MICHAEL DEMPSEY - Cranfield University

Resource distribution systems
Some officers think it's all rubbish. The better ones don't. I think
the better ones understand that you need to be a manager and
of course the ones that get into the biggest stress, in my view,
are the ones that are the lousiest managers, both in themselves
and in their approach because they think every day is a crisis.
Every day is a problem. Monday morning is a surprise to them,
that it's come around and you see that so much. So I think the
best officers do see a role for management. (Interviewee B)
Although half the interviewees were elected, the only way of finding out
the views of elected officers below Senior Management Team level
would have been to ask them and, as mentioned above, this was not
permitted. However, the tasks of those officers will have been affected
by the strategic planning process instituted by the new General
Secretary, referred to below, whereby senior staff have responsibility
for achieving SMART objectives.
Systems
Systems relating to distribution of resources
5.8. In line with its centralised character, financial systems in the CWU have
traditionally revolved around the allocation of resources as required by
the General Treasurer. There is a budget but managers do not have
the responsibilities normally carried by budget holders. Furthermore, a
top up system has ensured that financial allocation has dealt with
immediate crisis situations rather than reflecting strategic objectives.
These systems are likely to change, as outlined below.
Some managers are not conscious of a budgetary system at all:-
I don't actually have a fixed budget. It's quite vague… I put in a
report to the General Treasurer once a year. Unless I want to
spend anything unusual the only increases I see are inflation
increases. (Interviewee H)
Others perceive the system but feel detached from it:-
I have a budget in theory but I don't actually have much control
over it. (Interviewee J)
On a functional level, some managers can make the system work:-
I check personally every solicitor's performance. It's all in the
computer - how many cases they deal with, what disbursements
are returned, I make sure the accounts are OK. Let us say I get
an account for £700. I won't pay it. Every file is put on my desk
and looked at to see the amount of work they have done. I'm
always writing letters backwards and forwards and I always get
the bill reduced to about £400. That's important because that
makes us keep within budget (Interviewee E)
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