During late June and July, I spent two weeks at Philmont Scout Ranch in northeastern New Mexico helping with the National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience (NAYLE), a leadership training course for Scouts. In several parts of the program, the staff and participants pledge to be servant leaders with the statement that "as the sun dial measures the passage of time, so will my service be measured over time, by my impact on others."
The post on a sun dial, the part that casts a shadow, is called the gnomon. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the gnomon as "an object that by the position or length of its shadow serves as an indicator."
Driving home, I thought about how the human dimensions of resource management can be used like the gnomon on the sun dial, in that the attitudes and opinions of Missourians about fish, forest, and wildlife management are an indicator. We can use human dimensions information as an indicator of satisfaction with conservation performance.
In several surveys, the Department of Conservation has asked Missourians to rate the job the Department is doing to provide conservation services. In 2003, 64.1 percent of Missourians indicated, for themselves, that the Department was doing an "Excellent" or "Good" job. In addition, 26.5 percent indicated "Don't Know," 8.5 percent said "Fair," and less than one percent said "Poor."
This level of satisfaction with the Department has remained almost exactly the same over the last 10 years. I can use this human dimensions information to help Department of Conservation staff understand the level of satisfaction that Missourians have for our conservation performance. Then the information can be used to help make plans for the future.
Human dimensions information is a very useful indicator of performance, just like using the gnomon on a sun dial to measure the passage of time.
More information about the Missouri Department of Conservation's performance is available in the Department's annual reports, and you can find more information about conservation programs on the Department's Web pages.
The post on a sun dial, the part that casts a shadow, is called the gnomon. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the gnomon as "an object that by the position or length of its shadow serves as an indicator."
Driving home, I thought about how the human dimensions of resource management can be used like the gnomon on the sun dial, in that the attitudes and opinions of Missourians about fish, forest, and wildlife management are an indicator. We can use human dimensions information as an indicator of satisfaction with conservation performance.
In several surveys, the Department of Conservation has asked Missourians to rate the job the Department is doing to provide conservation services. In 2003, 64.1 percent of Missourians indicated, for themselves, that the Department was doing an "Excellent" or "Good" job. In addition, 26.5 percent indicated "Don't Know," 8.5 percent said "Fair," and less than one percent said "Poor."
This level of satisfaction with the Department has remained almost exactly the same over the last 10 years. I can use this human dimensions information to help Department of Conservation staff understand the level of satisfaction that Missourians have for our conservation performance. Then the information can be used to help make plans for the future.
Human dimensions information is a very useful indicator of performance, just like using the gnomon on a sun dial to measure the passage of time.
More information about the Missouri Department of Conservation's performance is available in the Department's annual reports, and you can find more information about conservation programs on the Department's Web pages.
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