Senior management’s perceptions with regard to strategy Implementation in the Limpopo Department of Health

Abstract

Strategy implementation has always been a challenge in government departments. Therefore, this paper argues that strategy implementation should not be perceived as an obstacle in an organisation, but as a vehicle for realising organisational goals. Strategy implementation in public sector has received a limited research, whereas, organisational cultures, organisational structures, resource allocation and processes of linking the strategy formulation and implementation remains a key challenge. Therefore, a strategy implementation processes in the Limpopo Department of Health (LDoH) was investigated. The purpose of the paper was to probe the perceptions of senior managers on the implementation of the strategy in the Limpopo Department of Health. A qualitative research approach was used to collect data, the IBM SPSS statistics (Version 24) was used to interpret and analyse the data that was collected. Preliminary findings revealed that incompetence, devoting less time to the core business, and continual engagement in politics by senior managers, often lead to ineffective strategy implementation. This paper therefore recommends that the appointment of competent senior management who are capable of staying away from party politics during working hours should be considered, so as to improve strategy implementation processes in the public sector. Keywords: Strategy implementation, Strategy practices, Strategy practitioners, Strategy praxis