Comments:

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Gregory Debogorski says:
[Mar 16th @ 06:36pm]

No offence Smit, but I do not see a single employee, outside of the food sevices, breaking a sweat or even trying to hussle. My opinion and the backing of statement stands. Freedom of speach; freedom of opinion; freedom as a student in Canada.

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DSU Worker Monkey says:
[Mar 16th @ 07:50pm]

Greg: You know that through all the hard work you've put into the DSU and student groups over the years, right? Invisible doesn't mean lazy. In fact, it's usually the invisible people who are doing the best job. Or at least trying to.

Complaining is easy, actually doing something is harder. Try the latter and see how that works out for you.

Then again, I've had and heard some pretty funny 'dog' based conversations over the past few days -- thanks for that, at least.

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Gregory Deogorski says:
[Mar 16th @ 08:01pm]

I generally agree with your points.
Hard work is generally correlated with efficiency and effectiveness somehow. These are terms that do not seem to be apparent withing the DSU in my opinion.

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Chris Nickerson says:
[Mar 16th @ 08:04pm]

Hey Greg, you know that the DSU is staffed (aside from the full-timers) entirely by students, right? And we do vote, so maybe insulting a segment of the electorate isn't the best idea.

Personally, I've put my heart and soul into that organization over the last four years, doing everything I can to improve it. I've worked more long days (think sixteen hours or more) and late nights than I can count. I rarely get a thank you, but that's okay. You, meanwhile, contribute nothing. Absolutely nothing. Why don't you try actually doing something useful for a change?

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Gregory Deogorski says:
[Mar 16th @ 08:11pm]

My comments are not reference to the student workers.
I thought I was trying to do something...
My apologies that you are offended by my comments, but my opinions and comments still stand.

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Gregory Debogorski says:
[Mar 16th @ 08:15pm]

Why do people become so upset by my opinions?
Is it so difficult to say "those are his opinions, so what"?
Gorupthink and conformity are rampant across Dalhousie, like a plague.
For the Union!!

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Anonymous Coward says:
[Mar 16th @ 09:11pm]

If ever in an argument someone says they have a right to their opinion, it's only because there are no other justifications for holding that particular opinion.

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Gregory Deogorski says:
[Mar 16th @ 09:19pm]

Fair enough.
It still does not take away ftom the God given right to hold and express opinions amongst adults as they see fit.
As far as I know, mikesmit.com has fairly exclusive adult traffic. Proably more than most pornographic sites.

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Anonymous Coward says:
[Mar 16th @ 09:19pm]

I can't speak for everyone, but I challenge your opinions in the hopes you'll offer any sort of facts or evidence. Like, "I've had the following interactions with staff person X that leads me to this opinion".

The only response to "I've hauled this opinion RIGHT out of my ass, Yee-haw!" is "You're wrong". Doesn't exactly lead to high-minded debate.

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Gregory Debogorski says:
[Mar 16th @ 10:12pm]

I am leaving the Killam...
Have you ever seen a single "middle aged" staffer engage the student population outside of the DSU?
Have you ever seen them go out and ask how can I serve you better?
They are part of the apathy problem and they are being paid to be part of the solution.
I will give more to this topic tomorrow afternoon.

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mike says:
[Mar 17th @ 12:22am]

"They are part of the apathy problem and they are being paid to be part of the solution."

... actually, no. They aren't. If you think the DSU should change the job descriptions, that's another issue. But the full time staff are paid to do very specific jobs, and they generally do them quite well. When you are running a multi-million dollar organization with many services and operations, you need people to do things other than talk to students. You need accountants, you need people to manage your bar operations, and myriad other tasks. It's not a lemonade stand.

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Really Now Children says:
[Mar 17th @ 12:24am]

Ok Fucktardobrowski,

1)Free Speach has limits, learn them. Slander/Liable/Hate speech are restriced.
2)You\'re a know nothing idiot with a low IQ, a chip on your shoulder, and a neo-nazi attitude.
3)Learn to fucking spell. Seriously, this is one of the many reasons people laugh at you. Your ignorance knows no bounds.
4)The comments about DSU staff have made for a pile of jokes and quite a few of the STUDENTs are pissed @ you for insulting the people we see work so hard every day. Consider yourself lucky that no one has taken a shot at you, yet.
5)You seem sad and angry. We at mikesmit.com would love to help you deal with the pain inside, please tell us.

