Introduction
The University Art Museum has gone through a unique and compelling series of revolutions. The various managers and individuals who have laid hands on the Museum can be credited for the transformation, development and growth of the facility. Having a stable grounded foundation that can be traced back in the 1920s the museum holds a unique and source of enrichment to the students and the societies in general. This stipulates the essence of developing strategic approaches that will enhance effective and efficient run on the facility as various founders had wished to. The essential analogy that needs to be stipulated within the society is development of an effective management structure that will oversee the operations conducted within the facility. The museum hosts some of the riches sources of knowledge through essential history and art materials. The facility is regarded as the best research and reference libraries an essential attribute that place the museum as a significant resourceful asset within the society. The vast resourceful materials collected host variety of knowledge that propels the students majoring in the various related fields towards attaining their specific goals. The museum is also an essential facility within the society. The fact that the museum attracts over 500 people depicts the large potential that the museum has for aiding the people towards knowledge and skill additional in various fields. The museum is an essential community resource serving vast number of schools and other learning institution in the country. The exhibition policies and other strategic approaches that have been enacted to facilitate the development and growth of the library have led to various benefits essential for the facility growth. The management of the facility however, requires a boost to enable the facility grow, develop and effectively serve the people within the community. Though the earlier managers depicted and played significant and essential roles to the current progress and position that the facility has acquired, establishing an effective and efficient management structure backed by a mission statement acting like a guide and baseline towards the management goal entails a significant aspect towards facility transformation.
Mission statement
- Develop more strategic approaches to serve academic community and the entire society more effectively and efficiently.
- Continue offering wide range of resourceful materials to the public and the entire academic community
- Offer more courses that will enrich our students as they enter the job market under various fields
- Transform the institution and the entire community by enacting strategic mechanisms serving the entire society
- Be a modern leading art and history facility
The proffered analysis of some of the significant aspects entails the facility mission and the vision as it aims at serving the community more effectively and efficiently. To facilitate the achievement of the stipulated mission, the facility is guided by various polices enacted by the management. These policies integrate values and guidelines upon which the facility will be run this is to ensure that the facility is able to accomplish the set objectives to serve the academic community and the entire society. The facility establishes and also encompasses various forms of philosophical policies which are aimed at offering essential guidelines that address the ethical concerns or issues, resource development policies that are aimed at offering the baseline upon which resource allocation especially on the major resources is formulated. Another essential aspect that the policies aim at majoring in is the procedural process where the policy formulated forms a stable ground on the essence of effectively establishing operational matters hence efficiency within the facility. Integrating or encompassing the various proffered policies that is philosophical, resource development and working procedures equips the facility with essential cornerstones towards effectiveness and efficiency. This will facilitate development and growth of the facility while considering the benefits or requirements anticipated or projected by the various shareholders.
The facility is aimed at developing more comprehensive strategic approaches to serve academic community and the entire society more effectively and efficiently. This is through implementing more effective and efficient system that incorporates the interests of all stakeholders within the facility. Though the main aim of the facility has been to serve the university, it is evident that the public and other academic community plus the public have much to benefit from, hence the facility aims at strategizing on the operation to enhance more effectiveness and efficiency in the services offered. Continuous offering wide range of resourceful materials to the public and the entire academic community is the facility dream plus offer more courses that will enrich our students as they enter the job market under various fields. The facility will transform the university and the entire community by enacting strategic mechanisms which are aimed at effectively and efficiently serving them. Under the stipulated policies the facility has the potential to be a modern leading art and history facility regionally and globally.
Some of the included and excluded views and opinions by the various parties is through a detailed analysis on their essence on both long-term and short-term benefits of the facility. The notions depicted by earlier managements to extensively advertise the institution regarding it as a more business than a learning institution were neglected in the mission formulation. Though institution is aimed at catering for the public and the entire community it is baseless to view its essence on other than a rich useful resource for research and references. The institution shouldn’t be diverted from a resourceful learning institution.
