scholarly journals The management of disciplinary cases in the South African public service post-2009 to the 2018 era

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manasseh M. Mokgolo ◽  
Maoka A. Dikotla
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
The South ◽  
The Public ◽  
Organisational Justice ◽  
Service Departments ◽  
The Government ◽  
Opposition Movements ◽  
Progressive Discipline

Background: Poor management of disciplinary cases in the South African public service departments is on the rise. The management of disciplinary cases, amongst other things, has drawn considerable criticism from within the public sector, various media outlets, interest groups and even opposition movements. The government has adopted progressive discipline prescripts to inculcate and promote a culture of professional ethics and accountability. In the workplace, objectivity, consistency and fairness are an important part of healthy employer–employee ties.Aim: The study sought to obtain an in-depth understanding of disciplinary cases and describe the challenges senior managers face when managing disciplinary cases in the public service departments.Setting: Both the national and provincial public service departments of South Africa.Methods: The study adopted qualitative modernistic research approach. Semi-structured electronic questionnaire was used to collect views from 751 senior managers.Results: Public service employees are deprived of organisational justice because of weaknesses associated with the discipline management. This is because management of disciplinary cases and sanctions in most national and provincial departments in the public service is perilous and incongruent with the discipline management prescripts.Conclusion: Based on the findings, the current practices do not deter future violations of discipline management prescripts; inconsistent, unfairness and injustice application of sanctions and management of cases and future misconduct in the workplace. Therefore, the authors recommend the use of team-based and progressive discipline to ensure that staff contribute effectively, efficiently and ethically to the goals of the government. The present study contributes to the existing body of knowledge on human resource management and organisational behaviour and provides a platform that broadens an understanding of the amplifying toxic management of disciplinary cases in the South African public service context.

The South African public service wage bill deadlock in 2021: living on the edge

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Marianne Matthee ◽  
Albert Wöcke
Keyword(s):  
Fiscal Policy ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
The South ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Level ◽  
Finance Minister ◽  
The Government

Subject area Macro-Economics. Study level/applicability Undergraduate and MBA. Case overview The COVID 19 pandemic-related restrictions devastated South Africa’s economy in 2020 and although the restrictions were generally less damaging than in 2020, the government had to budget for vaccinations and rebuild the economy. Public service unions had just announced that they were demanding an increase of 4% above inflation for their members and that they were preparing for a strike. They were bitter about the fact that the South African Government had withdrawn from the last year of a three-year wage agreement in February 2020 and their members had not received an increase for the two years. These demands and Finance Minister Mboweni’s response to them had to consider the structural and cyclical impact on the fiscus and economy. Expected learning outcomes The learning outcomes are as follows: understand the general objectives of fiscal policy and stakeholders’ interests; understand the tradeoffs in fiscal policy and the implications of taking a position; and make recommendations based on reasoned judgements about those recommendations. Complexity academic level Undergraduate and MBA level courses on Macro Economics. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 10: Public Sector Management.

scholarly journals Whistleblowing: Impediments to effective implementation within the South African public sector

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 196-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nirmala Dorasamy ◽  
Soma Pillay
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Code Of Conduct ◽  
The South ◽  
The Public ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
The Cost

This purpose of this article is to explore impediments to effective whistleblowing as a strategy for promoting anti-corruption practices within the South African public sector. Corruption, which violates the public service code of conduct; deters foreign investment, increases the cost of public service delivery, undermines the fight against poverty and unnecessarily burdens the criminal justice system. The article addresses the question on whether legislation on whistleblowing is adequate to encourage whistleblowing in the public sector. A review of literature determines that the effective implementation of whistleblowing legislation is largely dependent on addressing the challenges identified in the article. The quantitative research method was employed in the study to ascertain the views of employees in the public sector on whistleblowing. Empirical findings confirm the hypothesis that the protection of whistleblowers through legislation is inadequate to encourage whistleblowing. The article provides a conceptual framework for the effective achievement of the intended outcomes of whistleblowing in the public sector.

scholarly journals A micro-level outcomes evaluation of a skills capacity intervention within the South African public service: Towards an impact evaluation

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petronella Jonck ◽  
Riaan De Coning ◽  
Paul S. Radikonyana
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Research Methodology ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
The South ◽  
Training Interventions ◽  
Outcomes Evaluation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Previous Training

Orientation: Interest in measuring the impact of skills development interventions has increased in recent years. Research purpose: This article reports on an outcomes evaluation under the ambit of an impact assessment with reference to a research methodology workshop. Motivation of the study: A paucity of studies could be found measuring the workshop outcomes, especially within the public service as it pertains to training interventions. Research approach/design and method: A pretest–post-test research design was implemented. A paired-sample t-test was used to measure the knowledge increase while controlling for the influence of previous training by means of an analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis. Main findings: Results indicated that the increase in research methodology knowledge was statistically significant. Previous training influenced the model only by 0.8%, which was not statistically significant. Practical/managerial implications: It is recommended that the suggested framework and methodology be utilised in future research as well as in monitoring and evaluation endeavours covering various training interventions. Contribution/value add: The study provides evidence of the impact generated by a training intervention, within the South African Public Service. Thus, addressing a research gap in the corpus of knowledge.

