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Summary of Small Group Written Responses

He noted the importance of administration and staff members in meeting Occidental’s mission and expressed gratitude for the work and achievements of all present. He reviewed key elements of Oxy’s Mission Statement, and concluded by introducing the workshop facilitator, the Rev. Dr. Kikanza Nuri Robins '72.

Dr. Nuri Robins led the workshop using a developmental model of community, which stipulates that workshop participants come from many different perspectives, have varying degrees of experience with issues of diversity, and will proceed from different starting points through various ways of learning. As a result, progress can’t be assessed in either a singular or a simple manner. Central to this approach is encouraging all community members to participate in defining what needs to be accomplished and to help shape the yearlong process we have just started.  Accordingly, written results from the small group portion of the workshop are important to document, share and consider in relation to planning future events.

Dr. Nuri Robins called the workshop “Toward a Culturally Proficient Learning Community.” She discussed several key concepts, including justice and cultural proficiency.

"Justice doesn’t mean that you get your way all the time," she said. "Justice doesn’t mean that the people you disagree with get punished. Justice means that we have set criteria for responding to people and situations and we use that same criteria each time we have to take a difficult action. And we use the same criteria for all people in the community. Everyone is expected to be courteous and respectful. Everyone is expected to honor and follow the rules of the community. People are not treated equally, they are treated equitably and justly."

She defined cultural proficiency as "the treatment of client, colleagues and community with justice, regardless of class, ethnicity, sexuality, physical ability, language or gender. [The concept includes the expectation that the community will be capable of] changing the way one does business as the clients, colleagues, community and environment evolve."
 
Dr. Nuri Robins recommended thinking of our need to create change in terms of paradigm shift.  She defined “paradigm” as “…a set of rules and regulations that [define] boundaries and [tell] you what to do to be successful within those boundaries.” She then asked participants to work in small groups and respond to a series of 10 questions about paradigm shifts at Oxy.

Below is a summary of written responses from the almost 300 staff members and administrators who participated in workshop breakout groups. The responses to each question are listed by order of frequency with a few sample statements provided to illustrate the tone and substance of the feedback. While this is not a scientific result, it will provide Dr. Nuri Robins with a starting point with which to begin planning the next stages of the program. This summary was reviewed and approved by the people who helped organize the workshop (Dr. Nuri Robins, Ted Mitchell, Kenyon Chan, Eric Frank, Diana Akiyama, Richard Ledwin, Barbara Avery, and Harold Hewitt).

1) What paradigms do you want to protect?

The College’s mission of equity and excellence  (47 responses)
--The mission of Oxy
--Racial, intellectual and socioeconomic diversity
--High standard of academic excellence

Small size (16 responses)
--Sense of small community working together instead of large conglomerate
--Low student body size and faculty/student ratio
--Size of school (student body to remain small)

Sense of community (12 responses)
--Community: We spend about 22 percent of our lives here. The chatting between people, personal connection, friendships and trust building are really important for work relationships. Feelings of community and family are built on loyalty and trust.
--Recognizing and celebrating one another’s accomplishments to foster communication, candor, trust and respect
--We need one another to work as a whole

Dedication to service (10 responses)
--Service to people/students/community
--Commitment to service to our community, internally or externally, including families of students and prospective students

Reasonable compensation and good working conditions (9 responses)
--Good fringe benefits
--Job security
--In service/not outsourcing

Respect for others (8 responses)
--Mutual respect
--Respect of people for their contributions to community

Commitment to open communication (6 responses)
--The communication between everyone
--Communication/dialogue

Miscellaneous (19 responses)
--Tolerance
--Acceptance
--All paradigms are good now

2) What paradigms do you want to reject?

