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MODULE: INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC MANAGEMENT (PPM103)
1. The concept of Public Management
- Public Management is management which takes place within the state sector (civil
service, parastatals, local authorities etc.) and is guided by Government Policy.
- The common public sector management issues facing managers today (in Zimbabwe
and the World over) are
How to improve efficiency and effectiveness of public sector operations in
situations of source resources.
The need to address public demands for high standards of service and
commitment to service improvement vis-avis shrinking budgets and low staff
levels.
The need to ensure strategic integration of public sector management issues
with government plans and policies (strategic “fit” or “coherence”)
The need to generate high commitment of the work force (behavioral
commitment) in order to pursue agreed goals and to achieve strong employee
identification with the organisation.
The need to achieve high quality of goods and services provided; and the need
to invest in the skills development of the workforce
The need to achieve functional flexibility by ensuring the existence of an
adaptable organizational structure with the capacity to manage innovation in
line with the public sector environment.
The need to implement PS policies and management practices that promote
public sector efficiency, transparency and accountability in line with
international best practices.
The public sector: its role
- To implement government policy as provided for by the enabling legislation
- To provide high quality goods and services to the public in an efficient and effective
manner
- To observe transparency and accountability in service delivery to the public
- To generate commitment and motivation among the workforce.
Public sector managers’roles and functions
Roles:
Business Partners and strategic roles
- They should function as business Partners and play a strategist role to their
organisations or to government by integrating their activities closely with top
management and ensuring that they serve a long term strategic purpose, have capacity
to identify business opportunities (other opportunities), to see the broad picture and
how their role can help to achieve the organization’s objectives. As strategists, they
should address major long term issues concerning the management and development
of their organizational members, the management of the employment relationship and
the management of organizational goals and plans in line with government policy
(change masters / change agents).
- Interventionist role: Public managers produce a diagnosis of any problems and their
causes and formulate proposal on what should be done about them for approval by
their principals (usually Ministers)
Innovative Role: they introduce new processes and procedures which they believe will
increase organizational effectiveness. “Benchmarking’ can take place to identify best
practices as adopted by other organisation. They have to demonstrate that the innovation
is appropriate, beneficial and practical in the circumstances
Internal consultancy role; Public sector managers in this role function as external
management consultant alongside their colleagues – their clients in analyzing problems,
diagnosing issues and proposing solutions.
As internal consultancy they must
Understand the strategic imperatives of the organisation and its business plan,
environment and culture and their advice must be embedded in this understanding
Have well developed analytical and diagnostic skills
Be good project managers with the capacity to plan and conduct assignments
through the stages of contact (deliverables and cost management), data collection,
analysis, diagnosis, feedback, discussion, agreement of recommendations,
implementation.
Be able to act as ‘experts’ as well as helpers (application agents).
Monitoring Role – monitoring the application of PS policies and procedures to ensure
they are implemented with an reasonable degree of consistency and that they comply
with legislation. They also act as guardians of the organization’s values concerning
people and organizational management
Regulators – act as managers of discontent concerned with formulating and monitoring
employment rules.
The functions of public sector managers
(a) According Fayol (as quoted in Appleby, 1994-24) to manage is to “forecast and to
plan, to organize, to command, to coordinate and to control”. Modern writers have
tended to classify the elements of management into five; planning, organizing,
directing, controlling and staffing and decision making. These basically form the
function of any manager
Planning:
Forecasting future circumstances and requirement, deciding objectives and the
policies, programme and procedures for achieving them, making long and short term
plans; it involve making rational choices, i.e. decision making
Organizing:
It involves determining and noting activities needed in the organization structure to
achieve objectives, assigning groups of activities to managers, line staff and workers;
ensuring effective delegation of authority to enable activities to be carried out and
providing coordination of authority relationships.
Directing / Leading
Leading involves guiding and supervising subordinates towards goal achievement
through improved performance and motivation.
Controlling;
Performance should be measured by managers and deviations from plans corrected or
accounted for
Staffing:
Involves recruitment and selection of staff to fill vacant position carrying out
performance management, coming up with training and development plans as part of
career management.
(b) An effective public manager should have the following skills.
- Technical skills – the ability to use tools, procedures and techniques in a specialized
way.
Human skills – the ability to work with and understand and motivate people as
individual or groups.
Conceptual skills – mental ability to coordinate and integrate all of an organization’s
activities.
Today’s Public Sector Mangers need the skills to
- Motivate staff, build teams, maintain support and co-operation within and outside the
organization, manage welfare of staff and ability to develop effective operational
strategies.
- Ability to deal with change and conflict
- Ability to be innovative and initiate change
- Make better judgments in situations of uncertainty
- Have effective diagnostic and analytical skills
- Manager within a more open environment and to be more socially responsible
- Respond to changing human social values.
- Awareness of, and ability to relate to the economic, social and political environment
- Ability to manage in a turbulent environment
- Ability to manage people with widely different and changing values and expectations.
- Conserve both human and material resources; minimize risks of failure.
- Determining performance levels and criteria, streamlining functions of different
departments.
- Reducing costs; restructuring the organisation and its functions; determining
organisational culture and ethics.
Public sector management ethics and values
- P.S management ethics deals with what is good and bad, right or wrong or with moral
duty and obligation.
- PS managers should be the conscience of public sector organisation (consistently
reminding organizational members to err on the side of goodness, drafting ethics /
compliance codes or programmes to help guide behaviour as well as to establish and
reinforce a shared set of organisational values that are rooted in an organization’s
culture
PS Managers are required to observe the following ethical standards
- To maintain the highest standards of professional and personal conduct
- Should ensure that fair and equitable treatment of all employees is a primary concern
- Instill in the employees and the general public a sense of confidence about their
conduct and intentions.
- Maintain loyalty to the government of the day and to pursue its objectives in ways
that are consistent with the public interest.
- Upholding all laws and regulations relating to the employment relationship
- Refrain from using official position to secure special privilege, gain or personal
benefit
- Maintain the confidentiality of privileged information
- Maintain high standards of accuracy in the information and advice they provide to
their employer and to employees.
Adherence to the standards serves to assure public confidence in the integrity and service
of public sector management professionals.
