I'm aware that I have lost touch to some extent with the discussion here over the last week. I was drafting this reply on the evening before I went into hospital and I'm going to post it anyway. I will read the subsequent conversations and answer them as soon as I can. I'm going to use secret tags simply to save space.
My thanks for the expressions of support! I will try as best I can to answer some of the points/questions raised here. Bear in mind though, that this whole venture - The Bureaucracy - is new to all of us; we are all feeling our way into this. It might be wise also to remember Erik’s comment: “This is a tricky department to pull off . . .”
Let me first address CSR’s questions.
“how do you plan to ensure that the Department acts within its goals” Click here to view the secret text
×I think attentiveness is the main answer to that ; any good HoD should be constantly aware of what is needed both for and from his Department and what is necessary to achieve those. A good HoD needs to be prepared to listen to members of the Department and to those outside it who are affected by it; he needs to be open to suggestions about, and aware of developments which impinge on, his Department. At the same time he needs to be decisive; taking the tough decisions goes with the territory! An HoD who tries to please everyone will please no one.
The HoD also needs to be aware of his ‘staff’s’ needs and abilities; we all have strengths and weaknesses and a wise HoD tries to arrange things in such a way as to promote the strengths of any individual in his charge. Where people feel that their abilities are recognised and valued, there is generally good teamwork and good teamwork leads to a very effective Department.
That leads me to your second question:
“how do you plan to fill the required positions” Click here to view the secret text
×- discreetly! If I’m elected I will be fairly quickly seeking out members who are interested in the positions Erik has listed, but much - probably all - of those discussions will be by PM. I think what will be crucial is that the Recogniser and Missioneer can work closely with the Director, that there is a good understanding between the three of them, and that they are supportive of each other in achieving the aims of the Department.
Your final question,
“what optional positions (if any) you feel are necessary” Click here to view the secret text
×- is much more difficult to answer. In fact, the honest answer at this stage would be “I don’t know”. As this whole Bureaucracy is new, it is very difficult to predict just how things will work out. All that I can say is that if it becomes apparent that a position is needed I will fill it.
I would like to pick up on Josh’s postings re “obnoxious behaviour”.
Click here to view the secret text
×I would actually be very disappointed if the DoBI were to be seen as a kind of Forum Police Force, whose sole remit was to dish out ASBOs! I hope very much that the DoBI will be a source of good and positive things for the good and positive members of the site. Nevertheless I accept that there are individuals from time to time who cause problems and it will be part of the DoBI’s function to deal with that.
I can understand the view of this that Josh takes: that if an attention seeker seeks attention by behaving badly, ignoring is the best response. There is a kind of logic in that but unfortunately ignoring does not always work. In fact it can be seen as accepting or condoning the bad behaviour and it can trigger even more outrageous behaviour in a further attempt to produce the desired effect. So I disagree with the suggestion that “nothing” be done by the DoBI, but I would want to refer back to what I said up above about the importance of nipping things in the bud and also dealing with a situation calmly and quietly. Can I add ‘discretion’ to that little list? I think a private discussion of why the behaviour is unacceptable is likely to be much more successful than public trumpetings on a thread which may already have become somewhat heated.
I dislike ending on a negative note. I hope very much that if I am elected I can move the perception of this Department away from one of policing the occasional pests, (which seems to be concerning people most at the moment) to something closer to Erik’s description of it:
“DoBI will handle activities that make the forum more enjoyable, but don’t have a tangible result to them like a contest or a hold.” The problem is that if I start mentioning specicfic ways in which that might be done I will possibly be stealing any amount of thunder and that would be no fun at all!
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Winner of: Novice Architect Excellence 2006.
FAPCA - Technical Design Excellence in Layout and Aesthetics
