboard,

manpower will be increased which will open up avenues for more projects to be facilitated, in-

house distributive materials to be developed and hence, more income generated.

Proposed Solution

1. A recruitment drive to build human resources where potential employers with the right

attitude to learn and are serious about joining the team are trained according to the

company’s standards. Both current and prospective employees will be trained in specific

skill areas by experts in the industry according to the company’s and customer’s needs.

For example, video editing, producing, modern techniques in film/ editing and camera

operation to name a few. In this way, the human resources will be strengthened and the

company will be able to efficiently tackle a larger number of jobs, while meeting the

client needs with innovative productions. The full time employees will be paid at a fixed

monthly rate and this will stabilize expenditures, and motivate their efforts at work.

According to Lusthaus et al (2002), when an organization develops its human resources

by improving their skills, knowledge and attitudes, there is the potential of removing or

preventing performance deficiencies, while making employees more flexible and adaptable and

increasing their commitment to the organization. The recruitment drive that GD Films would

carry out would train the individuals for specific roles within the organization and when the
company has control over what is being taught they can rest assured that they will not

compromise on quality so as to always keep their customers satisfied. Also, the resulting

increased labour force will allow the company to better meet its desired number of annual job

intake. The more high quality outputs the company can manage to undertake, the more

competitively aligned it will be in the production market.

2. An assessment and rewards system where, in addition to getting a bonus at the end of the

year, employees who have performed exceptionally on particular jobs are rewarded for

their contributions. This will help to motivate staff to continue doing their best and will

eventually help the company in retaining good employees.

Research has identified factors such as quality, value and satisfaction, which are

ingredients of customer loyalty building (Akbar, M.M. & Parvez, N., 2009). There are other

studies, which also found that these are important variables, which impact customer loyalty

(Kandampully, J., Zhang, T. & Bilgihan, A., 2015) but these are only partial insight into building

customer loyalty. As it relates to GD Films, this would help to build their clientele as well as

generate additional income, that will allow them to be able to hire the required staff needed to

maximize on their workload.

3. Building a stronger online presence with an updated website which includes a modern

layout, updated portfolio, social media interactions , and a customer loyalty program to

help retain customers and help to attract new businesses as well. This will allow the

opportunity for clients to spend more money with the company which will pay off in the

long run.
 For employees to perform at their best they need intrinsic or extrinsic motivation, it has

has always been one of the most important methods in managing employees’ performance.

Studies have shown that employees are highly conscious of reward systems as well as

performance recognition and thus they are important variables in job satisfaction. Carrather,

Gibson, & Buckley (2006) found that in order to retain high performance an organization must

have a good reward system that has the ability to meet the expectation. In the case of GD Films,

the use of expectancy theory could be the best system of compensation for their employees as a

principle that will keep their staff highly motivated, which will in return maximize their

performance that will link to productivity.

Conclusion

Based on a needs assessment carried out on the company GD Films, Team Educo found

that there were gaps in the number of jobs acquired yearly, the ability of the company to retain

jobs, the human resource capacity and funding recruitment, and the company’s ability to develop

in-house productions that would facilitate sustainable development. These gaps were directly

linked to the initially identified problem of not securing enough revenue. The data collected

revealed that the company's marketing strategies were insufficient and possibly aimed at the

wrong target. The study showed that they were losing as many clients as they had secured and

they needed some modern rebranding measures to help bring in fresh work. It was also seen that

there were greater financial gains to be had from a full time workforce and possible room for in

house projects should be considered.

The interventions suggested to address these gaps included a rebranding measure through

greater more modern online presence, recruitment programs, training, customer loyalty program
and employee reward and feedback system. Once these intervention strategies are enacted and

implemented greater success can be achieved. The solution prescribed can be initiated as seen fit

by the organization based on their funding abilities and the priorities of the gaps. The next step

for GD Films is to put swift action into place, learn from the mistakes made and aim for

measurable achievement, why continuously assessing their performance in the market.

 References

Akbar, M.M., Parvez, N., 2009. Impact of service quality, trust, and customer satisfaction on

customers loyalty. ABAC Journal 29.

Carraher, S.M., Whitney Gibson, J. and Buckley, M.R., (2006). Compensation Satisfaction in the

Baltic’s and the USA. Baltic Journal of Management, l (1), pp. 7-23.

