Budgeting
Goal
The primary goal of the activity is to create a budget for the exhibitions that will open the next year, as well as the 2017 November and Flag Day exhibitions. Particularly, a flexible pricing strategy that will allow attracting a significant number of customers and at the same time helping the museum retain its profitability will have to be designed. Maintaining the variation cost at 10% should also be viewed as one of the key objectives of the internship.
ELCC Standard and Explanation
The identified objectives can be linked to the ELCC Standard #3, which states that one must apply the strategy that allows for careful and efficient use of the school’s resources, in general, and its financial assets, in particular. In other words, the identified framework demands that the principles of sustainability in financing should be utilized as the foundation for building a resource management framework that could help attain the identified goal. The standard, therefore, will help shape the current pricing policy so that a compromise between the needs of the project and the financial capacities of the target population could be reached.
Learning Activity
For this goal, I worked on the budgeting plan for the collection and exhibition department for the next year
The learning activity included a detailed overview of the existing risks and the possible expenses that the exhibition might entail. As a result, a comprehensive overview of the possible scenarios was designed, and a sensible approach toward managing internal and external risks was created to reduce costs. Consequently, the foundation for introducing a sustainable budgeting strategy to the project was built.
The identification of the income sources showed that the budgeting process required a significant amount of flexibility since the available financial resources were rather restricted. Therefore, it was crucial to not only identify possible investors but also develop a sustainable approach toward the allocation of money.
Among the key variable indirect costs, one must mention electricity. Seeing that the exhibition will require a lot of light so that every object could be displayed properly, the electricity bills are going to be rather big. The specified issue was addressed by cutting some of the costs associated with transportation so that the financial resources could be used in a more sustainable manner. Therefore, the activity shed a lot of light on the importance of using a sustainable approach toward allocating the available resources.
I also worked on the budget of the exhibition that will open end of November which also includes a variable cost that had to be added which was more than 10%
The issue of variation costs seems to remain one of the primary concerns for budgeting the exhibition. While some of the direct expenses linked to contracts and design of the project have left a tangible dent in the budget, indirect ones seem to be rather elusive and difficult to calculate.
Herein lies the significance of adopting a sustainable approach. By reducing the costs of a specific aspect of the exhibition, e.g., saving on the transportation of the required materials, one was able to create reserve funds for managing indirect costs that were bound to appear later. Furthermore, a more accurate calculation of indirect costs and the change that would be introduced to the budget became an opportunity; particularly, it was determined that indirect changes would lead to a total of 10% rise in the expenses.
Moreover, distinguishing between different types of exhibitions that would be presented to the target audience allowed cutting the cost to a considerable extent due to a drop in the payment for the site. For example, it became possible to draw a line between temporary and venue-only temporary exhibitions helped reduce expenses by 7.8%, therefore, leading to a massive rise in the number of opportunities for improving the quality of the project and reallocating the existing financial resources. The specified step also helped add more resources to the risk management framework. Consequently, the identified activity served as a means of learning more about the opportunities for balancing between the need to enhance quality and remain within the existing budget limits.
The other project that I was involved in the budgeting of the exhibition for flag day
Finally, the necessity to create a budget for Flag Day needs to be mentioned among the key experiences. The specified activity contributed to developing a very good understanding of how modern media can be combined with the traditional information management tools so that expenses be reduced significantly.
Facilitating a Meeting
Goal
To create more opportunities for educating the target audience about the events described above, one had to incorporate additional educational resources and, therefore, establish a connection with some of the local historical organizations. Therefore, a meeting with the representatives of a local historical society had to be arranged so that collaboration could be built between the specified organization and the school. As a result, students could be provided with a chance to be educated about the subjects of exhibitions.
ELCC Standard and Explanation
The idea of creating a link with a local historical society for the further promotion of learning among students and the enhancement of their understanding of why the exhibitions bear such significance aligns with the existing ELCC standards perfectly. Particularly, the specified goal is connected directly to the ELCC Standard 4.0, which claims that it is imperative to focus on cooperation between the school and other organizations so that students could gain essential cultural and social knowledge about specific issues and events. In other words, the goal of the meeting is justified by the fact that the cooperation between the historical society and the school contributes massively to the engagement and education of learners.
