P-graph Approach to Planning Human Resource Expansion for Universities in Transition

Abstract

In the developing world, many universities are currently in the midst of transition from being purely teaching institutions focused on educational and degree-granting functions, towards becoming more research-intensive organizations that contribute new knowledge. Such transitions are usually hampered by difficulties associated with resource constraints, excessively bureaucratic support processes, and, most importantly, a staff profile inappropriate to the increased demands of research activities. Thus, systematic approaches for planning human resource expansion in such cases can facilitate such transitions. In this work, a P-graph approach is developed as a decision support model for planning staffing levels in universities that seek to expand research activities. Different staff categories are represented as process units in the P-graph model, while interactions among staff categories are modeled as process streams. This methodology is illustrated with a hypothetical but representative example of a typical Philippine university.