Amateur Radio October 2017
Delivery expected from 28 September
 WIA Member Digital Edition Download
Editorial
Changes afoot
Back in January, the Board requested the Publications Committee (PubCom) to prepare a document on ways in which cost savings could be found with regard to Amateur Radio magazine. As Chair of PubCom, I drafted a document and circulated it to the members of the committee for input. We further discussed the draft at a face-to-face meeting in early February. The final document was submitted to the Board shortly thereafter.
Readers will be aware that there has been discussion in the past about dropping the print edition of the magazine and going to a digital-only magazine. The discussion paper pointed out that some members prefer a hard copy magazine, perhaps reinforced that only a relatively small number of members have opted out of receiving the print edition. The paper noted these facts and thus rejected going to a digital-only magazine at that time was likely to disenfranchise a significant number of members.
The paper concluded that the most logical option to lower costs would be to reduce the number of issues produced per year, going from 11 issues per year to six issues per year. Our sister society NZART made the same decision some time ago.
The previous Board considered the paper and decided to refer the paper to the new Board, which took office after the May Annual General Meeting.
The new Board spent a considerable amount of time discussing options for the magazine. At its September meeting, the decision was reached to reduce magazine production to bimonthly, thus from the start of 2018, Amateur Radio magazine will appear every two months. The decision was announced by Director Greg Kelly VK2GPK in the WIA News broadcast for Sunday 17 September.
PubCom has not yet discussed the decision. We will be discussing the implications at our September meeting, currently scheduled for 25 September.
We will need to liaise with advertisers, suppliers and our regular contributors. We will be making contact with those involved in the coming weeks.
In the short term, the decision will result in considerable savings in the 2018 financial year. The change will also allow PubCom to consider further changes for the future.
Regardless of any changes in the future, one thing is certain: if your magazine is to continue, we will need contributions from you the members and readers. That contribution might be as simple as a contribution to one of the state or Club News columns, an article about a radio-related activity that you have undertaken or perhaps a technical article about your latest project. Remember that guidelines for contributors can be found at:
http://www.wia.org.au/members/armag/contributing/
Whilst we work through the steps required to implement the change, I personally am looking forward to longer days and warmer weather as we move out of the wintery start to spring. Hopefully I will be able to make time to activate some summits and parks.
Until next month,
Cheers,
Peter VK3PF
WIA President's Comment
Oil Tankers and Organisational Life Cycles
Organisational redesign is usually measured in years rather than months and the Board and Strategy Committee is hard at work discovering what changes are required, gathering input from members and stakeholders, planning the implementation in a structured and managed way and ensuring that members have access, input, opportunity to influence and get involved in the changes within in their representative organisation.
Organisational lifecycle research shows us the stages that organisations go through and it generally follows four or five phases or stages something like (1):
1). Start-up, birth or creative expansion
2). Growth or directional expansion
3). Decline or expansion through delegation
4). Renewal or expansion through coordination
5). Death or expansion through collaboration
Larry Greiner’s model (2) has stood the test of time and he refers to whether a phase is evolutionary which is where there is an extended period of no significant disruptions versus a revolutionary phase which refers to a period of considerable disturbance within the organisation. Each revolutionary period is characterised by the dominant management style.
If we stand back and take a look at the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) and align phase 1 (creative expansion or birth) to when the WIA became a national body then we can demonstrate how applicable Greiner’s organisational life cycle model actually is and how it can explain the current circumstances and where we need to move to.
Phase one is initially described as evolutionary at birth where there are no significant disruptions and the organisation expands through the hard work and creativity of its founders creating both products and markets. The original Board lead by Michael Owen negotiated with all state and territory Divisions to agree on the terms and conditions to allow the creation and definition of a truly national WIA.
Greiner makes an interesting observation when this phase turns revolutionary creating a leadership crisis as the management style used to create the WIA was not enough to sustain it long term which required a more structured form of management. Michael and the Board adapted and assumed this role and setup structures accordingly to evolve and continue to grow the organisation.
