Providing Meals to the Homeless and Those in Need - Assignment Example

A soup kitchen in Campbletown Name: Institution: A soup kitchen in Campbletown Introduction This project was conducted to establish the best location within Campbletown that could be used in setting up a soup kitchen aimed at providing meals to the homeless and those in need. This was part of the corporate social responsibility of Edmen Company. at the end of the project the company was able to establish the soup kitchen which not only provided employments opportunities for different people involved in the preparation of the meals, it was also a platform for the homeless and the needy within the town to access well balanced and hygienic food. The objectives of the project were realized by a project team and my responsibility was to design surveys for the project. The idea of establishing a soup kitchen within Campbletown was conceptualized through a brainstorming session whose objective was to determine the best project that the organization could finance and benefit the community. Through this session, employees of Edmen Company were able to propose numerous ideas. However, after the process of analysis of various alternatives, members of the brainstorming team agreed to establish a soup kitchen. The details of this research project will play an informative role since it will be used as guideline of the establishment of future projects that aimed at the execution of corporate social responsibility. The project will be beneficial to the society especially the homeless and those in need of help related to acquisition of meals. Edmen Company has a passion for people and a high level of commitment in the provision expert recruitments and selection services in different market areas. The passion for the wellbeing of people is the point of integration between the objectives of Edmen Company and those of the project. Research project Overview of the project The project included detailed research initiative that could be used in providing the company with sufficient information regarding the best strategy to be used in the establishment of an effective kitchen soup in Campbletown. The information was gathered through primary and seconds sources of data. The primary source was a structured questionnaire while the secondary source was an elaborate literature review. Data collected from the participants was analysed through descriptive data analysis. The research project used graphical representation in showcasing the results of the research project. Design of surveys The process of designing the survey was based on the development of a proper understanding of the objectives of the research project. This enabled the designer to convert the goals and objectives of the project into research questions. An effective understanding of the research questions could help in the development of testable hypothesis. This is because tihs research project was to use the quantitative approach to understanding research. To ensure that the hypothesis was testable, the questions that were constructed as part of the survey. The survey was inclusive of both the open ended and the closed questions. The closed questions focused on aspects that did not need much clarification such as personal details of the respondent. Closed questions comprised of aspects about the research objectives that were in need of elaborate clarifications from the respondents. The aim of these questions was to produce data whose analysis and interpretations was to validate or reject the hypothesis. Recruitment strategy and the rationale The recruitments strategy used in this project was outsourcing for experts in other organizations to help boost the level of skills and expertise in the team. Other than the skills, outsourcing was considered as a better recruitment strategy since it provided the project team with new members into the organization improving on the capacity of human resource. In addition, it was also a technique that the management used to help in building partnerships with other organizations. Through this approach to recruitment, the management was able to engage in an objective means of acquiring different members of staff for the organization. Experts in research project and the design of questionnaires were in charge of providing expert opinion on the best approaches that different members of the team could use to ensure that they were developing projects characterized by sound and valid questions. Furthermore, through the outsourced employees it was easier for the team to engage in an informative brainstorming session to help boost the possibility of developing an insightful project. Distribution and data analysis approaches The surveys were largely constructed questionnaires with a series of questions about the research project. The target population acquired the questionnaire through the research assistant who was employed by the project. In addition, these assistants were in charge of assisting the respondent with the questions. One way by which the project team ensured that the research project maintained its objectivity was by training the research assistant on their responsibilities and obligations during the administration of the surveys. Targeted respondents were also informed of the roles and responsibilities in relation to the research project Upon completion of the study, the data collected for the study was checked for accuracy and completeness. This was in regard to the ability of the respondent to record all the responses as required by the survey. The project used descriptive statistics approach to make sense of the data and identify common features and characteristic. The descriptive data analysis approach was considered important in the success of the study because it is essential in the development of summaries in ways that enable the emergence of patterns. There are also measures that can be essential in understanding the essence of descriptive statistics in the analysis of data ad they include dispersion measures of variability and central tendency. The main objective of descriptive statistics in data analysis is to simplify complex data by providing the researcher with graphical representation of the information gathered. Furthermore, the measures of central tendencies that used in data analysis process include mean, medina and mode. There were different questions in the survey and they included a. What are some of the best solutions to providing food to the homeless and needy within