Archelon and the Sea Dragon

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Archelon, Archelon and the Sea Dragon, dinosaur, dinosaur books, Frances K Pavel, Frances Pavel, Jim Lamb, tylosaurus

 
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The Way of Nature:
The Science of Frances K. Pavel’s Archelon and the Sea Dragon

Public libraries have provided copies of Archelon and the Sea Dragon since the 1970s. And, to this day, very few copies not formerly owned by libraries remain in circulation. The book has gone out of print and seems fated to one day become as extinct as the dinosaurs. The mission of this essay and the associated video are to preserve this rapidly vanishing book for the future and give it an extended life on the web.

Who was Frances K. Pavel? Little about this author has survived in the public record. The book tells us she was a teacher. We can make an educated guess about why she wrote Archelon. In her story, a mosasaur attacks Archelon and rips off one of his rear flippers. This dramatic narrative moment may in fact be the place where Pavel’s story began. The Yale Peabody Museum houses the largest Archelon fossil ever found, nearly complete except for the skull and a missing flipper (Yale). Did Pavel travel to the museum to see this mighty Archelon specimen, or did she read about it somewhere? Either way, this fossil may have inspired her story. From that inspiration, she wove a tale incorporating biology, paleontology, and geology – and in no small way, a philosophy about the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

What of Pavel’s account of the behavior and biology of Archelon and his ancient peers? Is it fact or fiction? More often than not, Pavel remains factual and very accurate. She interpolates Archelon’s behavior from the behavior of modern sea turtles, and science supports this decision. Turtles “have persisted relatively unchanged across the hundreds of millions of years of their existence” (McLoughlin, 21). Archelon’s mother returns to land to lay her eggs just like today’s sea turtles who “migrate long distances to lay their eggs on remote sandy beaches,” something they were doing “millions of years before humans appeared on the scene” (Castro, 179). Pavel’s description of the dangers faced by new-born turtles matches what we see today on those remote sandy beaches.

Pavel may be incorrect that with his “powerful, sharp jaws, Archelon could cut a five-foot fish right down the middle.” Sea turtles rarely include fish in their diets, and their jaws are typically weak regardless of their size. Sea turtles prefer “soft, bottom invertebrates like sponges, soft corals, and jellyfishes as well as hardier invertebrates like crabs and mollusks” (Castro 179). Some writers support this view that Archelon’s “jaws were very weak, so Archelon may have fed on jellyfish, which swarmed in large numbers” (Matthews, 72). The World Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs agrees that Archelon “would have had a similar lifestyle to the modern leatherback turtle of the Caribbean and North Atlantic” but says that it “probably fed on slow-moving planktonic prey such as jellyfish” (Dixon, 278). But other researchers assert that Archelon turtles “probably had a very powerful bite. Their beaks and mouths seem especially well designed for eating large molluscs, like squid, that inhabited the seas of the Late Cretaceous time” (Black Hills). Even so, little case can be made for Archelon’s devouring large fish.

Pavel writes of maternal ichthyosaurs bringing their young to the surface to breathe. She may infer this behavior from whales or dolphins and a belief shared by the authors of Archosauria: ichthyosaurs “probably resembled dolphins in life” (McLoughlin, 21). But, we observe this behavior most often “in captive dolphins,” whereas in the open sea, newborn calves “immediately swim to the surface” on their own (Castro, 207). Of course, this does not disprove Pavel’s portrait of the ichthyosaur. We know much about ichthyosaur physiology due to a number of specimens found in Germany which “preserved not only the bones, but also the muscles and skin” (Matthews, 63). Of their behavior in life, however, we know very little!

Many artists have depicted mosasaur attacks on Archelon and related turtles, but did mosasaurs really eat sea turtles? Mike Everhart, author of one of the most well-researched and extensively cited online reports about Archelon, believes that even though we have no solid proof, this dramatic conflict is a reasonable assumption. He quotes Belgian naturalist Louis Dollo who claimed marine tortoise remains had been found in the fossil carcass of the mosasaur Hainosaurus, and also crushing injuries on a shell in the Netherlands that appear to be a bite from “something very large and powerful” (Everhart).

Many fantastic dinosaur stories incorporate numerous dinosaur species without regard for their correct time periods. Pavel and illustrator Jim Lamb correctly select all of their ancient reptiles – tyrannosaurs, ceratopsians, and the marine fauna – from the late Cretaceous, though ichthyosaurs may have been rarer than described.

“As the Cretaceous Period progressed, a drastic change occurred in the nature of marine vertebrate faunas. Although plesiosaurs survived, ichthyosaurs and swimming crocodiles were rare, and huge swimming monitor lizards, the mosasaurs, were now on the scene. With large heads and body lengths as great as 15 meters (about 50 feet), they probably pursued larger prey than those of even the biggest ichthyosaurs. Turtles also invaded the seas on a grand scale. Of the several types that evolved, the largest attained lengths of nearly 4 meters (13 feet)” (Stanley, 122).

However, a casual reading of Archelon suggests a massive super-extinction leaving an empty planet on which mammals only appeared after the dinosaurs all died. In reality, “both dinosaurs and mammals evolved in the late Triassic Period from reptile ancestors,” although “mammals were small and insignificant for the next 150 million years” until after the massive dinosaur extinction (Matthews, 32). Plus, the vanishing ichthyosaurs did not leave the seas empty. Ichthyosaurs “occupied an ecologic niche approximating that of advanced sharks, which replaced them toward the end of the Cretaceous” (McLoughlin, 21). Sharks make no appearance in Archelon, although they were common as far back as the Permian Age millions of years before the events Pavel describes (Matthews, 12).

