public service case study
Please finish the reading and then give the summaries and notes for each article.
Requirements: couple pages
When it Comes to Diversity and Inclusion, Does Being the Best Place to Work Matter? By Richard Regan March 7, 2015 https://www.govloop.com/community/blog/comes-diversity-inclusion-best-place-work-matter/ This notion of the best places to work is getting plenty of attention these days in the human capital space. NASA was hailed as the best place to work in the federal government for the last 3 years by the Partnership for Public Service based on its Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings. Google made Glassdoor?s 2015 Best Places to Work List in the USA and UK. While NASA and Google bask in the glow of their best places to work status of ?be like us,? their inclusion narrative says everything is lily white and all right. According to the latest data from the Office of Personnel Management, males make up 64.7% of the NASA workforce and whites constitute 73.7% of NASA employees. Google according to their latest Equal Employment Opportunity-1 Report did not fare much better. At Google, males compose 79% of their workforce and whites represent 72% of their total employees. My agency has gotten on the NASA bandwagon as well. To borrow the 1992 Gatorade marketing pitch starring Michael Jordan, ?I want to be Mike,? my agency is repeating this refrain, ?I want to be like NASA.? The following report is certainly a feather in the cap of this follow the leader approach to job contentment. According to a 2014 Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT) study, NASA, Google and my agency may be on to something by delinking job satisfaction from diversity. The report?s findings found that: Diversity of abilities, backgrounds, viewpoints and concepts drive positive results. Transitioning from a completely male team or female staff to a mixed gender organization improved income by 41%. Job satisfaction was much lower in a mixed gender workplace. Essentially what the authors of this report, Sara Ellison and Wallace Mullin are saying is while gender diversity can make an organization more productive it simultaneously reduces job satisfaction. The study which focused on a large USA white collar organization, confirms that social capital in the shape of things like trust, collaboration and job happiness, trump inclusive workplaces who are trying to recognize and embrace differences. The die has been cast. Should an organization pursue a diverse workplace guaranteed to produce high results and revenue, or should a company chase a less diverse place of work for the sake of job satisfaction? Ellison says the jury may still be out and more research should be done on this issue that should go beyond the examination of one organization. Maybe they should look at Google which defies one of the findings of the MIT study regarding diversity driving positive results and high
revenues. They are making tons of money without racial or gender diversity. Who said to be profitable you have to look like your customer. Google has put this notion to rest. Are there any real surprises here? We have known for a long time that a knowing and doing gap for inclusion exists. People like the concept of diversity and inclusion more than they like the reality of diversity and inclusion. We can continue to play this game of the blind leading the blind by following the examples of the NASAs and Googles of this world with their high job satisfaction and low inclusion rates, or we can start building inclusive workplaces where folks are both satisfied and fully accepted regardless of their differences. Is job satisfaction and inclusion mutually exclusive? If we listen to NASA, Google and MIT, the answer may be a resounding yes.
