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Realignment of functions will lead to a more effective campus
Chancellor Berdahl announces changes in campus administrative structure, starting Nov. 1. Some 650 employees are involved

| 29 October 2003

Chancellor Robert Berdahl last week announced changes in the campus’s administrative structure, the latest in a series of steps toward increased organizational effectiveness that have been a hallmark of his years in office.

The moves follow an intensive five-month study of non-academic functions conducted by Berdahl, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Paul Gray, the campus’s Center for Organizational Effectiveness (COrE), and organizational consultants from the national firm McKinsey & Company.

The changes in reporting lines become effective on Nov. 1 and will be fully implemented by January 2004. The goal of the restructuring is to form more manageable and aligned control units by bringing together functions that require collaboration and related skills, clarifying roles and responsibilities, and assuring that units are an optimal size for effective management.

“When I became chancellor I began working on ways to make the campus organizational structure stronger, more efficient, and more sensible,” said Berdahl, who said last month that advancing organizational effectiveness will be a focus of his remaining months as chancellor. “We’ve made many positive changes in the past six years, and this realignment continues that work. I am determined that when I step down in June 2004, our campus leaders, managers, and staff will be better positioned to do their best work within a campus structure that helps make that possible.”

Nearly 650 people, five percent of the campus’s administrative staff, are in units that are moving from one control unit to another under last week’s announcement.

The principal changes are these:

• An integrated Facilities Services control unit, led by Vice Chancellor Ed Denton, will manage planning, design, construction, and maintenance of campus space and facilities. The unit includes all current Capital Projects functions, with the addition of Physical Plant–Campus Services and Real Estate Services (from Business and Administrative Services), and Space Management and Capital Programs (from Budget and Finance).

• An integrated Budget and Finance control unit, led by Vice Chancellor Jim Hyatt, will manage campus budget, finances, and related processes. The unit includes all of the current Budget and Finance functions (except Space Management), plus several business functions from BAS, including disbursements, cashiering, loans and receivables, risk management, travel and entertainment reimbursement, and part of payroll.

• Business and Administrative Services, led by Vice Chancellor Horace Mitchell, now a more manageable size, will focus on initiatives in procurement, human resources, and athletics, as well as continuing to provide campus safety, transportation, environmental, recreational, counseling, health, and selected business services.

• Audit and Advisory Services moves from BAS and reports to the chancellor.

• Undergraduate Affairs, led by Vice Chancellor Genaro Padilla, has been renamed Student Affairs to clarify its focus on providing services for all students.

“Improving organizational effectiveness has been a priority for this chancellor since he walked in the door in 1997,” says Phyllis Hoffman, director of COrE, which was founded by Berdahl in 1999. Last week’s organizational realignment was the latest in a series of changes Berdahl has made. During his tenure, Capital Projects was created as a distinct control unit; separate leadership was established for Graduate Division and Research; three vice provost positions were created; and work was undertaken to restructure the staff classification system — all significant changes in the campus organizational structure.

Leaders in each of the affected units have already begun communicating with staff, through e-mail and meetings, to answer questions and begin to implement the changes.

“As the chancellor and vice chancellors looked at how the campus does business and how we might do it better, aligning systems and activities that are similar was logical,” said Vice Chancellor Denton. “Under the new organization, Facilities Services will be able to manage and provide services for campus buildings and space ‘from cradle to grave.’” He said this new integrated structure for space and facilities is similar to those at other UC campuses.

“There are good opportunities for improving coordination within Facilities Services, and we’ll be looking constantly at how we can be better at what we do,” said Denton of his newly constituted unit. “I expect that changes within the new unit will be gradual, as we need time to understand what should be different.” He added that any changes “will involve a lot of discussion with the people who make up the unit. I cannot do it without their input.”

Vice Chancellor Mitchell noted that his team of leaders and staff in BAS has been making steady improvements in the way campus business is done, work that has laid the foundation for the success of this new restructuring. “These changes will build on important business process and customer service initiatives that have been implemented in BAS as part of our BAS Excels strategy,” he said. “I want to thank Directors Faye Fields, Eric Haemer, Stephanie Siri, and each member of their staff and management teams for their dedicated service to the campus while they have been in BAS. I am confident that they will continue their fine work.

He continued, “I want to express particular appreciation to Associate Vice Chancellor Ron Coley, who has provided excellent leadership through his supervision of Business Services and Physical Plant – Campus Services over the past few years.”

For Budget and Finance, Vice Chancellor Jim Hyatt sees the new structure as a plus. “The realignment to integrate financial operations provides us with a great opportunity to both create a more seamless business interface for the campus and build a more effective controls structure,” said Hyatt. “I am looking forward to having the chance to work with the staff of the Business Services units as we address these challenging goals.”

An implementation group, convened by Phyllis Hoffman, will work together to oversee the changes that will take place in the next two months.

Any changes made as the implementation proceeds will be well-publicized, according to COrE.

The review of the campus administrative structure was initiated last May. The McKinsey consultants began by interviewing campus administrators and staff to identify key issues to be addressed. Then, drawing on extensive experience with other organizations in the public and private sectors and in higher education, they provided the chancellor and his cabinet with different organizational models to consider. Recommendations emerged, Berdahl and Gray considered them, and the chancellor put forth his plan to the cabinet on Oct. 21 and to the campus on Oct. 24.

Despite the ongoing UC budget crunch, downsizing is not an aim of the restructuring, Berdahl said. “The goal of these changes is effectiveness. The alignment was not done to save money or eliminate jobs.”

Additional ideas for non-structural approaches to improving some campus services also emerged from the review and the work with McKinsey consultants. Berdahl and Gray will consider these ideas in the coming months, working with the units involved to determine next steps.
More information on the changes is available on the online NewsCenter, newscenter.berkeley.edu, where there is also an opportunity to submit questions. The COrE staff will send answers to questioners who provide contact information, and answers to frequently asked questions will be posted on the web.

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