Classism (32 responses)
--Classicism: Union/non-union, educated/uneducated, service sector/others, shift workers/regular business hours
--The paradigm that some employees are more privileged
--Faculty feeling their work is most important

Ineffective leadership strategies (16 responses)
--Less autocratic administration
--The tone that "this is the ways its always been done"
--To make changes, we wait until there's an outburst
--Lack of effective, consistent communications
--Unreasonable exceptions to the rules
--Lack of support for management -- squeaky wheel gets the grease

Disrespectful conduct (14 responses)
--Disrespectful to people; it builds walls and closes off communication
--Culture of criticism of the place and the people
--Condescension

Departmental and personal isolation (12 responses)
--Divided shops
--Systematically ignoring each other, other departments
--Isolationism

Race and gender insensitivity (11 responses)
--Racism from other staff members
--Leadership reflects diversity (There is a perception that senior staff is white men)
--Disrespect of gender is allowed from all levels

Insufficient wages, benefits, and working conditions (10 responses)
--Allowing part-time workers access to medical benefits
--Mandatory to be part of the union
--The favoritism between co-workers and supervisors

Insufficient resources (9 responses)
--Population is growing but resources are not (staff, room etc.)
--Atmosphere of “budget austerity”

Limited facilities (3 responses)
--Crowded offices, poor ergonomics, bad lighting

Oxy operating too much like a business (2 responses )
--Paradigm of success based on money

Miscellaneous (22 responses )
--That “serving the students” means doing only what they want, not that there are things for them to learn
--Hidden agendas
--Complex procedures that should be simplified

3) What paradigms have been challenged, unsuccessfully?

Input/"voice”/ communication (25 responses)
--Free exchange of ideas among the whole community
--Management decisions unchangeable
--Lack of formal representation of some groups (administrator and staff councils established)

Classism (16 responses)
--Part-time staff members are treated like second-class citizens
--Challenging power discrepancies between faculty/administrators/staff
--Gap between staff and faculty

Diversity (9 responses)
--Diversity actually being fulfilled
--Diversity in curriculum
--Marginalization of minorities, women, etc.

Miscellaneous (11 responses)

4) What old paradigms get in the way of seeing the new ones?

Resistance to change (20 responses)
--This is the way we have always done things
--People holding to resentments/old past wounds and can’t change relationships

Classism (8 responses)
--Stratification/caste system

Financial Restrictions (6 responses)
--Difficult to get out from under the shadow of cuts, lay-offs and financial instability of recent years
--Resources are unlimited and you can solve all problems and not bankrupt the college
--Financial limitations. Resources are so slim relative to needs in many areas. Spending decisions are difficult, especially after coming out of the financial problems Oxy experienced in the 90’s. Trying to do more with less has been the normal approach. Burnout and loss of good employees has been the consequence. We have struck a balance that is still too lean in the opinion of most employees.

Communication Issues (6 responses)
--Poor communication

College policies and procedures (5 responses)
--Being more consistent

Growth (5 responses)
--New paradigms obscured by old paradigms of necessary staff support (i.e. We used to do just fine with this size of staff, why is it a problem now that a new paradigm of increased needs exists)

Compensation (4 responses)
--Responsibilities increase but pay doesn’t

Work hours (4 responses)
--Lack of work-family balance

Valuing staff (4 responses)
--Giving students too many rights that affect treatment of staff

Diversity (3 responses)
--There seems to be a singular notion of what “diversity” is.  Diversity to one looks different than what is seen by a black male student, for example.

Customer Service (2 responses)
--The paradigm that the customer is always right

Miscellaneous (6 responses)
--Those who perform are asked to do more and those who don't aren't asked to improve

5) What paradigms are shifting or expanding at Oxy?

Diversity (11 responses)
--The widening of the definition of diversity
--Diversity from race-based to economic/race/sex/social status
--Diversity concerns need to be deeper

Growth and its demands (11 responses)
--Oxy/enrollment are expanding and students' needs and expectations are higher
--Demand/expectation of service changes, increases

Communication (7 responses)
--Admitting that we are a work in progress/willing to talk about it

Campus community (6 responses)

 

--Holistic approach. Working as a community. Today’s gathering is an example of going in the right direction. Dedicating time to verbalizing problems as a community
--The way that Oxy allowed the problems of the spring to explode. The problems could have been dealt with on a small scale, individually or in small groups that were at the center of the controversy. Instead it became an opportunity for open communication of problems that went to the heart of our mission. It allows growth of the Oxy community

