It’s not like working at Starbucks

Consistently ranked by Fortune 500 as one of the best companies to work for, Starbucks has a reputation for treating their employees, even part time ones, very well. Few organizations offer employees, working as little as 20 hours per week, health and disability insurance, retirement packages, stock options and, for all, the weekly pound of free coffee. One aspect of the Starbucks mission statement is “Provide a great work environment and treat each other with respect and dignity.” http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/environment.asp Generosity to employees demonstrates Starbucks’ understanding of the value of their employees as resources, demonstrating Resource Dependency Theory, but also reflects the company’s interest in “the bottom line”.
Employees who are happier, more connected and more confident in their work do a better job and stay on the job which is an economic benefit for the organization by bringing in or keeping customers and reducing costs of hiring and training. Cross-training is one technique which contributes to better employees.
Cross-training at Starbucks is designed to develop skills, further careers and achieve goals. Specifically these are identified by the company as education of the core product, leadership and business and communications. http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/jobcenter_thesbuxexperience.asp

Resource Dependency Theory

The relationship between the organization and its employees demonstrates the resource dependency theory of the Modernist organizational perspective approach as discussed in Hatch (p. 80-83). Managers of organizations understand the environment in which they operate. They are dependent on the resources (physical building, coffee bean suppliers, and customers) and especially their employees. Starbucks has a product, coffee drinks, but it is an extremely successful and profitable commercial organization which sells a service; the specialized coffee drink, made to order, handed over by a skilled and friendly barista.
Although you can’t get a gourmet coffee drink at most academic libraries, the library and Starbucks share the role of service institution. The non-commercial library products are books and electronic resources and the assistance to access and use them. Library managers are dependent on the employees of the library (at all levels) to provide the necessary services to accomplish the mission of the library. Beyond hiring the library staff there is little that most library directors can offer their employees, primarily due to restricted budgets in their not-for profit environment. Certainly they can’t compete with stock options, retirement benefits and free coffee. But the consideration of the employees as a valuable resource is applicable there too.

Issue

What can libraries offer their staff members to increase their skills, knowledge and connection to the library? What do the employees want? The answers vary, of course, but like employees everywhere library staff members want a pleasant working environment, to be appreciated, adequate supplies and materials and cooperative colleagues. In the limited resources of a library, which often operates under state or federal funding guidelines, benefits can’t always be financial, but can be meaningful and earnest.

Cross-training

Perhaps an employee of the month award or a reserved parking space could boost morale but those seem like pretty light recognition, a shallow demonstration. However a manager who can organize his/her staff to share the responsibilities, foster communication, handle conflict and show genuine appreciation for the efforts of his staff will be appreciated in return. These are the meaningful benefits. Cross-training employees educates them in the work of other. Cross-training programs can be informational sessions (positional clarifications) or participation programs (positional rotation) (Metzger, 2) When employees know more about how the entire library operates they are more knowledgeable, can better contribute to the overall process, and have decreased boredom and frustration on the job. (“How Job Rotation can Enhance Training Effectiveness”, 2). Cross-training enhances the feelings of contribution and participation in the larger goals of the institution.
In a small library cross-trained employees can temporarily assist in other departments, provide more effective customer service and better communicate with the other staff members. In larger libraries knowledge of the duties and responsibilities in other departments leads to better communication among them and greater cooperation at each level and, of course, better customer service. Although some organizations and employees may reject cross-training due to issues of cost, time, or territorial ideas about responsibilities, it is a method which can work to improve working environments and customer service. Organizations benefit with more confident, satisfied, connected employees who stay on the job reducing the costs of hiring and training replacements for dissatisfied or disconnected employees when they leave.
Maybe working at the library is not like working at Starbucks but when staff members feel included, knowledgeable and connected then maybe it can be a little more like that.

References

Hatch, Mary Jo (2006). Organizational Theory : modern, symbolic, and post-modern perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press.
“How Job Rotation can Enhance Training Effectiveness,” Accounting Office Management & Administration Report 08 (August 2008): 2-4.
Isacco, Jeanne M. (1985). Work spaces, satisfaction & productivity in libraries. Library Journal, May 1, 1985, 27-30.
Metzger, Mary C. “Enhancing Library Staff Training and Patron Service Through a Cross-Departmental Exchange,” Technical Services Quarterly 24 (2006):1-7.
White, Herbert S. (1999). What to evaluate and what to reward. Library Journal, 124 (7), 62.

