| Abstract: | Managers are concerned about the effects of leaderships on
organization, achievement of objectives and quality of their leadership.
Even though many managers feel that they are promoting the use of Best
Management Practices (BMPs), unproductive management practices,
which do not contribute to the achievement of objectives and failure to
recognize and control them by leaders, are common. The purpose of this
study was to assess the perception of administrative staff of University of
Gondar about the manifestation of these Wasteful Management
Practices (WMPs), using ten dimensions such as organizational politics,
hypocrisy and so on.
The data were collected from 77 employees working in Human
Resource, Finance and Registrar of the university. To measure Wasteful
Management Practices, an instrument consisting 30 items was
developed from literature. The validity and reliability of this instrument
was tested by using Factor Analysis and Cronbach’ Alpha respectively.
The finding of this study shows that Wasteful Management Practices are
rampant (67.43 %). The most dominant waste or unproductive practices
of the university are: delay of tasks that require immediate actions
(Procrastination); a delay between the making and implementation of a
decision (Time Lag); execute things as a matter of tradition (Habit);
failure to know every detail about every activity and pass a decision
with uncertainty (Individual Limitation); and attend too many and
unplanned meetings (Unproductive Meeting).
This study was conducted in public university; but the problem tried to address wasteful management practices and its implications are also the
concern of Private Universities, other governmental and
nongovernmental organizations. In the majority of the organizations,
management activities, which do not contribute to the achievement of
organization’s objectives, are taken for granted as a normal feature of
organizational life are common. This study is a wake up call for all. |
