In terms of organizational development and change, organizational diagnosis is significant in excellent performance, productivity, and system efficiency by looking at the shortcomings of an organization. Thus, this descriptive research utilizes a sequential mixed-method approach aimed at exploring Capiz State Universitys (CAPSUs) Accounting Department through an adopted framework of the Galbraith Star Model. The diagnosis assesses the Accounting environment that focuses on systems efficiency through strategies, structures, processes, rewards, and people. Focus-Group Discussion (FGD) and a researcher-made questionnaire were utilized in gathering the needed data. According to the findings, the organization was impacted by substantial changes in government rules and regulations, which caused confusion and affected decision-making. The department was challenged in the implementation of the strategy as well as structure because of the nature of information, workflow, campus location, and stakeholder geography. The Accounting Department process emphasized innovation and implementation of the new Accounting System. When it comes to people, human resource development adhered to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) mandates. The rewards system was embedded in the University Code and adhered to CSC mandates which were performance-based; however, it needed enhancement and innovation.
Organizational diagnosis is a very important issue in the field of organizational development and change. It is often the case in studies that organizational change management comes down in answering three questions such as why (the cause of change), how (the process of change), and what (the content of change) (cited by Janicijevic, 2010 in the study of Pettigrew, 1987). Organizational diagnosis is a method for analyzing the organization to identify organizational shortcomings so they would be neutralized through organizational change. In short, it is a notion that focuses mostly on organiz-ational analysis, which is required to distinguish bet-ween limitations and development.
Moreover, this organizational diagnosis is an appro-priate method of examining an organization to find discrepancies between present and intended perfor-mance and how it might achieve its objectives. The goal of diagnostic is to detect organizational problems and uncover their roots so that management could develop solutions. It is a potent consciousness-raising exercise in and of itself, with the main benefit being the action that it induces. The primary distinction of organizational analysis and organizational diagnosis is their purpose. The goal of organizational analysis is to understand the organization in order to explore it, whereas the goal of organizational diagnosis is to un-derstand the organization in order to change and im-prove it (action). An organizational diagnosis could be defined as a type of organizational analysis that focu-ses on implementing organizational change to improve organizational performance (Hossain et al., 2020).
Huge problems are experienced by different private and public organizations in achieving efficiency and excellence, especially in service-oriented organiz-ations. These problems may affect the condition of every organization. These include limited resources requi-red to carry out processes (lack of facilities, space, and logistics), insufficient information mechanism (insuffi-cient software for control system), a dearth of compe-tence of employees or managers (faculty and staffs poor work performance), insufficient human resou-rce and management (lack of employees, insufficient education and training, poor motivation and emp-loyees discontent, appraisal of poor performance) (non-transparency of the process, and poor discipline of participants in handling activities involved in the process).
Capiz State University (CAPSU) is an academic insti-tution that offers advanced education and professional training in agriculture, fishing, forestry, science, tech-nology, the arts, humanities, education, and other related subjects. Additionally, it conducts research, offers exten-sion services, engages in production, and exhibits pro-gressive leadership in its areas of expertise. The studys main goal was to investigate the Universitys Accoun-ting Department using an organizational diagnosis approach to identify the departments flaws and perfor-mance in realizing the universitys vision and system efficiency. The organizational diagnosis was limited to the area of organizational development and change, with three (3) main issues: the organizational diag-nostic models development, the selection of proce-dures and data collection techniques in diagnosis, and the methods of processing data and drawing conclu-sions. Organizational diagnosis is crucial to organiz-ational reform initiatives that aim to apply the right interventions and increase the systems preparedness to change in todays climate of academic excellence.
Research Design
This study utilized a descriptive research using a sequential mixed-method approach. The study further used qualitative data to explore quantitative findings. This explanatory sequential design typically involves two phases: 1) an initial quantitative instrument phase; and 2) a qualitative data collection phase that draws directly on the quantitative phases results. This design was used in conducting an organizational diagnosis of Capiz State Universitys Accounting Department.
The Locale
This was conducted in the Accounting Department in the Central Office of Capiz State University in Roxas City.
The Subject
This research utilized the Accounting Departments strategy, structure, process, reward and people as the subject. As to strategy, the department head is the per-son who sets the direction for decision-making and attainment of the departments vision. As to structure, the department was under the supervision of the Vice President of Finance and the Chief Administrative Officer for Finance in which the head of the Accoun-ting Department was the Chief Accountant and the campuses like Roxas Main, Burias, Pontevedra, and Sigma had their own accountants too. The Government Accounting Manual (GAM) for National Government Agencies guided the process of the department as prescribed by the Commission on Audit (COA). At present, the department has no accounting system and all transactions are being processed manually. As to communication, the Records Section was tasked with receiving all memoranda, office orders, circulars, as well as other papers, which were subsequently for-warded to the appropriate offices and campuses. The Information Technology (IT) services were un-available, causing delays in information sharing.