Green Products or Greenwashed Products?

I've heard it said that Green is the new Black. In fact, you can’t avoid the furious media onslaught of green advertising bombarding the American public these days. But as the saying goes, “buyer beware,” because not all companies toting their green products are actually living up to their promises. As consumers we have to be smart about our purchases, look into these companies, and demand that standards be set so that companies can’t continue to “greenwash” their products and company policies.

Greenwash is described by Greenpeace’s website to monitor greenwashing, www.stopgreenwash.org, as "the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.” The Greenwashing Index is a website dedicated to helping customers evaluate marketing claims, serving as a watchdog organization to keep businesses honest, and to stimulate the demand for sustainable business practices. Greenwashing Index compares greenwashing to whitewashing, only with a green brush. Whitewashing, in politics, can be defined as “a coordinated attempt to hide unpleasant facts.” Greenwashing, then, is a coordinated attempt to hide unpleasant environmental facts.

Greenwashing is also an attempt by companies to prove their social legitimacy. Public opinion is now strongly in favor of increased environmental responsibility and companies that are not responding to that public opinion may soon find themselves out of business. Greenwashing products might provide some short term profits, but if the public finds out that they have been lied to, serious backlash against the company could occur.

Companies can paint their products with different types of greenwash. Terra Choice Environmental Marketing has identified 6 “sins” of greenwashing in their 2007 sampling of products. The Sin of the Hidden Trade Off, the most prolific of the sins, is committed by suggesting that a product is green based on a single attribute without attention to other important environmental factors, such as paper products that claim to be made of recycled material but don’t mention manufacturing processes. The second most prolific sin is the Sin of No Proof, which constitutes any claim that cannot be substantiated by a reliable third party or easily accessible supporting information, such as household lighting that claims energy efficiency without any supporting evidence or certification. The next most prolific sin is the Sin of Vagueness, which is exemplified by any claim so poorly defined or broad that its meaning could be misunderstood by consumers. The Sins of Irrelevance, Lesser of Two Evils, and Fibbing make up only less than 6% of the sins committed by the marketing of Terra Choice’s sample products. Some products are guilty of a single “sin” in their marketing but any combination of sins is also possible.

So how can we know that what we are buying is really eco-friendly and not just hype? First, do your homework. (especially for big purchases) Did you know that half of all hybrids currently on the market are no more fuel-efficient than their non-hybrid versions? Second, look at multiple environmental issues rather than at one, single issue. Third, look for products that have been certified by a qualified and independent third party such as EcoLogo or Green Seal. Finally, look for evidence of the 6 sins of greenwashing.

References:

"Boxer-Lieberman-Warner bill in the senate: Dirty energy in the name of climate protection", (2008), available at: www.risingtidenorthamerica.org/wordpress/2008/05/29/boxer-lieberman-warner-bill-in-the-senate-dirty-energy-in-the-name-of-climate-protection/ (accessed 15 November, 2008).
Ellison, J. (2008), “Save the planet, lose the guilt”, Newsweek, 7-14 July, available at: www.newsweek.com/id/143701/page/1 (accessed on 11 November, 2008).

Greenwashing Index, available at: http://www.greenwashingindex.com/ (accessed 11 November, 2008).

"Hippyshopper's guide to: Spotting greenwash" (2007), available at: www.hippyshopper.com/2007/11/can_you_spot_gr.html (accessed 15 November, 2008).

Stop Greenwash, available at: http://www.stopgreenwash.org/ (accessed 11 November, 2008).

Terra Choice Environmental Marketers, available at: http://www.terrachoice.com/ (accessed 11 November, 2008).

Performing the Writer: Using Organization Theory to Manage the Creative Writing Classroom

Although the Creative Writing (CW) classroom seems like an unlikely place for organization theory to apply, there are actually many applications of business-oriented managing techniques. Karl Weick’s (1979, as quoted in Hatch, 2006) enactment theory, the idea that individuals “construct, rearrange, single out, and demolish many ‘objective’ features of their surroundings” (p. 45), plays a large role in the CW classroom. CW instructors must learn to act as managers and to establish authority, identity and classroom boundaries in the same way that an organization must.

