Quality Of Municipal Services Research Articles

An Examination of Relationship between Quality Municipal Services and Citizen Satisfaction in Malaysian Local Council, Batu Pahat in Perspective

This study examines the relationships that exist between quality municipal service and citizen satisfaction. This paper is, therefore, an examination of Relationship between quality Municipal Service and citizen satisfaction in Batu Pahat, Malaysia. It argues that the constitutional mandate of local council in terms of “function performance” has not been translated into reality in many occasions. Hypothesis was postulated for the study. The methodology adopted is quantitative in nature, 100 questionnaires were administered and 89 were retrieved. Systematic random sampling technic was used to retrieve the respondents’ responses. This study applies SPSS statistical tests and AMOS version 23 and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) software was used for further analysis. The relationship between these two constructs was then evaluated. The findings in this paper are that quality municipal services have direct effect on citizen satisfaction. The paper shows that, on average quality municipal service enhanced citizen satisfaction. The paper has developed valid and reliable constructs that can be used to measure the effect of quality municipal services on citizen satisfaction with municipal council service delivery. Thus, the paper concludes and recommends that municipal council must attempt to overcome the challenges that have by-passed their performance. The study recommends that there is needs for local municipal to strategies to makes the local council more robust for enhancing the lives of inhabitants and to foster good relationship between the management and local people in the study area. The study also gives recommendation to municipal council to strategies on other factors to enhance citizen welfare.

Measuring the relationship between training programs and the quality of municipal services

The current research examines the correlation between the explanatory variable (the training program) and the responsive variable (quality of municipal services) in the Municipality of Baghdad . As well as testing the moral differences of the search variables , The research community represents the municipal departments in Rusafa district with a total of (4) municipalities out of (8) And the first chest), in addition to the workers in the management of the vocational training institute. A random sample was chosen representing 164 managers and assistants of these departments, as well as officials of municipal councils and divisions, as well as engineering staff responsible for the work teams. Anni 's Social Social Institute of the Sciences and Technology and Technology and Technology, In order to test the correlation between the explanatory variable (the training program) and the responsive variable (quality of municipal services) for research, and using a main tool to collect data from the sample members, the questionnaire is used to collect data. Of the statistical methods (frequency distributions, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, Pearson correlation coefficient). The researcher found that there is a positive correlation between the two variables, ie, the increase in the level of training programs in terms of design, The recommendations focused on the need to support senior departments in the departments concerned with the training programs and increase attention to the development of their human resources. This comes through the adoption of effective training plans and programs for development, especially the engineers and technicians to acquire knowledge and experience and change behavior towards achieving a service related to High quality.

Analysis Of The Perception Of Small Businesses On The Quality Of Routine Municipal Services InThe City Of Tshwane, South Africa

A survey was conducted (2012 to 2014) in the City of Tshwane in order to assess and evaluate determinants of adequate municipal services that are routinely provided to operators of start-up business enterprises. Data used in the report come from 1, 058 small businesses. The aim of research was to assess and evaluate the relationship between the quality of services and sustained viability in small business enterprises. The study was conducted against the background of a high failure rate among newly established small businesses in the City of Tshwane. The study found that about 40% of the 1, 058 businesses in the study failed or were not profitable at the end of the 3-year study period. The study showed that there was a significant association between positive perception of business operators on the quality of municipal services provided to them and viability of businesses. The percentage of viable business enterprises that were satisfied with the quality of services provided to them was 87%. The percentage of non-viable business enterprises that were satisfied with the quality of services provided to them was only 13%. Profitability in business enterprises was significantly affected by lack of capacity for fulfilling the business and entrepreneurial needs of newly established businesses [Hazard Ratio = 3.58; P=0.000; 95% C. I. = (1.45, 5.46)], inappropriate policy [Hazard Ratio = 3.19; P=0.000; 95% C. I. = (1.39, 5.28)], and lack of tailor made training programmes directed at newly established small businesses [Hazard Ratio = 2.89; P=0.000; 95% C. I. = (1.24, 4.77)]. In-depth interviews conducted with business operators led to similar findings.

How to increase citizen satisfaction within municipal services: an Israeli case study

The objectives of this study were: 1) to examine the quality of municipal services within an Israeli town; 2) to identify the most important service quality dimensions that determine citizen satisfaction; 3) ways to improve citizen satisfaction by using a system dynamics model. The questionnaires were distributed to 634 respondents in a local government with a population of about 16,000 citizens. Results indicate that: 1) the five dimensions of ServQual represent a valid instrument to measure municipal overall service quality (OSQ) in this Israeli municipality; 2) three service quality dimensions, namely reliability, empathy and responsiveness significantly predicted citizen satisfaction. The findings of this case study can be used as a guide to improve quality attributes and enhance citizens' satisfaction.

