Qatar Fuel Additives Company Limited Organization Objectives and Mission - Case Study Example

INTERNSHIP FINAL REPORT Introduction to Organization: Qatar Fuel Additives Company Limited Q.S.C. also known as QAFAC forms a part of partpetrochemical industry by Industries Qatar. The company was incorporated in the year 1991 as a joint venture company. The company has been established as a part of Qatar’s strategic plan in order to broaden its horizons of petrochemical base and develop its downstream industries. The company is recognized as the producer and one of the greatest exporters of high quality methanol and methyl-tertiary-butyl-ether (MTBE). The company has a wide market spread. It gets most of its revenue from its primary market which comprises of Far East, Europe and the Gulf Region. The main products of the market are Methanol and MTBE. The Company aims to optimize the exploitation of the country’s infinite hydrocarbon resources through the production and export of methanol and MTBE. Industry Qatar is a limited liability company. The same was registered and integrated in the state of Qatar as a Qatari Shareholding Company. During 2003 QAFAC received the entire shareholding transfer by Qatar Petrochemical (QP) through IQ. QP is engaged in giving services to the oil industry in Qatar and abroad. It is a state owned corporation engaged in drilling and discovery for oil, natural gas, other hydrocarbon substances and their processing. Presently, QAFAC is the greatest supplier and producer of methanol and MTBE. It supplies its product to the local, regional and international market. The methanol plant has a capacity to produce 832500 tons of methanol annually. The company currently is owned by shareholders where IQ owns 50% of its share, OPIC Middle East Corporation owing 20%, International Octane Limited holding 15% and LCY Middle East Corporation owing 15%. OPIC Middle East Corporation is a completely owned subsidiary of Overseas Petroleum and Investment Corporation whereas LCY Middle East Corporation is an entirely owned subsidiary of LCY Investment Corporation or Lee Chang Yung Group of Taiwan (Qatar, 2006). 2. Organization Objectives and Mission: QAFAC produces approximately 983330 MT of Methanol and 610000 MT of MTBE annually. It is one of the major producers of MTBE. In order to sustain its position the company has framed certain basic objectives. They are as follows: Prioritize and strategize the promotion of safe and environment friendly production of MTBE. It exerts profound importance over the endorsement of the storage, handling and proper usage of MTBE To maintain the eco friendly standards of its product and assure the positive contribution to contemporary society. To promote more awareness about its products Augment relationships and networking amongst the shareholders all around the globe. Enhance the industry and shareholders in-depth knowledge and consciousness about their products. To study how clean fuel and clean air can be achieved through MTBE (Saleh Al-Sada, n.d.). The company does not have any mission statement as such. But it stretches upon the state gets maximum benefits from its product. It also focuses upon building an organization with internationally competitive business and technical expertise. Regarding its service the company offers two products namely Methyl-Tertiary-Butyl-Ether (MTBE) and Methanol. MTBE is produced through processing of butane and methanol. Butane is provided by QP and the methanol plant provides methanol. MTBE is a colorless flammable liquid. The product is manufactured to reduce the tail gas pollution generated by motor vehicles. It also eliminates the requirement for Tetra Ethyl Lead blending the gasoline. QAFAC produces the methanol from the natural gas provided by the QP through refinement of stream and synthesis of methanol itself. Methanol is used as an energy source and a raw material for some of the day to day item we use at ours household. Methanol can also be used as a raw material for the production of solvents, formaldehyde, methyl halide, methyl amine, acetic acid, ethyl alcohol, acetic anhydride, DME and MTBE. Methanol is used aggressively in the petrochemical industry (Qatar Fuel Addictive Company Limited, n.d.). 3. Internship Position Description: Job title: Finance Associates Job Description: The job focus primarily associated with the supervision of payroll and transactions related financial activities of the company. The job role demanded to understand the entire procedure of the financial department of the company. It provided with a scope of on job training where one have to learn by applying his/her own inputs or by observing peers and superiors. The job role also required to deal with product and services related to transactions. For a better service delivery it was required to distinguish between process of regular and advance payments. Significance understanding of the Oracle system was needed to facilitate the entire process of payroll. The job role also demanded understanding of the budget statement. It gave impetus over discussion on the budget drafts with entire department. The job also required an understanding of the upcoming five years budget plan of the company. The job offered with a scope to work the professional strategy consultants. Company’s Expectation from this Job: On the job the company expected to recheck the calculation made on the transactions and payroll and make a data entry of the same in the excel sheet. The job required to devote eight hours of time towards the same. The company expected me to handle my duties and responsibilities with patience and care in an effective manner. The company gave the authority of give suggestion over next strategic plan and also over the replacement of the Oracle system by SAP. On my job front I was required to give my feedback at every interval to the concerned authority. I was also needed to give my suggestion over the budget report for upcoming three months of the fiscal year. They also needed a suggestion about their strength, weakness, opportunity and threats from my point of view. 4. Training Completed: Week 1: In the first week of the training I was firstly introduced with the entire finance department of QAFAC since I joined the company as Finance Associate Intern. On my job front I was firstly desired to