Western Region Municipality (WRM) - Assignment Example

Western Region Municipality (WRM) I work for an organization known as Western Region Municipality, (WRM). Just as the name suggests, Western Region Municipality is a government organization structured under the department of Municipal affairs. Located in Madinat Zayed, Western Region the organization is mandated with the management of the affairs of the municipality and receives its funding from the government. As a government facility, the organization offers flexible working hours either from seven to three or from eight in the morning to four, as is the case with many other government organizations in the United Arabs Emirates. The organization interacts with the government on numerous interfaces key among which is through its official website, http://www.wrm.abudhabi.ae. Besides the website, the organization has numerous other platforms for interactions including social media. The company has an Instagram account, (WRMUNICIPALITY) and a twitter account, (@WRMunicipality). The two among many others provide adequate interaction between the public and the organization thus influencing the operations of the organization. West Region Municipality has eleven branches within the region; I work in the organization’s head office as a working student. The position is exciting and presents numerous challenges thus horning my professional skills. I work with the department of human resource a feature that validates my placement within the head office. Just as expected of any government department, West Region Municipality is a large organization with more than a thousand employees in different departments. This implies that the organization is both busy and competitive. Despite the business, the employees are both jovial and supportive individuals thus making the work place an exciting place. The table below is a rough draft of the organization is working structure. The table is an essential and the most functional chart aloud for use by the organization’s policies. WRM Organization Chart Sr. Sector Name Num of Dep. Some Departments Name 1 Support Services Sector 7 Planning and Technology Division 2 Town Planning Sector 5 Property Management Division 3 Area Services Sector 30 Communal & Environmental Services 4 Strategic Planning Sector 5 Financial Planning Division 5 Municipality Infrastructure Sector 5 Infrastructure Coordination Division 6 GM Office 5 Internal Audit Division First week The experience at the municipality is both humbling and exciting, I am therefore happy working at the organization. As a useful member of the staff, I carry out numerous functions limited to my position and unique working arrangements. I work with the top-level management of the human resource department and engaging in such activities as acquisition among many others. As such, I gain fundamental experience thus progressively horn my expertise. Additionally, I get appropriate opportunities to use the skills I gained in class. The position for example horns both leadership and management qualities since in most cases I make decision and evaluate the results of each with the view of making both conclusive. Communication Communication is a fundamental process within any organization; it refers to the transfer of information and thoughts from an individual to another. Communication is therefore an important aspect of organizational culture with most managements developing official ways of communication within the company. As social beings, the employees in an organization also maintain their informal communications in their informal groupings within the organization. Each of the two types of communication is fundamental since they influence the productivity of the employees thus the organization. Western Region Municipality just as any other organization has numerous official means of communication including phone calls, electronics mails among many others. The effectiveness of communication within the organization relies on the completeness of the communication process. This refers to the complete interaction between the communicating parties on a reliable media coupled with the efficient collection and consideration of feedback. At the place of work, I communicate with different people including colleagues, managers and customers among many others. Managers often make phones calls requesting feedbacks and when issuing commands. As such, phone calls and electronic mails are official means of communication within the company. Additionally I interact with other colleagues on a face-to-face basis. The experience is both exciting and liberal since it often an effective opportunity to gain varied viewpoints rom the diverse employees each of whom always present a unique viewpoint even on social issues. Work Plan Week Department Activities (at least 4 tasks) Supervisor, Job Title, Telephone, e-mail Week 1 HR Dep. Emiratization presentation Week 1 Finance Dep. Report the financial status of the budget Week 2 HR Dep. Report on staff contracts Week 2 Executive Office A study on identifying the challenges of human resources Journal 2 Technical development Technology is a fundamental aspect of the Western Region Municipality. The organization just as any other modern day organization employs the use of numerous sophisticated technologies in enhancing its operations and service delivery. Among its greatest technological infrastructure is the information system. An information system refers to an interconnection of numerous communication devices using a network of cables to enhance the interaction of employees and transfer of information. The information system within the organization includes numerous computers that constitute workstations, telephone receivers, fax machines and printers among others. Using the information system is imperative since it avails all the necessary information besides enhancing the interaction among employees. The network of computers avail the organization’s databases thus permitting regulated access of the data. The interconnection of the computers within the organization requires enhances technology in order to run efficiently. Among its fundamental requirements is network security. The loss of data from the database would result in the loss of fundamental assets of the organization as such; the organization invests in the management of the network with the view of enhancing the security of the network. As an important government department, unscrupulous users would attempt gaining unauthorized access of the company’s database through the internet. This portrays the extent of the risk the network experiences. In order to curb such, the organization has a formidable information technology department that supervises the operations of the network thus safeguarding its security. Among the features of the network they employ in guarding the information include the use of firewalls, the use of antiviruses, provision of unique passwords and the creation of unique interfaces that make it difficult for foreigners to navigate. I had appropriate technical know how to operate numerous aspects of the network without any training. Such technological devices as mobile phones and computers are common phenomenon in the society, this make their use easier. However, I underwent a series of internal training and orientations in order to familiarize with the in-house rules of engaging the information system and values to uphold while using the network. The network thus became an important aspect of my functions at the organization since I interacted with people within the organization through network. Managers send their commands through the network in the form of emails besides the numerous phone calls among others. Working with the network required numerous etiquette and values in order to uphold the optimal functioning of the network. I therefore gained essential skills on the use of any information network besides the numerous ways of upholding the standards and quality of a network. Work issues and responsibilities As I had explained earlier, my position at the organization was both interesting and challenging, this implied that I faced numerous challenges that I had to overcome