Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2008 / Refer to document

The productivity of Trinidad and Tobago's public sector workplaces is related to their absorptive capacity for technological adoption. Guided by the technology acceptance model, which suggests that individuals' and institutions' use of technology increases in relation to perceived ease of use and apparent value, this case study explored how Trinidad and Tobago used information and communications technology from 2001 - 2010 to improve public sector workplace productivity. Study data were collected from 22 individual interviews with senior executives from the government of Trinidad and Tobago, members of the e-business roundtable, and local industry experts, and from reviewing the archives of the Ministry of Public Administration and Information. The data were analyzed using keyword frequency comparison, coding techniques, and cluster analysis. The resulting themes include e-legislation, e-infrastructure, e-readiness, government e-services, and e-business. The study findings showed that Trinidad and Tobago's technology agenda centered primarily on connecting government ministries and agencies. It also ushered in a period of telecommunication liberalization, which provided sustainable and cost effective options for government, citizens, and businesses to access broadband technology services. The results of the study showed that this access to low-costs broadband technology provides a platform for digital inclusion by improving workplace productivity, providing access to additional opportunities for education via an online platform, and increasing employment opportunities.

The advent of experimental methodologies have led to decisive progress in the study of corrupt behaviour in the last two decades. Since they can complement survey data and perception indexes with controlled experimental data, scholars and policy makers have reached a better understanding of decision-making in bribery situations and are able to design innovative anticorruption policies.In this thesis, I use experimental and empirical data to contribute to the field of the economics of corruption. The first two chapters of this PhD dissertation use experimental methodologies to study decision-making in a bribery scenario. The first chapter tests an anti-corruption strategy with a lab in the field experiment in Burundi. The second chapter studies the fairness concerns that might arise when dealing with redistribution in a bribery situation. The third chapter uses an empirical analysis to explore the controversial issue of political moonlighting, i.e. having outside activities while holding public office. It investigates "double-hat politicians", who combine mayor and parliamentary positions in Wallonia.In a first chapter, written with Jean-Benoit Falisse, we explore the effect of anti- corruption messages on corrupt behavior and public service delivery. In a novel lab-in-the-field experiment, 527 public servants from Burundi were asked to allocate rationed vouchers between anonymous citizens; some of these citizens attempted to bribe the public servants to obtain more vouchers than they were entitled to. Two groups of public servants were randomly exposed to short messages about good governance or professional identity reminders. Participants in these two groups behaved in a fairer manner than those of a third group who were not exposed to any message. The result is more robust in the case of the group exposed to the professional identity reminder. The underlying mechanisms seem to be that when a public servant reflects upon governance values and her professional identity, the moral cost increases, prompting more equal service delivery. Bribe-taking was not impacted by the messages. The experiment provides new insights into the design of anti-corruption strategies.The second chapter, written with Lena Epp, investigates the impact of a public officials’ fairness considerations towards citizens in a petty corruption situation. Other-regarding preferences, and, more particularly, fairness concerns are widely acknowledged as crucial elements of individual economic decision-making. In petty corruption contexts, public officials are to a large extent aware of differences between citizens. Here, we experimentally investigate how fairness considerations may impact on corrupt behaviour. Our novel bribery game reveals that bribes are less frequently accepted when bribers are unequal in terms of endowments. These results suggest that fairness considerations can influence corrupt behaviour.In the last chapter, I focus on political moonlighting in Wallonia. Activities outside of public office or combining specific public offices simultaneously is a topic of ongoing heated debates. An element crucial to these discussions is whether moonlighting is detrimental for politicians’ performance. In Belgium, the combination of local executive and regional legislative offices, i.e. double hat politicians, is a frequent habit for a majority of politicians. This accumulation of activities might lead to (un-)desirable outcomes in terms of political achievements. This chapter investigates the impact of holding several remunerated and honorary positions on regional MPs parliamentary activities and mayor’s municipality performance in Wallonia. I use a database of all public and private positions held by Belgian politicians in Wallonia since the disclosure of positions became compulsory for those holding at least one public position, i.e. from 2004 to 2016. For members of Parliament, wearing a double hat reduces global parliamentary activity. For mayors, it seems that holding more remunerated positions is associated with less efficient municipality management. / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

