Is it really performance that is measured？ A reflection of the South African Government＇s performance management system

The institutionalisation of performance management in the South African public service is a post-1994 intervention necessitated by the need to counteract the legacy of poor performance in public service institutions. Performance management as an integrated system is not a standalone intervention, but has direct links with other organisational processes. At both the micro- and macro-levels, PMS （performance management system） recognises institutional performance relationships between individuals＇, teams＇ and departments＇ performance contributions for attaining government performance targets. These institutional performance relationships in the South African public service have attracted excessive attention, whilst their performance impact in communities has been overlooked. In addition, the interdependence between the dichotomies of PMS： institutional performance relationships and performance impact have also been overlooked. In the South African context, this condition creates a disparity in terms of which government employees are rewarded for outstanding performance, whilst targeted beneficiaries express dissatisfaction, often with violent protests, over government＇s performance in the delivery of basic services. The protestors cite poor service delivery in prioritised key performance areas of the South African Government. The granting of performance rewards to government employees is an expression of performance excellence, which should translate into quality service delivery. Such delivery should not only meet the levels of service delivery expectations of targeted communities, but should also result in their total satisfaction. The article is founded on the basis that any disparity between targeted beneficiaries＇ service expectations and level of satisfaction can be linked directly to government progress in PMS implementation.     

Planning and Control System With a Network Approach： Evidence From the Italian Regional Governments

The focus on networks in public administration has grown rapidly in recent years and prompts modifications of traditional planning and control systems of public entities. Public networks have been defined as a response to the criticalities of New Public Management and they represent a recurring approach for policy implementation and service provision in the theoretical framework known as New Public Governance. This article addresses the question whether public entities are aware of being part of a network and whether they have actually changed, as such, their planning and control system. Focus is made on the case of Italian regional governments which are particularly significant for different reasons. First of all, the recent process of administrative devolution and federalism in Italy has reinforced regional governments＇ powers and responsibilities as well as their importance as actors in the political and economic scenario, where they can influence the behaviours of many public and private organizations. Furthermore, Italian regional governments have extensive autonomy and so they can actually modify and integrate traditional documents of their planning and control system. The article proposes a framework for mapping different approaches toward being part of a public network. This framework can support the interpretation of the behaviour of public entities involved in networks and take the initiatives to develop them.     

The mediating effect of good governance on the relationship between managerial roles and personal development： A structural equation modeling （SEM） approach

One of the challenges faced by public sector managers particularly is the problem of identifying and determining their roles, their personal development and how to effectively implement the concept of good governance in their organizations. Given a dynamic changing and continuing insight into public organizational effectiveness, public sector managers are rethinking how best they could accomplish their roles in order to attain their organization roles and objectives. This study examines the mediating roles of good governance in the relationship between managerial roles, development roles, strategic roles and personal development. In determining this relationship, a hypothetical model of the relationship among roles of public sector managers, good governance and personal development is developed. The results suggest that the managerial roles has more positive and significant influence on personal development than the development roles and strategic roles. Empirical study supports the institutional theory （Scott, 2001） in the hypothesized model. The empirical findings confirm that good governance has a significant and positive impact on the relationship between managerial roles and development roles to the personal development of public sector managers. This proves that the management system theory （Katz ＆ Kahn, 1966） is supported whereby public sector manager roles served as an input, while good governance as a process and personal development as an output. Based on empirical findings, it is suggested that personal development should be referred as an ideal social behavior of public sector managers. Overall, the study supports the hypotheses that good governance plays a mediating role in the relationship between public sector manager roles and personal development. This is consistent with governance theory （Lynn, 2001）. One particular contribution of this study is the development of structural equation model to determine the relationships between managerial roles, good governance and the personal dev