HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

HRM245

CHAPTER 1

21ST CENTURY HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

WHAT IS HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT?

Human resource (HR) management1 consists of dedicated professionals working cooperatively

with other talented organizational (and community) members to achieve the organization’s
vision, mission, goals, and values. As such, HR management operates as a service unit for other
operational units.
HR strives to develop policies, plans, programs, and initiatives that advance other working units’
human capacity and their ability to provide high-quality products and services to customers,
clients, or citizens (in the case of government).
HR began as personnel administration. Many of the same tasks that personnel administration
units coordinated in the past continue to be part of HR management today. Chapter 2 will discuss
more comprehensively the three levels of HR management. Operational-level HR (i.e., the work
of coordinating personnel functions on a day-to-day basis) incorporates many of the traditional
personnel administration functions.
Today, however, HR systems cannot simply focus on coordination of the organization’s human
capital needs in a present sense. HR units increasingly are moving toward serving in a strategic
capacity, assisting other organizational units to identify and reward talent, as well as identifying
methods and strategies for improving organizational outcomes.
HUMAN RESOURCE SIX CORE VALUES
Strongly held and effectively practiced values significantly influence the quality of HR services
offered to individuals seeking professional assistance. These values must be living standards that
guide HR practitioners’ policies, attitudes, actions, and behaviors. Progressive personnel units’
principles drive the team’s responsiveness to internal customers (i.e., those departments and
people that HR assist in their organizations) and external customers (e.g., the media, individuals
seeking employment information, and other units of government). The six core values
fundamental to high effectiveness and to quality public sector HR units are:

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1. Responsiveness to the public’s will
2. Social equity
3. Mission-driven focus
4. Skills-based competency in employment practices
5. Professional human resource competency
6. Ethically based organizational culture
1. RESPONSIVENESS TO THE PUBLIC’S WILL
The principal responsiveness to the public’s will demands that public employees act in the
citizens’ best interest. The public’s will is determined through the electoral process and
expressed through public policy decisions offered by their elected representatives.
In this instance, the public servant’s actions ultimately follow the policy directives of elected
leaders unless some compelling reason dictates otherwise. Compelling exceptions might include
officials’ attempts to circumvent existing laws, actions patently serving private interest or benefit
at the expense of the public’s good, and situations violating the ethical or professional standards
of one’s profession. In these circumstances, public employees face difficult professional (and
personal) decisions.
Voicing opposition (e.g., whistle-blowing) to anticipated or actual practices may be one path of
action. A second recourse is to remain quiet while resigning one’s position with the organization.
A final approach may be to bring questionable practices to the attention of leaders (and, if
necessary, legal authorities) while remaining a force for meaningful change. Each whistle-
blowing scenario requires personal fortitude and a strong character, as individuals experiencing
these circumstances often suffer greatly for maintaining high public standards.
2. SOCIAL EQUITY
The second value, social equity, stresses the fair treatment to all members of society, including
employees (and protected group members seeking entry) in public organizations.
Social equity, in a HR context, focuses on the employment-related decisions affecting protected
class groups (e.g., women, aging employees, the disabled, veterans, and people of color and
other ethnic affiliations).
Employment-related actions include recruitment and selection practices and outcomes,
promotion and demotion decisions, training and development policies and programs, employee
discipline processes, and downsizing, outplacement, and termination strategies.

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HR systems serve as gatekeepers of fair treatment across competing interests.
3. MISSION-DRIVEN FOCUS
Over the past quarter century, public organizations have incorporated mission statements
as an integral component of their management planning process and organizational
philosophy. Mission statements give organizations purpose, vision, and
meaningful directions for seeking collective agency accomplishments. These benchmarks
also serve as the barometer of mission-driven success.
HR units play a significant role in the identification and attainment of the organization’s mission
by assisting in the identification of human capital trends and aiding departments through
necessary organizational restructuring.
Furthermore, HR helps employees gain new skills and leadership development. Finally, through
effective human capital planning, HR assists employees to acquire the requisite talent needed to
succeed in executing policies, plans, and programs that sustain the organization’s mission.
4. SKILLS-BASED COMPETENCY IN EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES
The principle of skills-based competency relates to the identification and selection of individuals
with the demonstrated talents and capacity to function effectively in the position they hold or
seek. Typically, a person’s qualifications for employment are determined through a combination
of educational attainment, position examinations predicting high job content knowledge, and an
on-the-job demonstration of job abilities.
Job content-based testing and appropriate skill-based selection techniques seek to offset the
heavy use of politically based hiring in public sector. Past patronage selection systems were
criticized for selecting job applicants based on whom the applicants knew rather than what they
knew; a plum job, for example, might go to an unqualified long-time political contributor to the
recently elected mayor’s campaign or a lifelong associate of a powerful local politico. In
contrast, the principle of skills based competency ensures that hiring a professional and talented
public employee, such as the city’s next human resource director, will be determined according
to the applicant’s relevant job knowledge, past indications of performance, and demonstrated
successes.
5. PROFESSIONAL HUMAN RESOURCE COMPETENCY
HR practitioners also aspire to attain professional skill competency. In this profession, one’s
actions impact the lives of others on a daily basis. HR decisions affect who is hired, the content

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of training and development afforded to employees, and the nature of measuring performance
levels in the agency. In addition, these decisions influence the distribution of organizational
resources, including employee compensation and benefits along with a myriad of other critical
factors that affect employees’ lives both on and off the job.
6. ETHICALLY BASED ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
The final HR value, creating standards for improved ethical behavior in public organizations,
ranks among the most significant concerns in today’s public sector environment. HR officers
frequently face difficult ethical issues in their work. They must contemplate their own personal
ethical values in relation to those exhibited by their organization and its executive leaders.
Value-driven HR management principles strengthen the attainment of an organization’s goals
and mission. Moreover, these six core values influence the development of the type of positive
and enduring cultures that HR management systems need in order to develop sustainable policies
that improve twenty-first century workforces as they tackle dynamic forces for change.
WOMEN IN THE WORKFORCE

Balancing family and work obligations has become an increasingly formidable burden for
workers. Family friendly organizations, which allow the flexibility and assistance for individuals
to balance these competing work-family obligations, position themselves at a competitive
advantage compared with more traditional organizations. Working women, in particular, value
flexible policies and initiatives that allow them to function dually as a contributing parent and
productive employee. Position attractiveness increases considerably when the organization
provides family friendly policies such as flexible working hours, flexible leave programs, on-site
childcare programs or childcare referral assistance, and other desired benefits and perks.

ETHNIC DIVERSITY

Changes in the nation’s population certainly will influence the racial and ethnic diversity in the
workplace. Increased interest in diversity training, for example, is one outcome of greater
demographic diversity in the country’s communities Rationale for performance Management
system of Public sector organisations as well as in its workforce. Understanding cultural
differences across social groups will be an important factor in interacting with the public. Hence
hr officers in the public sector need to be concertized about the need to introduce policies on

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managing diversity and going a step further in facilitating diversity training management in
parastatals.

Ways to manage diversity within the public sectors

● Develop a diversity and inclusion strategy

● Define the values of the organisation concerning diversity( e.g fairness, equality, care for

individuals,inclusion)

● Set out diversity policies

● Pay attention to particular problem areas such as recruitment, appointments and

promotions, career development and pay

● Devise running training programmes designed to increase awareness and influence

behaviour

● Monitor progress

Discussions

1. Break into small groups of three to five students. Identify one group member to serve as
spokesperson for the group’s findings. Discuss how diversity in the workplace has changed the
nature of managing people and reshaped the culture of most organizations today. Reflect upon
how a predominantly male organization would differ from a robust organization that is diverse in
terms of gender and ethnicity. Also, consider the pressures that ethnicity and gender changes
exert on reshaping the practices and policies of HR systems today. 25marks

2. Review one of the six core values of HR management. Each grp should discuss how HR
management systems benefit by possessing significant levels of the value that it has been asked
to review. For example, if the group has been selected to assess an “ethically based
organizational culture,” discuss how highly ethical work units might differ from units lacking
such ethical standards.

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3. What is likely to be the impact of aging in the workplace on future personnel policies,
performance outcomes, medical and health care planning, and succession planning? What can
HR systems do to facilitate organizational planning as they prepare to deal with the effects of
aging in the workplace?

CHAPTER 2
HUMAN RESOURCES IN THE EMERGING ORGANISATION

Definition of HRM
Human resource management entails all activities associated with the management of
employment relationships in a firm.
Goals and objectives of HRM

● Support the organisation in achieving its objectives by developing and implementing

human resource strategies which are integrated with the business strategy

● Contribute to the development of a high-performance culture

● Ensure that the organisation has the talented, skilled and engaged people it needs

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 ● Create a positive employment relationship between management and employees as well

as a climate of mutual trust

● Encourage the application of an ethical approach to people management

Public organizational achievement is best fostered when policies, programs, and outcomes affirm
the organization’s mission. Achievement of such results does not come easily for any
organization, including public organizations like municipal governments.

● Good organisational leaders at all levels

● Strong community support and engagement

● Enough resources so that public service servants can achieve service delivery

● Positive organisational culture

● Effective organisational design

● Human resources consisting of people with experience, skills and talent and committed to

the organisation.
Factors which affect human resource activities
Environmental influences
In addition, environmental factors affect and influence HR activities identified The oval shapes
in this figure depict some of the common environmental factors influencing the practice of
organizational management activities today. Environmental factors include those events, issues,
pressures, and influences occurring outside of the organization that affect the organization’s
practices and policies as well as the attainment of desired performance outcomes. Systems
theory, for example, advises organizational leaders that they cannot close themselves off from
outside influences and stakeholders without potential threats to their legitimacy, sustainability,
and long-term survival. As David Easton (1957) suggests, organizations that do so will

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experience negative entropy; that is, they will become less significant to those they serve,
threatening their own organizational survival.
The most common categories of external pressures that municipal governments face are
identified below.
Economic Conditions
Economic conditions affect governments’ abilities to provide community services. For example,
declines in the local economy reduce revenues, stalling capital projects, forcing employee
downsizing, and curtailing training and development initiatives for existing employees.
Technological Advances
Advances in technology, such as computer-aided design technology, create employment
opportunities for some while displacing others. Organizations and HR systems must anticipate
technological change and facilitate its application and implementation. In addition, HR systems
must identify methods for transitioning employees as a result of changing technology.
Governmental and Political Change
Activities and public policy at other levels of government may affect programs offered at the
local level. For example, America’s war in Iraq adversely affected staffs in local government as a
result of military call-ups. In 2004 California had more than 10,300 National Guard members
and reservists called for active duty. A large number of these soldiers were public employees,
many of whom worked in law enforcement or the state prison. California’s controller calculated
that these call-ups cost the state an average of $1,500 a month in salary adjustment and benefits
for each activated state employee reservist (Tempest 2004).
Legal and Judicial Decisions
Legislative and judicial decisions from federal, state, and local jurisdictions influence the
practice of HR management. In some instances, lower-level courts and/or local government
councils address issues based on local needs, even when higher-level governments (federal or
state governments’ judiciary or legislatures) remain mute on the issue. One classic example is
protection provided for sexual orientation. Some state and local governments have enacted
progressive legislation to protect individuals against discrimination based on their sexual
orientation or gender identity. As of March 2011, however, no federal legislation had been
passed to protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Congress
continues to consider legislation known as the Employment Non-discrimination Act, which if

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approved, would provide sexual orientation protection in private non-religious organizations
employing fifteen or more full-time equivalent workers. By comparison, thirty-one states
legislate protection for individuals against discrimination based on their sexual
orientation (Human Rights Campaign 2010).
Socioeconomic Conditions

Unstable socioeconomic conditions in a community (i.e., poor housing, racism and civil unrest,
high crime, declining educational levels) may cause social unrest from isolated and disaffected
local stakeholder groups. In recent years, HRMS have provided diversity training for their
workforces as a means of understanding and interacting more effectively with individuals from
diverse social and cultural backgrounds.
HUMAN RESOURCE SYSTEM MANAGEMENT LEVELS
James D. Thompson, in his seminal work Organizations in Action (1967), classified organization
levels within three categories. Thompson suggested that all organizations have strategic, tactical,
and operational responsibilities.
STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
The strategic level ranks as the highest organizational level. Executives serving in leadership
capacities at this level are responsible for the oversight of all HR organizational activities. In
addition, they determine the organization’s human capital direction through a review of internal
organizational needs as well as through assessment of demands placed upon the organization
from its task environment.
Strategic HR focuses on questions such as:

● How to plan for the emerging technology and emerging jobs? If not, what transition

strategies should we employ to maintain seamless services for our citizens?

● How much of these costs can (or should) be passed on to our employees?

● What will be their reaction? What impact will health care and pension cost shifts to

employee have on labor relations with existing collective bargaining units?

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 ● If cuts in the workforce must be made, who should be retained and who should be

terminated? How do we implement such reductions in force without destabilizing work

performance and employee morale?

● How do we implement such reductions in force without destabilizing work performance

and employee morale?

TACTICAL HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Tactical (often referred to as middle-level management) HR takes the policies and plans
determined at the strategic level and oversees their implementation by lower level operational
personnel. Tactical-level managers serve as a buffer between the strategic and operational levels.
As such, they must interpret policies from above and work with operational personnel to put
these plans into action. Some tactical-level managers serve as HR generalists, others as HR
specialists. Typically, HR generalists have broad job responsibilities with overall coordination
over several different HR functions. HR specialist managers, on the other hand, have specialized
training in key and complex areas of HR management.

OPERATIONAL HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

HR personnel in these positions are involved in the daily operational and administrative activities
of their organization. Generally, this level is responsible for current HR activities. Much of the
scope at thislevel involves administrative duties. As will be seen below, much of the work
currently being handled will either be outsourced over the next decade or will be self-
administered through web-portal structures by employees or their department supervisors.
Operational-level HR is often labor-intensive and not easily seen by top-level leaders as adding
value to the outcomes desired by the organization. Whether this perspective is correct or not is
debatable. Nevertheless, the perception persists, and thus career opportunities at the operational
HR level are likely to diminish over the next decade.

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PARADIGMS

Competing Human
Resource Paradigms

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 Traditional HR Progressive HR

Structure Hierarchical Organic

Management focus with primary emphasis on with emphasis on operational

administrative tasks and performance improvements

regulations

HR leadership style Transactional and administrative Transformational and

Entrepreneurial

Risk intensity Low to risk-adverse Moderate risk-taking

Problem-solving style Reactive orientation Proactive and preventive orientation

Human capital Employees are labor costs to be Employees are an investment that
orientation cut should be nurtured and protected

HR culture HR’s interests first Outcome achievement first

Discussion
1. Review the environmental pressures that organizations face when implementing HR
management. Select one of these environmental factors (i.e., economy or technology) and
determine how recent changes here impact and influence HR practices and policies in the
Zimbabwean workforce. [20marks]
2. Table 1 identifies two distinct HR management approaches—traditional and progressive.
Typically, an organization, based on its culture and values, practices one approach or the other.
Identify two organizations, one that practices traditional HR and a second closer to progressive
HR. Compare the strengths and weaknesses of each system’s approach to HR management.
Which one of the two organizational systems would you prefer to work with? Why? [20marks]

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 CHAPTER 3
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY MANAGEMENT
I will feel equality has arrived when we can elect to office women who
are as incompetent as some of the men who are already there.
—Maureen Reagan
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
EEO consists of public policies formed by legislative actions, regulatory decisions, executive
orders, and judicial outcomes designed to provide equal potential for access to employment in
the society. It serves as a mechanism for arbitrating disputes over issues of employment
discrimination when disagreements about job decisions and conditions arise. A key quality of
EEO philosophy is that the individual who demonstrates the strongest set of skills, knowledge,
and ability should be selected for the job. Thus, individuals identified as most qualified
according to valid and reliable performance predictors should not be excluded from employment
based on non–job-related factors. A worker’s personal attributes that are deemed unrelated to job
performance (e.g., one’s gender, race, religion, age, national origin) should not factor into
employment (or promotion) decisions unless some compelling reason justifies their inclusion,
Typically, such characteristics are allowed for only the most compelling reasons.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF EEO

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Advantages of EEO

● Higher general public acceptance as compared to affirmative action.

● Potential decrease in work disruptions as those hired within the firm have an awareness

of the organisation.

● Decrease in training costs.

● a diverse and skilled workforce

● improved employment access and participation by EEO groups,

● a workplace culture displaying fair workplace practices and behaviours

Disadvantages of EEO Utilization

Research !!!!!
HOW DOES EEO AFFECT YOU AS A EMPLOYEE?
As a Staff Member You have the right to: 

● a workplace that is free from unlawful discrimination and harassment,

● fair practices and behaviour in your workplace,

● competitive merit

● equal access to benefits and conditions including flexible working arrangements

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Affirmative Action is employment policy designed to enhance hiring and promotional
opportunities for groups in society that previously have been the recipients of discriminatory
employment practices. These groups, termed protected-class groups, include women and racial.
AA diverges significantly from EEO. It seeks to broaden the hiring (and promotion) of
individuals from societal groups that historically experienced employment-related
discrimination.

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Meier (1993) suggests that representative bureaucracy illustrates a government’s level of
openness to employment of persons of all backgrounds. Representative bureaucracy holds that
the demographic composition of government (i.e., the bureaucracy) should strive to mirror the
demographic composition of society. Thus, if women constitute half of the eligible workforce
participants, then they should also occupy half of all civil service positions in government. In
circumstances where less than population parity exists, “affirmative efforts” should be made to
promote greater participation for the affected group—in this instance, women. Moreover, truly
representative bureaucracies are those that strive for equal distributions of positions based on
demographic group composition across all levels of government (i.e., atthe executive, middle,
and entry levels of the bureaucracy).
Advantages of affirmative action

● It enhances growth of minority groups within the workplace.

● It offers people of different races, women with the same and similar culture and

experience.

● Creates a better understanding of minority and majority employees.

● Promotes strong relationships.

Disadvantages of affirmative action

Research!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Discussion
1. In this chapter, we discuss EEO, and AA. Which approach do you think should be used in
the Zimbabwean parastatals? If you select EEO, identify who benefits most from its
application and who benefits least. By the same token, if you select AA, who do you
believe would benefit most, and at whose cost?

