Effective decision-making within a large local authority

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Decision-making, the process of choosing between alternatives, is the single most importantfunction within any organisation whether it be in the private or public sector. Localgovernment is located in a unique dynamic political, economic, social and technologicalenvironment and provides services to the community within this environment through thetransformation of resources. The transformation process relies on a series of decision-makingprocesses to ensure the continuation of this transformation process.The decision-maker in local government is faced with ever-increasing demands for basiccollective services with a diverse population with different and increasing needs, expectationsand interests. Constitutional reform has also made an impact on local government as it willhave to be representative of the community which it serves for legitimacy purposes.These external and internal influences will impact on the decision-makers whose success willbe dependent upon whether they are able to improve the general welfare of the community.In view of the scenario sketched above it is clear that decision making is more complex inthe public sector environment as it is value-laden.Various decision-making models and techniques have been propagated to assist the decisionmakerin the search for the best alternative. This process is referred to as optimisation. Thesemodels and techniques do not however, ensure that the envisaged outcome of the decisionwill be achieved because of the dynamic and changing environment within which localgovernment is located. In view of this uncertainty there has been a tendency for decisionmakersto make decisions which satisfy the circumstances prevailing at that particular pointin time (satisficing) which is not always effective.No attempt has been made to provide the decision-maker with a set of norms or rules to beapplied which could be of assistance either individually or collectively to arrive at a moreeffective decision. In order to assist the decision-maker to arrive at a more effective decision,this research attempts to ascertain quantitatively which norms or criteria should be appliedso as to achieve the prime purpose of the mission which is to improve the general welfareof the community. The research will also attempt to take into account the diverse interests,needs, values and perceptions of the community as well as the subjective bias and perceptionsof the decision-makers themselves.The purpose of this study/research is to determine the increased possibility of more effectivedecision-making through the application of applicable normative criteria against thebackground of an open systems environment, as sketched above. A case study approach wasadopted whereby two actual decisions were identified and evaluated according to selectedapplicable normative criteria. The evaluation was undertaken by the decision-makersthemselves (i.e. selected local authority) as well as three representative control groups withinthe wider community of the selected local authority. The results were computedquantitatively through the application of an appropriate selected statistical model which couldmeasure factual and value-laden judgements, as to the extent of application of thesenormative criteria. The results were developed from the responses received from the actualfour participatory groups. The analysis and conclusions will be based on the quantifiedresults arising from the evaluation of the two decision-cases in question.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University