Purpose: The aim of the study is to gain a holistic understanding of the reflection ofemployee empowerment practiced in the customer's perception of service quality in serviceencounters. Research Method: Exploratory research method based on a single case study Results: Through the analysis of both primary and secondary data, it has been found thatemployee empowerment practice is reflected in customer perception of service quality through improved service delivery provided by empowered frontline employees. Research limitations: This is a single case study, which is confined to the activities of onesmall company related to the health industry in Mexico. The choice of conducting theresearch only focusing on one company ignoring others can not open a true reflection of theentire problem. Practical implications: The results may be applicable for companies which in some extenthave similar retailing and services activities. Originality/value: This research makes a contribution to the existing literature on employeeempowerment by adding relevant qualitative data.

<p>The study seeks to investigate the perceived lack of coordination, integration, and coherence among units of government as related to eGovernment. The nature of the study is qualitative with a focus on the use of eGovernment in the public sector and whether it can facilitate intergovernmental forums business processes in an effective and efficient manner. The scope of the study is confined to the intergovernmental fiscal system but focused on eGovernment, intergovernmental relations, and cooperative governance. The primary objective of the study is to explore the use of eGovernment whether it can facilitate, coordinate, and integrate intergovernmental relations. Some studies portray that there are challenges in the coordination of intergovernmental forums which have resulted into a disintegration of services. The study further investigates options that could mitigate these challenges through acknowledging the effective application of ICTs (eGovernment) in government services. The study has found that South Africa has a functioning system of intergovernmental which are not effectively coordinated in terms of engaging each other in matters of mutual interest. On the other hand, eGovernment promised to bring about cohesion and transparency when they are effectively employed. The study revealed that the application of eGovernment in the intergovernmental forums has the capability to improve their operations, respond to its ineffective coordination and improve delivery of services. In a nutshell, the study has found that there is a need for a radical planning outlook that recognises proper utilization of eGovernment in the intergovernmental forums to promote cooperative governance.</p>

<p>The general aim of this study is to undertake an assessment of the health care service provision in the Khayelitsha Community Health Centre taking into consideration the underlying principles of the Primary Health Care. More specific objectives include: an overview and discussion of the framework approach to primary health care and its use / the documentation of the practice of primary health care in the Khayelitsha Community Health Centre / an analysis of the results and findings which will highlight the obstacles in the pursuit of a better primary health care service. The perspective of the patients and nurses will be solicited and examined with a view to highlighting factors that facilitate and constrain the delivery of service / and finally to draw conclusions and make recommendations.</p>

<p>This study investigates the challenges facing the management of public enterprises in the Democratic of Congo. The study is based on the hypothesis that poor performance by state-owned enterprises in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been influenced by inadequate management which has led to the dissatisfaction of citizens. Due to this problem increasing attention is being paid by the DRC Government to encouraging private sector involvement in services such as water and electricity. This study investigates the arguments for and against privatization, especially in the water and electricity sectors. In pursuing this debate the study explores the following main research question: To what extent will the DRC Reform Law aimed at transforming the commercialisation of public enterprises enhance the effectiveness of basic services such as water and electricity services in the DRC? A case study of the city of Bukavu in the eastern DRC is used to explore this question.</p>

<p>This study is a response to the dilemma of poor service delivery or the lack thereof. In this regard, this study posits the professionalisation of local government as part of the solution. The focus is on the administrative arm of local government, which is the major conduit for service delivery. Professionalisation of local government is a broader theme. For the present purposes, focus will be devoted to the competency component which entails attracting qualified personnel competent to discharge local government responsibilities. However, it is not limited to attracting already competent and professional staff. It also entails developing the skills of existing staff. This definition, in essence, relates to qualification through training, learning and specialisation.11 In essence, professionalisation of local government ensures that all employees act and behave in a professional way. In this regard, this study seeks to identify the competency standards set by the legislative framework and then explore the legal avenues for enforcing compliance, by the municipal administration, with such standards. This requires one to look at and answer the following questions: What constitutes municipal staff? / What is the content of the competency framework in question? / What are the enforcement mechanisms currently in place? / Whose role is it to enforce compliance with the competency framework? / Broadly speaking, enforcement can take two forms: hard enforcement and soft enforcement. The hard form of enforcement relates to giving incentives for compliance with the competency framework and dismissal for non-compliance. Softer enforcement, in turn, relates to correction and monitoring.</p>

