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Theses and dissertations (Management Sciences)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/14

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    The effectiveness of ward committees and community participation in influencing service delivery in eThekwini Municipality
    (2019) Duma, Sikhumbuzo Sikhosiphi; Mabusela, Maria Sewela
    The study focused on evaluating the role of Ward Committees relative to encouraging community participation in the eThekwini Municipality. It must be noted that the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa highlights the importance of public participation as an essential element of successful good governance. The wave of service delivery protests in the country prompted the desire to explore this study. The Municipal Structures Act (Act No. 117 of 1998) provides for the establishment of Ward Committees. The Act provides clear guidelines for Ward Committees hence, Section 72 states that the objective of a Ward Committee is to enhance participatory democracy in local government. The main objective of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of Ward Committees and Community Participation in influencing service delivery in eThekwini Municipality. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Ward Committees and community participation in influencing service delivery in eThekwini Municipality. The study used both the qualitative and quantitative research approaches for this research. The interview participants of the study were the Ward Councillors in Wards 95, 96 and 105 and the respondents were from the above wards. The study revealed that the Ward Committee members did not entirely understand their roles. Furthermore, the study revealed that the Ward Councillors tend to overshadow the Ward Committee members to the extent that the general community members end up dealing directly with the Ward Councillor even on issues that otherwise would have been handled by the respective portfolios of the ward committee. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended, amongst other things, that training and development of the residents on when, how and why they should participate in municipal affairs must be provided on a regular basis. Furthermore, the qualitative interviews with participants revealed the need for a review of the system of Ward Committees because the Structures Act contradicts itself at times. For example, the Act requires that, in addition to a fair representation of genders, the Ward Committee must represent a diversity of interests within the ward and limits the number of the Ward Committee to ten. In real life, interests may exceed the limit of ten as prescribed by the Act.
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    Effective communication as a catalyst for employee performance within selected Municipalities at KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa
    (2021-11-12) Sineke, Ntombizandile Victoria; Potwana, Nobubele
    Communication is the adhesive that binds people irrespective of their backgrounds. It is the skill of passing information from one person to another. However, effective communication deals with understating emotions and intentions behind the information. Therefore, managers in leadership positions need to understand the manner in which the best effort can be obtained from the workforce, following which communication systems management should be reviewed to ensure it is effective. The aim of the study is to establish whether communicating effectively with employees could improve employee performance in a municipality. In this regard, the study ascertained the extent to which the sharing of ideas creates openness among municipal employees, in addition to whether regular feedback contributes to improved municipal employee performance. Furthermore, the study also investigated whether open channels of communication mitigate misunderstandings and whether the recognition of employee opinions increases employee performance. To establish the stated objectives, the study used a mixed method research approach, employing both quantitative and qualitative methods. Data were collected from the uBuhlebezwe Municipality, where a sample size of 80 respondents was obtained by using a simple random sampling technique. For the qualitative research, 10 employees were gathered by means of convenience sampling, through a focus group at the Ray Nkonyeni Municipality. The results from both methods showed that effective communication was the best tool to change employee performance in municipalities, acting as a catalyst. However, this is largely dependent on the effectiveness and availability of channels of communication. The main recommendations to municipal managers and heads of departments are that they should use effective communication as a strategic tool and appreciate all employee opinions, regardless of their positions in an organisation. Managers in a municipal setting should also involve employees in decision-making, most importantly during policy formulation. It is further important that municipal employees are provided with sufficient resources to be able to perform their day-to-day duties, as inadequate resources lead to poor performance and lack of communication. The provision of regular and honest feedback to employees with regard to their strengths and weakness could additionally improve employee performance and increase productivity. Conversely, lack of communication could lead to misunderstandings and incorrect interpretation of information messages by employees.