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WatchingTheShow says:
[Mar 17th @ 12:27am]

*Grabs popcorn and a cold beer*

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Anonymous Pedant says:
[Mar 17th @ 02:27am]

While Debogodzilla does appear to be functionally retarded, in all fairness he hasn't really said anything slanderous, libellous, or anything that would constitute hate speech.

Incidentally, it's "libel", not "liable", and lord only knows what "speach" is.

PROTIP: If you're calling someone out for being an idiot that can't spell, at least try not to do the same thing.

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Gregorian says:
[Mar 17th @ 10:09am]

You speak as if I have never worked for a multimillion dollar organisation Mike.
Managing multimillion dollar organisations is what I am also being educated in.
Organisational culture and behaviour stem from the strategic apex of an organisation. This also includes the upper echelons of the techno-structure and support structure.
They may do their job well. I will give you that, because I cannot comment on specific failures based on job description. They do not show heightened levels of organisational citizenship; they do not do a "great" job that strives to "delight" students.

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Gregorian says:
[Mar 17th @ 10:13am]

No one, not even himself, claimed Gregory Debogorski was better than anyone else.
He just has a crazier and much cooler vision for the DSU than anyone else.
And he's hella-cool!

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Sean says:
[Mar 17th @ 02:18pm]

I am not sure how some of these staff members are supposed to 'delight' students.

"Wow, you delivered those bills to us DELIGHTFULLY"?

"You balanced our accounts DELIGHTFULLY"?

"Your advice on this student code of conduct charge is simply DELIGHTFUL"?

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Gregorian says:
[Mar 17th @ 02:37pm]

You obviously have never taken serious academic literature of business or public management.
Communication and marketing (internal included) speaks much to the concept of "delight". Including employee delight.
Silly critics.

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Sean says:
[Mar 17th @ 03:20pm]

Except you were not talking about internal delight, you specifically mentioned that internal staff should be striving to delight the students.

I would have preferred something like a) clarification of your point or b) examples to illustrate your point, rather than so that any misconceptions I hold could be corrected. Instead I am labeled as a 'silly critic' for basically asking a question.

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Gregorian says:
[Mar 17th @ 03:41pm]

If you allow me until after classes are through, at 7pm EST, I will do you the favour of writing you a brief essay about what I am talking about.
I need you email address though. I doubt mikesmit.com wants me to publish my essay on the comments secton.

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AEB says:
[Mar 17th @ 03:43pm]

No, I think you should post it here, since I'd like to know what the hell you mean as well.

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Sean says:
[Mar 17th @ 03:54pm]

I can wait and will be sure to include it in my morning reading tomorrow.

I have privacy concerns with posting my email address in public areas.
However, since other people seem to be interested, another option is to post it elsewhere and then post a link here (if the essay ends up being a bit long).

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Gregorian says:
[Mar 17th @ 04:17pm]

If you give me a place I shall due my best to provide.
If you are unable to find a place, send me your email address to gr267981@hotmail.com
Have neither of you taken business or public admin courses??

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AEB says:
[Mar 17th @ 05:08pm]

Just post it here... and I cannot speak for Sean but business and public administration courses are not generally part of a computer science degree or a bachelor of arts degree in German.

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JP says:
[Mar 17th @ 06:48pm]

"Have you ever seen a single "middle aged" staffer engage the student population outside of the DSU?"

The CSB .. many of the staff know the students by name and they are generally far more friendly than you'd expect from people who have to pick up after a bunch of spoiled, self-centered, ill-mannered children in their 20s.

"Have you ever seen them go out and ask how can I serve you better?"

Since when is this part of their job description? Who would be immature enough to put the impetus on positive change at the BOTTOM of ANY corporate ladder? Oh .. right .. the CEO of a corporation about to tank due to mismanagent. Yah .. I think you just lost another vote.

