Human Resource Management and Organizational Behaviour in the University System: the Registry Experience

September 1, 2010 by  
Filed under Education

Human Resource Management and Organizational Behaviour in the University System: the Registry Experience

INTRODUCTION

In every organization, there are three major resources to be managed if the organization wants to achieve its objectives and goals. These resources are Humans, materials and financial resources. And out of these three, human resource management is the most important and difficult to manage. The reason being that every human being is born unique and therefore is bound to have different characteristics– that is, the ways they think feel reason and act. Secondly, human beings control and coordinate the other resources. They constitute the workforce of an organization and are referred to as personnel. Since human nature plays a very major part in the overall success of an organization, it is therefore important to have an effective working relationship between the employee and the manager as this is essential for the success of the organization.

Human Resource Management, which involves the efficient and effective management within an organization, is one of the vital functions of Educational Administrators. This is because every administrator has a function to perform through his staff and his own abilities. Every university like other formal organizations needs human beings to execute its programmes and achieve educational goals and objectives. To be able to achieve this, the Registrar who is the ‘chief of administration’ has to ensure that personnel with whom he works knows what to do, when to do it and how to do it. Another name for human resource management is personnel management. No matter the name we chose to call it, its basic function is to deal with people who make up an organization. And these people have diverse interest, goals and values.

Akpakwu (2003), regards personnel management as the proper utilization of the people in an organization towards achieving their needs and organizational goals. To this extent, it involves understanding the nature of people in an organization, their needs and aspiration and evolving the necessary strategies to accomplish these needs and aspirations. It also involves identifying the objectives of the organization and creating a conducive atmosphere towards leading staff to achieving the goals of the organization. Armstrong in Akpakwu (2003), sees personnel management as the process of obtaining, organizing and motivating the human resources needed in by an organization. He advocated for the creation of a very conducive and cordial environment in order to satisfy the needs of the workers and achieve organizational goals. Denga (1990), on the other hand, regards Human management as an exercise in human engineering. People have needs, problems, feelings temperament etc which they come along with to these institutions. What ever name it is called, human resource management is the responsibility of all those who manage people. The administrative manager must therefore find ways of satisfying these needs in such a way that the individual, organization and society’s objectives are achieved.

FUNCTIONS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

The primary responsibility of a human resource manager is to ensure that human resources are utilized and managed as efficiently and effectively as possible. To this end, the university chief administrator is required meet the following objectives:

1. Recruitment and selection, developing the work place required by the organization.

2. Helping in creating a working environment that is conducive for his members of staff so as to promote maximum contentment thereby motivating them.

3. Ensuring that the abilities and skills of the workforce are used to the optimum in pursuance of the university’s mission and mandate.

4. Ensuring a fair balance between the personal needs of staff and the needs of the Registry and the university in general.

The effectiveness and of any organization is dependent on the efficient use of its resources particularly the human resource. Human resource functions can be generally classified into three basic functions namely:-

1. Personal utilization to meet organizational needs

2. Motivation of employees to meet their needs and organizational needs

3. Maintenance of human relationships.

Other human resource management functions include :-

1. Recruitment and Selection:- This involves searching for a suitable person to fill the vacant position. In the registry department, the least qualification for an administrative secretary is a bachelor’s degree. The basic goal of staffing is to locate qualified applicant who will stay with the organization.

2. Training and Education:- This involves developing staff to professional growth. In the Registry department, training involves induction of new employees, formal training of staff which may include on the job training.

3. Wages and salary Administration:- This refers to the financial benefits that are given to staff for the jobs they have performed. In the university administration, fixing of salaries is a continuous exercise as position and posts keep changing due to growth and functional advancement.

4. Staff Appraisals:- This is the continuous process of feed back to subordinates about how well they have performed on their jobs. In the registry department, members of staff are formally appraised annually by their immediate supervisors and the evaluation ratified by the Appointments and promotions committee.

5. Welfare:- In University administration, the main purpose of welfare is to provide assistance to members of staff and also encourage a positive relationship between staff and the university by providing extra security comforts.

6. Trade Union Relations: – According to Akpakwu (2003), trade unions are “sounding boards” for policies and decisions affecting staff. In university administration, joint committees comprising management team and trade unions have proved to be effective in resolving conflicts. Trade Unions champion the problems and grievances of their members with the view of improving the welfare of their members.

The functions of chief administrative officer in the university are many. Generally though, he is to plan, organize, coordinate, direct and report activities in relation to staff under him.

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

All organizations including educational institutions are made up of people who chose to work in it primarily because it enables them to satisfy at least some of their personal needs. Virtually everybody works, plays or is educated in an organization. Attempt must be made to define what an organization is. Ede (2000), defines organization as a system of consciously coordinated activities which are deliberately structured for the purpose of realizing specific goals. Dale (1978), views organization thus: “Whenever several people are working together for a common end, there must be some form of organization: that is the task must be divided among them and the work of the group must be coordinated. Dividing the work and arranging for coordination make up the process of organization and once that is completed, the group may be described as an organization.”

According to Unachukwu (1997), the more complex an organization is, the more difficult it is to coordinate activities, predict events or phenomena and attain set objectives maximally. We can therefore view organizational behaviour as the systematic study of the nature of organizations; how they begin, how they develop and their effects on individual members. It is also a systematic attempt to understand the behaviour of people in an organization; not just human behaviour but structural behaviour, elements behaviour, systems behaviour and even policy behaviour. Thus for staff in the registry department of the university to function efficiently and effectively, the Registrar must understand the nature of people he is working with and be able to interpret their behaviours. Organizational behaviour follows the principle of human behaviour: People in an organization are governed by the same psychological mechanisms both on the job and outside the job. Organizational behaviour is human behaviour in a particular setting. The behaviour of an individual in an organization is determined to some extent by internal and external factors. These include learning ability, motivation, perception, attitude, emotions, frustration etc. while the external factors include stress, reward system, degree of trust, group cohesiveness, social factors, office policies etc. Organizational behaviour can also be situational. An individual’s behaviour cannot be disassociated from the situation he finds himself. For example, a normally calm individual is forced into constant close physical aggressiveness with some other people. The behaviour of that individual is therefore a function of interaction between his characteristics and other environmental variables. Organizations are seen as complex systems consisting of interrelated subsistence. Changes or alteration in any part of the system have consequences on other part of the system. Modification in the system leads to desired positive changes called functions. Negative consequences in response to alteration or change in the system are called dysfunction. Therefore the behaviour of an individual is borne out of the decisions that have been taken in an organization.

Organizations represent constant interaction between structure and process. To get an assignment accomplished in an organization, we need to define who does what. Structures refer to organizational shapes, definitions and rules. It is what binds an organization together. Process is the sequence of activity in the system. Decision Making, Communication, Leadership and Conflict are few examples of the many processes that take place within an organization. Ocho (1997), aptly suggests that human beings in an organization need to be constantly motivated for adequate production and commitment. Consequently, the primary responsibility of the Registrar is to ensure that human resources are utilized and managed effectively and efficiently to meet the university goals.

HUMAN RELATIONS APPROACH TO MANAGEMENT

Good human relations in an organization, for it to function effectively and efficiently cannot be over-emphasized. It provides knowledge on how people interact and respond in different organizational situations in an effort to satisfy their needs and in the process meet organizational goals. The chief administrator’s ability to understand his staff and their problems, and his belief in and the practice of democratic leadership will go a long way to make him succeed in his supervisory and administrative task. The effective operation of any organization depends on the Human Resources in that organization. Unachukwu (1997), implicitly states that Educational Administration is concerned with the mobilization of the efforts of people for the achievement of educational objectives. It is therefore imperative that the Registrar cultivates the habits of Human Relations in his odious administrative task. Edem (1987), observed that the difference between the ideas of the Efficiency movement and those of the Human Relations movement was that of the former emphasizing getting most out of the worker, even to the extent of requiring him to subordinate his interest and needs of those in the organization, while the latter emphasized the humanitarian aspects which sought to satisfy the needs of the worker, minimize his frustrations and increase the level of job satisfaction.

According to Mary Follet,(1964), a prominent pioneer of the Human Relations movement in the National Society For The Study of Education, she stated that the real service for business men is no t just the production and distribution of manufactured articles, but to give an opportunity for individual development and self-actualization through better organization of human relationships. The process of production is as important for the welfare of society as the product of production. Follet perceives administration as a shared responsibility, asserting that organizational structures should permit a free interplay of ideas in order to minimize the rigidity of hierarchical structures; but warned that shared responsibility should not be construed as being synonymous with laissez-faire and absence of focal points of reference.

Unachukwu (1997), itemized the human relations movement stress as thus:

1. Human relations focus on workers as human beings rather than as

producers.

11. It focuses on the development of morale and individual.

111. Human relations emphasize paying attention to workers as human

beings in an informal associations within an organization.

1V. Human Relations led to the policy of consultation of participation by

Workers.

V. Human Relations approach led to the diffusion of authority which led to

a wider participation in decision making. It led to a decentralized

approach to organization rather than centralization. This explains why

committees are used as tools for decision making.

MOTIVATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Without human resource, there can be no organization. These human resources are in two categories: Management and Subordinates.

Okonkwo (1997), is of the view that workers and their needs should be uppermost in the minds of the leadership of any organization. In other words, poor management of human resources in an organization will lead to ineffectiveness or collapse of the organization. Edem (1998), states that the Barnard-Simon theory of motivation recognizes the relationship between the satisfaction by organizations of the needs of workers and the workers productivity. The theory assumes that workers will perform satisfactorily well if their needs are met. Nwankwo (1982), opines that the more the needs of workers are satisfied within the organization, the more they are motivated to work and thus satisfy the needs of the organization. To motivate a worker therefore is to propel, impel and energize him into action that will lead eventually to the achievement of organizational goals. Thus motivation is primarily concerned with spending effort towards a goal. Leavitt (1972), provided motivation model from three basic premises:-

(I) Behaviour is caused: The things we do, do not just happen. There

always underlying factors

(11) Behaviour is directed: In the ultimate sense, there aimless behaviour.

