Thesis (Asad)

8/6/2019 Thesis (Asad)

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FACULTY POLITICS AND ITS CONSEQUENCES:

THE CASE OF PUNJAB UNIVERSITY

PROJECT SUPERVISOR

Prof. Dr. Zafar Iqbal Jadoon

SUBMITTED BY:

Asad Ali Khawaja

Roll Number: 50

BS (Hons) Management Sciences, Session 2005-2009

Institute of Administrative Sciences

University of the Punjab

Lahore.


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DEDICATED TO MY PARENTS


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I must confess that the project report may have several deficiencies but the process of

completing this project was self-rewarding and memorable learning experience. I would

like to thank Allah Almighty for giving me courage to complete this report. I would like

to thank all members of my family, friends and teachers for providing all possible

support during this project. I must say that my Institute, IAS has provided me a learning

environment for the completion of this project. Finally I would like to express my thanks

to those who have shared their experiences and thoughts during my field work and our

project supervisor, Prof. Dr. Zafar Iqbal Jadoon for his support and guidance throughout

the project.


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ABSTRACT

This study explores the extent and type of faculty politics by identifying key patternsamong faculty of University of the Punjab and the manner in which they engage in

gaining and using power. The consequences of faculty politics, both negative and

positive have been investigated through personal interviews and reviewing secondary

sources of information.

The main findings of the study are:

1) There are two groups of teachers; Teachers front and Academic group. These groups

contest elections to gain control over Academic Staff Association (ASA) and various

statuary bodies like Senate, Syndicate and Academic council etc.

2) Tanzeem e Usatza Pakistan, PU chapter is a formal group. This group is a political wing

of Jamaat e Islaami. This group supports Academic group.

3) This study also highlights the fact that faculty politics also has subtle links with

students politics inside university, where several student political wings are working for

example: IJT (Islaami Jamiat-e-Taleba), PSF (Peoples Student Federation), USF

(University Student Federation), ISF (Insaaf Student Federation) and MSF (Muslim

Student Federation).

4) Faculty politics among faculty members in Punjab University has serious

consequences in the form of confrontation among teachers and groups and conflicts

resulting in bad image for university. Such issues are raised in this study.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY ................................................................... 6

y 1.1 Background ...................................................................................................... 6y 1.2 University of the Punjab: Brief History ............................................................ 8y 1.3 Research Questions ......................................................................................... 9y 1.4 Objectives ........................................................................................................ 9

CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ..................................................................... 10

y 2.1 Theoretical Framework .................................................................................. 13y 2.2.1 Operationalization of the variables .....................................................................15

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY....................................................................... 16

y 3.1 Research Design ............................................................................................. 16CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION .................................................... 17

y 4.1 Reporting of Data ........................................................................................... 17y 4.2 Findings..........................................................................................................26

CHAPTER 5: RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................... 34

y 5.1 Recommendations ......................................................................................... 34y 5.2 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 36

REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 37

APPENDIX ..................................................................................................................... 38

y Appendix A: Questionnaire .................................................................................. 39y Appendix B: List of Respondents ......................................................................... 46y Appendix C: News Article .................................................................................... 47


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CHAPTER 1:

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY

1.1 Background:

To help us understand the politics in organizations, we might consider organizations as

political systems. The political metaphor helps us understand power relationships in

day-to-day organizational relationships. If we accept that power relations exist in

organizations, then politics and politicking are an essential part of organizations life

(Morgan & Morgan, 1998)

Politics refer to means of recognizing and, ultimately, reconciling competing interests

within the organization. Competing interests can be reconciled by any number of

means. For example, resorting to "rule by the manager" might be seen as an example of

totalitarian rule. On the other hand, politics may be a means of creating a non-coercive,

or a democratic work environment.

As mentioned, organizations need mechanisms whereby they reconcile conflicting

interests. Hence, organizations, like governments, tend to "rule" by some sort of

"system". This "system" is employed to create and maintain "order" among the

organizations.

In University of the Punjab, faculty politics is divided into two distinct groups which are:

Teachers Front Academic Group.These two groups contest elections to take majority in different statuary bodies like

Senate, Syndicate, ASA and Academic council. Tanzeem e Usatza Pakistan, PU chapter

which is a formal group and political wing of Jamaat e Islaami supports Academic group.


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Studying faculty politics inside Punjab University is important because it shapes the over

all image of university as it could have serious implications and consequences on all

levels of organization.

Recently we have seen the issue of plagiarism in Punjab University where several

Professors as well as lecturers were suspended or terminated on the basis of alleged

plagiarism. The High Court later re-instated few of them. The case of plagiarism has

adversely affected the image of University world wide. According to intellectuals and

observers, influence of political groups is considered to be so enormous that its hidden

effects can be seen in the environment of university. Academic Staff Association is the

representation body of teachers inside university which has influence over university

affairs.

Recently we have seen anti Islaami Jamiat Taleba phenomena in the shape of USF and

ISF. The student politics also has remote connections with faculty politics.

Wherever we sit in the hierarchy, the culture of the organization is more powerful than

we are. We can influence it, but we cannot control it. This is the case with University of

the Punjab where cultural control is said to be more powerful than organizational goals

and quality driven ideology.


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1.2 University of the Punjab: Brief History

Established in 1882 at Lahore, Punjab University is the largest and the oldest seat of

higher learning in Pakistan. Allama Iqbal campus, named after the great South Asian

thinker, with Islamic architectural design is in the middle of the city of Lahore.

