Bakalauro baigiamajame darbe nagrinėjamos Plungės rajono savivaldybės 2008 – 2012 m. biudžeto pajamos ir išlaidos. Darbe apibrėžiama savivaldybės ir vietos savivaldos samprata, išskiriamos vietinės valdžios vykdomos funkcijos. Analizuojama savivaldybių biudžetų sandara, nagrinėjama, kokiais formavimo principais ir sudarymo metodais remiasi Lietuvos savivaldybės, rengdamos biudžetų projektus. Praktinėje dalyje analizuojama Plungės rajono savivaldybės biudžeto pajamų ir išlaidų struktūra ir dinamika. Atskleidžiami probleminiai biudžeto vykdymo aspektai. Darbe tiriama, kaip įvairūs socialiniai ir ekonominiai veiksniai nulėmė Plungės rajono savivaldybės biudžeto pajamų ir išlaidų apimtis. Atlikus biudžeto pajamų ir išlaidų apimties prognozavimą, buvo įrodyta, kad Plungės rajono savivaldybė neracionaliai įvertina retrospektyvą ir tai lemia biudžeto vykdymo problemas. / The final work of the Bachelor Degree Studies takes under analysis revenues and expenditures of Plunge District Municipality for the years of 2008 - 2012. This paper defines the conceptions of the municipality and local self-governing, distinguishes the functions performed by the local government. The current research work takes under analysis the structure of municipal budgets, deals with the formation of principles and methods the municipalities of Lithuania use for preparing their budgets. The practical part of this research studies the structure of expenditure and revenues and dynamics of Plunge District Municipality. The paper reveals the problematic aspects of the budget formation. This paper has carried out how various social and economic factors have result in revenue and expenditure size of Plunge District Municipality budget. After the forecast of the volume of the revenue and expenditure, it was proved in the work that Plunge District Municipality irrationally evaluates retrospective, and this causes to budgetary problems.

The master paper explores the activities of the municipality in the general municipal institutional system. Works of Lithuanian and foreign authors on local self-government, functions of the municipality as well as the municipal institutional structure are being analysed and systematized thus, a municipal institutional structure model in Lithuania is being presented and analysed. Evaluation of the Laws of the Republic of Lithuania regulating actions of the community and municipal institutions as well performed. Authors hypothesis is being approved that the efficient functioning of the municipal institutional structure depends on the united activities of the city community, municipalitys council add administration as well.

Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka hur storkommunreformen 1952 genomfördes i dåvarande Sunne landskommun, Västra Ämtervik, Östra Ämtervik och Sunne köping. Sammanslagningen undersöks utefter två konfliktlinjer som uppstod under 1947-1951. Den ena konfliktlinjen gäller relationen mellan de tre kommunerna och köpingen. Den andra konfliktlinjen belyser kommunernas process gentemot staten. Undersökningen är utformad som textanalys av kommunala handlingar och tidningsartiklar från läns- och lokaltidningen. Metoden är att gå igenom materialet utifrån en induktiv process och i den slutgiltiga analysen följa en deduktiv process gentemot hypoteser mot materialet. Utifrån forskningsläget byggs tre teoretiska ansatser upp som utgör grunden i denna analys och diskussion. I undersökningens analysdel sker en genomgång av materialet med de tre teoretiska ansatserna. Uppsatsens disposition i separata analys- och diskussionskapitel innebär att analyskapitlet är det renodlade resultatet av att läsa källmaterialet med teoretiska glasögon. I uppsatsens diskussions- och slutsatskapitel besvaras forskningsfrågorna, hypoteserna diskuteras och personliga reflektioner lyfts fram. I uppsatsen konstateras att konflikter fanns mellan landskommunerna och Sunne köping. Sunne landskommun var inbegripen i två konflikter med köpingen gällande infrastruktur och inkorporeringar. Konsensus mellan landskommunerna rådde i konflikten gentemot staten, särskilt när beslutet om sammanslagning blev definitivt. Uppsatsen visar också att det fanns en stark känsla av det mångfacetterade begreppet lokal identitet. Den lokala identiteten används både retoriskt och som sakargument, men blir mer framträdande ju närmare det yttre hotet om sammanslagning kommer. / The purpose of this essay is to investigate how the Swedish municipality reform of 1952 was performed in, of that time, the parish municipalities of Sunne, Västra Ämtervik, Östra Ämtervik and Sunne borough. The investigation is based upon two lines of conflict which emerged during 1947-1951. The first conflict is the relation between the three municipalities and the borough. The second conflict is the relation between the municipalities towards the state. The scientific method used is textual analysis of municipality documents and articles from the regional and local newspaper. Further, the method is to use an inductive view on the source material, followed by a deductive view in the final analysis and discussion. With the help of earlier research, three theoretical concepts are formed for use as foundation in the analysis. The thesis’ disposition in separate chapters for analysis and conclusion