Internship in Business - Essay Example

Internship in Business: Commercial Bank of Qatar Author’s Name: Author’s Institution: Date: Executive Summary The report outlines the experiences as Human Resource Trainee during the internship period at Commercial Bank of Qatar Human Resource Department. The first and the last section (introduction and conclusion) give an overview of the report, background information about the organisation & current status and summary of the covered sections. Apart from these, the report has other 8 sections which outline the various activities experienced, reflection, challenges and recommendations among others. The second chapter covered mission, objectives and services offered by the bank so to attain the two. The report found out that the company has no well articulated mission and objectives. Nevertheless, they have what they to us as ‘our promise’ which is ‘everything is possible’. This phrase anchors all their engagements and strategic operations. Equally it was established that the bank has myriad of services offered through retail or wholesale banking. The third section covered internship position description. The position held during the intern programme was ‘human resource trainee’ and it involved learning through hands on approach all possible practical aspects of human resource. The fourth section outlines the trainings completed during the four week period. These are outlined per week. In general, most activities engaged in during the stay revolved around, communication skills, interpersonal skills, conflict resolution, back & front office management, team work & team building, data management, recruitment and staffing process among others. These engagements allowed me to gain firsthand experience on how to apply various class works into a real work environment as a budding HR. The fifth section states the author’s contribution the organisation in terms of skills and new ideas. The first realisation was that there are two categories of task, those paid for and they relates to technical skills and those not paid for and they relate to soft skills which allows an individual to navigate the social world around them. The contributions to the organisation included helping in recruitment of interns, data management, and automation of records, public relations, front & back office management among others. The sixth section was a cross comparison segment between organisation expectations and the training received at the university. The main realisation is that the trainings being offered in the HR course is in tandem with the dynamic job market since the theoretical construct, models and concepts taught matches organisation expectations such matching human resources with organisational strategies. The seventh section outlines the usefulness and merits of the training. The major merit is the fact that it offers a an HR intern opportunity to apply techniques learnt in class into reality, learn new experiences from the field and be able to create comparisons between the two. Thus, this is a great learning opportunity and networking platform for future endeavours. Section 8 analyses the work environment which turned to be a great since they have a conducive working environment through policies like non discrimination, diversity management, adequate remuneration, motivation and leadership. Finally, the last section proposes improvement for the programme with two observations be proposed. The first is for the bank to be encouraged to have more opportunities, but this is possible through capacity development and this is the university and state comes into play. Contents Executive Summary i Contents iii 1.0 Introduction 1 1.1 Background & History 1 1.2 Current Status & Statistics 2 2.0 Organization Mission, Objectives & Services 2 3.0 Internship Position Description 3 3.1 Job Title and Job Description during Internship 3 4.0 Trainings Completed 3 4.1 Week 1 3 4.2 Week 2 4 4.3 Week 3 5 4.4 Week 4 6 5.0 Intern’s Contribution to the Organisation 8 6.0 Academic Training and Organization’s Expectations 9 7.0 Usefulness and Merit of the Internship Training 9 8.0 Assessment of the Organization’s Work Environment 10 9.0 Suggestion for Programme Improvement 11 10.0 Conclusion 11 Appendices 14 Appendix 1: Job Description during Internship 14 1.0 Introduction Human resource is an important factor in the development of nation’s economy. The same is applicable to business organisations. Internship forms core of human resource development where students get to acquire first hand experience on practical issues. This allows them to link theory and practice. In addition, such arrangements allow students to build professional networks for future development. This report outlines the author’s internship experience at Commercial Bank of Qatar. Apart from introduction and conclusion, the report is subsequently outlined in 8 sections. These are mission and objectives of the organisation, internship position description, training completed per week, intern’s contribution to the organisation, academic training & organisation’s expectations, usefulness of the programme, assessment of the organisation’s work environment and suggestions for improvement. 