MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES

MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES: A HEAD TEACHER’S APPROACH TO SMOOTH RUNNING OF THE SCHOOL

INTRODUCTION

The school is an educational organization. As an organization, the school can be seen as a social group in which members are identified according to their responsibilities for the task of achieving a common objective (Stogdill, 1974)

In the school system, organization deals primarily with the arrangement of activities into separate but dependent parts which are coordinated towards the achievement of some predetermined educational goals. Thus, the school head, who is also the administrator, has a major responsibility of coordinating, supervising and controlling those activities for the attainment of set objectives. The school head is the school manager.

Management is the use of material and human resources in order to achieve organizational objectives. Management can also be defined as the act of directing, coordinating and deployment of resources to achieve the objectives of an organization. Educational management refers to strategizing, planning, organizing, running, governance and supervising of the entire process of teaching and learning that takes place at all levels of the formal education setting (Babalola, 2006). In order to run the school effectively, therefore, the head teacher should be skilled in applying management procedures and strategies.

MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES

Management begins with the process of setting objectives and strategizing to achieve them, which is also known as planning. According to Udeozor (2004), planning involves development of strategies as well as procedures for their effective realization. Planning focuses on mapping out and classification of goals and programmes. Thus, management by objectives focuses on determining educational goals and strategizing to achieve them.

It has been established that school heads are managerial leaders. School heads agree that majority of their duties are administrative and managerial in nature. In a research carried out among Northern Zone of All Nigerian Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS) during their workshop in the University of Jos, the Chief Executives of schools believe that 70% of their duties are administrative and managerial in nature. (Pwol, 2002).

In addition, however, school heads are also instructional leaders. While carrying out their instructional duties, school heads help both teachers and students for effective teaching and learning. Instructional supervision is therefore a service help by which advice, directions and discussions are used to see that available resources are utilized in achieving the objectives of education (Nwaogu, 1980).

Management by objectives is therefore useful to the school head in carrying out his managerial and instructional duties, and helping in the smooth running of the school.

Management by objectives, as a strategy in administration, permeates the three functions of management, which are

Ø  Planning,

Ø  Organizing, and

Ø  Controlling.

A school head who is skilled in applying these three functions will be effective in coordinating all activities in the school and help the school run smoothly. The remaining part of this discussion shall focus on how the functions of management help in achieving management objectives, and their applications for the smooth running of the school.

PLANNING

Planning is preparation. It has been said that anyone who fails to plan, plans to fail. Planning is arrangement of tasks and people to carry them out in their proper order. It is also predetermining a certain course of action. Planning is the first and perhaps the most important function of the school head. It means to project, forecast, design or chart out a course of action. Planning saves time, resources, and increases productivity. It requires rationality, conscious analysis of action and systematic implementation of established procedures (Udeozor, 2004).

Planning requires the school head to sit down, analyze present challenges, predict future aspirations, then set goals and the course of action to be taken in order to arrive at the desired end. The following are key elements in planning:

1.       Setting of Goals.

Goals are objectives with a deadline. These objectives should be in line with educational goals, and should cover such areas of school life as students development, staff training, finance and relationships among students, staff members and the management team.

2.       Development of Strategies

Strategies are written programmes of actions – what tasks every stakeholder in the educational organization is expected to carry out in order to  achieve set goals.

3.       Establishment of Rules and Regulations

These rules and regulations are called policies. As an organization, the school has policies that regulate activities of everyone in the organization.

4.       Development of Procedures

Procedures prescribe the most effective way of getting things done.

5.       Budgeting

Planning should be done with a budget. A budget is a statement of expected results expressed in money terms. Budget guides the performance of plans. Planning could be effected on either long or short term basis. For whatever period planning is carried out, it helps the head teacher to economize scarce resources, enlist the cooperation and acceptance of the staff members and reduce inefficiency (Udeozor, 2004).

ORGNIZING

Organizing function of management has to do with the human element, which is crucial in management. Organizing deals with the identification of all tasks to be carried out, who are to carry them out and the tools available to carry them out. The primary duty of the school head is to bring together all the staff members and motivate them to carry out their various roles in getting the work done (Udeozor, 2004).

Two basic functions of the school head as a manager is responsibility and authority. Responsibility is a state of being answerable to doing assignments. Authority is the power to give orders and ensure that they are carried out. The school head simply pass authority and responsibility down the line. Factors that help in organizing are explained below:

1.       Delegation

Delegation is the sharing of authority and responsibility to others by letting them be accountable for certain assignments. Delegation helps to get things done faster. Bottle necks hindrances are removed. Delegation provides a platform for training juniors and building confidence in them.

                The school head cannot do all the tasks by himself. He needs to trust his staff members to help get things done faster.

2.       Motivation

Motivation is getting people to do a job and enjoy doing it. A good school head should be able to motivate his subordinates – both staff and students – to get the school running smoothly. In order to motivate others, the school head should understand that people’s behavior is influenced by their needs (Maslow, 1974). The head teacher should find out their needs and help them meet those needs, and then they will be efficient at their jobs.  He should recognize achievements verbally and show appreciation in cash and in kind. However, people are best motivated by challenging them. Money is really not as good a motivator as challenging tasks that bring out the best in people.

                However, the best form of motivation is self motivation. People who have learned to motivate themselves internally perform better at their work.

3.       Communication

This is the transfer of information with understanding. Communication breakdown is organizational failure. School heads should be effective communicators who carry all stakeholders along, letting everyone understand the objectives of the organization and their duties in achieving the objectives. Effective communication depends on mutual trust, understanding, transparency, ability to listen and respond promptly.

CONTROLLING

Control is simply the tasks performed to assess and regulate output. The school head as an administrator must emphasize the quality of output; that is, student output, which includes learning skills, attitudes, values, thought patterns, appreciation, reaction to situations and general feelings acquired by students as a result of exposing them to educational processes. Activities involved in control include the following:

1.       Establishment of control standards

This includes admission policies, entry requirements, evaluation and assessment.

2.       Measurement of performance

Assessment of both staff and students should be coordinated  by management. Efficient record keeping, access and retrieval should be part of the overall structure.

3.       Monitoring performance

Checking regularly to see if the performance standard is being met, the school head should be able tp read the difference between planned performance and actual performance.

4.       Corrective measures and conflict management

Corrective measures should be taken to ensure discipline among students and encouraging staff members to uphold best practices. Moreover, as an organization of human beings, conflicts should be expected in the school system. The school head should be proactive in the management of conflicts.

CONCLUSION

The school head, as both the instructional and managerial leader, is the central figure in the smooth running of the school. He must be skilled in the principles and practices of management and be able to apply them to the school as an educational organization. His ability to set smart objectives, strategize and motivate all stakeholders to achieve the educational goals makes him an effective leader.

REFERENCE

Babalola, J. B. (2006) Management Thoughts and Educational Management, in Education Management Thought and Practice (ed.) J.B. Babalola. Airkewuyo Ibadan Kodart Publication.

Maslow, A. (1947) A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review 1:396

Nwagogu, J. I (1980) A Guide to Effective Supervision of Instruction in Nigerian Schools. Fourth Dimension Publishers, Enugu.

Pwol A. V. (2002) The 21^st Century Principal: The Perspective of Principals, in 21^st Century Principal in Nigeria (ed.) Owoicho Akpa. Ichejum Publications, Jos.

Stogdill, R (1974) Handbook of Leadership, New York. The Free Press

Udeozor, R. K. (2004) Educational Administration: Perspectives and Practical Implications. Rex Charles & Patrick Ltd., Anambra