PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, LEADERSHIP, GOVERNANCE AND SERVICE DELIVERY

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CHAPTER 3: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY: RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, LEADERSHIP, GOVERNANCE AND SERVICE DELIVERY

INTRODUCTION

The term public administration has always meant the study of the public service (Dye, 1987: 324). The purpose of the public service is to provide services to society. However, before any services are provided, certain functions should be undertaken within the public service. The public service is required to execute the policies of the government. In this system, public administration enables and supports the activity of public management. The public management function is related to public administration and gives direction to the administrative conduct of public servants, to ensure the effective execution of policies by the public service.
Since the 1980s, a new direction emerged in public administration, in response to the political changes, and increasing needs and demands from society. In this regard, Nicholas Henry in Thornhill (2003: 297) brought it to the attention of scholars of public administration that the discipline is not static, but dynamic. A more efficient and effective approach to public administration was clearly necessary to meet the increasing needs and demands of society. This further necessitated some sort of market-based mechanism to replace the classical public administration model. In a search for excellence, the importance of the new public management (NPM) paradigm became evident for effective service delivery. The NPM paradigm is manifested through the adoption of different approaches. Within the NPM paradigm, leadership and governance are viewed as tools or mechanisms that will ensure the effective execution of public administration. This shift embodied a sense that public servants within the public service should lead rather than manage processes, for transforming the public service to better serve the policy direction provided by the political leaders. Governance is essential, through the engagement of different role-players in public service delivery. These role-players should include; namely: individuals, communities and businesses.
In this chapter an overview is given of the concepts of public administration, public management, NPM, leadership and governance in relation to service delivery. A relational model was designed by the author, which clearly reflects the trends in public administration and the relationship between public administration, public management, leadership, governance, and service delivery. The shift from a classical public administration model to the NPM paradigm is reflected both in the relational model and the discussion that follows. The trends in public administration within the South African context are deemed important and are thus highlighted in this chapter. The mechanisms to promote a sustainable South African public service for effective service delivery are covered in-depth. In this regard, the South African Constitution (1996), the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), the White Paper on the Transformation on Public Service (WPTPS) (1995) and the Batho Pele- ‘People First’ White Paper on transforming Public Service Delivery (1997) are discussed.

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, LEADERSHIP, GOVERNANCE AND SERVICE DELIVERY

The public service is responsible for the provision of services to society (Du Toit, 2002: 82). The process of enabling the public service to deliver services and products depends on the execution of a series of functions. The public administration functions are mainly grouped into six processes, which include; namely: policy-making, organising, financing, staffing, determining work procedures, and the exercise of control (Cloete, 1986: 2). The public management functions are planning, organising, leading, control and coordination (Van de Waldt and Du Toit, 1997: 16). The execution of public administration and public management functions is essential for this purpose. The adoption of an appropriate leadership and governance framework by the public service, are tools or mechanisms towards the effective execution of public administration and public management. The execution of these functions is a very comprehensive process. Figure 3/1 is a relational model that was designed by the author to depict the trends in public administration and the relationships between public administration, leadership, governance, and service delivery.
The most important theoretical principle of the classical model of public administration is Weber’s theory of bureaucracy. This is reflected in Figure 3/1. The key tenets of this model are discussed within the context of the evolution of public administration. Public administration began as the study of government administration (Denhardt, 1991: 13). Denhardt (1991: 13) defines administration as the thought process and the action necessary for setting and achieving an objective. The study began in the mid-nineteenth century as part of efforts to reform governmental operations (Hughes, 1998: 23). Weber stated that bureaucracy was the most efficient form of organizing, and one, which applied to all large undertakings.
According to Gildenhuys (1988: 9), most of the scholars and practitioners date the beginning of the study of public administration to an essay by Woodrow Wilson in 1887. Wilson’s recommendations involved first isolating the process of administration from potentially corrupting influences of politics. Wilson argued that administrative questions are not political questions. In other words, although politicians decided policies they were to be carried out by a politically neutral bureaucracy. Moreover, political control, as argued by Wilson, is problematic in ensuring genuine accountability. Hughes (1998: 39) argues that political control is inadequate and illogical. In this way, Wilson argued that the conduct of government would be isolated from the potentially corrupting influence of politics. Wilson’s essay was thus designed to address the inefficiency and open corruption that had become part of the government of America during the late 1880s. Wilson favoured the idea of concentrating power in a single authority, referring to a highly integrated and centralized administrative structure within government. Wilson wanted the work of the public service to be accomplished more effectively, and thus argued that government operations should be reformed to promote efficiency. Public administration has however experienced various changes since Woodrow Wilson’s article was published in 1887.
The classical model of public administration had been fully formed by the 1920s (Self, 1977: 19). From 1910 to 1940, Frederick Taylor’s scientific management theory became a key influence in public administration (Van Der Waldt and Du Toit, 1997: 58). Taylor focused on two main issues in respect of standardizing work: Firstly, finding one best way of working and secondly, maintaining this standard. These ideas fitted well with the theory of bureaucracy. From the 1930s through to the 1960s, bureaucracies were large and followed a top-down, centralized way of doing business with the public. The public service was hierarchical, and tasks were broken down into simple parts (Hughes, 1998: 39). The responsibilities of public servants were defined by specific rules and regulations. Furthermore, the public service was rigid with standardized operating procedures, vertical chains of command and standardized services. It could be argued that public servants have an important role to play, which is more important than merely following rules, regulations or instructions. The inadequacies of the classical model became apparent.
The classical public administration model is thus not necessarily the most efficient model for the modern public service. It can be argued that bureaucracies are ideal for extensive control but not necessarily for achieving service delivery outcomes. Furthermore, the theory of bureaucracy is no longer universally seen as applicable to the modern democratic public service. It allows for certainty, but is slow and cumbersome. If the work is standardized, it limits on the much-needed innovations. It seems inevitable that there would be a conflict between bureaucracy and democracy. The classical public administration model is inadequate to effectively meet the needs and demands of today’s society.