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 CHAPTER 4
WORK-LIFE MANAGEMENT
What material success does is provide you with the ability to concentrate on
other things that really matter. And that is being able to make a difference,
not only in your own life, but also in other people’s lives.
—Oprah Winfrey
Work-life balance refers to organizational policies that seek to balance the need for productivity
on the job with the realization that people have personal lives, family responsibilities, and
interests outside the workplace that also require nurturing and attention. Organizations with
successful work-life initiatives strive to promote both of these realms. Such promotion often
results in strong organizational work-life programs and more positive satisfaction within the
organization’s culture.
Positive work-life organizations arrange benefits structures and their policies, programs, and
services to sustain worker productivity and increase job satisfaction while supporting personal
well-being. Designing excellence in work-life initiatives requires granting employees greater
freedoms to choose when and where to work as well as how best to utilize their time, both on the
job and off the job.
Human resources (HR) must specify policies, identify exclusions, and develop plans so it
can launch new work-life initiatives. This takes time, resources, and money away from other
activities and services. Empathetic cultures appreciate the ultimate values of work-life balance
and therefore strive to mitigate family-related working conflicts and stresses. By easing work-
related pressures, HR hopes that the workers will be capable of better performance on the job.
Currently, about two-thirds of working women are mothers with children under the age of six
years. Thus, organizations with robust levels of female employees realistically have little
option but to provide competitive childcare assistance, especially in those positions where
telework (i.e., allowing employees to work off the primary worksite) is not feasible. As
Becerra, Gooden, Kim, Henderson, and Whitfield (2002, 295) note, families’ dependency on
childcare has steadily increased over the past thirty years. Thus, organizations without policies or
provisions for such services may place themselves in a less attractive position in terms of
effectively recruiting or retaining employees.

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TRADITIONAL BENEFITS
A significant key to work-life success is an understanding of the organization’s benefits
structure. The provisions and policies form the core of what constitutes an organization’s work-
life strategy. Researchers typically divide employee benefits into two distinct categories:
traditional benefits and family friendly (also known as work-life) benefits.
Caputo (2000, 422) defines traditional benefits as “longstanding and widespread benefits such
as health and life insurance coverage, pension plans, and paid vacation, as well as well-
established but more relatively recent and less pervasive benefits such as profit-sharing and
stock options.”
By comparison, Caputo defines family friendly benefits as “relatively recent employee benefits
including flexible time, child care, flexible work hours, and parental leave.” A comparison of
the two types of benefit categories is necessary. The demarcation lines across traditional and
family friendly (work-life) benefits typically are not precise, but some distinctions still exist.

Traditional benefits provide long-term security as a result of the worker’s association with the
organization. In many instances, the goals of traditional benefits protect the employee and his or
her family in health-related emergencies (e.g., medical care in case of illness or life insurance in
case of the employee’s untimely demise) and during postemployment periods (e.g., pensions
earned for eventual retirement). Such benefits have little to do with improving the working
environment or establishing conducive settings for increased or improved worker productivity.
Traditional benefits (with the exception of bonus programs and stock option programs, which
typically are not offered in governmental agencies) are offered solely on the basis of time-in-
service in the organization. How well or poorly employees perform is immaterial provided they
obtain a minimum standard of performance on the job.
FAMILY FRIENDLY BENEFITS
Family friendly benefits, on the other hand, recognize that both working and personal life factors
influence work outcomes. People find it difficult to separate home stresses from working life and
vice versa. Thus, individuals experiencing personal problems will carry these problems to work,
often resulting in reduced work performance and/or increased agitation in dealing with fellow
workers over normal work challenges.

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Many organizations, realizing the work-home interlinkages, have established employee
assistance programs (EAP) and employee wellness programs (EWP).

● Child care assistance

● Employee wellness programs

● Flexible benefits

● Flexi work

● Offer fitness facilities for employees

● Transportation of employees

Municipal governments often lag behind the private sector in the provision of work-life benefits.
In some instances, this may be the result of taxpayers’ reactions to progressive programs for
public employees.
DETERMINING WORK-LIFE NEEDS IN THE WORKPLACE
WORK-LIFE NEEDS ASSESSMENT
Needs assessment is a process of discovering deficiencies within an organization that could be
remedied in order to improve performance outcomes. In a classical management context, this
process involves identifying work-related skills deficiencies and then offering training as a
corrective intervention for performance improvement. Work-life needs assessments seek to
identify programs, policies, or initiatives that, if introduced, would strengthen the attainment and
achievement of desired organizational outcomes.
The assessment takes into consideration means for fortifying the importance of families and off-
work life activities. Work-life needs assessment recognizes that workers regard-off-the clock
desires as important as the development of their on-the-job skill sets. For example, introducing
day-care subsidies or placement assistance does not enhance the employee’s skills base, yet,
when provided, sets the stage for improved working conditions and thus increased worker
productivity.
Step 1: Identifying Stakeholders and Needs Assessment Planning

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Each workforce possesses its own unique characteristics based on its demographic composition.
HR systems need knowledge about a wide variety of work-related characteristics as these factors
influence program design of work-life initiatives. HR should review these aspects before
formulating its needs assessment questionnaire:
Knowledge of the workforce’s composition is important, especially for the development of a
work-life survey. Survey analysis helps, as it verifies that HR properly identifies its workforce
needs and desires rather than making assumptions about these needs. Employee needs and
desires should be determined based predominantly on their feedback.
Step 2: Developing the Survey Questionnaire
Employee feedback is critical to the identification of work-life initiatives. Survey questions
should seek feedback on current benefits as well as others that might be introduced. Knowledge
gained through survey feedback may reinforce or refute the demographic data collected in Step
1. In either case, identifying employee needs through their feedback will allow the organization
to determine, formulate, and implement new and better initiatives.
Step 3: Administering the Survey Questionnaire
The size of one’s organization influences the administration of an organizational needs
assessment. For example, in large cities, the HR unit does not have to survey the total workforce
in order to gain reliable insights into the needs of its employees. In this case, random sampling
(or other reliable sampling techniques) may be employed. As city size decreases, the application
of survey responses of all employees becomes feasible and desirable. Cities with under 500
employees should request information from all staff members. They must realize, however, that
not all employees will respond under the best of circumstances.
Step 4: Analyzing Collected Data
Generally, good analysis flows from well-designed survey instruments. Thus, the design process
for the analysis begins before the collection of the data. Surveys should be pretested to ensure
that the respondents understand the questions. This minimizes questionnaire ambiguity, controls
survey fatigue (when surveys are too long), guarantees survey completeness, and maximizes the
efficient collection of information in a reasonably short period.
Step 5: Determining New Policies

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The results of a work-life needs assessment may confirm that the city is on the right track in
designing its work-life service strategies or may suggest the need for policy and provision
modifications. HR units should also consider both the benefits of offering new provisions and the
costs associated with offering these provisions. Benefit-cost analyses can help determine whether
or not new policies should be integrated within the benefits structure, and if so, what other
benefits may have to be dropped or reduced to allow for the new provision inclusions. Clearly,
decisions of this nature must consider the financial ramifications in determining what the new
policy packages should include.
Step 6: Implementing Work-Life Initiatives
At this point, the city has conducted its needs assessment, evaluated employee feedback, and
made decisions about additions and modifications to be made in its new benefits program. The
new plan of action has been approved by city leaders and now is ready to be implemented within
the workforce.
Step 7: Evaluating Outcomes and Benefits
Step 7 (evaluation of outcomes) and Step 8 (making adjustments) often go hand in hand when
implementing new policies. Typically, new program offerings require modifications and
adjustments following their introduction. HR units should identify the reaction of employees and
pay close attention to issues of ambiguity that arise among staff when they enact new policies. In
some cases, there may be different interpretations related to benefits of new policies. In these
cases, HR may have to serve in an adjudicative capacity. If unions are involved, negotiations
may also be required prior to adjustments.
Step 8: Adjusting Programs as Needed
A frequently overused phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” applies here. Make minimal
adjustments to policies, especially if the new system is well received by the staff. In some
instances, policy adjustments will be required, especially when driven by new external
legislation and/or judicial outcomes. One example might be changes within a state’s existing
family and medical leave legislation. When new laws or mandates warrant revisions, make the
changes and be sure to communicate these changes to workers with the rationale for the
adjustments.
MANAGING STRESS WITHIN THE WORKPLACE

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Definition of stress
• The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) define stress as "the adverse reaction people
have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them".
• Work-related stress is not an illness but it can contribute to problems with ill health. As
well as anxiety and depression, stress has been associated with heart disease, back pain
and ulcers
Possible causes of stress at work
• Demands: employees often become overloaded if they cannot cope with the amount of
work or type of work they are asked to do.
• Control: employees can feel disaffected and perform poorly if they have no say over how
and when they do their work.
• Lack Of Support: levels of sick absence often rise if employees feel they cannot talk to
managers about issues that are troubling them.
• Relationships: a failure to build relationships based on good behaviour and trust can lead
to problems related to discipline, grievances and bullying.
• Role: employees will feel anxious about their work and the organization if they don't
know what is expected of them, or they think too much is expected of them.
• Change: change needs to be managed effectively or it can lead to uncertainty and
insecurity in a worker.
Ways in which organisations can manage stress
• Job design: clarifying roles, reducing the danger of role ambiguity and conflict, and
giving people more autonomy within a defined structure to manage their responsibilities.
• Targets and performance standards: setting reasonable and achievable targets that may
stretch people but do not place impossible burdens on them.
• Job placement taking care to place people in jobs that are within their capabilities.
• Career development planning careers and promoting staff in accordance with their
capabilities, taking care not to over or under promote
• Performance management process allowing a dialogue to take place between managers
and individuals about the latters work problems and ambitions.
• Counselling giving individuals the opportunity to talk about their problems with a
member of the HR department, or through an employee assistance program

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 • Anti bullying campaigns bullying at work is a major cause of stress
• Management training ;training in what managers can do to alleviate their own stress
and reduce it in others

Discussion
1. Discuss with class members an occasion when you felt your employer cared only about work
output without much consideration or concern for employees or their lives outside of work. In
these cases, was there resentment toward the organization and its approach to work-life balance?
If you personally were in an organization that cared little for you as an individual and only
sought methods for increasing your work productivity, how did this affect your job satisfaction
or interest in sustaining long-term employability with this organization?
2. Think about the changing nature of demographic characteristics in today’s evolving
organization. How might changes in organizational demographics such as gender, age, and
diversity differences influence HR policies and practices in the public sector?
3. As the benefits director for your local government, you are responsible for sustaining a
competitive benefits program in your organization. Upon review you determine that your plan is
financially generous to employees, but it predominantly focuses on providing only traditional
benefits as opposed to offering a balanced mix of traditional and family friendly benefits.
Discuss your concerns about this lack of balance in meeting your employees’ needs. Also,
consider how this imbalance might affect the hiring of future employment prospects. What
changes in policies and/or program initiatives would you recommend?

