Management Achievement of the Royal Development Study Centers
Abstract
The objectives of this study were threefold: 1) To investigate the management achievement of the Royal Development Study Centers; 2) To ascertain the factors favorable to the management achievement; and 3) To offer recommendations for the improvement of the factors influencing the management achievement. The study was qualitative in nature. The needed data were gathered from several sources such as related documents, non – participant observations, audiovisual materials, and in – depth interviews. 10 key informants working for the Royal Development Study Center (located at Khaohinsorn, Chachoengsao Province) and other 10 key informants working for the Royal Development Study Center (located at Huay Trai, Phetchaburi Province) were purposively selected for in – depth interviews. All the 20 key informants were known as persons with high caliber or as topflight persons. The qualitative data gathered from all sources were analyzed by resorting to content analysis, inductive analysis and storytelling. The data analysis has led to the following conclusions.
On the management achievement of the Royal Development Study Centers it was found that the management achievement was very high. It was so largely because the Principle of Self – Sufficiency Economy was put to use to a considerable extent. That was to say, virtually all aspects of the Principle of Self – Sufficiency Economy were used by the Royal Development Study Centers. The following aspects were, among others, prevalent in the context of the centers: moderation; rationality; a good immune system; cool, calm and collected; perseverance; interdependence; mutual help; esprit de, corps; no extravagance; no sophistication; maximizing gain; minimizing loss; gradual and sustainable growth, and so on.
On the factors conducive to the management achievement of the centers, they were the following: 1) Leadership. The leaders made use of visionary and transactional leadership style.2) Human resource management. The HRM was deemed highly satisfactory. Of special interest was the fact that all the staff members of the two centers were treated in a fair, equitable and unbiased manner, and the leaders were fair in applying the rewarding system. 3)
The administrative process. The administration or management was based in large measure on the theory of bureaucracy and the new public management theory.
On the recommendations for the improvement of the factors influencing the management achievement, the following recommendations are worth mentioning: 1)The centers should encourage and support all the staff members to attend some training courses to boost their knowledge and skills in a continual basis to boost their knowledge and skills so as to improve their work performance as well as to enable them to keep up with the times. 2)State – of – the – art technology should be used in the centers so that the work performance could be enhanced to perfection. 3)To keep up with the rapidly changing world, the leaders should greatly adapt themselves to the extent that they might attend some leadership training courses 4) Apart from state – of - the –art – technology, all other administrative resources must be made sufficiently available. 5) Attempt should be made to inculcate the centers’ staff members with an appreciation and a deep understanding of the Principle of Self – Sufficiency Economy.
