Running head: WORK SITE ANALYSIS

Work Site Analysis

Tyler Sanders
Western Michigan University
EDLD 6545-Environments

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Work Site Analysis

Residence Life is where I received my first experience with the world of student affairs
and to this day is where I sleep, live, and work. At Western Michigan University, this location is
Smith Ernest Burnham Hall located in the south community of main campus. My office is
located on the first floor across the hallway from the Smith main office, which houses my
supervisors Hall Director office, the resident assistant storage room, and a customer service
desk; where office managers set appointments, take calls, and assist in the absence of the Hall
Director or Assistant Hall Director.
The responsibility of the Assistant Hall Director positon includes supervising a front
desk, advising the student leadership council for the building, and co-supervising a staff of
Resident Assistants. This setup is duplicated in Residence Life in each of the eleven respective
buildings. Residence Life is in the Division of Student Affairs and strives to build a better
student, person, community, and experience. This work site analysis will take a closer look at
perceptions of this work site using the four environmental factors of physical setting, human
aggregate, organizational structure, and constructed environment as outlined by Strange and
Banning (2001).
Physical Setting
Walking up the worn stairwell of the Smith Burnhams front entrance, visitors are greeted
with glass doors displaying the Western bronco insignia to enter my work site and home. Inside
to the doors to the left, individuals would find the main office (P-107) and to the right is the
graduate assistant hall director office (P-101) as displayed in Figure 1. The Burnhams is a five
story building built in the shape of an H and houses approximately four hundred students. A
unique feature of the Burnhams is that both Smith and Ernest have a front desk (P-105) that is

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operated by Assistant Hall Director as seen in Figure 1. Two large common spaces (P-113 in
Figure 1) are available on both sides of the building to accommodate areas for studying, gaming,
programming, and additional needs.
My office space is used for meeting with Resident Assistants, student leaders, students
with conduct hearings, and additionally students with other concerns. While the space is
comfortable for myself, it can become cramped if it is needed for projects or multiple student
meetings. There is a two seat couch, a one seat couch, two hard chairs, a desk chair, and a bevy
of smaller furniture pieces. Entering the office students and colleagues are surprised with the
number of decorations and collectibles that are displayed around the room. I found that this
allows students to see my personality and recognize my philosophy when it comes to my job.
In studying the physical factor of the Burnhams, it is important to recognize the
proxemics, or distances that are created between individuals in these various spaces (Strange &
Banning, 2001). Within my office, the furniture is aligned to form both intimate and personal
zones depending on the reason for the visit. This is done intentionally to help in assisting with
creating spaces that support the specific need for that individual (Strange & Banning, 2001). The
main office creates a similar function in space; while common spaces and study lounges meet
other needs and spatial differences. Crowding is not a common problem in the Burnhams with
the number of spaces that are available for use except when the entire building is active in
something at the same time like floor meetings or building meetings. However, it is important to
recognize that residence hall spaces are created with proxemics in mind of possibilism.
Kuh (1991) stated the importance of personal space and public spaces and its correlation
to the behaviors that create community. In residential communities, students are given the
chance to have personal spaces to build personal identities, but also the chance to have

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spontaneous community building interactions in common areas, hallways, and community

bathrooms (Kuh, 1991). The spaces also promote Strange and Bannings (2001) possibilism
theory that states that these areas flexibility allow for all forms of activity and community
building. Examples of this have ranged from large presentations or study sessions to snowball
fights and ice cream making. The possibilities are endless and thus create unique interactions
among the residents, staff, and others within the community.
This wide range of facilities, including a dining hall, presents unique behavioral actions
that occur regularly in the Burnhams. As an individual who can work, sleep, and eat all in close
proximity, I find myself working in my apartment and most times not leaving my building unless
it is required for class or meetings. This also effects my work because my office is so close to
my home that I can be efficient in the time I spend at home and that of when I am in the office.
It is particularly beneficial when something is left at home or the office as it is a quick pick up.
The student staff and my supervisor follow similar patterns in the ways in which they navigate
the landscape of living and working in the same facility. Similar behaviors are found with the
student population that lives here as well, as residents can be actively engaged in the community
by eating in the Burnhams caf, spending time in the Ernest Lounge, or simply by opening their
doors to open hallways. While these accommodations yield positive results for the community,
the Burnhams also has unique challenges.
Observing the Burnhams, visitors and residents can recognize some of the non-verbal
messages seen in the physical environment, but not clearly stated (Strange & Banning, 2001).
The most recognizable non-verbal comes from the resident rooms only being accessible through
the elevator and two floors that can only be accessed using half stairwells. This poses the
mindset that the building is not meant to be conducive to everyone who comes into the building.

