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Speaker Introduction

Our speaker for this month is Donald Tierney. Don received his BA from Washington State University, and a Masters from San Diego State University in mathematics. He taught high school mathematics in Bellevue and Spokane, Washington. He was employed by Boeing, first as an Operations Research Manager and later as Manager of Corporate Headquarters Computer Systems Development organization. Currently, Don is Administrator of the Legislative Evaluation and Accountability Program (LEAP) Committee.

Mr. Tierney resides in Olympia with his wife and four children.

Personality Corner

Our profile of the month is Sam Mayo, Assistant Director Information Systems for the Department of Licensing.

Sam was born in The Dalles, Oregon, but he grew up in the Olympia area as his family moved here when he was two. Sam graduated from Olympia High School. Following graduation he attended Seattle University for a year and then the University of Washington for a year and a half. There he was a pharmacy major, until he discovered that counting pills was not his "bag". lie learned this while washing prescription bottles and selling model airplanes as a pharmacy intern.

Sam managed to miss all the various armed services, except for the Naval Reserve. He arranged to be born at the right time so that lie missed both World War II and Korea.

Sam spent much of his time during high school working with his dad in his auto repair shop. Sam still enjoys working on cars and has recently acquired an Alfa Romeo to fix up. The summers of Sam's college years were spent in Alaska on a fishing boat. This was great fun and hard work. During college Sam did a lot of running to deliver papers on a wholesale basis to many small stores for the Seattle Times.

Sam began working for the State on October 12, 1957 at 4:00 p.m. in the Department of Motor Vehicles. lie has remained with that agency. His first job was running the sorter. Sam has moved up through the ranks from EAM equipment to operations to systems and programming. lie managed the Systems and Programming section and then he was promoted to his current position.

One of Sam's most memorable experiences occurred while he was Operations Manager. The system was down and Jack Nelson, head of the Financial Responsibility Division, was very upset. They were discussing the situation on the phone and Sam asked him to come down. Mr. Nelson did and Sam offered to let him kick the machine. He did --- that didn't help but everyone could laugh about it.

Sam's plans for the future include continuing in his current position and implementing the job matrix.

Sam and his wife, Judy, live on a small farm. Dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, cattle and usually pigs and turkeys share their farm. He has five children, mostly grown; and, his oldest daughter is just starting her third year of pre-veterinary medicine at WSU.

Sam's many hobbies include fixing cars, fishing - both salmon and trout. He also enjoys gardening which includes landscaping. This hobby has recently been converted into a business, so if you need some lawnwork let Sam know.

Communications

Mr. Robert Boysen, Manager
Department of Personnel
Standards and Surveys
600 South Franklin
Olympia, WA 98504

RE: Salary Indexing System - Preliminary

Dear Mr. Boysen:

The D.P. Managers' Association has - recently reviewed the preliminary Salary Indexing System and has identified several areas of concern regarding alignment of some of the data processing classes. Within that context, the following revisions to the indexing system are recommended prior to its presentation to the State Personnel Board.

• The Computer Input Scheduler series (class codes 0304, 0305, and 0307) and the Computer Input Supervisor series (class codes 0327 and 0328) should be aligned to benchmark #17 rather than benchmark #16. These series are functionally oriented far more closely to computer operations than to data entry.
• There is apparently an alignment inconsistency between the Computer Output Microfilm (COM) series (class codes 0321 and 0323) and the COM Supervisor (class code 0325) - i.e., the former being aligned with a clerk typist benchmark and the latter being aligned with clerical supervisor benchmark. In any case, the entire COM series is more closely associated with EAM/Computer operations functions and, therefore, should be aligned with benchmark #17.
• The Data Processing Supervisor series (class codes 0370 through 0372) should be aligned with benchmark #17, not the average movement of benchmark #18. This series is traditionally oriented to computer operations rather than programming, which is an unrelated functional area.
• The computer systems analyst benchmark (#19) and the design programmer benchmark (#18) should not be averaged together to provide a basis for indexing other data processing classes. Each benchmark should "stand alone" and those classes indexed to either of the benchmarks should remain aligned as indicated in the preliminary salary indexing system.

If, in spite of this recommendation, the two benchmarks (#18) and 419) are averaged together, then a separate occupational group should be established to encompass the data processing manager classes; e.g., the MIS series (class codes 0374 through 0376), AMIS series (class codes 0377 through 0382), the Systems Design Manager (class code 0391), Assistant Director D.P. Authority (class code 0383), and the Assistant Chief, OIS (class code 0302). Due to the broad/varying range of data processing responsibility and expertise required of these classes, this occupational group should then be aligned to average movement of all data processing benchmarks, i.e., #Is 16, 17, 18, and 19 rather than just benchmark #Is 18 and 19, which are too narrow in scope.

The Managers' Association welcomes any Questions/comments that you or your staff may have concerning these recommendations. In that regard, please either contact me (ext. 2208) or Cliff Cotey (ext. 4360).

Sincerely,

Paul Newman, Chairman D. P. Manager's Association

PN:LS:jl

cc: Cliff Cotey, Chairman, Personnel Liaison Committee

FIPS PUB 55 - - The DPA 'has received a copy of the 2-volume FIPS PUB 55, June 1, 1978. Guideline: Codes for named populated places and related entities of the States of the United States. It implements ANS X3.47 - 1977. This voluminous work may be reviewed at DPA offices, if desired.

