I smell like Chocolate Frogs!!

     I've begun a new tradition, I went to Salem again this year.  This was my second year going.  I went with a new set of people- well actually it dwindled down to a single person, my roommate GP.  Originally this year's plan was to go with my roomie and some co-workers/friends, but everyone had other things break-up our plans and, so, the only people to stick to the plan was my roommate and I.  
     Anyways, we hit the road today(Friday, October 26th technically) around 2pm, cashed some checks, and plowed forward to Boston by 3:30pm.  My HTC maps said it would be 2hrs and 16 minutes, approximately.  A very large approximately.  Boston traffic is the devil, I am dead serious, people that have to get on just to head out grocery shopping or down an exit to school- I feel for you.  What was suppose to be a little over two hours waned into three-ish.  Lots of stop and go traffic, people cutting in and out of lanes, people pretending breakdowns are lanes, bikers neglecting to use lanes- you get the picture.  But, finally, we broke through and arrived into Salem.  
     Once we hit Derby street, everything was clear from last year.  While we couldn't park at the ten dollar spot my last year's group found, we did find a plaza parking lot for $1.50 an hour- after 8pm is free and you just have to keep your ticket stub on your dashboard.  Convenient.  Connecting onto Washington Avenue, I pointed out the painted red line that keeps you from getting lost.  During the week, we had made plans to go to a Harry Potter themed dance party.  We missed the RSVP, but figured we'd pay the $25 at the door.  The KC hall at 94 Washington didn't pop out immediately, so we went over to Essex and explored.  Right off we found Rockafellas- our second plan dance party- and dually noted it.  Along the way there were many cute shops and many street tent vendors.  I thought the funniest one was the vampire fangs booth.  Just what it sounds like, you pay for fangs.  I passed on this, normally I wouldn't have because I <3 vampires, but I was The Doctor and I thought fangs would be absurd.  I was already pushing it with my brown David Tennant-esque Converse.  Slightly veering off of Essex, we found a surprisingly cheap vintage clothing store- I will add the name tomorrow when I find the business card- and I bought a gift for my best friend's birthday.  GP and I decided that it would be a nice store to come back to.  
     At the end of the lane we found that the red line curved right and we followed it.  It took us to Frankenstein's Lab- a noted block for haunted houses and other frights.  Here we got coffee and looked at the spooky spectacles, but I am proud to say we did not enter the scary houses.  After Frankenstein's Lab we found out plan C- the Carnival at Derby street.  It was cute, with bright colours and all the typical fair rides you might find, but I wasn't really digging it.  Following Derby street back up to the Lab, we noticed a skeleton angel that people were taking a photo of and quickly moved along- my roommate went as River Song.  Both of us know the dangers of the Angels.  Anyways, we bustled back to Essex.
     At the end of Essex, we found a red line that continued and took us over to the Salem Witch Museum- which was odd because when I first saw it I said to GP "Look, it's the Devil's church"; it was lit up from inside the church-architecture with red lights.  Being still open at 7pm, we went inside and explored the shop.  Here I bought a copy of Hocus Pocus- finally! and what an appropriate place to get it!- and a pair of Jack Skellington earrings.  From the museum, we wandered along and found that there was another small fair.  On our way we walked past Voldemort, Bellatrix Lastrange, a death eater, and Snape with Lily on his arm.  Our instinct was to follow them, but with goods in hand we decided to hit up our car.  After this we doubled back and went towards Salem Commons.  Walking toward the Salem Commons, a grounds keeper asked us if we needed a hand finding our way and, well, we kinda did because, as it turns out, 94 Washington was on Washington Square and not Street and none of the programs had the KC hall on it's map.  So, he told us to head across the green towards the white building with many lights.  After a two minute walk, we found it.  It was gorgeous outside and the HP group we saw had got us really excited.  Then we went in the building.  The air changed.  As we saw the awesome decorations ahead we also saw a room full of people in groups.  We were not a group.  It was like a middle school dance again.  Without a group, we didn't see how it made sense to pay $25 and promptly turned around.  
