Among the problems currently impeding the development of structured management training are:
1. Delay of the full implementation of recommendations of the EPRC due to the slow progress of the related Parliamentary process. This implies there is still absence of sufficient autonomy to enable the Ministry to review vital aspects such as the appraisal system; to facilitate the management training policy development which is underway; and to
review its records management and management information systems.
2. The absence of a training unit with officers whose full time schedule includes carrying out a task analysis, identifying management training needs, monitoring and evaluating training for various cadres of staff, in
conjunction with the personnel function. Such a unit would be responsible for streamlining the training for different levels, including line management training. Currently, the
responsibility for developing the management training policy for the Education Officers/Inspectors and other managers is the responsibility of the Planning Unit.
3. Problems related to the decentralisation of the management of education, which has already begun. It was reported in the interviews that, in some cases, there has been a
reluctance on the part of secondary school headteachers to accept the authority of people other than central ministry staff:
"They are finding it difficult to submit to the Education Officers. This has been worsened by the fact that the source of funds is still the central government i.e. Ministry of Education. But because under the new arrangement the funds will be available from the districts, it is hoped that there will be no cause for them to come to the ministry"
It was expressed nevertheless,
"We feel that training will make it easier to implement the policies desired" (Senior Education Officer, 1991).
The facilitating and impeding factors for the development of management training observed in this Case Study are summarised in Figure 20 below.
9.10 Summary
It was clear from the findings that, since 197 9, there has been, in the Uganda Ministry of Education, a change strategy which focused, first on the raising of the standard/quality of teachers. This did not prove sufficient to stem the continuing criticism of the education system and product. This and the severe brain drain of experienced 'administrators' led to the decision to introduce management components in the degree and masters programmes in two institutions. However, it is the proposed complete overhauling and decentralisation of the management of the education system that has led to the
recruitment of a new breed of managers and providing them with the necessary management training for change.
In the context of this research, public demand acted as a trigger for change. This led to the appointment of the 1988
Education Policy Review Commission which proposed management solutions. It is the implementations of these solutions that has brought to light the development of a management training policy.
Figure 20
The facilitating and impeding factors for the development of management training observed in the Uganda Ministry of
Education Case Study Impeding Factors
Slow parliamentary process Lack of autonomy
Absence of empowering and enabling mechanism
Absence of training unit Slow adjustment to new system Facilitating Factors Presence of special projects Involvement of senior staff in implementation Organisational/training review
Government vision and support
Although the structuring of the training is not yet achieved, from this evidence, it can still be concluded that the
existence of structured management training is evidence of there having been a trigger to which the top management have responded by instituting a radical change process which may be ongoing or recent, and evidence that there has been a change in top management's attitude towards the improvements in quality, and in their perception of the role of management training in achieving such change.
9.11 The Need for an Enhanced Model to Show the
Development of Civil Service Management Training
However, the findings in this Ministry showed that a more complex model was necessary to explain some of the factors hindering or facilitating change in the service. Such a model needs to reflect the importance of the definition of the
management to the change process; the presence of qualified staff; the provision of autonomy and resources to the .'change managers'; and the provision of the necessary skills and tools to the management of change.
The model needs to underline the importance of a conducive macro environment, including political and economic stability. Any facilitating factors such as the existence of related change projects are useful. The importance of a general government vision within which the ministry's vision can be rationalised; appropriate personnel management policies and mechanisms; a legal framework for change; the impact of lengthy empowering processes on the speed and stability of change; the role of reviews, including training specific reviews, are all very important aspects and need to be reflected in the change model.
Figure 21
Features observed in the Uganda Ministry of Education Case Study that need to be incorporated in a model for understanding the development of structured management
training in a civil service organisation • The change must be radical
• Training should form part of the change strategy • Top management commitment
• Government commitment
• Involvement of senior official in the implementation of training-related change
• Provision of legal basis for change model
• Gradual process of development of structured management training
• The trigger alone is not a sufficient condition for the development of structured management training
• The trigger must be perceived as presenting a management problem requiring management solutions • The management solutions must actually be applied
(implemented)
Some of these vital elements needed for structured management training to occur are also discerned in the Case Study in the Uganda department of Customs.
CHAPTER TEN
MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT IN THE UGANDA DEPARTMENT OF