IT vs Management

A man in a hot air balloon, realising he was lost, reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended further and shouted to the lady “Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am”  

The woman below replied, “You’re in a hot air balloon, hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You’re between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude.”  

“You must be in IT,” said the balloonist.  

“Actually I am,” replied the woman, “How did you know?”  

“Well,” answered the balloonist, “everything you have told me is technically correct but I’ve no idea what to make of your information and the fact is I’m still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help at all. If anything, you’ve delayed my trip.”  

The woman below responded, “You must be in Management.”  

“I am,” replied the balloonist, “but how did you know?”  

“Well,” said the woman, “you don’t know where you are or where you’re going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise, which you’ve no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it’s my *&##*  fault…”

University limits candidates’ access

The University of Otago will allow election candidates to visit its residential halls by invitation only.

University accommodation services director James Lindsay said he had received a “steady stream” of requests from politicians wanting to campaign on campus.

It was not appropriate to have candidates coming without invitation into what was effectively a students’ living room.

If the colleges are the students’ living rooms, shouldn’t they be making the decision and not the University?

National Party Dunedin North candidate Mike Woodhouse questioned whether those who were not politically affiliated and wanted to speak at a college would have greater access. He was disappointed, especially given the reception he had received at colleges not owned by the university, he said.

It was concerning that universities, traditionally the cradle of political activism, had become areas of high political apathy, he said.

Mr Lindsay said candidates were welcome to attend a college by invitation… All candidates would be given the same answer, regardless of party or parliamentary status.

Students and individual colleges have the right to turn down requests to visit by candidates.

But the University is making a blanket decision on the colleges’ behalf. That’s like a landlord deciding who can enter his/her properties on behalf of tennants in which case the University appears to be confusing the roles of governance/ownership and management.