Quaid-i-Azam campus, named after the father of the Nation, is located 12 kilometers to

the south of Allama Iqbal campus. Spread over an area of 1800 acres of lush green

landscape, this campus is the centre of academic and administrative activities of the

University. A canal dividing the academic blocks from the student lodgings adds to the

beauty of the campus.

The University has also a summer campus at Khanaspur, located at a height of about

7,000 ft. in the Himalayan range near Ayubia.

The University has also started campus at Gujranwala, with four disciplines i.e. Business

Administration, Commerce, Law and Information Technology. Few more disciplines will

be added in near future.

The University comprises of four campuses, thirteen faculties, nine constituent colleges,

over sixty three departments, centers, Institutes, and more than five hundred affiliated

colleges. It has over 620 permanent faculty members involved in teaching/research and

over 30,000 on campus students. Annually there are about 350 exams for 450,000

students. The University of the Punjab was formally established with the convening of

the first meeting of its Senate on October 14, 1882 at Simla. It was the fourth university

to be established by the British colonial authorities on the Indian Sub-continent. The

first three universities were established by the British rulers at their initial strongholds

of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta. The University of the Punjab came into existence as a

result of a long drawn struggle of the people of Punjab after the war of independence in

1857. Contrary to the three previously established universities, which were only

examining institutions, the University of the Punjab was both teaching as well as

examining body right from the beginning.


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1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS:

What are the factors behind the faculty politics? Are they institutional, inter-groupand inter-personal level in Punjab University?

What are the possible positive and negative consequences & implications ofpolitics among faculty for Punjab University?

What are the possible ways and options to manage the effects of politics amongfaculty in Punjab University?

1.4 OBJECTIVES:

1.To study faculty politics in context of Punjab University.2.To analyze consequences of faculty politics in Punjab University.3.To identify positive and negative consequences of faculty politics in Punjab

University.

4.To make recommendations in order to manage the faculty politics among facultymembers and groups.


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CHAPTER 2:

THEORATICAL FRAMEWORK

Politics is the reality of life therefore; it has been widely discussed in this literature. The

goal of this literature review is to develop a theoretical framework for this study.

What is organizational politics?

Scientists have offered various definitions of politics incorporating elements of behavior

that are formal and informal, sanctioned and non-sanctioned, focused on the use of

power and influence, or based on coalition building. Pettigrew (1973) described it as

the use of power to influence decision making. Others link it to the dysfunctional

characteristics of organizations (Allen, Madison, Porter, Renwick, & Mayers, 1979).

Mintzberg (1983) refers to politics as: individual or group behavior that is informal,

ostensibly parochial, typically divisive, and above all, in the technical sense, illegitimate

sanctioned neither by formal authority, accepted ideology, nor certified expertise (p.

172). A definition that captures an important nuance is impression management

which isolates a tactic of ingratiation or social engineering as a means to employ

political influence (Gardner & Martinko, 1988. p. 322). Impression management as

defined by Schlenker (1980) is the conscious or unconscious attempt to control images

that are projected in real or imagined social interactions.

Mintzberg (1985) linked politics and conflict in his discussion of the political arena in

organizations. He introduced three basic dimensions of conflict in organizations

intensity, pervasiveness, and duration (or stability). These variables were associated

with four forms of the political arena: confrontation, shaky alliance, politicized

organization, and complete political arena. Mintzberg hypothesized that organizations

are thrust into and out of all four forms of the political arena or systems of influence.

He identified thirteen political games played to counter resistance, build a power

base, defeat a rival, or change the organization (p. 134). These identified political

games formed three types of impetus that give rise to the political arena: 1) change in


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fundamental condition of the organization, 2) breakdown in established order of

power, 3) major pressure from influencer(s) to realign a coalition or change the

configuration. His hypotheses centered on the belief that conflict must be controlled

and contained or the organization would succumb to influential political pressures.

Literature leading to Scales:

For the purposes of understanding political behavior, Farrell and Peterson (1982)

proposed a three-dimensional typology. The dimensions are:

Where the political activity takes place -- inside or outside the organization. The direction of the attempted influence -- vertically or laterally in the

organization.

The legitimacy of the political action.INTERNAL-EXTERNAL DIMENSIONS:

EXTERNAL:

Whistle blowing Lawsuits Leaking information

INTERNAL:

Exchange of favors Reprisals Obstructionism Symbolic protest


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VERTICAL-LATERAL DIMENSIONS:

VERTICAL:

By- passing the chain of command Complaining to a supervisor Mentor- protg activities

LATERAL:

Exchange of favors Coalition formation

LEGITIMATE-ILLEGITIMATEDIMENSIONS:

LEGITIMATE:

Activities generally accepted in an faculty context.ILLEGITIMATE:

ThreatsMost politicking occurs in the internal vertical legitimate realm. An example would be

individuals trying to achieve personal gain by giving "voice" to their demands/needs.

The review of current literature richly interacts with the varying definitions of

organizational politics as well as employee perceptions of environments which are

viewed as political. Politics in organizations is simply a fact of life. If this is factual,

than the work of the teachers is inescapably affected by faculty politics. Yet

contemporary social scientists have neglected to hypothesize and discover the impact

of organizational politics on the work of the teachers in public sector.


