0407P - RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Paper by Professor Omar Hasan Kasule, Sr.

OUTLINES

40.1 TIME MANAGEMENT

40.1.1 Concepts of Time

40.1.2 Time: Planning and Prioritizing

40.1.3 Balance in Time Management

40.1.4 Problems in Time Management

40.1.5 Meetings

40.2 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

40.2.1 Fund-Raising

40.2.2 Zakat Resources

40.2.3 Endowments

40.2.4 Investments

40.2.5 Financial Management

40.3 INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

40.3.1 Overview

40.3.2 Management Information System

40.3.3 Information Data-Bases

40.3.4 Survey Research

40.3.5 Information Dissemination

40.4 ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT, idaarat al munadhamat

40.4.1 Overview

40.4.2 Organizational Design

40.4.3 Organizational Structure

40.4.4 Organizational Culture

40.4.5 Organizational Development

40.5 PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT, idaarat al bashar

40.5.1 Recruitment, Training and Development

40.5.2 Delegation

40.5.3 Worker Appraisal/Evaluation and Rewards

40.5.4 Problems of Workers

40.5.5 Diseases of Managers

UNIT 40.1

TIME MANAGEMENT

40.1.1 CONCEPTS OF TIME

The underlying concepts influence the efficiency of time use. In pre-Islamic Arabia time was looked at as a dangerous destructive phenomenon, dahr. Islam considers time important, finite, and fleeting. Time is a resource and an opportunity at the disposal of humans. Some time periods and days are of higher quality than others. Human perception of time has innate limitations; humans cannot perceive very quick or very slow events. The modern European concept of time is that of a valuable commodity used for material gain whether at work or at play. Time can be bought or sold like any other commodity.

40.1.2 TIME: PLANNING & PRIORITIZING

Good time management assures success. Events can be classified into 4 categories depending on their importance and urgency. Urgent and important, urgent and not important, not urgent but important, and not urgent and not important. Some activities like salat are time-sensitive and must be put on the schedule at the right time. Important things even if not the most urgent should be given most priority. Priority is given to essential needs rather than wants. Ibadat has the first priority. Next are biological needs such as sleep and food. Time must be allocated for the family, rest, recreation, and earning livelihood. Prioritization decisions should be maximizing gains and minimizing losses. Stakeholders must be given priority in time allocation decisions. All time prioritization decisions must be by conscious choice and not passive following of others. A diary or calendar should be used to schedule the day’s activities. Proper scheduling requires attention to transitional time, discretionary time, and functional linkages.

40.1.3 BALANCE IN TIME MANAGEMENT

The following balances must be observed in time management: self and family, self and community. Imbalance among various acts of ibadat should be avoided.

40.1.4 PROBLEMS IN TIME MANAGEMENT

Manifestations of poor time planning are: poor scheduling, poor prioritizing, lack of contingency plans, trying to do everything and not delegating, poorly kept diary that is incomplete and with conflicts, overwhelming work, changing priorities, and too many meetings. Managers get overwhelmed with too much work to be done in a short time. Meetings waste time and achieve little if they have no objective, no agenda, no time limits, and late coming. Many mistakes in time planning arise out of failure to anticipate events such that emergencies get out of control and deadlines are missed. Other problems in time management are: procrastinations, inflexible routines and habits, reactive and not pro-active behavior, punctuality, and interruptions (visitors, lengthy conversations, and the telephone.

40.1.5 MEETINGS

Good reasons for calling meetings are: goal clarification, information, decision-making, introducing new ideas, conflict resolution, and resolving implementation bottle-necks. Meetings should not be called in the following circumstances: availability of alternatives to a meeting, not enough time to prepare, key players not available, and for personal/sensitive matters. Success of meetings depends on: calling meetings when they are actually necessary, having a clear agenda, maintaining the meeting focus on the set agenda, and listening to others. Meetings are the commonest time-waster in organizations. It is more important to do something about problems than to talk about them. Meetings that waste your time have the following characteristics: no objective, no agenda, no time limits, and participants come late. You have several alternatives of dealing with such meetings. If you have a good excuse do not attend. Finish your priority work and be late. Arrive on time and leave early. Bring work to do during boring meeting sessions. Excuse yourself for 15-20 minutes to do priority work. Meetings that wreck meetings: Invite as many people as possible. Invite anyone. Cover as many topics as possible. Discuss important issues last. Spend most of the time on unimportant issues. Decisions taken at group or team meetings must be binding. If they are not there is no purpose in holding the meeting. If the meeting is meeting in a role other than decision-making, it is fair to inform the participants of that.