St. John Brodrick and Army Reform, 1901–1903

1976 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lowell J. Satre
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
General Staff ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
The Public ◽  
South African War ◽  
The Government

Edwardian England has become an increasingly significant period for scholarly research. One of the more carefully examined subjects is the interrelationship between politics and army reform. The debacles of the South African War forced the governments to examine England's army, and reforms emerged after 1901. Historians have concentrated on the efforts of Balfour's administration of 1902-05 and Haldane's sojourn at the War Office from 1906 to 1912; these periods witnessed the emergence of the Committee of Imperial Defence and the reorganization of the War Office, the shaping of the General Staff and the development of the British Expeditionary Force. All of these have been subjected to detailed examination — notably, the C. I. D. in recent works by Peter Fraser and Nicholas d'Ombrain, and the War Office by W. S. Hamer.There is, however, at least one gap in the historical literature on politics and army reform: St. John Brodrick's term as Secretary of State for War, 1901-03. An understanding of Brodrick's activities is necessary, since he was, of course, the first War Secretary to attempt reforms as a response to the obvious shortcomings of the army in the South African War. A careful examination will explain why he failed in many of his programs, the political consequences of these failures, and some of his more positive contributions.The breakdown of the British army in the first few months of the South African War, which began in October 1899 and ended in May 1902, shocked and dismayed both the public and the Government.

scholarly journals South African public sector procurement and corruption: Inseparable twins?

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pandelani Harry Munzhedzi
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
South African ◽  
Government Procurement ◽  
Municipal Finance ◽  
The South ◽  
The Public ◽  
Finance Management ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
The Government ◽  
Main Protagonist

The article seeks to explore the relationship between procurement in the public sector and corruption. Corruption in the procurement process is one of the biggest challenges facing the South Africa government. Procurement in the South African public sector through the tendering process has been used with a particular aim of addressing the past discriminatory practices and policies by empowering the previously disadvantaged majority. It ought to operate within a certain legislative and regulatory framework. However, the article argues that in the process of implementing the good intentions of the government, corruption illegitimises the process. There are also challenges that are associated with public sector procurement, with corruption being the main protagonist. The article also seeks to suggest possible solutions that could be used to address the anomalies. The article further concludes that the main reason for the rife corruption in the public sector is that there is nonadherence to policy prescripts including the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act 1 of 1999) and the Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (Act 56 of 2003). This enormous predicament may only be addressed if the government were to show will and commitment by punishing offenders who do not comply with the said legislative framework.

scholarly journals A reflection on the relationship between performance management and training in the South African public service

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Harry Munzhedzi
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Skills Gap ◽  
The South ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
And Training

Orientation: Performance management plays a pivotal role in the realisation of many facets of public administration, including service delivery, good governance and organisational productivity through setting of performance targets and regular assessments of performance. In search of improved quality and productivity in the public service, the South African government introduced several legislative and policy interventions, including but not limited to the Public Service Act, 1994 (Proclamation 103 of 1994), Public Service Regulations of 2001 and the White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery of 1997.Research purpose: The main thrust of this conceptual paper was to explore the relationship between performance management and training in the South African public service.Motivation for the study: The lack of sufficient literature on the relationship between performance management and training. To also prove that the two are inseparably linked, meaning that one cannot exist without the other.Research design, approach and method: This article, which is conceptual in nature, reviewed existing literature on performance management and training in the public service extensively so as to arrive at a definitive conclusion.Main findings: The article contends that as much as training underpins the process of performance management, training is also fortified by performance management. Precisely, there cannot be performance management without training and vice versa.Practical/managerial implications: As much as training is imperative in the management of performance in the public service, such training must be need-based and it must be underpinned by performance management through identification of skills gap in the assessment of performance.Contribution: It is proposed that to enhance the knowledge, capacity, effectiveness and efficiency of the public service performance, needs-based training that seeks to close the skills gap, is developed and adequately implemented.

scholarly journals The Public Broadcaster and Democracy in Transformation: The 1996 Spry Memorial Lecture

1998 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Elizabeth Teer-Tomaselli
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Memorial Lecture ◽  
Global Media ◽  
The Public ◽  
Afrique Du Sud ◽  
Public Broadcaster ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
The Government

