Reorganization of the organizations

My salary is paid for by three organizations, all of which are undergoing reorganization right now. Something must be in the air.

In particular, the one I know most about (which isn't saying much since nearly everything is written about or spoken in the Finnish language) is at FMI. Except for the Director General, the organization is being reconstructed from the top downward. Each position (whether new or old) is being re-competed for. This is quite an interesting approach, given many other organizations where bureaucratic inertia is a big part of government organizations.

A clear benefit of such an upheaval is that new people with new ideas get into leadership positions. A potential disadvantage of such an approach is that new people with new ideas get into leadership positions. ;-) An additional disadvantage is the loss of knowledge in how the system worked under the old administration.

The new organization will take effect starting 1 January 2008. It remains to be seen whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. I remain optimistic that some important changes, especially in the way research and operations interact, will take place to make FMI a better organization.