Global Journal of Commerce & Management Perspective
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Actions for People Strategic Management to Improve Service Delivery to the Public in the Municipal Council of Xai-Xai City Mozambique

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Introduction

The decentralization of state functions to local bodies and local government implies the existence of a highly trained people for the modernization of public administration practices, through the new strategies of the public sector reform. Most of the administrative reforms, in the public sphere, which have been implemented since the second half of the twentieth century, aim at improving the functioning of the state administrative machine, raising efficiency, reducing costs and increasing efficiency and goals in serving the public. In Mozambique, the first administrative reforms, as a whole, did not achieve the desired goals of public administration, because the coordination of inter- and intra-institutional actions was still weak. The mobilization of operational competencies among civil service employees continued to be guided by traditional and bureaucratic methods [1].

According to Simione, over the last three decades, Mozambican public administration went through profound transformations in several cycles of administrative reforms, justified by the need for change to promote greater efficiency, effectiveness and efficacy in the performance of the state and its institutions in the fulfilling of their functions. In general, there is concern about the fragility of the results of the modernization of public management practices and good governance in Mozambique, with emphasis on raising the quality of public employees to achieve better performance of public institutions and the goals of the public sector reform.

At the international level, the quality assurance in the provision of services in the Brazilian public administration and the elevation of the organizational performance, depend on the break with the old bureaucratic methods and to give way to an entrepreneurial public administration, based on strategic management and by competencies, since the citizens are increasingly demanding the quality of public services, and the information and knowledge society demand deep changes in public administration. In Latin America, the results of public activities and organizational performance are due to the effort and commitment of public servants and at the end of the day, they are the ones who deliver the results. Thus, it is essential to adopt and practice a management model that encourages and directs public servants to increase their productivity and performance, considering the increasing need of organizations to have highly trained professionals to meet the demands of society.

In England, the strategic approach to human resource management involves a systemic and integrated view of people, with the policies and objectives of the organization. And in this sense, performance elevation is the systematic co-relation between the policy, vision, mission, values of an organization and the strategies for creating competencies in employees. The wealth of organizations consists of the availability of highly trained and competent people for the achievement of goals, improving competitiveness and organizational performance [2]. There is a co-relation between the investment of organizational competencies in employees with the elevation of organizational performance in which talents and human capital are strategically formed that ensure the achievement of results with effectiveness and efficiency in public administration.

The present work addresses the actions of strategic management of people in the performance of public institutions in the municipal council of Xai-Xai city, placing emphasis on how managers distribute the stimuli to work teams for the materialization of the efficiency of public service. Moreover, it is noted, currently, several studies by different authors in this field, hence it was found timely and relevant to address this issue in the context of the municipality of Xai-Xai, in order to enrich the existing approaches.

The research assumptions are that the municipal council of Xai- Xai city presents a diversity of work teams and social projects oriented towards raising the standards of public service, by stimulating public sector reforms at the level of administrative posts. However, this institution faces difficulties in creating and monitoring the teams of professionals who operationalize the policies and strategies to improve public service [3]. Considering the above, the present study aims to analyze the actions of strategic people management in serving the public in the municipal council of Xai-Xai city.

Literature Review

Research characterization

This is an applied, qualitative, exploratory, bibliographic and documentary research in which it describes the importance of strategic people management in organizational performance, obtaining a greater understanding about the different approaches and assumptions of strategic management of human resources, human and intellectual capital for the increment of competitiveness and organizational performance [4].

Data collection instruments

Regarding the data collection technique, it was through the use of non-participant observation techniques aided by documentary analysis and literature review, interviews and questionnaires as data collection instruments.

The documentary analysis enabled the collection of data or materials (secondary data), in the archives of the municipal governance concerning the dynamics of strategic personnel management in public service delivery in the municipal council of Xai-Xai city. According to Gil, documentary research "makes use of materials that have not received any analytical treatment or can still be reworked according to the objectives of data collection, the interview and questionnaire technique was used". In this sense, throughout the documentary research, the actions planned for the interaction between the technicians and the managers of the municipal council, the reports of the actions carried out and the main conclusions built by the municipal managers and employees redescribed [5].

The documents serve as complementary to the information gathered in the investigation Godoy, which contributes to increase the evidence coming from other data sources used in the research. To reach the primary data (testimonials and views of employees and managers) a semi structured interview administered to the research informants was planned. For Richardson, this type of interview is an instrument that allows exploring an issue more widely, due to its general character of presenting the open questions that can be answered within an informal conversation. This type of interview allows studying, the motives, feelings and conducts of people. Still on data collection, the present research is bibliographic combined with the field study by the non-participant observation technique because, according to Silva, et al., "the bibliographic research seeks to explain a problem as from theoretical references published in documents and studies on the subject under analysis".

