Agency 1: Human Relations Agency

The Human Relations Agency is the first agency in the community. The agency helps participants with their social needs. It handles participants’ social welfare by providing apartments and managing the dispute resolution mechanisms. The Human Relations Agency is part of the Village Bureau, together with Agency 2 (Stewardships) and Agency 3 (Business Operations). The bureau enables participants to set up their lives and businesses in the community.

Roles of the Human Relations Agency

With the agency presidency providing the necessary strategic direction, which is implemented by the village (operational) presidencies, the agency performs a number of duties as detailed below, with the help of its automated system and contractors. The duties include:

• Coordinating recruitment of limited partners
• Provision of living space
• Facilitate dispute resolution
• training

Recruitment of limited partners

Limited partners are recruited into the community by captains. The recruitment process takes some time to adjust to community life. Captains walk with participants through this journey, training them and directing them to relevant agencies’ automated systems for help.

The Human Relations Agency uses the information it collects to determine the need for aditional participants, and what kind of paticipants they need to be. The recruitment can be done to bridge gaps in professions, such as a shortage of doctors, to balance gender, marital status, and ethnicity, and other considerations, or to simply replace or increase numbers.

The agency provides captains with the resulting parameters to guide their recruitment. It also provides support to the recruitment process by advertising, providing traiing and orientation help, and other tasks that may ease the process.

After admission

Admission means that once a candidate has passed the selection, they deposit at least $20,000 into the Capital Bank (Agency 8), and move their checking and savings accounts to the Commercial Bank. Thereafter, the Human Relations Agency rents them living space, subject to contractual agreements with the community. The default value for each participant is 200 square feet of housing space.

The actual recruitment process is automated in many instances. This includes the initial vetting of applications, communication to shortlisted candidates, and training of limited partners once admitted. Other phases need the branch and village presidencies to have in-person conversations with limited partners, such as during induction and in instances during the process where they might see the need to intervene.

Construction and management of buildings

Through respective villages, the Human Relations Agency builds apartment buildings and is also responsible for the village squares, also known as streets in the community. The agency is granted loans by the Community Bank Agency (agency 7) with a down payment coming from the capital investment by the Capital Bank Agency (agency 8). Villages are responsible for repaying these loans, as well as managing their apartment buildings to ensure high-quality service to tenants.

Each apartment building has five floors, with a ground floor for a garage and storage, and four floors containing 32 bed-bath modules. Each floor has a capacity of 32 participants – however, the number is usually lower, since each apartment must have an extra guest bed/bath module. The average number of residents per floor is 25.

An apartment building also forms a branch consisting of the four floors (each that houses a unit). A branch is served by a branch presidency, made up of four captains, each of whom serves one of the four units. In addition, a captain represents one of the four demographics known as divisions: married men (A), married women (B), single women (C), and single men (D).

Hosts

Each floor is maintained by a host. A host is a limited partner who runs a business providing maintenance services. A host has an apartment on the floor they maintain. The host is responsible for ensuring all components in the 32 apartments they maintain are in good working condition, and for deep cleaning, which is done once a week. They are paid from the weekly maintenance fees that the limited partners on that floor pay to the village. From the maintenance fees, the village pays 80% to the host. The village retains 20% for eventualities such as fixing broken systems. the host is responsible for adjusting the walls that partition apartments as needed.

A host’s income is dependent on how many tenants they have. When fully occupied, the host has up to 32 apartments that they maintain. Clients issue regular ratings, which can considerably determine whether a host has full occupancy or not. A poorly-rated host will struggle to attract tenants and will see their income take a hit. Since the village, and by extension, the agency, depends on rent income to repay its obligations and perform other endeavors, it is interested in hosts who are well-regarded and can attract tenants.

The rating system determines whether a host will continue maintaining an apartment or not. The village presidency for human relations regularly consults the ratings to determine whether a host should continue, or needs to be replaced.  

Movement and public spaces

The community uses streets for biking, mule traffic, and growing vegetables and fruit since there is no motorized traffic (cars) within the community. The Human Relations Agency controls these spaces through villages. Each participant has an opportunity and is encouraged to plant some vegetables in their front and back yards. Where this is not possible, the village leases out these spaces to contractors who grow food there, while also maintaining the streets’ aesthetics – mowing, gardening, and other necessary tasks.

