UNIT STANDARD 242903 Define overall public sector culture

Public Administration - NQF 4: SAQA ID 57824 – Handbook

Page 1 of 24 Public Administration – US 242903 Issue 3: 01-01-2020

UNIT STANDARD 242903

Define overall public sector culture and values and apply to own work context

UNIT STANDARD NUMBER: 242903 LEVEL ON THE NQF : 4 CREDITS : 6 FIELD : Business, Commerce and Management Studies SUB FIELD : Public Administration

PURPOSE:

This Unit Standard is intended for public sector officials involved with the service delivery activities in order to render services to the communities, stakeholders and other related role players that interact with the public sector. The qualifying learner is capable of:

Identifying what is meant by the concept of 'organisational culture' and identifying the typical culture of the public sector environment.

Identifying what is meant by the concept of 'work values' and highlight what the public sector mission and values are related thereto.

Identifying how individuals contribute to the value chain of an organisation with specific reference to the public sector environment.

Integrating overall public sector culture and values into own team and work context.

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE:

All learners accessing this qualification must be competent in: Communication NQF Level 3. Mathematical Literacy NQF Level 3. Computer Literacy NQF Level 3.

SESSION 1 Identify what is meant by the concept of 'organisational culture' and identify the typical culture of the public sector environment.

Specific Outcomes

The history and theories relating to 'organisational culture' are examined and understood.

Typical components of culture generically and of organisations particularly are examined and related critically to public sector organisations.

Cultural elements of public sector organisations are examined and explained with examples.

The value of establishing a public service ethos of commitment to critical service values is explained and understood.

The risk, and threats of failing to establish a service culture in the public sector is understood and explained with examples.

ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE There are many different definitions of organizational culture, although almost all of the most widely accepted ones are similar and cover many of the same aspects. Organizational culture refers to the general culture within a company or organization, and is often also referred to as corporate culture, though that isn't the best description since a large non-profit organization or charity could also have its own organizational culture even though they are definitely not corporations. Here are some of the many definitions of organizational culture that can be found. Gareth Morgan has described organizational culture as: "The set of the set of beliefs, values, and norms, together with symbols like dramatized events and personalities, that represents the unique character of an organization, and provides the context for action in it and by it." Beliefs and values are words that will



pop up frequently in other definitions, as well. Norms might be described as traditions, structure of authority, or routines. Edgar Schein, another of the most famous and most respected theorists dealing with organizational culture says that the definition of organizational culture has to be general, or else you start to eliminate factors that actually are part of corporate culture. Schein's definition of organizational culture is: "A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems that has worked well enough to be considered valid and is passed on to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems." Although the words are different, the two definitions are nearly the same in terms of content. Another more simple way of looking at organizational culture is to view it as a group's general reaction to stimulus. An organizational culture is a group of people who have been trained, or who simply have learned by those around them, how to act in any given situation. In this way, corporate culture functions just as any social learning does. The other aspect of organizational culture that is often true is that it becomes very deeply rooted. It is the identity of a company, and because of that, in some ways it becomes an identity of those who work there, as well. This is always important to remember, as culture becomes like a circular argument. The people end up affecting the culture as much as the culture is affecting them. Because culture is so deeply rooted in an organization’s history of success or failure, and because of its collective experience, any organization that needs to work to change it will be facing an uphill battle and a huge investment in time, resources, and work. In this situation, it is often best to find some professional outsiders to at least help out, people who haven't been exposed and sucked into the bad habits of a dysfunctional organizational culture. So while there are many definitions of organizational culture, all of them focus on the same points: collective experience, routine, beliefs, values, goals, and system. These are learned and re-learned, passed on to new employees, and continues on as part of a company's core identity. The history and theories relating to 'organisational culture' are examined and understood. History The literature on organizational culture is as relevant to public science management as it is to the management of private sector business organizations. Given a rapidly changing environment and continuing insights into organizational effectiveness, science organizations, as most other organizations, are seriously rethinking what they do and how they can best define and accomplish their goals and objectives. Once goals are defined, it is necessary to address the type of culture that is necessary to advance these goals and objectives and ensure the successful implementation of the necessary changes. In addition, the organizational effectiveness literature has been increasingly emphasizing the importance of culture in motivating and maximizing the value of its intellectual assets, particularly its human capital. This review of the organizational culture literature makes it clear that:

Culture is essential for both successful organizational change and maximizing the value of human capital

Culture management should become a critical management competency, and While the right culture may be a necessary condition for organizational success, it is by no means a sufficient condition. An important challenge for managers is to determine what the most effective culture is for their organization and, when necessary, how to change the organizational culture effectively. This article discusses about organizational culture, its history, levels of organizational culture, theories of organizational culture, increasing Importance of organizational culture, effects of organizational culture, and cultural change.



Organisational culture - Concise description of theory Different concepts of culture, stemming from two distinct disciplines (anthropology and sociology), have been applied to organizational studies since the early 1980s. These two underlying disciplines represent different paradigms in Burrell and Morgan’s (1979) framework, and have contributed to the emergence of the different theories and frameworks of organizational culture in the academic literature. Anthropology takes the interpretist view and sees culture as a metaphor for organizations, defining organizations as being cultures. On the other hand, sociology takes on the functionalist view and defines culture, as something an organization possesses. Despite the separate definitions of organizational culture, there seems to be a movement towards a general consensus. The most widely used organizational culture framework is that of Edgar Schein (1988), who adopts the functionalist view and described culture as a pattern of basic assumptions, invented, discovered, or developed by a given group, as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore is to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems. In Schein’s (1988) model, culture exists on three levels: Artifacts – Artifacts are difficult to measure and they deal with organizational attributes that can be observed, felt and heard as an individual enters a new culture. Values – This level deals with the espoused goals, ideals, norms, standards, and moral principles and is usually the level that is usually measured through survey questionnaires. Underlying assumptions – This level deals with phenomena that remain unexplained when insiders are asked about the values of the organizational culture. Information is gathered in this level by observing behavior carefully to gather underlying assumptions because they are sometimes taken for granted and not recognized. According to Schein, the essence of organizational culture lies in this level. Diagram/schematic of theory

Typical components of culture generically and of organisations particularly are examined and related critically to public sector organisations. The basic elements of culture Language. Language is a set of symbols used to assign and communicate meaning. It enables us to name or label the things in our world so we can think and communicate about them. Language as a social product. Language, communication and interaction. Language, cognition, and reality. Language and culture.



Norms. Norms as humanly created rules for behavior. The production of norms. The need for orderly, stable, predictable interactions. The role of power in the production of norms. The reification of norms. Renegotiating and changing norms. Types of norms. Folkways. Mores. Taboos. Rituals. Social Control. Internal social control. Socialization and the internalization of norms. Ideologies, beliefs, and values. External social control. Informal sanctions. Physical and verbal reactions. Embarrassment and stigma. Avoidance and ostracization. The importance of informal sanctions in small groups and organizations. Formal sanctions. Formal sanctions in large organizations. Governments, laws, and police. Courts, hearings, trials, and punishments. Theories of deviance. Deviance as functional. Social disorganization and anomie. Control theory. Structural strain theory. Marxist theories. Value conflict theory. The social construction of deviance. Labeling theory. Cultural transmission and differential association. Values. Values are anything members of a culture aspire to or hold in high esteem. Values are things to be achieved, things considered of great worth or value. Values are human creations. They are social products. Values can and do become reified. Values can be renegotiated and changed. While people and groups may disagree as to which are most important, Americans generally value the following.

