Community-Based Learning - Feed the Hungry - Admission/Application Essay Example

Community Based Learning Management is very essential in improving an organization’s productivity. Management in an organization is the main ‘engine’ coordinating the people’s effort to accomplish set goals and objectives by use of available resources effectively and efficiently. Management involves organizing, controlling, staffing, planning, and leading or directing an organization to attain a specific goal. Resourcing is also very crucial for an organization since most of the activities will not take place minus resourcing efforts. Resourcing is all about manipulation and deployment of financial resources, natural resources, technological resources and human resources. Management is also a social science, and an academic discipline whose main objective geared at studying social organizations. Through community based learning (CBL), most of these managerial aspects are experienced. For the purpose of this paper; much light has been poured on CBL through “Feed the Hungry” initiative. Foundation of the organization ‘Feed the Hungry’ is a grassroots initiative that came as a result of an encounter in the year 1998 by Theresa Thibodeaux with a young pregnant teenager. Theresa was more concerned with how United States is very rich guaranteeing the right to life, freedom and the pursuit of joy allowed the teenager to suffer. It was then that the program was started. The mission of this charity initiative is to be a real way for all students and the LMU community at large to undertake direct service, to be exposed to issues to do with concrete social justice, and extend the community’s understanding and commitment to individuals that are mostly in need. Effect of the organization “Feed the hungry” is aimed at feeding the underprivileged with sandwiches by going to those that are homeless. Volunteers converge at one point and help in the preparation of the sandwiches before they are distributed. The initiative has received several awards from LMU for the charity work that it is steering to ensure that most underprivileged in Santa Monica don’t go hungry. This has been supported by other governmental and non-governmental agencies that are behind driving hunger out of the United States of America. The initiative goes on to educate the community on the need to ensure that hunger is not heard about in America. The community is educated on better food practices that would avoid wastage ensure that the poor get the extra food that one may consider being waste. The poor within the community are also educated and equipped with life skills that would bring changes in their lives. Management practices ‘Feed the Hungry’ is a young organization within LMU and it operates in limited areas around the university; this is due to the fact that most of its operations depend on the funds that have been donated towards the feeding kitty. The university partly sponsors the initiative as way of extending its CSR to the surrounding community. The organization is informally organized since there are only point persons responsible for steering most activities; this is due to the fact that most activities are at peak once in a week. Due to its small nature, the organization does not have any form of board members and there is no need to have one in the manner in which it operates. The organization is basically steered by volunteers’ efforts that are responsible in administering most of the activities with the organization. The organization entirely depends on volunteers from willing donors to the actual implementation of most of its activities. Additionally, one of the core values of the organization is to appreciate the efforts of volunteers who ensure that the hungry and unprivileged. One of the major Human Resource practices that are in focus is the welfare of members who take part in giving charity. The existing recruitment criteria is that a willing individual submits personal details and the in charges review the application whether the individual is eligible to serve. It is always a direct entry for most applicants especially if no complications at all are involved while an individual deliver services. The organization has no standard leadership structure as most responsibilities are given on the basis of an individual’s effort; this has made the organizations leadership to experience challenges that has seen the organization not initiate new projects that may inhibit growth. Volunteers are motivated by a word of advice to continue supporting the needy in the community. Financial Information The organization gets most of its funding through donations from willing donors. The university also chips in at some point in facilitating some activities. The organization receives grants from government and non-government agencies to partly facilitate their activities. The grants make it possible for the organization has its place in the community. The community always gives donations to support the needy. The donations can come in form of money or even already bought goods. Some other interested organizations are always at the fore front to give their donations. The program does not charge any fee at all. Volunteers are encouraged to join freely without paying any form of money in the name of chargeable fee. Since the organization is a charity initiative, there is no form of sales that would generate revenue for the organization. The sandwiches are given free of charge. It is