means the analytical chapter is the result of reading the source material using the three theoretical concepts as eyeglasses. Answers to the essays scientific questions, discussion of hypotheses and personal reflections are covered in the chapter of discussion and conclusion. The essay confirms conflict between the municipalities and the borough. Sunne (the parish) had two running conflicts with the borough regarding infrastructure and the boroughs’ take-over of territory. However, consensus prevailed between the municipalities towards the state, especially when the outer threat of merge became real. The essay also confirms a strong presence of ”local identity”, a concept defined in the essay. This local identity is used both as factual arguments and rhetorics, though it changes shape during the course of the merger.

Šiame magistriniame darbe nagrinėjamos savivaldybių finansinių išteklių formavimo ir valdymo funkcijos bei jų ypatumai. Pagrindinis šio darbo tikslas yra išsiaiškinti veiksnius, kurie lemia savivaldybių finansų išteklių naudojimo efektyvumą ir pasiūlyti būdus savivaldybės pajamoms didinti ir išlaidoms mažinti. Tikslui pasiekti išanalizuoti 2009- 2013 metų Vilniaus miesto savivaldybė biudžeto pajamų ir išlaidų duomenis, bei atlikta Vilniaus miesto savivaldybės gyventojų apklausa apie savivaldybės finansų valdymo veiklos efektyvumą. Remiantis gautais rezultatais pateikti pasiūlymai savivaldybės finansinių išteklių valdymui gerinti. / This Master‘s Thesis examines formating and management features of municipal financial resources. The main aim of this Thesis is to find out factors that determine municipal financial resource efficiency and finding ways to increase municipal revenues and reduce costs. The study in Master‘s Thesis is about Vilnius City Municipality planned and executed budgets data in year 2009- 2013. There was also Vilnius City Municipality population survey about municipal financial management performance accomplished.

This study is based on motivation theory, communication theory and knowledge about change management and workshop arrangement. The aim of the study is to develop a communication strategy which increases motivation for sustainability work in municipalities. Main focus of this report is to (1) determine whether motivation theory is applicable on a municipality’s sustainability work, in order to gain a willingness to change and (2) decide if workshops are suitable platforms for communication with municipalities. The opinion that global, complex problems require local solutions is a starting point for this study. The role of municipalities is claimed to be of great importance and is furthermore suggested to undergo a change in order to meet the current demands. The developed communication strategy is based on theories from a literature review and informal interviews with experts and was tested in a case study (with a municipality in south of Sweden). The communication strategy is intended to be useful when wanting to motivate any municipality to sustainability work. The communication strategy includes preparations, workshop arrangements and follow-up work. Every step of the strategy is explained, justified and presented in this report. The results from the case study are displayed and serve as a framework for the improvement discussion. The main result of this study consists of de following 11 steps: Background studies of the municipality. Survey of the existing expectations and needs. Identification of suitable workshop participants. Sending out invitations to the participants. Sending out questionnaires to participants. Adaptation of the communication. Implementation of workshop 1. Sending out reminder of the ’micro-task’. Implementation of workshop 2. Evaluation of the results. Follow-up of the municipality’s work. All participants in the case study stated that the workshops inspired to sustainability work and the self-perceived motivation was considered to be higher after the workshops had taken place (on a scale from 1 to 5, the mean value rose from 4,3 to 4,6). The conclusions of the study are: (I) by paying attention to theories of motivation – and applying these theories during contact with the municipality - willingness to change occurred amongst the majority of the participants. (II) Workshops are suitable forums for communication with municipalities. To generalize these conclusions, further studies are required. / Studiens bakgrund är motivationsteori, kommunikationsteori, samt kunskap kring förändringsarbete och workshop-arrangemang. Syftet med studien är att utarbeta en kommunikationsstrategi som ökar motivationen till hållbarhetsarbete i en kommun. Fokus ligger på (1) huruvida motivationsteori kan appliceras på en kommuns hållbarhetsarbete för att öka förändringsvilja samt (2) att avgöra ifall en workshop-serie är ett bra forum för kommunikation med kommuner. Som utgångspunkt för studien hävdas att globala, komplexa problem kräver lokala lösningar, varpå kommunens roll i hållbarhetsarbetet är av stor vikt. Vidare utgicks det från att dagens kommunala hållbarhetsarbete inte är tillräckligt, utan kräver förändring. Med en litteraturstudie och informella intervjuer med sakkunniga som bakgrund utvecklades en kommunikationsstrategi som testades på en pilotkommun i södra Sverige. Strategin