RESEARCH QUESTIONS: The most important research questions are:_ What are the opinions about the selection of the beneficiaries under the social safety net program of Upazila Social Services Department (USSD)?, How much the level of satisfaction the beneficiaries receive with the delivery of services?. Opinions of the respondents were collected through a 5 point 'Likert scale' - where 1 indicates minimum level and 5 indicates maximum level of satisfaction and performance. The results -indicate that 72 percent of the beneficiaries either.. amp;: 'strongly agreed' with the statement.. officials have enough knowledge and skills to carry out service users' requirements' and 'in this regard the average score for the same statement was 78 percent; public representatives also endorsed the same view in this aspect.
The results showed that 62.2 percent of beneficiaries 'agreed' or 'strongly agreed' with the statement that 'the costs of the services were reasonable and that the officials provided their services efficiently' and scored on average for it . The survey shows that the rating of public representatives has always been lower than that of the clientele and civil servants in terms of the provision of clean drinking water and that the views of beneficiaries and civil servants are consistent in this regard. Satisfaction level of . clientele can also be determined by the existence and quality of the canteen facilities of the.
Opinions of respondents about Satiifadion regarding 67 Supply of clean drinking water in the office. Respondents' opinions about the level of satisfaction 68 with the toilet facility and office standard.
INTRODUCTION
Research Questions
Keeping in mind the aforementioned statement of study problems, a key concern. What are the views on beneficiary selection under Upazila Social Services Department (USSD) Social Safety Net Scheme?. The general objective of this study is to determine the standard of selection procedures and to check the level of satisfaction of the beneficiaries with the service they received under the SSNP.
The specific objectives of the research study are: .. i) to know whether standard beneficiary selection procedures are followed or .. ii) to determine the level. beneficiaries' satisfaction with the social safety net. SSN) programs conducted by the Upazila Social Service Department (USSD) make recommendations (if applicable) in the line of findings.,.
Scope of the Study
Bangladesh Public Administration Training Center has made mandiJ.!e to develop the human resources by imparting education and the ultimate ai!I; of this training is to improve the delivery of public; services in line with citizens' expectations. The result of the study can be usefully used as training material in these courses to understand the gap between the delivery of services and the expectation of the general mass. A careful and critical study has been made regarding the delivery of services in the Upazila Social Services Department as expected by.
It is expected that the strengths and pitfalls of delivery can help to rethink and re-design the future plan of the affected organizations so that these organizations can be more pragmatic in providing services according to people's expectations.
Expected Benefit of the Research Study:
- Key Attributes of Service: ·
- Key Concepts of Social Services
- Practice Environment of Social Welfare Services"
- Values for Service Delivery
- Measuring customer Satisfaction 5
- Data Collection Period
- Data Processing and Analysis
- Distribution of Beneficiaries by Ages
- Beneficiaries by Education
- Distribution of Respondents by Monthly Income ·
- Distribution of Beneficiaries by Ownership of Land
- Selection of the Beneficiaries under Social Safety Net Program (SSNP)
- Beneficiaries Level of Satisfaction with accessibility 14 to public services
- Beneficiaries level of satisfaction with timeliness' to public services 15
- Opinion of the Respondents about 'Promptness of Decision Making' in Public Service Delivery
- Beneficiaries level of satisfaction with 'attentiveness' 16 to public services
- Beneficiaries' level of satisfaction with the 'value of money and efficiency'{' of services
- Beneficiaries' level of satisfaction with officials in terms of 'Active listening'+'
- Beneficiaries' level of satisfaction with the provision of 'outcome' 25 in service delivery
- Opinions of the Respondents about 'procedures' in Public Services
- Level of Satisfaction with Office Environment of the Respondents
- Opinions of the Respondents about Satisfaction in terms of Seating arrangement of the Office
- Opinions of the Respondents about Level of Satisfaction from Toilet facility & standard of Office
- Opinions of the Respondents about Level of Satisfaction from Canteen facilities & standard Satisfaction level of clientele ma y also be determined with the existence and standard of canteen
This shows that members of the public and officials supported the view of service users regarding maintaining flexibility.
Opinions of the Respondents about Level of Satisfaction from arrangement for copying and duplicating
Table 4.5.1 shows that the weighted average marks made by beneficiaries and officials regarding cleanliness, seating arrangement and drinking water supply in office service delivery are within 73 to 84 percent and those of toilet and arrangement for copying of documents are within 60. to 74 percent. It was found that respondents rated the lowest level for canteen facilities compared to other determinants of service delivery point. It is evident from the table that PRs are always rated lower than beneficiaries and officials regarding the variables affecting the office environment.
