The central administration of the University of Malta : perceptions of the academic and administrative staff

Abstract

The University of Malta is the main provider of the Maltese intelligentsia and the middle and higher-level section of the Maltese workforce. Its academic and administrative staff adds up to about 1300 employees, on whom the University’s every day-to-day running and successful performance depends. The smooth running of this institution depends on the efficiency and effectiveness of the central administration. Actually, it can be regarded as the backbone of this organisation. The major aim of the study was to identify the perception of the University’s members of staff towards its central administration. This was done through a quantitative analysis of the feedback collected from a questionnaire distributed to University employees. This focused on different aspects of administration. In addition, respondents were asked to make suggestions on how the central administration could offer a better service and ameliorate its operation. This was done keeping in view (second chapter) current theories about administration. Through the analysis of the data, it was evident that on the whole, members of staff working at the University of Malta have an overall good perception of their administration but there at the same time a number of areas needing improvement were also mentioned. Various significant suggestions were proposed by the respondents to which could help in improving the management of the central administration and at the same time to make it more efficient and effective. This would not only improve its own performance but also help the University of Malta achieve better results.