Democracy, liberty, freedom, independence, autonomy, and individual rights.

Capitalism, competition, hard work, self-discipline, and success.

Wealth, prosperity, materialism, and consumerism.

Equity, fairness, and justice.

Equality of opportunity.

Love, compassion, humanitarianism, charity, service, and respect for others.

Tolerance, forgiveness, and acceptance.

Faith, religion, family, conformity, and tradition.



Nationalism, patriotism, civic responsibility, and loyalty.

Health, happiness, and life.

Education, knowledge, science, technology, and innovation. Complimentary and conflicting values. A groups values tend to compliment and support one another. They tend to be in agreement and make sense when considered together. A careful look at the values above reveals “sets” of values that seem to go together. However, it is also possible for values to contradict and conflict with each other, especially in complex modern industrial societies. For example, competition and success can be seen as contradictory to humanitarianism, compassion, service and self-sacrafice; while equity and justice contradict forgiveness and conformity and tradition contradict tolerance and acceptance. In fact, many social and political problems can be seen as conflicts between groups emphasizing different values. The relationship between norms and values. Beliefs and ideologies. Beliefs are the things members of a culture hold to be true. They are the "facts" accepted by all or most members. Beliefs are not limited to religious statements, but include all the things a people know and accept as true, including common sense everyday knowledge. Like all other cultural elements, beliefs are humanly created and produced. They are collective social agreements produced during interaction and reified over time. What is "true" or "factual" for a given people is what they collectively agree to be true at that point in time. Beliefs can and do change, especially in modern industrial societies. Today we laugh at things our grandparents used to believe and chances are that our grandchildren will laugh at many of our beliefs as well. This suggests that there is no absolute knowledge or absolute truth. All knowledge and truth is relative. Ideologies are integrated and connected systems of beliefs. Sets of beliefs and assumptions connected by a common theme or focus. They are often associated with specific social institutions or systems and serve to legitimize those systems. Some prominent American ideologies. Capitalism. Christianity (Protestantism). Individualism Sexism. Racism. Ideologies are, themselves, often related and connected to each other in complex ideological systems, such that one ideology "makes sense" when considered with another. They also often serve to legitimize each other. Religious ideologies often encompass or subsume many of a culture's ideologies, giving them added legitimacy. However, it is also possible for a culture to hold ideologies that are conflicting and contradictory. The relationship between beliefs and values. Social Collectives. Social collectives such as groups, organizations, communities, institutions, classes, and societies are also collectively produced symbolic social constructions. Social collectives are symbolic entities. They are defined into existence when people define themselves as a group or are defined as a group by others. They can and do become reified over time, such that they are seen and treated as real objective entities. However, they remain fundamentally symbolic entities and as such can be renegotiated and redefined. The symbolic nature of social collectives means that they are typically justified and maintained by ideological systems and ritualistic behavior. Although symbolic entities, social collectives have a real impact on our lives.



Collectives as contexts for interaction. Collectives and local cultures. Collectives, status, roles, identity, and the self. Statuses and Roles. Status, although related, is not a measure of a person’s wealth, power, and prestige. To speak of "high" or "low" status is somewhat misleading. A status is a slot or position within a group or society. They tell us who people are and how they "fit" into the group. Status and group membership. Statuses as collective social agreements that become reified over time, but which can and do change. Society as a network of inter-related statuses. The multiplicity of statuses filled by individuals in modern societies. Ascribed and achieved statuses. Master statuses--age, sex, race, class. Status, prestige, wealth, and power. Status inconsistency. Roles are norms specifying the rights and responsibilities associated with a particular status. The term role is often used to mean both a position in society and role expectations associated with it. Roles define what a person in a given status can and should do, as well as what they can and should expect from others. Roles provide a degree of stability and predictability, telling how we should respond to others and giving us an idea of how others should respond to us. Roles are negotiated and produced during interaction, and often become reified over time. However, roles can be renegotiated and changed. Role set, role strain, role conflict, and role transition. Roles, identity, and the self. Cultural Integration. Cultural integration refers to how interconnected, complimentary, and mutually supportive the various elements of culture are. Diversity, complexity, and integration. Variation within modern mass cultures. Diversity in historical and cultural traditions. Subcultures. Counter-cultures. Local cultures. The mass media and cultural integration. The relationship between beliefs, values, norms, and behaviour. The traditional deterministic view. The culture as resource view. The value of establishing a public service ethos of commitment to critical service values is explained and understood. Public Service Ethos One crucial aspect of public service reform surrounds issues of motivation across the public, private and voluntary sectors. On an ideological level, this battle has been fought between the border posts of public sector ethos and public choice. The former argues that there is an altruistic ethos unique to public sector employees imbuing public provision with intrinsic and instrumental superiority, while the latter claims that all agents are self interested egoists and thus privatized public-service markets are necessarily the route to optimal efficiency in production.



Empirically, both of these theories have been subject to criticism with a consensus growing around the public service ethos: a commitment to duty, fairness, openness and accountability is not sector-specific but rather subject to a host of situational factors including institution design and agent-management. Summary In this Report, the Committee examines the principles which underpin the Government's programme of public service reform, and in particular the idea of the public service ethos. This ethos, we believe, should be the fundamental reference point for everything else in the reform programme. When someone describes him or herself as a 'public servant' it is testimony to the power of the ethos. Yet a gap seems today to be opening up between the traditional theory of public service and the reality on the ground. Sometimes public services, and those who work in them, fall short of the ideal. And the involvement of the private sector raises questions about possible threats to the ethos. The boundaries between public and private services are increasingly difficult to define, and the picture is also confused by the emergence of new types of partnerships. We reject two rival myths about public service, one suggesting that only the public sector can properly deliver public services, the other implying that there is nothing special that distinguishes public services from private services. We conclude that, in the mixed economy of public service, it is possible for private and voluntary sector bodies and people to uphold the public service ethos, although the profit motive may put it under strain. The public service ethos cannot be taken for granted; it needs to be renewed and strengthened to set out clearly society's aspirations for its public services. While the Government is making some welcome progress towards explaining its vision of reform, it has not yet provided a coherent framework for action. In uncertain times for public service, a clearer and more explicit way of explaining its values is needed. The ethos needs to be nourished and cultivated. We recommend that the most important values should be set out in a Public Service Code, to be approved by Parliament and adopted by all bodies providing those services. It should include the standards to be reached in ethical behaviour, service delivery, administrative competence and democratic accountability. The Code should be included in invitations to tender and as a contract clause for public service contracts, including employment contracts. It should also be considered for inclusion in the proposed Civil Service Bill. Vigorous efforts should be made to cultivate the right values among public servants, including the establishment of a Public Service Academy. A Public Service Code People and organizations providing public services should commit themselves to these principles: Observe at all times the ethical standards expected of public servants and public service bodies, including the seven principles of public life

Make themselves accountable through elected representatives and other means for their policies and performance, with the highest standards of openness and transparency.