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Other non-verbals that engage residents to think positively about the environment are seen in
picture collages of previous residents displayed in the lobbies, the door decorations posted on
each door, and the Burnhams banners and Western Michigan University seals posted throughout
the building. While the physical factor may not necessarily be consistent, the human aggregate
helps to increase retention in the building.
Human Aggregate
Moos (1986) noted that the character of an environment is implicitly dependent on the
typical characteristics of its member (p.186) (as cited in Strange & Banning, 2001, p. 35). This
quote stands true in the environment that is maintained within the Burnhams community.
Assistant Hall Directors are responsible for working with three unique groups: Resident
assistants, desk workers, and leadership council members. Each of these groups bring in a
unique clientele and demographic. According to Astins typology of students, a bevy of these
students fall into the leader type as they are frequently engaged in the community and promote
positivity through the authority they have obtained (Strange & Banning, 2001). The staff
includes conformists and non-conformists and for the most part tends to both sides of the
spectrums in multiple characteristics. Looking at various personality types, the staff and students
are very eclectic to create the Burnhams community.
As Strange and Banning (2001) discussed of the various typologies that could be used to
look at student populations as the Burnhams forms a melting pot of personalities within the
various subcultures and floors. This residence hall houses three unique student populations that
have different needs. Firstly are the first year students of a variety of different fields of study due
to the lack of a living learning community. These first year students require educational
engagement and social transition that upperclassmen living in the building do not require (Tinto

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& Goodsell, 1993). As a staff, this need is recognized and programming efforts have to be
geared toward creating this environment using a program model where there is a program put on
for the first seven days geared toward getting all residents out of their room to meet each other.
Additionally, efforts are made during certain time periods in the year where residents may
require specific needs based on research from past years.
Another well represented demographic in the Burnhams are the student athletes from the
various teams on campus. These individuals are typically placed on floors based on the team
which provides a unique dynamic for the work place. Jordan and Denson (1990) found that
athletes often live on schedules that are inflexible and demanding and thus has a direct
correlation to the struggle that they have building relationships with non-athlete residents (as
cited in Watt & Moore, 2002). Resident assistants must then make a conscious effort to
understand this human aggregate when planning programs, scheduling floor meetings, and
contacting this group of individuals. Often times these specific implementations also help when
working with the final demographic.
The last group of students are the upperclassmen and returners to campus. Using Clark
and Trows (1966) subcultures, these students fall into the collegiate subculture; which is seen as
these student are loyal to Western Michigan University, but are indifferent to the issues
happening in the hall or the university (as cited in Strange & Banning, 2001). These students
often do not want to engage with other residents because of their already established
relationships during their past years at the university. In some cases, these students are returners
to the Burnhams specifically because of the person-environment congruence that occurs in their
fit to the environment.