(111) Behaviour is motivated: Underlying what we do are motives and

drives which provide us with the energy to attain goals or at least to

move in the direction of goals.

These three premises help a lot in understanding the behaviour of workers in an organization. When Adam Smith conceptualized the economic basis of human motivation, it was his opinion that people work primarily for money and are unconcerned about social feelings, and are motivated to do only that which provides them with them with the greatest reward. This approach has been criticized because its view of man is dehumanizing. Money may not be the only primary source of rewarding behaviour in an organization as there is limit to which money can be used in motivating workers. According to Argyle (1972), People can become committed to the goals of the organization as a result of participating in decision making in their work place or co-partnership schemes or through their relationships with groups or supervisors. Commitment could also come through the job itself. For example through ones achievements, recognition, responsibility and professional growth. All these are motivators that would energize human resources to meet organizational goals and objectives. The ability of the educational manager to therefore plan and organize human resources effectively, motivate and control the staff is crucial to the effective and efficient management of the university. This is because good human resource management practice not only helps in attracting and retaining the best of staff, but also motivating them to outstanding work performance. Lack of motivation in work situations has serious effect on job satisfaction and when job satisfaction is absent, the worker might soon leave the organization. Saiyadanin (1999), supporting states that advancement or changing one’s status reflects when this growth is not experienced, the staff member becomes frustrated and dissatisfied.

CONCLUSION

Basically, the Registrar who is the Chief Administrative Manager deals with human beings at various levels. Administration at all levels involves effective planning, organizing, supervising, controlling and evaluating. It is therefore his duty too co-ordinate all activities in the registry to meet the university’s mission and mandate. Attempt has been made to understand the meaning of human resource management as the understanding of human behaviours, their needs, aspiration in an organization and developing strategies to accomplish these needs and aspirations. Knowing that if these needs are neglected, it could lead to failure in achieving set goals for the university system. This paper has also shown that organizational behaviour is not just the study of the systems, processes, and structures in an organization. But also the systematic study of individuals’ behaviour in an organization. It should be understood that these individuals work with external and internal environments which are psychological and sociological in nature. University administrators should therefore deal with staff individually and collectively with a view of understanding them deeply. To this end, it has therefore becomes necessary for university registrars to advocate the use of good human relations so as to ensure effective and efficient administration in universities. This paper has also traced the need to motivate workers not only through monetary means but also to recognize the individual’s worth and enhance their feeling of responsibility and achievements

References

Argyle M. (1972), The Social Psychology of Work. Penguin

Akpakwu A.O.(2003), Human Resource Management Towards Stable Higher Institutions. ‘Benue State University Of Education Journal, Vol4 No.1

Dale E. (1978) Management Theory and Practice. Tokyo: Mcgraw-Hill, Kogakusha Ltd.

Y and other work organizations. Calabar, Nigerian Educational Publishers.

Denga, D.I. (1996), Human Engineering for higher productivity in industry

Ede .S. A. (2000) Educational administration and management, Jos, Nigeria: Ichedum Publication Nigeria, Ibadan, Nigeria, Spectrum Books Ltd.

Edem D.A. (1987), Introduction to Educational Administration in Nigeria. Ibadan, Spectra Books limited.

Leavitt H.J. (1972), Managerial Psychology, 3rd Edition. Chicago, University of Chicago Press.

Nwankwo J. (1982), Educational administration, Theory and Practice. Vikas Publishing house PVT Ltd., New Delhi

National Society for the Study of Education. (1964), Behavioral Science and Educational Administration, The Sixty-third yearbook, part 2 (University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Okonkwo S.N. (1992), An analysis of selected factors in Relation to Academic Staff Utilization: A case study of Anambra state colleges of education. An unpublished Ph.D Thesis, University of Benin, Benin City.

Unachukwu G.O.(1997), Human Relations and School Administration.

“Dynamics of Educational Administration and Management: The Nigerian Perspective”, edited by A. N, Ndu, L.O. Ocho, and B.S Okeke, Awka. Meks Publishers

Okonkwo S.N.(1997), Job satisfaction and the Work Behaviour of Nigerian Teachers, Akwa Meks Publishers.

Ocho L.O. (1997), Administration and Leadership in Education

Awka. Meks Publishers

Saiyadain M.S.(1999), Human Resource Management. New Delhi: Tata McGraw – Hill publishing company.

Ebi is an Assistant Registrar in the Nasarawa State University, Keffi. She is currently on her Ph.D research in Educational Administration and Planning.

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The Essential Hospitality Business Management Pack

July 17, 2010 by  
Filed under Business

The Essential Hospitality Business Management Pack
HelpfulHospitality brings you the only toolkit needed to manage a successful hospitality business. Containing more than 80 templates, forms, checklists, cost calculators and bonus items, this package has been used by 100s of businesses to drive profits!
The Essential Hospitality Business Management Pack

Fitness And Wellness Principles – Part 1 – Weight Loss | Best Way …

June 21, 2010 by  
Filed under weight loss

The term Wellness is one of the most frequently used buzzwords in health and fitness these days. Wellness describes an overall health of the mind and body.