Abstract: Public service broadcasting's purpose, the object of much debate in South Africa, may be defined as the provision of a universal service of excellent programming while maintaining public legitimacy through an editorial independence from both the government of the day and commercial interests. Since the 1980s, the global media landscape has undergone fundamental changes. Most of the dynamics which today plague public broadcasting are of international import, and the direct result of the intervention of the global economic order. Public service broadcasting must be carried out within the means available to the public broadcaster, and so it is at this point, when the pragmatism of limited financial means meets with the idealism of an all-encompassing mandate, that public service broadcasting's late-twentieth-century contradictions become apparent. This paper tracks this paradox across the re-launch and transformation of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) from a state broadcaster serving the interests of largely "white,'' "coloured,'' and "Indian'' middle classes to a public broadcaster mandated to better serve the country's 11 official language communities. Résumé: Ce que peut être le but de la radiodiffusion publique est une question qui suscite bien des discussions en Afrique du Sud. On peut néanmoins définir ce but comme étant à la fois l'offre d'un service universel de programmation excellente et le maintien d'une légitimité publique en conservant une indépendance éditoriale par rapport au gouvernement au pouvoir et aux intérêts commerciaux. Depuis les années quatre-vingt, l'environnement médiatique global a subi des changements fondamentaux. La plupart des dynamiques qui aujourd'hui influent sur la radiodiffusion publique sont de provenance internationale, le résultat direct de l'intervention de l'ordre économique global. Dans un tel environnement, le radiodiffuseur public ne peut qu'utiliser les moyens à sa disposition pour offrir ses services. C'est à ce stade, quand le pragmatisme des moyens financiers limités confronte l'idéalisme d'un mandat trés vaste, que les contradictions de la radiodiffusion publique au vingtième siécle deviennent évidentes. Cet article examine ce paradoxe en décrivant l'exemple de la relance et de la transformation du South African Broadcasting Corporation (la SABC, c'est-à-dire La Société de radiodiffusion sud-africaine). Originairement un radiodiffuseur d'État servant principalement les classes moyennes blanches, métisses et indiennes, la SABC est devenue un radiodiffuseur public dont le mandat est de mieux servir les onze communautés linguistiques officielles du pays.

Tales of challenge and resolution: narratives of women middle managers in the South African public service

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Willie Tafadzwa Chinyamurindi ◽  
Tinashe Chuchu ◽  
Eugine Tafadzwa Maziriri
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Women Managers ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Management Development ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
The South ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the challenges and resolution tactics of women middle managers in the South African public service. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research approach using semi-structured interviews was used as a data collection technique. Narrative analysis was used with a sample of 20 women middle managers working within the South African public service. Findings Narratives of challenges faced by women middle managers in the South African public service included relational issues, with a subtle undermining of women managers, challenges rooted within the socio-cultural milieu – perversely undermining the experience of being a manager and challenges stemming from public service in general such as corruption, in turn, questioning the ability of women managers to handle such. In addressing these challenges, the women middle managers exercised three individual performative actions in response to the identified challenges. These include using direct confrontation, relying on networks for guidance and relying on indirect confrontation. Research limitations/implications Sample size challenges feature as a notable limitation including the research being conducted in only one political province of South Africa. Caution should be exercised when seeking to generalise the findings to other contexts. Practical implications Understanding the challenges and resolution tactics of women middle managers can be a useful precursor to management development interventions. Originality/value The study answers call for more processual career and management development studies that help understand not only challenges but also resolution strategies. This study illustrates both the difficulty of this and ensures opportunity for the advancement of women in management.

scholarly journals Public transport policy and performance: The results of a South African public opinion poll

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rose Luke ◽  
Gert Heyns
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
South African ◽  
Public Transport ◽  
National Development ◽  
Transport Policy ◽  
Opinion Poll ◽  
The South ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Government

Public opinion plays a vital role in a democracy, as democracies are, by nature responsive to the people. In South Africa, public participation is entrenched in the Constitution. Despite this, the spate of service delivery protests in South Africa in recent years would appear to indicate that the government is out of touch with the opinions of the South African citizens. Public  transport  policy  in  South  Africa  is  described  by  a  number  of  documents,  mainly the  White  Paper  on  National  Transport  Policy,  Moving  South  Africa  and,  more  recently, the National Development Plan. An annual survey of 1000 South Africans is conducted to gauge opinion on transport related matters. The purpose of this article was to compare the current public transport policies (as stated above) and the public opinion on public transport (as gauged by the survey) in order to determine the extent to which these are aligned. The results  show  that  current  public  transport  policy  is  relatively  strongly  aligned  with  the public transport needs of the South African population, however, concerns regarding public transport such as mobility, accessibility, affordability and safety have not yet to be addressed satisfactorily.

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