Role of Volunteering in Society - Essay Example

PART VOLUNTEERING REPORT Introduction Volunteering is an integral and essential part of the contemporary society. For instance, the work done byover 20,000,000 million volunteers in England each year makes much difference to individual lives, communities and the society in general in various aspects. According to Rochester (2006, p.6), volunteering is a collection of skills, energy and local knowledge that helps the current government in undertaking a more targeted, participatory, efficient and transparent public programs and policies. The UN, under the Commission for Social Development, declared volunteering as an integral part in the realization of the millennium development goals. According to the UN General Assembly (2005, p.17), for volunteering to realize its full potential, then each and every country should work together to address the unevenness that exists between countries. This is because, volunteering is an aspect, is critical part in both economic, social and political growth of our society. Even though, volunteering has been an integral part of most societies throughout human history, the current wave of significance it makes to individual development, addressing social need and social cohesion has never being greater (Brewis, et al., 2000, p.9). Voluntarism is characterized by 3 core principles: that is unpaid; benefit to others; and volunteer’s own free will. It is worth noting that volunteering is regarded a diverse concept due to its participants, activities and outcomes. In this regard, the concept of volunteering should not just be limited to formal contexts, such as volunteering in an organization, but rather should put into consideration more informal activities and one off-acts (Rochester et al., 2010, p.17). The concept of volunteering is based on the concepts of; work, philanthropy, leisure, participation, activism, care and learning (Rochester, 2006, p.11). Voluntarism is used by interns to add value and strengthen their skills for the challenges in their fields of study (Perlin, 2012, p.119, Oldman et al., 2003, p.25). According to NCVO (National Centre for Volunteering, 1998, p15) voluntarism must be a two-way relationship with no unpaid internship in charities. A role should always either be a paid one or a proper volunteer role as pointed out by the NCVO. Role of volunteering in society The origin of volunteering in UK date back to 1914 during the World War I (Blokland-Potters and Savage, 2008, p.23) The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland volunteered to fight against the Central Powers (Blokland-Potters and Savage, 2008, p.31). They reframed the state armed forces and established Royal Air Force subsequently creating all-volunteer army called Kitchener’s Army comprising over two million male volunteers (Blokland-Potters and Savage, 2008, p.45). Since the initiation of volunteering in the UK, the high rate of volunteering have been shaped by cultural factors at the wider societal level. The historical concept of Volunteering in the UK, is based on the historical legacy of a volunteer culture of addressing citizen need. In this regards, the historical moments have influenced volunteering in the UK, and shaped it towards social welfare (Thomas, 2012, p.86). The importance of volunteer in the society is not questionable. One aspect of volunteering is that it promotes social capital (Thomas, 2012, p.87). It is worth highlighting that social capital is regarded as one of the most pervasive theories that help in explaining the strength of communities and hence benefits of volunteering in the society at large. Social capital is an intuitive aspect that can be explained by how much people help each other in the society to make best of the prevailing scenario (Thomas, 2012, p.88). According to Putnam (2000, p.67), norms of reciprocity and trust that are created through voluntary association spill over into the society hence creating the concept of collective action in pursuit of shared goals. This is one aspect of social capital that volunteering helps create. Therefore, social capital stands-out as one of the integral component of understanding the impact of volunteering in the community. Through promoting social capital, the community will be able to build trusts, norms, and relationships for the better (Putnam, 2000, p.69). Another important contribution of volunteering into the society is the aspect of community cohesion (Liao-Troth, 2008, p.43). It is argued that community cohesion is a political aspect of volunteering. However, it remains one of the drivers of volunteering. In communities where people are segregated along some religious and ethnic groups, little or absence of interaction between the group negatively affect the sense of belonging and purpose, hence the emergence of misunderstanding and suspicion (Auld, 2004, p.18). In general terms, volunteering helps promote a more inclusive citizenship, identity and strong sense of belonging. Since the Coalition Government in the UK, the concept of community cohesion has faded from public policy discourse (Rochester, 2006, p.11). As a result, the community cohesion principles have been mobilized by different means. The concept of community cohesion has since been taken over by the concept of ‘big society’ hence putting more emphasize on local civic engagement. Most governments encourage voluntarism as a means of implementing a political policies (Rochester et al., 2010, p.12). For instance, there has been a growing number of public services carried