understand the term of contracts prevailing in the company with others. I was needed to build a clear understanding regarding their entire business process relating to payroll and transactions with clients. As a whole I was required to understand the entire procedure in the finance department through observation and implementing the same within my work course. In addition to that I was also enrolled in the payment procedure of the department. I had to maintain the details of the entire payment procedure which I was assigned. During my job process in the first one week I imbibed few qualities within myself. I learnt the Nitti gritties of teamwork in at the professional level. I observed how all the members of the department work towards the accomplishment of the goal through team work and proper communication. I also learnt to be very accurate in my calculations because in this department not a single mistake was acceptable and desired. In case of any the employee making mistake had to take the responsibility compensate the same. The one who is dealing with the numbers is also have to be very clear about financial concepts and number system. Apart from all these I noticed negativity in the department. As per me I found the work to be very boring and full of boredom. It was difficult for me to work so long at a stretch with a proper focus of mind towards the work. Week 2: During the second week of my training I was introduced to the Oracle system. All the financial works of the company was carried out smoothly and efficiently with the help of this software. The Oracle software has a multiple usage. In the finance department it was mainly used to in the payroll process and in keeping the records of the transactional details with the clients. While working I needed to have a clear concept regarding the different kinds of contact of suppliers of QAFAC. I was given the responsibility of maintain a record of every details of transaction with the suppliers. I also needed to maintain the purchase orders, Journal vouchers, and manual invoices of the clients that are the suppliers through the use of Oracle software. During this phase I learnt to improve my writing skills since the company requested me to give my understanding of the my work in my own writing. Additionally tallying skills data with the original vouchers also improved since I needed to check the invoices data so entered was in right amount and reference. Overall it improved my English skills as well. Week 3: In the third week I was allocated with budget drafting for the next years. I was basically required to formulate the budget plan for the forthcoming years. For the preparation of the same I needed the help from each department about their budget draft and synchronize all and prepare a single one of the company. I was also required to specify reasons if there was any substantial difference in budget from the previous year. Lastly I was necessitated to learn the procedure of setting the official budget and have the approval of the same from the Board of Directors. The budget statement was a vital document for the company based on which the company directs its operations. The same was needed to be prepared by the end of December and I needed to make my submission of the same within time. This helped me to learn to meet targets within stipulated time. Moreover my communication skills and ease to work on excel improved substantially. Week 4: On the forth and last week of my training I needed to sit the Strategic Management department and make an understanding the entire structure of work flow regarding the department. The department primarily focused on setting the strategic business plan of the company in accordance with the current operation of the company undertaken. It focused on areas where the company is lacking and makes a strategy for improvement. Overall the department required to frame the strategic guidelines for the company to keep it profitable and going. I was enrolled to be a part of the department and read and understand the five years business plan of the company for the fiscal of 2013-2014. I needed to make the brief explanation of the five year strategic business plan that is for the fiscal of 2014-2018 by using my concepts of my strategic management classes. Moreover I had to give explanation of the strategies to be undertaken by the company for each year during the fiscal of 2014-2018. During this time I learnt to be predictive while making strategies I also had a enriching experience while working with seniors, juniors and consultants of the department. 5. Intern’s contribution to organization: During the first week of my internship I was very new to the department as well as my job. But I tried to foster harmony within my work as well as towards the finance department in which I was working then. I was assigned to give an update to the manager twice week and discuss with him regarding work related issues of concern which I noticed during my job tenure. Apart from these I needed to recheck the calculations for the payable made and to be made to the suppliers of the company and transferred the same in the excel database. During my second week of the job I focused on giving feedbacks as much as possible to my assigned reporting boss. I also gave my advices regarding the next strategic plan on issues which I supposed needed to be incorporated. Most importantly I noticed that the Oracle system was not a proper fit for the work flow, so I advised to replace the same with SAP. In the third week I went through the entire budget drafts of 2013 and gave my opinion about the same. I focused on the monthly budget report and analyzed the same for the first three months of 2013 and gave my recommendation as well. During the last week I was a part of the strategic management team. I made efforts to improve the business plan of the company on basis on the information given by the employees of the department. I did a SWOT analysis of the company and recommended over some changes to be made on strength and opportunities. 