3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Improving lead times for life insurance products and services offered by tied financial advisors at company X(2024) Mogale, Elnorah LebangLife insurance provides the family with security in the unfortunate event that the policyholder passes away. In order for insurers to remain competitive and profitable in today's fast-paced business environment, which is driven by consumers who have less patience with time-consuming processes, policy issuance lead times must be reduced. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the different approaches to reduce the lead times of product and service delivery at Life Insurance Company X. Existing lead times must be decreased if the company wants to grow its market share in the mass market. Despite the insurance industry's emphasis on client-centricity and the importance of issuing policies as quickly as possible, little attention has been paid to the concept of lead times and their reduction. The study used a qualitative research design, with a sample of Life Insurance X employees being interviewed and observed. The mapping tools used in the study were guided by the results of the interviews and observations, which aided in the identification of value-adding, non-value-adding, and non-valueadding but required activities. The study demonstrates that addressing the failure demand experienced in the process, ensuring minimal touch points, and ensuring employees spend time productively rather than waiting on office equipment are beneficial to reducing lead times.Item The effects of bureaucracy on the delivery of services within the city of Johannesburg(2015-02-25) Mafune, Irene AdziambeiSince the advent of democracy in 1994, government programmes have improved the quality of lives and living standards of the poorest South Africans, the majority of whom were previously disadvantaged by apartheid segregation policies. On face value, racism and prejudice seem to have declined. Thus society seems to be slowly integrating as equals. However, the legacies of apartheid, combined with poor budgetary and financial management skills, a massive backlog in basic services and infrastructure, regional inequalities in the provision thereof, and sometimes tense social relationships, continue to limit opportunities for social and economic development. Additionally, despite progress made, many people remain vulnerable with poverty, unemployment, and health issues remaining a factor that continues to promote dependency on government The ability of government, municipalities in particular, to deliver such services and meet the expectations of the communities remains a contested notion. Capacity, a lack of suitable skills, bureaucracy and outsourcing of government functions to consultants has been widely blamed for what has been viewed as “shabby service delivery” by municipalities. These they believe are as a result of poor leadership skills, lack of vision and an inability to deliver while outsourcing its functions to unqualified, less experienced contractors who do not have the government’s development goals as their aim. The primary purpose of this research therefore is to determine the effects of internal bureaucracy on the provision of services within the City of Johannesburg. The research will further investigate how that impacts negatively on the City’s quest to provide quality services to its residence. These are leadership role, citizen engagement and governance. With reference to the ongoing public protests in various parts of the City, this ii research will in addition explore and attempt to understand how the City intends to address public violence linked to service delivery demands, and the impact that current internal institutional arrangements, leadership challenges and management systems have on realising the vision to achieve a world class African City that is well governed, resilient, sustainable and liveable for all. Recommendations informed by participant’s views and management theories will be also be made.Item The perceived impact of the performance management system utilised in the Department of Social Development in enhancing service delivery : a case study of the Johannesburg Metro Region.(2014-07-21) Phungwayo, MsiziThe mandate of the Department of Social Development (DSD) is to provide welfare services. These services are targeted at every citizen in South Africa and most importantly the vulnerable and poor people of South Africa. In order to ensure that it fulfills its mandate, the Department of Social Development (DSD) has put in place a Performance Management System which seeks to ensure that the deliverables are achieved effectively and efficiently. It is often argued that services for the poor are sometimes poor services, yet government devotes ample resources to improve these services. Thus the implementation of Performance Management System is strategically geared at improving service delivery in government departments. The Department of Social Development (DSD) is one of those departments that have implemented the Performance Management System but the results reveal that it has not achieved the expected outcomes, There is heightened job dissatisfaction, poor performance and low morale. The study sought to investigate the perceived impact of the performance management system on service delivery. The primary aim of the study was to investigate the