Overview:

The problem that we noticed at the

Humane Society of Utah was that they did not have
enough volunteers to give all the animals attention as
well as attend to their needs.
Our proposal to solve the problem was to bring
in a group of eight high school students who are
healthy, active and great at completing tasks in a fast
Alison and Hailee H. on their
way outside to take Bradley
for a run around the property

paced manner. By having

eight extra volunteers
there would be enough

people to give

all the animals attention,

especially the animals that have been long term residents. We proposed that
by having two groups the work would get done for both dogs and cats.
We solved the problem by bringing in a group of eight girls to help
groom the cats, walk the dogs, clean bunny cages, clean litter boxes, play
with the cats, take the dogs to the outdoor play pens for exercise, clean
display windows, feed the rodents, and the most important thing our
volunteers did was give the animals attention and post pictures with the
animals on social media to help encourage adoption.
Our service will be valued by performing all the tasks that the Humane
Society doesnt have enough regular volunteers to do. Not only are we

helping the Humane Society stay a clean people and animal friendly place
but by posting pictures on social media we are putting the faces of
adoptable animals out on the internet for everyone to see in hope that
someone will want to come see the animal in person.

Project Description:
Our purpose for volunteering at
the Humane Society, was to socialize
with the residents that lived there (the
animals) take care of their basic needs,
and most importantly help other
volunteers with cleaning up, organizing,
and keeping track of where the animals
are.
Our first step was that my partner and I went and took a tour of the
site we would be volunteering at. Also we were meeting up with the
volunteer coordinator to get an idea of what we were to be expecting when
we came there with a team. Our second step was that we met up at the preservice meeting. There we discussed who was volunteering, and what it was
they were going to be doing for the next four hours. Our third step was that
our group went to the actual service on February 16. When we were there,
we all meet with the coordinator and she told us what she wanted us to do
and gave us a tour of the site. After meeting with her, we all split up and did
the jobs we were all assigned to do. Half of us went with the cats, bunnies,
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Gabby taking Kaya on a

walk, and giving him doggy
loves.

and rodents. The other half of us, went

with the big dogs and the little dogs. After

two hours, we all switched.

During our post-service meeting, we discussed what our end-product.
The thing we produced was our time. We gave our time to all the residents
and took a lot of photos of ourselves with the animals. We would then share
those photos on social media to get those animals faces out there for the
world to see, so they can have a chance to get adopted. That was our real
mission of this project.

Group Assets:
The first strength that our group exhibited is a shared purpose.
According to Communications 1010 book, A shared purpose includes a
collective goal. Its important that the group understands the shared
purpose and the goals of the team to communicate successfully. (Alder,
Elmhorst, Lucas, Communicating at Work, 2013,
pg.187) The type of communication that our service
project demonstrated the most was group media
because for the most part there was one person
communicating with a small group of people. This
contributes to effective teamwork because we
illustrate a very clear communication channel which
also provides more organization for the project.
Our group illustrated this concept by following
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all the rules and expectations that were set out for us by Lisa Burningham
the volunteer coordinator. Our group showed their understanding by not only
being incredibly professional but following all the rules including the most
important rules regarding sanitization. Another communication skill that
follows listening and following the rules is the listen, follow through that
we talk about in class. Our group listened to Lisa Burningham throughout the
door as she explained were things were located and what needed to be
done. Then our group followed her instructions and followed through on
projects which is why the service project was so successful. Some specific
examples of devils advocate questions that our group asked the project
manager and the volunteer coordinator
Long term resident Midnight in
the interactive playroom
where people at home can
play with the animals online.