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The human aggregate that is created within the floors, the demographics, and other
relationships formed directly impact the dynamics of the Burnhams. These three demographics
are only part of the mix of students that create the divergent environment that is noted by the
above inconsistencies among the needs of the various populations (Strange and Banning, 2001).
Working with this population allows the demographics to learn from each other. Congruence of
these dynamics is seen in higher satisfaction, a desire to persist, and ultimately greater retention
(Smart, Feldman, & Ethington, 2000) (as cited in Strange & Banning, 2001, p. 53).
Structural/Organizational
When looking over the organizational factor of an environment, it is important to observe
the work site from a structural and departmental perspective. Starting with the resident assistants
there are approximately one hundred that are co-supervised by eleven hall directors who coadvise the RAs and supervise the twelve Graduate Assistant Hall Directors. These Hall Directors
and Assistant Hall Directors report to two area coordinators and five functional coordinators
which include an associate director. At the top of this structural chart is the Director of
Residence Life who reports to the Vice President of Student Affairs. Within the functional and
area coordinators there are also points of hierarchy depending on the various issues and tasks that
are being completed.
According to Strange and Banning (2001) centralization is the way in which power is
distributed in a setting (p. 64). In looking at the organizational structure of Residence Life,
there is high centralization in the decisions that are made on various topics. Since there are
functional areas and area coordinators, each task or area of the department is broken up and
given as a responsibility to specific individuals. While this is sometimes seen as a benefit
because of the individuals effort that can be given to specific items, this centralization is used to

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pull more power to the top. Examples of this are seen as the budgetary items must be approved
and double checked by a functional coordinator, every program form is checked and given
feedback by the programming coordinator, and this approach is taken with each individual in
power.
Alongside each coordinator taking control of large to small items, formalization becomes
a growing issue in the department and trickles down to other employees and residents. For
Residence Life, formalization is seen in the explicit rules that are written out in a majority of
cases as seen in the large number of documents laying out rules from conduct or giving back
feedback on resident assistant performance in community (Strange & Banning, 2001). A large
amount of training is required for resident assistants, desk workers, office managers, and other
student employees to keep them informed and kept up with their jobs. As the rules are set
because of a wide range of issues, it often becomes hard to expect student employees or even
professional staff to remember all of the policies that have been put in place. This greatly
inhibits the goals that are set by the department or as supervisors. Instead of being able to
facilitate developmental activities, each meeting with staff requires recovering policy and
reporting all of the issues that have been given from the top down to their positions.
There are numerous factors that that could be analyzed within the organizational
structure, but it is important to understand whether the culture of the work site is dynamic or
static. While smaller tasks within Burnhams can be dynamic because of the relationship between
my supervisor and myself, Residence Life as a department is static. As seen above, evidence of a
static work site is seen in lower degrees of complexity, higher centralization, formalization,
stratification, efficiency (Strange and Banning, 2001, p. 73). These are seen in the
department, but explicitly seen in committees or areas where the coordinators have been

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employed at the university for longer periods of time. Often times when feedback is requested
from Hall Directors and Assistant Hall Directors, an example of this static environment is seen as
supervisors defend the feedback that is given with why the feedback is not necessary. In some
cases, this dynamic has led turnover of employees (Strange & Banning, 2001). Whether this is
seen due to morale, centralization, or any of the other factors, each is related to how employees
feel about their fit within an organization. During my time at Western Michigan University, I
have been witness to employees not feeling heard or not being able to negotiate the culture of
the department.
Constructed Environment
Perceptual, or socially constructed, models of the environment recognize that a
consensus of individuals who perceive and characterize their environment constitutes a measure
of environmental press or climate (Strange & Banning, 2001). Guests of the Burnhams would
find a residence hall that is rich in its history that has been developed because of the shared
views of the residents over the years. Looking at the environment that has been created over
time, I believe that students would say that the predominant image of this work site and the
environmental press would be connected to the ideals of being social, but independent (Strange
& Banning, 2001). This construct comes from what students expect during their experience in
the Burnhams and the facilities that both inspire working together, but also independently.
Working with a new supervisor, seven new resident assistants, four returning resident
assistants, and an area coordinator who has been at Western for over seven years; a unique
dynamic is created among the differing perceptions. New RAs and employees come in with the
perceptions of their past experiences and what a residence hall should look like and how the
work site should be negotiated. As a returner, I have a grasp of the culture and what rules cannot

