SECTION A $[100$ MARKS$]$

Read the case study carefully and answer the questions that follow.

Public vs$.$ Private Sector Management Challenges

Public sector refers to the body of management charged with the responsibility of providing services to the public in a

universal manner. This body is usually the State or the government of a State and it utilizes taxpayer$$s money in the

provision of the services to the public. However, some State agencies operate partly as dependent on the State and

partly as autonomous. Private sector refers to a body of management which engages itself in the provision of services in

a customized manner with an aim of meeting specified objectives as well as making profits.

This body mostly constitutes the business wing which comprises private businesses enterprises and the civil society

wing, which comprises non$-$governmental and civil society organizations, which are sometimes involved in public policy

formation through lobbying and advocating for the rights of minority groups $($Government Finance Officers Association$).$

Both the public and private sectors are involved in the provision of services to the citizens of a country. They also utilize

the inputs of the people in the provision of the services, that is$,$ they require the citizens or target populations to contribute

either directly or indirectly towards the provision of the services.

In the public sector, the citizens contribute through paying taxes while in the private sector, the target population

contributes through being customers to private business enterprises or through the provision of some resources like land

for the construction of offices as well as the provision of human resources to manage and coordinate the programs

established by civil society organizations $($Johnson $243-425).$

Both public and private sectors are also involved in policy formulation, which involves the development of policies to

inform their actions. They are also characterized by organizations which are organized and coordinated in a bureaucratic

manner, in which decisions are made based on the chain of command in the organizational structure $($Johnson $243-425).$

The two however differ significantly in terms of their objectives, how they operate, the scope of their operations and the

quality of services provided as well as on the nature of employee engagement and remuneration. In terms of service

provision, the public sector provides a wide range of universal services to all the citizens of a country irrespective of their

social economic status, age, gender, race or religion. The services in other words are accessed without any eligibility

criteria. Due to the large number of target population who access the services, the services are usually of low quality.

Most of the contracts are however given to public servants who are already serving in a different department within the

public sector. This can be seen as a strategy of motivating employees by giving them an opportunity to earn extra

remunerations on top of their usual remunerations.

In the private sector, employees are usually engaged on contract basis, meaning that no terminal benefits and job

security. Their promotion and payment are based on their performance, through what is referred to as variable pay, in

which employees are paid depending on how they perform. The private sector is usually characterized by the

maximization of their human resources, through training of employees on various tasks, so that a single employee may

undertake various tasks, thus saving the organizations on the employee remuneration. Layoffs are also very prominent in

the private sector based on the general performance of the organizations and the general business environment.

One of the challenges faced by managers in the public sector is the high number of client who needs the services. Since

the services are provided in large scale, it becomes challenging for a manager to coordinate all the activities and services

due to the presence of many players and stakeholders in service provision. Usually, there is inefficiency due to the

bureaucratic red tape prevalent in the public sector, thus posing as a challenge to the managers.

There is also the challenge of poor communication or miscommunication between various stakeholders, who may have

vested interests in the provision of public services. Most notably is the problem of rent seeking behaviors by some

political agents, who seek to influence policy formulation, implementation and evaluation. This acts as a barrier to

managers in the public sector because they are faced with the challenge of choosing to serve either the interests of some

political masters or the interests of the public, at the expense of their job security.

QUESTION $3(20$ Marks$)$

Identify and explain SIX $(6)$ differences between Management and Leadership as highlighted by Kotter

$(1990)$ and discuss advantages of the using both elements in the public sector.