Frequently Asked Questions
Why Is an Internship Important?
For many of our students, the internship is of crucial importance because it is students first opportunity to work in a professional capacity in an organizational setting or field of their choice. Whether it be a hospital, social service agency, manufacturing or high tech facility, or whether it be corporate, public, private or not for profit voluntary organization, internships will vary depending upon: 1) the nature of the placement organization and 2) the internship's location within the organization. For example, some students may find a placement in the human resource department of a hospital or a company while others are interested in finding an internship in a social service agency or criminal justice facility working with counselors or probation officers. The point is that the experience and context of an internship places many students on the first step of a path that will deeply influence their future choices and possibilities.
Another reason why the internship is important is that with the global economy, attaining a meaningful career will continue to be challenging. New technology, international competition and a more diverse workforce have produced a far more interconnected, interdependent, fast changing world. The result is that organizations must adapt and act much more quickly to keep up and innovate. Flexibility is crucial. The bureaucratic, rigid, top-down workplace simply can't handle the change. Some large corporations are making efforts toward more participatory cooperative forms of organization in order to mediate change. These corporations have found the transformation in management styles challenging. For this reason, they need new workers with innovative ideas to facilitate change.
The changing marketplace is one of the reasons that the nature of work is being transformed. Whole occupations decline, new ones appear while more familiar ones reappear requiring new forms of knowledge and skill. Overly specialized, strictly technical jobs are being redefined and often require broadbased generalized skills. And, broadbased generalized skills are, of course, precisely the skills we emphasize in the Employment Relations and Diversityand Social Justice concentrations in sociology.
One implication of all this is that the job market is likely to remain in a permanent state of flux. Job seekers must be flexible and be prepared to ride the waves of change. This may mean performing a variety of tasks or jobs and understanding how they fit into larger projects and goals. It may also mean working in groups and doing team-based problem solving. Or, it may require being able to quickly take on new projects or even move on to a new job or organization!
The internship is one of the few ways to get inside an organization and begin getting the kind of experience and know how that will help you maneuver in an increasingly complex labor market and employment setting.
In today’s economy, attaining a meaningful career can be challenging. Corporations have handled global competition by moving high-paying manufacturing jobs to developing countries. As a result, our economy is presently dominated by service sector employment opportunities.
The service sector is composed of both high-paid, stable jobs and low-paid, marginal jobs. For instance, computer specialists, lawyers and doctors are well-positioned in the service sector. While food workers, telephone operators and day care providers are rarely paid above minimum wage.
How can a student with a liberal studies background find comfortable employment in such an economy? ----- The answer is through an internship.
There are employment opportunities within the service economy that do not require more education than a bachelor’s degree. However, these jobs are highly competitive. Internships show employers that the student is serious, eager and committed to work. Thus, ultimately, an internship provides the employment relations student with a competitive edge.
Through an internship, students can apply their sociological background to the job. Skills such as diversity awareness, problem-solving, group management and change-making are imperative in today’s labor market. These, as well as other classroom-taught skills, will be enhanced through actual experience in a paid work setting.
What Is an Internship?
An internship is three things: 1) a learning experience that provides students with the opportunity to apply and reflect on ideas developed in their course work and throughout their college career, 2) a strategic transition from school to work that helps students build a career direction and a clear connection to the job market and 3) a mutually beneficial relationship in which a student carries out agreed upon tasks and responsibilities and makes a contribution to the organization while gaining the skills and experience of doing an internship.
An internship is the bridge that connects schooling and paid employment. Students are able to apply their sociological skills to a work setting. As a result, students gain an understanding of how organizations function, as well as experience that can help them find a job once their college education is complete.
The internship is the capstone requirement of the applied concentrations (Diversity and Social Justice and Employment Relations) in the sociology program. The purpose of the internship is to provide students with an active learning, hands-on experience in which they may apply sociological perspectives and research methods to the workplace. We believe that a successful and worthwhile internship experience will be built on academic learning and that it will expand new skills and capabilities that can only be acquired in an actual employment setting. In addition, the internship is also an excellent opportunity to develop contacts and networks that will be useful to students in pursuing their chosen careers and professional development.
The internship course, Sociology 433, is a three credit course that requires (a) 80 hours on site in an organization; (b) attendance in the 433 class that meets one day a week; c) a written journal that describes and analyzes your daily experiences on site; (d) an analytical paper that uses ethnographic data to apply sociological concepts to the internship organization and a literature review and finding sections related to a sociological project determined by the student and the internship site supervisor(e) an oral presentation given to the class that analyzes the internship organization.
