TUESDAY MORNING NOTES - March 26, 2013

[Jeff Silvertooth]

TMN submittal:
http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/tuesday/form/submittal_form.html 

Tuesday Morning Notes 

March 26, 2013

 

 

FROM THE DIRECTOR:

 

One of my favorite movies is "Cool Hand Luke".  Some of you may recall the
scene in that movie when the Captain of the road prison (Strother Martin)
famously said "What we got here is. failure to communicate."  Sometimes I
have the very same feeling and I hear those words come up from the back of
my mind pointing out some "failure to communicate" on my part.  So I have to
say that based on some recent conversations within the college, I think it
is important for me to take this opportunity to reinforce, or perhaps
clarify, and try to communicate a few points.  As I have discussed earlier,
we operate within a distributed model of management in CALS and this is
particularly true in Cooperative Extension.  In that respect, we distribute
the responsibility and authority for program development, delivery, and
management to the unit level (departments, schools, county offices).
Ultimately, the faculty and staff that are responsible for the actual
delivery of programs have the final authority and responsibility at the
delivery level.  

 

Our responsibilities are defined or outlined in our position descriptions
and it is important for each individual to understand the range of authority
they have to carry out and conduct their work.  Thus, it is important in my
view to allow people the appropriate authority to carry out their duties to
the best of their abilities.  Accordingly, it is extremely important for us
to have an appropriate balance of authority to go along with the
responsibilities for each individual and their particular assignments.  Then
it is also important for us to recognize that we are all accountable within
the organization to our immediate supervisors to whom we directly report.
It is certainly incumbent upon us in the administration to communicate the
mission and the direction intended for the organization to provide the
appropriate framework for unit leaders to manage and lead within their areas
of operation.  For example, within the full range of CALS Cooperative
Extension, I have an expectation that people will ultimately be responsible
for the execution of their duties within the range of their own delegated
authority, and they will be accountable to their direct superiors and line
managers.

 

The annual review process is the time that we have to review this balance of
responsibilities and authority for any given position with our direct
supervisors and if necessary make adjustments in a position description.
The annual review is also an opportunity for an individual to consider their
program and their ability to manage that program within the range of their
responsibilities in balance with an appropriate level of authority.

 

Generally, once we're given our responsibilities with our individual
positions, as defined in our position descriptions, we have the opportunity
to carry out those duties within a tremendous range of freedom.  However, we
are all accountable and responsible for the resources that are provided to
us and under our control (including our salaries) and it is our
responsibility to manage those resources effectively.  Accordingly, the
annual review process should be used in a constructive and positive manner
to try and define and direct the best level of productivity with each
individual and their program.  

 

I realize that the annual review process takes a significant amount of time
and effort on the part of individual faculty, staff, and administrators in
the college, but it is an important opportunity for us to have an honest
two-way conversation at least once a year about this delicate balance in our
responsibilities and the authority we are provided to carry out our duties.
This is important for all positions, including my own, and I'm alert to our
needs to maintain an active and productive review process to maintain this
balance appropriately.

 

THANKS FOR SUPPORTING AZ GIVES DAY:

 

Many thanks to those who participated in Arizona Gives Day last week.  We
raised over $2,000 from 20 donors who contributed to the Arizona 4-H Youth
Foundation and the James 4-H Camp.  Statewide, nearly $1 million was raised
overall for all participating non-profits.  For a look at the highest
donations and most money overall, visit the Arizona Gives Day website
<http://azgives.razoo.com/giving_events/az13/home> . 

 

 

Jeffrey C. Silvertooth
Associate Dean

Director for Economic Development & Extension
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
PO Box 210036
Tucson, AZ  85721-0036
520.621.7205
520.621.1314 (fax)

 

To submit tips, suggestions, ideas for changes and anything that could help
us be more effective, use  the "Director
<http://extension.arizona.edu/state/directors-suggestion-box> 's Suggestion
Box" - all submissions are anonymous.  

 

 

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