Policies and procedures (4 responses)
--Policies and procedures shift

Students (4 responses)
--Students being heard by Administration and taken seriously
--Students' political views and desire for spirituality and religious support

Technology (4 responses)
--Organizational efficiency and reliance on technology

Facilities (4 responses)
--Small changes to accommodate ADA – more needed

Compensation and working conditions (3 responses)
--Attempt to increase living wage to meet living costs
--Selective flex-time

Oxy going corporate (3 responses)
--Increasing levels of administrative bureaucracy toward a more “corporate Oxy”

Training opportunities needed (2 responses)

Mission regaining importance (2 responses)

Growing awareness of need for respect for all employees (2 responses)

Miscellaneous (14 responses)
--Commitment to intellectual depth and creativity
--Less value on relationship – building skills vs. organizational skills

6) What do you predict will become paradigms in the next three years?

College will continue to grow larger (6 responses)
--I would like to see Oxy grow into a large university providing opportunities for more students to experience our education
--Too many additional students – even more crowding

Sense of community will strengthen (6 responses)
--Hope we will continue a culture of conversation and action
--Issues resolved because of better communication
--Shift from preferential treatment to one of equality

Technology will change programs and work at the College (6 responses)
--On-line education
--24-hour access to services and information
--The way we do our work will change--with computers, our lives, how we do our work are constantly changing; demands of technology require large budget

Service expectations will increase or change (6 responses)
--More demands in departments
--Entitlement is increasing

The community will become less diverse (5 responses)
--Cost of education limits who attends college
--International student population will decrease due to funding

The community will become more diverse  (4 responses)
--There will be more minorities becoming tenured professors
--I would like to see a female president

Accountability will increase (4)
--Culture of accountability

Resources to support programs and operating departments will be limited (3)
--Oxy will lag behind peers because of perceived lack of resources

Productivity will improve (3)
--Increased college activity at every level
--Ways of doing things better

Leadership will change (3)
--The power structure will change
--The new president will greatly influence the direction/climate of the college over the next few years

Work will become more flexible (2)

The sense of community will weaken (2)

Employee compensation will not be adequate (2)

Miscellaneous (15)
--More residence halls for student housing
--Student body could shrink
--Cyclical return to more social activism of students

7)  What is impossible to do now, but would radically change the way you do business if it were possible?

Elimination of classism (8 responses)
--The hierarchy between staff and faculty/administration vs. faculty

Open Communication (8 responses)
--More cross-communication
--What we are doing today - being heard, having a voice.  Most people have good things to say.
--Empowering individuals to invest in community

Increased financial support (8 responses)
--More financial resources
-Release the money flow!  Bring back some of the cut resources.

Increased training and professional development (7 responses)
--“Tools for success” (employee development) program to equip all for being members of this community

Flexible work schedules (7 responses)
--Flex time, telecommuting, ability to be flexible with one’s work schedule

Increased staffing (6 responses)
--More staff to deliver services
--We need more workers in our department

Respect for all employees (6 responses)
--Respect for other people

Improved capacity to change (6 responses)
--Acceptance of change
--Things have to come from within in order to change the group/division

Increased diversity (3 responses)
--Diversity and community are pushed in theory by Oxy but is it real? Individuality ends up being just a number in the process

Rules consistently enforced (3 responses)
--Be equitable--hold a standard for all departments--same rules, please

Work space increased and improved (3 responses)
--Provide ideal office space
--Expand in space and facilities

Enhanced performance review procedures (2 responses)

Improved departmental interaction (2 responses)

Increased parking (2 responses)

Reduction of ‘campus politics’ (2 responses)

Miscellaneous (16 responses)

--Caring for the individual with values and promoting a well-rounded person instead of just smart students
--Creating opportunities/valuing/rewarding interactions across groups and delivering quality service

8) What beliefs do you share with others in your small group about working at Occidental?