som presenteras i rapporten är tänkt att kunna användas för att motivera även andra kommuner till hållbarhetsarbete. Kommunikationsstrategin inbegriper förberedelser, workshop-arrangemang och uppföljning. I rapporten motiveras valet av kommunikationsstrategins respektive steg, en presentation sker för hur varje del genomfördes i fallstudien och förbättringsförslag diskuteras utefter fallstudiens utfall. Studiens huvudsakliga resultat består i kommunikationsstrategins 11 steg: Inläsning om kommunen. Undersökning av vilka förväntningar och behov som finns. Identifiering av workshopdeltagare. Utskickning av inbjudan till deltagare. Utskickning av frågeformulär till deltagare. Anpassning av kommunikationen. Genomförande av workshop 1. Utskickning av påminnelse om mikrouppgifter. Genomförande av workshop 2. Utvärdering av resultat. Uppföljning av kommunens arbete. Samtliga deltagare i fallstudien angav att workshopparna inspirerat till hållbarhetsarbete och den självupplevda motivationsgraden ansågs högre hos ett par deltagare efter att workshopparna ägt rum (på en skala från 1 till 5 ökade genomsnittet från 4,3 till 4,6). Slutsatserna i studien är följande: (I) Genom att uppmärksamma teorier om motivation, samt tillämpa dem praktiskt under kontaken med kommunen, uppstod förändringsvilja hos majoriteten av de som deltog i workshop-serien. (II) Ett bra forum för att kommunicera med kommuner är genom att arrangera workshoppar. För att generalisera slutsatserna krävs vidare undersökningar.

South Africa faces major challenges for public service delivery to its citizens. It is crucial to monitor service delivery needs through effective governance and service administration. Local government is the key functionary of the delivery and development of transformational South Africa. The Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) is a conditional grant to municipalities and it complements the equitable share grant for local government. South African municipalities participating in the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) programme are required to establish or share project management units (PMUs). The former Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG) issued guidelines known as MIG Guidelines (2004) for the establishment of the PMUs. The Municipal Infrastructure Investment Framework (MIIF) covers the maintenance of roads. The framework for the delivery of municipal infrastructure is based on Chapter 3, section 41 (j) of the Constitution. The purpose of this study is to explore the functioning of the PMU on the basis of the theories of project management and the MIG Guidelines, and to identify its service delivery function with regard to road maintenance. The main contribution of this study is to provide a framework and guidelines for the PMU to extend its further development with regard to the maintenance of roads. / Thesis (Master of Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Sound financial management is a growing concept in the public sector, especially in local government. The South African government has put in place policies and mechanisms to create a conducive environment for municipalities to manage finances in an effective manner. The management of municipal finance is supported by a set of policies and regulations to strengthen the use of public money. Among the respective policy frameworks, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa expects the government entities to be transparent and accountable. Here in, these financial measures are also guided by the Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003 and the Public Finance Management Act 1 of 1999 (as amended 29 of 1999). Measured transparency is critically important for management public funds. Accountability is an essential element in achieving institutional goals, especially where public funds are used. Accountability allows public institutions to provide assurance to the tax payers and to their principals. The Auditor General expects municipalities to be accountable for their financial activities through regular reporting. The Annual Report will therefore be compiled for reporting and it must include all required information. Audit Committee becomes very critical, as a structure established to guide the municipality on finances and ensure that the report is credible in every respect. Metsimaholo municipality has however been facing challenges as per the opinions of the Auditor General based on financial reporting, amongst other things. This study involves the extent to which financial reporting serves as a tool for promoting accountability. In order to test the hypothesis, literature was reviewed to analyse and evaluate financial reporting and accountability. Empirical research was conducted to test and analyse the existence of practices, procedures and policies that promote sound financial management and their effectiveness. Data was collected through questionnaires and face to face structured and unstructured interviews, with respondents from employees of Metsimaholo Local Municipality and community structures. This study found among others that: *Policies for financial reporting exist but are not fully complied with *There is a lack of follow up with and implementation of Auditor General’s recommendations *Audit Committee recommendations are not fully implemented *There are no clear lines of responsibilities between councillors and officials with regard to financial management The study concludes with recommendations to assist the municipality in committing themselves to adopt strategies towards financial reporting for improved accountability. / Thesis (M. Development and Management (Public Management and Government))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