(2) Management Theories
(a) Traditional/Classical Management Theories
- Management thought that was developed before World War II has been classified as
traditional / classical management theory. The theorists in this genre prescribed highly
centralized and bureaucratic organisations with close adherence to centralized authority,
chain of command, or clear hierarchy, use of discipline, rules and regulations, close
supervision and specialized division of work.
- These views of management were adopted to ensure the predictability of the industrial
sector as well as continuity due to the stiff competition and uncertain labour force as
specialization promoted labour mobility.
- The traditional / classical management theory can be split into 3 branches:
(a) Bureaucratic Management
(b) Scientific Management
(c) Administrative Management
A. Bureaucratic Management, which is associated with Max Weber (1864 – 1920), provides
a blueprint of how an entire organisation is expected to operate. Max Weber provided
characteristics of bureaucratic management i.e. A formal systems of rules and
regulations, impersonality of relations a hierarchical organizational structure, a defined
authority structure, lifelong commitment to a career and rationality;
Rules and regulations – formal operational guidelines which regulate the course
of action for workers – they promoted uniformity and conformity, instil discipline
and ensure adherence to laid out procedures.
Impersonality of relatives – Weber believed strict adherence to rules and
regulations would ensure fairness by managers towards subordinates and
eliminate personal and emotional considerations; workers will be judged and
rewarded objectively according to laid down procedures on performance.
Division of labour: Weber believed efficient production would be assured if
workers were assigned tasks according to their skills, proficiencies, level of
technical ability and specialization.
Hierarchical structure: Jobs had to be ranked according to authority, making a
pyramid shape, whereby authority is concentrated at the top; subordinates would
receive directives, orders and instructions from the top on how to perform their
tasks. Roles of individuals to be clearly defined and positions of authority
demarcated.
Authority structure: decision making should be done at various levels in the
authority structure. Weber emphasized rational – legal authority, based on
established legislation and organisation rules as the basis for management.
Lifelong career commitment: Weber believed in a permanent life long contract
with an organisation, where the job security of the worker was guaranteed as long
as he/ she performed his/her work.
Expected benefits of the Bureaucratic Theory
- Consistency in the performance of routine tasks would result
- Clear instruction for lower level workers would ensure good performance
- Standard performance would result
- Clear definition of roles would be assured.
Critique of Bureaucratic management
- Rigid rules and red tape do not allow for creativity, innovation, and determination to
excel.
- Bureaucracy tends to promote unnecessary overstaffing; and bureaucrats become
preoccupied with maintaining their positions and protecting their status at the expense of
customers and subordinates.
- Preoccupation with procedures is unsuitable in today’s world where sometimes decision
making should be instant to take advantage of opportunities.
- Bureaucracy concentrates information at the top echolons of power, which is
incompatible with modern technology and the principle of a knowledge driven economy.
- Today’s work environments have been democratized resulting in decentralisation of
authority. Professionalism demands that authority originates from personal or technical
competence, hence the emergence of flat organizational structures where experts work as
a team
- Centralized decision making leaves little room for worker innovation; it pushes the
worker to the periphery of decision making thus causing demotivation.
B. Scientific Management (Fedrick W. Taylor, 1856 – 1915)
- F. W. Taylor did pioneering work on scientific management
- Scientific management conducts business through standards established by facts or truths,
gained through systematic observation, experimentation or reasoning, as opposed to trial
and error in management.
- Taylor believed the rule of thumb method of management was not efficient.
- Scientific management focused on the individual worker – machine relationships in the
manufacturing process.
- Taylor basic beliefs were:
It is possible and desirable to establish through methodical study and the application
of scientific principle, the “one best way” of carrying out any job
Human beings are predisposed to seek the maximum reward for the minimum effort,
which Taylor referred to as “soldiering”. To overcome this, Taylor believed that
managers must lay down in detail what each worker should do, step by step; insuring
through close supervision that the instructions are adhered to; and to give positive
motivation, link pay to performance.
- Scientific management therefore translates to three core elements:
The systematic collection of knowledge about the work process by managers.
The removal or reduction in worker’s discretion and control over what they do.
The laying down of standard procedures and times for carrying out each job.
C. Administrative Management
Henri Fayol (1841 – 1925),
Fayol was concerned with developing a universal approach to management that was
applicable to any organisation whether in the private or public sector. According to
Fayol these are as follows;
i. Division of work: the objective is to produce more and better work from the same
effort, through the advantages of specialization.
ii. Authority and responsibility; wherever authority is exercised, responsibility
arises. The application of sanctions is needed to encourage useful actions and to
discourage the opposite. Managers have the right to give orders and workers have
to comply.
iii. Discipline is essential for the operation of any organisation. Rules and
regulations as well as the authority of supervisors ensure stability.
iv. Unity of command. Each worker was to report only to one person, his/her
immediate superior, to avoid confusion
v. Unity of direction: in order to coordinate and focus effort, there should be one
leader and one plan for any group of activities with the same objective.
vi. Subordination of individual or group interests; the interests of the organisation
should take precedence over individual or group interests.
vii. Remuneration of personnel; methods of payment should be fair, encourage
keenness by rewarding well directed effort but not lead to overpayment.
viii. Centralization – degree of centralization had to be determined by management,
allowing workers a certain level of initiative.
ix. Scalar chain; the line of authority in the organisation had to be maintained.
respect for line authority must be reconciled with activities that require urgent
action and with the need to provide for some measures of initiative at all levels of
authority.
x. Order. Materials and people have to be at the right place, at the right time
xi. Equity. There is needs for fairness in dealing with employees throughout all
levels of the scalar chain
xii. Stability of tenure of personnel; generally, a prosperous organisation has stable
managerial team and workforce
xiii. Initiative: subordinates must be encouraged and given opportunities to think and
initiate activities.
xiv. E spirit de` corps; team spirit and harmony should be fostered as it is a source of
great strength in any organisation.
According to Fayol it is management’s responsibility to enact these principles.
Therefore to achieve that, he prescribed the main duties of management as
follows; [Elements of Management]
Planning: examining the future, deciding what needs to be done, and
developing a plan of action.
Organizing; bring together the resources – human and material – and
developing the structure to carry out the activities of the organisation
Command – ensuring that all employees perform their jobs well and in the
best interests of the organisation.
