Monthly Summaries

November Summary

Mike Watkins committed on the monthly summaries of group 1 and group 5
Mike Rivera commented on groups 3 and 4 


For the month of November, our group was very busy completing the various assignments that were due this month. The first assignment for the month of November that we completed was the Volunteering Activities assignment. In this assignment, we were tasked with focusing our efforts on the retention of volunteers. To begin, we discussed what direction we wanted to take our paper, specifically how each section was going to break down. We then divided the sections up and tackled the various sections individually. However, when assembling the paper, each group member looked over to ensure proper transition and flow.

The second assignment for the month was the evaluation of our project by one volunteer and one volunteer leader. For this assignment, we had no problem finding individuals who were willing to take a look at our proposed project and make critiques and suggestions. The method in which we completed this assignment followed a similar format of the Volunteering Activities assignment, where we divided certain sections up and completed them separately.

The third assignment that we completed within the month of November is the marketing of our project. This assignment seemed to be a little less stressful for our group to complete, mainly because majority of the work has already been completed. However, our team approached this assignment just like any other, and was able to divide work up and tackle the assignment without any problems.

As for the overall structure and progression of our group, we have successfully transitioned from Bruce Tuckman’s Norming Stage to the Performing Stage. At this point of the semester, we are functioning very well with little to no conflict or confusion. Especially when taking into consideration that all communication is completed via email, our group has become very efficient and has the ability to divide work up evenly and get assignments done.

Looking towards the month of December, our group is looking forward to finishing out the semester strong. As for the stages of group development, we will continue to maintain our group within the Performing Stage, and will most likely continue any communication by email.

October

Mike Watkins committed on the monthly summaries of group 1 and group 3
Mike Rivera commented on the monthly summaries of group 1 and group 3

The month of October was a busy one for our group as we completed our organizational structure paper and began working on our volunteer activities assignment. While we struggled in getting organized on the structure paper, once we were all on the same page we were able to come together and get the assignment completed on time. Our biggest challenge continues to be communication. While we email back and forth we still run in obstacles, particularly when discussing different ideas. Since we all have different schedules it is hard to find a time when we can chat online to discuss the project and make decisions on what we are going to focus on. For the organizational structure assignment, Andjolun researched and created the table that compared the different aspects of both the American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity and how we incorporated them into our organization. Amanda researched and wrote the section on the structure of our organization. She took different aspects from the two real life organizations and adapted them to fit our organization. Mike Watkins researched and wrote the section on the structures of the other organizations. We chose to look at the American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity as both are large volunteer organizations that have well established programs and tools for volunteer retention.  Our program will be designed to offer assistance to those in need via home building or home restoration. To help retain volunteers, volunteers will be recognized for service through small tokens of appreciation.  The organized, business approach makes volunteers feel like they are working with a professional program and are prepared for the work they will do.  This is motivation for them to continue to volunteer for an extended time period. For recruiting volunteers the organization will their website, a phone application, or calling to recruit potential volunteers.  Notifications of volunteer opportunities are displayed around the community, as well as on the website

We finished the month of October by working on our volunteer activities assignment. For this assignment we will be developing volunteer retention programs that our organization will use. We chose to divide the assignment up so that each person will complete a section and then we will put them all together and edit them as a group so that they all align with each other. While we are doing a better job in communicating with each other, we still have room to grow as a group. This semester has been a good learning experience for us on the challenges of doing a group project for an online class.

September

Amanda- I think our group has gotten off to a bit of a slow start. Our communication has been a bit slow. I think we are starting to get it to pick up though. We have been discussing through e-mail what we would like to do our project on. Some of us have discussed maybe using Blackboard chat to really plan things out.

We have as a group, with a few taking the lead, created the blog and posted the literature reviews. Mike Watkins has been very forward in getting things done. And, fortunately, I have an on-campus class with him so we have been able to talk some in person about what we need to get done. 

I would like to see our group continue to build our communication skills. Some of us seem to work better last minute but with full time jobs and life, that can be a little crazy. Hopefully we will continue to talk more and get things done.

Mike W. - September was a busy month for our group as the semester was just getting started and we had several assignments to complete. The main focus of this month was completing the literature review and beginning to work on our group project. The literature review was very helpful in learning more about the topic of volunteer retention, and how it could be applied to our virtual volunteer organization.  Through researching the topic of volunteer retention we learned how important it is to an organization and the different strategies that have been used in attempting to retain volunteers. It was surprising there was not much information on retaining volunteers, yet over a third of volunteers do not stay with an organization more than a year.

Our group struggled in the beginning with working on our project as we weren't really sure what all it encompassed, however as we have communicated more in the past couple weeks we are coming together and laying out the details for our project. Now that we have our blog up and running we have had an easier time working together. Setting up the blog was simple this semester as I had experience from a past course to help guide me through the process. While I am still not a fan of blogs, I am beginning to understand how to use them better.

The month of October will be a busy one for our group as we go more in depth with our virtual volunteer organization.

Michael R. - Our group did have a slow start! I think September was busy for everyone getting back into the spirit of school and getting the assignments figured out. We have been communicating with each other through email, but I feel like we will need a better communication to discuss the rest of the assignment. Our group is focusing on Volunteer Retention and that is what my literature review will be about. I am still in the process of writing. I was not sure if I was going to stay in the class, but due to Ball State Athletics I have to maintain 9 semester credit hours. I feel like September flew by and October will be full of our group working on our virtual organization.

Andjulon R. (Commented on Group 1 and Group 3) -The month of September has mainly been an introduction and information gathering month with regards to our group project. The members of the group have taken this initial month as time to become acclimated with one another, which according to Bruce Tuckman’s stages of group development, we would be considered within the Forming stage and entering the Storming stage. Much of our time has been utilized getting to know each other, as well as began to become accustomed to each individual’s schedules and style of communication. However, there have also been glimpses of the Storming stage as well. In this regard, our group has begun to address some of the key points of our group project, such as determining how work is going to be divided up. Based on the information that I have about our group, I feel that we will quickly move from the Storming stage and enter the Norming stage. For the month of November, our group will most likely begin to iron out the details of the various assignments that comprise of the overall project. I feel confident that our group will respond to the tasks that are assigned, and will work in a productive and efficient manner.