The Foreign Service Journal, December 2003

'(&(0%(5 ‡ $)6$ 1(:6 9 T he department’s new Employee Evaluation Report form for Senior ForeignService employees andFS-1s includes a section for rated employees to describetheiraccomplishments. Ithinkthis is a valuable change. First, employees know their jobs. They are in an excellent position to accurate- ly and objectively describe their work. Employees already provide informal input into their EERs by giving raters a summary of activities or bullet points on accomplishments. Allowing employees to draft the accomplishments section for- malizes what already happens andmakes the process transparent. Second, private sector “best practices” suggest this change will encourage better communication between employees and supervisors. Having employees describe theirownaccomplishments andraters eval- uate those accomplishments encourages open andhonest dialogue. It also serves to identify differences in viewpoint and improves management. In addition, aca- demic research shows that involving employees intheevaluationprocess increas- estheircommitmenttotheprocessandtheir acceptance of the results. Third, the description of accomplish- ments allows employees to speakdirectly to the selection boards and others who read the EERs. In most cases, I anticipate that employees and raterswill work together to arrive at adescriptionof accomplishments. Nevertheless, because employees write the initialdraftandcontrolwhatgoesinthissec- tion,itwillgiveselectionboardsanotherper- spective. Researchon themeasurement of jobperformance suggests that increasing the numberof viewpointsproviding input into EERs should improve their accuracy. Finally, the department has introduced the new EER as a one-year pilot program. It is part of ongoing efforts to improve department operations andmanagement. Aswithany innovation, theremaybeprob- lems. Departmentmanagers have careful- ly considered the potential risks of the new form, however, andconcluded thebenefits outweigh them. After the year is complet- ed, I understand the departmentwill solic- it comments from all employees and review the results. ▫ Michael A. Campion is a consultant to the State Department on a range of human resources issues. He had input into the design of the current and the new pilot EER form. Sendyourcommentsonthenewformto afsanews@afsa.org. T he 2003 DACOR Bacon House Foundation Conference, held at theWorld Bank on Oct. 10, examined “Combating Terrorism: The Role of Statesmanship.” DACOR (Diplomats and Consular Officers, Retired) President Robert L. Funseth introduced the keynote speaker, Ambassador Robert B. Oakley, who drew on his experience as a director for counter- terrorism at the State Department and as ambassador to Somalia and Pakistan, to provide valuable historical perspective. He recounted how concerted international action had defeated far- left terrorism in Europe earlier. He emphasized that U.S. diplo- matic, economic and military assets must complement each other and be deployed in coordination with friends and allies. Former FSO and National Security Adviser to Vice President Gore Leon Fuerth emphasized that U.S. leadership was indis- pensable but insufficient in itself to overcome terrorism: the coop- eration and contributions of friends and allies — at the U.N., in regional alliances such as NATO, and on the ground — are prerequisites. Speaking as a panelist on “state sponsors and failed states,” Ambassador Oakley added a third category: complicit states, states that tolerate the presence of terrorist groups on con- dition that they act elsewhere. Henry L. Stimson Center President Ellen Laipson under- scored that, in addition to international cooperation in the intel- ligence field, coordination of police activities was needed to combat terrorism. State Department Director of the Office of Andean Affairs Phillip T. Chicola reported that disparate groups with national aims exchange information on tactics and weaponry. Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the Treasury Department R. Richard Newcomb described programs for monitoring the financial transfers that sustain terrorist groups. He observed that terrorist operations cost lit- tle, but recruitment, training, arming and positioning terror- ists are expensive. Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering, former under secretary of State for political affairs and a former permanent represen- tative to the U.N., culminated the conference with a thought- ful address strongly endorsing the call by Senator Richard Lugar, R-Ind., to devote sufficient resources to diplomacy and economic assistance to make sure that “we can contain and marginalize this threat.” Doing so should reduce occasions that call for the use of military force, Pickering noted. He raised serious con- cerns about “the new national strategic doctrine of preventive war or preventive attack” and about “what to do after combat is over,” as in Afghanistan and Iraq today. ▫ DACOR CONFERENCE Diplomacy Key to Combating Terrorism BY RICHARD MCKEE, DACOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT The New EER Form Represents Best Practice BY MICHAEL CAMPION, CONSULTANT TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT