I am currently employed with the County of El Paso.
Specifically, I work for the District Clerk’s office in the Criminal Section
assigned to the 243rd District Court. I am a long way from the top. Due to their
size, government organizations are not usually to decide on organizational
structures. The structure is decided for them. There is a bureaucratic vertical
information linkage structure. Within
the District Clerk’s office the chain of command is as follows:
Each supervisor also has an assistant supervisor, and then
the employees are under that. As you can see in the illustration above there is
a really long chain of command. With an organization model like this it is hard
to be on point with employee needs. There is often a disconnect between
employees such as myself and management. I have an office on the 9th
floor while the main office is on the 1st floor. More often than not
I feel as though I am a part of the Judge’s staff as opposed to the District
Clerk’s office. In order to get the
daily business done, a bureaucratic approach is necessary. However, in order to
meet the needs of employees another approach needs to be applied in addition to
the current model.
One thing that needs to be applied is cross-training. Many
times I cannot help customers because I am not trained in that department. I am
a criminal clerk so all my knowledge has to do with felonies. I cannot help
with any of the other departments. If I were able to help with civil for
instance, I could assist them when my court was slow in turn alleviating stress
from those clerks.
The amount of managers one has to report to is often very
intimidating. The higher the manager the more you fear them. It is not often
that employees will offer ideas or input for fear of rejection. In addition,
creativity is not encouraged at all. For example, every year the office is
decorated for Halloween yet, the decoration themes are selected by upper management
with no input from employees. However, we are expected to participate by
contributing time or money and by dressing up.
While this situation is not ideal,
it works for the employees. The position of District Clerk is an elected
position and elections are held every four years. New organizational models are
implemented every time a new person is elected to the position. As a result,
employees grow accustomed to the changing environments. Organizational design
is not meant for governmental agencies although one of the various models would
be a welcome change.
Melinda,
ReplyDeleteFrom what you write and from the org chart you provided, if I had to pin a specific organizational structure on El Paso's government office, I would say it falls into the divisional model...with a very steep vertical hierarchy! That might account for the feeling of isolation from other departments. Sounds like there's a lack of cross-functional collaboration because everyone's a bit paranoid about sharing resources and information. What a shame!
I hope that with the next election you get a District Clerk that really cares about improving the situation.
Kerry
Exactly. The sad thing Kerry is that this official wanted to improve on the previous official's mistakes. El Paso is full of public corruption and the previous District Clerk is serving time in federal prison for charges related to corruption charges. The current clerk wanted to improve employee morale but really it hasn't happened. If anything, morale was better with previous official.
ReplyDeleteMelinda, interesting case. I can't say I have too much history in court :-), but my impression is that most court systems could be far more efficient. While I'm sure that El Paso has it's own unique issues, why might court systems in general be so inefficient? What are some of the environmental constraints to change?
ReplyDeleteHi Melinda,
ReplyDeleteYour job sounds interesting! I can't imagine hearing about crimes on a daily basis. What mad me feel bad for you was your comment about fearing the managers that were high above you. I can relate, although it was a long time ago. Upper management at my organization is very friendly and easy to talk to. At our last national convention, the President of Avon North America was standing at the entrance to the ballroom and greeted the employees with a kiss on the cheek and a hug as we entered. It is an amazing feeling to work for a man I have a great deal of respect for. Our CEO, Sheri McCoy, is also very easy to talk with. She was just listed as one of the most powerful woman in business. If you met her in person, you would never know she held the CEO position for a global organization. Upper management should make you feel comfortable when in their presence. Don't forget they had to start somewhere too and work they way to the top!
I especially like the visual you included in your organizational description. I find those charts very easy to understand. Does your organization share the structural chart with all employees? Every time there is a change at my company, all associates are e-mailed a copy of the new organizational chart. I often refer to the chart to see how the structure flows and who has to report to whom.
I enjoyed your blog!
Jacqueline
It is very interesting Jacqueline! It's also very educational. Yeah management needs to work on their skills a little bit. I actually made the organizational chart myself. I haven't seen one passed around the office. With the high turnover though they would probably need to update it constantly though.
DeleteHi Brad!
ReplyDeleteIt's not specifically the court system but rather the actual District Clerk's office. In our county, the District Clerk's office handles felony records, divorces, passports, adoptions, attorney general information and civil matters. The possibility of a new head official every four years is tough to work with. Each official comes in with their own way of doing things so employees must be flexible.
I think one of the things that is keeping our office from flowing correctly is the separation between employees and upper management. There needs to be more communication between all levels.
As for court systems being inefficient, there is just so much going on all at once. Currently the court has over 500 open cases and we get new indictments every day. With so much information and only a few of us working on it, things can sometimes fall through the cracks.
I think any organization with an elected official is going to have a hard time remaining consistent. There is such a high turn over rate that it is tough trying to keep a steady flow.