approximated the organization spends nearly $130 per week to feed the hungry. Some other expenses like transport may be catered for by the university. The organization has witnessed surge in terms of operational expenses due to tough economic situations. It has made the organization to call for more funding to aid in most of its operations. Individual Learning Through teamwork and group organization, one is in a good position to learn good interpersonal communication skills that are essential in any organization. The fact that volunteers are never static, one gets to meet new faces which equip an individual to gain experience in communicating with different people of different calibers. Interpersonal communication skills are very essential especially when it comes to management; this is one of the pillars that make most managers excel in executing their roles. The organization has not used any form of preferred leadership styles and it makes it hard for some team members to understand the kind of leadership style that is in place. Unexpected learning One of the unexpected learning outcomes is the manners in which responsible authorities within the organizations delegate duties to the junior members who are the volunteers. Unexpected interactivity skills are also learned while in the field; this makes an individual to be prepared in learning new things occasionally. CBL synthesis paper CBL prepares students to gain real life experience of what is happening in most organizations. This segment has highlighted CBL fieldwork experience and personal life experience. “Feed the Hungary” organization is located in Loyola Marymount University outside the school’s church. There is a scheduled meet up every Tuesday afternoon beginning from 11:30 to 1:15 to make sandwiches and disburse them to the poor by going to homeless shelters. The job entailed meeting other volunteers, and set up the tables to make sandwiches. Some volunteers help in making while other in packaging. The main challenge facing the organization is that, due to its small nature, there is no clear management structure and the ones that have been appointed leave almost everything to be done by the volunteers. There was nothing like job distribution and everybody finds themselves doing things in unorganized manner; this results to inefficiency and ineffectiveness (Donaldson,& Lex. 64). There is need to incorporate proper management with “Feed the Hungry” initiative. The success of such an organization greatly depends on the effectiveness of the managers. Decent managers are supposed to reach on right decisions and to ensure that the organization is in a position to exploit any avenue that is available. Unfortunately, “Feed the Hungry” initiative lacks a proper management structure that would see it be diverse and get involved in more activities. It becomes very frustrating to have volunteers take most of the responsibilities on their own. This will always deter the progress and hinder the achievement of set goals since there is no point person who is fully dedicated to mentor the newcomers on what is expected. Various analysts have given their views about success of any organization where managers are needed to apply certain theories to ensure that progress is witnessed. Having dedicated managers will be responsible in forecasting and planning to determine where the organization is headed to. A team of dedicated management would also be responsible for organizing the resources that are necessary to achieve most of the organization’s objectives; the team will also delegate duties and coordinate different activities. The team shall also be responsible for controlling activities to guarantee that they are completed as planned (Morrison, Keith 311). All these challenges call for management theories which are implemented to aid in increasing an organizational service quality and productivity. The challenges may also be experienced due to the fact that the available authorities do not use a singular concept or theory while implementing strategies in the Programme. Instead they commonly apply a combination of several theories, subject to the purpose, workplace and workforce. Operative problem solving is a vital component to effective management and the survival of the organization. Several theories do exist, but for the case study that has been illustrated, classical management theory has been identified to help in sorting the mess that currently exists. One of the earliest schools of management held was classical management theory, constructed during the industrial revolution when new challenges related to organization started to sprout. Most managers were uncertain of the best way on how to train employees or deal with problems related to labor dissatisfaction; instead, they began to test solutions. At the end of it all, classical management theory was developed from exertions to establish ‘one of the best ways’ to manage and perform tasks. The school of thought is composed of two branches; classical administrative and classical scientific. Management usually occurs within a structured organizational environment with prescribed roles. Generally, classical theory is directed towards the attainment of goals and objectives through impelling other’s efforts. Classical theory is majorly based on three writers; Henri Fayol, Max Weber, and FW Taylor. According to Fayol and Taylor, the theory emphasizes on structure, a perspective of “what is appropriate for the firm”, and practical