Abstract
The development and refinement of public management in South Africa is a field of study that allows for increasing research. In the current period, when improved performance of public administrators, including police managers, has become a moral imperative, effective public strategic management functions and management skills are crucial for effective service delivery. Therefore, effective strategic management in the South African Police Service (SAPS) is essential for establishing effective service delivery. There is a need for effective service delivery in many parts of the South African public sector and, more specifically, in the SAPS. For example, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) received 5 651 complaints against members of the SAPS in the 2017/2018 financial year (Republic of South Africa. Independent Police Investigative Directorate 2018). These included 3 661 charges of assault, 677 charges of discharging an official firearm, 436 charges of death resulting from police conduct, followed by 217 charges of torture. However, Merten (2014:4) notes that policing involves not only physical fitness and the handling of firearms, but how a service is delivered to the community and how the community experiences that service. The vision and mission of the SAPS is to create a safe environment for all people in South Africa. The mission of the SAPS is focused on the prevention of threats to any community’s safety and security and the investigation of any crimes. Indeed, the vision and mission of an organisation indicate the future direction of the organisation, as well as the organisation’s right of existence. Consequently, effective service delivery by the SAPS to communities can be measured by the fulfilment of this vision and mission statements. The vision, mission and values statement of the SAPS clearly indicates that the police must be transformed into an organisation that delivers accountable service and is bound to act within the values of a democratic society (South African Police Service 2019). The Service Delivery Improvement Programme (SDIP) in the SAPS was established to implement organisational restructuring at police offices in order to function more efficiently and to improve service delivery (Burger 2007:109). According to Burger (2013:1), the National Development Plan (NDP) of 2030 (National Development Plan 2030 2011) contains such far-reaching recommendations that if the plan is actually implemented, it should result in dramatic changes in the police and throughout the government structures so that the community benefits from better service delivery. Furthermore, Cordner and Scarborough (2010:299) mention that police leaders today are supposed to be community leaders who should understand the application of the law and ensure strong community support for the police and that the organisation’s mission is pursued. Newham (2013:1) proposes the following with regard to professionalism in the SAPS:
We don’t need more people in uniform – we need professional police officers who are better trained, motivated and managed. It is time for senior police leadership to be appointed following a transparent and competitive process. The practice of parachuting unknown and untested people into the senior ranks of the SAPS has contributed significantly to most of the police shortcomings experienced today.
The study on which this article is based is grounded on a qualitative systematic review with a purposeful sample of 213 national newspaper articles. This article reports on an evaluation of strategic management in the SAPS in order to determine the extent to which public service delivery can be optimised by the organisation. We will examine, firstly, whether effective strategic management in the SAPS influences optimal service delivery; secondly, whether effective leadership in the SAPS is a decisive factor for the success of strategic management with a view to optimising service delivery; thirdly, whether a suitable organisational culture in the police service can be established and maintained by the leadership in order to achieve organisational effectiveness and efficiency; and, lastly, whether a suitable organisational culture is necessary for the strategic management process in the police service.
Data was obtained from national print media coverage in the form of 78 national newspaper articles published from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2014. As a result, newspaper articles dealing with strategic management, service delivery in the SAPS, police culture, professionalism in the police, police management, perceptions of the SAPS, police leadership and complaints against the police served as the sample. The articles were directly linked to the strategic management, leadership and service delivery of the SAPS. Furthermore, a systematic review of 135 additional national newspaper articles dealing with strategic management and service delivery in the SAPS, published from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2018, was carried out to determine whether the data obtained from national newspaper articles published from January 2014 to December 2014 was still relevant and valid. The results of the systematic review of newspaper articles published from 2015 to 2018 correspond with the results of the articles published in 2014 and thus confirm the relevance, validity and reliability of the articles published in 2014, which served as the original sample for the study on which this article is based. The data was obtained from the electronic database Sabinet (www.sabinet.co.za).
The findings of the study indicate that the SAPS is experiencing challenges in applying strategic management and at the same time remaining accountable to the community to which effective service delivery should be rendered. Recommendations for practice that can be drawn from the study focus on the importance of leadership and organisational culture as building blocks of strategic management for optimal service delivery. Therefore, the challenge for the SAPS is to maintain a high standard of administrative and management discretion, autonomy and dedication, while at the same time remaining subject to political control and accountability in respect of all communities to which a service should be delivered. The standard for the successful implementation and operation of the strategic management process is most likely whether the SAPS can simultaneously meet the demands of the market system and remain an instrument of the community. The SAPS can never focus exclusively on internal control measures. Owing to the unique nature of the organisation, the SAPS should be subject to the control of the communities. Public responsibility and accountability require that the evaluation of public interests be considered. Police conduct should be of such a nature that it passes the test of public evaluation, as well as legislative and judicial review.
The research clearly shows that effective strategic management can – with the necessary shifts in emphasis – have significant benefits for the SAPS. Strategic management can be applied in any organisation. The value for the organisation that is managed strategically is that it can handle the major influences of the external environment more easily and thus adapt proactively. The socio-political and economic circumstances in South Africa make policy adjustments in public organisations essential as a result of the dynamic changes in these areas. With the aid of a strategic plan, the SAPS management will be able to manage the organisation proactively, in keeping with the requirements of the internal and external environments. Effective police managers should be those that use strategic management optimally and actively enforce it so that effective service delivery can be provided optimally to the diverse communities.
The intensity and importance of senior police managers’ proactive planning task has increased dramatically in respect of the circumstances that South Africa is currently experiencing with the assault of crime on all communities. Proactive strategic planning is the primus inter pares of effective management. Nevertheless, strategic management is based on proper strategic planning. Strategic planning is regarded as a disciplined attempt to secure fundamental decisions and actions that can successfully direct the future of organisations such as the SAPS. Strategic planning involves decisions regarding the mission of the organisation, an outline of the aims and objectives, allocation of resources and the determination of operational guidelines. Strategic planning is sufficiently flexible to handle the unique – often irrational – environment in which the manager operates. The strategic management and planning techniques also appear to be valuable aids for the professional police manager with regard to the fulfilment of goals and objectives of the SAPS.
In summary, suffice it to say that the following formulated research hypotheses can be verified and accepted for the successful implementation of strategic management in the SAPS in order to optimise service delivery:
- The implementation of effective strategic management in the SAPS has an influence on optimal service delivery.
- Effective leadership in the SAPS is a decisive factor for the success of strategic management in order to optimise service delivery.
- The leadership of the SAPS should establish and maintain a suitable organisational culture with a view to organisational efficiency and effectiveness.
- A suitable organisational culture is essential for the successful implementation of the strategic management process in the SAPS.
Keywords: leadership; organisational culture; service delivery; strategic management