Campbletown? b. If a soup kitchen was to be established within the town how effective would it be in proving food for the homeless and the needy? Examples of data analysis Sections of report on the research project There were achievements and challenges during the research project. In terms of achievements, the study was able to produce valid data on the different aspects related to the establishment of a soup kitchen. In addition, the study was also able to ensure that use of teamwork and different levels of expertise to realize the objectives of the project. There were also challenges of the study and they included the existence of uncooperative participants in during the survey. Furthermore, there were also situations where the information gathered especially from literature review process were conflicting with that gathered from the field and this complicated the research process. Literature review process The process of conducting literature review process was characterized by the development of a plan assessing the need for a review. This was followed by the development of a review protocol, which was to be based on the research question concerning the establishment of a kitchen soup for the homeless and the needy. Upon identification of the key terms that were to be used the research project sought peer reviewed journal articles from websites such as EBSCO and PROQUEST. These were perceived as the most effective sources of articles. The peer-reviewed journals were those published between 2010 and 2015. The following is a section of literature review According to Fagan (2013) soup kitchen can be beneficial because they provide the homeless and the poor with a means of acquiring basic necessities. This is an indication that in such a town the target individuals will have the strength to engage in activities that help in nation building. Fagan (2013) argues that since the establishment of modern soup kitchen, the wealth and economic progress of developed countries such as the United States has continues to increase. This can be attributed to a reduction of crime rate within the towns with these soup kitchens and the desire by the homeless and the poor to participate in nation building activities. Interviews Questionnaire was considered as a way of acquiring primary data. The process of developing the questionnaires was characterized by the development of an understanding of the objectives of the study and the development of the research questions. This process enabled the researcher to consider ways of maintaining the objectivity of the research. The target population for the questionnaire were the citizens in Campbletown. The study sampled about 100 respondents through simple random sampling approach. This approach was considered advantageous to the respondent because it provided every citizen in Campbletown with an equal opportunity of being selected as part of the study. The interview process was researcher assisted to ensure that respondents understood the content of the questions that they were expected to answer. Some of the ethical considerations of the entire project included the understanding that it was the responsibility of the researcher to uphold the integrity of the research project. This was achieved through minimizing the possibility of interfering with the research process. One way of ensuring this process was by eliminating any leading questions from the questionnaire. The process of recruiting respondents was voluntary and the respondents were to accept or decline being involved in the process after the researcher had provided all the information about the research project and their responsibilities. This was a way of ensuring that the volunteers into the process were acting on the basis of an informed consent. Below is a section of the questionnaire a. What is your understanding of a soup kitchen for the homeless and the poor? b. Other than the provision of food, do you know of any other services that the soup kitchen can offer? c. If a food kitchen was opened in this town, would you recommend any homeless person to access it? Why? Section of data analysis Figure 2.0 the services that can be offered by a soup kitchen Additional tasks Other than the development of surveys and conducting research activities there were associated task that I was engaged in these included organizing for meetings. The meetings were often chaired by the project manager and in his absence the project team nominated one of the members to chair the meeting. Meetings were organized every week and the members were informed through their email accounts and through short message services on their mobile phones. The process or organizing meetings also included the preparation of the agendas. This was to be acquired from different team members. Every team members was expected to propose an agenda for the meeting. This was one way of ensuring that every member was involved in the research project. During the meeting every team member presented a report on the progress of his or her departments on matter related to the research project Final reflection The internship period was one of the most social, educative and informative. The informative and effective aspect of the internship period was related to the understanding that it provided a learning platform that could be used in understanding the process of organizing a research project. Through delegation and allocation of different responsibilities by my supervisors and superior, I was able to acquire knowledge and expertise on how to undertake different projects within an organization. Other than the advantages, there were also situations of ethical dilemma especially on matters related to marinating the standards of the organization and assisting a needy person. Edmen Company is a leader in the provision of recruitment and selection services. This means tha the organization requires high levels of ethical standards while conducting interviews. Socially, my internship experience ant Edmen Company helped in boosting my self-esteem standards. This is because through the responsibilities that I was allocated ad delegated I was able to confront my fears in the execution of these responsibilities. In addition, the internship also provided an opportunity of improving on my interpersonal relationship skills and communication skills. This is because I was able to socialize with different individuals from varied professional and academic backgrounds hence improving on my understanding of the external world. Read More