Coordination – ensuring that the activities of the organisation work
harmoniously together to achieve its goals
Control – establishing that plans, instructions and commands are correctly
carried out.
Human Relations Approach
The Human Relations Approach / School emerged in the 1930s and 1940s as a direct challenge
to the classical management theories. It argued the following points
People are emotional rather than economic – rational beings. Human needs are far more
diverse and complex than the one-dimensional image of Taylor. People’s emotional and
social needs can have more influence on their behaviour at work than financial incentives
Organisations are cooperative, social systems rather than mechanical ones. Workers
meet their emotional needs through the formation of informal but influential workplace
social groups.
Organisations are composed of informal structures, rules and norms as well as formal
practices and procedures. These informal rules, patterns of behaviour and
communication, norms and friendships are created by workers to meet their emotional
needs and have more influence on individual behaviour and performance and ultimately
on organizational performance than the formal structure and control mechanism laid
down by management. For these reason, organisations can never be the predictable, well-
oiled machines envisaged by the Classical Approach.
Prominent scholars in Human Relations School include Elton Mayo (1880 – 1949) and
the Hawthorne Experiments, Chester Barnard (1886 – 1961) an advocate of cooperative
systems (best known for his book. The Functions of the Executive (1938) – Bernard
advocated for systematic and purposeful communication to avoid negative response from
workers. Barnard saw both formal and informal communication, as the key function of
the executive. Barnard put emphasis on the setting and pursuit of clear organisational
objectives; he emphasized non-rational, informal, interpersonal, and indeed moral basis
of organizational life (which distinguished himself from classical theorists). Barnard’s
view of effective leadership distinguished him from the classical school. Rather than
seeing leadership as dependent on position, Barnard argued that successful leadership
arose from the interplay between the individual leader, the followers and the context.
Barnard viewed material incentives as being ‘weak incentives” that needed to be
supported by other psychological and sociological motivators if organisations are to be
successful in achieving their common purpose. This intellectual position was to receive
substantial support a few years later from Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Maslow identified 5 district forms of human needs which he placed in hierarchical order;
he argued that, beginning at the lowest level, a person had to satisfy the needs at one level
before they could move up the hierarchy and concentrate on ‘higher order” needs. In
ascending order Maslow’s hierarchy of needs are;
- Physiological needs – hunger, thirst, sleep, etc. only when these basic needs have been
satisfied do other needs emerge.
- Safety needs; desire for security and protection against danger
- Social needs; need to belong, to gain love ad affection, to be in the company of others, or
friends
- Esteem needs; a person’s desire to be respected – esteemed – for their achievement.
- Self actualization needs; need to achieve one’s full potential; self actualization is a
continuously evolving process throughout a person’s lifetime.
Douglas McGregory (1906 – 1964) – Human Relations Theorist who developed Theory X and
Y. He believed there are basically 2 views about human nature – a negative view (Theory X)
and a positive view – Theory Y and believed that managers’ behaviour towards their
subordinates was based upon one or other of these views, both of which consist of certain
assumptions about human behaviour.
Theory X assumptions
- The average person dislikes work and will avoid it whenever possible
- Employees must be coerced, controlled or threatened with punishment if they are to
perform as required
- Most people try to avoid responsibility and will seek direction whenever possible.
- Workers place security above other factors relating to employment and (will display little
ambition)
Theory Y Assumptions
- Most people view work as being natural as rest or play
- Workers are capable of exercising self direction and self control
- The average person will accept and even seek responsibility
- Ingenuity, imagination, creativity and the ability to make good decisions are widely dispersed
throughout the population and are not familiar to managers alone.
Therefore Human Relations Model stresses 3 core elements
- Leadership and communication
- Intrinsic – job motivation and extrinsic rewards.
- Organisation structures and practices which facilitates flexibility and involvement.
- These elements are underpinned by two central propositions.
- Organisations are complex, social systems, with both formal and informal social
structures, and are not mechanical, they can not be controlled by close supervision, rigid
rules, and purely economic incentives
- Human beings have emotional as well as economic needs. Organisations should be
structured in such a way as to enable workers to meet both their material and non-
material needs.
Contingency Theory Approach
- The Contingency Theory was developed in the 1960s and 1970s in response to the
weaknesses of the Classical and Human Relations Approaches. The Contingency Theory
postulates the view that the structure and operation of an organisation is dependent
(contingent) on the situational variables it faces – the main ones being environment,
technology and size (burns, 1989); no two organisations will face exactly the same
contingencies since their situations are different. So the “one best way’ for all
organisations is replaced by the “one best way” for each organization.
- Contingency theory states that organisations are not closed systems, sealed off from the
environments but are open to and depend on flows of personnel and resources from
outside
The Japanese Approach to Management
- The best book on Japanese Management is William Ouchi’s (1981) Theory Z; How
American Business can meet the Japanese Challenge.
- Drawing on the theoretical insights of Douglas McGregor and Chris Argyris, Ouchi
argued that Japanese success stemmed from:
(1) The involvement and commitment of the entire workforce
Argues success was built upon a set of internally consistent norms, practices and
behaviours based on trust and strong personal ties between the individual and the
organisation, particularly their immediate work group.
Ouchi singled out practices such as lifetime employment, slow evaluation and
promotion and collective decision making.
(2) McKenna (1988) singled out the key elements of Japanese approach to management as
Lifetime employment, the seniority principle with regard to pay and promotion,
and enterprise unionism.
(3) Pang and Oliver (1988) agree with McKenna but drew attention to
Training and education, company based welfare schemes quality circles and
manufacturing methods such as Just-in-time production
(4) Keys and Miller (1984) mentioned:
Long term planning, lifetime employment and collective responsibility as being
the hallmarks of Japanese management.
(5) Laage – Hellman (1997) emphasizes consensus – seeking decision making process,
incremental planning through the development of a long term vision and the use of short-
term action plans, passive owners who do not usually interfere with managers, strategies
that give priority to long term growth and survival, and the effective use of external
resources through partnerships with suppliers and customers.
(6) Pascal and Athos (1982) stressed the four “soft” Ss (staff, style, shared values and skills)
in contrast to the “hard’ Ss (strategy, structure and systems) – which are emphasized by
Western companies.) and argued that Japanese companies had developed the ability to
combine and blend the “soft” and “hard” Ss to their competitive benefit.
