After change at top, divisions remain at NHC, report says

This is the general tropical discussion area. Anyone can take their shot at predicting a storms path.

Moderator: S2k Moderators

Forum rules

The posts in this forum are NOT official forecasts and should not be used as such. They are just the opinion of the poster and may or may not be backed by sound meteorological data. They are NOT endorsed by any professional institution or STORM2K. For official information, please refer to products from the National Hurricane Center and National Weather Service.

Help Support Storm2K
Message
Author
HurricaneJoe22
Category 1
Category 1
Posts: 456
Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2004 12:45 am
Location: Temple, Texas

After change at top, divisions remain at NHC, report says

#1 Postby HurricaneJoe22 » Sun May 04, 2008 12:12 am

BY KEN KAYE | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
May 3, 2008

Bill Proenza might be long gone, but the National Hurricane Center is still riddled with morale problems and internal conflicts, according to an independent study.

Even so, the center's ability to develop accurate forecasts in the upcoming hurricane season, which begins June 1, should not suffer, the review concluded. It was commissioned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees the Miami-Dade County center.

Bill Read, who in January replaced Proenza as the hurricane center's director, said the 41-page report makes the problems seem worse than they really are.

"The purpose of that report is to find out the things that need to be fixed," he said Friday. "My goal is to within a year correct everything that's of a substantive manner that's in there."

Overall, the study, which surveyed 34 staff members, found hurricane center employees are "passionate" and "scientifically driven."

Yet it found deep divisions between the top-echelon hurricane specialists and lower-level forecasters and support personnel, some of whom consider the specialists to be "prima donnas" and "elitist."

Some female employees said they struggled for recognition, while some scientists "repeatedly expressed a feeling of not being valued by management," the report said.

In other cases, employees described their co-workers as "troublemakers," "rebels," "clannish" and "dead weight."

Others were critical of management for "not keeping staff in the loop," the report said.

The review further indicated that low morale has long been a problem, noting, "Over time, the staff has muddled and struggled through changes in strategic direction, leadership, negative media attention and an ongoing, complex set of unresolved conflicts."

The study, conducted by International Training Associates and completed in February, was a follow-up to one undertaken last summer, after the center's staff revolted against Proenza, the center's former director.

Proenza had complained that NOAA was not providing enough funding for hurricane research. He had further warned that the QuikSCAT weather satellite was doomed to die soon and when it did, forecast accuracy would be hurt. The center's staff protested that Proenza was damaging public confidence in the center, leading to his ouster.

Proenza, now director of the National Weather Service Southern Region, based in Fort Worth, Texas, said that despite the recent study's findings, he has full confidence the center will continue to provide the most accurate forecasts possible.

"If there are any differences, all that will be set aside when it comes to time to deliver the mission," he said Friday.

Ken Kaye can be reached at kkaye@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7911.
0 likes   

tolakram
Admin
Admin
Posts: 20017
Age: 62
Joined: Sun Aug 27, 2006 8:23 pm
Location: Florence, KY (name is Mark)

Re: After change at top, divisions remain at NHC, report says

#2 Postby tolakram » Sun May 04, 2008 8:42 am

Those reports are always overblown. Employees like to complain, it's fun. Hurricane forecasters are elite, so the underlings need to get over it. When you have to make a call sometimes the people under you just don't get it and label you elite.

It's refreshing to see that no matter what the line of work it's all still the same.
0 likes   

Frank2
Category 5
Category 5
Posts: 4061
Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2005 12:47 pm

Re: After change at top, divisions remain at NHC, report says

#3 Postby Frank2 » Sun May 04, 2008 10:43 am

I noticed a similar article on Friday, but, forgot to read it - thanks for posting that (I guess)...

I'd be very tempted to say something here, but, having worked there many years ago, it'd be inappropriate to comment in detail, so I won't, however, some of what is said in the article was sometimes felt many years ago, too.

But, having said that, while our old group did have it's various problems, many at that time were more of the "old school", and, were primarily older conservative men who often just kept their head down, and, as the saying goes, were "day-in, day-out" workers, so, when there were problems (and there were), everyone of that time seemed tightly enough bound together that everything seemed to always work out...

Perhaps the big difference of the employees of my time was found in the actual personalities of the HRD and NHC staff - the HRD staff of that time (and today) were primarily academics, devoted to their study of tropical meteorology, while the NHC (and NWS) employees consisted less of scientists but more of what is referred to as "operational" staff, in other words, those who have constant contact with the media and general public, and, are much more, at least when it comes to their profession, "wordly", since the focus is more on "customer service" than on research...

About 15 years ago, someone decided to do a social study of a particular orchestra, and, discovered that it seemed to develop a social circle all it's own - the woodwinds felt like outcasts, while those in the string section often believed themselves better than others, and, many seemed to view the percussionists as pests, but, everyone agreed that the conductor was above everyone else, so, per the NHC study, nothing new here...

In truth, the article (and likely the evaluation), mentions something that most of us experience each day at our own place of employment - there are those who say little and do their jobs, those who say a lot but don't, those who will be fired or are forced to leave, whether justly or unjustly (thankfully, I wasn't one of those), and, even those who are destined to advance to greater positions, whether they or others believed them worthy or not.

As for any EEO-type problems at the NHC of my time, well, we had a number of women on staff, and, from what I could tell, they seemed to be treated as well as anyone else - having had two females as supervisors (both in admin and on the technical side), I can say that they were given the same opportunities as any of their male counterparts, and, were just as good to work for...

Again, I did get a glance at a "lingering troubles at NHC" byline on Friday, and, at that moment I chose not to read it - whether that was intentional or unintentional on my part is something I'll have to discuss with God, but, perhaps it's because last year's pain is still enough for me...
0 likes   


Return to “Talkin' Tropics”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 25 guests