Strategic Management and Information Systems

Questions:

a. Demonstrates excellent capacity to conceptualise and theorise the issues under consideration.

b. Draws on a comprehensive and analytical understanding of the published literature, as well as personally developed conceptual perspectives for the topic under discussion.

c. Demonstrates excellent capacity todevelop and support arguments and conclusions with sound evidence.

d. The concepts and understanding demonstrate an excellent ability to excel beyond current knowledge.

e. Fulfils distinction criteria to for developing new conceptual models to an exceptionally very high standard.

a. Demonstrates excellent skills in analytical writing and provides valuable new insights on the subject under consideration.

b. Presentation of new data, freshperspectives or new conceptualisation or modelling of the issues.

c. Shows intellectual engagement that challenges existing understandings.

d. Shows intellectual engagement and is very original.

e. Analysis is sufficiently robust to be of a publishable standard as an academic paper.

a. Demonstrates excellent integration of theory and practice and offers insightful relevant and carefully considered conclusions for policy and/or nmanagement.

b. Makes a fundamental contribution in the field of practice and theory.

c. The findings could have a significant impact upon policy and/practice

a. Demonstrates excellent ability to marshal relevant material and arguments to produce an exceptional piece of work that exceeds conventions.

Indeed that paper is of a publishable standard.

b. It is excellent in terms of academic writing conventions and interests and Informs its readership.

c. The paper is written to a professional style that meets publishable standards within an academic journal, professional guide or equivalent.
Class: Distinction
80%-89%
Step Grades:
88/85/82

a. Demonstrates excellent capacity to conceptualise and theorise the issues under consideration.

b. Draws on a comprehensive and analytical understanding of the published literature, as well as personally developed conceptual perspectives and for the topic under discussion.

c. Demonstrates excellent capacity to develop and support arguments and conclusions with sound evidence.

d. The concepts and understanding demonstrate an excellent ability minus a few trivial defects.

e. Fulfils distinction criteria to for developing new conceptual models to a high standard.

a. Demonstrates excellent skills in analytical writing and provides valuable new insights on the subject under consideration.

b. Presentation of new data, fresh perspectives or new conceptualisation or modelling of the issues.

c. Shows intellectual engagement that challenges existing academic literature Shows intellectual engagement and is very original.

d. Analysis is excellent and with some further work, could be of publishable standard.

a. Demonstrates excellent integration of theory and practice and offers insightful, relevant and carefully considered conclusions for policy and/or management.

b. The assignment is of value to informing both theory and practice.

c. With some improvement, the findings could have an impact upon policy/and or practice.

a. Demonstrates excellent ability to marshal relevant material and arguments to produce a quality piece of work that fulfils expectations.

b. It is excellent in terms of academic writing conventions and interests and informs its readership.

c. It is accurately presented and referenced.

d. With modification, the paper could meet the requirements for publication an academic journal, professional guide orequivalent.

Answers:

 With the changes in time, Notion of system level bureaucracy has been gaining momentum throughout the time. The study topic of the current report recognises the scenario wherein certain organisations tend to head towards a system level bureaucracy while extending their share of services for the good of the public. These activities are termed as activities done under the umbrella of corporate governance. However, in various cases the governance structure somehow turns bureaucratic too. Organisation selected for completing the research is Unga Group. The public service activities done by Unga Group have been analysed by observing the street level bureaucracy as a subset of public agency or government institutions where the civil servants works (Osborne, 2010).

It is the Central bank of Gambia abbreviated to CBG. This bank is located in Banjul and was established in 1971. The central bank of Gambia is indulged in providing the banking public services to clients with a view to satisfy client’s need and regulate other small banks in Gambia

Public services are the activities undertaken by the organisations with a view of legitimate theory. In context with the Central bank of Gambia, it means that the activities done by the Central bank of Gambia should be legitimate in the eyes of the society in which they operate. Apart from profit making, the aim of an entity should also consist of working towards the good of the common (McWilliams, 2015). It is so because the entity uses all the resources that the society fosters. As a return the entity should at least make good for all that’s exploited (Bache, and Flinders, 2014). As a result it has become mandatory nowadays to invest certain percentage of revenues to the corporate social activities by a company (Donaldson, 2013).

Bureaucracy, now-a-days is established as the most significant way of running an organisation. It provides set code of conduct, undertaken strategic approach and rules and regulations to meet the set objectives and goals. The dominant character of this level of management is the presence of hierarchy of authority or autonomy and a well-defined set of rules. It focused on delivering the more outcomes to society and public at large.  This system gives power to the position and not to the person holding that position (Weber, 2015). This has obligatory for Central bank of Gambia to provide the best possible banking services and protection to general public from any kind of wrong acts in market.  Simply speaking, every position comes up with certain power and every action is to be supported by evidence recorded in writing (Naschold, 2017).  The hiring in such offices is to be made on grounds of the competence that the person applying to the position holds, and not on the basis of nepotism. The offices follow a strict structure of hierarchy. The ownership management and the working management are different.  In easy words, notion of system- level Bureaucracy is defined as the presence of hierarchy of authority or autonomy and a well-defined set of rules which strengthen the overall outcomes and efficiency of the organization. The main significant notion of system- level Bureaucracy is focused on strengthens the CSR activities and increased business outcomes towards the society. System-level-bureaucracy turns to be advantageous for the public service organizations which provides best possible outcomes to society and assists public service organization to comply with the CSR activities (Head, and Alford, 2015).

