First and second module of PY program equipped me with the general skills which are required especially in ICT sector in the Australian workplace culture. In Business Communication module I learned various techniques to improve my English language ability and in Australian Workplace Culture (AWC) course I got familiar with the expected work environment in Australia. Internship phase was the crucial one because I was expected to use my own skills that I have learned throughout my academic years and to enhance my working style along with learning new techniques. This week is my last week at my workplace and on looking back, I can say that my confidence level has increased. Apart from that my interpersonal, communication and team work skills have also got refined. The list of new skills that I gained during Internship includes:

Communication, Team work & Decision making

• Professional writing, speaking and presentation skills 
• Hosting meetings with the clients 
• Ability to ‘ask up’ with confidence 
• Working within team provided me better understanding of different situations for example, meetings, reporting, adjustment and conflict resolution
• Self decision making skills while working on sophisticate tasks

Organizational, Management & Analytic skills

• Proper planning and sharing information with peers
• Managing small team and leadership qualities
• Scheduling tasks, measuring and recording performance
• Following deadlines for deliverables of the project
• Analysing various risks and issues and preparing remedy to avoid impact
• Analytical review of different products

IT skills (ICT)

• Microsoft Project 2003 – used in project management
• Axure RP Pro 5.0 – used for generating Functional Specifications
• Microsoft Office Suite – in more professional way
• Google Analytics – to measure performance of the web site and making decisions accordingly
• QA skills – how to test from user’s perspective

Strengths and example how I demonstrated them

1. Analytical Skills: I did review and analysis of various products which were required by our business and for the project. I analysed business processes and suggested techniques to improve according to the new requirements.
2. Business fundamentals: I have learned various business subjects for example, commercial law, business Information Systems, Total Quality Management, Business Marketing and used my skills learned throughout these set of courses in making decisions and in managing project related tasks, complying with rules and regulations.
3. IT Project Management: Demonstrated skills in managing project, includes scheduling, resource allocation and management, measuring and tracking performance, reporting and identifying risks.
4. Communication and interpersonal skills: I hosted meetings within my team and with external clients, prepared weekly and project performance reports and forwarded them to CEO.  Delivered presentations on some occasions to inform team members regarding new projects and tasks.

Weaknesses and strategies for future improvements

1. Time management: I use to start working on different tasks simultaneously resulting delay in some crucial activities. To improve this I am working on analysis skills needed to prioritize tasks so that I would not end up in chaotic situation.
2. English Language skills: I have ability to communicate in English both in written and in oral, but still I believe that I do not possess knack in English that is required to touch high level of professionalism. To overcome this, I am constantly receiving tips from my brother who is a English Teacher, help from my friends and by reading books on various topics.

My role is to work as Business Analyst (BA) and assisting Project Manager (PM). As BA I am providing my services to gather requirements from clients and generating Functional Specifications and passing to my developer team. For this I arrange meetings with my clients where I ask them number of questions regarding what exactly they required from the proposed system and also let them know our capability with respect to available technology and tools. I do proper documenting and convert those requirements into easy to understand documents so that Developers can read the things easily. In my other role which is as PM, I complete the schedule of the project using Microsoft Project 2003. Adding resources, managing calendar, assigning resources to specific tasks, assisting team members to carry out activities, monitoring milestones and deliverables, reporting to the CEO and other departments regarding the progress and update information. I also create action plans and study risks if any.

There is also one more role that I played and that is as QA. I did QA of our completed project. I provided valuable assistance in this process and for this my mentor specially recognised and recommended my name to CEO to do QA for our other new project.

Innovative suggestions to be considered or made

At two occasions my mentor gave me tasks to review different products that were of importance to our project. One was, in our project our developers said that they require Digital Certificate for the HTTPS version of our website. I did survey of available organizations that provide this facility and after comparison and reviewing different features and pricing options I prepared a Review Document for our CEO where I recommended DigiCert Inc. After examining whole document my CEO told to go with option recommended by me. In second instance, I did review of different organizations that provide facility in sending email campaigns. I prepared presentation and Review Document and again product recommended my me got finalised by our CEO, she praised my efforts and everyone from the presentation greeted me with thanks.

Theory and practice are two different aspects of learning or doing any type of work. Generally, theory comes at the first stage it provides basic knowledge to carry out certain specific tasks or processes in any stream. Then knowledge gained from theory is then used in the real situation or on activity, this stage is known as practice. I gained knowledge (theory) from my years of hard work that is devoted in learning from various institutes and people throughout my life. Now as working as an intern at ArtsHub I got a chance to implement that knowledge.