See original here:
Fitness And Wellness Principles – Part 1 – Weight Loss | Best Way …

Sport Management

June 17, 2010 by  
Filed under Sports

Sport Management

Abstract

In this article the problem of sport management is discussed. Firstly, a brief definition to the notion of Sport management is given followed by an excurse to history. Than the background and origin of sport management is discussed the second part of the article is dedicated to the current situation and prospects of sport management. A special attention is paid to the educational sphere and career opportunities that potential employees may have in the field of sport management. Finally, the article is concluded by prospects of sport management.


Introduction

Sport management existed for quite a long period of time and it always accompanied sport as its essential part. Naturally, it had different forms and differed from the notion of sport management as it is defined nowadays but such activity is known from ancient times. At least ancient Greeks practiced such an activity and probably they may be called one of the founders of sport management. This fact proves the importance of sport and sport management for people of all times. It was and it remains to be as important for people as their health sine sport provides health for people and sport management provides effectiveness of sport for all its participants. Nowadays sport management becomes more and more important because as many other things in the modern world sport is business and consequently it needs effective management that, in its turn, demands the preparation of well-qualified specialists in this domain. At the same time sport management is not only business. As sport so sport management are social phenomena for it involves not only professionals, for whom sport is their main source of earnings and actually it is their life, but also there is a huge category of amateurs, for whom sport is just a hobby but they still need sport management to practice sport as effectively as possible. So, taking into consideration the role of sport and sport management in the modern world, I would like to discuss this phenomenon in my article and focus my attention on the notion of sport management itself, its history, and prospects for all those who either on their way or already work in this field.


The Notion and Role of Sport Management

First of all, it is necessary to start with the definition of sport management. In order to understand any phenomenon, we have to know what is implied by its definition and interpret it correspondingly. Speaking about sport management, it is possible to say that there may be different interpretation of this notion but the main point of all definitions remains practically the same, in other words it may change its form but its content, its basic principles remain the same.

On analyzing different points of view on sport management, it is possible to make a general conclusion and give certain conclusion what it actually is. On doing this, I would prefer to define sport management as follows: “Sport management is a goal-oriented social process within a sport enterprise using pragmatic self-determined goals involving the selection of appropriate strategies and provisions for directing the work of the sport enterprise, and the control of performance in an effort to meet the objectives of the organization.” (Parkhouse 1996:47). Such a definition provides probably the best description of sport management and its main characteristics which permit to understand the essence of this phenomenon.

Naturally, there may be different view on sport management but it is obvious that any sport organization have to have its goals to achieve. The latter may be done only with the help of sport management that can organize all the staff of the sport enterprise and mobilize all its forces for achievement its goals. At the same time, simply to organize the work of a sport organization is not enough. It is necessary to control the fulfillment of the main tasks each department or even each person within the organization has to do.

But such a definition helps to realize what sport management is at large. At the same time it is necessary to take into consideration the position of those people who work in this field and for all those people who are currently working or are going to work in this sphere sport management is not just a profession it is rather a set of different professions, basically of administrative character which provide a person’s ability to fulfill his or her duties as a sport manager.

Obviously, management remains management even in such a specific domain as sport, particularly if we speak about professional sport which nowadays is more than sport. It is a great business and it is enough to have a look at such monstrous sport associations in North America as NHL, or NBA, for instance, it will be evident what kind of business it is and how profitable it may be, naturally on the condition if the management is effective, well planned and the execution of the main tasks is thoroughly controlled. At the same time we should remember that sport or any sport organization is more than a commercial enterprise it is also a social phenomenon since very often sport plays very important role in the life of certain groups of people or even whole countries. For instance, in the ancient world, namely in Greece, any wars were forbidden during the period of the Olympic games. So the organization of the Olympic games played a significant peacemaking and consolidating role in the ancient Greek society.

Unfortunately, nowadays we can hardly find an example like this but still sport remains very important for any human society and proper organization of sport events as well as effective functioning of numerous sport enterprises remains extremely significant for people in any country in the world.


Sport Management: Education and Career Opportunities

Taking into consideration the role sport and consequently sport management play in the modern world, we can presuppose that sport organizations need a great number of well-qualified specialists that could be provided only by professional education of such specialists on the highest level. The current situation actually proves that the growing demand engenders the growing offer of sport management education which matches the basic demands to specialists in this field. But it is necessary to point out that such a trend has appeared recently, within the last fifty-sixty years.

John Nilson is a senior writer at Custom Essays Writing Service. He is an experienced writer of custom essays and term papersand will be glad to share his experience with you.

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Management Education

June 17, 2010 by  
Filed under Education

Management Education

Normal 0 “The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives.”

“The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think – rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with thoughts of other men.”

Education is among the fastest growing service sectors of the economy. Education is one of the important public attributes of social and human development. Education has always been accorded an honored place in the Indian society. The development of education in India during the post independence period has been guided by the national goals and aspirations as embodied in the Indian constitution. Education being a powerful instrument of social, economic and political change, its broad principles and objectives are related to the long term national goals, the program of national development on which the country is engaged and complex short term problems it is called upon to solve. Prior to independence, the growth of institutions of higher education in India was very slow and diversification in the areas of the studies was very limited. After independence Education has become India’s “Super infrastructure”. It provides the strongest link between income aspirations and the realization of income goals. It can be controlled from with a household and without unreasonable dependence on the external environment and infrastructure. The congruence between internal economic goals of the nation is a pre-requisite for building viable and vital constituents that provide growth and education has accomplished a strong congruence between the internal aspirations of the household and the external objectives of the aggregate economy.

