November 2014 Vol. 2 No.11

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Chikasha AS
Gwata RG

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Original Research Article

Nurturing a Culture of Results for the effective implementation of Results Based Management (RBM) in the Zimbabwe Public Service

Adolph Silas Chikasha^1* and Rudo Grace Gwata²

¹Open University, Former Education Officer, Educational Technology Centre, Ministry of Education, Zimbabwe
²Independent RBM Consultant, Zimbabwe

*Corresponding Author's E-mail: chikashaas@yahoo.com

Accepted November 25, 2014

Abstract

Economic, social and political environmental factors have compelled governments and other public organizations to transform themselves in order to facilitate improved responsiveness to the needs of stakeholders. Such pressure led to the implementation of wide-ranging reform programmes, including the New Public Management (NPM) system, over the past three decades. Results Based Management (RBM), adopted by the Zimbabwe Public Service in 2005, is a part of this system which is aimed at improving service delivery and accountability. This research is motivated by the apparent limited impact of the implementation of the RBM strategy in Zimbabwe, sought to highlight the relevance of a culture of results in supporting effective implementation. The qualitative study used the interviews and document review methods for gathering data which were subsequently analysed for content. Analysis of the data showed the absence of a culture of results in the Zimbabwe Public Service which contributed to inadequate implementation of the RBM strategy. Recommendations are provided for improving the culture to enable it to effectively support the implementation of RBM.

Keywords: Culture, implementation, management culture, public service, results, public service.