Work environment may sabotage PhD holders

May 17, 2016

The fact is that PhD holders are thinkers and repositories of knowledge. The essence of any PhD is to acquire new knowledge and skills for personal development both as academics and non-academics.

By Fabiano Okware   

When I read recently in the New Vision the call by Nsumba-Lyazi, the Commissioner in charge of private schools and institutions in the education ministry, urging academics to acquire PhDs, I am inclined to challenge him. It is indeed true as he has argued that if more Ugandans acquired this highest qualification in all sectors, Uganda would develop and prosper faster.

The fact is that PhD holders are thinkers and repositories of knowledge. The essence of any PhD is to acquire new knowledge and skills for personal development both as academics and non-academics. Of course, if the PhD holder is employed by the public or private sector, such knowledge and skills would be transferrable for organisational and societal development.

Also at a personal level, if self employed as a consultant, one is bound to offer his/her services objectively and with an independent mind for improving performance of organisations, resulting into socio-economic transformation of society. In other words, there will be a trickledown effect!

However, on the ground the work environment under which these PhD holders work is wanting! Many of them are frustrated at their work places! The work environment is not conducive for their nature of work! These are members who require an environment in which they carry out research into new ways and approaches of solving organization/institutional/societal problems!  They require a conducive psychological, social and physical work environment to enable execute their work effectively and efficiently for improved performance of their entities.

The psychological perspective of the work environment entails morale, motivation, human relations and effective communication among others.

This environment requires the academics to have an independent mind and respect for their contributions through research for new ways and approaches of solving organisational problems. If employed by organisations, in essence they are internal consultants who diagnose organisational problems and prescribe solutions.

They require the recognition in challenging tasks in which they test various models to getting solutions to organisational problems other than maintaining status quo. However, the management style in most cases does not permit such independency, leading to frustration which affects organisational performance ultimately impacting the planned socio-economic transformation of society.

The social perspective of organisational work environment manifests itself in management's policies and practices, amicable working relationships with subordinates, peers and management. Such culture as organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) needs to be fostered in an ideal organisation.

However, the academics sometimes are perceived as people with wild ideas detrimental to organisational performance. The interpersonal working relationship is exacerbated by poor management style in the organisation such as failure to exercise management by walking around (MBWA) which allows managers to consult their subordinates informally and establish the work conditions. Such managers prefer to manage based on their underpants to the frustration of their subordinates. In most cases as in public organisations, where managers are in positions because of seniority other than merit, there is perceived marginalisation of the PhD holders to the extent that their contribution is not regarded as fundamental to organisational performance.

The physical organisational work environment is yet another interesting perspective which is of importance for the PhD holders in motivating and enabling them direct their energies into improving and enhancing the performance of organisations, ultimately showing a trickledown effect to socio-economic transformation of society and the country at large.

In this regard, office set up, furniture, lighting, noise, etc are fundamental in maintaining the academics, though not motivating, following Herzberg's theory of motivation. Again, during the data collection exercise, I witnessed a not-so-good picture of a PhD holder's physical work environment! My dear friend Doctor had a work desk with a broken arm-rest chair typical of a primary teacher's desk deep down in the rural area!

This was nowhere other than in Makerere University, Department of Psychology! What image do we get out of such a scenario? Will the students who are the future PhD holders be motivated to further their studies when they see such deplorable work conditions for their present Doctors? If they do so, foremost attention is given to their personal interests not for the interests of the organization and society at large.

This contradicts Fayol's established fundamental and teachable rules in management of insubordination of individual interests to the entire organization wide interests! On the contrary when you slope down to the faculty of ICT at Makerere University, the few PhD holders and others are as if in a European physical environment! That disparity!!!!

I believe with improved work environment conditions, Mr Nsumba-Lyazi would uphold the increased quest by academics for PhD qualifications instead of urging them to pursue such qualification. The favourable work environment would automatically, in my view, motivate almost every academic and non-academic in any organisational set up to join the "doctors' club".

The work environment which suits the requirements of job and convenience of the PhD holder's contribution in an individual, public or private organization perspective maximizes his/her efficiency and productivity, ultimately leading to the socio-economic transformation of the country's economy.

The writer is a lecturer at Uganda Institute of Information and Communcations Technology                                  

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