IOA’s 2008 Annual Conference - April 13-16, 2008.
"Making a Difference-The Ombudsman Impact
The Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Boston, MA, USA
Conference Presentation - Materials
SESSION #, SESSION TITLE, SPEAKERS and SESSION ABSTACT:
11:00 – 12:00 noon Plenary Presentation: “The Crystal Ball”
Mary P. Rowe, Ombuds, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Mim Gaetano, Asia Pacific Ombudsman, Mars, Inc., Ballarat, Australia
Thomas A. Kosakowski, Associate Ombudsperson, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Justine Sentenne, Corporate Ombudsman, Hydro Quebec, Montréal, Canada
Sarah Zeigler, Ombudsman, Federal Bureau of Investigation / FBI, Washington, DC
Thomas P. Zgambo, Ombudsman, World Bank Group, Washington, DC
Two important reasons to have an Organizational Ombudsman office are: early identification of "trends"— and
still earlier identification of new problems especially if they may be disruptive to the organization. We asked
Organizational Ombudsmen where they thought new or disruptive problems might arise. This year's panel will
present a compilation of ideas submitted by many Organizational ombudsmen about problems we may
encounter during the next decade.
Speaker Bios:
Mary P. Rowe, Ombuds, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Mary Rowe has been an MIT ombudsman since 1973, and adjunct professor of Negotiation and Conflict
Management at MIT’s Sloan School of Management since 1985. Rowe co-founded the Corporate Ombudsman
Association (which became TOA—The Ombudsman Association—and is now IOA, the International
Ombudsman Association) in 1982. Rowe was a Past President of TOA, was for its lifetime a permanent Board
member, and is a member of several IOA committees. She was the first chair of the Ombudsman Committee of
the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution (SPIDR, now part of ACR). She served on the editorial board
of Negotiation Journal and the Steering Committee of The Program on Negotiation at Harvard. She has helped
establish hundreds of ombuds offices and dozens of conflict management systems, and serves widely as a
consultant to corporations, academic institutions and government agencies and departments.
Mim Gaetano, Asia Pacific / AIME Ombudsman, Mars, Inc., Ballarat, Australia
Appointed Ombudsman 6 years ago. Prior work experience at MARS, Inc. has primarily been procurement in
Commercial, business planning in Finance and quality management in R&D. Mim has a bachelor of science and
is currently halfway through a post graduate diploma in Conflict Resolution. Previous to Mars, Mim worked with
a global cosmetics company looking after the quality and technical affairs for the Asia-Pacific subsidiaries. Born
in Australia of immigrant Italian parents and bilingual (English/Italian).
Thomas A. Kosakowski, Associate Ombudsperson, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Tom Kosakowski is the Ombudsperson for the Center for Health Sciences at the University of California Los
Angeles. He established the Ombuds Office at Claremont Graduate University and served as the interim
Ombudsperson for the University of California at Riverside. Before becoming an ombuds, Tom worked as an
economist, attorney and mediator in Los Angeles. He currently serves on the IOA Legal & Legislative Affairs
Committee and the editorial board of the Journal of IOA. Tom is president-elect of the Occidental College Board
of Governors. Tom also publishes the Ombuds Blog (an independent news source, not related to IOA).
Justine Sentenne, Corporate Ombudsman, Hydro Quebec,Montréal, Canada
Justine Sentenne is the Corporate Ombudsman at Hydro-Québec since 1991. She was a member of the TOA
Board of Directors for two terms and is a founding member and secretary of the FCO (Forum of Canadian
Ombudsman) Board of Directors. Presently, she is a member of the IOA Membership Committee and served on
the NEC Committee of IOA, in 2007. Ms. Sentenne has participated in a number of panels and conferences on
the Ombudsman profession, as well as training sessions, and is often consulted by various organizations in
Quebec and elsewhere in Canada with a view to creating the Ombudsman position. She was a contributor of
the TOA Journal and has written numerous articles on the Ombudsman role.
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IOA’s 2008 Annual Conference - April 13-16, 2008.
"Making a Difference-The Ombudsman Impact
The Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Boston, MA, USA
Conference Presentation - Materials
Sarah Zeigler, Ombudsman, Federal Bureau of Investigation / FBI, Washington, DC
Sarah Zeigler has been an employee of the Federal Bureau of Investigation since 1981, and has served as
Ombudsman for the last 13 of those 27 years. Prior to assuming the position of Ombudsman in 1997, she
served as a Supervisory Employee Relations Specialist in the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility. In
1993, she founded Aegis, which has developed into a highly respected advisory committee that reports issues
of concern and makes recommendations to the Director. She also served as an EEO Counselor prior to
becoming Ombudsman, and she developed Violence in the Workplace policy which became a guide for other
government agencies. She received the prestigious Director’s Award for Ethics in 1993. Mrs. Zeigler’s work
following the events of 9/11/01 has helped the FBI adapt to an ever-changing environment. and it has helped
Mrs. Zeigler grow in her understanding of and appreciation for the challenges that dedicated employees face in
accomplishing the FBI’s critical mission.