In an effort to reduce the cost and size of government public service delivery has become more decentralized, flexible and responsive. Public entrepreneurship entailed, among other things, the establishment of special-purpose governments to finance public services and carry out development projects. Community Development Districts (CDDs) are a type of special-purpose governments whose purpose is to manage and finance infrastructure improvements in the State of Florida. They have important implications for the way both growth management and service delivery occur in the United States. This study examined the role of CDDs for growth management policy and service delivery by analyzing the CDD profile and activity, the contribution of CDDs to the growth management and infrastructure development as well as the way CDD perceived pluses and minuses impact service delivery. The study used a mixed methods research approach, drawing on secondary data pertaining to CDD features and activity, semi-structured interviews with CDD representatives and public officials as well as on a survey of public officials within the counties and cities that have established CDDs. Findings indicated that the CDD institutional model is both a policy and a service delivery tool for infrastructure provision that can be adopted by states across the United States. Results showed that CDDs inhibit rather than foster growth management through their location choices, type and pattern of development. CDDs contributed to the infrastructure development in Florida by providing basic infrastructure services for the development they supported and by building and dedicating facilities to general-purpose governments. Districts were found to be both funding mechanisms and management tools for infrastructure services. The study also pointed to the fact that specialized governance is more responsive and more flexible but less effective than general-purpose governance when delivering services. CDDs were perceived as being favorable for developers and residents and not as favorable for general-purpose governments. Overall results indicated that the CDD is a flexible institutional mechanism for infrastructure delivery which has both advantages and disadvantages. Decision-makers should balance districts’ institutional flexibility with their unintended consequences for growth management when considering urban public policies.

Competitive Intelligence (CI) has become increasingly important for organisations in the private sector, or profit-making organisations, because the level and intensity of competition has increased in recent years. This increase in the level and intensity of competition has also affected the public sector, or non-profit-making organisations, such as Public Service departments. In South Africa, the Public Service departments have undergone significant changes, in order to rectify the injustices of the past. Despite much progress, it is noticed that government does not have sufficient capacity to deliver and sustain a quality service to its citizens. It is further noted that improved service delivery cannot be implemented by issuing of circulars only, and it is not just an administrative activity, instead it is a dynamic process and to do this, Public Service managers require new management tools. The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) was chosen as the case study Public Service department for this study. The purpose of this study was to ascertain how competitive intelligence tools and techniques could be implemented in Public Service departments in South Africa to enhance the delivery of services. This aim was established during this study by addressing the following issues: • Identifying how CI tools and techniques could contribute to the functioning of the Public Service sector. The study outlined the benefits of CI for public service organisations and focussed on several tools and techniques that could be used. Most of these tools and techniques were not used in DHA. • Assessing the current state of Public Service delivery in South Africa. It became evident from the study that the Public Service sector and in particular DHA was experiencing several problems in terms of achieving its service delivery mandate. The Department lacked structured and formal frameworks, policies and strategies for conducting its operations. The organisation was viewed to have many unskilled and de-motivated staff. The current state of service delivery in South Africa also revealed disturbing findings of corruption, fraud, nepotism, and extreme despair in staff that had to work in these conditions. • Identifying gaps in the Public Service current strategies for service delivery. It was established that DHA does not use reliable techniques and methods when conducting its strategic planning. Furthermore, staff lacked the competencies, skills and experience to assist in strategic planning. The existing strategic plan for DHA does not address the future desires of the organisation and can be regarded as a plan to address the immediate issues of the organisation only. • Identifying the forms of competition that impact service delivery in Public Service departments in South Africa. Several forms of competition were encountered at DHA. These forms of competition can be divided into three different areas namely internal competition in DHA, external competition and left field competition. The information about these forms of competition was not readily available to managers and decision makers therefore appropriate actions could not be taken to counteract the impact of the competition on service delivery. • Identifying initiatives adopted by Public Service departments to improve service delivery. It was evident from the study that while the new initiatives being implemented by DHA to improve service delivery would be able to, and in some cases, have already had a positive impact on the operating and service delivery environment, several concerns were also identified. • Designing a new CI related framework for gathering and analysing information that can be used in all Public Service departments in South Africa to improve service delivery. From the empirical investigations it became evident that no single CI tool or technique would have been able to address the situation at DHA, therefore, a combination of tools was necessary. These tools were depicted in a CI framework that DHA could use to gather and analyse information for decision making and service delivery. • Suggesting proposed solutions and recommendations that can assist Public Service departments in South Africa in improving its service delivery. It was evident that CI can contribute towards the enhancement of decision making and service delivery not only in DHA but also in all other Public Service departments in South Africa. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Information Science / unrestricted

