Corporate Social Responsibility 2.0: Towards a socio-transformative paradigm for business

The South African business fraternity is expected to contribute to and foster the government’s social transformation agenda. This contribution should be directed by businesses’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) intentions and organizational arrangements. However, companies’ efforts in this regard are being increasingly criticized due to the absence of a socio-transformative agenda. In other words, CSR praxis is perceived to be inadequately positioned in businesses to act as a core strategic function aimed at benefiting society. The purpose of this article is to outline the perceived failures of conventional CSR praxis and to propose a framework for businesses to adopt a socio-transformative CSR paradigm. A generic qualitative research design, utilizing document analysis and a literature survey, was followed in this study. The findings indicate that businesses do indeed need to adopt a socio-transformative business model to comply with national and international driving forces for change. Recommendations are proposed to guide businesses towards such a transformative management approach utilizing the principles of McKinsey 7-S model for business readiness and Kotter’s 8-step change management model. The study encourages corporations and firms to adopt a socio-transformative paradigm by utilizing established business readiness and change management models

Measuring the goodness of governance : macro, intermediate and micro perspectives

Governance comprises a network of interdependent connections between various actors. The performance of governance institutions should be measured, both quantitatively (efficiency, effectiveness and economy dimensions) and qualitatively (outcomes and impact on society). Such measuring endeavours should occur against the background of globally-accepted principles of good and outcomes-based governance. It should further be facilitated by the design and establishment of comprehensive monitoring and evaluation systems. The question may be asked as to what extent the South African Government complies with international best practices to measure the goodness of its policy, strategy, programme and project interventions. The focus of this article is thus to critique the system utilised by the South African Government to measure the goodness of government (institutional perspectives) as well as the goodness of governance (network, joined-up, societal perspectives). A macro, intermediate and micro framework is utilised for this purpose

Government interventionism and sustainable development : the case of South Africa

Governments have moral and legal obligations to intervene in society in order to direct, regulate, facilitate and act as catalyst for economic prosperity, social justice and ecological sustainability. The nature and scale of such interventions depend on various factors, which include the ideological reasoning of policy makers, the availability of natural resources, demographical and geographical realities, as well as trajectories for economic growth. On a global scale governments have to address serious challenges such as climate change, ecological dysfunction, and the depletion of natural resources. The global community is living far beyond its ecological means. It is expected that governments muster coherent policy responses to the highly complex environmental problems that society is facing currently. The aim of this article is to outline governments’ interventions in sustainable development by focusing on a particular case, namely the South African Government. This government sets itself the target to become a developmental state according to the strategic goals of its National Development Plan. This context will be explored by focusing on specific social, economic and environmental interventions the South African Government has effected to facilitate sustainable development

Towards an E-Governance competency framework for public service managers : the South African experiment

The emergence of the so-called networked or knowledge society profoundly transforms governance approaches on a global scale by introducing new forms of collaboration and exchange between society and government. Government institutions and agencies had to respond by optimally utilising ICT technology to facilitate e-governance applications for improved interactions with society. In light of this context a skilled and competent workforce for the application of appropriate e-governance technologies is essential. As the administrative leaders of executive institutions (i.e. government departments), civil service managers have to champion and oversee all e-governance applications and practices. Various general training models for capacity-building of civil service managers exist, but a comprehensive competency framework for their e-readiness as far as e-governance applications are concerned, is largely absent. Such a competency framework should be congruent with the unique governance circumstances, applications, operations, e-governance praxis, regulatory framework, and the ICT infrastructure-growth trajectory of a particular country. The purpose of this article is threefold. Firstly, it will outline contextual perspectives regarding the utilisation of ICT in promoting e-governance in general, including an analysis of the seemingly insufficient alignment between government operational demands and the e-readiness (i.e. competencies) of civil service managers. Secondly, the article will explore the South African Government’s initiatives in promoting e-governance competencies of its civil service; and thirdly, it will propose a comprehensive competency framework for civil service managers based on a comparative analysis of various models and best practice around the globe