Thomas P. Zgambo, Ombudsman, World Bank Group, Washington, DC
Thomas Zgambo is the immediate past President of TOA. He is an Ombudsman at Coca-Cola Enterprises
(CCE). Thomas is also President of the Board of Mediation Works, Inc., a conflict resolution services and
training provider. Before CCE, Thomas spent three years as an Ombudsman and Training Specialist at MIT
where he was also a Senior Lecturer, teaching Negotiation and Conflict Management.
Speaker Materials:
Mim Gaetano, Asia Pacific Ombudsman, Mars, Inc., Ballarat, Australia
Outsourcing
A strategy to lower costs is to outsource activities. Have you noticed a reduction in employee headcount but an
increase in contractor numbers? Given that they are not your employees are you able to provide O services to
them? If you do, how do you “influence” the hiring party? What does this transient (generally speaking) group of
workers do to things like corporate culture, safety, morale of both the contractors and employees, quality etc. Is
it creating a “class” society in your workforce?
The bean-counters in their pin-striped suits would not even consider this be something to spend time discussing.
After all, we are providing these people with paid jobs and what’s more their lower hourly cost and our ability to
ramp up or down their numbers as needed is making our bottom line look better. Isn’t that a great win – win for
all?
Yes the above is true and if we were talking about widgets we could cease the discussion here. However, we
are talking about people and in the majority of cases, these are some of the most vulnerable people in the world.
But heck, that still shouldn’t be an issue should it because all employers and bosses are ethical people who
would dare not use the power they wield in an “abusive” manner.
If only life were this “perfect”!
What do we do as ombudsman in an organisation that has significant numbers of contractors or outsourced
labour? If these people are not allowed utilise a confidential communication channel how will we know if our
company is “doing the right thing” by them? Invariably these people are reluctant to speak up through formal
channles for fear that they will be seen as troublemakers. There is always a long list of others ready to join the
workforce. Even if they did speak up to their hiring company (few of whom would be likely to offer a confidential
channel) about workplace issues, how likely is that the hiring company will raise these issues with your
company? After all, you allocate out the contracts for their services!
Large groups of contractors can result in class type societies developing in the workplace. “No I don’t sweep the
floor around here, the contractors do that”. “I’m an employee because I wear this nice white uniform, the
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IOA’s 2008 Annual Conference - April 13-16, 2008.
"Making a Difference-The Ombudsman Impact
The Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Boston, MA, USA
Conference Presentation - Materials
contractors are over there in blue”. “We get to use the cafeteria and the nice change rooms, the contractors
have to bring their own meals and they have a separate change room”. How does this impact on their morale
and engagement?
Keeping up to date with on the job training can be difficult even if you have a steady workforce. Having a
significant level of contractors, who can be of a temporary tenure, results in very high turnover of people.
Keeping up to date with the required training in this environment is even more difficult. What are the flow-on
effects to product and or service quality, the potential for safety breaches, and the potential for sabotage or
theft?
If you are an ombudsman in such an organisation, do you only report on what you hear via contacts or do you
report on what you see as well? Will you be passive or pro-active? What is your role?
Globalisation
More and more western corporations are moving operations to developing countries to capitalise on lower cost
bases. Do these western corporations have a right to enforce their values and cultures on the society they move
into? Is it possible to have a global "corporate culture" these days and if not how do you manage the
differences? As an ombudsman how do you play the “neutral” card? What is neutral? How do you measure your
effectiveness? Should you be effective in terms of the profession? Or effective in terms of what the CEO wants
back home? Or effective for the people in that particular country and culture? Is my stakeholder myself and my
profession or my company’s values and goals? Should my stakeholder be my visitors and contacts in country
X? Can I do all of these at one time?
Let’s look at a relatively simple example; gender equality and the full spectrum of what me might see in the
world. In most western-based countries these days, overt discrimination based on gender is illegal. At the other
of the spectrum you have countries like Saudia Arabia where it is only recently that some laws are being passed
to allow women to drive (but as long as someone accompanies them). The idea of having females work in an
office or factory is simply not on the agenda. The mid-point of this spectrum could possibly be countries such as
India or Japan where females are readily found in the workplace but are more likely to be in subservient roles.
It is not difficult to see how working as an ombudsman in some of these countries will challenge your way of
thinking, working and will especially challenge your attempts at remaining neutral. If you are not from that
country and do not speak the local language it is even more difficult as an ombudsman. Yes we can use
translators and whilst this is better than nothing it can add to the barriers of being an effective ombudsman.
Is it possible to have a global corporate culture when you operate in such vastly different countries? My
experience says yes it is possible as long as the corporate culture that is being fostered is one that is attractive
to all constituents and that you also respect and integrate, where possible, the local values. It is not easy to
achieve this goal and will take time, patience and perseverance from a committed group of people who want to
develop and foster the global culture, but who are also sensitive to the local culture.
Thomas A. Kosakowski, Associate Ombudsperson, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA / Publisher, The Ombuds Blog
Remedies for Bullying
Due to news and feature stories on bullying, individuals are increasingly aware that bullying creates
victims and affects productivity. In addition, visitors seem to believe that harassment means that their rights
have been affected and that they have a legal remedy. However, institutional policies and laws have not
changed significantly. So many visitors believe they are entitled to relief when none is available. In this
enhanced state of frustration, they are referred to Ombuds, who do their best to assist with an informal
resolution.
