By the Management

           “With great power comes great responsibility” a famous line from the movie Spiderman. I wouldn’t disagree. This statement has been proven true since time immemorial and applies to all the creatures in the universe. The one who has great power has the responsibility of using that power for the benefit of all. Abusing it or giving it to the undeserving will end in chaos. But, then again, “no man is an island”. One can’t have all the power by himself, because if he has all the power, he might end up in system overload and explode. So, to avoid that, there must be this so called distribution of power, but of course the most powerful still has the bigger share. The one with the biggest share of power is responsible for the ones who received fare share of the remaining power and in return are responsible for others with less power. In that way, abuse of power can be minimized chaos can be controlled. If in case one of these powerful individuals failed to perform their responsibility, they have to be replaced with ones who are responsible enough.

                Why is distribution of power important? Why does it have to be done? We seek for equality. But it seems impossible if you are seeking for equality of control especially in an organization. We have this so called division of labor. We can’t all be managers. We can’t all be presidents. We can’t all be workers. If we are all managers, how are we supposed to get things done? If we are all presidents, how are we supposed to run a country? If we are all workers, how are we supposed to know what to do? We have to have proper process for managing an organization. By that, there should be:

1.       Job Design

2.       Departmentalization

3.       Delegation

4.       Span of Management

5.       Chain of Command

There should be job descriptions of every job position there is in an organization. The job description states the scope of tasks of the employee assigned the position and the salary. Like me, I am an Instructor. Based on my contract I am just to perform teaching with a monthly salary of (am I supposed to mention that here?). But, that was never followed. I do teaching, plus academic advising, plus evaluating graduating students, plus others. We can’t say no to the higher ups because we fear we might lose our jobs. Besides, the tasks are bearable and we benefit from some of it too. But then again they deduct tax from our salary which from what I know is a non-taxable amount.

After having positions couple with job descriptions, there should be departmentalization. Each department is composed of employees whose knowledge and skills are coherent. Back in 2004, the Computer Science, Information Management (now Information Systems), Computer Engineering and Electronics and Communications Engineering were under one department named Computing. But after 5 years chairman and the members of the faculty saw the need to divide the department because of major differences so that it’ll be easier to manage. It was then divided into 3 departments namely Computer Science and Information Systems (DCSIS), Computer Engineering (DCpE), and Electronics and Communications Engineering (DECE) each has its own chairman and member faculties. Having divided the one large department made it easier for the chairman since all share the same fields of interest for their respective departments.

After departmentalizing, delegation takes place. Our chairman assigned faculties for the position of Secretary, Treasurer, Research Coordinator, Statistician and Technical Editors (for Thesis and Capstone Projects) and Academic Advisers (one per year level and section). This is important because he can’t do all of these things by himself considering the number of students in the department. Though not part of our job description, we adhere. It’s for the sake of the students anyway.

Every position has a scope. The power we have inherent to our positions has limits. The Dean of the college delegates the chairmen to take responsibility of their own departments. Departments in the college have no control over another. Faculty members of other departments have no say over things decided for another department unless his idea is solicited. Only the dean can intervene. Within departments, member faculties do what the chairman asks so long as it’s for the department and the college and the university.

In every organization, there is always an Organizational Structure. This structure presents the flow of authority from the highest rank down. We call the flow chain of command. In our university, if a parent has a concern, they don’t directly go to the president. The flow is, go to the department or college. If the concern is solved at department or college level then good, but if not, only then can the parents go to the higher ups. For example, if a student complains that the teacher gave him a wrong grade, a letter for change of grade must be done. But though the Registrar has all the records of grades, they have no authority to change the grade unless they are told so. A letter for change of grade has to be made by the instructor, it has to be approved by the department chairman, and then it has to be indorsed by the dean to the Vice President for academic Affairs. If the VPAA approves the letter, it will be forwarded to the Registrar’s Office and the college evaluator will change the grade. It is always good to know where to go if you have a concern. It saves time and effort with a university so big. But sometimes, it happens that a concern is treated like a ball being passed on from one office to another. It happened once where one issue was taken directly to the president without consulting the college concerned. Some could really bypass the chain of command especially if they are powerful enough. I wish I could hang a sign that says:

 “Abide by the rules and follow the process”. By the Management.

Transformers

                Look around us, see and feel. The world is not what it looks like 24 years ago. Back then there were no concrete roads, there were no tall buildings, no big establishments and there were only a few concrete houses (most of them were wooden houses). But now there are skyscrapers, malls, huge houses, concrete 4 lane roads, overpasses and more. Those small establishments and businesses some of them closed while some remain standing and got better through the years. I know I’m not that old. But I just woke up one day realizing that ‘twas like the world has changed overnight. 

