RE: Re: Operations Manual

[RON AND SUSAN COSNER <keighley15@msn.com>]

I agree both would be nice. It probably always should have been on the website
but given current restrictions and ease of use I not only would support it  on
the wiki as well now but thought that was the best place for it originally.
Thank you and happy gardening
Ron Cosner


> Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2013 09:12:54 -0700
> From: in2iris@yahoo.com
> Subject: Re: [AISdiscuss] Re: Operations Manual
> To: aisdiscuss@aisboard.org
>
> This is very well stated, and I thank Anner for writing it.
>
> Several good points are outstanding in these comments.
> One of these is that it would be beneficial to have all of us who hold
> positions in AIS review each other's job descriptions. There may well be
> useful suggestions from the group to improve or include points in another's
> job description. We may also find that there may be things that have fallen
> through the cracks and need to be addressed, perhaps by adding an item to a
> particular job description, turning a committee of one into a true
committee
> (such as happened with the Exhibitions committee), or even creating a new
> position to deal with it.
>
> As Anner pointed out, the Operations Manual is not, should not be, a static
> document, but ever changing to meet the goals and mission of the AIS. And,
> without updating, new position holders may not have all the necessary
> information about their position to do it as effectively as they
> otherwise might.
>
> I also see no reason why the Operations Manual cannot be on both the Wiki
and
> the AIS website. Of course, it should be on the AIS website, but having it
on
> the Wiki as well may be quite useful, not only for easy access, but also
part
> of an open and transparent posture. I see the wiki as a reference, for
> irises, hybridizers and their introductions, gardens (ie the new National
> Collections initiative), shows, awards, history, and the AIS itself, etc.
> And, as such, it seems appropriate that other AIS members and the public be
> able to read about the various positions and what they involve. There is
> nothing secret here, nor is there any danger that things will be changed
> forever and lost without our knowledge. It would be highly unusual for
anyone
> other than the position holder to make changes, but even if they were made,
> could very easily be reversed.
>
> Gary White
>
>
>
>
> --- On Tue, 3/12/13, John Jones <jijones@usjoneses.com> wrote:
>
>
> From: John Jones <jijones@usjoneses.com>
> Subject: [AISdiscuss] Re: Operations Manual
> To: aisdiscuss@aisboard.org
> Date: Tuesday, March 12, 2013, 10:48 PM
>
>
> Anner White head sends:
>
> Friends, I want to speak, please, to this matter of the Operations Manual.
I
> consider this issue critically important.
>
> I believe I have standing to offer useful comments because I have actually
> contributed to the AIS Operations Manual. I think I was the first author of
> the section on the workings and policies of the Membership Office, now much
> revised, as well it should be. I also speak from experience as a new AIS
> worker who had urgent and desperate need of such a Manual at a time when
one
> did not exist.
>
> I understand an Operations Manual to be the means by which the Society
> promotes efficiency, improves communication, and insures against crisis in
the
> event of catastrophe, incompetence, or sudden change.
>
> I further understand it to be the means by which each department learns the
> importance of each other, and comes to understand how all the pieces of the
> organization are related, and must support each other. Because all will
read
> the record of the practical workings of the Society, so all will better be
> able to make enlightened decisions impacting their offices, and the
> organization.
>
> Properly, an Operations Manual is a how-to book, not a mission statement,
nor
> a catalog of the romantic desiderata of an ideal society, nor a
philosophical
> treatise on power and responsibility. The Bylaws exist to define legally
areas
> of responsibility and the limits of power. Their purpose is to safeguard
the
> rights of the entire membership, not protect the privileges of the Board.
They
> are not intended to provide specifics on quotidian operational
practicalities,
> and an Operations Manual is not supposed to have the same legal force or
> purpose as they. Such a Manual will necessarily involve reference to
policy,
> but it cannot also serve as a manual of all policy.
>
> Obviously you need such a Manual so that if someone drops dead in their
tracks
> or looses their mind another can step into their shoes without undue stress
> and confusion and carry on, but there is another reason other than
harkening
> to the call of duty--- who so often, as Ogden Nash correctly lamented,
"hath
> not the visage of a sweetie or a cutie"--- to embrace this chore.
>
> Writing your part of the Manual can be a very positive experience. I was
> cutting back the liriope in the front yard the other day when it was sunny,
> and a passerby said something simpleminded to me about how yardwork is a
such
> a total drag. I responded that it needed to be done, and if you did not
enjoy
> it, the process was yardwork, but if you did, it was gardening. I invite
you
> to consider doing your bit for the Manual not only a privilege, but also a
> pleasure.
>
> You will find documenting your office and its contribution to be a valuable
> exercise. In writing up your job, you will think hard about it, and will
come
> to understand it better, and have insights which will enable you to do it
more
> efficiently. You will understand more clearly how it relates to all the
other
> AIS jobs, and you will appreciate exactly why what you do is important. You
> will find you are very proud to do your best. This I promise you, and I
know
> first hand exactly what I am talking about.
>
> I suggest that compiling and maintaining a viable Operations Manual is best
> understood as an ongoing process, not a goal. AIS cannot make an Operations
> Manual for the ages. It must evolve and change with the AIS. At any given
time
> it must be clear, precise, complete, and authoritative, and the content
> unambiguous and oriented toward practicalities and efficiency. Every job
> description in it should contain the requirement to keep that office's
portion
> of the Manual current and correct. The established process by which
> departments can independently revise or update their contribution should be
> deliberately kept simple and transparent.
>
> You will need an appointee to manage the Manual, now and forever, to
receive
> updates, keep the lines of communication open when change occurs, initiate
> discussion when that seems to be called for, bring problems to the
attention
> of the Board, and keep all the little bits and pieces in good order and the
> whole presentable. No, I am not volunteering. I have other work to do for
AIS
> which is also important.
>
> I expect that you will find that when everyone knows what everyone else is
> supposed to be doing, energies will be appropriately directed and more of
the
> right sorts of things will be accomplished in a timely manner, leaving more
> time for fun and promoting the AIS mission.
>
> I have no idea what condition the extant Operations Manual is in now, but
from
> what I am hearing, and have been hearing for years, it sounds like you
should
> archive the current fragmentary document, and simply start over. You appear
to
> be fatally bogged down.
>
> I encourage you to establish realistic and concrete new guidelines, inform
all
> parties that timely cooperation is mandatory, that their job depends on
their
> understanding that fact, and set a firm new deadline. Declare an amnesty
for
> past non-cooperation, announce the golden opportunity to do the right thing
> for AIS, and move cheerfully forward.
>
> You need to set up a private dedicated email group like this one, make it
so
> it accepts attachments and simply have folks publish their Manual
> contributions to the whole for comment, or direct their questions to other
> departments about matters of mutual interest or responsibility. If anyone
now
> serving deems the material in the files for their department to be current
and
> beyond improvement, they can resubmit it.
>
> When you get everything sorted out, then you can tart the document up for
> pretty, and put the Manual on the AIS webpage, if you wish.
>
> I encourage you to promise yourselves that the AIS Operations Manual is
going
> to be finished by the 2013 Fall Board Meeting, and to keep your promise to
> yourself, and to AIS.
>
> I have every faith you can do this, and do it well.
>
> Cordially,
>
> Anner M. Whitehead
> "When you have a great and difficult task, something perhaps almost
> impossible, if you only work a little at a time, every day a little,
suddenly
> the work will finish itself." Karen Blixen, (1885-1962), coffee farmer and
> author.
>
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