Academic literature on the topic 'Civil service reform – Botswana'

A people thought to be passive, weak and docile surprised many when they revolted against encroaching authoritarianism in their country - Botswana. What started under Ian Khama as the most feared and potentially productive regime turned out to be the most opposed and most beleaguered. How did this reverse happen? Many authors (including Good, Taylor and others) mistakenly assumed that Botswana’s civil society was too weak and fearful, and that it would not stand up to any dictatorship. In contrast, Botswana towards the end of 2011 had reached a point at which civil society constantly challenged and clashed with government, resisting growing authoritarian tendencies. The political scenario of mid 2011 characterised by a long drawn public service strike was the clearest signal that the president was no longer feared. This paper focuses on Khama’s political reforms and the political resistance that accompanied them. It argues that Ian Khama introduced several reforms that met lots of resistance that threatened the stability and sustainability of the Botswana society. The paper concludes that political reforms have left the Botswana society deeply divided, but alert.

Thesis (MPA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Public sector organisations have to deliver quality services to the people amid budgetary cuts and public disenchantment with the public sector. Delivering these services in the face of dwindling resources has led public sector organisations to introduce performance improvement initiatives in an endeavour to do more with less. The government of Botswana introduced a raft of performance improvement initiatives such as WITS, O & M and Job Evaluation in the public sector with the sole objective of improving performance and driving public service delivery. However, despite the implementation of these initiatives, there was increasing concern that the quality of the delivery of public services was declining. These performance improvement initiatives were criticised for failing to make any meaningful impact on organisational performance, as the problems of poor service delivery remained unchanged. The failure of these earlier public sector reforms to improve organisational performance led the government to introduce a more comprehensive and holistic reform programme, PMS, guided by the national vision – Vision 2016 – in 1999. PMS was seen as the overall framework within which all previous reform initiatives could be integrated. This research sought to determine whether the objectives of PMS of DTA were being realised, given that previous public sector reforms had been deemed to have failed to actually raise organisational performance. A case study of DTA was therefore undertaken to describe the extent to which PMS had delivered on its objectives. Data collection was through structured self-administered questionnaires, comprising 14 closed-ended questions, one ranked question and one open-ended question. This was also augmented by documentary analysis of official reports such as the Annual Statements of Accounts (ASA). The research found that PMS had succeeded only in so far as communicating DTA’s vision, mission and values across the department. There was awareness of PMS within DTA. However, the system had not succeeded in improving DTA’s organisational performance, as it was hampered by various challenges such as lack of leadership commitment, the difficulty in implementing the system and lack of feedback on organisational performance. Recommendations are also made for enhancing DTA’s PMS to actually realise its objectives of improving organisational performance.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Daar word van openbare sektor organisasies verwag om kwaliteit dienste aan die publiek te lewer te midde van ingekorte begrotings en openbare ontnugtering rakende die openbaresektor. In ‘n poging om hierdie dienste te lewer ten spyte van beperkte hulpbronne stel openbaresektor organisasies inisiatiewe in om werkverrigting te verbeter en sodoende meer koste-doeltreffend te werk. Die regering van Botswana het ‘n aantal inisiatiewe, byvoorbeeld Werk Verbetering Spanne (WITS), Organisering en Metodes (O&M) en Posevaluering, in die openbaresektor geïmplementeer met die uitsluitlike doel om werkverrigting te verbeter en openbare dienslewering te dryf. Ten spyte hiervan was daar egter toenemende kommer dat die kwaliteit van dienslewering toenemend verswak. Bogenoemde inisiatiewe is gekritiseer dat hulle gefaal het om enige noemenswaardige impak op organisatoriese prestasie te toon, aangesien probleme rakende swak dienslewering onveranderd was. Die versuim van hierdie aanvanklike hervormings in die openbaresektor om organisatoriese prestasie te verbeter, het daartoe aanleiding gegee dat die regering in 1999 ‘n meer omvattende en holistiese hervormingsprogram, die Prestasie Bestuur Stelsel (PMS), ingestel het, gelei deur die nasionale visie – ‘Vision 2016’. Die PMS is gesien as die omvattende raamwerk waarbinne al die vorige hervormingsinisiatiewe geïntegreer kon word. Hierdie navorsing het gepoog om vas te stel of die doelstellings