Management Practice 2 Report: Effectiveness of Australian Universities

This report examines the management practices of La Trobe University and Australian National University, focusing on their effectiveness from various stakeholder perspectives. It analyzes the purpose and scope of operations for both universities, highlighting the criteria used by students and the government to judge their performance. The report delves into the organizational structures of each university, comparing their strengths and weaknesses. It explores the implications of developing a coherent approach to organizational effectiveness, emphasizing the potential for improved goodwill, increased student strength, and enhanced funding. The report concludes with a comparative analysis, recommending Australian National University as the more effective institution based on its broader course offerings, government ties, and lower tuition fees, while acknowledging the easier admission process at La Trobe University. The report uses various academic sources to support its claims.

Management theory and practice
La Trobe University and Australian National University

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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Purpose of the organization.............................................................................................................2
Scope of operations..........................................................................................................................2
Criteria to judge the organization’s effectiveness: Student perspective..........................................2
Criteria to judge the organization’s effectiveness: Government perspective..................................3
Present structure of the organization...............................................................................................4
La Trobe University.....................................................................................................................4
Australian National University....................................................................................................5
Implications for the development of a coherent approach to organisational effectiveness.............5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................7
Appendices 1...................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
Marketing is a highly imperative fragment of management. Marketing plays a crucial role in
determining the success of an organization (Armstrong, Kotler, Harker & Brennan, 2015).
Maximizing returns and delivering satisfaction to the customers and stakeholders are the
objectives of any organization. And therefore, to serve to this purpose, it is vital for a business to
fathom the needs and demands of its stakeholders (Eskerod & Jepsen, 2016). An organization’s
products and services must suit the needs of its stakeholders. The following report throws light
on two leading universities of Australia, their efficiency, effectiveness and different criteria
adopted by its various stakeholders to evaluate their efficiency.
Purpose of the organization
LaTrobe University and Australian National University are based out of Australia and cater to
educating students across the country and abroad. The purpose of both the universities is to
deliver quality education to students and assist them in establishing a future built over a strong
educational foundation.
Scope of operations
The universities are well known across the globe. They offer a sundry variety of courses and
cater to the needs of various local as well as international students.
Criteria to judge the organization’s effectiveness: Student perspective
Stakeholders are people who have a stake in the organization (Weiss, 2014). The major
stakeholders of the universities are its students. There are various aspects by which students
judge the effectiveness of both the universities.
As students who are freshly coming out of high school, the number of courses offered by the
university plays a vital role in judging the effectiveness of the university. La Trobe University
offers courses in arts, social sciences, business, commerce, health, IT, engineering, law and
Science (La Trobe, 2018). This provides students with a one stop shop for their career needs. On
the other hand, Australian National University offers over 5000 courses including courses in

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Science, Criminology, Law, Economics, Management, Literature, Arts, Drama, Dance, Foreign
languages, Statistics and life insurance (ANU, 2018).
Another criteria which impacts the university’s effectiveness is the total expense that needs to be
borne by the student while enrolling in that university. La Trobe University charges a tution fee
of $20,000 to $22,000. On the other hand, ANU is relatively less expensive and the average
tuition fee charged is $4000 to $6000. However, ANU is a national university and hence
government of Australia offers lucrative scholarships to the university’s students.
ANU has a better brand name and positioning across the globe with a QS ranking of 20 as
compared to La Trobe’s QS ranking of 360 (Top Universities, 2018). ANU has a total academic
staff of over 1600 professors while La Trobe has the capacity over 1200 staff annually. ANU
staff is well known throughout the world and the university aims at recruiting the best quality
staff from around the globe.
Criteria to judge the organization’s effectiveness: Government perspective
Both the Universities are funded by the government and hence the government is an important
stakeholder for both the universities. Governments fund universities as a step towards a brighter
future of the country with the intention of promoting education and enhancing the brand value of
their country.
Government judges the effectiveness of a university by analyzing the university’s future plan for
growth, appropriate utilization of resources and quality of education provided to the students. It
is essential for an organization to ensure satisfaction of all their stakeholders to determine long
term and mutually beneficial relationships with them (Davis, 2014).

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Present structure of the organization
La Trobe University
Organizational structure plays a vital role in the success of the organization by ensuring effective
flow of communication and quicker decision making (Bolman & Deal, 2017). La Trobe
University’s organizational structure is as below:
Source 1: La Trobe University Website
A university council is the governing body of the university which is presided over by the
chancellor. The Vice chancellor and other members of the university council form the academic
board who look into academic issues. On the other hand, managerial decisions are made by The
Senior Executive Group.

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Australian National University
The current organizational structure of both the universities are appropriate. The structures are
detailed and the line of communication as well as decision making is clearly established within
the university. Defining clear jobs roles and authorities make it easier for employees to
coordinate with one another and work effectively (Belias, D., Koustelios, A., Sdrolias, L. and
Aspridis, 2015).
Implications for the development of a coherent approach to organisational effectiveness
Developing a coherent approach with regards to all the stakeholders of the organization would
lead to the following implications:
1. Improved goodwill and positioning of both the universities.
2. Increased student strength and improved quality of education provided to students.
3. Increased funding from the government.
4. Effective universities would lead to increased competency of students. This would in turn
attract better job opportunities and hence efficient employees in the workplace. Overall
this would form the base of an improved economy.
ANU Council (15
Members)
Academic Staff Professional staff
Academic section
(7 Colleges)
Executive Positions
(Appendices 1)

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Conclusion
Effectiveness of any organization is pivotal in the success of the organization as well as its long
term sustainability. La Trobe University as well as Australian National University are both
leading universities functioning in Australia. However ANU is a national university and hence
has better ties with the government of Australia. The fees charged by ANU is also much lesser
than that charged by La Trobe University. Moreover, the courses offered by ANU are more
detailed and higher in number. This automatically increases the university’s target market.
However, it has been observed that ANU has a much difficult entrance exam that needs to be
cleared and it is comparatively easier to get to La Trobe University. From the above analysis, it
is recommended that Australian National University is more effective than La Trobe University.

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References
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. and Brennan, R., 2015. Marketing: an introduction.
Pearson Education.
Australian National University, 2018. ‘Study Options’. Available at
Belias, D., Koustelios, A., Sdrolias, L. and Aspridis, G., 2015. Job satisfaction, role conflict and
autonomy of employees in the Greek banking organization. Procedia-Social and Behavioral
Sciences, 175, pp.324-333.
Bolman, L.G. and Deal, T.E., 2017. Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership.
John Wiley & Sons.
Davis, K., 2014. Different stakeholder groups and their perceptions of project
success. International journal of project management, 32(2), pp.189-201.
Eskerod, P. and Jepsen, A.L., 2016. Project stakeholder management. Routledge. United
Kingdom.
LA Trobe University, 2018. ‘Courses’. Available at http://www.latrobe.edu.au/courses.
Retrieved on 22 March, 2018.
Top Universities, 2018. ‘La Trobe University’. Available at
https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/la-trobe-university/undergrad. Retrieved on 22
March, 2018.
Weiss, J.W., 2014. Business ethics: A stakeholder and issues management approach. Berrett-
Koehler Publishers.

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Appendices 1