2.9 HISTORY OF OD IN ETHEKWINI
2.9.1 OD Interventions
Each intervention will be briefly discussed, followed by an evaluation in terms of acceptance by management, employees and unions.
Productivity measurement and improvement
Various scholars have pronounced on the importance of productivity measurement and improvement. Niebel and Freivalds (2004:1) say it is the only way to ensure profitability, while Pritchard (1990:6) believes it is a great tool of decision-making on whether to continue or discontinue the business. In the eThekwini, Municipality productivity measurement is undertaken throughout the municipality, targeting all operations. Successes have been recorded in operations like street sweeping, litter picking, mainlaying to mention but the few.
Productivity monitoring using incentive bonus schemes intervention
Nel et al. (2004:277) state that whether incentives are paid per individual or team, they are geared towards measurable performance results, such as units of production, sales volume, cost savings or profitability. Presently eThekwini runs 2 productivity incentive bonus schemes, one in the Electricity Unit and another in the Water and Sanitation Unit. The Incentive Bonus schemes are classified into 2 categories, namely, cost based schemes and Labour based schemes. Performance incurring costs less than the standard bonus job cost will attract a bonus payment, calculated in terms of work study standards.
Business Process Management (BPM) interventions
In terms of Council Resolution No. 85/2004, the ODCM unit of eThekwini Municipality was mandated to undertake business process re-engineering throughout the municipality. Due to the pervasiveness of the municipality, interventions were crafted along the lines of what Hammer (1997:9) calls Process- Centrering which required all employees to recognise and focus on their processes, managing them incrementally, rather than doing the radical vicissitudes as advocated by the BPR technology. The interventions are therefore more like BPM rather than BPR.
Change Management Interventions
According to Viljoen (2015:1) focussed change management interventions can contribute significantly to enhancing individual dynamics, increasing the functionality in teams and rewiring organisational strategies, structures, and practices to ensure that there is congruence between what is happening inside the organisation and outside the system. It was for this importance that change management was introduced in eThekwini in 2009. Interventions that are undertaken include those that focus internally, for example, various leadership workshops, diversity management etc. and those that are focussed externally, for example workshops on land invasion. Strategic planning as well as the values and culture strategies are also being put together to ensure that, as Viljoen (2015:1) puts it, the doing (strategy) and the being (values) are translated in such a way that human energy to perform in the system is wired around these aspects.
Institutional Review (Restructuring) Interventions
According to the Municipal Systems Act (MSA 32 of 2000 S.66), the Municipal Manager (MM) is within a policy framework determined by the Municipal Council, and subject to any applicable legislation, mandated to amongst others,
- develop a staff establishment for the municipality and submit to Municipal Council for approval
- provide a job description for each post on the establishment.
In eThekwini Municipality, ODCM is mandated to assist the MM with restructuring the organisation using OD techniques at its disposal. The strategy used in this regard is the Outcomes Based Methodology (OBM) which ODCM employs to develop flatter and more customer–centric organisational structures as recommended by a myriad of scholars like inter alia Nel et al. (2004) Swanepoel (2014) and Cummings and Worley (2015) who all stressed the importance of developing flatter, non-hierarchical structures.
In developing organisational structures, the ODCM unit utilises the following Institutional Review Process which has been approved by Council.
Figure 2.5: Institutional Review Process Map
STEP 2
ODCM ANALYSE AND PREPARE SUBMISSION FOR PRE-APPROVAL
BY SMC STEP 1
CM INITIATE THE PROCESS (AS PER SECTION 66 – MUNICIPAL
SYSTEMS ACT)
STEP 3
CM PRESENT PROPOSED HIGH LEVEL ORGANOGRAM TO LABOUR
AT PRINCIPALS’ MEETING (FOR CONSULTATION)
STEP 5
CM PRESENT PROPOSED HIGH LEVEL ORGANOGRAM TO
COUNCIL / EXCO (FOR APPROVAL) STEP 6
ODCM DEVELOP JOB DESCRIPTION FOR NEW AND CHANGED POSTS
STEP 4 CM / DCM: C&HR PRESENT
PROPOSED HIGH LEVEL ORGANOGRAM TO GOVERNANCE &
HR COMMITTEE
STEP 8
ODCM ANALYSE AND RE-ALIGN DETAILED ORGANOGRAM IN RELATION TO MACRO STRUCTURE
AND OD PRINCIPLES STEP 7
HR ISSUE PROVISIONAL GRADES AND ADVERTISE
STEP 9
ODCM PRESENT FINDINGS TO UNIT HEAD AND CLUSTER DCM
STEP 11 HR ADVISE UNIT TO INITIATE CONSULTATION WITH STAFF AND
LLF’S TO GET INPUT STEP 12
UNIT HEAD PRESENT ORGANOGRAM TO CLUSTER
SUPPORT COMMITEE
STEP 10 ODCM SUBMIT TO SMC
(FOR DIRECTIVE)
STEP 14
CM PRESENT ORGANOGRAM TO EXCO
STEP 13 DCM: C&HR PRESENT FINAL ORGANOGRAM TO GOVERNANCE
AND HR COMMITTEE
STEP 15
INPUT ORGANOGRAM ON THE SYSTEM AND ALLOCATE POST ID
NUMBERS
STEP 17
PLACEMENT OF STAFF INTO NEW STRUCTURE I.T.O. PLACEMENT
POLICY STEP 18
HR ISSUE PROVISIONAL GRADE AND ADVERTISE
STEP 16
DEVELOP JOB DESCRIPTION FOR NEW AND CHANGED POSTS
Source: eThekwini Municipality’s OD Framework.
The following council approved Organisational design framework is used to develop the actual structure.
CM
CM
C
BUSINESS CASE STRUCTURE/DESIG
IMPLEMENTATION OUTPUT
STRATEGY / PROCESS/FUNCTIO
NS
FEEDBACK
Manage change and transition (including communication and employee consultation) throughout the process, and facilitate the required behaviour.
1
4
5
2
3
6
GEOGRAP
TECHNOLOG
RISKS
DEPENDENC
Figure 2.6: OD Framework
Source: eThekwini Municipality’s OD Framework.
Cost Containment and wastage elimination interventions
Section 62 (1) (a) of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) (Act No 56 of 2003) stipulates that the Accounting Officer (AO) of a municipality is responsible for managing the financial administration of a municipality and must take all reasonable steps to ensure that the resources of the municipality are used effectively, efficiently and economically. The cost containment measures were further emphasised in the 2016 State of the Nation Address (SONA).
In this regard, National Treasury issued a directive in terms of cost containment measures that should be instituted in government including municipalities. ODCM has been charged with ensuring that some of these cost containment measures are upheld by the eThekwini Municipality, and has with effect from 2015/16 financial year recommended budget cuts in terms of consultants employed by Council as well as Events run by Council.
Office Automation Intervention
Office aligned with wastage elimination discussed above, the office automation intervention, as the name suggests, should do with eliminating wastage associated with office equipment like printers, faxes, photocopiers etc. The proliferation of these in council was such that it was considered inefficient and wasteful, culminating in a policy that a managed by ODCM being designed and implemented.
2.9.2 eThekwini Municipality’s Stakeholders’ (Management, Employees,