Category: Internship

Introduction

A refugee refers to an individual who has fled his or her country to seek shelter, protection or other basic human needs in another country. There are different situations that may force an individual out of his or her country, some of them being characterized by gross violation of human rights.

These different situations can lead to the mass movement of groups of individuals, usually civilians, or fleeing of few individuals of eminent personalities in the country. In addition, a protracted warfare that is experienced in a given country may force some of the civilians that are affected by war to flee from the country to another country in need of protection.

Clashes that are often witnessed among neighboring ethnic communities have also been seen to contribute to the displacement of some proportion of a given population. The members of some minority communities may be evicted by rival group. The same applies to the citizens of a country that experiences war with countries.

In addition, residents of a war-torn section of a country may be forced out of their residential homes to seek protection elsewhere. Moreover, political temperatures in a country also contribute to the displacement of citizens that become asylum seekers. For instance, a political coup attempt may result into a war between the military on the side of the government and the opposition that attempts to overthrow the government.

Civilians are often the victims of such violent circumstances and are forced to flee the country. They are supposed to receive some protection from the government and if this has failed, then they feel they should run away for safety (Selm-Thorburn, 1998). Members of the rebel group or some liberation movement often flee their country for fear of being oppressed by the present government.

These liberation movements find it convenient to lay strategies and implement their planned attacks while they are outside their country. This also applies to some senior official in the current government of a given country that has had an ideological difference with his or her seniors and fears that he or she may be assassinated.

Regardless of the roots and the immediate cause of refugees and asylum seekers, these individuals have certain common problems that need to be addressed by the host nations. The majority of these individuals have lost all the property from which they would obtain the basic human needs.

Some have lost members of their families to the violent wrangles or disasters whereas others have families disintegrated with little possibilities of ever coming together again. The experiences of the refugees on their way from the cruel land are quite tormenting. Some have been psychologically upset due to the loss of property and relatives and the experiences they encountered during the exodus.

The refugees and asylum seekers, thus, require psychological therapy and proper guidance and counseling. They still require education and other forms of training that can enable them realize their dreams in life. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is an agency under the United Nations that deals wit the refugees from different parts of the globe.

There is need to determine a true refugee who should be accommodated in given country. These systems will examine the roots and the immediate causes of the asylum seekers and establish their viability. A host nation may unknowingly protect and accommodate, as a refugee, a criminal or a terrorist from an enemy nation who can plan massive attack on the country or from the host country.

The bodies at the local and international levels obtain support from other donor agencies and international organization to help meet the needs of the refugees. There is still more to be done by the international agencies concerned with the refugees. While providing a solution for the immediate problems, there is also a need to determine the ways that can help prevent more influx of the refugees. An analysis of the areas that are prone to sending away refugees will provide an insight on the better preventive mechanisms that may be employed.

About the organization

The System of protection for asylum seekers and refugees (SPRAR) is an Italian national system that deals with refugees and asylum seekers. The system began to develop in the beginning of the last decade following a joint work by different non-governmental organizations, the Ministry of Interior in Italy, the National Association of the Italian Municipality (ANCI), and the UNHCR (Servizio Centrale- History of the Reception System, 2011a,).

These different bodies considered the situations that had been recorded in the systems of receiving refugees in 1999 and 2000 and approved the National Asylum Program (PNA). The system flourished in the country and drew support from local and national departments. SPRAR was legally instituted in 2002 from the reception measures that had been established in the PNA.

A body was also instituted by the Ministry of Interior that would support the local institutions that provided the reception to refugees and asylum seekers. Under the management of the National Association of the Italian Municipality, the established Central Service would provide ‘Information, Promotion, Advice, Monitoring, and Support to the local bodies’ (Servizio Centrale, 2011a).

The local bodies in the SPRAR protection system obtain financial support from the National Funds for Asylum Policies and Services to carry out their activities (SPRAR, 2009, p.6). They also obtain support from various non-governmental organizations and other volunteer individuals and not-for-profit organizations. There is also a fraction of financial support obtained from the European Refugee Fund from the European Commission.

In return, the protection system provides a wide range of services to the refugees and asylum seekers. Apart from the provision of food and accommodation, the protection system also provides guidance and support to help improve the economic and social status of the refugees.

The SPRAR considers two main categories of individuals that can benefit from their projects. The first category comprises individuals who are seeking international protection. In many instances, most of these individuals have applied for international protection and are waiting for a decision following their application. The other category includes those that have been granted protection and are absorbed in the refugee centers or given any other support as may be required (SPRAR, 2009).

Aims of the organization

The SPRAR projects in Italy are intended to remove the burden that is placed on a central government agency in dealing with the refugees and asylum seekers in the country. The systems are aimed at improving the kind of reception that is provided to the refugees in the refugee centers. By involving actors from all sectors of the economy, the protections systems attempt to provide for the needs of the refugees and help them regenerate and develop into responsible and dignified members of a society.

Ethos of the organization

In setting the aims and objectives, an organization has to draw from certain principle and values. The achievement of the above aims and objectives is enhanced by the kind of organizational values and principles that are applied in its activities. These sets of values that define the culture of the organization are called its ethos.

As a system that provides accommodation to individuals that are displaced from their original residential homes the SPRAR protection considers respect for others very essential in performing its activities. Refugees are mainly those that have been forced by circumstances to lose respect for themselves and for others. The system has identified the need to have respect among the refugees in a given camp and between the refugees and the staff that run the protection institutions.

There is need to respect the cultural and ideological differences that are to be witnessed in this new society. Another characteristic that is valued by the system is love and care. The experiences that most of the victims have had, made them loose that sense of love. They often cannot make a meaning of being loved and neither do they offer love to others.

The integrated reception provided by the protection centers can only be possible if the workers at these institutions are caring and loving. The respect for others will be enhanced by the love and empathy that one has for these individuals. In this context, the organization also values the privacy and confidentiality in an individual. It is difficult to exercise privacy in the refugee accommodations due to lack of enough space.

While in the accommodations provided by the center the refugees can form some groups in which they share their experiences. Some of the victims had different violations of human rights such as rape or abduction. It is required that the information about an individual’s experiences remain confidential either with the counseling staff or with the group member who shared the experiences.

The health safety is also considered in the system. In as much as the victims require some form of protection, the system also recognizes the fact that they need to receive services that are sensitive to the health hazards that may emerge. The system has purposed that the refugees be subjected to healthy living conditions including shelter and meals.

The organization also values a sense of understanding and having a feeling for other people. The system recognizes the needs of the employees at different institutions to understand the situations that the victims are undergoing. They need to imagine themselves in such situations and apply the necessary ethnic principles. They need to handle the refugees in a manner that they would appreciate if applied on them.

The principle of equality is also fundamental in the operations at the various centers in the system. In as much as the accommodations draw individuals from diverse situations, the system sees a need to have some equality in the execution of their services. The UNHCR requires that those that are eligible to be granted international protection should not be denied such an opportunity (Redmond, 2005; Feller et al, 2003).

The elements of discrimination should not be evident in the provision of the services to the refugees. This, however, does not preclude the special attention to the victims that are exposed to greater risks and need special assistance.

The pressures and challenges facing the organization

There are challenges that are faced by the protection system in attempting to provide its services to the refugees and asylum seekers. Firstly, despite the financial support that the protection institutions obtain from the government and other donor agencies, the whole system is still faced with the problem of lack of enough funds. There is an increasing need for the provision of the services due to the increasing number of the victims of human rights violations.

Italy has also had issues with the UNHCR over how the refugees have been handled in the last decade (Redmond, 2005). This could be attributed to the fact that the refugee protection in Italy is based on the fundamental norms to promote humanitarian behaviors and that have not been changed into fundamental legislation (Cuko, 2010, p.36).

