Journal for Internship Course 7

Introduction.

When writing a journal, it is a reflection and a review of the experiences that we undergo on a day to day basis. Thus being a believer in journal keeping grows the habit of keeping a record of the occurrences that occur each and every day. Through the keeping of journals, record are kept and they can be used in future and for a reflection for experiences that a person has gone through (Addey, 2017). The journal records outlined below are a summation of the activities that occurred when acting as an intern, the skills that were accrued and the influence of what was learnt upon me. Since the onset of the course, I have had a desire to learn and also to share the different skills learnt with the rest of the class. Further, I have the goal of exploring various career opportunities and from them share the different experiences in journaling and business management strategies.

Experienced success.

The first thing that I consider to have been a success is the creation of a professional journal. It is the first journal that I have ever created and it has had a huge impact. The journal gave me a chance to reflect upon the experiences that I have accrued over time (Addey, 2017). The journal gave me the chance to track the progress that I have made in terms of my career and to assess whether I was attaining any levels of success. Further, I was able to keep track of my personal portfolio and investments and to constantly review them.

One of the most important lessons that I learnt from the first job that I took is the importance of working as a member of a team. I worked for a duration of one and a half years and during this time, I learnt the important aspect of being a member of a team in the workplace. Success in the workplace is dependent directly upon the cohesion of the members of the team (Addey, 2017). It is them that define the quality of output. From the team that I worked with, I learnt the important aspects of what it calls to be a manager. These lessons proved to come in handy later in the field and in my marketing strategies. Using the knowledge accrued, I was able to complete the creation of a new delivery application that proved essential to the growth of sales pf the company. The sales margins that were experienced by the company increased as a result of the steps that I took.

Further, I was able to draw in a partnership for the company with one of the largest brands in China that are into the distribution of electric goods in China. It created a new slot in the market for the supply of electric goods for the company in terms of the supply of electronics and of home equipment. Further, I was able to solicit an interview with Mr. Frank Li, the CEO and founder of the company which also proved to be a major learning opportunity.

Another aspect that I consider to be a success is achieving a sense of balance between the e-commerce retail section and the entire business. It is a factor that promoted the growth of the company and as a result, it also increased the revenue of the company (Addey, 2017). It also proved to be an essential experience finding a balance between cultural concerns and good leadership for the organization. Good organizational culture experienced throughout the course of the internship proved that decision making and performance are directly influenced by the culture of the company (Addey, 2017). Further, teamwork, professionalism and enhanced communication skills saw to the success of the company and also facilitated the growth of the company.

Another factor that I consider to be a symbol of success was the incorporation of the culture of the United States into the organization. Different countries have different cultures and these vary. However, for a business to be successful, there is a need to have a way to incorporate the cultures together so that the business can mesh together the cultures to be able to achieve success. Culture also influences the behaviors of employees and all around it has an influence upon the behaviors of the employees. Further, all around culture also has an influence upon the success of the business (Addey, 2017). Thus meshing the Chinese and the American culture was a factor that contributed to the success of the organization.

Challenges.

Apart from the experiences at work that promoted the high points of my internship, there are also factors that proved to be a challenge to my work environment. One of the challenges that I experienced was controlling time. When conducting the interview with Mr. Frank Li, the time that I had set for the interview proved to be insufficient. As a result, I had to use an excessive amount of time which would not have sat well with the CEO as he a man of many duties. Asking the right questions also proved to be a challenge for me. Picking out the correct question also proved to be a challenge. There is a need to be able to identify questions that will elicit the expected responses instead of drawn out random answers.

The other challenge that I experienced was the implementation of changes within the organization (Doyle, 2017). It is a challenge because being new and an intern, some of the members of the senior management proved to be barriers to the ideas. Further, the ideas that I had to pose had to be perfect because a little mistake was bound to mess things up. Finally, any change that I was suggesting had to result in the growth of the organization and further, it had to match with the objectives, goals, and the vision of the company. Another factor that proved to be a challenge was getting Mr. Frank for an interview. The reason for this is because he is a man that operates on a schedule and as a result, I had to schedule time that would be appropriate for him. However, it was a goal that I also achieved.

Lessons learnt.

One of the most essential lessons learnt was the importance of effective leadership. Effective leadership brings together all the factors of production and ensure that all the employees have a common goal and a purpose that suits the mission of the organization (Hao & Yazdanifard, 2015). Effective leaders ensure that all the factors of production are at play and that a common goal is achieved. The employees are empowered as well as inspired to achieve their full ability (Martin et al., 2014). It is important to know that the success of any organization is dependent upon the leadership and the leaders at the helm.

The other factor that I learnt was the important of change in an organization. Organizations cannot remain in situ. With the changes that are apparent in technology and the ever constant innovation, it is important to ensure that the organization is able to change and fit in with the modern world. Further, technology is making it easier for companies to operate on a global scale. As a result, companies should be willing to change their cultures to an approach that is more global so as to fit in the bigger market.

Conclusion.

When writing a journal, it is a reflection and a review of the experiences that we undergo on a day to day basis. Thus being a believer in journal keeping grows the habit of keeping a record of the occurrences that occur each and every day. Having a journal is what allowed me to compile these records and from them, I have learnt important skills to do with the business. The internship experience has taught me that there are still experiences that I must learn if I will be one of the best in my chosen professional field.

References.