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2.1 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK:

This study was conducted to study the faculty politics and its consequences on Punjab

University. There are two main areas which are causes of faculty politics and its

consequences in Punjab University:

A: Faculty politics:The causes of faculty politics are divided into three main areas:

A1: Inter-personal factors A2: Institutional factors A3: Inter-group factors

Inter-personal factors will be dealing with individual level, institutional factors with

organizational level and lastly inter-group issues with group level.

B: Consequences of faculty politics:Consequences of faculty politics could be positive or negative.

B1: Negative consequences B2: Positive consequences


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FIGURE 1: Factors affecting Faculty Politics

Inter-personal factors

Faculty politics (causes

and factors)

Institutional factors

Consequences

Positive

Negative

Inter-group factors


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2.1.1 Operationalization of Variables:

A: Causes of Faculty Politics:

A1: Inter-personal factors (Dealing with individuals)

Inter-personal conflicts Clash of interests Professional jealousy

A2: Institutional factors (Dealing with organizational level)

Less rules and regulations Decision making in uncertainty Scarcity of financial resources Inappropriate office space Frequent transfers Inappropriate reward system No formal complaint mechanism

A3: Inter-group factors (Dealing with faculty group level)

Clash of interests Power struggle Ideological conflicts

B: Consequences of faculty politics:

B1: Positive consequences:

y New ways of feedbacky Voice opportunitiesy Democratic normsy Whistle-blowingy Guards teachers interests

B2: Negative Consequences

y Favouritism & nepotismy Affects on quality of teachingy Distortion of image


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CHAPTER 3:

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN:

The mode of observation used in this study was survey which was conducted with the

help of in-depth interviews. Data was collected from teachers who were appeared to be

involved in faculty politics.

This research was engaged in Non-probability sampling under which the technique of

Purposive sampling was employed. This was an exploratory research and due to time

constraint, only 10 teachers were selected who appears to be involved in politics in one

or another way.

Face-to-face interviews were conducted comprising of well-structured questions with

teachers so as to gain a wide understanding of issues faced by faculty and university.

The questions are in an open-ended format. The reason for using this format was to

extract more relevant and diverse views of faculty regarding the faculty politics and its

consequences in the Punjab University. The articles published in different newspapers

and Internet blogs were also reviewed.


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CHAPTER 4:

DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

4.1 REPORTING OF DATA:

Data was gathered from respondents using interviews. There were 10 respondents in

the study (See Appendix B).

Opinions and percentages are reported in this section of chapter according to the

questions asked during interviews (See Appendix A).

Causes of facultypolitics:Inter-Personal factors (dealing with individuals)

Question No.1: Whatdo youthink how personalconflictscontributeto politics?

90% of the respondents believed that personal conflicts lead to politicking amongemployees.

10% of the respondents were uncertain about this question as personal conflictsitself is politicking according to them.

Question No.2: Whatareyourviewsregardingclash ofinterestsamong faculty

members?

100% of all respondents were of view that clash of interests among individuals aremajor reason of faculty politics inside Punjab University.

Question No.3: Isthereanyinternalcompetition among facultymembers?

40% of the respondents were of view that internal competition also leads topoliticking. They were of view that internal competition compels an individual to

perform better even using politicking.


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30% of the respondents were uncertain about this question as they were of viewthat internal competition is healthy for organization and it shouldnt lead to

politics among faculty members.

30% of the respondents think that internal competition can minimize facultypolitics as employees are more interested in giving performance rather than

involved in politicking.

Question No.4: Professionaljealousyleadsto politickinginside Punjab University

facultymembers. Giveyourcomments.

All respondents agreed that professional jealousy leads to faculty politics in PunjabUniversity.

Question No.5: Giveyourviewsregarding verbalappreciation to performersby

Directorsand howcan ithelp to reduce politickingin University?

60% of the respondents agreed that in appropriate verbal appreciation could hurtthe moral of an employee or teacher and could indulge him/her into politicking.

40% of the respondents were of view that it has more to do with motivationallevel and performance but they were unsure that it will cause politicking inside

university.

Institutional factors (dealing with organizational level):

Question No.6: Giveyourviewsregardingrulesandregulations of University. Whether

thereareenough formalrulesandregulations ornot?

100% of the respondents believe that less rules and regulation is not an issue withUniversity of the Punjab as formal documentation is integral part of any public

institute.

Question No.7: Do youthink parkingissuescan causeconflicts?

80% of the respondents were uncertain about this question as according to themit will not cause politicking.

20% of the respondents were totally unsure about this question.


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Question No.8: Do youthinkthereisanyscarcityof financialresources?Giveyour

viewsregardingbudgetaryconstraintsifanyfacedbyuniversityandrespective

departments. And howthesebudgetaryconstraints willleadto politicking?

60% of the respondents believed that University of the Punjab faces no scarcity ofresources but procedures are too slow. However they were of view that scarcity of

resources is going to cause politics.

40% of the respondents said that all organizations in today world includingUniversity of the Punjab face budgetary constraints and it will have an affect on

over all working environment of faculty as well.

Question No.9: Isthereanyinappropriate officespace forfaculty?

80% of the respondents were of view that there is no problem of office space indifferent departments however some departments face this issue however it does

not causes politicking among faculty members especially senior members.

20% of the respondents believed that it could affect the working relationship ofemployees and junior faculty members of university.

Question No.10: Yourviews on frequenttransferscausing politicking?

Most of the respondents nearly 90% were unsure about this question as they donot see frequent transfers as issue of politicking in the context of University of thePunjab.