                I have spent my high school days in the same university where I currently work. I am a living witness of the changes that has happened in the university from administration, physical structure, rules and regulations, norms, traditions and pretty much like everything else. Some of those changes for me were unnecessary. But then again, I am not the one who’s running the university. I just work there. So, if they want something changed or something new, we’ll have to adhere so long as it doesn’t violate any of our rights and our contract.

Every organization has to do analysis and come up with strategies and plans based on needs and opportunities against competitors to be on top or stay on top, and against themselves to continue to improve and eventually be the best. Change is not easy. Not all changes are a result of the “majority wins”. There will always be some that will disagree to the plan but in the end they’ll realize that it was a good plan after all or that ‘twas good they did not involve themselves in it. The changes that we see in organizations undergo a so called Organizational Transformation Process. Of course before coming up with a result, it has to undergo a certain process; otherwise it’ll turn out to be a disaster.

This is how the process goes:

1.       Completing Needs and Opportunities

2.       Existing Mental Model

3.       Turning Point –Resistance and Denial

4.       Decide and Commence – Crisis – Termination

5.       Urgent Vision

6.       Transformation Priorities

7.       Launch Teams and Implement

8.       Align Behaviors: Feedback, Measures, Rewards, Learning (Go back to No. 5)

The school is supposed to be like the second home of the students. They are safe and well taken care of. They are taught things that will prepare them for the real world after they graduate. There are activities that help them build their characters, make new friends, and learn lots of things aside from things learned in class. But safety was a major problem that the university faced back then. There were bomb threats; grenades were thrown causing no fatalities but trauma and scars to some students and civilians who were there; rape cases, shooting incidents, holdups, snatching, burning of buildings, death threats, gang wars, and murders. The students felt unsafe inside the campus.

Because of these incidents, the administration decided to add security especially in every building and in every entry point of the university. Lamps were placed on every dark corner. Mini gates were constructed on every entry points. They became strict with every vehicle that goes in and out of the campus. They place stickers on every vehicle allowed to enter the university. Those without stickers must leave an ID before they are allowed to go in the campus. Humps were created all over the campus to prevent vehicles from running too fast. The Wednesday free day of students was abolished. They were required to wear their uniforms the whole week. Some were complaining since for a long time there was that free day and suddenly it was stopped. CCTVs were installed. Students and faculties were vigilant in their own ways. The university from passive became active with matters of security. But now students and faculty can go in the university even without proper uniform. Even beggars just enter classrooms to ask for money (to think that there was a sign that says they are not allowed inside the campus in the front gate). What happened to the security?

The former president has not faced so many issues of being corrupt or favoritism. But now the president has faced so many issues. He has so many new cars. Not to mention all the people he put in different positions in the university. He promotes some undeserving and demotes the deserving. Funds became difficult to access; administrative fees on all outside the campus activities are deducted from students’ fees, tax is deducted from contract of service employees’ salary, request subjects and honorariums, budget for a specific project is used for another project and many more. The university that was full of trees is now half bare. It is full of tarpaulins and banners with his face on it. Emergency consultation meetings are called every now and then even if the agenda is not that urgent. Employees in the administration are shuffled every now and then, and rules change every now and then.

When I first worked here the DTR is passed every month in 2 copies and the salary gets delayed in less than a week. But now we have to pass a DTR every 15 days and the salary gets delayed over a week. They require us to wear uniform but they don’t give us uniform allowance.

They have limited number of computers (40 per laboratory room that was only 25 in my college days) they are clearly aware of that but they let over 40 students enroll in a subject with laboratory. They say Facebook is not allowed in one memo but they did not add it to their list of blocked sites. The enrollment from manual became computerized but they took for granted the programmer who is now abroad. They say they wanted an enrollment system where the students don’t have to fall in line anymore. Is there such thing?

This university was just purely about agriculture. But with the passing times and the changing needs, it offered a whole lot of courses to keep up with other universities including Engineering, IT Courses, Arts, Health and Sciences, Education, Veterinary Medicine, Criminology, Technical courses and others.

Yes, the university has changed; new buildings, renovated buildings, new chairs, new tables, new equipments, new courses, new products, new services, new syllabus, new teachers, new rules and regulations, new administration. But as I see it, the transformation is not following the proper process. It’s pretty confusing for me really. It looks good outside but doesn’t look good inside. But since I am an employee here I guess I just have to be one of the transformers.