[pt] A dissertação pretende investigar elementos da tensão entre burocracia e democracia, tendo por base a sociologia de Max Weber e perspectivas críticas da filosofia contemporânea, como é o caso das reflexões sobre o princípio político do Comum – que, na literatura de Christian Laval e Pierre Dardot, propõe uma revisitação da participação social na organização dos serviços públicos. Parte-se inicialmente da percepção de que, se de um lado a burocracia ainda é entendida como um imperativo de técnica, racionalidade e impessoalidade para a execução estatal das atividades e dos serviços públicos, de outro, é inerente e necessária à sua modelagem uma alienação social e popular. A organização estatal em um aparelho administrativo estruturalmente burocrático, composto em sua maioria por especialistas e técnicos (não eleitos), afasta a coisa pública dos cidadãos - e, assim, convive com o permanente risco de desqualificação da política e de dissipação da legitimidade democrática dos processos de implementação das escolhas relacionadas à gestão dos interesses, utilidades e serviços públicos. Identificado o problema, a pesquisa busca demonstrar que as principais oposições democráticas ao fenômeno da burocratização tecnocrática (sejam elas de matriz liberal/gerencial, no viés da democracia diárquica, da democracia monitória ou da defesa das reformas gerenciais no aparato estatal; sejam as de matriz crítica/social, no viés autogestão anárquica ou da mera abertura de canais participativos dentro da própria burocracia estatal), não trazem propostas suficientemente aptas a contornar o desafio antes descrito. Ao final, defende-se como alternativa para o enfrentamento da disputa entre burocracia e democracia o referencial epistemológico do princípio político do Comum - que, embora também inserido na genealogia do pensamento crítico/social, assenta proposições mais revolucionárias e originais para o problema da participação social nos serviços públicos, sobretudo a partir da práxis instituinte e do autogoverno democrático, como arranjos possíveis para a radicalização de uma estrutura decisória e coletiva fora da esfera estatal. / [en] The thesis intends to investigate elements of the tension between bureaucracy and democracy, based on the sociology of Max Weber and critical perspectives of contemporary philosophy, as is the case of reflections on the political principle of the Common – which, in the literature of Christian Laval and Pierre Dardot, proposes a revisitation of social participation in the organization of public services. It starts, initially, with the perception that, if on the one hand bureaucracy is still understood as an imperative of technique, rationality and impersonality for the state execution of public activities and services, on the other hand, a social and popular alienation is inherent and necessary to its moulding. The state organization in a structurally bureaucratic administrative apparatus, composed mostly of (non-elected) specialists and technicians, distances public affairs from citizens - and, thus, coexists with the permanent risk of political disqualification and dissipation of the democratic legitimacy in the implementation processes of choices related to the management of public interests, utilities and services. Once identified the problem, the research seeks to describe that the main democratic oppositions to the phenomenon of technocratic bureaucratization (whether they are on the liberal/managerial side, defending the diarchic democracy, the watchdog democracy or the managerial reform of the state apparatus; whether they are on the critical/social side, advocating an anarchic self-management system or the mere creation of participatory mechanisms within the state bureaucracy itself) does not present proposals that are sufficiently apt to avoid the challenge described above. In the end, the epistemological framework of the political principle of the Common is defended as an alternative for confronting the dispute between bureaucracy and democracy - which, although also inserted in the genealogy of critical/social thought, establishes more revolutionary and original propositions for the problem of social participation in public services, based, especially, on the instituent praxis and the institution of democratic self-government, as possible arrangements for the radicalization of a decision-making and collective structure out of the state sphere.

The challenge of satisfying the demand for basic services in the current dispensation has intensified. It is anticipated that once this initial challenge has been overcome, the tide will turn and secondary services such as transfer of ownership of forestry plantations will become the new challenge. The quest for efficient and effective service delivery is paramount, regardless of whether services delivered are basic or not. This research investigation puts performance management (which focuses on individual and organisational performance), as a necessity for service delivery. The focus was on service delivery within the Chief Directorate: Forestry in the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. The findings demonstrated that the presence of performance management and other supporting systems does not guarantee automatic improvement in service delivery. The distinction is how effective an organisation can apply performance management in conjunction with a complete set of functional policies, systems and instruments to improve its impact on service delivery. / Public Administation / M.Tech. (Public Management)