A Review of Effects of Quality Municipal Services on Citizen Satisfaction in Malaysian Municipal Council: A Content Analysis

Government was established primarily to provide services that will make life worth living to their citizens. Accordingly, local governments as third tier government in Malaysia are created to bring government closer to the local communities’ at the grassroots and for transformation of lives at the rural level. One of the ways of bringing government closer to the people at the grassroots is through the delivery of service in a satisfactory, timely, effective and adequate manner. This paper is therefore an examination of Local Government and Municipal Service Delivery in Malaysia. It argues that the constitutional mandate of local council in terms of “function performance” has not been translated into reality in many occasions. Thus, the paper concludes and recommends that municipal council must attempt to overcome the challenges that have by-passed their performance. It is only by this can they be positioned to render cutting services in a timely, effective, adequate, prompt and satisfactory manner to justify their continuous existence and huge financial allocations to them. Municipal awareness also gives a sense of satisfaction of the citizens. The study recommends that there is needs for local municipal to be strategies to makes the local council more robust for enhancing the lives of inhabitants and to foster good relationship between the management and local people in the area. The study also gives recommendation of enlighten the local community on the important of community participation in provision and maintenance of public service delivery.

The impact of poor quality municipal services on small enterprises

A survey was conducted (2012 to 2014) in the City of Tshwane in order to assess and evaluate determinants of adequate municipal services that are routinely provided to operators of start-up business enterprises. Data used in the report come from 1.058 small businesses. The aim of research is to assess and evaluate the relationship between the quality of services and sustained viability in small business enterprises. The study was conducted against the background of a high failure rate among newly established small businesses in the City of Tshwane. The study showed that there was a significant association between positive perception of business operators on the quality of municipal services provided to them and viability of businesses. The percentage of viable business enterprises that were satisfied with the quality of services provided to them was 87%. The percentage of non-viable business enterprises that were satisfied with the quality of services provided to them was only 13%. Profitability in business enterprises was significantly affected by lack of capacity for fulfilling the business and entrepreneurial needs of newly established businesses [hazard ratio = 3.58; P = 0.000; 95% C. I. = (1.45, 5.46)], inappropriate policy [hazard ratio = 3.19; P = 0.000; 95% C. I. = (1.39, 5.28)], and lack of tailor made training programs directed at newly established small businesses [hazard ratio = 2.89; P = 0.000; 95% C. I. = (1.24, 4.77)]. In-depth interviews conducted with business operators led to similar findings. Keywords: city of Tshwane, small businesses, municipal services, perception, hazard ratio. JEL Classification: L26, H7, L8

The impact of service quality on the viability of start-up businesses

A 3-year long survey was conducted in the Tshwane geographical region of Gauteng Province in South Africa in order to identify and quantify key predictors of adequate municipal services that are routinely provided to customers who operate newly established small businesses in the City of Tshwane, Pretoria, South Africa. Data was collected by using a structured, pre-tested and validated questionnaire of study from a stratified random sample of size 1, 058 small businesses. The key objective of study was to assess the relationship between viability in small businesses and the provision of quality municipal services by the City of Tshwane. The study was conducted against the background of a high failure rate among newly established small businesses in the City of Tshwane. The study was conducted over a 3-year period (2012 to 2014). Data was collected monthly during the three-year period of study on socioeconomic variables that are known to affect the perception of business operators on the quality of municipal services to business operators and the general public. Statistical procedures such as cross-tab analyses, panel data analysis, Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms and Bayesian methods were used for estimating parameters. The study showed that there was a significant association between positive perception of business operators on the quality of municipal services provided to them and viability of businesses. The results showed that 87% of viable businesses were satisfied with the quality of routine municipal services that were provided to them by the City of Tshwane. The corresponding figure for non-viable businesses was only 14%. The viability of businesses was significantly influenced by 3 predictor variables. These predictor variables were: lack of capacity for fulfilling the business and entrepreneurial needs of newly established businesses [Hazard Ratio = 3.58; P=0.000; 95% C. I. = (1.45, 5.46)], inappropriate policy [Hazard Ratio = 3.19; P=0.000; 95% C. I. = (1.39, 5.28)], and lack of tailor made training programmes directed at newly established small businesses [Hazard Ratio = 2.89; P=0.000; 95% C. I. = (1.24, 4.77)], in a decreasing order of strength. Similar findings were obtained from the analyses of in-depth interviews.

