[Ravensfort] Fwd: RF - Complaint Process

[L T]

Hi All!

Was going through my e-mail archives and found this...

just FYI!

Lorraine

--- L T <ldeerslayer at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 11:03:28 -0800 (PST)
> From: L T <ldeerslayer at yahoo.com>
> Subject: RF - Complaint Process
> To: Ravensfort at ansteorra.org


> 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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