<p>The aim of this study was to determine whether or not knowledge was shared and created in the library of the University of the Western Cape (UWC). The study adopted the SECI model of Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) as its theoretical framework. The service delivery points at the UWC library are as follows:&nbsp / Circulation section, which deals with walk-in&nbsp / users. These are users who, on a daily basis borrow books from and return books to the library. This section normally deals with queries such as users whose library cards are&nbsp / blocked due to outstanding library fines. It comprises front - desk staff, shelf attendants and inter-library loan staff members.&nbsp / Staff members working in the information section (IS)&nbsp / are referred to as faculty librarians (FAC/L&rsquo / s), who are regarded as section heads and liaise with faculties on campus on a regular basis. The information section deals with walk-in&nbsp / users on a daily basis.&nbsp / The other sections, namely cataloguing, acquisition and periodicals, provide mostly &lsquo / behind the scenes&rsquo / services, but their work is of such a nature that&nbsp / users have no access to their sections due to the strict policy with regard to areas of the library in which staff are working with new books and journals. Books and journals that are&nbsp / not on the cataloguing system are kept in the acquisitions and cataloguing section. This also has a significant impact on service delivery in the library. These sections have to&nbsp / ensure that books and journals are processed, in order for users to get access to these resources. This study attempted to answer the following research questions&nbsp / Is there&nbsp / evidence of knowledge sharing and creation in the UWC library? If so, what practices currently exist?&nbsp / How do staff share and create knowledge for service delivery not with general&nbsp / library users, but within and between the acquisitions, cataloguing and information sections?</p>

Before the historical democratic elections of 1994, South Africa did not have a culture of actively engaging communities in local government affairs. Democracy brought emphasis to transparency in municipal activities, and greater public accountability. It is legislated in South Africa that local governments should interact with communities in an endeavour to carry out the responsibilities of service delivery to ensure growth and development in a manner that promotes and enhances community participation and accountability. However, integrated municipal development planning, budgeting, local economic development projects, and various forms of municipal partnerships, are all issues which require effective community participation processes. Local government as a sphere government closest to the people is now expected to engage communities through exploring sustainable strategies as mechanisms which, within the context of this study, bring about effective public participation. In this regard, an effective, efficient, vibrant and innovative local government system that is accountable to local communities is of obvious importance. The local government has a key role to play in ensuring that people receive quality leadership and a sound and stable local democracy. Section 153 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996) spells out two important developmental duties of a municipality: * To structure and manage its administration and budget planning process so as to give priority to the basic needs of the community and to promote the environmental and socio-economic development of the community: and * To participate in national and provincial development programmes. The purpose of this study was to determine a variety of effective channels or mechanisms and processes for public participation in the integrated development planning (IDP) and budget process in the Tlokwe Local Municipality. It also focuses on the policy and legislative framework underpinning public participation in the IDP and budget processes. The study further considers that legislation requires that the IDP process of Tlokwe Municipality should structurally incorporate the voice of the community which will be affected by planning. The researcher used a qualitative method to determine how Tlokwe Local Municipality addresses the needs of the local community to enhance participatory democracy. The study established that there are a number of challenges facing the municipality which are barriers to effective participation. Several of these challenges relate to the poor and the marginalised groups which still have far too little influence in the affairs of the municipality. / Thesis (MA (Public Management and Governance))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

