Representative Bureaucracy in the South African Public Service

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dc.contributor.authorCameron, Robert
dc.contributor.authorMilne, Chantal
dc.date.accessioned2017-10-19T08:37:25Z
dc.date.available2017-10-19T08:37:25Z
dc.date.issued2011-09
dc.description.abstractThe research question of this article is to examine the extent to which the South African public service conforms to the concept of representative bureaucracy. A representative bureaucracy is understood to be one that consists of a workforce that reflects the composition of the citizens of the country. Furthermore it is held that if a public service reflects the diversity of the society within which it functions, then it is more likely to be responsive to all the diverse interests and make policy that reflects this. Data on race, and gender up to 2010 was obtained from the Department of Public Service and Administration’s PERSAL data base. The methodology used was that of a longitudinal study of affirmative action data across four time periods, namely 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010. The data shows that the democratic aims of representative bureaucracy have largely been fulfilled in respect of race and gender although there were certain distinctive findings: ● Blacks are underrepresented at senior management level; ● Whites are overrepresented at senior management level; ● Females are overrepresented in public service in relation to workforce; ● Females are underrepresented at senior management level; ● Whites are underrepresented at lower levels of public service. Has a representative bureaucracy led to better service delivery? The evidence is mixed at best. There is general consensus that there are poor skills levels in the public service albeit co-existing with pockets of excellence. More systematic research is needed to examine this relationship.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationCameron, R., & Milne, C. (2011). Representative Bureaucracy in the South African Public Service. <i>African Journal of Public Affairs</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25712en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationCameron, Robert, and Chantal Milne "Representative Bureaucracy in the South African Public Service." <i>African Journal of Public Affairs</i> (2011) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25712en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationCameron, R. & Milne, C. (2011). Representative Bureaucracy in the South African Public Service. African Journal of Public Affairs, 4(2): 18-35.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1997-7441en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Cameron, Robert AU - Milne, Chantal AB - The research question of this article is to examine the extent to which the South African public service conforms to the concept of representative bureaucracy. A representative bureaucracy is understood to be one that consists of a workforce that reflects the composition of the citizens of the country. Furthermore it is held that if a public service reflects the diversity of the society within which it functions, then it is more likely to be responsive to all the diverse interests and make policy that reflects this. Data on race, and gender up to 2010 was obtained from the Department of Public Service and Administration’s PERSAL data base. The methodology used was that of a longitudinal study of affirmative action data across four time periods, namely 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010. The data shows that the democratic aims of representative bureaucracy have largely been fulfilled in respect of race and gender although there were certain distinctive findings: ● Blacks are underrepresented at senior management level; ● Whites are overrepresented at senior management level; ● Females are overrepresented in public service in relation to workforce; ● Females are underrepresented at senior management level; ● Whites are underrepresented at lower levels of public service. Has a representative bureaucracy led to better service delivery? The evidence is mixed at best. There is general consensus that there are poor skills levels in the public service albeit co-existing with pockets of excellence. More systematic research is needed to examine this relationship. DA - 2011-09 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town J1 - African Journal of Public Affairs LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2011 SM - 1997-7441 T1 - Representative Bureaucracy in the South African Public Service TI - Representative Bureaucracy in the South African Public Service UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25712 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/25712
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationCameron R, Milne C. Representative Bureaucracy in the South African Public Service. African Journal of Public Affairs. 2011; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25712.en_ZA
dc.languageengen_ZA
dc.publisherAfrican Consortium of Public Administrationen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Political Studiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.sourceAfrican Journal of Public Affairsen_ZA
dc.source.urihttps://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/59589
dc.titleRepresentative Bureaucracy in the South African Public Serviceen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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