If I were CEO at Atlanta Magazine

         Over the course of my internship at Atlanta Magazine, I realized how many different aspects there are to a magazine, yet how important it is that there is a respectable CEO who can keep the company working well together. The CEO of the magazine was not very well liked by many employees, and I would overhear them complaining about him on multiple occasions. I think it’s important that the CEO has a good relationship with employees, in order to keep the company running smoothly and successfully.

            On the other hand, I worked for the Head of Marketing and Event Planning, who I could not have enjoyed more. He was very appreciative of my work, which was very encouraging because although it seemed boring at times, he really needed it done. He would also let me leave every day when I was done with what I was working on, which I really appreciated. He understood that it was doing nobody any good for me to be sitting around with nothing to work on! If I could change something about my internship, it would have been to learn more about the magazine industry. Although the work that I did was very helpful to my boss, I felt as if I wasn’t really learning very much. I think it’s really valuable that an intern learns as much as possible about a particular industry, and I wish I had learned a bit more than I did. All in all, I really enjoyed working for Randy and felt that this was a great internship!

Closing Thoughts

It is crazy how fast the summer flew during my internship at Cardinal Health.  The last week of work was jammed pack full with interviews for potential positions within the EMERGE leadership rotational program next year as well as a final presentation. 

EMERGE is a 3-4 year rotational program that Cardinal Health offers for high potential students who want to be leaders in the future.  Each year you are in a different position within your area of interest and sometimes you even get to relocate to other locations There are a variety of positions based on your area of interest: Finance, Engineering, IT, Marketing, Sales, HR, and a couple more.  I interviewed for both the Marketing and Sales EMERGE program.  It was neat because the majority of people I interviewed with were at the Vice President level of their respective field.  I am crossing my fingers and will hear back at the beginning of September if I am offered a full time position for next year. 

I also had my end of summer presentation during the final week of my internship. During my presentation I was able to talk about the different projects I worked on throughout the summer as well as the variety of intern events I was involved in.  We all had to give 20 minute presentations to some of our fellow interns, our managers, coworkers, and the leaders of the College Relations team.  I was a little nervous at first but everything went really smoothly.   It was neat to hear about all of the other cool projects that interns worked on during the summer and how we each had a big impact on the company as a whole.  Overall it was a great summer and I learned a lot about myself and the healthcare industry. 

The CEO George Barrett even showed up at a Michigan intern event.  Go Blue! 

CEO for a day at Scoutmob

           If I were CEO for a day at Scoutmob, I would definitely run parts of the company similarly, but I would also change other aspects. First, after spending time at Scoutmob, I have realized the importance of a welcoming work environment. The Scoutmob office was all one room, which I enjoyed because it allowed me to interact easily with employees from all different parts of the company whether or not I actually specifically worked with them and their department. The office was also extremely decorated and upbeat, which I enjoyed. If the office was not a lively office, it would have been much harder to sit in it all day. On the other hand, I found it to be very difficult to sit inside at the same desk everyday. It would be very dark and quiet at times, which made the days drag on for what seemed like forever. If I were CEO, I would try to add something to the office to make the days go by quicker! For example, every other week the King of Pops truck would visit the office, and everyone would take a break and eat a popsicle outside. It was always something to look forward to, and proved to be a great break from my day.

            I would also make sure that all of my employees (and interns) were content with what they were working on. Jarod would always check to see if there were any departments other than marketing that I was interested in learning more about, which was very nice of him. On the other hand, I definitely didn’t have enough work, and he didn’t have a lot for me to do many days. That being said, if I were CEO I would either either give my interns more to work on, or let them leave for the day.   

            Lastly, I think it’s very important that the CEO is approachable. As an intern (and as a regular employee), it’s very important to enjoy you are working for; it definitely has a direct correlation with the success of the company!

CEO for a day - Katz Direct

            Since a lot of the work done at Katz Direct requires communication and a cohesive work environment, there cubicle walls were specifically built to be lower to allow this interaction and sense of community to occur. Though the constant murmur of chatting can become distracting at times, the low walls ultimately help with productivity. People are able to ask each other questions about the work assignments and it winds up relieving of the monotony that often corresponds with a cubicle/office environment. If I were CEO there are a few things I would change about the office set-up. Every level of employee that works at Katz Direct are on the same floor of the building, but I actually did not find out who was whose boss until the last day. Regardless, everyone was treated with an equivalent respect. The company could maybe benefit by closer interaction with the television stations (advertisement buyers). The only current interaction is through e-mail and the Excel/DDS system, which can actually sometimes get passive aggressive. Also, as far as the internship went, I felt as though I would often spend a lot of time with no work to do. I would have been happy to have taken on more responsibility and I’m sure the company could have used an extra hand in some areas. 

CEO for a day - Katz Direct

            Since a lot of the work done at Katz Direct requires communication and a cohesive work environment, there cubicle walls were specifically built to be lower to allow this interaction and sense of community to occur. Though the constant murmur of chatting can become distracting at times, the low walls ultimately help with productivity. People are able to ask each other questions about the work assignments and it winds up relieving of the monotony that often corresponds with a cubicle/office environment. If I were CEO there are a few things I would change about the office set-up. Every level of employee that works at Katz Direct are on the same floor of the building, but I actually did not find out who was whose boss until the last day. Regardless, everyone was treated with an equivalent respect. The company could maybe benefit by closer interaction with the television stations (advertisement buyers). The only current interaction is through e-mail and the Excel/DDS system, which can actually sometimes get passive aggressive. Also, as far as the internship went, I felt as though I would often spend a lot of time with no work to do. I would have been happy to have taken on more responsibility and I’m sure the company could have used an extra hand in some areas. 

CEO for a Day - Elvis Duran and the Morning Show

            The Elvis Duran and the Morning Show has been on for years so the routine is very consistent each day that the show is on. Everyone knows what their responsibilities are and know that they need to get done on a very precise schedule considering the show is live. The show is recorded at New York’s z100 radio station, which is run by Clear Channel Media and Entertainment. This summer, Clear Channel began enforcing a new program called WorkDay, which employees must sign in and out of each day of work as well as request vacation days. Though in theory this may be a good way to keep track of hours, there are many limitations to this program that upset the z100 employees. For example, the way it is set up the program dissuades workers from working overtime. This prohibits people from going above and beyond, which is necessary in this creative industry. As CEO of this company I would rid of this program. Also, since a lot of the work done at the station, especially that I do, requires assitstance from people other departments, namely video and web. This can often get frustrating because everyone is extremely busy and many times do not have enough time in the work day to get to projects that are not their own. As CEO, I would make the work environment more cohesive, allowing for the various departments to work together and get projects done more quickly.