Captains and the Branch Presidency

Introduction – Organization Structure

A limited partner is the basic organized unit in a community. A limited partner is an individual who resides within, has a business in the community, and has invested at least US $20,000 of their net worth in the community. Limited partners are usually above 18 years old and are mentally, physically, financially, and legally responsible. Children under 18 and adults who have another limited partner or partners as their legal “guardians” are “dependents” (dependents have granted power of attorney to their guardians, whoo must be limited partners). They are counted in the community’s overall population. Together, limited partners and dependents are referred to as participants.

The participants who occupy one floor in an apartment building forms a unit, and are served by a captain. Each unit comprises of limited partners, from all the four demographic groups, and their dependents. With four apartment floors, each building forms a branch with four units. The four captains from each unit form a branch presidency. A branch presidency serves a whole apartment of around 40 limited partners and their legal dependents. On average, each limited partner is responsible for 1.5 legal dependents. Therefore, a branch is composed of approximately 100 individuals.

Ten branches form a village comprising around 1000 individuals. The village is served by three village presidencies, each representing one agency in the Village Bureau – Human Relations, Stewardships, and Business Operations. Each presidency has four presidents, adding up to 12 presidents. the 12 form a village board that collectively serves the village in functions that require the whole board’s inputs.

Four villages form a district. Each district is served by three district presidencies, each from an agency in the District Bureau – Health and Nutrition, Life Planning, and Recreation and the Arts. The three presidencies, of 12 presidents each, form a district board. Twenty-four districts form a NewVistas community, with a population of around 100,000 people. Going by this description, the community is served by 3,840 captains – 24 districts = 96 villages = 960 branches, so there are 960*4 = 3,840 captains). .

Who are the captains?

Captains are the first point of contact between limited partners and the community. Captains recruit, select, and integrate limited partners into the community so that they can be comfortable and productive. Besides this, captains serve as an interface between the community and participants. In this role, they help participants in most basic issues they have concerning any of the 24 agencies, and not just agency 1.  

When recruiting, captains aim to have at least 70% representation of the demographic composition of the region where the community is located. Collectively, the branch presidency monitors the recruitment by individual captains, so that the branch is at 80% in terms of representation oof the region’s demographic groups. This is further monitored by the village board, which guides captains’ recruitment initiatives to help the village achieve at least 90% representation.

The district board monitors recruitment as well, which, with 40 branches, is expected to further narrow the gap, such that the district has at least 95% representation. Trustees too have a role to play, working with district boards so that the community has more than 98% representation, and is therefore a very close reflection of the society within which it operates.

How captains work

The captain works for 45 minutes from 8AM, Monday to Thursday. Their engagement is on voluntary, part-time basis. Captains have offices on the floor that houses the unit that they serve. The office is located in the 20-foot hallway, and measures 8 by 8 feet.They are easily accessible to limited partners.

The office is reserved for community business for one hour from 8AM on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, and 2 hours on Thursday. During other hours, it is rented out to other limited partners as office space. The captain, however, has the first right to rent it for their own business.

The branch presidency meets weekly on Thursdays, at 9AM for 45 minutes. The meetings are held in the office of the captain whose turn it is to preside. During these meetings, presiding and clerking are rotated, so that each captain has an opportunity to clerk and preside in a month.

How captains are chosen

A captain serves for 4 years. Each year, a member of the branch presidency is replaced. As their them comes to a close, the outgoing captain and each of their three coulegues in the presidency nominate a candidate. After they have approved each of the four names, they forward the list to their village’s human relations presidency.

The presidency examines the four names and settles on two. The presidency considers the candidate’s suitability as a model community member, demographic balance, and past service to the community village president who belongs to the same demographic as the outgoing captain then flips a coin to select the next captain.

Once a candidate has been ratified, they must receive the support of a majority of the limited partners they are to serve. The limited partners give their approval or rejection through an online voting app, making the process transparent and hassle-free.

Ultimately, captains are answerable to the limited partners that they serve. If, in the performance of their duties, the captain loses the confidence of the limited partners and dependents in their group. In that case, they can notify the village board, which deliberates on the merits of any accusations against the captain. If the allegations are substantive, they can replace the captain.

A captain serves for one year. Every quarter, a member of the branch presidency is replaced. The quarterly conference proceedings include the introduction of new captains and initial orientation.

Duties and responsibilities of the captain

Captains serve the community much more locally than any other community public servant. This makes them the best-suited to perform the duties that require direct and even personal interaction with limited partners.

Recruitment and selection of limited partners

Captains, in recruiting limited partners, are guided by the specific community neds as various agencies may determine, as well as demographics – this refers not only to the four demoographic divisions (married men, married women, single women, and single men), but also ethnicity,culture, and age, among other societal and natural categories.

