The characterization of function and authority relations of an entity provides the basis for representing what has been termed the "external structure of provenance." Such a representation enables an understanding of the administrative context in which an organizational entity and its agents conduct their activities and, in turn, illuminates the manner in which the records of an entity are created and maintained. The study applies a methodology enabling the mapping of the characterizable elements of function and competence of an entity over time and through the administrative hierarchy of its structure. Terms of analysis relating to the application of the concept of function are established, as are those relating to the structure of the entity. These provide a consistent means to identify the role and status of juridical persons comprising the organizational entity and to illustrate the nature of their activities in processes established to satisfy the entity's functional requisites. The municipal corporation of Richmond, British Columbia, is the subject of a case study serving to confirm the validity of terms in which external structure can be analyzed. The study first examines the purposeful nature of the entity's activities through their functional characterization. It then examines the nature of authority relations inherent in the entity's organizational design and manifest through organizational process and role defining the nature of its structure. The study then demonstrates how the resulting authority relationships, along with the competences of the entity, can be identified in processes of activity fulfilment as components of a system of purposive activity representing the entity as a unitary, organic whole. The functional-structural analysis of system provides the context for understanding activity manifest through observable processes by elements comprising the entity's organizational structure. The conceptual framework which results establishes the basis upon which the whole of the records of a municipal corporation can be viewed as constituting a fonds. The thesis concludes by examining some of the implications of the analysis for various aspects of archival practice.

Payment for services has been a challenge for municipalities for sometime in South Africa. This has caused municipalities to employ a number of strategies to assist in the collection of revenue. The methods of collection that have been used in the past mostly focused on the stick approach where your services would just be cut until you make the payment. Methods like Masakhane tried to explain why ratepayers needed to pay but fell short as the emphasis was on payment for services and not on the obligation for the municipalities to provide quality services as well. Loyalty programmes are used widely by the private sector and are proving worthwhile in getting customers to become loyal. The purpose of this study therefore is to find out the effectiveness of the municipal payment incentive scheme as a loyalty programme in the City of Tshwane- Soshanguve. Relationship building, the researcher found, is an important component in establishing loyalty amongst customers. This study follows the conceptual framework for modelling customer lifetime value and building customer equity. Soshanguve which is a township was chosen as an area of focus. Soshanguve is one of the biggest areas in the City of Tshwane area. The sample had to be representative of such a big population of about 88 000 households. The study used a stratified random sampling method of 375 Soshanguve households. The results attained from Soshanguve can be applied to other townships found in the City of Tshwane as they have similar characteristics. Structured interviews were conducted with 375 respondents who were drawn from ten different wards that are billed by the municipality to represent households. The questionnaire had both open ended and closed ended questions. The data that was collected was analysed using content analysis from the computer and open ended questions were self analysed. Secondary research was done using City of Tshwane documents and its website. The researcher found that municipalities and government departments have not used this kind of a loyalty programme to encourage payment; City of Tshwane is the first in South Africa to employ such a strategy. The study found that respondents believe the City of Tshwane should offer affordable services and improve service delivery as part of improving payment for services. The incentive scheme, although in its early stages was found to be a motivating factor for the majority of the respondents to pay on time because they want to qualify to win and get the cash back rewards and prizes offered by the scheme. The study found that there was a need to use local merchants that can be accessible to a large number of people. The researcher also found that the marketing and visibility for such a scheme was of utmost importance. On the overall the respondents were happy and proud to have such a programme, for them the municipal incentive payment scheme showed a caring side of the municipality for those meeting their obligation. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

The concept of the ‘city-region’ has (re)gained prominence in academic discourse, firstly in a functional dimension an explanation of patterns of life and work in the modern space-economy, and secondly in a related politico-cultural dimension via an advocacy of the city-region scale as a loci for political and administrative organisation. As an acknowledgment of the connection between the two dimensions a case study approach was adopted. Firstly, the thesis considered the extent to which Scotland has city-regions in a functional sense, primarily via a quantitative analysis of census origin-destination (home-workplace) data. Secondly, having established that the spatial logic for city-regions was sufficiently robust, the thesis considered the political and organisational feasibility, desirability and relevance of devising arrangements that would facilitate planning and policy-making for city-regions. A series of qualitative semi-structured interviews featuring a cross-section of respondents across three field service case studies (local authorities, healthcare and strategic planning) were undertaken with discussions grounded in the context of Scotland’s pre-existing administrative geography. The interviews were interpreted via a series of governance principles or themes that emerged from a review of relevant literature on the city-region, and a second subsequent review of literature on Scotland’s field service geography. The totality of the quantitative research constituted a comprehensive statement on the significance of city-regions as functional entities, with a ‘spatial mismatch’ evident between Scotland’s functional city-regions and Scotland’s pre-existing geoadministrative structure. With respect to the qualitative research (regional organising capacity and culture and identity) it was concluded that existing cooperative arrangements for city-regions in Scotland are inadequate, but that a fresh approach is necessary due to reluctance amongst many field service units to cooperate across administrative boundaries. This work serves as a reminder that irrespective of any compelling functional evidence, the city-region concept must be able to overcome or adapt to the political and cultural barriers to its practical implementation that inevitably face any normative geoadministrative proposition.