included questions like How do you know

that there will be work for all the volunteers

in the group? We responded by reassuring the group that the Humane

Society has a lot of animals and a lot of volunteers but the ratio of animals
to humans is still in the animals favor. Therefor they need more volunteers
in order to clean all the cages, take the dogs out, clean windows, groom
cats, and feed both dogs and cats. Which is why there will be plenty of work
for everyone.
Another

example of a devils advocate

questions

that our group asked was when

they didnt

understand something Lisa

Burningham

was saying they would ask for

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elaboration instead of just moving on to the next topic. Due to the fact that
our group continually asked for elaboration when they did not understand
something all expectations were clear and we provided more than enough
service to help the Humane Society get caught up.
The second strength that our group exhibited was interpersonal
communication. According to the book interpersonal communication is
Communication between two people. The most direct form of
communication which utilizes both verbal and nonverbal methods (Alder,
Elmhorst, Lucas, Communicating at Work, 2013, pg.210). This concept
contributes to
because its

Gabby distracting a lab named

Lexi while Alyece and Abbey
help clean her cage.

effective teamwork
important that our

volunteers know

what is expected of

them from the

project managers.

This concept also

contributes to

effective teamwork because most of the interpersonal communication

happens between the two project managers. Its important that both
managers are on the same page, and are knowledgeable of the project.
Interpersonal communication doesnt just happen between project
managers but also happens between one volunteer and another volunteer.
Our group illustrated interpersonal communication by discussing different
things that needed to be done between the project managers then assigning
and communicating those tasks to the volunteers. According to the book
there are eight key points that make a group into a team. The main key
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point illustrated in our project is what the book calls Unified Commitment,
people in a successful teams put the groups goals above their personal
interests. (Alder, Elmhorst, Lucas, Communicating at Work, 2013, pg.19)
Our group really made an amazing team because we were able to put our
personal interests aside. One example of this was some of the volunteers
preferred to work with one animal over another. For the sake of organization
and the success of the group they followed what they were originally given.
Which turned our group into a team.

Group Limitations:
With the volunteers we had come with
us to the Humane Society. We struggled on
Accommodating and Compromising. When it
came to accommodating, some of the team
Gabby Mullins with
Kaya outside trying
to get him to follow
her. But looks like
he is deciding
whether or not if he

members would argue about some kind of

topic about the animals, and you could tell
there was tension in the air. So as a project
manager, we would have to step in and try to
redirect the conversation or try to get them
into a different area of the building. In the
Communications 1010 book it ties in with,
When you find out your wrong. (Alder,
Elmhorst, Lucas, Communicating at Work,
2013, pg.89). The way that this effects out
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group is, you dont want people to get mad at

each other. That only spells out bad news. So
you always want to find the peace or middle
ground per say.

With there being tension in the group, you wont get as much done as you
would. With this group, everyone seemed to have their person. Like one
person had their best friend, and didnt really want to work with anyone
else, so there never felt like a group project. But more of a one on one
project. Some members would only stick with dogs, because their best friend
was assigned to work with the dogs for two hours. Same goes for the cats
and how everyone would do as they pleased.
When it came to compromising, everyone seemed to have a problem
with that. Because of what I said early. Their buddy wasnt going to be by
their side, and if they did end up doing the assignment. They wouldnt go
the extra mile. It almost seemed like their motto was, When the goal is
important but not worth the effort (Alder, Elmhorst, Lucas,
Communicating at Work, 2013, pg.125). So as a group leader, we would try
to honestly make the assignment fun. So that way it didnt feel like you were
giving service, but just doing something for fun. An example of this, is when
it came to cleaning the windows in Kitty City. I was personal assigned to
clean the windows with a woman I have never meet before. I was skeptical
at first, because I thought I was only going to work with the group I brought
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with me to volunteer. So when we started wiping down the windows. It was

quite awkward and silent.
Then a few minutes passed,
and we started talking and
actually starting to get to
know each other. Sarah Hale
then joined in with the
wiping down. So it became
Hailee H. and Allie holding bunnies while their cages
are cleaned out.

more of a two-man job. We

could have just stayed in
that awkward silence until
we finished, but I found a

way to make it fun so it didnt feel like I

was giving service, but instead meeting
someone new and trying something
different.