1.1 Background & History Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ) is a financial institution playing an integral role in the in the economy of Qatar and other countries they have stakes by availing myriad of personal, business, government, international & investment services directly or through associates like. The company has two major divisions which are wholesale and retail banking. Additionally, they provide brokerage services and credit card business (CBQ, 2013a). The bank was founded in 1975 and boasts of being the foremost private sector bank in Qatar. In 1978, the bank formed foreign exchange & funding section, attained associate member status at Visa and by 1980 opened Souq Al Ahmed Branch (CBQ, 2013b) Over the subsequent year to present the company has expanded its business associates networks, technology, customer base, spatial location and income (CBQ, 2013c). 1.2 Current Status & Statistics The bank is a public trading company headed by 9 board members who are in charge of corporate governance and strategy formulation (CBQ, 2O13d). The bank is equally active in the social responsibility scene where they are supporters of myriad of activities like Qatar Masters & Qatar Grand Prix. The company has strong credit ratings and thus, enjoys a robust financial position. In December 2012, the bank had a total asset of QAR 80.0 bn (CBQ, 2O13a). In the last financial year, the bank had a revenue base of QAR 2.89 bn, net income of QAR 2.05 bn and a total of 1, 120 employees (Financial Times, 2013). 2.0 Organization Mission, Objectives & Services Organisational, mission, vision and objectives are critical in directing the all the aspects and operations of a company in strategic management concept. These are critical in outlining what an organisation is out to achieve/ deliver and where they would want to be in the coming years (Harrison & St. John, 2012, p.87). In most of their available documents, the bank has no clearly articulated organization mission and objective. Nevertheless, they have an overriding theme that anchors all their operations and strategic engagements. They refer to this as ‘our promise’. Their promise to themselves, clients and shareholder is a simple phrase ‘everything is possible’ (CBQ, 2O13e). They observe that this statement has inspired the bank since its inception. Additionally, they promise aligns with the overall Qatar spirit which is anchored on possibility and that is what they are out to create through financial services. To attain their promise, the bank has two major operational divisions which offer services to different cadre of clients. Additionally, they offer these services through their strategic partners. The two are retail and wholesale banking. The wholesale banking segment offer services that cater for small, medium and large enterprise by offering conventional commercial investment banking services such as corporate lending, letters of credit & guarantee, syndicate loans, deposits and trade finance. On the other hand retail banking division target personal banking services & retail customers by availing services such as current & deposit accounts, personal loans, credit cards, mortgage lending, vehicle loans and wealth management among many others (CBQ, 2O13a). 3.0 Internship Position Description 3.1 Job Title and Job Description during Internship The company recognises the integral role of internship in developing the careers of upcoming youths by offering them first hand-hand experience and working life at the bank (CBQ, 2013f). The title of the job held during intern programme was ‘Human Resource Trainee’ with the principal aim of that position being to gain experience on all aspects of HR. this position involved various duties (see appendix 1). 4.0 Trainings Completed 4.1 Week 1 The training received in the first week covered areas like human resource management, communication skills, front office management and record keeping. In respect to basic skills in human resource management, I was allowed to prepare job offer for various vacancies in the organisation. Closely related to this is front office management. In regards to front office management, I was tasked with the responsibility of calling the names of candidates who had applied for the career fair and confirm the programme they would opt to join. Additionally, I was tasked with the obligation of engaging the applicants on filling missing information such as missing ID number, current salary and current role. The last engagement during the first week related to record keeping. I was assigned to enter the information captured from all successful applicants into Excel Sheets. Undoubtedly, these engagements over the first week were an eye opener and offered me a chance to gain insightful experiences. One of the lessons gained is on communication skills & interpersonal skills which are integral in an organisation since it empowers one to interact with others. By being allowed to call in names of those who had applied, I learnt on how to be firm, fair and work with people from diverse background. The other important lesson was on conflict management, decision making and problem solving. For instance, if there was conflict between interview schedule and managers diary, I was mandated to reschedule it. This I did without any uproar as applicant were left convinced with rescheduling. Equally, I learnt organising skills since I took part in file sorting exercise by separating the files into different categories. The next is real application of theoretical computer knowledge into real life situation. I was tasked with creation of linked data bases in an excel sheet and typed documents using Microsoft Word. Additionally, I gained experience on how to use simple office equipments like photocopiers. 