Aim to deliver public services that match in quality the best private equivalents, including standards of customer care. Where there is no private sector equivalent, best practice in the public sector should be matched.

Treat public service workers and users fairly and equitably, and involve them as much as possible in service issues.

Respect at all times the right of the citizen to good administration as set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the African Union, and his or her right to safe, reliable public services. Proper redress should be made where maladministration has taken place.

Remember at all times that public service means serving the public, not serving the interests of those who provide the service, and work collaboratively with others to this end. Public Service Values

Public servants shall be guided in their work and their professional conduct by a balanced framework of public service values: democratic, professional, ethical and people values.



These families of values are not distinct but overlap. They are perspectives from which to observe the universe of Public Service values. Democratic Values: Helping Ministers, under law, to serve the public interest. Public servants shall give honest and impartial advice and make all information relevant to a decision available to Ministers. Public servants shall loyally implement ministerial decisions, lawfully taken. Public servants shall support both individual and collective ministerial accountability and provide Parliament and South Africans with information on the results of their work. Professional Values: Serving with competence, excellence, efficiency, objectivity and impartiality. Public servants must work within the laws of South Africa and maintain the tradition of the political neutrality of the Public Service. Public servants shall endeavor to ensure the proper, effective and efficient use of public money. In the Public Service, how ends are achieved should be as important as the achievements themselves. Public servants should constantly renew their commitment to serve South Africans by continually improving the quality of service, by adapting to changing needs through innovation, and by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of government programs and services offered in both official languages. Public servants should also strive to ensure that the value of transparency in government is upheld while respecting their duties of confidentiality under the law. Ethical Values: Acting at all times in such a way as to uphold the public trust. Public servants shall perform their duties and arrange their private affairs so that public confidence and trust in the integrity, objectivity and impartiality of government are conserved and enhanced. Public servants shall act at all times in a manner that will bear the closest public scrutiny; an obligation that is not fully discharged by simply acting within the law. Public servants, in fulfilling their official duties and responsibilities, shall make decisions in the public interest. If a conflict should arise between the private interests and the official duties of a public servant, the conflict shall be resolved in favor of the public interest. People Values: Demonstrating respect, fairness and courtesy in their dealings with both citizens and fellow public servants. Respect for human dignity and the value of every person should always inspire the exercise of authority and responsibility. People values should reinforce the wider range of Public Service values. Those who are treated with fairness and civility will be motivated to display these values in their own conduct. Public Service organizations should be led through participation, openness and communication and with respect for diversity and for the official languages of South Africa. Appointment decisions in the Public Service shall be based on merit. Public Service values should play a key role in recruitment, evaluation and promotion. The risk and threats of failing to establish a service culture in the public sector is understood and explained with examples. Service cultures differ from organization to organization. Culture includes values, beliefs, norms, rituals, etc. Any policy, procedure, action or inaction on the part of an organization and its employees contribute to service culture. Employees can play key roles in communicating a company's culture to its customers. Examples include: employee dress code, interactions with customers, service provider's knowledge, skill, and attitude. Companies develop vastly different service cultures depending on their industry, product, size, business model, etc. The culture is usually set and communicated by top executives. Corporate culture of an organization is the pattern of shared values, beliefs, and rules or patterns of common behaviour in the organization. A service culture implies type of organizational culture that promotes kinds of behaviour in its employees that leads to high concern for serving its customers.



Culture where an appreciation for good service exists, and where giving good service to internal as well as ultimate, external customers is considered a natural way of life and one of the most important norms by everyone. Service culture can be built in an organization only by a sustained and consistent effort over an extended period. It cannot be introduced by top management diktats only. Building of service culture requires sustained attention to:

Hiring right people

Retaining the best people

Developing the people to deliver service quality

Providing needed support system to people

What are the possible risks and threats of failing to establish a service culture in the public sector?

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SESSION 2 Identify what is meant by the concept of 'work values' and highlight what the public sector

mission and values are related thereto

Specific Outcomes

The concept of 'work-values' is analysed generically in the context of work and specifically in the

context of work in the public service.

The basis of values in ethical systems and the purpose and value of codes of conduct is examined

and explained.

The management concepts of 'mission', and 'values' are described and understood in planning

and implementing organisation objectives.

'Work values' are related to the mission and values of the public service and areas of congruence

and conflict understood and explained.

Work values’ is a set of values that include good performance, take initiative, and working well with others. You can set your own ‘work values’ and set goals to increase them as well. Work ethic Work ethic is a set of values based on hard work and diligence. It is also a belief in the moral benefit of work and its ability to enhance character. An example would be the Protestant work ethic. A work ethic may include being reliable, having initiative, or pursuing new skills. Workers exhibiting a good work ethic in theory should be selected for better positions, more responsibility and ultimately promotion. Workers who fail to exhibit a good work ethic may be regarded as failing to provide fair value for the wage the employer is paying them and should not be promoted or placed in positions of greater responsibility. Value (personal and cultural) A personal or cultural value is an absolute or relative ethical value, the assumption of which can be the basis for ethical action. A value system is a set of consistent values and measures. A principle value is a foundation upon which other values and measures of integrity are based. Those values which are not physiologically determined and normally considered objective, such as a desire to avoid physical pain, seek pleasure, etc., are considered subjective, vary across individuals and cultures and are in many ways aligned with belief and belief systems. Types of values include ethical/moral value, doctrinal/ideological (religious, political) values, social values, and aesthetic values. It is debated whether some values which are not clearly physiologically determined are intrinsic such as altruism and whether some such as acquisitiveness should be valued as vices or virtues. Values have typically been studied in sociology; anthropology; social psychology; moral philosophy and business ethics.



