The Organizers - Group Purpose and Goals - Essay Example

Social Work Practice – Group Work and Section # of Group Work Activity The Utility of Group Works – an introduction Group work is an activity aimed at increasing the skillfulness of individuals associated with the working with more individuals than in a lonely manner. The gurus of management define the need of group work as critical because within an organization, there are no individuals but groups and departments that co-exist and the existence of a cross-functional team is also an important aspect. This report is based on the group activity that I participated in and the further details shall be discussed in the forthcoming sections of this report. The name of the group formed, discussed here was a federation known as The Organizers. Group Purpose and Goals The main objective of formation of this group was to assist various individuals within the institute and outside too in organizing various events like seminars, workshops, conferences, concerts, and various other formal and informal gatherings in a professional mode. The true objectives associated with this set up were many but the major ones are listed as below: To earn through real life projects To gain experience of real time organizing of events And ultimately gaining the management know-how and team management skills Enhancing leadership and team management skills There are very fewer set ups that offer opportunities to earn and learn simultaneously, and this set up was one of them. Apart from the earn and learn concept, it also allowed the members to associate themselves with various firms that needed events organized and managed, and allowed creating contacts in various industry for sponsorships and other related activities. Rationale for Group Creation – the background information The rationale for the creating of such a group was the recognized need; as witnessed in the career sections of the newspapers, the demand for event organizing and management individuals was growing rapidly not just in the home town but across the continent. Considering the same aspect, it was realized that having such a set up would provide home grounds for learning and making most of this opportunity, as it was foreseeable that this experience would tremendously contribute as we graduate and move in the jobs market. It was also felt that formation of this group and serving this category is a niche that is lacking in the market today. It was felt that firms hire individuals as event managers or event coordinators and once hired, they perform all the tasks and keep coordinating with the concerned department or to a particular person in the firm, while this hired individual has no command but the role of a coordinator. It was realized that formation of such a group would eventually assist firms in outsourcing any events to be planned, managed or organized. Application of group work theory and social work knowledge in the group program and consideration of possible ethical issues Our job relates to social work because often charity organizations are involved in organizing various programs and events through which they collect charities; often such programs involve entertainments such as concerts or stage shows. For charity or social purposes work, we provided the customers with a fair discount and even at times work on cost-to-cost without keeping any margins whatsoever. This was a prime application to the considerations given to the social work within the reach. Alongside, social work was taken up as a priority work and all other tasks were re-scheduled when a social work came across. Kanopka (1963) defines group work theory as a mechanism of social work that is aimed for assisting individuals in enhancing and developing their social skill-set with purposeful experiences. This also allows enhancing the problem solving skills and assists in developing various skills like leadership, communication, management, etc. Our work, by all means, was based on or was an absolute application of the group work theory. The content of the program allowed the development and grooming of social work and skill development amongst the participating individuals. The active participation allowed the group members to grow mature in terms of dealing with various organizing vendors and dealing with customers of varying degree and status. Group structure and leadership The work we did was simple; the management team was one and permanent that took care of getting customers, marketing, pricing, presenting proposals, and leading the event jobs. This team is the partnership or the board of directors so to speak that derives the work and divides it so that the project can be done effectively. Beyond that, there are people hired from project to project basis known as ‘seasonal campaigners’. These are not regular employees or partners in the firm but hired from various institutes as internees. Hiring them as internees has various benefits; firstly, it saves costs for the group as these are very cheaper and often work voluntarily. Secondly, having such opportunities bring out the enthusiasm amongst the youth to develop themselves and to contribute to an on going event within their home town. Additionally, it also enhances their sense of responsibility, team working capabilities, communication skills, maturity level, and other essential aspects that eventually groom the students, and as they get over with this work (an event) they realize that they have learnt a lot more than they could otherwise. It also serves as a short internship kind of a scenario for the students. The size of the group varies essentially with the type of event that is to take place. For a major event, there are a lot of vacancies while for smaller ones, the team sizes are kept small. Apart from this, the partners in this group are mainly six of which one heads the group and has added responsibility to look after things and develop master plans. In an organizational set up, this one person can be the chairman or the CEO of the firm, and the other five are the executors or the managers. The hires, as mentioned previously, are assistants to these executors (managers). The group is essentially open to any and