Question No.11: Giveyourviewsregardingrewardsystemanditsimpacton faculty

politics?

90% of the respondents said that reward system is not linked with performance inuniversity which could cause politicking among performing teachers.

10% were of view that reward system will not have any relation with facultypolitics.

Question No.12: Do youthinkthereis no formalcomplaintmechanism?

50% of the respondents believed that voiceless-ness which occurs in the shape ofno formal complaint mechanism could compel faculty to indulge into politics.


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40% of the respondents believed that there are ways to express your issues andproblems.

10% of the respondents were of view that mechanism might be there but most ofthem are not aware or never bothered to utilize it hence faculty members use

political forums for the expression of their dissent.

Question No.13: Whatare otherinstitutionalfactorscontributingto facultypolitics?

According to one of the senior professor and respondent, University of the Punjabcouldnt define plagiarism yet.

According to another senior professor who was involved in this issue said thatuniversity should place some proper mechanism before accusing its teachers of

plagiarism because it could compel teachers to use politics for their vested

purposes.

However 30% of respondents believed that softwares which are already in use arequite appropriate.

Others believed that teachers were involved in plagiarism however this issuecaused politicking in university due to bad management.

90% of the respondents believed that administration has less control over hostels.

10% of respondents or 1 respondent said that less control over hostels or controlof other political groups over hostel is not going to affect faculty politics inside

university.

80% of the respondents were of view that human resource management issuesare going to cause politicking as influences over appointments may cause faculty

politics. However they said that procedures are transparent but they should be

amended to remove the influence of any group.

20% of the respondents were unsure about the relationship between this questionand topic of the study.


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Inter-group factors (dealing with faculty group level)

Question No.14: Whatarethe differentpoliticalgroups presentamong faculty?

Most of the respondents were sure about this question that political groupingamong faculty members is the major reason of faculty politics in University of the

Punjab, as different groups are formed like Academic Group and Teachers

Alliance.

Question No.15:How differentpoliticalgroupsaffectfacultypoliticsconsideringtheir

ideologicalconflicts?

60% of the respondents believed that ideological alignment of faculty groups withexternal political circles is obvious and it is going to have an impact on faculty

politics.

40% of the respondents were unsure about this question.

Question No.16:How facultypolitics playsitsrolein gainingcontroloverASA and

statuarybodies?

100% of the respondents said that these groups manage to control ASA and in theprocess they indulged into severe faculty politics.

100% of the respondents said that these groups try to gain control over differentstatuary bodies like Syndicate and in the process they indulge into severe faculty

politics.

Question No.17: Isthereanyinfluence of facultypolitics overstudentsunion wings?

90% of respondents said that Student Unions like IJT had influenced faculty politicsand vice versa. Both use each other for different purposes and even one of the

respondent said that Tanzeem Usatza Pakistan PU is a faculty wing of Jamaat e

Islaami and IJT.


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Consequences of facultypolitics:Positive consequences:

Question No.18: Do youthink facultypolitics opens new ways of feedback?

100% of the respondents said that politics open new ways of feedback. As peopletend to express their issues using political forums.

Question No.19: Do youthink facultypoliticscreates voiceamong faculty?

Most of the respondents said that this question has same responses as theprevious one. 70% of the respondents strongly believed that it gives voice to

faculty teachers.

Question No.20: Do youthink democraticnormsand politicalculture plays positive

role?

According to one of the senior professor, politicking encourages democratic normsin the university.

Other respondents also agreed that democratic norms are flourished due tofaculty politics.

However one of the respondents was of view that democratic norms are notnecessarily emerged as a result of politics.

Question No.21:How whistleblowing plays positiveroleasaresultof facultypolitics?

80% of the respondents were of view that whistle-blowing shouldnt beconsidered something negative but it should be encouraged as employees tend to

express their dissent through whistle blowing.

3% of the respondents said that if dissent is not addressed properly then it canlead to conflicts.

Question No.22: Do youthink facultypoliticsguardstherightsandinterests of

teachers?

70% of the respondents believed that group that manage to gain control over ASAand different bodies usually guard the teachers interests and play the role of

teachers advocate.


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30% of the respondents were of view that group that gain control over ASA givesbenefit only to their own people.

Negative Consequences

Question No.23: Do youthink politickingresultsin lack ofteam work & collaboration?

100% of the respondents strongly believed that there is a lack of team buildingamong faculty members professionally and academically.

According to one of the respondents, politicking is one of the reasons of lack ofteam work however it is not the only reason.

According to one of the senior professor, there is lack of collaboration amongdepartments because of political groupings and power culture.

Question No.24: Do youthink high potentials faces obstaclesasaresultof faculty

politicsespeciallyfavoritism & nepotism?

According to Dr. Rukhsana Bajwa, people who are aligned with particular powergroup get all hard benefit.

Other respondents were also of view that people who are performing usually faceproblems in the form of politicking.

Question No.25:How politics damagestheimage ofuniversity?Commentin detail.

100% of the respondents believed that faculty politics and its consequencessometimes bring bad name to the image of university when it gets publicised by

news channels and news papers.

According to Dr. Mian Aftab, plagiarism scandal distorted the image of universitywhich was the consequence of internal politics.

One of the respondents who launched campaign against university administrationfor accusing him of plagiarism showed me details which are damaging for

universitys image as teachers who were accused are posting different stories

which might be or might be not true on websites.