What Is It Like To Work At NASA? By Steven Cowart Dec 17, 2012 http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2012/12/17/what-is-it-like-to-work-at-nasa-2/#1a6ff43d6ab0 It?s a privilege and an honor to work at NASA. It?s like getting to work with the scientists you see on the Science Channel. Actually, it is getting to work with them. Many times the experts who are interviewed and quoted on these shows are co-workers. Every day, I get to work with the best and brightest people I?ve ever known. I remember sitting at a dinner table after a long day of meetings and lectures. It was for a week-long training class at an off-site conference center. There were about forty of us altogether. To my left was a gal working with the European Space Agency on an experiment to be flown on Atlantis. She spoke three or four languages and had a PhD (can?t recall the field). To my right was a Launch Director from Kennedy Space Center. Across the table was a scientist working on rocket propulsion at (I believe) Marshall Space Center. The remaining five individuals at our table were equally impressive. I thought to myself ?what the heck am I doing here among these stars?? They were the nicest, most transparent people you?d ever run across. Those with whom I work daily are the best in the world. Whenever we experience hardware or software failures that we can?t isolate quickly, we bring in support personnel from the original designer. It never fails that the folks we bring in for help learn much more from our people than we learn from them. Time after time, I?ve heard a visiting engineer say, ?the people you have here are incredible, every one of them. I learned some tricks with my own product that I never knew before.? What?s it like to work at NASA? I feel like a kid in a candy store. The projects I get to work on are incredibly interesting, challenging, and critical to the success of an experiment or mission. The research facilities are unparalleled in their capabilities and the accomplishments they?ve helped achieve. The tools we get to work with are the best. Our simulators and trainers are like ?E? ticket rides at entertainment parks. Especially the centrifuges. We get to do things I would never have imagined had I not been hired here. Things that matter. Things that inspire people. Things that change our perception of our life on earth and our place in the universe. It?s like being entrusted with the crown jewels. We know the American people support our work and our livelihoods through their tax dollars. We know we must do everything possible to ensure those hard earned dollars are spent wisely and effectively. We know that our work results from decisions made by the President, by our elected officials in Congress, and by our leaders at HQ, and that all of them are depending on our drive and initiative to meet the milestones set in front of us. We know that the lives of our astronauts depend on how well we do our jobs. Safety doesn?t just come first at NASA, safety is what NASA is all about. Every aspect of every project is evaluated for its impact on safety. I regularly see ?Flight Readiness Reviews? and ?Human Occupancy Reviews,? all aimed at ensuring the people that fly in, use, and support the vehicles we design will go home every night to their families. It?s like being the patent holder of inventions that change peoples lives every day. Many of the experiments done at NASA?s Research Centers, Space Centers, and in orbit result in
breakthroughs that help fight disease, that result in advancements in agriculture (e.g., hydroponics), materials or the means by which to make materials stronger or lighter, flight management, propulsion, the list just goes on and on. To me, it?s like winning the lottery. But not a financial lottery. I won?t get rich working at NASA. We make substantially less than our private industry counterparts. However, I get to do things and see things that most would love to experience. Every day. I go into a supermarket on my way home from work and stand at the check-out counter waiting to pay for my goods. The person at the register happens to see my badge and says ?you work at NASA? You are so lucky.? And you know what, she?s right. I am lucky. I?m so proud to work at NASA and so humbled in the presence of so many brilliant, dedicated people. God willing, and if they?ll have me, I?ll work here until I retire. Every day I pass by the flags, the American flag and the NASA flag, as I drive through the main gate, and I feel so proud of my country, my agency, and even myself, for earning the opportunity to make a difference and have fun while I?m at it.
What?s It Like to Work for NASA as a Design Engineer? By Mark Benson September 19, 2016 https://www.engineeringclicks.com/work-for-nasa/ All members of the NASA team play a role in successful missions creating a level of job satisfaction literally ?out of this world?. If money is your prime motivation then perhaps a career with NASA is not for you. It takes years of planning, designing, testing and retesting to reach the glamorous ?for television? NASA celebrations we all love to watch. At first glance, to work for NASA seems very glamorous, very satisfying but ultimately something for the ?nerdy? types who like to work on their own. However, in reality life as a NASA mechanical design engineer is very different to the impression you get when you watch rocket launches from Cape Canaveral! Finding a job with NASA When you bear in mind the billions of dollars spent by the US government funding NASA you might expect the authorities to formally invite applications from those looking for employment. The idea that the authorities could pick and choose the best from the world of mechanical design engineering makes perfect sense to such a prestigious operation. However, finding a job with NASA