Assessment of the status of lean implementation at selected South African Revenue Service branch offices

Governments around the world want to deliver better education, better health care, better pensions and better transportation services. They know that impatient electorates want to see change, and fast. But, the funds required to meet such expectations are enormous, particularly in the many developed economies where populations are aging and the public sector's productivity has not kept pace with that of the private sector. The need to get value for money from governments at all levels is therefore under the spotlight as never before. However, cost-cutting programmes that seek savings of 1 to 3% per year will not be sufficient and, in some cases, may even weaken the quality of service (Bhatia & Drew, 2006). One of the key innovative means to improve productivity, and do more with less, is through the implementation of lean initiatives. The purpose of this study is to conduct an 'Assessment of the status of lean implementation at selected SARS (South African Revenue Service) branch offices'. Literature review was conducted to investigate the origins of lean and how the service industry tapped from this philosophy, which was initially developed for the manufacturing sector. The lean philosophy has now been widely adopted in various service industries, from government agencies such as the South African Revenue Service to financial institutions such as ABSA bank, including the healthcare industry. The findings of the research indicated that even though the organisation has made a strategic decision to implement lean, this has not been entirely successful as there is a lack of understanding of lean among managers and team leaders. There are some pockets of excellence though. The researcher recommends that a comprehensive road map be developed to guide the organisation into a sustainable lean implementation

Considerations About Some Aspects of the 23rd November 1980 Earthquake

The macroscopic effects of the earthquake of the 23rd of November 1980 in southern Italy are well-known. The purpose of this short paper is to present after about five months, some more exact testimonies with some considerations about numerous questions connected to the geotechnical and geological problems in seismic areas. We have to be precise that we, in this paper, contemplate the MURO LUCANO and CASTELGRANDE areas (in Basilicata) (fig. 1

Pravci razvoja sestrinstva kao samostalne zdravstvene profesije: komparativna analiza legislative u sestrinstvu Bosne i Hercegovine i zemalja u regiji

Introduction. The rising need for quality health care, increased workload, accountability and healthcare reforms, are factors that resulted in growing requirements for recognition of the nursing profession, which are clearly defined in the Munich Declaration (2000). Unfortunately, in the current health care system in most of the transition countries of the Region of the South East Europe, nursing is still not adequately validated as a special profession. Aim. Presentation of legal solutions related to nursing profession in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) from the aspect of definition of nursing activities, education standards, licensing and labor mobility. Methods. Desktop analysis as a method of quality research of legislative and strategic documents related to nursing in B&H. Analysis of the directive and legislation in the countries of the region and the EU. Comparison with the legislation of B&H. According to the constitutional solutions, within the competence of the Entities (Republic of Srpska), the area of health care in B&H is divided by the competencies of the entities and cantons (the Federation of B&H), that is, within the competence of the Brčko District of B&H, therefore, there is also a separate entity legislation. In 2013, the Government of the Federation of B&H adopted the Law on Nursing and Midwifery and secretly defined the nursing domains in accordance with the EU directives. In the Republic of Srpska and the Brčko District, this is partly defined in the systemic health care laws (amended in 2015). Conclusions. In all the legal acts reviewed, there are still shortcomings in the defined domains for the nursing profession. By addressing these issues, the progress of nursing development would speed up, strengthen and modernize the health system, which would undoubtedly increase the quality of health care to a higher level.Uvod. S povećanjem potreba za kvalitetnom zdravstvenom njegom, povećanjem obima posla i odgovornosti te reformama u zdravstvu rasli su i zahtjevi za determiniranjem domena u profesiji sestrinstva, što je jasno definirano u Minhenskoj deklaraciji (2000.). Nažalost, u sadašnjem sustavu zdravstvene zaštite u većini tranzicijskih zemalja regije jugoistočne Europe sestrinstvo i dalje nije adekvatno validirano kao posebna profesija. Cilj. Prikaz zakonskih rješenja povezanih sa sestrinstvom, a ponuđenih kroz legislative u Bosni i Hercegovini (BiH) s aspekta definicije sestrinske djelatnosti, standarda obrazovanja, licenciranja i mogućnosti mobilnosti radne snage. Metode. Desktop analiza legislativnih i strateških dokumenata povezanih sa sestrinstvom u BiH. Rezultati. Oblast zdravstva u BiH prema ustavnim je rješenjima u nadležnosti entiteta (Republika Srpska), podijeljenoj nadležnosti entiteta i kantona (Federacija BiH), odnosno u nadležnosti Brčko Distrikta BiH, stoga postoji i zasebna entitetska legislativa. Vlada Federacije BiH 2013. godine donijela je Zakon o sestrinstvu i primaljstvu te tako jasno definirala domene u sestrinstvu, u skladu s direktivama EU-a. U Republici Srpskoj i Distriktu Brčko ovo je dijelom definirano u sustavnim zakonima o zdravstvenoj zaštiti. Zaključak. U svim pregledanim zakonskim aktima još uvijek postoje nedostaci u definiranim domenama za sestrinsku profesiju. Rješavanjem ovih nekompletnosti, progres razvoja sestrinstva ubrzao bi, ojačao i modernizirao zdravstveni sustav, što bi nesumnjivo podignulo kvalitetu zdravstvene zaštite na višu razinu