Kandampully, J., Zhang, T., Bilgihan, A., 2015. Customer loyalty: a review and future directions

with a special focus on the hospitality industry. International Journal of Contemporary

Hospitality Management 27, 379– 414.

Lusthaus, C., Adrien, M., Anderson, G., Carden, F., & Montalvan, G.P. (2002). Organizational

Assessment. A Framework for improving performance. Inter-American Development Bank &

International Development Research Centre.

Meyer, D. (1995). Structural Cybernetics: An Overview. Dean Meyer & Associates Inc.

Sanborn, N. (2013). Needs Assessment Report. Retrieved from

https://www.clarktraining.com/content/forms/CC-NA.pdf

Van Tiem, D. M., Moseley, J. L., & Dessinger, J. C. (2004). Fundamentals of performance

technology: a guide to improving people, process and performance. Retrieved from

https://flylib.com/books/en/3.398.1.14/1/
 Appendices

APPENDIX A

Sample Interview Questions

1. What is your position in the company?

CEO

2. What is the impact of outsourcing on your overall payroll system and have you observed
any benefits in this regard?
Answer: We do outsourcing primarily when we have large jobs that require a large number of
crew members. However, this is very expensive as these people often times come at high
rates. This could have been avoided if we had the people in-house so you know we would be
paying them a fixed monthly rate that we make plans for in the budget. But if we don’t get
these people we have to turn down the jobs, so you see our dilemma.

3. What were the most important factors you consider in hiring an intern?
Answer: They must be proficient with video and the tools, obviously. Ease of use with
technology. Social media, computer programs, iPads – these are a piece of cake for young
professionals, you can always use a hand from a fellow Gen Y tech-savvy professional. They
must also know how to use their initiative. There is no such thing as not having work to do.
There is always work to be done, come up with new ideas for projects and think of what the
company can do to better itself. I hardly get that from the interns that come here. There are
certain skills that can be taught but they must know how to adapt to their surroundings.

4. Upon hiring new staff do all employees need training?

Answer: No I never had to because they already had the required skill set for the position. I
do encourage them to learn as much as they can while here because you can never have too
much knowledge.

5. How much time do you and your team spend on generating revenue?
Answer: Most of the time is spent on either formulating strategy or generating revenue. Often
as CEO I have so many other tasks to do that some things will get neglected but I know we
have a lot more grounds to cover where this is concerned.

6. What are the main causes for your company not developing its own content?
Answer: This mainly due to lack of staff and time to get the work done but we also do not
have sufficient funds to cover all the production costs involved. If we could get sponsors that
would help a lot.
7. What is your client retention rate?
Answer: Honestly, I prefer not to answer that question.

8. Will your clients refer other people they know to your company?
Answer: Yes, we get referrals and we have a good social media following.

9. Is your cash flow positive each month?

Answer: It’s somewhat steady but we need to improve at whole lot.

10. How are you generating income leads at this time?

Answer: Most of the income tend to go back into the cost accrued due to outsourcing staff to
meet demands and equipment rentals

11. How can you add more value for your customers?
Answer: By creating quality work and making sure that I meet the demands of my clients.

12. Are you charging enough to grow your business?

Answer: I think I am quite reasonable, but I still face the situation where I’m told I am
expensive and I need to lower my price.
Do you?
I will, based on the uniqueness of the situation, but most times I do not compromise on
quality. I try to see how best I can get the job done with fewer resources. It’s a lot of work
and there is always overhead cost and bills to settle, so we try to be reasonable with our
clients.
APPENDIX B

Sample of Survey Questions

Please select the most suitable answers for the questions below. Do not include any
identification as your responses will remain confidential.

1. Gender: Male ( ) Female ( )

2. Occupation _________________

3. When was your last engagement with the company GD Films?

( )More than 1 year ago ( ) less than 1 year ago ( ) within the last 6 months

4. How were you engaged with the company?

( ) They bid on our project

( ) Responded to an advertisement

( )They were contacted about their services.

5. Have you worked previously with the company on any project? (Including consultations)

( ) Yes ( ) No

( ) We began working together, but dissolved the contract after a short time.

If you responded ‘Yes’ to Question 5 answer the following questions.