The increasing number of the refugees also poses a challenge on the organizational management. There is a frequent need to restructure the organization at the institutions that provide the protection services to the refugees to be able to accommodate the growing population. There is need to optimize the resources that are available while not lowering the quality of the services that are offered by the institutions (SPRAR, 2009).

There is a constant need to establish or acquire more facilities. Besides, the maintenance of the existing facilities like houses also poses challenges to SPRAR and the supporting agencies. Another problem that is faced by the system is the diverse needs of the asylum seekers and the refugees. These individuals have undergone different experiences and need different kinds of attention.

Some of the refugees are adults who have undergone some training and have skills that can be applied in some sectors of the economy. Others are adults but lack basic skills that could be applied in the economic fields whereas others are minors that need education alongside accommodation and food. Similarly, there are those that criticized the government and escaped a planned assassination by the top government officials.

These individuals have different levels of exposure to more risks and need to be handled differently. The diverse needs of the refugees and asylum seekers are, thus, a challenge in an attempt to standardize the conditions at the refugee reception institutions. There is a problem in caring for differently vulnerable individuals (SPRAR, 2009, p.4).

In the refugee camps, the refugees could also develop further complications that add on the cost of their accommodation. While at the establishment, I encountered a woman who was diagnosed with cancer when under protection by the SPRAR. The woman who was already engaged in some occupation was forced to leave her job and obtain good care. Fortunately, the protection system managed to help her and she is currently fit to take on a job.

There are cases that are hard to deal with and perhaps the standard procedures of managing them had not been developed by the system. Other than diverse needs of the refugees, some cases proved difficult to handle when I was at the organization. There was a young woman who had been sexually abused.

This experience seemed to have had permanent psychological damage on the woman. Despite the care provided at the centers, the woman showed no signs of improvement. One other critical case was a man who had also had ugly experiences like imprisonment and torture. When in the country, he was also charged for theft.

The care that was provided to him at the centers seemed not to provide a good therapy. He later moved on to stay in France. Such unique cases are hard to handle and no standard procedures may be developed to manage them. The cultural diversity among the asylum seekers and the refugees is also a challenge that the system faces. The refugee reception centers receive victims from many different countries with the most diverse cultures.

These victims with different cultural backgrounds have to be made to be one society and co-inhabit some niche. The individuals also have different lifestyles. There is a difficulty in developing a common organizational culture based on this diversity. There is need to cultivate in the refugees the need to respect and be able to accommodate the other cultures.

Another challenge is the language barrier and the difference in the educational systems of Italy and the refugees’ countries of origin. In training such refugees as an attempt to help them make the ends meet, it would be required that they first learn the local language. While this may be advantageous to the refugee, it adds on the cost of the reception of the refugees by the protection centers.

The difference in the educational system also impedes the attempt to model the refugees who had undergone some professional training before the flight to apply their knowledge and skills in the local setting. Cases have been seen where a professional refugee is not able to apply his or her professional knowledge and skills as they are in Italy. Such individuals are forced to start adapting to the system in Italy before they can apply their skills and expertise.

The other challenges include the irregular migratory patterns that make the planning processes difficult in Italy (Redmond, 2009). The SPRAR has a problem in identifying the asylum seekers. The organization is well aware of the greater number of vulnerable individuals who need accommodation and other forms of protection. There is, perhaps, a barrier between the institutions and the vulnerable children.

This may not allow for the identification of this category. A report in 2009 had showed that about 200 minors had been absorbed into the centers that support the asylum seekers (SPRAR, 2009, p.3). This number was observed to be far less than the expected number of the vulnerable children that need support.

Available opportunities

The SPRAR protection system also has certain opportunities that could be exploited to enhance their service delivery. An analysis of the historical politics on the emigrants into the country as well as the patterns that had been recorded earlier can help in developing a system that is more effective.

Although the country has witnessed different political views on migration (Puggioni, 2006) the challenges that an organization faces and the attempts to provide their solution can often create some useful opportunities. The system has noticed that some vulnerable individuals are not under their protection and could get into more danger.

The need to provide an explanation to this scenario has called for a combined effort of the SPRAR and the other governmental and non-governmental bodies. With such a commitment, it is necessary to develop new ideas and obtain useful materials to help maintain the protection system (SPRAR, 2009).

Organizational strategies and tactics

To achieve the goals that have been set, the SPRAR protection system has adopted a number of strategies that have seen the system succeed in many instances. Firstly, the system includes a wide range of actors from the public and private sectors. The actors include NGOs, various departments of the government, the non-profit organizations, charity groups, and individual volunteers.

The Ministry of Interior and Local Authorities is particularly involved in promoting the activities of SPRAR (Servizio Centrale, 2011b). There exists a strong connection between all these actors and the local managing bodies. This ensures that there is free flow of resources from the central government to the individual local bodies. The collaboration between the local government and the non-governmental organization was necessary to solve the financial problems (Finotelli, 2004).

Another effective strategy that has been applied by the system is the use of a decentralized system (Servizio Centrale, 2011b). SPRAR developed an idea that was also seen in Germany. This involved empowering the local authority in developing asylum policies to deal with the problems of the refugees (Finotelli, 2004).

The management of funds and other resources would be difficult if the reception of the refugees were to be performed at the national level. The increased diversity would make the management of such camps cumbersome. There are certain needs of the refugees that may be common in some region. Thus, the decentralization of the services enables proper mitigation of such local problems.

The organization leads the nation in marking the World Refugee Day every year. This annual event is carried out in different countries of the world to focus on various issues affecting the refugees internationally. SPRAR had established an asylum seekers program in Sardinia in 2007 under the management of Association Cooperation and Confrontation “La Collina”.

The organization carried out the last year event in Cagliari, a city in the island of Sardinia. In the event, the refugees were involved in various activities like theatre shows aimed at improving cohesion. The theme for the last year’s event was “Home: A safe place to start.” This was meant to restore hope in the refugees who still had difficulties in traveling back home.

The local authorities that managed the systems at the lower levels opted for an integrated reception for the refugees (SPRAR, 2009). The protection system purposed to provide the immediate and the long-term solutions to the problems of the refugees in the camps. They do not only provide the refugees with food and accommodation but also offer other services of social and economic significance to the refugees.

There are language lessons imparted at certain stages to help the refugees learn the systems in Italy. The adult refugees who have some professional qualifications need to adapt to the Italian system and this is easily achieved through learning the language. There are professional training offered to the refugees that can enable them earn a living.

Sporting activities are also included for the youthful refugees that can help identify some unexploited talents. The local authorities have also demonstrated their commitments to promoting the integrated reception projects. The commitments of the stakeholders and other actors at the local level have been a key factor towards realizing the objectives of the SPRAR system.

This has enabled the implementation of the integrated reception projects in the refugee centre. There is a good coordination between the different local bodies. This has supported the initiatives to help the refugees regain their status in the society in accordance with the United Nations objectives and goals implemented through the UNHCR, which has been to resettle refugees back to their original countries after the end of a crisis (Mklebust, 1997).

The system is concerned with the spiritual, moral, psychological, and different other aspects of growth in the individuals in the centers. Thus, irresponsible behaviors like alcoholism and drug abuse are not tolerated in the camp. A case occurred while at the center whereby a refugee in the camp grew violent and attacked others after taking alcohol.

The management did not spare the individual despite his poor social and economic status. The individual was arrested and charged alongside the dealer who sold drugs to the refugees. The protection systems are sensitive to the diverse needs of the refugees and asylum seekers. These individuals have varied problems that need to be addressed differently.

There are special considerations given to the victims living with HIV/AIDS. Another special group that needs the attention of the protection system is minors who are not accompanied by their parents. It is always easy to accept and approve the vulnerability of such minors to more dangers and their need for protection.

