March 15, 2013
Dear Everyone:
One of the things I like about being
retired is that I’m free to attend
an ARMA Workshop any time I feel like it.
(ARMA = Association of Records Managers and Administrators.)
Of course, there has to be a Workshop to attend; that’s up to the
local Chapter to arrange.
They’ve been having one each March with the
City Clerks organization in
the past few years.
They even arranged ahead of time with the City Clerks organization for
“points” toward Continuing Education Credits, something I also need for
the Institute of Certified Records Managers (ICRM).
To stay an official Certified Records Manager, I need about 20
“points” each year. I
already have just over 10 “points” carried over from the previous
five-year cycle. With the
three “points” I got from this week’s Workshop, I have 13 and it’s only
March.
Another thing I like about being retired is that I don’t really have to
“learn” anything from the Workshop.
I’m not required to “bring it back” to the office, or write one
of the dreaded “Trip Reports”.
I can just relax and enjoy the presentations.
The first one was your basic two hours of everything we already know
about Records Management, with an emphasis on the fact that “93% of all
documents are born digital”, even if they ultimately do get printed and
stored in a file cabinet and/or box somewhere.
The second presentation dealt with
Information Technology (IT)
and how Records Management (RM) can, or cannot, “communicate” with IT.
This was more fun as it sparked a plethora of “horror stories” from
members of the audience on the iniquities of IT:
“They don’t communicate, they dictate!!!”
Something I noticed during the “audience participation”:
“IT” was always “he” and “RM” was always “she”.
Bear in mind that these were City Clerks or people who work for
the City Clerks, the folks responsible for maintaining all of a city’s
records. And, in a group of
around three dozen, I counted exactly three who were male.
All the rest were female.
Translation: “IT” is a
“boys’ club”; “RM” is “women’s work”.
And, in the business world, including running municipalities,
what men do is always “more important” than what women do.
Which fits in neatly with a “running conversation” on
CNN,
60 Minutes, etc.: Women
need to learn to be “more like men” in order to succeed.
Something we’ve been hearing for over 30 years.
To which I say: Piffle.
We just need to redefine what “success” is.
And that’s your assignment for the week.
Love, as always,
Pete
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