The Execution of Different IT Tasks - Case Study Example

Id: Company Internship Start and Finish s: Executive summary The internship at the C4 Advanced Solutions LLC(C4AS) lasted 8 weeks. The major reason for undertaking the internship was based on the level of experience and knowledge that would be gained. The internship period involved diverse activities and responsibilities. These mainly included dealing with different issues in computers and IT, dealing with clients and staff pertaining IT-related issues, and performing administrative tasks related to IT. Different challenges were experienced in the course of the internship. These mainly revolved around the execution of different IT tasks and the initial assignment of duties as an intern. Nonetheless, after the 8-week internship, there has been noted a great improvement in handling and solving issues and challenges related to computers and general IT. Additionally, there has been noted improved professionalism in various dimensions, including communication. A major recommendation for the company is that they improve efficiency in the service offered to customers. Nonetheless, overall, the internship was beneficial to both the company and the intern. Introduction The reason I chose to undertake a full time 8-week internship is because I wanted to gain from the experience. I considered an internship to be a new challenge and an opportunity for me to learn, improve, as well as develop new skills in my area of expertise. Nonetheless, the internship improved my competencies and contributed to my personal development. This will be beneficial to my future practice as an IT professional. Internship Objectives I chose to undertake an internship because I desired hands-on experience in a busy IT company. Therefore, in order to ensure meaningful experience, I set a number of objectives that I had to achieve in the course of my 8-week internship. Therefore, by the end of the internship I hoped to be able to: Establish professional networks for present and future career guidance Acquire and exhibit high level of maturity both professionally and intellectually Perform assessment and matching work with own interests and skills Identify personal strengths and weaknesses in the field of IT Develop great analytical skills in order to understand management and supervision styles, organizational dynamics, and work ethics at the workplace Understand the role of an employee in an organization, as well as the overall work environment Work effectively under pressure and meet deadlines Identify organizational problems and offer constructive advice in professional reports Overview of the Internship Company C4 Advanced Solutions LLC (C4AS) is an Emirati owned company that specializes in security and technology. Based in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E, C4AS operates in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Therefore, this company serves customers that have needs that are ICT-related. The professional services that C4AS offers include consultancy services, ICT Technical services, Engineering Design Services, Site Services, and Portfolio, Program and Program Management. In addition, this company offers managed services as well as placement services. C4AS prides in offering customers best services that guarantee customer satisfaction. The company envisions itself as the most successful technology company in Gulf Corporation Council in future. The mission of the company is “To Integrate Advanced Information, Communication and Security Solutions and provide Operational Services contributing to the Optimal Performance of our customers” (C4AS, 2014). Work Responsibilities and Assignments During the internship period, I held the position of IT Support Officer, which involved different responsibilities and assignments. I was therefore, involved in multiple tasks, projects, and activities in the company. Most of these tasks were performed within the company environment, while a few were carried out outside the company. These include: Installing and configuring computer systems, including those computers at the workplace, as well as those of some customers. I was also responsible for troubleshooting system and network problems and diagnosing and solving faults in hardware and software for customers and company computers. My responsibility also included logging and handling various queries from customers, as well as employees of the company after talking to them either through the telephone or face to face. I was also in charge of analysing call logs in order to determine trends and underlying issues. My tasks also included network and telephone re-patching and maintenance; and finally, I performed system backups and test restorations for company and customers. Problems encountered in your assignment tasks Although the overall internship experience was educative and positive, the internship period did not go without considerable challenges. However, I consider all the challenges that I experienced in the course of the internship as an opportunity for learning and developing problem solving skills. Nonetheless, the challenges I faced can be categorized into two major groups, including those challenges related to the IT job and those challenges related to the internship program. With regard to the challenges related to the IT job, I experienced major problems when it came to the part of receiving and submitting devices. Since I was the one in charge of this part, I was to ensure that I performed the duties involved in an accurate manner. However, I faced problems with regard