(7) Peter Wickens (1987) argued Japanese approach can be characterized by 3 factors:
teamwork, quality-consciousness, and flexibility.
- Dedication, commitment and ability of Japanese workers is seen as a major factor in their
success
- Credit has also been given to the culture of Japanese society especially its Confucian
tradition of obedience and loyalty.
- The principal practices and policies are as follows.
(a) Personnel practices
i. Lifetime employment; many employees recruited straight from university or
school and expect or are expected, to spend the rest of their working lives with the
same organisation. This “guarantee” based on age-old sense of mutual obligation
and belonging, creates a sense of loyalty to and dependence on the organisation
once; fired may be difficult to secure employment with any organisation.
ii. Internal labour market: most positions are filled from inside the company in line
with the concept of lifetime employment which demonstrates to employee that
satisfactory performance will bring promotion and it eliminates tension which
comes from outside recruitment.
iii. Seniority based promotion and reward systems. Employees are ranked and
rewarded primarily, but not exclusively, on their length of service.
iv. Teamwork and bonding; Japanese employees see the organisation as some
extended family; they are first and foremost a member of a particular workgroups
or team. The group is constructed and developed in such a way that it comprises
a single entity which takes collective responsibility for its performance. Japanese
companies use a variety of techniques, both at work and in social setting, for
bonding team numbers to each other and to the organisation.
v. Enterprise (simple company) unions: Japanese companies tend to allow only one
union to represent the interests of the workforce. Senior managers, at some stage
in their career, are expected to serve as union officials
vi. Training and Education: Extensive and continuous on the job training for
employees is an integral part of Japanese personnel polices. The emphasis is on
equipping employers with the skills to carry out their work better and to prepare
them for promotion.
vii. Company welfarism; many Japanese companies provides a wide range of welfare
benefits for their employees covering medical treatment, education for children
and even housing. Larger companies are almost mini welfare states.
The above policies and practices are designed to instill the following in
employees.
- loyalty and gratitude to the company and a commitment to its objectives
- a sense of security
- a strong commitment to hard work and performance improvement
- an atmosphere of cooperation and not conflict
- a belief in self development and improvement
Business Practices
1. Long term planning: Japanese companies engage in long term planning as the focus is on
building a strong market opposed as apposed to short term profit maximizing objectives
permanent in USA and UK, and the Japanese approach is an enormous advantage when
considering investment decisions, whether this be for products, processes or people.
2. Timelines: using teamwork, Japanese have a crucial edge in their ability to develop
products and bring them to market faster than this competitors. Japanese team working
extends jointly to working with customers and suppliers as well. Just in time production
is another example of timeliness of the Japanese e.g. under Just-in-time, parts are
supplied and used only as and when required.
3. Quality: the Japanese commitment to quality is legendary. Their approach owes much to
the inspiration of 3 Americans; MacArthur, Deming and Juran. Gen MacArthur who
virtually ruled Japan on behalf of the US in the early post war years) encouraged
Japanese industry to improve quality as part of the re building of their shattered industrial
base. Deming (1982), showed the Japanese the statistical process control (SPC) and
powerful methods of controlling quality, while Juran (1988) showed Japanese that quality
was determined by all departments in an organisation. The Japanese introduced the
concept of continuous improvement – Kaizen
- Joint approach to decision making also operates through production councils and quality
circles and covers the plan, and scheduling of production, work allocation, changes to
production methods, problem solving etc. This system of involving a large no of people
in decision making – the ringi system – is the reason why Japanese are notorious for the
slowness with which they make decision and famous for their ability to get it right first
time.
- The ringi system is as much a process for exploring and reaffirming values as it is far
setting a direction.
The Culture – Excellence Approach
- The Culture – Excellence approach was an attempt to counter Japanese competitiveness
by drawing on and reshaping the America and British traditions of individualism and free
market liberalism; it emerged in the early 1980s; its principal exponents (Tom Peters,
Robert Waterman, 1982; Rosabeth M. Kanter, 1989; and Charles Handy, 1989) have
attempted both to predict and to promote the ways in which successful (excellent)
companies will and should operate in future in terms of management practices.
- After a study of 62 of America’s most successful companies, Peters and Waterman
concluded that it was the 4 “soft” Ss (staff, style, shared values and skills) that held the
key to business success and challenged the rational theories of management which they
described as flawed.
- In place of the rational approach, Peters and Waterman argued that there are 8 keys
attributes that organisations need to demonstrate if they are to achieve excellence;
1. A bias for action : advanced work methods that encourage rapid and appropriate response
e.g. the use of project teams, task forces or quality circles, to facilitate organizational
fluidity ad to encourage action.
2. Close to the customer. Excellent companies do get closer to the customer, while others
merely talk about it. The customer dictates product, quality, quantity and service and
reliability. Best business ideas for now products are obtained from listening intently and
regularly to customers.
3. Autonomy and entrepreneurship Excellent companies should have the ‘ability to be big
and yet to act small at the same time, such companies encourage the entrepreneurial spirit
among their people because they push autonomy markedly far down the line” Peters and
Waterman; 1982:201). Product champions are allowed to come forward, grow and
flourish: there is no-holds barred communication procedures; communication is informal
and intensive communication system is given both physical and natural support.
Employees given the freedom, the encouragement and the support (financial, moral,
physical).
4. Productivity through people – Excellent companies treat their employees with respect and
dignity; they refer to them as partners because people, and not systems or machines, are
seen as the primary source of quality and productivity gains.
5. Hands – on, value driven; Excellent companies, from top to bottom, are value driven;
driven by the value of the organization.
6. Stick to the knitting; do what they know best. Acquisitions should always be in fields
related to their own core activities and should never acquire any business that they do not
know how to run.
7. Simple form, lean staff: Excellent companies should be guided by the need to keep things
simple and small. Flat structures, with few layers, and slimmed down bureaucracies –
which together allow flexibility and rapid communication – are the order of the day in
excellent companies.
8. Simultaneous loose-tight properties: on one hand it controls everything tightly while on
the other hand allowing and indeed encourage individual innovation, autonomy and
entrepreneurship.
