Thursday, July 31, 2014

Blog 5: Overall Insight

Throughout my experience I have been given a number of different tasks. Although some were quite simple, others were much more complex and my time at U of M has provided me with problem solving skills to combat various obstacles. For example, I was in charge of dessert procurement for Living Yoga’s annual gala. This required contacting numerous bakeries and sweet shops and convincing them to donate desserts for the event. I had to reach out to places all over Portland to collect enough donations. This required working on my communication skills in a variety of different contexts including phone, email, and written letters. Writing is not one of my strong suits, but I had to develop this skill in order to convince businesses to donate to our event.


U of M has made me more resourceful and creative, which definitely influenced my overall performance at Living Yoga. In addition to dessert procurement, I was in charge of other facets including public relations in the community and the larger nonprofit sector.  I immersed myself in various tasks including, blogs, website management, data entry, teaching, and recently inmate correspondence. After receiving letters from inmates who are scattered across the United States I decided to answer them by creating a brochure filled with yoga tips, resources, and a yoga sequence for them to do on their own. Now even after I leave Leaving Yoga there will be a resource to send out to prisoners or other individuals who write to the office. I really enjoyed this project because it was a way for me to connect with a large part of the population we serve. Before the brochure, my boss didn't really have the time to respond to the letters he received. I took this as an opportunity to step in and devise my own assignment. In addition to the brochure, I wrote individual messages to each person. Although it was only a couple letters, I hope that they have some sort of impact on the folks who will receive them.  

ceo for the day


As my internship at Succarra comes to an end, I look back at all of the incredible things I was able to be a part of this summer. It was truly a one of a kind experience and I am so thankful that I was allowed to be a member of their team. If I were in charge of running the company, I would make many changes to how it is run. I would first want to find a larger office so that we have more space to work with. Having 8 employees and only one work space for everyone can be extremely overwhelming at times. People need their personal space to do their best each day, so I would make sure that each employee had their own personal desk and work area. I would also change the way the office is set up. We currently have jewelry and handbags on shelves running across all of the walls. At times, these items fall off the shelves and on to the floor, which can become a mess. I would hire an interior designer to come in and redesign our space so that it had a fresh new look.  I would also make an area in the office that is designated for appointments. We currently have a very small space, so when buyers or clients come in they are forced to sit at the front of the showroom with little to no privacy. I would create a private room for our sales team to have meetings with their buyers and clients. Additionally, I would hire approximately 5-10 more employees for the team. Succarra is quickly growing as a Public Relations firm and they will definitely need more hands on deck as the company continues to expand. We currently only have 2 people working on the sales side and it would be great for them to have more people on their team. I would also delegate a group of 3 or 4 people to be working on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter). It is important to get the word out about our company and without the use of social media, many people will never become aware of how great the company truly is.

Blog 4: Changing Perspectives

I always assumed that anyone who worked in a typical office building had a fairly boring, routine, 9-5 day. I also assumed that I would never be able to work a job like that in my entire life, simply because I would get too bored. This is one of the reasons HR interested me so much, there are many different industries where HR is necessary, therefore not only did it not have to take a job in a typical office setting, but when in a typical office setting there would be slightly more freedom and communication as HR deals with employee relations.
                In this internship, I do work in a typical office building, a typical 9-5 day, and I do not really get to deal much with employee relations, but more with employee data. However, my perception of boredom from a job similar to this could not have been more wrong. The atmosphere within my office is extremely friendly, comfortable, and fun. My HR duties mostly support the sales and marketing departments, and therefore there are many creative and outgoing people who work in offices surrounding mine. This also means the people with all the free TWC promotional goodies are just around the corner (free stuff is always a nice distraction and pick-me-up from my work).

                Experiencing all of this has helped change my perspective on an ordinary job. I have learned the importance of work relationships as well as the importance of the atmosphere and culture within a company/office. I no longer look down on a typical office job, and actually hope to get a job down the line similar to mine now, and eventually similar to my bosses. This experience has been nothing but beneficial in increasing my already thriving desire to work, specifically in HR. 