Values can be defined as broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of action or outcomes. As such, values reflect a person’s sense of right and wrong or what “ought” to be. “Equal rights for all”, "Excellence deserves admiration", and “People should be treated with respect and dignity” are representative of values. Values tend to influence attitudes and behaviour. For example, if you value equal rights for all and you go to work for an organization that treats its managers much better than it does its workers, you may form the attitude that the company is an unfair place to work; consequently, you may not produce well or may perhaps leave the company. It is likely that if the company had a more egalitarian policy, your attitude and behaviours would have been more positive. Diligence Diligence is steadfast application, assiduousness and industry — the virtue of hard work rather than the sin of careless sloth. Diligent behaviour is indicative of a work ethic — a belief that work is good in itself. The concept of 'work-values' is analysed generically in the context of work and specifically in the context of work in the public service. In addition to job characteristics and attitudes, the public administration literature has identified several aspects of the employee’s work context that may influence work motivation. In particular, it is commonly suggested that public organizations are characterized by multiple, conflicting, and ambiguous goals as well as the presence of procedural constraints on employee action (Fottler 1981; Whorton and Worthley 1981; Rainey 1989, 1996; Baldwin and Farley 1991) and that these differences influence employee and organizational performance. Surprisingly little empirical research, however, has investigated the existence of these differences or their potential impact on the effective operation of public organizations (Rainey 1989; Baldwin and Farley 1991; Wright 2001). Regardless of whether sector differences do exist, it would be misleading to suggest that these are characteristics only found in public sector organizations. Important variation in work context occurs within sectors, and even private sector organizations are not devoid of procedural constraints, organizational goal conflict, and ambiguity. Consequently, although this study did not assess whether public organizations are different from their private sector counterparts, it helps to extend our understanding of the motivational context in organizations by investigating ways in which aspects of the work context might influence work motivation within the theoretical framework provided by goal and social cognitive theories. Although this model may be especially salient to public organizations if sector differences do exist, the presence and potential impact of procedural constraints or organizational goal conflict and ambiguity is important regardless of sector. To that end, each of these work context factors, and its potential role in employee work motivation, is discussed below. Hierarchies Hierarchies are tree-like organizational structures that you can use to relate the values of dimensions in your database. Hierarchies enable the data associated with dimension values to be aggregated at various levels along the structure. Dimensions that are associated with hierarchies in this way are called embedded total dimensions because the levels of aggregation are embedded in the dimension's values. Typically, these dimensions include Time, Product, and Organization, but you can define hierarchies for any dimension in your system. Who can work with hierarchies? Administrators As an administrator, it is your responsibility to maintain the hierarchies that your users access in the shared database that you administer. When you create or modify a hierarchy and want other users to be able to access it, you must distribute the hierarchy to the shared database and to other users. Budget workstation users As a Budget workstation user, you can create and modify hierarchies for your own personal use. You can modify hierarchies that your administrator has created for you, but you cannot save the modifications unless you assign a new name to the modified hierarchy, retaining the original. Hierarchy Structures



Typical hierarchy structure A typical hierarchy is organized in a tree-like structure with one value at the top of the tree and multiple values branching out from the top. The following illustration shows a typical hierarchy:

Example: Hierarchy structure This example illustrates a sample hierarchy for the Organization dimension for a fictitious company, US Global Computers. In this diagram: All of the divisions (East, Central, West) at the bottom of the hierarchy are leaf organizations, as are the values Support and Training. Data for the Support, Consulting and Training divisions will roll up into Sales data, and Resource, Manufacturing, Sales, and Finance data will roll up into corporate data for US Global Computers. The following diagram illustrates a sample hierarchy that is based on the Organization dimension.

The basis of values in ethical systems and the purpose and value of codes of conduct is examined and explained. Value system A value system is a set of consistent ethic values (more specifically the personal and cultural values) and measures [clarification needed] used for the purpose of ethical or ideological integrity. A well-defined value system is a moral code. Personal and communal One or more people can hold a value system. Likewise, a value system can apply to either one person or many. A personal value system is held by and applied to one individual only. A communal or cultural value system is held by and applied to a community/group/society. Some communal value systems are reflected in the form of legal codes or law.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law





Ethical system is the most basic morals that define your life and the life of those close to you, usually your family and community. Usually they are the morals that are shared by a group of people, and each distinct 'people' or 'community' has somewhat different ideas about what is right and what is wrong. If two communities or cultures differ enough in these principles, they have different ethical systems. The Purpose of Codes Codes of ethics are written to guide behaviour. Any final analysis of the impact of a code must include how well it affects behaviour. Scholarly researchers’ debates about codes generally revolve around whether more general codes are mere platitudes, and whether more detailed codes require behaviour about which reasonable people can disagree. They even debate whether ethics codes are necessary at all because good people should know how to act ethically without any guidance. These are worthy academic questions, but they are different than those a practitioner must ask. For those working with developing public service communities the more important questions are what blend of the general and specific are most likely to affect behaviours that a society needs from its civil servants and its political leaders. Contemporary social psychological research also strongly suggests that codes can guide or induce behaviours in developing countries that are critical to a functioning public service. Codes are not designed for “bad” people, but for the persons who want to act ethically. The bad person will seldom follow a code, while most people – especially public servants - welcome ethical guidance in difficult or unclear situations. The average person is not grossly immoral but often tempted, and sometimes confused, by what appears to be a virtuous path. “When temptations are significant, when the price of adherence (in terms, for example, of the sacrifice to our interests) is high, when the social consequences of violation (harm to others) are relatively slight, when the costs of violation are low – under such circumstances it is easy to be led from doing what you ought to do . . .” No code, no matter how severely enforced will make truly bad people good. As James Madison wrote: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” However, ethics codes can have a demonstrable impact on the behaviour of bad people in organizations. When everyone clearly knows the ethical standards of an organization they are more likely to recognize wrongdoing; and do something about it. Second, miscreants are often hesitant to commit an unethical act if they believe that everyone else around them knows it is wrong. And, finally corrupt individuals believe that they are more likely to get caught in environments that emphasize ethical behaviour. What are ethics codes for? For the purposes of this analysis the use of ethics codes in public service can have a positive impact in several ways. First, codes of ethics increase the probability that people will behave in certain ways. They do this partially by focusing on the character of their actions and partly by focusing on sanctions for violations. In addition, reliance on codes can reduce the sacrifice involved in an ethical act. An example might be the case of a civil servant whose cousin has asked him to give him a government contract. Without a code it would be a moral choice on his or her part. With a code the civil servant is reminded that it violates expectations for civil servants, it could result in losing his or her job, and it moves the action from not helping a family member to doing the right thing. Second, good ethics codes can focus public servants on actions that result in doing the right things for the right reasons. Ethical behavior should become a habit and effective codes allow both bureaucrats and elected officials to test their actions against expected standards. Repeated over time this kind of habit becomes inculcated in the individual and ingrained in the organization. An excellent example is in contracting or procurement. Government processes are often cumbersome to allow for fairness. If efficiency alone were the standard, contracting officials would be easily tempted to ignore the rules to expedite the process. However, if it is clear that the overriding principle is impartiality in carrying out your public duties it is very difficult to justify giving the contract to your wife’s company on efficiency grounds.