contributions of the performance management system of the Department of Social Development (DSD) in enhancing the delivery of social services. The study employed a qualitative approach and it was exploratory in nature. The study population consisted of social workers and managers. In addition, there were key informants drawn from the Human Resource section. A total of 15 participants and 2 key informants were selected using purposive sampling. Semi-structured interview schedules were used to collect data. There were separate interview schedules for social workers as well as the managers. Face to face interviews were conducted with all the participants. The collected data was analysed using thematic content analysis. Ethical considerations were adhered to, as the researcher observed and adhered to conducting the investigation without bringing harm to participants and allowing the participants free will to choose to participate in the study. The major findings revealed that there is no common understanding of what performance management is. The study revealed that the performance management system utilised in the DSD had a negative impact on service delivery. All the participants identified the performance management system as a management tool. Various challenges that undermine the effectiveness of the performance management system were identified. These challenges include the role of supervision was identified as being suppressed as proper supervision did not take place and political interference was also identified as a challenge that undermined the effectiveness of system. The work output of social workers was affected by these various challenges.Item Barriers to the provision of basic sanitation in two selected informal settlements in Harare, Zimbabwe(2014-07-11) Mukonoweshuro, Tonderai FadzaiHistorically, Zimbabwe’s urban population enjoyed high water supply and sanitation service levels and standards, having one of the highest coverage levels in Africa. However, over the last two decades, the quality of Zimbabwe’s urban water supply and sanitation services has slowly been eroded. The poor, displaced and disenfranchised Zimbabweans that occupy Harare’s informal urban settlements are vulnerable to challenges posed by unavailability of basic water and sanitation services. This qualitative research project, carried out between January and June 2013 in Harare’s Hopley and Retreat informal settlements, investigates factors that have been preventing delivery of basic sanitation services to residents in these two settlements. Presenting evidence from the two informal settlements of Hopley and Retreat, this research establishes that there is a complex relationship at play between policy processes, the prevailing political environment and the way in which institutions have responded to the problem of sanitation in these settlements. The study was undertaken towards the end of an era of a negotiated Government of National Unity between ZANU-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change, highlights the dominance of power and political contestation between the two parties that has spilled into policy decisions on basic service provision in the informal settlements. The deep rooted culture of political violence which characterised the political environment from 2000 onwards, with very little commitment to democratic processes, was instrumental in the development of Hopley settlement after the 2005 elections. At face value, ZANU-PF was providing displaced people with alternative accommodation. However, as Muzondidya notes, this along with other ZANU-PF strategies is ‘(c)onsistent with its hegemonic political culture… to engage in cosmetic political and economic reforms that will not result in further democracy or result in a loss of its historic monopoly over power…’ (Muzondidya in Raftopolous, 2013, p.50). Informal settlements are a relatively new phenomenon in Zimbabwe. However, since their inception, they have continued to grow, fuelled by ZANU-PF’s strategy to allocate unserviced residential stands in exchange for residents’ allegiance to the party, with the most recent illegal residential stand allocations taking place in Chitungwiza town in 2013. A close examination of Hopley and Retreat revealed that water and sanitation services provided in Zimbabwe’s informal settlements are typically inadequate or non-existent – a situation that has the potential for severe public health impacts. The emergency actions taken by Non-Governmental Organisations during the height of the 2008 cholera outbreak only provided short-term sanitation solutions. The research concludes that water and sanitation services in Zimbabwe’s informal urban settlements have come to this point, mainly due to the interacting forces of politics. These have influenced policy processes on decision-making, formulation and implementation of sanitation policies for informal settlements. Despite the political origins of several informal settlements, there is a notable absence of practical policies to tackle the issues posed by this development and a lack of institutions capable of instigating the plans needed for change.Item Human capacity challenges in the implementation of a Monitoring and Evaluation system(2014-07-10) Maphunye, Mompheleng ErnestA Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system is important in a country or public sector organisation as it can assist in the understanding