4.2 Week 2 Trainings completed in week two broadly fall into two categories. The first is recruitment and secondly back office formalities. For instance, to gain knowledge on recruitment process I was mandated to call the candidates to confirm the starting date of their internship programme. Secondly, I experienced the process of writing letter of offer since I was engaged in preparing the letter of offer for different programs (graduate development, bachelor programme and internship) in commercial bank. Equally I was inducted on back office operations and how they link with front office operations. For instance, I was the one who was collecting the requirement documents from the new staffs for jointing formalities. Equally, I got experience of working with office machines and automated human resource systems since I was mandated to scan documents on commercial bank and connect them with CB hiring internal system. The last task was on placement of the qualified applicants. I learnt how to second success applicants by placing interns in different departments after consultation with the branch manager. These trainings exposed me to a myriad of lessons. The first relates to decision making process. Since I was involved in the interview process, my input was critical in the selection of the most appropriate candidates taking to consideration the applicants ability, organisation’s goal and ability to learn. Secondly, I gained in-depth experience on team work & delegation since we were working as group and as individual as per the delegated responsibilities. The third is on listening and multi tasking skills. During the interview process, I had to take note of what is stated and observe interviewee behaviour. Apart from these, I gained critical input on diversity management and organisational culture since I worked with different teams from different background and helped in Qatarlization. Lastly, I learn about working with human resource information systems where my mandate was to upload documents and applications into commercial bank’s system. 4.3 Week 3 The trainings received in this week are all tied to training workshop I attended course of the bank dubbed ‘development event’. In this event, participants were trained on many exercises. Most of the engagements during this week were on how to link various theoretical propositions in relation to organisation behaviour and the real work environment. The first was possible problem solving option at work place. In this regard, we reviewed decision making theories, conflict management, communication skills and emotional intelligence and their role at work place. For instance it became open to me that social intelligence is critical for ones success and ability to influence others. The second training was how to work effectively in a team. In this regard we reviewed concepts such Belbin’s theory on people’s role in a group and how this can be tapped for the success of the group. The last was on how to enhance productivity of individuals by reducing work related stress. This entailed doing simple exercises that rejuvenates one’s morale. Out of these trainings, there were numerous lessons learnt that I will be able to apply in future so as to enhance my career progression. Most of these skills learnt were on leadership and management of people. The first is ethics. In the event it became clear on the need to respect others while still holding on your principle. This is a critical input on diversity management. The next was on how to work in an effective team which is critical for an organisation’s success. The third is on listening skills. During the exercise I learn on how to listen to people before eliciting a feedback. Listening is an integral part in instruction passing and thus, determines the success of individual in relation to the task before hand. One critical subject under listening skill that I learnt was note taking. The last was on interpersonal skills. Organisations are made up of people and the ability of individual in applying her soft skills like persuasion and empathy among others determines his/ her success rate. 4.4 Week 4 In the fourth week, most of the trainings centred on data management, use of computerised systems in the bank and back office operations. One of the exercises conducted is organisation and entry of customer data into the system. This exercise resonates with the bank’s promise of ‘everything is possible’. Since the automated system reduces barriers associated with analogue records which can’t be shared on real time basis. Equally it auger’s well with their purpose of being a 24 hour bank since the customers can access services through online platforms. The second training during this week was on how to use computers to open bank accounts for the new customers. This is critical in ensuring data integrity, ability to share the same on real time transactions and ease of update. The last exercise was on manual organisation of files within the office. In