I note with amusement how even the broadest accumulation of experience in the work force cannot prevent someone from deluding themselves if they insist on it.
Dyna provides several examples of her experiences with various managers and reaches the conclusion that all managers who came up through the ranks are good and all who came in as outsiders are bad. I think most of us who dwell in the real world know that life isn't that simple. I'm sure many of us could provide examples of managers who rose through the ranks via the Dilbert Principle: The most ineffective workers are systematically moved to the place where they can do the least damage - management. I certainly know I've seen that with some of the internal promotions that have taken place where I work. Likewise, I'm sure many of us could provide examples of managers who came in as outsiders and have been effective. One local example I would point to is Kit Hadley, the Minneapolis Public Library director. I've also seen examples of this at my office, like when an outsider was brought in to lead our policy development unit. She brought a lot of great ideas with her and some of our other supervisors got better from seeing how she led her group. Personally, my supervisor is one who came up through the ranks. What's good about that is that he used to do my job, so he knows exactly what I'm supposed to be doing and it was really helpful when I first started and now he can pretty much let me do my job without micro-managing me. What's bad about that is that, like many managers who came up through the ranks, part of why he got to and has kept his position is because he keeps his head down and doesn't make waves. Which makes it harder to implement change from the bottom-up. And while Dyna thinks that anyone who has criticized the MPD is a "labor and police hater who doesn't understand what a union does" I would beg to differ. I belong to a union and am considered one of the more knowledgeable members in my local as far as what a union does and how they should operate, primarily because I actually participate in what my union works for. I can't speak for all unions, but one area where mine would differ from the Police Federation is that if a member were accused of assault, we wouldn't try to defend that member by blaming the victim as the Police Federation and its supporters have done. People who apologize for the thugs on the MPD also like to point out that being a cop is a stressful job and all that, but that's a situation you accept along with your badge and it shouldn't be used as an excuse for using excessive force when apprehending a suspect or just delivering a beat-down. Teaching can be a stressful job as well. But if a teacher were to beat up one of their students or a parent or a co-worker, they're going to be gone, period. Why should it be any different for someone who carries a badge and gun rather than a textbook? Dyna also claims that "What will likely happen is that given his past reputation, Chief McManus will start with a distrustful department and it'll go downhill from there." I think that if the pro-cop crowd is correct that only a few bad apples are causing all the problems with police brutality and racial profiling, then what should happen is the good cops will be excited to get someone with a proven track record for cleaning house and will be falling all over themselves to get to the new chief and point out who the thugs are so McManus can get rid of them. Then maybe we can start healing the communities that have been impacted by those years of abuse with nothing being done about it. If not, that would be an indication that either the blue code is apparently alive and well or that the problems of brutality among the MPD are more widespread than just a few bad apples. Mark Snyder Windom Park REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