The system-level-bureaucracy provides benefits in terms that it focuses more on the competence that an individual holds rather than a favour they may extend. It allows Central bank of Gambia to increase the satisfaction level of clients.   Proper rules are framed and followed for any work to be done and hence the chances of fraud come down to minimal as there are departments cross checking even the management. As a clear system of authority is there, hence the organisations can focus more on the clearly laid down goals (Gatt, 2014). However, this makes the organisation rigid at times, when a need to take decisions urgently arises. Flexibility is lost and a standard is there for every work and every task, the customers may feel lack of customisation. Sometimes the senior management may exercise their powers forcefully on the working management (Dimock, 2018). The theory of triple bottom line is also undertaken in system-level-bureaucracy in the public service organization.  This theory emphasises upon the people, planet and profit. Public services in context with the system-level-bureaucracy focused on delivering the best outcomes to society and public at large (Bommert, 2010). These theories establish the set code of conducts and strengthen the overall outcomes delivered to society in effective manner.  However, there are below given theories of system of level bureaucracy in context with the public services which could assist in implementing the undertaken work in determined approach (Koppenjan,.and Klijn, . 2015).

The public service is carried with a view to amalgamate with the communities in which the entity operates in order to benefit the members of the community who are highly needy and helpless. The viewpoint is “Connecting  To Grow”. This connection stands not only between the community and the organisation but between the members of the entity themselves. The main focus of the current Corporate Social Responsibility programme of Unga Group is development of girls’ literacy (Pollitt, and Bouckaert, 2017). The funding for same is done by utilising the revenue generated by the company from the sale of additional production.  If these theories of system are undertaken in the organization then it would not only increase the overall outcomes but also assists in undertaking the theories of system level bureaucracy in context with the public services. If these theories are followed in proper manner then it will not only strengthen the implication in the organizations but also motivate other stakeholders to give their optimum efforts in the process (Lipsky, 2010).

 Curtailment theory is also one of the best theories which strengthen the transparency of the process work. It is analyzed that if public service organization follows the Curtailment theory then it will ultimately strengthen regulation compliance program in public services and also curb the insider trading program (Koh, 2017).

The CSR theory emphasises upon delivering the best outcomes to society while earning profit from the undertaken public service projects. The administration of these CSR projects is done both from the individual plants and the central administration offices. As every level of employee is being involved in the whole process, they all have developed high level of motivation with a boost in their commitments and have learned a varied range of new skills. As the observation suggests the bureaucracy levels are equivalent to a perfect percentage as the whole work is being bifurcated into different administrations, making the administration less complex and more effective. The triple bottom line and CSR program is the major base for sustainable business practice of the public services. However, in many cases, public organizations are more inclined towards adopting the street- level bureaucracy to strengthen the direct contact with the general public. This process method is used to strengthen the overall outcomes for the public through the undertaken public agency work program (Adshead, 2017).

The governance system seems well formed as the resources are completely utilised to attain the benefits as desired by the entity for self-growth and the excess is fertilised in a way to pay for the costs of increasing the literacy level of female. This whole idea seems like an investment as more educated population shall add to the skilled workforce in future providing a dual benefit of increased literacy levels and as well as increased employment levels. The system of system-level-bureaucracy turns out to be advantageous for the companies to strengthen the overall outcomes and making entities more suitable to deliver the social benefits. It is analyzed that if public service entities embed its business process with the system-level-bureaucracy then it could deliver more positive results to organization which could add value to society and environment at large. The theory of the viewpoint is “Connecting To Grow is also used by public service organizations to establish harmonization in context with the social and economic development with the organizational development at large. These theories have suggested the valuable outcomes and effective use of resources for the benefits of the societies if adopted while rendering the public services. It is further analyzed that governance system is well formed with the notion of system- level Bureaucracy which divulges presence of hierarchy of authority or autonomy and a well-defined set of rules and increased business outcomes at large (Imperial, et al. 2016).

Maintaining a good level of public service activities by any organisation calls for having a good system of management and shall include every management level from top to bottom.  In context with the Central bank of Gambia, It includes framing policies, code of conduct, undertaken strategic approach and developed business plans of Central bank of Gambia which strengthen the process work of public service provided by bank. The reason being, unless a proper system is framed by the entity to perform in the areas that are not cored to its business, it shall not be able to outperform there. To undertake the same, when an entity establishes a corporate social responsibility committee to decide upon what is to be done and how it is to be done; an audit committee to see how much it is done and with what accuracy it is done; top management to oversee the whole process; working management to work upon the whole process etc., it seems from an overview that entity is proceeding towards a notion of system level bureaucracy (Dimock, 2018)

The intention isn’t to formulate a bureaucratic management system, yet the entity’s formulation of such system makes it look like the same. However, sometimes the rigidity with which the public services are undertaken by the organisations makes them actually go bureaucratic. The flexibility is lost and the time taken to get approvals is also increased as the chain of authority gets longer and the decision making power generally lies with the top management.   The main intention of system-level-bureaucracy is to promote the proper work program and establish the effective CSR activities for the organization. These programs will assist entities to strengthen the overall outcomes and efficiency of the business at large. It is further observed that in organizations corporate governance plays pivotal role in supporting the system level bureaucracy (Gatt, 2014).