Health Care Pressures
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IOA’s 2008 Annual Conference - April 13-16, 2008.
"Making a Difference-The Ombudsman Impact
The Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Boston, MA, USA
Conference Presentation - Materials
Increasing complexity of private and public policies are compounded by financial pressures on the
industry and the overall economic downturn. These effects are mostly impacting administrative and support
employees, and patients. Billing, customer service, and front office functions are becoming more and more
stressed by the bureaucratic constraints. (Having largely worked through a similar crisis a few years ago,
doctors are spared the current dynamic.) The result is growing numbers of complaints from the health care and
insurance area with the focus being on administrative matters rather than quality of care issues.
"Ombuds" as a Multipurpose Title
There are growing number of "ombuds" programs being created that do not fit into either a classical or
organizational model. Several states now have "pool and spa ombuds" that do not seem to have any dispute
resolution or upward feedback function. Some state universities are considering "intellectual diversity ombuds"
to protect viewpoint pluralism. In the past year, several other universities have created ombuds offices that
investigate, supervise and give legal advice. Although many organizations and institutions that get it right, there
are increasing numbers of these malformed and misidentified "ombuds." In one way or another, these noncomplying positions are (or will be perceived to be) non-confidential, biased, formal or agents for their
institutions. This trend dilutes the relevance and credibility of Ombuds (both organizational and classical). So
far, there is no coordinated effort to stem this trend.
Ombuds Taking on Conflicting Duties
Ombuds at several universities have accepted additional responsibilities that compromise their ability to
follow IOA Standards. In most cases, these additional duties protect marginalized populations or fill important
but unserved needs, such as: coordinating campus event observers, identifying LGBT-friendly offices,
administering emergency student relief funds, and conducting formal investigations into allegations of offcampus misconduct. These activities all have worthy objectives and given Ombuds’ empathic tendencies, not
altogether surprising. Unfortunately, these types of additional duties compromise Ombuds’ actual and perceived
neutrality and informality. It is not clear why these duties are being given to Ombuds offices or how the
profession can best respond.
Justine Sentenne, Corporate Ombudsman, Hydro Quebec, Montréal, Canada
Sarah Zeigler, Ombudsman, Federal Bureau of Investigation / FBI, Washington, DC
I canvassed many of the federal sector Ombuds, and they had a lot of interesting thoughts on what they felt
were important issues.
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Creation of an official federal Ombudsman job series
Educating the federal population about the role of the Ombudsman, with special emphasis on educating
federal managers
Developing reporting formats
Sharing best practices
Accreditation and professionalizing the Ombudsman position
Fostering a tighter community of Ombuds/interagency networking
How to incorporate strategic models/thinking into the Ombudsman process
How to adapt to changes in administrations, and how to ensure that the Ombudsman position survives
Economic issues and the impact on the federal workforce
Shift of the federal workforce from hiring high school graduates to targeted recruiting of highly
educated/accomplished individuals
Information Technology - getting the federal government to where it needs to be
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IOA’s 2008 Annual Conference - April 13-16, 2008.
"Making a Difference-The Ombudsman Impact
The Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Boston, MA, USA
Conference Presentation - Materials
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Outsourcing - impact on federal government
Violence in the workplace
Global expansion
Dealing with poor leadership in an organization
How to be proactive
Do politics sometimes trump sound business practices?
Federal employees' feeling a loss of sense of direction, which is tied to a loss of trust in management
Dealing with constant change
Pay banding
Confidentiality: need for exceptions due to federal employees' legal obligations and law enforcement,
intelligence missions
Turf issues with other components of ADR
Federal agencies using business models - how to ensure that leadership understands that there are
distinct differences
"Connecting the dots" in the intelligence arena
Increasing complexity of issues
Increase in numbers of Senior Executive Service employees as visitors to the Ombudsman's Office
What surprised me the most this year was that I saw a marked increase in the number of high level visitors to
my office. I will be discussing what I believe to be the contributing factors and why I think this is a positive
development.
Thomas P. Zgambo, Ombudsman, World Bank Group, Washington, DC
Mary P. Rowe, Ombuds, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
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p1
Crystal Ball 2008
IOA conference—Boston
©2008 Mary Rowe
Identifying New and “Disruptive” Issues
The Crystal Ball began in 1984 when several Organizational
Ombudsmen (OOs) were planning the next conference. We were
discussing the fact that one task for the OO is to identify and surface
“new problems” for the organization. Everyone is familiar with the
idea of identifying “trends” for your annual report—trends are
important—but on the other hand, by the time the OO is reporting a
trend many managers already know about the problem.
We began to look for “new things” and especially for “disruptive” new
things that require an organization to review or change its policies
and procedures and structures. 1984 was a year of fear of AIDS, the
beginning of concern about stalking behavior, and the first reports
about how to provide an equitable work environment for men and
women in the organization who are (devout and secular) Muslims.