I would specifically like to mention the theory that I studied during my PY program at CQU. First two modules were totally based on various theoretic portions of what is required at workplace in Australian culture. Business communication and Australian Workplace Culture helped me to equip with required knowledge that I can use to progress in the real world. At this stage I can say that Communication skills that I learned from my tutor are of great importance. All various techniques that I learned from those two courses are based on the actual work environment.

ICT use in this company

My organization operates online business. It operates two different website versions, one for Australia and another for UK market. For this we are using a mixture of ICT tools. For example, web development tools, softwares, services from ISP and other third party, communication channel using email server, MSN, Skype, Analytical tools (Google Analytics, Spreadsheets) to measure performance of the website and basic landline telephone facilities as well.

Technology that I am using to complete tasks

As I am working as Business Analyst and also providing services to Senior Project Manager, there are some specific tools and services which are helping me to carry out tasks effectively and on time. The list is as follows:

• Microsoft Office Suite:
  • Word: This tool is used for managing variety of documents ranging from recording meeting minutes, gathering business and functional requirements, making reports and reviews for managerial posts etc.
  • Powerpoint: I use this to deliver presentations for CEO and my senior manager.
  • Excel: This spreadsheet tools helps me to analyse huge amount of data.
  • Outlook: To send and receive emails and for sending meetings alerts.
• Microsoft Project 2003: This is very powerful tool used in project management.
• Axure RP Pro 5.0:  This software provides functionality to generate Functional Specifications based on the requirements.
• Communication Technologies: MSN messenger, Microsoft Outlook, Telephone
• Mantis: This is an online tools used to register, track and rectify any potential risks or issues.
• Local Intranet: To connect with server and other peers.

Working style relating to MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) type:

MBTI test that I took in my previous module states that I am, slightly expressed extravert, moderately expressed intuitive, slightly expressed thinking and moderately expressed judging person. This result reflects my personality accurately and according to my behaviour.

According to the first point (Extravert personality) I am kind of person who likes company of others. At my work place, I feel comfortable within my team and always provide my best in the work given to me. My supervisor and other members always appreciate for my efforts that I show towards the given tasks which boosts my confidence. Conversely, I always keep in mind to respect feelings of others who are around me so that knowingly or unknowingly, I would not hurt them. I always take fair decisions by my own which are good for organization and for my team as well. I always stay organized by planning tasks and finish them according to their dependencies.

Professional Year Program (AWC/Business communication modules) undertaken through CQU has provided a very good platform to kick start my career in ICT sector. I believe that two modules of this program that we have already done helped us to polish our communication techniques. I am saying this because now working in a real environment provided me clear idea on how important the communication is in the live world. Perhaps, because of this I have not faced any potential problem whilst getting use to the processes which are part of working atmosphere in my organization. I am enjoying the company of my team members who are really helpful and always wiling to help. Apart from that working with Ms. Margaret (ACS PICT mentor) is also of great knowledge but schedule is too tight. I have divided my week in three major tasks and few minors as well, that’s why I have said that my week is packed. Five days a week I work with my host organization, and 7 days a week (almost 3 hours/day) I work on the ACS PICT Moodle. Furthermore, I also work 3 nights a week on my usual job because as I am not earning anything through internship, so I need some money to pay my rent and bills. Apart from this, I also try to fetch few hours from my busy schedule to work on CQU Moodle and for necessary household tasks.

There are a few strategies that I implement to solve problems in my professional and personal life. For instance, clear, precise and prompt communication with others helps me to understand the problem in a better way in lieu of wasting time otherwise spent on useless assessment. Using best available tools also helps in overcoming barriers in the way of pursuing tasks.

My organization is making best use of available technology for the communication purpose. Different communication techniques including Skype, email, intranet, internet, phone (landline/cellular), MSN messenger, reports, word documents are providing best alternatives to communicate among members of different teams working on same objective. The team in which I am working consists of 5 members. Apart from above mentioned ways we are also using traditional way of communication which includes face-to-face meetings on regular basis so that everyone stay up-to date and informed about the progress of the project. No matter which ever way one is using, the main thing is that everyone participates in a professional and in pleasant way whilst interacting with others.

I am working as an intern at ArtsHub Australia. ArtsHub is a leading website operator, who deals in the arts sector. I am working there as a Business Analyst, as well as assisting senior project manager. As a project co-ordinator my senior manager has assigned me to conduct weekly meetings, which involves taking minutes and documenting activities along with gathering business and functional requirements from the clients. I have also learned how to generate weekly and monthly reports and hopefully from next week onwards I will start working on them independently.

