Posted by sunny10 on April 29, 2005, at 8:45:43
In reply to Then... » sunny10, posted by 64bowtie on April 29, 2005, at 6:31:49
> ...who's accountable for said efficiency? If its hard-wired, isn't someone responsible, rather than a guarrantee of being held accountable?
>
> The debate over responsible vs. accountable rages on... I work with State and County employees all in the same facility as one client. All act responsibly but toooo often do the blame game and pass the buck about tiny stuff. The computer system is administered by the County but the software is owned and maintained by the State. When things go rotten, it takes an hour just to find out who to call and why... Having been a network consultant in the 'good-old-bad-old-days', I fealt comfortable offering suggestions... I no longer offer suggestions... No one is held accountable for listening!
>
> RodIn the case you describe, the person who signed off on hiring the software consultants and buying their products at the State level would be held responsible for not doing their job competently. Their task would have been to hire the company who could provide software which
1) does the job
2) does it at competitive pricing, and most importantly
3) creates a database that effectively covers all points needed by the end users.
If all points were not met when the end users try to use the software system, then the person who HIRED the software contractor would be held accountable...in this case, the state employee.I happen to be lucky to work in a corporate atmosphere which is 50% IT and systems. Our business is to provide service (and systems)to clients and we are constantly upgrading systems to make sure that all needs are met by the end user. And, of course, our biggest snags are when we need to utilize the systems and websites of others! Then we engage in negotiations to give us legal rights to "pick and pull" data from their systems and sites to develop a usable end result when we combine their data within our own databases.
The big difference is that we make money on the end result, so getting our CEO to sign off on paying for these negotiations is much easier than government offices having to shell out more money... How do they get it back? They don't, but if they think about how much it would cost to hire all new employees and pay for the health insurance fees for new hires, et cetera, maybe they would consider making the needed software changes. It would be cheaper for them in the end.
The only thing I could suggest is that a petition to overhaul the system be started and signed by all of the county employees (and those state employees you've all had to contact who are forced to "pass the buck". Most of the time, they are sick of all of the little problems, too. It's never a good feeling when you pick up your phone to "help", but find that your hands are tied because you haven't been given the tools to actually help! it creates a very hostile work environment for all.
Using the term "hostile work environment" within the text of the petition would probably make them sit up in their chairs and listen, because they know they can be sued for creating a hostile work environment...
I've worked in places that were hostile in terms of being provided the tools you need to get the job accomplished. It left me feeling very frustrated, unhappy, and lowered my self-esteem.
I'm very sorry to hear you are going through this. Remember to "pass the buck" when it comes to how you feel about being competent. Of course you are not as effective as you would be if you had the proper tools to do the job! But that does NOT means there is anything wrong with you. Treat yourself well when you are not at work. You've earned it!!
-sunny10
poster:sunny10
thread:488403
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20050426/msgs/491386.html