There were no monetary rewards available in the department, only intangible benefits. Employees were being honored for their efforts, and the department head would treat them to lunch outside as a token of appreciation for their efforts and collaboration in achieving the departments vision. The reward system was imbedded in the University Code. Most of the per-sonnel in the department was non-permanent. In the Central Office, there were two (2) Certified Public Accountants who assisted the Chief Accountant in achieving the departments vision. There were other four (4) Accountants assigned in different campuses who process their own transactions, but if they have concerns, they always ask the opinion of the Chief Accountant.
The Respondents
The researchs respondents were the 23 accounting personnel of which 12 were from Central Office, 4 from Roxas Main Campus, 2 from Burias Campus, 3 from Pontevedra Campus, and 2 from Sigma Campus. There were 11 permanent employees and 12 non-per-manent employees. Thirty-five (35) percent were males and sixty-five (65) percent were females. Fifty-two (52) percent ages 21-33 years old, 26 percent ages 34-46 years old, and 22 percent ages 47-60 years old. Thirty-nine (39) percent of respondents were single, 52 percent were married, and nine (9) percent were wido-wed. The highest percentage of the respondents was college graduates with 44 percent, followed by with units in Masters degree with 31 percent, Masters degree holders with 17 percent, with units in Doctorate with four (4) percent, and Doctorate degree holders with also four (4) percent. The highest percentage of 54 percent were non-permanent employees, ten (10) percent were Administrative Officer IV and the rest got four (4) percent were Chief Accountant Designate, Accountant I, Administrative Officer V, Administra-tive Officer II, Instructor I/Accountant, Assistant Inter-nal Auditor, Administrative Aide VI, Administrative Aide II and Administrative Aide I. Seventeen (17) percent of the respondents were 1 year and below, 65 percent were 2-10 years, nine (9) percent were 11-17 years, and nine (9) percent were 18 years and above in the university.
The Key Informants
The researchs key informants in the Focus Group Discussion were the five (5) Certified Public Accoun-tants (CPAs) of Capiz State University: one (1) from Central Office and four (4) from different campuses, namely: Roxas Main Campus, Burias, Pontevedra, and Sigma (also the respondents). The Chief Administra-tive Officer (CAO) for Finance was a key informant since the Accounting Department is under its super-vision. The researcher also invited the Vice President for Administration and Finance, but was not able to attend during the scheduled FGD. A total of six (6) key informants participated during the FGD who were permanent employees. There was only one male and others were females. The accountants were all design-ated except for the Sigma Campus. Four (4) key infor-mants were married, one (1) was widowed, and one (1) was single. For highest educational attainment, four (4) key informants were Masters degree holders, the other one was with units in doctorate, and one key informant was a Doctorate degree holder. When it comes to the number of years in Capiz State University, one (1) key informant served for more than 25 years, one (1) served for ten (10) years, and four (4) who served for five years and below.
Research Instrument
This study used an interview guide and a survey questionnaire as its instruments. The survey question-naire was the accounting personnels perceived assess-ment of the Capiz State University Accounting Depart-ments strategy, structure, process, reward, and people. During the FGD, an interview guide adapted from the survey questionnaire was employed.
Data Gathering Procedure
Permission to conduct the study was secured from the Deans Office of the College of Management of CAPSU – Main Campus. A separate letter was sent to the President of CAPSU to request permission to per-form the study which was required prior to the con-duct of the study. The researcher administered the survey instrument to the 11 permanent and 12 non-per-manent employees of the Accounting Department for the Central Office and four (4) campuses with a total of 23 personnel. For FGD, the researcher sent a letter of invitation to the Administration and Finances Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer for Finance, Chief Accountant and Accountants of the four (4) cam-puses. There was a total of six (6) key informants. During the focus group, participants signed the consent for photography, video, and audio recording, as well as the waiver, indemnification, and release form. A them-atic analysis was done to collect important information about the variables and validate the informants claims.
Data Analysis Procedure
Upon retrieval of the questionnaires, the data were tallied and processed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 computer program for Windows. For Focus Group Discussion results, a thematic analysis was utilized in emphasizing, identi-fying, and analyzing patterns of meaning within the data.