banking sector, bank customer records are critical component and thus, I learnt how to manage these bits of information. While conducting these functions conferred to me, I learnt new experiences through the same. The first was time management skill in relation to customer needs. There is the realization that customer is always paramount and the same extends to his or her time. Thus, during the account opening process, I would try to attain as fast as possible, as accurate as possible and effectively what the customer wants. The second is on integrity skills. In the banking sector, integrity of an individual should not be questionable since monetary matters usually elicit emotions. Thus, I would try to take care of the customer and be honest with them. The third is on self responsibility where I would try to attain much without or with minimal supervision. The last is on positive attitude and self confidence as an avenue of managing people. The work environment at the bank is a challenging one. This implies that one has to be self confidence and have positive attitude to survive in this challenging environment. For instance the supervisor needs performance; the customer needs services while at the same time you might face them in their different moods. 5.0 Intern’s Contribution to the Organisation According to Jawahar & Carr (2007, p.330), task performance the real duties one is employed to undertake and it’s the one that differentiates one’s role in the organisation from the other. On the other hand, he notes that contextual performance is discretionary patterns that are formally required by any given job descript. Nevertheless, these behaviours are significant in forming the social context of all jobs. Task performance relates to technical skills what are what one is paid to do according to job description. On the other hand, contextual performance relates to soft skills which are people’s skills that allow one to navigate the social world at work place effectively (Ramesh, 2010, p. 2 & 3). During my stay, I helped in public relations and in employer-employee relations building. For instance, for task performance, I was the face of the organisation in the process of selection and recruitment of the intern since I was in charge of liaising with the applicants and the vetting committee. Additionally, I helped the applicants fill the required information correctly thus ensuring correct information is supplied. To help in delivering services to customers, I was integral in ensuring that the clients are well guide on all procedures and supplied with any information required. Moreover, I was integral in ensuring customers provided right documentations during account opening process. Apart from these I helped them verify the data, informed loyal customers about new promotions and captured the data into digital format. Some of these activities transcend between building data base that can be applied for marketing purposes. 6.0 Academic Training and Organization’s Expectations The first expectation is that HR has to create a balance between human resource department, employees and business organisation so as to match the needs of the two and build mutual relationship by creating that enabling environment for employees to offers their skills for prosperity of the organisation and for organisation to reward the employees according to their output. The organisation expects HR to be able to link the company’s human resource management strategy with that of the firm’s overall business strategy. This entails a paradigm shift of embracing strategic human resource management. This kind of thinking is based on the realization that organisation’s market leadership is tied to its ability to retain layers of competitive advantage, which are consequently linked in part, at least to its human resource management practices (CBQ, 2013g). The training that we have received at the university matches this expectation since I was able to apply numerous theoretical constructs, models and concepts during the internship period. These include team work & team building, leadership. Change management, industrial relations concepts, communication skills, interpersonal skills, managing people, strategic human resource management, expectation theory, decision making, conflict management, performance contracting & performance based evaluation, recruitment, staffing, motivation and reward management among others. For instance, based on the 9 roles proposed in Belbin’s Theory, I was able to build behavioural strengths in my group. 7.0 Usefulness and Merit of the Internship Training The bank sponsors the internship programme as a means of empowering interns on the possible paths they can take in relation to their career goal. This is conducted through firsthand experience whereby one is placed in a 4 week training programme to perform real tasks under the watch of senior mentors. In addition one is sponsored to attend leadership & communication skills workshop and given a salary so as to sustain herself (CBQ, 2013f). The programme is important in one’s development of technical and interpersonal skills. Talking from my own experience as result of the engagement, I was able to horn my communication skills since I was exposed to people from diverse background and expectations and yet you are expected to interact with them either as customers or as employees for the success of the organisation. The second is on leadership, where I trained on applying interpersonal skills to create team synergy and interact with clients. 