Pavel’s Archelon surveyed the dwindling numbers of swimming reptiles, and she is correct in painting a picture of a gradual extinction. While pop fiction may suggest the dinosaurs became extinct overnight, the reality is that they were declining over periods of millions of years – a longer time period than homo sapiens has inhabited this planet! Pavel’s poignant moments where Archelon watches the mosasaurs and ichthyosaurs disappear does coincide with history as we know it. “Large vertebrates in the ocean failed to make the transition to the Cenozoic Era. Most important was the disappearance of the mosasaur and plesiosaur reptiles and of the largest marine turtles” (Stanley, 137). Stanley’s Extinction also provides more detail about the geographic and geologic changes of the continents over time, including the shallow seas that once covered much of North America. Pavel’s dramatic description of the rise of the Rockies also fits our current knowledge of the history of these ancient mountains.

In the end, Pavel’s Archelon finds himself suddenly buried on the sea floor. Fossil formation depends on such a live or sudden burial to protect the body from the elements and allow for the gradual replacement of once-living tissue with the minerals that become the fossil (Strauss, 33). This process has been known for many years, recounted many times in books such as The Album of Prehistoric Animals (McGowen, 43).

Frances K. Pavel’s great attention to biology, paleontology, and geology makes Archelon a story that educates as much as it entertains. But we perceive that hard science was no more important to her than a world view highlighted throughout her narrative. Pavel shows us a world where both protagonist and antagonist, and all the supporting characters, inhabit a web of eating and being eaten. All of her creatures take part in this perpetual cycle. Pavel also takes the long view of biology. Archelon dies, but life continues. One turtle dies, but turtles live on. Life forms and species vanish, but new species take their place. Pavel shows us, too, the geologic perspective. As immense as our challenges and pains may seem, they are but brief seconds on the geologic clock of the planet. Pavel writes of peace and pain, tiny moments and sweeping historical vistas, individual lives and the history of life on this planet. In Pavel’s view, each of these perspectives has meaning. We are neither insignificant nor the center of the universe, but both at once. And that, as Pavel writes, is the way of nature.

Works Cited

Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, Inc. The Archelon. 2011, accessed 10/11/2011. <http://www.bhigr.com/pages/info/info_arch.htm>

Castro, Peter and Michael E. Huber. Marine Biology. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2008.

Dixon, Dougal. The World Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures. London: Lorenz Books, 2007.

Everhart, Mike. Marine Turtles from the Western Interior Sea. 2011, accessed 10/11/2011 <http://www.oceansofkansas.com/Turtles.html>

Matthews, Rupert. Dinosaurs Through Time. China: McRae Books Srl, 2007.

McGowen, Tom. Album of Prehistoric Animals. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1974.

McLoughlin, John C. Archosauria: A New Look at the Old Dinosaur. New York: Viking Press, 1979.

Pavel, Frances K. Archelon and the Sea Dragon. Chicago: Regensteiner Publishing Enterprises, 1975.

Stanley, Steven M. Extinction. New York: Scientific American Books, 1987.

Strauss, Roberta, ed. The World around Us #15: The Illustrated Story of Prehistoric Animals. New York: Gilberton, Nov. 1959.

Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. Archelon. 2011, accessed 09/16/2011. <http://peabody.yale.edu/exhibits/archelon>

Snail Shell

Tags

art, backyard biology, fingers, hand, shell, snail

Backyard biology has always been a hobby of mine. Frustrated with the inadequate focal length of popular cameras, I turned to my Epson 2580 Photo Scanner to capture more detailed images.

Production Notes: Snail shell scanned at 800 dpi 48-bit color and saved as a jpg. The original scan area was approximately a full page. Magnification results from cropping the large image down to small dimensions. Picasa 3.0 and Paint.Net enabled a little digital cleanup. Supporting objects were erased, black background was painted in, and minor imperfections in the glass retouched.

Experiencing Nature

Tags

art, environment, nature, painting

Dream Journal 2; mixed media on canvas

Experiencing Nature:
An Artist’s Reflection

Matthew Howard Camp
University of Northern Arizona

SOC 333: Environment and Society
March 30, 2013
 

Exercise: Go outside. Sit on the land. Close your eyes. Take several deep breaths…

Before I finish my series of deep breaths, a large ant bites my foot and breaks the calm. I smack my foot in annoyance. As I resume breathing calmly, a gnat flies into my nostril. Even after he’s been ejected, my nose itches. I don’t have long to worry about it though, before some energetic insect tries to flutter down the back of my pants. I stand up quickly, slapping my own behind, hoping for no bugs in my pants. It’s a beautiful sunny day, perfect for obtaining a famous Phoenix 20-minute sunburn, and yet I’m already crawling with insects. This, I think, is what experiencing nature must be all about.

I decide to enjoy the beauty of the day by doing something other than meditating in the insect storm. I have a large painted canvas measuring around sixteen square feet that has looked ugly for years. I carry it outside and set it in the grass, in the sun, leaning against a tree. Perhaps here in the open air a new inspiration will come to me. As I prime the canvas, I am aware of the chemical nature of my paints. Although I hope to draw on the natural beauty of the day, I have a hand full of colorful chemical glop to play with. It occurs to me how utterly unnatural all of our experiences of nature have become. We cannot fully experience nature because in every instance we bring our own unnatural creations to visit her: from paints to Styrofoam beverage coolers, from a machine-rolled cigarette to a plastic rain coat, from nylon fishing line to steel-toe boots. It’s almost as if nature begins to disappear the very moment we go to meet her.

Between coats of primer, I pause to reflect on this week’s question: do you feel connected to the land? I realize I feel intensely disconnected from the land in and around Phoenix. Going deeper, I realize I do not even want to be connected to it. After 10 years in the southwest, I have no love for the land of the desert. It is harsh, hard, prickly, sharp, and thirsty. I felt much more connected during my years in the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest due to the lush, beautiful landscapes. I long for the redwoods and seastacks of Humboldt County, California. Why am I not there now?

