Personnel Relations Newsletter March 1982 Career Directions On March 1, participants in the Career Directions Series had to choose be- tween two panels: one on Numerical! Organizational Skills and one on Creative Skills. Members of the latter panel -Ann Duff ield, Director of Publi- cations, Debra Kamens, Promotion Man- ager of the University of Pennsylvania Press, Bruce Montgomery, Director of Musical Activities, Annenberg Center, and Louise Stone, Publications Account Coordinator -agreed that positions utilizing creative skills are made, not found . Most creative jobs are developed by the people who hold them by doing creative things as they see an oppor- tunity arise or a need to be filled. They also agreed that there is room for creativity in many jobs where writing, editing, and design may come into play even though these skills may not be mentioned in the job description. Even writing memos can be an expression of creativity. The panelists offered words of cau- tion on one subject: money . People have to decide on their own priorities; if high pay matters, most creative jobs do not provide it. And in bad economic times, jobs calling for creative skills are especially vulnerable. Panelists on the Numerical/Organi- zational Skills Panel agreed that the University has a variety of positions in which people must use numerical and organizational skills. These skills include the ability to systematize and organize, pay attention to detail, calculate and budget. Some skills can be learned on the job whereas others must be acquired through specific educational programs. Richard Merhar, Deputy Director, UMIS, explained that UMIS must hire already trained com- puter programmers as the University is not able to provide on the job training for programmers. Al Beers, Acting Comptroller, explained that some posi- tions in the Comptroller's Office require college degrees in accounting whereas other skills can be learned on the job . Continued on page 4 Louise Stone, Bruce Montgomery, Ann Duffield, Debra Kamens Carol Vorchheimer, Saul Katzman, Linda Frank Alfred Beers, George Koval, Richard Merhar Personnel Relations/i
Transcript
Personnel Relations Newsletter March 1982Career Directions
On March 1, participants in the CareerDirections Series had to choose be-tween two panels:oneon Numerical!
Organizational Skills and one onCreative Skills. Members of the latter
panel-Ann Duffield, Director of Publi-cations, Debra Kamens, Promotion Man-
ager of the University of PennsylvaniaPress, Bruce Montgomery, Director ofMusical Activities, Annenberg Center,and Louise Stone, Publications Account
Coordinator-agreed that positionsutilizing creative skills are made, notfound. Most creative jobs are developedby the people who hold them by doingcreative things as they see an oppor-tunity arise or a need to be filled.
They also agreed that there is roomfor creativity in many jobs where writing,editing, and design maycome into playeven though these skills may not bementioned in the job description. Even
writing memos can be an expression ofcreativity.
The panelists offered words of cau-tion on one subject: money. People haveto decide on their own priorities; if highpay matters, most creative jobs do notprovide it. And in bad economic times,
jobs calling for creative skills are
especially vulnerable.Panelists on the Numerical/Organi-
zational Skills Panel agreed that the
University has a variety of positions inwhich people must use numerical and
organizational skills. These skillsinclude the ability to systematize and
organize, payattention to detail,calculate and budget. Some skills canbe learned on thejob whereas othersmust be acquired through specificeducational programs. Richard Merhar,
Deputy Director, UMIS, explained thatUMIS must hire already trained com-
puter programmers as the University isnot able to provide on thejob trainingfor programmers. Al Beers, ActingComptroller, explained that some posi-tions in the Comptroller's Office requirecollegedegrees in accounting whereasother skills can be learned on the job.
Continued on page 4
Louise Stone, Bruce Montgomery, Ann Duffield, Debra Kamens
Carol Vorchheimer, Saul Katzman, Linda Frank
Alfred Beers, George Koval, Richard MerharPersonnel Relations/i
Willie J. Noble
Getting to Know You:Willie J. Noble
Willie Noble still has memories of hisfirst ten years on the outskirts ofAtlanta, where he and histwo sisters,and their mother lived. A memorablepresence in the household was "Gram';his great-grandmother. Gram was a mid-wife and had been born a slave.However, no one was sure about herbirthdate. If she was 110 years old whenshe died in 1941, she must have beenborn thirty years before the Civil War.
Long before Gram died, Willie andhis two sisters left Atlanta. Theirmother, dissatisfied with the one or twomonths of schooling available each yearto the children, came to Philadelphia tofind work. Willie was ten when she sentfor him, and most of his schooling took
place here.After he finished school, in the
midst of theGreat Depression, Williefound work in the Civilian Conservation
Corps camp near Ridgeway, Pennsyl-vania. Although his associates in
Physical Plant are skeptical, Willie in-sists that he encountered a herd ofbison near Ridgeway maintained by the
government in the national forest
preserve. After theCCC, Willie joinedthe Army, and by mid-1942 he was in theSouth Pacific.
