Yesterday seemed to be the Blue Monday of 2011. I heard it on my work.
A colleague said it to our teamleader.... when I heard the 2 words I told them that every Monday is a blue one to me.
Monday 17 January I had a great WC meeting. We discussed questions we have for the Management Team concerning the reorganisation and the meeting with the director. In fact the reorganization is fantastic for personel, everything will be heavenly arranged if it goes as it should go.
120 employees worked on the plan. That is almost 20% of the total population of my department. Here management has a pro because they created a huge supporting area. That is the basis of every reorganisation, at least it should be. But from business life I know that 60 to 85% of mergers don't succeed. Why should reorganizations in a department of a Municipality be very different?
From my point of view as an employee I welcome the reorganization. Everything will be difficult but it opens many windows of opportunities.
For example the posibility to grow personally. The organisation has come to an halt because growth is blocked.
I was at the office till 5.30 pm. If I don't have a positive work attitude ..... Do I invest in growth?
Showing posts with label works council. Show all posts
Showing posts with label works council. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Municipality
Alright, I have a short break. Three weeks ago I claimed this week as a free week. Hear what I say -claim-! At my work we don't ask if we can take a week off. No, we write it down on a white board and inform direct colleagues. We didn't discuss it. That's how it can be too. More responsibility for the employees!
I wrote a note about efficiency and effectiveness.
It translated from Dutch to English with wordlingo and adjusted it.
Also I wrote a reaction on a memorandum of Management. We got some questions.
In March we got elections for the Council. I'm not candidate for election. My latest reaction could be the last.
For now I'll aim at my career. There is more I can achieve. Thanks to the Council.
I wrote a note about efficiency and effectiveness.
It translated from Dutch to English with wordlingo and adjusted it.
Future development
My opinion is that the municipality should behave internally organisationally more like a company. There where critical company processes come in, heavier control mechanisms should be used.
Responsibilities must be placed lower in the organisation. Decisions which are for a service important, must be taken by the responsible Executive Board.
For non-service critical decisions authorisation can be given at a lower organisational level. There must be a function separation were always the authorisation of 2 officials is needed to authorise a decision.
The problem of independent consultants and customer managers is that not all decisions are reviewed. Control takes place afterwards. The question is if there a one on one control. If there is a random control, possibly decisions are (dis)approved wrongfully.
This is an assessment of to what extent something can go wrong in order to carry out the activities more rapidly. The task of the municipality can be that we must work more efficiently and more effectively. This must be preceded by a number of questions:
- how do we define effectiveness and efficiency?
- where in the municipality lies the emphasis on efficiency?
- where in the municipality lies the emphasis on effectiveness?
- how is the proportion of these terms?
Also I wrote a reaction on a memorandum of Management. We got some questions.
In March we got elections for the Council. I'm not candidate for election. My latest reaction could be the last.
For now I'll aim at my career. There is more I can achieve. Thanks to the Council.
Saturday, November 06, 2010
reading
The book Freedom of Johnathan Franzen got my attention because I saw an interview with the writer on Dutch television. So last week I bought it. Maybe I learn some more things about the philosophy of life.
Some weeks ago I was at a party of someone who I gave Savater's In praise of profanity
Bruna.nl describes this book on it's site:
"In a playful but insistent way Savater in this book provides an anatomy of religion as a delusion: it is the fear of death that man makes one yearn for eternal life. Doubt God means recognizing that our existence is finite. Savater Thus, the key questions of human existence: what is truth and what are we afraid of? Why is a good life on earth preferable to an infinite afterlife? In his reflections about this Savater used as inspiration the work of great thinkers on the relationship between man and God, as Spinoza, Hegel, Bertrand Russell and Hannah Arendt, but just as easily Mark Twain and Richard Feynman. Savater also sheds light on the role of religion in today's world of postmodern 'something-ism' to political Islam and Christianity to neo-conservative fundamentalist credulity.
The conclusion is clear: what man needs is not faith in God but believe in the ever perfect, rarely heavenly, but always infinite possibilities of man himself."
The bold text refers to the famous Dutch writer Harry Mulisch who once said that though everybody will die, it's not 100 % certain he will die. So that moment, Mulisch said, he is immortal because it isn't certain he will die too. Mulisch died last week on October 30 2010. He wasn't immortal.
