The Foreign Service Journal, January 2007

A F S A N E W S J A NU A R Y 2 0 0 7 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 61 O ne of the few constants in any survey of U.S. govern- ment export promotion programs is our clients’ high regard for our physical presence in overseas markets. Inotherwords, the shiftingpriorities of tradepromotion, advo- cacy, market-access issues and commercial diplomacy never completely overshadow the basic value of having a smoothly functioning and moti- vated workforce. Our colleagues perform an inherently governmental function that the private sector cannot. In the end, what our clients expect and truly appreciate is a good attitude and willingness to try. But these services don’t come cheaply. How is it that the State Department’s trade promotion budget has been growing at twice the rate of the Commercial Service’s for the past five years, and is now 80 percent of the total Commercial Service budget? Hello? Iwouldposit thatwe are not adequate- ly funded. To correct this inequity, AFSA is playing a constructive role in coordination withmanagement to help build the case with Congress and the Office of Management and Budget. The Hill, in fact, has already reached out to AFSA asking us to make the case, and we have dutifully complied with correspondence and testimony. Tobe fair,management ismaking progress in terms of looking at ITplatforms, sup- porting professional development programs and introducing the balanced scorecard (although we have some questions on the latter). But in a revenue-neutral environ- ment these initiatives obscuremore fundamental concerns about the nature of a career in the Commercial Service. Who is willing to stand up and make the case that help- ing our companies successfully engage in internationalmarkets is a fundamental com- ponent of transformational diplomacy, contributes toour national security anddeserves increased funding? Instead of throwing money into the maw of our China and India programs, why not prioritize resources on the efficient administrationof the human resources system? The morale of career officers certainly suggests that we need help in this area. Fifty- seven percent of AFSA/FCSmembers who were surveyed recently feel that conditions are deteriorating. As for our retirees, heaven help you if you expect to see your lump sum payment for unused annual leave in a timely fashion. After four months of sys- tem failure and even after the intervention of senior management, we still don’t know if the most recent case was sorted out. There are plenty of symptoms of a distressed personnel function and we will discover very quickly, if we don’t already know, how expensive it is to replace trained officers. Increased funding is not a panacea, but it’s probably the low-hanging fruit in terms of solutions to the needs of the career Service. Management can decide whether it is organizational structure, inefficiencies or funding that is missing in the picture, just so long as they don’t leave out the funding piece. I really don’t ascribe malicious intent to our human resources colleagues, and believe that if their worldwas better organized thenperhaps it wouldn’t take years to negotiate AFSAmidtermbargaining points; our employees wouldn’t lose months of pay increases due to fifth-floor neglect; we would actually get tomeet with the director generalmore thanonce a year; wewouldbe invit- ed to the technical briefings of the selectionboards; andwewould find a role for retirees to help us in situations where we have gapped positions. All this is nothing that $30 million couldn’t cure. A 0.1-percent shift in the inter- national affairs budget ought to cover it. Can our leadership achieve this? I’m sure they can. But will they? V.P. VOICE: FCS BY WILL CENTER, FCS REPRESENTATIVE Funding Commercial Diplomacy •TheWilliamRivkinAward forMid- CareerOfficers (FS 3-1) • The Christian Herter Award for SeniorOfficers (FEOC-CA) Detailed informationaboutnomination procedures and criteria, and how to sub- mit a nomination, may be found on the AFSA Web site at www.afsa.org/awards. cfm , and intheDecember2006 AFSANews at www.afsa.org/news . Guidelines forboth the constructivedissent aswell as the exem- plary performance awards are listed. The three exemplary performance awards are: • The Delavan Award for an Office Management Specialistwhohas significant- ly contributed topost or office effectiveness and morale. • The M. Juanita Guess Award for a Community Liaison Officer who has demonstratedoutstanding leadership, ded- ication, initiative and imagination inassist- ing the families of ForeignService employ- ees serving abroad. • The Avis Bohlen Award for a family member of a Foreign Service employee whosevolunteeractivitieswiththeAmerican and foreigncommunities at post havedone themost toadvance the interestsof theU.S. Any questions should be directed to Barbara Berger, Coordinator for Profes- sional Issues, by e-mail: berger@afsa.org , or byphone: (202) 338-4045, ext. 521. The deadline for submitting all nominations is Feb. 25, 2007 . DO IT TODAY! AFSA Can Help with College Expenses AFSA scholarship applications for merit awards and need-based aid ranging from $1,500 to $3,000 for Foreign Service children are now available. The application deadline is Feb 6, 2007. For eligibility details go to www.afsa.org/scholar/ index.cfm , call Scholarship Director Lori Dec toll-free at 1 (800) 704- 2372, ext. 504, or e-mail dec@afsa.org . Awards • Continued from page 57 AFSA NEWS BRIEFS