Running

head: EXPERIENTIAL PAPER

Elizabeth Esmond

Experiential Paper
Applied Practicum in Communication Studies
Kent State University

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The Cuyahoga Animal Shelter functions on what is equivalent to a point system

based on the number of hours an individual has accumulated over their time working or
volunteering there. This system limits (or expands) what a person can do each day, but it
is mostly in place for the safety of the animals who reside at the shelter, and much of the
rewards that each tier has to offer has something to do with a persons ability to interact
with specific types of dogs. For example, the shelter uses a color system to identify how
good or bad a dog is when out on a leash. This system begins with green, yellow, blue,
and ends with red (for dogs that cannot be walked). Everyone is allowed to walk green
and yellow dog when they are first hired at the shelter. However, they must work 20
hours before they are allowed to walk dogs labeled blue. The same is true for dogs that
are available for adoption verses dogs that are placed in the back. Anyone may take
dogs out from the front of the kennels while one must have a certain number of hours
completed before they can take out dogs who are in the back (for medical or behavioral
issues).
While I have worked in the past, this is the first place that I have worked at that
had had such a system in place. This reward-based system that heavily defines the power
of any given employee based on their ability to do more tasks is a bit reminiscent of
Bureaucratic theory, which id defined by positions that are earned instead inherited, chain
of command, defined responsibility, and rule-governed decision making (Weber, 1968).
Those who had more hours were often in charge of those who had less, and even then
they fell under the authority of the police officers who allow the shelter to continue to
function. Tasks were granted to people based on their willingness to dedicate time to the

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animals, along with their ability to handle them. A persons responsibilities were also
defined by their performance and hours.
The system in place at the shelter might not work well in other situations, but for
the sake of ensuring the safety of the animals a somewhat Bureaucratic system worked
well, and encouraged employees to contribute their full abilities to their place of work in
order to be rewarded with higher positions and the chance to expand their work with the
animals. This system drove the daily activates everyone took part in, myself included, as
the main goal of it is to reward those who put more effort into their work. The tasks I was
allowed to take part in each day were commanded by the number of hours I had built up
each time I went into the shelter. They began with dish washing, and caring for dogs who
were considered easier to deal with to shifting to more difficult tasks such as speaking
with potential adopters and taking dogs into the yards by myself.
Through working in a reward-based system I learned that my own ability to
perform each task given to me heavily impacted my future at the shelter, and how each
day would go. However, through working at the shelter I better learned how to handle
unfavorable situations and how to ask for help when it was needed. Prior to my time at
the shelter, the job I had been working was completely self-monitored and I was in
change of everything. While at the shelter, help was often needed in times when dogs
were acting up, or just for the sake of cleaning out the kennels as quickly as possible. It
also took a team of people to make sure dogs were adopted, instead of just one person. As
I was used to working on my own, the adjustment was much needed and rewarding, and I
believe it will help me in my future career in the communication field by having

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improved my ability to work on a team, as well as my overall voice when speaking with
others.
I also believe that the Neoclassical Perspective can apply to the shelter as well.
This theory focuses more so on the emotional and psychological needs of workers, and
how these needs play a role in overall performance. It argues that these needs are just as
important as economic resources, and in the case of working for a nonprofit organization,
I believe it applies. While the shelter is government founded much of it still relies on the
donation of products for the animals residing there, and the average wage of someone
working for the shelter isnt very high. On top of this, the shelter also depends heavily on
work done by volunteers in order to allow it to keep functioning to the best of its ability.
This means that those who volunteer there do not receive payment in response to their
work, and that the actual employees there are not working a high-income job. All while
keeping in mind that those who work for the shelter are allowed very few off days, and
many of them work fulltime every day of the week for the sake of the animals (oftentimes
with employees choosing to spend their days off at the shelter). Its clear that despite the
lack of income any one person could receive from working at the shelter that there are
other key reasons why someone would wish to dedicate so much time to their job.
This is where the Neoclassical Perspective comes into play. Work at the shelter
can be draining, and the pay is little. That being said the emotional and psychological
impact working at the shelter can have an on individual person exceeds what is likely
expected in higher paying positions at other locations. As the job of caring for, and
saving animals is extremely rewarding in these departments, it encourages people to
dedicate the majority of their time to their job. These emotional and psychological

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benefits also play a heavy role in performance. As a result of these needs being met,
employees are more likely to work hard in order to continue to satisfy themselves. The
overall emotional reward of saving animals outweighs the pay in this case, and, as a
result, the shelter is able to continue to function as it has been. These needs are key for
organizations like the shelter.
Through working in a system such as this, Ive learned that while income is still
vital in encouraging an individual to work, the overall feeling a job can provide someone
with is just as important. Ive discovered that finding meaning in my tasks can motivate
me to place extra effort into my work in order to ensure that my emotional needs when it
comes to a job are met. The same can be said for other people, as well, due to the fact that
the shelter has countless volunteers who come in daily in order to care for the animals.
Knowing the importance of how emotional and psychological needs can impact a
persons ability is key to understanding the best possible situations in which to place an
individual person based on what they value. Working here has also made me learn that
everyone can be motivated by different needs, and that certain jobs are fit for certain
types of people. Moving forward, as someone who owns their own business,
understanding these various roles and needs is vital to ensuring that I can provide people
with tasks that are both meaningful for them as well as rewarding. Finally, working in
such an environment has also come to make me realize that a persons happiness can
greatly impact their ability to work, as well as their willingness to devote themselves to
their jobs.
Working in such an environment has better prepared me for a possible future
career in communication through expanding my understanding of human emotional and

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psyche, understanding how happiness can play a role in someones motivation, making
me a better communicator in general, allowing me to experience how to handle certain
situations I would not have been otherwise exposed to, as well as teaching me how to
better respond to situations in an appropriate manner. By working at the shelter, I have
learned how to better understand the emotions of others, and use them in order to
communicate with other people to the best of my ability. This has expanded upon my
willingness to approach people when needed, as well as made me realize that happiness
plays a very important role in motivating people to work. While joy is irrelevant to me, it
is a key factor for most people, and allows them perform to the best of their capabilities.
Knowing this will hopefully allow me to better understand the needs of those I will work
with in the future, and will, thus, make me better at communicating with individuals. As a
result of having dealt with so many different people, all of whom have their own
priorities, I have become a better communicator in general, and have learned to tailor my
communication style to the needs of those I am speaking with. The shelter also exposed
me to many situations I would have not been prepared for in the workplace, such as
handling turning someone down or explaining unfavorable situations to potential
consumers who were not fit to be adopters. In general, this makes me more prepared to
handle arguments and unsatisfied consumers in the future. This has allowed me to
respond to various situations in the most appropriate manner possible.
Overall, I have learned that both the Neoclassical Perspective and bureaucracy
can apply to organizations such as the shelter in order to best serve the animals residing
there. I have also learned how to be a better communicator, and am overall better
prepared for a future career in communication as a result of my time at the shelter.

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Resources

Weber, Max. "Bureaucracy." In Economy and society: an outline of interpretive

sociology. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1968. 956-969.

Sapru, R.K. (2008). Administrative Theories and Management Thought. New

Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited, p 276.