This thesis examines how local leaders in Detroit, Michigan attempted to use the Detroit Tigers' World Series victory in 1968 to repair the city's image following the 1967 riot. First, this study looks at the history of race relations in Detroit, beginning with the founding of the city in 1701. Second, it analyzes the 1967 riot, which, up to that point, was the most destructive urban riot in American history. Finally, this thesis examines the public relations campaign of local leaders in 1968. They tried, unsuccessfully, to convince the public that Detroit's race relations could be healed through a sense of unity that the Tigers' success brought about. This study argues that Detroit's racial problems ran too deep and lasted for too long for a single, transient sporting event to have any sort of permanent effect. / Department of History

The study revolves around factors influencing the perceptions of service delivery by local municipalities in the Central District Municipality in the North West Province. Service delivery in general, as perceived by communities, has been a serious dilemma for most South African local municipalities. Factors in service delivery, as applicable in service marketing, have been examined through a detailed SERVQUAL research method. The focus areas have been service quality dimensions: • Reliability : the ability to deliver the promised service dependably and accurately; • Responsiveness : willingness to help and provide prompt customer service; • Assurance : knowledge, courtesy and ability of service providers to inspire trust and confidence • Empathy : caring and individualised attention given to clients; and • Tangibles : appearance of physical facilities, equipments, personnel and written materials. All five local municipalities in the Central District were involved in the study, and the main findings indicate that the residents in all the affected municipalities do not have confidence in the local government for service delivery. All five municipalities performed badly on the aspect of reliability and there is negative perception on responsiveness and willingness to provide prompt service by all the municipalities. The municipalities are perceived not to be able to command respect and instil confidence on their residents. The performance on empathy, where individual customised services are expected is poor. It is only on tangibles, where physical facilities are regarded as satisfactory. It is recommended that all municipalities should look inwardly and improve on their capacity on skills, financial management as well as bench-marking with international cities and towns for effective municipal service delivery. Service marketing as a management principle should be implemented immediately to save the current situation of loss of clientele and customer confidence. Other areas of quality improvement to be looked at are Total Quality Management and Work Improvement Team Strategy. / (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006

The aim of this research was to examine whether and to what extent supply chain management (SCM) officials in the Central District Municipality designed and implemented SCM in a manner that encouraged sound financial management and compliance to SCM legislative requirements in local government. The substantive area of research was the Central District Municipality and its five local municipalities. The researcher used both qualitative and quantitative research designs with semi-structured face-to-face interview questionnaire administered over three months. The sampling population was the Central District Municipality and its local municipalities. The researcher conducted 30 interviews and the research analysis strategy was the grounded theory supported by quantitative presentation of closed ended questions in tables and figures with the use of statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). The findings of the study revealed that Central District Municipality to a certain extent depicted the practice of some of the elements of SCM. SCM implementation is currently at an infancy stage and these municipalities do not fully comply with national treasury circulars and regulations. The municipalities are faced with problems of lack of knowledge, skills and capacity. The study concludes with the development of proposition that need to be tested on SCM implementation and recommendations on how the central district municipality can improve SCM implementation process. / (M.Com.) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006

Due to its hazardous nature, occupational injuries are unavoidable in the construction industry. Although many precautions are taken and educations are given to the laborers and employers, zero occupational injury rate could not be achieved, but a decrease in the number of injuries and fatalities could be maintained. The conventional studies conducted so far, usually focused on the prevention and causation models. The approach of the researchers was, either proactive or reactive about the accidents which offered preventive or protective precautions. However, after the occurrence of an injury, these precautions become useless and from this point on, determination of the fault rates for the parties being involved in that injury becomes the critical issue. Mostly, it is difficult to reach an objective and correct conclusion at the phase of determining fault rates and decisions achieved may display great fluctuations from one expert to another. The aim of this study is to develop an expert system that reflects the knowledge of occupational safety experts for the determination of fault rates. In order to facilitate this research, required data were collected from related organizations and experts. These data were compiled and classified, the significant factors were determined and all of these factors were evaluated within a quantitative approach. In addition to this evaluation, questionnaires were submitted to the experts / at which they were asked to rate the factors which were determined by the researcher of this study. The expert system is based on these ratings and factors obtained from questionnaires.

Thesis (L.L.M. (Law)) - Rhodes University, 2008

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Michigan, 1957. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 290-294).

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