Strangely enough, this disconnect has its roots in a very deep connection to the natural world. Ever since I hit puberty several decades ago, my mood and my sleep patterns have been largely tied to seasonal shifts, climate, and the sun. I had to leave the more natural areas I loved because frankly, there wasn’t enough sunlight to keep me from the depths of depression. Only in the Southwest have I found a climate with enough bright, dry, sunny days to keep me in fairly good cheer all year long. I realize that this, too, is what my experience of nature is all about. Although I long for it, ache for it, and fantasize about it, the reality of nature is that sometimes it is a very inhospitable place to be.

I grab a bigger paintbrush and a can of spackle before recalling other inhospitable moments with nature. The sun quickly dries my paint and burns my back as I remember camping in Missouri on a solo wilderness trip when I was eighteen. One night, the storms came up out of nowhere and hammered the side of the little hill I camped on. The winds ripped down my tent, and I couldn’t make any sense of it in the dark. I dragged my sleeping bag to a slightly more sheltered spot in the rock as the lightning began to tear the sky to shreds. The rain began its assault not in drops but in one continuous stream, as if someone dumped a water bucket as big as the sky and as deep as space onto the hillside. I remember quite vividly the acute sense of fear I felt huddled in my soaking sleeping bag for the next nine hours. That, I think, was what experiencing nature was all about. Dramatic moments like that give one a sense of incredible powerlessness and smallness in the face of natural forces. It is easy to feel just as small as the ants that annoy me so much today. It becomes easy to imagine nature as hostile, angry, brutal, or merciless.

In fact, we can project all kinds of fantasies onto the natural world. We can imagine its emotions, its motivations, and its intentions. But what are these things, really? Often when we look at nature, we see nothing so much as a reflection of our selves: our desires, passions, shortcomings, impatiences, rages, and loves. The fire rages through the forest, the bee caresses a flower with love, and the rain desires nothing more than to be released on the mountains. It is no wonder that so many poets and artists turn to the natural world for inspiration, to reflect on their thoughts and feelings, and to rekindle the sense of wonder that makes for great art. In a very real sense, communing with nature is part of an internal process of connecting with ourselves. Nature may be free of these things we project on her, but she stirs them within us nonetheless.

This is why I indulge in what one girlfriend called my “man of nature trip.” Every so often, I just have to hit the pause button on life, grab a guitar, and go hang out in the woods for a few days. I look for peace, solitude, even isolation from other humans, to become immersed in the sights and sounds of nature. I stare at a river for an hour and ask, how could you describe this setting using nothing but music? How could you describe its stillness yet express its never-ending motion? How could you express in sound the contrast between the calm shadows of the trees on the water, and the desperate struggle for life raging every minute for the fish, insects, worms, and birds? Reflecting on these questions is perhaps when I feel most connected to nature, consciously integrating her into my creative processes.

But nature does more than create. It also perpetually destroys. Whether we seek creation or destruction, we are natural. In fact, these two aspects of nature are part of single process called transformation. Today, I think about perpetual transformation as I re-work my ugly old canvas. Like nature, both I and this canvas are part of a sea of perpetual change. We will never again be what we were, and what we will be remains something of a mystery. We cannot hold on to the past for it is no longer there for us to grasp. We can only go forward, as the river can only go downhill, as the larva can only grow to be an insect.

It really is the insects that bug me the most. They break that fantasy of solitude and calm with their incessant pestering. And this, too, I imagine, is what experiencing nature is all about. She is persistent, relentless, and implacable. She seems to have her own aims which admit nothing of humanity. We may try to shut her out, but she will always find a way in.

Realizing this, I give up my resistance and let my painting absorb me. Letting go, forgetting, and moving naturally becomes easier. It makes no sense to try to be natural. Everything we do is an expression of natural processes. It makes no sense to feel disconnected, as we are not separate objects which can be removed from nature. What we can do, however, is believe our feelings of disconnectedness. We can believe ourselves to be separate. The psychological value of experiencing nature comes in the reawakening of our awareness of being connected, of being one aspect of a much greater whole. It is not so much that being disconnected is real. The problem is that it feels real. When we step away from our industrial world to commune with nature, we remind ourselves that this disconnect is just a state of mind, a symptom of our society and culture. The natural world reminds us of our own true nature, and this renews our spirit.

Day comes to an end and my painting is no closer to completion than before, it seems. I sought to obliterate the underlying colors and textures but they persist. I give them avalanches of paint. I offer them a landslide of spackle. I subject them to thunderstorms of black and lightning flashes of white. I wash them with a tidal wave of color. Battered, covered, flooded, and buried, they begin to recede at last. I meet the canvas now not as a human but as a natural force. Am I so different from the waterfall, from the tornado? Is my confrontation with this canvas any different from the way the waves confront the shore? I realize that nature isn’t something that happens to me. There is no “me” that is not nature already, regardless of my culture’s attempts to divide us and separate us. I am within her and she is within me and we are one and the same. I realize I don’t even need to paint this painting at all. All I need to do is what comes naturally. The painting will take care of itself.

Dream Journal 1; mixed media on canvas

Empowering Effective Teamwork

Tags

collective leadership, communication, company culture, diversity, reward, structure, teams

Empowering Effective Teamwork:
Culture, Structure, Diversity, and Reward

Matthew Howard Camp
University of Northern Arizona

PAS 450: Leadership Concepts, Skills, and Models
February 1, 2013

 
Introduction

Ikujiro Nonaka presented a case study of the late 1980s Honda City project that provides a significant roadmap for leaders who want to learn both the cultural and the structural aspects of creating successful teams in their companies. Practical examples merge seamlessly with theory to illuminate the three critical success factors at the individual, group, and organizational levels: autonomy, dialogue, and structure. The case also demonstrated how the roles of middle and upper management change in this environment compared to the earlier and more restrictive Weberian hierarchies. The arguments closely correspond with other readings on diversity, communication, and structure. But, leaders must also consider how to reward teams effectively when they generate results.

Effectiveness

While many leadership texts present wonderful ideas about teams, it often remains to the reader to conceive of what those ideas look like in practice. Nonaka made one of the most effective cases for this management approach because he did more than propose theory. He showed it in action. He addressed the critical success factors at each level of the organization and the structure needed to make them happen. At the individual level, people in teams require autonomy. At the team level, we need “open and frank dialogue” (Nonaka, 1988, p. 13). At the organizational level, we need structure.

