03/06/08
UTHSCT Lays Off Five Dozen Employees -
Categories: That was the headline March 1 when UT Health Center made first page of The Tyler Paper with its layoffs. The news article read like it was written directly from a press release, not only in the large number of Calhoun quotes, but the lack of fact checking.
I was one of the five dozen employees. I’m not troubled about the future like many of the other employees, but with my newfound freedom, I can now make a few comments about what I know. The public spin doesn’t reflect either the true rationale for the layoffs, or the facts behind it.
In the past decade at UTHSCT, the workforce has been cut almost in half, from 1500 to about 800 employees. The last round is just another money-saving effort, sacrificing the lives of its workers to keep the institution alive. A few may have been justified, but most will compound the problems at the Health Center down the road. The current layoff DOES mean another overall reduction of the UTHSCT workforce. Most of the positions on the web site have been there for months. Instead of ebb and flow, the layoffs are just another swoop in the downward spiral of UTHSCT.
The idea that technological advances require the Health Center to utilize less manpower is spin that is a half truth at best. Technological advances would be good reasons, if in fact there were significant advances. But departments like Information Technology were so understaffed prior to the layoffs that very little progress was being made in areas that affect secretarial workstations. Many of the past cuts have left many people trying to do two jobs in different departments. They end up being overworked, or things end up not being done, hence the incomplete financial information. In some cases, work is outsourced, sometimes at triple the cost of having it done internally.
The necessity for the layoffs are the result of mismanagement and unmanagement. In my own department, I have witnessed problems related to inadequate and misleading financial information, and questionable budgeting and purchasing practices among other things. The layoff itself is a reflection of the logic behind it. Just prior to the layoff, the institution spent a lot of money upgrading one department before it was shut down. Instead of being more efficient, it is inefficiencies and waste at the Health Center that are leading to higher costs, and the only revenue left to make up the difference is taken out of the workforce.
If this were a corporation, and it continues its current course, I would predict its failure. Many of my past predictions have come true. But, since it is a government operation, the spin may continue to keep it in operation at the cost of the taxpayer.
In a Dilbert comic strip years ago, there was a dilemma concerning the financial state of the company. The idea that was expressed went something like. “Let’s reorganize so there is no historical data for comparison.” “And give ourselves big raises for saving so much money".
It appears that tactic is part of the core curriculum in MBA school. Constantly being reorganized, and never organized. I’m not saying getting a mammoth of an organization under control is easy. It will take some special skills. There just may not be anyone with those skills willing to tackle this job. And if there is, he may not have the superficial qualifications (PhD, MD) that the (UT) System will require.
That’s just a brainstorming overview. There are many thoughts trying to be expressed about my experiences and observations over the past decade, but I will still have to choose my words wisely.
Comments:
· http://www.saltatoria.com/dbell In the past I've thought that the newspaper is question had some liberal leanings. It may be worse than that. UTHSCT spends a fortune in advertising. I pass by 5 big UTHSCT billboards in town on the way to work. They are constantly on the radio and television, and even had their own "movie making" department. And they frequently publish announcements in the paper.
The newspaper industry in America has been in trouble for years. The number of newspaper continues to dwindle. They are dependent on advertisers and with radio and television competition, they can't afford to lose any advertisers. So much for the free press.
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03/19/08 @ 09:59 Leave a comment:
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