UNIT 40.2

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

40.2.1 FUND-RAISING

Fund raising campaigns have the objectives of obtaining money, changing opinions, providing information, and getting new friends. The organization should rely on small contributions from many individual to maintain independence and to avoid control by special interest groups. The fundraiser must understand the psychology of donors who are of different types and characteristics. They must be cultivated, their interest must be maintained, and they should not be taken for granted. Potential donor must be won over by giving them a lofty objective and challenge. The method of fund-raising has to be customized to the organization, the contributor, the project, and the socio-economic environment. Mass media and volunteers can be used in fund raising campaigns. The following give the fund raiser high credibility: good reputation, serious and professional management, transparency and accounting for funds, successes in field work, and building and nurturing supporters & sympathizers. The following are types of solicitations: special events, direct mail, products and publications, and grass-roots fund-raising may be door to door.

40.2.2 ZAKAT RESOURCES

Zakat is a major source of funds. It is not a tax but a form of worship. The giver of zakat is grateful to the receiver for accepting his zakat. Zakat is not a voluntary charity. The purposes of zakat, maqasid al zakat are: tazkiyat al nafs, taubah, helping the poor, helping muallafat qulubuhum, jihad, helping the traveler, and tazkiyat al maal. The sources of zakat are crops, monetary instruments, trade goods, and animals. The beneficiaries of zakat are mentioned in taubah as faqir, miskin, zakat workers, muallafat al qulub, prisoners, the indebted, those struggling in nthe way of Allah, and the travelers. The following cannot get zakat: the rich, those capable of working, the family of payor of zakat , non-Muslims, and  relatives of the Prophet.

40.2.3 ENDOWMENTS, AWQAAF

Waqf is giving up part of wealth and endowing it for a particular charitable contribution in order to gain Allah's blessings. Waqf endowments cannot be sold, donated or inherited. It is either used for the purpose stated if it is real estate or is invested such that the profit is used for charitable purposes and the principal remains untouched. Waqf can be for a dead person. Examples of awqaf include: mosques, land, well, school, inns for travelers, homes for the poor, drinking water, pantries for feed the poor, arms and provisions for jihad, cemeteries, kafn for the dead In general the principal is not touched. The return from the waqf is what is spent. There are several instances of awqaf in the early history of Islam.  The Banu Najjar gave site of prophet's mosque as endowment. Othman bought a well in Madina as waqf. Omar made his land in Khaybar as a waqf. Return is designated as charity while the principal remains. Waqf can be made on behalf of the dead.

40.2.4 INVESTMENTS

Viable organizations with long-term projects cannot rely on ad hoc financing. They need long-term investments to ensure regular operating income. Investment decisions must conform to the shari’at, balance resource allocation between today's needs and future needs, be low-risk, and be diversified. Investrments can be subsidiary businesses, partnerships, real estate, and halal stocks. Halal investments are limited especially in non-Muslim countries. The profits of trading companies are used to support the organization. Even if the profit margin is small these companies provide a service that the mother organization would have had to provide. When such a company is set up it should be run on strictly business lines and its management must be separated from that of the mother organization.

40.2.5 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Financial management are fund-raising, investment, planning and forecasting, coordination and control of financial resources. All organizational decisions have financial implications. Necessary financial controls are writing all financial transactions, maintaining financial records, issuing regular financial reports, and analysis of financial statements. Financial records should be audited on a regular basis both internal auditing and external auditing. A budget is an estimate of revenues and expenditures and reflects the organization's purposes and plans. The advantages of budgeting are control, coordination, and resource allocation. The disadvantages of budgeting is stifling creativity and innovation. Budgets can be described as master budgets, revenue and expenditure budgets, capital expenditure budgets, cash budgets, and non-monetary input budgets, and performance budgets. Zero budgeting involves new decisions are made in each budgetary cycle. It enables the organization to focus and eliminate waste  however long-term commitments cannot be made. Incremental budgeting is easy but not creative. It is modification of the last budget with no drastic changes from year to year. Capital budgeting deals with fixed income-generating assets such as real estate. Common problems in organizations are poor cash-flow management, deficits due lack of budgeting or budgetary control, lack of records that guide decision-making and evaluation, failure to collect receivables, poor purchase procedures, and lack of transparency and accountability.