Enactment Theory: A Definition

A key concept in Weick’s (1979, as quoted in Hatch, 2006) theory is that “[w]hen people enact laws, they take undefined space, time, and action and draw lines, establish categories, and coin labels that create new features of the environment that did not exist before” (p. 45). In many ways, the classroom functions much like an organization—there are rules, defined roles, a hierarchy of authority, and boundaries. There are five basic values that a classroom can adopt (and that can cross over to organizations) in order to function more effectively and to make use of enactment theory.

Value 1: Construct New Knowledge

Leahy (2005) offered an analysis classroom management, writing that “the classroom is structured around the concept that the learning process, particularly for creative writers, involves moving beyond what one already knows and can do. To be uncomfortable . . . is not a bad thing” (p. 15). In an organization, employees enter with current knowledge of their profession and of techniques for doing their work. However, many staff members are trained or retrained on how to perform their duties, and often, especially in the library context, employees must be interdisciplinary, which can be uncomfortable for some.

Knowledge is the first “objective feature” of the classroom. The instructor must help students move past their current knowledge into something new, or they will remain static in their learning. The CW instructor first has to single out (one of the facets of enactment theory) current knowledge and distinguish it from what the students are to learn. Once current knowledge has been separated, then new knowledge can be constructed. The first classroom value that should be established is that the CW student will construct new knowledge regardless of prior knowledge.

Value 2: Develop Shared Commitment

A key to enactment theory and to the construction of new knowledge is the creation—and possibly demolishing—of boundaries and values. Like any organization, the CW classroom needs an established system of responsibility and authority, and it is the instructor’s task to carry out and maintain this system. Webb (2005, as quoted in Leahy, 2005) writes, “The authority-conscious creative writing pedagogy expects that the creative writing classroom invites shared commitment. This expectation is not an abdication of professorial responsibility. Instead, it marks a paradigm shift in the creative writing classroom to focus on process rather than product” (p. 180).

A thriving organization has employees who embrace each other’s area of expertise and who demonstrate respect for one another, rather than compete with and subvert one another’s efforts. Likewise, the CW classroom should be a place where competition and subversion are discouraged in favor of professionalism. Vandermeulen (2005, as quoted in Leahy, 2005) writes, “I also limit my authority by discouraging individual competition and instead authorizing and training students to collaborate in the process of enabling other students to develop as writers” (p. 50).

In the hierarchy of the classroom, the instructor normally stands at the top, and an informal ladder of authority is established among students. Take, for instance, the classifications teachers put upon their students—“she’s my best student,” “they’re the smart kids,” or “he’s a D student.” Rather than focusing on grade distinctions, instructors should focus upon the process their students are taking to reach their conclusions. Shared commitment becomes a part of this focus, with students learning to examine each other’s processes. A second classroom value that needs to be enacted is that these authors will develop their abilities, their authority, through shared commitment. When trust is developed and authority is dispersed, students can better develop their identities as authors.

Value 3: Disperse Authority through Roles

Another aspect of boundaries is the issue of authority, be it in an organization or in the CW classroom. Employees in most organizations are given titles (roles) that demonstrate their expertise in a particular area, be it as an Assistant Professor, a Librarian, or a Sales Associate. These titles help employees embrace their positions in the organization.

In the CW classroom, the instructor has all the expertise and right to stand at the top of the authority hierarchy, but should she? Is there a difference between the responsiveness of students (or employees, if that makes the analogy clearer) who are treated as though they know nothing and students who are treated as professionals who are developing their skills even further? Vandermeulen (2005, as quoted in Leahy, 2005) writes, “Much of the recent history of composition theory can be understood as a deliberate limiting of the teacher’s authority in order to create a safe space in which students can develop their own authority as authors” (p. 49-50). In general, students respond better when the title of student is eliminated and the role of author is given. The instructor’s role as manager of the CW classroom requires that she encourage her students to embrace their roles as authors.