Problems and Suggestions Identified by the Respondents in Terms of Service Delivery 4.6.1 Problems Identified by the Respondents
100 percent of PRs proposed to ensure reward and punishment, and 85 percent of officials also joined this opinion. The table shows 100 percent of public representatives and 95 percent of officials proposed to raise awareness among citizens through advertising. Because the necessary training is important for clients.15 .4 percent of beneficiaries and 85 percent of officials suggested training clients.
When asked to the respondents, 86.1 percent suggested public representatives to secure a knowledgeable authority's decision on SSNP to those affected. When asked to the respondents, I suggested 00 percent public representatives that the provider's name card should be displayed on the table. It is revealed that 22.5 percent of the respondents are counted as 'residential manager (housewife)' followed by 18.1 percent unemployed.
On the other hand, in the case of the responses of public representatives and officials the figures for the same statement were 11.1 & 41.7 and 30 & 50 percent respectively. The figure 4.3 indicates that 53.4 percent of the beneficiaries agreed with the statement that 'officials delivered services within the specified time' and in this regard the average score for it was 69 percent. The figure 4.4 indicates that 65.7 percent of the beneficiaries 'agreed' or 'strongly agreed' with the statement that 'officials were quick to make decisions' and in this regard the weighted average score for the same statement was 73 .63 percent.
It appears that 56.8 percent of the beneficiaries 'agreed' or 'strongly agreed' with the statement that 'civil servants paid due attention to users of services' and in this respect the average score for this was 73 percent; Public representatives also endorsed the same opinion on this point (73 percent). It was observed that 72 percent of beneficiaries 'agree' and 'strongly agree' with the statement - 'officers have sufficient knowledge and skills to meet service user requirements' and in this respect the weighted average score was for the same statement 78 percent; representatives of the public also endorsed the. The results showed that 62.2 percent of beneficiaries 'agreed' or 'strongly agreed' with the statement that 'the costs of the services were reasonable and that officials provided their services efficiently', and on this issue the average score for the same statement 76 percent; On the other hand, the average score for the same statement from public representatives and officials was 88 and 84 percent, respectively (Figure 4.7).
It was observed that 78.9 percent of beneficiaries 'agreed' or 'strongly agreed' with the statement that 'officials provided services showing courtesy and respect to service users' and in this respect the weighted mean score for the same statement was 84 per cent. It was found that 70.1 percent of beneficiaries agreed' and 'strongly agreed' with the statement that 'officials provided complete and accurate information to service users' and the weighted mean score for the same statement was 76 percent. The study shows that 39.7 percent of beneficiaries agreed with the statement that 'officials corrected and took corrective measures against service users' and in this regard the weighted average score of beneficiaries for the same statement was 68 percent.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Customer feedback and corrective measures can thus increase the level of satisfaction of the recipients. Free from .harassment: It is evidenced by Figure 4.16 that when recipients were asked whether they agreed with the statement that "they were harassed by intermediaries regarding service received," 74 percent of recipients responded that they were either "agree" or "strongly agree" with the statement, where the average score was 80 percent; in contrast, 74 percent of public representatives and concerned officials also supported the beneficiaries' view. The authorities should therefore take measures so that the beneficiaries can be satisfied with public services without being subjected to harassment by intermediaries or others.
Hence; it is recommended that in case of selection of beneficiaries, disqualification declared by authority should be strictly followed. Toilet facility should be improved: Figure 5.4 shows the condition of toilet facility in office, weighted average score made by beneficiaries and officials on condition of toilet was 67 and 63 percent respectively, followed by 42 · percent by public representatives. So, toilet facilities should be improved to increase the level of satisfaction of the beneficiaries.
50 percent of the public representatives thought that the system for copying and duplicating was poor; whereas about 32 percent of beneficiaries favored an average standard of the facility and 17.6 percent of beneficiaries marked this facility as poor. This information suggests that there should be the possibility of copying and duplicating in office premises to satisfy the recipients. Therefore, it should be possible to regularly allocate and release sufficient funds to meet customer demand.
Coordination problem should be addressed: Table 4.6.2 shows that on average 80.7 percent respondents suggested to locate coordination problem at local level, 97 .2 percent PRs and 95 percent officials endorsed the view of beneficiaries. Interaction between officials and clients: 90 percent officials felt that clients should be given transparent ideas about the progress of the work, and 75 percent PRs endorsed this view (Table 4.6.2). The recommendations proposed in this study should not be considered in isolation, but the interrelationships between the recommendations should be observed and implemented accordingly to achieve synergistic results.
It was decided to select several villages and unions in the Upazila on the basis of considerations of availability of respondents and sample recipients were randomly selected from among these Upazilas. Therefore, the results of the study may not be treated as general features for all the selected beneficiaries under SSNPs in the country. Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Report of the Public Administration Reform Commission, Volumes I, II and III, June 2000.
Questionnaire-I
Questionnaire-II
Questionnaire-I I I
