DISTANCE EDUCATION PROJECT MANAGEMENT

ASSIGNMENT

ON

TOPIC : 4

MANAGEMENT OF EXTENSION UNIT

Submitted by

Shalini Pandey

Id. No. 38306

TOPIC : 4

MANAGEMENT OF EXTENSION UNIT

Management of a Distance education unit includes:-

1. Financial management

2. Personnel management

3. Institutional management

Financial management

The principles of management apply to the general function of planning, organizing, directing and controlling any activity in any organization. There are a few aspects of management, which we shall take up for further study because they have a special relevance to the work of an educational planner or administrator.

In educational planning we address our minds to the nature of an education plan as a financial statement. We emphasize the practical uses of financial analysis and costing techniques. Similarly, our attention is directed to the role of the budget and the significance of budgeting as a link activity between planning and plan implementation. Most organizations have financial specialists (i.e. accountants, cashiers, book-keepers etc.) to handle this work, the educational planner or administrator should know the basic principles of their operations, the major stumbling blocks and opportunities for collaboration in the solution of implementation problems.

Elements of financial managementAll the functions constituting financial management may be grouped under three sequential categories as follows:I. Pre-Planning(1) Financial Analysis(2) Compilation of Cost Data, including Trends and Fluctuations in Cost.II. Planning(3) Costing Projects/Targets(4) BudgetingIII. Implementation(5) Incurring Expenditure(6) Acquisition of Property, Supplies and Services(7) Payment and Handling of Cash and Negotiable Articles(8) Accounting or Book-Keeping

(9) AuditingThe last four functions are fairly routine and are usually handled by specialist accounting personnel.The real problem areas in financial management, as evident in educational administrative organizations are in the first five functions. They are problem areas due to the following main reasons :

Problem area Main reasons for being a problem areaFinancial analysis a) not yet recognized as essential operational functions ;

hence relegated as purely historical research of only academic interest.b) Past data are either not available or are recorded in a form not conducive to analysis.

Compilation ofCost Data

c) not enough trained personnel.

Costing Projects/ Targets

a) lack of reliable cost data.b) reliance on rule-of-thumb methods.c) resource allocation is governedmore by availability of funds orpolitical pressure than by carefulproject formulation or refinement in costing.

Budgeting a) not yet fully recognized as the determinant of the entire process of financial management b) inadequately co-ordinated with planning.c) recognized only as a formal (legal) document and not adequately developed or used as a management tool.d)the tendency in some countries of changing budget provisions often and not regarding them as firmcommitment, has taken away the sense of seriousness in budgeting.

Incurring Expenditure

a) remains in most places a "grey zone" in which roles of policymakers, administrators and accounting specialists are undefined, and consequentially, authority is over centralized.b) procedures tend to be too rigid resulting in "red-tape"c) decision-making time is overly long with difficulties in fixing responsibility for delay

How does one cost the targets or the projects of an education plan is consist of following two steps:First, the usual direction in which prices move is UP. But all elements constituting a price do not go up at the same rate. Hence Unit Costs should be analyzed into as many details as possible, so as to identify the different rates at which different elements go up in price.Second, the projection of Unit Costs into the future must be realistic. For this purpose, it is important to consider-(a) The behavior of the cost of each item into which the Unit Cost is analyzed(b) The known or possible causes for such behavior(c) The possibility or otherwise of such causes to persist into the projected time span(d) Alternative solutions to check spiraling cost through import-substitution, use efficiency, innovative methodologies etc.(e) Repercussions of installing such solutions

STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN THE ACCOUNTING SYSTEMIt is important that the educational planner or administrator develops a fair understanding of the accounting system of his organization. The usual tendency is to leave accounting or, more specifically book-keeping, as a routine operation to be handled by accountants. In fact, most educational administrators tend to regard it as a tedious activity with little management value — conceived and designed to satisfy prying auditors! This attitude to accounting has a number of repercussions, detrimental to educational development;viz.(a) the educational administrator throws away unwittingly all the opportunities he has for getting the maximum benefits of the financial allocations made to his organization or institution;(b) he becomes over dependent on his accounting colleagues whose objective could be very different from what he wants to achieve for his organization;(c) he loses the chance he has to use the accounting system as the generator of vital financial and cost data which he needs for his planning and management functions ; and(d) he fails to use effectively a very useful control mechanism by which the rate of progress of his organization or institution could be watched, regulated and enhanced.

PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

Personnel Management is a specialized field demanding from the manager several important qualities of both mind and heart. Whether you are specifically designated as a personnel manager or not, you have to perform some functions in personnel management. The purpose of the lesson unit is to give a broad overview of various types of action that constitute personnel management. We will also discuss some of the management principles which contribute towards greater efficiency in personnel management.

WHAT IS PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT?This aspect of management deals with the people who constitute an organization. All organizations are constituted of people who choose to work in it primarily because it enables them to satisfy some at least of their personal needs. These personal needs are not necessarily congruous with the needs and objectives of an organization.Sometimes, they can even be conflicting. But, ordinarily, a person works for an organization as long as the balance between his own personal needs and those of the organization is in his favour. Hence, one of the basic objectives of personnel management is to ensure a fair balance between the personal needs of employees and the needs of the organization.

Personnel Management deals with following elements relating to the personnel of an organization:(a) Job Analysis and Description(b) Wage and salary administration(c) Recruitment(d) Placement and promotion(e) Transferf) Training and professional growth(g) Performance assessment and report(h) Discipline(i) Trade Union Relations(j) Welfare

Job Analysis and Description

Whenever new functions are assigned to an organization, the first task is to determine how many persons are needed, of what skills and qualifications and to do what work. The criterion is organizational efficiency and effectiveness.Efficiency demands that the least number of persons with the least operational costs should do the work, while effectiveness necessitates that the objectives of the organization are achieved fully with the highest consumer satisfaction.“Job analysis and description is the process by which a personnel manager determines the number as well as the kind and qualifications of employees to be recruited to an organization.”Job analysis results in identifying the posts that an organization needs Job description is the phase when the qualifications Expected of a person to be recruited to the post are worked out. Qualifications for a post range from age, language skills, and educational level to experience in similar or related jobs. Some qualifications are obligatory while some others may be specified as advantageous or preferred. Job description begins with a statement of the functions which, on the basis of job analysis, have been identified for the post concerned.The net result of job analysis and description is a short document which is generally called a "Job Description".

Job Description is referred to as a "Scheme of Recruitment". It contains the basic information to-(a) Enable a person interested in the post to assess himself as an eligible candidate;(b) Enable the appointing authority to determine that the person it selects is the most suitable to perform the functions of the post; and(c) Provide a reference point for both the employer and employee as regards expectations and obligations connected with the post.

A part of a Job Description relates to salaries, allowances, perquisites ("perks") and such other compensations attached to the post. Decisions relating to these are taken on the basis of what is sometimes called Job Evaluation.

WAGE AND SALARY ADMINISTRATIONJob evaluation results in fixing salaries, allowances and perquisites for posts

in an organization. This is not a once-for-all affair. Posts keep on changing according to growth and functional transformation of an organization. New jobs are added. Old jobs are abolished or modified. New demands are made by the market value of the skills required for such posts. This necessitates the continuing function of Wage and Salary Administration.The task of Personnel Management, in this respect, is to compensate the deserving without upsetting the prevailing balance in salaries and allowances.

RECRUITMENTRecruitment is the process of employing the most suitable person to fill a

vacant post. This consists of -(i) Labour market survey, to ensure that places where eligible candidates exist are located;(ii) Scientific selection procedures, to ensure that a process of identifying the best candidate is put in operation; and(iii) Employee orientation which ensures that every new recruit is inducted into the organization's working procedures.

PLACEMENT, TRANSFER, PROMOTION AND DISCHARGEFollowing the recruitment is the function of placing the new recruit in his

working situation. This is often a formality if an individual is recruited to a particular post. But where a batch of new recruits is selected for a number of parallel posts, then placement calls for the settlement of criteria and assessment of each recruit against such criteria.

A major concern of educational administrators has been to rationalize procedures for transfer and promotion guarantee fair to guarantee fair play and to minimize political interference and external pressures.

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT AND REPORTConnected with transfer, promotion and discharge is the function of

performance assessment and report. Every organization has some mechanism for periodic evaluation of employees ' performance, which is recorded in the form of a confidential personal report.

TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL GROWTHAnother very important element in personnel management relates to Training and Professional Growth. This involves several specific activities, namely:1. Formal training activities- pre-Service- pre-assignment (orientation)- pre-promotion- on-the-job in-service2. Informal training activities- study tours, lectures, seminars, workshops etc.- correspondence programmes

- manuals and guides- technical literature3. Exchange of knowledge and experience- periodicals/bulletins- forums/discussion groups

TRADE UNION RELATIONSIf the employees of an organization have organized themselves into trade unions or staff associations, the function of maintaining relations with them is a responsibility of personnel management. Employees have problems and grievances, both individual and collective, for whose redress they make representations through their trade unions.

Two aspects of trade union relations demand skills of negotiation and tact. They are (1) Collective bargaining when terms and conditions of service are subjected to negotiation with a view of evolving an agreed settlement and(2) Arbitration when disputes are to be resolved through quasi -judicial procedures. In both these, the qualities of the heart have a greater impact.

WELFAREThe last, but not the least, important element of personnel management is welfare. This includes the provision and the administration of the following:(i) Health and safety(ii) Housing(iii) Food and recreation(iv) Mutual aid at times of distress(v) Education of children(vi) Credit services and(vii) Pension and Provident Fund benefits.

INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENTA system of education comprises a variety of institutions: i.e. administrative (e.g. bureaus/offices)

- research and development (e.g. Curriculum Development Centres, Textbook Production Services, Research Institutions etc.)

- teaching (e.g. Universities, Colleges, Polytechnics, Schools etc.)- Supporting Services (School Building Services, Planning Offices etc.)

INSTITUTIONAL PLANNINGThe fundamental aim of institutional planning is to optimize the utilization of all available resources for the accomplishment of institutional objectives. The process of matching objectives with resources at the institutional level has a special dimension which is not as much pronounced in other areas of planning. The intimate contact which the institutional administrator has with his resources enables him to maximize the use of a particular item by exploiting every possible application.The first step in institutional planning is to inventorize all these open and hidden resources, category by category: viz.(i) personnel – -qualifications-abilities-interests-hobbies-social activities etc.(ii) physical facilities-planned uses-possible uses-availability for extended use-flexibility for modification-possibility for extensionSuch an inventory would also reveal ways and means of generating further resources for the institution.

PARTICIPATORY MANAGEMENTTo ensure desirable interpersonal relations and to maintain a high level of

morale within an institution, a very promising strategy is to adopt the principles of participatory management. By this is meant a process of collective decision-making in which the institutional administrator functions as the "first among equals" and adopts such leadership styles as are conducive to free and frank discussion.

An institutional administrator could adopt several leadership styles. He could be authoritarian and lay down the law for others to follow. He could also be consultative and seek others ' views and suggestions, reserving the final decision to himself. But the kind of leadership style which ensures the highest degree of cooperation and goodwill among institutional members is the democratic style.

INSTITUTIONAL ORGANIZATION

What we have so far discussed relates to a number of basic principles of management which are of special advantages to the administrator of an educational institution. We shall now direct our attention to a continuing operation which is of vital importance. As we have already discussed under the topic of "What is Organization? any institution which an administrator inherits from the past or sets up by himself/, is an organization designed to provide the operational framework for a given set of activities.

INSTITUTION IN RELATION TO THE REST OF THE SYSTEM -LEGAL AND FUNCTIONAL LINKS No institution exists in isolation. The administrator's first task, therefore, is to understand the manner in which his institution is linked with the rest of the educational system. His basic source of information would be the legal document (e.g. charters, education laws, decrees or orders) by which the institution was established. Such a document would invariably define(a) the source from which the institution draws its authority, including the nature of its accountability - to whom and in what manner;(b) the management structure provided for the institution - i.e. the advisory/executive bodies with their constitution and functionsand the officers of the institution with their functions and the mode of appointment;(c) the lines of authority;(d) the sources of finance and its accounting and auditing procedure; and(e) the boundaries of its autonomy and procedures for the exercise of that autonomy

Besides the links relating to authority, accountability and resources, there are functional Links which bind an institution with the rest of the educational system.An institution like the Textbook Production Unit, the functional links may be withthe Curriculum Development Centre which provides the curricula, teams of textbook writers and illustrators who produce the manuscripts, selected schools where the texts are pretested, the printing agency which prints the books and a vast number of commercial outlets through which the books are distributed.