Dispute resolution and arbitration

The community’s arbitration system is designed to speed up dispute resolution. It also ensures that disputes have the least possible impact on social cohesion and economic prosperity. The process helps prevent the filing of frivolous cases, which might unnecessarily consume time and funds, while breaking down the community’s cohesion.

Limited partners are encouraged to resolve their differences amicably, and out of the community’s formal arbitration systems. When this is impossible, the limited partner with a complaint approaches their captain with a written brief on the nature of the complaint. The captain speaks to both parties briefly, to further understand the problem. The main aim of this meeting, however, is to refer the parties to an accredited arbitrator who has shown the ability to resolve disputes. Based on their profession and expertise, there are various types of arbitrators. The captain invites the limited partners to choose from the class of arbitrators that is relevant to their problem.

Arbitration process

The parties then have a sitting with the arbitrator. The parties have a chance to write up their claims and grievances. The accused party also has a chance to tell their side of the story, so that there can be a fair adjudication. The arbitrator uses these writeups and the parties’ stories during the meetings to write a report. The report includes recommendations and is then sent back to the captain. The captain, alongside other captains who make up the branch presidency, makes a judgment. If any of the parties does not agree with this, they can take the case to their village president, who, after following the same procedure, directs them to another arbitrator.

Once the arbitration report with recommendations has been received, the village presidency makes a judgment. Should the parties disagree, however, they are advised to take their grievance to the relevant civil courts. The arbitration costs are paid by the person who files the initial claim. The costs include fees due to the arbitrator.

Training

Apartments are highly advanced living spaces. They can be adapted to several uses or looks, with storage, which can easily hold a bed, cutlery, couches, and other household items as desired, dramatically freeing up space and enhancing functionality in otherwise small spaces. All these aspects require training, so that participants can properly handle the apartments, and extract maximum value from them.

The agency trains participants through its automated system, with modules prepared by contractors, as well as user manuals that they are supposed to be acquainted with early on in their occupancy of apartments. Hosts and captains are also experts in how the apartments work and help participants where the automated system is unable to assist.

How the agency works

Background on presidencies

Every presidency in the community presidency is a four-member entity whose members represent one of the four major demographics: married men (A), married women (B), single women (C), and single men (D). However, a president serves the whole community in their role, rather than only their own demographic. Presidents’ diversity and commitment to serve all is provided for in the community bylaws and ensures that all access services without any discrimination.

These four major demographics are evenly split in ordinary society, with each group accounting for between 23 and 27% of the population, and with regular fluctuations as people’s status changes. The community appreciates that discrimination across all social categories happens based on marital status, other social categorizations notwithstanding; married men are likelier to dominate other demographics, especially single men and single women. Married women are also likelier to have better outcomes in careers and leadership than single women.

The community’s infrastructure promotes equal access to economic and social resources and opportunities. The composition of the community as a whole and those who serve it in the community public service is closely monitored to prevent numerical domination, which can lead to nepotism or unequal access.

Besides marital status, the recruitment to be a participant, and to serve in the public service carefully considers other social categorizations, to ensure racial, ethnic, religious, and sexual groups are well represented in the community as they are in the society in which a community operates. These considerations inform the constitution of the community public service. The diversity in community public service, which is provided by bylaws, is aimed at creating a community that is blind to all other considerations besides service to participants. The service is therefore designed to be free of discrimination.

Agency presidency, bureau board, and demographic presidencies

The Human Relations Agency is served by an agency presidency, comprised of 4 presidents from the four major demographics ¹ , which handles strategy formulation and adjustment, as well as formulating and communicating operational procedures for the agency.

Additionally, the presidency also facilitates the setting up of the agency’s automated system and adjusts it as necessary to better achieve its goals. Members of the agency presidency work on a full-time basis. They are usually participants who are retired or semi-retired from their business, so that they do not need to be actively engaged in its running. To be eligible to serve as an agency president, a person has to be between 50 – 68 years old at the time of assuming responsibilities.

