Thursday, November 30, 2006

The challenges of cultural and institutional change: Lotus Notes as a metaphor

The primary software AU uses as a standard for email, calendaring, address books, Blackberry support and a variety of other functions is called Lotus Notes. Notes’ ancestor, Plato Notes, was first developed in 1973, Notes, itself, first emerged in 1984, one year after I first purchased my first personal computer (An IBM PC XT).

The functionality of Notes for basic tasks is a subject of debate. The most uncompromising supporters are Office of Information Technology Staff members who are tasked with maintaining the system. One of AU’s most able staff members (in any division) has this as her primary responsibility. Principal detractors are AU faculty and students, particularly those who work extensively off campus. Most have simply voted with their feet by adopting other systems that better meet their needs.

Before becoming Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence, with some responsibilities for academic computing, I never used Notes. But when I assumed these new responsibilities in 2002, I decided that personal experience with the systems set as university standards was essential I have struggled with the system ever since, gaining an appreciation for the features praised by supporters and criticized by detractors. Moments of frustration with the system occur almost daily. Notes is never functional on-line when I am working at home, via satellite connection, except through a complicated system of work arounds that I have devised. When I travel, I must switch to an alternative email system and lose other connectivity features with AU. Notes is the only software that crashes my new Mac powerbook on a daily basis – or ever.

But I have not made a change. This illustrates the power of long embedded institutional commitments to partially dysfunctional structures. Change has simply been too difficult, in terms of time and personal relationships with Notes proponents, despite the fact that short-term costs would produce long term gains, measured in greater efficiencies and lessoned frustrations. Other systems that pose similar challenges include Microsoft’s partially dysfunctional Windows and Internet Explorer software, the internal combustion engine for automobiles (and the corporate structures of Ford and General Motors), and ‘fighting the last war’ doctrinal rigidities in military organizations.

An early example, though I have not researched it, must have been the challenges posed by moving from the Ptolemaic world view of a geocentric universe to the Copernican heliocentric world view. As a student, I learned that the Ptolemaic system, with its complex structure of epicycles served quite well for a variety of predictive and navigational functions (and can still do so, today). Ptolemaic epicycles remind me of the numerous fixes and patches required to keep Notes, Windows and Explorer functioning in the Twenty First Century Copernican age of computing.

Historian of Science Thomas Kuhn listed the transition from a geocentric to a heliocentric world view among his major ‘Scientific Revolutions.” It was a revolution, literally, in which blood was shed, lives were lost and dissenters were burned at the stake. Galileo was forced by religious authorities to recant his theories.

Let us hope those who believe Lotus Notes should be honored as a historical artifact, but now supplanted by a twenty first century alternative, do not suffer a similar fate.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Labor of Sisyphus

As a child, I loved to read Greed mythology. As the clock ticks past 8 PM with emails unread, uncompleted work pending and my desk piled high, the fable of Sisyphus, once the King of Corinth comes to mind. Here is the story of his sad demise from the website of the Enciclopedia of Greek Mythology.

“Eventually he was hauled down to Hades, where his indiscretions caught up with him. For a crime against the gods - the specifics of which are variously reported - he was condemned to an eternity at hard labor. And frustrating labor at that. For his assignment was to roll a great boulder to the top of a hill. Only every time Sisyphus, by the greatest of exertion and toil, attained the summit, the darn thing rolled back down again.”

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

The holidays: a time for musing about 'family values'

This morning, I have been puzzling about the priority that should be given to ‘family’ in one’s life. Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, times set aside for family gatherings, always bring up this question.

For some, ‘family values’ (whatever those values may be) have been inculcated from birth. My own upbringing was different. My mother, the strongest influence in my life during formative years was traumatized by her parents divorce when she was a young teen-ager. Divorce is commonplace now. In 1928 it was rare and stigmatized. When I was growing up, as an inquisitive only child, I puzzled over the fact that my mother never spoke to her father and forbade any contact with him. If I sought out my grandfather, she said, she would cut me off. Family members are no different than others, she taught me. If they treat you badly, you should have nothing further to do with them.

In fact, what family therapists term ‘cut offs’ were a pervasive reality in her life. When mother died. She was estranged from her father, her mother and her brothers. We had rarely spoken for many years, though we later reconciled. The possibility of being “cast into outer darkness” was an every present reality in my family. My own family therapist who began our consultations by taking an extended family history said my family had more ‘cut offs’ than any she had ever experienced in her years of practice.

It was years later, when I was in my late 40s, that I first experienced the concept of unconditional love as a reality. The experience was overwhelming; one of the most powerful and memorable of my life. Unconditional love is supposed to be a fundamental family value, though I believe it is experienced rarely either in families or committed relationships, It is not something to be taken for granted. Perhaps this is why one definition of what is fundamental about God is ‘unconditional love.’

