What is the Right Size? LO17899

Davidwilk (Davidwilk@aol.com)
Mon, 27 Apr 1998 21:38:45 EDT

Hello. In my world, people keep getting busier and busier. Fewer
home-cooked meals at home, not only among my colleagues, but among friends
and neighbors. Working harder and harder. It seems the work is never
done. As organizations face crisis, the choice is to down-size by
reducing staff. Often times, the downsizing is in human resources
(people), not in functions.

In education, it is common to distribute limited resources by reducing the
"bureaucracy." That's where I work. The work load for me and my
colleagues continues to increase. Given this experience, I was drawn to
the following. I have lost the original source on messy desk, so I don't
have a more specific reference.

In a AQP newsletter, Peter Block writes:

It seems that there has been a shift in values from quality improvement
to transaction time and economics. .... Now we seem to care more about
cost cutting and speed that we do about customers and people. ... The
workday has expanded into the evening hours. For many people, the
eight-hour work day is only a memory. Our parents once fought for the
eight-hour day and now we have surrended it voluntarily.

And later in the article, he writes We can begin by reclaiming the
eight-hour workday. When will we say no to two people doing the job of
four? We need to create economic literacy within our organizations so we
can intelligently question the cost cutting demands we now accept so
meekly.

He suggest, Stop leaving messages on machines and tell companies that if
a person does not answer the phone we will not place the order or use the
service.

He ends the article by saying, We may not be able to change any of this,
but we can certainly call it into question.

Peter is on target for me. Many organizations have moved past cutting the
fat.

Thanks for reading. Reactions?

David Wilkinson
School Improvement Specialist
Des Moines Public Schools (IA)
1800 Grand Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50309
Davidwilk@aol.com

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Davidwilk <Davidwilk@aol.com>


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