Public Management Functions

Public Management Functions

• Public institutions exist to achieve fundamental objectives aimed at providing services and products to improve the general welfare of the public.
• A trained and experienced management corps is needed to convert objectives into activities.

Planning

• A basic process involving every manager to some extent, with the higher the post in the hierarchy, the more significant the extent of planning and the greater its impact.
• The purpose of planning is to facilitate the achievement of an institution's purpose, mission, and objectives.
• Planning involves deciding in advance what to do, how to do, when to do, and who is going to do it.
• It bridges the gap between where the organization is today and where it wants to be in the future.
• Planning sets the fundamental goal of the organization.

Planning Hierarchy

• Components of planning hierarchy:
  • Purpose or mission (top level)
  • Objectives (top level)
  • Strategy (top level)
  • Policy aspects (top level)
  • Procedures and standards (top/middle level)
  • Programmes (top/middle level)
  • Budgets (middle/line level)
  • Daily/weekly planning (line level)

Advantages of Planning

• Promotes cooperation between various departments and individuals in an organization.
• Gives direction to an organization through formulating objectives and shapes plans to achieve organizational objectives.
• Forces managers to look to the future, eliminating crisis management and promoting proactive management.
• It is necessary in a complex environment such as public institutions.

Barriers to Planning

• Internal and external circumstances affecting the initial preparation and implementation of a plan.
• Human factors.
• Ineffective and inefficient organizational systems.
• Management attitude towards planning.
• Lack of commitment to planning processes.
• Inferior information.
• Focusing on the present at the expense of the future.

Measures to Overcome Planning Barriers

• Information must be sufficient, correct, reliable, and relevant.
• Planning must start long before implementation.
• Planning must always start at top management level.
• Planning must be within the framework of the main objective and policy of the organization.
• Planning procedures should be systematic.

Steps in the Planning Process

• Step one: Perception of opportunities (preparatory step, considering possible opportunities, and SWOT analysis).
• Step two: Formulate objectives (what to achieve, how to achieve, and when to achieve, with objectives being quantifiable, achievable, and SMART).
• Step three: Define the current situation (internal and external environments of the institution, where the institution is today, and where it wants to go).
• Step four: Identify areas for and barriers to planning (factors contributing to the achievement of institutional objectives and identifying factors that could cause barriers).
• Step five: Make alternative plans (most alternative solutions are not always clear, and no alternative should be rejected too quickly).
• Step six: Evaluate alternative plans (analyzing and testing all alternatives, identifying strengths and weaknesses for possible selection).
• Step seven: Choose the best plan of action (depending on the previous two steps, considering all variables identified).
• Step eight: Formulate derivative plans (the main plan adopted by management may necessitate a number of smaller plans).
• Step nine: Prepare a budget for plans (survival of the public institution depends on their legitimacy and sufficient funds, supported by a breakeven analysis).

Planning Aids

• Gantt Chart (a graph method used in planning and control, showing the actual and expected progress of various tasks).
• Load chart.
• Network-based scheduling.
• Strategic planning.

Organising

• The process of arranging and allocating work, authority, and resources among an organization's members so that they can achieve organizational goals.
• Clarifying and grouping functions and allocating groups of functions to institutions and workers in an orderly pattern.
• The organizational structure should give employees a clear idea of their responsibilities, authority, and the person they have to report to.

Departmentalization

• Criteria for departmentalization:
  • Similarity of functions.
  • Geographic factors.
  • Product or services rendered.
  • The client/customer.
  • Numbers.

Centralisation and Decentralisation

• Centralisation: the concentration of authority at the top of an organization or department, where decisions are made, and everything is possible at one point.
• Decentralisation: the delegation of authority to lower levels of employees or departments, where decisions are made, and activities are spread geographically.

Delegation of Authority

• A yielding of authority by a person in authority to a subordinate so that the latter can act independently, within limits.
• For example, Provincial governments can devolve their authority to local governments to perform certain functions on behalf of the provincial legislature.
• Responsibility can be delegated, but not liability.
• Fixed procedures for performing functions, clear, formal instructions for delegation, so that institutions know their associated powers and duties.

Types of Power

• To be discussed.

Responsibility

• To be discussed.

Assess your knowledge of public management functions, including policy-making and community involvement. Learn about the role of public managers and their objectives in providing services and products.