Assessing management competencies in selected Southern Cape Municipalities
- Authors: Krapohl, Johannes
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Local government -- South Africa , Core competencies , Performance -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8571 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/797 , Local government -- South Africa , Core competencies , Performance -- Management
- Description: In his 2006 State of the Nation Address, President Thabo Mbeki emphasised the need for the development of managerial competencies and other skills to empower the country’s municipalities to meet the needs of the community (Governance and Administration, 2005). In order to meet the needs of the local community, municipalities need to render effective and efficient services. The lack of relevant managerial competencies adversly influences the municipality’s capacity to deliver the required services. In addition, the uneven distribution of capabilities and capacity across different sections within a municipality also poses a great risk to municipal performance and equitable service provision over the medium term. Notwithstanding progress made to date, service delivery backlogs still exist in key areas that affect the daily lives of the community. Where these backlogs coincide with poor municipal capacity, the result is service failure and a government that is incapable of meeting its goals (Governance and Administration, 2005). The objective of the study is to assess the contemporary management competencies that are required to assist municipal management in addressing the challenges of a dynamic, uncertain and complex Local Government environment. A questionnaire was used to gather the perceptions of 26 senior managers. This sample constituted a response rate of 65 per cent of people employed by municipalities within the Eden District Municipality’s service area. The questionnaires were distributed to the senior managers by means of an identified contact person within each municipality. The empirical findings such as the mean, median, standard deviation and pvalues were calculated by means of MS Excel. The main findings of this research indicated that: • Presently the most developed managerial competencies were selfmanagement, strategic action, planning and administration and communication. • The least developed current competency was global awareness. • The managerial competencies regarded as the most important for the next ten years were planning, administration and strategic action. • Global awareness was regarded as the least important competency for the next ten years. This finding points to the need for developing the global awareness competency to ensure that Municipal Managers are more sensitive to cultural cues and are able to adapt quickly in novel situations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007
- Authors: Krapohl, Johannes
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Local government -- South Africa , Core competencies , Performance -- Management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:8571 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/797 , Local government -- South Africa , Core competencies , Performance -- Management
- Description: In his 2006 State of the Nation Address, President Thabo Mbeki emphasised the need for the development of managerial competencies and other skills to empower the country’s municipalities to meet the needs of the community (Governance and Administration, 2005). In order to meet the needs of the local community, municipalities need to render effective and efficient services. The lack of relevant managerial competencies adversly influences the municipality’s capacity to deliver the required services. In addition, the uneven distribution of capabilities and capacity across different sections within a municipality also poses a great risk to municipal performance and equitable service provision over the medium term. Notwithstanding progress made to date, service delivery backlogs still exist in key areas that affect the daily lives of the community. Where these backlogs coincide with poor municipal capacity, the result is service failure and a government that is incapable of meeting its goals (Governance and Administration, 2005). The objective of the study is to assess the contemporary management competencies that are required to assist municipal management in addressing the challenges of a dynamic, uncertain and complex Local Government environment. A questionnaire was used to gather the perceptions of 26 senior managers. This sample constituted a response rate of 65 per cent of people employed by municipalities within the Eden District Municipality’s service area. The questionnaires were distributed to the senior managers by means of an identified contact person within each municipality. The empirical findings such as the mean, median, standard deviation and pvalues were calculated by means of MS Excel. The main findings of this research indicated that: • Presently the most developed managerial competencies were selfmanagement, strategic action, planning and administration and communication. • The least developed current competency was global awareness. • The managerial competencies regarded as the most important for the next ten years were planning, administration and strategic action. • Global awareness was regarded as the least important competency for the next ten years. This finding points to the need for developing the global awareness competency to ensure that Municipal Managers are more sensitive to cultural cues and are able to adapt quickly in novel situations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007
Clients' views on construction and design team competencies
- Authors: Crafford, Gerrit Jacobus
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Construction industry -- Employees , Core competencies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9679 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/490 , Construction industry -- Employees , Core competencies