The organizational diagnostic of the Accounting De-partments overall mean is displayed in Table 1 with a grand mean of 3.87 and a verbal interpretation of "Very Good." As further shown in the table among the organizational departments, strategy got the uppermost mean of 4.11, verbally interpreted as “Very Good”; followed by people with a mean of 3.96, verbally interpreted as “Very Good”; process with 3.93, verb-ally interpreted as “Very Good”; structure with a mean of 3.91, verbally interpreted as “Very Good”; and re-ward having the lowest mean of 3.44, verbally inter-preted as “Very Good”. As to strategy, the Accounting Departments organizational diagnosis utilizing the adapted framework did not cause employee confusion, and the departments decision-making was unaffected. Because of the organizations size and the quick chan-ges in government laws and directives, the depart-ments strategies and day-to-day operations were also affected. The department also based their approach on the organizations and the departments commitments, vision, leadership, and best practices. Concerning structure, the difficulties encountered during strategy implementation had an impact on the departments structure, notably on information, decision-making, workflow, campus location, and stakeholder geogra-phy. On the contrary, the department highly needed innovation and the adoption of the new Accounting System. This system would enable the department to generate a report and collate transactions on time to provide transparency, accuracy, and quality service to its stakeholders. Hence, the communication process was also highlighted to prevent problems among employees and throughout the department. As to re-ward, the organization had a reward system in place imbedded in the University Code and CSC guidelines on qualifications and performance, and inclusions of alternative intangible benefits present in the depart-ment. However, the employees were hoping for addi-tional incentive plan in the department. Whereby on the people, the standards were mandated by the poli-cies of the Civil Service Commission (CSC). Due to bureaucracy and scarcity of governments funding, it had affected the employees in the Accounting Depart-ment because most of them were non-permanent. The result implies that among the Accounting Depart-ments components, the reward system is perceived to be not so perfect by the employees working under it. This result accords to the finding of Hamid, (2011) that the Accounting Department diagnosis is not perfect and needs some changes which can help improve the organizations future performance and development. However, it considers all aspects and reveals the whole picture on the strategies, structure shortcomings, pro-cesses, lapses, sustainability of rewards, and develop-ment of people. The organizations reward system is embedded in the University Code (University Code, 2015) of Capiz State University and Civil Service Commission (CSC) guidelines, based on the emp-loyees performance and qualification. Since reward got the lowest mean, the reward system may be modi-fied so that employees will be encouraged to stay and be motivated. This finding is backed by the findings of Fischer and Montalbano, (2014) that employees who are rewarded for their creative engagement and accom-plishments by recognition and intra-organization advan-cement are more innovative. At present, no monetary rewards are available in the Accounting Department, which means that employees only have intangible benefits. This would be a challenge for the University to innovate a reward system for continuous improve-ment. Moreover, Immordinos findings (2010) agree with the current researchs finding that, to remain effective, organizations of all kinds must continually improve themselves in response to the challenges that they face, especially those in the public sectors.
The current result further implies that nowadays, tech-nological innovations, especially on organizational structure, are essential for achieving the Accounting Departments objective and adjusting to societal trends. This is again supported by the statement of Hamid, (2011) that the university must be one step ahead of other institutions and has the quality by which it can improve the quality of other organizational environ-ments. Boyne et al. (2009) also agrees that all levels of governments, including the academe, are under con-stant pressure to improve their efficacy, responsive-ness, and productivity.
Since strategy got the highest mean of the components, it follows that employees understand the Accounting Departments vision for achieving departments effici-ency. The employees are aware of the departments aims, which are efficiency-related. The Accounting Department will create the organizations goals, stra-tegy, and vision in addition to directing and controlling the organizations future. Additionally, it will merit on what to be accomplished and define the strategies that do not match the structures (Johnson et al., 2008). The strategies do not create confusion among employees because each one had their own duties and responsibi-lities in the goals achievement. Hence, effective lea-dership and communication are essential to imple-menting strategies, and employees must be involved in the process (Neis et al., 2010).
The department head encouraged employee partici-pation and empowerment to establish good working environment among employees. This is consistent with Berger and Mengs, (2010) study, which found that their efforts boosted the importance of public relations, company efficiency, and effect on the organizational decision-making process, all of which contributed to the departments goals being achieved. This conclusion supports Akinnusis, (2006) findings that a flexible organization necessitates flexible people. Effective management of human resources has become vital to the fulfillment of individual and organizational goals and objectives.
Table 1: The Accounting Departments organizational diagnosis as a whole.
Insights Drawn for System Efficiency
The Accounting Departments organizational diagnosis was done through the adoption of the Star Model Framework by Galbraith 1973. The researcher presen-ted the insights from the findings to achieve system efficiency in the Accounting
Department. The insights were anchored on several study narratives to complement and address the Acc-ounting Departments gaps. The insights will be used for the Universitys future decision-making and policy formulation. These insights will help the department to formulate strategies, improve the structures, enhance the processes, innovate rewards system and develop and engage employees towards productivity and effi-ciency. According to Robbins, (2000) the most preva-lent measurements of organizational success are effect-tiveness and efficiency. The main focus is the achieve-ment of the organizations mission, vision, and goals. The research incorporates system thinking as well, which means that various organizational levels will execute different tasks. To meet the needs of the users, it is crucial to comprehend the precise tasks or object-tives the organization expects the system to complete (Stone and Good, 2002).
