Making A Better Tokyo American Club (MABT)
Tokyo American Club- A Better Place For Our Members, A Members Forum
One of the MABT has confirmed that the contract for the General Manager has just been renewed. This was done by the Board of Governors. He continues to draw his high salary that has been the subject of much frustration among the membership despite the economic difficulties of the TAC.
Further, the Food & Beverage manager has tendered his resignation and will be leaving the Tokyo American Club in coming weeks. The Assistant General Manager is now looking after F&B.
As the management of the American Club has apparently managed the TAC to the brink of financial failure, a group of 4 TAC members teamed up with 4 TAC board of governors. This group was named ‘The Working Group 2” or TWG2.
This TWG2 presented their recommendations for how to fix the problems of the TAC. They were very candid about what needed to be done. Following their presentation, when asked if they “were confident that their recommended changes would be implemented?”. the group unanimously responded “No”. They responded on how getting information was slow and painful at TAC.
It was apparent to all present that there was a split between TWG2’s recommendations and some members on the board. Although the positions of all the BoG (board of governors) was unclear, one board member made clear that he was against their recommendations in several instances. In one case, he responded that the loan could not be renegotiated. When asked by another member, he revealed that he was the one who negotiated the loan at 4 plus % interest for the club but did not clarify why he was unwilling to renegotiate and his position varied from that of the 4 TWG2 members.
The overall conclusion was that the problem of the club is not just an inept general manager playing the committee and board system, but also some individuals on the board of governors. There are definitely some good people there, but there are also some people that need to move on.
A recommendation was made, and accepted by the President, to have a further meeting for the Board of Governor candidates to debate or state their positions as being for change or of the group that would continue the status quo and continue to block change and not make the changes necessary.
An American Chamber of Commerce (ACCJ) board member asked the General Manager if he paid for the development of yet another new TAC site that was described earlier in the meeting. With a bit of stumbling around saying something about a ‘backend’ the GM confirmed that he did use budget to develop a new website. The member went on to explain that the TAC must shift their thinking. “The paradigm must change” he stated. He illustrated his points by explaining how at ACCJ he paid nothing for web development, the chamber magazine, the upkeep of the website or virtually anything else. This comment was a brilliant illustration that TAC needs people with fresh minds.
Although we have not covered all the questions and comments of the membership in this summary, the conclusion we made from all that we need to rid the club of blockers on the board of governors and elect people who are willing to implement the changes. One BoG member (mentioned above) seemed to indict himself at the meeting as being against change later on multiple points. Later arguing with the TWG2 members about providing information that the 4 clearly stated they had not received. The positions of the other BOG members and BOG candidates for the upcoming election remains unclear at this point.
The great work of the 4 board of governors and the TWG2 made it known that their work must be implemented otherwise we will have to continue “these
If you have any comments or would like to add any further points, please feel free to do so in the comment section below. We will edit this summary accordingly to incorporate your comments.
Stay tuned!
“So what are the issues we need to discuss at the Town Hall this week? Strangely enough, it’s a little more complex than it first appears.
1. What progress, if any, has been made since the last Town Hall meeting? Judging by the announcement, “management and leadership” seem like they think they have everything under control. Strange that TWG2 seems to have been left out. That’s scary: these are the people that got us into this mess in the first place, and it’s highly unlikely that they possess the wherewithal to get us out. We need to make sure that they understand the deep concern that many members have about the future of the Club, and the best way to make sure that happens is that you come along and make your feelings known.
2. What has happened to TWG2? We have all heard here and there about the recommendations they have made so far, but the consensus around the Club is that – at best – they’re being sidelined, and at worst ignored. That’s not a comment on the individuals involved, but rather a reflection on the way that the status quo makes every possible effort to protect itself. The Town Hall should offer us the chance to hear what they have to say, without censorship and self-serving obfuscation by BoG and management.
3. What’s happening with management? Rumors abound that some contracts are being renewed, and others thrown out the window through inaction. By any stretch of even the most fevered imagination, 10 executives on high salaries with no accountability for results means we’re paying too much for way too little. At the very least, the BoG should use the Town Hall to present a series of options for a way forward. Otherwise we’ll have to make our opinions known via the upcoming elections! We should also be asking for a complete review of staffing (how about showing an org chart?) and an objective look at outsourcing.
4. Talking about outsourcing, where are we at with proposals to outsource certain functions like IT, Engineering, F&B etc? The Traders Bar Tattletale says that management reckons they’ve “looked at this before, and it doesn’t make sense”. Sure it doesn’t, if you’re trying to protect your job! But the market realities say something completely different, and many of our companies have already done BPO and Service outsourcing succussfully. If you have some experience in this area, why don’t you come along and share your view on how to do it right!
5. What’s the story on Governance? The gossip mill is running hot that the BoG is working on a new governance set-up … it beggars belief that it chooses (1) to do this behind closed doors, and (2) doesn’t take advantage of technology to make sure that it interacts with the membership to get consensus rather than act by fiat. The Town Hall represents your chance to tell people that you are interested in the results of these discussions, that you’re “mad as hell”, and that you demand a more contemporary way of making decisions at our Club.
6. What about that loan? If you’ve ever gotten a loan in Japan, you would wonder why the club is borrowing money at 4+% interest rates from a foreign lender. Japan is the land of 1% loans. We need to see action on renegotiating this loan for the new club immediately. We hear that after 20 years TAC will still have not paid down the principle of the loan. Put aside the tommyrot and let’s get this fixed.
7. Finally, what’s happening on branding, and marketing the Club to new members? Those in the know say that this effort has been deliberately railroaded as well, and pushed off to a committee (sigh!) that has met a grand total of … one time. Let’s face it, competition for recreation dollars is pretty tough in Tokyo and it needs a real professional effort if we’re going to attract new members and customers for the banqueting facilities. Your voice is absolutely necessary if we are going to be successful in convincing management and BoG that enough is enough!
Get along to the meeting and make your opinions known. You don’t necessarily need to stand up and make an eloquent speech – often applause or the lack of it is enough to let people know what you think. And with elections coming up, that might just be enough to scare some people into taking action.
You may have very good reason.
In late spring, the club’s membership rejected an additional dues
assessment to members. If you are among the many who had concerns then
about our club’s financial future, you are probably wondering what
happened since then. You might even feel that an update on the situation
is overdue.
You might
-be among the many who are frustrated by the lack of transparency and communication.
-have doubts about the viability of the whole thing.
-just be curious if anything productive has been accomplished in the past few months.
You might even wonder if there is any real willingness to change in the face of a
dramatically changed external environment.
Now is your chance to find out:
Townhall meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 27
18:30, TAC 3rd floor banquet rooms
You will hear what changes have been implemented, what other changes are
being considered, and you will have a chance to make your voice heard.
Come and assess for yourself where things stand, see if YOU think it’s
enough, or if more needs to be done.
We want to see an American Club that is around for generations to come.
See you there!
Sincerely,
Making A Better TAC Team (MABT)
www.abetteramericanclub.com