Third, codes of ethics do not take away one’s own moral autonomy or absolve the public servant from the obligation to reason. Codes of ethics provide at most a strong prima facie reason to act in a certain way. However, these can be overridden by strong, reasoned objection. The expectation is that the norm is not to violate the code and such violations can only be justified because of a higher ethical principle. The public servant who closes a coal mine before the owners have exhausted due process legal appeals can reasonably justify the action. Protecting the lives of the workers has a higher value than the obligation to objectively carry out procedures. Fourth, codes of ethics can function as a professional statement. That is it expresses the public service’s commitments to a specific set of moral standards. This has both cognitive and emotive value. Cognitively it gives a person joining a profession, civil service, a clear set of value to which they are expected to subscribe. Not all individuals are comfortable working as civil servants and codes can clarify expectations. Codes can help provide the pride of belonging to a group or a profession. Pride is a critical emotion in motivating individuals to see themselves as professional. Management Concepts - The Four Functions of Management Any organization, whether new or old, whether small or big, needs to run smoothly and achieve the goals and objectives, which it has set forth for itself. For this to happen, they must develop and implement their own management concepts. There are basically four management concepts that allow any organization to take control of its destiny. These four concepts of management, translated into functions lead to the creation of a cohesive organization, which smoothly achieves its objectives. The four functions of management are: The base function is to: Plan It is the foundation pillar of management. It is the base upon which the all other areas of management are built. Planning requires administration to assess where the company presently is and where it would be in the upcoming years. From there, an appropriate course of action is determined and implemented to attain the company's goals and objectives. Planning is an unending course of action. There may be sudden strategies, required to be implemented, when facing a crisis. There are external factors that constantly affect a company, both positively and negatively. Depending on the conditions, a company may have to alter its course of action in accomplishing certain goals. This kind of preparation or arrangement is known as strategic planning. In strategic planning, management analyzes internal and external factors that may affect the company, its objectives and goals. Here they should engage in a study of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis). For management to do this efficiently, it has to be very practical and focused. The subsequent function is to: Organize The second function of the management is getting prepared and getting organized. Management must organize all its resources beforehand, to put into practice, the course of action, which has been decided upon in the base function of planning. Through this process, management will now determine the inside directorial configuration; establish and maintain relationships and also assign required resources. While determining the inside directorial configuration, management ought to look at the different divisions or departments. They must also ensure the harmonization of staff, and try to find out the best way to handle the important tasks and reduce unnecessary expenditure within the company. Management determines the division of work according to its need. It also has to decide for suitable departments to hand over authority and responsibilities. The third function is to: Lead/Direct Directing or leading is the third function of management. Working under this function helps the management in controlling and supervising the actions of staff. This helps them in assisting the staff, to achieve the company's goals and also accomplish their personal or career goals, which can be powered by motivation, communication, department dynamics, and department leadership.



The employees, who are highly encouraged and motivated, generally surpass expectations in their job performance and also play an important role in achieving the company's goal. This is the reason why managers focus on motivating their employees. Managers come up with prize and incentive programs, based on job performance and tend to be geared to meet employee requirements. It is very important to maintain a productive working environment, build positive interpersonal relationships and engage in problem solving. This can only be done effectively, with proper communication. Understanding the communication process and working on areas that need improvement, helps managers become more effective communicators. The finest technique of finding the areas that requires improvement is to ask themselves and others at regular intervals, how well they are doing. Such introspection leads to better relationships and helps the managers in directing plans. The final function is to: Control Control - the last of four functions of management, includes establishing performance standards, which are aligned to the company's objectives. It also involves evaluation and reporting of actual job performance. When these points are studied by the management, it is necessary to compare both these things. This study or comparison leads to further corrective and preventive actions. In an effort to solve performance problems, management should set high standards. They should clearly speak to the employee or department which has a problem. On the contrary, if there are inadequate resources or other external factors, which prevent high standards from being attained, management has to lower their standards as per requirement. The controlling processes, in comparison with other three, are a continuous process. With this function, management can anticipate any future problems. It helps them in taking necessary preventive measures, against the consequences. Management can also recognize any further developing problems that need corrective actions. Effective and efficient management leads to success, which is the attainment of objectives and goals, that an organization sets for itself. Of course, for achieving the ultimate goal, management needs to work creatively in problem solving and execute all the four functions. Management not only has to see goals accomplished, but also see to it that the strategy adopted is feasible for the company. Strategy Implementation - Implementing Organizational Objectives. Implementation of strategy is the process through which a chosen strategy is put into action. It involves the design and management of systems to achieve the best integration of people, structure, processes and resources in achieving organizational objectives. Once the creative and analytical aspects of strategy formulation have been settled, the managerial priority is one of converting the strategy into operationally effective action. Indeed a strategy is never complete, even as formulation until it gains a commitment of the organization’s resources and becomes embodied in organizational activities. Therefore, to bring the result, the strategy should be put to action because the choice of even the soundest strategy will not affect organizational activities and achievement of its objectives. Therefore, effective implementation of strategy is a must for the organization. Implementation of strategy can be defined as follows: Judging from this definition, it can be observed that the scope of managerial activities associated with strategy implementation is virtually coexistence with the entire management process. This is because the entire management process is geared up according to the needs of the strategy. In particular, following factors are important in strategy implementation: Institutionalization of Strategy The first basic action that is required for putting a strategy into operation is its institutionalization. Since strategy does not become either acceptable or effective by virtue of being well designed and clearly announced, the successful implementation of strategy requires that the strategy framer acts as its promoter and defender. Often strategy choice becomes a personal choice of the strategist because his personality variables become an influential factor in strategy formulation. Thus, it becomes a personal strategy of the strategist.



Therefore, there is an urgent need for the institutionalization of strategy because without it, the strategy is subject to being undermined. Therefore, it is the role of the strategist to present the strategy to the members of the organization in a way that appeals to them and brings their support. This will put organizational people to feel that it is their own strategy rather than the strategy imposed on them. Such a feeling creates commitment so essential for making strategy successful. Setting Proper Organizational Climate Setting organizational climate relevant for strategy implementation is important for making strategy to work. Organizational climate refers to the characteristics of internal environment that conditions the co-operation, the development of the individuals, the extent of commitment and dedication of people in the organization, and the efficiency with which the purpose is translated into results. Organizations whose strategy is implemented with conducive climate are more effective than those whose are not. People are the instruments in implementing a particular strategy and organizational climate is basically a people-oriented attempt. A top manager can play an important role in shaping the organizational climate not only by providing standards for what others do but also what he does because organizational climate is a matter of practice rather than the precept. Developing Appropriate Operating Plans Operating plans are the action plans, operational program and decisions that take place in various parts of the organization. If they are made to reflect desired strategic results, they contribute to the achievement, of organizational objectives by focusing attention on those factors, which are important. For example, in budgeting, more resources will be allocated on those factors, which are critical to the success of the organization as spelled out during the strategy formulation process. There are various ways of making sure that operating plans contribute. If every manager understands strategy, he can certainly review the program recommendations of staff advisers and line subordinates to see that they are consistent with the requirements of the strategy. Appropriate committees to see if they contribute positively can review major program. This lends an aura of formality to the program decisions and their influences on strategy may become clear. Developing Appropriate Organizational Structure Organization structure is the pattern in which the various parts of the organization are interrelated or interconnected. It prescribes relationships among various positions and activities. For implementing strategy, the organization structure should be designed according to the needs of the strategy. The relationship between strategy and structure can be thought of in terms of utilizing structure for strategy implementation because structure is a means to an end, that is, to provide facilities for implementing strategy. Therefore, both should be integrated. In the absence of such integration, outcome may be confusion, misdirection and splintered effort within the organization. There can be various ways of designing an organization structure. However, the major issues involved in designing the structure to fit the strategy involve the answers of following questions. What should be the different units of the organization? What components should join together and what components should be kept apart? What is the appropriate placement and relationship of different units? Periodic Review of Strategy There should be periodic review of strategy to find out whether the given strategy is relevant. This is required because even the care-fully developed strategies might cease to be suitable if events change, knowledge becomes clearer, or it appears that the environment will not be as originally thought. Thus, strategies should be reviewed from time to time. What should be the frequency for such a review is not universal but major strategies should be reviewed at least once a year. In fact this is done by most of the organizations who believe in relating themselves with the environment. 'Work values' are related to the mission and values of the public service and areas of congruence and conflict understood and explained. Congruence



