The Foreign Service Journal, May 2012

R eorganization, restructuring, regionalization, repositioning …How about a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T, just a little bit! We have at least four major organiza- tional changes going on at the same time at every level, affecting the International Trade Administration and ForeignCommercial Service, among other agencies. You have to ask yourself, “Why?” The Commercial Service is blessed with being one of the most focused organi- zations in the U.S. government. We are about exports. We can measure what we accomplish. Exports grewby 17 percent in 2010 and by 15 percent last year—prac- tically the only bright spot in the U.S. economy. We exceeded all of our export suc- cess goals. In 2010 we produced $34.8 billion in export successes, assisted 18,000 clients and returnedmore than $135 of exports for every $1 appropriated—a pret- ty good return on investment. So what needs to be fixed? As if there isn’t enough confusion already, last fall State launched its “Economic Statecraft” program, aimed at helpingAmerican companies increase exports. Admirable as it is, the dupli- cationof goals has created angst and con- fusion among State and FCS economic and commercial officers in the field. What this newprogramwill accomplish remains to be seen, but funds may have been better spent supporting existing Commercial Service programs. To grasp what is going on, we need look no further than what the pundits call “the silly season.” During theGlobal Business Conference in February, I asked an AmericanChamber of Commerce col- league how he thought all of the organizational changes were going. He respond- ed, “We get it. We know this is an election year.” Meaning, decisions required to move any changes forward will not happen. Restructuring will take congressional approval. It will also take a budget decision, which is highly unlikely in this Congress. So, not only has a lot of confusion been created, with scarce resources expend- ed for these uncertain activities and programs, but it is unlikely that any reorgani- zation, restructuring, regionalization or repositioning will occur this year. I write this to give those of you in the field a feel for the state of play, but also as a plea to management to step back and take a breath— follow basic standard pro- cedures and don’t take short cuts. While the current proposals are important, bud- get pressures are bound to intensify, and will not be resolved anytime soon. Despite Washington’s own version of “March Madness,” let’s all do our best to persevere and continue the great work we do every day to help our country and our companies. V.P. VOICE: FCS BY KEITH CURTIS Much Ado About Nothing? 44 F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L / MA Y 2 0 1 2 A F S A N E W S Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA FCS VP. Despite Washington’s own version of “March Madness,” let’s all do our best to persevere and continue the great work we do every day to help our country and our companies. ARTICLE V The Governing Board Section 1. General: This association shall be governed by a Governing Board (herein called “the board”) consisting of regular members in good standing, elected by the regular membership bien- nially for two-year terms as officers or representatives in the manner provided in Section 4 below. Nomembermay serve more than four full consecutive terms (i.e., eight consecutive years) in any one position on the Governing Board. 3. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT TO CHANGE THE NAME OF THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION Currently, the bylaws establish a Committee on Education under Article VI. In recent years, the practice has evolved to call that committee the “Scholarship Committee.” The current board approved this name change at its Nov. 2, 2011, meeting in addition to approving the name change(s) in the ScholarshipFund’sBylaws andScholarship Fund’s Articles of Organization. The proposed amendment is simply a technical one requesting that the name be changed officially in the main AFSA bylaws. The attached exhibit shows the proposed change with deletions crossed through and additions in italics . ARTICLE VI Internal Organization Section 1. The following committees and boards shall exist on a permanent basis: Committee on Education Scholarship Committee: The board shall appoint and determine the terms of the chair andmem- bers of the Committee on Education Scholarship Committee who, under the overall guidance of the board, shall devel- op policies and criteria for awards under the association’s scholarshipprograms. Bylaws • Continued from page 42 For AFSA Bylaws, go to www.afsa.org/afsa_bylaws