MR Imaging of the Midfoot and Forefoot

MR imaging is the diagnostic modality of choice for the evaluation of traumatic, inflammatory and neoplastic processes affecting the midfoot and forefoot soft tissue structures including muscles, ligaments, and tendons. MR imaging is also valuable in the diagnosis of occult bony trauma, stress reaction or fractures, and osteomyelitis. Exquisite contrast resolution, noninvasiveness, and multiplanar capabilities are unique features that make MR imaging a powerful diagnostic technique. The authors employ a basic protocol using T1‐weighted, fast spin echo proton density with and without frequency‐selective fat saturation, and fast spin echo T2‐weighted sequences as well as short‐tau inversion recovery (STIR) imaging. Additional imaging following intravenous gadolinium administration is indicated when osteomyelitis and neoplastic processes are suspected. Post‐contrast fat‐suppressed T1‐weighted sequences are necessary if intravenous or intra‐articular gadolinium is utilized.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145401/1/cpmia2502.pd

Public Administration and Management as study domain : the relevance debate

The applicative nature of Public Administration and Management (henceforth referred to as PAM) as a social science discipline is evident. Therefore it is generally maintained that this discipline’s relevance revolves around the practical solutions that it holds for challenges in governance. During PAM curriculation exercises at tertiary institutions, various questions are often posed. These include questions such as: To what extent does the discipline address the real world of governance? Does it adequately equip the prospective public manager for the demands associated with the executive arm of government? How can the theory-practice gap in tuition be bridged? Ultimately, the question remains: Is PAM’s relevance only centred on its vocational nature, or should its relevance also be sought on a more fundamental, scientific level? If the only concern of PAM as applied science is providing applications to serve government, are the following aspects not sacrificed: scientific knowledge creation, independent and critical engagement, and theory development? The purpose of this article is to explore the following avenues: the potential relevance of the discipline for society, the government as study domain and main employer, the university as educational service provider, and the student who desires value for money as well as prospects for future employment

Relationship outcomes as measurement criteria to assist communication strategists to manage organisational relationships

Los recursos no financieros, como las relaciones, son de granimportancia para los directivos. En particular, los gerentes de comunicacionesse enfocan en medir y manejar las relaciones organizacionales comouna forma de cuantificar el Retorno sobre la Inversión (ROI ) que se derivade las relaciones públicas y de las estrategias de comunicación. Esta mediciónofrece a los gerentes una manera de evaluar el aporte de las relacionesen la organización. Sin embargo, no existe un acuerdo generalizadosobre cómo definir estas relaciones. Si la dirección de las comunicacionesse considera como una función de la gerencia, se debe, entonces, refinarsus instrumentos de medición. Así, este estudio considera un modelo detres etapas sobre las relaciones organizacionales (antecedentes de la relación,estrategias de mantenimiento y resultado de la relación) propuestopor Grunig y Huang (2000). Primero, se revisará el desarrollo del modelo.En segundo lugar, se estudiará en detalle cada resultado de la relación entérminos de su confianza, compromiso, satisfacción y control de la reciprocidad.Finalmente, la fiabilidad y la validez del uso de las medidas actualesde los resultados de la relación se evalúan a través de una muestra de154 relaciones organizacionales. Estudios previos que han utilizado estosresultados en la medición de las relaciones organizacionales no discutenla posible interacción (o relación) entre los resultados. Este estudio realizauna contribución a la literatura al ofrecer una mejora del actual esquemapara medir los resultados de las relaciones y al sugerir algunas hipótesissobre cómo estos resultados interactúan entre sí. Asimismo discute qué repercusionespuede tener para las directivas un manejo de estas relacionesa través de una política de medición continua de la confianza, el compromiso,la satisfacción y del control de la reciprocidad

Towards a typology of government interventionism in municipalities

Although significant progress has been made since democratisation in 1994, much still needs to be done before all local, district and metropolitan municipalities in South Africa are fully functional, sustainable, and developmental. In response to general municipal dysfunctionalism with inadequate service delivery levels and rising levels of public protest, the South African Government has a statutory and moral obligation to intervene in the affairs of municipalities. The nature, scope, and intensions of such interventions are, however, not always clear. It is evident though that Government increasingly views interventionism as a viable approach. Embracing such an interventionist paradigm in government requires scholars to more closely scrutinise municipal interventions, not as loose-standing and isolated occurrences, but as part of an emergent strategy in South African governance. The purpose of this article is to make a contextual and conceptual contribution to the analysis of interventionism by developing a theoretical construct in the form of a typology. This typology could stimulate further scholarly perspectives into the phenomenon of government interventionism in South African municipalities