Date:  Fri, 16 Dec 1994 13:31:18 -0600

From:  "Timothy C. Frazer" <mftcf[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UXA.ECN.BGU.EDU>

Subject: Re: Word...of the year



I want to make another nomination for WOTY. But first, congrats to

Dennis of Urbana for making the editorial page of the Chicago TRIB with

his WOTY column. Not many of us get to moonlight as pundits (sigh). . . .



My nomination :____________management. Yes, its a bit dated, but it

deserves even belated attention. We live in an age full of hubris, in

which we believe any problem will submit to "management" We give degrees

in mangagement. We give lots of money to people who convince us they can

do management. We have forest management (which ususally means the

forest will disappear); we have environmental management (Duke has a

degree program in that); we have wildlife management (see forest_____);

we have land management. In the same issue of the Trib where Dennis'

column appeared ran a story that said cowboys where disappearing, giving

way to "land management." My university has a management department.

I suspect that academe will eventually have academic managers instead of

deans ir chairpersons; I pray I can wrack up enough credits toward

retirement before that happens. Of course, in education we call it

"administration." Thats what they call it in hospitals, too.



Oh yeah, home management. How many of you are in universities with

degrees or departments of Home Management? How many of you believe that

homes are the least bit manageable?



Just think of the impact on your life of folks who do management. S&L

collapses, coporate downsizing, pink slips, new shopping malls. . . .

Where I live our hospital "management" has decided to lay off RNs and

just put a TV camera in each patient's, with an unskilled, minimum wage

person scanning the monitors. Yes, management play a huge role in our

postmodern lives, and deserves any attention it can get.



Wow, long post. It's raining and I can't go outside.

Sorry.



Tim Frazer