"They are part of the apathy problem and they are being paid to be part of the solution."

Are you high? They aren't being paid to be part of the solution. They are being paid to clean the floors, print your transcripts, and put fancy stickers on your Dal ID. Leadership is the responsibility of those who are NOT protected by unions.

"You speak as if I have never worked for a multimillion dollar organisation Mike."

I've served coffee for Aramark .. that doesn't qualify me to lead Aramark. For that, I'd need a lobotomy.

"Managing multimillion dollar organisations is what I am also being educated in."

Clearly, basic English literacy is no longer a requirement for such a degree.

"Organisational culture and behaviour stem from the strategic apex of an organisation. This also includes the upper echelons of the techno-structure and support structure."

You realise that the APEX is the TOP and that staff are .. how do I put this delicately .. NOT AT THE FUCKING TOP?

"they do not do a "great" job that strives to "delight" students."

They are also not working in a shady massage parlor. I'm not sure what you expect from Dal Staff, but I'm pretty sure it is illegal.

"You obviously have never taken serious academic literature of business or public management."

I did, but I put it back. Stealing is wrong. Speaking of crimes, I should mention that your lack of basic communication skills makes me want to weep.

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Gregorian says:
[Mar 17th @ 07:56pm]

Silly critic. I am ignorant to your use of CSB. I will address the staff at the SUB. They might know students within the DSU building, but I doubt that they know those that do not frequent the DSU's events or clique.

As for spoiled- I was going to the school of hard knocks while you were going to junior and senior high school. If the young adults are 'a bunch of spoiled, self-centered, ill-mannered children in their 20s', it is only because people refuse to see the REAL roots to the problems that plague our society. This is very similar in context to the problems of the Union.

I do not have my Organisational Behavior text books with me. The gist of New Public Management and New Business Management is audience/customer/citizen based. It aims at decentralizing authority and responsibility in order to provide better service. Just because something is not defined in your job description does not mean that one should not do it. If one sees a task that will benefit or help in achieving organizational goals, then one should at worst identify the task, opportunity, or idea to a superior (Intrapreneurship- yes 'Intra') or at best strive to do the task themselves.

Silly critic Every single student and employee of the Union is part of the apathy problem. Including myself. The question is who is striving to be part of the solution. I do not consume narcotics.

If you were unable to identify problems within Aramark serving coffee, you must have been on drugs or have the IQ of a tomato. I hear complaints about the coffee shop management policies from the front employees pretty consistently. Eg staffing not being able to keep up during peak demand hours, negligence by management in giving staff proper recognition, supply of honey (indirect material) not meeting demand of consumers (which in turn has upset me), not enough pay, not enough off time, etc

I worked at a convenience store of campus as a stock boy and part time clerk; I learned tons about the internal and external problems faced by that small organization. Like come on, you obviously are a smart guy (you are in University) stop trying to bust my balls, just for the sake of it. I seriously believe strongly about the opinions that have been stated and consider them relevant.

If your comment referring to my English was about the s in organization; it is correct English Canadian spelling. Check it out. If it was not, I am not going to proof read my posts.

The Apex of the Union's full time staff is exactly what one of the major problems within the Union is. Debogorski refers to them as the full time staffers; he is not referring to the janitor.

The 'shady massage parlor' comment is not even worth responding to.

In reply to your last comment- I am truly sorry you are so angry at life and feel the need to attack others based on so little. If you ever really need someone to talk to about your strife's, email me at the address I posted above. Let us work together as comrades to solve the world's ills. For the Union!

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AEB says:
[Mar 17th @ 08:32pm]

JP has a MA in English (in addition to two other BAs)... I don't think it was the 's' he was objecting to.

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Yannick says:
[Mar 17th @ 09:45pm]

Greg,

I've took some management, economics and leadership courses as an undergrad and I can tell you that you text book cannot fully prepare you for a management job like the DSU presidency. I was the president of DAGS for only 3 months and the I learned much more from the experience than the class or the text book. The class or the text book are good foundation but experience still count for more.