Authority has to be dispersed among all the participants in the classroom. A third classroom value that should be enacted is that students will be treated as burgeoning professionals who are there to develop their skills, as opposed to empty stores waiting for new knowledge to be dropped into them. In every classroom setting, students should be assigned roles to play, such as author, writer, or researcher.

Value 4: Examine Biases and Assumptions

In keeping with the postmodern view of organization theory, biases and assumptions must be approached. Every staff member in an organization has beliefs and ideas that will differ from another staff member’s. It cannot be avoided, but often employees are put through training sessions on tolerating the views of those with whom they may disagree. There is some crossover here in the CW classroom. The CW instructor should be teaching students to critically examine their own and other classmates’ writing, looking for any assumptions or biases, some of which the student may not even have noticed.

A fourth classroom value should be that the instructor will regularly drive students to examine and identify their own assumptions and biases. Adding to the feminist and gender criticism of the CW classroom, Hall (2005, as quoted in Leahy, 2005) writes that “creative writing’s place in the academy is still suspect, as is the woman writer-professor. My pregnant body overtly marked me woman, though of course I had been a woman for my entire teaching career. That day, I had become a certain kind of woman, and this kind was meant to be at home” (p. 90).
Students will regularly demonstrate their assumptions with no thought that those ideas could be dubious. Dispersion of authority and development of trust and shared commitment require that these assumptions be left behind in the CW classroom. A student who believes that a woman cannot be an effective writer will not be an effective critic of female classmates’ work. The CW instructor has to develop ways to force authors to reevaluate their ways of thinking about the world.

Value 5: Expand Influence to a Larger Community

The final aspect of enactment theory, and really the driving force behind it, is physical boundaries. An organization has the option to enact its own boundaries—it can be limited to one building, one community, one state, or it could even be international. An organization can choose to enact boundaries in its chosen forms of communication, whether it works in person, on paper, or even online. Whatever its physical boundaries, the bottom line is that an organization is in contact with and affects the communities with which it comes into contact. Organizations many times will commit to certain community efforts or work toward community enrichment in order to better thrive.

Community is a rather large part of creative writing, and the CW classroom should be expanded to include much more than the students. Manolis (2005, as quoted in Leahy, 2005) writes:
My students were willing to buy, with some discussion and practice, the idea that peer critique was important, but when I suggested that community is not the same as peer readers, they balked. When I suggested that sometimes community means a group of people more diverse than one’s peers, and at other times, it means a specific group of people, or more than one group whose priorities conflict, they became confused. (p. 141-142)
Indeed, the idea that the classroom extends beyond those immediately involved can be a confusing concept. However, the CW instructor has to teach her students that their work can influence the way those reading it think. They should ask the question, how is my work going to affect the person who reads it?

So the fifth value that should be established is that classroom borders will be demolished and new boundaries enacted that include more than just the community of students; namely, the boundaries should include the community of readers. By establishing these five values, the CW classroom can not only be run like an organization, but it can have a significant effect on participants and the community at large.

References

Hatch, M. J., & Cunliffe, A. L. (2006). Organization theory: Modern, symbolic, and postmodern perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press.

Leahy, A. (Ed.). (2005). Power and identity in the creative writing classroom: The authority project. New York: Multilingual Matters Ltd.

Librarians on the Loose!

Watch out, reference librarians Judy Bastin and Teresa Mayginnes are on the loose at Butler Community College! They are providing innovative reference library services at the Andover Campus, the services provided are beyond the normal library services that are usually given. Through this experience both the librarians along with the student, faculty and staff have had to move from a modernist perspective of library services to a post-modernist perspective. Modernists represent the objects associated with the library setting whereas the post-modernist seeks the “ever-changing relationships between concepts.” (Hatch, 2006, p. 17) The “concept” in this situation is the unique library services that are being provided.


Beginning: the Need for a Library

In the fall of 2007 there were a total of 8,510 students enrolled in courses at Butler Community College. Over half of the students enrolled in courses were attending the two Andover campuses. In the Andover 5ooo building (AN5000) building a total of 3,177 students accounted for 5,488 enrollments at the both of the Andover campuses. (George, 2008) In the Butler AN6000 building location there is a shared library with the Andover High School, but there is not a library presence in the AN5000 building.

