Masters Degrees (Public Administration and Management)
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Browsing Masters Degrees (Public Administration and Management) by Author "Bekker, J. C. O."
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Item Open Access An analysis of the management framework for development in the South African public sector(University of the Free State, 2001-11) Minnaar, Francois; Bekker, J. C. O.Development must be contextually understood. Not all persons will react similarly to circumstances in their environment. Their behaviour in certain situations will be determined by a wide variety of factors, including their upbringing, their cultural framework within which they reason and function, for example. Similarly government will react within the contextual framework composed of its predominant ideological perspective, its understanding of history, its perception of the dominant viewpoint regarding the matter in society, and so forth. South Africa's economic limitations have placed serious constrains on the country's ability to formulate and implement sustainable development policies. One of the extremely negative side-effects of this reality was the continuous cash flow problems experienced by various Provincial and National authorities in the country, where the National Government was eventually required to bail them out in terms of Section 100 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. The implications of this were that these authorities surrendered their autonomy in terms of the Constitution to the central government. South Africa is a "developing" country, which made it a bit more 'unequal amongst equals' in the global economic structure. In this regard it is essential for the country to take cognisance of the reality of the global village in which it find itself; characterised by the domination of a single remaining superpower, a declining ability of the physical environment to sustain life and a rapidly changing world-order. Limited economic resources to facilitate development caused various socioeconomic problems in the country. Amongst these are the enormous gap between the rich and the poor in the country. This reality is threatening to explode and plunge the country in anarchy. A declining infrastructure is further eroding South Africa's ability to construct meaningful economic growth. A decrease in the role and function of religion and churches in the country has gradually eroded the moral fiber of society. The result is a South African reality characterized by a staggering crime rate and the transformation of the normative foundation to guide management activity in the South African public service. Other characteristics of the South African environment are persistent racial divisions, inequality and staggering unemployment. The question that might be asked is how responsive the political set-up in South Africa is to the fostering of effective management of development. The answer to this issue can be formulated by evaluating the South African government's response to the environmental challenges in the country. A very positive aspect in the political set-up of the South African society, that undoubtedly foster improvement in the quality of life of ordinary South Africans, is the massive increase in the levels of public participation in the decision - and policy-making processes of the country. Contemporary involvement of the community by means of continuous and extensive road shows and open meetings with the community is a massive improvement on the traditional involvement in the form of party-political meeting during election campaigns and a formal speech at the opening (or launch) of one or the other project. Aggressive union activity, and the concept of rolling mass action have also fostered a culture of participation. However, on the negative side it is worth mentioning that a growing feeling of apathy can be detected, especially amongst the youth, and that the level of active participation in the political process is relatively low, and ever declining. The euphoria of the freedom struggle, and eventual victory over the oppressor have come and gone, in spite of active attempts on the side of the government to keep these feelings and emotions alive (mostly for party-political gain). These feelings have been replaced with despair in the face of ongoing unemployment and poverty. The structural management capacity of the public sector to realise ambitious development progress has improved - although a move away from bureaucratic management structures will surely benefit this ability. The introduction of a performance management framework, multi-year planning and improved accountability measures have strengthened the ability of the South African public sector to facilitate effective development management. However, aspects that will certainly impact negatively on the ability of the public sector to effectively management development initiatives are also numerous: o A serious lack of financial management competency and expertise. o The 'affirmative-action-at-all-cost' policy, where desperately needed expertise are often pro-actively chased away to make way for politically acceptable appointments. The same goes for indiscretional political appointments at high and senior organizational positions. These days just about all personnel-related matters in the public sector are based on 'representivity' - even personnel performance appraisals. If these kind of appraisals do not reflect the racial composition of a the staff component of a department, the process is stopped for further investigation. o Persistent racism - white public officials who, often unconsciously, still believe that black workers are inferior and their contribution less impressive. In some instances white public officials also hampers effective service delivery because they will still advantage whites at service delivery points. o However, and this point the government denies flat-out: Black-an-white discrimination is also thriving. Newly appointed black managers often have very deep anti-white feelings, and are barely able to hide these preferences. o Bureaucratic, organic organizational structures. Several of South Africa's service delivery agencies are still involved in a process of re-structuring seven years after the 1994 general election. More often than not this 'restructuring' refers to a state of structural mess - with meaningful service delivery a practical