21
 CHAPTER 5
TALENT ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT
Great things are accomplished by talented people who believe they will accomplish them.
—Warren G. Bennis

THE THREE PHASES OF TALENT ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT

Effective hiring is among the most important decisions that organizations make. A survey
conducted by Rewards Plus of America found that 52 percent of employers cite recruitment and
retention as the number one issue they face (Langan 2000, 461). This section discusses three
phases of talent acquisition management: recruitment, screening of candidates, and selection
interviews.
PHASE I: THE TALENT RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Recruitment is the process of identifying and securing a pool of qualified job candidates for
employment consideration. This phase requires much more than simply advertising for job
applicants. A number of considerations must be thought through prior to the development of an
applicant pool for screening. A good recruitment process begins with an analysis of the position
to be filled.
FACTORS INFLUENCING RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES
A good job analysis provides the HR specialist with a better understanding of the specifications
required to perform the job successfully. This enables the HR specialist, responsible for the
recruitment process, to target the recruitment process based on a number of considerations.
Knowledge of the job specifications enables the recruiter to decide whether the candidate pool
can be sufficiently generated from the area’s local labor market. Determination of the
recruitment scope will be influenced by the importance of the position to the ultimate success of
the organization. Thus, recruitment of additional administrative support staff would occur
through local labor market recruiting, while the selection of a new city manager would likely
result in a search for qualified candidates on a nationwide basis.

22
The recruitment process also will be influenced by current equal employment opportunity (EEO)
utilization standards within the city. If a municipality’s employment records and practices
indicate underutilization of minority and other protected-class candidates, HR should target its
recruitment strategies to secure a more robust pool of candidates from diverse backgrounds.
RECRUITMENT METHODS
E-Recruiting Over the Internet
Today, many local governments have websites that announce new position openings, and
progressive systems offer online application processing.
Recruitment Advertising in Local Newspapers
The most traditional method of announcing job openings involves the use of position
announcements (i.e., advertising) in local newspapers. This method has been particularly
common in the Sunday classified sections of many newspapers. Employers have used the
classified section of newspapers, in part, because newspapers are accessible to everyone, thereby
avoiding criticism relating to potential discrimination against less advantaged members of
society.
However, newspaper job postings continue to diminish with the upswing in E-recruiting and
with increased telecommunication affordability and public accessibility. Most of the nation’s
largest newspapers that advertise openings in their Sunday classified sections also use online job
announcements via their newspaper websites.
Newsprint advertising as a recruiting tool continues in use today, but its application may be more
for maintaining a perception of the organization’s viability as a potential future employer in the
public’s eye than as the primary mechanism of recruiting new staff.
Recruitment Advertising via Professional Association Websites and Trade Journals
Potential applicants often identify opportunities through professional association websites and
trade journal magazines. This approach is particularly helpful when dealing\ with highly
competitive or difficult-to-fill specialized municipal professional positions, such as city and
management and administration, urban planning, HR management, civil engineering, and public
financial administration.
Employee Referrals and Word of Mouth
One of the most successful means of attracting new employees involves asking current
employees about people they know who might be qualified and interested in employment. Some

23
organizations provide referring employees a modest bonus for recommending candidates who
ultimately join the organization.
PHASE II: THE TALENT SCREENING PROCESS
The second phase of talent acquisition management, screening the pool of job applicants
generated through recruitment techniques, most frequently falls within the domain of the HR
unit. Reviewing applicant files and résumés, conducting appropriate testing, and separating
promising candidates from marginal ones take both time and expertise. Generally, as the
position’s responsibilities increase, so will the involvement level of the operations unit. HR can
anticipate greater screening for candidates interested in a department head’s position than for an
entry-level position within the same department.
Screening can be time-consuming, so departments often defer this responsibility to the HR
expert. This preserves time for operational responsibilities and goal attainment. Active
participation of the operating unit at this stage varies based on the size of the organization, the
level of rule rigidity of its civil service unit, prior perceived successes with the current selection
process, and the level of trust the operating unit has for its HR department.
Screening Application Forms: What to Look for in the Application
Application screening is not generally considered an element of applicant testing, which is
discussed below. Nevertheless, like testing, screening often provides valuable candidate
information. Completed applications should be scrutinized in the same fashion as other tests, as
this review affords additional information about the person under consideration. When
examining applications, the employer looks for the following.
Sloppiness and Spelling Errors.
In the era of online application completion and submission, it is more difficult to identify
sloppiness and spelling errors when compared with on-site handwritten application submissions.
In fact, with online applications the employer does not know if the candidate solely completed
the application without the help of others. Thus, it may be necessary to require candidates to
demonstrate their writing ability through simple on-site individual “memo” writing tests. An
assessment of this information will indicate how well and how quickly a candidate can
communicate with others through a written medium. Application forms serve this capacity
provided that they are completed on-site without the assistance of others or error-correcting word
processing software. Generally, a candidate whose writing exhibits multiple spelling errors, poor

24
grammar, and poor sentence syntax should be downgraded relative to other candidates with
better writing skills. Likewise, text with numerous scratch-through marks might indicate a lack
of confidence in one’s writing abilities.
Education: Attended versus Graduated.
HR screeners must look closely for closure in educational achievements. For example, does a
candidate who earned an MBA degree also provide the date of graduation? Degree indications
with graduation dates in the future indicate progress toward completion, not attainment of the
degree. In addition, how long has the individual been seeking the degree? Valuable insights
result when asking job candidates about the dates of most recent course completion, current
grade point average, active academic standing, and the amount of coursework remaining to
complete their degrees.
Completeness of the Application.
Did the applicant complete all questions or leave unexpected blank spaces on the application
form? If using online applications, gaps may not be problematic as application submission often
is contingent upon answering each specific application question. Blank spaces on application
forms (when accepted) may signal attempts to avoid or to bypass sensitive questions. Examples
of question avoidance might be a candidate’s unwillingness to report past felony convictions, or
firing from previous jobs. Screeners should note these gaps and seek follow-up information if
they intend to forward the candidate’s application to the next step.
Employment Gaps.
Employment lapses should be investigated by HR screeners. Employment gaps may be
explained, and queries should be made to ascertain reasons for employment inactivity. For
example, a candidate may have returned to school to gain new skills for added employability. An
applicant may have lapses in employment while caring for an ill family member.
The key point is not that employment gaps exist, but rather to identify what factors explain the
gaps as well as what activities the candidate might have been involved in during these gaps. For
instance, someone who has experienced a period of unemployment but has continued to offer
voluntary service to the community might well have additional work experience not identified in
the application.
Job-hopping Trends.

25
Screeners generally view job-hopping (i.e., frequently moving from one job to another)
negatively, especially for candidates with a decade or more of work experience. For employees
new in their careers, some job-hopping might well be anticipated as the individual seeks to
define a chosen career. To be fair to the candidate, screeners must also seek to understand why
the individual has left prior employment
Reasons for Leaving Previous Jobs.
As indicated above, knowing why the individual left previous employment is an important
screening issue for judging the candidate’s employment potential. Screeners often look for
candidate behavioral cues. For example, applicants indicating dislike for or personality
differences with previous supervisors may create concern about the applicant’s ability to work
well in any work setting. Termination from a previous job, when discovered, should also be
explored carefully. A candidate who has been fired for stealing from a prior employer probably
would be evaluated more negatively than the applicant terminated for missing too much work to
care for an ill parent or child, provided that the issue of illness has been resolved.
Availability Date for Employment.
Screeners often ask candidates to indicate their earliest date of availability for employment. In
this instance, if the candidate is currently employed, immediate availability should be a negative
factor. Good applicants will want to treat their current employer fairly, so some lag in
availability should be expected. Depending on the level of the recruited position, the lag in
availability for an employed candidate may range from two weeks to two months. A sitting city
manager might well need to offer generous notice prior to departure. In these infrequent
instances when giving notice results in the employee’s immediate termination, every possible
effort should be made by the hiring employer to offer immediate employment to the new recruit.
PHASE III: TALENT SELECTION INTERVIEWS
In an ideal world, at least from the applicant’s perspective, all job candidates would be
interviewed for job openings. Unfortunately, this is not always practical due to limitations of
time and resources. Selection costs can be enormous, forcing organizations to limit the number
of final candidates personally interviewed for potential hire.
INTERVIEWING APPROACHES
Structured Interviews

26
A variety of methodological approaches can be used to glean information about the skill sets,
qualifications, and behavioral tendencies of job finalists. The determination of the method (or
combination of methods) employed will vary across organizations. Structured interviews employ
a uniform battery of questions asked of each candidate, without follow-up queries from the
interviewer.
The strengths of structured interviews also introduce their greatest weaknesses. Questions that
come to the interviewer’s mind during the interview might have high relevancy to the
candidate’s qualifications to perform the work, but these questions should not be asked. Potential
loss of valuable information may result as the trade-off for making better hiring decisions against
lessened legal liability due to interviewer error or question-set bias.
Semi structured Interviews
Semi structured interviews incorporate aspects of structured interviewing, but they allow greater
probing through the addition of free-flowing follow-up questions. Semi structured interviews
commence with a planned set of questions to be asked of all candidates, but the interviewer can
also ask follow-up questions in order to clarify the candidate’s responses.
Stress Interviews
Stress interviews seek to determine how candidates react when placed in stressful or
psychologically uncomfortable situations. As noted earlier, performance success is influenced by
both the employee’s ability and work behavioral responses. Some jobs require greater emotional
and behavioral fortitude than do others. Law enforcement officers, for example, frequently are
placed in stressful situations that can mean the difference between life and death for themselves
as well as the public they serve.
Discussions
1. Stress questions are often used to identify how candidates react to pressure. How would
you respond to an interviewer who questions your SKAs to succeed in the position being
offered?
2. Word-of-mouth recruiting has proved to be a highly effective means of identifying
candidates for position openings in many organizations. Under what conditions should it
be used sparingly, or not at all, when seeking to hire new employees from a pool of
candidates?

