Managing People at Work
Employment relations involve maintaining the relationship between the employer and employee so that they remain motivated, productive, and full of morale. Managing people at work is related to employment relations since how an employer deals with employees at work and reprimands them greatly reflects on their productivity, motivation and morale. Regarding the employee conditions at schools, the government is doing a very poor job on employing good policies of employment relations. This has happened because over the years very few reforms have been made to improve on the working conditions of teachers and supporting staff regarding independent decision making at the local level and management of school funds (NSW Department of education and communities, 2001).
The most pressing issue is the avenue of decision making in public schools. Notably, principals and teachers have to go through very long channels so as to air concerns as well as make amendments in their own schools. They find it very hard to respond to petty issues and it can prove to be very frustrating if it urgent and is suited to benefit the students(NSW Department of education and communities, 2001). The public school staff feels like the training they went through was a waste of time due to their helpless nature. They feel that the local schools should make the local decisions since they are better placed to understand the needs of the school according to the community they exist.
Financial management is also a major threat to the performance and management of staff at schools. This is because only about 10% of finances directed to the public education are managed locally (NSW Department of education and communities, 2001). In contrast, individuals who don’t have a clue of the needs of the particular school manage them (Managing Human Resources, 2012). They use a system of same no of teachers to all school regardless of the particular needs of the school depending on the student population, community, and special needs requirements. This should not be the case since the school should have flexibility in controlling the budget depending on the ideas given by the students, teachers, parents, and students (Managing Human Resources, 2012).
The current staffing situation could also use a little boost as the reforms are taking place. Schools should be able to choose the roles and number of staff that can meet the needs of the schools without students feeling the strain. The school management should be the one to choose the number of permanent and temporary teachers to be employed and the criteria in which promotions should take place (Staff in Our Schools, 2012). These measures will enable swift identifications if the school does not perform well and take quick measures. Training should also take place before ordinary teachers are promoted to principles to avoid fund mismanagement, efficient decision-making and clear role expectation (Staff in Our Schools, 2012)..
Research has also shown that top performing schools make their own decisions in finances and staffing. In the past, public schools enjoyed dominance in performance and prestige (NSW Teachers Federation. 2010). However, this has not been the case in the recent years. Parent together with students choose and prefer private schools and opt for public schools as a last option. This is because the staff should make their decisions locally according to the private needs of the community they are in and henceforth are more motivated and productive. If such a trend continues, some student’s educational performance and future careers will be affected since they could not affect the more expensive private education. The NSW has noted this problem and addressed it to the relevant offices but no reforms have been made but promises and hoax efforts that end up dead within a short period.
Through some trial projects that have undertaken in the Wales, allegations have been made that despite the 47 schools been told they are being made autonomous, the government has been using this as an excuse to cut cost in the education sector. This is very demoralizing for the school staff, students, and parents as well. This policy is known as Local Schools, Local Decisions. If such hideous activities take place, this will make education take huge strides behind and yet it has taken so long for the nation to get where it is in the education sector. If the government cuts cost in education, it will mean fewer teachers, bigger classes and less individual attention for the students (Diamond, 2010). This is true since it will take the principle an extra effort to meet the student needs and if the school happens to fail, the government will be very quick to blame them yet it is not their fault. This will demoralize the principles in both occasions.
Should anonymity in schools and the rest of the reformations take place as specified with good intentions of the future of the education sector; the staff involved will be very motivated. This will result to fewer strikes thus less distraction of the innocent child education (Piccolo, 2012). These reforms will also give equal chances to all children despite their economic backgrounds. However, it should be noted that the only way that these changes will take place successfully would only be if political figures would stop interfering with the reforms and make public schools a happy place for students and especially teachers.
Reference List
NSW Department of education and communities, 2001. Local Schools, Local Decisions.
NSW Department of education and communities
Managing Human Resources, 2012.
NSW Teachers Federation. 2010.School Leadership for the Challenges Ahead. NSW
Teachers Federation.
Diamond, J. 2010. Local Schools, Local Decisions (Fail) Leaflet. NSW Teachers
Federation
Staff in Our Schools, 2012.
Piccolo, A. 2012. Dear Ms. Diamond
