[OSList] compliance stuff

[Harrison Owen]

Michael - Marvelously thoughtful! And I think you have your finger on the
"hot button" - Those Who Care! And if nobody does. Who Cares? Truly, it
makes little difference what people are "told" to do (required by mandate,
etc) - At the end of the day it is what they "care" to do that makes a
difference. Why does it take us so long t understand that simple reality?
Once we do (understand) then it is all about creating conditions in which
caring becomes possible and manifest (It's called opening space). Usually
folks will rise to the occasion. But if not, there is probably a message.

 

Thank you!

 

Harrison

 

Harrison Owen

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USA

 

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Phone 301-365-2093

(summer)  207-763-3261

 

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From: oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
[mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] On Behalf Of Anglican
Chaplain
Sent: Sunday, September 18, 2011 2:43 AM
To: oslist at lists.openspacetech.org
Subject: [OSList] compliance stuff

 

Hi

 

I'm back on line after a year or so absense. I met some of you guys in San
Fransco a couple of years ago. I'm still facilitating Open Space here in
Perth, Western Australia. I went off line because I got overwhelmed by my
email load so I really like this new daily batching idea. Thanks to whoever
invented that.

 

I've recently found myself back in a federally funded academic institution
(beauracracy) on a part time temporary contract. It's interesting looking at
things 'from the inside' after working as an external facilitator/consultant
for many years. I'm trying to look at the lens of self organising
principles.

 

One of the things I've immediately come across is the huge compliance load
faced by this place. So what happens is that people are here largely because
they love their subjects and love to teach and/or do research. But they are
also being constantly hit with administrative and auditing requirements.
Each individual requirement is, of itself, sensible. Could be anything
ranging from Equal Opportunity to Health and Safety, to professional
standards, to government stats gathering. The latter, of course, is related
to the legimitate desire of government to reassure the tax payer that the
education dollar is being well spent. But lot's of small 'good' things can
add up to an overall undesirable outcome.

 

So what happens is that the system (people) self organises by pushing the
compliance load out to 'anyone but me'.  The person who ends up carrying the
'responsibility' (because they've been given the legal instruction to do the
work by the senior executive (usually a 'committee)) has very little
'passion' for the work.  A great recipe for generating passive resistance,
stress and a generally dodgy job (is that an Australian expression?
'dodgy'...meaning 'poorly done').

 

It seems to me that passion and responsibility get split from each other.
Unless "passion" is the wrong word? When I was talking with a senior service
department head (one who has been told she is responsible for getting a lot
of busy academic staff to meet yet another compliance requirement) she
simply could not relate to my vocabulary of 'caring' or 'passion'. When I
asked the question, 'does anyone care to do this', her response was 'it's
not an issue of caring. We've been told to do it!' And on one level she's
right - it's a legal requirement. And on the other hand - the end result for
people is as described above.

 

I suppose this is not an unique issue for large organisations.

 

One beauracratic response to this kind of thing is, 'you simply write the
requirement into people's job descriptions and you run a
training/orientation program'. But as we all know, writing something into a
job description, and weilding punitive sticks, does not necessarly achieve
changed behaviour. Not does telling people that they need to show up to yet
another compliance program training program (another half day or full day
out of the busy schedule).

 

My response to this particular compliance issue has been, 'well, if we do
have to do it, let's open a space and invite anyone and everyone to come
along who has any level of 'care' and 'responsiblity' (willingness to
contribute) and we'll see what emerges'. At the very least we might,
together, come up with something that rolls out simply and is relatively
easy to use, because people have had some say in designing it. That's my
hope.

 

Is that all I can do at this point? Anyone with experience of working 'on
the inside' got any thoughts about compliance and the resulting buck passing
and disconnections between passion and responsibility that can occur and
what can be done about it?

 

Michael 

Perth, Western Australia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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