Hey, Let’s Conduct a Survey
According to Hatch, the need for analyzing conditions and trends in the general environment along with the inter-organizational network will help to better understand the “links between the organization and its environment.” (Hatch, 2006, p. 68) Surveying the students, faculty and staff was used as a tool to find out if there was a need/desire for library services for the AN5000 building stakeholders. The survey was conducted in the lobby of the AN5000 building. A table was set up with a sign that said “Survey for Snacks.” The questionnaire included questions about the access, awareness, and use of libraries in general.

Survey Results
The survey results were conclusive and communicated that there was a need for a library in the AN5000 building. The largest group of the target audience was first semester students and library research skills are critical for the beginning college student. According to “the mission of Butler Community College exists to develop responsible, involved lifelong learners and to contribute to the vitality of the communities it serves.” When asked “why you would use the library?” twenty-six percent said “to find information.” Forty-six out of the fifty-seven participants said they would use the library if there was one in the AN5000 building. In one instance the participant said at the end of the survey “That if there was a library here (AN5000), it would be heaven on earth.”

Serving the Students, Faculty and Staff
The institutional design for the facility expansion plans for the immediate future ended up not including plans for a library facility in the AN5000 building. With the need before them the reference librarians explored the possibility of setting up times and places to be available for the students, faculty and staff in the campus facility. After much discussion it was decided that the reference librarians would take turns in the lobby and the tutor lab to serve the Butler students, faculty and staff in the AN5000 building on Monday and Wednesday from 2:00 to 6:00 each week during the fall semester. The plan for implementing a “Librarians on the Loose!” was becoming a reality for the Butler community in the fall of 2008.

Getting the Word Out
For many non-business organizations the terms “target market” and “target public” are difficult to distinguish unlike the academic community. For instance, the target market of an academic library is current students and members of academic and non-academic staff of the university.” (Adeyoyin, 2005) The tools used to market the librarians included an article in the college newspaper, along with signage that included a stand alone sign and a sign for the table top. Posters were designed and distributed around the campus and placed on the bulletin boards in the hallways and classrooms.

What is in the Future?
In November of 2008 Butler is opening a Student Commons area in the AN5000 building. The Librarians on the Loose will be able to serve the students in this area. One option is an information desk that will be a “customer-focused design” that places the information desk and librarian among the students. The design is a minimalist desk that focuses on ease of customer interaction. (see image below) The portable information desk can be placed in the commons area and since it is movable it could be placed in the lobby also as the need arises.

Image retrieved November 12, 2008, from Demco Library Furniture Web site: http://www.demco.com

Even though the Librarians on the Loose initiative for providing innovative reference library services at the Andover Campus are beyond the normal library services that are usually given, the reception of the students, faculty and staff has been encouraging to the reference librarians. Through this experience both the librarians along with the Butler community are beginning the move from the modernist perspective of library services to a post-modernist perspective.
Finally here is an excerpt from the college newspaper "Look for “Librarians on the Loose” sign near you to track their location. There ladies are known to be armed with knowledge on a variety of subjects so watch out for them outside a classroom near you!” (Drake, 2008, A6)


References

Adeyoyin, S.O. (2005). Strategic planning for marketing library services. Library Management, 26, Retrieved November 1, 2008, from http://www.emeraldinsight.com.www.whitelib.emporia.edu_insight_viewcontentservlet_filename=_published_emeraldfulltextarticle_pdf_0150260807.pdf/

Drake, G. (2008, October 28). Librarians on the Loose!. Lantern, p. A6.

George, G. (2008). Butler Students End of Term Demographics. Retrieved February 18, 2008, from Butler Community College Institutional Research Department Web site: http://www.butlercc.edu/inst_research/parts/Demographics/End%20of%20Term/2007/07FallEOT.pdf

Hatch, M. (2006). Organization Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Video Gaming and Libraries

INTRODUCTION

Paradigms are shifting within the library profession. These shifts occur when there is monumental change within a profession or the world as a whole, moving from resource sharing on small scales to informational sharing on national and international levels. In terms of organizational theory, we no longer view libraries as paternalistic organizations (a modernist perspective) but from a symbolic-interpretive perspective. User-centered service is the focus of libraries. With this era of cooperation and open-mindedness, video gaming has become symbolic of these changes. More and more libraries are adopting the idea of circulating and lending video games.