South Africa as a developing country experienced high levels of poverty and unemployment. These levels emanate from skills gap and low literacy rate in the townships populated by low income households. To an extent some households lacked access to participate in the economic sector, resulting from fragmented policies and apartheid regime. The lack of participation among the households placed pressure on government. These problems forced the state to provide social protection (grants). Such allowances are expensive especially where there are fewer opportunities for employment activities. The promotion of entrepreneurship and small business remains an important priority of the government of South Africa. The South African government is acknowledged for its commitments to ensure that small businesses progressively contribute to growth and performance of the South African economy. Globally, numerous policy legislative frameworks have been developed to support the SMMEs. This study aimed to discover the support given to the SMMEs by the South African government. In particular, the study is situated within the SMMEs in the SDM. The hypothesis for this study is premised on the fact that SMME`s can contribute immensely to job creation. The outcomes of this argument relies on the provisions based on a conducive environment which can enable the SMME`s to thrive. This statement was validated by means of literature review, interviews and site visits. This study found that the SMMEs are indeed the cornerstone of job creation and for sustainable livelihoods. LED programmes can create more jobs through the SMME sector. Literature worldwide confirms that the SMMEs are vital in creating employment opportunities. This research also confirmed that this is possible only if the environment in which SMMEs operate in is favourable for the SMMEs to prosper. In this regard many policy documents were developed to emphasize the stance of government to develop, grow and capacitate SMMEs in South Africa. It is indeed true that the LED can be used to grow and capacitate SMMEs in South Africa. Despite the progress being made on the development of the SMMEs, few issues need to be taken care off. The municipality indicated that there are no monitoring procedures in place which make it difficult to measure the infectiveness of their interventions and they further pointed out that they are working on the matter. The measurement of these milestones is not properly recorded to inform future generations. It is suggested that more research should be emphasised on the SMME sector, especially being the mandate of the municipality. / Thesis (M. Development and Management (Public Management and Government))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

Decentralization is a buzzword in current discussions on Public Management and its debate has always been a contentious one. The concept involves the restructuring or reorganization of authority so that there is a system of co-responsibility between institutions of governance at the central, provincial, regional and local levels according to the principle of subsidiary, thus increasing the overall quality and effectiveness of the system of governance, while increasing the authority and capacities of sub-national levels. The dispersal of financial responsibility is a core component of decentralization. Similarly, fiscal aspect is one of the decentralization programs. Moreover, fiscal as a tool is to change from inefficient to efficient public sector functioning and to improve relations between local governments for more efficient in public service. Importantly, decentralization of fiscal responsibilities is envisaged to increase efficiency in service delivery and reduce information and transaction costs associated with the provision of public services. By implication, efficiency in this context means how a country’s public finances are structured and how nation-state that is fragmented holds its finances together in the first place. The concept of “Supply Chain Management” (SCM) is the network of organizations that are involved, through upstream and downstream linkages, in the different processes and activities that produce value in the form of products and services delivered to the ultimate customer. Public sector SCM is seen as an acquisition of goods and service which has broader social, economic and political implications. Effective public sector SCM has potential benefits such as inventory reduction, improved service delivery and cost reduction across supply chain. Despite these benefits, South African (SA) public sector encounters challenges of SCM. In Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM), these challenges range from a paucity of human resources due to lack of skills and capacity in the implementation and execution of SCM functions, poor