6. Why did you employ GD Films for your project?

( ) They offer a high quality service

( ) Their price is competitive

( ) The company has competent staff

( ) Other ________________________________________________________

7. Which of their services did you contract ?

( ) Videography
( ) Production
( ) Directing
( ) Video Editing
( ) Other _____________________________________________________________

8. Which of their services were you most impressed with?

( ) Videography
( ) Production
( ) Video Editing
( ) Other ______________________________________________________________

9. What services were you unimpressed with?

( ) Videography
( ) Production
( ) Video Editing
( ) Other ______________________________________________________________

10. What improvements would you recommend to the company?

( ) Improve quality/marketing of GD films.
( ) Better soft skills
( ) Innovative solutions
( )Wholistic production services
( ) Lower prices

If you did not respond ‘Yes’ to Question 5 answer the following questions.

11. Why did you choose to not work with GD Films on your project?
( ) They are too expensive
( ) Their portfolio needs to be updated
( ) They have negative feedback from previous clients
( ) Other ________________________________________________________________

12. What were the key characteristics of the company that you chose for your project?
( )An up-to-date portfolio
( )Use of modern trends
( )Respect for clients
( ) Good track record
 13. What do you seek most from organizations like GD Films?
( ) Commitment to quality service
( ) Affordable prices
( ) To be respected and treated equally
( ) Other ________________________________
APPENDIX C

Contract Sample

GD Films Productions
Employees contract.

PRODUCTION COMPANY: GD Films Productions

NAME: ___________________________________

ADDRESS: ______________________________________________________

CITY: __________________________

Phone : __________________________

***********************

POSITION: ______________________________________

START DATE: _________________ EST. FINISH DATE: __________________

TOTAL FOR PRODUCTION: $. _____00.00___________

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

1. Hours of work

Normal working hours will be from ____________to____________on weekdays.

Overtime will only be worked if agreed upon between the parties from time to time.

The employee will be paid for overtime at the rate of one and a half times his/her total wage as set out in
clause
 Unless expressly provided elsewhere in this deal memo, no increased or additional compensation shall
accrue or be payable to employee for the rendering of services at night or on weekends or holidays, or after
the expiration of any particular number of hours of service in any period.

2. MEALS: The Production Company will provide meal breaks and/or food service at approximately four
(4) hour intervals. The cost of food services will be covered by the Production Company.

3. EXCLUSIVITY: Employee's services are on an exclusive basis to the production of the motion picture
(the "Picture") referred to in this deal memo for such period of time as required unless otherwise specified
in this deal memo.

4. Wage: The employee/s wage shall be paid in cash on the last working day of every week/month and
shall be: A weekly/monthly transport allowance of:

The total value of the above remuneration shall be:

The employer shall review the employee’s salary/wage once a year.

5. NO WAIVER: The terms and conditions of this deal memo are binding on Production Company and
employee and shall not be waived or altered by any method. Any added conditions on the front of this deal
memo inconsistent with these conditions of employment shall be null and void.

6. WORK-FOR-HIRE: Production Company shall be the owner of all of the results and proceeds of
employee's services, including any copyright, trademark and any other intellectual property rights in any
work or property created by Employee, or anyone under Employee's direction. Employee acknowledges
that Employee's work is a "work made for hire" within the scope of Employee’s employment, and therefore
Employer shall be the author and copyright owner of any work created under this agreement. In the event
that any of proceeds of Employee's work are not considered a work for hire, then Employee's copyright to
such work is hereby assigned to Employer.

7. PUBLICITY: Employee shall not directly or indirectly circulate, publish or otherwise disseminate any
news story, article, book or other publicity concerning the Picture, or employee's or others' services without
Production Company's prior written consent, provided that employee may issue personal publicity
mentioning the Picture so long as such references are not derogatory. Employee has permission to show a
videotape of Picture in connection with seeking future employment. Employer shall have the right to use
employee's name, voice, picture and likeness in connection with the Picture, the advertising and publicizing
thereof, and any promotional films or clips respecting the Picture without additional compensation
therefore.

AGREED TO AND ACCEPTED:

___________________________________________

EMPLOYEE NAME - Print

___________________________________________
EMPLOYEE SIGNATURE

___________________________________________

DATE

___________________________________________

GD FILM PRODUCTION SIGNATURE

___________________________________________

DATE