Whose Job is it Anyway?

It does not matter if you are public sector or private sector, the environment of rapid economic and organizational change in this information age leaves many people asking— Whose job is it anyway? In organizations where the buck doesn't get any rest, much less stop, it's hard to know who should participate in or manage the tasks at hand. Working both in private and public sector groups for a number of years, Ginny Barnhill and Mark Hammer partners with HDR Management Consulting, decided to address some possible answers to this complex question.Ginny and Mark take a humorous approach to this very serious topic. By applying their many years of experience (and myriad anecdotes) helping organizations develop strategy focused business plans, they help you decide just whose job it is. Should staff be involved in planning what they do day-to-day? Is leadership really suppose to set direction? (Or wait, is it management who is supposed to set direction and leadership should…well you get the picture!) Just how do organizations assign project managers? Let's talk about how to staff a project selection team. (First you pick a group of people who have nothing to do with the project…) The lowest bid really does make wonderful economic sense (especially if you're building a waste containment system! Right?)Taking a lighthearted look at serious topical discussions related to Organizational Depression (Looking too far back), Workgroup Anxiety (Looking too far into the future), and the Promotion Syndrome (But I did it this way when I was…) offer some new perspective on how to motivate people, leadership, and workgroups to succeed in knowing their jobs and then doing their jobs. Why not come by and help us take a new look at some of these heavy topics? Maybe you'll recognize your boss's characteristics (we're sure they won't apply to you!).