Psychological contract: The way to go for Uganda's univesities

Dec 13, 2016

Universities as abodes of knowledge and wisdom need to embrace psychological contract.

 By Martin Murangira

Allow me to express my opinion on the on-going uproars in Uganda's both private and public universities. This has been most dramatic at the country's premier and oldest institution of Higher Learning, Makerere University, which recently was closed under the President's directive.

This disease has not spared the neighbour universities: Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), Kabale and Victoria Universities to mention but a few. This is bound to disadvantage Uganda's position as an academia destination in the entire eastern and central African region.

Universities as abodes of knowledge and wisdom need to embrace psychological contract. Primarily, the psychological contract refers to the relationship between an organisation and her employees—specifically, it is concerned with mutual expectants of inputs and outcomes. It can also refer to the implied obligations between an employer and her employees regarding their mutual expectations of how each will carry on their respective roles. With in a typical business, the psychological contract might include such things as the levels of employee commitment, job satisfaction and the quality of working conditions.

Undoubtedly, if each of the parties involved knows its expectations, the strikes in the Uganda's universities' would not be this rampant. In the like manner, psychological contract binds the students-lecturers-university and other stakeholders. The university community, therefore, is called to subscribe to the psychological contract in order to groom stable and upright citizens.

The psychological contract does not only cordially embody both public and private universities and the government but also students, parents/guardians and the public. From my understanding, the major cause of the university strikes is failure to espouse psychological contract.

As such, in order to minimise strikes in universities, dwelling on the psychological contract, the individuals' expectations of the educational institutions should include:

Providing safe and hygienic working conditions; Making every reasonable effort to provide job security;

attempting to provide challenging and satisfying jobs and reduce alienating aspects of work; adopting equitable human resource management policies and procedures;

respecting the role of trade union officials and staff respective; consulting fully with staff and allow genuine participation in decisions which affect them;

implementing best practice in equal opportunity policies and procedures; Rewarding all staff fairly according to their contribution and performance;

providing reasonable opportunities for personal development and career progression, treating members of staff with respect and demonstrating an understanding and considerate attitude towards personal problems of staff.

Whereas universities' expectations of the individual, in our case say the lecturers, include:

Upholding the ideology of the organisation of the corporate image;

Working diligently in pursuit of organisational objectives; adhering to the rules, policies and procedures of the organisation;

respecting the reasonable authority of senior members of staff;

not taking advantage good will shown by management;

Being responsive to leadership influence; demonstrating allegiance and not betray positions of trust;

maintaining harmonious relationships with colleagues;

not abusing the universities' facilities;

observing reasonable and acceptable standards of dress and appearance;

and showing respect and consolidation to customers and suppliers.

The writer is a PhD Student-Makerere University; and Lecturer Ankole Western University.


 

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