(See an Appendix to Effectiveness of Organizational Ombudsmen for
a list of “new issues,” year by year for thirty years, found at
http://web.mit.edu/ombud/publications/index.html)
There has been a Crystal Ball ever since. We provide in this
document a mosaic report from OOs in academe, corporations,
internationals, multi-nationals, government and “other” organizations.
Predictions came in response to requests on the listserv to describe
what OOs may be seeing in the future— encouraging or
discouraging, and whether or not “new.” We include ideas and quotes
from many dozens of OOs around the globe, in this report, and in the
attached reports of the Crystal Ball Panel.
The most common topics in the report below are: abuse and bullying,
and OO effectiveness. Thinking to the future, there may be soon
more legislation about bullying. And many OOs would like more
attention, within IOA, to assessing our value.
p2
NB: New aspects of the Crystal Ball: 1) We received no really
“encouraging” predictions for what we will see in the future. (Next
year we will ask more pointedly about good news.) 2) Many OOs who
wrote for the Crystal Ball this year added a note asking if the IOA
could help with the issue they discussed.
Individual notes for the Crystal Ball are not retained, and, in true OO
fashion, we report “concerns and allegations,” rather than facts.
The Role of the OO
How much systems coordination is in our future? Some OOs are,
by design or by default, the major point of coordination for conflict
resolution in their organizations and find this function to be
challenging. In addition, a number of OOs raised concerns about
there being little coordination among the conflict management
personnel in their organizations. They cited lack of referrals and lack
of understanding, “especially among new managers,” (line managers,
compliance, ethics, HR, formal grievance handlers) about conflict
management options and best practices.
“An OO now needs to get to know every new manager here—
we are the only coordination mechanism in an ever-changing
company.”
“This is so challenging—the need for the Ombuds to recognize
and work with competing—and conflicting—cultures within the
organization.”
One OO suggested that IOA add to the salary survey a question as to
whether each organization has a complaint system and whether OOs
integrate (or do not integrate) with their internal complaint system.
“Are OOs part of a system or really an independent entity?”
Are OOs being asked to take on new functions?
A number of OOs mentioned that they are sometimes expected to
take on new functions, or management responsibilities. An OO cited
news articles:
“Ombuds to Coordinate Impartial Observers.” “Ombuds to Help
Administer Student Relief Funds.”
p3
Several OOs have recently been asked to do exit interviews. Several
have been asked to be public conveners and mediators with group
disputes. Some are being asked to mediate disputes where the
organization itself has important interests at stake—where a senior
manager is at the table, with other disputants.
Organizations all over the world are downsizing, reshaping or moving
processes or services to third party providers. In some cases this
might threaten the OO office; in others, it means more work for the
OO.
“We see an increase in using the Ombuds Office as an Agony
Aunt.”
A number of OOs have, once again, been asked to join or sit in on
“fear of violence” behavioral assessment teams:
“After Virginia Tech our University was prompted (actually it
was a bottom-up initiative starting in our counseling center) to
convene people from around the campus to develop a threat
assessment committee. I was asked to sit on the committee
and have done so for several months. I have had a couple
situations where my role as Ombuds conflicts with the process
of the committee (for example when all commented via e-mail
about a student of concern—the cases usually come up last
minute so sometimes the committee needs to discuss asap)
and sometimes with the content. I feel that my participation on
the committee has been of value and appreciated, as I provide
a very balanced perspective.
“I’m not sure that Ombuds have discussed their role in this
context much and have felt it would be helpful to have a
“manual” for serving on such a committee. What would be the
duties and responsibilities—and one wonders if this is the wave
of the future for all of us (and is it a good thing)?”
Ombuds are, once again, asking about how they express neutrality in
the face of diversity discussions on campus.
“It seems as though more and more special interest groups on
my campus are asking faculty and staff to publicly wear buttons
for special events or days (e.g., National Coming Out Day; This
p4
is What a Feminist Looks Like; I’m an XYZ Supporter), and also
to display support for a specific group of people with a public
display on the door of their offices (e.g., LGBT Ally, Athletic
team schedule poster).
“ I am glad to see some increase in activism and open
involvement on our campus, but I am concerned that the public
display of such material by ombudspersons, while it may send a
positive message to some, sends a potentially negative
message to others; and is at least not very neutrally perceived
by its very design. I have found it to be both an opportunity and
a challenge to explain to people like the director of our LGBT
program that while I am glad to attend ally training and have
referrals from her office, I simply cannot turn away homophobes
who may need my services by openly displaying an LGBT ally
symbol on my office door. I've had a similar conversation with
the director of our Black Student Center (some people come to
see me about reverse racism) and one of the football coaches
(students have come to talk about alleged assaults by student
athletes)”
One OO asked if IOA could convene and disseminate discussion of
Best Practices with respect to practical issues related to their
neutrality.
Will there be a greater need for “local” neutrals?
An OO in a large organization doubted that conflict could be
managed well at a distance (the organization is growing across many
kinds of structural and geographic boundaries) and suggested that
their future conflict management system should include local,
impartial, confidential conflict specialists who liaise with the OO office.
This OO asked:
“What should be the nature of these local conflict resolvers, and
should the OO office have a formal role with respect to them or
do they only report to the local unit head?”
