The impact of performance management on employee morale in Western Cape Provincial head office of Department of local government & housing

Abstract

Local Government in South Africa has undergone much transformation since 5 December 2000. Much of this change has been implemented to correct the imbalances, inequities and disparities within our local communities as a result of Apartheid policies. However, motivation for this change is also because National Government has realized that like other governments throughout the world, there is a need to continuously modernise all spheres of government. In establishing the background, readers will be exposed to the implicit objectives contained in the new local government legislation and specifically, the legislation relevant to performance management. The development of a performance management system at local government level in South Africa is a highly structured process which is determined by various sets of legislation. To develop a comprehensive understanding of the impact that the municipal has on the implementation of a performance management system, a review of the legislation is therefore imperative. In South Africa, the government's response since 1994 (Calitz and Siebrits, 2002) has been to realign its economic policies in terms of Growth Employment and Redistribution (GEAR). This has required that government becomes more efficient in the delivery and production of its services. Further, the focus has been on technical efficiency with emphasis on better or improved government services without an increase in taxes. Calitz and Siebrits (2002) con~luded that the South African government's focus at a national level has definitely shifted from its regulatory role to that of a facilitator of growth. The overall aims of performance management is to establish a high-performance culture in which individuals and teams takes responsibility for the continuous improvement of business processes and their own skills and contributions within a framework provided by effective leadership. Specifically, performance management is about aligning individual objectives to organizational objectives and ensuring that individuals uphold corporate core values. It provides for expectations to be defined and agreed in terms of role responsibilities and accountabilities (expected to do), skills (expected to have) and behaviours (expected to be). Its aim is to develop the capacity of people to meet and exceed expectations and to achieve their full potential to themselves and the\ organisation.