MANAGING INCREASING DEMANDS
FOR PUBLIC SERVICES AMIDST THE
SHRINKING PUBLIC RESOURCES
PRESENTATION TO MPUMALANGA PROVINCIAL SMS SUMMIT
26 NOVEMBER 2014
Presentation Outline






Background
Building a Capable and Developmental State
Addressing NDP Challenges
Management Practices
Multi-factor Productivity Management and
Measurement within the Public Service
Dimensions of Productivity Management
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
Factors influencing Productivity Measurement

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Service Delivery Quality
Service Delivery Quantity
Leadership and Management Practices
Change Management
Knowledge Management
Concluding Remarks
2
Copyright 2006 by Sidney Harris
There are many performance output
challenges…
Background

Emphasis on Public Service Productivity.
“The DPSA must ensure a
productive public service
where staff are motivated,
supported, focussed and
working
efficiently
and
effectively.”
Minister
Collins
Chabane,
Centurion, 4 June 20-14
Transforming the Public Service into an effective service delivery machinery
4
Rationale

We need a closer look at our Productivity
because…..


The Public Service is a (1)
major
employer;
(2)
provider (and user) of
services; and (3) consumer
of public tax resources.
Changes in productivity of
the Public Service can thus
have a significant impact on
ECOMONIC GROWTH and
the lives of citizens
Building a Capable State ito the NDP


Unevenness in capacity that leads to uneven
performance in local, provincial and national
government.
This is caused by a complex set of factors,
including tensions in the political-administrative
interface, instability of the administrative
leadership, skills deficits, the erosion of
accountability and authority, poor organisational
design and low staff morale.
6
Building a Capable State ito the NDP


The SA Public Service has to respond to the
impact of the changing global economy whilst
still improving efficiencies and effectiveness of
public administration service delivery.
It has to look inwardly into the impacts of post1994 New Public Management (NPM) on the
rising costs in running public administration
without necessarily yielding tangible results
7
Impact of PS Reforms since 1994



The drive to marketise the PS service under the
pretext of modernising processes and systems,
has yielded a less than ideal situation.
Most government department’s operations are
run in less than an efficient and desirable
manner (MPAT).
The SA Public Service has to respond to the
impact of the changing global economy whilst
still improving efficiencies and effectiveness of
public administration service delivery.
8
Impact of PS Reforms since 1994



It has to look inwardly into the impacts of post1994 New Public Management (NPM) on the
rising costs in running public administration
without necessarily yielding the desired tangible
results.
The increasing spending in government has to
be curbed if we want to see economic growth
The spiralling wage bill is of concern to
government as highlighted in the recent MTBPS
9
SA as a Developmental State


South Africa has positioned itself as a developmental
state defined as a condition “when the state possesses
the vision, leadership and capacity to bring about a
positive transformation of society within a condensed
period of time” (Fritz and Menocal Menocal, 2007)
A considerable body of opinion suggests that the
developmental state is not only possible, but
indispensable to developing countries (Leftwich
Leftwich, 2000; Bagchi Bagchi, 2000)
10
Challenges raised in NDP

The weaknesses in capacity and performance
are most serious in historically disadvantaged
areas, where state intervention is most needed
to improve people’s quality of life.
11
Addressing NDP Challenges on
Capability

A much more focused regulatory and policy
shift in how we do business as government
needs to be institutionlaised in order to address
the factors contributing to the burgeoning wage
bill; ICT wastage spend; bloated corporate
support functions; inappropriate organisational
structures; procurement wastage, etc.
12
Addressing NDP Challenges on
Capability


Efficiencies within the National Treasury
directives have only focussed on savings on
small ticket items in Public Administration like
travel and entertainment and ‘nice to haves’symbolic policy statements
A formal collaborative effort between ALL
departments needs to earnestly to look at
measures of Productivity in order to
ensure management and operational
practices are efficient and effective.
13
Addressing NDP Challenges on
Capability

Substantial elimnation of wastage by improving
efficiencies and effectiveness of government is
the key driver to achieving savings which can
be used to fund other pressing needs within the
PS. This will entail reviewing all institutional,
functional and fiscal frameworks and the
conditions for coherent support to these reform
initiatives.
14
Addressing NDP Challenges on
Capability

All functions carried out be government should
be measured against the five compulsory
performance objectives which are a standard
for Productivity measure
(i) Quality within set norms and standards;
(ii) Speed of Delivery/ Timeliness and Predictability ;
(iii) Dependability/ Flexibility/Durability and within a
Utilitarian value to citizen;
(iv) Quantity within set norms and standards and
(v) Cost Benefit within Economies of Scale.
15
GENERIC DEFINITION OF
PRODUCTIVITY
Productivity is the relationship
between the output and input
which indicates whether the
activities of an organisation are
efficient and effective.
16
Evolution
of
Public Service
Productivity
in
the

Traditionally there has been a greater emphasis on
public service performance rather than productivity.

