The Foreign Service Journal, June 2004

when the position was quickly “CAJE’ed” at precisely the higher level sought and the FSN was imme- diately promoted. Granted, one data point does not a pattern make. However, the worst- case scenarios that some fear are not, in my view, realistic. An avalanche of complaints and appeals benefits no one and will almost certainly not be allowed to occur. If CAJE enjoys less than broad support as it unfolds, I am confident that appropriate modifications, including perhaps those proposed by Mr. Ludwig, can and will quickly be placed into ser- vice. Ludwig’s key point that CAJE still lends “disproportionate weight to the bureaucratic qualification at the expense of personal quality” is dead on. CAJE may prove to be the last great “repair job” on the “machine model” of large organizations that was brilliantly suited for the rapidly indus- trializing Western societies of the 19th century — but is totally inap- propriate for the global Information Age of the 21st century. My hope is that instead of resist- ing CAJE, we will accept it for the benefits it can offer us over the next decade or so, while acknowledging that its limitations lead directly to the real challenge before us: dis- carding the obsolete Civil Service employment structure altogether and replacing it with a brand new model that embraces not only demographic realities and social pri- orities, but also lifelong learning, institutionalized cross-training, sta- ble and dignified careers for those of sufficient talent, and robust advancement opportunities for the most exceptional. Edward Yagi Deputy Senior Commercial Officer FCS Embassy Cairo J U N E 2 0 0 4 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 9 L E T T E R S