THE VIDEO GAMING SUBCULTURE

Subculture is “a subset of an organization’s members that identify themselves as a distinct group within the organization and routinely take action on the basis of their unique collective understanding” (Hatch and Cunliffe 2006). Gaming is considered a subculture in that they “create meanings through their interpretations of utterances [jargon], stories, rituals, symbols, actions, [and] interactions” (Hatch and Cunliffe 2006). Gamers share a common interest in gaming and sharing their sensemaking with one another.

The popularity of gaming has made some games and consoles household names. The market offers hand-held consoles like PSP and Nintendo DS. The stand-alone consoles include Xbox 360 from Microsoft, Sony's Playstation3, and the Nintendo Wii. Phones and PDA's have games on them too.

In previous years, stereotypical “gamers” were male, antisocial, and removed from society and the “normal” interests of their peers. The common perception of video gaming secluded these men in a dark room in front of glowing screens for hours on end trying to beat the next level in their game(s).

However, there is Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 and, in a sense, there is also Gaming 2.0 which boasts better technology. With better technology come faster connection speeds and larger storage spaces on computers and console systems. Gaming has become “live.” This means gamers are no longer isolated in dark rooms by themselves and can connect online with other players and compete. They are socializing digitally by chatting “live,” forming networks, trading, sharing information, and engaging on a greater scale than ever before (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction 2008). Today’s image of a video gamer is tech-savvy, mid-thirties, still mainly male (but increasingly female), and highly social.

A LOOK AT VIDEO GAMES


Traditionally, as well as recently, society has blamed its shortcomings on video games, especially those portraying violence. In the last decade studies about video games portray gaming as addictive, claiming that it promotes antisocial behaviors. Games may be seen a reflection of society—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Some games offer a chance to understand the rules and how to play a game (i.e. golf) better. Others provide opportunities to stimulate your brain with mental exercises, like Brain Age for the Nintendo DS. Escapism is a common argument for the antisocial behavior games illicit. There have been cases of individuals playing for hours on end and literally dying in front of their computer (BBC News 2005).

Yet, these same games offer gamers a chance to network and socialize with people from all over the world and develop understanding of one another’s culture. “There is significant evidence suggesting that enhanced problem-solving skills and knowledge have become unpredicted byproducts from well-developed stories in games (Branston 2006). Any game may be positive or negative depending on your perspective.


VIDEO GAMES IN LIBRARIES

Guilderland Public Library in New York is one example of a library already circulating video games. They mentioned that in the same year they launched this initiative, their book circulation increased by twenty percent compared to the four percent per year previously (Oakley 2008). Adding video games is no different from the addition of videos and popular music to library collections. The arguments for and against are the same. As further proof that libraries are changing with the times, the American Library Association has given video gaming social legitimacy by approving them as part of library collections (Pham 2008). Considering that libraries are more focused on being user-centered, why not add video games to circulate and for programming? It’s what the users are asking for.



FOR FURTHER READING

Nicholson, Scott. 2008. Reframing Gaming. American Libraries 39, no. 7: 50-51.

YALSA. 2008. Gaming. Tune In: Teen Tech Week 2008 @ Your Library. http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/teentechweek/ttw08/resourcesabcd/techguide_gaming.pdf (accessed November 7, 2008).

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Bibliography

BBC News. 2005. South Korean Dies After Games Session. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm.

Branston, Christy. 2006. From Game Studies to Bibliographic Gaming: Libraries Tap into the Video Game Culture. ASIS&T Bulletin April/May. http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Apr-06/branston.html (accessed November 7, 2008).

Hatch, Mary Jo and Cunliffe, Ann L. 2006. Organization theory: modern, symbolic, and postmodern perspectives. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press.

Oakley, Trevor. 2008. Circulating Video Games. School Library Journal 54, no. 4: 30-33.

Pham, Alex. 2008. Libraries Score with Video Games. Los Angeles Times: B-1. http://articles.latimes.com/2008/apr/17/local/me-libraries17 (accessed November 7, 2008).