Rosabeth Kanter’s Post-entrepreneurial Model
- Kanter (1983) offered her personal recipe for overcoming what she saw as the malaise
and lack of competitiveness of the USA. Kanter believed that corporate America was in
transition; she believed that the corporatism of the past no longer worked, and argued that
the solution lay in American and not Japanese ideas. Particularly in unleashing
individual dynamism through empowerment and greate employee involvement.
- Kanter called for a revolution in business management to create what she termed post
entrepreneurial organisations because it takes entrepreneurship a step further, applying
entrepreneurial principles to the traditional corporation, creating a marriage between
entrepreneurial creativity and corporate discipline, cooperation and teamwork …..
winning requires faster action, more creative manouvering more flexibility, and closer
partnerships with employees and customers that was typical in the traditional corporate
bureaucracy.
- Kanter sees post – entrepreneurial organisations as pursuing 3 main strategies
(a) Restructuring to find new synergies
(b) Opening boundaries to form strategic alliances
(c) Creating new ventures from within, encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship.
Critique
- Culture – Excellence approach advocates for a “one best way” (one best culture)
approach for all organisations, irrespective of size, environment and other circumstances.
Culture is the great cure for all problems. It assumes a simple casual relationship
between culture and performance.
- The culture – Excellence approach encourages teamwork yet the pursuit of individual
advancement and reward often leads to conflict rather than cooperation (Schein, 1988).
- The culture excellence approach would seem to exacerbate political behaviour by and
between individuals and groups; yet in the main they ignore this drawback in this
approach even though it is potentially damaging to both organizational and individual
performance.
“National cultures do infringe an organisation practices”. Discuss
Can Japanese culture be successfully replicated outside Japan?
4. PUBLIC SECTOR RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
- Public sector resource management generally deals with 3 aspects of resources that need
efficient and effective management in the public sector i.e. Human resources, financial
resources and material resources.
(a) Human Resource Management
- The human resource is a critical resource for competitive advantage in most organisations
including public sector organizations; it is a source of enhanced organizational
performance (through their expertise, their adaptability which allows strategic flexibility
and the commitment of employees to organizational goals and objectives
- The human resource is part of the strategic managerial function in the development of
public sector organisations in that it plays both a determining and contributory role to
goals and objectives, through a strategic integration of HRM issues with line
management issues and decision making processes.
- High quality employees contribute directly towards a high quality of goods and services
provided.
- The human resource is associated with an adaptable organizational structure with the
capacity to manage innovation.
- It is human capability and commitment which, in the final analysis, distinguishes
successful organisations from the rest.
- The key levers of HRM – i.e. the deployment of human resources, evaluation of
performance and the rewarding of it – should be used to seek not merely compliance but
commitment (storey, 1989)
i. Aim to be an Employer of Choice
- Refers to an employer who inspires highly talented workers to join them and stay with
them.
- One that talented workers of any background deliberately choose to work for.
- Preferred employer who attracts, optimize and keep good employees.
- Aims at being an admired organization.
- Adjusts its human resource management to enhance worker retention.
Characteristics / Attributes of employer of choice
Good corporate image; Econet (CApernaum Trust and J. M. Nkomo scholarship)
Good customer care
Recognize and reward good performers e.g. merit awards
Trust and respect professionals (they resent being micro managed but expect to be trusted
to do their jobs to the best of their knowledge.
Provide opportunities for development e.g. NRZ and ZESA reimbursement of school
fees; study leave. Employees viewed as assets or human capital to be invested in through
Training and Development
Enhance future employability because of the reputation of the organisation.
Employment conditions which addresses work-life balance issues e.g. sick and vacation
leave, flexi time where this is applicable.
Corporate social responsibility: commitment to improving the quality of life for local
communities.
Enhanced motivation and commitment by introducing policies and processes which
ensure that people are valued and rewarded for what they do and achieve and for the
levels of shift and competence they reach. Emphasis is on gaining commitment to the
organization’s mission and values.
Employees are viewed as a source of competitive advantage.
Effective management of Human Resources.
- Aim to achieve high levels of performance from team.
- Define objectives, plans and expectations clearly
- Continuously monitor performance (through PM/PE) and provide feedback.
- Maintain effective relationships with individuals and the whole team
- Develop a sense of common purpose in the team / organisation.
Typical competencies required by most organisations:
- Communication ability to communicate clearly and persuasively; orally and in writing
- Result oriented - Business awareness / appreciation
- Customer focus - Flexibility / adaptability
- Teamwork - Developing others
- Leadership - Problem solving
- Planning and organizing
Employee Resourcing _ concerned with ensuring that the organisation obtains and retains the
people it needs and employs them productively.
Employee resourcing policies should be guided by the following questions.
What kind of people do we need to compete effectively, now and in the foreseeable
future
What do we have to do to attract, develop and keep staff.
Aspect of employee resourcing
- Human resource planning
- Recruitment
- Selection – select candidate who “fit” into the culture of organization to avoid turnover
- Staff retention
Staff retention strategies
- Pay usually has strong effect on attraction and retention
- Loan facilities (house, car loans-way to keep employees)
- Simple benefits: health care, pensions, funeral cover, vacation / holiday leave e.t.c.
- Work – life balance (vacation holidays, leisure activities during work periods etc.)
- Career development opportunities
- Job redesign to re-engineer mindsets and reduce boredom from previous jobs
- Employee share ownership schemes
- Effective recruitment and selection for culture fit.
- Management of physical working conditions (ventilation, lighting, heat, dust, chemical
reactions, noise, sanitation) and non physical working conditions (salary, benefits,
incentives, career development opportunities
Materials Resource Management
Materials resource management is concerned with the management of all physical resources
from origin to final consumption. It encompasses materials management, purchasing and
physical distribution.
a) Materials resource management ensures that the right quantity and quality of material is
available when and where required. At the same time capital must not be tied up unduly,
nor must there be undue loss from deterioration and obsolescence.
b) A good system of materials control requires
Centralization of purchasing under a buyer
Department co-ordination – in purchasing, inspecting, receiving, storing and
issuing materials.
Simplifying and standazing of procedures/processes where possible
Efficiency in storing in suitable accommodation, with safeguards against
pilfering, deterioration, waste etc.
Planning and scheduling material requirements, and preferably control by budget.
Stock taking procedure to be efficient.
