THE CASE STUDY OF AN ITALIAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITY: A NEW APPROACH IN THE ORGANISATION

Purpose - This research takes into consideration the study of an Italian Public University which has felt the need to reorganize its structure in order to reach its final goal to guarantee a better service all round. The structure of this educational organization is characterized by nineteen Autonomous Bodies composed by seven Faculties and twelve Departments. The Faculties have an educational output and departments have an output identified by research activity. The aim was to substitute the "segmentated" running of the Autonomous Bodies (departments and faculties) with one which has common goal for everyone. An overall view is essential to be able to comprehend the complex situation. In order to reach this goal it's important for this university to know and to manage the own processes. The goal of this project is to identify a method that allows to reduce the bureaucracy caused by the Autonomous Bodies who act as a go-between for the University and the external agencies which represent the welfare system (insurance, pensions). Design/methodology/approach - The research has been conducted through an empirical analysis of exploratory case study and the results are based on interviews. In fact we have interviewed the responsible of each Autonomous Bodies; this method of research allows us to map the single activities of the process analyzed. The choice of a case study is one of the most appropriate method of empirical inquiry because qualitative studies are necessary where organizational processes are involved. Our analysis concerns an example of educational organizations due to the fact that the public sector is characterized by a radical change. Findings - In the University W. P. both Faculties and Departments need staff in outsourcing to satisfy teaching and research requirements. This present situation cause a big problem because these subjects are on external contracts. This type of contracts generates relations with a lot of External Agencies for example fiscal and social offices that receive payments from each Autonomous Body, but actually the interlocutor is only one: the University. Based on evidence, and in particular analyzing this most relevant issue using a processes approach, we pointed out the following inefficiencies: - duplication of activities concerning the drawing-up and management of a contract; - duplication of activities concerning relations with External Agencies; - delay about presentation formal documents and payments. The mapping and the improvement of the process "Human resource recruitment: not employee" pointed out that is important to broaden this analysis to the mega processes. In fact this could help a better integration between processes and sub-processes in order to reach the strategic targets of the University. Research limitations/implications - This study take into consideration a single case study, but for future research it's necessary to compare this situation with another. Originality/value - This study contributes to identify the relevance of processes approach to reduce the bureaucracy both in terms of costs and timing. It also identifies the gap between Autonomous Bodies and processes (relevant topic in the main literature). The relevance of this research is justified by the fact that the processes approach and the re-engineering are important, especially referring to the Italian public sector. In fact the state-run companies are involved in a radical change which is caused by the following factors: - the decentralisation of administrative offices - the increasing of the consumer demand / requirements - the introduction of competitive mechanisms - the implementation of new technologies