The impact of over-regulation on small enterprises

Khale (2015), Marivate (2014) and Asah, Fatoki & Rungani (2015) have highlighted key obstacles of sustained growth and development in start-up enterprises in South Africa. All authors have shown that lack of efficient services, too much bureaucracy, over-regulation, lack of entrepreneurial skills and lack of good governance constitute key obstacles to growth and development in start-up enterprises. This paper is a result of a 3-year long survey (2012 to 2014) that was conducted in the City of Tshwane in order to identify and quantify key predictors of adequate municipal services that are routinely provided to customers who operate newly established small businesses in the Tshwane region of Gauteng Province in South Africa. Data was collected by using a structured, pre-tested and validated questionnaire of study from a stratified random sample of size 1, 058 small businesses. The aim of study was to assess the impact of over-regulation and bureaucracy on the long-term survival and viability in small enterprises. Data analyses were performed by using probit analysis and the Cox Proportional Hazards Model. Additional analyses were performed by using in-depth interviews. The study showed that there was a significant association between the perception of over-regulation and failure in small enterprises. The results showed that 74% of businesses that failed were operated by individuals who had the perception of over-regulation and too much bureaucracy. The corresponding figure for viable businesses was only 11%. The viability of businesses was significantly influenced by 3 predictor variables. These 3 influential predictor variables were: negative perception on the quality of municipal services provided to newly established businesses [Hazard Ratio = 3.58; P=0.000; 95% C. I. = (1.45, 5.46)], inappropriate policy [Hazard Ratio = 3.19; P=0.000; 95% C. I. = (1.39, 5.28)], and lack of tailor made training programmes directed at newly established small businesses [Hazard Ratio = 2.89; P=0.000; 95% C. I. = (1.24, 4.77)], in a decreasing order of strength. Similar findings were obtained from the analyses of in-depth interviews.

The impact of Tailor-Made skills based training programmes on the performance of municipalities: The case of the city of Tshwane

Various South African municipalities are under close scrutiny due to widespread protests over poor quality of municipal services. Prior studies that examined situations in municipalities recommend training and development as the most apposite strategic tool for raising municipal performance. This study aimed to determine whether there is a statistically significant association between the provision of adequate training and development programmes and satisfactory performance at municipal level. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analyses were used in the study in which data was collected from n=131 respondents (119 questionnaires + 12 in-depth interviews). Purposive sampling was used for selecting eligible respondents. The results showed that 49% of respondents have had past training opportunities. The percentage of employees with satisfactory performance was equal to 52%. The study found a significant association between the provision of training and development programmes and satisfactory performance among municipal employees. At the 5% level of significance, the results show that inadequate performance was significantly associated with lack of training opportunities, low level of formal education, and lack of job satisfaction, in a decreasing order of strength. A model has been proposed for ensuring adequate performance by municipal employees, and for monitoring and evaluating progress on a quarterly basis.

New public governance in Saudi cities: An empirical assessment of the quality of the municipal system in Jeddah

This paper explores attitudes among citizens and public sector officials in Jeddah city regarding the quality of the municipal system in accordance with aspirations for New Public Management efficacy and a public governance system that functions with efficiency, effectiveness and democratic values. This investigation reveals that, although various aspects of politico-administrative reform have altered the configuration of public management, the essential characteristics of good governance remain unassessed. The state administrative system has not been consolidated, nor has organizational effectiveness been improved. In order to confront challenges created by public sector agencies, we must identify factors that may encourage its promotion. Significant attention should be paid to establishing an appropriate institutional framework to create coherent governance legislation that supports the establishment of enduring democratic values. This should be employed to generate the general capacity and competence of public bodies, and to encourage government officials to act as catalysts to create an integrated form of governance bringing integrity and improvements in public institutions, with high quality municipal services.

Assessment of the quality of municipal services in the city of Tshwane, South Africa