van die PMS in die Departement van Stam Administrasie realiseer, siende vorige openbaresektor hervormings nie geslaag het om organisatoriese prestasie te verbeter nie. ‘n Gevallestudie van die departement is onderneem om die mate waarin die PMS se doelstellings bereik is te beskryf. Dataversameling is gedoen deur gestruktureerde, selfgeadministreerde vraelyste, bestaande uit 14 geslote vrae, een ranglysvraag en een oopvraag. Dit is aangevul deur dokumentêre analise van amptelike verslae soos Jaarlikse Rekeningstate. Die navorsing het gevind dat die PMS slegs in dié mate geslaag het dat mense dwarsdeur die departement bewusgemaak is van die departement se visie, missie en waardes. Hoewel mense bewus was van die prestasiebestuurstelsel, bevind die navorsing geen daadwerklike verbetering in organisatoriese prestasie nie, aangesien dit belemmer word deur verskeie uitdagings, soos gebrekkige toewyding deur leiers, probleme met die implementering van die sisteem en die tekort aan terugvoer rakende organisatoriese prestasie. Die navorsing stel sekere aanbevelings voor om die departement se prestasiebestuursisteem te verbeter om die doelstelling om organisatoriese prestasie te verwesenlik.

This thesis anatomises the high watermark of belief in administrative and institutional remedies to the deeply-felt relative economic and absolute military decline of Britain in the years after the Second. World War. It analyses the second half of the Macmillan years, the administration of Sir Alec Douglas-Home, the first two premierships of Harold Wilson (but not the period from 1974-76 which saw little reformist activity) and the three-and-a-half years that Edward Heath occupied No. 10 Downing Street. The approach has been to look at the prime ministers' plans, examine how these were embraced by the Civil Service and analyse the results. The period 1960-74 saw a great many major reforms to the machinery of government, all of which are analysed. Significant new findings include the struggle over the demarcation `concordat' between the Treasury and the Department of Economic Affairs in 1964; the way that the Prime Minister's Principal Private Secretary acted against the senior civil servant handling the reception of the Fulton Report; the fact that Harold Wilson developed a keen interest in the `hiving off' of parts of the public sector in 1969; how, after the Heath Government was elected in 1970, the Civil Service took the massive political planning undertaken prior to government and effectively cherry-picked what it wanted, turning the dynamism for reform to its own advantage; the remarkable lack of interest in Programme Analysis and Review; and the way that the Central Policy Review Staff was sidelined in Heath's last weeks.

This thesis examines civil service reform in Ireland from independence to 2012. Following independence, inexperienced and over-burdened Ministers gave the civil service, which was dominated by the Department of Finance, considerable autonomy. This creation of an impartial civil service remains one of the great achievements of the Irish State. The thesis finds that progress on administrative reform has been uneven and limited due to a combination of lack of political will and obstacles within the administration. Efforts to reform the civil service began with the 1935 Brennan Commission, and continued with the Devlin Report, 1969. This work examines the challenges faced by Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald and by John Boland, first Minister for the Public Service, in reforming the civil service. Later initiatives to reform the civil service are also analysed. The thesis finds that both political will and administrative support are required for administrative reform. Ireland’s economic collapse in 2008 transformed the approach to administrative reform through the Troika of the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank. Administrative reform was a key element of the strategic response to economic crisis for the government which came to office in 2011. Reforms were therefore driven by external financiers who required that Ireland modernise its public administration. The establishment of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in 2011 highlighted this. Uniquely, this new department combined both expenditure and reform elements. Earlier lessons in relation to poor implementation of reform were learned, with a strong focus on implementation and delivery. The Public Service Reform Plan of November 2011 set out 70 recommendations and 200 actions across five areas. This plan emphasised ownership within departments, with dedicated reform teams working under a Cabinet committee. The plan also highlighted the importance of implementation with deadlines, dates and ownership. The Irish civil service made good progress in recent years in reducing costs, improving productivity, the online delivery of services, developing shared services and putting in place administrative reforms. By drawing on the lessons learned since independence, particularly from the most recent economic crisis, governments and policy-makers may be better prepared to implement future administrative reforms.