As a member of the 92nd and 93rd
Infantry Divisions, Willie lived in NewCaledonia, New Guinea, and the Philip-pines, until his discharge in 1946. After
hospitalization for the removal of
shrapnel (not all of which was removed),Willie returned to Philadelphia where hefirst obtained work at the Navy Yard andthen at the Pennsylvania Railroad. Alater job in construction, making metaldesks and wardrobes, fell victim to asteel strike which cut off available sup-
21Personnel Relations
plies. At that point Willie decided to goto California to look for work.
He needed funds for the trip; hissister, who worked at the Hospital ofthe University of Pennsylvania, sug-gested that he try for work at Penn. Hecame to the University in 1954, and hasbeen here ever since. Willie started inthe University Museum, but shortlythereafter he filled in, temporarily, forthe janitor in David Rittenhouse
Laboratory. He remained at DRLfor
years, enjoying his life there as heseems to enjoy everything that bringshim into contact with people. "Mother
taught me, 'Never say I hate someone,"
says Willie. "You can't love God andhate his children':
When Physical Plant discoveredthat Willie was moonlighting on his owntime painting houses, they made him a
painter instead of a janitor. Willie also
moonlighted at WElL, where he became
friendly with many celebrities. He stillhas an open invitation from Dick Clark,
dating back to thedays when AmericanBandstand was broadcast from 46thand Market Streets, to visit California.So perhaps that trip will still take place.
Blood Donor Dates
There are four Penn Student BloodDonor dates scheduled during thecoming weeks. All membersof theUniversity staff are welcome at theseblood donorcenters:
Thursday, March 25 Hill House1:00-6:00 p.m.
Tuesday, March 30 Vance Hall11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 1 High Rise South2:00-7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, April 13 Houston Hall12:00-5:00 p.m.
From the Executive Directorof Personnel Relations
Dear Colleagues-
Although we manage to sendnotices concerning holidays to Univer-
sity offices well in advance of theschedule, there are some faculty andstaff whodo not see the notices, or whoare confused as to how holiday time isadministered for different groups. Good
Friday is an example worthy of com-ment, and one that is timely.
Good Friday is a holiday for Univer-
sity employees. It is not a holiday forstudents, and the academic calendarincludes Good Friday in the classschedule. While individual professorsmay have the flexibility to hold classesor not on Good Friday, it is not a univer-sal day off. In addition, there may besome variations for special work areas,and faculty, staff, and union employeesshould be awareof situations which
supersede University policy. Finally, the
Hospital of the University of Pennsyl-vania has its own personnel policy and
holiday schedule, which govern HUP
employees as well as the many Univer-
sity employees whowork at the Hospital.This has been a long-winded way of
suggesting that each of us should knowunderwhat set of rules we must func-tion.The Personnel Relations staff willbe pleased to answer anyquestions youmay have.
Gerald L. Robinson
Benefits Fair
The Personnel Relations Department, in
cooperation with the A-3 and A-iAssemblies, will sponsor a Benefits Fairon March23, March24, and March 25.Representatives of the various benefit
programs offered by the University willbe available at the locations listedbelow from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. to provideinformation and answer questions.
Tuesday, March 23-Lobby, Chem-
istry LaboratoriesWednesday, March 24-Lobby,
Dental School, Evans BuildingThursday, March 25-Lobby,Annenberg Center
The Benefits Fair is scheduled toprecede the open enrollment period forhealth and dental plans, which will take
place later in the spring. Dates of the
open enrollment period will be announcedin the Almanac. Prior to the enrollment
period, all employeesare encouraged toreview their 1981 Personnel BenefitsStatements and to participate in theBenefits Fair, in order to obtain neededinformation before deciding on anychanges to be made in their health anddental coverage.
Elizabeth C. Richardson
Getting to Know You:Elizabeth C. Richardson
Betty Richardson's promotion to theposition of Executive Secretary to theProvost should have been exciting.Unfortunately, a nasty spill left Betty avictim of the winter of 1982 and unableto perform her secretarial duties for sixweeks.
She was just getting her feet wet inthe new job, all to literally, when sheslipped at the door to College Hall onJanuary 14 and dislocated her leftshoulder and broke her humerus.Friends urged her to go over to Univer-sity Hospital to have it examined. Shedid, and ended up spending the next tendays there. Weeks later, when she wasable to type again (but still unable to liftthe telephone receiver to her ear withher left hand), Betty returned to CollegeHall.
Betty's introduction to the Univer-sity, ten years ago, was not quite sodramatic. In fact, her ten years assecretary to Dr. John Lubin and variousother associate deans of the WhartonSchool were relatively placid by com-parison. The move from Dietrich Hall toCentenary Hall just over a year agochanged life somewhat, both for betterand for worse. "Our offices in Centenarywere fine'; Betty reminisces, 'they werelarge and convenient. But we did feelisolated from the rest of campus."
Penn has always played a largepart in Betty's life. Her husband, herthree sons, and a daughter-in-law allhold degrees from the University. Whileraising her three sons, Tom, John, andAlan, and her daughter,Cheryl, Bettydropped out of the work force for someyears. She returned gradually to full-time employment by way of helping in
the office of her church and a part-timeposition at the Springfield PresbyterianChurch.