In the internship program, students find work in an organization of their choice. In choosing an organization, students should be primarily concerned with whether the organization can offer their interns a learning experience and practical skills that can be used after the internship is complete.
At the internship organization, the student should find a site supervisor: someone who is willing to act as a mentor to the intern within the organization. The site supervisor should be someone who possesses the willingness, the skills and position to insure that the student is getting the fullest learning experience possible.
Sociological Skills and Your Internship
Given the changing nature of the labor market and the global economy, it is not always clear what skills a liberal arts, sociology major has to offer. But as we suggest it is precisely because we live in a much more complex, uncertain and fast changing world that your sociology is more applicable than ever!
Sociology has given you the instrumental skill of being able to interact in many diverse environments. As a sociologist, you have been taught how to interpret the social world. Being able to understand your environment helps you learn the expectations of the organization, and ultimately, helps shape the way you present yourself to others. The way you present yourself to others is imperative for determining how others perceive and act towards you. Thus, your ability to understand the paid work environment -- what its values are, how it is organized, who has power -- affects your ability to effectively interact within the organization.
Sociology has given you the evaluative skill of critically examining diverse environments. Not only do your sociological skills allow you to perceive and meet the expectations of others at your internship, but these skills also enable you to critique and evaluate what these expectations are. Through critical examination you can ask yourself two important questions: 1) Do the values and structure of the organization coincide? For instance, does the organization that claims it values diversity and flexibility have a structure that fosters these values? If not, you will need to think about why there is a disjuncture between values and structure and how this disjuncture can be dismantled. 2) Do your values and the organization’s values coincide? Does your company have a dress-code that clashes with your belief system? If so, you will need to decide if the skills you gain from the organization are worth your differing beliefs.
As a result of your sociological background, then, you have acquired crucial skills for interfacing in the global economy. More specifically, these skills are:
- Communication and Writing Skills- Anyone familiar with liberal arts, sociology programs knows that sociology students write literally dozens of papers and make numerous presentations during their college career. In fact, there are few other majors that can match the extent and depth of experience which Employment Relations and Diversity and Social Justice, sociology majors have in developing skills in writing and communications.
- Conceptual-Critical-Analytical Skills- Sociology is about ideas. It is about whether these ideas make sense of the world around us. It is about understanding the world and the workplace as systems and structures and how different parts fit together as well as how conflict can hold us apart. It is about seeing the world in a different way -- without making taken-for-granted assumptions -- and seeing the possibility for alternatives. Employment Relations and Diversity and Social Justice offer students a special set of skills which equip them with the ability to conceptualize workplace and employment problem/issues, critically analyze them and make recommendations for change.
- Research Skills- These are the skills in the methods of scientific inquiry, that is how do we find out about workplace issues and problems, and how can we best test our ideas so we have valid knowledge to solve problems and create change. Being able to design a research project, collect data- by conducting surveys or interviews, through field observation or examining records and documents - and analyzing data using appropriate statistical techniques, are a special set of sociological skills.
- Group Coordinating and Problem Solving skills- Sociology focuses on the relationship between the individual and the group as a way of understanding human behavior- this knowledge and skill are especially helpful in participating in and facilitating systematic small group, team-building activities designed to solve problems and create change.
- Diversity Skills- Applying knowledge and awareness concerning the diverse backgrounds of participants based on cultural, gender, racial, class or sexual differences- provides skills in preventing and managing conflicts, and providing opportunities to empower and for equal opportunity in workplace activities.
- Change Making Skills- Facilitating others in understanding and analyzing cultural and organizational change as a multi-level complex process, identifying barriers, redefining traditional roles, developing and implementing creative alternatives cooperatively.
Student As Intern
Your role as a student in the organization affords you several advantages. First, in pursuing internship opportunities you may create a "wish" list of the most desired organizations to work in and begin using your personal contacts, friends and relatives, or direct telephone calling and/mailing to find out the appropriate person(s) to discuss doing an internship. This is the advantage of being a student and looking for an internship as opposed to being unemployed (even a college graduate) and looking for a job. As a student it is acceptable and appropriate to make such inquiries and pursue such learning opportunities, whereas it would be considered inappropriate to do so as a job applicant who would be asked to follow formal standard procedures.