     We forgo-ed our photo-op with Voldemort and wandered back to Essex.  Here we found nerd-gold.  I glanced to my left and saw a brown chest that said HP and a maroon train.  It was a Harry Potter store.  Like an authentic one.  We bolted inside and I was taken away by all of the awesome.  Quidditch gear, brooms, owls(stuffed plushy ones!), hats, scarves, ties, t-shirts, potions, stickers, many boxes of stuff, butterbeer, and more.  When you walked in, it smelled of chocolate frogs.  After poking around, I found that it was because they sold room fragrances in butterbeer and chocolate frog, which I sprayed myself with.  While it was strong at first, it was worth it.  I ended up buying a Hufflepuff hat- my house according to Pottermore- and swayed along to the HP soundtrack overhead.  We had, indeed, gotten our HP fix.  
     We went back to Rockafellas but noticed that nothing seemed to be happening.  So, we began to go up Essex, but two girls of a group shouted at me, "Are you the Doctor?!?"  And promptly ran over to hug me.  Both of them.  It was strange and really funny.  So far, everyone was getting my costume(it is afterall a female version).  Up Essex, we went into Harrison's, a stellar comic book shop that I went to last year.  They had a lot more cool stuff this year, like back issue comics for a dollar and Firefly & Doctor Who sections.  GP took a photo of me looking at a photo of "me" on a magazine, I hope to post that here tomorrow too.  When we were content at looking around, we went up Essex a little further, turned back at the Witch Cottage, and found an art exhibit.  The art was cool, the crowd was odd.  They all had PBR.  One guy had a blue blazer- like one tat David Tennant wears between seasons three and four- and I said "I love your blazer!"  to which he said "I like your bow-tie.  Bow-ties are cool."  We shared a smile before I walked out of the door.  
     At this point, we knew we didn't want to go back to the carnival and the HP-middle school dance was still a no, so we popped into a place called Gulu Gulu Cafe, which actually serves pizza and beer & wine.  It was the most geeky place, next to the comic book store, that we had entered.  The menu had titles like "Tatooine" and "Starbuck" as well as some really hillarious others.  The walls were covered in aliens from films, the two windows told to regeneration of the Doctor- including a question mark for the 12th- and was playing Red Dwarf.  The tip jar was a Boba Fett statuette that said "This is the tip jar you are looking for" and a robot mouth said "please suggest puny human."  All around, it was cheap & cozy and the wait-staff was nice.  We stayed here for quite a while, with our sonic screwdrivers on the table the whole time.  
     When we went back down Essex, we took photos with Waldo, The Joker & The Riddler, and I can't remember who else.  We went back into the HP shop once more and then went into other small stores that were still open at this late hour.  In the cooking and wine shop there was a Superman t-shirt wearer and a New Zealand cuttie.  I chatted with them for awhile as the store was closing, a nice connection considering we weren't with anyone.  When we left, we ran into so many more cool people.  There was a trio of a Kiss member, a Jedi knight, and the dog from Wilfred.  I wanted to hang out with the Jedi(come on, three of them and two of us?  great odds!), but it was getting late so we kept going.  Next we ran into a group of fans girls, who giggled all around me and said "bow-ties are cool" to which I said thanks because I was still laughing at how much attention I was getting(Americans really are gaga for Who! lol).  Lastly, on the opposite side of the street, I saw two "companions" with their handsome Matt Smith Doctor and I shouted across to him/them "Bow ties are cool!" and he raised a fist, like Matt Smith would, and I did too.  This was funny because the fan girls were headed up Washington like us and said "Bow ties are cool..again!"  
     The drive home quicker than the one to Salem and I found myself still wanting to have followed the Jedi or the other Doctor, but- all in all- it was a great trip and I think that I will plan harder next year, save earlier, and bring more people.  That and leave earlier in the day.  Anyways, photos soon to follow- I'm off to bed!

