‘Inflation will have to be dealt with
' next time the contract is renews
,” Browning.
i energy costs and inflatlon in
eral require budget cuts, personnel
- services may be reduced, or
cial projects, like building refurs
hment, will suffer
l his nun-academic, yet essential
it helps keep the college a healthy
litution. The physical plant is,
ever, continually under fire for
ste, inefficiency, and slowness in
pleting work. Is the lazy Bate
rker real or an imagined scapegoat,
easy target [or abuse and com-
int?
lawn and Walker admit that_the
e of work for the 8&5 worker may
somewhat leisurely. Since there is
way to supervise 78 people, there
, ways in which abuse can occur.
d there is abuse: employees have

sergeant’

oduct and process. Some oirices,
ch as Student Allairs, are highly in-
lved in the process componentﬁthe
ain part of their work deals with in
raction with people.

The physical plant, on the other

ind, is high on product and low on
ocess. “Hawn's office is 98% pro

ct and 1% process." Walker said.
.wn, he ieels, gets things done.

Both Walker and Vice Provost Ken
owning are happy with Hawn's per-
rmance. “Dale has more expertise
an most physical plant directors at
her schools Grinnell‘s size," Browns
g says, Walker echoes, ”His

chnicai abilities are outstan-
ng—you just can't find a director of
physical plant who has the technical
ills that Hawn has."

But even Hawn doesn't see the
lysical plant as functioning perfect-

: he stresses, “There’s always room
r lmprovement,” In some areas,
wever, his hands are tied.

College President George Drake has
peatedly stated that he would like to

‘e college grounds kept in better con-'

tion. But because of student and
culty protests several years ago, the
ysical plant ls not allowed to use
eedklllers or fertilizers.

Also, due to budgetary belt~
_htening, the B&G staff is down to a

ovember l 6, l 979

been reported notonly to work at a
leisurely place, but also to take advan-
tage of unsupervised coffee and lunch
breaks.

In many ways, it is difficult to
evaluate 3&5 workers for the way
they do their jobs. Many people aren’t
aware of the various schedules for
B&G workers. when a group of BM}
workers are sitting around drinking
coifee for 30 minutes in the morning,
it isn’t that they are taking time off
from work for an extended break, This
is the lunch hour time for. the shift
that came on the job at 5 a.m.

The leisurely attitude of workers
may be better understood by consider-
ing that physical plant work is often
none too inspiring. Many students who
have worked on jobs they didn’t par
ticularly care ior probably have been
exposed to the temptation to mke it
easy. The chronic complaint oi
students working in summer jobs is
that they have to do dull Work for low
pay. This is not to say that working at

very low level of manpower—the
lowest level, in fact, in a number oi
years. Groundskeeping, by the way,
has one of the lower priorities of the
various BhG responsibilities.

Hawn stresses that while he is try-
ing to run the physical plant as em-
cientiy as possible, “I don't have the
supervisory stair to {allow 78 people
around.” He says that often by the

a leisurely pace in a low pressure job
is right or wrong: it merely explains
the attitude,

Students who have worked for 3&0
in the summer have experienced these
job attitudes first hand. One student
related the story or his [irst few days
as a summer B&G worker. At first,
the student worked hard and filled his
time with the duties of this job, He
was soon approached by iellow
workers who asked what he was dos
ing.

“l‘m doing my job," he replied.

“Well, why don't you just take it
easy,” they told him,

it comes down to a question of
degreeeii a leisurely attitude spreads
too iar, then the college may end up
with poor services. At the present
time, services seem adequate.

“If you look carefully," Hawn said,
“we come out looking pretty
good. that isn't to say mat we should
be complacent, There’s always room
for improvement."

time he hears complaints about 8&6
workers, it is too late to investigate
charges.

He indicates that he is always will—
ing to listen to complaints and con»

structive criticism about the physical

plant staff. Quite often, one finds,
Hawn has very logical and acceptable
explanations for questions concerning
8er operations.

M3»

photo by Karl Duksteln

 