The role of student intern continues to apply when seeking to set up an interview with a potential site-supervisor. As we have emphasized, the main objective is to obtain the best learning situation you can find that will provide a stepping-stone to future opportunities. This means that you will want to be sure these conditions are met. Thus, rather than being in a position of dependency as you might in a job interview, it is possible to approach the site-supervisor as someone who is there to learn and is looking for an appropriate match between what the organization has to offer and what you can contribute to it.
This approach to the role of the intern can be carried through to the internship itself. As a learner you have the right to insist that you be provided with opportunities to take to develop new skills and take on significant responsibilities. The organization has an obligation to meet these needs just as you are obliged to fulfill them as best you can. Consequently, you may press your site supervisor in ways advantageous to you that an employee might be reluctant to do because they occupy a different formalized status and role.
Please note, however, that this process should be approached with professionalism and sensitivity, particularly if you are pursuing an internship for the Diversity and Social Justice concentration. Entering into organizations that are designed to work for social justice presents unique possibilities and challenges. Because much of the work around social justice focuses on groups that are marginalized in one or multiple ways, the student’s approach to seeking the internship and fulfilling its duties should be careful.
It is very important that students recognize and evaluate their own race, class, gender, sexual identity, ablebodied privileges (among others), implicit biases, and/or ideas about “helping those in need”, particularly if the student does not share the experience(s) of inequality with the organization’s members and/or constituents. As such, students should follow the guidance and vision of the organization with regards to the role they play in the organization during the internship.
Students should respect the self-determination of the organization, its members, and constituents while also being sure to apply sociological perspectives to their work in the organization. For example, students should be aware of the multiple levels on which inequality exists and avoid deficiency theory or paternalistic approaches to viewing the organization and their role in it.
While internships are learning opportunities and students want to maximize that, students should be careful of an approach to a social justice organization that is driven by their desire to extract benefit. This is especially important if the student is seeking an internship in an organization that serves marginalized communities; groups which have a history of race and class privileged elites extracting empirical, material, emotional, and psychological resources from their communities. In many ways, the process of seeking an internship in DSJ might be analogous to gaining entry into an ethnographic field of study. Access must be negotiated, the status of the student as “outsider” interrogated, and the social location of the organization members and constituents recognized and respected.
When Should I Do My Internship?
Soc. 433 is considered the capstone of this concentration and therefore should be taken in the senior year when most other core course work is completed or optimally in the last semester before graduation. We require that students take the internship class simultaneous with their internship. This way we can ensure that students have the best support available when writing the final paper and dealing with internship problems. From our experience, students who do not take the class and do their internship simultaneously have a difficult time graduating and are less likely to gain valuable experience from their internship.
Students who must take the class and do the internship separately can do so under appeal. These students must write a proposal explaining a) why the two experiences cannot be done together and b) how all class assignments will be completed. The appeal will be considered by the student’s advisor.
1) Course Preparation
Employment Relations - Students should have completed or be taking Soc. 338 and Soc. 431 before doing their internship. These courses focus on the application of sociological knowledge to the employment context, the workplace and the larger industrial sphere. Other courses, both in sociological and other fields will be recommended by the Employment Relations adviser.
Diversity and Social Justice – Likewise, students in the DSJ concentration should have completed Soc 325 and 411 prior to fulfilling the internship requirement. These courses will cover theories and concepts related to non-profit, volunteer, and social movement organizations.
2) Location
It is important that students consider the location of internship sites and that the internship be conducted as near as possible to the student's permanent residence. The student will be spending a significant amount of time on-site and a convenient location will allow interns to meet such obligations more effectively.
How to Write a Resume?
1) Writing a Resume for Your Internship:
Before trying to find an internship, students should have created a resume that summarizes their skills and previous employment history. A resume is the first introduction of the potential intern to the organization, thus, it should be polished and professional.
If you are at a complete loss on how to develop a resume, you have two choices:
Career Development Center - On the SIUE campus, the CDC exists specifically to help students find internships and jobs. They provide training on how to interview and write resumes. The services of the CDC are absolutely free and are available to any students interested in internships and jobs. We urge you to take advantage of this wonderful resource. The CDC is located in the Student Success Center, in the MUC.
Consider the following hints:
The format of the resume should look something like: Personal Data, Professional Objective, Professional and Computer Skills, Education, Work History, and References (optional).
