Volunteering is a large part for events it allows people interested in evens gain work experience while also helping the event organisers to run the event on the night. A definition of volunteering by Wilson (2000), ‘Volunteering means any activity in which time is given freely to benefit another person, group, or organization', event though this does not necessary mean that the volunteers will benefit at work by being paid it benefit them as they gain experience, while the benefits are manly for the event managers that are running the event as they have gathered enough help for the event without having to pay a wage to every member of staff that works there as most of the staff for the night or weekend will be volunteers.
Volunteering at an event needs motivation as it is the volunteer that gives up his/her time to help with the event, as Mullins (2005, p.480), states they “are concerned with identifying peoples needs and their relative strengths, and the goals they pursue in order to satisfy theses needs”, this leading in to the theory’s of motivation. The theory’s of motivation can help identify the needs of volunteers which can lead in to helping the volunteer decided whether or not to assist in the event at hand and whether or not they wish to become long term volunteers which leads into McCurley and Lynch (1998, p.11 – 12, 13) “motivation for the long-term volunteer is a matter of both achievement and affiliation, and often recognitions is best expresses as an opportunity for greater involvement or advancement in the cause or the organisation”. The motivational theory that stands out the most with volunteers would be Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, which starts at the bottom with physiological needs, then safety and security, then love and belonging (social needs), then self-esteem and finally at the top self-actualization all of which makes up the five stages of needs that volunteers and employers go through before they make a choice on what is best.
Volunteering is beneficial to people that want to study or become event managers as it allows you to gain experience while still studying, volunteering at events has been a great help personally as it has provided knowledge and experience first hand that I wouldn’t have got while studying in a class room.
References:
Wilson, J. ‘Volunteering’. Annual Review of Sociology 26 (2000): 215–40
Mullins, L. J. (2005), Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition, London, Financial Times, Pitman Publishing
McCurley, S. and Lynch, R. (1998), Essential Volunteer Management, 2nd edition, London, Directory of Social Change
Volunteering at an event needs motivation as it is the volunteer that gives up his/her time to help with the event, as Mullins (2005, p.480), states they “are concerned with identifying peoples needs and their relative strengths, and the goals they pursue in order to satisfy theses needs”, this leading in to the theory’s of motivation. The theory’s of motivation can help identify the needs of volunteers which can lead in to helping the volunteer decided whether or not to assist in the event at hand and whether or not they wish to become long term volunteers which leads into McCurley and Lynch (1998, p.11 – 12, 13) “motivation for the long-term volunteer is a matter of both achievement and affiliation, and often recognitions is best expresses as an opportunity for greater involvement or advancement in the cause or the organisation”. The motivational theory that stands out the most with volunteers would be Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, which starts at the bottom with physiological needs, then safety and security, then love and belonging (social needs), then self-esteem and finally at the top self-actualization all of which makes up the five stages of needs that volunteers and employers go through before they make a choice on what is best.
Volunteering is beneficial to people that want to study or become event managers as it allows you to gain experience while still studying, volunteering at events has been a great help personally as it has provided knowledge and experience first hand that I wouldn’t have got while studying in a class room.
References:
Wilson, J. ‘Volunteering’. Annual Review of Sociology 26 (2000): 215–40
Mullins, L. J. (2005), Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition, London, Financial Times, Pitman Publishing
McCurley, S. and Lynch, R. (1998), Essential Volunteer Management, 2nd edition, London, Directory of Social Change