AMG Media Group Internship Experience

Semester

BUS 315

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Firm / Agency Where You Interned

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Today’s Date

AMG Media Group Internship Experience

Section A

            I decided to do my internship with Albayan Media Group, AMG, a major publishing firm that focuses on producing magazines, editing stories, and taking photos among other projects. On the first day, I made a mental note to achieve specific goals. Regarding academic achievement, I wanted to learn as much as I could about the different departments within a publishing firm. I was expected to learn vital skills that would allow me to become an asset in the media fraternity. I am satisfied to say that in hindsight, I achieved all the benchmarks set out by the supervisor. I started out at the editorial department where the main work was to examine delivered scripts for errors, illogical ideas, and oversights. After this, I was relocated to the publisher’s department, an office that focused on setting the vision of the rest of the organization, supervising the printing operations as well as other issues such as sales. The most exciting part of the internship was being relocated to the creative department. This office had duties such as designing the cover art, book layout and the titles. I was responsible for doing all these tasks, a job that I heartily accepted especially given that I was in charge of determining the magazine campaigns. I learned about social media campaigns, and the manner in which I could use them to promote the new publications.

            The skills learned in the previous section will boost my career in several ways. One, I expect that the proficiencies that I acquire in the publishing house will improve my ability to progress within the publishing industry. I am planning to look for a job within the same sector, and I know that maximizing my time during the internship period is necessary. When I joined the organization as an intern, I had the chance to work hands-on in an official setting. While I was an intern, I gained actual work experience. During my time at the organization, I had the privilege of experimenting with possible career lines and exploring different alternatives. Another aspect of working with the publishing house is that there are numerous chances of networking. The internship will give me the opportunity to participate in critical official events. In the process of interacting with different experts, I will gain new connections and understand how to correspond in a professional context. Personally, this internship has introduced me to diverse useful resources. It has also given me the chance to encounter many skilled professionals in the publishing industry. Networking has assisted me in getting references and other new jobs. Towards the end of the internship period, I even managed to meet one of my current mentors.

            College education has been useful in preparing me for an internship position. While on campus, the professors handled the courses uniquely. The intention was to instruct us on particular skills that they knew would be advantageous in the corporate sector. There was a deliberate effort to match their curriculum with the skills and abilities demanded the different job opportunities in print media. Apart from this, the college curriculum also had essential life skills integrated into the courses. Some of the professors encouraged us to think extensively. In the process, they developed our critical-thinking abilities as well as our abilities to tackle different problems. While in class, the lessons gradually honed in on my creative and writing skills through practice. We were already aware of the upcoming internship period. To that extent, we even had an orientation session with potential recruiters who encouraged us to intern at their firms. Our school administration included specialized training for us that prepared us for all the challenges of starting a new job. Lastly, college education also assisted me by availing the necessary resources so that I could practice my skills since the first year. The college has massive resources for writing and publication that are available at no charge to students across all the years. Most of my earliest works including the school magazine were fully funded and supported by the campus administration. From this analysis, it is evident that the institution had fully prepared us for the internship period.

After spending two weeks in my new position as an intern, I am in a position to make a detailed observation of my professional and personal experience. Taking up the internship position at a new organization was a very challenging decision for me. The major difficulties resulted from several obstacles. One of them was that it was a new environment and therefore, I was very nervous when it came to working with other people. Even after the introductions, I was still unfamiliar with all the norms and standards set by the company. The human resource department was fundamental in easing me through the transition. The department showed me the essential functions and allowed me to try them on my own. The first week was dedicated to learning about the organizational structure and fitting in especially considering that the organization adopted a laissez-faire structure. Throughout the two weeks, I began processing the way in which people worked in the office. I noticed a similarity that was evident in the corporate sector across the world. The pressure to deliver on time and produce accurate results is very challenging. New interns are forced to overcompensate to fit in and survive. I felt this pressure, and I realized that it could be disastrous in the long term. Exposure to stressful conditions is a common aspect of the corporate sector, and this reduces worker’s lifespan. I felt that this was a key reason why most people in formal jobs struggle with poor health conditions. As far as the distribution of workload was concerned, I noted that diversity was being embraced in the private sector. Sometimes, jobs were available with flexible hours while, on other occasions, hardly any work was available. Working in a publishing company had its benefits especially regarding increased access to different writing opportunities as well as learning complex writing skills. I had a visit from the supervisor after the third week, and I was a bit nervous. However, I realized that the campus was authentically interested in my progress.