Under the section on “Education” be sure to state that you are presently enrolled in the Employment Relations program at SIUE. You should also mention either (1) relevant courses (titles and numbers) related to employment relations and DSJ (for instance, Sociology 325, 338, 411, 431, 433, 304, 308, 312 and Psych 320, 374); and/or (2) the skills you have gained from these courses (for instance, diversity awareness, group-problem solving skills, analytical thinking, writing skills, research and statistical skills).
Under the “Professional and Computer Skills” sections, do not forget to list the skills you have developed while enrolled at school (for instance, see above). Also, make sure to mention your computer skills (for example knowledge of Microsoft Office, statistical computing programs such as SPSS, etc).
The norm is to keep resumes at one page in length. Employers get discouraged at having to read longer resumes and may not even glance at them. So, the object of your resume is to be as succinct and appealing as possible in one page.
The font (both the size and appearance) should be easily readable. Be careful not to make the size of the letters too small. Even if you squeeze more information on the resume, employers will not hesitate to disregard a resume for which they have to squint to read. Also, choose a font that is simple and plain. Nothing cute or stark or floral. Keep it simple, yet elegant.
The type of paper you choose for your resume should be heavier than most typing paper. The heavier paper makes it less likely the resume is accidentally misplaced under other papers and makes it easier to read.
2) Writing a Resume for a Job:
It is important to include the internship experience on your resume for a job. Employers are impressed at students who have taken the initiative to acquire marketable skills outside of school. So, make sure to mention your internship experience either under a separate heading called “Internship Experience” or under the “Work Experience” heading. We suggest you create a separate heading for the internship because it is that experience which will separate you from other job candidates. After you list where you completed your internship and the position you held, don’t forget to describe the skills you acquired on site! If you developed a pamphlet, put together a grant, wrote speeches, counseled clients, etc --- make sure you make your potential employers aware of how much you accomplished in your internship.
Finding an Internship
1. What should I look for in an internship?
An organization/industry that matches your interest. When deciding where you want to work, consider your interests. If you enjoy sports, the Scottrade Center or Ballpark Village may have opportunities. If you enjoy marketing, several large marketing firms are located in St. Louis. If you are interested in criminal justice, most counties in the surrounding areas accept interns.
The internship is a wonderful opportunity to explore industries or organizations that interest you. Moreover, if you are interested in the service or product your organization produces, then you will be more active in insuring that the learning experience you have within the organization is as comprehensive as possible.
A place for you to acquire marketable skills. Not only can your internship experience help you decide if you have found your “true calling,” but it can help you acquire skills that can lead you to another organization if you haven’t. For this reason, students should be most concerned with finding an internship that provides them with marketable skills. Let’s say, for instance, you think working with criminals is exactly what you want to do as a career choice, but when you begin an internship in the probation office, you realize that the situation is much different than your expectations. Your experience is not wasted if you can take the skills you acquired from the experience and use them elsewhere. Be careful, then, that you choose an internship that will be useful to you in a variety of settings.
A place to attain a job after the internship. Students should consider finding an internship at an organization that has the potential to hire them after their internship is complete. Organizations with the potential to hire interns come in all sizes, small businesses or agencies as well as corporations and government offices. Organizations tend to be loyal to their interns when looking for job candidates. After all, the interns already have the job knowledge and ability (so they do not have to train a new person), and they have proven their commitment to the organization by working 120 hours for free. Many organizations would much rather hire someone they already know and trust rather than some “unknowable” entity
Working in a “large” organization with more job opportunities is NOT a necessity when finding an internship. If you feel that the skills you are gaining are valuable to you, then it doesn’t matter whether or not you have the potential for a paid job afterwards. What matters most is that you are seeking what you want from the internship experience.
2. Where should I look for an internship?
Students have primary responsibility for finding and choosing the site where they wish to complete their internship. The process of finding an internship is itself an important learning experience for students which we have found to be an excellent "dry run" for doing an actual job search. Also we have had the most success with students’ networking- establishing and using personal contacts of those who have jobs or know others who work in organizations that are familiar and appealing to you. However, there are several other places or sources to look for an organization. Try the Career Development Center. They are in contact with many different types of organizations that accept interns.
