February 2003
Research and Teaching

University Academic - research and consultancy on Middle East Project

Dr Farhad Analoui of the University's Bradford Centre for International Development (BCID), has been working as a management development consultant in the Middle East for the past 18 months.

He has been working on a British Council project funded by the Department for International Development (DfID) to help schools in the Middle East.

Farhad is Reader in International Human Resource Management, and Director of Professional Development Services (PDS) in BCID. He was selected as a consultant for the programme as a result of the Centre's established reputation in teaching, training, consultancy and research in management and international development.

Farhad's role as management consultant is part of a five-year development plan to update and modernise the leadership and management skills of senior educational managers within the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

The purpose of the programme is to improve the quality of the learning experience for Palestinian children in UNRWA schools through improved management capacity and delivery of modern educational systems.

Following surveys of senior managers in "Strategic Managerial Effectiveness" a series of leadership workshops and seminars has been conducted in all fields. The aim of the management development part of the project was to enhance communication, managerial reflection, interpersonal and motivational and conflict management skills for senior and middle managers in the contexts of strategic management, team working, and HR planning and management. The workshops have proved to be a resounding success - notably as a result of the unique approach adopted to combine research and development.

Farhad explained: "We firmly believe that research has to be fed into our teaching and practice both here and abroad. This combination, plus our genuine concern for quality of service and care, gives us the competitive edge that we have enjoyed for decades."

The trainees were awarded a Certificate of Participation from the Bradford Centre for International Development on completion of their final workshop. Farhad said of the final workshop: "In organisational terms, acquired knowledge, skills, attitudes and values have to be transferable. Aid agencies nowadays - including DfID - place a greater emphasis on 'transferability through cascading process.'

"The final workshop was organised to achieve these objectives. Despite their busy schedules, senior managers showed an unprecedented degree of commitment and involvement in this workshop. This is reported by independent evaluators from the British Council.

"In this workshop, an emphasis was placed on the senior manager's role as 'change agent'. They were assisted through a participatory methodology to go about empowering the rest of the management in a vast organisation."

UNRWA delivers education to almost half a million children and young people through one of the largest educational systems in the Middle East. Its network of 640 schools and colleges extends through the five fields of Jordan, the West Bank, Gaza, Syria and Lebanon. Following his last visit, Farhad has put together an evaluation report for the British Council outlining the future of management training and the development needs of the senior and middle managers. He has also made recommendations for the changes necessary in order to modernise the structure and systems of the organisation as a whole.

A monograph on 'Management Development in the Middle East' based on the findings of this first-time survey and consultancy is also due to be published in December 2003.

• The DfID is the UK government department responsible for promoting development and the reduction of poverty. More information on them can be found at www.dfid.gov.uk

12 February 2003

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