From these musings, readers will see why for me “family values” are a domain of questions rather than answers. This can be disquieting, as are most fundamental questions, but also useful. What we do not take for granted, we tend to examine more deeply. Perhaps this may lead to deeper understanding of what is fundamentally important.

Monday, November 27, 2006

A Painful but Valuable Lesson

During my busy last week, full of travel and events, there was one thing I was not very thankful for. I spent the entire weekend with a painful back that made extended sitting, driving, walking and heavy lifting difficult, though bearable. What made it worse, was that I could blame no one for this visitation but myself. My back pain is almost always manageable with a regimen of regular exercise and, when things get out of whack, a visit to my chiropractor. The pain began last Friday morning and I knew a visit was probably needed. Friday, like most days, was intense, There were the usual obligations of meetings, calls from faculty and students requiring immediate attention, a full ‘to do’ list and the day’s email Tsunami of emails. As the day progressed, I convinced myself that the pain wasn’t all that bad and would probably go away with a night’s rest.

It didn’t, and that error in judgment has exacted a price for more than a week. No matter how full one’s schedule, no matter how ‘important’ one’s obligations, there are certain maintenance tasks to which one must attend. Among them are backing up one’s computer hard disk, regular exercise, healthy eating, taking time for prayer and meditation and attending to signals – usually pain – from one’s body that all is not well.

A price will be exacted, for neglecting these maintenance tasks and signals, sooner or later.

Last week, I was reminded of this with a painful, but valuable lesson.;

Sunday, November 26, 2006

How was your break?

(An aside….) If there are any readers still out there, I apologize for such a big gap between entries. I notice an odd trait in myself. When there is something that I really enjoy and get satisfaction from, liked writing these blogs, I tend give preference to something else – to something I ‘ought’ to do. This is something I need to work on. Simply writing more entries, even if brief and not very literate, would be a good place to begin.

“How was your break?” This is a question we all ask ourselves, checking back into Anderson Hall, after a holiday. With air fares now so cheap – Southwest Airlines is now flying out of Dulles Airport – almost everyone can get away. And for New Yorkers, there is the Chinatown Bus Service - $30 one way to downtown New York.

My break was a busy one. Last Sunday, I drove to my sisters’ home outside of Philadelphia, breaking my trip to NY. Both of us like to cook and we had fun putting together a great Indian dinner for her nephew, his girl friend and three other friends – an interesting crew. One’s parents had been active in the American Communist party, working with Emma Goldman. The other two were mathematicians, one from Rutgers and one from Oxford. They were collaborating on academic papers and trying to make a trans-Atlantic relationship work with an ex and several children in the mx..

Monday morning I drove my ancient and somewhat battered (I was read-ended by a dump truck a week ago) Honda Civic to New York for meetings with former collaborators in the Hunger project and the meetings of the South Asia National Selection Committee of the Fulbright Scholars Program. It took me 2 ½ hours to drive from mid Pennasylvania to New York City and another 2 ½ hours to drive cross town, find my hotel, park my car, check in and get settled. Most everyone was very nice – there are just a lot of people and a lot of traffic in New York city. “Going around the block,” which I had to do after missing my hotel location provided to be complex and time consuming.

My meeting at the Hunger Project was great. My friends were still married – this is always a question when you have not seen a couple for 15 years or so – enjoying life in NYC and making a real difference in their work. From there, I ferried over to Staten Island to have an early dinner with my travel agent, a lady from Sri Lanka with whom I have worked for more than ten years, but had never met. The ferry is now free – the 20 minute ride, beautiful on a clear night, must be the best bargain in New York City.

Tuesday I was up at the crack of dawn to finish reading applications from Bangladesh and then to the Institute for International Education for the day-long committee meeting. The other two committee members were informed and collegial. The facilitator for IIE did his work well. I thought we were fair and efficient in reducing more that sixty applications to about 20 for which funding was available. But it is always sad, in a competitive selection process, having to set worthy applications aside. We broke at mid day for a fabulous lunch in the Delegates Dining room at the UN headquarters building, overlooking the East River. This is open to the public, and really worth a visit, though a bit pricey, I understand. Our lunch was covered by the program, which seemed fair, since we were contributing two days of preparation, plus a day of meetings, for free.

At the end of a long day it was off to the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station for dinner with my sister and niece, a recent University of Colorado grad. Then to pick up my car and a drive through heavy traffic cross town and my father’s apartment outside Wilmington. I arrived about 11. My father, as readers know, is 96 years old. He still drives, but not long distances.

Driving to my home I Virginia, through heavy rain and heavy traffic was a chore. A drive that can take little more than 4 and a half hours took 7. It was good to finally settle in front of an open fire for dinner and what I thought was a well deserved drink. My back was killing me.

