Social Work Education Supplemental Website - Welcome



Sample of Excellent Discussion Board PostAccording to the text, in order to make the most from our experiences we must not only just have experience, we must spend time thinking and reflecting on our experiences. The Action-Observation-Model and the spiral of experience are the processes to analyze our experiences in order to benefit from the experiences in our lives. So, choose an experience and apply the action-observation-reflection model and the spiral of experience and identify things you did well and things you would do differently to make the most of future experiences. Refer to Figure 3.1 for the spiral of experience. Make sure to use the discussion question rubric as your guide in completing all discussion questions.?Make sure to use the discussion rubric as your criteria in completing the discussion question and responding to 2 other cohort members' discussion responses. In particular, make sure your responses to your cohort are substantive. This means your response should not just be a statement of agreement or good job. In addition, make sure you are applying the text and class discussion in both your discussion question and your responses to your cohort.SAMPLE POST BY STUDENT MF:??I have chosen to apply the Action-Observation-Reflection (A-O-R) Model and the spiral of experience to analyze an experience that occurred in 2006. I applied for a sales position at a women’s fitness facility that had 18 locations throughout the Tampa Bay area and within one year, I was promoted to general manager. It is important to note that my promotions were based on my ability to sell gym memberships and the relationships that I fostered with the women who worked out at the facility. I had absolutely no experience in management, but I was excited by the prospect. I was insightful enough to make a personal commitment to avoid some of the pitfalls that the previous manager had succumbed to, but I believed that my success was dependent upon my ability to maintain the revenue that the company demanded.According to Kolb, “people learn more from their experiences when they spend time thinking about them”?(Richard L. Hughes, 2009, p. 53). Unfortunately, I was under constant pressure to sell memberships and there was little time for me to reflect about my effectiveness as a manager. Moreover, I was unaware of the distinction between a manager and a leader and I assumed that my staff would just buy into my vision for the facility.As previously stated, I had the ability to develop a rapport with people and the relationships I had with my staff were strong enough to sustain my managerial efforts for a few months. The previous manager had a dictatorship mentality and one of the areas that suffered due to her leadership style was the maintenance of the club. For example, there was an indoor pool and spa that required daily care. None of the employees wanted to clean the pool and my predecessor would assign this task to the same two women each day. These employees made no effort to hide their resentment. I determined that I could not expect my staff to perform a task that I was not willing to do, so I cleaned the pool each day during my lunch hour for the first week. I then created a cleaning schedule, included myself in the rotation and made it clear that I appreciated everyone’s efforts.I was unaware of the A-O-R Model but I did observe the impact that my action had on my staff. The employees seemed more motivated and our sales increased due to the team that had been created. According to the text, “experience is not just a matter of what events happen to you; it also depends on how you perceive those events”?(Richard L. Hughes, 2009, p. 55). The spiral of experience allowed me to observe and reflect and to foster a “team mentality” by conveying how much I valued everyone’s contributions. However, my inexperience and lack of formal education eventually contributed to an unpleasant departure from my position. As I look back, I realize that my perception of the circumstances was an issue. As I began to struggle, I believed that my team would just stand behind me as I buckled under the pressure.?I eventually lost sight of how to effectively manage my staff and as my numbers began to decline, I began to assign blame to others. I was the living definition of a self-serving bias. I became unwilling to look at the situation objectively and I made external attributions for my failure?(Richard L. Hughes, 2009, p. 58). I feel that a lack of maturity and self-esteem contributed to the situation because I also identified my success with external attributions. I was not confident in my ability to lead and I felt that any success I experienced was due to my team.??When I left my managerial position, I had great difficulty putting things into perspective but my capacity for self-reflection has been greatly enhanced due to my education. I now understand that intellect and experience will not suffice if I am lacking in wisdom. I realize that my definition of “success” was the problem. Rather than focusing on sales and revenue, I would focus on creating a vision and instead of striving for control, I would work to inspire.ReferencesRichard L. Hughes, R. C. (2009).?Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience.?New York: McGraw-Hill.??Student A,First and foremost, thank you for sharing your experience and for the wisdom you imparted in your response. I commend you for being able to identify how placing others before yourself is a characteristic that you developed over the life course. I believe that for many of us, the decision to enter the field of social work is a result of our desire to benefit humanity and our ability to assist others but it is very easy to lose sight of what we need to accomplish if we are not mindful. You eluded to this when you stated, “However, this overload of work caused me to lower my quality of work and as a result other tasks went undone”.?Your honest account demonstrates maturity and true leadership qualities because you observed the action and then reflected about the outcome. In addition, you held yourself accountable while implementing a strategy to assist you in the future.???The text stated that “reflection is perhaps the most neglected component of the A-O-R Model”??(Richard L. Hughes, 2009, p. 61)?but you have shown how important this stage is. I feel that social workers may have an advantage in this area because our education has been based on the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics which emphasizes the need for self-correction?(Workers, 2014). Our ability to conduct ourselves as professionals hinges upon our ability to reflect.ReferencesRichard L. Hughes, R. C. (2009).?Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience.?New York: McGraw-Hill.Workers, N. A. (2014, January).?Code of Ethics. Retrieved from National Association of Social Workers: ................
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