Catching Up!!
For many years, we posted articles and updates on a reasonably regular basis. In 2014, I accepted a challenging project to implement a major new ombudsman program for a large, public university. This involved nearly two years of effort to design, implement the program, work to see that the program was integrated into universe of existing university programs, and was, indeed, fully functional. On completing my role with the university and returning to the Rocky Mountain west, I again directed my focus to the consulting services we provide through the Business Excellence Solutions consortium.
The months of Bizexteam Blog silence were definitely not the result of lack of interest or lack of potential content. They were simply due to human resources and time limitations. Meanwhile, I along with my colleagues were busy with lots of challenging work. Here is a sampling of some of my major activities:
- Implementing a major new faculty/staff/student ombuds program for an elite AAU university, developing all of its systems, designing its physical space, and ensuring that the new program was fully integrated into the university and its existing systems.
- Providing detailed organizational recommendations to the University President, some of which were publically cited as support for significant organizational realignments. (The topic of an upcoming post. Meanwhile, here is an article on the topic: (http://projects.registerguard.com/rg/news/local/33933225-75/university-of-oregon-cancels-high-profile-brandingadvertising-contract.html.csp)
- Conducting a major organizational assessment and development work for a United States National Laboratory, resulting in restructuring communication systems and organizational lines of support.
- Serving as an expert source for several significant articles on the ombuds model and on dispute resolution system design. (See, for example, the article at: https://www.higheredjobs.com/Articles/articleDisplay.cfm?ID=1087
- Authoring an article about current issues and challenges to the ombudsman profession in a respected journal, which later formed the basis for a 90-minute symposium at an international meeting of ombudsmen. (You can find the article at: http://journal.calcaucus.com/uploads/3/4/6/5/34659306/journal_final_2016.pdf
- Being elected to serve on the Board of Directors for the International Ombudsman Association (IOA), and currently serving as the Vice President of the IOA.
- Continuing service as the Ombudsman for the International Foundation for Online Responsibility.
While the world of organizational consulting is invariably full of challenges that can, at times, demand all-consuming attention, now that I have regained some free “head space,” I am delighted to share more thoughts and updates in the coming weeks and months.
BJM May 2017