The recruitment process involves identifying the sort of limited partners needed at a particular point in time. The criterion is informed by the need to replace some limited partners, to address a specific gap in the community, among other factors. The captain then advertises the need for limited partners through relevant channels. On receiving applications, the captain vets them before giving their opinion to the branch presidency and onwards to the village board for consideration and final approval.

Orientation and integration

Once the selected limited partners have joined the community formally, they need to be fully integrated into the system. For this, they need training. The training involves basic things such as the community’s physical layout, where the hubs, breezeways, and amenities are, for instance. It also includes practical knowledge of how the community system works, including the ecosystem, the physical campus layout, transport, and how to look for work, grow, and prosper. Training also involves learning about the community’s ethos, approach to community, and social organization, among other aspects of community life.¹

Training

While the training is mostly automated, captains may need to involve themselves personally and engage other members of the community public service to make training effective. In addition, the innovation in training and wide-ranging interaction with other departments, agencies, and bureaus give the necessary platform for captains to conduct regular check-ins and appraisals to see how well the limited partners are getting on.

A captain needs to be a model limited partner so that, beyond training, they can also show the way by example. They need to be models of how to succeed and what not to do to thrive. They must also use their own experiences to measure expectations for existing and upcoming limited partners. While this is so, every adult community member who has clearly expressed their will to serve can be called upon to work as a community public servant, including as a captain.

To enhance the chances of success, the captain liaises with limited partners to form and sustain an effective support system, which new entrants turn to as they navigate the initial days since joining. Captains can undertake this function with other captains within or beyond their branch. 

Skills development, training, and mentorship

Upcoming limited partners, at the time dependent on limited partners, start the process of becoming limited partners when they turn 12. This means they have to start a business, find some gainful work, and enhance their skills. Captains are vital in helping dependents succeed in their quest in conjunction with guardians.

For a school-going teenager to work for money, the captain who serves their guardian will need to sit down with the child and guardians, explore options, and use the community system to find the most appropriate opportunity. The captain either handles this or facilitates and ensures that it has done so that a new limited partner at 18 can fully exploit the community’s facilities and opportunities to prosper.

Conflict resolution and arbitration

Once two parties have failed to resolve their conflict amicably, they turn to their captain to help resolve the dispute. The captain can make a few decisions to resolve the conflict based on their knowledge and experience handling such situations. In addition, their personal touch with the involved parties in conflict will help create the necessary trust and confidence.

Troubleshooting system issues and feedback

Captains interact with limited partners and their dependents at a personal level, often because the partners cannot navigate the system efficiently. This gives the captain a chance to train the limited partners and dependents on how to handle the system better. In other instances, the problem might be the system. The captain relays the issues they have observed to the relevant agencies for them to be fixed.

Duties and responsibilities of the branch presidency

The branch presidency has a few unique roles that it performs collectively. Many of the functions are based on the general oversight role the presidency has over individual captains.

Arbitration and conflict resolution

When a captain cannot resolve a conflict, the matter goes to the branch presidency. Sitting together virtually or in person, the branch presidency works with the parties to resolve the dispute. Where need be, they may ask for the input of the legal agency and the village board as need be. In many cases, this is expected to be the last stage of the arbitration process. In exceptional circumstances, the issue may go to the village board and, thereafter, be referred to law courts under whose jurisdiction a community geographically falls.

Advising the village board

The branch presidency forms a crucial link between the community system and limited partners. The presidency keeps the village presidency informed on the branch’s affairs. It also recommends actions only the village board or presidencies can sort out. Such matters may include training modules. For instance, some limited partners or dependents may lag and need additional help, interventions, and stewardship. The board may also assist the individual captains through training, mentorship, and integration during the entry process. The presidency collaborates with the village board to maintain social cohesion and foster a strong community spirit.

Review of branch performance

The branch presidency regularly appraises the branch’s performance in various aspects. It reviews the performance and progress of limited partners and their dependents as they work their way in the community and recommends any relevant action. The branch presidency is responsible for examining the apartment’s status, physically and otherwise, and advising agencies, bureaus, and presidencies where it feels improvements can be beneficial.

Conclusion

Captains are the primary physical contact between limited partners, dependents, and the system. Often, many of the duties that captains perform are automated, with their role being mainly to monitor the system and ensure that it is working well. Where the circumstances demand, they can get personally involved with the person involved, working them through the system, mentoring and coaching them, and identifying issues with the system that could improve it.

References and further reading

Von Der Heydt, Andreas. An In-House Coaching Model & Implementation Plan to Onboard and Integrate New Employees More Successfully with Managers as Coaches. Diss. Northeastern University, 2021.

1. In modern organizations, immediate managers and supervisors are given the task of integrating new employees into organizations by teaching them the culture, specifics of their roles, and how to maneuver the organization. The community also appreciates the importance of having limited partners learn the ropes early from the person they will mostly be in contact with from then on. In this setting, however, the orientation is more thorough, covering everything from securing work, and improving qualifications, to mentoring them in their personal lives as well.[↩]