Failing to understanding this final point, structure, is one of the biggest kinds of mistakes a manager can make in planning (Starling, 2011, p. 229). Nonaka pointed out that existing structures regulate the allocation of resources, the basic direction of teams, and mediation “between the desires of the group and of the individual” in the creative process. Nonaka also recognized that even in breaking up Weberian hierarchies into teams can benefit from the hierarchy structure. Rather than doing away with upper and middle management in his team approach, he assigned them roles appropriate to managing teams.

Nonaka called the Honda City approach “middle-up-down” management because the vision and leadership do not come solely from the top-down (upper management) or the bottom-up (workers in teams.) Instead, top management provides a general goal or direction, and then teams generate ideas and solutions. Middle management provides guidance and oversight of the teams. Ten years after Nonaka, Thompson and Sanders (1998) would agree that that “even a bottom-up strategy may require a top-down component.” They call this a hybrid model, where top management focuses on guiding teams by “legitimizing innovative behavior and facilitating learning” (p. 119). It seems Nonaka argued not only effectively but presciently. Management theory since his case study has come much more into alignment with his ideas over time.

Comparison

Nonaka proposed that “the importance of… having a group with heterogeneous backgrounds cannot be overstated.” He described his case study group as coming from many different “jobs, orientations, and backgrounds” (p. 10). Success depends not just upon teams but on teams with diversity to gain a variety of perspectives.

But, according to Nonaka, “Many worried that the team would be unable to reach consensus” (p. 11). Managers must address this very real possibility when forming diverse teams. “When you’re working across cultures, interpretation often becomes misinterpretation” (Prince, 2004, p. 74). Managers must facilitate communication across cultural boundaries, playing the diplomat and resolving conflicts arising from misunderstandings.

Forming teams and facilitating their self-direction will generate results. But, at the end of this process, teams deserve rewards for their performance. Thompson’s Rewarding Teamwork (2000) provides an overview of ways a manager can reward teams. Incentive pay, profit-sharing, and recognition are three of the many ways teams to effectively reward teams (p. 38-43). Thompson also reminds us that rewards do not just magically happen at the end of a project. Managers set standards and performance benchmarks prior to the project. Throughout the project, managers measure progress. And, at the end, care must be taken to provide the right kind of rewards. Thompson cautions that “The gesture must be meaningful to the group… Giving team members tickets to an evening ball game in reward for putting in long hours on a project may be deflating to team members with families” (ibid, p. 41).

Significance

Creating both the organizational structure and a culture that empowers diverse teams “is vital to building sustainable leadership capacity” (Bal, 2004, p. 165). Nonaka’s case remains a significant example for leaders. It addresses organizational structure, roles, and functions at all levels of the organization in which teams can thrive. It provides a road map for leaders as creators of a culture where teams can thrive.

References

Bal, V., and Quinn, L. (2004). The missing link: organizational culture and leadership development. In Wilcox, M. and Rush, S., Eds., The CCL Guide to Leadership in Action, pp. 163-171. Jossey Bass: San Francisco, CA.

Nonaka, I. (Spring, 1988). Toward middle-up-down management: Accelerating information creation. Sloan Management Review, pp. 9-18.

Prince, D., and Hoppe, M. (2004). Leading transition: A talk with William Bridges. In Wilcox, M. and Rush, S., Eds., The CCL Guide to Leadership in Action, pp. 73-81. Jossey Bass: San Francisco, CA.

Thompson, I. (2000). Rewarding teamwork: compensation and performance appraisals. In Making the Team: A Guide for Managers, pp. 35-58.

Thompson, J., and Sanders, R. (1998). Reinventing public agencies: bottom-up versus top-down strategies. In Ingraham, P., Thompson, J., and Sanders, R., Eds., Transforming Government: Lessons from the Reinvention Laboratories, pp. 97-121. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Starling, G. (2011). Managing the public sector. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Company Culture and Conflict

Tags

collaborative conflict resolution, company culture, conflict, empowerment, public management, trust

Company Culture and Conflict:
Seeking Collaborative Resolutions

Matthew Howard Camp
University of Northern Arizona

PAS 450: Leadership Concepts, Skills, and Models
February 15, 2013

Abstract

Collaborative approaches to conflict resolution reduce major organizational dysfunction. In fact, one of the major areas of dysfunction is fear of conflict. Masters & Albright present a valuable lesson in the real goals of resolving conflict, as well as a cogent program for collaborating. Their nine-step model simplifies the process, though managers will find in practice that things do not always follow such a precise linear sequence. Managers must be willing to relinquish control as their teams resolve conflicts on their own. This frees up the manager for the big picture and strategy. But, it requires both training for the teams and personal development for the leader to create cultures where teams can successfully resolve their conflicts.
 
Conflict and Culture

Masters and Albright (2005) propose five goals of conflict resolution: Prevent escalation, focus on the real problem, avoid personalizing the argument, invent solutions, and build relationships (p. 583). To achieve these goals, they advocate not compromise but collaboration. A collaborative approach to resolving conflict solves many of the five ways teams become dysfunctional. They are, as proposed by Patrick Lencioni (2005): absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results (p. 607).

Each one of these problem areas benefits from building a culture of collaborative resolution. Consider Lencioni’s third area of dysfunction: lack of commitment. This problem can arise from failures of team members to agree on any number of things: their vision, their roles, their duties. Reaching that agreement often requires the resolution of underlying conflicts. Even more to the point, Lencioni identifies a major area of dysfunction in fear of conflict (p. 619). People use an avoidance strategy or make compromises that make no one happy – all in an attempt to avoid the dreaded conflict. If teams knew they had a collaborative approach that could deepen their relationships and improve their jobs, how much of this dysfunction would disappear?