to not knowing who the applicant is. For this reason, I found it challenging to identify some of the applicants to whom some devices belonged. In addition, I had a rough time identifying the problem that some of the devices received had. This is mainly because the defects of some devices were not labelled. This therefore, meant that the device would not be worked on, without further clarifications on its problem. These two problems resulted due to an improper manual tracing system. With a faulty manual tracing system, this means that some crucial information about the applicants and their devices was not recorded. Therefore, the controller in charge of the tracing system was the major cause of these challenges that I faced, as he omitted some crucial information in the log book. These problems needed to be addressed in order for me to work effectively. Therefore, I took the prerogative of talking to the system controller. I asked him if he had time, as I wanted to address an important issue with him. Here, I ensured that I act as professionally as possible, as I was in a professional environment, where communication skills count a lot. The system controller was understanding, and promised to be more careful in future recordings. This therefore, solved these problems, as I did not experience them regularly since addressing talking to the system controller. A lasting solution to these problems would be the adoption of assets labelling and online incident log system. Labelling the devices using property labels made of durable label materials and special adhesives would help to ensuring that all the applicants or owners of a device are known. Furthermore, using an online incident log system, as opposed to the manual tracing system, would help to prevent all the glitches that are caused by the latter. I proposed to the manual system controller that the company should consider adopting these in future. He assented to my proposition, and promised to discuss it with the management of the company. The second category of the problems I experienced during the internship period has to do with those challenges that are related to the overall internship program. First, I considered myself to being underworked during the initial period of the internship program. In the first two weeks, I noted that there were few responsibilities and tasks that were given to me. I considered this as a challenge, since I detest idleness, and had hoped to devote all the working hours and days within that period to various assignments in the company. This therefore, made me feel considerably uncomfortable. I did not wish to continue performing minimal tasks in the company, and so I figured out that I should address this issue. Therefore, I proceeded to talking to different employees. I inquired about their different roles in the office. For those that had roles that I could manage, I offered them my assistance. These gladly welcomed the offer, and thus I started assisting them whenever I had completed the roles assigned to me. This therefore, helped me to be occupied all through, and so I gained some form of satisfaction. A second problem under this category of problems is that I felt a pressure to be an independent and self-sufficient worker, and this prevented me from seeking guidance and assistance whenever I faced a challenging situation in my duties. Being an intern, I felt did not want to be considered by the company employees as a “baby” or lacking skills in the profession. Therefore, I had the urge to prove myself and show how well I can work, regardless of being an intern. This had negative effects on me, as I could not ask questions or seek clarifications on somehow complex situations. However, I noticed early enough that this was a major problem that would have an adverse impact on my overall job performance. In order to solve this problem, I considered my supervisor as the most appropriate person to approach. I therefore, explained to him about the problem in order to seek his opinion on the same. My supervisor was understanding, and gave me important advice. However, the most important thing he said to me was that I should never assume that something is right; instead, whenever I was not sure of anything; I ought to check, in order to avoid silly mistakes that are often costly. From there henceforth, I learnt to apply this rule in all my undertakings in the company. This worked for me, as I began to open up whenever I was unsure, and in the process, I learnt many more things. Knowledge gained from the work experience My internship period offered me a great opportunity to learn and gain more knowledge, especially in areas related to my field of study. According to Switzer & King (2008) for an internship to be regarded as successful, it must make a difference in the knowledge base of a student, as well as increasing their experience in the specific field. The most important aspect of the internship is that the experience helped me to apply my academic knowledge to real life situations in the professional world. For this reason therefore, I gained important hands-on experience that is important for any professional in the field of IT. Most importantly, this gave me the overall knowledge concerning the work environment and different issues that IT professionals in the corporate world experience. For this reason therefore, I believe that I will comfortably join the professional world after completion of my studies, as I am comfortable and familiar with the professional environment of IT. My internship experience at C4 Advanced Solutions LLC has