effectively on order to enhance my productivity. Using the information system portrayed he extent of cybercrime thus imploring the creation of stringent policies to manage the use of networks in the country. As a first economy, the United Arabs Emirates among other first economies in the world are at the risk of losing essential assets to the hackers who hover constantly around an organization’s network with the view of obtaining essential data. While the organization employs numerous technological features in safeguarding he resources of the company, the employees must uphold high ethical standards in order to protect the company’s resources. While at the organization, I faced numerous ethical dilemmas and the temptations to use the company’s data for personal gains. Doing so would jeopardize service delivery to the people. A few unscrupulous characters within the organization often ran under deals for their own good thus risking the longevity of the municipality. This implies that the government should develop effective policies to govern the relationship and operations of the civil servants besides instituting stringent punishments to ensure that employees uphold the ethical standards of any government facility. Work Plan Week Department Activities (at least 4 tasks) Supervisor, Job Title, Telephone, e-mail Week 3 Tawteen Measuring indicators of municipal and update the system. Week 3 Finance Dep. Review cash flow budget for human resources. Week 4 HR Dep. Work on the Recruitment Plan. Week 4 HR Dep. Update the Organization Chart of WRM Journal 3 Teamwork and leadership Teamwork is an essential aspect of management and operationalizing an organization. At the municipality, the management structured the employees in numerous teams under the leadership of respective team leaders. In teams of five, we undertook different projects thus expediting the productivity of the organization. Working students have unique working hours in the organization. I was a part of a team of five other junior employees under the leadership of a junior level manager. The manager’s roles included issuing the projects and monitoring their completion. We on the other hand undertook the projects filling the forms accordingly and interacting with the customers where necessary in order to gain vital information. The process was exciting and portrayed the importance of teamwork in an origination. Despite such, the arrangement presented numerous other challenges. Among the benefits of the teams included the perfection of communication and interpersonal skills. We shared our experiences and overcame challenges together. This perfected my abilities to interact communicate and solve problems. These essential skills enhance the productivity of an employee within an organization. Among the challenges, I faced within the teams included internal competition resulting in a series of conflicts. Some of the members were inherently lazy and uninterested with the work. Motivating such characters proved difficult a feature that resulted in numerous wrangles within the team. Furthermore, the team leader exhibited prejudicial features as he favored some groups and members thereby complicating the entire process. Entangling personal emotions and features with work as was the case with the leader proved costly thus derailing the team effort Work related practices and procedures The work environment at Western Region Municipality was conducive for learning and the development of professional skills. Just as reputable of many government institutions, the organization had numerous resources thus typifying an ideal work place in the contemporary society. As such, it differs with Higher College for Technology, which just as the name suggests is an academic institution. At the college for example, I acquired numerous theoretical skills, the lecturers theorized numerous concepts thus denying the learners the practical skills offered at the work place. At Western Region Municipality therefore, I gained first hand experiences and challenges. The organization offered flexible working hours, it therefore became easier to manage time and set priorities. I woke up early and prioritized work. Once at the organization, I undertook the numerous activities depending on their arrival and urgency. The management strived to create a conducive working environment. As such, I was never under any pressure to complete any work. The minimal supervision at the organization was an admirable feature as I planned my time depending on the nature of my engagements for the day. Additionally, working with the top-level management placed me at an advantage as I encountered numerous junior employees and strived to resolve their problems. I observed the manager interact ad settle the different problems the junior employees presented thus equipping myself with similar attributes. Such were my motivators that made my work environment exciting. The work was adequate and commensurate to my expertise. I therefore always completed my work within the specified time without inconveniencing my managers Work Plan Week Department Activities (at least 4 tasks) Supervisor, Job Title, Telephone, e-mail Week 5 Executive Office Meeting with Executive Director Week 5 Strategic Dep. Work on the Balanced Scorecard Week 6 HR Dep. Report on municipal employees - Outsources contracts Week 6 HR Dep. Review the job description Journal 4 Competencies and skills As I had explained earlier, information technology was an important aspect of operations at the organization. The organization had a systematic information system that enhanced the operations of the employees thus the productivity of the company. As such, it was imperative that I possess appropriate technical skills in order to interact with other employees at the organization and enhance the productivity of the organization. I therefore employed numerous information technology skills in enhancing my productivity and relevance at the organization. Despite having appropriate technological skills, I underwent a rigorous orientation at the organization with the view of obtaining essential skills and understanding the unique features of the organization’s interface. Luckily, I had learned numerous technological skills at the HTC College. Such skills as database management became essential. The database at the organization was not any different and required the skills taught at the college. With such, it became easy to navigate the database and interact with other employees at the organization based on their relevance to my operations. I maintained ethical standards of operations as taught in college a feature that enabled me to observe the unscrupulous civil servants using government resources to foster their own selfish gains. As discussed, security is an essential feature and concern whenever using any form of network. The organization employed numerous techniques some of which are skills I had acquired from the college. Additionally, I employed customer relations skills and management skills among other similar skills I had acquired from the HTC College. The skills proved both relevant and vital since they enhanced my operations and productivity at the organization. Work Plan Week Department Activities (at least 4 tasks) Supervisor, Job Title, Telephone, e-mail Week 7 HR Dep. Prepare an Excel form about interviews Week 7 Finance Dep. Report the financial status of the budget Week 8 HR Dep. Study about the Employees in grade 1 and grade 2 Week 8 H.S.E Dep. Report on the number of employees References Greenhaus, J. H., Gerard A. C,. & Veronica M. G. (2010). Career Management. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2010. Print. Koontz, H., Weihrich, H., & Aryasri, A. R. (2004). Principles of management. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill. Lattimore, D. (2008). Public Relations: The Profession and the Practice. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Purnell, L. (2002).The Purnell Model for Cultural Competence. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, Vol. 13 No. 3: 193-196. Purnell, L. (2013). Transcultural health care: A culturally competent approach. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Co. Read More