6. Academic training and organization’s expectation comparison: During the job span in QAFAC, I found that the academic training to be very helpful since it has the direct application of the theories learnt in the course. Whatsoever was implemented during the job training owned its root to the academic training which I received. It helped me to make an overall understanding of the payment procedure to the suppliers in the finance department. I was able to apply my learning of finance and account classes to understand the stored transaction from the oracle software. I acquired my excel skills during my academic training and implemented the same on the job front. I also learnt team work while working with groups for projects during academic training which helped me to a great extend while working within a team at different department of the company. I also could able to make the brief explanation of the payroll process as expected by the company since I learnt the same during the academic training. I had my concepts of the Oracle software which I was introduced with during my academic training session. I applied the same skills in my job front while extracting data from the software related to the invoices in the payroll process. Apart from all these I had strong concepts in analysis of the budget drafts which I learnt during the finance classes. I found a direct implementation when the company assigned me to set the official budget. I acted accordingly based on the knowledge of my foundation classes and made the approved from the board of directors. I had knowledge regarding strategic management. I knew the technicalities of setting strategy guidelines for a business at par with their business plans. The company also asked me to give explanation of their each strategy set for the next five years course of action. 7. Usefulness and Merits of the internship Training: The internship program provides a platform for the students to implement their learning in professional field. It gives the students a potential exposure towards the corporate world. The internship programs are of immense importance. It gives a scope to the student to understand whether the person is really interested in pursuing the field as a career. A student can find a direct application of the theories learnt so far in their academic. Through the program a student can make a proper understanding work flow of the business. Through the program I was introduced with the professional work flow. It helped me to learn to work accurate with patience. I also enhanced my skills to work under pressure and met the deadlines within a particular time. The program was useful for building up patience as in the work front I needed to work with different team member of different department at different point of time. This program gave me an opportunity of learn as much as possible practically and sharpened my observation skills. The program also enhanced my communication skills. 8. Assessment of Organization Work Environment: While working I noticed a friendly and professional approach from most of the employees while few are gloomy which created a negativity in the working environment. The employees were very punctual but few of them stayed outside for long hours neglecting their work. I could make out that sometimes my supervisor channelized his work on me which was unethical. They were cordial in their dealings and always made me feel that I am a part of them. There was a separate strategy department which mostly other companies lacked. But at times one needed to work at a stretch without any break. Department wise I found the IT department a bit inefficient compared to the standards set by the company. In the budget department made me work in the most effective manner. There were consultants who helped the trainees with their work and always ready to answer any queries. The HR department people were also very amiable. The company lacked flexibility in working hour which sometimes created a strain for the employees. The strategic department employees were also very friendly and approachable. They also shared their confidential document for my sake of work. I found few supervisors unprofessional in making strategies. Overall I failed to make out a analysis of the department since I stayed there for a very short span of time. 9. Suggestion For The Program Improvement: The entire program can be improved if the IT department works more effectively towards solving the problems of the trainees. The coach under whom I conducted my internship program lacked experience to train me. Efficient and knowledgeable supervisors should be appointed for the trainees for the program benefit. Few employees create negativity with their attitude within the trainee. The management should take necessary action for the same. The employees concerned for the budget preparation were very ineffective in their deals which affected my work as well. The department head should train their employees in terms of their productivity. In the department I found Mr. Saiful to be very efficient and effective. He had the solution for every problem and a very competent employee. The company should offer him with a better designation by virtue of which he can assist the trainees in a better way. The employees of the strategy department remained outside for long hour and failed to meet the queries of interns. The company should look into the matter and take necessary steps. 10. Conclusion: Overall the internship program provided a huge learning platform for me. Whatever I learnt till date I applied as much as possible in the work field. I was able to improve myself in terms of my knowledge. I encountered many professionals of the industry during my work span and enriched myself with the awareness of kind of work that prevailed in the industry. This program formed a basis to improve the corporate networking with the veterans of the industry. I learned to work over the Oracle software more effectively in this program. In totally this program gave me a scope to enhance my skills in my desired domain and come out as a professional manager of the future. References Qatar, (2006), QAFAC, Industries Qatar, retrieved on 18 July 2013 from: http://www.industriesqatar.com.qa/IQ/IQ.nsf/en_Pages/en_AboutUs_QAFAC Qatar Fuel Addictive Company Limited (n.d), Products , retrieved on 18 July 2013 from: http://www.qafac.com.qa/aboutus/shareholders Saleh Al-Sada B M (n.d.), QAFAC MTBE Workshop Clean Fuel, Clean Air, retrieved on 18 July 2013 from http://www.qafac.com.qa/sites/default/files/WelcomeMessage-English.pdf Read More