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A 70-year-old man (Ben) learns how to adjust to the modern working world when he comes out of retirement and becomes a senior intern at an online fashion company "about the Fit" founded by and run by the Jules. She becomes very fond of Ben as the movie progresses. Due to Ben previously being retired his charm and wisdom allows him to build this growing friendship with Jules. Jules works constantly and never takes a break, although she initially accepted Ben into the position as a form of "window-dressing" he teaches her how to take time for herself and he is useful within the company, despite him starting with no technological experience.
Ben wins over all his co-workers and deeply cares about Jules, this is shown where he cleans her messy desk and tells her chauffeur to stop drinking and he drives Jules around in place of the driver. At a point Jules transfers Ben but later regrets it when he is no longer there.
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She finds him and apologizes. They end up going on a trip to the West Coast and she admits that she knows about her husband's affair. When they return home Jules husband apologizes and Ben stays on board at the company.
The film includes approximately 41 characters as well as extras, however the main characters are the following:
The film is mainly set in the office building of the fast-growing online fashion company "About the Fit" stationed in Brooklyn, New York City, USA.
The film is focused around the senior internship program that Jules company has taken on and the growing relationship between Jules and Ben.
Bens presence influences all those around him to be better and his congeniality is noticed by everyone. The film shows how a fast-growing business also has its pros and cons and the influence it has on the management. Ben becomes a huge part of Jules life; despite the fact she did not want him around in the beginning. He changes her for the better.
Jules is an entrepreneur as she used her skills and took a risk to start her own company which became very successful.
At "About the fit" they do have an organizational structure like any business with Jules at the top working down, however this company specifically focuses or 'communication' and 'teamwork' reason being they all work on one floor and there are no individual offices. structure
Jules shows various entrepreneurial qualities and characteristics such as ambition, creativity, initiative, confidence and risk taking. She believes in herself and doesn't want someone to take over the company which she started. Jules is both a leader and a manager. She is hands on with both her employees and her customers, this can be seen when she helps her staff members with their design ideas, stays late to work and helps in the factory. She maintains systems but still develops new methods to do things. She focuses on people and inspires trust within her company. This can be shown when she tells her 'sick' driver to take the day off and doesn't want to give Ben too much work. People choose to follow as well as her being in charge, she has maintained a perfect balance of management and leadership. Jules didn't let her personal life and her husband's affair affect her job proving she is not only a leader but a professional. Jules is a situational leader but is not one to adopt an Autocratic style. She can adapt to the situation; she instills democracy but also gives her employees room to be creative and do things their way. She focuses on teamwork and is charismatic by nature and allows room for everyone to grow. Each of these styles is made evident in the movie. For example, she allows the marketing team to design and she will then give her input in before it is signed off.
Jules motivates her employees through non-monetary factors. For example, a bell is rung when someone has achieved or done something good within the business or for the company. There is also an inhouse masseuse which motivates employees to do better as well. Although Jules gives her employees freedom, she micro-manages and puts too much work on her own plate, she does not always delegate when necessary and then suffers from a burnout or it affects her personal life due to her constantly working.
There is a sense or organizational awareness within the company both internally and externally. The staff are happy and there is a high employee morale and the company has a good public image. Jules ensures there is strategic thinking within the company as they are always on top of things and problems are solved instantly as they have a backup plan. Teamwork is highly important as they all work together and everybody is able and willing to help one another, they are all united and work in synergy. There is a sense of both empowerment and initiative as all members of staff are challenged to find new ways to think creatively and solve problems and are then rewarded for it.
Employees at 'About the fit' want to be pro-active and show initiative as it positively impacts on not only them but the business. They all have one common goal to grow the company and ensure success. This company is orientated around their customers which in turn influences their success. The senior internship program is also seen as a reach out to society and a way for the company to give back to society. It is a form of corporate governance. Ben can also be a leader from his colleagues' point of view as well, people listen to what he has to say as well as an intrapreneur [comes up with new ideas within the business]. Both Ben and Jules are also similar in the fact that they follow the principles of servant leadership and it leads to a sense of happiness in the workplace for all employees. As Martin Luther King Jr says, "A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a moulder of consensus".
As like every business the aim of "About the fit" is to gain a competitive advantage. This is the businesses edge over its competitors. In the film studied the three various business environments play a fundamental role. The three business environments include the internal micro environment, external market environment and the external macro environment. To the businesses disadvantage they can not control the external environments, however that can pre-empt risks and put contingency plans in pace in order to solve problems. This is a concept to which "About the Fit" have thoroughly adapted to. In "The intern" there are continuous problems occurring that are dealt with immediately, which may even lead to viewers glancing over them and not fully comprehending their significance. Each business environment may have a positive, neutral or negative impact on the business, depending further on the strategies used to solve problems. Creative thinking can be defined as "identifying a problem the consumer is not even aware of yet and finding a way to solve that problem".
One of the various problems faced in "The intern" is the fast-paced growth of the company, on one hand it is excellent, however the problem comes in when they cannot handle the amount of work on their plate. A solution to this problem would be to bring in a CEO, which would help with their ability to cope. Although in the end this does not happen Jules finds a way to do it herself because she does not want to give up on her creation. From the very beginning of the film, the extensiveness of the company's creativity is shown e.g. Jules rides around her office on a bicycle. As previously mentioned, Jules is a hands-on leader whose creative thinking skill and use of problem-solving techniques have got her exceptionally far. An example of this could be taken from the beginning of the film where a customer calls with regards to the delivery of incorrect stock, Jules handles this is a calm, yet professional way by giving a refund as well as reassurance of the dresses getting there on time. Above that she creates a personal relationship with the customer, calling her by name, wishing her a good wedding, and receiving photographs and following up afterwards. This creates a good sense of customer satisfaction and a good customer relationship, thus resulting in a positive brand image and word of mouth.