The protection systems in Italy have provided the minors with the opportunities to develop into full human beings. They have had opportunities to learn Italian and study other professional subjects that can enable them earn a living independently. Some of the minors have had a chance to be registered as citizens of the country (SPRAR, 2009).

Some achievements in the organization

Despite the problems and challenges that have impeded the operation of the system, there are certain achievements that can be pointed out so far. Firstly, the system has succeeded in coming up with a mechanism which collectively helps in fighting for the rights of the refugees. It has managed to draw the attention of different individuals from various sectors to help collectively in reinstating the asylum seekers to their respectable human status in the society.

The system has also succeeded in developing a multicultural society that recognizes the cultural diversity among the different members. By holding on the values like love and respect for others, the workers in the various local bodies have managed to establish an effective environment for the cohabitation of different cultures.

The refugees in the accomodations are not supposed to stay there for a lifetime. The camp should harbor the refugees for a limited time period of six months while the long term solutions to their problems are being sought. The dynamic situations that may force individuals to flee their countries are still evident and more refugees are expected in the camps.

There is then a need to ease the congestion at the centers. As a way of relieving the refugee centers of the pressure that could be exerted due to the increasing flow, it is necessary that the refugees that have obtained the required protection including training and guidance be resettled elsewhere. The system assists various individuals or families and releases them when they are fit to survive independently.

During the integrated reception, the victims have to prove their ability and willingness to be self-reliant. The system has succeeded in successfully training adults and resettling the individuals afresh (SPRAR, 2009). Such individuals will be role models to others in the camps and could be used as reference points by the staff during guidance and training.

A case was witnessed where an individual was provided with resources by SPRAR to reestablish himself. The individual managed the resources successfully and started a new life in Cagliari. The organization has also gone a milestone in promoting education among the minors in the camps (SPRAR, 2009). The system has seen an increased number of the minors attending educational institutions.

The education provided at these institutions prepares the minors to meet their social and economic needs when they grow up. They also enable the children to learn how the Italian systems like language and culture that are necessary for an individual staying in the country works. This also encourages an individual who would want to obtain the Italian citizenship after he is fully established.

The guidance provided at the centers enable the minors to handle the difficult situations that may reemerge in the future. In the learning process, sporting activities that can help the children identify their specific talents are also involved.

The role and place of the host organization in the wider human rights movement

The issues on human rights are currently of concern by the international governmental and non-governmental organizations (Henkin, 1979). The human rights movements are concerned with ensuring that justice is practiced to all individuals across the cultures. It also aims at upholding all the cultures protecting those minors vis-à-vis the mainstream ones (Welch, 2001).

The organization has played key roles in promoting human rights movement in Italy in the recent years. In the first place, the move to provide an integrated reception to the refugees enables these individuals to realize their dreams that were long lost due to their previous displacement and past traumas. These individuals have all the rights that any other human being has.

The individuals have the right to life, self-expression, freedom of speech, security, education, health services and even participation in national issues just like the others. The violation of such rights is the main concern of the human rights movements. By the integrated reception, SPRAR promotes the human rights movement in ensuring that justice is practiced to the refugees.

Secondly, the strategy that has been applied by SPRAR in collaborating with the central government and the local authority has manifested a system of governance that is effective in all the social organizations. The system has thus been adopted by the other areas within Italy (SPRAR, 2009).

Concluding remarks and recommendations

The organization can be accredited in establishing a mechanism that does not only provide a remedial solution to the problems faced by the refugees but also develops the refugees into individuals that can survive independently. The system has succeeded in helping establish new families from the refugee camps. Nevertheless, there is still a lot to be done to manage the refugees and the situations that may force individuals to seek refuge elsewhere.

Firstly, it is important to focus on the original roots of the situations that result into refugees. The system should link up with the governments and the other authorities from the countries of origin of the refugees. The respective governments are better placed to solve the crises that would force a section of the population to move outside the country.

The national agencies need to comply with the provisions of the international organizations like the UNHCR to establish effective ways of determining the causes of the flow of refugees from some given geographical areas. Italy was seen to violate the provisions of the UNHCR by sending refugees from Libya back to their country (Redmond, 2009). Most of these governments have subsidiaries that deal with the violation of human rights.

By involving the law-enforcers and following the legal procedures that are established by each government, the cases of violation of human rights can be minimized. There are situations that may be identified by the governments but the immediate solution fails due to lack of enough resources. The system needs to collaborate with more donor agencies, political bodies, and commercial businesses to provide immediate assistance to victims that have suffered some violation.

Reference List

Cuko, S. 2010. The Human Rights of Refugees: the Italian Solution Aalborg University. Web.

Feller, E. et al. 2003. Refugee protection in international law: UNHCR’s global consultations on international protection. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Finotelli, C., 2004. The reception of refugees in Italy and in Germany: local strategies for global problems. ISTR Sixth International Conference. Web.

Henkin, L., 1979. The rights of man today. London: Taylor & Francis.

Mklebust, R., 1997. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Web.

Puggioni, R., 2006. Refugees reception and the construction of identities: encountering Kurdish refugees in Italy. Encountering Kurdish refugees, Vol 54, No. 2. Web.

Redmond, R., 2005. Italy: UNHCR deeply concerned about Lampedusa deportations of Libyans. Web.

Redmond, R., 2009. Follow-up from UNHCR on Italy’s push-backs. Web.

Selm-Thorburn, J., 1998. Refugee protection in Europe: lessons of the Yugoslav crisis. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.

Servizio Centrale. 2011. History of the Reception System. Web.

Servizio Centrale. 2011. SPRAR. Web.

SPRAR- Protection System for Asylum Seekers and Refugees. 2009. Summary of the 2008-2009 Report. Web.

Welch, C., 2001. NGOs and human rights: promise and performance. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Economic Analysis of Unpaid Internships

Human capital is important in facilitating performance outcomes of organizations across the world. It is important for an individual to adopt an approach to developing a platform that would be utilized to incorporate an investment attitude and lifetime perspectives. This paper focuses on answering questions that are related to unpaid labor. In addition, it supports or disputes some arguments and policy proposals in the labor market.

A college senior is considering taking an unpaid internship after graduation. Using the basic human capital investment model, explain how this student would decide whether or not to take this unpaid internship.

Using the human capital investment model, the college senior would make a decision whether to take an unpaid internship after graduation. Upon graduation, the student would have invested in education and training. If he or she would move in search of an unpaid internship, he or she would also invest in terms of migration.

All these are investments of human capital that should be paid. Assuming that the college senior would have acquired the required skills and knowledge that would be applied in the job market, he or she should not take an unpaid internship.

Are unpaid interns considered to be in the labor force?

Employers may utilize internships as a strategic management approach to reducing the costs that are associated recruiting and compensating personnel. It can be argued that interns who are not compensated for their services are not in the labor force.

Two important elements in relation to the labor force are service offers by workers and wages that are given by employers. In fact, persons who are not paid cannot be regarded as valuable assets in the labor market.

Policy analysis of unpaid internships

It is true that unpaid internships are used to exploit students. It is unfair for students to do a lot of work, yet they are not compensated for their services. Unpaid internships are used to improve outcomes of firms at the expense of students.

Position A: Unpaid internships do not exploit college students and should be seen as human capital investments just like any other training/education programs that workers participate in.

Unpaid internships are designed to help college students to develop practical skills in the job market. In most cases, there are differences between what colleges teach and what the labor market requires. Thus, students should offer free services so that they may be trained.

Position B: Unpaid internships exploit college students and the US Department of Labor should create and enforce stricter regulations to protect students.

The US Department of Labor should aim at creating and enforcing strict rules that would go a long way in protecting students in the context of unpaid internships. The department should inform all employers that it is illegal to enjoy free services of students.