The purpose of the study was to identify and quantify differential factors that undermine the quality of municipal services that are provided to residents of the City of Tshwane. Data was collected from a stratified random sample of size 1, 012 residents of the City of Tshwane. Stratification was done by geographical zone. Data was collected from respondents by using a structured, pre-tested and validated questionnaire of study consisting of 22 indicators of service quality. The questionnaire of study consisted of 5 dimensions of expectation and perception (reliability, assurance, tangibles, empathy and responsiveness). Each of the 1, 012 respondents in the study had to provide answers to 22 questions related to expectations plus 22 questions related to perceptions. As such, each of the 1, 012 respondents had to provide answers to 44 questions (22 questions on expectation + 22 questions on perception). Measurements of expectations and perceptions were done by using a 5-point ordinal scale. Face validity was used for ensuring validity. The Cronbach Alpha test was used for ensuring reliability and internal consistency. The expected and perceived quality of emergency services provided to the general public by employees of the City of Tshwane was analyzed by using SERVQUAL analysis. This was done by estimating gap scores (the average difference between expected and perceived scores). The study found that 84.37% of respondents who took part in the study were satisfied with the overall quality of municipal services that were provided to them by the City of Tshwane. Only 15.63% of respondents were not satisfied with the overall quality of services provided to them. The study showed that most of the respondents had a positive perception on the quality of routine municipal services such as water and lights and waste removal by employees of the City of Tshwane. The study found that as many as 87.13% of respondents had a positive perception about the degree of commitment shown to them by employees of the City of Tshwane. Based on results obtained from SERVQUAL analysis, 20 of the 22 gap scores were found to be significant at the 5% level of significance. There were only 2 items (out of a total of 22 items) that did not produce significant gap scores. These 2 items were items 2 and 3 of the dimension on responsiveness. Item 2 of the dimension on responsiveness was an assessment on the degree of suitability of the equipment used by municipal employees for carrying out routine services. Item 3 of the dimension on responsiveness was an assessment on the degree of physical fitness of employees of the City of Tshwane for carrying out routine municipal services effectively. With the expectation of the 2 gap scores corresponding to these 2 items, all other gap scores (20 out of 22) were statistically significant at the 5% level of significance. Based on results obtained from factor analysis, the perception and expectation of respondents on the quality of municipal services that were provided to them were significantly influenced by 4 key predictors of perception. These 4 predictor variables were the degree of motivation of employees of the City of Tshwane at work, the ability of employees of the City of Tshwane to treat all customers with respect, the ability of employees of the City of Tshwane to provide adequate answers promptly to queries raised by customers, and the degree to which employees of the City of Tshwane were skilled on technical issues, in a decreasing order of strength. Similar results were obtained from logit analysis. The results showed that the perception and expectation of respondents were influenced by similar variables of study.

Benefits of good corporate governance principles: A study of the city of Tshwane, South Africa

Annual reports issued by the City of Tshwane (2015) for the financial years 2010 to 2014 show that the City of Tshwane has received qualified audit reports from the South African Auditor General (2015). The two key causes of underperformance were lack of adherence to norms and standards that are applicable to municipal service delivery and lack of adherence to the fundamental principles of good corporate governance (King, 2009). A study was conducted in the City of Tshwane, South Africa in order to assess and evaluate the degree of adherence to good corporate governance principles stipulated by Mervin King (King, 2009) in the form of the King III report. Data was collected from a stratified random sample of size 1, 012 residents of the City of Tshwane. Stratification was done by geographical zone. Data was collected from respondents by using a structured, pre-tested and validated questionnaire of study consisting of 22 indicators of service quality. The study found that 84.37% of respondents who took part in the study were satisfied with the overall quality of municipal services that were provided to them by the City of Tshwane. Only 15.63% of respondents were not satisfied with the overall quality of services provided to them. The study showed that most of the respondents had a positive perception on the quality of routine municipal services such as water and lights and waste removal by employees of the City of Tshwane. The study showed that the degree of satisfaction of residents, ratepayers and stakeholders with the quality of municipal services that were provided to them was significantly influenced by the degree of motivation of employees of the City of Tshwane at work, the ability of employees of the City of Tshwane to treat all customers with respect, the ability of employees of the City of Tshwane to provide adequate answers promptly to queries raised by customers, and the degree to which employees of the City of Tshwane were skilled on technical issues, in a decreasing order of strength.

SPATIAL ASPECTS OF CENSUS DISTRICTING

Abstract. Urban districting refers to partitioning of an urban area into smaller regions for a specific application in order to effectively facilitate and enhance the quality of municipal services. Among other considerations, which are imposed by the general problem or the application in hand, several factors in urban districting have spatial aspects, many of which have been disregarded in most of districting plans, and only descriptive measures have been considered. This paper explores the impact of spatial aspects on census districting, as an important urban districting. It proposes an approach that not only considers the workload, as the most effective criterion in census districting, but spatial criteria such as compactness, barriers and travers length are also involved. The implementation results of the proposed approach for a case study have been evaluated and discussed.

The impacts of leadership in the quality of municipal public services: case study of a portuguese municipal council

The present research work, based on some of the components of the Common Assessment Framework, sets to analyse the influence held by leadership in specific factors that constitute the organisational climate, and also the impact that these factors have on the quality of municipal public services. For the purposes of this study, we propose Likert's exploitative autocratic and participative leadership styles to explain the genesis, structure and workflow. As far as the organisational climate is concerned, the variables used are motivation, satisfaction, empowerment, conflict and stress. The main conclusions that arose was that a participative leader confers higher relevance to the quality of service, through motivation, satisfaction, empowerment and human resources positive results, than an exploitative autocratic leader. Performed contributions are based on the empiric research hereby presented, and new research guidelines are proposed. The research methodology used was qualitative, based on the case study.

