Creating compliance value through informal work procedures

Abstract

Informal work procedures are often untapped in organisations because they remain compartmentalised and unavailable for organisational learning. Trends from Auditor General Reports show the metastasising culture of non-compliance in local government and by implication the re-enforcement of procedural compliance in many avenues. This study explores the value informal work procedures can add to building a strong compliance-based culture in South African local governance. The study contributes to knowledge on organisational studies and compliance in local government by moving beyond formal procedural explanations to highlight informal work procedures as critical elements of the municipal compliance discourse. A qualitative methodology using interview data shows that local government managers operate based on informal work practices and procedures, which create a potential for learning and compliance value chain. The findings also suggest that where local government managers are able to consciously create synergies between informal and formal work procedures a municipal culture that supports innovation, compliance and effective performance develops. It is proposed that addressing the gap between “work as imagined” and “work as actually done” can present an opportunity for building compliance through organisational learning.

Keywords:

• work procedures
• informal work procedures
• informal organisation
• informal organisational climate
• municipal compliance

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PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

The positive attributes of informal work procedures are often untapped in organisations. Our results show that a conscious engagement with informal work procedures by managers is beneficial to the organisation. The findings show that this can be achieved through building compliant-based climates through informal work procedures. This involves a conscious effort towards identifying and encouraging positive learning and reflective practice. The study found that this can be achieved through regular meetings and verbal interaction with staff to identify and encourage behaviour within the informal organisational space. The study findings are also significant for practitioners in sectors and contexts where written and formalised work procedures may be a challenge due to literacy, language and other factors.

Acknowledgement

This work was partially supported by the UIC Grants (Nos. R1050, the Zhuhai Premier Discipline Grant).

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa grant number 98866.

Notes on contributors

Ogochukwu Nzewi

Ogochukwu Nzewi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Management and Commerce, University of Fort Hare. Her research interests are versatile in the broader area of research into the theory and evolution of institutions as social and political actors within the polity. This article was based on field work findings from her National Research Foundation grant examining the utilisation of work procedures in local government.

Modeni Sibanda

Modeni Sibanda is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Management and Commerce at the University of Fort Hare. He has researched and published articles on governance, regional integration, intergovernmental relations, organisational culture and local governance.

Nqobile Sikhosana

Nqobile Sikhosana is a doctoral student of the Department of Public Administration and worked as a research assistant and corresponding author on the project.

Maxwell Sentiwe

Maxwell Sentiwe is also a doctoral student and a research assistant on the project.