As part of the Village Bureau, the agency presidency forms a bureau board with agency presidencies serving the Stewardship and Business Operations agencies. The board acts as a check and monitoring tool for individual presidents and agencies, especially when decisions have far-reaching implications for the community.

Within the bureau board, three presidents from the same demographic form a demographic presidency. There are four such presidencies in the bureau. The demographic presidency performs an advisory role to presidencies and agencies regarding a particular demographic; it does not have operational or executive authority. that cut across the three agencies. The demographic presidency also plays an important role in the mentorship and training of new presidents.

	Demographic presidency A	Demographic presidency B	Demographic presidency C	Demographic presidency D
Agency presidency, Human Relations (1)	1A	1B	1C	1D
Agency presidency, Stewardship (2)	2A	2B	2C	2D
Agency presidency, Business Operations (3)	3A	3B	3C	3D

Limited partners, branch presidencies, and village presidencies

The Human Relations Agency has the closest contact with participants. This necessitates the presence of branch captains and village presidencies, who help participants get services from not only the agency but other community agencies as well. The branch presidencies (captains) while being a service extension of the Human Relations Agency, serve as an interface between participants and all community agencies.  

Limited partners and branch presidencies

Limited partners and unit

A limited partner is the basic unit in the community. A limited partner, usually above 18 years old, but sometimes as young as 16, has been admitted into the community and has invested $20,000 as partnership interest, for which they earn a return from the Capital Bank Agency, which invests other community agencies. This is regarded as one unit of partnership interest. Over time, a limited partner can add more units of partnership interest, as their business prospers. The more partnership interest units a limited partner has, the more the return they receive from the agency.

A dependent is a minor, or a person living with a disability, under the care of a limited partner, and who has, in any of these cases, given their power of attorney to the limited partner. In some instances, a dependent may be a fit adult, who for various reasons is supported by community agencies, and assigned by contract to a limited partner. Limited partners are responsible for any legal agreements that their dependents enter into, either with community agencies or other participants. Together, limited partners and dependents are referred to as participants.

Participants who are dependents, because they are still minors, can start a business when they reach 12 years of age. This allows them to save up and invest $20,000 into the community by their 18th birthday, and possibly as early as 16. Limited partners and their dependents reside in apartment buildings (village buildings). Each apartment building has five floors, with four containing apartments. An apartment building also forms a branch.

Captains and branch presidencies

Of the approximately 100 residents in a branch, around 40 of them are limited partners.They are divided into 4 units, each of which has 10 limited partners and their dependents. The limited partner membership in a unit is diverse, containing different social groups that are reflective of the society within which a community operates.

Additionally, a unit contains members of the four main demographics: married males (A), married females (B), single females (C), and single males (D).

The 4 demographics in the branch form 4 groups, as follows:

• Group 1: married males and married females
• Group 2: single females and single males
• Group 3: married males and single males
• Group 4: married females and single females

Within each group, there are different subsets, known as classes, based primarily on age. There is a class for Nursery (0-2), toddlers (3 – 5), young children (6-9), pre-teens (10-12), teens (13-18), young adults (19-31), adults (32-72), and empty nesters (73+).

Meeting week	Class 1	Class 2	Class 3	Class 4	Class 5	Class 6	Class 7	Class 8
Week 1 and 3	All married adults	All single adults	Teen boys and girls		Pre -teens	Young children	Toddlers	Nursery
Week 2 and 4	All men	All women	Teen boys	Teen girls

Further details on the composition of units, groups, classes, and branches, and their meeting schedules, is detailed here.

Recruitment and diversity

Captains are responsible for recruiting limited partners into the community through their council and by extension, branch. A captain does not recruit limited partners only from their demographic. Instead, they work to ensure that their recruits are diverse, considering social categorizations, gender, and social status, in addition to demographic groups.

Captains work in concert with their fellow captains in the branch presidency, and other presidencies in a village and district to ensure that the district is as diverse as possible. They are guided by present data on how diverse their district, village, and branch are, and what needs to be focused on to improve. They are also guided by community bylaws, which expressly require diversity as shown by demographic data about a population from which the community intends to recruit limited partners.