Time management

Time management is one of the crucial attribute which determines the success of any task either personal or work related. To manage my work I always divide my tasks based on the priorities and dependency. This strategy helps me to finish critical tasks before they make any negative impact on the overall process. Often I sort out the priorities of the tasks, however, if I experience difficulty in sorting then I feel no hesitation in getting help from my mentor there.  This applies same on my personal commitments. I have managed my personal tasks in a way that I know that they are not going to interrupt my official work in anyway. For example, before working as an intern I used to work somewhere else for 6 days a week but now keeping in mind the importance of internship, I have decreased my work there to only three days a week and rest of the week I go at the ArtsHub.

Environment at ArstHub is very much employee friendly, by this I mean to say that every one enjoys doing work there. There is no burden of restricted hours, any can work one their own pace but still everyone uses hours towards work related processes instead of wasting on trivial activities. For me this environment is not only the place where I can enhance my skills but also provides me opportunity to interact with other employees who are working there. Team in which I am involved is of four people, everyone is always ready to offer help to each other and also appreciates endeavour of other members which provides boost in the outcome towards common objective.

Furthermore, there is not recommended dress code, its upto you what ever you want to wear, perhaps this is because this organization is working in the Arts sector which is creativity driven but this is only my view.

• Interpersonal skills observed and/or used

Even though the environment at ArtsHub is loose in nature but people are conscious and take extra care whilst interacting with other members. Everyone respect the feelings of other members and shows high class of interpersonal skills while communicating. This approach provides benefit in the work environment, because it not only provides better understanding which ultimately leads to success of the objectives but also avoids conflicts which otherwise could arise due to misconduct. As I am new there, so presently I put extra care while listening to the instructions and methods of doing work there. I always interact with others in a pleasant and professional manner, no matter I am writing email or interacting verbally.

The first meeting that I attended at ArtsHub was on 9^th of February, 2010. This meeting was organized by the CEO Ms. Lisa Watts. Other members those attended the meeting were Ms. BySouth (Project Coordinator), Ms. Lee (Marketing Manager), Mr. Errol (Webmaster), Mr. Mark (Webdveloper), Mr. Manpreet (Intern IT) and me. The agenda of this meeting was “Introduction of monthly/quarterly payment system into current payment system using E-way and in .Net system also”. Ms. Watts discussed various membership payment options which they are considering to publish for the new users agreement  in their new system.

Meeting With Marketing Manager Ms. Lee Casey on 15 February 2010

Ms. Lee is working as Marketing Manager and she is using some software tools which helps her to make any decision. One of the tool that she uses is Google Analytics. This online tools is integrated with the ArtsHub website and tracks various user activities, for instance, how many users visited which particular web page in which particular day, where the user came from, etc. Google Analytics is powerful tool providing all this information in an easy to understand reports, which further helps our company in decision making process. Ms. Lee provided comprehensive overview of this tool and its working.

In order for the Company to be successful and grow, it is important that we all conduct ourselves with honesty and integrity. The Code of Conduct policy (refer appendix) sets out the expectations for personal and professional behaviour of the Company employees whilst at work or at work functions. It aims to clarify the conduct expected in the performance of duties, and the consequences of not doing so thereby creating an environment that is comfortable to be a part of.

The aim is for our behaviour to meet the highest possible standards. When we come in contact with any of our stakeholders, we will be professional, courteous and pleasant. Stakeholders refer to all employees, customers, contractors, consultants, suppliers and visitors working with the Company.

When representing the Company, whether in the office, on the phone, at a work function or with clients, our aim is to abide by the following minimum standards:

Treat each other respectfully, courteously and with dignity

· everyone is entitled to be treated with respect regardless of role or individual differences;

· we aim not to behave in a manner that may cause offense to others

Fair and honest in our dealings

· not using coercive or misleading practices or falsifying information;

· avoid situations of personal conflict of interest with our obligations to the Company.

· do not behave in ways which may cause others to question our loyalty to the Company ; and

· we treat others in the workplace fairly and with respect, and not harass, victimise or discriminate against employees, students or others in work practices or he provision of educational services on the grounds of sex (including pregnancy), sexuality, transgender status, race, colour, ethnic or ethno-religious background, descent or national identity, marital status, disability, age, political conviction or religious belief, carers’ responsibilities or other grounds covered by relevant legislation.

Use the Company’s property responsibly

· use the Company property only for the company’s business purposes;

· maintain the Company’s property in good working order; and

· ensure the Company’s property is kept safely to avoid theft or damage.

Responsibilities for actions and accountability for consequences

· take personal responsibility for all issues over which we have control and the manner in which these are achieved.

Respect the law and act accordingly

· do not engage in any conduct which could breach laws regarding corruption, bribery and money laundering (domestic and foreign); and

· Maintain a safe work environment.

Consequences of not following the Code of Conduct policy

Depending on the breach committed by the employee, their manager will address the breach in accordance with the dispute resolution or disciplinary policy, and any severe breaches may be deemed as serious misconduct and attract appropriate disciplinary action.