27
 CHAPTER 6
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Performance stands out like a ton of diamonds.
Nonperformance can always be explained away.—Harold S. Geneen

There is evidence of improved State Enterprise Parastatals (SEPs) performance in many

countries globally in the recent past. This has been attributed to factors such as; budgetary and
fiscal reforms, restructuring measures, improved governance practices (including performance
management), exposure to greater competition and capital market discipline.

SEP performance has however generally lagged behind the private sector and has not been
uniformly positive. Even those SEPs that are performing well often lag behind their private
sector comparators in integrated performance. High performance is not evenly distributed over
the SEPs. High performance is usually limited to a few SEPs that have advantages in;
competition, access to cheaper capital and other input resources. Compared to the private sector,
many state-owned banks suffer from a number of vulnerabilities, including weak balance sheets
and low capitalization, relatively low profitability, and high non-performing loans.

● In China, non-state firms had an average return on equity 9.9% higher than that of SEPs

in 2009 (World Bank and Development Research Center 2013).

● In Vietnam, although SEPs registered healthy returns on equity (17%), their returns were

well below the returns of foreign firms (27%). Rapid growth in the capital and fixed-asset
base of SEPs has not been accompanied by higher productivity: in 2009, the average ratio
of turnover to capital was 1.1 for SEPs but 21.0 for all enterprises; the ratio of turnover to
employees was 1.7 for SEPs and 16.3 for all enterprises; and the ratio of turnover to fixed
assets fell for SEPs between 2000 and 2008, while remaining unchanged for all
enterprises (World Bank 2011).

28
 ● In Malaysia, a 2008 study showed that government-linked companies tend to score lower

than private sector companies on metrics of economic performance or economic value

added (measured as the difference between cash flow returns on investment and the
weighted average cost of capital) (Issham et al. 2008).

● A study of nine Middle Eastern countries found that state-owned banks have much lower

profitability than private banks due to their large holdings of government securities,
larger ratios of overhead costs to assets (because of much larger ratios of employment to
assets), and higher ratios of loan-loss provisions to outstanding loans (reflecting much
larger shares of nonperforming loans in their portfolios) (Rocha 2011). Although there
are exceptions, State Enterprises and Parastatals tend to perform particularly poorly in
low-income countries.

● A study in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Mauritania found that of the 12 SEPs that provided

information, 8 reported losses while 3 were operating at close to breakeven. Only one
reported significant profits: Mauritania’s Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière, a
mining company (Bouri, Nankobogo, and Frederick 2010).

Underperforming SEPs can be a burden to governments.

They can be a source of high financial and economic costs, remain a fiscal burden and a source
of fiscal risk. In Indonesia, for example, subsidy payments to three SEPs alone, in the fuel,
electricity, and fertilizer industries averaged at 4% of GDP between 2003 and 2006; yet the
subsidy still fell short of what was needed to cover all quasi-fiscal obligations and arrears with
other SEPs (Verhoevenet al. 2008). The financial and fiscal risks from SEPs can spill over into
the broader economy, especially if SEPs have strong links with state-owned banks.

Poor performance by SEPs can negatively impact national competitiveness and growth.
In many countries, SEPs continue to crowd out or stifle the private sector, while lack of
competitive markets or a level playing field creates inefficiencies and limits the expansion of the
private sector. Numerous surveys and studies show that the shortage of key infrastructure
capacities, due in part to SEP inefficiencies and underinvestment is ranked as one of the top three
constraints on country competitiveness and growth. This is particularly so in Zimbabwe with

29
regards to electricity, water and transportation infrastructure. Achieving higher levels of
economic activity will therefore require substantial improvements in the performance of existing
infrastructure SEPs, along with private sector investments and public-private partnerships.
Loss-making and ineffective financial services SEPs weaken the financial system in a
country.
By lending to unprofitable SEPs, financial services SEPs can create contingent liabilities that
become a source of fiscal risk. By underpricing and engaging in business practices that displace
commercial financial services of the private sector, financial SEPs hinder new private entry and
undermine competition, which in turn retard financial market development, diminish access to
financial services and weaken the stability of the financial system (Scott 2007). Financial SEPs,
particularly in some emerging markets provide significant amount of financing to unviable SEPs
and weak institutions. This can harm economic growth, competitiveness and erode public trust.
Zimbabwean context
Zimbabwe SEPs face many performance challenges. The SEPs face challenges in improving
performance including those tabled below.
Challenge Description

Inadequate capitalization SEPs largely rely on depressed revenue (due to

the state of the economy),

debt and other sources of finance including

government transfers to fund

basic operations. When the country adopted a

multicurrency regime in 2009

with the US$ as the main functional currency,

most SEPs started with very

low capital bases and few have been able to

raise capital from the markets.

The government had no resources to capitalize

30
 these SEPs. This left SEPs

with inadequate funding to fund capital

projects especially rehabilitation

and upgrading of infrastructure in the capital

intensive sectors like utilities

and network. Examples are SEPs in the

electricity, water, telecommunications,

transport sectors, etc.

Below-cost pricing/failure to recover costs Some tariff structures are kept artificially low
and prevent full cost-recovery

by SEPs. Compensation from treasury may be

required for non-commercial

services and this has not been forth coming in

some cases because of limited

cash resources. The fact that many SEPs in

Zimbabwe are established and

operated with both commercial and non-

commercial objectives compounds

this problem.

Current activities are no longer Activities in some commercial SEPs are

remnants of initial investment decisions
supportive of the original
which have been overtaken by events over the
mandates of the SEPs because of
years, a result of lack of ability to
changed/ additional mandates
adjust to changing situations and

31
or Government directives circumstances. Mandates have changed over

time in for example; urban transport, grain

management and business models

have not responded appropriately to the

changes in mandates

Failure to collect money for Failure to collect on services provided has led
to under-funding in some SEPs.
services rendered

Inadequate reporting and Inadequate reporting and monitoring is

common and does not allow for
monitoring systems
the transparency, accountability and
governance requirements for SEPs. It

further does not help early exposure of

situations where SEPs may be over

or under financed, and it ultimately shields

SEPs from misuse of public funds,

corruption, and from disclosing inefficiencies

where they exist.

Ineffective boards Most SEP boards require enhanced

professionalization, improved composition

and structure, and shielding from any

unwarranted external interference in

order to enhance their effectiveness. This is

dealt with in more detail, in the

manual on Enhancing Board Effectiveness.

32
METHODS FOR MEASURING PERFORMANCE
Organizations have a number of methods to gauge employee performance. The following seven
common measurement approaches are discussed below.
CRITICAL INCIDENT
With the critical incident method of performance evaluation, the rating supervisor periodically
documents in writing both positive and negative incidents of the employee’s performance
throughout the performance evaluation cycle. This information aids the rater in the construction
of an objective review of the employee’s work activities across the evaluation period. Incident
documentation should be shared with employees when recorded. This alerts employees to
performance expectations as well as giving them valuable information through notification about
performance successes and areas where improvements are required.
MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES
The late Dr. Peter F. Drucker popularized management by objectives (MBO), a unique
performance appraisal process. MBO provides enhanced communication between supervisor and
employee, as well as improved performance outcomes. The employee’s performance is based on
a “goals and objectives” contract that becomes the basis for reviewing performance at the end of
each evaluation cycle. The rater and employee mutually agree upon the goals and objectives that
will provide the foundation for the evaluation. Merit pay increases and other rewards are
determined directly as a result of achieving agreed-upon MBO defined goals and objectives.
MBO strives to improve organizational outcomes through enhanced supervisor-employee
communication, as well as through better-defined and understood goals-to-rewards outcomes.
360° PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
The performance appraisal process discussed here is known as 360° performance appraisal. This
performance system allows for full consideration of the employee’s talents by allowing multiple
raters to assess work contributions. Typically, 360° performance appraisal allows for individual
self-rating, as well as assessment of the individual’s performance contribution by supervisors,
peer employees, customers, and clients. Thus, a 360° performance appraisal provides a more
holistic review of the employee’s performance than do more traditional performance appraisal
systems.