Assessment of the policy proposal

In the contemporary job market, it is difficult to measure the benefits that are derived from an intern. Thus, it would be misleading to adopt the proposal, which states that compensation should be based on interns’ production and employers’ costs. If an employer is not keen on paying a student, then wrong figures with regard to the intern’s production and employer’s costs would be given.

I have chosen these internships because they are all designed for a medical assistant. This profession is in demand in various fields of medical services. Each of the programs has different specifics of the main specialties of the paramedic. However, all of these subspecies of medical assistant activity are interesting to me. From the first internship, I want to get a medical unit practice at a large medical organization. For the second internship, I want to strengthen my examination skills. In the third internship, my goal is the practice establishing diagnoses. The fourth internship will allow me to conduct independent treatment. The benefit of the fifth internship for me will be that I will be able to learn how to work closely with a doctor.

I plan to apply for the first internship because it will satisfy my need in obtaining the missing knowledge. Applying for the second internship will allow me to obtain the skills that a medical assistant needs. I plan to apply for the third internship because this way I will be able to practically acquire the necessary manual skills. Applying for the fourth internship will allow me to master the officially approved standards of assistance volumes.

I plan to apply for the fifth internship because I will have the opportunity to try a wide range of interventions. The deadline for all internships except the third is two months (for the third – one and a half months). The requirements for all internships are a certificate of proficiency in Spanish and a certificate of secondary medical education; I have both documents. My references will be my university professors (Benamrane et al., 2020). They should write me a letter of recommendation because they have the most accurate idea of my professional level.

Reference

Benamrane, A., Benelallam, I., & Bouyakhf, E. H. (2020). Constraint programming-based techniques for medical resources optimization: Medical internships planning. Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanized Computing, 11(138), 3801-3810.

I wish to forward my application for consideration as a Registered Nurse intern in your organization during the summer. I have a passion for the nursing profession and I believe my background has given me the discipline and dedication that I require to become a competent nurse. I was brought up in a Christian family whereby we strongly upheld the Christian values of caring and assisting those in need. In addition, I highly value humanity and kindness, which is why I believe I am interested in nursing as a profession. A nurse should value human life and ensure that he/she works hard to preserve the health of a patient.

One of the requirements of the nursing profession is the possession of leadership skills because there is always the likelihood that you could be called upon to make crucial decisions in the line of duty. In my case, I have prior experience in a management position I held at a company back in my home country, Ukraine. I am convinced that the experience that I gained in this management position shall help me immensely in pursuing my career path as a nurse. I am also capable of coping well under stressful situations and at the same time, I am capable of making crucial decisions under critical situations.

I possess good listening skills and I believe that this is important for a nurse who is offering holistic care, and in helping to cultivate a strong relationship with the patients. In the next five years, I hope to gain valuable experience in the field of nursing. At the same time, I hope to have attained my master’s degree in the next five years. I would also wish to have become a nurse practitioner by that time.

Introduction

An internship program is a source of experiential learning that a student needs to be fully prepared for a future career. It helps them develop their skills and gives them a competitive edge as they seek a permanent employment position. This paper explains the experiences of internship program at a top company in the interior design industry. Having a particular level of academic prowess as well as gaining essential life skills is viewed as a critical aspect of career preparedness a student receives in college, experiential or practical learning is more important.

Studio O+A

Studio O+A prides itself in understanding the imagination of their clients and, through its employees, deliver that into reality. At the start of the internship at Studio O+A company, I targeted doing a great job to secure a contract. Any intern carrying out meaningful tasks requiring payment is entitled to an agreement, which was one of my expectations. My second goal was to learn valuable work skills as well as gain practical experience. Having an accomplished employer on one’s curriculum vitae is good. However, it would be a waste if one did not gain the right skills in their field. It is essential to ask for opportunities to develop valuable skills that would be useful in future jobs. Having all this, I aimed to ask for opportunities to join project groups and be actively involved.

Tasks

While interning, I was lucky enough to be the part of the design team for a project involving a high-profile client. The project concerned designing the floors for a company in Los Angeles that had built new offices in the city. As part of the project team, my job was to handle minor tasks that needed little supervision, and as the days went by, I was given more challenging tasks.

Advantages

There are many benefits of working as an intern for companies. Apart from learning specialized skills in interior design, I gained experience in other skills like teamwork and communication. Another benefit I enjoyed due to the internship program was gaining an edge that would be instrumental in my future career. Working in an established company means that one becomes more confident in their abilities since one interacts with some of the best professionals in the industry. This enables a seamless transition to a permanent employment position.

It should be noted that I was not only an intern in a well-known and respected company in the interior design industry but I was the part of a project involving another big company.

Challenges

Despite the benefits from the internship program, I encountered challenges. For example, I was asked to develop a list of designs that would fit a client’s floors, but I was not sure if they would be considered. Even the report that I wrote did not look similar to the final one. Having my expectations so high about getting a contract, it was important for my work to be recognized. I had too much work since other individuals understood that I was an intern and was there to learn – they decided to capitalize on that and heap their duties on me.

Internship and Mentorship II vs. Internship and Mentorship I

Internship and mentorship programs aim to provide a learner with hands-on skills that are applicable in their future careers. The programs are the main reason why interns become successful in the future. They can adapt better and quicker to the work environment culture (Anjum, 2020). The first time, during internship and mentorship I, one is taught about the industry and only given tasks that are manageable by anyone with less specialized skills. The programs are the main reason why interns become successful in the future. Despite both internship and mentorship I and II programs having the same goal, they have differences. For instance, during the second time I went on internship, the trust from the supervisor was more.

Enhancing Individual Experience

After gaining the skills from the company, there is still room for improvement, considering my desire to become better in the interior design sector. While being an intern, the skills I gained from the work experience made me a better team player. All team members knew the goals of the project and understood what the organization needed and thus collaboratively shared information that would help another do a better job. I became more vocal and could manage myself and others well. Trusting in one’s capabilities is essential if one desires to offer more contribution to important tasks at a workplace.

Impact of the Internship Experience on Future Employment

The two experiences helped me since employers trusted in my ability to deliver what is written in my curriculum vitae. Apart from that, employers knew that I was more than capable of delivering excellent work since I informed them of my projects. All these helped me not to struggle in the job market, and I was offered several opportunities and chose the one I loved. Handling tasks in projects that involve high risks means that someone is confident in their skills, and that confidence is what employers are looking for.

Conclusion

From the paper, it is clear that an the program assists the learner to become better than their peers and gain an edge in the job market. Internship aims to offer work experience that will help a learner develop specialized skills useful for their future employment opportunities. Additionally, the program is the main reason why interns become successful in the future, especially in the job market. They can adapt quickly to the work environment culture. Internship also opens doors for networking opportunities a learner may not have anywhere else.

Recommendations

It is hard to get a chance to work as an intern in top companies. This is due to the kind of experience one gets in the top companies being unmatched and can go a long way in impressing their future employers. Any individual with skills but lacks confidence is not attractive to employers in the job market. When an individual starts their internship program, it is crucial that they have expectations and treat them as goals. For instance, if an intern impresses an employer, they stand a chance to get a contract after the internship is over. If the learner has such an expectation and treats it as a goal, it will be easy for them to withstand all challenges that they may face while at work.

Reference

Anjum, S. (2020). Impact of internship programs on professional and personal development of business students: A case study from Pakistan. Future Business Journal, 6(1), 1-13. Web.

Introduction

Any student should gain work experience to know what to expect when searching for employment. This essay is devoted to my internship experience at Al Habtoor Motors, its perceived practical effectiveness, the degree to which my goals have been achieved, and success-related attitudes valued in this organization. In order to make the reflections more practically relevant, improvement strategies helping to upgrade performance in particular areas are defined.