Section B

            AMG is a service media firm that offered communication and creative solutions. The company was established in 1994, and since this time, it has grown to reach approximately $9 billion in revenue every year.AMG have their headquarters in the Kingdom of Bahrain and other subsidiaries in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Regarding their workforce, AMG has over 100 full-time staff that is located in different countries around the world. The organization’s branches are furnished by first-class, sophisticated facilities and technology, and this has allowed the company to offer excellent services to all its customers. Their strategy towards customers is ensuring that they offer competitive rates and effective products and services. They also offer a wide range of products and services. These services are offered courtesy of a confident group of experienced professionals liaising directly with customers to handle brands and exploit benefits. AMG works by evaluating all the marketing tools and proposing a combination that works best for each client. I noticed that a core aspect of all their solutions involved innovation.

            It is equally imperative to evaluate the nature of the publishing industry, as this will give an insight into the position held by AMG Media Group. This industry is characterized by the production of books, magazines, and journals amongst other forms of print media. In the recent decade, I have witnessed a significant change in the media used within the industry. There has been a tendency to embrace digital platforms such as the internet and mobile phones. The nature of the products in this industry follows a similar path. The content is developed by interns, writers, and editors after which the photographers add the pictures. After this process, any other additional content from freelance writers is included. The manuscript is then reviewed by the chief editor after which it is sent back for grammatical changes and addition of captions. Apart from informative content and entertainment, most publications have also integrated an aspect of advertisement. Therefore, within the industry, a significant number of companies have dedicated themselves to offering advertisement and promotion. This move has raised the profile of the industry and made it possible for more entrants to join.

            In the last decade, the sale of advertisements, particularly classifieds, has transformed into the primary source of income for publication and print houses. These dedicated advertising agencies collaborate with clients in vending the virtual space (Woodside, 2017). A small section of the advertisements is produced exclusively by advertising companies while the majority of content is developed by multipurpose companies of which AMD Media Group is one. Our company enlists the help of scriptwriters and graphic designers in the advertising department. The process of compiling all the content in the magazines and newspapers is facilitated by publishing software. These advancements in printing and publication have allowed for automation of newspaper production. Lastly, the publishing industry has been characterized by an influx of social media that complements the existing news.

            I had the pleasure of experiencing another dominant wing of their company, the Trainme center that was created to offer strategic training programs that would augment the employee’s potentials, improve their knowledge, and foster their skills and abilities, with the end objective of changing their performance and proficiency in the workplace. The training center functions in partnership with certified domestic and international tutors in several disciplines including media, marketing, public relations, & communications. It is clear that AMG Media Group is an international company interested in changing the industry.

            It is imperative to understand the core values, vision, and mission as this contributes towards AMG’s culture. The company’s vision is to be “…. regionally acknowledged as the market leader in providing innovative, accredited media, marketing, and communication training solutions”. On the other hand, AMG’s mission and duty are to offer first-class media, marketing and communication solutions for individual customers and corporations, and to assist them to realize maximum outcomes with positive, quantifiable impact on the economy. On the other side, Trainme functions under the fundamental principles of the parent company, Albayan Media Group, and therefore, exhibits the same values. However, the section that deals exclusively with training also embraces the value of empowerment. Trainme is interested in empowering employees, promoting innovation at different levels as well as excellence that surpasses ordinary standards.

One of the company’s strengths is the massive investment in employee development. AMG Media Group has invested heavily in training interns as well as full-time employees to ensure that they are equipped with best skills and experiences. They intend to train their workforce on the industrially acceptable standards, as this will increase their competence across different markets. The training also integrates the domestic norms and culture of the organization to ensure that AMG employees are suited to working in the departments.

            Another area in which AMG Media Group does well is the branding and marketing of their products and services. The company has invested heavily in developing their products to ensure that they can meet the customer’s demands. They have perfected the art of creating a first-class image that justifies the high price margins for their services. Publications originating from AMG have always been lauded as high quality and professional when compared to the rest of the competitors.

On the other hand, AMD Media Group has several flaws that affect its public reputation and employee motivation. One such limitation is that since the company has its headquarters in Bahrain, there has been relative complacency surrounding the role of religion in business. Most of the activities are centered on the religious calendar, and this may discriminate against non-Muslim customers, partners, and suppliers. Many of the customers are forced to comply with the numerous traditions and cultures that control the business activities within the region. The close connection between religion and business is responsible for restricting the benefits accessible to customers in the Western world. The most affected areas within the company include advertisement and choice of products that are highly regulated by the state.

Another area in which AMD Media Group is still lagging behind is in dealing with the competition. Theoretically, the company embraces the concept of competitiveness, but in reality, this has been difficult to achieve. The company focused on specializing in its products and services with the intention of implementing a price differentiation strategy. AMD has failed to implement this strategy, and therefore, they are less competitive. This poor strategy lowers their profit margins extensively since it affects the volumes of existing and new customers who visit their stores. Their inability to adjust their prices to match the purchasing power of the buyers has led to lower sales. In the long run, I believe this will be a real problem for the company.

