Reconfiguring
Posted on Friday, April 30, 2004 @ 10:03 am
Filed Under Work
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Although the department has internal reorganizations regularly, this is the first major reconfiguration of the external operation during my career. Said differently, this is a strategic move in an area where we've usually made tactical adjustments. It's going to be an interesting year. I expect to see some modifications to the plan as the politics play out, but things will likely shape up pretty much as announced. Since my responsibilities are primarily internal, I'll mostly be a spectator.
Excellence
Posted on Wednesday, April 28, 2004 @ 10:25 am
Filed Under Work
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From May 5, 1985 through March 3, 1988, my job title was Leadworker (it's an assistant supervisor position, without enough authority) in what was then called Data Input. I mention this because the successor unit to Data Input was honored by the department yesterday, and because Joan is the current incumbent in that Leadworker position.
From the Ground Up
Posted on Thursday, March 18, 2004 @ 3:14 pm
Filed Under Bureaucrats
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In my experience, absolutely no bureaucractic entity (yuck, jowo--don't talk like that!) is truly created from the ground up. There's always an organizational context, a political context, legacy data, system integration issues, staffing issues--and it's impossible (and rarely desirable) to remove those contexts and continuities from the new organization's environment. On the other hand, the usual object is to move the organizational focus, which is nearly always gainful (and painful).
Memories of Suite Judy Blue Eyes
Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2004 @ 9:01 pm
Filed Under Army Career, Bureaucrats, Stateside, Stories
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Bought a copy of the original CS&N album from iTunes yesterday, and am listening at work. Suddenly it's 1970, and I'm back at Fort Huachuca. Amazing.
Pepys: of diaries and bureaucracies
Posted on Monday, December 1, 2003 @ 7:42 am
Filed Under Bureaucrats, Readings
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Pepys was a delightful diarist, and worth reading for all sorts of reasons. One which (naturally) appeals to me is that he was a professional bureaucrat in a time when bureaucracies were new to European government. Bureaus were small, too; they seem to have run the Royal Navy with just a handful of clerks. (I seem to be ignoring the admirals....) Part of the fun when I read Pepys is watching him feel his way around the organizational issues.
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