[19461] in APO-L
Re: Regioal realignment
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Richard Quodomine, Thomas Register)
Fri Oct 23 08:18:37 1998
Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 08:17:39 -0400
Reply-To: "Richard Quodomine, Thomas Register Rep. on Long Island" <trrdq@SPRINTMAIL.COM>
From: "Richard Quodomine, Thomas Register Rep. on Long Island" <trrdq@SPRINTMAIL.COM>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
Richard Edward Vehlow wrote:
> >From my Developing and Staffing organizations class, I remember it being said
> that the ideal number of subordinates in a management tree from a parent is
> 7.
Issue #1 ... while ideal staffing may be 7 (though the Scout Handbook refers to
the ideal patrol as 8), we talk about geography, and especially in the US,
geography rarely corresponds to ideal management situations.
>
> With 360 chapters then, there should be 52 sections and 8 regions. Of course,
> there's also land mass. I feel that one should be able to drive between the 2
> furthest points in a region in a day, maximum. So at least 11 regions are
> warranted on that count. My final requirement on my region realignment wish
> list is that region boundaries only follow state lines and do not bisect
> states. Hence, all of NY would be in a specific region. Same with PA, KY and
> the other states in 2 Regions. I feel a state should be united in a region.
I definitely take issue with this. Metropolitan areas and highways are far more
important when considering tie lines and bounds. Philadelphia and NYC have a
string of consistent fairly large cities between them in New Jersey, and an
Interstate (I-95, the NJ Tpke). In terms of driving distance and actual distance,
they may fit a better region, than taking 3 hours to go upstate to the nearest
chapter in Oneonta or Albany (This referenced from New York City, where I reside).
Thus, in real terms, a Region comprised of Western PA to NYC may be more
intelligent than the current structure. (Sort of an I-80/I-95 Corridor ... this
region would include Delaware. State boundaries were determined by political
compromies and land grants 3 centuries or more ago. They certainly did not factor
in interstate highways or logical geography. If it did, Staten Island would be in
New Jersey, Pennsylvania would end without a border on Lake Erie, and Vermont
would still be a part of New York State, or would never have been a part of it at
all.
> I did not propose any realignments, but had I known this would be a big topic
> for debate, I might have proposed something.
>
> The other day, I was toying around with my ideas for realignments. I came up
> with a plan for 14 regions, with 3-6 sections each. Roughly half were east of
> the Miussissippi, the rest west of the river, or bisected by it. For each of
> the 2 groups of 7, I'l also propose a coordinator (to sit on the Nat'l
> Board).
Interesting possibility, but did that take into account number of chapters,
driving times and relative size of metropolitan areas? And do we need more
coordinators? What would they do? There's no "Western" or "Eastern" point of view.
You couldn't even find a single New York City point of view...
Just my 2 cnets (or more),
Rich Quodomine
