Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
Administration
September 2003
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Introduction..................................................................................................... 1
Methodology ................................................................................................... 2
Conclusion .................................................................................................... 21
Acknowledgements....................................................................................... 22
Introduction
The office of the Vice President for Finance and Administration is responsible for
providing management and leadership to the various units in the division as well as
providing support to the other key missions of MUSC. The Vice President reports to the
President of the University and is directly responsible for three main units: Engineering
and Facilities, Finance, and Operations.
Finance
The Chief Financial Officer provides leadership to the following functional activities in
the finance unit including accounting services, budgeting, cash management, financial
reporting, payroll services, property control, purchasing, regulatory compliance, revenue
collection and tax support. The Finance unit has the following five departments:
• Budget Office
• Financial Management and Reporting
• Grants and Contracts Accounting
• Purchasing and Accounts Payable
• Systems and Procedures
• Business Management
• Contract Administration
• Design
• Facilities Operations
• Planning and Special Projects
• Recycling
Division of Finance & Administration
Strategic Plan Page 2
Operations
The Chief Operations Officer provides leadership to the following functional activities
including employee health and workers compensation, human resource management,
insurance programs, mail, occupational safety, parking, press, public safety and law
enforcement, radiation safety, transportation services and vending services. The
Operations unit has four departments:
• Business Services
• Human Resources
• Public Safety
• Risk Management
Methodology
The functional activities of the Division of Finance and Administration have existed
since the establishment of the University in 1824; the division had never before engaged
in a strategic planning process and never had a strategic plan. Beginning in the fall of
2002, the division participated in a comprehensive process to develop a strategic plan. Dr.
Sutusky and the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) hosted a series of workshops designed
around the Malcolm Baldrige criteria for excellence. Each department had representation
and involvement in the workshops. For some areas, this project was their first detailed
exposure to Baldrige. In February 2003, a roll-up workshop was held to begin
development of goals and strategies. In early May, Dr Sutusky appointed a task force of
six to facilitate completion of the plan. A target completion date was set and the team
began meeting and determining steps necessary to complete the plan.
The Strategic Planning Task Force (SPT) was comprised of one representative from each
Unit. Another individual was recruited to serve as a “sanity checker” and to help keep the
process on track. An external consultant, familiar with strategic planning, quality
initiatives, and the Baldrige criteria was engaged to offer objective support, advice, and
assistance. The task force coordinator was responsible for managing the project to
include: coordinating meetings, developing key milestones in the process,
communicating progress to SLT and their direct reports, and formulating the planning
document. An additional communication link was to the division’s Service Excellence
Team (SET), a managerial and supervisory group, which meets monthly for
communication of information relevant to the division.
The SPT agreed to meet weekly over the next fifteen weeks and work in an interactive
fashion reviewing the previous workshop documentation, validating and tweaking it with
responsible department heads, and bringing back revisions to the task force. Dr. Sutusky
and SLT provided the necessary guidance throughout the entire process.
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Strategic Plan Page 3
The Division of Finance and Administration revised Vision, Mission, and Value
Statements are:
VISION STATEMENT
MISSION STATEMENT
VALUE STATEMENTS
We Believe
• That people are the source of our success;
• That a stimulating and rewarding work environment is essential to thrive and
prosper;
• That teamwork, professionalism and expertise are essential keys in achieving our
mission;
• That our ethics and integrity will not be compromised;
• That as partners with the university community, we will constantly seek to exceed
our customer’s expectations;
• That as stewards of university resources, we must seek to continuously improve
our processes in order to enhance the quality of services we provide.
Division of Finance & Administration
Strategic Plan Page 4
SWOT ANALYSIS
The departments in Finance and Administration worked collectively to complete an
analysis of the division’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The purpose of
this analysis was to direct the divisions’ strategic initiatives and goals in areas that build
on strengths, minimize weaknesses, seize opportunities and counteract threats.
