Management Project
There are a number of external indirect forces that may impact the decision of managers in Qatar University. These include socio-cultural factors and political and legal factors. The socio-cultural factors are those factors within the society that have a significant impact on the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors of individuals. Socio-cultural factors play a great role in determining the ratio of men to women in the University. Although majority of women have acquired university degrees, only about 35 percent are engaged in the workforce, with the number declining significantly when it comes to women in leadership positions. In 2009, only about 3 percent of women held leadership positions (Fenton, 2012). This is due to socio-cultural factors where men believe that women should not hold leadership positions. This may impact the decision of managers to appoint a female leader in the institution.
The political and legal factors also indirectly impact the decision of managers at Qatar University. The government may come up with new policies that may impact manager’s decisions. The Ministry of Education as well as the Supreme Education Council (SEC) provides guidelines on the course the education system in Qatar should take. Currently, the Qatar University admits about 60 percent of the locals which is a requirement from the national government.
Related: Management Policy and Strategy
The major external direct forces that may impact decision of managers in Qatar University are the customers (student enrollment). Demographic changes impact student enrollment in the U.S. Majority of parents prefer sending their male children to study abroad while they prefer their female students to study in Qatar. This has resulted to a higher number of female students in the university and other institutions of learning. Also, immigration into Qatar has seen a sharp increase in population, leading to a higher number of students admitted into the university (Hodges, 2013).
Qatar University employs a line organizational structure in its operations. In a line organizational structure, there exist vertical relationships among the various levels of the firm. Such organizations are characterized by line departments. These departments are tasked with realizing the primary objectives of the organization. For example in Qatar University, the line departments include Communications & Marketing Office, Events Office, and Alumni & Partner Relations Office. Authority in such an organization is based on a chain of command from the top to the bottom. The QU’s organizational structure is mechanistic. This is because in the QU’s organizational structure, the top management is responsible for decision making. Information flows from the top-level management downwards to junior employees through a formal hierarchical structure, characteristics common in a mechanistic structure.
In Qatar University, the departments are arranged according to their functions. As such, functional departmentalization design is employed by the management. There are a number of advantages associated with the form of departmentalization. To start with, this form of departmentalization tends to clarify and simplify responsibility, accountability and most importantly authority relationships in the organization. Secondly, this kind of departmentalization also ensures easy supervision of workers and also simplifies training. Thirdly, it gives opportunity for each department to be staffed by an expert in the area. Lastly, it is easier to coordinate various activities among departments. On the flip side, decision making is slow and bureaucratic in functional departmentalization. Secondly, the design makes it difficult to adapt to changes in the environment. Lastly, there is reduced coordination between departments.
References
Fenton, J. (2012, Nov. 5). Qatar Tackles Barriers to Women at Work. Financial Times. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fe7bd492-2745-11e2-abcb- 00144feabdc0.html#axzz3ufrCdRwg
Hodges, L. (2013). Ambitious 10-year reforms raise standards at Qatar Univeristy. University World News.