The purpose of this study was to develop an integrated model for evaluating training and development initiatives used by the Botswana public service. To achieve this goal, the following actions were taken: A literature study was conducted to identify the scope and impact of an effective training and development initiative and its evaluation; A literature study was conducted to identify strategies for evaluating training and development initiatives. The theoretical study focused on effective training and development strategies and their evaluation and critical organisational factors that contribute to successful training evaluation; The findings from the literature study were integrated into a model for evaluating training and development initiatives to be used by the Botswana public service; and  This model was used as the basis for the development of a survey questionnaire to determine whether trainers, training managers and supervisors who were responsible for training and development in the public service agreed with the effective strategies for evaluating training and development developed in the study. The survey was conducted in ministries and departments in the south east district of Botswana, mainly in Gaborone, where ministries and government departments are located. The empirical results from the study showed that the majority of respondents’ training and development activities were not evaluated and that there is no link between training and development and performance management. In particular, disagreements were shown with regard to ten strategies and critical organisational factors. Evaluation of training and development in general, is an issue that organisations are challenged with on a daily basis. Lack of skills by trainers on how to evaluate training and development is one major contributing factor to this problem. An integrated and strategic approach towards the evaluation of training and development is required to effectively and constructively train and development employees according to strategic organisational goals, rather than according to individual trainee’s goals.

Aim/Purpose: This paper provides the results of the preliminary analysis of the findings of an ongoing study that seeks to examine the social media use, cultural and political awareness, civic engagement, issue prioritization, and social activism of Gen Z students enrolled at four different institutional types located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The aim of this study is to look at the group as a whole as well as compare findings across populations. The institutional types under consideration include a mid-sized majority serving or otherwise referred to as a traditionally white institution (TWI) located in a small coastal city on the Atlantic Ocean, a small Historically Black University (HBCU) located in a rural area, a large community college located in a county that is a mixture of rural and suburban and which sits on the border of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and graduating high school students enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) programs in a large urban area. This exploration is purposed to examine the behaviors and expectations of Gen Z students within a representative American region during a time of tremendous turmoil and civil unrest in the United States. Background: Over 74 million strong, Gen Z makes up almost one-quarter of the U.S. population. They already outnumber any current living generation and are the first true digital natives. Born after 1996 and through 2012, they are known for their short attention spans and heightened ability to multi-task. Raised in the age of the smart phone, they have been tethered to digital devices from a young age with most having the preponderance of their childhood milestones commemorated online. Often called Zoomers, they are more racially and ethnically diverse than any previous generation and are on track to be the most well-educated generation in history. Gen Zers in the United States have been found in the research to be progressive and pro-government and viewing increasing racial and ethnic diversity as positive change. Finally, they are less likely to hold xenophobic beliefs such as the notion of American exceptionalism and superiority that have been popular with by prior generations. The United States has been in a period of social and civil unrest in recent years with concerns over systematic racism, rampant inequalities, political polarization, xenophobia, police violence, sexual assault and harassment, and the growing epidemic of gun violence. Anxieties stirred by the COVID-19 pandemic further compounded these issues resulting in a powder keg explosion occurring throughout the summer of 2020 and leading well into 2021. As a result, the United States has deteriorated significantly in the Civil Unrest Index falling from 91st to 34th. The vitriol, polarization, protests, murders, and shootings have all occurred during Gen Z’s formative years, and the limited research available indicates that it has shaped their values and political views. Methodology: The Mid-Atlantic region is a portion of the United States that exists as the overlap between the northeastern and southeastern portions of the country. It includes the nation’s capital, as well as large urban centers, small