Strengths
• Dedicated and Loyal Employees – Departments overwhelmingly recognized that
the dedication of their employees is a key strength for the division. Through good
and bad times, the employees remain loyal and dedicated to MUSC.
• Customer Focused Services – In the past several years, implementation of
continuous improvement initiatives have refocused business units on the
importance of quality customer service, soliciting feedback from customers, and
retooling processes with the customer in mind. While this hasn’t always been a
strength for the division, it is a concept that has taken hold and continues to
strengthen.
• Technology- Integrated Processes – Despite criticism of gaps in integration of
our technology support, departments feel that for the most part, our willingness to
use technology to support and improve our processes is a key divisional strength.
• Experienced Workforce – The division enjoys a broad mix of employees,
ranging from tenured employees having strong institutional knowledge of MUSC,
to those who have experienced a variety work environments bringing diversity
and a fresh perspective to the mix. Much of the workforce is affected by
professional licensure (such as CPA), accreditation agencies (such as ICLEA) and
regulatory agencies (such as OSHA and EPA).
• Reactive in Emergencies – A key strength of being a service division is that we
have an innate ability to respond quickly to various types of emergencies and get
them under control. By the very nature of some departmental missions (Facilities,
Public Safety, Risk Management), emergencies are normal occurrences. Another
key strength associated with emergencies is that opportunities for improvement
are assessed with each emergency, and corrections made for the next unexpected
event.
Weaknesses
• Lack of Funding – Many departments depend totally on state allocated funding.
These departments are most affected during budget cuts and declining revenue
streams for the state. Other service departments are also affected by declining
budgets across the university as everyone tries to reduce costs. Typically, service
and support areas do not receive the same kind of interest when funding decisions
are made, therefore funding and resource allocation methods may be inconsistent.
Division of Finance & Administration
Strategic Plan Page 5
Opportunities
• Business Process Reviews – New leadership in the division offers the impetus
and opportunity to evaluate existing business processes and implement
improvements wherever possible. Through evaluation of standard practices at
other institutions, peer reviews, and working closely with customers, a thorough
review and retooling of existing business processes will probably benefit the
organization the most.
• Training and Career Ladder Development – Due to budget constraints, the
division must seek cost effective training methods. Opportunities include using
internal experts for training, focusing on soft skills (communication, relationship
management, customer service), working with other departments to expand cross-
training and establishing career ladders to support employee development.
• On-line web based services – Information technology is the central thread vital
to improving all of the division’s processes. Emphasis must be placed on
providing timely and user-friendly web-based tools for end-users and customers
to get their jobs done more effectively.
Division of Finance & Administration
Strategic Plan Page 6
Threats
• State Budget Cuts – The prospect of diminishing state funding over the next few
years poses a serious threat to the division. Staff reductions have already
occurred; employees are faced with increasing costs and no salary increases.
Priorities must be reevaluated and there must be greater accountability of funding.
Alternative funding sources need to be identified.
• Unfunded Mandates – The impact of terrorism in our society along with
regulatory guidelines such as HIPAA, has caused a significant increase in use of
resources however, there isn’t a funding mechanism to support it.
• Retaining Employees – Retention of employees may be affected by the grim
budgetary situation within the state.
• Politics and Bureaucracy – The politics of our state directly impact the politics
of our institution since it is state-assisted. We must be able to work effectively
within the political arena to effect and sustain positive changes for the division.
• Negative Attitudes and Resistance to change - New leadership in the division
creates an atmosphere ripe for change; however there are many who have become
comfortable with the current situation and is resistant to change. Some employees
also feel restricted by state procedures and guidelines; that they do not permit as
much creativity or responsiveness as some would like.
• Lack of University strategic plan – A revised strategic plan for the university
has been in development for some time. In the absence of a comprehensive
strategic plan for the university, the possibility exists that a plan for the division
may not be entirely aligned.
• Non-cohesive environment – The diversity of MUSC’s functional activities and
the business processes employed to accomplish them, provide particular support
challenges to employees in the division. The university often appears to be made
up of independent silos, operating under their own rules and regulations.
