Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Tony [ATEK]]

The ATEK Founding Board will be meeting this Sunday, to decide a whole host of issues, policies, and directions, as we move from planning to deployment/implementation.

This is a draft copy of this weekend's agenda, followed by a Work Breakdown Structure (you project managers can critique me...my project management skills are largely self-taught), which outlines what we need to do to deploy ATEK nationally.

We welcome your comments, concerns, and cautions.

Association for Teachers of English in Korea
AGENDA

6/7/08

I. Board Roles � Article A
A. Vote to Accept the Founding Board Structure Proposal

II. Membership Management
A. Volunteer Coordination � Article B
-1) Intake & Selection � What information will we collect, and how will we select volunteers?
-2) Who will be the Volunteer Coordinator?

B. Member Benefit Management � Article C
-1) Selection of Initial Benefits
-2) Selection of Benefits in Development (launching 3-6 months)
-3) Selection Benefits to be Explored Later (more than 6 months)
-4) Development of a System to Identify New Potential Benefits for Members

C. Incoming Members � Article D & Article E
-1) Member Statement
-2) Member Datasheet (What Information Will We Collect from Members at the Time They Sign Up?)
-3) Required Documentation of Status
----a) Photocopy of Passport First Page and Current Visa Page?
-4) How will the information in 1), 2), and 3) (above) be collected?
----a) Mail ok?
----b) Scan and email ok?
-5) Dues for both General and Associate Members
-6) Should we have more stringent rules than the government?

III.Business Organization
A. Central Office
-1) How Do We Start One?
-2) Where Will We Locate It?
-3) How Will We Staff It?

B. Finance � Article F
-1) What to We Need to Know? (We Need a Briefing from a Professional)
-2) Internal Financial Control System Proposal

IV. Metro/Provincial Organization � Article G
A. Blueprint for Setting Up a Metro/Provincial Association

V. Communications
A. Website
-1) What are We Going to Launch as the First National Website?
----a) Timeline with Deliverables
-2) What are We Launching for the Local Websites?
----a) Timeline with Deliverables

VI. Governing Document(s) � Articles H & I
A. Vote to Accept Governing Document Pending Amendments for Legal Reasons

B. Vote to Accept a Local Association Governing Document Template

And the following diagram covers the general scope of work to deploy ATEK across Korea:

[wylies99]

I know you probably have heard this before, but this kind of structural stuff is not what teachers want to talk about with ATEK leaders.
Most of us want to know when ATEK is going to address some of the issues that affect us every day.

[tob55]

Spot on. This has been my reason behind some of the lengthy posts I have written about the whole ATEK organizational project. Too many organizations are busy being organizations and not paying attention to the needs. Keep it simple and prove the worth of the organization when it actually has members that ARE being helped with the many issues they face here in Korea. BTW the agenda looks good and the organizational map looks good as well. Keep up the good work Tony, but don't forget the little things that people are saying. In the long run it will help everyone connected with ATEK.

[Rumple]

I think this is just a notification to let us know that they're still out there and busy.

You can't start an organization without proper planning. This is an ambitious project, with them having to coordinate more than a dozen different local startups, plus their own national entity.

What is the alternative? To tell some random volunteer, "Hey, go to Ulsan and start a local chapter. Report in when you've got it up and running."?

I don't know that that's the best way to do things. Besides, as someone who wants to be a member, I want to see a website that shows me what they have going on. I want to be able to call a number and ask questions. I want a local organization that's got as many members as possible. It looks to me like what they are doing is trying to meet these needs.

[TheUrbanMyth]

Heck I've been saying that since Day 1. People want an association that has the powers to help them when they get into hot water. And that is the MAIN...probably for many the ONLY reason for joining it.

[wylies99]

Address the issues that matter, and membership roles will increase.
Ignore issues and worry only about "titles" and turf battles, and no one will join.

[Kimchieluver]

If you are thinking of tackling all those in one meeting.. be prepared to spend the 3 day weekend doing it.

[chriswylson]

Looking good, but I can't believe how some people who come to teach in Korea for a couple of years suddenly choose to dedicate a large part of their life to 'fighting the system'. I mean, if you think Korean hagwon owners are corrupt, just go work somewhere else!

[DrunkenMaster]

Keep it up!

Never listen to naysayers.

[wylies99]

[Rumple]

[chriswylson]

"we can't just go work somewhere else."

Yes you can, little newbie. It's called giving a month notice to your boss, or simply leaving the country. In any case, if you don't like the hagwon system, just work in a public school or in another country; when no one applies for hagwon positions, conditions will improve. This, not ATEK, will make things better.

[BigBuds]

[SuperHero]

[wylies99]