This study evaluated the relationship of varying body mass index and average annual health care costs and absenteeism in a group of 524 municipal employees. The 269 employees with health care claims and the 487 employees with attendance records were categorized into five different BMI categories based on self-reported weight and height. Findings from the study suggest that as BMI increases, average annual health care costs and average annual absenteeism increase. However, BMI was only significantly related to absenteeism. The study also found significant relationships between education and health care costs and absenteeism. No significant differences for health care costs or absenteeism were found based on race, age, gender, wellness center membership, or smoking status.

This research project examines how managers in local-government-owned business organisations justify their adoption of an entrepreneurial orientation and their interpretation of their role in entrepreneurial terms. To explore these justifications, interviews were conducted with the senior management of four local-government- owned business operations and one local council. They were: Metrowater, The Edge, Taieri Gorge Railway, Chatham Islands Council and Chatham Islands Enterprise Trust. These interviews were then analysed, utilising a critical discourse method. In addition, interviews were also conducted with senior managers in the Rotorua District Council and Taupo District Council who provided a sharp contrast to the former organisations and suggested a means by which the neo-liberal approach within the sector might be countered. Through speaking with the various local govermnent business managers contacted for this project, I concluded that managers of local-government-owned business operations have a strong institutional identification with the private sector. This identity is so strong that many of the managers interviewed have rejected the very notion that they are public employees of any sort. The managers have adopted an entrepreneurial approach because they see this as essential to gain professional legitimacy with their peers in the private sector. This has caused them to place distance between themselves and the owners of the business that they manage (that is, the councils), and the local citizens they ostensibly serve, to the extent that they have described their job as providing goods and services to customers rather than providing services for citizens. I will show that the adoption of such an attitude is inappropriate when placed within the context of local-government-owned and operated business concerns. From the point of view of European settlement, New Zealand is a very young country, especially in the administrative sector. To provide a background to this project and to suggest the main lines of development of local government in New Zealand, I have included a prologue that outlines the history of local government in New Zealand.

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 Constitution of South Africa, 1996, requires local government to be democratic and accountable to local communities. Municipalities are also constitutionally bound to encourage the involvement of the communities in the affairs of local government. Section 152 of the Constitution of South Africa, 1996, sets out the rights of communities to be involved in the affairs of local government.Participation is not only about communicating information and addressing the needs of the community. Participation is also about building partnerships with the community, being accountable to the community, allowing the community to take part in policy decisions, capacitating the community to understand their rights and obligations as citizens, and allowing the community to participate actively in social, political and economic affairs. Local government as a sphere of government closest to the peopleplays a critical role in advancing the participation of the community. Chapter 4 of the Municipal Structures Act of 1998 requires that municipalities should establish ward committees in order to enhance participatory democracy. Ward committees were therefore established, as community structures, to play a role in advocating needs, aspirations, potentials and problems of the community. However, studies appear to be critical on the functionality of ward committees and argue that most ward committees are not functioning as intended. The purpose of the study is to establish whether MatlosanaLocal Municipality has created the environment for active participation through the ward committee system in order to enhance participatory democracy. Thestudy further investigates whether the ward committees are functioning as intended and according to what the law requires. The researcher used a qualitative method to determine how Matlosana Local Municipality uses the ward committee system to enhance participatory democracy. The investigation revealed a number of challenges facing the ward committees which hinder their effectiveness. However, recommendations are recommended to assist the management of the municipality in making the system more effective. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

The Constitution of South Africa, 1996, requires local government to be democratic and accountable to local communities. Municipalities are also constitutionally bound to encourage the involvement of the communities in the affairs of local government. Section 152 of the Constitution of South Africa, 1996, sets out the rights of communities to be involved in the affairs of local government.Participation is not only about communicating information and addressing the needs of the community. Participation is also about building partnerships with the community, being accountable to the community, allowing the community to take part in policy decisions, capacitating the community to understand their rights and obligations as citizens, and allowing the community to participate actively in social, political and economic affairs. Local government as a sphere of government closest to the peopleplays a critical role in advancing the participation of the community. Chapter 4 of the Municipal Structures Act of 1998 requires that municipalities should establish ward committees in order to enhance participatory democracy. Ward committees were therefore established, as community structures, to play a role in advocating needs, aspirations, potentials and problems of the community. However, studies appear to be critical on the functionality of ward committees and argue that most ward committees are not functioning as intended. The purpose of the study is to establish whether MatlosanaLocal Municipality has created the environment for active participation through the ward committee system in order to enhance participatory democracy. Thestudy further investigates whether the ward committees are functioning as intended and according to what the law requires. The researcher used a qualitative method to determine how Matlosana Local Municipality uses the ward committee system to enhance participatory democracy. The investigation revealed a number of challenges facing the ward committees which hinder their effectiveness. However, recommendations are recommended to assist the management of the municipality in making the system more effective. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