Division of Finance & Administration
Strategic Plan Page 7
Strategic Objectives:
1. Align department plans with the division strategic plan.
2. Assess, on an annual basis, progress against the divisional strategic plan.
3. Provide oversight and support in the implementation of action plans through
the allocation of resources.
Strategic Objectives:
1. Develop a systematic process to involve customers in planning and problem
solving as well as gain customers’ confidence in services provided.
2. Provide customer service training for all appropriate employees.
Strategic Objectives:
1. Create a systematic method of communicating data, updated policies and
procedures, and process measures among staff.
2. Develop and implement consistent policies and procedures.
Division of Finance & Administration
Strategic Plan Page 8
Strategic Objectives:
1. Promote all dimensions of diversity by actively hiring and promoting
individuals more reflective of the demographic composition of the Charleston
community when possible.
2. Develop an innovative, effective, recognition and reward compensation
system.
3. Perform annual analyses to determine training needs and develop training
curricula for employee development.
4. Create and sustain a culture that values employees.
5. Ensure a safe, secure, and pleasing physical environment that promotes an
atmosphere conducive to customer and employee satisfaction.
6. Develop a standard employee feedback mechanism that provides anonymous
feedback to supervisors.
Strategic Objectives:
1. Seek opportunities with MUSC entities, affiliates and departments as well as
other sister institutions and government agencies to eliminate duplication,
clarify roles, and consolidate functions in order to decrease costs and reduce
conflict.
Strategic Objectives:
1. Develop and implement a systematic process to measure effectiveness,
productivity, value and efficiency of current processes.
Division of Finance & Administration
Strategic Plan Page 9
Action Plans
Upon approval and acceptance of the six division goals, SLT directed department heads
to align and submit action plans in support of the strategic objectives for each goal. To
eliminate redundancy, similar action plans have been condensed into one plan that will be
the framework for the entire division. These high-level action plans are in alignment
with the strategic goals and objectives and are focused on the division as a whole.
Specific action plans were developed in many departments and will be used as Units
began implementation.
Goal: Leadership
Strategic Objectives
1. Align department plans with the division strategic plan.
2. Assess, on an annual basis, progress against the divisional strategic plan.
3. Provide oversight and support in the implementation of action plans through the
allocation of resources.
Action Plans
1. Include specific action plans in each of the senior leader’s E.P.M.S. review.
2. Evaluate customer service survey results against action plans to determine success
in achieving goals. Use strategic plan and action plans in the budget approval
process and ensure budgets are aligned with strategic plan.
3. Revisit the strategic plan vision, mission, values and goals at least annually and
update and modify as needed.
4. Communicate changes to the division through newsletters, staff meetings, and other
appropriate methods.
Assessment Plan
Assess progress against the plan on a quarterly basis using a variety of means such as
customer service surveys, department visits by leadership and monitoring of complaints.
Customers know and understand our goals and objectives as evidenced by their feedback.
Employees understand and participate in the planning process. Employee suggestions
have been acknowledged and used when appropriate. When not used, acknowledgement
of submission is timely provided along with an explanation as to why suggestion was not
used.
Resource Requirement
None
Responsible Person or Unit:
SLT, SMT
Division of Finance & Administration
Strategic Plan Page 10
Action Plans
Develop and provide a standardized customer service training for the division. At the unit
and department level, develop more specific customer service training programs based on
departmental needs and services. Establish focus and or advisory groups of customers to
provide input and feedback into unit and departmental processes.
Assessment Plan
Establish customer satisfaction baselines for the survey items listed above. Set goals for
improved customer satisfaction trends from the survey data. When trends are adverse use
customer service teams to address corrective action. Where applicable, monitor customer
activity volumes. Investigate activity volume correlation to customer satisfaction levels.
Relate these activities to the financial performance of the unit.
Measurement or Criterion
Customer satisfaction improves. Units establish goals appropriate to their current levels.