There is a constant creative atmosphere created with ongoing ideas developing, such as friends shopping together online, for example. The reason for this creative atmosphere is because there is a high employee satisfaction rate and an exceptionally low staff turnover rate. Ben is one to solve the problems of others around him by being pro-active and helping where he can. He uses his wise, 'old-school' ways and experience to think creatively. Due to all the employees being young, this serves as an advantage to the company.
Problem solving techniques may include a pros and cons chart, decision tree, value chain analysis, resource-based analysis etc. none of which are seen to be touched on in the film, however the sense of development with regards to technological advancements is, as well as a hands on approach through talking to colleagues about problems in order to come to a viable solution. Different creative thinking environments are instilled throughout the film, such as a photo studio, single floor office, inhouse masseuse etc. this gives members of staff the opportunity to do things that are out of the ordinary in order to stimulate creative thinking.
The following examples of problem solving also occur in "The intern": Ben moves up to Becky's desk in order to help take a load of work off her shoulders, Ben solves the problem of Customer spending patterns, where Jules opens up to someone else solving her problems, the issue with the misfunctioning zoom button as well as the bed bugs. Each of these problems were solved quickly but carefully through strategies put in place in order to help compensate for the problem at hand. As seen in the film studied, an example of crisis management is when staff members 'break into' Jules' mothers house to delete an email and the alarm goes off. Here they had to quickly come up with a plan of action.
A strategy can be defined as "a plan of action" in order to help reach the businesses objectives. Top management is involved in strategic planning in order to determine trends and crises. Strategies may include corporate, generic and integration as well as others like total quality management (TQM) and benchmarking etc. each being developed further. To summaries Creative thinking and problem solving, in order to solve a problem, it is critical that the business thinks creatively and has strategic plans in place in order to gain/maintain a competitive advantage thereafter resulting in success. As seen above "About the Fit" has taken well to adopting this concept.
The online dictionary defines conflict as a serious disagreement or argument, typically a protracted one. It is inevitable that ever business will encounter conflict, including the business in the relevant film chosen. Conflict can either be functional or dysfunctional, depending on the outcome. A manager will then choose how to deal with the conflict taking place. Conflict can be broken up into both internal and external conflict as well.
Functional conflict is where parties deal with the conflict in a healthy manner through respect, acknowledgement and compromise. It is a 'win-win' situation with a positive outcome. Such may include new ideas, clarification and a sense of awareness. Dysfunctional conflict leads to a decline in productivity, where a climate of mistrust has been created as well as high levels of stress and anxiety as well as a low staff morale.
A manager could deal with conflict from various ways:
Ronald Regan said, "Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means". Conflict may occur for various reasons such as a difference in opinion or miss-communication for example. The following scenarios are taken from "The intern" in order to raise awareness to this fascist.
Jules experiences a variety of inner conflict, which hinders her from optimal work performance. Due to her being a successful entrepreneur she has trouble with accepting the companies need for a CEO [chief executive officer] due to there excessive growth rate. Jules can not imagine reporting her ideas to someone higher than her, understandably so. Jules also tends to overwork herself, late nights, working at home and non-stop meetings, to which she is always late for (to the point that she has a name for it). She is overworked and overloaded to the point she cried at work and even to a further extent of forgetting about the internship program. A strategy to solve this problem could include taking a step back and having a conversation internally in order to resolve the conflict, as Jules did by opening up to the opportunity for change.
External conflict tends to cause stress and pressure on a person, therefore impacting negatively on their working environment. An example of this is evident where Jules husband has an affair due to her being 'too consumed' in her work. Jules does not necessarily allow this issue to directly affect her work, it does however impact on her emotional wellbeing, making it difficult for her to think clearly and in the best interest of the company, namely being one of the flaws of a manager. Ben as well as Jules faces conflict in the film, however the way they respond to it is different. Ben sees Matt cheating on Jules but chooses not to say anything. He avoids the conflict as he knows it is not his place and waits for Jules to admit what has happened. When Jules considers bringing in a CEO, she admits that is in the best interest of the business and her marriage, not what she wants.
Conflict in the workplace impacts of team dynamics and productivity levels as well as employee satisfaction. In "The Intern" the company focused on does not dabble in a vast amount of conflict, however there is a certain amount of underlying conflict. For example, Becky is continuously stressed, overworked and underappreciated but she never seems to engage in conflict with her boss no matter how upset she feels. In the beginning of the movie Jules is unhappy about the fact she must have a personal intern and attempts to encourage a transfer. Later in the movie a transfer takes place and Ben is upset but does not disclose that with anyone. Almost immediately after Jules apologizes and asks him to return. Jules did not deal with this situation in the best possible manner but still managed to get things on track once again. How Jules dealt with the conflict between her and Ben-transfer.
Third party interventions are not highlighted in the film; however, they still form an important part of conflict management. These may consist of Employer organizations, trade unions and the CCMA (Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration).
Conflict management is essential in order to ensure the success of a business as it allows for all members of the 'team' to be aware and focused on the success of the business as well as the implementation of the vision and mission of the business as a whole.
"The Intern" is an excellent film as it highlights important aspects that we students need to be aware of going forward into the future not only as businesswoman but as a change that the world needs. "The intern" is both relevant and interlinked to the work covered in Grade 12 Business Studies.
1. It covers the aspects of the various chapters discussed in this review helping students to gain a more 'in depth' understanding of the work and allows for a visual interpretation.
The Intern Movie Review. (2019, Nov 29). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/movie-review-the-internkatya-berimbau-this-project-will-entail-example-essay
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