UNIT 40.3

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

40.3.1 OVERVIEW

Information is data that has been put in a form usable by management. Data are raw facts. Information is summarized and organized information. Intelligence is information as interpreted by the brain. Information is an important resource for an organization. It is used in planning, control, decision-making, problem-solving, and project implementation. Information is power only if it is used properly. Information and knowledge are the basis for authority. Good and usable information must be accurate, relevant, concise, and cost-effective. Allah knows all information. Data bases were compiled in Islamic history. The Prophet had ordered the listing of all Muslims. Omar Ibn al Khattab established population registers.

40.3.2 MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

The organization must have a management information system on which it relies. That system has three main components: inputs, data-base, and outputs. The Data base manager has the following duties: collection of information, storage of information, and updating of information. An information data-base should not be used in a passive way. Top management should not only ask for and use specific information items, but should also be involved in the conceptualization of the data-base structure and the information items to be collected. They will therefore make sure that the information needed for decision-making is collected. Close and intimate contact with the data-base will have the additional advantage that the manager can browse through the data-base and given his/her background, can identify opportunities and functional linkages that a lower-placed person in the hierarchy misses. Managers must have the humility of knowing that there is a limit to how much information you can collect, store, analyze, and use. Allah alone is all-knowing. This humility will help you avoid the disease of ghurur that often leads to the worst decisions. MIS can be used in a sophisticated way for decision support systems, expert systems, and artificial intelligence

40.3.3 INFORMATION DATA-BASES

The 3 components of a data-base are input, storage, and output. Information has to be updated regularly.

40.3.4 SURVEY RESEARCH

The distinction between intelligence gathering and research is becoming hazy. Intelligence no longer means secret. Research is less systematic and may pick up useful information by chance. Intelligence is more focused. Intelligence is gathered pro-actively and not reactively. There is a lot of useful information in the public records that can be used. Top leaders and managers must be able to read and understand research results

40.3.5 INFORMATION DISSEMINATION

UNIT 40.4

ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT

40.4.1 OVERVIEW

Organizing is a process of allocating resources, human and material, to achieve a mission. An organization is a group of people working together to achieve a common purpose. An organization may be formal or informal. Organizational effectiveness can be assessed based on quality, quantity, efficiency morale, ability to respond to changes, and development. Organizational effectiveness can be improved in 4 areas: leadership, planning, organization, and control.

40.4.2 ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN

Organizational design is determining the organizational components, their grouping and definition. Organizational design should be rational, realistic, efficient, and responsive to its environment. An organizational design can be based on the function, the end-product, the clientele, the process or the place.

40.4.3 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Organizational structure refers to how the various components of an organization fit together, coordinate, interrelate and work together. An organizational structure can be analyzed at the level of individuals, group of individuals or the whole organization. Organizational structure defines jobs (design, definition, description and grouping), division of labor, specialization, departmentation, chain of command, reporting relations, span of control, authority and its delegation, control and coordination, and human resource management. The type of structure chosen is determined by the organizational strategy, the environment it is operating in, the management philosophy, the size of the organization, the technology used, and the geographical distribution. Differentiation is adaptation of organizational subunits to the environment. Specialization is necessary for maximum efficiency without loss of the holistic view. Integration is the directing of differentiated specialized units in order not to lose sight of the central mission, objectives, and vision. Substitutability assures that when an individual or department is incapacitated there is someone else in the organization who can do the work. A bureaucracy is designed to control large administrative units in an efficient and rational way. A bureaucracy is characterized by division of labor and authority; a hierarchy or chain of command; and a structure. It tends to be impersonal, formalistic, bound by rules and highly disciplined.

40.4.4 ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

Organizational culture is that set of shared values and norms that distinguish one organization from others. No organization can operate in a cultural vacuum divorced from its social environment. For a Muslim organization culture is derived from the Qur'an, the Sunnah and the Islamic heritage over the past 14 centuries. An organizatonal culture from the Islamic perpsective is based on the following principles: work is a form of ibadat, sense of mission and purpose, universal values, clear contract: duties and responsibilities, leadership as an amanah, commitment (Ikhlas), and hope for reward (thawab). The leadership has a lot to do with defining and sustaining a particular organizational culture. It defines the philosophy, the policies and programs, behaviors, and actions. The work environment reflects the organizational culture. Job design, team-work, fairness, equity, justice, and job security are products or manifestations of the organizational culture. They in turn impact on and shape that culture.