Goals

The first goal that has been set is to gain knowledge of services, businesses, and operations at Al Habtoor Motors, one of the market leaders in the UAE (“About Al Habtoor Motors,” n.d.). In reference to this goal, I would give myself an A since I have managed to get acquainted with a lot of materials and reports devoted to the organization’s strategy and the way that its departments cooperate. In particular, the organization values teamwork, and I was welcome to communicate with department leaders in case of any questions. From confidentiality considerations, the information on the company’s internal operations should not be discussed openly. In terms of the improvement strategy, it is possible to achieve greater results by researching the organizational structures of the key UAE automotive market players.

The next goal is related to the development of interpersonal skills. Frankly speaking, I would give myself a B because I still see important areas of improvement related to communication with clients. As for colleagues and managers, we all use the same terminology and can explain anything in great detail if necessary. In reference to customers, I do not have significant problems when talking to them and offering them the company’s products since my communication and persuasion skills are quite good. However, I may need to gain more knowledge of automobile manufacturing processes because I feel that some clients pay attention to my automotive literacy when making decisions (for instance, they ask me about my personal experience with products). To sound more convincing, it can be necessary to start self-learning and communicate with technical specialists.

The third goal that I have set relates to the ability to apply theoretical knowledge and skills to practical situations. In general, I did not make any serious mistakes when carrying out my duties related to paperwork, filling invoices, and working with proposal documents. The ability to fulfill these and other tasks properly heavily depends on the degree to which the company’s corporate culture is understood. I have managed to apply a range of concepts related to organizational behavior to understand my position in the hierarchy and accept constructive criticism peacefully. Thus, I would give myself an A, but it is possible to improve performance even more by becoming more innovative during further work. To me, introducing innovations requires a lot of practical experience.

The fourth goal that has been formulated involves improving technical business skills and gaining practical knowledge of tools helping to conduct market research. During the work, I actively use MS Excel and less popular applications to create spreadsheets and organize data, and this experience has helped me to discover new opportunities to produce statistical data and, therefore, generalize on the company’s financial situation (Siegel, 2016). Given that I learn new practical skills quickly, I would give myself an A. However, considering the nature of my duties, I use only a limited number of business tools. To improve my knowledge, even more, it can be important to use new tools such as Google Analytics to better understand customers’ needs and reflect this information in business proposals.

Success-Related Attitudes

Observing the company’s organizational culture and the work of my supervisors, I have singled out four success-related attitudes that employees are expected to have to grow professionally: integrity, emotional intelligence (EI), open-mindedness, and being open to continuous learning. As for the first pair of attitudes, I think that I deserve two As since I do not let my personal interests interfere with decision-making and manage to control my emotions to avoid work-related conflicts. In terms of integrity, I avoid making decisions when information is scarce – to prevent negative outcomes for other employees, I would prefer to spend time conducting research. As for EI, I actively use these skills when working with clients because there are many concerns that they fear to express explicitly. A good strategy helping to improve integrity would involve reducing the impact of personal matters on job performance and using self-awareness exercises to discover harmful behaviors or mindsets. To improve EI, it is pivotal to strengthen social skills, criticize yourself, and become less susceptible to stress (Segon & Booth, 2015).

The second pair of attitudes, open-mindedness and the readiness to learn, is also extremely important for my job performance. As for open-mindedness, I would give myself a B because I overutilized my past experience at the very beginning of my internship. The strategy that I have used to become more open-minded involves learning more about the distinctive features of the organization and its unique values. In terms of the final attitude, I would give myself an A since I have demonstrated the readiness to acquire new knowledge on a daily basis. Frankly speaking, every day at Al Habtoor Motors is full of discoveries related to business documents and consumer communication, and I have to read a lot to acquire new practical skills. However, to become even closer to success, it is important to become more critical to one’s knowledge, set clear expectations, and use mistakes as motivators.

Conclusion

In the end, this experience has been instrumental and helpful. The use of self-assessment practices has helped me to identify areas of improvement and well-developed skills. The conclusions that I provide in this essay will be extremely important in my further career development.

References

About Al Habtoor Motors. (n.d.). Web.

Segon, M., & Booth, C. (2015). Virtue: The missing ethics element in emotional intelligence. Journal of Business Ethics, 128(4), 789-802.

Siegel, A. (2016). Practical business statistics (7th ed.). Cambridge, MA: Elsevier.

Introduction

The internship provides an opportunity for students at Zayed University to relate what is learned in theory to practice. The internship is an opportunity to gain practical experience of the applicability of knowledge and the anticipated learning outcomes in a work environment in preparation for one’s career. This paper reflects on the relationship between my internship and studies at Zayed University over the period that I have been attached for eight weeks. The reflection paper regards language and communication, critical thinking, and professional competency as three important outcomes that were sufficiently addressed during the internship.

The Relation between the Internship and Studies at Zayed University

I am undertaking a course in international relations at Zayed University. Consistent with the concepts acquired in HSS 210, HSS 330, and HSS 332, the justice system and the dispute resolution mechanisms are important aspects that help a nation to establish peaceful coexistence with its citizenry. For example, through the resolution of disputes between different parties within a nation or even groups of people, for instance, organizations and their employees, any chances of differences escalating into national problems that can hinder development are minimized. Hence, my internship at the House of Justice reflects on how parties establish points of parity to eliminate the potential of common problems becoming a major issue that may destabilize diplomacy.

Any organization functions effectively in an environment of effective and efficient communication. It is also impossible for efficiency to occur without developing an understanding of communication procedures and standard approaches to communication within any system for all people to understand the intended meaning. This concern has led to the design of courses such as English composition I, composition II, and English composition III. Comparing the skills learned in class, these courses are important in the work environment. I learned from the internship that communication through standard letters and languages that are acceptable in the House of Justice depending on the subject matter under consideration is critical for an individual’s career success. People are likely to experience conflicts that arise from differences in opinion concerning common resources. Therefore, studying the paths of conflict within a particular jurisdiction requires the understanding of resources and the political history of specific jurisdictions and hence the importance of knowledge acquired in HSS200, HSS201, HSS 261, HSS 332, HSS 333, HSS 352, and HSS334, among others.

How the Learning Outcomes were met

Language and Communication

Language is vital in any communication process. Without it, an intended message cannot be delivered (Gross 18). During my internship at the House of Justice, Arabic and English were the two main official languages. By communicating with other employees through face-to-face, telephone, and/or writing in Arabic and English, I met language as an important learning outcome in my area of specialization at Zayed University. During the internship, I gained practical experience that the use of a specific standard language depends on a given context. For example, on 25 May, after going through examples of formal letters shown to me by Ms. Mariam, I learned that writing formal letters for use by the House of Justice requires a given standard language, which includes using an acceptable legal vocabulary.

In all contexts that involve interaction between different people, communication skills are necessary to guarantee the passage of the intended message. One of such skills is interpersonal communication (Barrett 33). The process involves direct face–to–face interactions. For example, during my internship, on 5 June, I started on a new section. I met Mr. Adel, my supervisor, seeking information concerning who I would be working with. He took me to the reconciliation and settlement committee, where I met Ms. Mazyonh and Ras Al Khaimah (a trainer), among other workers. My language and communication skills as a stranger here were challenged. My main problem was getting the workers free to explain the nature of work that I would be doing over the next few weeks, including who I would be working with.

I gathered confidence and approached Ras Al Khaimah, who I thought was a trainer who had already established links with other workers, including having general information about work processes. A little chat with him got Ms. Mazyonh involved in the debate. She was ready to explain all I needed. Clearly, I achieved an interpersonal communication learning outcome. For the rest of my stay in this section, I had no problems when communicating with other workers and even my supervisor about any issue pertinent to work and work processes, whether seeking direction on how to do things in the right manner or seeking clarification or correction.