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. 2008. Social Value of Gaming. http://dpi.wi.gov/pld/pdf/gamingsocialvalue.pdf (accessed November 7, 2008).

A Grassroots Movement to Preserve Unaltered Films

In 1997, George Lucas announced he would theatrically rerelease the phenomenally successful Star Wars series. This would be the first large theatrical release of the films since 1983. Because of the huge cultural impact of the series in the twenty years since the first one came out, this was received with a great deal of enthusiasm.

More controversial would be the decision by Lucas to "update" the films. Claiming to despair of the late 1970s and early 1980s filmmaking technology, all three movies had certain scenes remade with new technology. In addition, a few entirely new scenes were thrown in, or changed, in a way that had nothing to do with special effects and arguably changed the story and character arcs.

An exhaustive list of all the alterations would be beyond the scope of this blog, but suffice to say the new additions were largely greeted with disappointment. Most casual fans and professional critics alike felt they detracted from the original movies and were better off left out. Many refused to acknowledge the changes. It can be argued that the audience had a "modernist" approach to the films, that to most Americans the original movies were "real" and the altered movies were "not real"--there was no room for interpretation. George Lucas had a different idea, though. Here he describes his series in 1997:

"There will only be one. And it won't be what I would call the "rough cut," it'll be the "final cut." The other one will be some sort of interesting artifact that people will look at and say, "There was an earlier draft of this." The same thing happens with plays and earlier drafts of books. In essence, films never get finished, they get abandoned. At some point, you're dragged off the picture kicking and screaming while somebody says, "Okay, it's done." That isn't really the way it should work. Occasionally, [you can] go back and get your cut of the video out there, which I did on both American Graffiti and THX 1138; that's the place where it will live forever. So what ends up being important in my mind is what the DVD version is going to look like, because that's what everybody is going to remember. The other versions will disappear. Even the 35 million tapes of Star Wars out there won't last more than 30 or 40 years. A hundred years from now, the only version of the movie that anyone will remember will be the DVD version [of the Special Edition], and you'll be able to project it on a 20' by 40' screen with perfect quality. I think it's the director's prerogative, not the studio's to go back and reinvent a movie."

"An Expanded Universe," American Cinematographer magazine, February 1997

George Lucas displays a symbolic-interpretive idea of his movies and their relation to the American public that his audience appears not to share. Disturbingly, he appears eager to bury his original films that were so influential in American pop culture history.

The library/information science issue at hand here is clearly art preservation. As a fan of art and of history, and with a deep disgust of any sort of "revisionism", I propose that libraries should be at the forefront of preserving films and other works of art unaltered whether they are threatened by the government, the public, or in this case even their artist.

Films and other works of art perceived to be in danger of being altered, and their original versions in peril, should be voluntarily preserved by a wide array of preservation societies, ranging from libraries, archives, and clubs, to the individual activist. A close relation to the spirit of this movement is "Banned Books Month" at many libraries around the country. There is no reason libraries and other preservation agencies could not band together in a similar outspoken spirit of activism to preserve works of art that are in danger of being altered.

A loose organization could be created to communicate with each other for cross-referencing. This would involve a low amount of vertical differentiation in the form of a hierarchy, while horizontal differentiation into different roles could be optional. There would be little in the way of formalization as all agencies would be purely voluntary. A strict hierarchial structure, a strong vertical differentiation, would interfere with the volunteer spirit of the endeavor.

A good example would be the ideas espoused by Mary Parker Follett, which together have come to be known as workplace democracy. In this particular situation they can more accurately be adapted to "organizational" or "volunteer" democracy. Follett claimed self-government would "facilite the growth of individuals and of the groups to which they belonged." She would also say, "by directly interacting with one another to achieve their common goals, the members of a group fulfilled themselves through the process of the group's development."

Concerning Follett's theories, not only would proactive artistic preservation be of service to American history and culture, but it would also allow these different organizations and individuals to practice the skills of preservation and organization themselves.

__________________________________________________

Examples of Organizations that Would be Ideal Candidates to Preserve Films and Other Unaltered Works of Art:

Kansas City Area Archivists

Kansas City Art Institute

University of Kansas Spencer Library

Association of Moving Image Archivists

The American Film Institute

__________________________________________________

Hatch, Mary Jo. (2006). Organization theory, 2nd edition. New York: Oxford University Press.