Learning Activity
Preparing for a meeting in the meeting room, providing all necessary hard copies for the meeting
To make sure that the local historical society should agree to participate in the event and provide additional resources for designing the exhibition, one should make sure that the cause and goals of the school should be represented properly Therefore, it will be crucial to create a positive impression and at the same time cover essential issues, thus, distributing roles and responsibilities among the participants.
Working on the minutes of meeting note-taking and filling up the form for the general director
Seeing that the meeting process will be navigated by the general director, one will have to take notes of the key points made during the conversation. Thus, the essential stages of the discussion and the issues that will have been covered will be addressed successfully.
Apart from documenting the important aspects that will be touched upon in the course of the meeting, one will have to consider assisting the general director with paperwork, including filling out the forms that will have to be submitted for the communication process. Thus, the key impediments on the way to a successful negotiation process will be removed. Furthermore, the specified step will allow for a significant improvement in the time management strategy.
Finally, the analysis of the available negotiation techniques will have to be carried out at present, it is assumed that the adoption of the negotiation technique based on collaboration and compromise should be viewed as a priority. Indeed, the said framework will help build relationships based on trust with the target organization and its members.
Sending out invites for the meetings requests by email for all invitees in the meeting
As stressed above, paperwork is bound to be one of the key concerns for making the meeting process as smooth as possible. Furthermore, it will be essential to send invites to the representatives of the historical organization in question.
Managing all the managers’ schedule to fit in the meetings where it fits all the managers timing
Last but definitely not least, the necessity to reconsider the managers’’ schedule so that the negotiation could be carried out will have to be viewed as a necessity. As explained above, the time management concern remains the primary one for the project under analysis. Therefore, it is imperative to design the schedule that will allow meeting the deadlines successfully.
To improve the current schedule and maintain control thereof, thus, keeping track of the possible issues that may occur in the process (e.g., delays, overlaps, etc.), one will have to consider the adoption of innovative IT tools. The use of an application that will serve as both a calendar of the key events and the tool for reminding about the meetings, their gals, and the required resources should be deemed as a necessity. Herein lies the importance of using project management software for the exhibition.
Museum Procedures
Goal
It is essential to identify the key procedures that will have to be carried out in the museum so that the exhibition could take place. The identified issues include the arrangement of the artifacts, the collaboration between the museum staff, the exhibition department, and the rest of the parties involved, the completion of the key tasks within the suggested time frame, etc.
ELCC Standard and Explanation
The idea of making the necessary preparations that will facilitate smooth execution of the key tasks associated with the exhibition meets the ELCC criteria mentioned in Standard 5.0. To be more accurate, the management of crucial processes with integrity and close focus on the needs of learners, which is viewed as the essential goal of a teacher according to Standard 5.0, can be applied to the identified goal. Indeed, by coordinating the key processes within the school environment successfully so that the exhibition could be arranged, an educator facilitates the setting for ethical and effective guidance for a learner toward the acquisition of new information and, therefore, the following academic success.
Learning Activity
Meeting with the museum expert to discuss the museum procedures for an exhibition
Communication is the key to success in setting the identified school exhibition since the process involves a range of stakeholders and, therefore, requires consistent coordination. The communication process can be enhanced significantly with the help of appropriate tools, primarily, IT devices that help keep in touch and reach the participants involved in the project within the shortest amount of time possible.
Thus, the issues associated with delays, misunderstandings, and misconceptions will be addressed and even prevented successfully, leading to a smooth implementation of the key tasks. However, meeting with the stakeholders in question, particularly, the museum expert, should also be deemed as one of the priorities since crucial procedures required for the arrangement of the exhibition will be discussed in the process. Furthermore, the handling and packaging techniques will have to be discussed so that exhibition item could not be damaged.
Drafting the products for the museum with the collection and exhibition department
Apart from collaborating with the local organizations that may supply the required items for the collection, the school will also have to consider cooperating with the department that manages collections and exhibitions. Thus, the issues related to logistics, in general, and transportation, in particular, will have to be addressed in the process of cooperating with the specified bodies. It is crucial to make sure that the collection items should not be damaged in the course of transportation. Herein lies the importance of creating an elaborate logistics strategy that will allow reducing the number of financial resources spent on the transfer of the materials and at the same time improve the quality of the transportation.
Furthermore, the issue of packaging the art pieces that will be supplied from the corresponding organizations will have to be addressed during the discussion. Seeing that some of the items may be rather fragile, it is crucial to handle them accordingly and prevent any possible instances of damage or mismanagement of the art pieces. The environment and conditions in which the items in question will have to be contained during the exhibition should also remain an important point of the discussion.