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Another respondent who get re-instated by Lahore High Court also agreed thatplagiarism issue distorted the image of university which is a consequence of

politicking.

Question No.26:How facultypoliticsresultedin nepotismand favoritism?Commentin

detailon itsconsequences on university.

90% of the respondents were of view that exchange of favours informally could bepossible but faculty politics is not the only reason. As it exists in all organizations

including private firms.

According to most of the respondents, merit cant be compromised as system istoo transparent.

However one of the teachers said that political influences could cause thecompromise on merit.

70% of respondents believed that functioning of different statuary bodies areaffected due to different power groups.

60% of the respondents agreed that research opportunities for even students ofresearch are affected by political orientations.

30% of the respondents think that research opportunities are not affected bypolitical groupings.

90% of respondents think that PHD opportunities have nothing to do with politicshowever one of the respondents believed that people who are attached with

power group manage to get PHD opportunities abroad.

Question No.27: Do youthinkqualityofeducation isaffectedbyfacultypolitics?

One of the senior Professors said teachers should be role model for students. Andquality of education is going to be affected if teachers are persuading their vested

interests. Other respondents were of view that quality of education is going to be affected if

politicking is causing bad implications for university.


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Question No.28: Do youthinkthereislack ofcommitmentto organizationalgoals due

to facultypolitics?

Most of the respondents agreed that faculty politics divert the energy of teachersfrom core goal of delivering quality education to other activities.

However one of the senior teachers believes that this is not the diversion fromfaculty goal but it will eventually add value to core goal of delivering quality

education.


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4.2 FINDINGS:

Following are the analysis of issues identified during the collection of data.

Causes of facultypolitics:Inter-personal factors:

Inter-personalconflicts:As identified in collection of data, personal conflicts do have role in politicking. There

are personal conflicts between employees due to different reasons like personality

clashes and internal disputes. Personal conflicts persuade employees into leg pulling and

other unethical practices to gain benefits.

Clash ofinterests:According to data collected, (See section 4.1) there are clash of interest among

individuals, different faculty teachers have different interests which are political in

nature so they tend to disagree with each other on different issues.

Professionaljealousy:Professional jealousy is another reason which tempts Individuals like faculty members to

involve in politicking.

Inappropriate verbalappreciation:According to data collected, performers among faculty are not appreciated verbally by

their management and superiors for performing up to the mark. But data also showed

that this factor has more to do with motivation and performance. However it is

somewhat important while studying politicking at any level.

Institutional factors:

Scarcityof financialresources:According to data collected, all organizations including Punjab University faces

budgetary constraints. Allocation of funds and procedures involved are too bureaucratic

that delay in funds also causes some groups to feel that they are being treated this way

because of their political orientation. Scarcity of finances and poor usage of finances can


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increase politicking. Salary raises are partial which could create conflicts between

employees. Especially salary raises are not aligned with performance but with pay

grades as PU is following national pay scale which de-motivates many employees.

However data also showed that many respondents also said that university do not face

scarcity of resources however procedures should be improved.

Inappropriaterewardsystem:According to responses, reward system is not aligned with performance. Punjab

University like all other public institutes has adopted National Basic Pay scales ranging

from 1 to 22 grades. These systems compensate employees on tenure not on their

performance. Such system cause politics among employees and its responsibility lies on

the shoulders of management.

Otherfactors:According to one of former professor of Punjab University, university has yet failed to

define plagiarism while teachers are being accused of doing plagiarism which creates

alienation among faculty members and they indulge in politicking to defend their case.

According to the responses HR issues should be addressed to get rid of political

influences. Teachers are being involved in administrative issues which are utilizing their

capacity in a wrong way. Involving professors in decision making is something positive.According to senior professor, routine managerial tasks should be performed by skilled

HR professionals.

Inter-group factors:

Clash ofinterests & politicalgrouping:According to previous section, (Reporting of data), political grouping is the major reason

behind faculty politics in Punjab University.T

here are three political groups: AcademicGroup, Teachers Front or Teachers Alliance and Tanzeem e Usatza Punjab University.

These groups have different interests as far as their goals are concerned.

According to Dr. Mumtaz Salik, elections promote a democratic culture and he expects

the new elected body to implement merit and transparency in the varsity. According to


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one of the respondent, accusations during elections on each other however wouldnt

create positive climate as noticeable in the daily times article. (See appendix for article).

However from that article, we can see that elections between faculty groups also

creates positive outcomes for teachers as these groups do work for the interests of

teachers at large and broad level. However accusations from political groups on

university administration as quoted in article creates bad image for university in new

headlines. University administrations involvement in faculty politics intensifies

politicking and sometimes it gets violent according to one of the senior professors.

Ideologicalconflicts:According to responses during interviews, faculty groups have ideological differences. It

was clear from responses that backing of political wings like Jamaat e Islaami to

particular teachers group also aggravates the politicking inside university as teachers

group manage to get support from students aligned with that particular political party.

Groups have ideological alignments which is one of the sources of conflict among them.

Powerstruggle (Accessto resources & decision makingbodies):According to the data, these groups managed to gain control over statuary bodies like

syndicate and senate. Therefore it creates alienation among those who are not aligned

with particular political group. According to one of the professors, ASA is also influenced

by a political group whose members secured key positions in elections. According to

majority of the respondents this could cause politicking in the university because clash

of different political interests is obvious. These groups also enter into conflicts because

each group wants to take control over resources.