With the intensive use of information and communication technologies, governments are transforming into E-governance system with a view to increase attention to strengthen the public services and protect the clients from any wrong acts for their better satisfaction. It emphasises upon curtailment thesis which lower down the discrepancies of the frontline policies and increasing the transparency of the notion of system level bureaucracy undertaken in the public services.

Governance in a simple language means the way any organisation is led by its management.  It is based on complying with the applicable rules and regulations, set code of conducts and undertaken strategic program which strengthen the overall outcomes in effective manner. The main consequence of this governance and system level of bureaucracy is related to strengthen Central bank of Gambia or other public services’ codes of conduct and compliance program to satisfy and protect clients in long run.  It includes managing almost everything including acquiring resources, utilising resources, taking decisions, making policies, hiring people etc. (Donaldson, 2013). As already discussed about bureaucratic governance system, the organisation faces certain consequences with such management (Imperial, et al. 2016). The benefits include having a complete set of rules that are to be followed in case of any dispute or any misunderstanding. The powers that are to be exercised by every officer at every position are already established and the same are evidenced with written documents. Every action is witnessed with written contracts and laws with clear approach to duties of all personnel included. The officials are being promoted on merit basis and not on any favourable basis. The level of notion of system- level Bureaucracy is used to make the public service more reliable and effective for the better society.  The main consequences of this process are to implement the undertaken program and make public services more people oriented (Jessop, 2016).

But, this calls for too much of rigid procedures and longer time being invested on decision making. The chances of any innovation are less as everyone is just following the same process they are assigned at. The best way to curb it down is introducing alternative management approach which is more flexible and less burdensome. Transcending the conventional management approach and coming up with more efficient techniques that manages functions as well as promotes growth should be the motive. If these newly concept of work undertaken by the public services organization in system-level-bureaucracy then it would assist organization to add value and increasing the overall outcomes in effective manner (Weber, 2015). Now in the end, after assessing all the details and presence of hierarchy of authority or autonomy in the notion of system- level Bureaucracy, it could be inferred that if public services embedded these notion of level of bureaucracy then it could strengthen the overall output to society at large. In addition to this, notion of system- level Bureaucracy is used to make the public service more reliable and delivering the better outcomes to the public in society. It also strengthens the sustainability of the public organization in long run (McWilliams, 2015).

Adshead, M., 2017. Developing European Regions? Comparative governance, policy networks and European integration. In Developing European Regions? (pp. 161-188). Routledge.

Bache, I. and Flinders, M., 2014. Multi-level governance and the study of the British state. Public Policy and Administration, 19(1), pp.31-51.

Bommert, B., 2010. Collaborative innovation in the public sector. International public management review, 11(1), pp.15-33.

Dimock, M.E., 2018. Administrative vitality: The conflict with bureaucracy. Routledge.

Donaldson, T., 2013. Corporate governance. International Encyclopedia of Ethics.

Gatt, Y., 2014. Bureaucracy in the accounting function of government entities (Master’s thesis, University of Malta).

Head, B.W. and Alford, J., 2015. Wicked problems: Implications for public policy and management. Administration & Society, 47(6), pp.711-739.

Imperial, M.T., Ospina, S., Johnston, E., O’Leary, R., Thomsen, J., Williams, P. and Johnson, S., 2016. Understanding leadership in a world of shared problems: advancing network governance in large landscape conservation. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 14(3), pp.126-134.

Jessop, B., 2016. Territory, politics, governance and multispatial metagovernance. Territory, Politics, Governance, 4(1), pp.8-32.

Koh, G., 2017. Bureaucratic rationality in an evolving developmental state: Challenges to governance in Singapore. In Singapore (pp. 85-112). Routledge.

Koppenjan, J. and Klijn, E.H., 2015. Governance networks in the public sector. Routledge.

Lipsky, M. 2010. Street-level bureaucracy, 30th ann. Ed.: dilemmas of the individual in public service. Russell Sage Foundation.

McWilliams, A., 2015. Corporate social responsibility. Wiley encyclopedia of management, pp.1-4.

Naschold, F., 2017. New Frontiers in the Public Sector Management: Trends and Issues in State and Local Government in Europe (Vol. 69). Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG.

Osborne, S.P., 2010. Introduction The (New) Public Governance: a suitable case for treatment?. In The new public governance? (pp. 17-32). Routledge..

Pollitt, C. and Bouckaert, G., 2017. Public management reform: a comparative analysis-into the age of austerity. Oxford University Press.

Weber, M., 2015. Bureaucracy. In Working in America (pp. 29-34). Routledge.

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