Oregon position (again)

[Martin Cohen]

On Tue, 28 Nov 1995, Silvia Muller wrote:

[snip]
> 
> So can I repeat my question? Who's writing these job descriptions and
> what's the logic behind them?
> 
[snip]

Assuming this is not just a rhetorical question, as someone who has
written and posted a position not _too_ different from the one under
discussion (though I think that the Oregon position was asking for a bit
more than is reasonable, at whatever salary), I may be able to provide
part of an unconsoling answer: 

We write the job description based on what we believe we need. We believe
the job is do-able, and have had candidates who agreed. However, our
Personnel Department sets the salary based on their rules. Our arguments
based on comparable salaries in other nearby universities have no effect
on their decision (much less arguments that would be based on commercial
sector salaries). Our difficulty in getting qualified candidates has no
effect on their decision. We are put in the position of either finding
someone who will work at the salary posted, or doing without. So far I
have been unwilling to hire an unqualified person (the position has been
vacant for 5 months). If and when we find someone whom we think can do the
work, and who is willing to work at the posted salary, Personnel's rules
will have been vindicated. The opportunity cost of the delay (and the time
I spend trying to find suitable candidates) on the productivity of the
Library's contribution to the College is not part of their calculations. 

It would be nice to believe that the world is rational, but it is not. 
Some have the power to decide, and they are not necessarily the ones who 
experience the consequences of their decisions. I believe certain 
political economists have had something to say on the subject.

Martin J. Cohen                                 mcohen at stmarys-ca.edu
Head of Systems and Media                       voice: (510) 631-4229
Saint Mary's College of California              fax:   (510) 376-6097
Moraga, CA 94575                                ars longa vita brevis