Hear no, Speak no, See no
Backhoe mistake causes gas blast
Is it no surprise?
The water outage in Westwood, the Sylmar intertie, the retaliation complaints at CENR, and now a major outage, the pattern should be obvious. We think all these things are new and unrelated. These things are symptomatic of poor management and a culture that is in denial, closed to communication, hostile toward criticism, and blaming of its employees.
This is not to say that if there was a new manager in there a week ago that this latest catastrophe would not have happened. Culture does not turn on a dime. It has had a good many years to brew. What is happening is that DWP Mayoral appointments and organizational changes are taking their toll. 1) the culture is no longer empowered. 2) management is not stable enough to withstand criticism. Consequently, employees who are aware of the situation find it best to remain uninquisitive and quiet in this type of an environment. Best for them to serve as drones – loyal minions. “I didn’t know.” “I wasn’t told.” “It was not my responsibility.” Be quiet, do what you’re told, and hope the blame does not get them.
In this environment, no one dares risk a decision or take responsibility. In effect, it reduces the decision-making and productivity to one person, Deaton. Deaton is no leader. You'd think the most powerful highest paid city manager could do better than,"I'll get back to you." He will look into it and find an answer, human error – no doubt anybody but himself or the current oligarchy. Maybe even spring for a consultant or a blue ribbon committee. And at the next level we have in musical chair number two, an expired engineer, Enrique Martinez, and two (should be) retired attorneys, Thomas Hokinson and Hal Lindsey – well equipped to argue, defend their positions, tag individuals like the ones in LA Weekly, and to work the personnel patronage system (spoils), but again ill-equipped to lead.
The DWP is a very complex and integrated organization. Much of it created in a different environment and in a different era. Just as New Orleans claims that most of the pumps are not replaceable, the situation is quite the same. Many of DWP generators were built a long time ago. DWP has let go engineers and shops craft persons without passing on information. Buying and contracting out much of the expertise. What that means is that the inhouse deep understanding and familiarity is no longer available. And of course system and quality of service is likewise diminished.
Much of the motivation for maintaining system quality is based upon ownership. The concept is one of the underlying tenets of Civil Service. Entitlement – if one owns his or her job than he or she is motivated to act in good faith in the best interests of the public. With the cronyism of late, those motivational factors are refocused on a bigger prize – the next promotion a choice appointment. And with the number of carpetbaggers of late getting their spoils and further undermining the merit system, no one in their right mind is going to speak up about a latent problem or a fault that may not happen.
Even Local 18, which has benefited richly from the influence of late at the expense of those they represent, has let system important crafts, etc. go without passing on system-critical craft information. The advantages for turning a blind eye should not be.
People who speak up are labeled “chicken little” by the current management. The sky is not falling. Aren't we just making a mistake allowing these ne’er-do-wells continue in their positions? It seems we could have much better leadership.
Short of that in the near term, protecting whistle-blowers, people that have spoken up about system problems, is a critical step to culture change and ensuring that we (the citizens of Los Angeles) get some transparency on how the system is performing.
Is it no surprise?
The water outage in Westwood, the Sylmar intertie, the retaliation complaints at CENR, and now a major outage, the pattern should be obvious. We think all these things are new and unrelated. These things are symptomatic of poor management and a culture that is in denial, closed to communication, hostile toward criticism, and blaming of its employees.
This is not to say that if there was a new manager in there a week ago that this latest catastrophe would not have happened. Culture does not turn on a dime. It has had a good many years to brew. What is happening is that DWP Mayoral appointments and organizational changes are taking their toll. 1) the culture is no longer empowered. 2) management is not stable enough to withstand criticism. Consequently, employees who are aware of the situation find it best to remain uninquisitive and quiet in this type of an environment. Best for them to serve as drones – loyal minions. “I didn’t know.” “I wasn’t told.” “It was not my responsibility.” Be quiet, do what you’re told, and hope the blame does not get them.
In this environment, no one dares risk a decision or take responsibility. In effect, it reduces the decision-making and productivity to one person, Deaton. Deaton is no leader. You'd think the most powerful highest paid city manager could do better than,"I'll get back to you." He will look into it and find an answer, human error – no doubt anybody but himself or the current oligarchy. Maybe even spring for a consultant or a blue ribbon committee. And at the next level we have in musical chair number two, an expired engineer, Enrique Martinez, and two (should be) retired attorneys, Thomas Hokinson and Hal Lindsey – well equipped to argue, defend their positions, tag individuals like the ones in LA Weekly, and to work the personnel patronage system (spoils), but again ill-equipped to lead.
The DWP is a very complex and integrated organization. Much of it created in a different environment and in a different era. Just as New Orleans claims that most of the pumps are not replaceable, the situation is quite the same. Many of DWP generators were built a long time ago. DWP has let go engineers and shops craft persons without passing on information. Buying and contracting out much of the expertise. What that means is that the inhouse deep understanding and familiarity is no longer available. And of course system and quality of service is likewise diminished.
Much of the motivation for maintaining system quality is based upon ownership. The concept is one of the underlying tenets of Civil Service. Entitlement – if one owns his or her job than he or she is motivated to act in good faith in the best interests of the public. With the cronyism of late, those motivational factors are refocused on a bigger prize – the next promotion a choice appointment. And with the number of carpetbaggers of late getting their spoils and further undermining the merit system, no one in their right mind is going to speak up about a latent problem or a fault that may not happen.
Even Local 18, which has benefited richly from the influence of late at the expense of those they represent, has let system important crafts, etc. go without passing on system-critical craft information. The advantages for turning a blind eye should not be.
People who speak up are labeled “chicken little” by the current management. The sky is not falling. Aren't we just making a mistake allowing these ne’er-do-wells continue in their positions? It seems we could have much better leadership.
Short of that in the near term, protecting whistle-blowers, people that have spoken up about system problems, is a critical step to culture change and ensuring that we (the citizens of Los Angeles) get some transparency on how the system is performing.
posted by The Gadfly at 10:05 PM
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