Critical Thinking

Over the internship period, I learned that challenges in the work environment arise when an individual must provide solutions to specific problems. Over my internship, the decision to act in a particular manner was followed by some repercussions, which would prove earlier decisions right or wrong. Nevertheless, all that I would endeavor was to make the right decisions. This process does not require dogmatic reasoning but solid and precise decisions supported by reason. The process of making subtle decisions warrants critical thinking. This process is instrumental in separating right from wrong (Paul and Elder 93). Criticality in thinking implies that one examines the decisions carefully in an attempt to segregate the right from wrong decisions, which are likely to invite trouble in the short or long run (Pavlidis 81). For example, in my internship, I had the noble responsibility of preplanning my work and training on daily chores. I also had the responsibility of thinking through my decisions to ensure that I stick to those decisions that would not plunge me into conflicts with the organization.

Professional Competency

Leadership is an important aspect of professional competency. Leadership functions to inspire followers to work collectively to achieve specific goals. An organizational practice not only influences the followers (employees) but also leaders in a manner that ensures that organizational objectives are achieved through change (Kedarnath 7). It integrates and intertwines followers and leaders while at the same time influencing organizational objectives, missions, and other organizational stakeholders (Dye 47). While leading, followers must be involved. Leaders operate as strategists, communicators, and motivators through empowerment. To this extent, during my internship, I sought opinion and guidance from other employees who had long-term experience in executing specific chores before I made any decision to execute them. This plan ensured that all other people who I worked with within any section of the House of Justice were part of what I was doing. Hence, if anything went wrong, I would be accountable because of failing to follow advice.

Conclusion

My internship at the House of Justice was phenomenal in helping to put theory acquired in my studies as an international relations student at Zayed University into practice. The 8-week internship helped me to improve my language and communication skills by participating in practical interpersonal communication, including the use of language in verbal and written communication. The internship was an impeccable opportunity to put my professional competencies such as leadership into practice.

Works Cited

Barrett, Deborah. Leadership Communication, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2006. Print.

Dye, Carson. Leadership in Healthcare: Essential Values and Skill, New York, NY: Health Administration Press, 2010. Print.

Gross, Martins. “Staying on Message.” Community College Journal 81.1(2010): 17-19. Print.

Kedarnath, U’khand. “The influence of Leaders’ Implicit Followership Theories on Employee Outcomes.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 7.5(2011): 1-24. Print.

Paul, Richard, and Linda Elder. Critical Thinking Tools for Taking Charge of Your Learning and Your Life, New Jersey, NJ: Prentice-Hall Publishing, 2006. Print.

Pavlidis, Periklis. “Critical Thinking Dialectics: A Hegelian-Marxist Approach.” Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies 8.2(2010): 74-102. Print.

The internship took place in Etihad museum in Dubai, the UAE. This project included several major goals focusing on the issues of budgeting, meeting arrangement and facilitation, museum procedures, policy development, organizational improvement, the analysis of data and activities, and shadowing the museum director. The overall objective of the internship activities was directed at the development and practice of versatile leadership and administrational skills and abilities. The activities included in the internship program were based on different kinds of tasks of a museum leader that were designed to provide necessary and valuable experiences for the intern, and to allow practicing professional duties of various nature and degrees of complexity.

To be more precise, the first goal included in the internship program was focused on budgeting activities and included working with the organizational budget plans, a detailed overview of the existing and potential expenses, risks, and opportunities, and the prediction of possible development scenarios helping to address and manage the threats, monitor expenses, and reduce costs. This activity was quite complex and required the application of critical thinking, planning and forecasting skills, as well as the analytic skills helping to determine what kinds of changes were required in order to address the current and potential budgeting issues.

One of the most useful and valuable activities within the course was the one dedicated to the facilitation of meetings for the purpose of the establishment of a basis for collaboration between the museum and other organizations including the Ministry of Education. The activity showed that the arrangement of meetings is a complex and multifaceted procedure that involves a multitude of aspects and requires thorough planning, resources, and paper work. In that way, this internship activity provided a substantial amount of valuable professional practice. In addition, similarly to the activity reflected on previously, the one dedicated to the facilitation of meetings was directly related to the planning and forecasting skills as it was necessary to consider the course of the arranged meetings, their content, discussion questions, as well as their purpose and expected outcomes. These tasks also required appropriate time management and a deep understanding of different communication styles.

Just like in the facilitation of meetings, communication played an important role in the internship goal covering various museum procedures. To be more precise, such procedures included multiple groups of stakeholders and the application of versatile communication styles and strategies in order to establish trusting and positive relations with all of them. Also, the density of activities and tasks in this field called for careful time management so that versatile discussions and duties could be carried out on time. The use of technologies such as digital devices allowing fast communication with different people and groups helped to improve the productivity of interactions, as well as their effectiveness. All in all, museum procedures included a wide range of operations such as the cooperation with various interdisciplinary teams of professionals, the arrangement of exhibitions, the discussion of educational focuses and goals of different museum activities, the management of art pieces exhibited in the museum, as well as their storage and transportation.

One of the most interesting goals within the course of the internship was the one focused on the improvement of the museum. The activities included in this objective were versatile and covered the allocation of budget for renovation and change purposes that would help the museum function in a more effective manner and provide a better experience to its visitors. This activity was based on the evaluation of the importance and urgency of various needs of the museum and decision-making as to which needs are to be addressed primarily.

The goal that included most of the planning and evaluation was the one dedicated to the analysis of data and the alignment of the current action plan with the obtained information. This goal sounded like a general activity including the work with a bigger picture and long-term planning, projecting, and forecasting. In order to fulfil the tasks included in this goal, it was necessary to be able to draw connections between the present activities of the museum and its future projects and plans, assess their potential outcomes, required resources, and the current state of affairs with potential problems and challenges.

Overall, the internship showed that the leader’s position in a museum is related to a broad range of responsibilities and tasks. Moreover, it also covers a very diverse set of duties from communication with stakeholder groups, to the management of art pieces, their transportation, storing, and the conditions in which they are kept, budget allocation, change, innovation, and organizational improvement. In addition, shadowing the museum director helped understand the work carried out in order to stimulate the collaboration with schools and the influence on students through the maintenance of effective communication with museum tour guides. In conclusion, the internship experience demonstrated how a very wide range of activities can come together in order to create the most productive educational impact while keeping the organization well-managed, developed, and connected to various stakeholder groups and partner establishments.

Unpaid internships have become a typical requirement for several professions, including nursing, where students are expected to complete a certain number of hours in clinical settings to obtain their license. Unpaid internships have the potential to offer significant benefits to both employers and students, but they must be structured in a way that is fair and accessible to all. However, the legality of unpaid internships is a contentious issue, with some arguing that the exploitation of students’ labor contributes to income inequality. On the other hand, an unpaid internship can be a crucial leeway to developing valuable skills and experience by receiving and acting on feedback provided by seasonal professionals. Employers should be required to provide clear job descriptions, learning objectives, and regular feedback and evaluations. Interns should be provided with a stipend or other form of compensation to cover their basic living expenses. By implementing these conditions, we can ensure that internships are a valuable and accessible opportunity for all students. This essay will explore the pros and cons of unpaid internships and argue that they should be legal under certain conditions.

One of the main arguments for unpaid internships is that they offer students with priceless work experience, which can enhance their future job prospects. While an organization may not have a budget to pay interns, its ability to offer a learning opportunity should not be discouraged. Many employers prefer to hire candidates with previous work experience, and internships can allow students to develop skills and gain practical knowledge that can be applied in their future careers (Morrison, 2022). Internships provide real work or industry experience for students to link what was learned in class to real-world encounters related to their job specifications. During internships, students can access networking opportunities that may lead to job offers or references. In some companies, interns are mainly employed after completing their learning period. According to Sharma & Choudhury, M. (2023), many companies usually convert unpaid internships to full-time or part-time employment. Organizations evaluate the behavior and capabilities of interns during their learning periods and may decide to hire the best candidates. This indicates that unpaid internships can benefit new graduates or students in advancing their skills and acquiring employment.