The captain serves as a service extension of the Human Relations Agency, though they also act as an interface between participants and other community agencies. For agencies that do not have operational presidencies, such agencies in the Economic and Public Administration Bureaus, captains come in handy in helping participants navigate these agencies’ automated system and other relevant tools used by the agency to deliver services.

Branches

10 branches form a village. Each of the branch presidencies also belongs to a specific branch board. Branch boards provide an additional check and balance for captains and branch presidencies. Branches are numbered based on the village’s hub, in the direction of the breezeway one-way traffic direction.

Four villages make a district. The last branch presidency in each village in the community (branch presidency 10) combines with three others in their district or cluster of 3 districts to form additional branch boards. The last branch presidencies in villages 1, 2, and 3 in each district make a board. The last branch presidencies in village 4 of each of the 3 districts in a cluster also form a board.

The automated system is designed to help participants with all the help they need in matters related to various agencies, including the Human Relations Agency. However, should they run into problems, captains assist them in navigating the system, or direct them to relevant contractors who help them at a fee.

Village presidencies

Each village is served by three village presidencies. Each presidency serves an agency in the Village Bureau. There is a village presidency for human relations, stewardship, and business operations. Village presidencies are the operational presidencies in their agency. They implement the agency’s policies and strategies, as set by the agency presidency. They also report back to the agency presidency on issues that they deem need to be changed in the agency’s operations.

Village presidencies serve on a part-time basis, working for 45 minutes on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, from 8AM. The three village presidencies that serve a village, each comprised of four presidents, come together to form a village board. The village board helps individual presidents in decision-making that impacts the whole village, mentorship, and orientation of incoming presidents. Three presidents on the board who serve the same demographic also form a demographic presidency. This is better illustrated in the table below, showing an example of village 1.

	Married men (A)	Married women (B)	Single women (C)	Single men (D)
Village presidency, Human Relations	1(1)A	1(1)B	1(1)C	1(1)D
Village presidency, Stewardship	1(2)A	1(2)B	1(2)C	1(2)D
Village presidency, Business Operations	1(3)A	1(3)B	1(3)C	1(3)D

Where: 1 – village number

(1)– agency served

A – Division

Automated system

The Human Relations Agency uses an automated system to perform the bulk of its duties. Much of the recruitment process is conducted online. Contractors who engage with the agency also do so through the system. The automated system is designed to minimize human interference in some roles, such as recruitment, and thereby eliminate human error and nepotism. The system also leverages the information that the community handles, through big data computing and other means to aid in decision-making.

The automated system helps the agency collect rent and maintenance fees, which are deducted from limited partners’ checking accounts. It also handles the payment of various obligations, such as loan repayments or payments to hosts.

Contractors

The Human Relations Agency relies on contractors for specific tasks that it cannot handle through operational presidencies or the automated system. The process of surveying, building, and landscaping village buildings, for instance, is handled by contractors hired by the agency. Contractors undertake major maintenance works and repairs that the agency may desire from time to time. Contractors also set up the automated system, help in drafting policies and strategy. They also help in some aspects of recruitment, such as advertisement.

The arbitration process has a high involvement of contractors, who assist participants in amiably resolving social and business disputes. These contractors, whose business in the community includes legal arbitration, are paid by the participants in question. Their aim is to prevent court battles and expenses, as well as instances where community public servants are bogged down trying to resolve differences.

Inter-agency cooperation

The 24 community agencies form three columns of 8 agencies each. There is loose collaboration between the agencies in a column. The Human Relations Agency is part of the first column.

The Human Relations Agency receives loans from the Community Bank (agency 7) to build apartment buildings. It also coordinates with the bank in rent collections and repayments of loans. Using its extensive information on participants, the Human Relations Agency helps the Life Planning Agency (agency 4) in assessing risks associated with people. This helps in accurate calculation of premiums that participants should pay to be offered life and health insurance.  

The Cropland and Pastures Agency (agency 22) works with the Human Relations Agency to have as many people engage in food production through their backyards and front yards. The Human Relations Agency also works with the Accounting Agency (agency 16) to help it draw proper financial strategies for managing its income and obligations.

