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Qualifications don't always amount to much
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Dear Editor,
In his letter, published in the Observer of November 8, 2007, Hilaire Sobers had taken to task your editorial of Wednesday, November 7, 2007, pertaining to the appointment of Mrs Joan Gordon-Webley as the CEO of the NSWMA.
Sobers is preoccupied with Gordon-Webley's tertiary/ professional qualifications. However, the management record of the NSWMA appears to be replete with officers holding such qualifications. Yet, it would appear that under their administration the organisation has failed miserably in discharging its mandate.
We should not undermine the importance of pursuing and acquiring tertiary and/or professional designations. We should, however, appreciate that the acquisition is not an end in itself. We must bring to bear on our practice the discipline that the course/s of study imparts.
On the other hand, we must not turn a blind eye to the fact that there are remarkable success cases attributed to occupants of such offices, who are holders of neither tertiary certification nor professional designations, but through industry have wrought wonders and taken their places among our luminaries.
This writer holds no brief for Mrs Gordon-Webley. The point must be made, however, that she is not unfamiliar with public issues. She has been in the public domain for some time and seems to have acquired knowledge in public administration and the tenacity for the job assignment.
L Russell
Spanish Town
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Dear Editor,
In his letter, published in the Observer of November 8, 2007, Hilaire Sobers had taken to task your editorial of Wednesday, November 7, 2007, pertaining to the appointment of Mrs Joan Gordon-Webley as the CEO of the NSWMA.
Sobers is preoccupied with Gordon-Webley's tertiary/ professional qualifications. However, the management record of the NSWMA appears to be replete with officers holding such qualifications. Yet, it would appear that under their administration the organisation has failed miserably in discharging its mandate.
We should not undermine the importance of pursuing and acquiring tertiary and/or professional designations. We should, however, appreciate that the acquisition is not an end in itself. We must bring to bear on our practice the discipline that the course/s of study imparts.
On the other hand, we must not turn a blind eye to the fact that there are remarkable success cases attributed to occupants of such offices, who are holders of neither tertiary certification nor professional designations, but through industry have wrought wonders and taken their places among our luminaries.
This writer holds no brief for Mrs Gordon-Webley. The point must be made, however, that she is not unfamiliar with public issues. She has been in the public domain for some time and seems to have acquired knowledge in public administration and the tenacity for the job assignment.
L Russell
Spanish Town