Management structure to enhance effectiveness and efficiency
Introduction
Effective management of a museum has various benefits ranging from efficient service delivery to the university to the public it serves. Every museum requires a confident management team that should address and oversee the various limitations and challenges that emerge as the facility operates. The confidence portrayed by the facility on the people that it serves is essential in both long and short term benefits. A museum presents an essential aspect of the world’s tangible and intangible cultural inheritance. This is common under either local or international basis where the public under the specific setting should have confidence on the facility. Though some of the members within the university museum defer with the notion that it should not be a community resource it is evident that the facility has an influential and significant role within the society. This entails the essentiality of establishing management effectiveness and efficient to create not only the university awareness but also the public. The awareness should explore the roles and purpose of the museum and the newly introduced manner that museum is going to be managed. To enhance the effectiveness and the efficiency of the new management structure to be implemented in the facility it is essential that a clear insight is drawn on the essentiality of code of ethics. This will stipulate not only the level of performance that the local community that is the university expects but also the entire public who also largely benefit from the facility. The code sets the standards upon which the various requirements of both the local and specialist of the museum personnel. The museum has various structures which represent various requirements and benefits that they seek to benefit from. Some of these benefits include; the faculty senate, the Art History Department, the graduate students in art history and the undergraduate students who also benefit from the museum's offerings. Some of the essential aspects that should be incorporated upon the implementation of the new management structure that will encompass the benefits of all the motioned and other parties are the preceding significant factors that the management should consider while governing the facility. This is an inclusive facility standing which will incorporate the set legal status, the earlier developed mission, permanence plus the non-profit nature. This is essential for it defines the facility properly by constituting and providing permanence appropriate to this responsibility by the governing body. The premise under which the facility is positioned is also an essential entity that the management has to consider this is essential considering the transitions that the facility has undergone. This will ensure that the governing body avoids some of the shortcomings that the earlier management such as noise and congestion on the parking areas. Under this analogy the body should set appropriate standards within the facility by enhancing safety, health and effective easy accessibility by the visitors and the personnel plus more so the university students. The body should also enhance accessibility for the special needs people who may seek to access the facility. Security, funding and personnel are also essential factors that the governing body should enhance. They are essential entities in the transforming the institution by the new management to effectively and efficiently cater for all the involved parties and towards attaining the mission set.
Management structure
As stipulated earlier effective management is essential to restore the university confidence that that of the public. This hence entails one of the most significant and essential undertaking by the institution. Developing a strategic management structure that caters for all the stakeholders requires full cooperation of the faculty senate, the Art History Department, the graduate students in art history and the undergraduate students who also benefit from the museum's offerings. This is essential not only on the benefits that they acquire from the facility but also in making appointments. The new management structure aims at incorporating the benefits anticipated by these parties by setting strategic approaches and making appointments in the new governing body with the individuals who are competent with qualifications from their specific fields. Incorporating these individuals within the management structure under the governing body will enhance effective decision making where every party interests will be incorporated. This will help or aids avert and curb conflicts which arises based on decision made by individuals conflicting with other parties interests.
Recommended structure
Based on the proffered essentiality of incorporating the benefits of the faculty senate, the Art History Department, the graduate students in art history and the undergraduate students who also benefit from the museum's offerings it is essential to design an effective management structure. We recommend am organic management structure. This is based on a detailed analysis on the facility operation and need for effective and efficient team that will oversee the transformation of the facility to fully cater and serve the academic community and the society in general. This form of the structure is characterized by the preceding features:
- Flexible task definitions where to be executed tasks within the management will be simple and representing all the motioned parties benefits. This can incorporate members from the faculty senate, the Art History Department, the graduate students in art history and the undergraduate students who also benefit from the museum's offerings.
- Lateral communication, this is significant especially on the decision making and adjustments plus other undertaking that the facility aims at executing. Developing an effective communication system within the facility to ensure that all the parties involved share ideas and are involved in the decision making will greatly boost the facility effectiveness and efficiency in operations.
- Low degrees of formalization based on the already established nature of the institution it doesn’t have to have an established high degree of formulation. This is due to the notion that the facility doesn’t have to compete under pressurized environment.
- Expertise-based influence this is essential as the parties’ individuals to be incorporated should be based on the experience gained under the specific field. This is an essential requirement especially when appointing and making allocation of duties.
- Decentralized control this is essential where the faculty senate, the Art History Department, the graduate students in art history and the undergraduate students who also benefit from the museum's offerings will have a representation and involved in the decision making process.
- Simple differentiation due to the nature of the facility this can be deployed effectively. This will ensure that the parties involved have specific simple roles that they play towards institution in relation to attaining the set objectives.
- Low degree of co-ordination the institution doesn’t need a complex degree of co-ordination as characterized under the mechanistic structure. This notion is evident based on the fact that the individuals involved require a share of presentation on offering their ideas.
An essential and most significant aspect that the facility has to deploy to enhance effectiveness of the structure recommended structure is the essence of having a director or head of the museum. This is the key post where the individual appointed should effectively cooperate with the other individuals under the management structure. These individuals should be mandated with the direct access to the management governing body. The appointment should be in regard to the knowledge and skills required for filling the post. Based on the earlier appointment the new head should have certain qualities to ensure and enhance effectiveness and efficiency this includes; adequate intellectual ability and professional knowledge and complimented by a high standard of ethical conduct.
In conclusion the University Art Museum possess great and diverge opportunities to serve and cater for the academic community and the public. Enacting strategic approaches and implementing the recommended management structure is essential in ensuring effectiveness and efficiency of the institution. The new management structure recommends not only representation of the parties involved benefits but also in making appointments on the various roles within the team.
Reference
Anderson, G. (Editor), 2004. Reinventing the Museum: Historical & Contemporary Perspectives on the Paradigm Shift. (California: AltaMira Press).
