Parents of children attending Northern California's Brittan Elementary were enraged to learn their children are part of an RFID tracking test being carried out by a local company. Despite the school board's intent on protecting students, parents are objecting. "Our belief is these children have never done anything to give up some of their civil rights. They've never done anything wrong, and they're being tracked," said one mother. InCom arranged for the test last summer with the principal and superintendent. Students were ID tags similar to ones worn by employee at many companies, however the tags have RFID transmitters. The school district will receive a payment of an undisclosed amount, thought to be several thousand dollars and future royalties. The school did not communicate the program to parents. However parents became aware of the tagging when the child of an inquisitive parent accidentally wore the tag home one day. Parents immediately objected to the use of their children in an experimental project of this nature. The system, InClass RFID, was created by InCom, a company formed by two high-school teachers from Sutters, California. InClass RFID consists of a photo ID card with an embedded RFID tag containing a unique 15-digit code designed to track attendance. Door scanners around the school read the code, relaying data to the school's system. Teachers have hand-held units that show the class attendance. Superior leadership principles dictate that parents and students should have been made aware of the experiment. By providing parents with the safety aspect of this project, parents would have had a different viewpoint than their perception that the school was attempting some underhanded laboratory effort. Historically leaders that have focused on the good have been able to generate a positive attitude among their people. When parachute workers in WWII were focused on the lives they were saving they were much more energetic and enthusiastic than those that saw themselves as endlessly sewing pieces of canvas. Likewise, one is more positive shaping marble pieces for a house of worship or great cathedral than those simply breaking up pieces of stone. Anyone in leadership, and we are all leaders to varying degrees, would be served well to seek out professional leadership help when looking at a major change within their organization. |
Author Bio:
Rick Weaver
Rick Weaver is an accomplished business executive with a wealth of experience in retail, market analysis, supply chain enhancement, project management, team building, and process improvement.
Rick career began in retailing as a stockclerk, eventually becoming the Director of Vendor Development at Kmart Corporation during it’s heyday. In this position he worked with hundreds of Kmart’s suppliers to improve mutual processes, procedures, and profits.
As a consultant, Rick has worked with companies in various industries to develop leadership and business strategies. These companies include Sara Lee, Procter & Gamble, 3M, GM, The State of Michigan, OLHSA, Fruit of the Loom, Eastman Kodak, Kmart, Coleman, Pope & Talbot, Atmosphere Heat Treating, Rinchem, Builder's Industry Association, Ingersoll-Rand, Dow Chemical, HIS Jeans, Wrangler, Confab, S. C. Johnson, Kimberly-Clark, Exxon-Mobil, Pennzoil, Kraft, Remington Arms, US Playing Cards, and Johnson & Johnson.
As an entrepreneur, Rick has founded or co-founded six successful organizations, including non-profit and for profit. All organizations have been consistantly profitable since their second quarter.
Now in his role as president of MaxImpact, Rick uses his vast experience helping individuals connect to their dreams and teams connect to a common vision.
Rick’s presentation style of blending humor, real life examples, and easy to implement ideas has made him a popular speaker at seminars, workshops, and conferences in in 43 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
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