I have included brief descriptions and links to organisations which have provided rich mines of completely accessible research data which have proven useful to me over the last two to three months. I feel it is reciprocal and considerate to provide links to these organisations in a modest attempt at reinforcing the formation of opinions as an individualistic and at times monotonous exercise in comparative analysis.
Paul Simon: I Know What I Know
She looked me over
And I guess she thought I was all right
All right in a sort of a limited way
For an off-night
She said don't I know you
From the cinematographers party?
I said who am I to blow against the wind
I know what I know
I'll sing what I said
We come and we go
That's a thing that I keep
In the back of my head
She said there's something about you
That really reminds me of money
She is the kind of a girl
Who could say things that
Weren't that funny
I said what does that mean
I really remind you of money?
She said who am I
To blow against the wind
I know what I know
I'll sing what I said
We come and we go
That's a thing that I keep
In the back of my head
She moved so easily
All I could think of was sunlight
I said aren't you the women
Who was recently given a fulbright?
She said don't I know you
From the cinematographers party?
I said who am I
To blow against the wind
I know what I know
I'll sing what I said
We come and we go
That's a thing that I keep
In the back of my head
However it is an exercise which rewards with collaborative insights into the strengths of implementing cross-functional learning in one's search for trends and uncertainty data relevant to scenarios, forecasting and general seer-sifting perhaps irresepective of discipline. While Public Administration may often appear to be attempting to manage more with less for example it is not particularly dissimilar to the purposes and trends in data and information assimilations currently available to readers worldwide in wide ranging disciplines. Before one would seek to defend or provoke any positions one should seriously explore all opinions, and views or beliefs as far as possible to satisfy a quotient of the enquiring mind which does not easily rest in smugly attained or information starved resource management. The world's libraries appear quite open from such a perspective. Note one may read and study in any of them regardless of their perceived usefulness of competitive statures.
However cross-functionality should be extended in terminological understanding of the concept to perhaps include that regardless of position one should seek to be responsible to the resources available and seek to understand the potentialities and benefits of learning. This is regardless of the costs and the perceived values of such accomplishment but quite simply to honourably address the great epic of human advancement. There is joy in learning. But in life there is also joy in living. Both are precious gifts. As Mahatma Gandhi may be quoted, " You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
"Cross-functionality is the idea that members from different departments of a unit or organization form teams, bringing a variety of talents and resources to bear on the accomplishment of the overall mission of the unit or organization (Proehl, 1997). This method has proven positive results within AT&T and Hewlett Packard (Jayaram & Ahire, 1998). It also has application to PA in two ways: 1) Cross-functionality can be applied to the relationship between PA and other organizations within a command; and 2) it can be applied within the PA organization itself — this is the idea behind the three-pronged approach.
Cross-functional teams consist of people who serve in different departments or perform different functions within the organization (Wellins, et al., 1994). Some companies establish permanent and temporary cross-functional teams. The permanent teams work on issues companies face on a routine basis, while temporary teams are formed to handle special projects such as implementing new procedures, reorganizing procedures and processes, or solving unexpected problems.
By their nature, cross-functional teams offer members opportunities to receive training and experience outside their areas of expertise in order to meet the goals of the team (Wellins, et al., 1994). This has several benefits including team flexibility, understanding among the functional areas of how the others work, and an increased sense of ownership and pride among team members. "(The University of Oklahoma, The Planning Wizard: A Model for Strategic Public Affairs Planning and Execution, USA) [Accessed: April 11, 2007]
http://www.ou.edu/deptcomm/dodjcc/groups/02A2/literature_review.html
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