Financial Irregularities in Haas School of Business - Essay Example

Even though Dean Hasler was involved in the process the process itself was transparent and all concerned debated the matter openly.

The need for supplementary payments was to retain top-notch professors who were paid at least 26% less than their counterparts in other institutions and who were about to leave Haas School of Business for other institutions that are paying well. Secondly, Haas School of Business is consistently ranked among the top 20 business schools in the country and they cannot sustain this position if they lose their top-notch business faculty.

The nature of the dilemma of Dean Hasler is simple. Either he has to make adequate payment to its top business faculty or allow the top 20 rankings it has achieved over a period to fall.

As Den Hasler, my options will be as follows:

1. I will do nothing about the situation but observe and wait for things to happen and according to how these things develop I will take appropriate action to save the situation.
2. I will call a meeting of the faculty concerned and tell them that their pay would be suitably raised to match that of the best in the industry and ask them for some time to resolve the issue.
3. I will use my discretionary powers to raise the faculty payments to 20% of their base salary, which is well within the general guidance for a pay rise.

The feasible and non-feasible options to resolve the situation again depend upon how things develop over time and I will use the option based on priorities. My topmost priority will be to maintain the top 20 ranking of the School. To achieve that, I will increase the pay of the concerned faculty by 20% to retain them.

The source of funds through which the payments are made is extremely important because certain rules and regulations will be attached to these funds regarding their application and disbursement. Moreover, certain funds or grants would have been earmarked for a specific purpose or project and hence they cannot be used for any other purpose. But if the payments are not made from a grant or restricting financial source then such payments for a program can be made provided it is approved in the budget and within the overall budget of the organization.

If the supplementary payments for faculty are for compensation for program and curriculum development then a different set of rules should apply for processing payments for such kind of program. But if the faculty members have not completed any additional tasks to avail of the compensation and it is not possible to determine who received the benefits from the program, then the following are the duties and responsibilities of the persons concerned.

1. Dean Hasler should be held responsible for creating this idea and suitable action should be taken against him according to university rules and regulations.
2. Faculty members should be severely reprimanded and proper action should be also taken against them according to university rules as they have not done any work for the curriculum development program to deserve compensation.

3. University administrators should be made accountable for approving the idea, as they are bound to check the relevant records and documents to see whether the University approved the curriculum development program and whether the same has been completed by its objective before according to their approval.
4. Faculty members should be asked to return the money they have taken as compensation since they did not complete the task as said above.

As Dean Hasler, I would ask Mr. Marc Lifsher to look into the facts of the case objectively, take time to interview the campus administrators and others concerned, and report the news in a balanced and impartial way. Read More