Customer activity increases. Customers actively participate in focus or advisory groups
providing positive feedback.
Resource Requirement
Cost associated with development of the surveying system and training of employees.
Responsible Person or Unit
SLT, SMT
Division of Finance & Administration
Strategic Plan Page 11
Action Plans
Assessment Plan
Policies and procedures are consistent and easily accessible by employees and
administrators.
Resource Requirement
Resources needed for the proposed communications coordinator and support for web
design of templates and communication alert. Identification of key communication
resources within each unit, department.
Action Plans
Assessment Plan
Conduct an annual review of the demographic composition of the division. Goals will
be discussed and evaluated during hiring managers E.P.M.S.
Measurement or Criterion:
Resource Requirement
None
Action Plans
1. Develop a plan for oversight of the program to insure that all awards are issued in a
timely manner.
2. Recognize employees that receive awards by utilizing the Catalyst, division web
site, and the Finance & Administration Quarterly newsletter.
3. Task Awards Committee with evaluating the current awards to enhance current
programs such that rewards serve to motivate employees to continue outstanding
performance.
4. Establish a career ladder for departments with the assistance of Human Resources.
Develop ways to identify funds for compensation adjustments through managing
vacancy rates and new hire savings.
5. Publish quarterly articles on the importance of employee satisfaction for morale
and productivity.
Assessment Plan
Quarterly reports will be submitted to each unit chief outlining awards that were given
and articles that were submitted.
An annual report will provide the statistical data to evaluate the effectiveness of the
overall Awards Program.
None
SMT, SLT
Division of Finance & Administration
Strategic Plan Page 15
Action Plans
Assessment Plan
Review the matrix with the employee during his or her E.P.M.S.
Evaluate the results of training survey to develop programs of need and interest.
Collect feedback from training participants at different intervals to assess the benefits
of training as related to job performance.
Measurement or Criterion
Improvement in Retention.
Resource Requirement
Action Plans
Assessment Plan
Review exit survey results to assess reasons for turnover in the division.
Management set directions for units and departments based on feedback from the
employee survey.
Measurement or Criterion
Retention improvement.
Resource Requirement
SLT, SMT
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Strategic Plan Page 17
Action Plans:
1. Identify and report unsafe conditions to the appropriate department for corrective
action(s).
2. Develop the planned renewal inventory and begin to manage it.
3. Continue to protect and improve preventive maintenance programs in an effort to
maintain equipment and systems reliability, efficiency, and extend useful life.
4. Ensure that all new construction and modernization incorporates the latest security
measures available.
5. Increase the use of state of the art technology to ensure a safe and secure
environment.
Assessment Plan
Management will review the status of corrective action documentation from the
responsible departments.
Investigators will monitor daily incident reports, conduct surveys, and make
recommendations for increased security.
Measurement or Criterion
Resource Requirement
None
SMT, SLT
Division of Finance & Administration
Strategic Plan Page 18
Action Plans
Assessment Plan
Evaluations are shared with immediate supervisor and next level up.
Measurement or Criterion
Action Plans
Assessment Plan
Measurement or Criterion
Resource Requirement
Action Plan
1. Ensure that all departmental processes are efficient and meet customer needs.
Assessment Plan
Customer feedback and surveys are used to make improvements and increase customer
satisfaction.
Employee feedback and surveys are used to streamline and improve processes.
Measurement or Criterion
Resource Requirement:
SMT, SLT
Division of Finance & Administration
Strategic Plan Page 21
Conclusion
Recognizing the need for continuous improvement, these strategic goals point the
division in new directions while fulfilling the mission and vision of Finance and
Administration.
The Senior Leaders, Department Heads and Mangers of the Division of Finance and
Administration will formally review the strategic plan on an annual basis. Each Unit will
prioritize action items and begin implementation in the current fiscal year. SLT will
assess progress on a quarterly basis to ensure that action plans are moving the division in
the targeted direction.
Division of Finance & Administration
Strategic Plan Page 22
Acknowledgements
Working Groups