Will OOs need access to outside experts? One OO cited the need
in complex cases for “Subject Matter Experts” for certain kinds of
arcane problems; another suggested that an OO office might
occasionally need a budget to hire an outside consultant.
p5
What happens to OOs with unions in decline? Several OOs
outside the US discussed the future for OOs in countries where labor
unions are losing strength, suggesting that there may be increasing
demand for OO offices in such countries and also that management
may try to “use” or co-opt these OO offices.
Will OOs be dealing more with various outsiders?
Should an OO deal with people who are outside the organization?
“I have found that I am getting more initial contacts from
parents of students and an occasional grandparent. Perhaps it
supports the argument that "helicopter parents" are more
common. The term is fairly new to me—parents who
continuously hover over their kids. I also found a couple of brief
articles referring to similar problems for HR in business
settings.”
Outside complainants were mentioned by a number of OOs. Various
OOs reported that donors, vendors, major customers, politicians, a
former CEO and other “outsiders” have called them, and several OOs
noted that a former employee whistleblower had called.
How to evaluate OOs and communicate that value? There were
several dozen notes about value and effectiveness, and
communications about the value of an OO office.
“In Europe, there is increased need to raise the awareness of
the added value to the organisation of the office of the
ombuds.”
“How should I discuss my value? In parts of
Asia things are different than in the US.I need an Asia-based
discussion of these issues.”
There appears to be little agreement among OOs about evaluation.
Various surveys and discussions suggest that only a minority of OOs
attempt a measurement of cost effectiveness. However many OOs
can easily indicate the areas where they believe 1) that they add
value and 2) they are seen to add value to their stakeholders. (Some
OOs wrote emails about these issues separately: assessing
effectiveness and value, and communicating about their value.)
p6
One set of views belongs to those who identify themselves first as a
member of the OO profession. They may say that their first obligation
is to function scrupulously according to Standards of Practice. One
OO quoted UCOA Ethics: “Justice is pre-eminent.”
Others feel their first obligation is to serve the employer and to be
seen by senior managers to be doing so. Others work to balance their
obligations.
“To me assessment depends on who we think we are serving. I
owe my first loyalty to my boss, the CEO. OK so I am not a
pure neutral. I serve the interests of the organization, first if
necessary.”
“I believe the organizational leadership is "a", not "the"
stakeholder. I consider what the interests of the leadership
would be in a situation and evaluate that with the risk and
benefit of making them (somehow) aware of a problem if I think
(yes, making a value judgment which in and of itself is not
neutral) they might want to know and do something about. If I
worry too much about what "they" will think, or want to know at
any price, or because I fear I may lose my job if I don't do what
they want me do, I will not be neutral, or respectful of the
individuals involved in the problem. Sometimes there are no
good choices — just the possibility of selecting among a variety
of so-so choices, some of which will be less bad (from some
perspectives) than others. For me, I will usually opt to respect
the individual at the expense of the leadership if there appears
to be no way to balance the needs of both (unless imminent
risk, etc.).”
Some OOs find it hard to evaluate the OO apart from the
organization’s conflict management system, suggesting that it would
be improper to take credit for the work of a team.
Several mentioned the methodological problems of evaluation by
multiple stakeholders:
Some of my stakeholders value my listening; others value my
saving them money; and others—I cost them money for
remedies sometimes, but they put up with me. Still others think
p7
I do a good job of preventing problems—but how could this be
assessed scientifically?”
Two notes wryly (and perhaps not totally seriously) discussed the
singular importance to their employers of risk management, for
example with respect to the US Sentencing Guidelines—these OOs
see themselves mainly as filling an organizational need for a
confidential reporting channel:
“It does not matter really how we do; we just have to exist. How
would you evaluate this?”
Some OOs wrote that trying to measure intangibles is a kind of US
hubris, or, worse, a US failing about putting all values into financial
terms. Some just think it is methodologically difficult to measure
intangibles.
“The value of the OO office is easy to put into words—trust, for
example—but pretty hard to measure scientifically.”
Others believe that OO offices will not long survive without better
metrics.
“If we cannot measure intangibles, we should just forget about
them. My boss deals in metrics, and money. Money matters.”
One writer suggested that IOA recommend that OO offices be
evaluated over a two or three year time period and always across a
number of different parameters, “including the value of
recommendations for systems change.” The note cited with approval
Frank Fowlie’s description of a “multi-pronged, multi-faceted
approach to truly reflect the complexity of Ombudsman activities….
(with) evaluation information … from a variety of sources.”
This writer called for an IOA-wide discussion, for ideas as to how to
get objectivity into assessments without compromising confidentiality.
This writer criticized—as non-neutral, and possibly not independent—
the use of any one assessment that could be interpreted to mean that
the OO office valued (only) “visitor satisfaction” or “the employer” as
the most important stakeholder:
“Our purpose is not just the satisfaction of our visitors—and it is
not just the corporation’s bottom line—although both of these
ideas might be included among many other ideas. And the
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challenge is not just to assess our effectiveness but to learn
how to communicate our effectiveness to all or most
stakeholders.”