Thursday was a day of cooking – I am the family cook - and then eating a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with my wife, stepson and father, plus two neighbors. Friday we played bridge in the afternoon and watched “Crash” in the evening on a DVD. Powerful film. Saturday I drove my father back to his apartment and we had a relaxed dinner together after some shopping a much less exhausting drive. Sunday I drove back to Washington, stopping at a clothing outlet, enroute to take advantage of pre Christmas sales…l bought five dress shirts for under $20 and a $450 suit for under $200. Great bargains. I by virtually all my clothes at this outlet, which is a convenient midpoint enroute to my father’s home.

How was my break? – I saw many family members, but not all in the same place. There was lots of activity: work, socializing and driving back and forth. Most of the many people I came in contact with, in New York and on the road, were pleasant and helpful when they needed to be. For the most part, my family is doing well and in good health. In sum, there was much to be thankful for.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Excellent 'Customer Service' - Rarely Encountered; Always Appreciated

Earlier this week, I had an amazing experience. It began when I was rear-ended by a dump truck during the totally dysfunctional afternoon rush hour congestion that plagues Interstate 66 West. The driver was gracious and apologetic, acknowledging responsibility and providing me with the information necessary to contact his insurer and file a claim. Fortunately I was not injured and my car was drivable.

This was an incredibly busy time at the University, so it was Thursday before I called my insurance provider, USAA to file a claim. A claims agent responded to my call with less than two minutes of waiting. During the waiting period, there was no intrusive advertising. The agent gave both her first and last name without my asking. She explained the process. She was cheerful, competent and engaged. The experience was, if anything – uplifting. Soon afterwards, a “senior claims adjustor” called me. He, too, provided his first and last name. He was cheerful, courteous and responsive.

I take time to write about this because the experience was so exceptional. In most organizations with which I deal, both outside American University and even within AU, the experience is quite different. My call begins with a long wait and/or complex menu. I am encouraged to solve my problem by accessing a web site rather than waiting for assistance. The person who anwers responds sullenly and evasively to non-routine questions and refuses to provide his or her last name. Sometimes he or she refers me to another office which, when I contact them is unhelpful or unreachable. Or there may be a promise to research my query further and call back that is never fulfilled.

Among my rogues gallery, of offenders, the absolute worst is Cingular Wireless. I have described the egregiously bad service I have received from that utterly dysfunctional organization (from my vantage point at least )n in previous blogs. Competing for the bottom spot is MetLife, an organization to which my extended care policy was unceremoniously dumped by TIAA/CREF, “a name you can trust” several years ago. Others near the bottom are most ‘help desk’ services that computer support organizations and software organizations provide. My wife did report a recent good experience with a help desk support service that had been outsourced to India.

For most organizations, providing decent telephone support must be at the at the bottom of the priority list. Customers are seem to be viewed as captive audience whose goodwill simply isn’t worth the trouble.

I must take a few moments to write to USAA and tell senior management what a contribution their claims service staff members made to my well-being, last week. Perhaps that will help to ensure that this function remains high on their priority list.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

How democracy should work: voting in de la Plains, Virginia

I could write something profound about the election results. But, instead, I simply want to share my voting experience. Our polling place is in the Parish Hall of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in De la Plain Virginia. On the way to the polling place, where I had only been once before, I got lost. Finally I pulled up at a house that had a couple of cars parked in the driveway and knocked on the door. Two small dogs barked a warning and after a short wait, an older woman came to the door, which she opened without hesitation.

I explained my predicament and she responded with directions, which she repeated to be sure I was clear. I introduced myself. “I know your wife she said.” I told her where we lived and we had a brief conversation before I drove off.

Emmanuel Church and its parish hall are white frame buildings. On the walkway approaching them, under beautiful, ancient trees, resplendent in fall colors there were two adjacent tables, one for the Republicans, the other for the Democrats. No ‘attack ads’ here. The workers at the two tables were engaged in friendly conversation, stopping only to hand out literature to those who asked.

In the polling station, the poll watchers and election officials were working together. ID cards were checked in a friendly manner. No glitches or confrontational checking. (of course that would not have been the case for African Americans, fifty years ago). We had the option of either paper ballots or electronic voting. Surprisingly, most voters were choosing electronic. I chose paper – the lines were shorter. The election official said “are you -------‘s husband. Didn’t I see you at the Orleans Fire Department Oyster Roast on Saturday night.” He had. He was the ticket taker at the door – all the oysters you can eat for $20, which included a donation to the department.

Voting took about 10 minutes and the way out I met three other neighbors. We take or politics seriously in Fauquier county – turnout was anticipated to be more than 80 per-cent, I heard one official say – but not too seriously.

Miles from Washington DC, it was a morning when we could feel good about our neighborhood, our neighbors, the democratic process and our country.