my internship is HR Specialist As assistant labor relations specialists, my duties were mainly preparing information for the management to use the process of collective bargains. Most importantly, I was assisting in interpreting the contract of the employees concerning wages, grievances, employee welfare, and other stipulations. Essentially, In my daily workday, I was working hand in hand with the company’s labor relations specialist in developing labor policies, negotiating collective bargaining agreement with the union, overseeing how the industrial labor relations is managed, and advising the human resource manager on how to resolve workers grievance in cases where conflict occurs in the workplace. Most importantly, being an attache, I had to speak to the employees in their work regularly and identifying sources of conflict among them and advising them on ways to address and avoiding conflicts.
Module 1
In your first post: (400 word minimum)
- Introduce yourself and your internship and why you took this particular position.
- In selecting your internship, how did you weigh the trade-offs between a paid and unpaid placement?
- What knowledge do you hope to gain from this experience and how does this internship relate to your future career plans?
- How do the points raised in the readings relate to your current and previous work experiences?
- If you were a peer counselor to young workers, what issues about workplace rights and reading the employee handbook would you stress?
- Is there anything that surprises you?
Module 2
For this forum, interview two colleagues within your host organization about their history and perspectives on your host organization. If possible, select individuals with different roles, who have been in the organization at least six months. Your questions should include:
- Their personal background (areas of undergraduate study and graduate study, their initial jobs, why they chose the career they did, how they got to their present position, etc.);
- How would they characterize decision making, relationships and communication in your internship organization; and
- What they enjoy most–and least–about the work they do.
To prepare for the interview:
- Think carefully about the potential interviewees, and identify individuals whose career path you would like to know more about. You may find that conducting the interview is helpful in establishing a stronger rapport with your internship supervisor.
- Explain the reason you are doing the interview (class assignment), and request the interview a few days ahead of time.
- Set a time and place to talk. If your work situation allows, schedule a time to sit down and talk in a quiet place even if it is only 10 minutes.
- Re-write the list of questions in your own words and think about flow and what you would like to add first.
- Give your full attention to the person you are interviewing and ask follow up questions.
- Jot down notes and take a few minutes after the conversation to add details that you didn’t have time to write down.
- Don’t forget to thank your colleagues for their time!
- Review “Tips for Conducting Qualitative Interviews†in the resources tab.
In your first post (minimum 400 Words):
In discussing individuals in your workplace, refer to them by initials and/or general titles to protect their confidentiality. Share your observations from these interviews with specific attention to the following questions:
- Did hearing about your co-workers’ career path give you any insight into your future employment perspectives or path?
- What themes do you see emerging from the different work histories discussed here?
- Summarize their comments on decision-making, relationships and communication in your host organization. Are their views consistent with your observations (summarize the perspective you shared in your papers on learning organizations and relational coordination)?
- What did you find especially interesting or surprising?
In your additional posts (minimum 150 words/each):
In your follow-up posts, compare and contrast the findings from your interviews with those of your peers. What themes do you see emerging from the various work histories shared in this forum?
Feel free to ask questions to create a dialogue. Make sure to check back to see what questions that I or other students ask you about what you have shared.
Note that diversity doesn’t refer only to racial and ethnic minorities but to class, age, disabilities, sexual preference and other aspects of identity. Based on Module 3 Readings, post your response to the questions below:
In your first post (400 words minimum):
- What are your observations related to racial and gender inclusion/exclusion within your internship placement?
- Do you notice any difference between the career/life stories of the men and women you talk to in your workplace, or, if this is a same-gendered workplace, why do you think that is?
- Drawing on the readings from last week and your paper responses, how do you view the relationship between diversity and discrimination?
- Based on the readings, what are the lessons for building relationships in inter-generational workplaces or creating more successful diversity programs?
In your additional posts (150 words minimum):
Compare and contrast your views, observations, and interpretations of the readings with your peers.
A number of different factors are discussed in the following readings including the role of social support, teamwork, good communication, and trustworthy supervisors. Other causes of stress considered in these readings include job demands, job insecurity, the characteristics of low wage jobs, and work/life/family balance. And the article by Anne- Marie Slaughter, in your Module 4 Readings, raises the issue of the social safety net.
In your first post (400 words minimum):
Respond to the following questions:
- Are there any concepts in the questionnaire or the articles that surprised you?
- Identify a few key concepts about work-related stress in the readings and discuss these perspectives in the context of your own experiences, for example, what are the key sources of occupational stress you’ve encountered during your internship, other jobs, or the “job†of being a college student?
- How have your experiences with occupational stress—or the experiences of family or close friends—shaped your goals for the kind of work you want to do and the type of organization you want to work in?
- Based on the readings and thinking about your own experiences, to what extent can occupational stress be avoided or controlled by an individual or through the intervention of HR?
In your additional posts (150 words/each minimum):
Compare and contrast your views, observations, and interpretations of the readings with your peers.