The Backup Plan

                In everything we do, and I mean everything, there are pros and cons; like in Physics “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”. For example: You get mad at your bestfriend and you punch him in the face. You feel good after but your knuckles will freakin’ hurt so you put an ice pack on it. It’ll feel better but it’ll turn violet. The pain and color will fade after a few days but your bestfriend will forever remember what you did not to mention having a bad record. So it’s either you won’t feel any guilt, or live with the guilt for the rest of your life. But you can always forgive and ask for forgiveness. The question is if your bestfriend is willing to forgive you, which if not, will lead you back to the drawing board and think of another solution for reconciliation.

                Most of us, before doing a specific action required by a specific event, think about the consequences first. If the consequences are bearable, they go for it. But if not, they’ll think of another action with a more bearable consequence or will think of a solution for the consequence. The events here are the forces that usually require actions called strategies. This does not just apply on individuals, but in organizations as well. Business is business and business as usual.

                As much as possible organizations always want to be above others; they want to be the best. There is always the phrase “healthy competition”. Can it still be called healthy when they are doing everything not to keep themselves up but to keep others down? I don’t think so. But it cannot also be called healthy if there is no competitor. How will you know if your organization is doing well if there is nothing to compare it to? How will you know the things you need to improve? How will the organization grow? Every industry needs competition. It helps it grow and improve by constantly comparing themselves to each other therefore requiring them to strategize in order to be equal if not above others.

According to Michael E. Porter (1979) there are 5 (Five) possible events called Forces that will lead to formulating strategies. These are the following:

1.       The threat of the entry of new competitors

2.       The intensity of competitive rivalry

3.       The threat of substitute products or services

4.       The bargaining power of customers

5.       The bargaining power of suppliers

An organization is confident without competitors. They feel that they are the best. But, with the entry of a new competitor, they will start to have second thoughts about being the best and will react accordingly. Our university is the biggest and the only university in town and in the province. It stands tall and proud at the age of 59.

For the past 59 years, there were other schools put up in the province but the university was unshaken probably because of the high barriers to entry mainly capital requirements and government policies plus the expected retaliation. Therefore, the risk for new entrants is low. But despite not having new competitors, the university continues to grow by competing with other universities outside the province. But then, whether the school is best or not, it is always the students and their parents who will decide where to enroll.

A better example of this is a suitor. An only suitor is pretty much confident of himself in winning a girl’s heart. The suitor will analyze where he stands. If he is good looking, rich with a clean reputation and he can see that the girl and her parents like him, the risk of the girl having another suitor and him having a competitor is low. So, he definitely has a high chance of being chosen. But if not, the risk of the girl having another suitor is high. When that happens the first suitor gets threatened by the new suitor or suitors creating a rivalry. In effect, the suitors will try to impress the girl more. They will think of different strategies to do better than the other (pabonggahan ug pasosyalay ug gifts etc. Naa pay magpasipsip sa parents ug barkada). When that happens, each of the suitors will have to analyze the expected retaliation of their rivals so that they can think of a more effective retaliation strategy. But, at the end of the day, it is always the girl who will decide who will win.

The intensity of the rivalry depends on the risk level, the number of competitors and the expected retaliation plus other added factors like substitute products and services and the bargaining power of the customer and the supplier.

Most parents or students will enroll their children or themselves in universities with lower tuition fees than those with high tuition fees proximity wise; the nearer the better. They may consider enrolling in far universities with high tuition fees if they see that the quality of education is more than what they pay for. Parents and students will consider universities that accept and offer a lot of scholarships, a lot of free services and those that will allow them to pay partial. The will consider a university where they can bargain (hangyuon ang tuition pati ang grades). Of course the university can always bargain back. They will agree with the bargain of the customers by giving fair conditions.

Relating back to the suitors, the intensity of the rivalry depends how many suitors will enter the scene. The more the merrier so they say. The girl now has power over all of them. She can now demand anything she wants but not to the extent that her suitors will give up on her and find someone new to woo instead. She will not be so pakipot because she is also threatened by the pretty girl that one of her suitors (the one she really likes) is starting to like. They also have bargaining power over each other. The suitor asks “Kelan mo ba ako sasagutin?” the girl answers “Pwede pag-isipan ko pa muna mabuti? Give me more time.” then the suitor says “Okay. Sana wag mo lang maxado tagalan baka mapagod ako maghintay.” (parang telenovela lang eh noh). The girl bargains for more time and the boy agrees but bargains for her not to take too long. That is what we call strategy. But then again, one strategy is not enough. What if the strategy failed? What if the strategy for the consequence failed as well? This is the time; the perfect time to realize that at the beginning of formulating strategies, there should be… a Backup Plan.