I saw the emotional farewell ceremony on live television and it was like a Shakespeare play.
This weekend I have much to do.
It's work related; Works council.
I have some critics about the Management on every level.
I spoke E. about her work and she told me a sad story how her work as a ******* has been used. Openness is a great thing to pursue. More communication should make people happier. Now they have the feeling to be excluded. I don't know what the usual practice is, but shouldn't external ****** with ****** parties be the exclusive work for the *******?
E. also told that incentives are blocked by different levels of management. She doesn't feel comfortable to work for the municipality. Everybody works for his own benefit and keeps information for himself. This makes the organisation vulnerable.
Another interesting thing is the reorganisation of the department and the Service as a whole.
The department I talk about has 3 quality-workers who criticise the work of counselors, while another department which doesn't work efficient and effective makes a reorganisation necessary.
It is a political decision to have the reorganisation. I ask myself if the public servants have nothing to say on how it will be done. Probably an expensive consultation office will judge the progress and adjust when it's necessary.
Of course I know that the first report triggered the reform but after that a political decision was made to change the organisation to a front and back-office organisation.
E's department has it already and it works (with a lot of changes for all the people). Integration with other departments makes it hard again for many people. (Some almost had a breakdown because of the previous change.)
In a last month's meeting with the director I brought the communication up for discussion. I only said that there is no openness in the organisation. I immediately felt that red alert from star-trek "shields up." The face of the director came in the defense mode.
I can understand in some way her reaction because the director tries to be open, but it's not her it's the organisation as a whole. The way we work, it's a kind of hierarchic.
I talked about it with another colleague and he argued that the government needs more hierarchy than businesses because it's the public cause with public money. That's true but the civil service has to have more
entrepreneurship. This the secretary of the former Major said to some people in a discussion I attended.
At least we should take that concept into consideration.
It means more responsibility with the employees. Therefore the educational level of the employees should be increased. I told about it before.
In fact the educational level increased in the last 5 years. Problem is that the responibility in the jobs doesn't. So people get annoyed and stressed.
Some weeks ago I was at a party of someone who I gave Savater's In praise of profanity
Bruna.nl describes this book on it's site:
"In a playful but insistent way Savater in this book provides an anatomy of religion as a delusion: it is the fear of death that man makes one yearn for eternal life. Doubt God means recognizing that our existence is finite. Savater Thus, the key questions of human existence: what is truth and what are we afraid of? Why is a good life on earth preferable to an infinite afterlife? In his reflections about this Savater used as inspiration the work of great thinkers on the relationship between man and God, as Spinoza, Hegel, Bertrand Russell and Hannah Arendt, but just as easily Mark Twain and Richard Feynman. Savater also sheds light on the role of religion in today's world of postmodern 'something-ism' to political Islam and Christianity to neo-conservative fundamentalist credulity.
The conclusion is clear: what man needs is not faith in God but believe in the ever perfect, rarely heavenly, but always infinite possibilities of man himself."
The bold text refers to the famous Dutch writer Harry Mulisch who once said that though everybody will die, it's not 100 % certain he will die. So that moment, Mulisch said, he is immortal because it isn't certain he will die too. Mulisch died last week on October 30 2010. He wasn't immortal.
I saw the emotional farewell ceremony on live television and it was like a Shakespeare play.
This weekend I have much to do.
It's work related; Works council.
I have some critics about the Management on every level.
I spoke E. about her work and she told me a sad story how her work as a ******* has been used. Openness is a great thing to pursue. More communication should make people happier. Now they have the feeling to be excluded. I don't know what the usual practice is, but shouldn't external ****** with ****** parties be the exclusive work for the *******?
E. also told that incentives are blocked by different levels of management. She doesn't feel comfortable to work for the municipality. Everybody works for his own benefit and keeps information for himself. This makes the organisation vulnerable.
Another interesting thing is the reorganisation of the department and the Service as a whole.
The department I talk about has 3 quality-workers who criticise the work of counselors, while another department which doesn't work efficient and effective makes a reorganisation necessary.
It is a political decision to have the reorganisation. I ask myself if the public servants have nothing to say on how it will be done. Probably an expensive consultation office will judge the progress and adjust when it's necessary.
Of course I know that the first report triggered the reform but after that a political decision was made to change the organisation to a front and back-office organisation.