The South African public service, like many organisation, is embracing information and communication technology (ICTs) and the main aim is to improve and better their services. Frenzel (1999:18) indicates that this is because ICT has the potential to reduce costs, improve internal efficiency, capture economies of scale and bring organisations even closer to their customers and suppliers. Significant initiatives have been taken in the last couple of years. These include the need to address the coordination of ICT initiatives in the public service, through the establishment of the Office of the Government Chief Information Officers (OGCIO) within the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA). The South African public service also established State Information Technology Agency (SITA) responsible for the provision of information technology, system and related services. However, although ICT has the potential to infuse every area of the public service and improve service delivery, ICT is a management task that should be addressed in the overall context of an organisation and its environment. It is therefore in the best interest of this study to investigate the role of ICT in the South African public service. A number of aspects of ICT were investigated, including the challenges facing government in the implementation of ICT, critical success factors of ICT and the role of ICT in the public service. Among the challenges indentified include leadership instability, lack of common shared vision and strategy, lack of skills, training and development and poor communication and decision making processes are significant organizational factors constraining the successful implementation of ICT in government. Lack of ICT infrastructure, integration and interoperability issues are cited as technical challenges to successful implementation. Key findings from the study were that ICTs should integrate service delivery across government. It should also facilitate business efficiency and effectiveness and contribute towards socio-economic development. It is therefore necessary that ICT must be driven by government‘s developmental agenda, rather than technology. It is recommended that this could be achieved through a sustained shared, common vision across government, adequate resources and strategic partnerships with the business community. / Master of Public Administration, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

Before the historical democratic elections of 1994, South Africa did not have a culture of actively engaging communities in local government affairs. Democracy brought emphasis to transparency in municipal activities, and greater public accountability. It is legislated in South Africa that local governments should interact with communities in an endeavour to carry out the responsibilities of service delivery to ensure growth and development in a manner that promotes and enhances community participation and accountability. However, integrated municipal development planning, budgeting, local economic development projects, and various forms of municipal partnerships, are all issues which require effective community participation processes. Local government as a sphere government closest to the people is now expected to engage communities through exploring sustainable strategies as mechanisms which, within the context of this study, bring about effective public participation. In this regard, an effective, efficient, vibrant and innovative local government system that is accountable to local communities is of obvious importance. The local government has a key role to play in ensuring that people receive quality leadership and a sound and stable local democracy. Section 153 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996) spells out two important developmental duties of a municipality: * To structure and manage its administration and budget planning process so as to give priority to the basic needs of the community and to promote the environmental and socio-economic development of the community: and * To participate in national and provincial development programmes. The purpose of this study was to determine a variety of effective channels or mechanisms and processes for public participation in the integrated development planning (IDP) and budget process in the Tlokwe Local Municipality. It also focuses on the policy and legislative framework underpinning public participation in the IDP and budget processes. The study further considers that legislation requires that the IDP process of Tlokwe Municipality should structurally incorporate the voice of the community which will be affected by planning. The researcher used a qualitative method to determine how Tlokwe Local Municipality addresses the needs of the local community to enhance participatory democracy. The study established that there are a number of challenges facing the municipality which are barriers to effective participation. Several of these challenges relate to the poor and the marginalised groups which still have far too little influence in the affairs of the municipality. / Thesis (MA (Public Management and Governance))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

The South African public service, like many organisation, is embracing information and communication technology (ICTs) and the main aim is to improve and better their services. Frenzel (1999:18) indicates that this is because ICT has the potential to reduce costs, improve internal efficiency, capture economies of scale and bring organisations even closer to their customers and suppliers. Significant initiatives have been taken in the last couple of years. These include the need to address the coordination of ICT initiatives in the public service, through the establishment of the Office of the Government Chief Information Officers (OGCIO) within the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA). The South African public service also established State Information Technology Agency (SITA) responsible for the provision of information technology, system and related services. However, although ICT has the potential to infuse every area of the public service and improve service delivery, ICT is a management task that should be addressed in the overall context of an organisation and its environment. It is therefore in the best interest of this study to investigate the role of ICT in the South African public service. A number of aspects of ICT were investigated, including the challenges facing government in the implementation of ICT, critical success factors of ICT and the role of ICT in the public service. Among the challenges indentified include leadership instability, lack of common shared vision and strategy, lack of skills, training and development and poor communication and decision making processes are significant organizational factors constraining the successful implementation of ICT in government. Lack of ICT infrastructure, integration and interoperability issues are cited as technical challenges to successful implementation. Key findings from the study were that ICTs should integrate service delivery across government. It should also facilitate business efficiency and effectiveness and contribute towards socio-economic development. It is therefore necessary that ICT must be driven by government‘s developmental agenda, rather than technology. It is recommended that this could be achieved through a sustained shared, common vision across government, adequate resources and strategic partnerships with the business community. / Master of Public Administration, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012