out by voluntary groups. This is due to the political rhetoric and a strategy in which the government wants to rely on the goodwill of the volunteers and their associate organization based on the Big Society idea. Voluntary services have been perceived as temporary substitute for remunerable employment (Moon, 2010, p.23). Voluntarism has advantages from mutual aid, campaign and advocacy and philanthropic benefits. Participants gain valuable experience that shapes their lifespan and identity hence molding them into better people (Rochester et al., 2010, p.7). This voluntary engagement is two-fold on its merits, apart from providing an opportunity for being engaged, it provides chances for the acquisition of new experiences (Rochester, 2006, p.15). Voluntarism has therefore led to a reduction in social costs. This is because people get exposed to some of the social problems and develop proactive and counteractive measures thus preventing the increase of social problems that would otherwise attract a lot of funds, energy and time to resolve. Voluntarism has played a vital role on the charities as outlined in the NCVO (Rochester et al., 2010, p.41).. NCVO provides that charity volunteer called internships must be genuine development opportunity (Rochester, 2006, p.21). The volunteers are valued adding to charities work; however, NCVO warns Charities that volunteer’s roles defined as internships offer genuine scope for skill development (National Centre for Volunteering, 1998, p.16). The NCVO noted with a lot of concern that Charities presently rely on volunteer’s interns to provide various tasks that do not avail them the development opportunities anticipated. The volunteers must, therefore, be permitted to study or work alongside their volunteering. In this regard, NCVO warns against any firm creating internship positions and using the term intern to attract more people who are desperate for work (National Centre for Volunteering, 1998, p.19) Theoretical and practical analysis Most social problems are getting redress from the dual input from the governmental organizations and volunteers (Rifkin, 1995, p.45). However, this might be seen as a plot through which the state is coercing charitable organization and Volunteers to provide services they do not want to spend money on and it might be unsustainable in the long run hence disastrous. Rifkin (1995, p.54) introduces a new perspective to remedy social problems like employment. It is worth noting that the importance of volunteering should not be on a meta-level focus and hence need to focus on the bigger society. The concept of volunteering should overlook people’s social networks and their participation in voluntary organizations. Instead, voluntarism should focus on the community in regards to methods of observation and attentive to everyday life (Blokland-Potters and Savage, 2008, p.67). About Praxis Praxis is a community project charitable organization that aims at being with the displaced communities, through listening and acting via its common humanity to establish as well as nurture reconciliation, human rights and social justice (Francis, Mahlomaholo & Nkoane, 2010, p.3). That is; the organization main objective is to provide advice, support and a welcome meeting place for vulnerable migrants and refugees in London. The organization was founded in 1983 via a legacy of the late Robert Kemble. Praxis is located in Pott Street, London, UK. Praxis believes in facilitating new relationships with the potential to transform conflict, injustice and exploitation (Francis, Mahlomaholo & Nkoane, 2010, p. 5). In addition, they believe in the dignity of displaced people as well as building solidarity within and between communities. Volunteering as supported by the organization (Praxis). Praxis engage the volunteers in offering them the necessary services upon their arrival like interpretation and proceed to direct them to other organizations that will offer them more of the action based assistance (Francis, Mahlomaholo & Nkoane, 2010, p.15). The volunteers who work for praxis do not necessarily have to be professionals in the field of counseling. Neither do they have to be advisors in immigration related matters? The volunteers also need not be professed in the field of legal affairs. The major attribute expected of the prospective mentors revolve around though not limited to being above 18 years, capable of speaking fluent English and have resided in the UK long enough to comprehend the customs and culture of the United kingdom (Francis, Mahlomaholo & Nkoane, 2010, p.19). These mentors counsel the vulnerable immigrants besides helping them realize their identity. These mentors greatly impact on the life of the vulnerable immigrant by enabling them to be equipped with the necessary knowledge about the provision of the immigrants. In addition, they help the organization to convey particular messages to the immigrants such as opportunities for jobs and charitable or relief assistance. The mentors also need to possess the potential to motivate and encourage the vulnerable clientele. The volunteers are grouped into reception and visitor welcome, advice support, housing and advice plus social and leisure group (Francis, Mahlomaholo & Nkoane, 2010, p.27). Praxis is not an organization which is just based on the reflection. On the contrary, it is based on the aspects such as commitment to human wellbeing, respect to other and the search for the truth. The concept of social capital is vital to the economic growth of every society. Praxis offers the opportunity