Stock controlFactors aiding stock control;
- Accurate coding and classification of stores perpetual inventory of records and periodic
checking of stock.
- Efficient accounting procedures and a system of preventing obsolete or surplus stock
Purchasing policy / objectives
- Buying materials at the lowest cost consistent with the service and quality required.
- Avoiding any waste or duplication, while maintaining the lowest possible outlay on stock
consistent with making the materials needed for production available when required
- The need to establish uniform policies and procedures on purchasing.
Maintenance of plant, equipment and buildings:
Organisations with large capital investment must pay great attention to maintenance. Responsibilities include:
The maintenance, of buildings, plant and machinery to ensure efficient working order.
Regular periodic inspection and attention to all breakdowns and repair work
Ensuring that tools and equipment are in good order and accurate records of work are
kept
Financial resource management
- Finance is needed to pay wages, salaries, allowance, replace old plant and equipment and to pay for goods and services
- Capital must be raised on acceptable terms taking in account the ability to repay.
Main sources of internal finance
- Retained profits if it is a business / parastatals / public organization
- Government departments / budget allocations
Advantages of internal financing
- No interest payments have to be met
- No repayment is necessary
- No costs involved
Main sources of external finance (through either share capital or borrowing)
- Banks (commercial)
- Merchant banks; they guarantee bills of exchange which enables money markets to run
smoothly, financial advisors, guide business on issuing shares
- Finance houses – they lend to companies and individuals who buy goods on hire
purchase.
- Discount Houses; it specializes in discounting bills of exchange, and borrows for short
periods and lends for longer period.
- Leasing companies, usually finance house, buys plant, vehicles, equipment, buildings or
whatever an organisation requires and leaves the asset to a company at an agreed rental
over a period of up to 10 years
- Insurance companies; they are institutional investors.
- Pension funds: important sources of funds for investments
- Zimbabwe Stock Exchange
- Planning the choice of finance involves selecting a mixture of short or long term
packages or plans.
1. Public Management Reforms / New Approaches to Public Management
- The new public management represents a replacement of the old traditional model of
public administration
- The primary form of reforms, for both organizations and individuals, has been to achieve
results and to take responsibility for them, in other words, to be managers instead of
administrators.
- New public management represents a transformation of the public sector and its
relationship with government and society.
- According to OECD (1991), public management reforms involved the following (Agenda
of PMR) raise the production performance of public organisations, to improve
management of human resources including staff, development, recruitment of qualified
talented staff and pay – for performance, involve staff more in decision making and
management, relax administrative controls while imposing strict performance targets; use
information technology; improve feedback from clients and stress service quality;
bringing supply and demand decisions together (e.g. Through charging users)
- New public management programme focuses on the following issues; (in most countries):
(a) Hands on professional management in the public sector. This means letting the
manager manage or what can be called “active, visible, discretionary control of
organisations from the named persons at the top” -the justification for this being that
“accountability requires clear assignment of responsibility for action”
(b) Explicit standards and measurement of performance.
This requires goals to be defined and performance targets to be set, because
accountability requires a clear students of goals, efficiency requires a hard look at the
objectives.
(c) Greater emphasis on output controls – Resources are directed to areas according to
measured performance, because of the need to stress results rather than procedures
(d) A shift to disaggregation of units in the public sector. This involves the breaking up
of large entities into small business units (SBUs), funded separately and dealing with
one another on an “arms’ length” basis e.g. NRZ, Air Zimbabwe, ZESA Holdings –
broken into small business units – e.g. ZETDC, etc.
This is justified by the need to create manageable units and to get the advantages of
franchise arrangements inside as well as outside the public sector
(e) A shift to greater competition in the public sector through the use of contracts and
public tendering procedures to create rivalry as the key to lower costs and better
standards.
(f) A stress on private sector styles of management practice by moving away from
‘military style’ public sector ethic (bureaucratic), through flexibility in hiring and
rewards, and is justified by the need to use “proven” private sector tools in the public
sector, promoting competitive and open public procurement systems for contracting
out production of publicly provided goods and services and contracting its
intermediate goods and services, and, end monopoly or other protection for suppliers.
(g) A stress on greater discipline in resource use by cutting direct costs, raising labour
discipline, do more with less etc.
2. Some of the new public management paradigm
- Which in regarded as a good managerial approach involve:
A more strategic or results-oriented approach to decision making (to achieve
efficiency, effectiveness and service quality)
The replacement of highly centralized hierarchical organisational structures with
decentralized management environments where decisions on resource allocation
and service delivery are taken closer to the point of delivery, where greater scope
for feedback from clients and other interest groups exist.
Flexibility to explore alternatives to direct public provision which might provide
more cost effective policy outcomes.
Focusing attention on the matching of authority and responsibility as a key to
improving performance,
The creation of competitive environments within and between public sector
organizations.
The strengthening of strategic capacities at the centre to ‘steer’ government to
respond to external changes and diverse interests quickly, flexibly and at least
cost.
Greater accountability and transparency through requirements to report on results
and their full costs.
Service wide budgeting and management systems to support and encourage these
changes.
A shift in the focus of management systems from inputs and processes to outputs
and outcomes.
A shift towards performance indicators and standards
A preference for more “specialized” “lean”, “flat” and “autonomous”
organizational forms rather than large, multipurpose, hierarchical bureaucracies.
The use of market or market-like mechanism for the delivery of public services
(including privatization, contracting out, the development of internal markets and
so forth.)
A broadening and blurring of the frontiers’ between the public and private sectors
(characterized by the growth of public / private partnerships of various kinds and
the proliferation of hybrid organisations)
The relationship between politician and manager is more fluid and close than
before. Public managers are also involved in matters of policy, they are strictly
involved in politics and will pay by losing their jobs if something goes wrong.
4. E-Government
Meaning of e-government – refers to the use of information technology, in particular the
internet, to deliver public service in a much more convenient, customer – oriented, cost-
effective, and altogether different and better way (Holmes, 2001:2) .
- E-government is the adoption of information and communication technology by the
government
- The technologies include video conferencing, CD-ROMs, the internet and intranet etc.
- E-government transforms not only the way in which most public service are delivered,
but also the fundamental relationship between government and citizens.