Congruence is the state achieved by coming together, the state of agreement. The Latin congruō meaning “I meet together, I agree”. As an abstract term, congruence means similarity between objects. Congruence, as opposed to equivalence or approximation, is a relation which implies a kind of equivalence, though not complete equivalence. Case study

MORE CONFLICT IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR WORKPLACE Headlines: October 23rd, 2008 There is more conflict in the public sector workplace than there is in the private sector where conflict is better managed. These findings come from a new report ‘Fight, Flight or Face It’ published by business psychology firm OPP in association with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Over a third of public sector employees have to deal with conflict frequently or always, compared with only 23 per cent in the private sector. The research also found that public sector workers were more likely to see poor leadership from the top and a lack of resources as major causes of workplace conflict. Responses to the survey revealed that some 27 per cent of public sector managers said they did not manage conflict very well. This compares with 23 per cent of overall responses. Public sector managers receive higher levels of training than their private sector counterparts. 75 per cent of senior leaders have had conflict management training, compared to 67 per cent for the private sector. Similarly, 81 per cent of line managers have had relevant training, compared to 73 per cent on average. The survey also revealed that 11 per cent of recent conflicts in the public sector took more than ten days to resolve, compared with only 6 per cent in the private sector that took as long. Linda Holbeche, director of research and policy at the CIPD, thinks that conflict management should be an integral part of leadership and management training: “Conflict is an inevitable part of the workplace and can be very damaging and costly if not managed properly. Managers must be able to identify the early signs of conflict and intervene and diffuse situations before they escalate if teams are to work productively and harmoniously. Managers must also manage under-performance firmly and fairly, as well as pick-up on banter when it starts to become bullying or when workloads become excessive.”

Value chain The value chain, is a concept from business management that was first described and popularized by Michael Porter in his 1985 best-seller, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. Firm Level A value chain is a chain of activities for a firm operating in a specific industry. The business unit is the appropriate level for construction of a value chain, not the divisional level or corporate level. Products pass through all activities of the chain in order, and at each activity the product gains some value. The chain of activities gives the products more added value than the sum of the independent activities' values. It is important not to mix the concept of the value chain with the costs occurring throughout the activities. A diamond cutter, as a profession, can be used to illustrate the difference of cost and the value chain. The

SESSION 3 Identify how individuals contribute to the value chain of an organisation with specific reference to

the public sector environment

Specific Outcomes

The concept of a value chain is explained in generic and public sector contexts.

Roles within a value chain are examined generally and in the context of the individuals own

position within value chains.

The individual's role in the value chain of the public service department is analysed and explained.

The individual's role in the value chain own public service workplace is analysed and explained.

The effect on public service value chains of improved or decreased personal performance is examined and discussed.



cutting activity may have a low cost, but the activity adds much of the value to the end product, since a rough diamond is significantly less valuable than a cut diamond. Typically, the described value chain and the documentation of processes, assessment and auditing of adherence to the process routines are at the core of the quality certification of the business. Requirements of value chain Coordination and collaboration; Investment in information technology; Changes in organizational processes; Committed leadership; Flexible jobs and adaptable, capable employees; A supportive organizational culture and attitudes; Flintstone Example: Without the dinosaur, Fred couldn't complete his daily tasks quickly. This was because the dinosaurs had more strength than poor Freddy, therefore, making the process more efficient, which added value to the final result. Activities The value chain categorizes the generic value-adding activities of an organization. The "primary activities" include: inbound logistics, operations (production), outbound logistics, marketing and sales (demand), and services (maintenance). The "support activities" include: administrative infrastructure management, human resource management, technology (R&D), and procurement. The costs and value drivers are identified for each value activity. Industry Level An industry value chain is a physical representation of the various processes that are involved in producing goods (and services), starting with raw materials and ending with the delivered product (also known as the supply chain). It is based on the notion of value-added at the link (read: stage of production) level. The sum total of link-level value-added yields total value. The French Physiocrat's Tableau économique is one of the earliest examples of a value chain. Significance The value chain framework quickly made its way to the forefront of management thought as a powerful analysis tool for strategic planning. The simpler concept of value streams, a cross-functional process which was developed over the next decade, had some success in the early 1990s. The value-chain concept has been extended beyond individual firms. It can apply to whole supply chains and distribution networks. The delivery of a mix of products and services to the end customer will mobilize different economic factors, each managing its own value chain. The industry wide synchronized interactions of those local value chains create an extended value chain, sometimes global in extent. Porter terms this larger interconnected system of value chains the "value system." A value system includes the value chains of a firm's supplier (and their suppliers all the way back), the firm itself, the firm distribution channels, and the firm's buyers (and presumably extended to the buyers of their products, and so on). Capturing the value generated along the chain is the new approach taken by many management strategists. For example, a manufacturer might require its parts suppliers to be located nearby its assembly plant to minimize the cost of transportation. By exploiting the upstream and downstream information flowing along the value chain, the firms may try to bypass the intermediaries creating new business models, or in other ways create improvements in its value system. Value chain analysis has also been successfully used in large Petrochemical Plant Maintenance Organizations to show how Work Selection, Work Planning, Work Scheduling and finally Work Execution can (when considered as elements of chains) help drive Lean approaches to Maintenance. The Maintenance Value Chain approach is particularly successful when used as a tool for helping Change Management as it is seen as more user friendly than other business process tools. Value chain approach could also offer a meaningful alternative to valuate private or public companies when there is a lack of publically known data from direct competition, where the subject company is compared with, for example, a known downstream industry to have a good feel of its value by building useful correlations with its downstream companies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_theory



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logistics






http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procurement

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procurement

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Value_drivers&action=edit&redlink=1



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supply_chain



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_planning



http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Value_stream&action=edit&redlink=1









http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distribution_(business)



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_(business)



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_service



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_model






Value chain analysis has also been employed in the development sector as a means of identifying poverty reduction strategies by upgrading along the value chain. Although commonly associated with exportoriented trade, development practitioners have begun to highlight the importance of developing national and intra-regional chains in addition to international ones. Public service value chains It is commonly known in the private sector that companies with higher employee engagement translates into better services and/or products, more satisfied customers, and ultimately, higher profits. In the public sector, since the success of government is related to the trust and confidence that citizens have in their public institutions, higher profits are replaced by public trust and confidence. The Public Sector Service Value Chain