Several OOs suggested that the IOA Board mandate a major effort to
understand the issues of evaluating ombuds offices and try to require
response from every office. One OO thought this requirement should
be included in the membership renewal or application and another
asked to include this in the salary survey.
“Our offices vary so much across the world and across
different cultures and different missions. IOA could require
every member to respond to a questionnaire about value and
about evaluations. We need to know what every practicing OO
thinks about incorporating the ideas of measuring and
communicating effectiveness into Standards of Practice and we
should collect ideas how this should be done.”
Ought IOA provide consultative resources? Long ago there was a
proposal for PRESTO to be a benefit from IOA membership:
Professional Resources for Emergency Support to Ombuds.
The idea surfaced again this year:
“We need consistently to remind our membership of the
availability of support via the newsletter and other means, and
to encourage OOs to use the service when needed. This could
go a long way toward reducing potentially messy and costly
lawsuits as well as helping ombuds remain aware of and utilize
best practices. It is humane. It is educational and promotes
professional growth. It helps avoid embarrassment to the
ombuds profession. It is stress relieving. It is a volunteer
opportunity. It is a valuable membership benefit. It is
confidential (as separate from the listserv), informal and nonjudgmental. It is a safety precaution.”
Diversity Issues
Race, color and culture. Many OOs wrote about race and culture.
Several suggested that race is the central “future issue” for this
century. One OO was interested in the idea of collecting “one best
practice” from each organization that is dealing with racial issues.
p9
Writers on this topic were eager for new ideas, and eager for ways of
assessing effectiveness of race-related programming.
OOs described race-related issues new to them, including intraminority disputes that are not well understood by majority managers,
and majority-minority re-configurations:
“I have recently experienced more concerns about the historic
minority group becoming the majority group and abusing its
power. So a department will become 75% Latino, 10%
Caucasian, 5% Asian and 5% African American and 5% Other,
and a new minority group will complain that the Latinos are
"sticking together" and abusing the minority. (This situation
occurs most often with Latinos but also includes Asian
populations against non-Asians and/or one type of Asian
population (Filipinos) against another Asian group
(Vietnamese).”
Gender. The most common comments about gender were about
continued sexual harassment and assault and sexual orientation.
Gender was also mentioned frequently in conjunction with religion—
the mix of these topics is not new but sure to come to OOs these
coming years.
Religious questions. A substantial number of OOs suggested that
religious questions of many kinds will be more important to our work
this coming decade.
“Our women professionals and managers cannot travel freely in
parts of the Mid-east.”
“We are seeing many frictions between secular and
fundamentalist Muslims, for example in the Muslim Student
Association and also among employees. Many concerns are
about gender.”
“What are other organizations doing about head scarves and
women who are covered?”
“Issues about Islam are illuminating our inconsistent practices
about faith-based practices, including holidays and de facto
holidays like Good Friday, and time to pray.”
p10
“I see a lot of overt and covert religious proselytizing. All OOs
should see Constantine’s Sword. People say look at the Air
Force—it is not just the Air Force.”
“Our new COO is a fundamentalist who hires his own. We are a
public company”.
“Is anyone else seeing problems where your organization or
university wants to send someone into a certain country or
area, and people of a certain gender or race or religion or
sexual orientation cannot work there safely or comfortably
because of religious laws or ideology?”
Other forms of diversity. OOs wrote of class differences,
employees and students below the poverty line, those who think only
about science and have no social skills, single employees and those
with families, the 25% who do not drink at all and are offended by
drinking at work and at school, geographic differences, contract
employees vs. those with more permanent jobs, political and
ideological conflicts, smokers and non-smokers. There were many
comments about generational gaps.
“Ombuds must identify and work with all the conflicting cultures
within the organization.”
The Internet
The web becomes a stronger force.
“A law student applied for an assistantship in a campus office.
His qualifications and interview resulted in his being the
preferred candidate for the position. When the hiring office
director "googled" his name—in lieu of a formal and expensive
background check—the hits included the student's Facebook
page. This page included two posts displayed by other law
students available for public viewing. One had extensive use of
profanity and disrespectful comments toward women. The
other included reference to the fun the writer and the candidate
had when they made a recent visit to ‘Midnight Auto Supply’ to
procure a needed part for the friend's car.”
p11
“Managing and protecting electronic communications are
increasingly difficult with FAX machines as well as email. If you
do not stand in line to collect your receipt maybe someone else
will do so. This could get all of us into trouble.”
“We have been asked for all our email to and from a particular
visitor.”
“There is clearly a national trend in university data bank
leakages (breaches?). Whether it's due to hackers, undeleted
drives, misplaced laptops or discs, unethical or bribed
employees, or programming errors that allow folks without the
right passwords to access data bases, this increase is only
going to increase as the use of electronic databases increases.
There will inevitably be an increase in cases for
ombudspersons related to folks whose privacy has been
compromised, as well as those who were (or are being held)
responsible for the breaches.”
“JuicyRumor and JuicyCampus are bringing equality to internet
abuse. It used to be that people who posted on Facebook
risked their reputations. Now anyone can smear anyone else
anonymously. In addition, photos can be doctored. IOA could
highlight anonymous attacks. Be sure that all OOs know about
this, please?”