Unpaid internships can allow students to explore different career paths and industries, helping them make informed decisions about their future. Many students enter college knowing what they want to do professionally (Morrison, 2022). Still, they may not clearly understand the day-to-day tasks and responsibilities associated with their desired career. Interning in a specific field can provide students with a firsthand look at the industry and help them decide if it is the right path. Furthermore, unpaid internships can help students develop a strong work ethic and learn how to navigate the professional world. Working in a professional environment, interacting with colleagues and superiors, and adhering to workplace norms and expectations can provide students with invaluable soft skills they can carry throughout their careers (Morrison, 2022). While unpaid internships have faced criticism for being exploitative, if structured properly, they can offer students with valuable work experience, industry exposure, and professional development opportunities. Employers must recognize interns’ value and provide them with meaningful educational experiences.

The opponents of unpaid internships claim they exploit students’ labor and contribute to income inequality. Students are expected to perform menial tasks, such as making copies or fetching coffee, that does not relate to their learning or professional development. Furthermore, internships are often only available to students who can afford to work without pay, excluding students. According to Hora et al. (2020), students will likely avoid unpaid internships if they cannot cater to costs such as housing and transport. Students from high-income backgrounds can meet the expenses required during unpaid internships, develop their skills and secure a high-earning job instead of their financially struggling counterparts. This perpetuates income inequality and limits opportunities for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. As a result, unpaid internships can create a cycle of privilege (Morrison, 2022). Only students who can afford to take on additional expenses can gain valuable work experience through internships, while others are left behind.

In some companies, interns perform tasks that are crucial and essential for the organization for free, which reduces the cost of hiring employees to fill such positions. In such instances, companies should calculate the extreme expenses incurred by the students and offer some form of compensation (Morrison, 2022). For instance, transportation allowance, rent payment and other necessities can be provided using the organization’s resources. For instance, interns are mainly categorized as gratis personnel, excluding assistance from the accommodation, food, healthcare, and transport under the United Nations system. The United Nations (UN) is one organization that has come under scrutiny for its use of unpaid internships. Between 2009 and 2015, the UN and its specialized agencies hired over 32,000 unpaid interns (Lopes, 2021). However, most of these internships are based in cities with high living costs, such as Geneva and New York, which puts a financial strain on interns. This financial burden inevitably favors local candidates and applicants from wealthier countries, resulting in a lack of geographic and socio-economic diversity within the UN System.

This lack of diversity and inclusion in UN internships has serious implications for equal opportunity and perpetuates inequalities. In a 2019 survey conducted by the Fair Internship Initiative (FII) to assess the performance of UN internship programs, it was found that 64% of the 727 interns who responded were from high-income countries, with 54% of those being from Europe and Central Asia (Lopes, 2021). In contrast, only 3% of the survey participants were from the Middle East and North Africa (Lopes, 2021). Such statistics are clear in an organization that aims to reduce inequality and promote diversity. This demonstrates that unpaid internships, by design, exclude and discriminate against those who cannot afford to work for free.

Unpaid internships should be made legal under certain circumstances to ensure they are inclusive. In addition, employers must ensure that internships are accessible to students from all backgrounds. This can be achieved by offering alternative forms of compensation, such as course credit or stipends, to ensure that students are not excluded based on their financial situation. Employers should prioritize diversity and inclusion in their recruitment efforts and actively seek out candidates from underrepresented backgrounds (Rogers et al., 2021). Companies should be allowed to offer a supportive environment for underprivileged students by providing necessary resources and partnering with other stakeholders to ensure all students can access high-quality learning through internships. Employers should prioritize diversity and inclusion in their recruitment efforts and actively seek out candidates from underrepresented backgrounds.

Ultimately, the goal of internships should be to provide students with practical experience and professional development opportunities while still benefiting the employer. By establishing clear expectations, providing regular feedback, and ensuring accessibility, employers can create a mutually beneficial relationship with interns (Buzdugan, 2020). While unpaid internships are not a perfect solution, they can provide indispensable learning opportunities for students, particularly those seeking to enter competitive industries. The students should not be subjected to hostile conditions that limit their ability to concentrate on learning during the internship period. As such, I believe that unpaid internships should be legal, but only under conditions that prioritize students’ educational and professional development and ensure accessibility for all.

In conclusion, unpaid internships have both advantages and disadvantages. While they offer valuable work experience and networking opportunities, they can also perpetuate socio-economic inequalities by favoring local and wealthier applicants. However, unpaid internships should be made legal under certain conditions. Employers should be required to provide interns with vivid job descriptions, learning objectives, and regular feedback and evaluations to help them learn and grow in their field. Interns should receive a stipend or other compensation to cover their basic living expenses, ensuring they can focus on the internship without shifting their attention to financial strain. Implementing these conditions can create a win-win situation for both employers and interns. Employers can benefit from interns’ fresh perspectives and ideas while interns gain valuable work experience and skills to boost their future employment prospects. Providing stipends or other forms of compensation to interns can ensure that internships are accessible to students from all socio-economic backgrounds, leading to greater diversity and inclusion in the workforce. By implementing these conditions, we can ensure that internships are a valuable and accessible opportunity for all students.

References

Buzdugan, H. (2020). ‘He who is silent is taken to agree’: University careers services and the problem of unpaid graduate internships. Journal of the National Institute for Career Education and Counselling, 44(1), 21-28.

Hora, M. T., Parrott, E., & Her, P. (2020). How do students conceptualise the college internship experience? Towards a student-centred approach to designing and implementing internships. Journal of Education and Work, 33(1), 48-66. Web.

Lopes B., Z., M. (2021). Unpaid is Unfair – how unpaid internships perpetuate inequality. Foraus. Web.

Morrison, A. (2022). Social and private goods: the duality of unpaid internships. Contemporary social science, 1-13. Web.

Rogers, S. E., Miller, C. D., Flinchbaugh, C., Giddarie, M., & Barker, B. (2021). All internships are not created equal: Job design, satisfaction, and vocational development in paid and unpaid internships. Human Resource Management Review, 31(1), 100723. Web.

Rothschild, P., & Rothschild, C. (2020). The unpaid internship: Benefits, drawbacks, and legal issues. Administrative Issues Journal: Connecting Education, Practice, and Research, 10(2), 1-17. Web.

Sharma, P., & Choudhury, M. (2023). Business school interns’ intention to join: studying culture, work engagement and leader-member exchange in virtual internship. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning.

Introduction

Internship programs immerse students in multidimensional problem-solving environments that help them to cultivate a wide range of competences and skills. The mental reflection on internship tenures is an essential part of learning that helps learners to better understand how the field experience contributes to their development as business professionals. The aim of this paper is to provide a report on experiential learning that lasted for two months. It will be argued that the internship was a transformative period that allowed the student to apply their knowledge in different situations, thereby arriving at practical methods of operationalizing their understanding of business and management theories.

Internship Environment

The student underwent the internship program at Cereal Killer Café located in the Dubai Mall. The café is an establishment that offers its customers a wide range of cereals with different toppings. The owners of the business have ensured that every branch reflects a retro style that helps customers to emerge in the cultural climate of the 1990s. Prior to the internship, the student was familiar with the particular style of the café and its unified working environment; therefore, the organization was the first preference for obtaining real-world experience.

The café environment was characterized by acceptance, collaboration, and integrity; therefore, all employees were free to operate both as members of a close-knit team and individuals. The environment fostered achievement and encouraged everyone to perform at their best. The café’s staff members recognized hard work performed by the student and spurred their motivation by verbalizing appreciation for behaviors conducive to the successful functioning of the establishment. Therefore, during the internship tenure, it was easy to feel valued, which is critical to succeeding as a team.