3. Should I look for an internship that pays wages?
It is entirely up to you whether you wish to find a paid internship. There are pitfalls of getting a paid internship; for example, the organization may see you as a “regular” employee, and therefore, require you to complete mundane tasks that weaken the learning experience. However, we know that many students do not have the luxury to work for free. Indeed, some would argue that unpaid internships are exploitative and benefit the wealthy who can afford not to receive pay for work. Thus, we leave it up to each student to decide what is best for them.
4. A note on activist organizations.
Diversity and Social Justice students should be identify whether the organizations they are seeking internships in participate in protest activity. If so, they should be familiar with the laws in the city, town, or state they are in with regards to protest in public spaces as well as their own rights as a private citizen, particularly if they are arrested. Students need to figure out the likelihood of their organization having interactions with various levels of law enforcement. It is not uncommon for certain kinds of organizations and its members to be visited, put under surveillance, or even harassed by local and/or federal authorities.
Questions to Ask on Interview
1) Approaches and questions to ask when requesting an interview:
Hello, who may I talk to about doing an internship in your organization? Hello, I am a senior at SIUE majoring in the applied sociology concentration in Employment Relations or Diversity and Social Justice, and a requirement of the program is to do an internship in an organization like yours. An internship is a mutually beneficial arrangement where a student intern is there to help you out and make a contribution to your organization while at the same time getting the experience and skills that will help meet their educational and career goals. I am really interested in your organization (I also have work-related experience in.....) is it possible to arrange an appointment for an interview?
2) Questions to ask in an interview for an internship.
Can you tell me what I will be doing in my internship?- specific tasks, projects or role you will play.
Will I have exposure to a variety of tasks, jobs or experiences- how might this be scheduled over time?
Will I be expected to do a certain amount of routine, repetitive or clerical tasks- if so how much?
Will I be given a certain amount of responsibility and discretion to get things done?
Who will be supervising my internship most of the time? Will this person have time to show me the ropes, answer questions and guide my learning?
What is the likelihood that there are possible future job opportunities in this organization?
Do you need any other information from my advisor?
3) Questions to ask in an interview for a job.
What does this job entail?- specific role(s) I will play, tasks, projects I will be expected to work on.
What are the expectations for doing a good job?
How does my role and the things I will be expected to do fit into the purpose and operations of the organization?
Who will I be working with and in what capacity?
Will I have opportunities to grow and learn? In what specific ways?
Are there opportunities for mobility?
How will I be evaluated, what will be the criteria, how often will it occur and who will evaluate me?
How will my job performance be communicated to me?
What is the compensation, benefits, expected hours?
Getting Your Internship Approved
Every effort will be made to accommodate the student's wishes in terms of the type of placement or specific location of the internship. However, there are two levels of approval which must be given prior to the beginning of the internship. First, approval must be secured from the internship site itself. Students are encouraged to initiate and carry through a search through their networks and contacts and to request an interview where expectations are addressed. The first priority should be that the internship provide a learning experience in which new tasks, responsibilities and skills are likely to develop and that a site supervisor will be available to guide the process. Clear communication concerning the mutual expectations of the student and the site supervisor as exactly what the internship will entail, will ensure this objective is accomplished.
A second type of approval must be obtained from your Internship Teacher in 433. In most cases, if the above communication and information is obtained the advisor will be prepared to approve student preferences. However, this approval will be contingent upon an assessment of the types of tasks and activities the student will be involved in as to whether these fulfil the objectives of the program. It is the responsibility of the student to obtain these approvals.What Makes a Good Site Supervisor?
1) A good site supervisor PREPARES you for the tasks that you will be responsible for during your internship -- This means the supervisor provides you with the necessary knowledge that you will need and is available for answering questions.
2) A good site supervisor MENTORS you by being available on site when completing tasks during your internship. The supervisors introduces you to people and helps you gain familiarity with the organization
3) A good site supervisor gives you OPPORTUNITY FOR ACQUIRING SKILLS.
The site supervisor should insure that you are not required to simply do the paperwork that s/he does not have time to do. You are not an assistant to the site supervisor. Rather you are a trainee. As such, the site supervisor should provide you the chance for gaining needed skills.
The Role of Networking
Common Questions About Your Internship
1) What is my role?
Your primary role in the internship is LEARNING. In order to use the internship experience to benefit you after college, you need to make sure that you are acquiring skills that can be used in a variety of settings after the internship is complete. Therefore, you do not have an obligation to save a faltering business nor do you have the obligation to do clerical work the entire time period. You are obligated to attain skills that will benefit you in the future.