Presidencies’ offices, meetings, and quarterly conferences

Offices

The Human Relations Agency presidency has permanent dedicated offices in District Building 1’s first floor, on the western side. Facing them on the eastern side are the permanent dedicated offices for trustee presidency and Regulatory Bureau’s operational presidency serving the agency and District 1.

Trustees and the regulatory operational presidencies alternate their offices. Trustees have the offices in building 1 on Mondays and Wednesdays. Regulatory Bureau operational presidencies use the offices on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as shown in this timetable:

	Building 1/ Human Relations	Building 13/ IP
Monday	Trustee presidency	Regulatory Bureau Operational presidency
Tuesday	Regulatory Bureau Operational presidency	Trustee presidency
Wednesday	Trustee presidency	Regulatory Bureau Operational presidency
Thursday	Regulatory Bureau Operational presidency	Trustee presidency

The first floor’s layout is as follows, including other public servants who serve District 1.

Village presidencies have offices in the district building of the district they serve, on the third and fifth floors. Villages 1 and 2 use offices on the third floor. Villages 3 and 4 use the fifth floor. The office layout is as follows, in this case, district 1’s third floor.

Branch presidencies do not have offices in the central buildings. Instead, they work out of their apartments in the respective village buildings.

Working hours and meetings

Agency presidents, trustees, and regulatory agency presidents work in their offices on a full-time basis. To allow for this, they are required to be at least 50 years of age, be experts in NewVistas concepts, an be semi or fully retired from their business. This allows them to dedicate much of their productive time to serving the community.

Other presidencies work from Monday to Thursday, from 8 – 8:45 AM. their offices are converted for this purpose, and can thereafter be used for other activities, such as office space for participants, hotel rooms and hospital consultation rooms.

On the last Friday of each quarter, between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM, each demographic presidency meets. The three-member presidency discusses common bureau matters that are of interest to the demographic they serve. On Saturday, again between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM, the whole board meets. Presidents present their input from the previous day’s demographic presidency meeting, and prepare for the quarterly conference. The aim is to have a cohesive presentation during the quarterly conference but tailored to specific demographic interests.

Quarterly conferences

Quarterly conferences are held on the last Sunday of each quarter, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, with a lunch break in between. During quarterly conferences, each demographic presidency sits together in the same row.

Quarterly conferences are held in District Buildings 5 and 17. Each building has a lower and higher assembly court. The different demographic groups use the assembly courts as follows:

Building	Assembly court	Demographic
5	Lower court	Married men (A)
5	Higher court	Married Women (B)
17	Lower court	Single women (C)
17	Higher court	Single men (D)

Branch presidencies do not attend quarterly conferences. Instead, they follow the relevant proceedings online alongside other participants.

Each of the four assembly courts has seats for 480 presidents representing the respective demographic. In the diagram below each of the 4 courts is illustrated. The ceiling of each court has an elliptical arch. It enables agency presidents, who are the only ones who make a presentation during the conference, to speak without the need to amplify their voices. The 480 seats are easily rotatable to enable presidents to face whoever is speaking.

Each of the four courts has an identical arrangement and number of seats. The exact arrangement of each court can therefore be illustrated using one court, in this case, building 5’s lower court that is used by married men (A).

Within an assembly court, the 480 presidents are arranged in terms of demographic presidencies of 3. The Village Bureau’s demographic presidency for married men (1A, 2A, and 3A) sits in the highlighted seats. Various villages’ demographic presidencies also sit on the same row as indicated.

References and further reading

Bowles, Stephen, et al. “Coaching leaders in middle and executive management: Goals, performance, buy‐in.” Leadership & Organization Development Journal (2007).

Caldwell, Raymond. “HR business partner competency models: re‐contextualizing effectiveness.” Human Resource Management Journal 18.3 (2008): 275-294.

Kaiser, Sally M. “An examination of new employee orientation and training programs in relation to employee retention rates.” (2006).

Mack, Craig E. “A brief overview of the orientation, transition, and retention field.” Designing Successful Transitions (2010): 1.

