MICHAEL DEMPSEY - Cranfield University

Deploying resources
evidence appears to be that managers recognise, as was said by an
interviewee in an earlier section of this chapter, that managing the lay
structure is part and parcel of the job and that if you can’t do that, you
can’t do the job. This is a practical statement but it suggests that most
managers perceive moral rules influencing managerial behaviour that
include a positive approach to representative rationality.
Managerial Activities
Deploying Resources
7.10. Earlier, there was a discussion about UNiFI’s financial management
systems. These were substantially centralised with meetings costs
being the most significant item delegated to managers responsible for
trade union functions and operational budgets made available to
functional managers with purchasing responsibility, such as the IT
Manager. Monitoring was something which was being developed as a
new system was being created.
However, there was no mention by managers of financial systems
being linked to the union’s corporate objectives. These are contained in
its annual Business Plan and managers are tasked to produce
departmental business and training plans which accord with the
corporate plan. However, although targets are set in these Plans,
although several of them are timebound and although achieving
effective financial systems is a strategic objective, these Plans are not
Business Plans in the normal use of the word, incorporating financial
plans to support business objectives, or even indications of where
finance would be required in order to meet the objectives. One
manager describes what the process means to him:-
It is a question of trying to balance that and getting them to see
that there are organisational objectives and processes which
need to be observed at the same time as delivering services and
benefits to members. I think on the whole that works and I have
to say that I have found little or no difficulty in persuading my
current team of officials to accept the organisational objectives
and the managerial objectives that have just gone through some
weeks back in the PDP process. We have got a business plan
against which we then look at individual contributions, targets
and all that sort of stuff, not all of which are about delivering
benefits to members but are about doing things more effectively.
(Interviewee F)
Beyond this, there is no evidence at all that the union is seeking any
form of system to link financial provision to corporate objectives, nor to
monitor expenditure against them. Priorities have been identified but,
whilst this means that some activities will not be pursued if they are not
priorities, this particular tool for managing the process is not available.
There has been discussion about moral rules influencing trade union
managers in their behaviour and, in particular, their approach to ‘trade
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