Expectations

The actuality of the involvement in the program was radically different from the student’s expectations. Although the student anticipated that the experience would make a substantial impact on their understanding of the business environment and its internal processes, the field experience provided an opportunity for intellectual and professional growth that challenged their expectations. For example, by being responsible for tracking monthly operating expenses, it was possible to understand the essential components of the business’s financial health. In addition, experiential learning helped the intern to develop strong cash management expertise which is essential for ensuring the financial sustainability of any organization. It follows, that the internship positively differed from the student’s previously held beliefs about professional development.

Career Choices

The internship became an impetus for focusing the student’s analytical lenses on their career choices. The excitement of the filed experience was augmented by the necessity to think about future career prospects, which exposed the participant to limitless growth opportunities. It follows that the internship can be regarded as a practical exercise in meaning-making that, in addition to strengthening the business expertise of the student, helped them to commence their professional journey. In other words, the experience was essential in helping the intern to determine which career path to take. Thus, the program was undertaken with the understanding that it prepared the student for visualizing their dream career direction.

Duties

A combination of confidence and expertise is necessary for performing any duty; it is especially so when it comes to working in a fast-paced environment of the twenty-first-century business. During the placement, the student was concentrated on both learning and performance components of the experience, which made it difficult to had identical levels of focus for the two dimensions of the practice. Fortunately, the supervisor-supervisee relationship in the café was characterized by understanding and support. Therefore, whenever the student was not confident about moving to a new task after reaching a considerable level of skill on a previous assignment, they were encouraged and provided with guidance a degree of which always matched their expertise. Furthermore, a supervisor never failed to formulate learning goals in such a manner as to ensure that properly performed duties provided important service to the café and the student.

Skills

During the internship, the student was responsible for daily sales activities in Cereal Killer Café, which provided them with a host of opportunities for developing their sales management skills. By overseeing business operations at the café, the intern learned how to maintain and increase sales volume, communicate with suppliers, order products, and perform other managerial duties. Furthermore, the placement familiarized the student with numerous tech solutions. For example, the supervisor asked the intern to streamline the process of employee schedules coordination. After conducting thorough research, the student arrived at an application that could improve the efficiency of both employee scheduling and payroll calculation—Planday. The intern mastered the software and taught the supervisor how to create customizable schedule templates that could serve the unique needs of the café. In addition to acquiring tech expertise, the internship tenure helped the student to develop leadership, oral communication, conflict resolution, and online marketing skills.

Alignment with Education

The student’s academic background was of enormous help in the business environment because a solid command of administration and economics allowed them to navigate through daily activities of the café with relative ease. Even though the organizational environment and working conditions were associated with numerous challenges, the ability to fill knowledge gaps by performing thorough research facilitated the successful fulfillment of primary responsibilities. The education was aligned with tasks encountered during the internship in that it allowed the student to apply their knowledge of sustainable business development and problem-solving skills to increase the efficiency of the organization. Specifically, by the end of the tenure, the café’s sales grew by 19.5 percent. The importance of the achievement is underscored by the fact that the internship lasted for only two months. Therefore, it can be argued that the educational foundation proved to be extremely useful for the field experience.

Accomplishments and Drawbacks

The internship was associated with peaks and valleys in terms of individual performance. The following situation exemplifies the proudest moment of experiential learning. The student was tasked with improving the branch’s social media marketing campaign the aim of which was to expand the café’s customer base. Upon analyzing the current social media strategy of the organization, the intern realized that customer outreach could be substantially increased by the creation of an Instagram account. The account featured the location, key products, and giveaways such as rare cereal packages.

The least proud moment of the internship was a failure to deliver the first monthly sales report on time. Upon deliberating on the issue, the student understood that the mistake occurred because of the lack of technical expertise. The intern tried to learn from the mistake and took active steps to ensure that the situation did not repeat during the second month.

Responsibilities

The intern helped the café manager to oversee the operational activities of the establishment. The internship involved a wide range of responsibilities that were changed by the supervisor in accordance with the student’s learning of their core elements. For example, when the intern mastered the allocation of resources to ensure that staff coverage matched customer demand, they were tasked with tracking weekly and monthly revenues, which was the most important task of the placement. At the end of the fifth week of the internship, the student was capable of ordering product supplies and tracking the establishment’s inventory. The supervisor trusted the intern with other responsibilities that included but was not limited to, controlling food disposal standards, preparing employee schedules, managing vendor invoices, and enforcing safety standards. The breadth of the area of responsibility suggested a high level of trust that was gained by the student.

Criticism

The leadership style of the supervisor precluded them from criticizing the student. Therefore, instead of producing harsh evaluative judgments, the manager tended to provide feedback in a manner that facilitated the development of a productive supervisor-supervisee relationship.

Transition

The transition from being a student to becoming an employee in the for-profit organization was challenging. However, continuous support from co-workers and the desire to use work-based learning for personal and professional growth helped the intern to adjust to the demanding environment.

Roles and Tasks

The most valuable role that the student assumed during the internship was a sales manager. The role presupposed maintenance of the café’s financial records and coordination of sales activities. To successfully perform this role, it was necessary to develop strong organizational skills. The student’s ability to use administrative software was a great asset during the program.

The least valuable role was food waste control, which involved adherence to waste disposal requirements. To this end, the student studied guidelines on the disposal of biodegradable and non-biodegradable materials, which is information with an extremely limited range of applicability.

Goal

Prior to embarking on the program, the student established a goal that they wanted to achieve. The goal was structured along the following dimensions: knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The knowledge domain presupposed familiarizing with the business environment of a city in which the café operated—Dubai. The skill dimension involved the development of managerial skills. With respect to attitude, the student planned on developing an appreciation for teamwork and task-centeredness. By focusing on these three dimensions, the student wanted to ensure that their experience would help them to both obtain a degree and land gainful employment.

Conflict

The internship tenure was a period, which was largely devoid of on-going friction. However, the student’s and a co-worker’s incompatibility with regard to performance expectations resulted in the emergence of a minor conflict. The intern was cognizant of the fact that conflict resolution is a collective endeavor; therefore, they used their communication skills to manage the situation. Specifically, instead of avoiding a confrontation, a collaborating approach was taken, which allowed us to reframe the situation and arrive at a win-win solution.

Another example of a workplace conflict that occurred during the program, is a misunderstanding between the student and the café’s supplier who failed to maintain the consistent quality of their products. The supplier disputed the student’s claims, which resulted in a confrontation. The mutual satisfaction was attained when the student convinced the seller to agree to a temporary solution: deliver only 75 percent of the needed stock, which was characterized by high quality, and provide the rest of the supply later.

Lessons

During the culmination stage of the internship, the student assessed their progress in order to internalize key lessons, which shaped their understanding of the professional environment. The intern learned that every crisis situation within the business context can be turned into a learning opportunity. The internship was also central to the development of a flexible, open-minded, and receptive frame of mind, which was necessary for improving the operational efficiency of the café. The program participant was also able to establish the connection between theoretical and practical elements of work-based learning, thereby strengthening their practical reasoning. These and other lessons derived from the internship program will support the student in future professional pursuits and help them realize their career ambitions.

Objective

The student was focused on solving real-world problems in the business setting through the application of their academic knowledge to assigned tasks. This internship objective, as well as realistic expectations, helped the participant to ensure that the program unfolded as was expected.

Conclusion

The paper has detailed a report on the internship program that took place at Cereal Killer Café located in the Dubai Mall. It has been argued that the work-based learning experience provided the student with a chance to develop professional skills that augmented their academic knowledge. The application of business theories in the professional environment resulted in a substantial improvement in the café’s bottom line, which was highly appreciated by the establishment’s management. Therefore, it can be argued that the internship was a valuable experience that benefited both the student and the organization.