What will happen with private use of computers?
Does your organization or will your organization ban use of the
Internet that is not work-related? One OO quoted this memo:
“The proposal to ban non-official traffic from the network is
intended to increase the network’s security and stability by
reducing malicious software code.”
How will internet complaints affect us?
“I'm seeing an increase in the use of the Internet as a tool to be
heard. Sometimes one, two or three people sending incessant
e-mails to multiple receivers create the facade of a huge
problem. It grabs attention.”
p12
“I'm seeing more threats of "going public," going to the press,
starting an internet campaign if my visitors are not heard and
their demands not met.”
“I hear frequent rumors of illicit and even doctored cell-phone
videos making the rounds.”
Changes in Case Configuration
Several OOs find their caseload changing. Several OOs note that
they are seeing more complexity.
“I'm experiencing an increase in the number of managers
turning to the OO office for help for themselves.”
“The ratio of managers and employees is quite different now
than when I started—many more managers.”
“Multi-issue, multi-party, cross-jurisdictional concerns—very
difficult where we have different compliance offices for different
issues, and different sets of rules and regulations, including
different formal processes.”
An OO notes that cross-cohort concerns are especially difficult for
complaint systems to handle where there are many different rules for
different members of their organization. Another notes the
complexities:
“Where protagonists are in different countries, with different
cultures and legal systems and rules, —and with completely
different expectations about subjects like apologies.”
Fear of Violence
Should we be more attentive—but maybe less “sensitive”—about
violence in the organization and is this possible?
“I have seen a surge in the number of students and parents
who express (as their primary concern) fear about personal
safety. The conduct leading to these concerns is no different
than it ever was; what have changed are inferences drawn from
this behavior. So in years past, a parent might say ‘My
p13
daughter’s roommate stole my daughter’s shoes . . . shouldn’t
the residence hall staff try to get the shoes returned?’ Now what
I’m seeing is something like, ‘My daughter’s roommate stole my
daughter’s shoes... what kind of a psycho would steal shoes?
Who knows what else she’s capable of? She could be
dangerous. Shouldn’t you people be doing something to
protect my daughter?’”
“I have continued to see an increase in over-reactions to
nonconformist behavior on the part of students. As someone
who is visibly nonconformist myself, this is of personal concern
as well (smile).”
“Since the Virginia Tech incident it seems that some faculty,
staff, students, family members, and visitors to the campus are
being overly sensitive to behavior that is merely outré and not
really dangerous. Too often (IMHO) instead of hearing a plea
that someone "needs help" as before, I'm hearing demands that
someone be removed from our community due to potential
danger. I haven't seen this problem evidenced as much by
police and other professionals as I have by those not as
involved in emergency situations by nature of their role here.”
“My institution has seen a huge increase in the number of
students who have withdrawn for psychological and emotional
reasons. This is conjecture, but I think our students and their
parents have become very sensitive to and concerned about
students who are experiencing the kind of emotional distress
that was until recently seen as a fairly normal (if unpleasant)
aspect of high-achieving students. People, I think are
“connecting dots” between unusual behaviors and stressed out
behavior and violence. We are all guessing this is a direct result
of Virginia Tech. But of course that too is conjecture at this
point.”
“I understand that tragedies like Virginia Tech lead institutions
to fear liability and to implement steps that will prove ‘due
diligence’. You can’t blame administrators for trying to protect
their institution. I am worried that people may instinctively try to
lower the bar on tolerance for weird behavior. I think people
p14
should be allowed to be weird without having to worry about
being investigated by the authorities. I am pleased to say that I
think my own institution is being level headed about this. We
do an outstanding job of responding reasonably and effectively
to people with emotional problems and I have every confidence
that it would not implement any new policies or procedures as a
knee jerk reaction. I do worry what other institutions are up to,
however.”
“The one ‘new’ trend I have seen this year occurred in the
aftermath of the Virginia Tech tragedy, where suddenly many
offices on our campus became almost paranoid and started
questioning the words and actions of any student or staff
member that were slightly out of mainstream. It caused a wave
of fear to come across our campus at least initially, and seemed
to almost infringe upon the self-expression of individuals. In the
past, staff and faculty have seemed to respond to "problematic
students" by offering to help - whereas now they seem to want
to know how others (besides themselves) are going to
help...once again out of fear.”
“Death threats …we are hearing more cases of apparently
serious threats.”
“I have been asked to transmit anonymous information, which,
if true, suggests someone in the organization might be
attempting to organize violence.”
“Is any other OO concerned about possible terrorism? IOA
should discuss this.”
“So far this year, two people in different countries have reported
possible plans for sabotage.”
“Is anyone else hearing stories about behavior that might be
thought to indicate sabotage or organized criminal behavior
within the organization?”
“I am very concerned about how the US is making enemies—
making our employees here less safe.”
p15
Intellectual Property
“The meaning of authorship is being diminished by the use of
co-co-co first authors.”
“Our institution used to have strong customs about intellectual
property. Now we see fights over different rules where there are
several different sources of funds (private sponsors, Federal
government, another government).”