8.0 Assessment of the Organization’s Work Environment Employee performance is critical for the success of an organisation (Kennerley and Neely, 2003, 213). The industrial relations and the human resource management practices that the company have are marvellous. They know that employees are significant in their success and thus strive to attain better working terms and conditions for them (CBQ, 2013g). From firsthand experience, I can attest the same. First, the company has a calm conducive working environment. Secondly, the staffs in the bank are heterogeneous and thus, the bank is good at diversity management. There is higher level of team work and synergy since with valid reasons other workers are able to help and each other on a positive note. In addition, within the teams there is high level of professionalism and mutual respect. Moreover, the working hours ate highly flexible so long as one covers the expected hours. 9.0 Suggestion for Programme Improvement The programme is a wonderful encounter. However, there are numerous recommendations and adjustments that if incorporated can enhance the process further. From the bank’s side, they should be encouraged to absorb more students. Since this is reliant on numerous factors, state could chip in to offer tax holidays to companies that host students during internship. Secondly, if it was possible the program should be extended to three months. This will empower interns to grasps wide concepts. Equally, the interns should be subjected to rotational policy once in a while to have a holistic perspective instead of being tied to specific department. From the University’s side, the university should in details examine attachment reports as means of improving the theoretical work in the university. This would ensure relevant training. Nevertheless, this is not to imply that the university doesn’t use the notes or offer relevant programmes, but a suggestion for continuous quality improvement in relation to dynamic employment market. 10.0 Conclusion The ultimate goal of this report was to outline the author’s experience during internship at Commercial Bank. The report outlined these experiences into 9 chapters. The first two chapters examined issues relating to the organisation like, history, performance and its mission. The third section equally outlined the position held during the programme. Section 4 form the core of the requirements as it outlines the trainings I underwent and their benefit to my professional development. Section 5 outlines the contributions I made during my tenure. The sixth one compares and develop a link between the relevancy of training at the university and the organisation’s expectation. In this regard, it was established that the training being offered matches with employment expectations. The seventh established the merits of the program and in overall it was established that is critical in sharpening one’s work experience out of the theoretical works. Next was the assessment of the organisation’s environment which ranked highly positive owing to the appropriate industrial and human resource management mechanisms. The last is suggestion for improvement with the rallying call being expansion for more opportunities and time taken. In a nutshell, the report established that internship program at the bank was helpful and should be expanded. However, state and university should help in capacity development so that more students can be accommodated. References CBQ (2013b). Timeline 1975-1980. Available at: http://www.cbq.qa/EN/AboutUs/Our- history/Pages/Timeline.aspx. CBQ (2013c). Timeline 2006-1910. Available at: http://www.cbq.qa/EN/AboutUs/Our- history/Pages/Timeline.aspx. CBQ (2013d). Board of Directors. Available at: http://www.cbq.qa/EN/AboutUs/Pages/Board- of-directors.aspx. CBQ (2013e). Our Promise. Available at: http://www.cbq.qa/EN/AboutUs/Pages/Our- promise.aspx. CBQ (2013f). Internships. Available at: http://www.cbq.qa/EN/Careers/Opportunities/Pages/Internships.aspx. CBQ (2013g). What it’s like to work here. Available at: http://www.cbq.qa/EN/Careers/Working-for-us/Pages/What-it-is-like-to-work-here.aspx. Commercial Bank of Qatar- CBQ (2013a). Who we are. Available at: http://www.cbq.qa/EN/AboutUs/Pages/Who-we-are.aspx. Financial Times, (2013). Commercial Bank of Qatar QSC. Available at: http://markets.ft.com/research/Markets/Tearsheets/Business-profile?s=CBQK:DSM. Harrison, S. J. & St. John, H. C. (2012). Foundations of strategic management. New York: Cengage Learning. Jawahar, I. M. & Carr, D. (2007). Conscientiousness and contextual performance: the compensatory effects of perceived organisational support and leader-member exchange. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22 (4): 330-349. Kennerley, M. & Neely, A. (2003). Measuring performance in a changing business environment. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 23 (2): 213-229. Ramesh, M. R. G. (2010). The ace of oft skills: communication and etiquette for success. Noida: Dorling Kindersly. Appendices Appendix 1: Job Description during Internship Source: CBQ, 2013 Read More