While Lencioni proposes several team exercises to improve team-based culture, Masters presents a single nine-step program for the collaborative approach: take a step back, confront the situation, sit back and listen, capture the situation, invite exploration, assess and analyze, propose possibility, reach outcome, build relationship (p. 583). This process serves his five high-level goals by improving human relations and generating innovative solutions that work for everyone. While things are rarely as simple for leaders as the program suggests, becoming competent in these areas will help resolve conflicts much more favorably.

What it Means for Leaders

Robert E. Quinn, author of Deep Change, reminds leaders that change does not often follow an orderly and systematic plan.

“Organizational and personal growth seldom follow a linear plan. This is an important principle to remember. When people recount a history of growth, they often tell it in a linear sequence, suggesting a rationality and control that never really existed” (Quinn, 1996, p. 83).

In this light, Masters’ perfect nine-step sequence appears unlikely. Masters captures the most significant components of collaborative resolution. But, in practice, many of these “steps” will happen all at the same time, or in any number of different sequences. In the most chaotic periods of growth, all kinds of unexpected conflicts pop up. The collaborative resolutions to conflicts will come in many forms, with varying blends of masters’ key elements.

If such chaos sounds difficult to manage, it can be. Effective managers will therefore oversee teams that collaborate on solutions to conflicts and challenges. They reduce their micromanagement of details, trusting their teams to produce amazing results. Effective managers end up with more time to address the big picture. Why then don’t more managers let their teams collaborate and create solutions to conflict? They fear losing control.

“It is key that leaders demonstrate restraint when their people engage in conflict and allow resolution to occur naturally, as messy as it can sometimes be. This can be a challenge because many leaders feel that they are somehow failing in their jobs by losing control of their teams during conflict” (Lencioni p. 618).

But, within a large and complex organization, managers must develop teams they can trust. No single person can solve all the problems of administering public policy. No single peacemaker can resolve every daily conflict in an agency, a city, or a state. Managers faced with great conflict in times of change and growth would do well to do more than simply read Masters and Albright. They will teach their teams these principles. They will allocate resources for training teams in these principles, following the example of plant manager Al Scott at Wilson Sporting Goods, “to ensure team success” (Lussier).

Even more, they will model them in practice for their teams by walking their talk. They communicate a vision of collaboration, but they must live it, too. “To create a climate of empowerment, we must first change ourselves” (Spreitzer, 2001, p. 30). Walking this talk requires leaders who have competencies in five areas: interpersonal, managerial, analytical, technical, and personal (Masters, 2005, p. 604). Sometimes innate within a born leader, many of these competencies can be studied, taught, and learned (Doh, 2003, p. 63-64). Therefore, the study of leadership amounts to more than an analysis of organizational structure or listing nine step plans. Undertaking the study of leadership is undertaking a personal journey of development and growth, to become a leader or perhaps to become a more effective one.

Conclusion

Those looking for a blueprint to conflict resolution will most appreciate Masters and Albright. The process of resolution may not be as well-defined as their model, but it makes a good start. It reduces dysfunction in all the major areas a company can go wrong. Lenicioni also gives a number of team exercises worth implementing. They will contribute to the relationship building component so vitally necessary to make resolving conflicts seem more appealing than avoiding them or escalating them.  

References

Doh, J. (March 2003). Can leadership be taught? Perspectives from management educators. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 2:1, pp. 54-67.

Lencioni, P. (2005). Overcoming the five dysfunctions of a team. In Management Skills: A Jossey-Bass Reader. Jossey Bass: San Francisco, CA.

Lussier. Objective Case: Wilson Sporting Goods. Northern Arizona University PAS450 Course Material accessed Feb. 2013. Source unknown.

Masters, M., and Albright, R. (2005). Dealing with conflict. In Management Skills: A Jossey-Bass Reader. Jossey Bass: San Francisco, CA.

Quinn, R., (1996). Deep change: discovering the leader within. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Spreitzer, G., and Quinn, R., (2001). A company of leaders: five disciplines for unleashing the power in your workforce. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Labor, Law, and Leadership:

Tags

conflict, human capital, human resources, labor, law, organizational change, strike

Labor, Law, and Leadership:
A Case Study Analysis

Matthew Howard Camp
University of Northern Arizona

PAS 421C: Public Agency Policy
February 13, 2013

 
Abstract

Human Resource Management involves the most valuable resource available to public agencies: human capital. Leaders want to satisfy their employees, avoiding costly strikes and job actions that run counter to effective administration of services. They need to lead organizational change with planned organizational development, building vision and consensus from within, although they also have larger cultural goals within the agency. Regardless of the legality of these job actions, that employees even consider them shows an underlying dissatisfaction resulting from poor leadership.

Examples and observations come from Denhardt and Miller’s 2000 case study, “Managing a City’s Health Benefits” in Public Performance & Management Review.
 
Satisfaction

In this case, the Human Resources Manager faces the task of instituting an employee health care plan that better fits within the city’s budget. Yet his primary focus is the needs of the employees, the city’s human capital. He must consider not only the pressure from the union but the practicalities of employee retention and satisfaction.

Though the city’s problems are largely a matter of money, money is not the primary motivator of people at work. Although a necessity, of course, morale and productivity do not simply increase in proportion to increases in salary. The primary motivators have been identified as five satisfiers: achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, and advancement (Starling, 2011, p. 357-9). In this case, recognition plays an important role. The employees want to know that their family and financial concerns matter to the city. They do not want to be punished by an oppressive cost increase in health services. They want to be recognized as valuable workers. Considering their needs in this policy decision will make them feel like people, not numbers.

But, one can easily see how dissatisfied they might become by having a huge cost increase shoved down their throats along with a reduction in provider options. Employees become most dissatisfied in five areas: company policy and administration, supervision, salary, interpersonal relations, and working conditions (idib). A policy decision perceived poorly will cause negativity in the city’s workforce. If we consider benefits part of salary, then a reduction in benefits can become a huge demotivator. Strangely enough, salary dissatisfaction causes proportionately more harm than salary increases create satisfaction. Management’s aim is not so complex, though. “Manager’s role is to remove the dissatisfiers… then use the… motivators… to meet higher-level needs and propel employees toward greater achievement and satisfaction” (ibid).