Middle MGMT

Hey viewers!  (And hello classmates!)  It's been a little while between posts, which seems to be the new normal for me.  This week's blog is especially fun, although very specific/focused, and it is unlike anything I have done before.  I am taking three graduate courses for my library science degree, as I have talked about in weeks past, and this week I have to do a presentation for one of them.  It's a really cool class, which is great considering how much I was worried about it being online and all, and so for the presentation I get to talk about my paper in any way I want.   I decided that, since I already have a pre-established blog and I have been experimenting with VideoBlogs I would combined the two!  I explain a lot more about my paper in a presentation in the link below(nudge nudge wink wink).  And if I am successful, you will be able to read the paper as well. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtzykDdCRJw&feature=youtu.be


FullText of my paper, please don't use it or take it anywhere, thanks!

PS, to my class- I went with a lighter shade of purple for my blog- keeping with my purple posts on the Sakai forum so that you could still read it ;D 
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Christina Dufour

LSC 502: Management

Middle Management Paper:

Throughout the study of library management, we have learned a lot about being at the head of a library, a bit about those who serve under the leader, and not a lot about “middle managing”.  What exactly is the vision of “the middle”?  While the hierarchical pyramid makes this position clear, it does not necessarily give us any foresight into what the “middle” deals with.  We have learned of tactics that can create a strong manager, and much of the focus in the employed field rests on these people, but what about an empowered employee?  Is that at all important to an organization?  What do these positions, these people, look like?  Using the theories and ideas of Stueart & Moran, Mr. Williams, Ian Smith, and Mr. Winchell, I hope to shed some light on this topic and figure out just how important these people are. 

To determine what the “middle” is, we have to start with creating a framework.  A “Google search” will tell you that “the middle” is anything from a TV show to a social position or even a philosophical stance.  That is not helpful.  Dictionary.com defines the “middle” as “1. equally distant from the extremes or outer limits; central: the middle point of a line; the middle singer in a trio. 2. intermediate or intervening: the middle distance. 3. medium or average: a man of middle size. 4. ( initial capital letter ) (in the history of a language) intermediate between periods classified as Old and New or Modern: Middle English. ”(Dictionary.com, 2012)  In simpler terms, it is neither the top nor the bottom but a way to connect the two. 

Now that we have defined the dictionary term of “the middle,” what does it mean if one manages from the middle?  Middle management is part of a whole, the “whole” being the hierarchical system.  A hierarchical system is a format for which an organization or business can structure their employees.  Stueart & Moran outline the workforce of a business in the following terms “[a picture of a pyramid, starting at small top] Top Management[:] Directors and Associate Directors Set policies for the entire organization and are responsible for its overall management.  Middle Management [:] Department Heads and Branch Librarians Carry out policies set by upper management and are responsible for management of subunits of the organization. First-Line Supervisors [:] Lead the activities of the individual workers in carrying out the day-to-day work of the organization.”(Stueart & Moran, 2007, p.7)  Furthermore, Stueart & Moran add that middle managers “also serve as liaisons between top management and supervisors.”(Stueart & Moran, 2007, p.7)  One could assume that, if an organization was set up in this style, that the middle managers are indeed important.  These people may be department directors or a leader of a subunit of the organization.  Managing from the middle, or even managing at all, even has a broad way of being interpreted.  For example, David K. Williams posted an article, or blog, about how he feels organizations should not even had managers, but rather they should have leaders.  Williams says that “From the top down, every employee has the opportunity to lead” and rather than have a controlling upper management, employees need to be “trusted” and “empowered”.(Williams, 2012)  His company, Fishbowl, is set up in what he more or less calls a flat hierarchy, with a manager/leader, three pairs of teams, and people after them.  His policy is open door, but he highly insists they bounce ideas off of each other first before coming to him and, at that, they must have a series of possible scenarios.(Williams, 2012)  Williams has other articles like this and all of them work on taking the top of the pyramid out.  So why then has there been, or is there still, a management from the top approach?

               What does a person at the top of the pyramid do?  Stueart & Moran say that this person “is responsible for the overall functioning of the entire organization…managers at the highest levels have the power to establish organization-wide policy and are influential in setting the leadership style throughout the organization.”(Stueart & Moran, 2007, p.7)  Ian Smith agrees with this idea.  A manager, or leader, is the person that can do the bold thing.  “What is important is that [organizations], their managers and their leaders are bold in whatever way fits the circumstances and needs of their [organization] and the times that they are in.”(Smith, 2008)  In a library, a manager, also known as a director, is usually held responsible for understanding their library communities’ needs, staffing, training, and organizational change.  With one person calling the shots, these businesses have seemed to get along just fine.  Until now. 

               There is an acknowledgement that technology demands are rising and the field of librarians must either adapt or perish.  Smith, with the inspiration of Wendy Shultz, outlines several key societal factors in this process, “a general acceleration in the pace of change; the ubiquity of technological innovation; expanding educational formats and opportunities; changing workplace structures and ethics; altered worker demands; and changes in customer expectations and lifestyles.”(Smith, 2008)  So how can a manager adapt to these problems of their future?  Perhaps the have to first define the challenges of managing from the middle.