Consequences of facultypolitics:Positive consequences:

New ways of feedback:According to the data, grapevine is a positive outcome of faculty politics as it opens new

channels of informal feedback throughout the organization. Most of the respondents


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agree with the phenomena of grapevine because they think that it is much faster way of

communication.

Voice opportunities:According to almost 70% of the respondents, politicking gives voice to all those who

otherwise cannot make their voices reach to upper management.

Democraticnorms:A former President of ASA expresses his views on democratic norms in the following

way: political culture among faculty teachers encourages the democratic culture in the

university where teachers manage to get involved in decision making process through

their representation in statuary bodies.

Other respondents also agreed with the ideas of democratic norms however there was

an exception too. One of the respondent said that democratic norms are not necessarily

going to emerge as a result of politicking.

Whistle-Blowing:According to the data collected (See Section 4.1) during interviews whistle blowing was

considered something positive for organization.

Organizational dissent is the expression of disagreement or contradictory opinions

about faculty practices and policies. Since dissent involves disagreement it can lead toconflict, which if not resolved, can lead to violence and struggle.

Whistle blowing is a subset of dissent. It involves the expression of dissent to external

organizations. The whistle-blowing process begins at the superior-subordinate

relationship. Whistle blowers are often high-performing employees who believe they

are doing their job. They just want to bring peoples attention to a problem that is

potentially harmful. (Kassing 2002).

Organizations need to realize that internal dissent is not itself a crisis, but ratherpriceless insurance against disaster. Until the ugly headlines appear and the

consequences are unavoidable, companies too often forget that they will suffer far

more for ignoring their principled dissidents than by giving them a hearing (Bennis,

2004).


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Most of the respondents agreed that whistle-blowing should not be considered

something negative but it should be encouraged as it highlights the dissent of faculty

members towards bad policies of university.

However according to the respondents, if whistle blowing is not addressed then it can

lead to conflicts which would be harmful for the image of university.

Guardsteachersinterests:According to majority of the respondents, faculty groups who managed to gain control

over ASA and majority in statuary bodies usually guards the interests of teachers at large

irrespective of political orientation like tenure track system after removal of its

shortcomings.

However few of respondents also believed that different political groups only give

benefits to their own people.

Negative consequences:

Favouritism & nepotism:Favouritism and nepotism are consequences of politicking among faculty members and

groups which leads to several other consequences:

1. Lack ofsuccession planningin university.Most of the respondents believe that there is lack of leadership and succession planning

in University of the Punjab but they are not sure that this is due to the faculty politics.

According to one of the respondents, lack of leadership planning is largely because of

nepotism.

2. High potentials face obstaclesamong faculty.

Due to politics, people who are aligned with a political group receive all hard benefits

but those who are neutral or aligned with opponent group get deprived of thosebenefits.

3. Bypassingchain ofcommand.

Most of the respondents were uncertain about this question as they think that faculty

politics cannot be the sole reason for by passing chain of command.


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4. PHD opportunities

According to responses, PHD opportunities have nothing to do with politics or faculty

groupings. However many people still complaint about such opportunities being given

on political grounds.

5. Research opportunities

According to the data collected, research opportunities are affected by faculty politics.

According to one of the respondent, funds for research are also affected by pressure

groups. Teacher assistants are provided to those who have aligned themselves with

particular pressure group. Even according to one of the senior teacher, he was not

allotted good students for research purposes because he was not aligned with political

group of his superiors.

6. Functioning ofstatuarybodies

Even different bodies like senate and syndicate are also appear to be influenced by

pressure groups. According to one of the respondent, policies are made not in line with

quality assurance guidelines but with interests of individuals and political group.

Lack of Teambuilding & collaborationLack of team building among faculty members of various departments is also anotherconsequence of faculty politics. It also leads to lack of collaboration among different

departments.

1. Lack ofteambuilding

Most of the respondents think that there is a lack of team work inside Punjab University

as teachers are involved in conflicts and politics so there are less chances of promoting

team based culture.

2. Lack ofcollaboration among departmentsOne of the most serious consequences of this politics and power culture is weak

cooperation among different departments. So there is a redundancy in academic

programmes offered by various departments across different faculties (Jadoon and

Jabeen, 2008).


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Each department has its own library and those libraries are not shared with other

departments. Even students of other departments are not allowed to share cafs.

Damages Image of UniversityAccording to data collected during interviews brand image of university had been

affected in a negative way due to faculty politics. When students watch violence and

plagiarism scandals on TV news, they tend to create a negative image of Punjab

University in their mind hence administration appears to be failed in making a bright

image of university throughout the society. Few issues could be discussed under the

distortion of image of Punjab University due to faculty politics:

1. Plagiarismissue

According to the data, faculty politics has distorted the image of university. Recent issue

of plagiarism has done much more damage to university of the Punjab. As accused

teachers have launched a campaign against university administration to settle their

personal scores but it is distorting the image.

2. Coalition formation forillegitimate demands

Most of the respondents were uncertain about this question. One or two senior

teachers agreed that politicking causes the formation of coalitions among teachers whosometimes ask for demands which are illegitimate if not illegal. However it will have a

negative impact on image of university.

Qualityofeducation:According to data collected during interviews quality of education might get affected

due to political conflicts among teachers as teachers are role model for any student.

Lack ofcommitmentto organizationalgoals:

According to data collected, energy of teachers is diverted from core goal to politics.

