The Internship Position
This internship report details my experiences while interning at Blue &Co's IT customer service department. The report begins by explaining why I chose this attachment and then goes on to present an overview of Blue & Co. Furthermore, it depicts the roles I played at Blue & Co as well as the lessons I learned. This study summarizes the organization's diversity, corporate culture, and communication. Finally, this report includes internship career perspectives.
An internship is a terrific opportunity to gain real-world employment experience. As a result of my great interest in the IT section of accounting businesses, I picked this internship. Accounting has always stricken me as a conservative industry, and therefore I was interested in knowing how small firms in the United states are coping with the first pace of technology. I saw this as a chance to get the first-hand experience on the way small firms have been adapting to the latest technology to reduce the costs of operation and remain afloat in a highly competitive landscape. As well, I viewed this as a chance to understand how the IT department fits into the larger mission of an accounting firm. Finally, I also viewed this as a chance to network and interact with IT people working in the accounting industry. This fits well with my career strategy of working in the IT department of an accounting firm in future.
Blue & Co Description
Blue & Co is a small private accounting firm in the U.S The firm offers various consultancy services such as healthcare consulting, tax consulting, employee Benefits consulting as well as business valuation and assurance services. Blue& Co offers services to firms in the fields of Agribusiness, healthcare, financial institutions, technology startups and closely held businesses. The number of accounting firms in the United States is over 300, and therefore Blue & Co faces stiff competition at home. Most specifically, Blue& Co faces stiff competition from the Big Four of the accounting industry namely Deloitte, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Ernst &Young and KPMG. These four competitors have a huge brand equity and have more resources to undertake research and development and marketing campaigns. To reduce the cost of operations and increase the profit margins, Blue &Co has intelligently selected the industries it wants to provide its accounting consulting services. This form of differentiation allows the company to gain organizational competence and knowledge that could be transformed into a competitive advantage. As well, the company has recently invested heavily in the marketing campaigns, and this is aimed at increasing brand awareness and brand visibility in the target market. Blue& Co also uses and adapts fast to the ever-changing technology. This allows the company to lower the costs of production, increase the profit margins and get more money to diversify.
The Internship Position
Due to the high number of applicants, internship positions are hard to come by and to get an internship position, one needs a blend of creativity and confidence. Therefore, first I ensured that I had customized my resume so that it fitted well into the position I was applying for. To do this, I emphasized on the previous professional exams I had undertaken, and the number of IT projects I had contributed in. Secondly, I conducted an internet search and therefore I was sure that the company was looking to fill internship positions in the company at the time. As well, I delivered my resume on time, and when I was finally called for an interview, I emphasized that though I was applying to be in the IT department, I was flexible in my roles in the organization and therefore I would gladly work for any department from time to time.
After the rigorous interview process, I was finally given an internship position at the company's IT customer department. My assignments included maintaining and updating software at the company's IT department as well as working on a project that would make it possible for the company to serve the clients without coming to our company offices. Maintaining and updating software struck me as boring and too routine. However, developing a program that would revolutionize customer experience highly motivated me and in a way, I felt that I was contributing to something greater than myself. Though I was working for an IT department, I understood that my assignments impacted the overall competitiveness and profitability of the company. For instance, my assignment of ensuring that the IT department had the latest software was important in increasing efficiency of the company and ultimately, the competitiveness of the firm. As well, the IT project we were working on was aimed at enhancing the user experience, and this was important since satisfied customers will bring more customers to the benefit of the entire organization.
In my assignments on the IT project, I experienced challenges from time to time especially since the IT team was using the Python programming language which we were to cover the following semester. Therefore, I lacked mastery of the programming language and therefore could not complete some of my assignments. To tackle this, I liaised with my supervisor and my peers who helped me navigate this challenge smoothly. As well, I watched a lot of tutorials on Python Programming language and therefore familiarized myself with it. The assignments I undertook during internship intertwines fitted well with my classroom knowledge on the need to know various programming languages since one does not know the programming language of the organization that will hire them in future. Additionally, I saw the need to have updated software being put in practice at Blue &Co.