E's department has it already and it works (with a lot of changes for all the people). Integration with other departments makes it hard again for many people. (Some almost had a breakdown because of the previous change.)
In a last month's meeting with the director I brought the communication up for discussion. I only said that there is no openness in the organisation. I immediately felt that red alert from star-trek "shields up." The face of the director came in the defense mode.
I can understand in some way her reaction because the director tries to be open, but it's not her it's the organisation as a whole. The way we work, it's a kind of hierarchic.
I talked about it with another colleague and he argued that the government needs more hierarchy than businesses because it's the public cause with public money. That's true but the civil service has to have more
entrepreneurship. This the secretary of the former Major said to some people in a discussion I attended.
At least we should take that concept into consideration.
It means more responsibility with the employees. Therefore the educational level of the employees should be increased. I told about it before.
In fact the educational level increased in the last 5 years. Problem is that the responibility in the jobs doesn't. So people get annoyed and stressed.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
criticism
Arnon Grunberg is a Dutch writer living in New York. He wrote Tirza.
Tirza is also the name of the movie of he Dutch submission for the Academy Awards.
In this movie Johanna Ter Steege plays a role. It happens that the writer fell in love with her years ago but she left his love unanswered. Together they had an agreement to write a series monologues. It was cancelled however. He used the work in a small book and published it. Against the will of Johanna. That's why Johanna is angry.
"In a strange way," Arnon Grunberg said, "the unanswered love is honourable. Even her angriness, after all these years flatters me."
Arnon quoted Primo Levi, an Italian writer. Levi said,"The opposite of love is not hatred but regardless or indifference."
When I look at my own behaviour towards E. I can understand the quote above.
I love her, but it's an one way love. She doesn't. What can I do? Choose the other side of the spectrum of love? I try to marginalize what happened. I avoid her as much as possible. I answer telephone calls as strictly business like she does. It feels a little bit heartaching after 4 months.
The Works Council is going well. We have some discussion about whose task it is to tell our voters, the rank and file, how decisions (WC?) are made and which direction we are going. That means which direction the Director wants to go.
I agree with some accountability, but it's the Director who runs the business, not the WC.
We can only say this and that happened and we support the decision. How it will be executed is up to the Director and her staff.
I wrote an email to my WC-colleagues in which I said this all.
I also wrote an email about the jobs mobility. In a periodical I read that someone got a job from someone else whose job will be vacant because of retirement. They are not on the same department. I know them both but I never read about a vacancy. This rang a bell with me.
I took this case with me to last weeks meeting with the WC and made my point.
It hasn't much to do with the 2 persons concerned but with the whole idea, the concept of what the work of the WC is.
Tirza is also the name of the movie of he Dutch submission for the Academy Awards.
In this movie Johanna Ter Steege plays a role. It happens that the writer fell in love with her years ago but she left his love unanswered. Together they had an agreement to write a series monologues. It was cancelled however. He used the work in a small book and published it. Against the will of Johanna. That's why Johanna is angry.
"In a strange way," Arnon Grunberg said, "the unanswered love is honourable. Even her angriness, after all these years flatters me."
Arnon quoted Primo Levi, an Italian writer. Levi said,"The opposite of love is not hatred but regardless or indifference."
When I look at my own behaviour towards E. I can understand the quote above.
I love her, but it's an one way love. She doesn't. What can I do? Choose the other side of the spectrum of love? I try to marginalize what happened. I avoid her as much as possible. I answer telephone calls as strictly business like she does. It feels a little bit heartaching after 4 months.
The Works Council is going well. We have some discussion about whose task it is to tell our voters, the rank and file, how decisions (WC?) are made and which direction we are going. That means which direction the Director wants to go.
I agree with some accountability, but it's the Director who runs the business, not the WC.
We can only say this and that happened and we support the decision. How it will be executed is up to the Director and her staff.
I wrote an email to my WC-colleagues in which I said this all.
I also wrote an email about the jobs mobility. In a periodical I read that someone got a job from someone else whose job will be vacant because of retirement. They are not on the same department. I know them both but I never read about a vacancy. This rang a bell with me.
I took this case with me to last weeks meeting with the WC and made my point.
It hasn't much to do with the 2 persons concerned but with the whole idea, the concept of what the work of the WC is.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
transition
The work council, in which I am part too, has finally decided to transfer 2 financial employees to another department (I'm one of the employees) as part of a larger organisation-plan concerning my department. So I decided about my own faith (I say smiling).