Some additional notes/definitions from an earlier version of this page:

• The orientation process aims to show the participant that they are an integral part of the community’s quest to achieve its goals. The orientation process also shows the participant what they need to do to put in an acceptable performance that will help in this. For the community, orientation will help integration, and needs to be done properly, as it is the first real impression that the participant will have of the community. It will shape his attitudes towards the community thereafter (Wallace, K. “Creating an Effective New Employee Orientation Program.” Library Leadership & Management 23.4 (2009): 169-178).
• The Human Relations Agency acts as the community’s gatekeeper regarding integrity and ethical conduct. This is done by most importantly; putting ethics and integrity on the agenda, in such a way that it preoccupies any dealing participants have with each other, socially or in a business setting (Wagewatch. Human Resources: The Gatekeeper for Company Ethics).
• Modern organizations have embraced eHRM as a way through which they can improve the efficiency of human resource management, while deriving better outcomes. One of the advantages of such systems is their ability to have employees take charge of their details, from simple things such as updating their details online, to self-appraisal that gives organizations a basis for understanding their human capital. The Human Relations Agency will tap into this potential by having automated application and vetting processes (Marler, J. and S. Fisher. “An evidence-based review of e-HRM and strategic human resource management.” Human Resource Management Review 23 (2013): 18-36).
• Modern organizations are better placed to understand the link between performance, job satisfaction and wellbeing. In the community, the Human Relations Agency will devise systems which enable participants look after their social and career needs, as a way of boosting performance and satisfaction with the community system (Kowalski, T. and W. Loretto. “Well-being and HRM in the changing workplace.” The International Journal of Human Resource Management 16 (2017): 2229-2255).
• Effective recruitment strategies and systems, as those that the Human Relations Agency will definitely need, have specific attributes that enhance their qualities. They are easy to use for candidates, enhancing their experience. They are also, partly as a result, able to get more information form the candidate, enabling the agency’s systems to make data-driven resolutions on candidates’ suitability (Simplicant. 10 Qualities Of A Good Recruiting System. 2019).
• The use of algorithms in hiring and other aspects of human resource management is ever more common in modern organizations. Systems that use algorithms are favored for their ability to process information intelligently and efficiently. They also personalize it to achieve the best results (Wallden, E. and N. Laporte. “Hiring Through Algorithms.” Lund University (2017): 1-45).
• Automated onboarding and orientation is a cheaper, faster and more efficient approach to the task. It also has improved outcomes for the participant, as the process is short, and they are able to navigate through the system easily (Hink, B. Perks of Automating Employee Onboarding).
• Online communities are resourceful, since participants are able to share their experiences and advice others on how to handle situations. As research has shown however, they can also be the source of misinformation. To avoid this, the Human Relations Agency will facilitate and moderate discourse in such communities. This will improve the quality of their output (Groenewegen, P. and C. Moser. “Online Communities: Challenges and Opportunities for Social Network Research.”  Research in the Sociology of Organizations (2014): 459-473).
• Dispute resolution aims to come up with solutions that everyone can live with. The Human Relations Agency will employ community bylaws, existing laws as applicable, to resolve disputes. However, the Agency must also consider the particular characteristics of a case. The goal is not to prove who is in the wrong, but to enable amicable resolution to conflicts, and avoiding them where necessary (Berkeley-VCA. Resolving Conflict Situations. Berkeley: University of California-Berkeley, 2019.).
• Community-driven security is likelier to achieve more in terms of less crime incidence, and a security set-up that most members of the community are comfortable with. The community will employ a similar model. Village presidents, in coordination with the Legal Agency engage the security providers to have a security service that is responsive to particular community needs (Rosenbaum, D. The Challenge of Community Policing. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 1994.).
• During their stay in the community, participants will need to update their skills or further their education. This will enable them to complete more favorably in the market. It will also enhance their motivation, making them more productive and satisfied with life in the community. The Human Relations and Life Plan Agencies appreciate this. They coordinate to provide participants with education opportunities (Chaudhary, N. and P. Bhaskar. “Training and Development and Job Satisfaction in Education Sector.” Journal of Resources Management and Development 16 (2016): 42-46.).

1. These demographic groups are married men (A), married women (B), single women (C), and single men (D).[↩]