RF - Complaint Process

L T ldeerslayer at yahoo.com
Thu Feb 22 11:03:28 PST 2001


Since there has been a lot of behind the sceens
bitching...here is the complaints process
as prescribe by the BoD.

Note that the first thing you should do is 
talk to or write to the inviduals involved...





Society for Creative Anachronism

                                          
Organizational Handbook General Information

                                       Channels for
Complaint and Appeal

The Society is devoted to courtesy and trustworthiness
and personal responsibility, and it sometimes seems
that these ideals should be enough to permit members
to
work smoothly together. After all, virtually everyone
agrees it is desirable to foster the Society's goals
of encouraging research and recreation in its chosen
period and to promote the welfare and prosperity of
the organization and the education and enjoyment of
everyone in it. Unfortunately, tensions and disputes
develop anyway. 

The Board is the final court of appeal for disputes
that have escalated beyond the ability of the
participants or the officers to handle. However, it is
reluctant to play that role because its rulings affect
the entire Society - often by restricting everyone's
freedom and reducing their enjoyment of the
organization. Corpora provides an unlimited right of
appeal to the Board, but members should make every
effort to work out their disputes at as low a level in
the organization as possible. 

While it is not possible to prescribe a specific list
of things to do or people to consult that will serve
in all disputes, the general procedure outlined here
should be adaptable to most of them. If you are
directly involved in a dispute, please go through a
process at least as comprehensive as this one before
asking the Board for help. If you are asked to
intervene in someone else's dispute because of the
office or title you hold, please don't rush in. First
urge the principals to try all measures recommended
for attempting to reach a settlement without involving
your level of the organization. Then, if you do
intervene, make every effort to find a resolution the
participants can accept, instead of escalating the
dispute to higher levels of the organization.

A. PRINCIPLES

1. Avoid trouble. There are many valid approaches to
Society activity. Members should make room for each
other to explore anything that supports the Society's
goals, abides by its rules, and does not actively
interfere with the environment it attempts to create.
In many cases, the best way to deal with a minor
problem or disagreement is to act as though it doesn't
exist. HOWEVER, the advice about ignoring problems in
the hope that they'll fade away does not apply to
breaches of the law. If you encounter illegal
activities, your obligations as a citizen are the same
as in any other aspect of your life. Please keep the
officers of your branch and kingdom informed if you
decide to invoke the assistance of outside authorities
in ways that may require them to answer questions
about the matter at hand or about the Society itself,
but do not hesitate to exercise your civic duty as you
see it.

2. Look for ways around hard choices. It may be
possible to break a dilemma by taking up both
alternatives, either together or at different times,
instead of wasting energy arguing over which to
choose. It may also be possible to find a third
approach that both sides prefer to their original
ideas.

3. Try to keep a sense of perspective. Just because
you're unhappy, it doesn't mean you're right! Make an
effort to listen to the arguments of the other side
with good will and honesty, and look for a solution
with which everyone can live. 

4. Go through channels. If you can't solve the problem
yourself, your requests for assistance should follow a
line of authority without skipping anyone, and without
spreading laterally through the organization any more
than absolutely necessary. For example, when you reach
a level that has royalty or royal representatives,
nclude them on your copy list, but don't start out by
copying all the royalty in your corner of the Known
World on your initial complaint. Try to involve as few
people as possible - the less you embarrass your
opponent, the likelier you are to get a solution you
can live with and not simply bury the dispute until it
can resurface on different grounds. 

5. Be patient. Allow each level time to try to deal
with the situation, and avoid the temptation to attack
the people you've asked for help if they don't seem to
be moving fast enough to suit you.

B. PROCEDURES

1. Try to work things out face to face. When someone
does something that interferes with your appreciation
of the Society in a way you can't ignore, or that
seems to be contrary to the rules, talk it over.
Explain the problem as you see it, and listen to the
reply.  (Likewise, if someone comes to you, listen
carefully before you frame your answer.) With luck and
good will, the problem will go away. You'll find ways
to reduce the level of irritation, you'll stop real
rules violations, or you'll come to understand why
things you thought were violations were actually
legitimate activities. If you can't communicate, ask
someone you and the other party both respect to help,
either by relaying messages or by moderating a meeting
between you. Try not to go to an officer in charge of
the area in question, as such an officer may be
tempted or compelled to make a ruling instead of
letting you reach an informal agreement.

2. Write to the person you're having difficulty with.
Describe the way you feel you're being damaged,
without indulging in insults or threats. Ask for the
action you feel would set things right, and indicate
how long you feel you can wait for a reply before
making further distribution of the complaint. Keep a
copy of the letter, but do not send it to anyone but
the addressee at this time. The written word is often
more effective than the spoken word, so there's a good
chance that this letter, or a series of direct letters
and replies, will eventually lead you to a solution.
As long as you feel you're making progress either in
understanding or in getting your way, do not go on to
step 3.

3. Write a more formal letter to the other party.
Outline any new points you may have thought of and
refer to your previous correspondence. Send a copy to
the officer in charge of the area in question, OR to
the royalty or royal representative nearest the level
where you have a dispute. Depending on the situation,
it may be a good idea to send copies of the letters
you've already written or received on the matter with
the copy of the current letter you send to the
superior; if you are doing so, be sure to mention it
in your letter. (It is very important to proceed
openly as you pursue your complaint; things are tense
enough already without adding a new--and
justified--charge of sneakiness to the general
dispute!) Again, set a reasonable time for a reply,
and consider it carefully when it arrives. As with
step 2, continue at this level as long as it looks
like there's any progress. 

4. Write directly to the officer in charge of the area
in question, with copies to the subject of the
dispute, the next higher officer, and the appropriate
royalty or royal representative, if any. Explain how
you feel you're being mistreated, and ask for specific
help. Include the entire previous correspondence, if
you have not already shared it with the officer--and
mention the enclosures in the text. Evaluate the reply
or replies before you decide to go forward.

5. Repeat step 4, moving up the organization and
including everyone you've involved on your copy list.
Follow your correspondents' advice as to whether or
not
anyone else at or below their level needs to be
consulted. Eventually, you run out of levels.

6. If no one else has managed to find a solution, the
Board will do so. However, there is no guarantee that
you will like what they come up with, and there is
nowhere else to turn. Even if you get something
resembling what you originally asked for, the effect
on the Society may well be regrettable, as the Board
finds it almost impossible to deal with a specific
situation without touching anything else.

While it appears cumbersome, this technique should
reach some sort of resolution in a matter of months.
The greatest number of levels between you and the
Board is five, assuming a dispute between members of a
canton whose barony is part of a principality. The
important thing is getting a solution, NOT getting to
the Board, and the approach outlined in this article
will probably let you settle the matter without
involving the corporate administration at all. 

__________________________________________________
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