2) What if I have problems?
What happens if your site supervisor is not giving you the opportunity to LEARN? What if the site supervisor limits your activities to answering phones or filing? Should you leave? Should you stay? Clearly, every job entails some amount of unskilled tasks, thus, do not be discouraged if you are doing some clerical work. You should be concerned, however, if the majority of your time is spent doing these tasks. If this is the case, we offer to suggestions.
First, approach your site supervisor about your concerns. Your site supervisor should be made aware that you are having problems. S/he may have no idea that you desire other jobs. One way to approach your site supervisor is by suggesting alternative tasks that you have seen other people doing. Offer to work on a pet project or some other matter. If s/he rejects your offer, than you can directly ask the supervisor exactly what s/he sees you doing during your internship experience.
Second, if you have spoken to the site supervisor and you have determined that you will not be learning or acquiring any marketable skills, you should consider finding a new internship. Remember, your internship is for YOU! It is not just another class you are taking to graduate. It is the BRIDGE that will take you from school to a paid job. The more effort you put into finding a suitable internship, the more likely you will be able to find a good position after your school career ends.
Your Journal/Paper and Oral Presentation
The internship paper involves the application of primarily sociology course material (literature, concepts, ideas) to understanding and analyzing the internship experience. It is an applied research project in which you will be observing and studying an organization at the same time you are working and making a contribution to it. You will be recording your observations in a daily journal and you will use the data to help write your paper. You will also be asked to make an oral presentation of your applied research efforts and what you have learned. The following outline should help you in accomplishing this task:
Journal
1) The Participant Observer -- Not only are you a worker in your internship experience, but you are also a participant observer. As a participant observer, you will be trying to understand the organization of work by observing the interactions of people around you. Your goal is to discover how the organizational structure shapes the type of interactions that occur. In order to observe the organization, you need to always keep a critical eye about what you are observing. The first step in being critical is never making any assumptions about what is going on or why. Instead, always ask yourself: WHY? For instance, Why do they have this policy? Why does this person apply the rules differently than the other? Who has power? Why? What policies are enforced. Why? Which rules are ignored. Why? Do rules apply differently by status?
2) Don’t “Go Native.” -- When you become too involved with the people you are observing you are unable to maintain a critical eye. So, always maintain some distance between yourself and the people you are observing. This doesn’t mean you have to avoid people or isolate yourself. What it means is that regardless of how close you become with people, you must never assume that you know WHY something is occurring.
Keeping an objective eye is really difficult. However, it is imperative for being able to write your paper.
For instance, let’s say your site supervisor is also your boss. She comes into work one day and tells everyone that the work they are doing is crummy and she expects everyone to work overtime to compensate. You might feel very compelled to get into the mudslinging that occurs when the boss leaves. You might, along with your other co-workers, start calling the situation “unfair” and your boss “mean.” In your role as an intern, however, you do NOT JUDGE. Instead ask yourself WHY. For example, consider these questions: a) why did the boss interpret the work as crummy. b) why does she expect your dept. to work overtime. c) is everyone in the department required to do overtime or just some people.
Here’s another example. Let’s say you are a caretaker working with disabled youth in a nursing home-type situation. You notice that whenever you tell a youth to complete some task, she runs to her room and calls her parents instead. The parents call your supervisor and you get reprimanded. Your first reaction may be to get angry with the client, the parent and the supervisor. However, we want you to focus on WHY that exchange occurred. Why did the child tell the parent? Why did the parent call the supervisor and not you? Why did the supervisor reprimand you before asking your side of the story? In other words, how did the structure of the organization shape the interactions that occurred?
3) Journal Notes --
You will be required to write down (and eventually type-write) the DAILY observations you make at your internship. Because you are making no assumptions about what is important to observe, you should write down all of your observations at first. What are you doing? What are others doing? Who makes the rules? Who breaks the rules, etc. The best time to write your journal notes is directly after your shift at the internship organization. Your memory is freshest at this time. Some of the information may seem irrelevant. However, because you have no idea what will become important, write everything down. Later you will find patterns of behavior that you may want to focus on. Your goal is to find patterns of behavior that help you explain the organization.
If you cannot write everything down when you return, then jot down notes as you are doing your internship. These notes will jog your memory for when you have the chance to write everything down.
