tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post8230693189376547014..comments2024-03-15T01:11:32.832-07:00Comments on Bardiac: A Small Decision to MakeBardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-17249477575770354702008-12-15T17:10:00.000-08:002008-12-15T17:10:00.000-08:00Blogger ate my comment yesterday. I vote NO. The...Blogger ate my comment yesterday. I vote NO. The program may or may not fail, but you don't owe your time to the program. And the new boss shows a lot of signs of unpromising signs of leadership. You've got better uses for your time. Swing back in a year if the program seems to be better.susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12000470374101306070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-53490749835390218692008-12-13T13:14:00.000-08:002008-12-13T13:14:00.000-08:00a problem with opting out is that it sounds like t...a problem with opting out is that it sounds like the program will lose both some laboring oars AND the kind of constructive feedback that might help it succeed.<BR/><BR/>on the other hand, mr. new-in-charge doesn't seem very open to a real reasessment of the program, or to recognizing the negative impact of imposing additional burdens without addressing underlying problems. your descripton reminds me of a nightmarish reorganization at my former job, which multiplied the useless meetings and busy paperwork without addressing some core problems, and ultimately accellerated the loss of experienced staff. including me.<BR/><BR/>professors won't flee the academy because a voluntary program is doing poorly; instead, the program will fail. presumably, people think the program could be useful, so that that wouldn't be a great outcome. is it possible to propose some concrete, constructive steps to improve things?kathy a.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14479337952651746193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-53382506327451926452008-12-13T10:20:00.000-08:002008-12-13T10:20:00.000-08:00I think you do have an instance of bad management ...I think you do have an instance of bad management -- and one that is very common in academia. This situation seems icky in two ways... first, they don't want to actually confront the folks who aren't doing the job, so why will the contract be enforced? Second, making exceptions to the contract sends the message that the contract can be avoided -- and, if the contract was a valid thing, why allow anybody to avoid it?<BR/><BR/>Also, since the new boss didn't even think about why the program was in trouble in the first place, and instead decided to put problematic parts of the program into the contract -- tells me you may have trouble with them.<BR/><BR/>I'd have to think about the educational value of the program and balance out the increased hassle factor to see if it is worthwhile.Inside the Philosophy Factoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12255753259090709877noreply@blogger.com