Smgt 399 Organizational Analysis Paper

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The Downtown YMCA is also equipped with a multipurpose room that is used for group exercise class, a Group X room which is also used for a range of different exercise classes throughout the year. We also have a cardio/weight room upstairs that most people tend to use and downstairs is a more intense weight room with heavier weights. The Y also offers a sauna and steam room in the women’s and men’s locker rooms as well as a hydro-massage for people who want to pay a little extra to use it. Upstairs in the YMCA facility, is a basketball court, handball courts, racquetball courts and the Crossfit 7 Hills box/gym.

The strength of this internship has to be the fact that I am immersed in all walks of life and all kinds of different people. I love that I get to play and interact with children all day and that I get to teach them life-saving skills such as swimming. The positive thing about this internship is that it is only 10 minutes from my apartment so I am able to be at the Y whenever I need to and whenever the Aquatics Director might need me to come in. I have learned so much about children and adults and how different it is teaching all of these different walks of life.

Some of the negative things that I experienced during this internship was dealing with a supervisor who is very new and who is also inexperienced at the job at hand. He also has quite a temper and tends to fly off on the lifeguards and instructors when he feels as if we’re not doing things the way that he wants them done. However, this internship and this job in general has taught me how to deal with other people and how they deal with certain stressful or non-stressful situations. I have realized, especially this year, that even if I don’t agree with someone who is in charge of me, they still deserve respect because of the position that they hold.

My opinion of this internship is overall a positive one. I love what I do and I hope that when I graduate with my Sport Management degree that one day I will be able to own and/or run my own Aquatics facility. Throughout my time as a lifeguard and an instructor for the past 6 years, I have learned so much and I have learned what I will do and what I won’t do when I’m running my own facility. My most honest opinion is that I believe that when people are given positions of power over a group of people that they should have lots of training and that they should not be just thrown into the position and expected to be perfect.

My recommendations for the organization itself is that they must remember that even though the world revolves around money that sometimes money is not what should be the main goal of an organization. Organizations that have been around for so long, like the Y, tend to forget that they are here to serve the community and all that are in it. I remember multiple times when I was giving a private lesson to a child and the parent would ask me how many lessons I thought the child needed to be swimming, and I would tell them my honest opinion and normally it would be about 3-4 lessons. The Aquatics Director would get upset with me every time I told him that that was all the child needed because he told me that we needed to push them to do 10 lessons. Therefore, my recommendations for future interns is that they are aware that they have to be strong-willed people to who work here and you might have to deal people who are going to push you to do something that you don’t want to do.

The YMCA only offers a few full-time positions and it is quite difficult to get a position like that especially for college students. The Aquatics Director and I have spoken about me becoming the Head Guard at the Y at some point but that most likely won’t happen because of the lack of funds and or interest of the directors of the Downtown Y’s. This job is a good place for me to be during the summer and during my Senior year at LU. I am able to be around people and do what I love which is helping people through this job. They are also very flexible with schedules and what us students can or cannot work during the school year. Therefore, I will be staying here at the YMCA while I finish my education at Liberty this upcoming year.

Reference Page

How is the YMCA funded? (2016). Retrieved July 31, 2016, from https://www.reference.com/business-finance/ymca-funded-201926602c3edeb5

YMCA of Central Virginia. (2016). Retrieved July 31, 2016, from

http://www.ymcacva.org/