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be broken, but this often gives me a cynical approach to situations. Returning second year
residents who have had similar experiences as I have often faced the same perceptions of what
will pass and what will be viewed as against the social rules. The eldest of the group, acting as
an area coordinator, has an even more warped perspective of the social rules throughout the
period of time she has worked here. Each of these views affect the dynamic of the constructed
environment and what rules are actually seen by the residents and student population. As a hall
staff team, my supervisor and I are responsible for negotiating how the constructed environment
looks for Burnhams stakeholders.
Perceptions are socially shared rules and norms applicable to a given context (Kuh &
Hall, 1993, p.6) (as cited in Strange and Banning, 2001, p. 101). With new leadership comes
new perceptions within residence life work site. The Burnhams Leadership Council (BLC) was
struggling as an organization in an upperclassmen building until last year. As students became
interested and successful within the organization, the perception changed of what it meant to be a
part of BLC. This year the perception was different for this organization and now as a new Hall
Director has entered the building, there has been a new revitalization of the community.
Working together as a team, the staff and residents learn the new norms and rules that have been
developed in trying to the building that everyone wants.
Artifacts come in various forms in a building that was erected in 1948 and has been
establishing its constructed environment. A behavioral artifact that continues to be seen each fall
on Labor Day and also during the end of the year is the Burnhams BBQ that has become a
tradition expected from the residents each year (Manning, 1991). While the behavioral artifacts
are many, the Burnhams is well known for the Smith Game room that was sponsored by the
Athletics Department. This physical artifact is marked with jerseys to represent that student

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population, includes several gaming units, and also bar stools and high tops (Manning, 1991).
Looking at residence life as the work site there is also verbal artifacts found in the unique
campus language that students and residents do not recognize in the acronyms, titles and other
terms that are used for individuals who have worked in residence life for a period of time
(Manning, 1991).
Person-Environment Interaction Analysis
One of the most important things about a work space is finding a place that fits the
personality of that person. Finding this fit is key and was very important when I was searching
for graduate assistantships. When I found Western Michigan University, I was attracted to the
similarities that it had to my undergraduate institution, Ball State University. As I walked the
campus and talked to the students I could feel the same attraction that I felt when I was searching
for my undergraduate institution. It was an environment that I could call home.
Similar to the satisfaction that the environment must provide the students, my work site
must also be satisfying to my needs for my employment (Strange & Banning, 2001). In my
worksite this comes from the opportunities that I have been allotted. Whether that was in the
committees that I have gotten to work with or the chance to use professional development,
residence life has provided opportunities to grow. This year I have also been graced with a
supervisor who satisfies my need to have conversations about issues in the building, my
academics, and also my social life. By providing me with proper spaces and resources I am able
to meet the job requirements that have been asked of me.
Stability has been given to me in helping me to keep a personal life without the additional
effort. The department provides this by giving me an apartment to live in, a meal plan, and a
stipend. These factors make the balance between work, academics, and my social life much

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easier. Flexibility from my supervisors have allowed me to work on my own watch and with my
own style to complete tasks that are necessary to survive the day to day.
In completing this observation, it is obvious how important analysis of an environment
can be in continuing to work for an organization or even finding a new position. While there are
aspects of my current position that have allowed me to strive and to be successful, this analysis
has made clear that some of my needs as a professional have not been meant in my current
assistantship. This has given me immense opportunities to grow as a leader, employee, and
person, but as I begin my job search I will be able to align my personality with future work sites.

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Figure 1: Smith Burnhams 1st Floor Plans

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References

Holland, J. L. (2004). A merger in vocational interest research: Applying Hollands theory to

Strongs data. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 2(4).
Kuh, G. D., Schuh, J. H., Whitt, E. J., & Associates. (1991). Involving colleges: Successful
approaches to fostering student learning and development outside the classroom. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Manning, K. L. (1991) Properties of institutional culture. In G. D. Kuh (Ed.), Cultural
perspectives in student affairs (pp.21-36). Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
Strange, C. & Banning, J. (2001). Educating by design: Creating campus learning environments
that work. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Tinto, V. & Goodsell, A. (1993). Freshman interest groups and the first-year experience:
Constructing student communities in a large university. Journal of the Freshman Year
Experience, 6(1), 7-28.
Watt, S. K. & Moore, J. L. (2002). Who are student athletes? New directions for student services,
2001(93), 7-18.