Citizens of South Africa expect that the policy and regulatory changes introduced by government will be translated into tangible service delivery. Elected representatives, in particular, must demonstrate that national, provincial and local government are capable of managing public resources in a way that deliver benefits to its citizens. The ex- President Thabo Mbeki often used to speak about performance-driven public sector and has referred to the critical role that local government will play in this process. Municipalities which are at the coal-face of service delivery are being challenged to demonstrate their ability to execute both basic as well as enabling services crucial for social and economic growth and development. This challenge finds expression in the requirement that municipalities are expected to report on their performance, from both a civic and policy perspective. The present government is taking performance of government officials and politicians seriously. The Government has created a new ministry in the Presidency called Performance Mortitoring and Evaluation that will assist in ensuring that government performs better. The President of South Africa Mr. Jacob Zuma said that performance management works only if there is a mechartism to hold the people responsible and accountable City of Johannesburg (COJ) therefore looks at the effectiveness of City Scorecard (CS) in terms of performance management at the City of Johannesburg for enhanced performance of employees. The improved performance of employees is imperative for effective service delivery to communities. There were numerous protests all over the country between January and August 2009 including COJ against poor service delivery by different municipalities. It is therefore essential to identify the impact of City Scorecard on performance management of municipal employees. There is a close relationship between performance management and service delivery. The needs and expectations of the community are considered in Integrated Development Plan that assists the top Management of COJ to develop strategic objectives for the City. The priorities are established by the Mayor, commonly known as Mayoral priorities. The needs, priorities and strategies are combined, monitored and measured through City Scorecard (CS). The community is a yard stick of City Scorecard. The satisfaction of the community is a means to ensure that municipal officials are performing and rendering effective and efficient services to communities. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

To improve on service delivery, the challenge is to ensure that the correctional officials understand and are skilled in dealing with demands for better standard of service delivery by the public. There is a perception that current training programmes are too fragmented and that training does not receive the priority it deserves. There is also a feeling that current training is still too much focused on the training needs of the ''top" echelons (managers) and not the "bottom" end of the Department of Correctional Services, especially those directly dealing with day to day work situation. This study was therefore designed to examine how human resources are developed within the Department of Correctional Services, emphasizing on Human Resource Development Strategy for Total Quality Management within the Department. The research methods utilized in the investigation are qualitative and exploratory, since no comparative research on the implementation of Human Resource Development Strategy has yet been conducted in the Department of Correctional Services. The study took place at the Groenpunt Management Area. In order to obtain data, questionnaires and interviews were used and administered by the researcher with randomly selected individuals from the employees within Groenpunt Management Area. The investigation was based on the hypothesis that the effective implementation of human resource development strategy may lead to efficient total quality management in Groenpunt Management Area. The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) should utilize strategies to provide training and education to further the employees' development and chances of advancement to leadership positions. The DCS must be concerned to implement techniques that could serve to improve productivity and better service delivery. Greater employee involvement and development need to be encouraged. The findings of the study explore that the Human Resource Development Strategy for the DCS must be aimed at addressing the major human resource capacity constraints currently hampering the effective and equitable service delivery. The DCS must become a true learning organization and to ensure this the DCS must ensure that conditions necessary for improving service delivery have been established. The implementation of the HRD Strategy will ensure that the capacity of the staff within the DCS is built up to a level of competence that will ensure access to equal and competent service. The study concludes with the recommendation that appropriate human resources are required to implement strategies. The DCS further needs to have the right kind of people trained in the appropriate manner in order to carry out strategic plans. Where the implementation of strategies requires new knowledge and skills, it must be ensured that the information is built into the existing training courses and that new courses are developed if necessary. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

