OPINION PIECE: Go back to basic management competencies in SA's public sector

Every report that is published regarding the decay and crises in the public sector in South Africa on national, provincial and local level, mention the lack of competences and poor management practices of leaders and managers. The same challenges exist in the state-owned enterprises where poor management skills is blamed for the chaos and poor performance in these institutions. My personal opinion is that this is the key reason for all the problems and ‘breakdown’ in this sector in our country.

Basic management competences form the foundation to any manager or leader’s training and development and is the key to their success and growth. Basic management competences are the foundation to every specialist field in any workplace, from engineers, to medical practitioners, to accountants, to operational managers, to logistics, to every possible area of work. ?Even in the ‘new world of work’ and the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on the way we work, nothing changed in terms of basic management skills and competences. The basic management competences are mainly business management, financial management, people management and project or value chain management within any organization.

The School of Management in the College of Business and Economics in the University of Johannesburg focus on these four specialist management areas and adapt the content and curricula to address the current and specific needs of the market and the workplace. For example, in the field of strategic management a shift took place from strategic planning to strategic thinking, leading to the need to include the skill of critical thinking in our teaching approach in business management.

Value chain or supply chain management is another example of an area or need that is increasingly important in any organization, no matter how big or small. Organizations focus on value chain management, leading to creating value and wealth creation. Financial management and planning curricula now also include basic financial literacy as we have identified the huge need for it in society and the workplace.

The School of Management recognizes that we can’t only provide people with qualifications. We need to prepare them for the new ‘world of work’ that is awaiting them after completing their qualifications. We also need to provide life skills and competences to equip people to live and flourish in society and the bigger world. These skills include things such as financial literacy and career development skills. We make it our mission to entrench good values such as academic integrity, honesty and respect into the DNA and thinking of students.

In the public sector in South Africa at the moment there is a dire need to have people in management and leadership positions with basic management skills and competences. If we look at the audit reports on the institutions, provincial offices and local municipalities, the lack of management is so evident everywhere. Basic business management skills are based on the pillars of planning, leading, organizing and control. Within these basic principles are the competences of a manager to manage a department, organization or a team of people on a daily and in a sustainable manner. Financial management is as critical as every manager, on which ever level of management need to develop a budget, manage cash flows and income and expenditure on a daily basis. The management of people is another critical skill as people need to be managed and led continuously in appointments, development, retention and reward. Project management and value chain management gives managers the ability to manage on an operational level, focusing on quality, effectiveness and sustainably.

Managers need to understand the ‘new world of work’ and what it entails and adapt to new technologies and the way people want to work effectively and efficiently today. ??

Maybe the solution to the crisis and decay of our public sector in South Africa lies in going ‘back to the basics’ and ensuring that we have competent managers with basic management skills on each level. This will lead to a more sustainable solution over the long term.