cities, suburbs, and rural enclaves. It is one of the most socially, economically, racially, and culturally diverse parts of the United States and is often referred to as the “typically American region.” An electronic survey was administered to students from 2019 through 2021 attending a high school dual enrollment program, a minority serving institution, a majority serving institution, and a community college all located within the larger mid-Atlantic region. The survey included a combination of multiple response, Likert scaled, dichotomous, open ended, and ordinal questions. It was developed in the Survey Monkey system and reviewed by several content and methodological experts in order to examine bias, vagueness, or potential semantic problems. Finally, the survey was pilot tested prior to implementation in order to explore the efficacy of the research methodology. It was then modified accordingly prior to widespread distribution to potential participants. The surveys were administered to students enrolled in classes taught by the authors all of whom are educators. Participation was voluntary, optional, and anonymous. Over 800 individuals completed the survey with just over 700 usable results, after partial completes and the responses of individuals outside of the 18-24 age range were removed. Findings: Participants in this study overwhelmingly were users of social media. In descending order, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Tik Tok were the most popular social media services reported as being used. When volume of use was considered, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and Twitter were the most cited with most participants reporting using Instagram and Snapchat multiple times a day. When asked to select which social media service they would use if forced to choose just one, the number one choice was YouTube followed by Instagram and Snapchat. Additionally, more than half of participants responded that they have uploaded a video to a video sharing site such as YouTube or Tik Tok. When asked about their familiarity with different technologies, participants overwhelmingly responded that they are “very familiar” with smart phones, searching the Web, social media, and email. About half the respondents said that they were “very familiar” with common computer applications such as the Microsoft Office Suite or Google Suite with another third saying that they were “somewhat familiar.” When asked about Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Blackboard, Course Compass, Canvas, Edmodo, Moodle, Course Sites, Google Classroom, Mindtap, Schoology, Absorb, D2L, itslearning, Otus, PowerSchool, or WizIQ, only 43% said they were “very familiar” with 31% responding that they were “somewhat familiar.” Finally, about half the students were either “very” or “somewhat” familiar with operating systems such as Windows. A few preferences with respect to technology in the teaching and learning process were explored in the survey. Most students (85%) responded that they want course announcements and reminders sent to their phones, 76% expect their courses to incorporate the use of technology, 71% want their courses to have course websites, and 71% said that they would rather watch a video than read a book chapter. When asked to consider the future, over 81% or respondents reported that technology will play a major role in their future career. Most participants considered themselves “informed” or “well informed” about current events although few considered themselves “very informed” or “well informed” about politics. When asked how they get their news, the most common forum reported for getting news and information about current events and politics was social media with 81% of respondents reporting. Gen Z is known to be an engaged generation and the participants in this study were not an exception. As such, it came as no surprise to discover that, in the past year more than 78% of respondents had educated friends or family about an important social or political issue, about half (48%) had donated to a cause of importance to them, more than a quarter (26%) had participated in a march or rally, and a quarter (26%) had actively boycotted a product or company. Further, about 37% consider themselves to be a social activist with another 41% responding that aren’t sure if they would consider themselves an activist and only 22% saying that they would not consider themselves an activist. When asked what issues were important to them, the most frequently cited were Black Lives Matter (75%), human trafficking (68%), sexual assault/harassment/Me Too (66.49%), gun violence (65.82%), women’s rights (65.15%), climate change (55.4%), immigration reform/deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) (48.8%), and LGBTQ+ rights (47.39%). When the schools were compared, there were only minor differences in social media use with the high school students indicating slightly more use of Tik Tok than the other participants. All groups were virtually equal when it came to how informed they perceived themselves about current events and politics. Consensus among groups existed with respect to how they get their news, and the community college and high school students were slightly more likely to have participated in a march, protest, or rally in the last 12 months