Public administration

The term ‘Public Administration’ (with a capital P and a capital A) refers to the academic discipline studied in universities, technikons, technical colleges and polytechnics (now called universities of technology in South Africa). The term ‘public administration’ (with a lower case p and lower case a) refers to the activities, both strategic and operational, within the public sector (Van Wyk, et al. 2002: 60). Within this context, public administration came to be viewed as the activities of the executive agencies of government, which in South Africa, are the national, provincial and local spheres of government (Venter, 2001: 66).
According to Du Toit (2002: 5), public administration is “that system of structures and functions, operating within a particular society as environment, with the objective of facilitating the formulation of appropriate government policy, and the efficient execution of the formulated policy.” Roux, et al. (1997: 9) indicates that public administration implies “…a combination of generic functions and functional activities”. The generic functions of public administration can be subdivided, for analytical purposes, into policy-making, organizing, financing, personnel, determination of work procedures and control (Cloete, 1986: 2). These generic administrative functions are reflected in Figure 3/1. The generic administrative functions of public administration are also regarded as so-called higher-level (order) functions (Roux, et al. 1997: 9). These generic functions are increasingly used at the higher levels of the hierarchy of the public service, namely by management, and are concerned with producing goods or rendering services. Examples of functional activities are the building of roads, providing postal services and providing health services. The generic functions are thus enabling processes.
According to Cloete (1986: 2), the generic administrative functions will always precede or accompany the functional activities. The public service has, within the administrative and functional activities, the task of executing public management functions to promote effective public administration. The main function of the public service is to render services to its citizens through the execution of public administration functions, such as policy-making, which also entails implementation (Gildenhuys and Knipe, 2000: 56).
According to Cloete (1986: 2), policy-making is closely interlinked with the other generic functions (organizing, control, work methods and procedures and financing) of public administration. The classical view of public administration is that policy is determined by political leadership and implemented by administrative leadership within the public service (Gildenhuys, 1988: 9). Policy involves action as well as inaction, and is often referred to as a desired state of affairs, through specific proposals. For instance, the desired objective of the public service is the effective implementation of public policy (Van Niekerk, et al. 2002: 6). Wessels and Pauw (1999: 27) argue that the real core of public administration is the provision of basic services to the public through the effective implementation of public policy. Such services are, for example police services and the protection of property.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
DECLARATION 
ABSTRACT
LIST OF ACRONYMS.
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT
DEFINITIONS AND OPERALIZATION OF KEY CONCEPTS
MOTIVATION FOR RESEARCH
PROBLEM STATEMENT.
RESEARCH QUESTION
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.
TARGET POPULATION (SAMPLE) / SELECTION OF STUDY PARTICIPANTS
DATA AND INFORMATION COLLECTION
DATA ANALYSIS, VALIDATION AND REPORTING
SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY.
SUMMARY
CHAPTER 3: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY:RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, LEADERSHIP, GOVERNANCE AND SERVICE DELIVERY
INTRODUCTION
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, LEADERSHIP, GOVERNANCE AND SERVICE DELIVERY
TRENDS IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION WITHIN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT.
SUMMARY
CHAPTER 4: AN OVERVIEW OF LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE APPROACHES
INTRODUCTION
A PLETHORA OF LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE APPROACHES
TRADITIONAL AFRICAN LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE APPROACHES
CLASSICAL WESTERN LEADERSHIP APPROACHES (1841 TO 1987) APPROACHES
WESTERN GOVERNANCE APPROACHES
FUNDAMENTALS OF EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE
INTEGRATION OF LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE APPROACHES
SUMMARY
CHAPTER 5: ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS OF SELECTED CASES IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN PUBLIC SERVICE
INTRODUCTION
ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS OF CASES
SUMMARY.
CHAPTER 6: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
SUMMARY
CONCLUSION
RECOMMENDATIONS
LISTS OF SOURCES
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