Julia Kent and Whitney Wallerius

COMM 430

11/19/19

A6:

Problem Identification:​ Michelle LaPorte, the Director of the Center for Academic

Service-Learning, identified that there is a general lack of consistency within the organization.

Specifically, Michelle mentioned a lack of direction from the greater institution of APU. With

unclear expectations, the office then has a hard time creating and maintaining clear goals for

themselves. This results in changes in processes, expectations, and desires. Additionally, because

the office is primarily made up of student workers, they experience high turnover rates in

employees, as students come and go or graduate. A lot of the extra work or slack, then falls to the

three full-time staff members. There are consistency issues at ground-level as well. The student

worker schedule is set weekly, however, students are able to adjust their hours as necessary, and

this often is not communicated well.

Theme 1 (Family at the Park): Organization (Center for

Academic Service Learning):

Element 1 (rituals):
Parents supervise from afar;
kids play; parents are
potentially distracted; kids are
trusted to play well; kids
interact with other kids and
parents interact with other
parents; kids may play
independently; amount of
people at the park affects the
experience
E.g. Executive staff have their
own offices with doors (field
notes observations, 10/14,
10/21); Executive staff
engage in meetings together
or with outside personnel
(field notes observations,
10/14, 11/18); student
workers are given large
projects and expected to
complete them (Interview

Element 2 (Heroes): Kids look at parents as
heroes, look for affirmation;
some kids are easier to play
with and more well liked than
others; older kids usually play
with more structure
Element 3 (place): National Park, city park, a
neighborhood park, unofficial
park
How does this cultural theme contribute to the problem?
The office greatly relies on the independence of the student workers. Much like parents at a park,
in order for them to actually rest and not helicopter their children, they need to be able to trust
their kids to play well. However, this does not always happen. Without close or consequential
with Lauren); the way student
workers interact with one
another vs. with executive
staff is very different (field
notes observations, 10/28,)
student workers are often
quiet and keep to themselves
(interview with Michelle L.);
the office dynamic changes
drastically depending on who
and how many people are
there (field notes
observations, 11/4)
E.g. “The executive staff is
always available and willing
to help the student workers,
whenever they need it.”
(interview with Lauren.);
certain student employees are
better friends than others
(interview with Michelle L.,
field notes observations,
10/18 ); Ella has worked in
the office and doesn’t need as
much structure as Melanie,
who is newer (field notes
observations, 10/18)
CASL exists within the
greater APU institution
(Interview with Michelle L.);
CASL has community
partners in the greater Azusa
area (Interview with Michelle
L.); the inner-world of the
office exists on its own (11/4)
supervision, kids will often make poor choices. In the office, similar patterns can be seen. Most

of the time this looks like student workers taking long breaks, using their phones, and engaging

in a lot of talk rather than work. Additionally, if the executive staff are not present, student

workers are less productive and more rambunctious. This creates a lack of consistency in work

progress as well as expectations versus reality.

Theme 2 (Art Class): Organization (Center for

Academic Service Learning):

Element 1 (values):
Teachers provide instruction
and tools for projects;
Students are expected to use
their own personal creativity
to create art; students engage
in in-class critique to learn
valuable skills in giving and
receiving feedback.
The values of the office are
advocating, equipping, trust,
and collaborating (Interview
with Michelle L.);
Independent work is a value
and necessity in the office
(Interview with Lauren);
student workers engage in
evaluations with the graduate
intern to check in and make
sure they have everything
they need to succeed (field
notes observation, 10/17).

Element 2 (artifacts):
Students have their own work Each student worker has their
space; the instructor has a own computer and workplace
different work area that is with their name on it;
bigger; inspirational quotes,
and posters of
instructions/guidelines fill the
walls.

Each executive staff member has

an office that is separate and
 bigger (field notes observation,
10/17); there are multiple
posters, and a white board that
they write encouraging notes
and quotes of the week (field
note observations, 10/14, 11/18).

Element 3 (performances) :
Students and instructors are
expected to assume a posture
of curiosity and flexibility;
creating art is a process that
must be actively engaged in
to produce results; art class
differs from traditional
classes-- students are given a
particular freedom to work
and engage their creative
process.
People who need structure
and checklists would not
work well here (Interview
with Michelle L.); “Student
workers are given a lot of
responsibility and a lot is
expected of them. However,
because they are still
students, and typically
prioritize their academic
career over their job, good
work isn’t always able to be
done.” (Interview with
Lauren); “The student
workers are given a lot of say,
and their work in the office is
crucial to the success of the
office.” (Interview with
Lauren)

Or how does the problem contribute to the culture?

The lack of consistency is not entirely in the control of the office, considering they have little

direction from their institution. Because of the problem, the office must remain flexible and

creative. Much like an art class, the office utilizes their resources and the feedback of one

another to complete their projects well. The nature of the work is inconsistent, as well,

considering the fact that each student worker is assigned their own, specific task, which

complicates the ability to lead in a consistent fashion for each student worker. This results in a

culture of independence.
What remaining questions do you now have?

​Is the executive staff aware of the work habits of the student workers?

Where does the graduate intern lie in legitimate authority versus social authority?