Disorganisation in an organisation

By: Sanjeev Verma
Administration is the backbone of any organisation and employees carrying out the day-to-day functions play a pivotal role in making the organisation a success. But, if the so-called ‘Babu Badshahs’ working in a particular organization or department are least concerned about their duties and responsibilities, it can at best be described as doomed.
The institution under question here is Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. The administration here seems to be run at the personal comforts of ‘Babujis’ with an exception here or there. Employees in the university can be seen coming to work and packing up for the day at their own convenient time, with hardly anyone staying there for the full working day. This apart, the careless attitude of employees towards their duties and responsibilities is of even more serious concern. Some of the following facts and justifications will help us understand the issue more clearly.
Can you expect, for example, to have the result of Public Administration paper in your marks sheet, when you have applied for the re-evaluation of Sociology paper?
How will you feel, when you come from a far away place, say Lahaul and Spiti, for an urgent work and visit a particular section, where you get the instruction from one of the employees of the same section, seating idle with arms crossed, to come after one week as the dealing clerk is on leave for a week and nothing can be done at present ?
Your patience can also be tested, if you are in a long queue at the enquiry counter and the employee’s mobile start ringing. Now as the employee gets online with one of his relatives or friends, he will not bother for the people standing in the queue till he gets the minutest information from the person at the other end of the line. Finally, when your turn is about to come, the employee finds that the official working time is over and the people in the queue will be instructed to see him the next day.
Most of the time, you can listen one or the other student complaining about not getting their roll numbers in time, even after paying the full fees, for which they have to come down personally from different parts of the state and even out of the state, to the University as mostly you cannot expect your queries being solved telephonically or through correspondence.
Such kind of ‘attitude virus’, as I would like to define it, is resulting in ruining of not only the University administration, but in general affects the administration of most of the Govt. organizations.
Stringent steps need to be taken to get rid of this virus before it breaks down the administrative system. A disciplinary team / committee should be formed to have a vigil over the punctuality and working system of the staff. This team should make frequent surprise checks in different sections / departments of the organization. Every employee should have a standby in a particular section who can perform his duties while he is on leave or absent. Proper handing over / taking over should be done while an employee proceeds on leave. Mobile use should be restricted in working hours except in emergency situations. Complaints should be taken seriously and disciplinary action should be initiated against the defaulters.
The intention behind such strictness is not to intrude into the comfort zone of ‘Babujis’ and to harass them, but to make the administration people friendly so that the common man does not suffer. Employees in Govt. organizations should try to imitate something, if not much, from their counterparts in private organizations and try to bring professionalism in their working culture. They must not take everything for granted.
Such steps, if taken in true spirit, will definitely prove helpful in proper management of any organization.