Xref: utzoo comp.os.vms:18320 comp.org.decus:404
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!ingr!bluntb
From: bluntb@ingr.com (Bob Blunt x6849)
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms,comp.org.decus
Subject: Re: How Do I Justify Attending the DECUS Symposium?
Summary: Sources for information, Re: DECUS Justification
Keywords: DECUS SYMPOSIUM ANAHEIM JUSTIFY
Message-ID: <6738@ingr.com>
Date: 4 Oct 89 15:38:25 GMT
References: <470@crash.cts.com>
Organization: Intergraph Corp. Huntsville, Al
Lines: 37

In article <470@crash.cts.com>, stevef@crash.cts.com (Steve Feinstein) writes:
> 
>  I've just requested that my boss send me to the SYMPOSIUM in Anaheim
> and he needs me to Justify it.
> 
> 	In a nutshell WHY DOES MY BOSS >>>NEED<<< TO SEND ME?
> 
> (I know the reasons, but maybe someone a bit more articulate than myself 
>  could give me some assistance.)

The bottom line is:  you will be the best source of justification for
attending a DECUS Symposium.  You will have to customize the reasoning to
jive with your site.  I've done this for the past three years, and gotten
to go once (budget reasons shot down the last two years).  I waited until
the schedule of tentative schedule of sessions came out, and picked the
sessions that were of interest to projects being worked around the office.
If necessary, I paraphrased the abstracts to give the boss an idea of what
he could expect to glean from my attendance.  It worked (until the bean-
counters got wind of it :-< ) every time.  Another good point is the
potential to gather information from other attendees.  In many cases, you
get more problems solved faster by talking to attendees/presenters/developers
than by trial-and-error, saving your company money.

Another good written source is the "Why You Should Attend DECUS Symposia"
segment of the "DECUS Seminars/Symposium Program and Registration Info"
booklet that comes out before every symposium and the July 1989 DECUSCOPE
had a fairly lengthy article, "Sending Your People to DECUS," on pages 26-
28.  The author, G. Beau Williamson, goes over several myths and "cases"
where he gives rationales behind DECUS Symposia attendance.  Try to get
a copy of either or both, and come up with a game plan to attend.

Bob Blunt
-- 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 "Growing older, but not up"      J. Buffett ||  Bob Blunt       | M.S. IW1601
  "My metabolic rate is pleasantly stuck"    ||  BLUNTB@INGR.COM | INTERSnail
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