Sports Media
Internship Analysis of the Structure of Your Organization -- For SLU POLS and WSTD Internships
You may need to adapt this analysis to the particular office or organization where you are working. Focus on the level of daily or weekly interaction. For example, an intern at the St. Louis office of an U.S. Senator would focus on such things as dealings with constituents and with the D.C. office, not on how the Senator shares power with the President. You can cite a website or include brochures, newsletters, or other organizational material that clarify this picture.
1. Explain the purposes and objectives of the organization so the reader will understand the larger picture.
2. Explain the structure of the organization, such as number of people employed or volunteering there, number of people served each week, and so forth..
3. Explain how your office or organization relates to other organizations, e.g. how it relates to other agencies doing similar things, to the state or national organization; include a diagram if useful.
4. Explain your position and its relation to the larger organization, identifying the positions of the others you work for and with; include a diagram if useful.
5. Discuss the culture of your workplace; for example, how is authority managed? How is responsibility assigned? What gender dynamics are operating? What power dynamics? Describe the role and function of the various leaders of the organization – formal and informal.
6. If available, what is the financial structure of the organization? What are the major sources of income? Major expenditures? How secure is its budget? (Often intern sites are at not-for-profits with insecure budgets, without reliable or consistent annual incomes. If so, discuss how this affects the organization.)
If it is a not for profit, tax-exempt organizations, see if you can see its IRS Form 990. For help check this site at GuideStar:
You may need to adapt this analysis to the particular office or organization where you are working. Focus on the level of daily or weekly interaction. For example, an intern at the St. Louis office of an U.S. Senator would focus on such things as dealings with constituents and with the D.C. office, not on how the Senator shares power with the President. You can cite a website or include brochures, newsletters, or other organizational material that clarify this picture.
1. Explain the purposes and objectives of the organization so the reader will understand the larger picture.
2. Explain the structure of the organization, such as number of people employed or volunteering there, number of people served each week, and so forth..
3. Explain how your office or organization relates to other organizations, e.g. how it relates to other agencies doing similar things, to the state or national organization; include a diagram if useful.
4. Explain your position and its relation to the larger organization, identifying the positions of the others you work for and with; include a diagram if useful.
5. Discuss the culture of your workplace; for example, how is authority managed? How is responsibility assigned? What gender dynamics are operating? What power dynamics? Describe the role and function of the various leaders of the organization – formal and informal.
6. If available, what is the financial structure of the organization? What are the major sources of income? Major expenditures? How secure is its budget? (Often intern sites are at not-for-profits with insecure budgets, without reliable or consistent annual incomes. If so, discuss how this affects the organization.)
If it is a not for profit, tax-exempt organizations, see if you can see its IRS Form 990. For help check this site at GuideStar: