As a critical tool of good management, the effectiveness of the communication strategy is directly dependent on the quality of the communication policy. Such review will also include an assessment of the languages of communication with the citizenry.
Structures and Spheres of Government in South Africa
Provincial government departments, as branches of national government, function as operational limbs involved in the service delivery process and account at two levels, ie, the provincial parliament as part of the administrative government and the citizens of the service area who elect the provincial parliamentarians. It is necessary, however, to find a structural place to place the CSC as a support service within a common and dedicated level and program within all government departments.
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Sport and Recreation
The status quo was designed to achieve this goal, and classification of information formed a core part of the regime's arsenal. The nature and degree of service delivery by the government-of-the-day is a key determinant of both the duration and the legacy of that regime.
Outline of the Research Problem
What is the impact of the communication policy as a support service mechanism for the department. A problem area is the absence of CSC from the decision-making process, i.e.
Constitution of The Republic of South Africa
Central to this process is the degree of importance attributed to the way in which the entity responds to public needs, in relation to the degree of encouragement offered to the public to participate in the policy-making process. The tangibility of these needs is possible only through a communication policy that is related to the needs of the province.
The Citizen’s Charter and Batho Pele Principles
Despite the fact that the Ombudsman in KZN is operational, accessible via the Presidential hotline (contact number as well as present in the office of the KZN Premier, much more needs to be done to minimize fraud and corruption within government, if not State of the Union Address (SONA) on 09 February 2012, President Jacob Zuma emphasized that his government prioritized "the fight against corruption".
Challenges experienced in the ‘New Democracy’
The majority of the previously disadvantaged communities are not used to the responsibilities of today's government. It is thus imperative that citizens are empowered with regard to information about the services they are entitled to (2012:76).
Promotion of Access to Information Act
Promotion of Administrative Justice Act
Fox, Schwella & Wissink (1991:27) support Ranney's definition of policy as "a declaration and implementation of intention". Cloete & Wissink (2000:3) define policy as a statement of intent. They believe that “policy specifies the basic principles to be pursued in order to achieve specific goals.
Levels of Public Policy
Cloete defines policy as "a declaration of intention to do something or to have it done by certain institutions or functionaries as prescribed". Hanekom (cited in Cloete & Wissink 2000:11), defines public policy as "a formally articulated objective that the legislator intends to pursue with society or with a societal group." Hogwood & Gunn (cited in Cloete & Wissink 2000:12), state that, "for a policy to be considered 'public policy', it has to some extent been generated or at least processed within the framework of governmental procedures, influences and organizations.”
Factors that influence Policy
Political Party Policies: Political parties justify their claim to power through their positions on various policy issues. Cloete & Wissink believe that the success of the policy is that it is part of a "holistic approach to integrated, sustainable management and delivery networks and to consolidate a culture of grassroots development and a strong work ethic throughout society to avoid discontinuities".
Marketing of Policies
Role-players in Public Policy-Making
The portfolio committee for Sport & Leisure, for example, plays a major role in determining DSR's policies. These role players in public policy making influence the nature and content of the policies adopted by the DSR, as the core function of government is to provide optimal service to the population.
Reasons for Policy Change
There is a direct correlation between the level of importance given to the communication component and the entity's service levels. The approach to service delivery within the public sector is largely determined by the perception ascribed to responsibility, and this perception is manifested in the organization's policies.
Principal Theories to Public Administration
Hanekom (cited in Cloete & Wissink 2000:29) notes that “in public policy making, theories are used to explain the policy making process. Furthermore, the simplification of policy making is enhanced by the use of models to represent problems in acceptable dimensions.
Systems Approach to Policy-making
Although no universally accepted or agreed theory of the policy-making process exists, it appears that a workable model should include at least the phases of good identification, approval, public intent, implementation and evaluation." Converting requirements into policy outputs 2006:42) is of the opinion that the political decision-making process is part of a wider political process.
New Public Management Theory
Denhardt and Denhardt (2007:43) conclude that NPM has signaled a radical shift in the role of public administrators, the nature of the profession and the way in which the tasks are solved. The 5C protocol theory emphasizes the role of implementation as a key determinant of the policy-making process by highlighting the various factors that influence the success of communication policy.
South African Excellence Model
People satisfaction: to what extent people in the organization are satisfied and whether their needs are met; Governance is also seen in some cases as a means of encouraging citizen participation in public service activities.
Rationale for Governance
Governance can also broadly refer to a nation's capacity to offer its citizens representation and uninterrupted participation in the decision-making process. This is attempted by promoting the participation of the more disadvantaged members of society to engage in socio-economic issues that affect them by giving them access to the seats of power to meet their needs in an equal and fair manner, argues Dwivedi (cited in Sing 1999:91).
Governance and Public Administration Relationship
Similarly, Fox & Meyer claim that public administration is that part of government that is responsible for formulating, implementing and monitoring government policies and decisions. Cloete (1999a:14) supports this assertion, with his view that public administration refers to the ability of the public service to deliver.
Corporate Governance for Effective Communication
Good Governance
These goals are also pursued by DSR in its pursuit of good governance. Support from the respondents for the need for policies as a tool for good governance is illustrated in Figure 5.5.
Policy Implementation and Good Governance
The IT Governance Institute (2005:4) asserts that 'good governance must provide proper incentives for each of the stakeholders to pursue'. This will ensure that the stakeholders use resources more efficiently. It can therefore be said that good management within the context of this research is associated with strategic communication.
Ethical Governance
Bridgman (2007:14) sees good governance as the qualitative state of excellence in decision-making and compliance, and that performance and governance can only be achieved when all institutional roles function collectively. The implementation of policies by KSC would include the use of strategic communication as a prerequisite for good governance, thus respecting the principles of access and transparency, as well as the resulting principle of accountability, which is considered an important principle of public administration in practice.
Concept of Communication
Strategic Communication
The communication policy would be part of the administrative policy, as it relates mainly to operational matters. Barrett (2002:2) defines meaningful communication as “communication that achieves two primary goals: (1) informs and educates employees at all levels of corporate strategy and (2) motivates and positions employees to support strategy and performance goals.
Financial Management
The presence and implementation of these instruments of accountability ensure that good governance is made both possible and tangible by providing a blueprint for good governance. The mandate of the Auditor-General of South Africa, as published in its User Management Account Guide (2010:2), reads as follows: “The Auditor-General of South Africa has a constitutional mandate and as the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of South Africa, exists to strengthen our country's democracy by enabling oversight, accountability and governance in the public sector through auditing and thereby building public confidence.”.
Focus on Human Resource Management
Providing timely feedback/turnaround time: need for effective communication and expediting complaints procedures. Brynard identifies the implementer's cognitive skills as a key influence on policy implementation, as shown in Figure 2.11 below.
Information Technology
Role of the State Information & Technology Agency
GCIS prescribes policy and policy guidelines for the design, establishment, management and maintenance of an Internet website and intranet for all government entities.
The web/internet therefore provides a defining channel for the process of management through the use of ICT. Knowledge and information management are therefore key considerations if maximum benefit is to be provided to the people of the KZN province.
Republic of South Africa
The provincial nature of the DSR's mandate has a mandatory impact on the nature of the department's service delivery model. It is not only a challenge to serve the entire population as a DSR, but also to inform the entire population of the services provided to the KZN community.
Provinces of South Africa
Population of South Africa
Province of KwaZulu-Natal
Districts of KwaZulu-Natal
Provincial Administrative Governance Structures in KZN
The KwaZulu-Natal department of sport and recreation was established in April 2004 and is the first stand-alone provincial department of sport and recreation in the country.
Core Function
Vision and Mission
The KDS of the DSR is a key facilitator in the government's intention to fulfill this mandate.
Key Stakeholders
District Offices
Department Budget
Programmes
Communication Services as a Programme
Circulation of a drafted policy to all officials by the relevant component head by e-mail, request for feedback and input to the policy within a specified time frame;. Acceptance of circulated content as policy after the relevant time frame has expired, duly signed off by the executive.
Communication Budget
Van der Waldt (2009:42) believes that “there is often a discrepancy between the organizational structure and the purpose of the policy.
Operational Plan: Communication Services
Communication Services Provision
Internal Communication Services
External Communication Services
The implication of the operational plan depicted in Table 3.4 is that activities relating to External Communication, viz. Departmental programmes/projects that have been published and Speeches for MEC are incorporated into the tasks for Internal Communication. Hence the anomaly of naming the component, which has a direct implication on the duties and allocated budget.
Beneficiaries
Communication Service Provision Challenges
Supervision of the Communication Services Component
The placement of the CSC within the current structure is not defined, as depicted in Figure 3.5 below. The loosely accepted communication policy within the DSR must therefore include a review of the placement and authority granted to the KDS to optimize service delivery through good management.
