“Who Is This Man?”: Implications for the Management of Businesses and Higher Education Institutions “Justice is Everybody’s Business.” Denis Mukwege (Nobel Peace Prize Winner, 2018) Published on October 31, 2018
Ali Mansouri
Writer, Researcher, Consultant I have worked in many companies, high schools, colleges, universities, and higher education institutions in different countries. I could say that in each of these organizations there exists a Page 1 of 8
‘man’ with “powers” far beyond those normally associated with the job to which he has been assigned. He can do whatever he likes and can “steal money” in different ways from the organization without being held accountable to anyone. He controls almost everything in the organization as he controls the two most important functions: administration and finance; though these two functions differ from one institution to another in terms of size and scope. He also controls, to a surprising degree, the person who is supposed to be the first official in the organization: Managing Director, Principal, Dean, Vice Chancellor, etc. You just do not know why and who has given him this status and these powers. He acts as a thug and as a bully. He does not care about any laws, bylaws, charters or regulations. He puts himself “above the law” and he has a bizarre immunity! He is not held accountable by anyone for anything illegal or harmful to the institution and its reputation. Everyone in the organization is afraid of him and they usually go to him for favors or to get things done instead of going to the managing director, principal, dean or VC. At A’Sharqiyah University in Oman, this man is Hamed Al-Hajri, Assistant VC for Administration and Finance. This corrupt man has completely controlled the former VC (Abood Al-Sawafi) who has a very weak and shaky personality in an abnormal way; Abood Al-Sawafi used to get permission from Hamed Al-Hajri to do things or even to talk to anyone. Hamed Al-Hajri has also controlled the HR Department at A’Sharqiyah University and has turned the HR officers into slaves and robots who blindly do what he wants them to do regardless of the laws, bylaws and regulations of the University. They indulge in a very unprofessional behavior of deception, cheating and lying, especially to the University teachers, students and members of staff. They never give correct and accurate information or respect teachers’ rights as specified in their work contracts. For them, HR qualities of honesty, fairness and justice do not exist at A’Sharqiyah University in Oman! What is more than bizarre about Hamed Al-Hajri is that he has crept into the position of the Assistant VC for Administration and Finance in spite of the fact that he does not have any academic credentials nor does he have any professional or higher education experience. All he has got, as he claims, is an MBA from an English-speaking country but, in fact, he can hardly produce one good sentence in English, which testify to his MBA being a fake degree! His experience is limited to his work as a Porter and then as a Consul at an embassy in Australia as he has mentioned in his LinkedIn profile! This experience does not, in any way, qualify him to control the administration and finance of a university. However, we need to admit here that he is very good at “spying” on his colleagues and staff, which clearly indicates that he might have worked for a “spying agency” or has been trained as an “intelligence officer” somewhere in the world. Planting “spying cameras” everywhere at the University, even in the bathrooms, is something he has done with ease, comfort, and expertise. All the cameras are run by the IT department which is fully controlled by him. The following episodes are of a special significance to anyone who is interested in higher education and in fighting corruption. I would like here to share these episodes with the readers Page 2 of 8
and then discuss the implications of these episodes for the management of businesses and higher education institutions and to the fight against corruption in general. Episode 1: Chaotic Work Environment One day we came to work at our Language Center at A’Sharqiyah University in Oman in the early morning as usual. We were shocked to find that all our books, textbooks, CDs and other teaching materials had disappeared from our Book Store. We were wondering if these were stolen but we soon dismissed this possibility because the books, textbooks and teaching materials were in many, many thousands and they could not have been stolen without being loaded into trucks and taken out of the University without the knowledge of the University Guards. We looked everywhere for them and we asked everybody but nobody had any information about them. I had to inform the then Vice Chancellor of the University (Dr. F.Gh.) and he was surprised to learn something like this could happen at a university. So he asked his secretary to investigate. Two days passed without any information or any clue to what might have happened to our books and resources. Then, by sheer coincidence, I asked a cleaner, jokingly, if they had taken the books from the store. I was shocked when he told me that Hamed Al-Hajri (Assistant VC for Administration and Finance) had “ordered” the cleaners to remove all the books, CDs and teaching materials from the Book Store to a classroom (yes, a classroom) and canceled all the teaching lessons and lectures in that classroom! I still remember it was Classroom B11. A’Sharqiyah University campus at that time was very simple and was divided into two wings: A and B. The Assistant VC ordered the