33
A 360° performance appraisal can be difficult to implement. It requires someone to collect data
from the multiple evaluators and condense feedback into usable information. Computer
technology facilitates 360° appraisal systems by allowing direct input from the evaluators in
many instances. This relieves some stress on HR systems as information can automatically be
retrieved and tabulated. In many instances, 360° performance appraisal is used as an advisory
tool for performance reviews. It facilitates understanding areas for future development of the
employee without inhibiting the oversight evaluation authority of the immediate supervisor.
Results based management system
Results-Based Management (RBM) system is a powerful tool that can be used to help policy-
makers and decision-makers track progress and demonstrate the impact of a given policy,
programme or project.
The RBM system across the world over has been triggered by growing concerns and pressure
from both internal and external stakeholders for governments to provide tangible and
demonstrable results.
In the case of Zimbabwe, if the system is holistically and sincerely adopted, it can turn around
the fortunes of many struggling entities, be they public or private.
The success story of the RBM system in developed nations led to growing pressures for
developing countries to adopt the new system as a way of improving performance and
upholding accountability.
Practical reasons to use RBM
Where competition for limited resources is high, both national government and its various
sectors want to get maximum value for money spent on development projects.
And for that matter, everybody working on development, in Non-governmental organisations,
government or the private sector wants to achieve results, and wants to be able to explain them.
There are at least six major benefits of focusing on results:

● Better implementation: Getting results clear at the start is the best choice, but clarifying
them later can still help remove implementation roadblocks.

● Better communication: Clarifying what we mean by results enable us to deal with

differences of understanding before a project begins, and helps implementers
communicate results in a clear, unambiguous manner.

34
 ● Stronger capacity development: Identifying intended results in a clear, workable and
realistic way, helps us build capacity, because it clarifies for us what we need to
concentrate on, what resources we need to bring to the job, and what our real assumptions
are about cause and effect. It can also help us identify where interventions to build
capacity are necessary.

● More realistic project schedules: Clear results-based planning produces more realistic
schedules, forcing us to think through the preconditions and sequence for actions, and the
resources they require.

● Useful evaluation results: Clarifying results during planning and internal monitoring
prepares projects/business for effective evaluations.
Any organisation that knows where its results are, and how to document them, is in a
much stronger position to make its case effectively when external evaluations occur.

● Reducing opportunities and pressures for corruption: Focusing clearly on results, and
making the links between inputs, funded activities and the results they should be leading
to, reduces the potential for corruption — or simply indifferent thinking and wasted
resources in decision-making and project implementation.

Presentations!!!!!!!!!!
Balanced scorecard system
Presentations!!!!!!!!!!!!!
RATER ERRORS AND EVALUATION BIAS
Much of the employee dissatisfaction associated with performance appraisal revolves around
rater subjectivity. The following six types of common rater errors are discussed below:
Bias
• Bias is simply a personality-based tendency, either toward or against something. In the
case of performance assessment, bias is toward or against an individual employee. Biases
make the evaluation process subjective rather than objective, and certainly provide the
opportunity for a lack of consistency in effect on different groups of employees. So to
overcome the bias problem, we need to be objective and not let our feelings of liking or
disliking of the individual influence our assessment.

35
Stereotyping
• Stereotyping is mentally classifying a person into an affinity group, and then identifying
the person as having the same assumed characteristics as the group. However, regardless
of whether the stereotype is positive or negative, making decisions in a group, rather than
explicitly identifying the characteristics of the individuals, creates the potential for
significant error in evaluations. So, we can avoid stereotyping by getting to know each
employee as an individual and objectively evaluating individual employees based on their
actual performance.
Halo error
• This error occurs when the evaluator has a generally positive or negative (negative halo
error is sometimes called “horns error”) impression of an individual, and the evaluator
then artificially extends that general impression to many individual categories of
performance to create an overall evaluation of the individual that is either positive or
negative.
Distributional errors
• These errors occur in three forms: severity or strictness, central tendency, and leniency.
• In severity or strictness error, the ratter evaluates everyone, or nearly everyone, as below
average.
• Central tendency error occurs when ratters evaluate everyone under their control as
average—nobody is either really good or really bad.
• Finally, leniency error occurs when the ratter evaluates all others as above average.
Leniency error, therefore, is basically a form of grade inflation.
Similarity errors
• This error occurs when ratters evaluate subordinates that they consider more similar to
themselves as better employees, and subordinates that they consider different from
themselves as poorer employees.
• We can avoid similarity error by embracing diversity and objectively evaluating
individual employees based on their actual performance, even if they are different from
us and don’t do things the same way that we do.
Proximity error

36
 ● This error states that similar marks may be given to items that are near (proximate to)

each other on the performance appraisal form, regardless of differences in performance

on those measures. We can avoid proximity error by objectively evaluating employees’
actual performance on each and every item on the assessment form.
Contrast error

● the rater compares and contrasts performance between two employees, rather than using

absolute measures of performance to measure each employee. For example, the rater may
contrast a good performer with an outstanding performer, and as a result of the significant
contrast, the good performer may seem to be “below average.”
Attribution error

● attribution is a process where an individual assumes reasons or motivations (such as

attitudes, values, or beliefs) for an observed behaviour. So, attribution error in

performance appraisal might occur when the rater observes an employee action—such as
an argumentative answer to a question—and assumes that the individual has a negative
attitude toward the job and is a poor performer. This may not be true, and in such a case
the rater would be guilty of an attribution error.
EXPECTATIONS OF GOOD PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
This chapter’s final section identifies and discusses some characteristics found in high
performing work cultures. Organizations of excellence should seek to emulate similar qualities
of excellence when reflecting on the quality of their performance appraisal processes and
systems. Effective performance management systems seek to do all or most of the following.
Identify and measure accurately critical performance benchmarks.
The core of successful performance management systems hinges on the ability to identify
successfully critical performance indicators and accurate performance benchmarks for the
individual or group. Performance appraisal systems that connect appropriate performance
behaviors with equitable reward systems promote sustained performance excellence.
Link performance benchmarks with the organization’s mission and outcomes.
Good performance management sees the value of coupling its performance benchmarks with its
organizational mission. This strengthens the potential for achieving desired organizational
outcomes as well as reinforces the organization’s primary purposes.
37
Provide a nexus between performance achievements and performance rewards.
Successful performance management rewards talented individuals whose performance creates
organizational value. Good systems not only connect rewards with performance but also tailor
their rewards systems to consider the needs of individual employees and what they value as
rewards. Thus, these systems realize that the reward provisions (e.g., money, recognition,
personal growth, increased work content ownership, and so on) reside within each employee.
Thus, distribution of rewards takes individual needs into consideration and is granted to reflect
these individual needs.
Create the perception of fair and equitable treatment of all employees.
Good performance systems distribute rewards with consideration for both horizontal and vertical
equity and fairness. Thus, employees with similar skill sets and responsibilities are paid similar
salaries (horizontal equity). Furthermore, as a worker’s skill sets and work demands increase
relative to others, the individual receives increased pay increments based on advanced skills,
knowledge, abilities, and risks associated with progressive work responsibilities (vertical equity).
Promote administrative and fiscal sustainability.
Effective performance management systems facilitate operational efficiencies as well as financial
frugality. In these instances, rewards are distributed appropriately based on current revenue and
budget conditions; rewards, employee training and development, and employee discipline.
Minimize litigation, organizational conflicts, and employee grievances.
Successful performance systems foster trust between the organization and the employee. One
measure for determining existing organizational climate can be gleaned through analyses of
litigation trends and costs, conflict patterns, and numbers of grievances filed as a result of
performance disputes. Often, historical tracking best reflects appropriate levels of these
benchmarks.
Prove beneficial to organizational and individual growth, learning, and development.
Good performance structures are designed to facilitate performance now as well as in future
years. They seek to prepare individuals for future leadership roles by fostering progressive
growth and development of the workforce. They also recognize that the organization’s long-term
stability mandates that succession planning and employee development begin years before
individuals assume progressive leadership responsibilities.
Discussions

38
 1. Discuss the advantages and challenges for both the organization and the individual
employee when 360° performance appraisal is used to evaluate individual performance.
2. As a supervisor considering disciplinary action for an employee exhibiting less than
adequate performance, what factors would you consider before implementing corrective
action?
3. What concerns would you have about a performance management system that evaluated
employee performance through a ranking system and then used this information to
distribute employee merit pay increases?
4. Review the types of rater errors identified in this chapter. Which one do you believe most
commonly occurs when evaluators conduct their assessment of individual performance?
How do rater errors negatively affect future performance outcomes in organizations?
What can organizations do to minimize rater errors?

CHAPTER 7
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT
All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity
for development accorded the individual.
—Albert Einstein
ORIENTATION
Orientation prepares recently hired employees for their new work life. The goal is to increase
individual job-readiness for the challenges that employees will face in their new jobs. Orientation
is a specialized form of training. Its significance and benefit to work performance often go
undervalued in the organization. As a result, orientation training may be poorly planned,
developed, and implemented.

39
Progressive organizations take orientation planning seriously. They know, based on firsthand
experience, that properly instituted orientation training is a vital component of the effective
integration of new employees into the organization. Orientation training offers a powerful tool
for welcoming and educating new employees. It helps bring new employees up to speed quickly.
Immediate returns on investments often occur due to the new hires’ increased understanding and
awareness of the significance of their work as it relates to quality public service outcomes.
Good orientation programs offer many benefits:

● Provide positive first impressions for new recruits

● Helps in overcoming job anxiety

● Strengthening the recruits understanding of how his or her job fits in with the overall

organisational objectives

● Promotes teamwork

● Helps in better understanding the organisational policies and rules

● It helps in increasing the recruits productivity by providing an expectation of work

performance
TRAINING STRATEGIES AND TYPES OF TRAINING
Organizational training comes in a variety of forms. Some training styles appear formal while
others provide a more individual and trainee orientation. The goal of training differs from that of
employee development. Training increases individual skills, competency, and productivity in
a worker’s current position. Training is associated with the “here and now” scenarios that
employees, as individuals and team members, face. It seeks to employ methods and identify
strategies to enhance the individual’s ability to function successfully in present work settings.
Development, on the other hand, is future-oriented. It seeks to grow individuals for future
skills and leadership roles within the organization. Often, employee development provides
individuals with a broad scope of activities. This helps determine a candidate’s potential for
increasingly broadened managerial challenges.