40.4.5 ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Organizations undergo development as they adapt to a changing environment. Organizational structure must change to be appropriate to the environment and technological advancement. Development can be stimulated by external or internal factors. Effective organizational development must be planned, pro-active and not reactive, problem-oriented, well managed and always focussed on improvement. Too rapid an expansion can end in disaster. Concentrate on small steps so that you can debug as you go along. Formalism, bureaucratic rigidity, poor organizational culture, inertia, and poor leadership may hamper organizational development. An organization must have continuity in order to learn from previous experience. There must be consistency in objectives and activities at least in the short run. The organization must learn from its past and from its environment in order to become better. The organization must keep records so that it can have an institutional memory.

UNIT 40.5

PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

40.5.1 RECRUITMENT, TRAINING and DEVELOPMENT

Human resource management (HRD) has 2 parts: placement and maintenance. Placement involves human resources planning, recruitment, selection, orientation, and training. Maintenance involves training and development, compensation, benefits/motivation, evaluation, control, transitions and change, and termination. Job design is specification of contents, methods, relationships of jobs, and specific task assignment. Job description covers tasks, goals, and expected standards of performance. Job assignment must consider age, gender, education, job skills, perceptions, attitudes, and personality. Specialization increases efficiency and productivity. Too much specialization is wasteful because workers cannot be rotated. Job performance is measured by the output, worker behavior, and job satisfaction. The main principles of good staffing are: hiring the right people, retaining good people, training workers to assume more responsibilities, rehabilitating those who are unproductive, and eliminating misfits. The selection process involves: preliminary screening, review of applications, testing (job sample test, general intelligence, aptitude tests, personality), reference checks, interview, and physical examination. Training is part of personnel management and involves: orienting new employees, sharpening skills, keeping skills current, and motivating. Training programs include: simulation, on the job training, outside courses/workshops, apprenticeship. Development is general improvement in knowledge, understanding, and skills of the worker. Development is informal and is purely a product of staying for a long time in a stimulating and learning organization.

40.5.3 DELEGATION

Delegation is assigning a project or a task to a worker who is then responsible for its execution under varying amounts of supervision. The main elements of delegation are a task, a delegatee, a delegator, and responsibility/accountability. Delegation frees the leader's time for other activities such as thinking, strategic planning, control, and evaluation. It is a form of training and skill enhancement for the followers. Some tasks are delegatable and others are not. A successful delegation process requires deciding what to delegate, making the assignment clear and specific, assigning an objective and not a procedure, allowing autonomy but monitoring performance, giving credit, avoiding blaming, and taking full responsibility for mistakes. The delegatee chosen for the task must have time, skills, and enthusiasm. He requires training, coaching, continuous motivation, follow-up, and evaluation. Delegation is sometimes avoided because of poor leadership, misunderstanding the delegation process, and follower unpreparedness.

40.5.4 WORKER APPRAISAL/EVALUATION & REWARDS

Appraisals are used for promotion, salary reviews, placement, motivation, and company planning. Trait appraisal looks at traits such as: appearance, self-confidence, ability of self-expression, alertness, ambition, initiative, energy, knowledge of organization, ability to learn, accuracy, meeting deadlines, health, enthusiasm, attitude, acceptance of responsibility, efficient use of time, finishing tasks, adaptability, maturity, delegation, judgment, volume of work output, and forward planning. Performance appraisal looks at productivity in terms of quality and quantity. Performance has two components: competence (knowledge, skills, level of education, and amount of training) and commitment (self confidence and motivation). Extrinsic rewards are salaries and benefits that may be monetary or non-monetary. Intrinsic rewards are intangibles like job satisfaction, respect, self-esteem.

40.5.5 PROBLEMS OR WORKERS AND MANAGERS

Problem workers are activists turned office workers, misfits, incompetents, and workers with poor attitude. Common attitude problems are ignoring instructions, chronic whining and complaining, an attitude of not caring, acting like knowing everything, a 9-to-5 attitude, burn-out, prejudice, difficulty of getting along, gossip, tension and hard feelings, too much sick leave, trying to be perfect and avoiding challenges, being a maverick loner and non-conformist, under-performing, egomania and autocraticy, poor human relations, unrealistic objectives, trying to be irreplaceable, conflicting with others, and disloyalty. Attitude problems should be avoided preventively by discovering them during interview, trying to discover them at work while they are still below the surface, counseling after employment.

40.5.5 DISEASES OF MANAGERS

A bad manager leads to demotivation and loss of initiative.  Among diseases of managers are intimidating and managing by fear, bad temper, indecisiveness, waffling, abdication of responsibility, being an authoritarian power clutcher, behaving as of the boss is always right, and dishonesty.