Re: CAA: Mutual Help List, CAA: Mutual Help List "Ethics & The Administration of Public-Use Airports"

["Airport Consulting, Inc." <avia@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Steve and All:

 

I think we all have either seen and/or experienced situations where the best solution and/or business approach wasn't accepted or enacted due to political pressure (whether it was applied by outside or inside politics).

 

Given that our industry and our world community (in transportation, economic markets, and other business sectors) are undergoing a true transformation now -- precipitated by multiple effects/events -- we have an opportunity to change our way of doing business and "perhaps more importantly" our thinking. When we change our thinking the effect ripples down into what we actually do - fund, build and operate, sell -etc.

 

I suggest we start (if you already haven't adopted the view) looking at our transportation market place from the perspective of how to best service our customers and keep them coming back.  It is my opinion that for us to succeed in changing the industry's thinking and ultimately its practices to focus on "repeat customers" we must use positive reinforcement because it is the quickest and the most enduring way to effect change -- otherwise the status quo remains in place and in play. Negative reinforcement -- e.g. fear and shame usually go hand in hand with stopping action, growth and change.

 

We have via the internet a wonderful resource to communicate with each other such "changes in thinking and practice" - e.g. Steve's contributions, and others.

 

I encourage us to look at the problems from the point of view of how we can enlist and support those in our transportation community who are focused (with money, expertise, power, large volumes of customers, multiple locations across the network of transportation, and other resources) to join together to discuss and implement practices that positively reinforce needed changes (including contract awards and funding). This rethinking is not impossible -- it only takes one thought and then another to change attitudes, offer alternatives, reinforce with rewards (tangible and intangible) practices that benefit the industry as a whole, to create more opportunity and unleash vast resources to put into practice what does work. 

 

If you have not read the book "Who Moved My Cheese" by Spencer Johnson -- and also the book "Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale & Improve Results" by Stephen C. Lundin Ph.D. -- please take an opportunity to do so if only to show yourself (and perhaps others) changing perspective WORKS!  I am not normally interested in this line of reading -- but these books hit my buttons.

 

You may also find the book "Funky Business" by Jonas Ridderstale and Kjell Nordstrom interesting reading.

 

Warm regards to all of you!

 

Kathleen

Airport Consulting, Inc.
Kathleen Boyd
800-471-4624
831-662-8880
www.kbairportconsulting.com

----- Original Message -----

From: "TCook" <TCook@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

To: <help@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2002 10:17 AM

Subject: Re: CAA: Mutual Help List, Mutual Help List, "Ethics & The Administration of Public-Use Airports"

> Steve,
> 
> Is Ethics and Public-Use an oxy 
moron?
> 
> The administration of airports is not an autonomous 
function. The director
> and staff of an airport could have strong ethical 
standards by which the
> department is determined to function, only to 
have those ethical standards
> undermined by strong political surrounding 
forces, such as the airport
> owners governing administration.
> 
> At what point, (there really isn't any defining point) do you give up 
career
> choices i.e., employment versus unemployment,  promotion or 
salary
> increases, to do what is best for the taxpayers, users and real 
people of
> the community to which the airport really belongs, rather than 
support the
> unethical decisions that the governing administration is 
directing staff to
> support?
> 
> "if you can't fight em, or 
if your losing the fight, do you join em, or do
> you just move 
on?
> 
> The ethical dilemma is between what you do when no one will 
find out and
> what you don't do because of personal consequences if 
everyone found out?
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message 
-----
> From: "Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: 
<help@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2002 7:31 AM
> Subject: CAA: 
Mutual Help List, "Ethics & The Administration of Public-Use
> 
Airports"
> 
> 
> > Given recent allegations of unethical 
and possibly illegal activity at
> > several large U.S. airports I 
thought it might be interesting to start a
> > thread on ethics in our 
industry. Are the allegations an alarming trend
> > in our industry or 
simply a reflection of a broader problem in what
> > seems an ethically 
challenged business culture in our society? What
> > obligations do we 
have to the traveling public, local taxpayers and
> > tenants? If 
something were technically legal (statutory issues) or
> > compliant 
(regulatory issues) but POSSIBLY unethical or POTENTIALLY
> > unsafe, 
what factors would we consider when reaching a decision? How
> > fine 
do we split hairs in order to reach some desired outcome? In that
> > 
mental cost benefit analysis we're all paid to perform numerous times
> 
> every day, how much weight do we give to 'doing the right thing'
> 
> regardless of the financial or personal consequences? Someone once
> 
> defined character as how you behave when you know no one will ever 
find
> > out? What is the current state of ethics in our 
industry?
> >
> > I look forward to the discussion.
> 
> Warm regards,
> > Steve
> >
> >
> 
>    Find past Mutual Help topics in the CAA Help 
Forum
> >
> http://www.californiaaviation.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?conf=DCConfID6
> >
> > 
*****************************************
> > California Aviation 
Alliance: Mutual Help List
> >
> > To originate a message to 
the Mutual Help List, address your e-mail to
> help@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, fill in 
the 'Subject" line and your message or
> use the convenient form 
at:
> http://www.californiaaviation.org/post_to_lists.htm
> > Either way, your message will be received by 
everyone on the list.
> >
> > To respond to someone elses 
message to this list, simply click on the
> 'Reply' button on your e-mail 
program, leaving the 'Subject' line alone.
> > Your response will be 
received by everyone on the list.
> >
> > To manage your CAA 
subscriptions, use the CAA: Mail List Administration
> page at  
http://californiaaviation.org/cal/index.cfm
> >
> 
>    Find past Mutual Help 
topics in the CAA Help Forum
> http://www.californiaaviation.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?conf=DCConfID6
> 
> 
*****************************************
> California Aviation Alliance: 
Mutual Help List
>  
> To originate a message to the Mutual 
Help List, address your e-mail to help@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, fill in 
the 'Subject" line and your message or use the convenient form at: http://www.californiaaviation.org/post_to_lists.htm
> Either way, your message will be received by everyone on 
the list.
> 
> To respond to someone elses message to this list, 
simply click on the 'Reply' button on your e-mail program, leaving the 'Subject' 
line alone.
> Your response will be received by everyone on the 
list.
> 
> To manage your CAA subscriptions, use the CAA: Mail List 
Administration page at  http://californiaaviation.org/cal/index.cfm 
>