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Succession planning seeks to identify talent and to prepare individuals for future
organizational advancement. This helps organizations smooth out leadership transition and the
vacuum it causes when leaders separate from the organization. Planning for change through
organizational development makes smart business sense as it prepares tomorrow’s workers to
step into leadership roles when warranted.
ON-THE-JOB TRAINING
On-the-job training (OJT) stands as the most common and pragmatic form of training employed
in organizations today. OJT consists of the trainee working individually with a fellow worker or
supervisor (i.e., the trainer) to learn by example and practice performing job tasks. Under this
arrangement, the trainer works one-on-one with the trainee, demonstrating work-related
responsibilities. The trainee then will replicate work under the observation and oversight of the
trainer. Over time, as the trainee’s skills mastery grows, the trainer disengages, allowing the
trainee greater independence and decision-making discretion.
E-TRAINING
As the technological capacities of the Internet have become more sophisticated, so has the ability
of outside vendors to provide online training to organizations and their workers. In this instance,
E-training refers to web-based or computer software training that workers can pursue either
individually or in groups to gain new insights about their work and methods for productivity
improvements. E-training specifically trains through computer programs or software that
enhances worker knowledge or skills attainment.
SIMULATION TRAINING
Simulation training involves the use of models as a replication of working reality. Simulations of
real working events can save training resources, strengthen workers’ abilities, and allow for
initial learning prior to tackling the actual working environment. One classic example of
simulation training is flight training for pilots and soldiers in the battlefield.
Another example, this one associated with local government, uses simulation training in law
enforcement. Frequently, simulation assists police officers to develop safer driving skills needed
when chasing fleeing suspects. Simulations associated with the use and discharge of firearms and
other weapons can prepare police units dealing with dangerous criminals within closely confined
areas (like housing and alleys). In this example, officers learn when to deploy (and defer usage
of) firearms safely while under high personal stress.

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EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT
Employee development is a critical organizational investment, and one fraught with risks and
losses on the return of one’s investment. Moreover, employee development does not come
cheaply. Thus, organizations must choose carefully about how to spend limited developmental
resources. One increasingly popular approach aligns and links training and developmental
strategies with the agency’s mission and key goals. Employee development within local
government continues to grow in importance, particularly with increasing concern about looming
workforce retirements, especially among city council managers.
EMPLOYEE MENTORING AND COACHING PROGRAMS
Mentoring employees through traditional coaching programs is a time-proven method to increase
workers’ skills and to facilitate employees’ managerial leadership and development. It has
become a key component for succession planning in organizations that seek to develop future
organizational leaders. The strategy of matching experienced executive employees with less
experienced but promising employees refers to traditional or formal mentoring. Such programs
provide a number of benefits to the organization, including accelerating managerial
advancement, reducing leadership learning time, and developing better decision-making skills in
future leaders.
values and organizational ethical standards among the future senior managerial staff. Matching
protégés with seasoned mentors provides a stronger sense of the kinds of actions and decisions
that are accepted within the organization. Not only do protégés gain a better sense of strategies
for efficiency and effectiveness, but also they gain insights into what is considered ethically
permissible in the corporate culture.
WORKFORCE AND SUCCESSION PLANNING
Workforce and succession planning has become a more significant aspect of organizational
development strategies in recent years. In part, this results from the anticipated retirement of
older state and local government employees over the decades. In 1999 the Rockefeller Institute
(Walters 2000) noted that 42 percent of the 15.7 million state and local employees would be
eligible for retirement in the next fifteen years. Technology advances also have played a role as
the job skills of today can rapidly become obsolete, forcing reconsideration of the skill sets
needed for sustaining worker employability.

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Without planning and a strategy, public organizations fear that they will experience shortages of
talent necessary to meet their missions and best serve their public. Typically, the four primary
steps of workforce planning consist of a supply analysis, demand analysis, gap analysis, and
workforce strategic plan.
The formula is:
Supply analysis – demand analysis = gap analysis 􀀭 workforce strategic plan.
Succession Planning
Succession planning is a mitigating strategy to ease the stresses of lost leadership in an
organization. It provides a venue for training today’s talented individuals for tomorrow’s
leadership roles in the organization. Often, mentor-protégé and coaching strategies identify and
prepare individuals for future leadership responsibilities.
Benefits of succession planning
• Ensures that employees are recruited and/or developed to fill each key role.!
• Ensures that we operate effectively when individuals occupying critical positions depart.
• May be used for managerial positions or unique or hard-to fill roles.
• Align bench strength for replacing critical positions.
Indicators of absence of succession management in an organization
• Key roles unfilled for long periods
• Emergency outside hires
• Key roles filled mostly from outside
• Replacements who turn out to be flops or failures
• High turnover among hi-performance personnel
• Lack of bench strength
• Complaints about promotion decision fairness

Discussion
1. Identify how simulation training might be used in training law enforcement officers
prior to providing them with on-the-street training. In addition, what benefits might
be gained for the police agency, police officer, and citizenry in using simulated
training first?

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 CHAPTER 8
REWARD MANAGEMENT
The real measure of your wealth is how much you’d be worth if you lost all your money.
—Anonymous

Compensation and benefits serve as core functions of human resource (HR) management. Both
have direct or indirect implications for recruitment, appraisal, training, retention, and labor
relations (Bowman 2010). Furthermore, obtaining financial security through a higher-paying job
is a significant goal for young professionals entering the workforce.
Compensation constitutes more than simply the salary workers receive for employment. If
only one factor is remembered from this chapter (and hopefully this will not be the case), it
should be that the wage or salary constitutes only part of the compensation provided to each
employee. This point does not intend to demean the significance of receiving generous pay when
joining new organizations. Clearly, that is important. What an employee receives in pay initially,
when entering a career, influences future salary offers from competing organizations seeking to
secure the employee’s services.
Holistic compensation as a formula is expressed as:
Compensation = wages or salary + employee benefits + employee pension + perks + other
quality of work-life factors
AIMS OF REWARD MANAGEMENT

● To support the achievement of business goals by developing performance culture

● To define what is important in terms of behaviours and outcomes

● Align reward practices with employee needs

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 ● Reward employees according to the value they create

● Attract and retain the high-quality people the organisation needs

● Motivate and win the engagement of employees

CONTENT OF A REWARD STRATEGY

● The development of a total reward system which is a combination of financial and non-

financial rewards

● The introduction of performance pays

● The introduction of new grade and pay structure

● The replacement of outdated job evaluation schemes

● The introduction of formal recognition schemes

● The development of flexible benefits

● The conduct of equal pay reviews with the objective of ensuring that work of equal value

is paid equally

TOTAL REWARD STRUCTURE

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 CHAPTER 9
EMPLOYMENT AND LABOR RELATIONS MANAGEMENT
Have the courage to act instead of react.
—Earlene Larson Jenks
The public sector faces immense challenges not experienced at this level. Revenue declines point
to an increased likelihood for employee layoffs and reductions in force. Fiscal declines result in
growing employee concerns over benefits losses, especially in the areas of pension provisions
and medical and health benefits. Thus, employees’ support for local government leadership and
for sustaining service delivery may be replaced with increasing levels of distrust, growing

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conflict within, and lessening commitment and loyalty to public service (Society for Human
Resource Management 2010b). Effective employee and labor relations management becomes
increasingly significant during these times of economic disparity.
This final chapter explores employee relations and collective bargaining activities in the public
sector. Together, these areas encompass an organization’s employee relations management
process. Employee relations entail the development, implementation, and oversight of
programs, policies, and practices affecting the employer-employee relationship for workers
who are not represented through collective bargaining agreements.
In most instances, but not all, the same or similar work expectations and workforce policies
apply to unionized employees. In the case of union-represented employees, however, issues
affecting the work relationship, such as wages, benefits, working conditions, and work rules,
frequently must be specified in a collectively bargained contract agreed to by management and
ratified by union members’ votes.
PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINARY PROGRAMS
Workers frequently perceive employee discipline as an early warning sign of impending
termination. Unfortunately, this communicates a parent-child relationship between supervisor
and employee, one that potentially creates future conflict and tension in the operating unit.
Disciplinary programs do signal troubling issues, most often in the areas of poor performance,
unsanctioned behavior, or rules violations.
Counseling employees about errant behavior or poor work performance serves to advise
individuals that problems exist and need corrections. As indicated in the discussion about
performance management in Chapter 6, organizations have an ethical and, in some instances,
contractual obligation to alert their workers about less than satisfactory levels of performance or
on-the-job conduct.
In cases where employees’ due process rights apply, courts review the actions of the organization
prior to imposing adverse disciplinary actions to determine if reasonable notification occurred.
For these reasons, organizations must be careful to document effectively prior counseling to
individuals not serving on an “at-will” status. In municipal governments, an employee’s right to
proper notification prior to adverse disciplinary actions exists in most civil service systems
and/or for those individuals represented through union collective bargaining contracts. Good
disciplinary systems alert the individual that concerns exist, identify remediation strategies to

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bring the employees’ performance or behavior back to satisfactory status, and, when necessary,
discharge employees unable to achieve the level of performance or behavioral standards to
maintain and protect the integrity of the organizations.
Most organizational disciplinary programs utilize an approach (or modified variation) commonly
referred to progressive discipline. Progressive discipline provides increasing steps of discipline
for failure to comply with organizational expectations of performance or conduct. The number of
steps in this disciplinary model may vary, especially in collectively bargained union contracts,
but all progressive disciplinary models contain the following four steps:

● Verbal warning (documented): here the supervisor indicates concerns about the offense

and requests corrective action from the employee

● Written reprimand: the supervisor reiterates in writing that the inappropriate behaviour

or performance has continued and hence training is taken as a remedy for the behaviour.