Magid, Ron. (1997, February). An Expanded Universe. American Cinematographer, 1-4.

No Child Left Behind – An Organizational Failure?

On the surface the basic concept of No Child Left Behind is a good one. Each child must demonstrate a certain level of proficiency in reading, math, and science. The student's failure to meet minimum criteria will be identified through scores on standardized testing, and if such a failure occurs, will get extra help until he or she succeeds. The definition of success is defined at the federal level which equals getting a minimum score in each of the specific subject areas tested.

Each state must measure the progress (or lack of progress) of every child that attends a public school in the subjects of reading, math, and science. This is done every year in grades three through eight and then at least once during grades 10 through 12 using the standardized tests approved at the federal level.

These test scores are then released to the public and each school gets a failing or passing grade based on federal guidelines that determine if school is successful or not.

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"I see the decisions my fellow principals are making, and I understand the pressure, but they need to remember the big picture. I certainly believe everybody needs to be able to read and do math, but they also need to know how to think. What we’re doing now is creating kids who are able to pass tests” Paul Young, principal of West Elementary School , Lancaster Ohio, and former president of the National Association of Elementary School Principals.

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Ok, so what is the Problem?

If the idea is sound, but is still failing, then I would argue it is the failure of the organizational structure that is being used to implement the idea. No one would argue against the fact that children are infinitely complex in the ways that each one learns. Children have a unique lens that they look at the world through and this influences the way they process new information.

Let’s now look at a definition of the focus of a particular organizational theory, and see how well it fits within the structure of NCLB. “Finding universal laws, methods and techniques of organization and control; favors rational structures, rules, standardized procedures and routine practices” (Hatch 2006). This is the focus of the Modernism perspective of Organization (it is interesting to note that this theory was developed in the 1970's).

The problem with the Modernist structure is that it deals in absolutes of numbers and results. If the subject that the Modernistic approach is attempting to organize deals in absolutes the structure of such an organization can run fairly efficiently under this approach. A standardized procedure for making a particular machine part will always conclude with a completed part unless an outside influence interferes.

The problem in using this approach in NCLB is that we are dealing with children who come from an infinite number of backgrounds and experiences. There are a few fundamental similarities but certainly not enough to use the same evaluation tool on every child in the United States and think that it can come close to measuring or defining what it is for that specific child to succeed.

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What Can We Do?

I would argue that you could take the fundamental idea of NCLB, but apply it with a Symbolic Interpretivism organizational structure. Hatch’s organizational definition of Symbolic Interpretivism states that “organizations are continually constructed and reconstructed by their members through symbolically mediated interaction. Organizations are socially constructed realities where meanings promote and are promoted by understanding of the self and others that occurs within the organizational context” (Hatch, 2006).

A child under this structure would be looked at as an individual within the context of the public school he or she was in. This would also have an awareness of how the environment is impacting the child, such as taking into account if the child came from an abusive home or was otherwise impacted by his or her home environment. The Modernistic organizational theory is applied as if each child where the same – there is no room for individuality or consideration of what might be impacting the child outside of the test.

Although too large in scope for this space, it would be interesting to come up with a detailed plan using the fundamental concept of NCLB, but implementing it with a Symbolic Interpretivism organizational framework. We could then see what possibilities might occur by implementing what was in spirit a good idea with a new organizational approach.

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“The law clearly identifies the arts as a core academic subject. However, the requirements for standardized testing in literacy math, and science are leading local districts to divert resources away from other subjects. As a result the arts are being truly left behind. We fear that most of all that music, which is a vital learning pathway for children’s success in school, is being sacrificed for shorter-term testing results. We’re talking about what kids need to be successful learners”. Rob Walker, American Music Conference Executive Director.
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Abernathy, Scott. (2007). No child left behind and the public schools. Ann Arbor, MI. The University of Michigan Press.

Hatch, Mary Jo. (2006). Organization theory, 2nd edition. New York: Oxford University Press.

Music Education may be “left behind” under new federal requirements. (2003, August 21st). [Press Release]. American Music Conference. (http://www.amc-music.com/news/pressreleases/NCLB.htm)