Limited sharing of information within the Department
The scenario shown in Figure 3.5 directly affects the assignment of responsibilities and accountabilities within the CSC, resulting in a negative impact on service delivery as shown in Figure 5.26. This situation has a negative impact on the image of the department, as the work done within the department is not fully supported.
Lack of Feedback Mechanisms
Preferred Language of Communication
Limited Human Resources
Deputy Manager 2: seconded to CSC from the Ministry in 2010 and reports to the Contract Manager; And. The CSC is top-heavy and leaves a vacuum for junior employees who have to perform operational tasks.
Financial Control
The apparent lack of coordination in component management increases the constraints on critical human resources, which negatively affects the effectiveness of service delivery. As there are only three officers in the CSC, initially two Deputy Managers and an Administrative Officer, but currently two Deputy Managers and a Senior Manager, most of the services are limited to head office programs, leaving district activities neglected.
Current Communication Service Risks
The constant presence of communication services as a high risk in the DSR Risk Register (2012:10) is an indicator that there is a great need for address and appeals to promote the department's efficiency and image. Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, the Minister of Public Service and Administration, believes that "the stability and efficiency of the public sector to a great extent.
Draft Communication Policy and Strategy
Communication Policy and Strategy of Sport & Recreation South Africa The DSR Communication Policy and Strategy should be aligned to that of SRSA as the The DSR Communication Policy and Strategy should be aligned to that of SRSA as the
Provincial Communication Policy and Strategy
However, DSR is managing the Communication Process from 2005 until now based on a Draft Communication Policy and Strategy.
Relationship between Communication Policy and Communication Strategy Strategy
Meetings are held monthly for this forum and quarterly meetings include representatives from municipalities in KZN. The need for a policy model to formulate a DSR communication policy and communication strategy within the parameters of the SRSA communication policy is central to the management of DSR information in a strategic context.
Public Service Commission (PSC)
Role of the Government Communication Information System GCIS The key mandate of the National GCIS is to: The key mandate of the National GCIS is to
Zaremba postulates that "... the culture of an organization deals with the belief and value system of that organization." As a result, new employees who are socialized in the workplace adopt an inherent value system. In support of the above claim, Khandwalla argues that “information and action in organizations are inextricably linked.
Communication Services Provided
These stakeholders, in this case the electorate and citizens of KZN, should be considered a key audience of the government of the day. This systems approach will also incorporate the shifting priorities of DSR in its evolution.
Use of Information & Communication Technology (ICT)
President Jacob Zuma's challenge to all government communicators (Dlamini, 2011:11) that the government must communicate more consistently and regularly to the media “as the people need to know what services are delivered, how, where and by whom, and we can inform them through meaningful and regular communication." The current communication policy must be revised to include the use of social media, as emphasized in the research study. At present, there is no use of social media platforms to promote DSR's activities, which is considered to be an essential aspect for improved communication.
Communication and Austerity Measures
Conversely, the vine can be used positively if factual information is continuously provided in a formal manner, and the vine can therefore be managed strategically. Supervisors and department heads must therefore note that informal communication does take place, and that the vineyard can nonetheless also be used to serve a positive rather than a negative purpose."
Current Communication Platforms of the DSR
External beneficiaries include all stakeholders and persons interested in the operation and service delivery programs of the department. A key platform for communication with officials of the department would be a mandatory induction course for new post holders.
Results of the 2012-13 fourth quarter Cluster Audit and Risk Committee The following areas of concern incorporate aspects of strategic communication as The following areas of concern incorporate aspects of strategic communication as
These include other government departments and the GCIS, SRSA, citizens of the province, sports organizations, among others. This is central to our programs to develop a new public service framework whose sole concern is meeting the needs of the people.”
Recommendations of the Auditor-General: 2011-12
The resulting lack of effective leadership took its toll on the DSR due to the lack of strategic direction for the long term. The process of research design and methodology is based on the nature of the problem identified for investigation.
Legal-Historical Approach
Honey believes that public administration is a practical art rather than a science or discipline, a view complemented by Gill, who maintains that the practical side of public administration places more demands on methods that make borrowing techniques from other disciplines more challenging. Rugge is of the opinion that there is a general perception that it is difficult to set limits for issues and activities that fall under Public Administration.
Structural-Descriptive Approach
Behavioural Approach
Henning, Van Rensburg & Smit argue that social scientists reach a certain position in their research inquiry based on their knowledge of the theory and also the methodological theory that exists in the particular field they are investigating.
