published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

The focal point on this research project is restructuring which is intended at producing an efficient public service capable of meeting developmental and socio economic challenges facing the National Department of Public Works in the North West Province. The problem facing the department is that the department's operational plans could not be met due to high vacancies within the management/supervisory levels. One other problem that related to restructuring was that there was no clear description of what the department's strategic vision and plans were. Qualitative method was identified as the most suitable method for this research. The data was collected by means of questionnaires given to both senior and junior managers. A sample of 71 respondents randomly selected from a population of 182 employees. Questionnaires and interviews were conducted in order to get the perception of how people think about restructuring. The aim was to collect information from both senior managers and lower levels. The findings from the collected data is that employees do not understand the business processes in order to gain confidence in what the Department wants to achieve. The expectation from employees was that Human Resource division will develop an HR plan which will accommodate employees with lower qualifications, current and past experience expertise in the relevant fields of work. This emphasizes the need for more engagement between management and staff. Some of recommendations are:- • Information technology infrastructure must fully support new processes thereby enabling the achievement of departmental objectives. • Restructuring must create a conducive environment which encourages or facilitates effective utilization of resources. • Policies to be clear and applied uniformly • The department must consider the constitutional obligation to transform the Public Service to ensure the delivery of quality service in accordance with the mandate of a better life for all. / (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2005

The present study aimed to analyze the public works management process and identify barriers that may compromise the success of a work regarding the budget, contracts management, planning and control of public works. In this sense, a documentary research, with on-the-spot observation and interviews with managers from UFSM. The results indicated that the obstacles pointed are assigned to planning failures, insufficient supervision, the precariousness of the projects or even the inadequacy of organizational structures of the agencies and entities responsible for the procurement and implementation of public works. All of these factors often result in stoppage of works, which penalizes the society in various ways: imposes losses of goods and services already performed, either by bad weather or depredations, and increases the final cost of the works as a result of the extension of the implementation period, mobilizations and finance charges not provided for originalment. / O presente estudo objetivou analisar o processo de gestão de obras públicas e identificar os entraves que podem comprometer o êxito de uma obra no que diz respeito ao orçamento, ao gerenciamento de contratos, ao planejamento e ao controle de obras públicas. Neste sentido, fez-se uma pesquisa documental, com observação in loco e entrevistas com os gestores da UFSM. Os resultados indicaram que os entraves apontados são atribuídos às falhas no planejamento, à insuficiência de fiscalização, à precariedade dos projetos ou mesmo à inadequação de estruturas organizacionais dos órgãos e entidades responsáveis pela contratação e execução das obras públicas. Todos esses fatores resultam, muitas vezes, na paralisação de obras, o que penaliza a sociedade de várias formas: impõe perdas de bens e serviços já executados, seja por intempéries ou depredações, e aumenta o custo final das obras em virtude da ampliação do prazo de execução, de mobilizações e encargos financeiros não previstos originalmente.