Concerning placement within the organization, I can say that I was well placed with regards to my skills ad my role. As mentioned earlier, the organization has approximately 100 employees within its headquarters. In this workforce, the most significant percentage of employees is skilled in the human resource and publishing disciplines. Therefore, they contributed immensely towards the creative aspects of the company. While this was a beneficial addition to the company, it created a significant vacuum that had to be filled. The implication of having a workforce with imbalanced skill sets is massive on an international corporation such as AMD Media Group. It implied that they had to deal with rising wage expenditure caused by high profile professionals assigned to specific departments while other departments had a shortage.

Within the company, I discovered that I was a ready fit mainly because of my combined skills set. I can handle the financial aspects of doing business within the modern corporation. The role is beyond my area of expertise as an editor of several magazines since college. This combination of skills was vital within AMD Media Group ranks since it was rare. When I started the internship, I had to go through all the departments as a requirement by the supervisor and the curriculum. However, after the formalities were completed, I settled down in the creative department because of several reasons. One, the department was grossly understaffed, and therefore, they had a significant backlog that had already started affecting their reputation. Two, and most importantly, my combination of finance and print media made me a very active intern in the creative department. AMD Media Group was in search of an individual that could marry the two concepts, and I happened to be the most appropriate candidate at the time. My understanding of the relationship between effective communication in marketing and the subsequent financial profits was necessary for the department.

Section C

            The following section captures the valuation of my internship experiences. After the internship, I learned several key things about myself deliberately and unintentionally as well. I realized that I am very inspired and dedicated entirely to performing tasks with readiness. I also realized that I am willing to work alone as well as in teams depending on the task. Initially, I was not interested in working with other people but this attitude changed over the time I worked at AMG Media Group. Before my internship, I have had the privilege of working with teams on other occasions such as group work in a PR campaign course while in college. However, at AMG Media Group, I had the opportunity of taking real-life risks, exchanging opinions, extending real-time solutions and implementing them. I realized that also appreciate carrying out studies for AMG on various topics as I acquired more experience while being a part of different research initiatives in the past. Another realization that I got was that highlighting my dislikes is also essential. For instance, I tend to do other people’s jobs if I do not have any duties of my own. This is because I try to impress my superiors with my ability to outperform the rest of the employees. The skills I acquired in the process of working at AMG Media Group include strategy planning, communication, and problem-solving skills.

            I had the opportunity to deal with AMG Media Group customers. During the many sessions that I interacted with the diverse clientele, I was given the role of addressing the phone calls from existing and potential clients. Many of these individuals were inclined to insist on an assortment of demands such as campaigns as well as social media solutions. The situation is commonplace since AMG is one of the leading companies in the publishing industry. Some clients were patient concerning their requirements such as deadlines and the quality of their products. On other occasions, customers could demand that their projects be promptly addressed particularly in situations such as events that involved high profile individuals. In one such case, one of the customers had a short timeframe for a graphic design project, and by the time the deadline had reached, the work was not complete. The customer was displeased with the outcome and expressed her sentiments with my superior. The negative comments dampened the working conditions in the office for several days as the employees sought to rectify the issues of late projects. This situation, despite being negative, was a crucial learning experience on the need to meet the customer’s expectations, as well as how to deal with a demanding work schedule.

Achieving Goals

I can safely say that I realized most of my goals. One of the objectives was to dedicate myself towards working hard during the months that I was in AMG Media Group. I intended to display my abilities to perform and lend a hand in developing major projects. My intended outcome was to ensure that I left a lasting legacy within the ranks of the organization. I wanted to become a model employee that could be referred to in meetings and conferences as a productive and invaluable member of the organization. Personally, my time at AMG was very challenging and informative. I had the chance to reach new heights with my publication and editing skills. I also got to do most tasks in a conventional publisher’s house such as significant projects. The majority of employees gave me a favorable recommendation when I had finished my time at the company.

I also had the goal of developing new networks that would help me progress in the publishing industry. When I first started working in the organization, I expected to make new acquaintances and business partners that would prove useful later in life. I can safely say that I made many new friends in different firms who have succeeded in the industry. These friends have been fundamental in maintaining my success levels through partnership and support. I have also managed to make friends with most of AMG’s employees. Having a strong professional network is imperative. This network will prove useful when it comes to recommending my resume to other organizations in the future. I have always been outgoing and accommodative, and therefore, I think that these two character traits make an excellent networker.

            In retrospect, I would say that my internship period at AMG Media Group was advantageous and fundamental in my growth within the publishing career. The level of professionalism and the quality of products, as well as services offered by the company, have been vital in ensuring that it remains on top of its competitors. During my time as an intern, I learned many aspects of the business and they included the best way to network with other employees, the role played by each department, and the changes that have taken place in the media within the last decade. After completing my internship at AMG, I am in a position to appreciate that this company prepared me for the real world situation. The skills and experiences that I have gathered over the months in the company will be beneficial when I start employment.

References

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Woodside, M. (2017). The human services internship experience: Helping students find their way. Los Angeles: SAGE

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