The link between citizens’ satisfaction with government services and their trust and confidence in government has been established in Citizens First 3 (2003). The link between citizens’ satisfaction with government services and those government employees’ levels of engagement was preliminarily established by BC Stats and the Region of Peel (2008). This preliminary analysis validated the link and demonstrated the impact that engagement has upon citizen satisfaction in a public sector context, by examining work unit data collected by both jurisdictions. However, there were serious limitations of the preliminary analysis mainly due to the inconsistent measures available for study. These limitations led to six recommended next steps. The present study attempts to meet the first recommendation by replicating the preliminary analysis with consistent measures of employee engagement on a more diverse set of BC Public Service work units. According to the BC Public Service Engagement Model, employee engagement is seen as a multidimensional concept influenced by a host of work environment drivers. Employee engagement consists of three characteristics – BC Public Service commitment, job satisfaction, and organization satisfaction. These three characteristics of engagement also influence each other, as if they were drivers. For example, there is a relationship between job satisfaction and organization satisfaction. The more satisfied you are with your job, the more likely you are to be satisfied with your organization. Job satisfaction and organization satisfaction both influence commitment. In fact, organization satisfaction is the strongest direct relationship to commitment in the model. Finally, there is a two-way relationship between job satisfaction and commitment. These mutually reinforcing relationships between the engagement characteristics create dynamic forces at the top of the BC Public Service Engagement model, which can significantly boost or quickly detract from engagement Public Service Engagement



The scores from these three characteristics are averaged together to produce employee engagement scores for work units across the BC Public Service; however scores from each of these characteristics also can be analysed individually. Objective The main objective of this report is to validate the link between BC Public Service employee engagement and citizens’ service satisfaction (i.e., customer satisfaction) and delve further into how the individual characteristics of engagement impact customer satisfaction. A second objective is to enhance the representation of BC Public Service work units specifically by using work units from only the BC public sector. BC Stats made the decision to change the methodology so as to allow for improvements to the consistency of engagement measures, workforce characteristics and timing of survey data collection. While these decisions limit the sample size of matched pairs, the cases now include a more varied group of work units, across more ministries, and from a larger number of different surveys. Thus, BC Stats believes that the changes actually increase the validity and applicability of the findings within BC Public Service organizations. This report demonstrates how the engagement of BC public sector employees directly involved in service delivery contributes to the Public Service Value Chain. Employees’ engagement, and more specifically, the satisfaction with their respective organizations, is explored alongside the satisfaction of their customers – those who accessed or received their services. The findings are summarized according to two key research questions. Personal Performance

What happens in a public sector scenario if personal performance decreases? ___

SESSION 4 Integrate overall public sector culture and values into own team and work context

Specific Outcomes

The components of public sector values are identified and understood.

The components, knowledge areas and skills of own team and/or work context are identified

and understood.

The concept 'integration' is discussed generically and applied to the integration of public sector

culture and values into own team and work context.

The benefits and value of integration and the hazards of disintegration are explained with examples.

The components of public sector values are identified and understood. Public sector - role and values



The public sector comprises of a series of sub-sectors that directly deliver or facilitate the delivery of key public services for citizens. They include:

Central government

National Health Service (NHS) and local trusts

UK government departments such as HM Revenue & Customs and Ministry of Defence

Key public services such as the Police, Fire and the Judiciary

National Assembly for Wales, Northern Ireland Assembly and Scottish Executive

Local authorities Universities and colleges Each year, the public sector buys a vast amount of goods and services from external sources. This may include basic supplies to specialist services or paying contractors to provide services to customers on its behalf. The public sector can be a good customer for your organisation:

Scale – the public sector is a very large market with a wide range of needs that is always seeking to improve its service delivery and find new suppliers.

Shared values – there can be a shared value system between the sectors in terms of delivery of public services.

Transparency – the public sector has to be fair, honest and professional in the way they choose suppliers and in any dealings.

Continuous demand – even during an economic downturn public services continue to be delivered, thus providing a relatively longstanding, stable customer base.

Prompt payment – they have to pay promptly, usually within 30 days of receiving a valid invoice or in line with other agreed contract terms.

Best value – there is a growing market opportunity in public sector procurement as the public sector strives to ensure better public service delivery for its citizens. Team Building in the Workplace Traditionally, team building in the workplace has not been a top-priority for organizations. While the attention was focused on increasing productivity or serving clients the tendency was to neglect the most valuable asset; the human asset, employees. However, with the organizational environment becoming more and more demanding and competitive the need for team building has become apparent and imperative. Team Building in the workplace is vital as it enables better communication, better relationships and ultimately increases productivity. Valued, respected, motivated employees commit themselves to go the extra mile to meet and exceed organizational expectations. Where to start? The key to successful team building in the workplace is the two Cs approach: Consistency and Commitment. Team building is not a simple one time activity or an event just before the holidays. It is is a process that requires an integrated, holistic plan in order to develop and maintain healthy teams and healthy organizations. Start with some basis questions:

Purpose: Does your team have a clear purpose of existence? Does it have clear realistic goals? Is everyone in the team aware of expectations, plans and their roles to make it happen? Is there any ambiguity in their job descriptions and their responsibilities?

Big Picture: Is your team aware of where they fit in the organization? Do they have a shared a vision and a shared purpose of functioning?

Resources: What resources are currently available to your team? Do they know how to access and use them? What other tools are they missing?



Communication: What communication systems are in place? Is there a two-way communication between the manager and team members? How do team members communicate with one another? Is there openness and transparency? How are the decisions being made?

Enthusiasm: Are your team members excited about they do? How do they deal with hurdles and failure? Do they smile? Action Plan Action for Sustainable Team Building in the Workplace:

Create shared grounds: Facilitate the creation of goals and objectives that all team members share. Through the facilitation process, identify and elevate common interests, talents, ideas etc.

This way you are facilitating a shared path that leverages everyone's talents and strengths. It makes everyone part of the solution and it makes the team function as a unified, well-oiled group. By exploring and elevating common grounds you are also creating a resource-base of expertise and talent for your agency.

Value the individual: On top of facilitating a healthy relationship with your team as a whole, you also need to build relationships with the individual team members. The relationship with each of them will be customized and different, but always equal. That involves you talking and listening and coaching everyone differently, based on their skills, needs and possibilities. And remember by addressing the team as a group you are addressing commonalities, but by addressing the individual you are addressing the extraordinary in people, the unique talents and gifts. This gives amazing results.

Orchestrate small wins: Managing a few small wins for your team members increases their sense of worth and self-esteem. As they perform successfully they become more confident and more skilful. This feeds positivity and brings more success.

Nurture creativity: By stimulating your employees creativity you are opening the door to amazing innovative ideas, plans, visions etc. De-formalize the process. Don't just brainstorm a meeting to seek diversity of thoughts and solutions. Grow it, spread it, allow everyone to share their thoughts and ideas as often as they

wish. Don't just seek diversity, seek uniqueness. Trigger their inspiration. Set-up idea boxes, give out idea note pads etc. Recognize the value of their input.