The other members of the council wanted the financial part of the plan to be an integrated part of the council advice on the organisation-plan.
But in the last meeting we (management and council) had in which I could bring up my point of view the head of the HRM supported my point. It felt good when on the next day I was informed by the manager of my team leader that the decision was carried out immediately.
At the end of this month, early May, my colleague and I will be working on a different department. I will keep the council work. In June we have to visit several places were the municipality is active to inform the employees working there. I have to do 3 sports centres/swimming pools.
The other members of the council wanted the financial part of the plan to be an integrated part of the council advice on the organisation-plan.
But in the last meeting we (management and council) had in which I could bring up my point of view the head of the HRM supported my point. It felt good when on the next day I was informed by the manager of my team leader that the decision was carried out immediately.
At the end of this month, early May, my colleague and I will be working on a different department. I will keep the council work. In June we have to visit several places were the municipality is active to inform the employees working there. I have to do 3 sports centres/swimming pools.
Thursday, March 04, 2010
workload
The works council is doing it's work and I'm doing my work in it. Can't say is a piece of cake. It's a kind of counseling employees what they think of the management plans. It differs. The workload is mostly too high. The consequence is that the illness rate increased and possibly that made some people decide to go for another job.
In the councils advice to the director shouldn't that be neglected. That's our point we should make. Make less stress with more people. Kill the workload by making more fun.
I think the plan can continue keeping an eye on workload, stress, illnesses, and so forth.
In the councils advice to the director shouldn't that be neglected. That's our point we should make. Make less stress with more people. Kill the workload by making more fun.
I think the plan can continue keeping an eye on workload, stress, illnesses, and so forth.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
work
Some specific persons irritate me at work. They are not real, they play a role and irritate me because they interfere with my work. When such a person asks me a question about something concerning my work, I can react a bit annoyed.
It's time that my colleague and I go to another department. Tomorrow I might be informed with more details.
Tomorrow I can expect a report to the works council. It's about a reorganization which is past and about the coming reorg. of the 2 of us. As I am member my boss thinks I should know it first to answer questions about the report.
Of course my boss's goal is make me defending her resolution's. I cannot see how the counsil will allow her and the director to make a statement afterwards about the reorg. This is denial of the counsil and that counsil has to make steps to avoid minimizing it's role. Will be continued.
It's time that my colleague and I go to another department. Tomorrow I might be informed with more details.
Tomorrow I can expect a report to the works council. It's about a reorganization which is past and about the coming reorg. of the 2 of us. As I am member my boss thinks I should know it first to answer questions about the report.
Of course my boss's goal is make me defending her resolution's. I cannot see how the counsil will allow her and the director to make a statement afterwards about the reorg. This is denial of the counsil and that counsil has to make steps to avoid minimizing it's role. Will be continued.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Thoughts
A week ago I had a meeting with the Works Council. We talked about matters I can't remember immediately. That means how important it is. In fact the decisions are already made by management. Management of a Municipality controlled by politics. The Works Council can only slowdown the process. In fact that is what we did.
The Council has to agree with a proposal of management to reform some departments. Management gave us a 50 pages report which doesn't give a clear view of what the management wants. That's why the Councils chairman decided that a new brief report of 2 pages has to be sent to us. Not a 50 pages bookwork.
After one month of being part of the Works Council I can say that it's a lot of paperwork, a lot of invested hours, even time outside office hours and not much effort. The only advantage till now is that I see more the organisation as a whole.
Of course I know the organogram, but now I can fill it with real people. And they all got the same problems, like the vertical and horizontal mobility of people to other functions. Management is supposed to know that the quality of an organisation depends also the learning possibilities of the employees.
My employer uses people for it's short term benefit. The benefit should be mutual on the long term. So there should be development programs for every person and not for a few.
So there must be more possibilities to grow. One of the goals of management is that young people should take the municipality into consideration as a employer. The way it works now isn't one to think about my employer.
If management only think in short term benefits they are like the banking system and their management. Greedy people, only thinking about their own sake. But the Dutch and the British Government know what to do with their banks.