Law and Labor

The case study notes that state laws are not labor friendly and the city has authority to impose unpopular decisions on the labor force. How does this affect management’s decision about the health care plan? In short, it doesn’t. Taking advantage of the law to enforce an unpopular decision on employees will only make matters worse. This “us against them” mentality may carry legal authority, but it does nothing to engage employees or satisfy them. Much stronger authority comes from policies that employees help create, and which they consent to. Moreover, the use of this kind of legal authority shows a sever lack of real leadership. Leaders also have personal authority that comes from their demonstration of leadership and their charisma. In short, the policy decision is not the real challenge for our manager in this case. The real challenge is being accepted as a leader, so that the decision made will be honored and respected. And, this demonstration of leadership mettle needs to happen in a very short time.

Although state laws are not labor friendly, the laws are not clear on whether local government workers have a right to strike. Especially with the displeasure rampant within the unions, our manager faces the very real possibility of a strike. Frankly, he faces this possibility whether the law supports strikes or does not. “Laws have not prevented strikes,” for reasons such as unequal enforcement, failure of the law in the court of public opinion, and, as in the 1981 case of the air traffic controllers, complete disregard for the strike laws by the unions (ibid, p. 474). A strike is not going to be good for our manager, for the city, or for the employees. Legal or not, work stoppages will negatively affect all concerned.

In fact, strikes only form part of the potential downside. Should strikes prove an unworkable option for labor, they have other “job actions” available to them to pressure the city. They might choose to slow down their work or take massive, coordinated “sick days” to abandon the city (ibid, p. 475). These choices might appear strategically viable to disgruntled workers, even if only to voice their displeasure, but they will have little positive affect. Management really does need to consider finances (the money is public money, after all) and has made a genuine effort to consider employee needs. Just as resorting to legal authority results in an “us against them” battle, so too would a strike. The real question for our manager is this: Have I clearly communicated what we face to our workers so they know we are all on the same side?

Leading Organizational Change

Two leadership paths emerge for our HR manager. To shepherd the city through this transition, he might choose Organizational Development. This approach focuses on cultural change: surveys, feedback, sensitivity training, team building, intergroup development, and process consultation (Starling, 2011, p. 368). Its aim is a general transformation of agency culture.

While the City could benefit from some or all of these ideas, culturally, they will not solve the insurance problem. This problem requires Planned Organizational Change. This path contains eight elements (ibid, pp. 366-368): establish a sense of urgency, form a powerful guiding coalition, develop a compelling vision and strategy, communicate the vision widely, empower employees to act on the vision, generate short term wins, consolidate gains and greater change, and institutionalize change in the organizational culture.

However, this clear sequential plan comes to our manager in the eleventh hour. Coming in at the tail end of the health care decisions, he has little time to form coalitions. His intense review process involving department heads might be as close as he gets. He doesn’t have time to create empowered employee teams to generate a health care vision. He barely has time to create a vision himself.

All is not lost. He can still communicate to employees that everything is being done to consider their needs. He can reaffirm the importance of the city’s staff by recognizing their needs. He can produce short-term wins by demonstrating that of all the city’s options, his choice is the best for the employees. The new plan will correct the budget shortfalls in the short term. Perhaps a better plan can be made long-term. We believe that if the manager presents his own pressures transparently to the team, they will understand why the decisions are being made. Communication is key.

Over time, the manager will want to engage the unions and the employees more deeply in the process of addressing health care services. The current conflict is a symptom of underlying disconnect between the city and its labor force. A cultural shift must occur where the process becomes more collaborative. The manager should make it clear that this is the long term goal and vision for the city’s workers, and begin creating that culture. Bad decisions by previous management, however, have left our manager holding a hot potato. A decision must be made now. Long-term change will have to wait.

Conclusion

This case illustrates the importance of human resource management in public agencies. Human Resources forms the bridge between public policy and the people who must administer it. Mismanagement of an agency’s human capital creates strife and conflict that deter the agency from effectively administering its policy goals and services. Effective leaders will manage more with their hearts and less with the hammer of law, building vision and consensus within their organization. Satisfied employees are productive employees. Human Resources leaders would do well to focus on the key satisfiers, making public agency employment a rewarding and satisfying occupation.
 

References

Denhardt, K., and Miller, E. (December 2000). Managing a city’s health benefits. Public Performance & Management Review, 24:2, pp. 195-9.

Starling, G. (2011). Managing the public sector. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Conscience and Complexity

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backward mapping, complexity of joint action, conflict, funds disbursement, games, private sector partners

Conscience and Complexity:
Achieving Public Policy Goals with Competing Private-Sector Partners

Matthew Howard Camp
University of Northern Arizona

PAS 421C: Public Agency Policy
February 19, 2013

Abstract

In this case study, public administrator Jim arrives in his new position to find a massively complex network of public and private organizations with conflicting aims and opinions. He needs to disburse economic revitalization funds from the government, but finds no easy solution to working with the private sector interests. They play games with him instead of being concerned with his vision for the city’s economic future and quality of life. Jim’s attempts to partner with them repeatedly end in conflict, aggravated by his shortcomings in resources, knowledge, and support. To find a solution and realize his vision, he may need to work backwards from what he wants to accomplish and identify what needs to happen to achieve those ends.
 
Complexity of Joint Action

“Government programs, even when designed to be carried out in a direct and simple manner, eventually come to involve a large number of governmental and nongovernmental organizations and individuals” (Starling, 2001, p. 383). Every one of the people and groups involved has their own perspective, priorities, urgency levels, opinions, demands, and regulations. Any of them might cause friction and conflict when administering public policy.