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Roberts says:
[Mar 17th @ 10:09pm]

I've been hooked to this site all week and am really loving the back and forth debates within the comments section. I also appreciate those who, when making bold statements, provide their real name (or at least something that allows them to be identifiable). Which leads me to my next question: who is "Gregorian"? I don't think it's the Gregory running for President. GD has consistently used both his firat and last name. Also, an e-mail he offers is his last name @dal.ca while Gregorian offers an e-mail that is clearly a Dal banner number attached to a hotmail account (?). Maybe GD decided to change his posting name or I'm missing something but it's be nice to know for sure who's arguing for who.

Thanks to all for the reading material!

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effdemocracy says:
[Mar 18th @ 12:01am]

Put it this way, young GD will never be the type of fellow ANYone would ask to run something larger than a lemonade stand and even then they wouldn't let him be in charge of strategic direction or speak to the media.

A Dal BMgmt isn't great training and PAdmin courses are for the hopelessly inane. PROTIP Co-op helps to develop real skills, get a BComm.

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Reality Check says:
[Mar 18th @ 12:15am]

Yeah, I guess you could do that, but why would you go through Arts when you could get a real degree?

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JP says:
[Mar 18th @ 04:52pm]

"I was going to the school of hard knocks while you were going to junior and senior high school."

You were in the school of hard knocks in '86? Did you get a diploma? Does your mother know that you refer to her womb so harshly?

"If your comment referring to my English was about the s in organization; it is correct English Canadian spelling. Check it out. If it was not, I am not going to proof read my posts."

It was not. The fact that you are unwilling to take a couple of minutes to proof-read communications aimed at potential voters speaks volumes, though.

"The 'shady massage parlor' comment is not even worth responding to."

True, but it was pretty damned funny.

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Gregorian says:
[Mar 18th @ 05:39pm]

I had experience running an organisation long before I came to Dalhousie. It was my own; it was not as large as the Union obviously. It was succcessful.
Are you guys so critical hateful with everyone or is just me?
Just rememeber one thing; "it's cool anyway I bust it".
Lighten up! It's election time.
For the Union!

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Jonathan Wilson says:
[Mar 19th @ 01:19pm]

Here we are again, another year has passed by and I feel the need to add my name to the list of people trying to talk some sense into those mis-informed about the DSU...

I won't get into the whole attack someone personally, although that is what I do best. I will try something different this year and point out shortcomings in people's logic (or lack thereof).

The DSU Full-time staff is not SUPPOSED to have any real contact with the student body. That is what the executive, and the governing body of council is for. The full-time staff is mainly there to support council and the exec., and to be department heads for the majority of the DSU's endeavours.

Do you see the clerks at the Department of Finance mingling with the media and the voting public on behalf of their organization? Of course not. They are the grease that keeps the wheels running smoothly behind the scenes. It is the job of the elected/appointed officials and the communication staff to engage and communicate with their public.

See? No insults, but I am sure I still managed to make that Greg Jhnajjfdfdsksdborski guy feel like more of an idiot.

Keep it up Smitty.

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Gregorian says:
[Mar 19th @ 05:14pm]

The reality that you mentioned is the traditional method of providing public service. This I agree with.
New Public Management (NPM)philosophies view the mechanics of the public service in a different way. There is contradictions within NPM dealing with accountability issues and the problem of laws keeping up to the pace of new policy, but the philosophies of NPM appear to working both in Canada and abroad. One of the keys to NPM is greater flexibility and response to public demands by increasing public service interaction with the public.
There is the fallcy of composition, which would state that the philosophies may not be transferable from the Macro to the Micro, but the fact remains that something different needs to be done within the DSU.
Increased awareness of public demands for DSU staffer's will embetter staffer's ability to make decisions of their own and advise the executive.
There are many ways this can be done.
But what do I know, you are likely far better educated than I.

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Jonathan Wilson says:
[Mar 19th @ 08:59pm]

Not more educated, just more awesome.

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Anonymous Coward says:
[Mar 20th @ 01:58am]

I'd vote for Awesome. Too bad I'm ineligible and Awesome isn't running for office.

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