Recommendations:
If we could do this project over again there are a few key things we
would do differently, Including giving more specific tasks to each person,
separating the group into partners of two to avoid repetition of tasks,
gathering more knowledge of the sight and instructions for the animals
before the project, and finally recruiting more volunteers so we could have a
larger group and accomplish more than we already did. If we did the project
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over again we would assign more specific tasks to each person so everyone
could get a variety of tasks to do. Even for the volunteers that might prefer
dogs over cats its important to make sure that at a service place such as
the Humane Society that ALL the animals get attention. Instead of having
the volunteers switch tasks at the two hour mark, we think it would be more
effective if the volunteers switch more often so that they can get a variety of
service giving. Our second recommendation is separating the group into
partners of two. By separating the group we would be able to cover more
ground and get more done. When everyone stays together in a larger group
its more difficult to separate them and try to get them to do different tasks
because they want to stay with their friends. However, if we put them in
partnerships of two they will have one person with them at all times to
complete tasks faster and provide help when it is needed. The most
important recommendation we have if we were to do the project over again
is to go on a tour during our sight visit and get all the information about
sanitation, cleaning products, walking the dogs and more ahead of time. If
we as project managers could gather this information ahead of time, when it
was time to perform the service project we could be the ones to give
instruction and directions to the volunteers, this way it would be more
beneficial for us and we could perform more project managing tasks. Finally,
the last recommendation we would have if we were to do the project over
again is to recruit more volunteers. We barley had enough volunteers to
perform the project. Although we did try to recruit only the best, most
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behaved employees due the volunteer coordinators strict rules. Our project
could have really benefited from more volunteers. Even though we tried to
give each animal some attention. We couldnt groom every cat or take every
dog outside to play. If we would have recruiting more volunteers we would
have been able to give even more
animals one on one human
Alyece and Gabby helping clean the Cat
Condos in Kitty City

interaction which is something

they sometimes dont get every
day. Also, the book mentioned
that research on a number of
companies found 10-person

Sarah helped one of the regular

volunteers clean out a bunny cage
and then she got to do it all on her
own!

groups and teams often produce better

results (Alder, Elmhorst, Lucas,

Communicating at Work, 2013, pg.123). What we can take away from this, is
that the most important recommendation we have to better our project is to
recruit more volunteers to create an effective team of at least ten member
so we can produce better results.

Conclusion:
In summary, our group had amazing
communication skills including direct and indirect
communication. Our group exhibited excellent
communication skills with each other, project
managers, and the volunteer coordinator at the
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Humane Society. Our group also faced several limitations. At the start of the
project the volunteers seemed motivated and excited to perform service. As
the project continued their motivation slowly dwindled, as project managers
we worked on motivating our volunteers and trying our best to bring back
the positive attitudes. Another limitation we faced was compromising.
Volunteers complained about their assignments and begged to switch from
dogs to cats or cats to dogs. As part of project managing it was our job to
stick to what the flyer said. We did not make any changes we stuck to the
plan in order to stay organized and on task. Our recommendations included
Gabby grooming cats located in
the play area.

assigning more tasks and switching tasks

more often to keep employees motivated
and entertained. We also recommended
that we should have had the project

managers give the tour to the group and show them where all the supplies
needed are located. The importance of this proposal is to show how we
made a difference in our community and how we can continually better our
project management skills to effectively perform more service in the future.

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Works Cited
Adler, Ronald B., Jeanne Marquardt. Elmhorst, and Kristen Lucas.
Communicating at Work
Strategies for Success in Business and the Professions. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 2013. Print.

Adler, R. B., & Elmhorst, J. M. (2013). Comm 1010. New York. Thomas, K.W 1987.
Adler, R. B., & Elmhorst, J. M. (2013). Comm 1010. New York Pearson, C., & Porath.

"Health Education Research." Communication: Concepts, Practice and

Challenges. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.
"Home." NKUT. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.
"Humane Society Looks Ahead, Hopes for New Building." Chillicothe Gazette.
N.p., n.d. Web.
08 Mar. 2016.
Humane Society of Utah." Humane Society of Utah. N.P., n.d. Web. 26 Feb

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