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outline the legislative and regulatory context of the organisation relevant to
customer service
Competition and consumer Act 2010
Promotes fair-trading for open markets and free trade in goods and services, creating the right
conditions for development and prosperity of businesses. In Australia, having the freedom for
open and fair markets promotes innovation, competition and productivity. This act strengthens
good competition policy and regulation; that supports an open and competitive process rather
than protecting individual interests or competitors. At Newmont Manufacturing, the act
mandates provisions in the Customer Service Policy, which forbids illegal activities such as
bribery or deceptive and misleading conduct of customers from being practised. In
procurement, particularly for large purchases, competitive tendering is mandate and is included
in Newmont ‘s policies and procedures. Having this act promotes Newmont Manufacturing to
be more innovative and growth focused thereby creating more opportunities for Australians all
because of the fairness in legislation and regulation that reinforces anti-competitive market
structures. The Competition and Consumer regulations 2010, sets the minimum rules
reasonably expected to enhance the welfare of Newmont Manufacturing and its customers.
The regulations are used as a benchmark in Newmont’s customer service policy and
procedures ensuring transparency, fair-trading and competition, consumer protections.
Spam Act 2003
Sets out Australia’s spam rules. The act dictates when commercial electronic messages can be
sent and the content that can be included in the message. Spam rules are essential as they
prevent intrusion on an individual’s privacy, which can cause offence or harm. Furthermore
they also ensure that Australia’s electronic communication channels are working effectively
and that commercial electronic messages or content cannot be sent without consent or
authorisation. For Newmont Manufacturing, the Spam Act provides a guideline for targeting
new customers, managing existing databases to include the Customer Relationship
Management software, or purchasing contact lists. Consent must granted before sending
commercial electronic messages. Employees who engage directly with customers are given
training, which reinforces the legal requirements when handling customer information. The
Spam Regulations 2004, sets the ground rules where charges are involves in regards to
electronic message sending to both businesses and consumers protecting all stakeholders.
The Electronic Transaction Act 2011 WA
This act allows a business or individual to satisfy a legal obligation for a manual signature by
using electronic communication. To be satisfactory, the system must be capable of identifying
the person and indicate their approval of the transaction or information communicated. The Act
is ‘technologically neutral’, (Electronic Transaction Act, 1999), so it does not set out a particular
electronic signature technology to be used. Having this flexibility has allowed Newmont
Manufacturing to invest in a system that incorporates biometric security for transactions which
makes it quicker for customers to process bulk transactions for fast processing times. Paper
transactions require manual labour making the process long and tedious and can result In loss
of market share when customers require prompt deliveries. The electronic transaction
Regulations 2000, sets the exceptions from the act and guides organisations on how to
conduct business using this act.
Federal Register of legislation, n.d, The Electronic transaction Act 1999,
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2011C00445, viewed 17 May 2019
Privacy Act 1988
According to, (National Archives Australia, 2019), this Act regulates the handling of personal
information about individuals. This includes its collection, use, storage and disclosure. As a
business Newmont Manufacturing has the obligation to take steps and destroy personal
information from customers when it is no longer needed for any purpose permitted under
the Privacy Act 1988. This includes shredding documents and storing them in a secure area.
For paper documents, Newmont has a secure archives library that is protected under lock and
key and electronic documents are stored in password-encrypted servers to mitigate the
chances of private documents being made public.
National Archives Australia, 2019, Legislation, policies, standards and advice, Privacy
Act, http://www.naa.gov.au/information-management/information-
governance/legislation-standards/index.aspx, viewed 17 May 2019
Public relations
According to (Public Relations Institute of Australia, 2019), Public relations is a management
function that involves effective communication between an organisation and the people and
organisations that may be interested in, concerned about or need to know how they may be
affected by the activities or future plans of the organisation including their Corporate Social
Responsibility, (CSR). CSR is used as a tool to implement the values, beliefs, attitudes and
norms, namely the corporate culture of an organisation, which may benefit the organisation in
employee job satisfaction and also competitive advantage in the market. Public relations
increases the effectiveness of an organisation by identifying the most strategic publics as part
of their strategic management processes and carries out communication programs to develop
and maintain effective long-term relationships between management and those publics. For an
organisation to be more effective for both the short and long term, it is necessary to choose
goals that are SMART. A survey conducted by (Childers, Grunig, 1999) supports this theory
stating that effective organisations are able to achieve their goals because they choose goals
that are valued both by management and by strategic constituencies both inside and outside
the organisation. Having effective goals minimises the effort that publics have in interfering with
the organisation ‘s decisions rather more support is gained. Effective organisations develop
and maintain relationships with stakeholders they have an interest in. As part of the
management strategy in decisions making, a consultative two way process is developed where
the organisation investigates, listens to and collaborates with stakeholders both external and
internal before a final decisions made as opposed to making decisions within the organisation
and trying to persuade publics to accept organisational goals after decisions are made.
Public Relations Institute of Australia, 2019, What is it?, https://www.pria.com.au/publicrelations/what-is-it/, viewed 18 May 2019
Childers,L , Grunig, J, E, Public relations Institute, Guidelines for Measuring Relationships in
Public Relations, http://painepublishing.com/wpcontent/uploads/2013/10/Guidelines_Measuring_Relationships.pdf, viewed in 18 May 2019
Product Promotion
Product Promotion is an activity taken up to promote or boost the sales of a product to
generate brand loyalty. According to (Business Jargons, n.d) product promotion can be defines
as disseminating information about a product, product line, brand and company to the
prospective buyers for the purpose of generating sales and brand loyalty. Products that are
bought more frequently respond well to product promotion loyalty programs even though there
is a tendency for consumers to purchase the same product out of habit. Where such a situation
exists and the brand is offering a new product, an organisation engages in product promotion
to try and persuade the consumers to switch by offering incentives and outlining the relevant
benefits of the new product. Product promotion activities are targeted to stimulate short-term
buyer behaviour and are directed at consumers, wholesalers, retailers and distributors. Product
promotion is important because no firm can survive in the market without reaching the
customers so effective communication is key. To garner attention for the product and counter a
competitor ‘s promotional activities, its important to have a well thought out strategy that may
include things such as free samples, free gifts and temporary price discounts. As mentioned by
(Graeff, 1995), promotional strategies should be designed to suggest, encourage, and
facilitate personal interpretations of the self‐relevance and positive consequences of
product use.Product promotions can involve both push and pull strategies. A push strategy
involves the manufacturer directing their efforts through the distribution channel to motivate
and encourage product distribution. A pull strategy is directed to end users who are already
motivated to take products from the distribution channel. Product promotions can also be
designed to reassure the minds of consumers of the brand ‘s superiority and why they should
continue to purchase the product.
Business
Jargons,
n.d,
Product
promotion.html, viewed on 18 May 2019
Promotion,
https://businessjargons.com/product-
Graeff, T, R, Product comprehension and promotional strategies, Journal of Consumer
Marketing, Volume 12, issue 2,
https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/07363769510084885
Viewed on 18 May 2019
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outline techniques for dealing with customers including customers with specific
needs
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explain techniques for solving complaints including the principles and techniques
involved in the management and organisation of:
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customer behaviour
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customer needs research
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customer relations
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ongoing product and/or service quality
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problem identification and resolution
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quality customer service delivery
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record keeping and management methods
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strategies for monitoring, managing and introducing ways to
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improve customer service relationships
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strategies to obtain customer feedback.