MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies

O setor de saneamento bÃsico no Brasil tem passado por grandes transformaÃÃes em sua estrutura nos Ãltimos anos, requerendo das Companhias Estaduais de Saneamento BÃsico (CESB) uma completa mudanÃa na forma de atuar, principalmente, pelas novas possibilidades trazidas pela Lei n 11.107/05 que em termos prÃticos, permite a participaÃÃo de empresas privadas na gestÃo dos serviÃos de saneamento, por meio de licitaÃÃo, aumentado a concorrÃncia no setor, e, sobretudo, pelas exigÃncias impostas pela Lei n 11.445/07, comumente conhecida como âMarco RegulatÃrio do Saneamentoâ, que dentre outros pontos preconiza a universalizaÃÃo dos serviÃos prestados; a eficiÃncia e sustentabilidade econÃmica e a transparÃncia das aÃÃes, baseada em sistemas de informaÃÃes e processos decisÃrios institucionalizados. Diante desse cenÃrio, as CESBs vÃm adotando diversas prÃticas de gestÃo e vÃrias ferramentas de TI a fim de melhorar os seus resultados. A adoÃÃo de sistemas ERP â Enterprise Resourse Planning como alternativa para maximizar os resultados das organizaÃÃes tÃm se tornado uma prÃtica em vÃrias empresas no mundo, chegando Ãs empresas brasileiras a partir de meados da dÃcada de 90, inclusive nas Companhias Estaduais de Saneamento no inÃcio dos anos 2000. InÃmeros sÃo os benefÃcios associados à utilizaÃÃo dos sistemas ERP nas organizaÃÃes. Todavia, diversos problemas sÃo relacionados ao uso desses sistemas, que impendem o alcance dos resultados inicialmente esperados e prometidos. Nesse contexto, esse trabalho tem como objetivo principal analisar como as Companhias Estaduais de Saneamento BÃsico tÃm utilizado os sistemas ERP na sua gestÃo. Do ponto de vista de seus objetivos, a presente pesquisa caracteriza-se como exploratÃrio-descritiva. Quanto à abordagem do problema pode ser classificada como quantitativa e qualitativa. No tocante aos procedimentos adotados, pode-se citar a realizaÃÃo de pesquisa bibliogrÃfica e a aplicaÃÃo de um survey combinado com a realizaÃÃo de um estudo de caso em uma das 27 companhias estaduais de saneamento bÃsico do Brasil. A partir da anÃlise dos resultados constatou-se que os sistemas ERP nÃo sÃo utilizados por todos os nÃveis hierÃrquicos das CESBs e nÃo contempla os seus processos principais e parte dos processos de apoio. Em relaÃÃo ao propÃsito a que se destina a sua utilizaÃÃo, verificou-se que sÃo utilizados com maior freqÃÃncia para dar apoio Ãs operaÃÃes e processos da organizaÃÃo e apoio à tomada de decisÃo empresarial, pelo nÃvel tÃtico e operacional das CESBs. Em relaÃÃo aos processos que dÃo suporte, ficou evidenciado que se concentram basicamente em parte dos processos de apoio, quais sejam: Financeiro; ContÃbil; LogÃstico e GestÃo de Pessoas. Constatou-se que as funcionalidades existentes se aderem a tais processos, e, mesmo com essas restriÃÃes verificadas a avaliaÃÃo sobre as melhorias proporcionadas à gestÃo dos processos transacionais das CESBs foi positiva, evidenciando uma congruÃncia com a atual realidade das Companhias Estaduais de Saneamento BÃsico. / Brazilian basic sanitation has undergone profound structural changes over the past years, requiring basic sanitation state agencies (CESB) to revise their working procedures. Thus, law #11.107/05 introduced new practical possibilities, such as the participation of private enterprises in the management of sanitation services by way of public bidding, thereby increasing competition in the sector, while law #11.445/07, commonly referred to as the âbasic sanitation regulatory frameworkâ, calls for the universalization of public services, economic efficiency and sustainability and administrative transparency, based on information systems and institutionalized decision-making processes. In response, CESBs have adopted a range of management practices and IT tools in order to improve their results. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems designed to maximize results are increasingly popular among companies around the world, and have been in use by private enterprises in Brazil since the mid-nineties and even by CESBs since the beginning of the current decade. ERP is associated not only with numerous advantages, but also with a number of problems compromising expected results. The main objective of the present study is to analyze the use of ERP systems by CESBs. Based on a review of the literature and a survey in combination with a case study of one of the 27 CESBs operating in Brazil, the study is exploratory and descriptive with regard to the objective, and quantitative-qualitative in its approach. The results show that ERP systems are not used at all hierarchical levels of the CESBs and do not cover the main processes and some of the support processes. ERP systems are most often used to support organizational operations and processes and executive tactical and operational decision-making processes. The main support processes include financial administration, accounting, logistics and staff management. Existing functionalities were found to ad here to these processes and, even in the presence of such restrictions, the assessment of the improvement to the management of CESB transactional processes was positive, revealing a congruence with the present reality of the basic sanitation state agencies.

OBJECTIVE/ METHOD The study examined implementation challenges faced by primary health care workers within the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng South Africa. Data collection was based on semi-structured interviews carried out on a purposive sample (n=19) of frontline clinicians working within the district as primary health care practitioners. RESULTS Participants confirmed that work within the primary health care service disproportionately focussed on curative and rehabilitative functions of their roles with little prioritisation of preventive and promotive interventions. Primary identified reasons included, institutional culture that prioritised short-term curative approaches. Clinicians also cited a range of other organisational barriers, such as – poor strategic planning, and a lack of understanding of health promotion and illness prevention. CONCLUSIONS Although the challenges that exist in implementing primary health care are clearly understood, clinicians perceive the solutions for these as being within the control of policy makers and those with power within the organisation. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

OBJECTIVE/ METHOD The study examined implementation challenges faced by primary health care workers within the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng South Africa. Data collection was based on semi-structured interviews carried out on a purposive sample (n=19) of frontline clinicians working within the district as primary health care practitioners. RESULTS Participants confirmed that work within the primary health care service disproportionately focussed on curative and rehabilitative functions of their roles with little prioritisation of preventive and promotive interventions. Primary identified reasons included, institutional culture that prioritised short-term curative approaches. Clinicians also cited a range of other organisational barriers, such as – poor strategic planning, and a lack of understanding of health promotion and illness prevention. CONCLUSIONS Although the challenges that exist in implementing primary health care are clearly understood, clinicians perceive the solutions for these as being within the control of policy makers and those with power within the organisation. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)