There was a straight jacketed ‘scientific’ approach to
work study which resulted in a positivistic orientation
rather than a constructivist focus.

You can have any
colour,
as long as it's black
Neglect of public service productivity
management started due to historical
application of work-study techniques with
strong Taylorist (industrial efficiency/
cost control) and Fordist (standardised
mass
production)
orientation
to
measure.
Transforming the Public Service into an effective service
delivery machinery
17
Evolution
of
Public Service


Productivity
in
the
New Public Management (NPM) paradigm
dominated public administration reform (from
1999), but this “managerialism” failed to
translate into increased productivity and only
borrowed very costly private sector practices
which bloated the PS wage bill.
Productivity within the South African public
service is undermined by the absence of an
overarching framework with generally
accepted measurable factors which are
appropriate for the PS.
Transforming the Public Service into an effective service delivery machinery
18
FACTORS
INFLUENCING
PRODUCTIVITY
19
Multi-factors impacting on Productivity
PUBLIC SERVICE
PRODUCTIVITY
Cost and Time
taken to deliver
Service
Resource
Availability
(human and
financial)
Citizen
Expectations and
Satisfaction
Service Quantity
Leadership
Performance
Employee
Competence and
Capability
Capacity of
Facility/Current
Output Quantity
Working
Environment
Reliability, Responsiveness,
Durability and Utilitarian
Value of service
Service Quality
Management
Practices
Norms and Service
Standards applicable
Operations Management
Systems & Processes
20
Key Service Productivity Drivers
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Measuring what matters
Building leadership and management capability
Creating productive workplace cultures
Encouraging innovation and the use of
technology
Continuous Organisational Learning
Investing in people and transfer of skills
Organising work efficiently- appropriate work
measurement techniques
Networking and collaborating
21
LEADERSHIP
“Leadership by example plays a strong role in creating a
positive and productive workplace culture, and inspiring
others to pursue those opportunities which have been
identified. Leadership depth is important.”
 Balance between Contribution and Growth
i.e. 40 hours Contribution + 5 hours Personal Growth
 Theory in Use is how employees in an organisation
‘reinforce’ or ‘ discard’ patterns of understanding and
doing things based on the evidence based policies,
processes and practices and construction, testing and
restructuring of a certain kind of new knowledge driven
by the type and nature of leadership which influences the
culture.

22
LEADERSHIP
Events driven as cross-sectional control points instead of
being process driven longitudinally
 The Productivity of a manager determines the
parameters of sub-ordinate’s productivity, as there are
direct; group and cross-functional relationships in
operational practice.
e.g. Education; HOD of a Government Department
 Management Practices in Operations are directly linked
to productivity
 Consequence Management and the ability for followthrough action impacts on productivity

23
MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

Operations Management is directly linked to productivity:
 Mapped Business Processes;
 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and
Protocols;
 Service Standards;
 Service Delivery Models;
 Unit costing for goods and services;
 Service Charters;
 Service Delivery Models and
 Service Delivery Improvement Plans
24
MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR EFFICIENCIES
Modernisation , Reform and
Transformation Actions
Performance Actions
ICT Efficiencies Actions
Appropriate Service Delivery
Models Design
Operational and Business
Process Efficiencies Actions
Physical Infrastructure and
Asset Management Actions
Human Resources
Actions
CHANGE
MANAGEMENT
PROCESS
26
Strategic Change Focus




Context- Where and Why (Internal and External
environment needs)
Process- How (Implementation)
Content-What (Objectives, Purpose and Goals)
Interrelated factors:




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Environmental Assessment
Human and Physical Resources
Leading Change from Management
Linking Strategic and Operational Change
Coherence- consistent (clear goals) and consonant
27
WHAT IS
PRODUCTIVITY
MANAGEMENT?
28
QUANTITY vs QUALITY

Quantity
Each citizen or customer usually only receives
ONE product or service unit e.g. One ID book or
One house or One frontline engagement to pay an
account

Quality
The recipient of the One unit of goods or a service,
judges the value of that One item/encounter to
determine the quality of service through that
experience hence influencing the perception of
productivity
29
SERVICES PRODUCTIVITY