cleaners to remove the books from the Book Store and arrange them according to their color rather than according to the level of learning (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced) or the skill they deal with (Grammar, Reading, Writing, Listening, Study Skills) as they used to be arranged in our original Book Store. This greatly disrupted all our work and teaching in the Language Center. Hamed Al-Hajri did this without taking permission from the VC, without telling anybody and without cooperating with the Director or the teachers of the Language Center! Does this happen in another university in the world?! The VC called for a meeting and it was attended by a number of senior university officers, including myself, in my capacity as the Director of the Language Center. We were all shocked to hear Hamed Al-Hajri tell us in the meeting, in a vulgar and self-conceited tone, that he did nothing wrong! He told us that he was simply doing his job in organizing the departments of the University and nobody had the right to question him! The VC instructed him to coordinate with us next time. But this Hamed Al-Hajri kept doing abnormal things without consulting with the VC or anyone else. He thus made many terrible blunders causing serious problems and damages to the academic work and reputation of the University. The VC had no option but to sack him. We felt happy and relieved. But when Abood Al-Sawafi was appointed as the VC of A’Sharqiyah University in the Academic Year 2013-2014, he reinstated Hamed Al-Hajri as he found in him a strong hand for deception, thievery and reckless behavior. This is how Hamed Al-Hajri was given another chance to continue with his episodes of destruction and corruption. Page 3 of 8
Episode 2: Deceiving the Ministry A’ Sharqiyah University started with a very simple campus with two wings for classrooms and a number of spacious offices for the teachers in addition to the normal offices for the University Administration. The Director’s office was well arranged and was provided with a number of comfortable chairs for students who used to visit the Director and consult with him about academic issues relevant to the Foundation Program or the courses they were studying in their academic programs at the colleges. The teachers’ offices were also comfortable and there was enough space for consultation desks the teachers used in meeting with the students for advising and consultation. There was a small theater where the students used to practice their English and take extra lessons and do some activities. Teaching and learning were going on very well and the Director was observing and overseeing everything and every operation closely and effectively. Then all of a sudden, and without anyone telling us anything, we saw a number of “construction workers” doing some “conversion work” to convert our offices and classrooms into “pigeon holes” – very small offices and classrooms incompatible with the basic structure and functions of any higher education institution. He made two small offices: Office A for 18 teachers and Office B for 26 teachers. Imagine yourself working in a small office with 25 other teachers at a university! To add insult to injury, Hamed Al-Hajri converted two of the original big offices into one office for himself and bought very expensive furniture for it. He did the same with the VC who felt very happy for the new design and for the new furniture like a child given a lot of new colorful toys! Then Hamed Al-Hajri took a very awkward decision for the new teachers and the other teachers who could not be assigned offices in the main building because of the conversion of offices. He decided to have wooden porta cabins (caravans) built for them in the garden! These porta cabins were badly designed and built, very small, full of insects, snakes, and scorpions. Nobody could say anything or object. To say anything is to lose your job. You cannot go and complain to the Board of Directors or Board of Trustees because this is strictly forbidden by Abood Al-Sawafi and Hamed Al-Hajri though the members of the Board of Directors and Board of Trustee do not seem to care about anything. They have always behaved like a bunch of fools, thieves and stupid failed businessmen. Teachers were, and still are, unable to offer academic advising and consultation to students in tiny offices and students have stopped coming to see their teachers as they find this very embarrassing in offices that do not allow four people to stay in them at a time. What about teaching, learning, advising, consultation, healthy environment for the teachers and students? These are aspects which are not their concern! Why? Because they have nothing to do with higher education. They have crept into their positions through personal relationships with the Board of Directors, Board of Trustees, and the Ministry of Higher Education. They are not Page 4 of 8
