MICHAEL DEMPSEY - Cranfield University

Resource distribution systems
there was inadequate preparation of staff arising from it. This led
directly to a report from the Industrial Society, as it was then,
(November 1999) on staff views as expressed (and, from that, to a
Senior Management Team facilitated session to seek to deal with some
of the issues addressed) which (inter alia) recommended’-
• Assign an important and urgent organisational priority to
enriching internal communication channels
• Create an integrated environment of trust and support
• Institute an induction scheme for all new joiners with the first
six weeks
• Increase communications as to status of any personnel
initiatives
• Eliminate structural features or procedures that perpetuate
the differential between two merged unions (Industrial
Society Report on Member Focus courses, February 2000)
As will later appear, management responded to this report in a positive
way. However, any discussion of the practice of management in PCS
needs to be placed in the context of these expressions of staff
dissatisfaction at the way in which they were being managed.
Systems
Systems relating to distribution of resources
6.9. There is a budgetary system within PCS which in many ways reflects
the mode of operation in the public services which represent the
union’s main area of membership. The Financial Officer describes the
process he operates:-
We have been able to allocate enough within the budget to
mean that although we do not give everybody what they have
asked for and indeed we look at the things quite closely, it is
getting quite noticeable now that they are not artificially inflating
the bids. So we are able to agree far more now without any
great difficulty than we used to be able to because they know
that if they do get it wrong, there is money available that they
can come back for. And we have built up that level of trust that
we're able to say well, we will halve it all or knock 10% off. If
they are making a reasonable case, there is a good chance they
will get what they need, kind of thing. Of course, once you get to
that stage, people behave reasonably themselves and they do
look at whether they need to have 20 meetings of this
committee. Will it actually do anything? If they think themselves,
well no, they get it down to a more reasonable number and you
don't have a discussion in the first place. So certainly it is me
initially in terms of looking at how I think we should allocate
overall sums of money. That then goes to the NEC to agree the
global budget and then the bids that come in where all the
amounts are not calculated automatically, or where they are
asking for more than we have calculated automatically, will go
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