Springfield has been her and herhusband's home for most of her life. Ifshe is not quite a native, she at leastremembers when Springfield was asmall town. The E. T. Richardson MiddleSchool, named for her husband after hisretirement as principal, testifies to hisplace in the community. Both know thearea well, not only from living there somany years, but also from the walksthey take with their dog. Their other hob-bies-Betty's photography and reading,Tom's gardening-they do separately,although Betty often suggests differentplants she would like to have in thegarden. However, the walks aroundSpringfield with the dog provide a timeto share with each other.
Blood Pressure Machine
During the month of March, an auto-mated blood pressure computer will belocated in the entry area of the FranklinBuilding. This computer has been loanedto the University free of charge by BlueCross of Greater Philadelphia to encour-age the University community to becomemore aware of their blood pressure.Through a series of free tests duringMarch, individuals will be able to"track" their blood pressure and com-pare it with a normal blood pressurerange. It is hoped that anyone whodiscovers a blood pressure which is ele-vated will follow up with his or her phys-ician. High blood pressure, if detected,can in most cases be treated very eas-ily, thus avoiding severe problems whichcan arise through lack of detection.
Communications Training
Many of you have, no doubt, read orheard the acronym MBO or manage-ment-by-objectives. But, are you familiarwith CBO or the communication-by-objectives method of business writing?Ask any of the University employeeswho have taken the newly developedBusiness Communications II TrainingProgram and they will be able to explainthe seven steps of the CBO process toyou.
The CBO method is one of thetopics that Linda Haynes, TrainingSpecialist for the program, covers in theten session course. Other topical areasinclude the six parts of a personalmessage, the three steps of editing, andthe seven steps in sentence coherence.Linda also presents a session on how towrite specific kinds of letters, such asletters of appreciation, request, and con-gratulations and she involves the groupin discussions on oral communicationand work group behavior.
The Business Communications IIProgram has been designed for em-ployees who have completed BusinessCommunications I or those who candemonstrate a good grasp of Englishgrammar. All applicants are required totake a pre-test the first day of class tomake certain that the course is at theappropriate level for the person. In-classand homework assignments involve thecomposition and recomposition of let-ters and memos along with other kindsof written assignments. Employees whosuccessfully complete the programreceive certificates at the conclusion ofthe course.
Linda also continues to teach Busi-ness Communications I and the ClericalSkills Program. A new edition to ClericalSkills is the introduction of the memorytypewriter which can be seen as a fore-runner of the now ever-popular wordprocessor. In the Clerical Program,Linda works with the participants ondeveloping their typing skills, as well asreviewing some basic English grammarrules and math principles.
Enrollment in the Business Com-munications and Clerical Skills Pro-grams is dependent upon all of theterms and conditions set forth in theTraining Office Guidelines. The natureand material of a training programshould be of mutual benefit to thedepartment and the individual. The feefor either program is $100 to be paid bythe department. If an employee isregistering for a second course, thedepartment will be charged $65.
For application forms, coursesyllabi, and copies of the Training OfficeGuidelines, please contact Ms. AliceAbdulah at extension 3429.
Personnel Relations13
Continued from page 1
George Koval, Executive Director Stu-dent Administration and Financial Serv-ices, said that there were positions inhisand other areas of the Universitywhich require numerical abilities but donot necessitate college degrees.
Panel members Carol Vorchheimer,Controller, University Dining Service,and Saul Katzman, Director, Administra-tive Affairs, FAS, discussed the impor-tance of people in "numerical" positionsalso being able to communicateeffec-
tively, solve problems and be flexible.Linda Frank, Assistant Director, Person-nel Relations, added that a knowledgeof computer systems and newtech-
nology is becoming more and more
important.
Performance Evaluations
As in past years, performance evalua-tions are in progress throughout the
University during the months of Marchand April. Performance evaluations areintended to be used for all permanentadministrative and support staff, otherthan those in collective bargainingunits.
In each school and majordepart-ment, individuals have been identified tocoordinate the distribution and collec-tion of evaluation forms. Since perform-ance evaluations are an important com-
ponent in the development of human re-sources for the University, it is hopedthat all permanent staff will be given the
opportunity to participate in this
process.Evaluation forms should be re-
turned to the person designated to coor-dinate this effort in each school or
department by April 15. Additional forms
may be obtained and questionsanswered by calling Cynthia Latham atextension 6884.
TheSecretarial Recruitment Program
Over the past few years, the secretarialrecruitment program, sponsored by theDepartment of Personnel Relations hasdeveloped a pool of skilled high schooland junior college seniors for secretarialand clerical positions. Many of thesecandidates have gained experience byparticipating in the University CO-OP
program, designed to train high schoolseniors in the University environment.Response from participating depart-ments indicates that the placementshave been very successful. If you are in-terested in interviewing these June
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