impossibility. Service delivery in South Africa has been enhanced by renewed emphasis on quality management and a drive towards increased transparency and accountability. The formal structural framework for service delivery was improved by introducing various Service Delivery Charters and the White Paper on Transformation of Public Service Delivery. However, the official service delivery agencies are neglecting to properly implement these initiatives. So, has South Africa managed to achieve sustainable development? There are two perceptions regarding the answer to this question. The one holds the view that, in spite of the sincere and honest efforts of government to take the plight of ordinary South Africans seriously during the policy-making process, is it still hard to conclude that the ideal of sustainable development has been realised in South Africa. A lot of houses have been built; the focus on clinical services has ensure that primary health care services are now more readily available to ordinary South Africans - yes; for example But, perhaps the most damaging reflection on the post-1994 government's performance in respect of development, come from the anti-apartheid veteran of so many years, Helen Suzman when she stated that while I, like others, am greatly relieved that South Africa is rid of all the heinous laws of the apartheid regime and immensely pleased at no longer being a citizen of a pariah country, my high hopes of a good performance by our new government have not been realised. "Government has failed to deliver on its promise of 'a better life for all.' True, I, as a privileged white, continue to live at the same high standard, but equally true, the standard of living of the majority of blacks have deteriorated." The proof of the pudding is in the eating. The ultimate test to determine whether or not development has realized, for the purposes of this study, was the question of whether or not there was an improvement in the quality of life of ordinary citizens. The other viewpoint is best expressed by The Economist of 24 February 2001 at the end of a series of articles which aim was to analyse the state of affairs in South Africa seven years after the 1994 general elections. The author concluded that, whatever its shortcomings today, (South Africa) is a far happier place than it used to be, and a far happier place than it might have been. In time, it may yet fulfil the promise of the Mandela years."Item Open Access Developing a model for successful implementation of affirmative action in the South African public service(University of the Free State, 1998) Sikakane, Buyiswa Hope; Bekker, J. C. O.𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 During the apartheid era, the South African government introduced and enforced discriminatory policies giving unfair advantage to white people who enjoyed all the privileges. The 1994 national elections meant the demise of an authoritarian government and heralded a transformation process to a democratic, non-racial and non-sexist society where human rights are provided for in the constitution. The new government has introduced affirmative action in order to eliminate employment discrimination and to promote occupational advancement of disadvantaged groups, thus increasing their representativeness in managerial positions. Affirmative action is a topical subject in contemporary South Africa with some groups, especially those who are likely to benefit from the affirming process supporting it, while those who are likely to part with the privileges that they have enjoyed for decades, strenuously rejecting it. However, it has to be borne in mind that affirmative action is a process and not an event. In countries like the United States of America (USA) where affirmative action was first introduced many years ago, it is still not a success story. It needs careful planning and monitoring throughout its implementation in order to identify areas in the process that need to be adjusted or amended. Affirmative action should not be confused with retribution where white people are being punished for the privileges they enjoyed. It does not mean that white employees should be removed from their positions and be replaced by blacks as this may precipitate racial tension and bitterness. Affirmative action requires training and development of members from disadvantaged backgrounds, so that they are ready to move up the occupational ladder. They should take an active part in their own development. The culture of entitlement which plagues the minds of historically disadvantaged groups should be eradicated. They should not think that being beneficiaries of affirmative action entitles them to managerial positions without the necessary qualifications and skills. Each public organization should provide opportunities for training and development of disadvantaged groups, like study leave, financial assistance and on-the-job training. Academic institutions should adjust their curricula to suit the needs of public organizations. Commitment of top management, employees and unions is one of the important ingredients of affirmative action so that all stakeholders may cooperate in devising strategies for successful implementation of affirmative action programme. The culture and mindset of the workplace should change. There should be a change of perceptions and attitudes. It is necessary to depart from the racist belief that anything that is African is inferior. What is needed is appreciation and acceptance of the cultural differences among employees which can contribute towards the effectiveness and productivity of a public organization. The caliber of employees should be considered in order to avoid tokenism and lowering standards. Where the disadvantaged background has deprived some people with potential of certain qualifications and experience, employees who have been selected would be trained in order to unlock their potential. A public organization should, where possible, employ the services of an affirmative action officer or a senior manager who should be assigned the duties of an affirmative action officer. Such an officer should preferably be a member of disadvantaged groups who would command respect and credibility within an organization and be responsible for the day-to-day issues concerning affirmative action. He / she should work with an affirmative action steering committee which should consist of a cross-section of staff with equal representation from all