Supply Chain
Strategic Operations Management In Public Service
By Michael Nzule
What can we write home about strategic operations management in public service? What is quality of service when consumption of public service is“ forced”, and the consumer has no choice? Are the terms quality, cost, speed, efficiency, flexibility and responsiveness to customer needs alien in public sector?
The customer to the public services is the key stakeholder( or shareholder) but has limited say on the“ forced” consumption of the public goods and services. Public goods are by nature non excludable and non-rivalrous. They are available for consumption by all citizens and consumption by one does not exclude others from it. However, some lead to“ crowding” and depletion through continuous use or exploitation like natural resources.
Customer exclusion by use of subscription, fees or tolls to access the public goods and services, sets the basis for demanding quality execution of the services to the consumers. This may create basis of discrimination towards who consumes or accesses such good or service.
The consumer has a say through the vote, to hire and place the job of service delivery to the stewards, who determine the quality of service for at least some determined years. The public sector is not short of excellent structures and frameworks for service delivery and performance management and accountability.
Can we then talk about service delivery in the public sectors without touching on corruption? I am sure we can relate to land registry circus- digitisation, and the torture
88 MAL71 / 26 ISSUE of getting legal documents through. And while at it, a certain County Lands Registry is still waiting for the Country’ s Chief Executive to get to the ground to issue title deeds, which are under a lock and key for years- limiting ability to unlock the benefits of such documents to mobilise investments, using such as collaterals. Politics do indeed impact quality of lives! What is the experience of paying taxes? Threats and not customer service may be the description many consumers of this service can use to describe the experience( paying and complying with tax authorities).
Who remembers the Public Service Reforms, Rapid Results Initiatives( RRI), Results Based Management, Performance Contracting? And now the evolution of e-Government Services? Are these at the core of creating amazing customer experience in the public sector? The application of strategic operations management in public service is wide and cuts across the provision of public goods and delivery of government services in totality.
Countries usually operate from strategic blueprints. In Kenya, we have had Vision 2030, which has been running over time. Currently the country is also linked to Agenda 2063, which is a Pan African initiative, with flagship projects and frameworks for enhancing accountability and improving operational efficiency both at national levels and at the devolved units. The blueprints are broken down into medium term frameworks, from which annual budgets are drawn from. This provides strategic direction for the country, and applies the principles of strategy, setting the long-term vision and mission to getting granular on
how to execute that through strategic operations management. This brings clarity and creates strategic pathways for public organisations, linking tactical objectives to the overall strategic direction and assuring symphony in execution.
In setting the strategic directions, countries must dovetail into their competitiveness. Country competitiveness is defined as the set of institutions, policies, and factors that determine a nation ' s productivity, enabling sustainable economic growth, high investment, and improved standards of living. Key drivers include infrastructure, education, health, and market efficiency( www. imd. org). This involves environmental scanning( may use tools like PESTEL, SWOT analysis or country capability assessment). This assists in defining the country risks, opportunities and creates platforms for anticipating changes and setting reaction and adjustments necessary to achieve the strategic vision.
Cycles of performance are normally annually. Governments besides using performance contracting frameworks are supported by tools like Balanced Scorecards to drive the culture and discipline in fiscal management and service delivery.
National resources are limited and must be deployed in the most productive areas to drive competitiveness. Countries are endowed differently. Natural resources drive competitive edge if exploited competitively and sustainably. The most important resource recognised by most countries is human capital and now state of adoption and development of technology. Largely service industry is the key differentiator