● Employee suspension: the employee is subject to paid or unpaid suspension. This step

varies across organisation may be influenced by the nature of the issues.

● Employee termination: this is the last resort after the above remedies have been

exhausted.
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Matsikidze (2013) define collective bargaining as a process that involves negotiation,
consultation and the exchange of information pertaining to conditions of service between
employers and workers, the end objective being a collective agreement that is mutually
owned by the parties. For Mucheche (2014) collective bargaining is a process of negotiation
between employers and a group of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate
working conditions.
Gwisai (2006) defines it as a voluntary process for reconciling the conflicting interests and
aspirations of management and labour through the joint regulation of terms and conditions of
employment.
The result of negotiation is referred to as collective bargaining agreement and it functions as
a labour contract between an employer and one or more unions. The rationale for collective
bargaining is to resolve conflicts at the organization since conflict is inherent.

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It is called collective because the employees, as a group, select representatives to meet and
discuss differences with the employer.
Parties to Collective Bargaining Process

� trade unions

� employers' organisations

� workers committee- section 23 of the Labour Act (Chapter 28:01)

� management

� Managerial workers committee- section 23(the Labour Act.)

PROTECTION OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights identifies the ability to organise
trade unions as a fundamental human right
Item 2(a) of the International Labour Organisation’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles
and Rights at work defines a freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right
to collective bargaining as an essential right of workers
The constitution of Zimbabwe section 24 deals with work and labour relations and section 65
deals with labour rights
Section 2A (1) (c) of the Labour Act
Section 23 of the Labour Act
Sections 74-82 of the Labour Act
ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION

● Determining working conditions and terms of employment.

● Regulating relations between employers and workers

● Regulating relationships between employers or their organisation and a worker’s

organisation

● Collective agreements usually set out-

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 ● Wage scales, working hours, training, health and safety, overtime, grievance

mechanisms, right to participate in workplace or company affairs

PURPOSE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Establishes industrial justice
Allows workers to participate in decisions that affect them.
Ensures that no arbitrary behaviour is imposed and no unrealistic demands are made on them
CONDITIONS NEEDED FOR EFFECTIVE CB
Recognition of divergent interests of employers and employees.
Recognition of the need for equilibrium of power between the two parties
Recognition of the philosophy of mutual survival
Elimination of direct and indirect obstacles to effective CB
Characteristics of CB
1. It is a 2-way process is a method of partnership of workers in management.
2. It is a continuous process. It establishes regular and stable relationship between the
parties involved. It involves not only the negotiation of the contract, but also the
administration of the contract.
3. It is a collective process. The representatives of both workers and management
participate in bargaining. It is a group or collective action as opposed to individual action.
It is initiated through the representatives of the employees
4. It is a flexible and dynamic process. The parties have to adopt a flexible attitude through
the process of bargaining.
5. It is not a competitive process rather it is essentially a complementary process.
6. It is a voluntary process without any third-party intervention. Both workers and
management voluntarily participate in the negotiations, discuss and arrive at a solution.
That is why it is known as a bipartite process where workers’ representatives and
management get an opportunity for clear, face-to-face communication.
7. It ensures industrial democracy at the workplace; it is a self-run government in action.
CB AS A KEY COMPONENT OF EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
CB is a significant part of employee relations Hyman (1997) describes CB as a “hollow
shell” Argues that the only reasons why some employers offer better conditions than those
negotiated by unions in CBAs is so that they remain “union free” Collective Bargaining is

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concerned with substantive issues (what is determined) and procedural issues (how the
decisions are made.
CORE ISSUES IN CB AS PER LABOUR ACT

● Parties should negotiate in good faith

● Employer has a duty to disclose once the inability to pay is alleged.

● Parties shall be represented by committees and agents.

● CBAs should be registered

● Amendment by Minister if CBA is inconsistent with the Labour Act

● Existence of CBA may not preclude employer from giving higher rates than those

agreed
RIGHT TO STRIKE IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE
Workers in the public service are not covered by the Labour Act Cap 28:01. Government
workers have their terms and conditions of employment regulated by a mechanism set up by
the constitution. The constitution creates two main groups of government workers. The first
group is called the Public Service which is administered by the Civil Service Commission
operating in terms of the Public Service Act. The second group consists of other special
groups outside the Civil Service such as the police, the army, the prison service and the
judiciary and these are governed by specific Acts of Parliament enjoined by the Constitution.
There is no right to strike in the Civil Service. For the uniformed forces its unthinkable to go
on strike as going on strike in the police force may constitute several offences such as
desertion, insubordination or ‘being absent without leave’. The blanket ban on strike action
in the civil service is not in tandem with ILO jurisprudence. The constitution allows part of
the civil servants to go collective job action and there is need for alignment of the Public
Service Act with the Constitution.
Rights of persons on lawful collective job action

● Protection from discipline and dismissal

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● immunity from civil liability-this is important because reprisals can instil fear in the

victims and thus burying the right to strike.

● right to remuneration in kind-where his remuneration includes payment in kind by way of

accommodation, the provision of food and other basic amenities of life, the worker is
entitled to continue receiving these during the strike but wages are excluded.

● right not to be interdicted

● right not to be replaced by scab labor

● right to picket

Right to strike in Zimbabwe

The constitution of Zimbabwe is the supreme law of the country and any law which is
inconsistent is devoid. Zimbabwean law recognizes all form of strikes that entail partial
strikes, secondary strikes and protest action. It is entrenched in the fundamental bill of rights
in terms of the constitution of Zimbabwe. Enactment of section 65 of the Constitution of
Zimbabwe allows workers to go on strike. However, the only permissible constitutional
derogation from the right to strike is in respect of essential services. It only applies in respect
of disputes of interest and not a dispute of right. There is no automatic right to refer a dispute
of interest to arbitration for other employees other than those in essential service where it is
preemptory that once a certificate of no settlement is issued after an impasse in conciliation,
the dispute should be referred to compulsory arbitration. Those who offer essential services
are not allowed to go on collective job action. In terms of section 102(b) an essential service
is defined as any service the interruption of which endangers immediately the life, personal
safety or health of the whole or any part of the public and that is declared by notice in the
gazette made by the minister after consultation with the appropriate advisory council; and
these include fire brigade /services employees, electricity employees, veterinary services,
health services, transport and communication etc.
NB

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In terms of section (3) of S.I 137 of 2003 “any non-essential service maybe declared as an
essential service by the minister if a strike in a sector ,industry or enterprise persist to a point
that lives, personal safety or health of the whole or part of the population is endangered.
Thus, the problem with this sector is that there is no independent committee to determine
what constitute essential services as the Minister is given an open cheque to do so.

✔ Restrictions are placed on members of the army, police and prisons as well as civil

servants.

✔ It is prohibited to go on collective job action to redress a dispute of right. It is a right to

which a party is entitled to by law, by contract, by agreement. Disputes of right are

settled by legal arbitration and not by negotiation.

✔ It is also prohibited where the dispute has been referred to arbitration whether voluntary

or compulsory.

✔ Unregistered trade unions and employers’ organizations are prohibited from

recommending or engage in collective job action.

✔ Collective job action is permissible even in an essential service in order to avoid any

occupational hazard and in defense of an immediate threat to the existence of a workers

committee or a registered trade union.

✔ The new constitution demolished the artificial divide between public and private sector

employees and extends the right to strike to both private and public sector employees.
Limitations on the right to strike

⮚ It should be a dispute of interest. A dispute of interest is that to which a party is not yet

entitled but to which he would like it to become entitled thus interests are subject to
collective bargaining or negotiation. Once an agreement has been reached the interest
sought becomes a right.

⮚ An attempt to resolve the dispute through conciliation should have been made and a

certificate of no settlement issued. The conciliation process can last from a period ranging
from 30 days to a period ad infinitum if the conciliation is extended.

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⮚ The conciliator may refer the dispute for arbitration and once its referred for compulsory

arbitration, the door for the right to strike is firmly closed.

⮚ Give advance notice i.e., a 14 days’ notice to the party against whom the action is taken,

to the employment council and the appropriate trade union or employers’ organisation or
federation stating grounds for going on action. In South Africa and Namibia, for example,
only 48 hours’ notice is required.

⮚ More than 50% of the workers must vote by secret ballot in the presence of a labour

officer or TU official for a strike and this will be followed by 30-day conciliation period
and the possibility of binding arbitration.

⮚ Before embarking on collective job action, they need to get union approval from a

registered union or employer organization.

⮚ Furthermore, employees cannot engage in collective job action if there is a union

agreement restriction.

⮚ The minister has the power to terminate, postpone or suspend any strike action by issuing

a show cause order. One can appeal to the labour court after the issuance of the show
cause order but the appeal itself does not suspend the decision appealed against that such
that this purported remedy becomes hollow and academic.

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