- Description: The effectiveness of the design and construction team in meeting clients’ requirements entirely depends on the competency proficiency of the design and construction teams. This research presents a model of the important competencies required by the design and construction teams in order to provide a competent service as seen by the client. A review of related literature followed by interviews by selected practitioners yielded 29 architectural competencies, 31 civil engineering competencies, 32 construction management competencies, 31 project management competencies, and 33 quantity surveying competencies that were presented in a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was completed by 52 developers from a census of developers and municipality managers in South Africa. Respondents were asked to rank or rate: the level of importance of each competency for a career in that specific discipline; how evident that competency is in the specific discipline in South Africa; the level of importance of the performance parameters to clients, and the extent to which the various disciplines realise client satisfaction relative to the various performance parameters. The techniques of re-scaling, principal component analysis, content analysis, ranking and quadrant analysis were applied to the data. Results showed a high degree of consistency among respondents in all disciplines, regardless of the demographic differences in the importance of the competencies. A factor solution was obtained for every discipline using principal component analysis on the important competencies of each discipline. The various factor solutions were in turn used to formulate a simplified model. The model shows that the factors are interdependent and interacting. The model indicates that primary competencies for each profession are supported by mostly secondary competencies. These factors v are in turn influenced by the inter-relationships between the practitioners, continued professional development/ research and universities, which are then in turn, influenced the governing bodies. The local and global environment then ultimately influences the governing bodies. An Importance-Evidence quadrant analysis was undertaken in order to integrate the rankings of the current importance levels and current proficiency levels for each discipline’s competencies, which helped to identify areas in which education and training is immediately needed. Respondents ranked all nine performance parameters above average which indicates that there are more than the traditional performance parameters of cost, quality, and time involved in satisfying clients. The research concluded that vital feedback from clients regarding the competencies required by the respective professionals in the design and construction team was obtained.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007
- Authors: Crafford, Gerrit Jacobus
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Construction industry -- Employees , Core competencies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:9679 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/490 , Construction industry -- Employees , Core competencies
- Description: The effectiveness of the design and construction team in meeting clients’ requirements entirely depends on the competency proficiency of the design and construction teams. This research presents a model of the important competencies required by the design and construction teams in order to provide a competent service as seen by the client. A review of related literature followed by interviews by selected practitioners yielded 29 architectural competencies, 31 civil engineering competencies, 32 construction management competencies, 31 project management competencies, and 33 quantity surveying competencies that were presented in a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was completed by 52 developers from a census of developers and municipality managers in South Africa. Respondents were asked to rank or rate: the level of importance of each competency for a career in that specific discipline; how evident that competency is in the specific discipline in South Africa; the level of importance of the performance parameters to clients, and the extent to which the various disciplines realise client satisfaction relative to the various performance parameters. The techniques of re-scaling, principal component analysis, content analysis, ranking and quadrant analysis were applied to the data. Results showed a high degree of consistency among respondents in all disciplines, regardless of the demographic differences in the importance of the competencies. A factor solution was obtained for every discipline using principal component analysis on the important competencies of each discipline. The various factor solutions were in turn used to formulate a simplified model. The model shows that the factors are interdependent and interacting. The model indicates that primary competencies for each profession are supported by mostly secondary competencies. These factors v are in turn influenced by the inter-relationships between the practitioners, continued professional development/ research and universities, which are then in turn, influenced the governing bodies. The local and global environment then ultimately influences the governing bodies. An Importance-Evidence quadrant analysis was undertaken in order to integrate the rankings of the current importance levels and current proficiency levels for each discipline’s competencies, which helped to identify areas in which education and training is immediately needed. Respondents ranked all nine performance parameters above average which indicates that there are more than the traditional performance parameters of cost, quality, and time involved in satisfying clients. The research concluded that vital feedback from clients regarding the competencies required by the respective professionals in the design and construction team was obtained.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2007
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