For understanding the parameters of strategic management of employees, within the framework of public administration reforms in the municipality of Xai-Xai, national and international studies with greater emphasis [6].

Data analysis

For the analysis of the collected data, it was based on the content analysis methods for the treatment of qualitative data, from coding and tabulation. In coding, the data collected from semi-structured interviews were categorized and grouped to enable the handling and processing of the data. According to Richardson, et al., coding should meet the criteria of objectivity, systematization and generalization, following three essential steps: Determine the units of register; choose the numbering rules and define the categories of analysis.

The interview script was organized according to the dimensions of the study based on the theoretical framework adopted and each of them containing specific questions that were briefly limited to the process of implementing public administration reforms and the empowerment of employees in skills for responding effectively and efficiently in the provision of public services [7].

Ethical aspects

For the beginning of the research, an authorization was requested to the municipal council of Xai-Xai city and based on this authorization a brief introduction was made to the informants. The informants will be asked to meet with the management of the municipal council to explain the objectives of the study and to negotiate their participation in the research. The letter requesting permission mentioned the research topic, the (general) objective to be achieved, that the identity of the respondents was protected; that people are free to participate; that the answers given both in the interview and in the questionnaire will be exclusively for the study in question; that the interviewees had access to the statements with the research still in preliminary form and that they were provided with a copy of the final report [8].

The interviews were audio recorded and subsequently transcribed for content analysis, according to the research indicators and categories. Specifically, in relation to the interviews, the coding and classification always took into consideration the use of the most complete text produced by the subjects, as well as the context in which it was produced, so that they could be categorized as relevant for the analysis carried out. To this end, the content analysis technique took as its emphasis the thematic analysis, which aims to discover the themes that make up a communication, whose presence and frequency are significant for the desired analysis. In this analytical process, all the interviewees' duly classified statements were placed in anonymity [9].

Discussion

Analysis of personal potentialities in serving the public in the municipal council of Xai-Xai city

Service delivery and the consolidation of competencies through continuous training of staff is an important pillar of the reform in public administration for the composition of the administrative machine with increasingly capable employees for the achievement of results with efficiency and effectiveness. This reform of public administration is based on the new socioeconomic, political and cultural environment that is characterized by the era of technology and innovation, together with the dispute in improving performance in the provision of quality services to the public, ensuring the effectiveness of results in the management of public institutions [10].

In fact, the strategic management of people in public administration requires the comprehensive planning of the long term strategic reform process in search of the modernization of the people management system, through:

• The focus on strategic planning of the workforce and the search for greater efficiency in the allocation of this resource.

• The rationalization of the remuneration structure of public servants.

• The emphasis on management by competencies, especially in the recruitment process.

According to the research data, the employees of the municipal council of Xai-Xai city are placed in a continuous learning framework to adapt their practices to the demands of the environment of the modernization of public administration to ensure organizational success in fulfilling the efficient service to the public. Amaral, et al., explains that the great challenge for contemporary public management is to make public activity increasingly innovative and credible, allowing more transparency and accountability on the use of public funds [11].

In the Xai-Xai city municipality, the methodologies used are based on the problematization of cases observed in the provision of services to the public. These methodologies allow the main stakeholders of the modernization processes to get involved in specialization packages, so that a more competitive and efficient service to the public can be guaranteed. In this sense, the action of public managers is fundamental and they must take responsibility and understand their role in the performance of the people who work with them, in order to set objectives, relating them to the overall strategy, giving feedbacks and development opportunities [12].

In the structure of staff learning, in the municipal council of Xai-Xai city, the main training methods pointed out by the informants are: Teamwork, development of techniques and skills for carrying out the computerized financial management actions, problem discussions/ problematizing methodology, seminars, case studies, modular courses, according to the needs of the employees. However, the problematizing case methodology cuts across all the training activities and is interpreted by the informants, as being the most productive for the development of human resources in the consolidation of skills for the interpretation of the problems that afflict the sector of the management of the skills of employees in serving the public. Mintzberg, et al., explains that competitive advantage is instituted using all the strategic means fixed by the organization (and which are difficult to imitate), such as quality, management models and models of the social sphere which involve resources coming from the management of company workers, such as good internal communication and organizational culture [13].

In this context, problematisation therefore presupposes the analysis of daily work from a situation which generates discomfort for the group and therefore has meaning for the actors involved in their training. It is necessary that the information and knowledge mobilize the thinking of the subjects, articulate with their practice and be useful for the sociocultural context in which they act, implying the advancement of professional awareness of these subjects, integrating synergies in the management and development of knowledge, skills and abilities of the organizations. One of the main objectives of training is the composition of a strategic reinforcement of qualifications, unlike traditional training models, which are essentially reactive. We must now bet on a proactive model oriented towards the market, to which we could add the needs and ambitions of the workers [14].