However few responses also shared the opposite views that democratic norms would

add value to core goal. The teachers over commitment due to part time teaching within

and outside university is seriously affecting the over all goals of Punjab university of


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quality assurance throughout the organization.

OtherIssues:Politics and power culture is also affecting planning phase according to one of the

former teachers, as different power groups are influencing the decisions so it would not

be easy for management to take decisions while doing planning in any field like HR.

Information is leaked because of power and politics culture, employees are tend to

share their dissent and confidential information to people outside the organization

which harm the overall image of organization and in case of confidential Information it

could damage the strategic interests of university.

Teachers in our society have always been a role model but when teachers are being

indulged in politics then there will be negative impact on the psychology of students.


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CHAPTER 5:

RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 RECOMMENDATIONS:

Recommendations are made considering the analysis of data collected to minimize the

negative impacts of faculty politics at different levels of this study in University of the

Punjab.

Inter-personallevel:1. University to direct Head of Departments to act as counselors and mentors for the

lecturers.

2. Monthly meeting to be held by the Vice Chancellor with the Head of Departmentsto ensure that verbal appreciation to the performing faculty is carried out.

3. University should send senior teachers for P.H.D so that their promotions are notblocked on this basis.

4. Regular short training courses and seminars along with workshops are to beconducted regularly by the University Management for teachers to change

attitudes and behaviors.

Institutionallevel:1. University to define plagiarism clearly and use the already installed software

system so that ambiguities could be removed.

2. HR department to be managed and run by skilled HR professionals and experts.3. Administrative role to be carried out by skilled managerial and clerical task force

instead of teachers.

4.Transparent accountability of teachers to be conducted by separate body formedwith the consensus and representation of all stakeholders.

5. Command and control structure should be replaced by incentives system whereemployees are motivated through incentives.


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6. ACR system of performance appraisal which has been placed in university can beused to control the behaviors and creates conflicts inside organization. University

should replace it with a system which links performance appraisal with

compensation and takes regular feedback.

Inter-group level:1. University laws to be enacted which lay down the code of conduct in disciplinary

issues for the smooth running of ASA elections and other events.

2. University administration to remain impartial during ASA elections.3. Professional spokesperson to be hired to deal with electronic and print media for

the portrayal of better image of the university.

4. Faculty to be insulated from the student politics by enacting strict laws.5. Security to be modernized enhanced and made effective to handle any unpleasant

situation inside the premises of university.

6. ASA to be consulted by University management on issues relating to the teachers.


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5.2 CONCLUSION:

Politics is an opportunity for those who want to do service for society. Unfortunately

politics and power had been used for the vested interests in past years even in

University of the Punjab.

Politics is an integral part of any organization whether public or private and it is not

possible to eliminate politics from our lives or organizational life. Living organizations

tend to have active politics.

We have to work at three levels which this study discussed: institutional, inter-group

and inter-personal level. Different measures should be taken at all these levels in order

to create a shift from political and power culture to quality driven culture. Faculty

politics shouldnt be used for vested interests but it should be a source of service for

teachers and guardian of their rights.

We can minimize faculty politics negative impacts by implementing better systems and

taking several measures at institutional, inter-group and inter-personal level of

university but we cannot completely eliminate it.

Power and politics is used to control behaviors. We need a culture in university of the

Punjab which do not control behaviors but motivate them to work in cooperation and

collaboration for the betterment of students, university and society at large.


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REFERENCES

Drory, A., & Beaty, D. (1991) Gender Differences in the Perception ofOrganizational Influence Tactics. Journal of Organizational Behavior. 12.

Kackmar, K. M., & Ferris, G. R. (1991), Perceptions of organizational politics scale(POPS): Development and Construct Validation. Educational and Psychological

Measurement, 51, 193-205.

Vigoda, E. (2000) Organizational Politics, Job Attitudes, and Work Outcomes:Exploration and Consequences for the Public Sector. Journal of Vocational

Behavior, 57, 326-347.

Jadoon & Jabeen, (2008) Human Resource Management and Quality Assurance inPublic Sector Universities of Pakistan: The Case of University of the Punjab.

Vigoda, E. (2003) Developments in Organizational Politics. Cheltenham: MPGBooks Ltd.


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APPENDIX


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APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE

Questionnaire:Name (Optional): _____________________

Age (Optional): _____________________

Sex:

Instructions: All questions are open ended, please give your comments in given space.

SECTION A

(Factors causing faculty politics)

Q.1: What do you think how personal conflicts contribute to politics?

Q.2: What are your views regarding clash of interests among faculty members?

Q.3: Is there any internal competition among faculty members? Comment.

Male Female


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Q.9: Is there any inappropriate office space for faculty and frequent transfers?

Q.10: Your views on frequent transfers causing politicking?

Q.11: Give your views regarding reward system and its impact on faculty politics?

Q.12: Do you think there is no formal complaint mechanism?

Q.13: What are other institutional factors contributing to faculty politics?

Q.14: What are different political groups present among faculty?


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Q.15: How different political groups affect faculty politics considering their ideological

conflicts?

Q.16: How faculty politics plays its role in gaining control over ASA and statuary

bodies?

Q.17: Is there any influence of faculty politics over students union wings? Comment.

SECTION B

(Consequences)

Q.18: Do you think faculty politics opens new ways of feedback?

Q.19: Do you think faculty politics creates voice among faculty?


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Q.20: Do you think democratic norms and political culture plays positive role?

Q.21: How whistle blowing plays positive role as a result of faculty politics? Comment.