Theories
This proposal is directly related to the topic under investigation as it directly relates to the policy making process. The current phenomenon needs to be explored, analyzed and synthesized through the policy-making process in order to improve service delivery within and by DSR.
Concepts
The current draft communication policy adopted by the DSR, together with current communication practices, indicates a presence of communication as a semblance of it that could be better applied for maximum benefit.
Data
The nature and quality of the data obtained depend on the respondent's ability to communicate effectively in the chosen language medium.
The Research Process
Brynard & Hanekom (2006:69) believe that a research report is "the account of the conduct of the research project and the results obtained". Methodology, on the other hand, refers to the specific ways and methods used to arrive at a better understanding of an aspect of the world.
Linking Theoretical Frameworks to Methodologies in Research
Critical Main focus is experiences of people's lives and the social relationships that sustain them;. Hussey & Hussey (1997:59) linked the following two main research strategies to methodologies, depicted in Table 4.2 that follows:.
Quantitative Research (Positivist Research)
Qualitative Research (Phenomenological Research)
Theoretical assumptions: they offer answers to the question of what types of explanations are suitable for communication (as an object and a phenomenon); and. Methodological assumptions: offer answers to the question of which research designs (methods for collecting, analyzing and interpreting data) are most suitable for researching communication.
Exploratory Studies
Rubin & Babbie (2005:63) state that qualitative analysis is the non-numerical investigation and interpretation of observation to discover underlying meanings and patterns of relationships, while quantitative analysis is the numerical representation and manipulation of observations to understand the phenomena underlying the observations. to describe and explain causes. reflect observations. Epistemological assumptions: provide answers to the question of what are the appropriate ways to study communication (as a subject and phenomenon);
Descriptive Studies
Explanatory Studies
A research design provides the researcher with a guideline for the investigation of the identified research problem. The research attempts to identify the aspects that have a negative impact on the effective use of CSC within DSR.
Sampling Method and Research Instrument Sampling Method Sampling Method
These tasks and their relevance to the different stages of the research investigation are discussed below: Two groups of sports officials, as they are the interface of the department to provide services to the public.
Data Analysis
At least 20 members of external stakeholders will also be asked for interviews. At least 20 members of external stakeholders will also be invited to participate in the survey by answering questionnaires.
Linking the Questionnaires with Research Themes This study is based on the following principal research themes: This study is based on the following principal research themes
As mentioned earlier in this chapter, qualitative research is suitable for analyzing data according to research topics based on predetermined theoretical frameworks.
Research Questions Aligned to Research Themes
The connection between the research questions and the themes of the study was clearly presented. Discussion also centered on the analyzes of data and the interpretation of results of the research study.
Chi-Square Tests
Correlations
For example, the correlation value between current job descriptions and contact with the department's communication service component and interaction frequency with the component is -.343*. This means that the more often respondents communicate with the communication service component, the less often they need to interact with the component and vice versa.
Bartlett’s Test
Sample
Research Instrument
Reliability Statistics
All the other themes (subsections) have values close to the acceptable standard.
Factor Analysis
Each matrix table is preceded by another table reflecting the KMO and Bartlett test results. The requirement is that the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy must be greater than 0.50 and Bartlett's test of sphericity must be less than 0.05.
Importance of Communication Policy Question 2.7 Regularity of Interaction
Thus, factor analysis can be used to determine whether the three measures are, in fact, measuring the same thing. In all cases, the conditions are met, which enables the factor analysis procedure used in the study.
Communication as strategic tool to manage risk Question 3.1 Approved Communication Strategy
Component Information
206 Do you believe that you are always informed about all important decisions and. activities related to your component. Are you formally informed of all important decisions and activities related to your component. at the meeting or in writing) .921.
Incorporation of e-Governance for Strategic Communication Question 4.3 Access to Internet Services
You are informed in a timely manner of all important decisions and activities that are relevant to your unit. to respond appropriately) .944 Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.
Updating of Internet services
Email Literacy
Incorporation of Social Media as publicity tool by government Question 5.4 Importance of Social Media to information dissemination
Need for a Social Media Account KMO and Bartlett's Test
Strategic Communication as enabler to Good Governance Question 6.1 Communication is effective
Rating
SECTION 1 - Biographical Data
The category of respondents has a direct impact on the authenticity of the research. This representation shows that 7% of respondents indicated that they are responsible for their department's budget.
