Analysis of Managerial Decisions: Medford University

In an attempt to find a solution for reducing these costs, the management could have approached the Human Resources department to analyze the issue on hand and provide a revised plan for the employees’ fringe benefits. Instead the management has taken a decision to create a task force to analyze the financial crises in hand and come up with a solution to help reduce the fringe benefits costs to the university. Medford University, a prestigious research university, with over 10,000 students and over 12,000 employees, is faced with a significant financial crisis Brinkley, Smith, & Zimmerman, 2009).

University management has cornered the huge costs burdened by the university on the fringe benefits to the employees. This contributes to over $1 00 million annually (Brinkley, Smith, & Zimmerman, 2009). Not to mention the retirement benefits promised to the retiring employees. The university, however, off late have been faced with serious financial crises. The fringe benefits costs have been contributing to the major expense faced by the university. The management is hence faced with an immediate action plan to tackle these financial crises to salvage the true of the university and its employees.

Now the solution depends widely in changing the current fringe benefits plan and for this the management could approach the human resources department to find a new plan to reduce costs and also keep the employees satisfied. Instead the president employs a special task force headed by the hospital chief administrator to find a solution to these crises. 1) President Shipyard’s decision to approach the problem over the fringe benefits by assigning a task force to analyze the issue is a very different approach rather than just going to the human sources department to draft a plan to tackle the same (Brinkley, Smith, & Zimmerman, 2009).

The main focus of this task force was to reduce expenditure and develop a new fringe benefit package for the employees of the university. He also observed caution as the values of the faculty and staff of the university should not be affecting in any way by the introduction of this task force and their analysis. His seriousness in the success Of this task force was evident when a top administrator was employed to lead the task force. The vice provost and many other experienced members were also pointed to the task force to guarantee a very effective team.

On the other hand, if the president had simply directed the issue to the human resources department to come up with a plan, it would have resulted in yet another revised benefits package, with cause or concern about it being directed towards the well off, wealthy, and might have even had questions raised against favoritism towards certain faculty and staff members. 2) The president must give access to all the university financial to the task force. The focus of the task force is not just to find a solution to reduce expenses UT also to seek the best possible solution for the employees as well.

The ideas and perceptions of each of the task force members should be directed to this purpose. It is the responsibility of the president to make sure the individual concerns of each of the member is considered in discussion and every decision made. The primary focus however would be the financial of the university. 3) The chief administrators appointment to lead the task force by the President was a decision made in considering the experience and knowledge he would bring on the federal laws, state laws and the insurance hat contribute to the cost of education (Brinkley, Smith, & Zimmerman, 2009).

Every member of the task force is bound to bring in various personal opinions and perceptions to the issue at hand and hence as the lead administrator, he would have to take into consideration and lead the team in the right direction. Hence the chief administrator is the most able person to help guide the committee and keep them on track in attaining the desired result. This will ensure there is a broader perspective on the problem, diverse opinion and a solution is amicably found. This allows the committee to focus on rater detail the data presented so there is an even evaluation by each individual and, as a group. ) The purpose of the committee is to find the best possible solution to tackle the financial crises faced by the university. However, it is not something that is guaranteed to be accepted by the President. The president will consider the report of the committee as the solution to the financial crises but the president does have the power to override, make suggestions or modify the solution as he see fits. It was wise to appoint her assistants as the vice provosts, to the task force to ensure that he president had easy access to information and minutes of the meetings.

While the Intent is to lower the cost of fringe benefits, the president does not want to change the quality of the faculty and staff. However, the university’s financial status shows that it cannot continue a costly fringe benefits plan and therefore she would be willing to offer concession to the staff of Medford University. One way to do this is to continue to be open any ideas after the study. Even after any recommendations, there may be need to modify or change any suggestions after careful study. In the end the President wants to be sure that staff and faculty are fairly and legally compensated. ) An assistant of the President was appointed as the secretary of the task force. This gives the president an inside access into the committee and its progress. It also keeps the president informed and also keep track on the individual contributions to the committee and also the to see how unified the team is in their decision making. This also would help the president in developing counter proposals and also suggestions to what the task force recommends. Conclusion As per my opinion, in regards to the Medford University study , the purpose of the task force is to provide recommendations from the faculty, staff, and student body.

The chair and its members represent a sampling of the faculty, staff and students which can act as voice for their well-being. The diverse task force members will also be better able to gage support in the cost cutting measures where necessary in order for the school to maintain the level of education it is currently providing and that it keeps its top notch educators. References Brinkley, J. A. , Smith, C. W. , & Zimmerman, J. L. (2009). Managerial economics and organizational architecture. Chicago: Irwin.