Citizens of South Africa expect that the policy and regulatory changes introduced by government will be translated into tangible service delivery. Elected representatives, in particular, must demonstrate that national, provincial and local government are capable of managing public resources in a way that deliver benefits to its citizens. The ex- President Thabo Mbeki often used to speak about performance-driven public sector and has referred to the critical role that local government will play in this process. Municipalities which are at the coal-face of service delivery are being challenged to demonstrate their ability to execute both basic as well as enabling services crucial for social and economic growth and development. This challenge finds expression in the requirement that municipalities are expected to report on their performance, from both a civic and policy perspective. The present government is taking performance of government officials and politicians seriously. The Government has created a new ministry in the Presidency called Performance Mortitoring and Evaluation that will assist in ensuring that government performs better. The President of South Africa Mr. Jacob Zuma said that performance management works only if there is a mechartism to hold the people responsible and accountable City of Johannesburg (COJ) therefore looks at the effectiveness of City Scorecard (CS) in terms of performance management at the City of Johannesburg for enhanced performance of employees. The improved performance of employees is imperative for effective service delivery to communities. There were numerous protests all over the country between January and August 2009 including COJ against poor service delivery by different municipalities. It is therefore essential to identify the impact of City Scorecard on performance management of municipal employees. There is a close relationship between performance management and service delivery. The needs and expectations of the community are considered in Integrated Development Plan that assists the top Management of COJ to develop strategic objectives for the City. The priorities are established by the Mayor, commonly known as Mayoral priorities. The needs, priorities and strategies are combined, monitored and measured through City Scorecard (CS). The community is a yard stick of City Scorecard. The satisfaction of the community is a means to ensure that municipal officials are performing and rendering effective and efficient services to communities. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

To improve on service delivery, the challenge is to ensure that the correctional officials understand and are skilled in dealing with demands for better standard of service delivery by the public. There is a perception that current training programmes are too fragmented and that training does not receive the priority it deserves. There is also a feeling that current training is still too much focused on the training needs of the ''top" echelons (managers) and not the "bottom" end of the Department of Correctional Services, especially those directly dealing with day to day work situation. This study was therefore designed to examine how human resources are developed within the Department of Correctional Services, emphasizing on Human Resource Development Strategy for Total Quality Management within the Department. The research methods utilized in the investigation are qualitative and exploratory, since no comparative research on the implementation of Human Resource Development Strategy has yet been conducted in the Department of Correctional Services. The study took place at the Groenpunt Management Area. In order to obtain data, questionnaires and interviews were used and administered by the researcher with randomly selected individuals from the employees within Groenpunt Management Area. The investigation was based on the hypothesis that the effective implementation of human resource development strategy may lead to efficient total quality management in Groenpunt Management Area. The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) should utilize strategies to provide training and education to further the employees' development and chances of advancement to leadership positions. The DCS must be concerned to implement techniques that could serve to improve productivity and better service delivery. Greater employee involvement and development need to be encouraged. The findings of the study explore that the Human Resource Development Strategy for the DCS must be aimed at addressing the major human resource capacity constraints currently hampering the effective and equitable service delivery. The DCS must become a true learning organization and to ensure this the DCS must ensure that conditions necessary for improving service delivery have been established. The implementation of the HRD Strategy will ensure that the capacity of the staff within the DCS is built up to a level of competence that will ensure access to equal and competent service. The study concludes with the recommendation that appropriate human resources are required to implement strategies. The DCS further needs to have the right kind of people trained in the appropriate manner in order to carry out strategic plans. Where the implementation of strategies requires new knowledge and skills, it must be ensured that the information is built into the existing training courses and that new courses are developed if necessary. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

Low vision impacts on Quality of Life (QoL). Thus, low vision services are essential to enhance the QoL of people with functional low vision. However, of the estimated 70 out of the 124 million people with low vision who require services, approximately 5-10% has access to services. The demands for low vision services will continue to grow due to the emerging global trends in ageing populations and changes in the epidemiology of vision impairment. While critical data and information are available for other forms of vision impairment, there is a paucity of information on the distribution, needs, and priorities for improving low vision service delivery at the national, regional, and global levels. / This thesis addressed the problem by first developing and distributing a survey to Vision 2020 contacts, government, and non government organisations in 195 countries during 2006-2008 to assess the current situation of low vision services globally. The survey was first pilot tested leading to improvements in the length, layout, and content of its form. Specifically, the survey topics included: epidemiology, policies, human resources, service provision, barriers, equipment, and monitoring and evaluation. / The Classification Analysis and Regression Tree (CART), logistic regression methodology and grounded theory analysis were used to present the findings and identify the critical success factors of low vision service coverage. The qualitative component consisted of case studies in three countries (India, Ghana, and Cameroon) during November 2007 and 2008. A total of 101 interviews were carried out. The case studies provided an overview and historical perspective of services, effectiveness, cost, efficiency, acceptability, access, equity, sustainability, and ideal situations as recommended by interviewees. Qualitative findings from the case studies were produced with the assistance of the NVivo software. / The primary results are that the majority (80%) of countries have poor (≤10%) coverage. Key issues pertinent to the current situation of service coverage are: human resources (number and combination of disciplines), funding (sustainability and arrangements), type of services provided (comprehensive and multidisciplinary) and its locations (NGOs or government facilities), and the sociodemographic and economic barriers (costs, awareness, and rural areas) to accessing services. / The critical success factors found in this research are represented by the ‘FRAME’: Funding (sustainable source, public and private mix), Rehabilitation workers (e.g., adequate numbers of multidisciplinary personnel), Access to low vision devices, Multidisciplinary services; and External contextual influences in which low vision services operate in. The case studies identified seven major themes that further build on the FRAME: sustainability, governance, advocacy, human resources, access, awareness, and service delivery. / The conclusion of the thesis is that a global picture of the current situation of low vision services was acquired and it is now known which countries have poor (≤10%) and better (>10%) coverage. It also found the critical success factors that will assist the WHO Low Vision Working Group and Vision 2020 to improve the current models of service delivery, future planning, training curriculum development, and priorities setting. Specifically, these need to be achieved through three areas of action: human resources development, sustainability, and advocacy.