is not as simple or straightforward as you might presume! Some individuals are lucky enough to apply directly to NASA highlighting their experience, qualifications and perhaps more importantly their passion for the industry. Passion and knowledge will get you a long way but the vast majority of those who work for NASA have gained experience elsewhere and joined the NASA community via third-party project management companies. It is more likely you will find your way to a career with NASA via these third parties. Salary expectations and career progression Anyone joining a NASA engineering position would be expected to have a master?s degree or at the very least a bachelor?s degree in a specific area of engineering. The qualifications required will depend upon how you gain entry to the NASA funded projects but in reality the very least you would need is a bachelor?s degree. The level of salary you can expect will vary between the different levels of expertise but we are looking at $75,000 upwards and the ability to achieve upwards of $100,000 within five years. You will find that there are more lucrative opportunities outside of the world of NASA but how do you put a price on landing a probe on Mars, discovering a new Galaxy or perhaps the ultimate goal of creating a new human colony outside of Earth? It is well documented that there are two real pathways to increased salary which are management or technical expertise. In reality those looking to take the management path will have some
technical expertise and those looking to take the technical expertise path will have some management experience. For those with a passion for space travel and the connected array of engineering challenges there will be many opportunities to climb up the career ladder with NASA. The vast majority of NASA employees will have standard office hours but, depending upon their position and their role, there may be additional requirements outside of these hours. Passion, passion, passion Those who work for NASA live and breathe the various challenges which the organisation is presented with. While you will obviously need to have expertise and experience to develop your career, a genuine passion for the industry should not be underestimated. The idea that so-called ?nerdy? types walk around NASA offices in a world of their own is so far from the truth it is unreal. The engineering community at NASA work extremely closely documenting, testing and retesting ideas and projects to ensure that they work perfectly when required. In recent times some employees of NASA have complained about excessive documentation and report writing but in reality we are dealing with very thin margins of error and ground breaking technology. It is a waste of time, money and effort if different project teams revisit and recalculate the same procedures. Therefore accurate report writing is vital to the long-term success of NASA because this gives a pool of invaluable information for all concerned. There is also scope for individual creativity and ?out-of-the-box thinking? which could prompt the creation of a new technology, improve an existing system or allow project teams to look at problems from a whole different angle. For those looking for a career in design engineering with NASA this will be music to their ears. Job satisfaction The vast majority of those who work for NASA will tell you that you need to have a passion for the industry above and beyond a financial motivation. Experience in a specific field of engineering, whatever niche area you choose, is vital when attempting to open doors and secure employment. What makes you different from the next applicant? Are you able to work on your own and as a member of a close-knit team? What drives you when faced with challenging situations? Whether you are involved in the design of a rocket engine, the design of the crew?s control systems or you are charged with eliminating electronic interference between gadgets, everybody has a role to play. It can take years of research, planning, testing and building before your project actually comes to fruition ? indeed many do not even get this far! The satisfaction of working for NASA is evident through successful launches, pushing the boundaries of space travel and ultimately returning probes, rockets and astronauts to earth safely. We see the glamorous side on the television after successful missions but these few days or hours are preceded by years of testing, planning and the unglamorous elements of the job which go unnoticed by the general public.
NASA Still Among the Top Best Places to Work January 17, 2016 http://www.trylam.com/2016/01/nasa-still-among-the-top-best-places-to-work/ NASA is committed to developing an inclusive environment where people from all backgrounds have the opportunity to reach their full potential. (http://pathways.ksc.nasa.gov/awards.htm) NASA is ranked #1 for Engineers in 2015 by Universum ?2010-2014 Best Place to work in the Federal Government? by Partnership for Public Service NASA still ranks #1 in Forbes ?Dream Employers for Engineering Students? (Source:Forbes) NASA Remains Most Wanted Employer For Engineering Majors (Source: Chron Blog) NASA ranked Number 1 in Job Satisfaction (Source: OPM EVS) NASA ranked Number 2 Happiest Place to Work (Source: NASA Employees Ranked Happiest Fed Workers in the Government) ?NASA ranked 2nd happiest place to work in America? ?2011 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government? by Partnership and Public Service ?Top 8 Federal Agencies Most Attractive to New Grads? by Government Business Council (GBC) #1 IDEAL? Employer-2011 ? Overall Winner by Undergraduate Engineering Students #1 IDEAL? Employer-2011 ? Government Industry by Undergraduate IT Students #2 Most Associated with Recruits the Best Talent by Engineering Students