Phase two is characterised by a period of evolutionary stability where organisational structures, accounting systems, communications channels, organisational machinery, etc. are established and processes become formalised. Directive leadership is the prevalent style however this progressively becomes less efficient as the organisation becomes more diverse, complex and cumbersome with a centralised hierarchy.
This creates a crisis of autonomy – the next revolutionary phase starts – due to a need for greater levels of delegation clashing with the directive management style. Lower levels in the organisation find themselves unaccustomed to making decisions as the founders adhere to centralised doctrines. This is where I suggest the WIA finds itself now.
To move to the next phase the organisation has to be able to successfully apply delegation in a decentralised organisational structure. Greater responsibility needs to be given to lower levels in the organisation and the Board can focus on steering and not rowing (3) the organisation and managing by exception. The start of phase three is evolutionary however looking to the future this phase turns into a revolutionary phase as the management layer senses they are losing control as the organisational diversity increases and the lower levels in the organisation become accustomed to working without management interference - the organisation then experiences a crisis of control. I have put references at the end of the comment so you can read about phases 4 and 5.
What is the relevance of all this theory I hear you ask? It helps us predict, prepare and manage the organisation into the future. We are in period of revolution at the end of phase two and the new Board is preparing to move the organisation to a more decentralised organisational structure with committees undertaking the rowing of the organisation empowered by the delegation of functions to these committees and groups within the WIA. This will enable the Board to pull-up a level and start strategically steering this organisation.
This is an exciting time and we will be advertising many positions and opportunities for you to become involved and contribute to the running of your national WIA. I encourage all members and amateurs to serious consider these opportunities.
Justin Giles-Clark VK7TW on behalf of the WIA Board.
Sources
1. Wikipedia. 2017. Organizational life cycle. [ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_life_cycle. [Accessed 27 August 2017].
2. Greiner, L. 1998. Evolution and Revolution as Organizations Grow. [ONLINE] Available at: https://hbr.org/1998/05/evolution-and-revolution-asorganizations-grow [Accessed 27 August 2017].
3. Osbourne, D & Gaebler, T, 1992 Reinventing Government. Addison-Wesley Publ. Co.
Table Of Contents
GENERAL
RSK Visit July 2016 Mark Beacham VK3XB / VK3XXX / 5Z4XB
International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend 2017 at Grassy Hill Light AU0019 Mike Patterson VK4MIK
ILLW 2017 Cape Schanck Lighthouse AU-0012 Andy Kay VK3VKT
Morsum Magnificat – Amazing Response! Tony Smith G4FAI
TECHNICAL
My programming cable does not work – Solutions Steve Ireland VK3VM / VK3SIR
Mini Satellite-Antenna Rotator MkII Julie Gonzales VK3FOWL and Joe Gonzales VK3YSP
Oh Danny boy, fate is calling Joseph Kasser VK5WU
Plus all the usual Club news and columns
RSK Visit July 2016
Mark Beacham VK3XB / VK3XXX / 5Z4XB
The author presents an interesting report on his visit in 2016 to the Radio Society Kenya, outlining some of the difficulties experienced by the Society. The author plans to be on air from Kenya over coming months.
International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend 2017
This month we have two articles about the ILLW, together with some shorter reports in the various Club and State News columns.
My programming cable does not work – Solutions
Steve Ireland VK3VM / VK3SIR
The author describes how to overcome some common difficulties experienced when attempting to use various programming cables. The solution may be varied, from changing a chip in the cable through to installing new drivers.
Mini Satellite-Antenna Rotator MkII
Julie Gonzales VK3FOWL and Joe Gonzales VK3YSP
The authors present an updated and upgraded satellite antenna rotator, now capable of handling a larger antenna.
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Page Last Updated: Friday 29 September 2017 at 7:19 hours
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