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Annex D
Principles of good management practice
Introduction
This annex presents the Principles of Good Management Practice which
guide the work of the Management Review Steering Group (MRSG) and the
Review Panels in their work.
The MRSG recognises that each institution has its own mission, history
and culture, as well as varying in size and disciplinary spread. For that
reason, it considers that it would be inappropriate for this review to
impose or even suggest that the management style or processes should be
the same in each institution. Therefore, in consultation with the Consultative
Committee, the MRSG has developed the following Principles of Good Management.
The form in which these principles are put in place will differ according
to the circumstances of each institution.
The principles relate to all the management processes across an institution
in the different areas of academic administration, research administration,
maintenance and development of the estate, procurement, student support
services, human resources, IT and finance.
1. Development of the strategic plan
- The strategic plan is consistent with the mission of the institution
- The strategic plan is developed using both internal and external
contributions and information. The development process provides the
opportunity for the institution to learn from its own performance and
from external developments
- The development of the strategic plan is an iterative process whereby
different elements of the plan - academic direction, academic facilities
and services, staffing, estates, finance, IS - are brought together
to form a consistent and coherent plan
- Mechanisms are in place to ensure that any decision, which has significant
resource implications (for revenue, expenditures and capital), is only
incorporated in the strategy after those implications have been identified,
estimated and built into future plans
- There is a mechanism to facilitate the 'ownership' of the strategic
plan and supporting operational plans through use of the management
structure
2. Resource allocation
- There is a clear mechanism and criteria to determine priorities for
resource allocation - the criteria follow from the strategy and inform
the planning process
- Mechanisms and formulae, if any, for allocating resources (for example,
performance-based formulae and the use of 'top-slicing') are understood
and transparent
- There are agreed ways of allocating resources on an ad hoc basis as
necessary
- The resource allocation process provides incentives for increased
value for money in all functions (academic and non-academic)
3. Implementation of plans
- Operational plans are developed from the strategic plan and include
milestones and performance measures for regular monitoring
- It is clear who is responsible for the implementation of each plan
component and how that responsibility is to be discharged
- Appropriate action is taken as a result of the outcomes of monitoring
the implementation of the operational plans
4. Roles, responsibilities and training
- There is a clear management structure, with the managerial responsibilities,
reporting lines and means of accountability well defined and accepted
by all concerned; the scope of any delegated authorities is clear to
both parties
- The responsibilities of each member of staff is defined and included
in a job description; there is a staff appraisal process for the performance
of individuals against their tasks
- For each committee, its terms of reference are clear, unambiguous
and accepted by its members; in particular it is clear whether a committee
is consultative, advisory or decision making; each is subject to periodic
review explicitly to consider its continuing usefulness
- The competencies of committee members and staff are appropriate to
their roles, with training available relevant to their needs, especially
for those with new managerial responsibilities (e.g. financial responsibilities)
- There is clarity in roles and responsibilities with respect to committees
and individual staff members, especially in relation to the roles of
professional staff
5. Service delivery
- There is a process to ensure that the University is meeting the administrative
and operational needs of its students, staff and external constituencies
- this includes mechanisms whereby service users can comment on the
level of service, priorities and related performance improvement plans
and mechanisms to ensure that the plans are acted upon
- There is a regular review processes (or audits) in place to assess
and improve the performance and structure of all administrative, academic
and committee functions and services (e.g. to ensure that there are
no unnecessary steps, duplication of activities or levels of management)
- There is appropriate means to respond to external and internal audits
or reviews of functions with structures and processes such that change
is possible within reasonable time scales
6. Management information and systems
- In producing management information, both financial and non-financial
- the differing needs of different users are established, assessed and
reflected in the information provided to users
- There is a procedure in place to ensure that all management information
used in decision making and monitoring is adequately reliable, valid
and consistent and that the level of detail given to users is appropriate
to their needs
- Systems in place support administrative and management processes
across the institution. Systems are developed and operated on the basis
of user need
- Systems are reviewed on a regular basis taking full account of user
feedback and other benchmark information
- Disaster recovery plans exist for all systems, for example with respect
to the Year 2000 issue.
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