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Editorial
July 8, 1954
Greenbelt Cooperator
Greenbelt, Prince George's County, Maryland
What is this article about?
A. C. Long responds to R. G.'s positive appraisal of the GVHC Board in the Cooperator, arguing from a private enterprise perspective that excessive committees hinder efficiency, advocating for policy guidance and sound judgment to better manage the cooperative and save costs on PHA-purchased homes.
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The Long View
By A. C. Long
I enjoyed reading the Cooperator's
quarterly appraisal of the
GVHC Board. It is R. G.'s sincere
and frank impression, based on his
personal point of view-and his
point of view is that of a dyed-in-
the-wool "cooperator".
Without belittling his praise for
the efforts and accomplishments of
the individual board members-
and in my opinion all the board
members, this year and last, de-
serve some praise, because at best
it is a thankless job-I should like
to comment briefly on the differ-
ences in view point between a "co-
operator" and a "private enterprise
business man".
A "cooperator" believes a board
member should be appraised on the
basis of his "committee activities"
and especially the energy he de-
votes to "membership participa-
tion" in such committees. In other
words a lot of members meeting
in a lot of committee meetings, is
ipso facto proof of a splendid board
member.
For example, let's start with a
good large maintenance commit-
tee. If a question of plumbing
maintenance comes up, you form
a plumbing maintenance sub-com-
mittee. That in turn can be broken
down into committees on stopped
up W.C.'s, a committee on leaky
faucets, further subdivided into up-
stairs faucets and downstairs fau-
cets, neither with any authority
over outside faucets. The com-
mittee on hot water faucets prob-
ably belongs to the committee on
heating and utilities. The com-
mittee on holes (garbage), poles
(clothes), and moles (in the
ground) cuts clearly across the
major committees on utilities,
grounds and maintenance.
It's wonderful indoor sport for
"cooperators" who aren't happy
spending an evening at home and
want some place and some excuse
to go to a "committee meeting". It
reminds me of a large employer
who has been most successful in
preventing union organization of
his employees. He keeps them all
busy on shop committees, each and
every employee is placed on one or
more committees. "You see", he
told me, "I keep them so busy on
these advisory committees which
really accomplish nothing, that
they have no time to find out about
prevailing wages and working con-
ditions in the industry".
Now, as a dyed-in-the-wool "pri-
vate enterprise business man" I
believe the job of a board of di-
rectors is to manage a corporation
by establishing policy and giving
guidance to the manager and his
staff so that they can and will op-
erate efficiently without a lot of
committees getting in their hair,
and further to protect the inter-
ests of all members by their col-
lective sound judgment and good
common sense.
A few less committees and a lit-
tle more sound judgment and good
common sense would have saved
us several hundreds of thousands
of dollars when we bought these
homes from PHA. I hope the
membership never gets misled into
judging a board member by how
many nights he is away from his
family on "committee meetings"
rather than by his good judgment
and common sense.
By A. C. Long
I enjoyed reading the Cooperator's
quarterly appraisal of the
GVHC Board. It is R. G.'s sincere
and frank impression, based on his
personal point of view-and his
point of view is that of a dyed-in-
the-wool "cooperator".
Without belittling his praise for
the efforts and accomplishments of
the individual board members-
and in my opinion all the board
members, this year and last, de-
serve some praise, because at best
it is a thankless job-I should like
to comment briefly on the differ-
ences in view point between a "co-
operator" and a "private enterprise
business man".
A "cooperator" believes a board
member should be appraised on the
basis of his "committee activities"
and especially the energy he de-
votes to "membership participa-
tion" in such committees. In other
words a lot of members meeting
in a lot of committee meetings, is
ipso facto proof of a splendid board
member.
For example, let's start with a
good large maintenance commit-
tee. If a question of plumbing
maintenance comes up, you form
a plumbing maintenance sub-com-
mittee. That in turn can be broken
down into committees on stopped
up W.C.'s, a committee on leaky
faucets, further subdivided into up-
stairs faucets and downstairs fau-
cets, neither with any authority
over outside faucets. The com-
mittee on hot water faucets prob-
ably belongs to the committee on
heating and utilities. The com-
mittee on holes (garbage), poles
(clothes), and moles (in the
ground) cuts clearly across the
major committees on utilities,
grounds and maintenance.
It's wonderful indoor sport for
"cooperators" who aren't happy
spending an evening at home and
want some place and some excuse
to go to a "committee meeting". It
reminds me of a large employer
who has been most successful in
preventing union organization of
his employees. He keeps them all
busy on shop committees, each and
every employee is placed on one or
more committees. "You see", he
told me, "I keep them so busy on
these advisory committees which
really accomplish nothing, that
they have no time to find out about
prevailing wages and working con-
ditions in the industry".
Now, as a dyed-in-the-wool "pri-
vate enterprise business man" I
believe the job of a board of di-
rectors is to manage a corporation
by establishing policy and giving
guidance to the manager and his
staff so that they can and will op-
erate efficiently without a lot of
committees getting in their hair,
and further to protect the inter-
ests of all members by their col-
lective sound judgment and good
common sense.
A few less committees and a lit-
tle more sound judgment and good
common sense would have saved
us several hundreds of thousands
of dollars when we bought these
homes from PHA. I hope the
membership never gets misled into
judging a board member by how
many nights he is away from his
family on "committee meetings"
rather than by his good judgment
and common sense.
What sub-type of article is it?
Economic Policy
What keywords are associated?
Cooperative Board
Committee Meetings
Private Enterprise
Efficient Management
Housing Cooperative
Board Appraisal
What entities or persons were involved?
A. C. Long
R. G.
Gvhc Board
Cooperator
Pha
Editorial Details
Primary Topic
Critique Of Cooperative Board Management Versus Private Enterprise
Stance / Tone
Supportive Of Efficient Private Enterprise Management Over Excessive Committee Activities
Key Figures
A. C. Long
R. G.
Gvhc Board
Cooperator
Pha
Key Arguments
Cooperators Appraise Board Members Based On Committee Activities And Membership Participation
Excessive Committees Distract From Efficient Operations And Mimic Union Busting Tactics
Board Should Establish Policy, Guide Manager, And Use Sound Judgment To Protect Members' Interests
Fewer Committees And Better Judgment Could Have Saved Hundreds Of Thousands When Buying Homes From Pha
Judge Board Members By Judgment And Common Sense, Not Time Spent In Meetings