Rozenda Hendrickse

Orientation: job characteristics and physical work environment of call centres have an impact on the wellbeing of call centre agents.
Research purpose: the aim of this study is to determine whether there are differences in male and female call centre agents’ perception of their job characteristics, physical work environment and wellbeing. The study also aims to investigate whether there is a significant relationship between the wellbeing problems encountered by call centre agents and the job characteristics and physical work environment factors.
Motivation for the study: wellbeing in call centres is a concern and therefore necessitates a study in understanding the factors of the work environment that negatively impact the wellbeing of call centre agents.
Research design, approach and method: a quantitative research approach was employed to gather the data for the study, utilizing a structured questionnaire. The sample (n = 275) consisted of call centre agents from four companies situated in the Cape Metropole.
Main findings: call centre agents had the same perceptions of their job characterises. Differences in perception were found with the physical work environment and wellbeing. Significant relationships between job characteristics, physical work environment and wellbeing were found.
Contribution/value-add: the study contributes to the literature and knowledge of the workplace environment and wellbeing of call centre agents

Quality management systems in public organizations influence the quality of service delivery outputs. The purpose of this study was to determine the quality of service delivery at Community Service Centres (CSC) of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the Western Cape, South Africa. A mixed-method research approach was employed to gather data for the study. Both a survey questionnaire and in-depth interviews were used to collect the data. The sample data set contacted 300 respondents from three policing areas situated in the Western Cape Metropolis. The main findings indicated that clients were satisfied with the level of service they received from the SAPS. However, the main area of concern was the absence of service delivery initatives at three police stations.

The aim of this article was to assess the financial and socio-economic impact of the two Industrial Development Zones (IDZs) emanating from the public-private partnerships (PPPs) arrangement in the Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipalities, located in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The metropolitan municipalities, despite the introduction of PPPs, are still faced with serious socio-economic challenges such as slow economic growth, increased poverty levels, unemployment and mostly stagnant infrastructure development as a result of underfunding. In addition, metropolitan municipalities remain obliged to deliver on their constitutional mandate, which is the provision of services to communities consistent with the Municipal Financed Management Act (MFMA) and Municipal Systems Act (MSA). Municipal financial planning and management leads to the development of methods to achieve sound financial performance in municipalities in line with service delivery demands. Sound municipal financial performance enables the municipalities to provide goods and services to all citizens.
The study adopted a quantitative research approach, where a structured questionnaire was administered to 50 purposely selected participants. A core finding of the study suggested that the metropolitan municipalities benefited from the IDZs PPP arrangements where project planning, development and management skills were transferred to government officials, impacting on improved service delivery. A key recommendation forwarded suggests that both the national government and metropolitan municipalities need to champion PPP procurement through the enhancement of the Municipal Public Private Partnership Implementation Framework. The study concluded that a regulation, such as the aforementioned, without a structured implementation plan, eminently jeopardizes an investor’s interest in PPP arrangements, with negative financial consequences for the state.

The eradication of poverty is an important priority for the South African government. The Constitution makes provision for vulnerable households and, therefore, local government has to develop policies to address the needs of the poor. Municipalities developed and adopted Indigent Policies to ensure that the poor households have access to essential basic services. This led the researcher to investigate what challenges are related to the financial sustainability of the Indigent Policy in its implementation process at the City of Cape Town for the period from 2003 to 2016. This study followed a qualitative research approach. Data were collected by conducting in-depth interviews. The participants were selected, because they had access to the most recent information that relates to the Indigent Policy. The researcher respected the rights of participants by allowing them the freedom to withdraw at any stage of the research study, ensuring confidentiality, ensuring anonymity, ensuring fair treatment and protecting the participants from any harm and discomfort throughout the research study. The researcher is of the opinion that all of the respondents are confident that the Indigent Policy is sustainable. However, should it become too expensive for the City of Cape Town to maintain the Indigent Policy, it could result in the budget of some other services being reprioritized. It is recommended that the City of Cape Town develops a beneficiary system for qualified indigents to allow them to receive additional benefits from other City of Cape Town facilities such as libraries, swimming pools and the MyCiTi bus services.