Q.22: Do you think faculty politics guards the rights and interests of teachers?

Q.23: Do you think politicking results in lack of team work & collaboration?

Q.24: Do you think high potentials faces obstacles as a result of faculty politics

especially favoritism & nepotism?

Q.25: How politics damages the image of university? Comment in detail.


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Q.26: How faculty politics resulted in nepotism and favoritism? Comment in detail on

its consequences on university.

Q.27: Do you think quality of education is affected by faculty politics?

Q.28: Do you think there is lack of commitment to organizational goals due to faculty

politics? Comment

Q.29: Give your views on plagiarism issue in the context of faculty politics.

Q.30: Give your views on PHD opportunities being affected because of politicking

among faculty groups.

Q.31: Do you think research opportunities are affected due to political groupings

among faculty members?


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Q.32: Do you think there is lack of collaboration among departments due to faculty

politics?

Q.33: Do you think there is exchange of favors at different level?

Q.43: Give your views in detail on other consequences of faculty politics inside Punjab

University.

THANKS!


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APPENDIX B: LIST OF RESPONDENTS

1. Dr. Fazal e Alim-CHEP2. Dr. Mian Aftab-PSHYCOLOGY3. Dr. Rukhsana Bajwa4. Dr. Shakeel5. Dr. Saaliq6. Dr. Harris Rashid-CHEP7. Dr. Hafiz U Rehman-ECONOMICS8. Ms. Saba Sheikh9. Dr. Amin Athar10. Dr. Maar Saeed


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APPENDIX C: NEWS ARTICLE

DAILY TIMES ARICLE

Punjab University academics wrestle in political bout

According to Daily times December 31, 2008 edition, Campaign for the Punjab University

Academic Staff Association elections for 2009 is in full swing as the two rivals

Academic Group and Teachers'Alliance are doing door-to-door canvassing to woo

around 450 voters on the varsity campuses.

The Academic Group is confident that it will win the election as it is banking on its past

record, telling the prospective voters that it has always fought for teachers' respect and

dignity and got major projects completed during its tenure as association's elected

office-bearers.

The Teachers'Alliance, which is a joint panel of the Academic Forum and the Teachers

Front, is going for elections without making any tall claim. "We contested elections even

when we were sure of our defeat. The exercise is done every year to maintain

continuity," saidTeachers'Alliance's presidential candidate Prof Dr SaeedAhmadNagra.

Referring to the `propaganda' that the alliance is banking on the support of the

university administration, including vice-chancellorProf DrMujahid Kamran, ProfNagra

said the panel was not getting any election support from the vice-chancellor. "The only

difference is that the alliance this year is not facing opposition of the university

administration, which is same for the rival group," he claimed.

Academic Group PresidentProf Dr Haris Rashid, who has again fielded DrMumtaz Salik

as presidential candidate, said that the group had been winning polls for over a decade.

It had got materialised a number of major projects for the collective welfare of the

university teachers, he said.

Being PUASA representatives, he said, they got the Model UniversityOrdinance shelved

after a year-long campaign in the country, got the Tenure Track System implemented


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after removing its shortcomings, got land for university teachers as well as got 28 new

houses constructed on varsity campus during the last two years.

He said the Teachers'Alliance's candidates were part of the present administration and

would never be able to act as a watchdog against "wrong or anti-teacher" policies of the

administration. "It would serve only as a pocket union and nothing more," he added.

SeveralAcademic Group candidates alleged that the vice-chancellor was supporting the

alliance by paying visits to different departments and holding selection board meetings

to gather votes. A source said it was a tradition that the VCschedules meetings in a way

that it should neither favour nor go against any contesting group.

Meanwhile, the case of Prof Dr Naseer Ahmad's detention by police is also being

exploited for election gain. The Academic Group leaders sayResidentOfficer-IProf Dr

BashirAhmad sent police officials to ProfNaseer's residence and a majority of university

teachers, at a PUASA general body meeting, was of the view that he (Prof Bashir) should

resign from his post.

A source said the university administration had assured that Prof Bashir would be

removed from his RO-I seat, if the PUASA did not pass resolution by name. The university

administration, however, did not honour its commitment afterwards because of all those

who were contesting elections.When asked from a key university officer, he said, "Raat gai baat gai".

ProfNagra said Prof Bashir's associates had right to react. "We would have reacted

strongly, ifProf Bashir was removed from his office," he added. He also said the point

was that police went to ProfNaseer's residence because his son-in-law was involved in

Dec 3 firing incident in a university hostel. He said the accused, Hafiz Farhan, had always

taken refuge in ProfNaseer's residence after doing subversive activities in the university.

Meanwhile, a press statement says the

PU syndicate members

Prof Dr Haris

Rashid, Dr

Mumtaz Anwar and Syed Ziaullah Shah -- have announced their support for the

Academic Group panel in the forthcoming elections. The same news release stated that

Academic Group's candidates DrMumtaz Salik (president) and DrMahr SaeedAkhtar

(secretary general) slated the university administration and said "the vice-chancellor


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wants to hijack the representative forum of PUASA from the university teachers to

protect his bad governance and nepotism".

For the last 10 months, they alleged, the university administration was polluting the

academic atmosphere, creating insecurity among the academics and allowing the police

to raid teachers' residences. They also alleged that the university machinery was being

used to help win the election by its group. DailyTimes quoted.

Documents

Thesis (Asad)