The case study places Jim, our public administrator, into the middle of an incredibly complex web of conflicting priorities and opinions. He has the mayor’s political future to consider, the demands for funding by merchant groups who supported the mayor in the last election, and a seemingly endless parade of people with opinions on which part of the city to revitalize – and how. His boss wants him to implement a program which none of the relevant groups both want and can comply with, and which has been pronounced doomed by a consultant. Instead of showing solidarity, the groups he meets all seem to be competing for his limited amount of funds to advance their own agendas.

Games People Play

Game One: Easy Money. Merchant groups in Jim’s city want to play a game called Easy Money. Theses private-sector groups want the government to hand over money to them “in exchange for program elements of too little value” (Starling, 2011, p. 385). They want the public money but they don’t want to justify or evaluate what they intend to do with it.

Game Two: Tenacity. Merchant groups also play a game called Tenacity with Jim. Refusing to cooperate with him, they insist that they either get the money or they will pull support for the mayor in the next election. Jim’s problems multiply when he faces not just one tenacious group but many, all of which want to have things all their way. “Although no one player may want to kill the program, the net effect of many actors playing tenacity may be just that” (ibid). If Jim can’t cut through this mess to make progress soon, his program funds will dry up, and all his effort will have come to naught.

At Odds with Local Partners

Resources. In monetary terms, the merchants and locals don’t have what they perceive to be adequate resources. Jim’s job description should include a section about how he will dangle like a bloody steak before dozens of hungry sharks. He has a small amount of money, and everyone wants him to hand it over.
The lack of financial resources suggests that the city is not effectively attending to its human resources, either. One of the merchant associations wants Jim to pay for holiday decorations in their district. Surely the city could find volunteer labor in their community groups and social clubs. Surely some contractor would volunteer his cherry-picker for the day as a nice advertising opportunity, and help hang the lights.

That the merchants have no interest in engaging community resources at this level shows that they have no intention of helping Jim realize his vision. If they cared about their community as Jim does, they would seek collaborative solutions within their community. Instead, they are coming to Jim like greedy children demanding he give them whatever ridiculous thing they want now. They may be on board with “revitalizing business,” as long as that means they can soak up public funds to mismanage their resources, and largely forget the public that pays for it.

Knowledge. Knowledge works against Jim in some powerful ways. His consultant clued him in that his boss’ grants program is doomed, but no one wants to mention it publicly. He finds his knowledge fails when it comes to the city’s complex web of organizations. Everywhere he turns, he finds a new group with a pet project and polarized views on what the city needs.

In the social sciences, we might say Jim needs one or more informers. He needs to gain knowledge, and he needs it from within the organizations he wants to make partners. He needs “a man on the inside” to guide him on groups’ motivations and hidden political aims.

Jim’s boss doesn’t help him, either. He announces new appointees to Jim’s department without consulting Jim. He may not be lying about anything, but he certainly isn’t forthcoming. If Jim doesn’t know what is going on in his own office, how can he keep track of this project?

Support. Jim could use some support right now. Frankly, he isn’t going to get it from his boss – or anywhere else in his organization. If he wants support, he will need to find it in the city’s organizations. He needs to form some key partnerships, choose them wisely, and strengthen them as best he can in a short time. Right now, not many people are on Jim’s side. So many people are against Jim, in fact, that perhaps the most compelling reason he should not cave in to failure is that it would make too many people too happy to see him fail.

Working Backward from Goals

Our administrator Jim has met with many people and listened to many competing agendas. In this state of confusion and conflict, he needs to pause and consider his most important and over-arching goals for his program. He needs to work backwards from what he hopes to achieve, identifying what it would take to realize his vision. Starling calls this “backward mapping” (pp. 409-411). Instead of starting with the money and figuring out what to do with it, Jim should figure out what he wants to do first – then apply his resources.

What are Jim’s real values? He is not a career politician, nor a sponge intent on soaking up funds. Jim really does want to make a positive difference. Yes, it will help advance his career. But, Jim really wants to make improvements in the quality of life for people in his city. And, he wants these improvements to be far-reaching enough that they positively affect communities and families and businesses alike. Jim may find that the mayor’s career and the greed of local merchants have absolutely nothing to do with the community transformation he seeks to inspire. Jim may even find his own career less important than making a difference.

What can Jim do to realize his values in action? He might start by assessing which parts of the puzzle are completely failing to serve his vision. The sooner he stops wasting time on people and programs that won’t make a positive difference, he frees up his own time and resources to focus on things that will. Next, he can identify current activities that might serve his vision but need to be fixed first. He doesn’t have time for extensive program evaluations, but he has heard enough to have a gut-level reaction on the merit of different activities.

This process of elimination will help Jim answer the most important question: What new activities do we need? Jim may need to create new partnerships, new systems, new application processes for his grant funds, and more. Clearly, no one is happy with the current situation, and Jim’s head is on the chopping block. He has little to lose by taking bold action.

Conclusion

In this environment, Jim might have to make some politically unpopular moves to realize his vision. He may need to work closely with the group revitalizing downtown, despite their not being residents. He has their cooperation, and can easily move forward. He may have to scrap his boss’ application program and start assigning funds to worthy causes he has evaluated. And, most importantly, if he wants to form partnerships with some of his private-sector sources of friction, he will need to lay some ground rules and stick to them. The complexity of his situation reflects the complexity at all levels of public administration. And, the importance strategic partnerships will play in achieving his goals shows just how closely the public and private sectors must work together to realize policy goals through actual programs.
 

References

Justice, J. (June, 2001). Neighborhood business development in Dempsey. Public Performance & Management Review, 24:4, pp. 419-424.

Starling, G. (2011). Managing the public sector. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Presentation to Students of Maricopa Skill Center

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Virtual Assistant

My Business Law instructor Peggy Shortridge invited me to speak to her students at Maricopa Skill Center about Creative Administration.

My presentation covered:
1. How I got into it – background.
2. What I do.
3. Recruiting new clients.
4. Billing
5. Self Management.