Low vision impacts on Quality of Life (QoL). Thus, low vision services are essential to enhance the QoL of people with functional low vision. However, of the estimated 70 out of the 124 million people with low vision who require services, approximately 5-10% has access to services. The demands for low vision services will continue to grow due to the emerging global trends in ageing populations and changes in the epidemiology of vision impairment. While critical data and information are available for other forms of vision impairment, there is a paucity of information on the distribution, needs, and priorities for improving low vision service delivery at the national, regional, and global levels. / This thesis addressed the problem by first developing and distributing a survey to Vision 2020 contacts, government, and non government organisations in 195 countries during 2006-2008 to assess the current situation of low vision services globally. The survey was first pilot tested leading to improvements in the length, layout, and content of its form. Specifically, the survey topics included: epidemiology, policies, human resources, service provision, barriers, equipment, and monitoring and evaluation. / The Classification Analysis and Regression Tree (CART), logistic regression methodology and grounded theory analysis were used to present the findings and identify the critical success factors of low vision service coverage. The qualitative component consisted of case studies in three countries (India, Ghana, and Cameroon) during November 2007 and 2008. A total of 101 interviews were carried out. The case studies provided an overview and historical perspective of services, effectiveness, cost, efficiency, acceptability, access, equity, sustainability, and ideal situations as recommended by interviewees. Qualitative findings from the case studies were produced with the assistance of the NVivo software. / The primary results are that the majority (80%) of countries have poor (≤10%) coverage. Key issues pertinent to the current situation of service coverage are: human resources (number and combination of disciplines), funding (sustainability and arrangements), type of services provided (comprehensive and multidisciplinary) and its locations (NGOs or government facilities), and the sociodemographic and economic barriers (costs, awareness, and rural areas) to accessing services. / The critical success factors found in this research are represented by the ‘FRAME’: Funding (sustainable source, public and private mix), Rehabilitation workers (e.g., adequate numbers of multidisciplinary personnel), Access to low vision devices, Multidisciplinary services; and External contextual influences in which low vision services operate in. The case studies identified seven major themes that further build on the FRAME: sustainability, governance, advocacy, human resources, access, awareness, and service delivery. / The conclusion of the thesis is that a global picture of the current situation of low vision services was acquired and it is now known which countries have poor (≤10%) and better (>10%) coverage. It also found the critical success factors that will assist the WHO Low Vision Working Group and Vision 2020 to improve the current models of service delivery, future planning, training curriculum development, and priorities setting. Specifically, these need to be achieved through three areas of action: human resources development, sustainability, and advocacy.

For decades the care of disabled population in Brazil has been neglected by the government and was provided largely by the charitable institutions. It was as only recently, as in the year 2011 that Brazilian government created the national plan for the rights of the disabled people. The plan articulates policies regarding social inclusion, access to education, accessibility and health care. The last section of the plan includes the provision of wheelchairs free of cost to the Brazilians citizens, who are in need of a wheelchair. It is common knowledge that a wrong wheelchair specification can lead to physical damage for the user and the carer; the abandonment of device, and wastage of time and resources involved in the wheelchair provision. The World Health Organization has propounded several good practices and training material with reference to wheelchair services towards enabling of right wheelchair fit to the user characteristics. Though, there is no evidence that the service provided in Brazil adheres to these guidelines or any other wheelchair service good practice. This research reviews the wheelchair service provision in Belo Horizonte city, Brazil with the aim to understand the functionality of these services in order to provide context-specific interventions and recommendations to improve the design of current services. Herein, three main studies were conducted using a mix of methods: A first exploratory study was conducted to assess the Belo Horizonte assistive technology services and identify a research focus. A second study was conducted to develop an in-depth insight on the understanding of the wheelchair service provided and to collect the necessary information towards creating a context-based and collaborative designed intervention. A third study was conducted to evaluate and improve the proposed interventions. A total of sixty-six interviews were conducted (n=66) with service stakeholders and two hundred and fifty user care observed (n=250) from which ninety-five (n=95) tested the proposed interventions.