- E-government is a parallel development to e-business and e-commerce in the private
sector
- E-government reinforces the change to new forms of managing in the public sector
- E-government facilitates interaction between government and other government agencies, citizens, and the private sector.
E-Government stages
(a) Information – It involves government departments and agencies developing websites and
to post information about themselves for the benefit of external users. Information
provided include purpose of the org, services they provide and how to contact it.
(b) Interaction – The sites become tools for two – way communication, allowing citizens to
provide new information about themselves e.g change of address, telephone, e-mail no
etc. Forms can be downloaded and completed offline and posted in the normal way.
However feedback of these sites is limited.
(c) Processing: This level allows for tasks previously carried out by public servants to
become web-based self services, although they require off-line channels for completion
eg. Paying a license or fine, buying a passport form.
(d) Transaction – This is where a portal for a wide range of government services is provided.
Through a portal (web page), the information systems of all departments and agencies
can be linked to deliver integrated services in a way that avoids users having to
understand the agency or structure of government.
The impact of technological changes on bureaucracy
- E-government has made rule-bound, paper-based governmental bureaucracies seem old
fashioned and unresponsive.
- Government departments will need fewer middle managers as a result of such
technological changes. It will also cut staffing levels in government departments
- The use of modern object-oriented databases, expert systems, and networked information
systems have rendered administrative centralization and specialization of staff functions
such as reporting, accounting, personnel, purchasing, quality assurance, largely obsolete.
Computers make it possible to capture information once – at source and to coordinate
parallel activities thereafter
- The office in the Weberian sense also changes. Staff may just as effectively work from
home, and outside workstation. Multiple layers in the chain of command may be greatly
reduced, accountability improves through information technology. Hierarchical authority
take on the more important task of setting direction in turbulent environments, keeping
officials current with environmental changes and ensuring the alignment of task,
technology, human resources and goals,
Problems of E-government
(a) Problem of digital divide – their are many members of society who are not connected to
the internet and these will be bypassed or left behind by their counterparts. Government,
unlike the private sector, must ensure that its services are available to everyone on similar
terms regardless of the level of technology the citizens may have.
(b) Privacy and security – ICT services have the potential for surveillance and control.
Safeguarding privacy and security are important aspects of e-government. Files may be
invaded especially if they are shared between government agencies.
(c) The use of the internet makes it easier for extremists to organize and gain attention.
(d) We could be moving towards the era of electronic democracy (party websites, on – line
electronic campaign, email to politician and constituents.
Public Management of External constituencies
- Matters affecting the organisation which are outside its immediate control must be
managed. (strength threats)
- A key functions of any manager in to attempt to control the organization’s environment
or to influence those factors that may impinge and its mission and objectives.
Why external focus
- Any organisation must have an external focus for that is where context, opportunities and
threats may be found
- Public organisations are more influenced by public bodies than those in the private sector.
- Public programmes are visible; they belong to all citizens not just immediate consumers
- Source users and taxpayers feel some ownership of all activities of government.
External relations as a management functions
- The management of external constituencies as part of the general management function
involves:
(a) Dealing with external units of the same organisation or the coordination of parts of the
organisation (b) dealing with independent organisations such as other parts of
government, business and interest groups, and (iii) dealing with the press and the public
- External constituencies can and should be managed by the bureaucracy itself.
- The outside world should not be regarded as a threat but something of concern to the
organisation
- Instead of the usual response of denying information, or to restrict access or contact, a
new approach by public managers is required.
- A good public manager is one who is able to manage the various political relationships
e.g. various parts of bureaucracy or other government agencies that of relevant to interest
groups, private sector bodies e.t.c.
- Public service anonymity and neutrality (the notion of apolitical career service) has
declined with most public managers speaking out in public, presenting papers at
professional forums, writing articles for journals and generally appearing in the press
articulating issues as public figures.
- Responsive administration and a client focus challenges the traditional administrative
culture.
Managing interest groups (or pressure groups)
- Interest groups have “systemic functions” (Pross, 1986: 84) ; they facilitate
communication between their members and the government (ZUJ – and Minister of
Information), ZCFU and minister of Agriculture, Pig Growers Association and ministry
of Agriculture, AAG and government Department that deals with economic
empowerment
2. They provide legitimation of the demands their members make on the government and
the public policies they support;
3. They regulate their members
4. Assist the government in formulation and implementation of policies relating to their
area.
- Interest groups generally exist to influence public policy by providing institutionalized
linkage or information between government and major sectors of society.
- Sometimes government bureaucracy need interest groups to fulfill their roles
Managing Policy Communities
- A policy community is populated by government agencies, interest groups, media people,
individuals and academics who have an interest in a particular field.
- Particular government agencies and the interest groups of those particular areas may be
effective partners in the policy making and implementation process (policy communities)
- Sometimes government style of policy making is that of balancing interest of groups.
Interest groups articulate the demands to be processed in the legislative / governmental
machine, and also participate in the decision making and implementation process
- While they may be conflict over details of policy between ministers and interest groups,
usually they share a commitment to greater resources for that policy area.
- Public officials / managers have to generate support in the policy community by winning
the approach of other government agencies, interest groups, corporations, institutions and
experts in a particular field.
Problems with the external constituency function
- Public managers may be politicized by interests groups (including political parties) to the
extent of being partisan with regards to policies of a certain political party or interests of
certain groups.
- Government departments / managers may become overly reactive instead of being
proactive with respect to these groups; interest groups may become in the process the real
policy makers.
5. Accountability
- Any government requires a system of accountability, so that it acts in ways that are
broadly approved by the community.
- Government departments are created by the public, for the public, and need to be
accountable to the public
- Te relationship between government and citizens can be regarded as the principal / agent
relationship because the citizens would have given their consent to someone to govern on
their behalf
- Without accountability government and the bureaucracy could be omnipotent and
omnipresent, and potentially corrupt.
- Accountability means someone in the organisation can accept the blame or praise for a
decision or action, from the lowest level of the public service to the highest, each member
of staff is supported to be accountable to a superior.
Old Model of Accountability under Administration.
- Romzek (1998):197) argued that there are four different types of accountability
relationships hierarchical, legal, political and professional, with less autonomy and closer
supervision required for the first two.
Hierarchical relationships rely on supervisory and organisational directives,
including rules and standard operating procedures, for which employees are
answerable for their performance.
