The development and empirical evaluation of a values survey for a local government organisation : a contribution towards change management

Date
2022-04
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
ENGLISH SUMMARY: Local government municipalities in South Africa are faced with a serious challenge of service delivery. One of South Africa’s biggest problems in relation to poor service delivery is the issue of government corruption. Government organisations, as well as private organisations, are in and by themselves not responsible for corrupt activities. Corruption occurs due to the unethical behaviour of employees. Corruption has led to poor governance of the country and has broken the values and principles that a democracy typically stands for. Although corruption has contributed to poor service delivery, the elimination of corruption will not on its own ensure excellent service delivery. The most important prerequisite for the provision of effective and efficient service delivery rests upon the adoption of an applicable value system that demands correspondence between personal values and organisational values. The Local Government Organisation (LGO) launched the Organisational Development and Transformation Plan (ODTP) in order to affect the requisite change within the organisation to achieve effective and efficient service delivery. Organisations looking to encourage effective and efficient service delivery are most likely to achieve success only if they are able to change those values underpinning effective and efficient service delivery. Thus, it is paramount that the organisation is capable of identifying the values which reinforce service delivery and initiate interventions aimed at developing these values. This in turn implies the need for a reliable and constructive valid instrument to assess the prevailing levels of service delivery values to identify development areas and to assess, post-development, the impact of the service delivery values intervention. The aim of this study was to explicate the values that are needed in order to ensure excellent service delivery from the Local Government Organisation. Five service delivery values were identified and examined in this study; namely service excellence, trust, integrity, accountability, and accessibility. The study was furthermore aimed at identifying various behaviours that denote the five service delivery values to allow their operationalisation The main objective of the research was to develop the Service Delivery Values Scale (SDVS) aimed at measuring the service delivery value endorsement and service delivery value utilisation dimensions of the service delivery value constructs as constitutively defined and to empirically evaluate the psychometric properties of the SDVS. An ex post facto correlational design was used in this study to evaluate the operational hypotheses for both the service delivery value endorsement measurement model and the service delivery value utilisation measurement model. A convenience sample of 296 employees working in both public sector and private sector organisations across South Africa participated in the study. However, not all of these cases were usable as they did not all complete both subscales of the SDVS. This was acknowledged as a limitation in the study. Item and dimensionality analysis was performed on all 10 sub-subscales of the SDVS in order to assess the success with which they represented the underlying value constructs. Although there were a few slightly problematic items, a conservative decision was made not to delete any of the items. Only two sub-subscales out of the 10 achieved strict unidimensionality; namely, the service excellence utilisation and accountability utilisation sub-subscales. Furthermore, all 10 sub-subscales reflected somewhat satisfactory reliability. The first-order and second-order service delivery value endorsement and service delivery value utilisation measurement models were fitted, and both achieved close fit. For both of the subscales, the broad, general factor accounted for most of the systematic variance in the subscale items. However, confidence in the discriminant validity of the endorsement and utilisation subscales was unfortunately compromised.