Publicaciones personales en línea en la Argentina (1995-2009)

El trabajo reconstruye la historia de las publicaciones personales en Internet en la Argentina, desde el comienzo de las conexiones comerciales (1995) hasta el auge de los blogs (2009), basado en el relevamiento de artículos periodísticos, y complementado con el estudio bibliográfico y con entrevistas en profundidad a informantes clave. Se pudieron establecer distintas etapas en la evolución de las publicaciones personales, vinculándolas con procesos contemporáneos de transformaciones sociales, culturales y mediáticas.Red de Carreras de Comunicación Social (REDCOM

Publicaciones personales en línea en la Argentina (1995-2009)

El trabajo reconstruye la historia de las publicaciones personales en Internet en la Argentina, desde el comienzo de las conexiones comerciales (1995) hasta el auge de los blogs (2009), basado en el relevamiento de artículos periodísticos, y complementado con el estudio bibliográfico y con entrevistas en profundidad a informantes clave. Se pudieron establecer distintas etapas en la evolución de las publicaciones personales, vinculándolas con procesos contemporáneos de transformaciones sociales, culturales y mediáticas.Red de Carreras de Comunicación Social (REDCOM

Publicaciones personales en línea en la Argentina (1995-2009)

El trabajo reconstruye la historia de las publicaciones personales en Internet en la Argentina, desde el comienzo de las conexiones comerciales (1995) hasta el auge de los blogs (2009), basado en el relevamiento de artículos periodísticos, y complementado con el estudio bibliográfico y con entrevistas en profundidad a informantes clave. Se pudieron establecer distintas etapas en la evolución de las publicaciones personales, vinculándolas con procesos contemporáneos de transformaciones sociales, culturales y mediáticas.Red de Carreras de Comunicación Social (REDCOM

Sujetos reflexivos y autonarrativas virtuales

Las nociones de reflexividad y modernidad reflexiva desarrolladas por Ulrich Beck, Anthony Giddens y Scott Lash permiten comprender el contexto en el que se han ido modelando los principales usos de Internet y cómo se constituyen las subjetividades puestas en juego en el soporte virtual. Es en el marco del proceso que Beck denomina de “individualización” que las personas deben “producir, representar y combinar por sí mismos sus propias biografías” y que, de acuerdo con Giddens, rasgos íntimos de la vida personal y del yo se entretejen “con relaciones de extensión espacio-temporal indefinidas”. Así, la tarea de autoconstitución de estos “sujetos reflexivos”  se expresa en el auge de las formas autonarrativas en línea

Sujetos reflexivos y autonarrativas virtuales

Las nociones de reflexividad y modernidad reflexiva desarrolladas por Ulrich Beck, Anthony Giddens y Scott Lash permiten comprender el contexto en el que se han ido modelando los principales usos de Internet y cómo se constituyen las subjetividades puestas en juego en el soporte virtual. Es en el marco del proceso que Beck denomina de “individualización” que las personas deben “producir, representar y combinar por sí mismos sus propias biografías” y que, de acuerdo con Giddens, rasgos íntimos de la vida personal y del yo se entretejen “con relaciones de extensión espacio-temporal indefinidas”. Así, la tarea de autoconstitución de estos “sujetos reflexivos” se expresa en el auge de las formas autonarrativas en línea.Facultad de Periodismo y Comunicación Socia