Hence, strategy, structure, process, reward, and people will be continuously per-formed and enhanced by the Administration and Finance Department and Human Resource Department, which is aligned to the man-dates of the Com-mission on Higher Education (CH-ED), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Commission on Audit (COA), and other organizations partner-agencies. In terms of strategy, the University and the Accounting Department will collaborate to ensure that the strategies are aligned to improve the structure. To develop a strategy that is based on the departments structure, work will nonetheless begin on improving the structure for modifications and recom-mendations for any change.
Moreover, according to the researchers analysis, the process must be changed for the Department to attain system efficiency. The Government Accounting Man-ual (GAM), COA, and DBM must all be in alignment with and approve of any process innovation, parti-cularly those that affect the accounting system. The Central Administration may allot budget on the pro-curement of the proposed Accounting System for process innovation. According to Profiroiu, (2001), performance in the public sector implies a connection between goals, strategies, and outcomes; as a result, performance is the end result of pursuing productivity, efficacy, and a commensurate budget all at once. The department and the University may, however, first turn to the system thinking method to address their current issues. The Accounting Department will make sure to regularly assess and monitor the Accounting Systems implementation to achieve efficiency as it relates to process innovation. The various laws and regulations of the regulatory agencies will be taken into account during the evaluation and monitoring.
As to the reward, the University may innovate and implement a new reward system for permanent and non-permanent employees as Human Resource Deve-lopment Plans part. A consideration of an innovative intrinsic and extrinsic rewards for employees satis-faction must be carefully crafted. To keep employees happy and motivated, the HRD needs to be aware of their preferences for rewards and recognition. Liter-ature shows that success or failure of an organization depend upon motivation and job satisfaction of emp-loyees (Zeb et al., 2009).
Whereby, people in the University will be given priority and establish the Human Resource Develop-ment Plan where employees are given the chance to grow and engage them for self-actualization and or-ganizational long-term goals and vision achievement with their performance and attitudes (Bartuseviciene & Sakalyte, 2013). The company receives staff commit-ment as a consequence of the high level of emp-loyees participation in organizational activities, which lowers turnover and the cost of the hiring and training processes (Demartini, 2011). Additionally, employees who are devoted to the organization are well aware of necessary knowledge, skills, and experience to provide quality service (Harris, 2000). The Accounting Depart-ments diagnosis will unleash the creativity and inno-vation of the University to come up with a plan for excellent service delivery and satisfaction of its stakeholders. The creativity and innovation will priori-tize on the Universitys intangible and tangible infrastructures. The University will look into different inputs, outputs, and outcomes which also simultane-ously in the pursuit of efficacy, efficiency, and allo-cated budget (Mandl et al., 2008). Contrarily, it is anticipated in the context of Capiz State University, which according to Mihaiu et al. (2010), efficiency is a challenge which most of the government agencies have to face. It is as a result of the constraints placed on government funding as well as the norms and rules of the many regulatory agencies. The government also has to adapt technological advancements and societal changes in pursuance to public service (Manzoor, 2014). Fig. 1 shows the system efficiency levels frame-work of Capiz State University for excellent service delivery and stakeholders satisfaction.
Fig. 1: The system efficiency framework of Capiz State University Accounting Department for excellent delivery of services and stakeholders satisfaction.
The managements developed strategies are affected by the Universitys size when they are put into practice. Its commitments, vision, and leadership style are also affected by the new policies passed by different regulatory agencies. Strategies are also in line to the present Accounting Departments structure. The struc-ture is centralized because most of the decision-making comes from the top management. The present structure was also affected by the rapid changes of government policies and the diverse culture being practiced by the different campuses. As to process, communication and technological innovations are the great challenges faced by the department. The depart-ment already took an initiative to apply and comply the proposed systems technical resources to be approved by the Commission on Audit. As to reward, the organ-izations present system present is recognized on the qualification and performance. But because of the initiatives of the management, some intangible benefits are implemented. Employees will be motivated if addi-tional monetary rewards are given owing to the depart-ments heavy workload. As to people, hiring a regular employee in the Accounting Department is a problem because of the governments financial resources affect-ting the departments productivity, transparency, and performance for most of the hired employees are non-permanent who have no organizational tenure and acc-ountability.
Gratitude is given to those who shared genuine support to the researcher for this fulfilled research, specifically to the informants/participants, CAPSU Central Office, and CAPSU College of Management, Roxas City, Capiz.
Author declares no conflicting interests.
Academic Editor
Dr. Liiza Gie, Head of the Department, Human Resources Management, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa.
Accountant IV, Capiz State University, Roxas City, Capiz, Philippines.
Tuante MB. (2023). Capiz State University accounting department organizational diagnosis towards system efficiency, Int. J. Manag. Account. 5(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.34104/ijma.023.000108