Blog 6: CEO for the day


If I were CEO for a day at RMO Wetherly, I would work on establishing more of a relationship between departments of the company, within each department, and with the interns. I worked solely on the with the accessories department, and came to learn that the people I worked closely with were often unaware of who worked in other departments and I also did not create a relationship with those in charge of other departments. By establishing closer relationships between different parts of the company, projects will also be able to be cast more quickly and efficiently. I found that often with send outs to magazines there was confusion and lack of communication within departments that could have been solved if there was a more cohesive environment established. Overall moral and excitement within the company will increase as well, as much research shows that the closer people are with their coworkers, the more fondly they think of the company they are employed with. I would hold weekly lunches, or order in lunch for everyone in the company for all departments to attend, because as of now, there are only lunches within the same departments or just on your own. I would have speakers from all departments briefly summarize what is going on in their department now, and how other departments could be of aid to them. 

Also, I would establish a recycling program here at RMO. I have never been a very Go Green type of person, but after being in the office and seeing how much paper is just wasted away, I would definitely try to incorporate a recycling program!
the interns!

Post IV: CEO for a Day

After working at Heritage Professional Associates for such a short time I can still sense that it has a very respectable reputation. The office is run very efficiently and employs many different therapists. What I am impressed at by Heritage is the diverse group of therapists it has and how respectable they all are. As the intake coordinator, I receive many phone calls each day with new clients wishing to come to Heritage. I complete at least four new client intakes a day, meaning that during my shift four new clients are added to our therapists' clientele. That is amazing that so many people are interested in the company and the business is booming. 

If I were one of the four partners that owns the private practice I would be very proud, but would change some things in the front office. Although the front office is run pretty efficiently, there are definitely days where as interns and secretaries, we are confused and left out of the loop. If I were CEO I would make sure that the therapists communicated with the interns more about who is assigned to each case. That way when the new clients that completed intakes call back wondering who their therapist is, the interns could answer and leave the client pleased. 

Also, I would change the layout of the front office. Right now there is a waiting room with windows to the front desk, but behind the front desk the clients can see into where we as interns work and the billing employees work. I think that the clients shouldn't see what's going on with the interns and others because it looks less professional. I would put a wall behind the secretaries so the clients only see and deal with them. I would redo the waiting room with more comfortable chairs and a station with a coffee, a water jug, and cups to please the clients. Sometimes there is music in the waiting room and sometimes there isn't, so I would make sure there is always music playing that is soothing for the clients.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Changing perspectives: Are newspapers really dead?

"Newspapers are dead" was a notion repeated to me by many people in the last year. Whether it be from the mouths of industry professionals, skeptic professors, or my parents, the idea that newspapers were already dead in the ground was a constant thought when considering what I want to do with the rest of my life. 

My first choice for the summer was to work in DC as an intern for NPR : while newspapers are seeing a decline, public radio was stayed its course and retained listener-ship, which I learned by working at Michigan Radio, the station in Ann Arbor. However, that internship didn't work out for me so I decided to see what the newspaper world was really like. 

When I saw the office of the Tennessean, I was amazed. The printing press is in the same building, right below our offices. The office itself is nothing too terribly special, although it's being spiffed up as we speak. It looks like what you see on television shows: the investigative reporter's desk is covered in stacks of manila folders, there are stacks of CD's in the music section, and most people haven't cleaned up their cubicle in a while.

I've made a few realizations that I find extremely interesting in regards to the future of newspapers: we are still the first source of information, often breaking stories that haven't been covered ever before. Even Michigan Radio at home usually does coverage based off of newspapers stories. 

The Tennessean prints daily, which is rare for a lot of newspapers. They're also testing out different ways to enact a pay wall, and how to balance the budgets in order to stay afloat. Gannett, which owns The Tennessean as well as the Free Press in Detroit, is using Nashville as a test site for different methods in order to keep the paper cost efficient. It's really amazing and inspiring : there is hope for the modern day news paper. 

That being said, I've been extremely inspired by my internship this summer, and it's helped me decide what direction I want to head in with journalism. Even if papers stop printing, there will still be journalism. 

Blog 3: overcoming obstacles


Last week I was asked to write an obituary for a man who passed away that ran a neighborhood intimates shop. It turned out that we had graduated from the same high school, and his grandson was in my year. I was happy to take on this task, especially because I grew up shopping at his store, but I had never written an obituary before. While I had conducted interviews for news articles, I didn’t know if I was supposed to go about my interview with his son the same way I would with a less emotional piece. I tried to google “obituary questions” but I didn’t really get any helpful results. I decided to just go into the interview with some questions prepared (some of them pretty personal) and used my best judgment as to if I felt it would be inappropriate for me to ask them. In the end, I was able to ask all the questions on my list and really enjoyed my time talking to the owner’s son, who has now taken over the business.