The focus of this paper is to provide and discuss a series of recommendations for management improvements in Jacksonville University (JU). For the initial background discussion, JU's basic management functions and the primary management practices--planning, staffing, organizing, directing and controlling—will be examined. Each of these aspects will be discussed individually within the four frames that are highlighted in Bolman and Deal's (2003) work—structural, human resource, political and symbolic. Essentially, these four frames will be used as the context for the analysis of JU's management functions and practices in this paper. Based on the discussion, recommendations on how JU can improve their management functions and practices will then be provided.
One of the key components of Bolman and Deal's (2003) structural frame revolves around the organizational structure of the institution, which determines how roles, function and responsibilities are organized. At JU, a vertical chain of command is used to manage every aspect of the operation. The President, as the head of the institution, works with an executive team of directors of key departments to formulate recommendations for specific policies and programs. Nonetheless, the President retains the ultimate authority to determine which policies and programs should be transmitted to the Board of Trustees. Once they are approved, decisions are communicated throughout the organization in a hierarchical chain of command (Clements & Meirose, 2001; JU, n. d. "Jacksonville University Organizational Chart").
The decisions are then implemented at the level of the eight different offices that are headed by individual Vice Presidents. The Vice Presidents and their departments are interlinked with one another through the coordination of their functions during the weekly meetings (Clements & Meirose, 2001; JU, n. d. "Jacksonville University Organizational Chart"). The...