Board retreat focuses on changes brought about by C&C Initiative

The Continuity and Change Initiative and the reorganization of ASME's key operations were the focus of the Board of Governors' planning retreat, which took place July 21–25 in Quebec.

The BOG evaluated the progress and accomplishments of the initiative to date, and then shifted its attention to the ongoing challenges of improving the Society's operations to become a more effective member- and customer-focused organization.

Continuity and Change focuses on remaking ASME into an organization that is enterprising, global, market-focused, multidisciplinary and responsive, while retaining many core values that have served as guiding principles for the life of the Society.

The vision for Continuity and Change is based on extensive member input. Continuity and Change is intended to reposition ASME to better serve its members and customers in the competitive global engineering environment.

Joseph Holm, ASME associate executive director for finance and administration, explained the urgent need for change in terms of operating budgets and other financial issues.

In recent years, Holm explained in his presentation to the BOG, ASME's operating budget has been subsidized by the Society's reserves. Over the long term, Holm said, that practice is neither sustainable nor fiscally sound. In order to balance the ASME budget, approximately $6 million, or 10 percent of the Society's expense budget, will need to be trimmed, effective with the fiscal year beginning July 2005.

In other business at the retreat, the BOG discussed a process for program prioritization. The BOG then examined its own operations, including committees that report to it.

Victoria Rockwell, chair of the Project Management Task Force, provided an update on the status of project teams that are planning the transition to the new organizational design, which becomes effective July 1, 2005.

Information on all project teams can be found on the Society's web site at www.asme.org.

 

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