Accounting - Self Development

RSM 1380 Applied Management: Placement

Final Paper

Section 1: Self Development

During the summer I interned at the global headquarters of Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, a Canadian company that was founded in 1961 by Mr. Isadore Sharp. Four Seasons is a five-star hotel management company and has over 100 properties worldwide. I was really excited to work as Four Seasons because the company is known worldwide for its exceptional service standards and philanthropic contributions through Terry Fox Foundation.

At the interview stage and during my first few interactions the Director in Corporate Finance Department Dina Silva made me aware of the job description. The role required me to assist the Vice President and Directors in Corporate Finance Department with the Global Programs project. Within the Global Program, the team undertakes forecasting, analysis and budgeting of the group’s expenditure on various properties throughout the next year. Global Programs is an integral part of company’s finance department and is headed by Dina. Global Programs comprised of over 300 programs bifurcated into four categories Human Resources, Operations, Marketing and IT. The total projected spent on these programs exceeds $ 25M every year.

The team structure was as under:

[pic 1]

Four Seasons presented me a huge opportunity as it allowed me an entry into the finance world. One of the primary motivations for me to pursue an MBA was to switch from Consulting to Finance and this was an apt opportunity to prove my mettle. Through interactions with Dina and my colleagues, I realized that the qualities required to be valuable at Four Seasons are:

• Cohesive behavior: The culture at Four Seasons is very cohesive and most of the Senior Executives have an open door policy. They are very approachable and they would always show interest in growth and learning of team members.
• Intellect: Intellect and smartness are something that is required to excel at any job. At Four Seasons individuals who demonstrate greater intellect coupled with tactful social behavior are doing really well within the organization. This also includes having adequate analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Interpersonal skills: People at Four Seasons are extremely polite and casual conversations keep on happening when you meet colleagues in hallways or elevators. Good interpersonal skills allowed me to have a strong network across departments.
• Go above and beyond: Managers and Executives at Four Seasons promote their employees to engage in extra-curricular activities. For instance Soccer practice every Wednesday after work or 5K runs that are organized on Wellness day. Individual participation in these activities is appreciated and valued. Apart from these activities, many employees at Four Seasons are full-time committee members of the Terry Fox Run Committee.
  

My career coach had time and again highlighted the importance of getting an internship in order to get the most from my MBA and during my search for an internship I had certain targets for myself. Upon getting an internship at Four Seasons I formally jotted my objectives down and they were:

• Learn: Being new to Finance, I wanted to learn the most about the Corporate Finance role. I was banking on my knowledge of accounting & finance theory and I intended to apply these principles at work. I also wanted to learn the secret behind Four Seasons brand and success. As this was the company that helped Apple Store to rewrite the rules and enhancing customer experience.
• Build a Network: Throughout my MBA journey our professors, career center executives and our mentors have highlighted the importance of having a network in Canada. At Four Seasons my objective was to build a strong connection with individuals working in various departments in order to learn from their experiences and to gain a new perspective.
• Apply concepts learned in Leading People in Organization course: One of my favorite courses during the first year was Leading People in Organization taught by Professor Tiziana Casciaro. This course taught me the fundamental principles on how to bring change in an organization without invoking hostile feelings from within the teams. I intended to apply the learnings of this course at my work.
• Positive Impact: This was my first job in Canada and I wanted to leave a positive impact on the completion of my internship.
  

As per the tradition that has been going on for many years, all the interns at Four Seasons were invited for a lunch with Mr. Sharp. We were all seated around a table and while having lunch we were encouraged to interact and post questions to Mr. Sharp. This has been one of the most impactful interactions I have had. Mr. Sharp answered questions on how he got into the business of hospitality and his passion and purpose was transcending. While interacting with him I realized how well he embodied the culture of the company i.e., to have a sense of dignity, pride, and satisfaction in what we do^[1].

I wanted to know, what he expected from us and how can we excel in what we do. To which he answered that we were the budding talent in the organization. We should try to learn as much as we can and should not shy away from taking up challenging assignments, as there were seniors who were ready to offer help. He wanted us to develop a strong network within the organization and to imbibe the practices that lead to the success of Four Seasons.

Section 2: MBA Knowledge and Skills

My role required me to interact and coordinate with over 30 program managers (cost centers) they represented the four departments i.e., Huma Resources, Operations, Marketing and IT. I took the effort to understand the program description so to have a clear idea of what was the purpose of the expenditure. This gave me an opportunity to see how each department functions and how does a multinational actually manage its various departments.

While working on the budgeting and forecasting project, my planning and preparation for the budgeting exercise of 2017 came to my aid. During my internship, my endeavor was to go above-and-beyond of what is expected out of me as a summer intern and all my actions were directed towards achieving this goal. In order to be effective during my internship, I tried to review my progress on an on-going basis. At regular intervals, I approached Dina and asked for her feedback. This allowed to improve my performance considerably and it also helped me in prioritizing various tasks. The approach proved to be really helpful on account of the fact that I was working on a time bound assignment. Given the fact that the role required a lot of multi-tasking, I tried to be meticulous at my job.