The focus of Commerce education was on building a strong foundation about the knowledge of business transactions and processes, primarily from the economics and accounting perspectives. In contrast, management education focused on building knowledge about overall business and its various functions, given its stakeholders and the market landscape. It was felt that one needed some disciplinary background, especially in science or commerce streams, or some work experience for effectively learning the management principles. Therefore, management education was intended for the graduate and executive levels, focused on nurturing future leaders who could lead the private and public sector organizations with a sense of social mission. The question surrounding the quality of Management education and its effect on Human Resource form the basis of the thesis.

In approaching this subject following hypothesis were laid down:

1. Quality of Management education is going down.

2. Due to mushrooming of B-Schools Admission procedure is becoming just

a formality.

3. Expectation of Industry is rising day by day from B-School students

Therefore, thesis asks the following questions:

First, what are the reasons for deterioration of quality of management education?

Second, what are the expectations of the corporate world from the B-Schools i.e. students?

Third, what should be the parameters to check the quality of management education?

In answer to the first question, the reasons are identified as being associated with the mushrooming of B-schools and growing demand of management personnel in the market, with the result leniency of government for encouraging more number of B-schools moreover certain loopholes in major government bodies giving affiliation and recognition

to these institutes as is discussed in Chapter 3.

In answer to the second question, regarding expectations of the corporate sector from Bschools it is argued that when it comes to recruitment or campus selection organization prefer students of those B-schools that produce quality students in terms of knowledge, physical skills as well as conceptual skills because every organization want to choose best out of the pool that too when they are having options more than they need. Ultimately country’s economy is generated by the organization having worth Human Resource and India being top in the list of populous nations having vast pool of Human Resource is no doubt having now quality Human Resource. Chapter 4 discusses how quality of education vis-à-vis management education affects Human Resource of a country.

In response to the third question, Chapter 6 surveys the different institutes in NCR,their admission procedure, faculty, placement which ultimately affects quality. .In this chapter we will also try to focus on quality tools . To achieve the objective of this study which is aimed to find a solution for a concrete social academic problem the thesis calls upon existing work from education studies, Quality management, recruitments of organizations , campus selection in B-schools. At this point, it must be stated that the thesis calls upon secondary sources also. Contacts were made with the various students studying in different B- schools of NCR. Management of these institutes was also contacted. However access was not possible in all institutes, in that case different faculties were contacted in -person. HR personnel’s of different organizations were also interviewed and in some cases questionnaires were got filled from the same. Research for the thesis also included an extensive literature search.

Every research work has its own set of limitations so has mine. I tried a lot to cope up with the limitations but still some of the limitations which I cannot neglect are as follows:-

1.     There was one major hindrance in gathering the data because management of the institutes were not ready to reveal the real data so had to cross check and neglect the small variations.

2.     Data gathered through questionnaires took time to get cross checked and at points

there were contradictions.

3.     Companies chosen were not ready to reveal their recruitment sources. Most of the

time concerned persons kept me waiting thereon giving very less details. So, I had no choice but to work on the same data and it became very difficult for me to analyse the same.

4.     Major limitation of this research is Quality tool six sigma as no institute is  applying any tool as such so was not able to analyse that part. Instead I gave a model of Six sigma for management institutes.

5.     A few of the parameters were not analysed because of the unavailability of the

data.

To address its research questions, the thesis is divided into seven chapters. The following describes the content of each. In order to trace the development of education in India vis-à-vis management education and its quality Chapter 1 examines the overview of education how it got transformed from “Gurukul” type to specialization focused. Its development after post independence and emergence of education as India’s super infrastructure. It also focuses governing/ managing bodies of higher education in India. Then, it also focuses social status of management education in India which discusses the pre independence education attitude of society. It also throws some light on shift in social status of business education during 1980. However, after analyzing emergence of management education in India Chapter 1 also gives an overview of quality of higher education as well as management education which went towards negative side with the growth of management institutes after 1990 i.e. liberalization after which various Multinational companies entered into India.

Chapter 2 discusses the six sigma as a tool of quality enhancement. It focuses on six sigma in detail, also that how it has generated profits for the organizations that have adapted it. In this chapter the complete process of six sigma and various terms associated with it have been it have been defined. As focus of my research is quality in management institutes so, chapter also discusses the role of six sigma in management education.

In order to have an in depth look into the management education and its quality chapter 3 gives us the description of quality in management education. In this chapter various parameters like admission , Faculty, infrastructure, placement etc have been discussed in detail and their affect on the quality of management education.

We are studying the quality of management education ultimately to know its affect on Human Resources which is the focus of Chapter 4 .It focuses on what B-schools are producing, how they are being absorbed in the corporates , what corporates are expecting out of a management graduate. It also discusses how MBA has its impact on employment and career. It also gives an overview of how business schools help in enhancing economy of a country. It also defines ‘FEM’.