Occidental provides a positive, rewarding work environment (20 responses)
--Great working here
--Very rewarding

Occidental is a small, friendly community (19 responses)
--Exceptional place with potential for community and building relationships
--Nice, intimate, comfortable, diverse, safe and beautiful campus
--We believe Oxy is special

It is rewarding to support Oxy’s unique Mission (14 responses)
--Occidental is an amazing place to work with a mission that supports something bigger than ourselves, educating the leaders of tomorrow.
--That we are part of a larger community working towards a goal that is worthy of our time and effort

Helping students succeed is professionally very satisfying (8 responses)
--Personal joy of contributing and changing students’ lives
--We really do have the student’s best interest at heart -- the real student advocates
--Working with students. Watching them develop/blossom. Seeing how Oxy is a perfect match for some and how this four years releases their potential. This is one of the great rewards of working in academia.

Compensation needs improvement (8 responses)
--Pay checks – Honestly!!
--More money in salaries; budgets – quality is expensive
--Compensation adequate

Most agree that the physical campus is beautiful (8 responses)
--Beautiful environment

The working environment needs improvement (7 responses)
--Classist environment
--We can improve our behavior to each other
--Greater good of institution is neglected at times because of “territorialism”

Respect is critical to positive working conditions (5 responses)
--We really like working here but we love to have respect from our supervisors/treated like we are like them, humans
--Respect with co-workers, with good working relationship

A good community because of the diversity of its people (3 responses)
--Safe place to be for people of diverse backgrounds

Miscellaneous (5 responses)
--Enjoyed having the opportunity to be involved in this training

9) What beliefs do you share with others in your small group about being a member of  a learning community?

Oxy provides lifelong learning opportunities for employees (16 responses)
--Accessibility to learning opportunities, e.g. speakers, classes, concerts, etc.
--Many resources for personal and professional development
--Benefits and life enrichments through the arts

We are passionate about working with our students (12 responses)
--We enjoy all the students--it’s always something new with them.  Each year brings in a new crop of personalities
--Exciting supporting the leaders of tomorrow who do amazing things

At Oxy, our work is truly meaningful (11 responses)
--Meaningful part of the world – part of greater good
--We can make a difference

Oxy is a challenging and personally rewarding environment (9 responses)
--It is very good and interesting because everyone has something different to share
--Dynamic, inspirational, meaningful

Decisions come slowly in an academic environment (2 responses)

As a private college, Oxy provides employees with measured autonomy (2 responses)

Miscellaneous (10 responses)
--Money isn’t always the bottom line
--Culture of comparison disappointment-my needs can never be met, particularly for faculty (equipment must be replaced)

10) What beliefs do you share with others in your small group about customer service in a learning community?

Service is being respectful, compassionate, friendly, and patient, while listening carefully and communicating well (24 responses)
--That we should treat people not as customers who are buying something, but that we are here to help them meet their goals 

Students are our top service priority (11 responses)
--The students are our customers. This is an expensive school--we need to give and treat them well in return for what they paid.
--Always give the best of us to our students since they are our clients and we count on them for our jobs and because of them we get paid for our jobs. They are our major clients.

“Service” to students means providing what is reasonable and required; not always what is demanded (7)
--Customer service is a two-way street.  If you give respect you get respect
--Need to set realistic expectations
--Department and service areas are treated in demeaning ways by students because they “pay” a portion of our salary

Service should be provided to all campus colleagues (7 responses)
--We are all here to serve the students. At the same time customer service is important between all departments
--That interdepartmental customer service is in some ways even more vital when dealing with co-workers of our community than with elements from the off-campus community

Challenging to provide service and meet other job responsibilities (4 responses)
--We have to be selective/realistic about what we can deliver--we must be consistent (resources are an issue)

Service is required of all positions on campus (3 responses)
--Expectation for service across all areas, jobs, groups

Service and rules – be flexible (2 responses); enforce consistently (1 response)
--Exceptions have to be made
--The standard is not the exception

Service should be both offered and received (2 responses)
--Trying to be helpful, prompt and courteous when delivering customer service and getting the same when on the receiving end.

Miscellaneous (21 responses)
--As essential as in the non-learning community (corporate world)
--That’s why we are here--to give the best possible customer service
--There are rewards. Example: Plumber pulls a student’s ring, a family heirloom with huge sentimental value, out of a drain trap. This is followed by a thank you hug from a very grateful student.