The essence of open-book management is transparency. Information, particularly regarding university finances, is available to all. But that is just the starting point. True open-book management not only opens the books, but trains employees to understand those metrics – both financial and operational – so they can be improved to the benefit of all. There is an important third step and that is the empowerment of employees to improve these numbers through process improvement challenges. All employees are empowered and expected to improve their individual units and the university as a whole.
MSSU's Information Technology Department has created our Financial Dashboards including a top-level University financial dashboard and associated unit financial dashboards (or operating statements), including our auxiliaries (e.g., Bookstore, Residence Life). They have also created a number of other dashboards including a Priority Enrollment Dashboard and Retention and Graduation Dashboard (requires login and granted access).
These dashboards are designed as management/operations tools. The dashboards are web-based and available on demand. The financial dashboards also include "pop-up" explanations when you hover over a specific item. Eventually, employees will be able to click on a dashboard item and be shown all of the revenue or expense components that make up the line item. The goal is for each unit on campus to understand their particular dashboard and what it is that drives the numbers on each dashboard. These drivers provide the basis for improvement goals in process improvement challenges.
All dashboards can be accessed by university personnel via the links provided under the Open the Books menu. If accessing a dashboard outside the campus network, an employee’s credentials (username and password) will be required to obtain access. A desktop link to the financial dashboards is also available on all campus computers. All employees have access to both the University financial dashboard and the operating statements of every unit on campus: academic, support and auxiliaries. Transparency is fundamental to open-book management.
For more information on the data provided on these dashboards and how to use them, visit Empowering U Training.