Because I didn’t know the background of the students in detail, I distributed Speaker Evaluation Forms to find out what was really meaningful to this group. I invited them to list the top three things they would take away from the presentation. Here’s a summary of what made an impression:

* Time Management tips
* The importance of Word of Mouth marketing
* Organize!
* Avenues of Generating Clients
* Free Google services: blog, calendar, email
* Billing Processes
* What Virtual Assistants do/could do – ideas!
* The only thing you need for your business is a client.

Regarding the last point: We addressed the question of what you need to start a business. We talked about how people will tell you that you need to start off by incorporating, getting a lawyer and a ton of paperwork, buying the latest software and gadgets – and all of that is nice, but secondary to the main idea: if you don’t have any clients, you don’t have any business. The first and foremost reality is that you need customers. You can re-vamp your web site and file your DBA anytime – what you really need is customers. Job Number One!

Finally, something that came up in the Q&A session was the necessity of feedback. How do you know what the client wants? How do you know how they like things done? How do you know if good enough is good enough, or if they want you to spend more time and go the extra mile?

Simple. ASK THEM. Don’t wait to find out later and don’t let dissatisfaction pile up. Survey your clients regularly. Ask them very specifically what they want. Ask them – is this good enough? Is it great? Did I do it the way you wanted it done? If you’re not sure about a specific project, stop and have them look at your progress so far. Get feedback! Over time, you will develop an understanding that allows you to anticipate what they want and fill their needs almost before they ask you.

4 Students signed up for my email newsletter and several stayed a little longer for a Q&A session.

Work Smarter, Not Harder, with a Virtual Assistant

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Virtual Assistant

Taking the first steps towards finding a Virtual Assistant and using them effectively to support your business.

Most small and home-based businesses reach a point where they have more paperwork than they want to handle themselves, but not enough to justify taking on full-time employees. Traditionally, business owners will take on a part-time helper in their office. But there is another option: outsourcing that work to a remote administrative assistant.

The traditional model of a part-time employee is appealing for its apparently low cost. But is the hourly wage the only cost? Hidden in that cost are federal and state employment taxes and Social Security taxes. Additionally, you have the overhead of office space, furniture, supplies, computer equipment, and even software licenses. Sharing a workspace also puts demands on your patience and your need for privacy.

The new model says to go remote. The concept of a ‘virtual’ assistant is catching on as the new generation of home-based business owners discovers the ease of outsourcing much of their work. They find that the overhead costs are eliminated, and paying a contractor (1099) eliminates the taxes paid to W-2 employees. The virtual assistant has their own supplies, space, and equipment. Plus, you can pay a contractor only when they work for you – not to just be in your office for ‘x’ number of hours each day.

It can be difficult at first to see how your business can use remote services. We who own businesses know what it is like to be a ‘one-person show.’ It’s easy to get into a ‘maniac mode’ where you have so much to do right now that you can’t even think about getting someone else to do it! We get stuck handling tasks ourselves all the time, instead of finding the time to delegate those tasks to an assistant.

Start by making a list – a list of all the things you would rather not be doing, and all the things you just don’t have time for anymore. Big or small – just put it on the list. Then, look for an assistant who can handle those specific tasks. It might be that digital family photo album you can’t get to, or those financial reports you dread compiling every month. It might be the presentation that needs some extra flair, or the team newsletter that has to go out. It could even be small tasks like holiday cards to mail, or getting driving directions to a meeting.

Once you have your wish list, begin to consider the right candidate for your assistant. Here are three important steps to getting the most out of your virtual assistant: Investigate, Delegate, and Communicate.

Investigate: Have they handled similar tasks before? Do they have a background in self-directed work and solving problems? What problems have they solved? And, most importantly, can they actively contribute ideas for remote solutions to your work load?

Delegate: Not sure if it can be done? Ask! Work towards solutions. Give your assistant small tasks at first to judge their responsiveness and reliability. Work your way up to giving them more significant and complex tasks.

Communicate: Be specific about your needs. Clearly identify time frames for completion of your tasks. Simple tasks can be delegated by e-mail; but, if it takes more than 3 emails to get clarity, get on the phone for a few minutes and clear it up. Most importantly, provide feedback about how satisfied you are with the work performed. Your assistant wants you to be satisfied, so let them know how they are doing. If you begin with clear and specific communication, your assistant will quickly develop a clear idea of your expectations – and how to best fulfill them.

Outsourcing work to a virtual assistant can save you time and money. You retain the freedom that makes working from home or in a private office so attractive. And that stack of paperwork on your desk? It gets smaller every day!

The Power of Agreement

In Blink, Malcolm Gladwell touches briefly on the secret of improv comedy theater. Analyzing improv sequences that worked and were funny, and comparing them to scenes that did not work and were not funny, he finds one key element that makes or breaks the scenes: agreement.

In scenes that fall flat, he finds one of the actors denies a suggestion or direction taken by another actor. In scenes that really work, the actor affirms the other’s statements or actions. This affirmation or agreement helps move the scene forward. Disagreement stops the scene dead in its tracks.

Maybe this is a stretch, but improv comedy theater is a lot like life. Here we are, all engaged in a spontaneous conversation, inventing our parts as we go, and responding to the contributions of others. Is it too much to wonder if the same power of agreement applies to moving forward in our daily conversations with others?

Haven’t we all felt a conversation suddenly get stuck in the water over a disagreement? Or felt the rebuff as our statements are denied by others? Can we sense the resistance created in an other-wise smooth conversation when we negate the other?

If we want to move forward in our scenes, we must find areas where we can agree. With agreement, we affirm, rather than deny, the input of others. Some people call this validation. And when we find ways to validate people, they become far more interested in moving forward with us. We create trust and positive emotion.

What are some ways we could say yes in situations where we usually react with a no? When we disagree, where can we find something to agree on to move forward? If our differences take conversations into predictable dead ends, then what are the commonalities we share that can build a relationship for moving forward?