broadened my IT knowledge. Today, I am more experienced and knowledgeable in IT, as compared to the period before I undertook the internship. Overall, I was responsible for the smooth running of computer systems and dealing with clients, though under the supervision of a senior employee of the company. First, my knowledge in installation and configuration of operating systems and applications has increased. This is mainly because I gained great experience in this area, and learnt new aspects whenever I faced complex situations, which called for the assistance of my seniors. In addition, I gained wide knowledge in the aspect of troubleshooting system and network problems and diagnosing and solving hardware and software errors. I received great assistance in this area from employees in the company. For this reason, I learnt new ways of troubleshooting network and hardware faults, basing on the experience and guidance of the employees. Today, I can troubleshoot system and network problems better than before undertaking the internship. During the internship period, I was responsible for talking to clients as well as employees either face to face or through the telephone in order to help them set up their systems or resolve various system faults they experienced. This helped me gain knowledge in two major ways. First, I became knowledgeable in telephone etiquette and customer service, as I could address clients over the phone and offer them the needed assistance. Second, I became more knowledgeable in giving instructions to people and guiding them in order to achieve better results. Overall, this has boosted my mastery of computer parts and processes, especially when I have to explain to another person over the phone. As seen before, I was responsible for logging various queries from staff and clients. I also analysed call logs in order to determine trends and underlying issues. I consider these to be more of administrative tasks. For this reason therefore, I am convinced that my administrative knowledge and skills has broadened. I therefore, can comfortably undertake administrative tasks in an IT company, as I have become more knowledgeable in the area. Overall, I can assert that this internship experience has helped me to broaden my knowledge in IT, as I dealt with many problems involving IT, and through them I learnt many new and important aspects in IT. In addition, this internship has been fundamental in broadening my knowledge in communication and dealing with people in a professional manner. This is because I interacted with people on a daily basis, and for effective interaction, I required communication skills and people skills. I learnt and improved on how to relate with professionals and clients. Contribution of the Internship to the Company As an IT Support Officer in the course of my internship, I aimed at contributing greatly to the objectives of the company through the application of my knowledge in IT that I have been equipped with in school. As a senior student of Bachelor of Business Administration and Computer Information System, my academic knowledge in these two majors was highly relevant to the company, hence this increased the company’s effectiveness in solving problems that were related to both IT and business, as I offered my opinion at various times. In addition, as a good team player, with ability to work under pressure, I consider to have contributed to the effectiveness and efficiency at which different problems in the company were solved. People who coordinate well in team contribute to high efficiency levels in problem solving and decision making. As an IT support officer during my internship period, I believe that I relieved the IT senior IT officer of most of their duties. My expertise and human resources therefore, made a difference in the company. The employees that were formerly fully devoted to the responsibilities I undertook were relieved of some of their duties, therefore, offering them an opportunity to work on other important tasks in the company. Therefore, I believe that my contribution to the company made a positive impact. Conclusion Working as an IT Support Officer at the C4 Advanced Solutions LLC Company helped me learn a lot of new things in IT besides the immense experience I gained. I was tasked with diverse responsibilities as shown, and this helped to sharpen my expertise in the practice of IT. This has also been instrumental in developing various skills that are related to IT and those that are non-IT related. Therefore, this internship has been helped to lay a strong foundation for my future practice as an IT professional in the corporate world. Although the internship flowed smoothly, with a few challenges that were later addressed, there is one main recommendation that I would propose to the company. This involved the company improving the efficiency in its processes. This bases on, for instance, the manual tracing system. Being an IT company, it is important to digitalize its systems for increased efficiency and error reduction. This will be important in attracting new customers and retaining present customers. Overall, I am grateful to C4 Advanced Solutions LLC Company for this opportunity, and appreciate my personal efforts and determination to pursue this, as I can only consider it as a milestone that will make a difference in my future career. References C4 Advanced Solutions LLC (C4AS) (2014). Retrieved from http://www.c4as.ae/ Switzer, H. & King, M. (2008). The Successful Internship: Personal, Professional, and Civic Development. New York: Cengage Learning. Read More