“If a professor is found to have assaulted a student who then
leaves the lab, does the student have to negotiate with the
professor when he is ready to publish—and negotiate IP with
someone against whom he has brought criminal charges?”
Fraud, Conflicts of Interest, Deceit
“The “temptation” to fill in patient reports with exaggerations of
time spent and procedures done in order to be able to bill more
and appear to be doing more in less time…may have further
implications than getting a higher bonus. Since patients are not
asked to sign these reports, if they want to complain or “sue” for
unhappiness with they way they were treated, these “records”
may state “facts” which may never have happened but will be
hard to disprove.
“In an effort to solve the problem of mean attendings giving
negative evaluations to interns and residents, some places are
now asking that interns and residents evaluate their attendings.
The unintended result is that some attendings (even, perhaps,
good ones) will now not be truthful, because they are afraid a
“truthful” evaluation could anger the interns and residents
whose evaluations of them may hamper their career growth.”
“I have seen more than the average number of cases of
plagiarism. What is a source of wonder is that so many people
say that they had no idea that “this little bit of copying” is
serious. Or that they ran out of time and that was the reason.”
p16
“Conflicts of interest and outright lying and deceit are more
common by far.”
“Whatever happened to rules against sleeping with your
supervisee?”
What is Happening to Our Values?
Bullying. Dozens of OOs wrote about unacceptable behavior, using
terms like bullying, mobbing, arrogance, self-aggrandizement, greed,
egregious incivility, sustained mistreatment, meanness, supervisory
abuse, emotional assault, harassment, vicious behavior, riding
roughshod, cruelty, gross puffery, and all-round neglect of reasonable
norms of behavior. One OO used the term sadism. Bullying in all its
forms was the subject most frequently mentioned in Crystal ball
comments.
Change, and values. Many OOs wrote about changes in the
organization, changes in the world, and changing values.
“I see a need and lack of ability of, organizations to handle the
increasing rate of change both internally and externally.”
“There is absence or less focus, in terms of importance, on
values by our organizations.”
“While preparing my last report the issue of abuse/
mistreatment/ bullying came up in close to 40% of the issues
raised by employees. This seems to be the bread and butter of
my work nowadays. There are interesting advancements in the
legislative area.”
“It is the financial world situation that is now driving change (not
any concern for people).”
“I am currently dealing with a corporate issue that is causing a
great deal of disturbance. The company is for sale and each of
the employees average nearly 22 years on the job. The anxious
employees wonder what will happen:
1) Will the company be relocated?
p17
2) Will the accumulated benefits be taken away? 3) Will they
lose all seniority?
4) Will they have a job?”
“The now nearly decade-long decrease in state funding in the
case of many public institutions has caused a variety of
changes in our cultures and in our case loads, many of which
are yet to be fully evidenced but are nonetheless predictable.
A. Students and parents continue to see us as a "business"
concerned first and foremost with collecting their money rather
than providing them with an education. As a result, they expect
the treatment they would receive as consumers in the private
sector. Two small examples angrily stated by a student, ‘Show
me another business where I have to pay to park!’ and ‘I don't
have to wait in line at the counter at my bank this long.’
B. As resources become more scarce, units that generate
direct revenue feel they should be able to keep it for
themselves and not have it "stolen" from them to support offices
and departments (like the ombudsperson's office) who do not
generate direct revenue. This can result in more
interdepartmental rivalry and resentment and less feeling of
community.
C. As presidents and chancellors spend more time away
from campus (physically and conceptually) to raise funds, vice
presidents can behave with latitude not previously available to
them. This in turn can lead to partnerships among them that
exclude other vice presidents and contribute to decline of
community as described in B, and also enable any of them who
might have a tendency to behave in an inappropriate manner to
do so more easily.”
“Managers here are simply not responding when I bring them a
serious concern. They do not want to hear from me. They do
not want real reports.”
“We have seen a change in our organization with the new
generation of employees being hired who do not like the word
"NO". An organization must change its managerial skills to
handle this new generation of employees.”
p18
“I still think living in this society with war as a constant backdrop
raises issues for all of us to be concerned with. In addition, I
read about the increased numbers of suicides by vets last year
and the very difficult issue of how to address the cause of
hopelessness. What does it also say about the culture we live
in that allows us to separate the war from our daily lives?”
Fair Process Concerns
“(In my institution) I hear a desire for an advocate service for
staff or faculty who are entering a formal grievance process.
We have this service for students who are in conduct situations.
Where should this service be administered – from HR?
Someplace else?”
“Fear of retribution continues to plague individuals (especially
staff) who bring issues to my office. I’m looking for creative
strategies for helping the university and individuals with this
concern.”
“A significant number of people here would not dream of
making a complaint, about any kind of wrong-doing. They suffer
and they leave.”
“I have heard more about retaliation, real retaliation and fear of
retaliation in the last two years than ever before. This is a form
of intimidation and harassment that destroys any pretense at
due process—it needs to be highlighted—I would like to know
how to do it. I would not be a bit surprised if someone hurt one
of our bad actors. If I could turn a light on retaliation here it
would be the most important achievement of my professional
life as an ombudsman. Please ask IOA to take up this topic.”