               Whether a manager is new to their employees or they have been there for a long time, the goal of an organization can change as time goes on.  To solve the breakdown of the unified goal, several things must occur.  There must be motivation, communication, innovation, and leadership.  These are the troubles areas that may experts of this field discuss.  One challenge is that, to lead successfully, one must first realize that “there is no one right approach.  There must be flexibility to meet the need of different employees.”(Stueart & Moran, 2007, p.273)  This creates questions for a leader about how best to involve their employees, how much or how little to involve them in the planning process, and how best to delegate the tasks they need done.  To do this, the employee must be motivated to positively respond to their leader.  In turn, the leader must figure out how best to motivate them.   What does motivating an employee mean?  Motivation is easy to gain when a person finds a job they want to do.  But what should happen if that employee is working for a manager that does not help them advance in their career?  What would happen if the director they worked for was constantly pushing them further up in the job pyramid?  Stueart & Moran have four areas that they suggest will keep motivation flowing for a manager: “individual difference…a whole person…motivated behavior…value of a person.”(Stueart & Moran, 2007, p.302)  In other words, a manager must first acknowledge the employee as fundamentally different from any other employee that is higher and that what works “best” will change.  Second, a middle manager should work to invest in the “whole person,” they should be concerned with the development of a better human.  Reflecting on people as individuals, a manager should understand the psychology of what motivates a person- whether realistic or not.  And, lastly, an employee should feel valuable to their organization as well as respected.  These four pieces are hard for a busy employer, but it would make for a good one at any level.

Communication is another challenging element.  A middle manager is especially important in this step.  They must communicate both to the people above and below them. They must exchange messages, work to keep up relationships- both business and personal within their field- and uphold “written, oral, and nonverbal” communication(Stueart & Moran, 2007, p.367)  Working alone, the work done must be communicated to the group and, when working in teams, the goal of the organization must be in the forefront.  This area results in conflict if communication is not withheld.  As mentioned before, a middle manager has a lot to deal with here.

How does innovation affect the middle manager?  Let’s look at an example from Geoffrey of The Public Manager. 

“There must be a thousand definitions for and examples of innovation - from the latest cellular technology to improving educational practices. How do we know which to apply? In his 2008 master's thesis describing the Coast Guard's innovation program, Lieutenant Commander Chris Kluckhuhn of the U,S, Coast Guard Reserves uses a definition adopted from the government of New Zealand: Innovation: The creation, development, and implementation of a new product, process or service, aimed at improving efficiency, effectiveness, or competitive advantage.

Innovation may be applied to products, services, manufacturing processes, managerial processes or the design of an organization. Both the organization and employees must be engaged for innovation to occur. First, the organization must establish goals and guidelines. Then it should empower people to take risks to find the best solutions. “

This article highlights that everyone must be involved in the process of change.  This is something that seems to come up on a regular basis.  Much like Williams noted earlier, employees must feel empowered and trusted in order to contribute.  

Leadership is the fourth most important part of middle managing.  A director that uses the hierarchical pyramid must understand that they cannot run the organization alone, in other words that they cannot control every aspect by themselves.  In this case, the director has to make sure that they have established both a professional and personal bond with their employees.  They have to be able to understand how best to move forward.  A middle manager should be able to be responsible for their department without having to go to the top of the pyramid, this means taking action, addressing misconduct, and understanding the boundaries.  Winchell says that

 “Supervisors who are confident in taking conduct- or performance-based actions have made every reasonable effort to establish a work environment in which employees can excel. They document that inappropriate conduct or deficient performance has been made known to the employee and is within the employees control to correct.”(Winchell, 2011)

Should a middle manager be able to measure their workers performance and their workers(as people) then they may be able to sift through motivation, communication, innovation, and leadership.

References

Smith, I. (2008). People management – be bold! Library Management, 29 (1-2), 18-28.

Williams, D.  (2012, July 10). The End of Middle Managers (And Why They'll Never Be Missed).  Forbes. Retrieved from; http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkwilliams/2012/07/10/the-end-of-middle-managers-and-why-theyll-never-be-missed/

Peter, A. (1989).  Middle Managers. Institute of Public Administration of Canada. 191.

Stueart, R.D., & Moran, B. B. (2007). Library and information center management (7th ed.). Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Geoffrey , A.(2011). So Satisfying: Leading from the middle in the Coast Guard. The Public Manager, 40(3), 20-25.

Winchell, T. E., Sr. (2011). Distasteful duties: Maintaining order and discipline. The Public Manager, 40(3), 50-54.

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Bazinga!

Click the link below to see this blog as a video!   I would have posted it here, but my video file was too large!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0B7rtK9OqI&feature=youtu.be