tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671815.post7398281194923014982..comments2024-02-07T03:12:59.031-05:00Comments on Blogenspiel: Grading JailAnother Damned Medievalisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05231085915472400163noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671815.post-29183386563058876562009-10-10T21:15:17.245-04:002009-10-10T21:15:17.245-04:00Ah -- here's where real institutional wisdom c...Ah -- here's where real institutional wisdom comes in. For example, if there's a problem that facilities needs to take care of, a work order can take several days. It's faster and easier to ask one of the guys in person to take care of it, and some of them will, but then they end up trying to explain why they took so long doing the things they are officially supposed to be doing. BUT, if you tell them you have an emergency, and THEN put in the work order, it will often get put at the head of the queue anyway. So following procedure + the personal touch is best.<br /><br />On the other hand, if it's filling out reimbursent forms? Just follow the rules, because the business office will send them back -- EXCEPT ... if you are a person who tries very hard to follow the rules, makes sure everything is in order, and still misses something out, the business office will email for the one thing they need, rather than rejecting everything. <br /><br />I can understand that sometimes the more efficient way FOR ME is to call someone and ask for them to solve my problem. But that may not be the most efficient way for everybody --one person's inability to install Skype so they can chat with their spouse because they lack the appropriate permissions is hardly as important as another colleague's blue screen of death, but you'd hardly think that to listen to some of my colleagues. So I'm willing to go for uniform processes rather than just calling a person.<br /><br />Not that this is one of the things I'm talking about. What spurred this particular rant was hearing one brand-new colleague talking about how easy it was to simply cancel classes if we needed a day off. The newbie had heard this from another junior person. And yes, it is...sort of. We are supposed to clear class cancellations with our deans and let our chairs know ahead of time -- and to provide some sort of alternate assignment that will take as much time as a lecture. All that part got lost in the translation. <br /><br />And that sort of thing happens all the time.Another Damned Medievalisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05231085915472400163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3671815.post-31603255919709354752009-10-10T18:36:40.748-04:002009-10-10T18:36:40.748-04:00I wonder if it's a thing such as I too frequen...I wonder if it's a thing such as I too frequently see in Cambridge, where the official procedure for a thing is often not as effective as finding the person who actually has to do the stuff and sweet-talking them. And then that effectively becomes procedure. If it's not more effective to circumvent procedure, you must have some good office people, but I don't understand why people wouldn't adapt to the successful method...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com