Hello,
It has been couple of weeks that I could not write anything
on my blog. It has been very hectic and I was super busy with various small
assignments. I feel I can share some learning experiences at this stage.
Life is so different than what we study at the university
and so is working. Rules, regulations, procedures and processes are differently
explained in academic environments and they have different meanings in real
world organizations. According to academia, processes are made to efficiently
run the organization. However, processes exist in real world organization in
order to be followed. They are the means that protect the staff from tomorrow’s
audit. The processes are not only for the efficiency but the staff is also
bound to it. The staff has to follow them whether they produce results
efficiently or do not produce results efficiently.
The project that I mentioned about in my earlier posts,
IAIDS Project, is in its preparation phase. The preparation phase is planned
for nine months. During this time, the project should gather data regarding
five directorates of the ministry and do their capacity assessment. Moreover,
some legal documents have to be developed. Finally, three national surveys have
to be performed. I will discuss the first big challenge in this blog and the
others in my later blogs.
I have been trying to recruit the staff for the project
since the first day that I joined the project. I pushed everyone hard and
closely followed the procedures to hire people as soon as possible. However, soon
I realized that with all my efforts, I cannot expedite the process as much as I
want. It would normally take 2.5 months for a position to fill. We have to send
the job description for NoL. It will take almost a week. They you have to
announce the position at least for two weeks. Later, HR needs a week till they
collect the CVs and make the shortlist. After that, the projects have to wait until
it is their turn for the interviews scheduled by HR Department. This normally
takes two weeks. After the interview is conducted, the project has to make the
Evaluation report and sign it on the panel. This will take a week as well. We
have to send the Report for NoL again and it will normally need a week. Finally
after getting NoL, the project can prepare the contract and send it to the head
of the organization for signature.
The question is if the project needs almost two and half
months to fill one position, then how the activities of the preparation phase
(need assessment, legal documents, surveys, etc) can be done in nine months.
Talk to you all soon,
Javid
Javid, I found your post quite interesting. This position that they are filling, is it an important or prestigous job? I am taking it that the wheels move very slowly in Afghanistan...probably other places too. I think it took almost 3 weeks from start to finish to hire someone for the Finance Department in my little town. It sounds as though your position is comparable to someone working in our federal government. I shall look forward to your future posts. Stay well.
ReplyDeleteJavid, Thank you for your post. Working at the Arizona Legislature I also understand that there is a process that must be followed. In most cases this process is not quick. I think our job as public administrators is to identify ways to eliminate unnecessary red tape while still keeping safeguards in place. Take care.
ReplyDeleteHi Javid, I thought of you earlier today when I heard that it is extremely cold in Afghanistan and that a number of children had died due to exposure. I think we in America take for granted many of the creature comforts that we enjoy. It is bitterly cold here tonight, but I am nice and cozy. I hope you are warm and safe. Stay well.
DeleteThank you Louis. It is true that we should work to eliminate the red tape.
DeleteThank you Viv. It is snowing and it may snow for a week. I am fine. But we have many poor who do not have access to basic facilities. Thank you once again,
ReplyDeleteJavid - I always meant to ask you- with all that we have learned in our program do you find it difficult in a Country like Afghanistan to refer back to those tid bits of information- or even trying to apply certain concepts, theories, etc. I am sure its hard enough here in the US
ReplyDeleteZari, it is difficult. The concepts help you understand the basics of what is happening. But surely there is a lot more. I believe the study gives us the knowledge but we have to learn the skills on the job and we have to learn how to use that knowledge on the job as well.
ReplyDeleteZari, it is not easy to apply to those concepts. Surely, the concepts give you some hint but there is a lot more that you have to learn while you are working. I believe the biggest learning experience is the practical usage of the knowledge that we learn during our studies.
DeleteJavid,
ReplyDeleteI think you make an important point about the disconnect between academia and real world organizations. Procedures often look great on paper and in academia you can often control the experiment. In the real world there are many variables that cannot be accounted for that changes what you learned. I definitely think it’s about following your intuition and learning how to be adaptable to what the situation calls for. It certainly seems that this may be what might happen for you with this project. Wishing you luck and smooth sailing.
Holly, it is something like that. It is not easy but the point is that we should learn how to do it.
Delete