New firm seeks solutions for ASUCLA
Consultants find troubles deeper than recent losses
By Patrick Kerkstra
Daily Bruin Staff
Five years of losses and troubles in the students’ association
(ASUCLA) are now commanding serious attention.
The association’s board of directors recently hired the Alpha
Partners consulting firm, at the rate of $25,000 a month, to
orchestrate a return to financial and organizational stability.
The consultants, Doug Drumwright and Charles Mack, are entering
an association plagued by miscommunication, accusations of
cover-ups and debt from past losses and construction, according to
some of the organization’s own employees.
In an interview with The Bruin on Wednesday, Charles Mack said
his firm thought the organization’s problems were more then a
temporary setback.
"I think what we’ll find when we really look at the association
is that the $1.8 million budget deficit problem that everyone’s
been focusing on is bad, but there’s probably a more serious and
severe problem than a one-year financial crisis," Mack said.
The Alpha Partners consulting firm specializes in turnaround
efforts, according to Karol Dean, a board member instrumental in
bringing the firm to UCLA.
The board’s chairman, graduate student Tim Beasley, said he
preferred Alpha Partners because of its prior experience with
non-profit companies like the association.
Board members felt Alpha Partners would be sympathetic to the
associated students’ other needs, such as funding student
government and keeping prices relatively low for students.
Although the firm does not have specific retail experience,
which is the biggest money-making division in the association,
board members said they were satisfied with the Alpha Partners’
experience.
Mack and Drumwright will answer to the board of directors, not
the association’s long-time executive director, Jason Reed, Mack
said.
In a break from tradition, board chair Beasley signed the
consultant’s contract instead of Reed.
A recently formed executive committee, consisting of three
voting members, two of them students, will represent the board in
between scheduled meetings. The committee plans to meet with Alpha
Partners about once a week to discuss developments and possible
changes.
The consulting firm is expected to be at UCLA for six months or
more, depending on the association’s stability.
Although Alpha Partners began work very recently, Mack already
had far-reaching goals, and said changes would begin
immediately.
"I think we’ll be implementing a few organizational changes this
week," Mack said.
"It’s important for the employees and the organization as a
whole to get a sense that decisions are going to be made and some
actions are going to be taken to improve things," he added.
In March, The Bruin confirmed that at least some top-level
managers predicted severe losses for the year and did not tell the
board about the predictions until the situation had become even
more critical.
Those revelations, and reports from the Kibel Green consultants,
have caused some association employees and officials to question
communication effectiveness in the organization.
Mack said that one of his goals was to reduce the obstacles
employees face in initiating changes throughout the
organization.
"I hope we can make some changes to empower employees and clear
some of the political hurdles facing the organization to help set
the stage for the next 75 years of success," Mack said.
Another severe challenge to the organization is the recent lack
of investments in income-producing areas, the consultant said.
After five years of poor financial performance, the association
is handicapped in its efforts to fund projects for future profits.
But Mack said this only perpetuates the downward trend because no
new income is coming in.
The difficulty Alpha Partners and the association face is in
making the organization’s current activities profitable so future
income-producing projects can be funded.
Mack approved of recent actions such as price increases and wage
freezes the board has taken, but he cautioned that they are not
long-term solutions.
"There are a lot of strengths in an organization like ASUCLA.
Arguably, the biggest strength is the quality, morale and sense of
pride of the employees," Mack said.
"If you play with employees paychecks, in the long term you’re
going to lose or discourage your better employees," he
continued.