According to the data from the documentary analysis, it is understood that there are plans for personnel management in the municipal council of Xai-Xai city through training that seeks to maintain the professionals who possess the necessary competencies (link between individual competencies and organizational competencies) to obtain competitive advantages for the provision of quality security services.

Strategies for monitoring the competencies of the officials

In the municipal council of Xai-Xai city, it is observed that the managers, through the integrated structure of the functioning of the departments in the administrative posts, develop intercommunication between the executive and internal control organs; verify and analyze the reports produced by the internal teams regarding the dynamics of the internal control activities; supervise the actions of the employees within the environment of providing services to the public. The procedures of the monitoring of the employees, in the exercise of their activities, allow the investment of the competencies for an effective integration in the operational dynamics of the computer tools for the support to the learning of the employees, especially to the management of the work teams in different departments of control. In this way, all the officials and managers of the municipal council of Xai-Xai city are engaged in sharing the experiences of the public administration reform models.

The organization of the performance evaluation activities of the technical staff for the operationalization of the service delivery strategies is based on strategies structured by functional organograms and work plans, with the definition of objectives, attributions and goals for each area, with the establishment of hierarchies and subordination of each position, contained in the general statute of civil servants and agents of the state, the manual of evaluation of the positions of civil servants of the public administration.

In the municipal council of Xai-Xai city, depending on the areas of intervention, performance is built with reference to:

• Elaboration of indicator matrices for monitoring the employee's performance.

• Design of strategies for achieving the results.

• Reconciling the creativity of civil servants with the objectives of the institution.

• Adjusting the targets proposed in the work plans of the departments.

• Promoting a climate of cooperation between managers and civil servants.

• Planning the best alternative for the assimilation of competencies foreseen in the development of activities in the process of modeling the system of modernization of the public administration

The moments of the mobilization of the professional competencies for the public service put in interception the managers and the employees for the design of the internal control strategies for the effectiveness and efficiency. It is underlined that the training of competencies for service delivery places an environment of frequent adaptation to the internal control tools, in which supervisors and managers of the Xai-Xai city council adequately accompany the officials. Therefore, the officials of the different control sectors are involved in the collection of cases of discrepancy in the use of public management regulations that they observe in the instruction of files and in the order of expenditure payments, seeking a technical reflection at the level of internal control tools.

In this line, in relation to public administration, Capuano, explains that "an essential strategy when reforming the state apparatus is to strengthen the strategic core and occupy it with highly competent and well trained civil servants" who pursue organizational objectives with creativity and innovation. And, in the same vein, Martins, et al., suggest that in the era of knowledge, people management needs to reinvent itself and seek adaptation to the new reality, no longer focused on operational activities, evolving to the strategic management of people. The results achieved in the strategic management of personnel in public administration are a consequence of the development of training activities for public servants in the management of public finances, through the adoption of active learning methodologies, the articulation between theory and practice, the problematization of reality and the active participation of professionals as social actors involved.

Conclusion

In this review, it was found that the strategic management actions for performance improvement are based on the mapping of the training needs according to the difficulties of each department in which the employees are introduced to learning in the specific areas using the active learning methods which problematize the difficulties evident in the employee’s performance reports.

In this training path of the professionals of the municipal council of the Xai-Xai city was observed that the action of the institutional managers for training the employees is significantly associated with the creation of a favorable working environment to discuss the experiences built along the operationalization of the activity plan, involving the civil servants in a self-learning process which facilitates the adaptation to the new demands of the organizational performance for providing services to the citizens. As a function of the training actions oriented to the employees, there is an improvement of knowledge for the understanding of the nature of the activities in the departments in the specific areas, through the interpretation of the concrete cases and the modeling of the learning for the understanding of the nature of the delivery of the services to the public.

The training allows the integration of the employees into the learning structure directed to the domain of the technical areas, improving, continuously, their performance in the management of the public attendance practices. Therefore, there is a tendency to increase training activities that allow the acquisition of new standards and competences that contribute to internal competitiveness and creativity enhancement.

Suggestions

In view of the research results, it is suggested:

• Careful selection of departmental managers endowed with technical and specific knowledge and skills for the guidance of employee training at the institutional level.

• Design of training and follow up projects for the employees in order to have the necessary competences for the improvement of the organizational performance.

• Creation of an internal strategy of monitoring of the employees by the managers to measure the needs of concrete investment in training and improvement actions for the production of effective results.

• For the proper functioning of the institution it is suggested that the institution adopt the democratic leadership style, being it characterized by being participatory and allowing the collaboration of managers and the people they direct, it is ensured that it will be important for the performance of the institution.

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