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Doctoral Degrees (International and Public Affairs)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10413/7221

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (International and Public Affairs) by Author "Lawrence, Ralph Bruce."

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    An analysis of governance in further education and training colleges in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
    (2014) Juan, Andrea Liesel.; Lawrence, Ralph Bruce.; Stanton, Anne Sylvie.
    The governance of Further Education and Training (FET) colleges in South Africa has been cited as an obstacle to the sector contributing to the developmental needs of the country. There has, however, been little academic research in this area. This thesis analyses the governance of FET colleges in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) by means of constructing a conceptual framework which examines governance from an organisational perspective and applies this framework to two FET colleges in the province. This is achieved through a largely qualitative methodology. The key question posed in this thesis is: Is the governance of FET colleges significantly affected by the environment? Through this investigation, this study is able to determine: (i) the external environmental characteristics that affect the governance of FET colleges; (ii) the effects of the external environment on FET colleges; (iii) how FET colleges respond to these external environmental demands; and (iv) why the FET colleges respond in the manner that they do. In answering the key question, the economic, political, policy and geographic environments in which FET colleges in the province operate are explored. It is concluded that the state of governance in these colleges is the result of external environmental influences and resource dependency. This investigation has highlighted that the external environment has placed demands on the system of further education, which has resulted in adaptive and avoidant governance practices in FET colleges that have been adopted out of necessity. While the study has not reported on all colleges in South Africa, it does identify factors that impact on the manner in which FET colleges are governed. The concern is raised that any national government interventions need to be cognisant of the policy implementation challenges that the external environment will impose on FET colleges. Failure to do so will lead to ongoing and increasing governance practices of avoidance and adaptation.
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    Managing policy on broad-based black economic empowerment in the provincial government of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
    (2013) Sibeta, Sixtus.; Lawrence, Ralph Bruce.
    This thesis examines the management of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) policy by the provincial government of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Several authors have analyzed the policy on B-BBEE in South Africa, mainly focusing on the impact of the policy on the ‘actors’, and the ethical implications of the policy, but no research has been done on its policy implementation and management, particularly in the public service in South Africa. The central aim of this thesis is to investigate the organizational complexities surrounding how the policy on B-BBEE is managed by the provincial government of KwaZulu-Natal. The study focuses on the three KwaZulu-Natal technical clusters: the economic sectors and infrastructure development, governance and administration, and the social protection, community & human development cluster. The thesis identifies various government departments in each cluster to examine how the policy on B-BBEE is managed. The investigation revealed that government has been successful in implementing some aspects of B-BBEE policy as the majority of blacks were holding key strategic positions within the provincial government. However, the provincial government was grappling with serious management challenges. This thesis explores instruments for policy management, that is, policy coordination, organizational transformation, organizational hierarchy, and policy communication. The results showed that much as the provincial government has been able to open up opportunities for black people there is still a long way to go in terms of transforming policy management structures, functions, processes, norms, values, procedures, organizational culture, and organizational decision-making in improving policy management. The study revealed that various government structures, functions, processes, procedures, norms, values and organizational culture are incompatible with B-BBEE policy objectives. Government decision-making is hierarchical which obstructs the management of B-BBEE policy implementation. Furthermore, B-BBEE policy is still yet to be institutionalized by most government organizations in the province.
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    A policy analysis of curative health service delivery in North Darfur state, Sudan.
    (2012) Yagoub, Abdallah Ibrahim Adam.; Lawrence, Ralph Bruce.
    This thesis analyses the policy of curative health service delivery in North Darfur State, Sudan. Several authors have analyzed health service delivery issues, mainly focusing on controlling the spread of common diseases. No work has been done that focuses on the health policy aspect and its contribution to improving curative health service delivery, especially in areas affected by conflict since 2003. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on the nature and the evolution of health service delivery systems management, as well as policy implementation, thereby widening the discussion about the further projections of this field of study. The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate how to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of curative health service delivery systems management, as well as policy implementation, in fostering socio-economic development in North Darfur State. The study focuses on how the national health system and national health policy of Sudan have been managed and implemented in North Darfur State. This thesis identifies the different health sectors, public, private and international NGOs, that provide curative health services in North Darfur State, and the difficulties that have been facing the population in accessing these health facilities. Investigations showed that curative health services are not adequate in the public sector, and that they are very expensive in the private sector. The exception is the NGO sector but it is not guaranteed to be sustainable in providing curative health services to poor and conflict-affected people. This thesis also identifies the mechanisms of health system management and policy implementation, by means of co-ordination and collaboration between the various government sectors, federal, state and district, in a decentralized system working in concert with international NGOs. The results show that there is poor co-ordination between the three levels of government, especially at district level, as well as poor collaboration between government and international NGOs, caused by government‟s lack of human and financial capacity. The potential for improvement in curative health service delivery are explored, particularly at district level. This is essential so that quality curative health services can be delivered to the population, thereby contributing to socio-economic development in North Darfur State.