Internship Report
This report covers my internship period at Fastenal Distribution Center. In this organization, I was given the role of being an assistant manager. The time proved to be very informative both academically and professionally. I was able to learn a myriad of skills that could not be learned in the classroom settings. The period was a platform upon which I was able to know about my strengths as a future management professional while also shedding light on the aspects I should work on to be a better manager in the future.
As an assistant manager, I had a variety of duties. My major responsibility was running the floor. To this end, I was liable for anything that occurred in the place of work. I was expected to supervise the rest of the employees to ensure that they were meeting the organizational goals and targets. Besides, I was supposed to operate some of the machinery in the warehouses. An example in the Forklift, where I gained the much-needed competence on how to operate it. Occasionally, I was given the role of helping out with the preparation of the payroll. Also, I was sometimes required to run the front office.
Lessons from the internship
The field of management circles the aspect of managing the human resource to ensure that organizational goals and objectives are met. It is the responsibility of the manager to make sure that the company resources are being used to achieve organizational goals (Lidia 468). The internship period gave me an opportunity to put into practice some of the essential management concepts. First, I learned a lot about employee relations. I was able to cultivate a healthy relationship where every employee was free to ask any questions. Besides, I learned how to handle performance management. Here, I gained the skill of evaluating the output of employees and designing ways of optimizing employee performance. Besides, I also learned the art and science of communication. Communication is an essential aspect of management since it is the avenue through which management relates to the human resource.
I anticipate the internship to have a heavy impact on my future career. This is because it is a period I got to learn the best approaches to management, and ways to which I can succeed in this field. Dealing with people is usually not an easy thing. Through the internship, I was able to learn how to handle stressful situations and maintain focus on the greater good. Besides, I learned how to apply professionalism in this field, ranging from grooming to communication and even the observance of the right working hours.
The internship period has also helped me academically since it pointed at certain areas that require more academic insight. Through this period, I got to learn that managers cannot treat each situation uniformly. A manager is expected to be flexible and act as a situation demands. In my academic work, therefore, I seek to understand how to handle a variety of situations. My study will be guided to examine how to behave in different circumstances.
Application of skills
The internship period gave me a platform to apply good communication skills, both written and verbal. As part of my job description, I was required to prepare weekly reports, where I highlighted the work done by different employees. Through these reports, I got to apply good communication skills, especially in writing. My verbal communication skills were also put into practice when I communicated to the workers on their performances. I had to highlight explicitly what they were doing right or wrong, with the goal of arriving at organizational goals (Kalla 303). The communication skills were also called into action during the weekly team meetings. Here, I had the responsibility of reviewing where the company stood, communicate the weekly goals and answer any queries.
My problem-solving skills mostly came into play during the weekly meetings. Du8rijng these sessions, the employees had the freedom to ask any questions and ask for clarification on any matter they did not understand. Most of these questions were interpersonal conflicts, with employees accusing others of impeding them from performing their duties efficiently. To this end, I had to deal with these conflicts to ensure that organizational goals were not lost in the midst of personal feuds.
In management, critical thinking is an aspect that sets apart a good manager from a bad one (Schraeder, Self and Jordan 55). During the instances I had to run the front office, I had the opportunity to apply my critical thinking skills. This is because the front office is the platform through which the organization relates to the outside world. To this end, I had to ensure that all the decisions I made led to positive outcomes for the company. Besides, I applied critical thinking during the preparation of the payroll. This is an activity that calls for accuracy since mistakes could lead to adverse effects on the company.
Learning objectives
My first learning objective was getting to perform my internship duties to the best of my ability. This is a goal that I achieved mainly reading from my devotion to work. Throughout the period, I was never late to the office. Besides, I was able to accomplish all the tasks given. This is seen through the many congratulatory messages I received during the period. Besides, I was able to use my time wisely during the internship. Due to the prudent use of time, I was able to accumulate more than 200 work hours within a very short period.
The following objective was learning a variety of management skills. This is an objective I fully accomplished, given the knowledge I amassed during the period. As a manager, I got to learn how policies such as open-door work. To this end, the skills I learned cemented the belief that I had the capability of running a big organization since.
The other objective I had for the internship touched on budgeting. Budgeting is an important aspect of management since it looks into the nature of the distribution of scarce organizational resources (Lidia 470). A good manager needs to ensure that the finances and other resources are well budgeted such that all the business processes are well catered for. This is an objective I achieved since I learned how to handle company money efficiently. Besides, I got to understand the art of the distribution of the finances, such that every business process runs efficiently. I learned a lot in the area of budgeting to the point that I which to apply these skills in personal life.
The next learning objective was getting to learn how to operate the forklift. In the kind of business that Fastenal Distribution center is involved in, the forklift is one of the essential machines workers use. To this end, I got to achieve this learning objective since I was able to use the forklift effectively since the company offered me training on how to use it. To this end, I got the license to operate it, meaning that I got the capability of teaching others on how to use it.
The last learning objective I had during this internship period was getting to understand fully how the company’s computer systems work. This is an objective I fully realized given the level of automation that the company operates under. Fastenal Distribution Center uses a Warehouse computer system that is used to coordinate the activities of the organization. Within a few days of the internship program, I was able to operate the system efficiently.
The position of an assistant manager comes with a lot of responsibility. At first, I was unsure of whether I would accomplish the complete tasks laid out before me. When the internship started, however, I discovered that many aspects I had learned in class were being applied practically. I can, therefore, proclaim that I was well prepared academically for the assistant manager’s position. The internship was a platform upon which I got to put my theoretical knowledge into practical use. I got to see how various management principles apply in a real business setting. The success I enjoyed during the internship can be partly attributed to the academic background I had.
During the internship period, I received training in two major areas. First was training on Forklift operations. As pointed out in my learning objectives, I had the desire to grasp how the forklift works. The company facilitated for my training, and within no time, I was able to operate the machine efficiently. I also got training on the computer systems Fastenal Distribution center uses. It was very informative to know how the Warehouse computer system works and the competencies required to navigate the system efficiently.
The internship at Fastenal Distribution Center was very informative. It was a platform where I got to understand how the theoretical concepts I had learned in class could be applied in a real business setting. Besides, it was an avenue through which I got to learn various strengths I had as a manager. I believe that the insight I obtained through this experience will positively impact my future academic and professional life.
Works Cited
Kalla, Hanna. ""Integrated internal communications: a multidisciplinary perspective."." Corporate Communications: An International Journal 10.4 (2005): 302-314.
Lidia, Tănase Gabriela. ""Difficulties of the Budgeting Process and Factors Leading to the Decision to Implement this Management Tool."." Procedia Economics and Finance 15 (2014): 466-473.
Schraeder, Mike, et al. ""The Functions of Management as Mechanisms for Fostering Interpersonal Trust."." Advances in Business Research 5.1 (2015): 50-62.