Writing down the products for the exhibition
As soon as the essential information about the transportation process and the associated issues are clarified, the items that will be displayed during the exhibition will need to be selected. Seeing that the focus of the exhibition will be on the military forces of the UAE, it will be reasonable to consider the resources such as photographs, videos, and artifacts.
Policy Development
Goal
The goal of the identified step concerns primarily determining the principles of the policy that will allow promoting the active acquisition of essential knowledge related to the military of the UAE, inspiring the students attending the exhibition, and compelling them to develop a sense of national identity by finding out about their legacy.
ELCC Standard and Explanation
The goal described above can be linked to the ELCC Standard #7.0, which states that it is the duty of an educator to engage in the active promotion of knowledge acquisition and identity development among students with the help of a thoroughly thought-out and well put together leadership framework. The significance of the specified objective I not to be underrated; while being seemingly unrelated to the academic process, in general, it contributes to shaping a learner’s identity and, therefore, helps foster important traits such as responsibility, the ability to lead, the skills associated with teamwork and cooperation, etc., contributing to the students’ further personal and academic growth.
Learning Activity
Meeting with the director of the strategy department and deciding of the policies for the collection and exhibition department
As stressed above, the process of managing the available financial assets of the school is among the top factors that will define the success of the project. Therefore, it is crucial to arrange the collection process and create an environment for storing the acquired items in a way that will help minimize the negative effect on the latter. Thus, the school will avoid paying a substantial amount of money for the artifacts that can be described as fragile and, therefore, may be broken or damaged in the process of transferring them to the school setting, incorporating them into the exhibition, or transporting them back to their owners.
The communication process will allow identifying the problems that may occur while handling the objects that will be represented at the exhibition. Consequently, a coherent strategy for communicating with the director of the strategy department will have to be built.
It is suggested that appreciation for the artifacts as the legacy of the UAE history should become the foundation for the policies that will guide the further collection and management processes. Thus, the items will be managed with due care. Furthermore, the specified approach will allow reinforcing the educational effects of the exhibition, especially as far as the process of shaping the students’ identity is concerned. With a profound philosophy built on the traditional UAE values combined with the recognition of the artifacts’ emotional and social weight, as well as the cultural impact thereof, students’ personal growth will be spurred. Furthermore, the development of their national identity will be encouraged.
The decision was to have two main policies for the collection and exhibition department (policies of the storages and policies for the temporary exhibitions
The policies for the storage of the items will be based on keeping the artifacts intact and preventing the impact of any negative factors to which they may be exposed in the school environment. For example, changes in the humidity, temperature, and other factors that may affect the safety of the items that will be displayed during the exhibition will have to be considered closely when designing the specified policies.
An inter-institutional loan will have to be considered a necessity in case rare and expensive materials will have to be borrowed from the organizations mentioned above. Thus, a reconsideration of the way in which the financial assets are used within the school will have to be viewed as a necessity. To make sure that no excessive expenses are taken during the exhibition as a result of negligence or lack of responsibility, the school leaders will have to promote the corresponding values to students, teachers, and other exhibition participants. As a result, the instances of artifacts’ damage will be avoided.
Moreover, instructions for behaving appropriately during the exhibition will have to be provided to the students. For instance, touching the items must be prohibited to avoid damages to the artifacts. Each of the collection elements will have to be provided with a short description containing essential instructions about handling it in a proper way. The spatial arrangement of the exhibition items will have to be designed in a way that will prevent accidents. For instance, there must be enough space between each of the objects so that they do not clutter. Furthermore, the elements of the collection will have to be located behind a screen. Thus, the property of the organizations will remain safe, whereas the students will acquire crucial knowledge about their legacy and culture.
Focusing on the intrinsic needs of learners is a crucial step for improving their outcomes. The process of shaping one’s national identity is one of these needs, and it has to be addressed by educators. The use of an exhibition as the means of getting across essential information about the history and legacy of the UAE is an admittedly reasonable step toward promoting the active engagement in the social and political life of the state among learners. Therefore, the exhibition to be set in the target school environment must be regarded as a chance to help the students shape their personality and engage in the process of self-discovery. Thus, the exhibition must be based on community values and traditions.