Introduction
Working at PH Food provided me with vast knowledge and experience that is crucial for my career and future endeavors. The company provided me with the opportunity to interact with its employees, giving me the knowledge and expertise that are necessary for a business development representative. Since I have a high enthusiasm for beginning new business ventures, my course requires that I have this clarity of understanding. This report aims to explore my job experience and PH Food and how the knowledge gained will help me in advancing my career. Additionally, the report will discuss the challenges that I faced when working with the organization and give recommendations on how to improve on them. This paper will be divided into four sections: work experience description, learning experience evaluation, self-assessment, and recommendations.
Work Experience Description
PH Food is a diverse company with people from all over the world. Consequently, I got an opportunity of interacting with employees with diverse cultural backgrounds. During lunch and breaks, we exchanged our experiences in the workforce, which created work drive and taught us how to deal with real-life obstacles. I was provided with a wealth of opportunities to study the day-to-day operations of a local organization and the interactions between the many divisions.
Organization Overview
PH Food is one of the oldest food processing companies that are successful, in attracting local and international consumer-base. Since the opening of its doors in 1976, ‘Pyung Hwa’ Food Company, more often referred to as PH Food, has grown to become one of the most successful manufacturers of soybean-based foods in all of Canada. PH Foods only buys its soybeans from local farmers in Ontario to guarantee the greatest possible quality of its tofu and bean sprouts, (PH Food, 2019). Consequently, the company spends less money on purchasing its raw materials. In 1995, the firm introduced its brand-new line of gyoza and dumpling goods to the market. Since then, PH Food has developed into a supplier for ninety percent of the sushi restaurants located within the Greater Toronto Area in Canada.
Work Environment
Like many diverse organizations, I was designated many responsibilities when working at PH Food. Therefore, on an average day, I made it my obligation to complete all of the tasks delegated to me and ensured that everyone follows the appropriate procedures. The employees at the company were friendly, making it easy to work and seek help where necessary. I developed a friendly relationship with my co-workers, and when I arrived at work in the morning, I greeted them. In all of my interactions with clients, whether in the office or out in the field, I maintained a professional, courteous, and dispassionate attitude. The work environment at PH Food was, therefore, friendly with enhanced communication and professionalism.
Products and Services
PH Food processes various food types including organic, tofu, dumpling, bean sprouts, and rice products, among others. The organic food processed by the company includes organic tofu and soybean sprouts. Tofu is the firm’s great plant-based alternative that can be used as a source of protein. Meanwhile, the dumpling is made available in various flavors such as beef, pork, and chicken. Moreover, the company introduced a vegan line of dumplings such as ‘kimchi’ and ‘tofu teriyaki.’ PH Food considers rice as an ancient grain of truth, producing its various products such as rice cake and rice powder. My typical working day would entail overseeing the processing of the various products at PH Food. Sometimes, my supervisor would allow me to operate in the quality assurance department, where I learned how the company measures its products’ quality. Therefore, unlike other employees, I interacted with various PH Food departments on a typical day.
Roles and Responsibilities
Although I was designated in various departments, my primary responsibilities included cultivating relationships between customers and the company. I was responsible for informing customers about the company’s new products and their prices. One of the significant projects I engaged in was the promotion of the vegan line of dumplings: ‘kimichi.’ Introducing the product to PH Food customers granted me an opportunity to learn about many consumers’ health concerns. Moreover, as a relationship officer, I was involved in pitching market opportunities among various consumer segments in Canada. I learned business communication skills and the importance of effective customer relationships as taught in class. Therefore, working at PH Food was a learning opportunity that expanded my knowledge and skills in business studies.
Learning Objectives
At the commencement of my working term, my supervisor and I formulated four objectives that would serve as a road map for the duration of my employment:
- Being receptive to the advice of others: this was the primary objective that would allow me to build on my relationship with my fellow employees. The working environment at PH Food allowed me to achieve the objective since the employees were friendly and would advise me on various issues involving work. Moreover, the company management prioritized the interns and would direct us on the appropriate job practices.
- Understanding the business environment of PH Food: as a food processing company, PH Food had unique internal and external business environments. I partly achieved this objective since I interacted with the firm’s various departments. Working in the marketing and quality assurance departments helped me understand the corporation’s internal business environment. However, I failed to understand the company’s external environment due to limited exposure to departments such as legal.
- Keeping confidence in all situations: working in a diverse environment requires confidence to deal with difficult situations (Jensen & Duenwald, 2021). Upon determining that my company had people from various cultures, my supervisor required me to practice confidence and problem-solving skills. I achieved the objective since I overcame language barriers between me and employees who were non-Canadians. Moreover, despite my limited knowledge in food processing, I exhibited confidence to learn more at PH Food.
Although I achieved my learning objectives at PH Food, I can adopt various measures that would help me develop achievable and challenging ones in my next co-op experience. First, I would do thorough research on my designated company. The research would allow me to have a gist of what to expect in the working field. Second, I would seek suggestions on what to learn from classmates and professors. Consequently, I would have objectives from a personal perspective and those from others. Finally, I would incorporate all the departments of my designated company to develop an objective that exhibits a learning experience from them. Researching about a company and involving my classmates and professors would help me design attainable and challenging objectives.
Learning Experience Examination
My Feelings
PH Food was one of the companies I had a wonderful time when working with since everyone was accommodating. The company’s management prioritized my needs, as an intern, and would frequently involved in various decision-making activities. The management ensured that I coped well with other employees and that I was helped anytime I faced challenges. For instance, during my first day in the company, I was allocated one of the employees who took me through the various departments and introduced me to the different managers. My co-workers were friendly and shared with me the knowledge they had on various tasks that were assigned to me. The positive working environment helped me achieve my objectives, and learn more about food processing. The working experience at PH Food made me feel positive before the start and upon completion of my stay at the company.