Municipal Service Quality and Citizen Satisfaction in Southern Thailand

The objectives of the research are two-folds: (1) to examine the quality of municipal services provided by local government in southern Thailand; and (2) to identify the most important service quality dimensions that determine citizen satisfaction. The questionnaires were distributed to 234 respondents in Tambon Khok Pho, a subdistrict of Khok Pho in Pattani Province of southern Thailand. Descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, Pearson correlation and stepwise multiple regression were conducted to analyze the data. Results indicate that (1) the five dimensions of SERVQUAL represent a valid instrument to measure municipal service quality in Thai setting; and (2) four service quality dimensions, namely tangibility, empathy, assurance and responsiveness significantly predicted citizen satisfaction, with an adjusted R2 of 0.5. The findings can be used as a guide for municipal officials to improve the crucial quality attributes and enhance citizen satisfaction.

Too many municipalities?

Does democracy lead to the creation of too many municipalities? We analyze this issue within the context of the Alesina e Spolaore (1997) model where the quality of municipal services deteriorates with the distance from the center of a municipality. Individuals can vote in a referendum to split an existing municipality. We show that social welfare will decline when municipalities are split if the level of the public service, as chosen by the median voter, is lower in the new smaller municipalities. In general, the model indicates that there may be a democratic bias in favour of creating too many municipalities.

A Geographic Information Systems–Guided Cost-Effectiveness Analysis For Waterborne Asbestos Remediation

Many local governments must simultaneously (a) maintain acceptable levels of service, (b) replace potentially hazardous materials used in infrastructure construction, and (c) finance expanded services. Geographic information systems (GIS) can help agencies prioritize and develop cost-effective responses to maintain quality municipal services. Its effective use requires cooperation among city departments to integrate and develop layers of infrastructure information for specific locations. This study demonstrates how a GIS application can help determine a course of action for the remediation of asbestos pipe in Nacogdoches, Texas. This research evaluated a study area inside the city limits representing an economic cross-section of the community. The authors employed a cost-effectiveness analysis using data from a GIS database, direct market costs, and other costs extracted from the literature. The results offer a framework for effective decision making, giving cities an advantage when approaching such problems and minimizing civil liability.

A Multiple–Indicator Approach to Municipal Service Evaluation: Correlating Performance Measurement and Citizen Satisfaction across Jurisdictions

Early work on municipal service–quality assessment recommended multiple measures of performance from both providers and users. Citizen satisfaction surveys have rivaled their more quantitative counterpart, administrative performance measures, in adoption, but the implication of survey results for action is not well understood by managers or scholars. To achieve meaningfully integrated multiple measures of service quality, we need to explore the dimensions of citizen satisfaction and review patterns of satisfaction across localities. We also need to understand the relationship between administrative performance measures and citizen perceptions. This cross–sectional analysis of municipal citizen satisfaction and performance benchmark data suggests that citizen satisfaction survey results are useful to managers in conjunction with performance–measurement programs as part of a multiple–indicator approach to evaluating municipal service quality. However, understanding citizen perceptions requires a different perspective than that applied to administrative service performance measurement.

The Measurement of Municipal Service Quality and Productivity: A Comparative Perspective

The Measurement of Municipal Service Quality and Productivity: A Comparative Perspective

The Promise of Citizen Coproduction: Some Persistent Issues

As the federal government continues to narrow its scope of financial responsibility to cities, no doubt for some public managers the term coproduction will increasingly become the buzzword, especially among those cities that are facing fiscal stress. Indeed, coproduction is believed by its proponents to be the best alternative for municipal service delivery today. Understood to mean the joint production of municipal goods and services by the local municipal bureaucracy and the individual citizentaxpayer,' coproduction promises the city lower taxes while maintaining existing municipal service levels. At the same time, it promises to expand the role of the citizen from one of mere passive consumption of public services to one of active involvement with the responsibility for the selection, production, and delivery of public services. Presumably, the by-products of coproduction are four-fold. First, coproduction increases the citizen's sense of well-being as a result of greater participation. Second, coproduction should improve the political accountability of the urban bureaucracy. Third, it should stabilize the city's budget. Finally, coproduction should not only maintain but also actually enhance municipal service quality by the additional voluntary inputs from the citizen-taxpayer.2