to many individuals who want to develop socially. By offering various community project, offering shelter and safety to the needy, Praxis helps improve the social capital on the society (Francis, Mahlomaholo & Nkoane, 2010, p.33. The services offered by Praxis will help improve social networks, encourage face-to-face interaction, participation in voluntary associations consequently improving the social capital of the society. Apart from the development of social capital, Praxis helps in developing and improving human capital. This is mainly done through several internship, volunteering and employment activities that take place in Praxis. Contribution of volunteering in the big society The Big Society main idea is to foster the integration of the free market with social solidarity on the premise of hierarchy and the spirit of voluntarism. The big society is a political ideology developed in the 21st century. It involves the inclusion of free market with the theory of social solidarity in regards to voluntarism (Rochester et al., 2012, p. 7). The big society has provision for a country that operates beyond mere bonding in terms of social capital; it also exhibits how the construction of such bridges requires social capital linkages in their localities (Hustinx, Haski-Leventhal, & Handy, 2008, p.83). It targeted to bring into operation the empowerment of locals as individuals and communities to build a formidable big society that would devolve power away from the politicians to the common man (Rochester et al., 2012, p.27). The Big Society idea would be attainable if the participation of the communities was enhanced through voluntary actions (Esmond, 2000, p.43). This kind of society would mean that people feel obliged to offering their time, property and wealth without coercion. Conclusion The growth of volunteering is important individual, community and society. Volunteering leads to both creation of human and social capital to individual who then transmit this to the wider community and the society. Many Charitable organization have helped filled the gaps left by the government and has promoted educational amongst the individual and communities that facilitate other derived societal development (Onyx, 2003, p.41). Since the initiation of volunteering in the UK, the high rate of volunteering have been shaped by cultural factors at the wider societal level. The historical concept of Volunteering in the UK, is based on the historical legacy of a volunteer culture of addressing citizen need. In this regards, the historical moments have influenced volunteering in the UK, and shaped it towards social welfare. In this regard, it is no surprise that the concept of voluntarism have had a positive impact on the UK society. The concept of the voluntarism has helped develop some ideologies such as the ‘Big Society’ that has been instrumental in promoting social welfare within the society (Rochester et al., 2012, p. 11). Praxis facilitates the social capital right from its co-founders, Dave Blanchard, and Josh Kwan motivation for their desire to alter the world for good. Praxis operates as a venture accelerator to groom social entrepreneurs besides backing them financially (Francis, Mahlomaholo & Nkoane, 2010, p.61). Particularly, they co-founders were inspired to assist the like-minded entrepreneurs to succeed. Further, the Academy offers entrepreneurial training with a Christ-centered mechanism to identify undergraduates. By equipping and resourcing a growing portfolio of faith motivated entrepreneurs committed to their lives in social and cultural impacts, the organization renews the spirit of our age one organization at a time. Therefore, this is a great strides towards social capital grooming (Francis, Mahlomaholo & Nkoane, 2010, p.89). PART II: REFLECTIVE ACCOUNT Reflection endeavors to transform what actually could have been tactfully learned in theoretical terms to the practicality of real life. In my opinion, experimental knowledge acquisition on the other hand refers to learning through the reflection of actual, practical involvement in the tasks that one is expected to attain as learning outcomes (Beard & Colin, 2010, p.20). It is a direct opposite of didactic learning whereby the learner does not play a pivotal role in so far as the learning process is concerned (Silberman, 2007, p.6). I can attribute it to the individual learning process as opposed to experiential education which analyzes the wider concerns of education (Silberman, 2007, p.8). I believe that what are learned by practice is remembered for the quite a substantial amount of time. In this regard, I believe that if I use experiential learning, then I am more likely to experience high retention and change level (Silberman, 2007, p.13). The experiences I gained should be able to teach me and not act as mere engagements alone (Malcolm, 2000, p.56). Rochester et al. (2012, p.31), points out that people exposure to particular experience can be memorized for a longer period of time, unlike presentation that tend to be forgotten after a short period. Therefore, experience provides the best approach to learning a particular phenomenon as there are greater possibility that the knowledge will remain live and relevant in one mind throughout one’s lifespan. (Silberman, 2007, p.4). The importance of reflection and experiential learning are many and vary according to the intent for which it is conducted (Esmond, 2000, p.21). However, one important aspect is that it provides the opportunity to develop the theoretical perspectives that are learned. In