academics nor are they caring managers. They care about themselves only. The teachers and students and everyone else should go to hell! Episode 3: Recklessness and Stupidity Have you ever heard of an Assistant VC who has leased the IT labs at a university when the students of the university badly need these labs for their academic studies?! This is what Hamed Al-Hajri did with our labs. We were shocked to find out that our students were unable to take their regular lessons, lectures and practicals in the teaching labs for more than two weeks because of Hamed Al-Hajri’s reckless and irresponsible behavior. He has leased these labs to groups from outside of the University for money that has gone directly into his pockets. When we told Abood Al-Sawafi (VC) about it, he did not do anything. He is timid and does not have the courage to stand on the way of Hamed Al-Hajri. The VC is afraid of his Assistant! Episode 4: Exams for Sale There were two photocopying machines assigned for the CLFS (Center for Language and Foundation Studies; Language Center, for short): one in Office A and one in Office B. Our teachers used to do all their photocopying on these two machines, especially their quizzes, midterms tests, and final exams. The photocopying was going on very smoothly and there was absolute confidentiality of tests and exams as the photocopying was being done by the teachers themselves, under their supervision, and in cooperation with their colleagues. Hamed Al-Hajri did not like that and we were wondering why. He wanted to move the photocopying machines and put them in a special room together with the other photocopiers of the University so that all photocopying is to be done by a cleaner! Yes, a cleaner. As the Director of the CLFS, I vehemently rejected this because it will put the confidentiality of our tests and exams at risk of being leaked and sold by this cleaner. So Hamed Al-Hajri conspired with Abood Al-Sawafi to move me from the CLFS and assigned the management of the Center to a “yesman” slave teacher. He was then able to have the photocopying machines moved to this special room and assigned to it a cleaner to do all photocopying, including that of tests and exams. What is the result? This cleaner started to make up a “circle” of male and female students to whom he leaked the questions of all the tests and exams of the University --- in both the Foundation Program and the academic study programs. These tests and exams were, and still are, sold for money, and even for sex to other students! This is all because of the stupidity and corruption of Hamed Al-Hajri and Abood Al-Sawafi. Are these two merely “rogue senior managers”?! Or are they protected and covered up by the Board of Directors and Board of Trustees who have given them blank checks to do whatever they want? Episode 5: Courses without Teachers
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This Hamed Al-Hajri, being incompetent, stupid and spiteful, has been destroying the academic and supporting human resources at A’Sharqiyah University in an unbelievable way. Let us take the CLFS (Center for Language and Foundation Studies) as an example. This Center is in charge of teaching the General Foundation Program (GFP) to all newly-registered students of the University. The Program consists of four components: English, Math, IT (Information Technology) and Study Skills. We have designed the Program in accordance with national and international standards and in line with the instructions of the Ministry of Higher Education in Oman. We arranged for the purchase of excellent international textbooks, CDs, DVDs, and teaching materials from some reputed international publishers: Oxford, Cambridge, Longman, Pearson, and others. We also recruited qualified and certified native English teachers from all over the world as per the Recruitment Policies of the University which stipulate that the teachers of the English Component should be native English speakers. Some non-native English teachers were also recruited to fill the shortage, but they are highly qualified and competent. The Director was a very qualified, competent, and experienced professor with valuable experience in managing and running Foundation programs and English departments for many, many years. He holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics and TESOL from a UK university. The teaching and management of the Program went on very smoothly and effectively for almost five years and was one of the most successful foundation programs in Oman. The Language Center is also in charge of three English Language courses for the College students. These courses are: English Communication 1, English Communication 2, and English for Engineering Students (known as Technical Writing and Presentation). These courses require a very high level of proficiency in English and are to be taught by qualified native English speakers or by PhD holders as per the directives and regulations of the Ministry of Higher Education. We followed these directives and regulations and the courses were taught efficiently and up to the standards. This was five years ago. Look at the picture now and we do not want to ask you to go beyond the Website of A’Sharqiyah University and, in particular, the section of the Website concerning the CLFS (Language Center) to see by yourself the extent of damage done by Hamed Al-Hajri and Abood Al-Sawafi. What do we see on the CLFS Staff Directory? The Director is now a B.A. holder, not a PhD from an English-speaking university. This is a gross violation of the standards and the Ministry’s regulations for appointing the managing directors of the foundation programs at Omani universities. There are hardly now any native speakers of English teaching in the Language Center. The most we find is and Australian teacher who is mentally disturbed and whose teaching experience, by his own admission and CV, is limited to the teaching of kids in kindergartens and primary schools! Being the Director for many years, I used to warn him of his awkward teaching style: he used to hold the book and read to the students as if he was reading a fairy tale to kindergarten kids! There is no other English native speaker. Who is teaching the English language courses for college students in their original design and structure? No one. The most plausible explanation is that Hamed Al-Hajri has ordered the little novice "Director" to Page 6 of 8