The Council has to agree with a proposal of management to reform some departments. Management gave us a 50 pages report which doesn't give a clear view of what the management wants. That's why the Councils chairman decided that a new brief report of 2 pages has to be sent to us. Not a 50 pages bookwork.
After one month of being part of the Works Council I can say that it's a lot of paperwork, a lot of invested hours, even time outside office hours and not much effort. The only advantage till now is that I see more the organisation as a whole.
Of course I know the organogram, but now I can fill it with real people. And they all got the same problems, like the vertical and horizontal mobility of people to other functions. Management is supposed to know that the quality of an organisation depends also the learning possibilities of the employees.
My employer uses people for it's short term benefit. The benefit should be mutual on the long term. So there should be development programs for every person and not for a few.
So there must be more possibilities to grow. One of the goals of management is that young people should take the municipality into consideration as a employer. The way it works now isn't one to think about my employer.
If management only think in short term benefits they are like the banking system and their management. Greedy people, only thinking about their own sake. But the Dutch and the British Government know what to do with their banks.
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Autumn
The leaves are falling. The wind blows around the house. Temperatures sank below 10 degrees Celsius. The stove is working again after 5 months. The nights will be cosy again. Yes it's autumn.
In the previous month many things happened. Of course I made my trainings hours on my race-bicycle. Every week a little bit more. The last 2 weeks I rode on Wednesday with the club. Only 70 kilometer because at 8 pm it was to dark to ride.
September 24, the day when I had a severe accident in the past, will always be my day of reflection. This year was a special one. At work we had a day out for the employees, our team. In the afternoon there was a visit arranged to an institute for handicapped people. They were mentally handicapped.
The people who work with the handicapped people welcomed us with the words "welcome in our world" We were supposed to work with the mentally handicapped who were also fysically handicapped.
My task was to make a walk with the people who live in the institute.
A wheelchair and 2 other persons were appointed to me. My colleague had 2 persons and there were employees of the institute. Some people could have epileptic attacks, so instructed personal had to be present.
It made me go back to November, December 1982 when I was "locked up" in an institute for fysically handicapped children (under 18). In that institute was a boy of my age who had a brain-injury. He could almost be one of the visited institute. What "welcome in our world"? It's our world. At least it could have been a part of my world.
This short trip was good for ourselves because it made us think. Also it was good for inhabitants of the institute, they cheered up. It was no team building or a sociable day to a leisure park.
Many things happened I said. Also I will be member of the Works Council of the department I work for. It will start on Monday October 5. Many things to learn, a lot to see. I'm looking forward to it. It's a lot about the organization and the place of the employees in it. The time ahead of us will be one of change and turmoil.
At work we have fixed work places. Again the whole organisation of the place has been altered. My colleague and I had an option on 2 places between we could choose. We have lots of space now. Far above the minimum.
In the previous month many things happened. Of course I made my trainings hours on my race-bicycle. Every week a little bit more. The last 2 weeks I rode on Wednesday with the club. Only 70 kilometer because at 8 pm it was to dark to ride.
September 24, the day when I had a severe accident in the past, will always be my day of reflection. This year was a special one. At work we had a day out for the employees, our team. In the afternoon there was a visit arranged to an institute for handicapped people. They were mentally handicapped.
The people who work with the handicapped people welcomed us with the words "welcome in our world" We were supposed to work with the mentally handicapped who were also fysically handicapped.
My task was to make a walk with the people who live in the institute.
A wheelchair and 2 other persons were appointed to me. My colleague had 2 persons and there were employees of the institute. Some people could have epileptic attacks, so instructed personal had to be present.
It made me go back to November, December 1982 when I was "locked up" in an institute for fysically handicapped children (under 18). In that institute was a boy of my age who had a brain-injury. He could almost be one of the visited institute. What "welcome in our world"? It's our world. At least it could have been a part of my world.
This short trip was good for ourselves because it made us think. Also it was good for inhabitants of the institute, they cheered up. It was no team building or a sociable day to a leisure park.
Many things happened I said. Also I will be member of the Works Council of the department I work for. It will start on Monday October 5. Many things to learn, a lot to see. I'm looking forward to it. It's a lot about the organization and the place of the employees in it. The time ahead of us will be one of change and turmoil.
At work we have fixed work places. Again the whole organisation of the place has been altered. My colleague and I had an option on 2 places between we could choose. We have lots of space now. Far above the minimum.
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