As we know ‘Campus placement’ is one of the important sources of recruitment from where organizations directly take the new recruits. It not only reduces the cost of recruitment but also gives an organiastion an advantage of choosing from the good one as compared to choosing among the mixed pool of applicants. This is discussed in Chapter 5. It throws light on various organizations that go for campus placement.

Second last chapter i.e. Chapter 6 gives us a detailed insight about institutes (taken as sample) their criteria for admission, placement, their efficiency in placing their students. It also gives us a comparative analysis and aftermath of the campus recruitment of various organization. It is based on the data collected from various institutes and various oragnisations. It tells us the real stories of the various institutes and what actually organizations want from management graduates.

This chapter analyses faculty, placement also of various institutes. Effect on Human resources of various oraganisations ( taken as sample) and what they require. It also analyses the institutes focus as far as quality of management education is concerned. Chapter 7, the last chapter ultimately leads us to the Conclusion and suggestions. This chapter justifies the various hypothesis laid down for the research purpose which are quality related, admission related and expectation of the industry. This chapter’s main focus apart from hypothesis is “Six sigma model” which explains various areas as a quality enhancement points with the help of Fish-bone diagram. This part has been discussed under suggestions along with various other suggestions. Suggestions are followed by Bibliography. At the end various questionnaires have also been attached.

MBA/NET qualified

Mjh Group: Marketing Strategy & Marketing Management

June 16, 2010 by  
Filed under Marketing

Mjh Group: Marketing Strategy & Marketing Management

 

How much should I spend on marketing?

This is a common question that marketing consultants gets asked on a regular basis.

The simple answer is that there is no hard a fast rule – it depends on the competitive environment, the stage of business development, the product or service category and the balance of advertising designed to promote the brand vs advertising designed to generate a specific response.

As a result of these factors, marketing budgets are best set based on careful analysis of a number of factors as part of a Marketing Strategy not via the often used % of sales method.

If you are looking to develop a deeper understanding of your marketing budget then there are two good places to start.



Brand Awareness- Analysing the level of advertising that is appropriate to reach your target markets with appropriate levels of frequency and credibility



Specific Response – Analysing the response and conversion rates you are achieving from various forms of advertising

Brand awareness is a direct product of the  Marketing Strategy – by identifying the key target markets and having an understanding of the competitive environment it is possible to establish a picture of the level and types of “brand” advertising required to generate awareness of the brand for new customers and reinforce the message with existing consumers.

Planning the elements of the campaign designed to generate a specific response is more closely aligned with the sales budgets and requires analysis of the response and conversion rates you are achieving from various forms of advertising.

Using response and conversion rates as a starting point allows MJH Group to determine the expected result for a particular level of spend in a particular area and plan the marketing strategy accordingly. This is correlated to the sales budget to help plan the necessary mix of advertising required to drive the response to deliver the sales result.

MJH Group Marketing supports companies who want to be more innovative and effective in their marketing by providing marketing tips and expertise to develop strategic and tactical marketing programs.

The Impact of the Committee System on University Management in Benue State of Nigeria

June 15, 2010 by  
Filed under Education

The Impact of the Committee System on University Management in Benue State of Nigeria

Introduction

The Senate is the highest academic body in the university system with the Vice-Chancellor as its chairman. Its authority covers all academic matters although some, such as appointments, are shared with council. It is Senate that has the formal authority under the university’s charter and status to make academic policy. Therefore, for it to take meaningful decisions it has to create certain committees. Council is the governing body of the University and is the formal employer of all university staff. It is charged with the general control and superintendent of the Policy, Finance and Property of the University. University employees are required under the leadership of the Vice-Chancellor to carry out Councils policies. To that extent the Vice-Chancellor may be seen as “Chief Executive”. He is supported by the Registrar who is responsible for the university’s academic and administrative supportive services.

The use of committees was entrenched in the Laws/Acts establishing Nigerian Universities as indicated in the University of Ibadan Act of 1962 which states that: “Anybody or persons established by the Act shall without prejudice of the generality, shall have power to appoint committees consisting of members of that body and subject to the provisions of sub-section(7) of section four of this Act to authorize committee established by it to exercise, on its behalf, such of its functions as it may determine”. In the management of higher institutions, committees play very important roles in the decision making process. This is because as democratic establishments, universities’ decisions on governance must reflect the opinion of a cross section of the staff if such decisions are to be accepted. This explains why many institutions in the country have established many committees to assist management in arriving at useful and meaningful decisions that can facilitate the proper management and growth of the university system of education.

Ede (2000), describes universities as international communities engaged in the daily business of the search for knowledge and truth. Ogunmodede (1981), states that authority of governance of Nigerian Universities is derived from an external source – The Visitor, who invariably is the president in the case of a Federal University and the Governor in the case of a State University. According to Daudu (1986), the management of such complex organization requires participation through the committee system because of the bureaucratic, collegial and political models that are applicable in them.