than the university students. The community college and high school students were also slightly more likely to consider themselves social activists than the participants from either of the universities. When the importance of the issues was considered, significant differences based on institutional type were noted. Black Lives Matter (BLM) was identified as important by the largest portion of students attending the HBCU followed by the community college students and high school students. Less than half of the students attending the TWI considered BLM an important issue. Human trafficking was cited as important by a higher percentage of students attending the HBCU and urban high school than at the suburban and rural community college or the TWI. Sexual assault was considered important by the majority of students at all the schools with the percentage a bit smaller from the majority serving institution. About two thirds of the students at the high school, community college, and HBCU considered gun violence important versus about half the students at the majority serving institution. Women’s rights were reported as being important by more of the high school and HBCU participants than the community college or TWI. Climate change was considered important by about half the students at all schools with a slightly smaller portion reporting out the HBCU. Immigration reform/DACA was reported as important by half the high school, community college, and HBCU participants with only a third of the students from the majority serving institution citing it as an important issue. With respect to LGBTQ rights approximately half of the high school and community college participants cited it as important, 44.53% of the HBCU students, and only about a quarter of the students attending the majority serving institution. Contribution and Conclusion: This paper provides a timely investigation into the mindset of generation Z students living in the United States during a period of heightened civic unrest. This insight is useful to educators who should be informed about the generation of students that is currently populating higher education. The findings of this study are consistent with public opinion polls by Pew Research Center. According to the findings, the Gen Z students participating in this study are heavy users of multiple social media, expect technology to be integrated into teaching and learning, anticipate a future career where technology will play an important role, informed about current and political events, use social media as their main source for getting news and information, and fairly engaged in social activism. When institutional type was compared the students from the university with the more affluent and less diverse population were less likely to find social justice issues important than the other groups. Recommendations for Practitioners: During disruptive and contentious times, it is negligent to think that the abounding issues plaguing society are not important to our students. Gauging the issues of importance and levels of civic engagement provides us crucial information towards understanding the attitudes of students. Further, knowing how our students gain information, their social media usage, as well as how informed they are about current events and political issues can be used to more effectively communicate and educate. Recommendations for Researchers: As social media continues to proliferate daily life and become a vital means of news and information gathering, additional studies such as the one presented here are needed. Additionally, in other countries facing similarly turbulent times, measuring student interest, awareness, and engagement is highly informative. Impact on Society: During a highly contentious period replete with a large volume of civil unrest and compounded by a global pandemic, understanding the behaviors and attitudes of students can help us as higher education faculty be more attuned when it comes to the design and delivery of curriculum. Future Research This presentation presents preliminary findings. Data is still being collected and much more extensive statistical analyses will be performed.

In recent years, Indonesia has introduced reforms to its bureaucracy in response to critiques of the quality of government policy design and delivery. The Grand Design of Bureaucratic Reform strategy seeks to reduce the number of civil servants employed in administrative or managerial positions (structural appointments) in favour of skills-based recruitment into ‘functional’ positions. Specifically, the introduction of the ‘policy analyst’ position as a functional position in the civil service has sought to improve evidence-based policy making and the quality of policy outcomes, by incorporating merit-based recruitment, appointment and promotion. The role of functional policy analysts (Jabatan Fungsional Analis Kebijakan or JFAKs) is to assist policy makers in identifying policy issues, analyse evidence available on these issues, and ultimately make policy recommendations. This report overviews the recent experiences of different policy analyst cohorts since the role’s creation in 2015. It investigates these experiences to better understand the extent to which policy analysts are playing the role intended for them, and the factors enabling or inhibiting this.