My Success
My success at PH Food was anchored on my initiative to learn more and the positive working environment. When I was designated at the company, I had three main objectives: being receptive to the advice of others, learning about the PH Food business environment, and exercising confidence during difficult working situations. I achieved all my objectives due to the receptive employees and supportive management. Moreover, I had an opportunity to interact with the organization’s clients, and develop new marketing opportunities. Furthermore, I was among the team that took part in the promotion of the newly developed products. Consequently, I was ranked as the best intern in the company during its second-quarter report. Therefore, my working experience at PH Food was coupled with success, increasing my employment chances at the company.
Challenges Faced
Although I had a successful time at PH Food, I faced various challenges. First, the company has a diverse employee population, making it difficult to communicate with other workers. The Indian and Korean employees at the company could not speak fluent Canadian English. Consequently, I had difficulties when communicating and interacting with the non-native English-speaking employees at PH Food. Second, although I had adequate knowledge of various business operations, the food processing industry was complicated for me. Therefore, I could not get a sufficient understanding of how the various departments at PH Food operated. Finally, having done little research on the PH Food consumer base I had difficulty understanding the unique needs that could be met by the firm. The challenges faced made time at PH Food encumbered my understanding of its operations.
Personal Perspectives
The working experience at PH Food changed my perspective in various dimensions. Before working at the company, I believed that a homogeneous employee population is easier to manage than a diverse one. However, I was excited by how the PH Food management encouraged teamwork among their employees despite their different cultural backgrounds. Additionally, believed that introducing new products to Canadians was a difficult task. PH Food’s product promotion strategy proved me wrong since we attracted many consumers who were interested in our vegan line of dumplings. Therefore, the work experience changed my perspective on a diverse employee population and product promotion approaches.
Self-Assessment (Articulation of Learning)
Learning About Job-Specific Knowledge and Skills
During my time at PH Food, I learned that discipline is paramount when working in a diverse working environment. I applied effective communication and positive reception as job-specific knowledge and skills to enhance my discipline at work. Since PH Food had a diverse employee population, some of them had a negative attitude towards their work. I stuck to the instructions from my manager and tried not to be negatively influenced by other workers. In case I had an issue with my senior employees, I politely requested clarifications and accepted feedback with warm reception. I will apply work discipline in my future endeavors by obeying organizational goals and having a cordial relationship with my colleagues. Having an interest in business management, I would need effective communication and good social skills to achieve my career goal. Discipline is significant when interacting with a diverse employee population.
Learning About Myself
Working at PH Food, Inc. allowed me to build a deeper understanding of who I am due to my exposure to an unfamiliar environment. Consequently, I could openly express my opinions and beliefs while maintaining a gracious approach and respecting people with diverse cultural backgrounds. I learned about myself when one of the Korean employees, working in the marketing department had a negative attitude toward the native Canadians. The employee unkindly treated the native Canadian clients until I intervened, and warned him against such practice. He positively took my opinion and embraced a respect for all customers. I would apply my expression skills when dealing with people with different opinions from mine in the future. Additionally, the skill has enabled me to positively interact with my college mates, making it easy for me to interact with my coworkers in the future. Furthermore, my academic study helped me improve my communication and problem-solving skills, making me prepared for my future employment. Therefore, interacting with a diverse community at the PH Food and college improved my job search skills in business through enhanced communication skills.
Recommendations
The company PH Food Inc. plays a significant part in integrating culture by linking it to pursuing a shared objective, which is food. The appreciation of food is at the heart of every culture on the planet, fostering diversity among the global community. Despite the company’s many great features, a few areas need to be addressed and improved to maintain a high level of customer retention and maximize profitability. I recommend that the organization provide incentives to employees working on temporary contractual terms such as the interns. The incentives motivate the employees, boosting their morale and encouraging them to put more effort into the production.
Additionally, the firm needs to train its employees in effective communication skills since it is a diverse organization. One of the greatest challenges faced by the firm’s employees is miscommunication due to language barriers. Therefore, the organization can integrate English lessons for non-native English-speaking employees. Meanwhile, colleges should introduce ‘diversity’ in their curriculum as a compulsory lesson for all business students. The lesson would equip the students with the necessary knowledge and skills to interact with people from cultural backgrounds. Moreover, understanding diversity would help avoid language barriers faced in various working stations. Therefore, diversity is a crucial element of a productive working environment.
Conclusion
PH Food Inc. is a diverse organization employing people with different cultural backgrounds. The firm operates in food processing and manufactures various products such as organic soya beans and dumplings of different flavors. Working at PH Food Inc. gave me a tremendous opportunity and vital business knowledge. I could establish links between nearly everything I had learned in school and the organization’s current projects. Additionally, I learned that have effective skills in expressing my opinions without hurting others. These skills are crucial when working in a diverse environment, and beneficial for my career development. Although I had a successful working experience at PH Food, I faced challenges such as a language barrier and a limited understanding of organizational operations. Organizations such as PH Food and colleges should, therefore, adopt mechanisms that enhance diversity among their populations.
Reference
Jensen, N. M. S., & Duenwald, S. (2021). Back to business: Finding your confidence, embracing your skills, and landing your dream job after a career pause. HarperCollins Leadership.
PH Food. (2019). PH Food. Organic tofu bean sprout Canada.