A SIX-MONTH ORGANISATION
Date
2011-04-15
Authors
Jewison, Richard
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Abstract
Service delivery by public sector institutions is arguably one of the greatest
challenges facing South Africa. There have been many processes embarked
upon to bring about improvements. Rarely are the processes written up and
the outcomes assessed so that lessons can be learned for both the institution
concerned and those engaged generally in transformation in the public
sector. This study attempts to do that, in that it documents an entire process
and examines the state of an organisation, including the emerging culture, six
months after its establishment. It is a case study in organisational change in a
public entity.
The Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA) was formed as a result
of a merger of two existing agencies. The merger process started in
September 2005 with an OD intervention in support of a Task Team
established by the provincial government to bring about the merger. The
merger took place on 1 April 2006, and six months was spent establishing the
new organisational structure, placing staff in the new structure, developing
policies, systems, processes and so on.
Six months after the establishment of MEGA this study assesses the
effectiveness and efficiency of MEGA, looking at whether it is doing what it
set out to do, and how well it is doing it. It then goes on to examine the
emerging culture of the agency.
The study finds that significant progress has been made towards establishing
an effective and efficient agency but that a great deal of work still needs to be
done. In relation to culture, much remains of the old way of doing things and
there are only small signs of a new MEGA culture emerging. Some
suggestions on how to develop a discussion on culture are offered.
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The research supports the generally accepted view that transformation
processes take time, that culture is very resilient, and that a holistic
organisation wide approach is required rather than piecemeal interventions. A
concluding observation is that the process followed in bringing about change
is important. The greater the involvement of managers and staff, the greater
the buy in and energy produced in implementing the agreed changes
Description
MM - P&DM
Keywords
Service delivery, Mpumalanga Development Agency