Nwachukwu {1988}, describes a committee as a device for achieving coordination of activities and sharing information among various departments and divisions of an organizations. He further states that committee decisions help to promote better coordination in an organization. Ikenwe (1998), highlighting the work of Foxworthy (1971), wrote that the primary motive of instituting the committee system in institutional governance has grown out of the motive concern for democratizing decision making in those institutions and a recognition of the need for more broadly based decision making as universities become more complex. This explains why many institutions in the country established many committees to assist its management in arriving at useful and meaningful decisions that can facilitate the proper management and growth of the university system of education.

In view of the importance of the committee system in university management, it is therefore necessary to investigate its impact on the effective and efficient management of the university system in Benue State of Nigeria.

Statement of the Problem

There have been frequent cries by some members of the university community that the committee system may not necessarily be the best method of effectively managing a university system. These staff members argue that the disadvantages of the committee system on university management appear to out weigh the advantages. Various segments of the staff have severally expressed their grievances, some violently and others peacefully over non implementation of committee decisions. These crises negate effective management of higher institutions. There is therefore the need to investigate this problem

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate how effectively committees affect university management in Benue State of Nigeria. Specifically, the study is concerned with the level of staff participation in the various committees and their confidence and trust in these committees and their importance in the management of the university system.

Research Questions

The following questions were answered by the study:-

(i) Does the committee system improve decision making process in the universities?

(ii) Does the committee system lead to greater participation of members of staff in the university community?

(iii) Do decisions made by committees instill greater confidence in the university community?

(iv) Do committees provide effective advisory services to Vice- Chancellors?

(v) Do committees’ recommendations influence opinion of the university council and senate towards proper management of the institutions?

Hypotheses

The following hypotheses were formulated:-

(i) The committee system will not significantly lead to the participation of a higher number of staff in university management.

(ii) The committee system will not significantly improve decision making process in university management.

(iii) The committee system will not significantly instill greater confidence in the university.

(iv) The committee system will not significantly influence university management.

Methodology

The population of the study was made up of the staff members of the two universities in Benue State of Nigeria. The stratified random sampling technique was adopted for this study because of the large population involved. The population was therefore arranged into five sub-groups or strata. This helped to ease data collection and analyses. In effect, the study samples consist of 203 members of senior staff, 109 members bringing the total to 312 drawn from the study sample. The study used one structured questionnaire for the 312 respondents. The adopted Likert Four Point rating scale of 4, 3, 2, and 1, was used to analyze responses in the questionnaire.

Method of Data Analysis

The mean, standard deviation and t-test were used to verify results and arrive at certain conclusions. A mean of 2.50 was used as cut-off point of decision making for each item on the instrument. Any item with a mean of 2.50 and above was considered adequate and hence enhances the level of respondents on the use of committees in university governance. Any item with a mean of 2.50 and above was considered adequate and hence enhances the level of respondents on the use of committees in university governance. Any item with a mean of less than 2.50 was considered inadequate. The four hypotheses formulated for this study were tested at 0.05 level of significance using student t-test for each. Where the calculated value is greater than the table value of t at 0.05 level of significance, the null was not accepted. On the other hand, if the calculated value is less than the table value of t at 0.05 level of significance, the null hypotheses was accepted. After subjecting the responses to the above statistical methods and analyses, three out of the four null hypotheses were not accepted, while the fourth was accepted.

Hypotheses One

The committee system will not significantly lead to the participation of a large number of staff in university management.

Assumptions

N1 5

X1 15.25

S1 4.35

N2 6

X2 5.99

S2 2.80

df 6 Cal-t

cal.t Value 2.85 Table

table Value 2.45

Decision

Do not accept.

The result of the first hypothesis as shown above clearly indicates that the committee system encourages participation of a large number staff. Tahir (1991), agrees with this finding as he states that leadership must evolve styles that can ensure effective staff and student participation in decision making that affect them. Gwary (1993), also maintained that full participation is a process where each individual member of a decision making body has equal power to determine the outcome of the decision. This means that the use of participatory system of governance in the university system cannot be overemphasized. There must be full participation of individuals who are effective and efficient so as to help the growth of the committee system in university governance. It is then therefore worthy to mention that staff participation in the decision that affects their working lives is essential for effective management.

Hypotheses Two

The committee system will not significantly improve decision making process in university governance

Assumptions

N1 8

X1 24.62

S1 6.82

N2 7

X2 14.90

S2 6.20

df 13

Cal-tValue2.674

TableValue2.15

DecisionDo not accept.

In the table above, since the calculated t value is higher than the table value, we therefore do not accept the hypothesis. This finding reveals that the committee system is a vital tool for improving decision making process in university management. This finding is in line with Jeje (1983), who states that committees bring about group judgment on an issue, thereby protecting the university or chief executive from errors arising out of the decision of an individual.

Hypotheses Three

The committee system will not significantly instill confidence in the university system.

Assumptions

N1 9

X1 27.87

S1 7.62

N2 7

X2 15.28

S2 6.44

df 14

Cal-tValue 3.279

TableValue2.15

DecisionDo not accept

This finding reveals that there will exist trust and confidence if the committee decisions are faithfully implemented. All cadres of staff are of the opinion that committees would however tend to ignore the views of staff if they are in conflict with those of the university administration. Mehendiratta (1984), in his study on university administration in India and USA states that it would be advisable for the university system itself to device an adequate machinery to deal with grievances of students, teachers, subordinate staff and administrators and this machinery should be so devised that all persons concerned would have confidence in its impartiality and independence.

