In this article, the aim is to question the relevance of well-known public leadership styles to the 21st century. The aim is buoyed by the notion that traditional leadership styles, even more so conventional ways of leading, will no longer ensure success, as 21st-century risks have had a considerable impact on the role and disposition of the public leader. The article draws on a qualitative review of academic papers and articles, documentary materials, surveys, and reports. An analysis of this material is used to gain a broad understanding of how public leadership styles are transforming under the impetus of the 21st century. The discussion is based on the challenges that public leaders are likely to face over the next decade, the pacesetters for public leaders to transform in the 21st century, and recommendations guiding public leadership styles for the 21st century.
Le monde universitaire soutient que la démocratie ne peut être efficace en soi, mais que son maintien est tributaire du gouvernement et des citoyens. Afin d'assurer le maintien de la démocratie sud-africaine, les fonctions de l'État et des citoyens doivent être intégrées afin d'assurer l'imputabilité, la transparence, l'efficacité et une prestation de services publics de qualité. La présente étude a pour objectif de déterminer ce que les étudiants considèrent comme étant le rôle de l'État, de même que des citoyens, dans le renforcement de la démocratie sud-africaine. Des informations ont été recueillies à cette fin au moyen d'une enquête destinée aux étudiants inscrits à des modules d'administration et de gestion publiques dans une université sud-africaine. Il ressort de cette enquête que les répondants estimaient qu'il était important de se renseigner sur la démocratie ainsi que de surveiller le comportement des politiciens. Les observations indiquent en outre que les répondants considéraient des questions telles que l'éducation, la santé, l'ordre public et, dans une moindre mesure, la création d'emplois, comme des fonctions essentielles de l'État. Dans notre conclusion, nous verrons que l'information des citoyens joue un rôle important dans le renforcement de la démocratie sud-africaine, notamment eu égard au Cadre stratégique à moyen terme adopté par l'Afrique du Sud et à ses douze objectifs. Remarques à l'intention des praticiens Dans le présent article, nous nous intéressons à la démocratie sud-africaine actuelle eu égard aux différentes fonctions de l'État, d'une part, et des citoyens, d'autre part. Notre étude s'intéresse aux opinions des étudiants inscrits à des modules d'administration et de gestion publiques dans une université sud-africaine en ce qui concerne le rôle de l'État et des citoyens dans la création d'une démocratie durable. Nous présenterons en outre des informations générales sur la trajectoire suivie par l'Afrique du Sud sur la voie de la démocratie et de l'égalité.
Academe has argued that democracy cannot be effective on its own, but is reliant on the government and citizens to sustain it. For the South African democracy to be sustained, the roles of the government and the citizens need to be integrated to ensure accountability, transparency, effectiveness and good quality provision of public services to the citizens. The aim of this study is to establish what students view as the role of the government, and of citizens, in strengthening South African democracy. To this effect, information was collected by means of a survey targeting students enrolled for modules in Public Administration and Management at a South African university. It emerged that the respondents deemed it important to educate themselves about democracy as well as the monitoring of politicians' behaviour. The findings further indicated that the respondents considered issues such as education, health, public order and safety, and job creation to a lesser extent, to be key roles of government. The article concludes by contemplating the importance of educating citizens in strengthening the South African democracy with special reference to the South African Medium Term Strategic Framework, and its 12 outcomes. Points for practitioners This article evaluates current South African democracy with reference to the different roles of both government and citizens, respectively. The study revealed the perceptions of students enrolled for modules in Public Administration and Management at a South African university regarding the role of government and citizens in the creation of a sustainable democracy. Furthermore, background information is given on the South African growth path towards democracy and equality.
Published Article ; This article reviews the perspectives on the rights, roles and endeavours of women in the South African work environment. In an attempt to achieve this objective, the article commences with a holistic approach on the evolution of women's rights and roles. The remainder gives perspectives on the South African labour force and finally outlines the importance of South African legislation on the advancement of women. The situation of African women is, in particular referred to, as it was evident during 1995 and earlier that African females were considerably under-represented in various sectors of the workforce. African women were, for example, introduced into the management environment as recently as the 1980s, while supportive legislation only came into place in the 1990s.
Purpose Social innovation (SI) remains a latent area in the South African local government (LG) sphere despite its growing use in public-sector service delivery globally. This paper aims to investigate the use of SI in the service delivery of LG through a comparison between the City of Ghent (CoG) (Belgium) and the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality (MMM) (South Africa).
Design/methodology/approach Through a comparative case study approach, qualitative research methods were used to both collect and analyze the data. Data collection instruments included document analysis (naturally occurring data), semi-structured interviews (generated data) and focus group discussions (generated data).
Findings Although LG is obliged to collaborate with citizens, various factors influence citizens' ability to make contributions, even when platforms are created. Collaborative initiatives aid in the realization of collective development visions and enhance citizen participation in a more responsive and inclusive approach to service delivery. Collaborations would require citizens and LG officials to be empowered by finding new ways of working together, as well as developing skills.
Practical implications Citizens' participation when SI is used to enhance service delivery should be meticulously planned. Co-producing services require a conducive internal organizational context that advances citizen participation in the governance and decision-making of service delivery, which is likewise optimal for enhancing the use of SI during the respective co-production service delivery stages. Achieving a conducive internal organizational context is influenced by the role of LG officials and politicians in understanding the value proposition of participation in service delivery to citizens. This value proposition is crucial to building and establishing a trust relationship between citizens, LG officials and politicians. Finally, consensus concerning the concept of SI and its use and implementation is important to ensure its consistent use and application by a municipality, and thus calls for further in-depth investigation.
Originality/value SI is a nascent area for which the discourse is still under development, and it is a concept that is often the subject of debate in literature. This paper is justified by the fact that the use of SI in the South African LG sphere lags behind the growing use thereof in public-sector service delivery by LGs globally. In addition, the study presents novel insights regarding similarities and differences in the use of SI through a comparison between two LGs, namely, the MMM and the CoG.