implementation of SCM practices, quality of service in the SCM and to poor collaborative planning. Other barriers are lack of fiscal accountability, tight budget constraints and conflict of interest in the awarding of tenders which leads to political elite and bureaucratic corruption which cascades into unethical and unfair procurement dealings. These costly burdens result in ELM’s failure to meet community needs. Due to these challenges, the Fiscal Decentralization of SCM functions currently occupies a centre stage in the financial management reform process at ELM. Evaluating the efficiency of fiscal decentralization within the Supply Chain Management Department of Emfuleni Local Municipality requires an in-depth understanding of criteria. The concepts and principles from an examination of documentary data and analysed by the researcher were applied. In addition, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussion and observation methods were conducted to solicit comments from senior managers, employees and service providers This study reports the results of a full survey among a sample of the municipality-wide customers in the study area. It was found amongst other that: • Fiscal Decentralization as SCM efficiency tool has had only marginal positive effect at ELM • Effective implementation of fiscal decentralization is a function of well trained, qualified personnel crop, an attribute which is only beginning to get at ELM • Fiscal decentralization is best promoted wish performance management, a strategy which is well performed at ELM The study ends with recommendations for management action in committing themselves to take strategic fiscal decisions and actions that hold the key to the success of decentralized decision making. / MA, Public Management and Administration, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2011

The study is based on the context of project management; the discipline which employs skills and knowledge to achieve project goals through various project activities. The study concentrates on project management applications to deliver low cost houses (LCH) in the Metsimaholo Local Municipality (MLM). The main purpose of project management application is to enable project managers to track the progress of a project that they are working on. Institutions working on a very large project require project management applications to give periodic updates on the progress of the work that is being done on a project. By using a project management application, the process is made somewhat easier, in the sense that a project manager can just refer and check on the progress him/herself. Provision of adequate housing for the homeless and others who are inadequately housed in an attempt to reduce poverty and improve quality of people’s life has been a huge challenge to the South African government, particularly in the MLM over the years. Globally, legislators on the physical infrastructure of Parliament are pushing for the urgent construction of LCH by the government. The abovementioned challenge has resulted in an enormous housing backlog with poverty, unemployment, economic stagnation and negative behaviour. Financial constrains are seen to escalate costs and this makes the task even more enormous. The hypothesis for this study indicated that MLM does not possess sufficient institutional capacity to implement project management for the effective delivery of low cost housing. The hypothesis and research objectives of the study were validated by means of literature review and empirical surveys. Thirty-four (34) semi structured questionnaires were used to interview participants in the provision of LCH in MLM. The study is made up of five chapters. The study specifically focused on the application of project management to deliver LCH in the Metsimaholo Local Municipality (MLM). •This study contends that the application of project management in the public service sector to deliver goods and services has not been scientifically applied in a conscience and systematic manner. •In the MLM the national, provincial and the municipality efforts are challenged to provide houses for the homeless. •The increasing population in the MLM has resulted in an enormous housing backlog with poverty, unemployment, and economic stagnation. •The high demand for housing in the MLM brings about financial constrains and makes the task even more enormous. •It is realised through this study that the application of project management is lacking; whereby important pillars of project based outputs such as time, quality and cost are not necessarily the resultant finished products of the community tend to inherit. It is evident from the above that while the MLM has a mandate to provide service delivery it is limited by protocol to take full responsibility in the provision of low cost houses. The provision of LCH requires strengthened co-operative governance in the Free State Province, since the three spheres have important roles to play. In the face of the huge backlogs in housing and human settlement provision, the country urgently needs to develop the technical knowledge and skills necessary to fast track housing delivery. / M, Development and Management, Public Management and Administration, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012