CAP Members' Input Sought on Corporate Governance

[RiverAux]

Especially since NHQ was specifically seeking everybody's input.

[coudano]

Well, I see it this way:

1.  generally speaking, the folks who have been around a little longer and done something other than just gotten railroad tracks for being a CFI, PROBABLY have a little more interest and stake in the question than, for example, my brand new SMWOG, who has been in for 5 months, hasn't seen ANY of CAP outside of a local Tuesday meeting, and has their plate more than full just trying to get oriented and get their arms around the job they have taken.

2.  the email push was sent to those indicated, but it specifically said that "any member is allowed to participate" and to forward it freely to interested parties.  in no way shape or form are we discouraging people from participating here.


Naturally, we aren't giving any indication whatsoever to anyone, about WHAT input to give, or which way to slant feedback.  Merely making them aware of the opportunity.

[JeffDG]

just sent link to all Wing members through wing list server...

we spammed senior members with level 3 and at least 5 years

That's an excellent way to ensure a "selection bias" for "status quo"

In this particular LVL3/5 year member's case I'm against the status quo.

I don't normally put a lot of stock in n=1 sample sizes.  Someone who's invested the time and effort to get to level 3 and put five years of their life in has invested in the SQ, and is less likely (not impossible, but less likely) to want to see significant change.

[JeffDG]

Well, I see it this way:

1.  generally speaking, the folks who have been around a little longer and done something other than just gotten railroad tracks for being a CFI, PROBABLY have a little more interest and stake in the question than, for example, my brand new SMWOG, who has been in for 5 months, hasn't seen ANY of CAP outside of a local Tuesday meeting, and has their plate more than full just trying to get oriented and get their arms around the job they have taken.

2.  the email push was sent to those indicated, but it specifically said that "any member is allowed to participate" and to forward it freely to interested parties.  in no way shape or form are we discouraging people from participating here.


Naturally, we aren't giving any indication whatsoever to anyone, about WHAT input to give, or which way to slant feedback.  Merely making them aware of the opportunity.

But that brand new SMWOG is far less likely to have been "captured by the system" and have an ingrained stake in the current system.  He/she may well have excellent ideas, and by selecting for not including them, you're making it less likely that they will participate.  You discouraged simply by the act of not inviting.

[coudano]

I don't normally put a lot of stock in n=1 sample sizes.  Someone who's invested the time and effort to get to level 3 and put five years of their life in has invested in the SQ, and is less likely (not impossible, but less likely) to want to see significant change.

See and it's *EXACTLY* the folks who have (actually) invested themselves in a local squadron for a while,
that I /REALLY WANT/ to strongly encourage to give input to this survey (not to /exclude/ anyone else)

These are the folks who have had to deal with the administrative, regulatory, and political stupidity of our beloved corporation on high, in the face of doing their week to week squadron job.  Many of them have or are probably in the command section of a local unit.  These are the folks who probably have developed, from experience rather than hearsay, legitimate gripes that they may express in the after-meeting-meeting in the parking lot...  Rather than those just listening to such gripes.

And less so, per se, someone who just paid their dues and sat inactive on the roles, or has just started, without a lot of exposure to the echelons above reality.

Level 3 complete is probably a Captain or a Major.  Not exactly (in most cases) people who are tied up in the national level of the corporate machine...  In 5 years someone probably has had time to look around and get an idea what is going on, rather than taking shots in the dark, or trying to fix something that they probably don't yet fully understand (very possibly making things worse in the meantime).  --not that there isn't valuable input from those who have been around less long, or who may have ideas from outside CAP that are good ideas (like I said, i'm not /discouraging/ anyone from participating).

Sample size for the spam blast in my wing was 109/660.  If all 52 wings do that, that's 5668.  Not a terrible N out of a corporation with 34939 senior members.  (16% of population, if only half of THOSE participate, you have more than doubled the sample size needed for a high confidence low interval result)

There are parts of CAP that I would like to burn to the ground and start over with (and some that I wouldn't even start over with, but just bury.)  I've been in CAP for 21 years and i'm a Lt Col.  How 'captured and ingrained' by the system do you think I am?

You do understand that this governance survey is related to the national level of CAP right,
it's potential impact on the local squadron is pretty low, and if at all, pretty far in the future.

[LC]

Has anyone received the survey yet?

[Short Field]

I don't normally put a lot of stock in n=1 sample sizes.  Someone who's invested the time and effort to get to level 3 and put five years of their life in has invested in the SQ, and is less likely (not impossible, but less likely) to want to see significant change.

They are probably the ones who are the most interested in change to eliminate their frustrations in dealing with the current system. 

[johnnyb47]

In a typical corporate work environment I can tell you that in MY experience many employees are their most creative within the first year of their employment. Why? because they are still carying around with them the methods they used at their last job, good and bad and they haven't yet integrated the methods of their new employer into their tool set.
That said I've been a member for just now a year an a half so if your survey questions weren't VERY leading, perhaps basic questions.... well I wouldn't really be much help to you. I wonder if anyone has given any thought to targeting new membership with a survey like that. For all I know it's probably been done many times. If it hasn't someone should consider it.
It might generate some interesting results.

[NCRblues]

Has anyone received the survey yet?

I'm going to take a wild stab here and say no... Probably not...

Maybe we are closer to the military than we all think.... you know... "hurry up and wait"

[Eclipse]

Nothing yet.

[Al Sayre]

Here either...

[JeffDG]

Here either...

Nada for me.

[cap235629]

nothing yet here as well

[JeffDG]

Link received, survey completed.

Disappointed, there are no questions relating to satisfaction with the method of selection of NB/NEC members, so there's nothing really there to break the Closed Loop Governance Model.

[DakRadz]

Link received, survey completed.

Disappointed, there are no questions relating to satisfaction with the method of selection of NB/NEC members, so there's nothing really there to break the Closed Loop Governance Model.

Is there not a section allowing you to type further concerns? Usually I've seen these.

[JeffDG]

There is...and I did avail myself of it.

However, as someone who has done the back-end processing of such surveys...a lot more attention is paid to the numbers, because they can be instantly aggregated and summarized.  Free-text comments are hard to work with, and as such receive little attention.

[MSG Mac]

Just filled it out. Mentioned the Bass-acward relationship of the NEC and NB. and the selection of Corporate Officers and Commanders. Also gave my intake on retention and costs of meembership.   

[NCRblues]

Just responded to it.

Some of the questions were interesting.

Typed up a 6 page word document and dropped it in the other concerns section.

We shall see what comes of this....

[JeffDG]

We shall see what comes of this....

If I were a cynic, I would make a prediction...

Oh wait, I am:
Frogs and crickets at night

[SARDOC]

The Survey was flawed.  The scale was slanted to result in more favorable results.   I also focused on retention specifically membership benefits or incentives to participate.