Hypothesis four

The committee system will not significantly influence university management.

Assumptions

N1 8

X1 24.38

S1 6.75

N2 8

X2 16.38

S2 7.41

df 14

Cal-t

Table

DecisionAccept.

The finding reveals that the committee system will not influence university management. This is because the respondents agree that committees do not provide effective advisory services to Vice-Chancellors, and that committee recommendations will not influence opinions of the university council and senate. What this result shows is that even though the university community believes that committees are vital tools for university governance, they are not confident that university administration will really implement the recommendations of committees. This also shows that there exist lack of trust between the university community and the university administration. It is pertinent to ask why a staff who is found worthy of promotion in the Departmental appointment and promotions committee be denied promotion by the council appraisal and promotions committee. Explanations would also be needed as to why a student who is found guilty of examination malpractice is rusticated by the College/Faculty examination malpractice committee however when the same case gets to senate, such a student is expelled. One wonders therefore why these committees are set up to look into these cases when decisions made by them are not implemented. Suffice it to say that because of administrative interest in these matters, decisions made by these committees are jettisoned. These actions negate the purpose of setting up these committees and also breed distrust in the system. Sifuna (1991), states that the tendency for Vice-Chancellors to monopolize all aspects of decision making has now been perfected in the creation of Vice-Chancellors ‘management boards’ whose powers are too wide and constantly erode those of the senate. Views or decisions of committees are ignored if they are in conflict with those of administration. He further states that although universities teach about democracy and are quite vocal about the need for popular participation in decision-making, universities’ administrative structures and key policy-making bodies are most undemocratic.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Universities the world over are established for the propagation, dissemination and the application of knowledge. The university system is made up of people with investigative and critical minds with the function of teaching, research and public service, dedicated to intellectual life and hence the need for a democratic system and consequently the introduction of the committee system of governance. The study has identified that staff of BSU and UAM are not as confident as they would like to be in the committee system. This is as a result of the non-implementation of committee recommendations in university governance. There is therefore the need for the university administration to effectively and efficiently implement committee recommendations so as to boost the confidence of staff in the system. University administration should further find a way to create conditions for trust to exist within the university community as there is a lot to gain in a trusting environment.

Tierney (1999), in his paper on Trust and Academic Governance opines that if individuals are to make far-reaching decisions they need to create the conditions for trust to exist. According to Longing (2002), institutional success at navigating the currents of higher education is the dependent on the effectiveness of governance structures and decision making processes. Still, governance and decision making as the subject of empirical research currently receives only moderate attention.

There is therefore the need for researchers to investigate more on how best to govern higher institutions to meet their desired goals without distrust. Universities must a evolve appropriate leadership styles and practices. Delegation and communication channels should be followed. Staff should be actively involved in decision making if they to be fulfilled and effective in following up decisions made. Participation will increase their level of out put. Recommendations made by committees should be accepted and implemented without delay so as to boost confidence in the system. There should be mandatory, introductory and refreshers courses/ seminars on the committee system for staff especially for junior staff members so as to understand what the committee system is all about as most of them do not know how the committee system operates.

References

Daudu P. (1986) Committee versus centralized system of managing Higher institution: A choice between participation and efficiency, Unpublished paper

Denga D. I. and Ali A. (1998) An introduction to research methods and statistics in education and social sciences, (3rd ed) Calabar, Nigeria, Rapid Educational Publishers Ltd.

Ede .S. A. (2000) Educational administration and management, Jos, Nigeria: Ichedum Publication Nigeria, Ibadan, Nigeria, Spectrum Books Ltd.

Gwary T. H. (1993) Participative strategies for higher education management: A case study of Federal College of Education,Yola. Education today, 6 (3).

Ikenwe E. (1988) The use of committees in Higher institutions in Bendel state. An unpublished thesis of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Jeje .A. (1983) The administration of faculties in University of Ife, An unpublished field attachment report for MPA degree, University of Ife.

Longing T.C. (2002) Institutional governance: A call for collaborative decision making in American higher education. Boston, MA Anker Publishing Co.

Nwachukwu .C. C. (1988) Management theory and practice, Onitsha, Africana- Feb Publishers Limited.

Ogunmodede A. (1981) The community system of the university of Ibadan Management. Unpublished M.ED dissertation, University of Ibadan.

Mehendiraratta P.R (1984) University administration in India and USA, New Delhi, Oxford and IBH Co

Sifuna D. N. (1997) The governance of Kenyan public Universities Nairobi, Lyceum ed. Consultants.

Tahir G. (1991) Higher education management in Nigeria, Change and pressure for change: unpublished paper.

Tierney W. G. (1999) Creating high performance in colleges and universities, Thousand Oaks, Ca. Sage Publications Inc.

Ebi is an assistant registrar with the Nasarawa State University Keffi. she works in the Registrar’s Office

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