addition, I am of the idea that for professional development aids people involved with the chance to develop the self (Rochester et al., 2012, p.40). Experiential learning improves on their decision making process as well as acquire skills that are useful for resolution of the possible outcomes (Silberman, 2007, p.25). In the professional arena, it enables the practitioners to be more empowered in their fields of practice and be able to practice with confidence. I believe that, professionally one be emancipated and has the impetus to further advance their career (Smith, (1996, 2006), p.62). In this regard, the second part of the essay focuses on the personal experience I obtained from volunteering. In the course of my volunteering, I had hoped to gain in terms of developing my skills and to get an opportunity to exercise the theoretical knowledge that I had acquired in the course. I was motivated intrinsically and extrinsically throughout my volunteering period (Esmond, 2000, p.13). According to Esmond (2000, p.17), one of the intriguing factors that motivated was the ability to work as a team. I realized the importance of working as a team to help the lives of others. I realized how it was interesting to be counted as a part of a given organizational success. In addition, I was further motivated by the being recognized and appreciated for my inputs into the organization (Allahyari, 2000, p.56). The experience I intended to acquire would go a long way to open the doors of the wider pool of the job sector. I had the hope of getting to work with the disadvantaged, the vulnerable people who had feeling of hopelessness. I thought that what I had learned in my coursework would make the asylum seekers be able to rekindle their lost hope. I hoped to gain the experience of working in the organization that deals with needs of the disadvantaged from the world over. As I went into the job, it was my sincere hope that while working as an administrator, I would be faced with challenges of human resource. This was because I was to head a department that has many interpreters from diverse backgrounds. I did not expect to have a lot of impacts following my introvert personality coupled with my love for the disadvantaged. Despite my personality, I expected to take advantage of the fact that I am multilingual with knowledge of Bengali, Sylheti and Hindi to inspire the asylum seekers. As a whole, I hoped to further my skills in management among the members of the vulnerable communities. The organization office set-up as well as running an office diary were integral concepts I learned. The skills, attitudes and knowledge that I gained while working at Praxis were numerous. The experienced helped me groom both human and social capital (Francis, Mahlomaholo & Nkoane, 2010, p.17). Of great significance, human capital grooming was the fact that the exercise provided me with the opportunity to fulfill all my expectations and also learn more. I could subsequently wield the chance to be in contact with the plight of the asylum seekers. My attitude towards humanitarianism got a leap in empathy (Francis, Mahlomaholo & Nkoane, 2010, p.17). I was faced with lots of challenges that troubled the asylum seekers. I came face to face with the plights that are encountered by people from war raven states who are circumstantially obliged to flee their motherland. From these experiences, I am in a position to competently counsel those who may hold intentions of troubleshooting to make their home countries war tone. I forgot to the bookings to my participant since my supervisor never elucidated to me the effective process of dealing with email correspondences. I assumed that I was to do one mail, and it would serve all I intended to book. The saddest incident was when I had to reorganize bookings for clients due to the absence of the interpreters whom I had booked them to meet. This was an inconvenience that was caused by my immediate boss who despite being aware of the fact that an interpreter would be absent, did not relay the same information to me. I therefore, realized some of the non-compliance with the NCVO provision that bars the creation of internships operated in total disregard to the core mandate of the internship of promoting volunteers human and social capital development. The NCVO provides that the interest of the internships should be prioritized and allowed to undertake their studies alongside such works to meet their expectations (National Centre for Volunteering, 1998, p.59). Therefore, my roles, as outlined in the NCVO, were not fully outlined leading to a bad practice as failure to meet all my expectations. Praxis facilitates the social capital right from its co-founders, Dave Blanchard, and Josh Kwan motivation for their desire to alter the world for good (Francis, Mahlomaholo & Nkoane, 2010, p.22). It operates as a venture accelerator to groom social entrepreneurs besides backing them financially. By equipping and resourcing a growing portfolio of faith motivated entrepreneurs committed to their lives in social and cultural impacts, the organization renews the spirit of our age one organization at a time. Therefore, this is a great strides towards social capital grooming (Francis, Mahlomaholo & Nkoane, 2010, p.3). As mentioned above, the 21st century is motivated by intrusive actions to help others (Rochester et al., 2012, p.19). Praxis offers these kind of services that would eventually have a positive impact on individuals. Praxis as an organization is committed to working with the vulnerable within the