The Foreign Service Journal, October 2004

U SAIDofficers, as practitioners of development, under- stand that one of the fundamentals of successful imple- mentation is the absoluteneed tohave yourpartner fully onboard forwhatever endeavor is beingpursued. If your coun- terpart or the host country is not fully committed to the pro- posed activity, then be prepared for the biggest of belly flops. Over the years, USAID has had many terms to describe this concept, including “collaborative style,” “partnering,” and “host government buy-in.” There are similar concepts prevalent in the private sector, through programs such as profit-sharing and employee ownership through stock plans. The theory is that if labor andmanagement are all hauling in the same directionwith amutual stake in the results, there is greater productivity and greater chance of success. So, where is the rub? Institutionally, USAIDespouses the virtue—in fact, the neces- sity—of collaboration. Yet, it does not practicewhat it preacheswith regard to its own Foreign Service employees, represented by their collective bargaining unit. You want some examples? Okay, let’s cite a few: In matters of arbitration, by lawUSAIDmust accept and implement the decisions of the Foreign Service Grievance Board unless it appeals to federal court. Yet, recently, when the FSGB came down powerfully in favor of a USAID officer unjustly selected out, the agency refused to implement thedecision. But it also refused to initiate anappeal, leaving the employee in limbo. This forced the employee to appeal to the court him- self to compel agency compliance. The clearmessage and attitude seemtobe that “we’ll abide by the decision of the FSGBwhen it rules in our favor, andwewill ignore it when it does not.” We ask: where is the partnership? AFSAwitnessed first-hand the agency’s willingness to spend increasingly escalating sums on “re-blocking” (the term for putting everyone in contiguous office space fol- lowing reorganization). But the agency has consistently ignored AFSA’s “invest in the employee” agenda, which calls for much more moderate amounts for employee ben- efits, equivalent to those given to State FSOs, including student loan repayment and spousal training. Management’s monotonous mantra has been: “We have no funds,” resulting in a stark deafness to the concerns of the partner. We ask: where is the part- nership? It is difficult to foster an environment of partnership when top managers fly busi- ness class for flights considerably under 14 hours and the rank and file are told they cannot do the same for flights over 14 hours, evenwhere the regulations permit it. This does not engender the spirit of being in the effort together. To the contrary: it sapsmorale. We ask: where is the partnership? For 10 years there has been no clear-cut Automated Directives System published on the Senior Management Group process: transparency avowed, but not practiced. AFSA’s request for a briefing on the SMGwas rebuffed for months before it was final- ly granted. We ask: where is the partnership? Habits, like smoking and institutional narcissism, even though you know they are bad for you, are hard to give up. As the agencywitnesses attrition increasing at the lower grades, maybe an epiphany will occur and there will be recognition that partnership works and dismissive behavior does not. The problem is clear, but so is the solution — respect and engage your partner. ▫ V.P. VOICE: USAID BY BILL CARTER Institutional Narcissism: Searching for a Cure 6 AFSA NEWS • OCTOBER 2004 Capital Gains Reminder The deadline for submitting amended tax returns to claim back capital gains tax on the sale of a house after May 6, 1997, and before Jan. 1, 2001, expires on Nov. 10, 2004. If sold in 2001, the deadline is April 15, 2005. What’s Significant about $127,850? This is the amount that the AFSA Scholarship Fund will bestow in finan- cial aid scholarships in the 2004/2005 school year to 63 Foreign Service under- graduate college students. First semes- ter checks totaled $64,675 and were sent in August to various schools from Yale University to Skidmore College to Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Fla. Over 90 individual scholarships were awarded; DACOR and AAFSW also helped to provide this financial assis- tance. New scholarships bestowed this year include an award to honor Ambassador Prudence Bushnell, sponsored by the 111th A-100 Training Class, and two perpetual scholarships (each representing a dona- tion of at least $12,000): the Richard R. Hallock Memorial Scholarship and the Martin G. Patterson Memorial Scholarship. Of the 63 recipients, 39 received AFSA scholarships last year. AFSA awards range from $1,000 to $3,000, depending on the family’s financial situation. Children of active-duty, retired and deceased Foreign Service employees are eligible to apply for such awards. For more information, contact Lori Dec at 1 (800) 704-2372, ext. 504, or dec@afsa.org, or visit the AFSA Scholarship Web site at www.afsa.org/scholar/index.cfm. AFSA NEWS BRIEFS Continued from page 2 Briefs • Continued on page 7 JOSH