The relationship between the state and municipalities has for the recent decades become increasingly complex, strained and infected. The education policy has for several decades been surrounded by different governing logics and conflicts where the conflict between the state’s pursuit of national equality and the local self-determination is prominent. This study examines how this conflict affects the municipal official’s approaches to the state’s control of the municipal compulsory school through aimed government grants. The study consists of aqualitative interview study of six municipalities with 23 respondents. In each municipality, I have conducted interviews with municipal officials, principals and municipal politicians. The findings show that the aimed government grants should be seen in the field of tension between state and municipality and between politics and professions. Conflicts arise between the municipalities’ different conditions as well as their local needs and the state’s pursuit of national equality between schools. The municipal officials are assigned significant power regarding how the state and municipal governance is to be put into practice and are therefore given a coordinating central position where they must balance between state requirements, local requirements and school’s requirements. The findings indicate that they seem to prioritize the state’s target of national equality in favor of the local target of self-determination. The relationship between the state and the municipalities gets exposed through the role conflicts of the municipal officials, which both compete and cooperate. The conclusion is that the municipal officials should be regarded as the state’s extended arm, or as “state municipal officials”. They possess a double loyalty to the state and local government and must, with this double loyalty, be the guardians of the local and national democracy at the same time. There is a risk that the municipal officials' double democracy loyalty demonstrates that the local democracy is weakening as the municipal officials must balance between their two guardian roles since role conflicts can arise in their daily work.This, in combination with the fact that they have gained increased power at the expense of local politicians and should thereby be regarded as political actors, sets high standards on the municipal officials, especially in an education department where the state governance is highly present.

No abstract available.

Thesis (M.B.A.: Business Studies Unit)-Durban University of Technology, 2008. xi, 96 leaves / The amalgamation of municipalities came into effect as a legislative requirement brought about a number of challenges for the local government. One such major challenge relates to the impact that these amalgamations will have on human resource practices of the various municipalities. Literature study reveals that during any merger or amalgamation, less attention is paid to the human element of a merger until the merger is almost complete. This lack of attention impacts negatively on the merger results. Like other municipalities, Ethekwini Municipality is a product of this legislative requirement. It was formed as a result of the amalgamation of different municipal entities that had different human resource practices. The problem facing eThekwini Municipality is the misalignment of human resources policies and their effect on the working environment. This study looks at the impact of this amalgamation on the human resources practices of the eThekwini Municipality. The sub-objectives of the study are: to ascertain employees’ perceptions of amalgamation; to determine whether employees believe that the human resources’ matters are handled in a manner that will bring about stability and equity in the workplace; and to establish whether different perceptions exist between employees of the former Durban Metro Central and those of the erstwhile entities. / M

Thesis (M.B.A.: Business Studies Unit)-Durban University of Technology, 2008. xi, 96 leaves / The amalgamation of municipalities came into effect as a legislative requirement brought about a number of challenges for the local government. One such major challenge relates to the impact that these amalgamations will have on human resource practices of the various municipalities. Literature study reveals that during any merger or amalgamation, less attention is paid to the human element of a merger until the merger is almost complete. This lack of attention impacts negatively on the merger results. Like other municipalities, Ethekwini Municipality is a product of this legislative requirement. It was formed as a result of the amalgamation of different municipal entities that had different human resource practices. The problem facing eThekwini Municipality is the misalignment of human resources policies and their effect on the working environment. This study looks at the impact of this amalgamation on the human resources practices of the eThekwini Municipality. The sub-objectives of the study are: to ascertain employees’ perceptions of amalgamation; to determine whether employees believe that the human resources’ matters are handled in a manner that will bring about stability and equity in the workplace; and to establish whether different perceptions exist between employees of the former Durban Metro Central and those of the erstwhile entities.

No abstract available.