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Plaaslike regeringsmunisipaliteite in Suid-Afrika staan voor 'n ernstige uitdaging van dienslewering. Een van Suid-Afrika se grootste probleme met betrekking tot swak dienslewering is die kwessie van regeringskorrupsie. Regeringsorganisasies, sowel as private organisasies, is op sigself nie verantwoordelik vir korrupte aktiwiteite nie. Korrupsie vind plaas as gevolg van die onetiese gedrag van werknemers. Korrupsie het gelei tot swak bestuur van die land en het die waardes en beginsels verbreek waarvoor 'n demokrasie tipies staan. Alhoewel korrupsie bygedra het tot swak dienslewering, sal die uitskakeling van korrupsie nie op sigself uitstekende dienslewering verseker nie. Die belangrikste voorvereiste vir die verskaffing van effektiewe en doeltreffende dienslewering berus op die aanvaarding van 'n toepaslike waardestelsel wat die ooreenstemming tussen persoonlike waardes en organisatoriese waardes vereis. Die Plaaslike Regeringsorganisasie (PRO) het die Organisatoriese-ontwikkeling- en Transformasieplan (ODTP) bekendgestel om die nodige verandering binne die organisasie te beïnvloed om effektiewe en doeltreffende dienslewering te bereik. Organisasies wat effektiewe en doeltreffende dienslewering wil aanmoedig, sal waarskynlik slegs sukses behaal as hulle daardie waardes wat effektiewe en doeltreffende dienslewering onderlê, kan verander. Dit is dus uiters belangrik dat die organisasie in staat is om die waardes te identifiseer wat dienslewering versterk en intervensies te inisieer wat daarop gemik is om hierdie waardes te ontwikkel. Dit impliseer op sy beurt weer die behoefte aan 'n betroubare en konstrukgeldige instrument om die heersende vlakke van diensleweringswaardes te assesseer om sodoende ontwikkelingsareas te identifiseer en om, na-ontwikkeling, die impak van die diensleweringswaarde-intervensie te evalueer. Die doel van hierdie studie was om die waardes te identifiseer wat nodig is om uitstekende dienslewering van die Plaaslike Regeringsorganisasie te verseker. Vyf diensleweringswaardes is in hierdie studie geïdentifiseer en ondersoek, naamlik diensuitnemendheid, vertroue, integriteit, aanspreeklikheid en toeganklikheid. Die studie was verder daarop gemik om verskillende gedragsvorme te identifiseer wat die vyf diensleweringswaardes denoteer om die operasionalisering van die vyf diensleweringswaardes moontlik te maak. Die hoofdoelwit van die navorsing was om die Diensleweringswaardeskaal (SDVS) te ontwikkel wat daarop gemik is om die diensleweringswaarde-endossement en diensleweringswaardebenuttingsdimensies van die dienslewerimngswaardekonstrukte soos konstitutief gedefinieer te meet en om die psigometriese eienskappe van die SDVS empiries te evalueer. 'n Ex post facto korrelatiewe ontwerp is in hierdie studie gebruik om die operasionele hipoteses vir beide die diensleweringswaarde-endossementmetingsmodel en die diensleweringswaardebenuttingsmetingsmodel te evalueer. ’n Gerieflikheidsteekproef van 296 werknemers wat in beide openbare sektor en private sektor organisasies regoor Suid-Afrika werk, het aan die studie deelgeneem. Nie al hierdie waarnemings was egter bruikbaar nie aangesien nie alle gevalle beide subskale van die SDVS voltooi het nie. Dit is in die studie as 'n beperking erken. Item- en dimensionaliteitsanalise is op al 10 sub-subskale van die SDVS uitgevoer om die sukses te bepaal waarmee hulle die onderliggende waardekonstrukte verteenwoordig het. Alhoewel daar 'n paar marginaal problematiese items was, is 'n konserwatiewe besluit geneem om nie enige van die items te verwyder nie. Slegs twee sub-subskale uit die 10 het streng eendimensionaliteit bereik, naamlik, die sub-subskale vir diensuitnemendheid en aanspreeklikheidbenutting. Verder het al 10 sub-subskale redelik bevredigende betroubaarheid weerspieël. Die eerste-orde en tweede-orde diensleweringswaarde-endossement en diensleweringswaarde-benutting metingsmodelle is gepas en albei het noue passing bereik. Vir albei die subskale het die breë, algemene faktor die meeste van die sistematiese variansie in die subskaalitems verklaar. Vertroue in die diskriminantgeldigheid van die endossement- en benuttingsubskale is egter ongelukkig gekompromitteer.
Description
Thesis (MCom)--Stellenbosch University, 2022.
Keywords
Local municipalities -- South Africa, Public administration -- South Africa, Municipal services -- South Africa, Municipal government -- South Africa, Political corruption -- South Africa, Local government -- South Africa, UCTD
Citation