Case Analysis: The New University

By Author: Henry Ford
Total Articles: 189
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History and background
The University of Gulf experienced some changes since last month in the management due to some issues which were unavoidable. The human resource department experienced this major change in the department due to the fact that the department that was there had become inefficient. Until a month ago there was a small personnel department that had been run by the same person for 7 years. During the term of the human resource director, he had created consultative committees among the staff and this led to conflict and suspicions among the staff members. There were no meetings being held and most staff members were not interested in the services of these committees. This situation forced senior management of the University to re-examine the role of the personnel department thus a new human resource director was appointed. It was hoped that his appointment would ensure smooth running of the University. The former human resources director remained in the office of the new director and was assigned new responsibilities. This did not make him happy.
Before the arrival of the new director of human resources ...
... changes had been made in all the departments and colleges of the campus and most of the employees were not happy with these changes. Relations between the management and staff members were strained. However one department had not experienced these changes and changes had been proposed by the chief executive concerning it. This was the department of science laboratories. There were two laboratories within the University grounds and they had 37 lab technicians and 5 of them were senior technicians. Five administrative support staff was located in one of the laboratories. Some issues arose from the proposed changes and as the new human resource director; I felt that they needed to be addressed to avoid future problems in the future. The changes were to be implemented in six months time.
Main issues; Management change
Change in management usually brings about expected and also unexpected reactions. The introduction of a new human resource director was a good thing for the University and this meant that the members of staff were waiting anxiously to see what the other changes that would take place. Change in management is a good strategy for the future running of a company and it is good to explain to the staff members why it is necessary for some things to be done. The current location of the laboratories was to be changed to pave way for the construction of a large new business suite. This in itself would be a positive thing for the campus .The transfer of the administration and management to a new building outside the city boundary close to an airport was a good initiative but also would also be a bit expensive for the staff members because it would mean extra bus fare. As the person in charge of human resources I feel that this issue should be discussed at length to avoid other issues cropping up.
Managing change;
It is mandatory for both staff members of Gulf University to know how to deal with change .There are various ways of managing this change like by talking to the management to knowhow to face certain challenges in the work place. A good example is the case whereby employees will be reduced by 30%.This means that the staff members will be forced to multi-task hence appropriate measures need to be put in place to handle this.
Communication;
Due to the fact that employees will be laid off, communication is very crucial. Most of them before the laying off is done are mostly anxious and others even panic because they do not know who will go home and who will stay. Effective communication channels have to be put in place to ease tension between the staff members and the management and in turn make them understand why this is necessary. This will help improve their productivity in the work place. There should not be a repeat of the previous problems like the strained relationships between the former director of human resources and the staff members. Communication will be necessary especially in the loss of the 5lab assistant positions immediately the changes will be initiated.
Bad effective team.
After the previous introduction of the consultative committees that were not effective, it was very clear that a very strong team needed to be put in place. This team would be in charge of the issues affecting the staff members and would ensure smooth running and implementation of the proposed changes effectively. With a bad team on your side failure is inevitable and there would be wastage of resources. This team should hold meetings to address the issues facing its employees to create a more comfortable work environment.
Relationship issues;
The management of the university will need to creative good relations with the employees in order to effectively run the university. Previous strained relationships should be a thing of the past. The former director of human resources should understand that he is still involved in the management of the human resource department and should work hand in hand with the new director to implement the changes. The leaders of these departments should know that there is an example to set for the fellow workmates to follow.
Negotiations;
Negotiations should be done with the staff members in order to ensure that every employee is satisfied with the changes that will be introduced. The negotiations should mostly concern the use of extra bus fare; salary increment mostly due to the fact that most of them will be laid off hence work will be more for them. The employees should be given time to air their grievances concerning the changes.

The author is senior writer at https://www.allacademicanswers.com