society; by offering a ‘home away from home’ to people who finds it difficult to settle in the seek. In so doing, the organization gives hope to the hopeless through empowering them socially and economically. This is the same ideology that ‘the big society’ is based upon. Even though the ‘Big Society’ is a politically ideologies, it shares the same goals with praxis (Rochester et al., 2012, p.22). That is, empowering the unfortunate in the society so that they can have a voice on their political, social and economic welfare. Therefore, it is right to argue that both Praxis and the Big Society are committed to promoting voluntarism for social and economic benefits (Rochester et al., 2012, p.23). Socio-economic benefits form an integral aspect of UK societal growth. With the improved welfare, the UK community will exhibit cohesion and growth in social capital. Work that is done on Praxis community project shares from the ideologies of the big society. The volunteers at Praxis groom the asylum seekers to the level of the citizens of the state, by implanting into them the idea that there are people concerned about their plight. This is a key step toward their integration into their new home. This promotes social welfare to the benefits of the society (Rochester et al., 2012, p.29). Personality statement mapping and Personality tests, results, and reflections. The personality statement mapping analyzed the suitable character traits for potential employment opportunities in the format of a curriculum vitae (Moon, 2010, p.37). It gives the basis upon which one appraises his personal suitability for placement on the particular tasks that are to be undertaken in a particular position. Personality, tests, results and reflections on the other hand scrutinized the personality traits of a person (Moon, 2010, p.49). This critically looked at the possible behavior patterns that are exhibited by different personality characteristics. I will use these experiences to strategize myself both by qualifications and experiences to enable me enhance my professional development (Ratcliffe & Newman, 2011, 113). The volunteering experience that I gathered in the third sector working for a voluntary organization (Praxis Community Project) was outstanding. I learned to appreciate the induction process before job placement to ensure efficiency in service delivery. I learned such human capita-attached skills such as able to make decisions, solve problems, communicate effectively and mentor the asylum. Such human capital skill acquired were in line with my core expectation as they prepared me for my future career. Further, I gained skills of being congruence, empathetic and as well unconditional positive regard to the asylums. Such person-centered key pillars made me develop into a mature counselor. In addition, I appreciated the importance of having self-esteem self-efficacy a well being able to sacrifice for others. From the short period of seventy two hours working with Praxis, I managed to learn a lot about the organization behavior that is exhibited by most charitable organizations. Most importantly, I learned about the NCVO requirement about the internships. However, I noted with a lot of concern how Charities create some position that may never support the development of internships. Further, I learned that the future of the Charities rests with the NCVO that regulates their action. While the mission and vision Praxis Community project are very succinctly stated, the personal attributes of their employees need to be assessed. The personal attitude of the employees in my opinion impacted negatively on the service delivery to the people who are in dire need of assistance. This is because they were not able to effectively deliver their services to the needy. What occurred to me at Praxis is a revelation of the assumption that transpires in most organizations. In numerous occasions, the recruits are left to familiarize with the modalities of operation on their own. This is not in agreement with the recruitment policies at Praxis. I believe, this happened due to the fact that some of the staffs had poor working relationships and poor attitude towards the new recruits. Some old employees, on my opinion, felt that their jobs were threatened with the young energetic new recruits. According to the NCVO, the Charities should support the development of human and social capital amongst the internships. There should never be positions created that overrides this development. Voluntarism should never go unpaid, and hence the future of Charities that greatly depend on volunteers is a stake for those Charities that exploit the internships. Charities should, therefore, adopt very clear policies in their operations, more emphasis need to be put in the induction of new employees to enable them fully familiarize with the means of engagement in their new responsibilities. Clear cut policies should be enacted to gauge the level of basic qualifications that are requisite for engagement as an employee in a charitable organization. According to Allahyari (2000, p.51), volunteers need protection, guidance and a scheme of service detailing their scheme of service as well as any other benefits which may accrue to them. The volunteering process taught me great things about me and my personal attributes in the behavior of a workplace environment. I was able to discover my strong points as well weaknesses that are in me. Working as an administration assistant, I had to come to terms with the forms of communication channels that exist in organizations. I came to realize the loopholes that are in the system in so far as relaying of information to both workers and clients alike is concerned (Moon, 2010, p.75). I was able to realize the areas that if given the opportunity to be in the leadership position, I would redress to ensure that there are dependable communication channels that will keep the organization intact (Moon, 2010, p.82). My managerial skills improved a great deal because I was able to reach out to the needy, vulnerable, disadvantaged people in the society. Of great significance was the experience that I gathered about the plight to which immigrants are exposed to (Moon, 2010, p.105). References Allahyari, R. A. (2000). Visions of Charity Volunteer Workers and Moral Community. Berkeley, University of California Press. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=224320. Ashley, H., Kenton, N., & Milligan, A. (2007). Immersions: learning about poverty face-to-face. London, IIED. Astin, A. W., & Sax, L. J. 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UN General Assembly (2005), Report of the Secretary-General: Follow-up to the Implementation of the International Year of Volunteers. Watt, Nicholas (19 July 2010). “Cameron promises power for the man and woman on the street”. The Guardian (London: Guardian Newspapers Ltd). Archived from the original on 21 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-19. Appendices APPENDIX ONE Re: Rumena Chowdhury This is to confirm that Rumena Chowdhury undertook a work placement at Praxis Community Projects from 09/12/2015 to 30/01/2015 as per the requirements of her university studies. During this period, she completed a total of 72 hours of volunteer work (including lunch breaks). Rumena worked in an administrative role within the Interpreting project and completed the following tasks:- Creating daily schedules for staff interpreters Booking freelance interpreters Generating timesheets Liaising with clients to rearrange bookings Filing Rumena also contributed to the Advice team at Praxis by way of using her language skills (in Bengali and Sylheti and Hindi) to help the Advisers communicate with clients who dropped in when an interpreter was not available. Rumena has been a pleasure to work with. She has shown herself to be focused and hard working and willing to take on any task. I would recommend her in any such role within the sector. If you require further information, please do not hesitate to contact me on: 020 7749 7607. Kind regards, Habiba Habiba Begum Project Administrator Praxis Interpreting + ED6002 VOLUNTEERING LEARNING DIARY 1 Student number: u1200963 Name of volunteering agency: Praxis Community Projects Date of session/activity: 23/12/2014 Date of reflection: 23/12/2014 1. Outline a specific incident that has happened in your volunteering (e.g. a conversation with a client/child, attendance at a meeting or participation in an activity) Interpreting for an elderly lady. 2. Reflection and analysis of the specific incident (what are your feelings and thoughts about the incident/activity?) I thought my advice would be helpful for the client, as I can relate this situation to my personal experience. 3. Generalised analysis and learning - moving away from the specific example, what did this raise about how the volunteering practice and theory relate to each other more generally (e.g. did a conversation raise any issues about the methods used by the agency? or about working professionally? or did the meeting or activity raise issues about policy or systems or procedures?) This conversation raised the issue about the policy and system used by the agency. It was my first session as a trainee interpreter and the organisations duty was to explain the role to me nonetheless it was also my responsibility to get all necessary information before hand. 4. Further action this section should outline any further action that you need to take a. relating to the specific example (e.g. do you need to follow up the conversation or meeting?) I’m going to discuss the incident with my manager to prevent similar incident in the future. b. relating generally to your learning and development (what do you need to do to be more effective in the future?) In the future I will strictly separate my professional and personal image, fillings and thoughts in regards to be more effective in my role. ED6002 VOLUNTEERING LEARNING DIARY 2 Student number: u1200963 Name of volunteering agency: Praxis Community Projects Date of session/activity: 13/01/2015 Date of reflection: 13/01/2015 1. Outline a specific incident that has happened in your volunteering (e.g. a conversation with a client/child, attendance at a meeting or participation in an activity) Doing the admin job-making appointments and sending references via email. 2. Reflection and analysis of the specific incident (what are your feelings and thoughts about the incident/activity?) Today I’ve booked all interpreters for the GP appointments but forgot to send the email conformation/references to the interpreters. As a result interpreters didn’t attend their appointments. My feeling about the incident is there was lack of description about how to do the job. As I thought I only need to send the email to the freelance interpreters not to the staff. Because I already conform them on the phone. 