ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICS, PLANNING AND POLICY-MAKING CAPABILITY, AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ON THE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT CAPABILITY OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS

This quantitative study examines the interplay between organizational politics, planning and policy-making capability, and financial management skills, and their collective impact on human resource management (HRM) effectiveness among school administrators in the Division of Bukidnon, Philippines. Persistent HRM challenges in Philippine education-including administrative burdens, resource constraints, and the pervasive influence of organizational politics-underscore the necessity for empirical evidence to inform leadership strategies and policy development. Addressing gaps in professional training and strategic management competencies, this research seeks to elucidate the relationships among these key factors and HRM effectiveness. Employing a descriptive-correlational design, the study utilized a complete enumeration of school administrators, who responded to validated Likert-scale questionnaires assessing each variable. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and multiple regression techniques to determine the strength and significance of the associations. Results indicate that both planning and policy-making capability and financial management skills are positively and significantly correlated with HRM effectiveness, whereas organizational politics demonstrates a significant negative correlation. Regression analysis identifies financial management skills as the most robust predictor of HRM effectiveness, followed by planning and policy-making capability, with organizational politics exerting a substantial negative effect. These findings highlight the critical need for targeted professional development in strategic planning and financial literacy and management, as well as the implementation of policies to mitigate the detrimental impact of organizational politics. Strengthening these competencies among school administrators is essential for enhancing HRM practices, cultivating a more supportive work environment, and ultimately improving educational outcomes within the region.