Corporate Culture Blue & Co
If there is something about most consulting firms that one cannot fail to notice, it is the cut-throat competition between the partners as each is trying to close their deal. This competition can sometimes lead to unethical practices since everyone is eying the senior partner's position. Therefore, it's no wonder I did not like the working atmosphere at the organization since it was always stiff as everyone was trying to get things done. The best way to describe this culture is that it was a market oriented culture with the focus only on delivering results. On my first day, I was told that delivering results matters. However short this statement might be, I gave me a glimpse of the type of organization I would be working for, and as it turned out, the corporate culture was based on teleological philosophy. The cultural norms I picked at the firm were that sustainable success could only be found if and only if people work together towards attaining the organizational goals. For instance, we were able to deliver the IT project on time since we worked as a team rather than pursuing our individual goals. My exposure to Blue &Co's corporate culture helped me decide the type of an organization I would want to join. In future, I would like to join an organization that emphasizes on teamwork and doing things right rather than just focusing on getting things done.
Diversity at Blue & Co
The concept of diversity requires that we respect everyone despite their race, gender, sexual orientation, political belief or any other demeaning classifications. Diversity is at the heart of American spirit, and it comes from a deep conviction that all are equal. During my time at Blue & Co, I realized that the company had embraced diversity in all its meaning. For instance, I noticed that 3 of the seven senior partners are women and two of those women were of African descent. Besides, I noticed that three of the eight senior accountants at the firm were people with disabilities. Well, two of the interns at the firm had same sex orientation, but yet the firm did not discriminate against them. Besides, the firm had several Muslims on board a clear illustration that the firm did not discriminate people based on their religious beliefs. Therefore, it is right to state that the composition of employees at Blue &Co reflected the true face of the world. Here, diversity was not a concept written on paper, but it was illustrated in every department of the organization and the day to day activities.
Communication at Blue & Co
Communication at the organization was through formal channels such as memos and letters, and it was usually top down communication. The formal channels of communication at the organization minimized the instances of grapevine communication, and therefore, information passed was always verified, hence eliminating chances of speculation and ambiguity. Therefore, the employees illustrated good communication habits since the communication habits led to clear and verifiable information which is the pillar of effective communication. The organization communicated with the external environment through press releases and advertisements in the local dailies. One area that the organization has not focused on is digital communication. Therefore, integrating technology in the organization's communication channel can greatly enhance the effectiveness of communication at the organization.
Career Reflection
This internship was in the IT department, and therefore it fitted well with my field of study. The concepts taught in class such as programming, computer forensics, and software fitted well with the firm's practices in the IT department. This internship gave me the opportunity to understand the IT department fits it the larger organizational strategy. As well, it illustrated to me that IT people have a great role to play towards improving customer experience. Therefore, I want to dedicate my career towards using technology to improve customer design and user experience. To get the job of my dreams, I plan to become so proficient at computer programming and mobile app development. I believe that these two areas will be the key business drivers in future and therefore having a comprehensive understanding of them will give me a competitive advantage in the job market.
Conclusion
An internship is one of the best ways to get exposure to the real-life job experience while still in college. Blue & Co is a great place for anyone interested in understanding how IT is utilized in accounting firms. The company's competitive atmosphere is ideal for someone who is still in college since it helps one to appreciate the need for having unrivaled professional mastery. Besides, the company's IT department is equipped with some of the latest technological devices and this, therefore, gives an intern exposure in the fields of software and hardware utilized by firms in the accounting consultancy industry. Therefore, I am very confident that students from ISIT college would learn a lot from interning at Blue & Co. One of the things I learned during my internship period is that having an open and flexible mind is one of the greatest anyone can bring to their organization. Therefore, I would advise students going for attachment to keep an open mind and not to restrict themselves to the IT department only since someday they may become the CEO or the COO, and at that time, they need a comprehensive understanding of how the various departments of the organization interact towards achieving organizational goals.
