Browsing by Author "Leach (née Mouton), Lorette Megan"

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    A framework for factoring citizen perceptions in local public service value systems to improve service quality
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-03) Leach (née Mouton), Lorette Megan; Burger, A. P. Johan; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : Essential services are considered a fundamental human right, which determines the quality of life for citizens. A citizen’s ability to exercise this right should guide public service prioritisation (McDonald, 2012). However, intensifying and increasingly violent service protests indicate citizens’ dissatisfaction with the public sector, and are proof of citizens’ inability to influence service prioritisation. In an attempt to enhance public satisfaction with the quality of services, this study was conducted with the aim to examine whether factoring citizens’ public service perceptions into local public value systems would close the gap between what citizens expect and what they actually receive from the public sector. In response to the above, the chosen research design is qualitative, and included a content analysis of official documents and public records (Patton, 2003:2). Furthermore, the research design was empirical and relied on data that was (mainly) secondary, and textual by nature (Mouton, 2001:165-166). The design required a low degree of control (Mouton, 2001:144). The data upon which the research was based included predominantly secondary data, but some primary data was also incorporated through the use of an expert interview (Chuene, 2012), which served as a sound boarding technique. As for the secondary data, a document analysis of official documents and public records was employed as the main data collection method (Patton, 2003:2). Purposive sampling was employed in the selection of case examples and the sample size was determined by the application of data saturation (Fusch & Ness, 2015:1409). A comparative analysis was employed in the data analyses phase. Data was analysed by means of systematic coding and summarised according to research themes (Welman & Kruger, 2002:189). The research study focused on all three spheres of Government, as the responsibility and accountability for rendering public services are divided among the national, provincial and local spheres of Government (Zama, 2012). The research findings suggest that differences in the natures of the services offered in the public and private sectors impact on the service sector’s definition of the concepts of satisfaction, quality, and loyalty. This implies that public (collective) services have their own unique application of these concepts. Collective services cannot be assessed according to the same quality indicators that guide private sector (particular) services. Public instruments such as the Batho Pele principles are more suitable for this purpose (Roberts & Hemson, 2008:62). In the first instance, satisfaction with public services require a reorientation of the customers’ mind-set to accept that the values according to which services are produced, are altruistic and include equity, fairness and value for money (Republic of South Africa, 1997). Loyalty in the field of public sector service encompasses voter confidence and political party support due to the direct relationship between citizen satisfaction and institutional trust. Secondly, diagnosing failure in service quality through the gap analysis model (Zeithaml, Bitner & Gremler, 2009:44-45) was found to be applicable to both public and private sector services. Although the nature of the services in the public and private sectors vary, it was found that the criteria for service quality can be applied to both sectors. Moreover, citizen evaluation and perceptions constitute customer feedback regarding public services and should therefore be included in the local public service value process. Local Government is specifically equipped to facilitate citizen consultation and therefore to absorb and integrate perceptional feedback. Furthermore, the direct relationship between unconventional political participation (boycotts; protests) and service satisfaction (Roberts & Hemson, 2008:59) compels Government to facilitate dialogue with citizens through participatory monitoring and evaluative methods (Civicus & PG Exchange, 2012:2). This would also provide a constructive avenue for the pool of potential protesters to approach Government. Lastly, citizen participation has no real impact on service prioritisation and satisfaction with the public sector (Nabe, 2016: iii-iv). The omission of perceptions in public service value systems has created “negative” public value. High levels of public service outputs are not reflective of citizen satisfaction; and citizens often have different notions regarding what would satisfy their service needs. Institutional surveys and perception surveys are both required to ascertain the full extent of public service performance. These findings have enabled the operationalisation of the implementation strategy and programme of the Batho Pele White Paper. It reassessed participation and demonstrated the process of moving citizenship status from a position of claiming rights, to individualised notions of responsibility (Newman & Clarke, 2009:163-166).