My Reflection From This Internship...
When I reflect back on all the things I have learned from this internship it was amazing experience. Sometimes people look back on the big tasks that they accomplished from a job, but there is more that takes place behind the scenes that helps us gain the skills we need in order to improve our work; for example, the basic skills. In my "teamwork basics" class, we go over the four functions of management which is planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. These basic skills fall into place with what I have developed throughout this internship. Some examples would be working with people, handling conflict, time management, keeping colleagues motivated, taking initiative, and staying organized. These are just some examples that take place behind the scenes of getting projects done, but is overlooked frequently. Working at Ben Kinney has helped me not only develop these skills, but enhance them.
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Another thing I had encountered working with the Ben Kinney Team was working with some very skilled people in the office. I have noticed that the people you are surrounded by at work make a huge impact on your productivity level. This team is filled with great, motived people who always come to work with a great attitude and ready to get work done. I have not personally worked in many work environments where I was surrounded by positive people. I will miss my contact with the Ben Kinney staff. They inspire me to be motivated and look forward to come to work every day. They have also inspired me to push myself and to make mistakes so I could learn from them. The people who work here made sure that I know I can always rely on them for future references. They became my work family.
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There will always be some conflict within the workplace. When I first started working at Ben Kinney's I found learning how to manage conflict with other coworkers is critical. Instead of letting the issue continue, I chose the conflict-handling strategy of collaborating to find the root of the problem and work it out professionally. Collaborating is another topic I had learned in my "teamwork basics" class. Regularly complaining to your supervisor is never the solution unless it is a very serious issue that needs to be resolved immediately. Alternatively, I learned that trying to relate to the person and work together with the other person to resolve the issue is the most effective way to handle a conflict. It is strongly assertive and strongly cooperative.
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During this time I have also used and observed other people using concepts I have learned in my business and environment course. In this course we learn about ethics and what truly makes the work environment ethical. The Ben Kinney Team emphasizes on one of the ethical principles we go over which is caring and building a community. This team never takes an action that does not build a sense of community. They always partake in community events as much as possible and getting to be part of that personally was truly a great experience. It was great to be part of a well built team that values their stakeholders. Seeing this team shows great ethical practices that helped enhance my skill of being personable with everyone because I got to see the benefits of the moral worth of relationships.
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Another thing we all come across in the work field is feeling overwhelmed with projects and how to handle this. I had come across this issue when I had taken up two different job titles. I had to learn how to do twice the number of things in a short time frame with my 16 hour a week schedule on top of going to school full time. With this, came learning the skills of time management. Here at Ben Kinney they train us in seminars to use “Time Blocking” where we give ourselves one solid hour to knock out all the things we need to do, those top priorities, but have been putting off. It is another way of prioritizing. It also gives us a chance to be able to tell other colleagues that we are busy and can get back to them shortly instead of getting distracted with a different project. This allows us to practice individual growth, which is another concept I learned in my management course that went over teamwork basics.
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All in all, I learned a lot from working with this team. I learned more about how to work in a fast paced business environment. As a person working from the bottom of the corporate ladder, I have had to pick things up quickly and learn how to increase my basic skills to make myself improve and be noticed. The great thing that I have noticed about increasing these skills and making these great work relationships is that I can use them in my daily life; such as school, finding a job and personal relationships. Taking management courses at Western and working closely with professors has also helped me with my work ethic and has made me reflect on how I can be better and use that tactic knowledge and concepts to put towards my work.