7. CHAPTER ONE: Institutionalising Phase: Criteria for Evaluating ANC Governance -- Mandela to Zuma

Institutionalization refers to a process whereby the constitution and strategic directives are integrated and aligned with everyday work. It targets work processes and builds on the foundation created during the forming phase. Institutionalization continuously converts strategic directives into action and results.


In the ANC Government setup it could include:

•       Parliament...

o       Cascading strategic philosophies, norms and values, decisions and similar directives to role-players and stakeholders on all levels of Government and ensuring that they understand and interpret them correctly.

o       Delegating responsibility and decision-making powers and creating accountability with Provinces, Departments and other organisational groupings to implement strategic directives.

o       Utilising monitoring and control mechanisms to ensure that delegated responsibilities are carried out in accordance with directives; that directives lead to tangible work plans with implementation commitments; that directives are aligned with the day to day work of staff members on all levels; that philosophies, norms, values and intentions behind directives are visible at customer interface level.

•       Departments and Business Units...

o       Developing strategic plans and business plans derived from strategic directives received.

o       Developing and implementing policies, procedures and other guidelines to ensure configuration of day to day work with strategic and business plans.

o       Aligning performance contracts with strategic and business plans.

o       Implementing monitor and control processes to regulate work in accordance with accepted criteria, norms and values.

o       Making directives work at customer interface level.

•       Individual officers...

o    Displaying emotional commitment to the Constitution, its real meaning and supporting elements such as norms and values.

o    Accepting accountability for goal directed work.

•          Important:

o       If it is not implemented and assimilate with the daily work of officials, the best possible strategic directives will not have noteworthy value. Institutionalisation thus involves cascaded Government strategies to organisational groupings and individuals for them to accept accountability for results and ensure execution.

o       Strategic directives such as policies and programmes cannot be separated from implementation. Plans and programmes must be developed with the constraints associated with implementation/institutionalisation e.g. the lack of technical capacity,   in mind.

 

•          KEY POINTS:

o       Institutionalising focuses on work processes.

o       It entails a course of action whereby the constitution and other directives are entrenched and embedded in everyday work.

o       The institutionalisation process starts at the top. Different organisational levels have different responsibilities to ensure that directives are aligned, integrated and executed.

o       Institutionalising turns plans into action and results.