The journal notes are not simply logs of what you did everyday. You will not write simply: today I shuffled papers, then I led a group about depression, then I answered phones, etc. The journal notes are your opportunity to figure out how the organization works. Therefore, you will be focusing on the interactions that occur and trying to derive some meaning about those interactions. Discuss how your assignments made you feel. Discuss who give you the assignments. How people reacted to you and to each other. WHY.
Paper
The purpose of the 15-2- page paper is to critically examine the organization where you completed your internship.
1) What is critical examination? When you provide an analysis of the observations made during your internship. Analysis can be completed in three steps:
A) Observations --- The observations that you make from you journal will help you determine what is important to consider about your organization. You will be focusing on patterns of behavior that help you understand how the organization is structured and functions.
B) You have taken at least two classes to prepare you for your internship: sociology 325 and 411 OR 338 and 431. Those classes provided you with concepts that will help you understand the observations made in your journal. For instance, how was your organization structured? Was it hierarchical, participatory? Does your organization fit best under the halographic image or the mechanical image? Your role in the paper is to make a connection between the observations you made at the organization and the concepts from 325 and 411 OR 338 and 431 and any other relevant class you have taken.
C) Evidence -- In order to substantiate the claims you are making, you must provide evidence that illustrate how the concepts you use exist within the workplace. For instance, let’s say you are arguing that the organizational structure affected workers negatively. You would want to describe the organizational structure. Then you would want to use quotes from workers that describe their dissatisfaction. All of your claims about the organization must be supported through evidence. Evidence can be examples of stories, literature from the company, diagrams, informal interview with workers, etc.
2) How should I write the paper (more detailed instructions will be given by the professor)?
A) Provide an introduction stating the purpose and content of your paper- the organization you interned in, the general nature of your internship the kinds of specific issues, problems or recommendations for change you will focus on.
B) Provide a history and background of the organization (e.g. service, manufacture, etc) department or internship context- here you may use or refer to documents, records, letters, memos, newsletters, brochures or other relevant written materials from the organization to support your points. The introduction and the history/background, should only be 1/5 of your paper.
C) Briefly identify key characteristics observed that you wish to focus on which will help describe and analyze the organization- organizational structure, supervisor/employee relations, advocacy issue, gender/race relations, technology, attitudes, values, etc.
D) Include a Methods section which details how you gathered the data you will be presenting in your paper. Did you do interviews? In what setting? With whom? How many people? Did you simply do observations? When? How often? You should consult the chapter on Research Methods that is handed out during class in order to write this section effectively.
E) Apply appropriate course concepts, ideas or readings that help deepen our understanding and help to explain these characteristics- for employment relations these might be bureaucratic-machine, organismic, cultural, brain-like, political, etc., work-family, job (dis)satisfaction, discrimination, labor relations, new technology, employee rights issues/policies. In DSJ, these might be altruism, empathy, sympathy, self-interest, rational choice, collective behavior, resource mobilization, political process, SMOs, new social movements, etc.
F) Focus on key workplace problems or issues related to these concepts and ideas. Be sure to make the connection between problems identified and course material and close and clear as you can. Analyzing the organization using the concepts learned in classes should be 3/5 (of the bulk) of the paper.
G) Provide recommendations for change- be as specific as you can as to the nature of these changes- the steps to be taken, practices, programs, policies. This should be approximately 1/5 of your paper
The grade you receive on the paper resides primarily on your ability to apply the sociological perspective to your internship experience. This means you should analyze the workplace using concepts from class, and then be able to provide policy recommendations that flow logically from your analysis.
We take Plagiarism very seriously. Note that you were required to sign a sheet of paper that explains your responsibility in writing the paper. If you fail in this task, you will not be able to pass the class. Note that you must get a C or better in this class to GRADUATE.
Oral Presentation
Besides writing an analytical paper, you will also be expected to present this analysis. The presentation should focus mainly on analysis. However, you should also briefly describe the organization and discuss what you did during your internship. Finally, do not forget to include a description of the policy recommendations that you are making given your analysis.
Criteria for class evaluation: 1) A systematic, detailed analysis of your internship site 2) a separate copy of your journal notes 2) the application of course material with the use of field data to support your assertions 3) the use of evidence directly from the work site or supporting literature corroborating claims made about your case (organizational charts, records, documents, histories, interviews, questionnaires 4) a well-reasoned, written, logically developed analysis 5) 15-20 typed doubled spaced pages 6) an oral presentation and 7) an evaluation that receive from the site supervisor about your experiences.