Magister Pharmaceuticae - MPharm / Efforts to improve the quality of service delivery are an ongoing feature in different organisations. In the private health care sector, particularly pharmaceutical services in private hospitals, such efforts are important because of the sector’s commercial nature. This stems from the fact that customers pay a lot of money for services and expect services that are worth the money they pay. A private health care delivery group encourages such efforts in pharmacies of its hospitals through scientific research.Service providers and consumers were engaged to gain an appreciation of quality service delivery. The qualitative research method was used for the reason that it is scientific research that seeks to provide understanding and insight into social experiences as appreciated by the people involved and that it is a process of disciplined investigation that is methodical and verifiable.The research project was conducted to identify factors that influence pharmaceutical service delivery, to establish the understanding of quality pharmaceutical service delivery and establish the expectations of customers regarding pharmaceutical service rendered in a private hospital group.

As more and more local governments begin to understand that the great promises of e-service delivery are harder than expected to realize, efficient use of ICT-resources have become increasingly important. Since simply providing more e-services is not the solution, the need to understand what constitutes a suitable e-service has arisen. Public services reach beyond the market domain; therefore, the complexities of public value must be dealt with when services are appraised. Furthermore, due to the heterogeneous nature of local government services it is impossible to evaluate all the options in depth; thus, there is a clear need for early-stage appraisal. However, existing methods of appraisal are burdened by intricacy, and associated with high costs. In response, this paper presents a model capable of reducing this intricacy. The model was developed through a participatory design process involving members on both operational and strategic level in the municipality of Skellefteå. The model implements state of the art into the workspace context while taking measures to reduce intricacy such as: incremental filtering, moving high intricacy elements to the end of the process, and exploitation of available data. As a result the organization is enabled to capture not only the low hanging fruit, but also the long tail of services. Furthermore, the improved understanding of e-service delivery has the potential to open up opportunities for new ways of business development and private-public partnerships. Finally, whereas the model presented is highly context-dependent, the implications outlined in this paper are not limited to this narrow scope. / Models for Strategic Business Development in Public Service

More than half a century after the liberation of the majority of African countries, Africa is facing major socio-economic challenges including unemployment, slow economic growth and inequality. With waves of violent service delivery protests over the last few years throughout South Africa, it is now more than ever vital to identify the key challenges to development and the ways to overcome these trials. The importance of plans for development, and that reliable data plays an essential role in development have been wildly discussed, especially as the legitimacy and reliability of plans are highly dependent upon the quality of the data utilised. Even though data plays such a significant role in development, quality up to date data is expensive, difficult to obtain and in many instances not available. Furthermore, South Africa and many developing countries do not have the luxury of such data, nor the skills and resources to develop high quality statistics on a regular basis. In the light of the importance of accurate up-to-date data for planning and the lack of the aforementioned data in South Africa, the dissertation explores means of ‘accessing’ high quality up-to-date data by the use of ‘proxy indicators’. The dissertation seeks to explore whether it would be possible to use proxy indicators to measure local economic conditions and to identify a set of proxy indicators that accurately portray the economy. The study commences with an analysis on the relationship between a number of proxy indicators and the national economy in order to identify a set of proxy indicators that accurately portrays the economy where after the accurate indicators is empirically tested to that of the local economy in three study areas. The study established that six proxy indicators can be used to measure the local economy in South Africa. These are the (1) number of middle class residential properties sold, (2) growth in residential building activity, (3) retail sales of durable goods including business profit, (4) hardware sales including business profit, (5) volume of sales of spare parts for vehicles and (6) fuel consumption. Apart from the fact that the indicators mirror the economy to a high degree, a number of trends with regards to the dynamics of the relationship between the indicator and the economy were revealed. The study demonstrated that there is merit in further studies regarding the use of proxy indicators in planning / Dissertation (MTRP)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Town and Regional Planning / unrestricted