Quality is so closely entwined with more measurable
outcomes in service provision that it becomes very difficult
to isolate any one influence on productivity.
The intangibility of service satisfaction, and therefore the
importance of psychological outcomes (e.g. standard being
met ) in the process of quality creation, represent major
challenges in measuring and understanding service sector
productivity in general.
30
HOWEVER…..SERVICE
PRODUCTIVITY
Service
=
Productivity
Quality and Quantity of the Output
Quality and Quantity of the Input
31
PRODUCTIVITY Measurement
Multifactor Productivity:
Multifactor
Productivity
= Output from the Operation
ALL Inputs to the Operation
32
PS EXAMPLE LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY

A health clinic has 5 nurses attending to 250 patients per
week. The clinic’s weekly wage costs are R150 000 and its
overheads are R100 000 weekly. What is the clinic’s single
factor labour productivity and its multifactor productivity ?
Labour Productivity = 250 Patients = 50 patients/nurse/week
5 days
Labour Productivity= 250 Patients = 1.25 patients/labour working hour/per nurse
(5days x40hrs)
Multifactor Productivity= R250 000 Weekly Costs = R1000 per patient per week
250 patients
This means that if the 5 nurses attended to 300 patients at R250 000 per week,
Labour Productivity would increase and unit costs reduced
33
MEASURING
SERVICE
PRODUCTIVITY
34
MEASURING TOTAL SERVICE
PRODUCTIVITY

Labour Productivity


Performance Productivity



Relationship between GDP and cost of salaries
Measuring whether the outputs and outcomes have been met in
the specified time with the most efficient resource utilisation
E.g. In a 40 hr week you work 8 hours a day and complete certain
phases of your projects way before schedule. You are able to do
more than planned
Operational Productivity

The operating environment has a direct impact on how you are
able to perform i.e. ergonomics; physical location and layout;
functional resource allocation e.g. a doctor at a hospital
35
Measuring and Managing Public Service
Productivity:

OPTION A: Output/Input Approach
(OUTPUT) Output Indicators (2013)
(INPUT) Budget (2013)
Number of output indicators in 150
Departmental APP
Total Annual Budget
Number of output indicators in 110
Departmental APP achieved
Total Annual Expenditure R650 000 000
Output ratio (Deliverables)
0.73 (73%) Input ratio (Budget)
R800 000 000
0.81 (81%)
Measuring and Managing Public Service
Productivity
Macro Level Productivity Calculation:
Output ratio
∆ Output
Input ratio
∆ Input
P.
∆ P.
2013
0.73
0.81
0.9 (90%)
2014
0.46
-0.28
0.82
+0.1
0.6 (60%)
-0.3 (-30%)
2015
0.5
0.72
0.7 (70%)
+0.1 (+10%)
Measuring and Managing Public Service
Productivity

Interpretation of Productivity Scores
High Productivity
81-100%
Medium Productivity
70-80%
Average Productivity
50-70%
Low Productivity
35-49%
Unproductive
0-34%
Measuring and Managing Public Service
Productivity

Assumptions: Output/Input
Assumptions
If false, recommendation
Alignment between Strategic Plans, Annual Performance Strengthen
institutional
Plans (APPs) and financial reports
capacity to:
-better
align
and
Citizen feedback is included the implementation of APPs to
manage planning;
ensure that service delivery is meeting the needs of citizens
-incorporate
citizen
Mechanisms are in place to monitor and measure the quality
inputs into planning
of delivery consistent with the expectations of citizens
-measure and manage
service quality
Measuring and Managing Public Service
Productivity

OPTION B: Matrix Approach

Quantity and Quality measures are critical in
measuring public service productivity.

There must be detailed information on the
multiple
factors affecting both service
quality and quantity, thus productivity.
Matrix Approach

Step 1: Determine the weight for each sub- factor
Sub-factor
Weighting
Labour
20%
Operational
40%
Performance
40%
Total
100%
41
Matrix Approach

Assumptions: Matrix Approach
If false, recommendation
The creation of a
conducive
environment
including measures to fill
vacancies,
improve
Productivity can be improved by better management infrastructure quality, and
(better allocation of resources).
the implementation of set
norms and standards for
The emphasis is largely on people (officials and operational efficiency and
citizens).
effectiveness.
Assumptions
The environment, operational systems and processes
are in place that enable and support officials to optimise
the use of resources (inputs) at their disposal.
Discussions
•
Share
perspectives
on
productivity measurement &
management in the Public
Service generally.
•
Make
inputs
on
proposed measures.
the
THANK YOU
Access: Offering integrated service delivery
Openness and Transparency: Creating a
culture of collaboration
Consultation: Listening to customer problems
Redress: Apologizing when necessary
Courtesy: Service with a smile
Service standards: Anticipating customer needs
Information: Going beyond the call of duty
Value for money: Delivering solutions
44