manager. Henri Fayol, came up with fourteen management principles founded on his management experiences. The principles equip present day managers with overall guidelines on the way a supervisor should organize a particular department and manage the staff members. They are as follows; Division of work; Specialization and division of work produces more and quality work with the same effort; this is applicable to “Feed the Hungry” where division of work is randomized and there is no specific person to do a specific task. Authority and responsibility; Authority is the power to precise obedience and the right to assign. “Feed the Hungry” should assign a dedicated manager who has official authority founded on individual intelligence, experience and personality. Authority normally creates responsibility. Discipline; Respect and obedience in an organization are categorically essential. “Feed the Hungry” managers require good discipline to apply sanctions if at all violations turn to be apparent. In as much violence is not rife within the organization, the managers should be prepared for anything that may occur. It defines the standard under which the organization operates. Unity of command; every employee should expect orders from a dedicated superior, unlike “Feed the hungry” organization where everybody delegates to anybody on what to do. Unity of direction; organizational tasks should have one core authority and one action plan. “Feed the Hungry” organization should consider developing an action plan to avoid confusion and let each and every person be aware of what s/he is expect of them. Subordination of personal interest to general interest; an individual’s interest or a group of employees are subordinate to the interest and aims of the organization. Centralization; centralization objective is the best personnel utilization; this is very essential to the case of “Feed the Hungry” initiative where activities seemed to be decentralized and is the main cause of the confusion that is being witnessed. Scalar chain; Authority chain exists from the highest to the lowest. “Feed the Hungry” organization should focus on laying down a strategic plan to have a well-established organizational structure that defines ‘who-is-who’ in an organization such that tasks are performed in an organized manner. Order; organizational order for personnel and materials is necessary. The initiators of “Feed the Hungry” should select the right employees and the materials which are vital for the function and activity of the initiative. Equity; equity in an organization is a combination of justice and kindliness. The managers of “feed the hungry” initiative should consider both equality and equity of treatment when dealing with the members of the organization. Stability of tenure of personnel; in order to have maximum personnel productivity, there is need to have a stable personnel; this is what is lacking in “Feed the Hungry” initiative and should be amended. Initiative; coming up with a plan and guaranteeing its success is a very strong motivator. The leaders of the initiative should have energy, zeal and initiative which is required at all stages of the organization’s ladder. Esprit de corps; teamwork is an important fundamental to any organization. The “Feed the Hungry” initiative should consider consolidating activities and working as a team. All these aspects are under classical theories and were devised by Hanri Fayol. Life experience Personal life experience is about an experience witnessed while volunteering for an NGO that was providing care to patients with falling sickness. Volunteers would work to ensure that the patients get care, but volunteers’ efforts were not all that appreciated by the management. Most work was left for volunteers in the name of gaining experience. Nurses took this advantage and left most work to be done by the volunteers. At times when there was a problem, the nurses would leave the blame on the volunteers who would make the management feel like ejecting them. Despite all the efforts that volunteers placed, there was very minimal form of motivation from both the management and the care givers. This calls for classical theory in the management of the entire care unit. Henri’s thought that is applicable in this scenario is that of “Esprit de corps” that calls for teamwork and discipline. According to Henri, teamwork and discipline at workplace defines each and everybody’s role that avoids conflicts. His ideas strongly relate to modern social responsibility and ethical management, and are much directed to psychological contract. Without any form of teamwork spirit, employees and other subordinate staff will not have the urge to do any duty with much passion. The theory can make the top management to consider best practices in an organization and expand on them to solve such problems. It is very true that current organizations are greatly influenced by these managerial theories. Their edicts have turned to be a strong segments of modern management that it is very hard to accept that these concepts are not useful. Works Cited Donaldson, Lex. American Anti-Management Theories of Organization: A Critique of Paradigm Proliferation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Print. Morrison, Keith. Management Theories for Educational Change. London: P. Chapman Pub, 1998. Internet resource. McKevitt, David, and Alan Lawton. Public Sector Management: Theory, Critique and Practice. London: Sage, 1994. Internet resource. Read More