downgrade these courses to the teaching of very simplified courses with no academic value. This is very serious and casts doubts on the quality of education being offered at A’Sharqiyah University. The biggest disaster is that Hamed Al-Hajri has been given too much power and a free hand to do what he likes in the University with full protection and cover-up from some corrupt people at the Ministry of Higher Education in Oman. Episode 6: Forgery in the Purchase Department There is a Purchase Department (Procurement Department) at A’Sharqiyah University as is the case with any company or higher education institution. This department is in charge of purchasing what the University needs for its operations as an academic organization. Of courses, there is money to be paid and receipts to be presented as proofs of purchase. Almost all the receipts of purchases are forged by Hamed Al-Hajri with the help of some staff members who are afraid to object or stand against this forgery. The prices in the forged receipts are inflated and Hamed Al-Hajri charges the University a great deal more than the actual prices of these receipts. He was caught red-handed by one of the former VCs of the University and was sacked. But using his cunning and Mafia methods and personal relationships with the Board of Directors and Board of Trustees, he was able to conspire against the very VC who sacked him. The VC’s work contract was not renewed and Hamed Al-Hajri was reemployed by the new VC, Abood AlSawafi, who turned out to be the most corrupt person we have ever seen. What is really regrettable is the cover-up provided by the Director of the Internal Audit Unit at the University. This Unit should have reported all the forgery to the Board of Directors but it has been silenced by Hamed Al-Hajri who fully controls the Unit and threatens everyone with the non-renewal of their work contracts if they ever reveal anything about his forgery. He is directly in charge of this unit due to his position as the Assistant VC for Administration and Finance. Implications for Senior Management It is generally observed that corruption and the absence of justice can be done by some people who are entrusted with the senior management of the business or institution but they are not worthy of this trust. As we know, corruption can be reduced, avoided or eliminated if we take care of two important things: the systems and the people who operate these systems. The systems must be effective and the people who operate them must be honest and efficient. If one of these two things is missing, then we should expect deception and corruption. This is why we have scandals and persistent corruption in businesses and higher education institutions. At A’Sharqiyah University, there are hardly any systems or mechanisms to regulate operations and report corruption to higher educational authorities. There is chaos everywhere. Abood Al-Sawafi and Hamed Al-Hajri have taken advantage of this chaos and have manipulated this unfavorable work environment for their selfish interests and to get rid of anyone who differs with them in Page 7 of 8
opinion or tries to stand on their way of corruption. As we have already said, there are certainly some people in the Ministry of Higher education in Oman who offer them protection and coverup when they steal or make blunders. Without this protection and cover-up, Abood Al-Sawafi and Hamed Al-Hajri would not have been able to continue with their reckless, mafia- like actions of deception and conspiracies and would not have been inflicting heavy damages on the University’s academic reputation and infrastructure. This very negative and damaging situation may be found in many businesses and organizations when the Board of Directors or Board of Trustees are incompetent, reckless, careless, unmotivated to lead, or they are themselves corrupt people. They ignore or forget the fact that they are the very people who should take care of their organizations and stop any sort of corruption or irresponsible behavior. Corruption does not exist in a vacuum. It is usually committed by senior managers who cheat the systems of control and supervision and do not respect any laws or regulations. They are usually entrusted with a range of executive powers but they always betray this trust and go beyond these powers for selfish and wicked purposes. Giving too much power to one person in any situation cannot be described other than absolute dictatorship. And if we realize that human beings are fallible and fall to temptations of different sorts, then we should expect blunders and inefficient management. Managers, directors and other decision-makers need to be checked, observed and supervised by independent entities and officials. They should not be left to manage the businesses or institutions according to their whims, self-interests and personal relationships. Hamed Al-Hajri is the worst possible case of an ignorant, incompetent and unqualified senior manager you can ever find running a business or a university. He has spent his life as a camels breeder and the manager of a farm for chickens and goats. He is not fit to run a university for human beings. Abood Al-Sawafi has been forced to resign because of his fake degrees, blunders, incompetence, and corruption. We hope Hamed Al-Hajri and the other corrupt senior managers at A’Sharqiyah University will meet the same fate! There is no short-cut to fighting corruption.
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