Conflicting Interests, Good Salesmanship, Or Just Being A Cynic?

Last night I attended graduation for my campus. It is always terrific to see students that struggled with the learning process and succeeded despite many obstacles graduate. The look of pride on the faces of the graduates and the support of family members that are in the audience are rewarding.

Despite it being the student's night, our campus leadership screwed the pooch in several ways. First, each student is allowed to bring up to five guests. We had 150 graduates in attendance last night. A quick calculation and we can arrive at a simple number of chairs required. If we have 150 graduates, plus up to 5 guests per student, plus 50 faculty and staff, we can anticipate needing approximately 1000 seats. If we account for attrition because some graduates do not show up, we can still estimate a number of chairs needed to exceed 500. Such a number would have required an extra partition of the banquet hall and cost more money. When our fearless leaders set up the banquet hall at a local hotel, they only set up 300 chairs. Most of the guests and all faculty members had to stand along the walls. The whole event lasted from 6:30 PM until 8:30 PM, causing two hours of suffering directly related to poor planning and penny pinching.

Second, despite the fact that every time we have used this particular facility we have experienced problems with the audio components, the bar, the attentiveness of the hotel staff, etc., our leadership chose to use the facility again. Part of the reasoning for using the facility is, I am told, that our executive director failed to actively participate in the planning process (a common occurrence) and the decision to use the facility was because the other, more elegant and better supported, facility was no longer available. I tend to think that there is a more political matter behind the process. Our executive director likes the mayor of the city where our campus is located to be a main speaker at every other graduation ceremony. This year the mayor of the city just happened to be the grandfather of one of our graduates. Perhaps my suspicions of political influences and ulterior motives is a bit cynical… NOT!

Third, we had two guest speakers that were representatives of staffing agencies that have provided our career services department with assistance with job fairs and career days. While one of these representatives happened to be a graduate of our campus--and there may have been some legitimacy in inviting her--there seemed to be a lot of advertising associated with the speeches. Some of the legitimacy in having our former graduate as a guest speaker flew out the window when it was realized that she graduated from our Medical Administrative Assistant program and is working as a staffing agency sales representative. It seems that getting her a job, regardless of whether or not it was in her chosen field of training, was more important than fulfilling her career choice. The fact that our career services personnel get a bonus and statistical boost when one of our graduates gets a job (and keeps it) may smack a bit of conflicting interests. Then, too, the fact that the other staffing representative is a reported drinking buddy of our executive director might also raise a little cynicism.

Now, I am going to raise these issues upon arriving back at work on Monday. Anyone want to lay odds that I get myself into conflict with my bosses?

7 Steps To Problem Solving (How To Live A Better Life)

I tell my students that these seven steps will improve their lives. If they would only take the time to examine their problems and issues carefully, they would make better decisions. Better decisions almost always lead to better lives. Wish I could get the point across to my bosses!

7 Steps To Problem-Solving

1. DEFINE THE PROBLEM: Define the problem in detail. Look at the problem from multiple, if not all points of view and perspectives. Try looking at the problem through the eyes of another person. Note how the problem is related to other people, other problems and the circumstances surrounding the issues.

2. LIST ALL THE ALTERNATIVES: Look at and list all the possible alternatives, including the ridiculous and extreme possibilities. Conduct a full "brain storm" around the problem. Don't dismiss any possibility or alternative "out of hand." After listing all the alternatives, then dismiss the unworkable, silly, extreme or otherwise unacceptable solutions.

3. SEEK OUT RESOURCES: Seek out and utilize all the possible resources that are available. Seek advice and counsel from trustworthy and experienced persons. Conduct some research on the topics involved in the problems and issues. Ask questions. Ask if anyone else has dealt with a similar problem. Look for help in unexpected places.

4. CONSIDER CONSEQUENCES: All decisions and actions have consequences. Some consequences are detrimental, some are advantageous and some are neutral. Look at the "big picture" and well as the "close-up" view of the consequences. Consider the "ripple effect" that consequences usually have on others.

5. DECIDE: After having defined the problem, listed alternatives, sought out resources and considering consequences, make a decision. Take action. Choose. Act upon your decision with conviction and confidence.

6. EVALUATE: Take a look at the decision after the fact. Evaluate if it resulted in the desired effect. Measure the results against what was expected, what was desired, and something objective. Look for feedback from others.

7. REMEDIATE: Correct actions that have gone bad. Use the evaluation step to determine if other problems were created by the decision and use the 7 steps to examine these "new" issues and problems. Take responsibility for your actions and correct any errors. Learn from any mistakes made in the process. Don't make excuses, but do take effective corrective actions.