3. Generalised analysis and learning - moving away from the specific example, what did this raise about how the volunteering practice and theory relate to each other more generally (e.g. did a conversation raise any issues about the methods used by the agency? or about working professionally? or did the meeting or activity raise issues about policy or systems or procedures?) Today’s incident raises issues about the methods used by the agency and also about working professionally. Actually they send two different type of email reference to their interpreters; word process email for freelance interpreter and reference number through outlook email for staff interpreter. I did send all email to the freelance interpreter but missed all email for staff interpreters. 4. Further action this section should outline any further action that you need to take a. relating to the specific example (e.g. do you need to follow up the conversation or meeting?) Yes, my manager showed me how to check and conform the work has done according to their requirement. b. relating generally to your learning and development (what do you need to do to be more effective in the future?) I should check my work few times, check the email sent box, draft box and make sure both type of reference been sent and keep an effective record before I leave. ED6002 VOLUNTEERING LEARNING DIARY 3 Student number: u1200963 Name of volunteering agency: Praxis Community Projects Date of session/activity: 20/01/2015 Date of reflection: 21/01/2015 1. Outline a specific incident that has happened in your volunteering (e.g. a conversation with a client/child, attendance at a meeting or participation in an activity) Liaising with clients to rearrange booking. 2. Reflection and analysis of the specific incident (what are your feelings and thoughts about the incident/activity?) My thought on this incident is, it’s happened due to the clear instruction to me and the relation between the client and the organisation. As the organisation knew this interpreter are not allowed to go to this surgery (GP) they forgot to inform me. Unknown about the conflict I booked that very person for a short noticed requirement. 3. Generalised analysis and learning - moving away from the specific example, what did this raise about how the volunteering practice and theory relate to each other more generally (e.g. did a conversation raise any issues about the methods used by the agency? or about working professionally? or did the meeting or activity raise issues about policy or systems or procedures?) 4. Further action this section should outline any further action that you need to take a. relating to the specific example (e.g. do you need to follow up the conversation or meeting?) Yes, my manager held a meeting with me and apologise to me for the incident because it was her responsibility to inform me which interpreter I should or shouldn’t book for that appointment. As a matter of urgency and shortage of time my manager had to attend the appointment. b. relating generally to your learning and development (what do you need to do to be more effective in the future?) in the future I will definitely cross check all the bookings with my manager before sending the conformation/reference email to every interpreter. APPENDIX THREE: Task 1 Person Specification Criteria How the criteria is fully met Education/ qualifications Good standard of oral and written English Do a lot of practice on English and oral presentation. Skills and knowledge: Excellent communication skills-written and verbal able to work in a multidisciplinary team interpersonal skills Ability to maintain confidentiality Ability to adapt to change within busy environment Maintaining a good working relationship Person Specification Criteria How shortfalls could be addressed Self-awareness of assets and limitations Understanding of volunteering culture Whenever faced with a shortfall, the most appropriate thing is to consult with the management to understand the cause and the solution of the problem. Task two: Evidence of online tasks   Essential Desirable Qualifications   Educated to Degree level: Currently pursuing an education degree at University of East London (BA hons education studies.) Was involved in voluntary work as an administrative assistant at praxis community project   An upper second (2.1) or above degree classification   Skills Excellent interpersonal skills, with good written and communication skills. Capable of solving problems tactfully. Capable of meeting deadlines, can sustain pressure at work to meet deadlines.   Being an administrative assistant, I had the chance to train, other volunteers   Organised bookings.   Experience   Was a team leader at Praxis community project     Capable of organising counselling sessions.     TASK three: Personality tests After very critical analysis, I came to conclude that am an Introvert as opposed to being an extrovert. In most instances I get my energy from my own thoughts and ideas, rather than heated discussions. Introverts rarely speak up at large meetings, preferring listening to talking. Introverts need alone time, especially after spending a few hours with people. The second trait I was able to infer of me dealt with the method of gathering information. To this effect I fall in the category of sensors because I prefer facts and details to interpretations. The third personality trait was on the basis of how people make decisions, in this category I am a thinker. I prefer to base my judgment on objective values, logical, detached and analytical. My orientation for this category classify me as a judge as opposed to a perceiver, I am structured, orderly and prefers to go on my plans as scheduled. Am also an ESFJ because am extremely sociable and fear stress because it makes me dejected and despondent. Read More