Sweatshop Observation Report

When I first came to the bakeshop, the communication between me and the owner was top-down and task-centered. She told me how to serve the customers, how to bake cakes and bread, and how to place the tableware on the tables. The task information was accurate and the channels of communication was clear. I only needed to follow the instruction and order from the owner of the bakeshop and did not engage in any down-top communication. Some of the tasks were standardized. For example, the proportion of each ingredient of a cake was fixed and I was required to follow the recipe in order to provide standardized products for customers.
When I was a volunteer in the Red Cross, the organization planned to organized an activity to look after old people at nursing homes. Some of the volunteers were not active or willing to participate in the activity. Instead of forcing us to participate, the organizer of the activity held a meeting for us. He let us speak out our own feelings about the activity. He talked about the spirit of the Red Cross which included humanitarianism, love, and dedication. He also said that many of the old people had no children and they were lonely and if we went there, they would be happy. Finally, the organizer achieved our consent by persuasion instead of power. Although the aim of …show more content…
As discussed above, before the activity, the organizer told us about the spirit of the Red Cross. When I was there, other volunteers also told me some activities that they had participated in. The voluntary activities made me know the culture of the organization better. Then I began to follow the culture and wanted to contribute to the culture of humanitarianism, love, and dedication. After the activities, we usually made presentations to summarize the activities and express our feelings. The ceremonies and telling of stories allowed us to learn and perform the organizational culture