of a country or organisation’s M&E efforts. Information acquired from using the M&E system will then lead to a clearer understanding of the current M&E initiatives, the overall environment where the system is used and some of the institutional arrangements involved. Using the system can also be looked at from a viewpoint of improving the current M&E initiatives and using M&E information obtained from using the system to assist and benefit the intended stakeholders. Based on the above remarks around M&E systems, this study explored the challenges faced by the Gauteng Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs (DLGTA), in implementing a municipal M&E system. In a probe of the challenges related to the implementation of this system, the study found that department’s lack to properly capacitate the municipal service delivery M&E unit with the required and skilled personnel mostly impacted the department’s efforts to implement a municipal M&E system. The study also found that the challenges of not implementing a municipal M&E system was as a result of the DLGTA as an organisation not properly viewing itself as the coordinating body of municipal M&E in the Gauteng province. By not recognising itself as the coordinating body of M&E in the province, the DLGTA’s efforts were minimal in terms of capacitating its service delivery M&E unit with the right number of personnel, but also highly skilled personnel who have a solid M&E background, training and who could ensure the implementation of a municipal M&E system. A major consequence of the above departmental shortcomings is that they lead to the human capacity challenges of the service delivery M&E unit of the DLGTA that contributed to the non-implementation of a municipal M&E system. This is the system that should be used to conduct municipal M&E and also assist Gauteng municipalities with their M&E functions as mandated by legislation.Item Governance and service delivery protest in Bitou Municipality(2013) Mkhabela, Thulani ValentineSoon after the ANC acquired the leadership of this country there has been a series of service delivery protests in most of the municipalities. Several studies have sought to explain the causes of these protests and many have come to the conclusion that they are caused by the slow pace of delivering houses, electricity water and sanitation to the local communities. Most of the existing work has discussed the problem from the point of view of politicians and members of the community. To date, no research has elected to focus on the view of the employees of the municipalities to which the grievances are mostly directed. Using a qualitative research that surveyed municipal managers, ordinary employees as well as community members in Bitou Municipality, this study argues that poor governance, structural reasons, social reasons, systematic reasons are some of the causes of service delivery protests in the municipalities. The research has also uncovered a litany of reasons that contribute to service delivery protests and government practice which fuel support or hinder service delivery.Item An investigation into the Gauteng Department of Health and Social Development's monitoring and evaluation system(2013-08-06) Dube, Phillip ClementThe Auditor General identified some gaps in the quality of performance information that was reported by the Gauteng Department of Health and Social Development (GDHSD) to the public. The information was inaccurate and unreliable (Gauteng Department of Health and Social Development, 2009; 2010; 2011). The National Government passed the Policy Framework on Government-Wide Monitoring and Evaluation System in 2007. Some of the objectives of which were to improve the quality of performance information and service delivery in government. This development required government departments to develop and implement strong and effective M&E systems. The GDHSD formally implemented its M&E system in 2007; one of the objectives of which was to generate good quality performance information. The GDHSD’s M&E system has failed to achieve this objective. The study investigated some aspects of the GDHSD’s M&E system with regard to its poor quality performance information. The study found that some of the problems in the GDHSD’s M&E system, which the study highlighted, were the lack of adequate and appropriate capacity and skills for monitoring and evaluation; the absence of proper structures, processes and systems for monitoring and evaluation; the absence of quality assurance mechanisms for performance data; the selective application of data management rules and regulations; and a low morale amongst some staff members of the GDHSD. One of the notable findings was that there is manipulation of some performance information for political reasons. The study made some recommendations on how to strengthen the GDHSD’s M&E system based on the identified gaps. Some recommendations are that the GDHSD needs to capacitate its M&E directorate; develop proper monitoring, evaluation, reporting and data management processes and systems; address the problem of manipulation of performance information for political reasons; and promote a culture of good work ethics within the staff members of the GDHSD. The implementation of these recommendations may assist to strengthen the GDHSD’s M&E system, thus also helping it to improve the quality of its performance information and service delivery.