How can an organization be so completely and utterly ineffective?

Working in the CSU it is a question that I ask myself on a regular basis. I have worked at several universities that evidenced various levels of incompetence; but none that is so seemingly hopeless as the CSU Administration, that is, the Chancellor’s Office.

In my search for an answer to my question I stumbled upon Putt’s Law, which holds that

Technology is dominated by two types of people:  those who understand what they do not manage and those who manage what they do not understand.

According to the “first corollary” of Putt’s Law “Every technical hierarchy, in time, develops a competence inversion;” that is, competent people are maintained in roles where they control the production process while those who are less competent are promoted into management positions.

There is an old saying: “Those who can, do. Those who can’t teach.” Some years ago I coined the “Kelly corollary:” And those who can’t teach become administrators.

While it is not always true, there is a tendency in that direction.

Yesterday three top executives at the Chancellor’s Office–Ephraim Smith, Benjamin Quillian, and Gail Brooks— “engaged” faculty and staff in a “discussion” about options to cope with an anticipated $250 million cut in the CSU budget if a tax initiative does not pass in November.

It has been a struggle to figure out which bothered me more: The profound lack of imagination on the part of the leadership of this organization, or the complete and total failure of the webcast to allow meaningful dialogue about this important topic.

I have decided that it is the latter. At a time when deep cuts in the core mission of the university are being considered, the CSU is investing millions of dollars into Cal State On-Line. CSOL (make of that acronym what you will) allegedly will allow the CSU to offer courses to students at a lower cost; it will allow us to compete with for-profit “rivals” like the University of Phoenix.

But is it as good or better than bricks and mortar education?

Based on our experience with our webcast…No.

Herky jerky video of the Chancellor’s Office contingent was distracting. Participants were supposed to be able to ask questions via telephone hook up. That failed quickly and all participants were “muted.” Questions were submitted by typing; that did not allow for discussion, but it did allow the talking heads to talk at us without an opportunity to ask followup questions. The discussion was being transcribed, but one of our poor staff had to sit at the computer and scroll the text because it did not automatically scroll.

If this was my classroom and I had a peer observer in the room I would have been raked over the coals in my review.

So the people responsible for providing the foundation for CSOL cannot master the technology. The people running the university know nothing about teaching. None of them has taught in decades. Some of them have never taught; and yet they are making decisions about how we will pursue the core mission of the university.

And why are these people in charge of the operation? Putt’s Law. In an organization there are two kinds of people: “those who understand what they do not manage and those who manage what they do not understand.” Smith, Quillian, Brooks, the Chancellor himself, are the tragic but inevitable result of an organizational reality.

It would be funny if it was not so sad.