stakeholders. Specific programmes should be developed to eliminate discrimination in all human resource activities like recruitment, selection, promotion, training and development and evaluation. There should be mechanisms to deal with grievances and disputes regarding alleged discrimination. ___________________________________________________________________Item Open Access The impact of the awarding of state tenders and quotations on black economic empowerment in the Free State Province in the 2000-2006 financial years(University of the Free State, 2008) Mohokare, Sesheme Meshack; Bekker, J. C. O.The first democratic government of South Africa that was inaugurated into office in 1994, inherited a society that was divided between the haves and the have nots. The haves were mainly whites who benefited economically under the National Party led government. The have nots were mainly blacks who were in the majority. The blacks were not allowed to participate in the economy of South Africa. The task that faces the new democratic government is to redress the wrong-doings of the past. The democratic government is faced with the challenge of improving the lives of the blacks politically, economically and socially. The democratic government did not hesitate to make its intentions clear of redressing the imbalances of the past. The votes of the electorate who voted the new government into office, were interpreted by the politicians as a mandate to redress the wrongs committed by the National Party government. The government engaged in rigorous policy making processes and new policies were passed in both the national and provincial governments. The government is faced with a number of challenges. When the current government took over, the number of blacks participating in the economy was very small. The current government is faced with the challenge of increasing the number of blacks participating in the mainstream economy of the country. In order to bring in more blacks into the mainstream economy, the state had to channel state tenders to blacks. The debate that is going on is on the successes and the failures of the government both national, provincial and local in bringing blacks into the mainstream economy through the channeling of state tenders. Much has been said about factors that have had a negative and positive impact on black economic empowerment. This dissertation is a study of the impact of tenders awarded to blacks by the Free State Provincial Government on black economic empowerment. The focus in the dissertation will be on whether the Free State Government is actually succeeding in empowering the blacks economically. In this rubric, the following will be outlined: Background and reasons for the study, problem statement, hypothesis formulation, objective of the research, research methodology, key words and concepts and the scope of the dissertation.Item Open Access Marketing model for a metropolitan local council(University of the Free State, 2001-11) Franzsen, H. S.; Bekker, J. C. O.English: Marketing has traditionally only been used in the private sector as a process to identify, anticipate and supply customer needs and requirements. However, when marketing is defined as the social and managerial process by which individuals and groups can obtain those services and products that satisfy their needs and wants, the concept could be broadened to also include public sector organizations such as municipalities. Marketing is a process consisting of a number of steps that has to be completed in order to reach its goal. This includes researching the target markets and environments of the organization where marketing activities are to be undertaken. In this dissertation research was done for the purpose of developing a marketing plan that can be implemented in the Western Metropolitan Local Council (WMLC) to suit the specific needs and requirements of its customers but that will also serve as a framework for other municipalities to develop marketing plans that are driven towards satisfying the needs of their customers. Organizations getting involved in the marketing game should ensure that they do not concentrate solely on external marketing but that they should also invest in marketing to their internal customers (employees). Employees are important internal customers to any organization and to each other. In service delivering organizations such as municipalities, it is the employees of the organizations who deliver the services to the customers and therefore their perceptions, attitudes and actions could have a positive or negative effect on customers' impressions of an organization and the services it delivers. In an effort to develop a marketing plan for the WMLC attention is paid to the policy documents that affect the structures, powers and functions of municipalities and as such may have an impact on the marketing plan that can be developed for the WMLC. It was also necessary to undertake a survey of the internal and external environments of the WMLC in order to acquire knowledge about all the factors that should be considered in the development of a marketing plan. The questionnaires that were distributed to the three target markets (employees, residents and the business sector) were analyzed to provide the necessary information about the perceptions and attitudes of the customers (internal and external) of the WMLC. The aim of this research was not only to develop a marketing plan for the WMLC, but also to create a model according to which all other municipalities will be able to develop their marketing plans suited specifically for their target markets and to achieve their marketing and ultimately strategic objectives. The marketing model and marketing plan developed where done so on the basis that municipalities are service-delivering organizations. This means that it was necessary to use the extended marketing mix for the development of the marketing plan. Other municipalities, therefore, only need to use the suggested framework of the WMLC marketing plan and work through the suggested marketing model in order to develop their own marketing plans. The marketing plan developed for the WMLC is an effort to not only market all the services delivered by the WMLC but also to address the perceptions of the customers in an effort to change negative perceptions moving the attitudes of customers from apathy to active participation and attracting new investments for the local economic development of the area.