Legal accountability relationships emphasize compliance with some standards of
performance and close scrutiny and oversight as the means by which employees
are held answerable for their performance
Political accountability relationships emphasize responsiveness to expectations of
key external stakeholders such as elected officials, clientele and other agencies
Professional accountability relationships emphasize responsibility and deference
to expertise performance standards and established by professional norms and he
prevailing practices of one’s peer or work group.
Behn (2001;6) argued there are three kinds of accountability: (a) accountability
for finances, (b) accountability for fairness and (c) accountability for performance
(a) Financial accountability – public officials entrusted with public funds / taxpayers money,
so they have an obligation to use the money wisely or face punishment if they don’t.
(b) Fairness accountability – public officials have responsibility to treat all citizens
absolutely fairly. Public should be protected from the abuses of power, through rules and
procedures to prevent that.
(c) Performance Accountability – by setting clear benchmarks of performance – some kind
of objective, goal or target – an explicit measure of how well government agency had
done against expectations set for it.
A managerial model of accountability
- One of the reasons for the adoption of managerialism is the perceived failure of
accountability under the traditional model of administration.
- Accountability in a managerial model is more fluid, more political, more flexible (as
opposed to the rigid kind set out by organisation charts)
- Accountability in this type of model has relative opening of the bureaucracy and easier
access to information.
- Accountability exists in a bureaucracy’s relationship with, to clients, its own managers, ts
political leadership and more contentiously to the voters. Trade off was made with
traditional public administrative values of efficiency, economy, effectiveness, and
political accountability
(a) A client focus
- In the old model of accountability (Administrative) the only avenue of accountability was
through the political leadership. Under the managerial model, there are direct links to the
people which may be consultative in form or through interest groups, or simply by a
government agency realising it needs the approval of its clients and so institute changes
to improve relationship with them.
- Individual managers are required to focus on client relations as a major part of their
activities / access of administration / openness of administration to client participation in
decision making, availability of redress)
(b) Accountable management
- Move to more efficient and accountable management systems where managers are given
the resources to carry out specific tasks and are held personally responsible for achieving
tasks. There is also the need for an agreed definition of tasks, measurement of
performance, appropriate organisation and control of resources, systems for monitoring
and reporting and incentives and sanctions (OECD 1991:10)
- Contractual arrangements should be put in place so that targets are specified for managers
to work towards
- Managers not held responsible for isolated instances of wrongdoing or poor service by a
subordinate, but senior management would be held accountable if errors were systematic
or if the senior manager did not take adequate preventive measures.
Political leadership and the public (voters)
Accountability can be improved, organizationally and personally, when politicians and the
public have far better information on the activities of their agents the public service, while
those agents are required to take responsibility for what they do and what they achieve;
failure to achieve objectives become more visible than under the old system. Under a
managerial system, the political leadership still wishes to achieve results but does so with the
assistance of advisers and bureaucracy.
Accountability problems of the managerial model
- If public servants are responsible for the performance of their own objectives, this may
diminish the accountability of the whole political system or could lead to political
leadership being less accountable which could be worse than was the case under public
administration.
- Government will still be held accountable even when there are clear contractual
arrangements, government will be accused of awarding a tender to an inefficient
contractor.
- Citizens may be powerless to deal with a powerful bureaucracy backed by the force of
law behind it, just as was the case under the old model of public administration
accountability.
- There is concern that the drive for results and efficiency under the managerial model of
accountability might diminish the traditional concern in the public sector for due process,
leading to downgrading of the system of checks and balances and accountability
obligations which had been imposed ostensibly to reinforce that concern for due process.
- As Romzekeargued “de-emphasizing inputs and process and emphasizing outcomes and
output does not necessarily mean more or less accountability from government
administrators; it simply means different kinds of accountability relationships should be
emphasized:
Managerial model of accountability emphasize entrepreneurial management,
increased discretion and worker empowerment in daily operations, greater
responsiveness to key stakeholders and customers
Whereas the traditional model of accountability offered political accountability, even
if of an indirect, unsatisfactory kind, with very poor managerial accountability in
terms of results
Decision Making
1. Introduction
- The purpose of decision making is to direct human behaviour towards a future goal.
- The best managers make decisions, constantly, and make them well.
- If you cant make decisions, you cant be an effective manager.
- Managers face problems constantly; some of the problems are simple, some are
overwhelming, others demand immediate action (strike action), while other problems are
less demanding and can be solved by procrastinating
2. Types of decisions
Drucker distinguished between “tactical’ and “strategic” decisions.
Tactical decisions – are routine, usually contain few alternatives and relate to the
economic use of resources.
Strategic decisions – are made by management and involve either finding out what the
situation is, or how it can be changed, finding out the resources you have and how these
can be used for competitive advantage. These decisions include decisions that affect
productivity, the organisation or the operations of the organisation.
Other classifications include:
Organisational decisions – those decisions made by officials in their official capacity and
reflect organisational policy
Personal decisions – those decisions made by an individual manager as an individual and
cannot be delegated.
Basic decisions which are long range in scope e.g. deciding what product to make, or the
location of organisational premises.
Routine decisions – those decisions made repetitively and need little thought
Programmed decisions – those decisions which are routine and repetitive and have
procedures set up to deal with them.
Unprogrammed decisions – those are decisions which are new and non-repetitive, where
risks involved are very high and may require a lot of resources to implement.
The stages of decision making
1. Identify and diagnose the problem
2. Generate alternative solutions
3. Evaluate alternative solutions
4. Make the choice
5. Implement the decision
6. Evaluate the decision
Improving the quality of decisions
- Ensure that the full process of decision making is adopted i.e. diagnosing all facts,
evaluating them, developing alternatives – leads to quality decisions
- Assess the amount of acceptance of the decision by subordinates. Subordinates will resist
a decision they feel was made with insufficient facts or inaccurate logic.
- Statistical treatment of the problem may be required and may involve collection and
examination of data relating to the problem and coming to a conclusion
- Use teams to arrive at a decision. Advantages of team based decision making
Larger pool of information
More perspectives and approaches
Intellectual stimulation
People understand the decision
People are committed to the decision
Managing group decision making
Brainstorming
Avoid criticizing
Exhaust ideas
Combine ideas.