Applying Concepts
The concepts below are just some of the concepts from your class that you can use to make sense of your experience at your internship. Please feel free to add concepts from other classes.
Division of Labor *
Social Relations of Production*
Male as Workplace Norm *
Gender Ideology *
Gender Identity
Work/family Conflict *
Employee Rights *
Discrimination *
(Dis)satisfaction *
Alienation *
Labor unions
New technology*
Bureaucracy*
Marginal labor *
Workplace health/ safety *
Deskilling *
Resistance/sabotage *
Downsizing *
Sexual harassment
Global competition *
Human resource Manag.*
Scientific management *
Participatory management *
Relationship between technology and social behavior *
Autonomy/Centralization/Role Specialization/Standardization
Concepts from 431:
Machine Metaphor
Bureaucratic structures
Classic Management Theory
Scientific Management
Organizations as Organisms
Open Systems
Homeostasis
Entropy/Negative Entropy
Requisite Variety
Equifinality
Contingency Theory
Variety of Species
Organizations as Culture
System of knowledge
Ideas that we believe explain reality, like objectivity or neutrality
Ideology–
Beliefs and Values, like Religion
Laws and Rules --
Norms
Day-to-day rituals
Language
Space
Stories
Organizations as Brains
Information Procressing System
Cybernetics: Learning to learn
Double Loop vs Single Loop
Holographic BrainA systems approach
Building the Whole into the Parts
Corporate DNA
Networked Intelligence
Holographic Structure
Organizations as Psychic Prison
Repressed Sexuality
Patriarchal/Racist Family
Death and Immortality
Organization and Anxiety
Organizational Dolls and Teddy Bears
Shadow and Archetype
Organizations as Politics
Organizations as Government
Autocracy
Bureaucracy
Technocracy
Codetermination
Representative Democracy
Direct Democracy
Tasks
ALSO:
Change making Team building
Diversity based
Technology based Participatory action research
Evaluation research
Alternative organizational arrangements
Cultural approaches
Employee participation techniques
Pluralist-partnership-joint approaches
Problem solving
A political-conflict management approach
Needs assessment
*Diversity and Social Justice*
Sociology 325: Community Action
Community organizing
Self-Interest – “inter esse” – self among others
“Ethic of Care” vs. “Ethic of Rights”
Types of: direct service, self-help, education, advocacy, direct action
Organizer vs. Leader
Constituencies and diversity (intersectional dimensions of privilege/oppression)
Problems, issues, and campaigns
“Cutting” of issues
Strategy and tactics
Opposition/Counter-Movements:
Corporate capitalism,
Globalization
Conservative political infrastructure
Administrative Systems:
Accountability and Accounting
For profit vs. Non-profit status; tax-exempt statuses – 501 c3, 501 c4, 527
“Off the books” organizing
Funding/fundraising:
Public,
Foundation,
Grassroots,
Electronic
Leadership:
Leadership identification
Leadership development
Media:
Advertisement;
Press releases,
Media “hits,” and self-production
Problem/issue research; workshops; political education
Sociology 411: Social Movements
Resource Mobilization Theory
New Social Movement Theory,
Political Process Theory,
Political Opportunity,
Rational Choice
Rational Action
Tangible and Intangible Resources,
Hierarchical Social Movement Organizations (SMOs),
Network-based Movements,
Frame Alignment Processes
Frame bridging, Frame amplification, Rrame resonance,
Collective identity,
Linked Fate,
Diagnostic Frames, Prognostic Frames, Evaluation Frames
Frame Transformation,
Frame Extension,
Afterwards: Where Do I Go From Here?
1) Letters of Recommendation/ References
Before you leave, let your site supervisor know that you would appreciate a letter of recommendation. Or else, ask the site supervisor if you can put her/his name down for references. A good recommendation (either verbal or written) from a site supervisor can carry you a long way in terms of finding a job.
2) Stay in Touch
Even though there may not be any job openings at the internship site directly after you complete your internship, job openings may appear soon after you leave. By staying in touch with the organization, you will more likely hear about upcoming jobs. Furthermore, because your site supervisor is networked, s/he may know of job openings in other places. So consider calling your site supervisor once a week or month and keep up to date on the organization.