Abstract:
The objectives of this research were 1) to study the performance achievement levels of management of municipalities, Samut Prakan province following the mission and responsibilities as outlined in the Municipal Act, 2) to study the factors affecting the performance achievements, and 3) to propose guidelines for improving the performance of the management. This research was a study that combined both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The quantitative research was conducted by using 384 respondents, selected by stratified random sampling technique from a population of 9,323 individuals. The sample comprised of 193 people representing stakeholders namely members of the municipal council, subdistrict and village headmen and village public health volunteers as well as 191 municipal employees. The sample size was calculated using Taro Yamanes formula. The tool for data collecting was a questionnaire to measure the achievements as an empirical data with a reliability of 0.89. The data were analyzed using the statistics of percentage, mean, standard deviation and stepwise regression analysis. The qualitative research was conducted by in-depth interviews with 27 key informants consisting of 14 members of the standard inspection and evaluation committee of the local government and 13 members of the municipality administration control committee. The group were selected purposively. A focus group discussion was conducted with 18 participants consisting of 9 mayors and 9 chairmen of the municipal councils. The data were analyzed by content analysis and interpretation. The research findings were as follows: 1) The overall performance achievement levels of the management based on the Municipal Act was at a high level ( = 3.63, S.D. = 0.82). Considering each aspect individually and ranking them from the highest mean, the aspect of disaster prevention and mitigation was the highest ( = 3.84, S.D. = 0.80), followed by the aspects of social welfare ( = 3.75, S.D. = 0.77), civil registration ( = 3.74, S.D. = 0.78), infrastructure ( = 3.68, S.D. = 0.76), education, customs and culture ( = 3.63, S.D. = 0.79), and finance ( = 3.52, S.D. = 0.82), respectively. All of these aspects were at high levels, except for the aspect of public health and environment which was at a moderate level ( = 3.24, S.D. = 1.04). The qualitative research revealed that the aspect of public health and environment was at the lowest level in the critical problems of garbage disposal and polluted water and air caused by industrial factories. With regards to decentralization, the municipalities were very much ready to perform the mission of educational administration. The restrictions due to rigid rules and regulations, overlapping of authority of variants agencies and there were many urgent government policy incompatible with local plans. 2) There were 4 factors affecting the performance achievements of management of the municipalities. Ranking them from the highest partial regression coefficient, they were (1) the administration resources factor (β = 0.202), with 3 variables : personal, budgeting and equipment, (2) the all section participation factor (β = 0.195), with 2 variables : government organization and private sector, (3) the Municipal Act factor (β = 0.192), with 3 variables : clear objectives, practicability and accountability, and (4) the management factor (β = 0.166), with 4 variables: leadership, knowledge in management, strategic management and team work. These 4 factors could explain 74.40 percent (R² = 0.744) of the variation of the performance management at the statistical significance level of 0.05. The results of focus group discussions congruent with the quantitative research in the administration resource factor that the personnel should be developed in having more consciousness and more working dedication as well as the participation factor that could help enhance the community strengthening and promoting environment protection volunteers. 3) The proposed guidelines for the improvement of the management consisted of 7 approaches as follows: (1) the municipality should put public health and environment as its first priority by strengthening the collaboration between other sectors and the private sector in order to move forward in creating a greener city, and mitigating pollution so that people and the industries can live and survive. (2) The municipality should allocate administrative resources according to the problems and use efficient managerial systems composed of planning, organizing, leading and controlling. (3) The municipal management process should focus on the factors that are directly affecting the management, utilize the resources in away that adds value, amend the municipal act so as to improve the participation of all sectors and build political leadership leading to concrete results. (4) The municipality should create a strategy for mutual information sharing especially concerning narcotics suppression and hazardous waste elimination. (5) There should be more coordination between the public and private sectors located in the industrial estate, and the civil society sector and the community leaders in order to better develop a modern industrialized city. (6) The management should operate based on good governance that includes transparency, accountability, and proactive measures to prevent and suppress corruption and (7) the services provided by the municipality should be active, prompt and equitable in order to foster a customer-responsive service culture.