The study investigated the role of records surveys in the management of public records in Zimbabwe. The goal was to determine how far records surveys were going in enhancing sound records management practices, thereby improving public service delivery, accountability and good governance. Through interviews, questionnaires and document review it was revealed that records surveys were struggling to attain their intended goal of nurturing sound records management practices in public registries. The lack of ideal mission statements, registry manuals, written disaster management plans, vital records protection programmes, adequate records management training, records retention and disposal schedules, top management support, financial constraints and unclear archival legislation were cited as some of the challenges affecting records and information management surveys from nurturing acceptable records management practices. A closer working relationship between the National Archives and public records management units was recommended. / Information Science / M. Inf. (Archival Science)

Thesis (LLM (Public Law))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / In order to test whether South African public service fulfills democratic aims and objectives, this study establishes the limits to and extent of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000 (the PAJA) in promoting the right to administrative justice as a human right (the RAJAH) and thereby transforming public service delivery. To achieve above aim the background to the entrenched right to administrative justice is analysed through a study of principles underlying administrative justice. Both South African common law and Constitutional systems are analysed against the principles underlying administrative justice. Batho Pele principles contained in the White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service (WPTPS) are also analysed to find out how the South African Public Administration interprets its constitutional duties and to establish the relevance of these principles to administrative justice principles ensconced in the PAJA. The PAJA is then analysed in order to measure the extent to which it affirms the transformation principles ensconced in the Constitution and coinciding with Batho Pele principles. As the public service is a reflection of democracy in action, the public expects it to be professional, representative and proficient. If it does not fulfil these expectations, this may be interpreted as a fundamental failure of democracy. South African democracy in particular is development oriented because it is based on the Constitution that entrenches among others the right to administrative justice. The right to administrative justice as a development tool urges the public sector to recognise and apply constitutionally recognised procedures and processes in every delivery so that the social status of citizens may be enhanced. Such steps, if effectively followed, signify that the public sector has transformed from bad governance practices of the pre constitutional era where there was no requirement for the observance of individual rights in public service delivery. Failures to the adoption of good governance principles by the public sector show the opposite of the expected standards and signify that the public sector is not yet transformed. In the light of the problems caused by the lack of protection of human rights from abuse by the executive under the common law system of parliamentary supremacy, the constitutional era was expected to have changed the position of South African administrative law drastically through its adoption of the principles underlying administrative justice. To develop insight into the extent of the transformation towards administrative justice that is expected to have occurred in South Africa since the advent of constitutionalism the implementation of the PAJA is evaluated through an examination of a selection of cases that deals with public administration decisions in the area of social assistance as a context in which members of the public are most dependent on effective state administration. As the scope of the study limits the number of cases that can be examined, only the most informative cases on social assistance that relates to the KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape provinces are analysed. The research finds that public service is not yet transformed and identifies the causal factors. It recommends steps to be followed so that the expected culture from the public sector is attained.

Electronic government (e-Government) in terms of public service delivery and administration has endured signification transformation over the last decade. More recently, modern second generation web technologies (Web 2.0) have started to be used to deliver e-Government. However, this in turn has brought about additional challenges. By its nature, Web 2.0 is more interactive than the traditional model of information provision or creation of digital services and as such opens up a new set of benefits, costs and risks to those who make use of it as part of their e-Government approach. In the main, the usage of Web 2.0 is in its infancy within e-Government and this creates a need for research into exploring the application of Web 2.0 technologies in e-Government and to provide practical advice to practitioners. This research draws on the existing literature to present a novel conceptual model that could be used to guide implementation and evaluation of Web 2.0. The conceptual model draws the existing literature into the traditional information systems (IS) evaluation model (benefits, costs and risks) specifically in terms appropriate to Web 2.0. In turn that evaluation is set in the context of the impact on the organisation in terms of organisational, technological and social consequences. This conceptual model was tested in a United Kingdom local government authority (LGA) that had recently started to make use of Web 2.0 in terms of service delivery and for internal work purposes by its employees. The result was a qualitative enquiry making use of interviews and documentary evidence to explore the validity of the conceptual model as a tool to assist decision making in this field. The findings elicited from the in-depth case study offer an insight into IS evaluation criteria and impact factors of Web 2.0 from both a practical setting and an internal organisational perspective. An interesting finding of this study was the contrast between the agreement on the need for evaluation of Web 2.0 tools and how to carry that out, and the fact that this had not been formally carried out by the case study with respect to its early Web 2.0 projects. This study concludes that a combined analysis of the evaluation and impact factors rather than a singular approach would better assist the decision making process that leads to effective application of Web 2.0 technologies. Keywords: e-Government, Web 2.0, Information Systems Evaluation, Impact, Local Government Authorities (LGAs).