Serial, Part 1

Galen Schmidtke

CANARY

Life had not been particularly good to Millard Fillmore-Reeves, and that was a shame, since things had seemed so promising only a few years before. The muscular Reeves, who stood a strapping 193 centimeters and weighed a well-packed 100 kilos, had been a fourth round draft choice of the Philadelphia Eagles only six years earlier, and, although his play on the football field was undistinguished during his rookie year, the coaching staff had great expectations for his future performance. But the car wreck which almost severed his left leg below the knee had destroyed all of those hopes, even though Reeves--whose friends and the press all called "Millie"-- regained the use of the leg and walked with only the slightest trace of a limp. The injury had robbed him of just enough speed and power to put him out of the National Football League. The round-faced, dark-skinned Reeves-who would probably have been handsome were it not for the flattened nose which had been broken four times during his football career--had determinedly set his thick, olive lips and gone to Winnipeg. One season there convinced him that he wouldn't be playing any more professional football, not even in the Canadian Football League.

So, unprepared for a job as he was, Millie Reeves had fallen back on his college training as a chemist. it was a long fall, for his academic progress drew up far short of his exploits on the football field; he had made all his grades as an athlete. The job he accepted was a mundane position with a soap company, as little more than a lab assistant. About the only good thing that could be said about his employment was that it was steady and the hours were regular, which gave him plenty of time to stay in shape. Every morning his neighbors could watch the tall, brown man with the thick, curly, close-cropped black hair jog off from the apartment house in his flashy blue sweat suit with the white stripe down the side. And forty-five minutes later held jog back, looking hardly winded, much less fatigued. There was no mistaking that Millard Fillmore Reeves was in great shape. But after four years lie was still a flunky, occupationally speaking, and had reached only the second rung of the promotional ladder, Assistant Chemist.

At twenty-eight, Millie was starting to grow concerned about his future. He was living in a modest apartment and, except for a classy sports car and an exceptionally fine wardrobe, he had few possessions. lie simply couldn't afford more on his mediocre salary. His thoughts soured when he contemplated marrying and raising a family. He seldom dated, partly since it strained his pocketbook, but mostly because he felt he had little to offer a serious woman--and they were all seriously looking for a husband under those swinging exteriors. He ran off the frustration every morning and swam it off at night; but it kept coming back. Then, one Sunday morning, sitting alone in his bathrobe reading the "Help Wanted" pages of the Classified Section, he caught the scent of hope. "BRIGHT OPPORTUNITY FOR AMBITIOUS YOUNG CHEMIST" the ad was captioned. Reeves read on. His education and experience seemed to fit the job requirements as though they'd been written just for him. And the salary that was advertised was nothing short of magnificent in comparison with what he was making in the soap business. Millard F. Reeves rapped out a resume, dropped it in an envelope, and posted it that same afternoon to the Astrochem Company.

Next Month: Part 2

Association Minutes - August 3, 1978

The meeting was called to order at 12:30 P.M. by Chairperson Paul Newman. There were 20 members in attendance.

Richard Pinsky was the guest speaker. Mr. Pinsky, who recently joined DSHS in a move from OFM, discussed the management review of DSHS which was just completed. In his talk, he indicated some of the principal results of the review team's work:

• Consolidation can work, but many managers didn't want it to happen.
• DSHS had become program-oriented; many sections were not looking at the total view.
• Many DSHS employees felt they worked for clients rather than the department.
• DSHS seemed more interested in providing services than in the relationship of service to cost and efficient practices.

Mr. Pinsky also commented on the recent reorganization of the agency, emphasizing the management perspective and coordination of programs. He indicated that there is increasing interest in the use of data processing to make more effective use of the mass of data collected within DSHS.

Paul Newman then opened the business meeting, indicating that total expenditures since the last Treasurer's report were $3.56. Galen Schmidtke gave the DPA report which covered actions at both the July 12 meeting and a special July 24th meeting. Principal actions included:

• Resolution of the continuing saga of service center status for DOT.
• Discussion of standards for Data Centers resulting in a request of Data Centers to provide specific indications of which standards they are in compliance with.
• A report that Service Centers 2 and 4 will be joining the revolving fund.
• Determination of a plan for replacing Clint. An outside consultant will review the function of the DPA and make recommendations as to the type role which both the authority and its director should play. As of this time, the study is underway under the watchful eyes of a subcommittee and the position is open.

The next DPA meeting will be held on September 6, 1978.

Patti Palmer indicated that a newsletter editor is still badly needed (**COME ON FOLKS! SOMEBODY PLEASE VOLUNTEER!). Apply reported on the Job Matrix indicating that the subcommittee had finished a draft of a questionnaire and had just received a draft of the specifications. In Cliff Cotey's absence, Paul reported on the Personnel Liasion committee's work. In indexing the draft from Bob Boysen, the committee found four major problems with alignments of positions to benchmarks. The Committee is drafting a letter to Boysen reviewing the alignment.

Paul next reported on the Training Committee, indicating that they had reviewed the budget request and the schedule of classes for next year. The budget request is about $120,000 and analysis of the needs survey is expected to be complete in about 2 weeks.

Galen Schmidtke reported on the status of the Centralization/Decentralization Committee. A draft has been circulated to the committee members of a policy analysis and statement for consideration at the next committee meeting.

Paul finished the business portion of the meeting by presenting a status report for Bob Payne on the proposed security standards revisions. A draft is being circulated and will be reviewed by the Authority at the September 6 meeting.

There was no further business, so the meeting was adjourned.