Samuel Wilson, National Vice-President-Finance and International
S.A.M.’s regional reorganization will become effective July 1. In order to improve communications within the Society, five new regions were mapped out. They are Western, North Central, South Central, Northeast, and Southeast. The “regions” that we have referred to in the past will now be known as “areas,” and those heading the areas will be known as “area directors.” A ‘regional vice-president” will be in charge of each of the five regions. Most regions will be made up of several areas. The formal reporting channel of this new network will be from the chapters to the area director; the area directors to the regional vice-presidents; and from the regional vice-presidents to the national vice-president for senior chapter operations, who in turn reports to the president.
In addition to improved communications throughout the Society, we expect this new arrangement to allow for new opportunities for leadership at all levels
of the organization; more people will be able to be involved actively in organizing and coordinating. Also, the area directors will be reporting to regional vice-presidents who will be able to devote enough time to each area.
In the past we had 19 regions (now to become areas), all reporting directly to the vice-president of senior chapter operations. This was simply too much for one person to manage. We found that this span of control (or span of management, if you will) violated what we have learned about appropriate spans of control. Now, the span of control, in most cases, will consist of from four to six areas.
Organizational structure is an important basic requirement for getting things done, but the most important requirement of all is able people who are willing to work. With this essential in mind, the nominating committee, chaired by Jim Rutherford, has submitted a slate of persons who have agreed to serve as new regional vice-presidents and area directors. They will be elected at the board meeting in Chicago on May 7.
A prime objective of this new arrangement is for the new regional vice-presidents to serve as links between area directors and the national vice-president for senior chapter operations and, of course, the rest of the national officers and headquarters. They will be expected to work closely with their area directors in all operations relating to senior chapters and the coordination of campus chapters. Some of these activities include membership growth, reactivation of dying chapters, and programming.
In keeping with sound management concepts, some or all of our regular reports will be revised to accommodate the new system. Reporting based on management by objectives will be encouraged. The revised report forms are being prepared and should be ready for our national conference in Chicago. SAM-NI
This SAM News International article is from our historical archive, information provided is for reference and archival research about the activities and developments of the Society.