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[southerntransplant]

Yes, for example, if they are being asked to be on campus 40 hours a week that is quite different from being asked to arrange for a substitute to teach their class while they are at a conference.

So they can only complain about big things?

[cranefly]

Yes, for example, if they are being asked to be on campus 40 hours a week that is quite different from being asked to arrange for a substitute to teach their class while they are at a conference.

So they can only complain about big things?

Well, I grumble about the small changes, because I'm so busy all the time that I don't have time to go looking up the latest hare-brained policies before I put my pants on every morning. The bureaucrats keep changing stupid little things--X has to sign your form before Y can. No, now we changed it so Y has to sign first---and I don't have the time to keep up, because I'm too busy trying to do the important parts of my job.

So we deserve to bloody grumble when we like about all the stupid little things that they keep throwing at us in the name of "accountability" or "efficiency" or "customer service".

[proftowanda]

Yes, for example, if they are being asked to be on campus 40 hours a week that is quite different from being asked to arrange for a substitute to teach their class while they are at a conference.

So they can only complain about big things?

Well, I grumble about the small changes, because I'm so busy all the time that I don't have time to go looking up the latest hare-brained policies before I put my pants on every morning. The bureaucrats keep changing stupid little things--X has to sign your form before Y can. No, now we changed it so Y has to sign first---and I don't have the time to keep up, because I'm too busy trying to do the important parts of my job.

So we deserve to bloody grumble when we like about all the stupid little things that they keep throwing at us in the name of "accountability" or "efficiency" or "customer service".

+1.  It's the bureaucratic busywork that is the bane of my existence, especially those constant changes that you note, for no good reason ever given.  Our travel office just changed procedures again, and most of us are not funded to travel often, so whenever we face the myriad forms, we are bound to bollocks them.  And then we get stern lectures, denial of funding, need to do appeal forms, and other nonsense that discourages us from research and conferences.  That's the plan, of course, so that we will not merit any merit raises -- not that there have been any funds for raises for five years now, anyway. 

Yet the travel office and others must perpetuate their employment by wielding bureaucratic power over us, anyway, with constant changes that only add to the burden of bureaucracy at my workplace.  I recall with fondness my days at a SLAC that made this simpler, so that faculty could focus on teaching and research.  (And I know that this is not just nostalgia for bygone days anywhere, as Spouse Towanda works at a private campus that continues to be encouraging to faculty, not to administrative nonsense.) 

And I reserve the right to continue to grumble about petty minds put into powerful positions to impose petty nonsense upon others.

[southerntransplant]

And I reserve the right to continue to grumble about petty minds put into powerful positions to impose petty nonsense upon others.

This was my implied point when I asked Spinnaker why it mattered what faculty grumbled about. The scale of the cause doesn't matter. If it's small, it bugs us now. If it's big it will bug us in a major way down the line. To discern what and what isn't grumble-worthy is useless.

[fiona]

And I reserve the right to continue to grumble about petty minds put into powerful positions to impose petty nonsense upon others.

This was my implied point when I asked Spinnaker why it mattered what faculty grumbled about. The scale of the cause doesn't matter. If it's small, it bugs us now. If it's big it will bug us in a major way down the line. To discern what and what isn't grumble-worthy is useless.

OR--we could set up a forum committee to assess and determine the relative value of what is grumble-worthy and what is not, on a scale of 1 to 10. We could poll everyone, nag them to turn in the documents, fight over who collects the documents, fight over who assesses the documents, make sure we have oversight over the documents, and then fight over the wording of the report.

Glad I got that off my chest.

The Fiona

[proftowanda]

And I reserve the right to continue to grumble about petty minds put into powerful positions to impose petty nonsense upon others.

This was my implied point when I asked Spinnaker why it mattered what faculty grumbled about. The scale of the cause doesn't matter. If it's small, it bugs us now. If it's big it will bug us in a major way down the line. To discern what and what isn't grumble-worthy is useless.

OR--we could set up a forum committee to assess and determine the relative value of what is grumble-worthy and what is not, on a scale of 1 to 10. We could poll everyone, nag them to turn in the documents, fight over who collects the documents, fight over who assesses the documents, make sure we have oversight over the documents, and then fight over the wording of the report.

Glad I got that off my chest.

The Fiona

And then, following standard procedure, we could submit the final report to the Fora Senate, which will (a) fight over it and water it down and finally submit a useless document as, after all, only advisory to Fora Administration, which will (a.1) lose it , or (a.2) sneak in stuff that no faculty in their right minds ever would  engender but their stamp will be upon it, or (b) [Fora Senate will] table it for further discussion, repeatedly. 

[cranefly]

And I reserve the right to continue to grumble about petty minds put into powerful positions to impose petty nonsense upon others.

This was my implied point when I asked Spinnaker why it mattered what faculty grumbled about. The scale of the cause doesn't matter. If it's small, it bugs us now. If it's big it will bug us in a major way down the line. To discern what and what isn't grumble-worthy is useless.

OR--we could set up a forum committee to assess and determine the relative value of what is grumble-worthy and what is not, on a scale of 1 to 10. We could poll everyone, nag them to turn in the documents, fight over who collects the documents, fight over who assesses the documents, make sure we have oversight over the documents, and then fight over the wording of the report.

Glad I got that off my chest.

The Fiona

And then, following standard procedure, we could submit the final report to the Fora Senate, which will (a) fight over it and water it down and finally submit a useless document as, after all, only advisory to Fora Administration, which will (a.1) lose it , or (a.2) sneak in stuff that no faculty in their right minds ever would  engender but their stamp will be upon it, or (b) [Fora Senate will] table it for further discussion, repeatedly. 

Then, this document will circulate to higher Administration, who will hire a new group of MBAs to lead a committee to run ongoing debates on its relative use. This committee will then form a sub-committee to debate the committee's findings.

And the nd result will be that we will have to fill out a new form every three months, have our chairs sign off on it, and keep it in our file.

[spinnaker]

And I reserve the right to continue to grumble about petty minds put into powerful positions to impose petty nonsense upon others.

This was my implied point when I asked Spinnaker why it mattered what faculty grumbled about. The scale of the cause doesn't matter. If it's small, it bugs us now. If it's big it will bug us in a major way down the line. To discern what and what isn't grumble-worthy is useless.

Oh I see, yes.

But this:

'A new policy calls for writing up tenured faculty for “refusal to obey a supervisor's lawful orders; patterns of disrespectful attitude ... including back talk or grumbling.”'

suggests there's headbutting over something else. I don't know what. The whole system is having problems over there.