everyone who wants to join, while the definition of work defines the fact that the work would be volunteered or otherwise. On a general note, the practice is such that after taking out costs and partners margins from the revenues collected, the remainder is divided amongst the volunteers as a stipend or bonus, and some of it is also utilized for printing of certificates and sometimes also arranging a party or picnic for the organizing volunteers to serve as a motivation for them to re-join again. It is also a moment for interaction with various other organizing individuals. The leadership style used in our work was primarily directive but consultative at times too, so it can actually be assumed as a mix of consultative and directive. This leadership style was not assumed to be appropriate but discussed with the partners. Directive was chosen as an appropriate approach because with the passage of time, as we gain experience, the upcoming contracts truly become similar to an off-shelve application of the previous experience, and so it is really like applying an existing template with all deadlines, timelines, milestones present in a predefined format. However, it was agreed that consultative approach should also be mixed. The reason of adding up another and getting a mix was the fact that young students come with fresh ideas and various backgrounds so taking in their consultation for work would eventually assist in redefining processes, refining the mechanism and one good idea can not just save loads of time and energy, but can also attract more deals as people see us doing something different. So this style of leadership gave us a cutting edge and allowed us to have the sample group of people rejoining us for various events. Group Participants The participants of the group were mainly students, either part time or full time, for the purpose of earning an extra bit or for the sole purpose of learning or internship. The recruitment and training plan was simple; each time there came an opportunity of an event, the near by schools and colleges and other institutes were notified and notice-board ads were posted in these institutes, with timelines and deadlines pertaining to the event and other major aspects that an individual must know prior to applying. Apart from this, we also paid off season visits to various institutes to make people aware of our existence and the opportunities we offer. Students interested applied through email or coming over to the home-based-office for registration. Students were recruited based on an interview that was intended to understand the prospects of a student working with us in the long run and the potentials that needed to be polished and unleashed. When found an appropriate match, the student was recruited and given the relevant and necessarily details about our set up. For training and getting people on the same grounds to perform, the students were called for various sessions, firstly giving a general introduction on how events are organized and later telling them specifics of the event under consideration. When everyone realizes the job structure, they have an option to leave if they misunderstood the work in the first place, or otherwise, the students would notify which subgroup would they be most interested in working for, and accordingly, judging their skill set, they would be placed in certain groups. Group coordinators were picked, primarily on the basis of previous experiences, and strictly amongst those who have worked with us previously. Proposed group program Funding of the program generally took place through the customers as we contracted our services to various firms who wished to outsource the hassle of organizing an event. However, many a times, the lack of a proper office set up and an established name was felt particularly when marketing our services to various firms. Our workings were within the city only, and the frequency and timing really depended on the frequency of organizing events. Firms preferred us over professional and registered organizers due to the cost factor and also due to our pricing strategy which was very competitive. Another point for preference was that this served as an appreciation for our work as youngsters involving ourselves in such efforts. Conclusion I personally believe that the presence of an appropriate program such as this has helped us a lot in not just earning, but learning various skill set, enhancing our existing skills, maturing us for the better, and also making us feel the responsibility of grooming our team; the communication skills needed, the application of group work, team workings, respect for coworkers and other aspects have been very critical. Educational institutes should appreciate, acknowledge, and initiate such programs that allow such grooming of their students because alongside the book knowledge gained in the class, it is this experience that matters a lot in grooming the students and matures their behavior for the cooperative world where they head for the jobs. Apart from educational institutes, parents should also encourage similar group activities amongst their young children. In the scenario where youngsters cannot involve themselves in developing group work at such higher levels, they should at least be encouraged to participate or volunteer in such activities because only limited participation can also assist a lot in personality development and behavioral development of a youngster and it is ultimately this grooming that allows individuals to blossom in their professional careers. References Adair, J. (1988) Effective Leadership London: Pan Barker, L. L., Cegala, D. J., Kibler, R. J. and Wahlers, K. J. Groups In Process New Jersey, USA: Prentice-Hall Bond, T. (1986) Games for Social and Life Skills London: Hutchinson Brandes, D. and Phillips, H (1977) Gamesters’ Handbook Great Britain: Stanley Thornes Brown, A. (1994) Groupwork 3rd Edition Great Yarmouth: Ashgate Publishing Dearling, A. and Armstrong, H. (1994) The New Youth Games Book Great Britain: Russell House Publishing Douglas, T. 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(1965) `Developmental Sequences in Small Groups` in Psychological Bulletin No. 63 p. 384-399 Read More