Make them owners: Make decisions with them, plan with them, and visualize the future with them. Transfer leadership to them, empower them. This is the ultimate stage of a successful team building process; building self-managed teams, building leaders. Components of Good Team Communication in the Workplace There are many instances in business where teams need to work together to achieve an objective. One of the components of good teamwork is communication. Every team that has ever been successful has mastered the art of good communication. It allows members to share ideas, provide feedback and give the group direction and focus. If a team fails to communicate, it risks conflict and misunderstanding, leading to poor results. The Importance of Communication in a Team It is important for team members to communicate so that they can share their feedback on how the team is progressing, and voice suggestions and ideas as to how to improve the way they work. This ensures that the project is looked at from every angle possible and, therefore, the results produced are correct and complete. The best way to communicate is face-to-face, as emotion can be conveyed through tone and body language- something that is lacking in written communication. However, e-mail and fax can be valuable communication tools, enabling a record to be kept of correspondence; and the use of mobile phones ensures that team members can be contacted at all times. The team should all swap contact information at the beginning of the project.

http://www.managementskillsadvisor.com/smart-goals.html




http://www.managementskillsadvisor.com/decision-making-skills.html





Listening as a Form of Communication Communication is as much about listening to the other person as it is talking to them. If a team member does not listen carefully to instructions and information, it can be misunderstood and confusion can arise. Team members should respect one another’s beliefs and values, giving them the opportunity to voice their opinions without dismissing them out of hand. A manager or team leader plays an important part in ensuring effective team communication. It is their responsibility to convey the main objective of the project in a clear and informative manner, ensuring that there is no ambiguity. Not issuing instructions in this manner will lead to confusion as to the aims of the team, resulting in a completed project that is of poor quality. The Effects of Poor Communication Ineffective or poor communication within a team could lead to conflict, as misunderstandings arise and team members argue over their differing opinions as to what should be done. This will negatively affect morale, which will lower productivity. This, in turn, will result in a project that is incomplete and inaccurate. Emotions should always be controlled, and it is damaging to team morale to argue or conflict with team members. It is therefore important that each team member gives their opinion or makes suggestions in a positive way, not enforcing views on colleagues but listening to what is said. Top 7 Teamwork Skills Here are the top 7 skills team members should develop so that they can succeed effectively as a team: 1-Listening: There is a time to talk and a time to listen and the time to listen comes twice as often as the time to talk. We can often find ourselves so concerned about what we have to say that we never really hear what the person is saying. Instead of focusing on what they are trying to convey we are thinking about what we are going to say next, in which time we've missed their entire point. 2-Sacrifice: Each team member has to evaluate what they are truly willing to sacrifice and then continue to be willing when the time comes that they are asked to sacrifice it. It could be everything from time, to resources, to positions of power. 3-Sharing: What one person knows maybe the key to another person's problem. We have to be willing to share those keys even when it will make someone else look better. 4-Communication: when there are problems or successes a team has to be willing to communicate effectively what went right and wrong. It is important to analyze issues that you have in a project or as a team but it is also important to analyze your successes. 5-Language: It is so important that you have an established habit of speaking in an uplifting way. If you are at all demeaning or domineering or insulting it will grind the team to a halt. People will still be willing to sacrifice, share and discuss just not with every member of the team. Meaning that the team just became rivals. 6-Hard work: Team members have to be willing to work hard on an individual basis and then turn that hard work over to the team so that as a whole you can make your work meaningful and achieve a greater goal. 7-7-Persuade: Everyone should be encouraged to exchange, defend and then eventually rethink their ideas. You have to love your idea but…

Teamwork takes individual work for a collective good that ultimately increases the good everyone receives. These skills are a basic list but that will help you start now to be a better team with greater success. You won't master them all in one day but take every opportunity you can to practice them and they will help. Effective development methods, the right technology, efficient processes, available money and well invested time are all important aspects, but none can substitute for the importance of an exceptional team if you want to establish an exceptional organization.

Keeping a team of talented individuals who work together well is one of the top challenges for executives these days - ranking right up there with hiring successfully and then firing. Keeping your team together as your company's core foundation stone is key to each individual's success— and most importantly, and obviously, to your company's success.



Now, having talented people on your team is essential, but building a close knit and productive team is even more so. Obviously, each organization is different, so there is no 'one size fits all' solution for how to do this, however, keeping your team together, focused, and motivated is probably the single most important activity you as leader can devote your time to. Take a look at the following ideas for building an exceptional and productive team:

1. Hire right in the first place. Don't hire someone if they don't meet your company needs or the bar you've

set for your team. When you have trouble finding good people who fit your organization, it is extremely tempting to lower the bar and compromise your standards; however it's essential to remember that adding the wrong person to your team could actually lower productivity and morale. You need to hire people who

a) want to be part of a team, b) don't need to be in the lime light all the time themselves, c) are interested in the greater good of the organization - sometimes that means above and beyond their own needs and d) have not only the requisite skills to do their job well but the desire to learn from others and see how their piece can become a profitable part of the whole. Clearly define the goals and objectives, for the individuals, the company and the team. Often company leaders have goals for the organization itself, and for the individuals in the company, but miss an important mark by not having team goals. This strategy tends to stress the value of individuals players working on their own individual objectives, rather than encouraging a team approach to resolving challenges and finding innovative solutions. You need to have collaborative goals for your team. Team goals can be developed by the team or by the leadership, but the team needs to buy into them and agree to them. Share the goals and objectives with all team members, often.

Heed the simple solution of open and frequent communication. Very often, the cause of teamwork breakdown is communication - people not sharing how they feel, not being forthright about their challenges or problems with other team members. People tend to talk to everyone about an issue except the person with whom they are experiencing a challenge. One thing I often recommend to my clients is to open their team meetings with time for each person to vent, express their unhappiness, express their happiness, congratulate other team members or make whatever comment they wish - but simple make clear time and opportunity for discussion. What isn't openly addressed ends up buried, but it's important to note that suppressed issues don't go away. They come back to haunt you and your company over and over again. Team members (rather than leadership) hold other team members accountable. Peer pressure is a strong force. Take, for example, a situation where the CFO says they will provide information to HR on the cost of benefits. The HR person needs to ask by when, and the rest of the team needs to hold the CFO accountable for delivering that information in the time frame agreed upon. This may mean that at the next meeting the HR person is asked if they received the requested information, and if the CFO did not provide the data as promised, the rest of the team needs to ask why and get a time commitment for when the information will be available. If each member is accountable to other members (rather than management) they are more likely to become and stay close knit. Create a culture that appreciates and bonds your team. Little things do matter. Take the team to lunch or dinner. Encourage them to have a friendly competition amongst themselves (could be work related or something fun like a contest for who makes the most delicious dessert), have them create a name for themselves (the team) - silly yes, but you'd be surprised how often silliness works to bond a team. There are countless ideas, but the bottom line is that you want them to do things together, and see themselves as a unit rather than individual contributors who come together periodically. By creating a culture that appreciates the team as a whole, each member wins when the team wins - and so does your company. No matter how hard they try, there is no guarantee that talented individuals will make an exceptional team until they have become a collaborative group with common goals and expectations, so it works in the best



interests of your organization to develop the best team possible. There is no doubt that team dynamics are integral to a team's success, so be sure to make effective communication a top priority. The ideas above will serve you well as you build your team, and remember the quality of the team (or teams) that you build determines the success of your company. Keep a good team together. What are the benefits and value of integration and the hazards of disintegration?

Documents

UNIT STANDARD 242903 Define overall public sector culture