Dear Ross & friends,

You said "One does not need to know how to screw in a
light bulb in order to be successful at the helm of
General Electric."
This is only true if you have "quality control" within
your organization.  If you don't understand how the
bottom level does it job and seek input in
decision-making from these individuals your likely to
institute procedures and policies that could impair
the production rate/efficiency resulting in an
increase in costs and a reduction in quality. Your
statement is qualified only if the people on the lower
end of the organizational chart are empowered in the
decision-making process.

So while a museum executive might have little to no
museum experience, I don't think categorically he will
run the museum into the ground if he is a smart
manager and involves the organization the
decision-making process.
Take it easy,
Amy Kleinert
--- Ross Weeks <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Pam:  A great many successful university presidents
> have come from outside
> the academic world.  They are skilled at
> fundraising, instituting "best
> practices" in financial management and planning,
> and/or schmoozing the state
> politicians for increased funding.  They would not
> qualify as members of the
> faculty.
>
> Increasingly this has been true for the other
> knowledge enterprises
> including museums.  Top museum administrators
> require many of the same
> qualifications and abilities as corporate CEOs.  One
> does not need to know
> how to screw in a light bulb in order to be
> successful at the helm of
> General Electric.
>
> These types of entrepreneurs are the ones who have
> created the successful
> auxiliary enterprises, including highly profitable
> gift shops (complete with
> e-commerce nowadays), that help meet the expenses of
> the larger museums.
>
> Political appointees, of course, fit into a
> different category altogether.
> Their institutions need a figurehead, but at the
> second level there should
> be highly qualified museum professionals.
> Ross Weeks Jr.
> Historic Crab Orchard Museum & Pioneer Park
> Tazewell, Va.
> http://histcrab.netscope.net
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> Pamela Sezgin wrote:
> > Well, I think many of us "mistrust" the museum
> leadership because many of
> > these administrators have absolutely no museum
> training or experience.  I
> > don't know the people at the Shedd so I'm speaking
> in generalizations and
> not
> > focusing on one museum in particular.  I'm also
> speaking from my 25 years
> of
> > experience......
> >
> > I've seen too many museums run into the ground by
> people who are political
> > appointees who don't have the foggiest about our
> professional practices.
>
>
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