Maximizing Opportunities in the LendingTree Bowl Internship: A SWOT Analysis

Abstract

SWOT Analysis: LendingTree Bowl Internship Student’s Name: Student’s ID Number Phone Number Email Lending Tree Bowl [City, State] SWOT Analysis: LendingTree Bowl Internship Strengths S.W.O.T analysis is the process of identifying the internal and external factors of an organization that affect its performance. This process involves an investigation of the internal and external factors of a company that could affect its capacity to achieve the set goals and objectives (Gürel & Tat, 2017). The strengths and weaknesses of a company provide an assessment of the factors within the company such as the workforce, technology, and leadership that could affect how firms operate. On the other hand, the opportunities and threats include all the factors outside the organization that could facilitate or deter how the firm meets its goals and objectives. Companies must assess their internal and external environmental factors prior to developing their strategies for future growth (Gürel & Tat, 2017). The external stakeholders such as the consumers, the government, and the competitors may affect the success of an organization in meeting its objectives. A S.W.O.T analysis provides an assessment of how each of the organization’s internal and external factors of performance affect the potential to meet their goals. The hiring of interns at LendingTree Bowl has a key strength associated with the identification of individuals with the skills to meet the organization’s needs. The organization offers an opportunity for the interns to work in an environment where they are treated like other employees. With the guidance of supervisors, an intern is tasked with major roles in the organization that requires them to make decisions on behalf of the company. Therefore, the hiring process includes an assessment of the application to ensure that the interns are of quality character and have the skills to meet minimum hiring requirements. LendingTree Bowl offers the interns an opportunity and experience to work in an organization where they are constantly involved with the day-to-day decision-making processes in the company. Individuals working at the internship capacity can influence key decisions in the organization such as the marketing strategies used by the firm to gain access to the new markets. This process allows the interns to be actual employees in a competitive environment have significant influence on the operations in the company. LendingTree Bowl allows the individuals working at the internship capacity to join groups and contribute to the activities in the teams. One of the key skills necessary for an employee in the marketing department is the capacity to work with other people. During the internship process, an individual works with other interns and employees in different capacities. After being in the company for three weeks, the interns attached to the marketing department were tasked with designing an online poster for the company’s social media presence. Each individual in the team had the opportunity of becoming a leader in the project and we experienced what it would be to manage the activities of each other in an organizational setting. This is one of the most critical learning moments during an internship when the individuals are allowed to participate in the process of managing each other’s activities. Therefore, the members of the team identify the weaknesses in the group project and the leader at the time guides them towards a solution. The company’s management of interns allows them to gain leadership skills applicable in the organizational setting. Additionally, the company provides the interns with capable supervisors to help them identify their strong and weak areas when working with the organization. This experience is close to the relationship between an employee and a manager since the instructions are delivered directly from the employees in the team. After working in the company as an intern, an individual develops the skills to relate with other people at different levels in the company. During my internship, I was working with a group of other interns under the supervision of the department leader. She was directly involved in the projects we completed and would assign other employees in the department to assist with any challenges we faced in the company. An internship at LendingTree Bowl is a learning experience since the individuals interact with qualified and trained employees in the firm. While working at an organization, I would prefer that the superior and more experienced employees share their skills with the interns and other employees. All members of the firm should have an opportunity to contribute to the overall organization’s activities in the company. Weaknesses A key weakness in the management of interns in the company is that the individuals are assigned different tasks and they spend most of the time meeting the deadlines. The management of my location was affected by the measures the organization employed to assign tasks to the teams of interns in the company. Most of the time was spent in the project ranging from social media marketing and the design of posters for the company’s website. While this was a learning experience crucial in the in the internship process, it limited the process of learning from other individuals in the company. LendingTree Bowl offers an opportunity for the interns to interact with the employees in the organization including individuals who had worked in the firm for decades. The company provided the workers with the chance to interact in an environment that facilitated the learning process for the teams attached to different departments. The time to learn, however, was limited by the numerous projects at the company some of which were specifically assigned to the interns in the marketing department. Additionally, the supervision process for the interns was based on the results and the details of the completed projects with less energy allocated to the process through which the tasks were completed. During most of the assessments in the company, the intern teams would be required to show the outcome of the projects assigned to them after completion. One of the projects, the company was developing an advertisement campaign targeting students unable to participate in the field activities as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The project aimed at improving the access to information on the pandemic and how it would affect the activities in the schools as well as in competitive sports. Interns who were part of the marketing project were introduced to the key factors to consider when developing the campaign and how it would affect the company’s activities in the future. As part of the team tasked with this role, I feel that more time would have been allocated to the process through which the tasks would be complete. While the final project is critical in meeting the organization’s needs, the internship should focus more on the capacity of the individuals to learn from their experience. Less focus on the details and more on the process could have increased the effectiveness of the internship experience. Part of an internship should be aimed at enhancing the involvement of interns in useful work in the company while balancing with their need to learn from their experience. The company’s internship programs focused more on the processes that would facilitate the contribution to the company’s goals with less learning experiences. During the internship program, interns interact with qualified personnel in the organization including managers who had worked for a long time in marketing. A key weakness, however, is that the learning part of the internship received less attention than the contribution to the company. While the internship program includes observing activities of other employees, there should be more supervision to enhance the knowledge people gain from experience. This process should include the individuals in the company working hand-in-hand with the interns to ensure they identify and understand the mistakes they make during projects. Reflection The internship experience provided lessons that are applicable in an actual work environment setting an organization. During my career in marketing and management, I intend to employ some of the skills I obtained from the company in an actual workplace to facilitate the performance of my organization. Over the years, business enterprises have modelled their programs to match with the changing needs of the employees. The internship was an experience to observe and be part of the changes that organizations can make to match the needs of their consumers. The process involved an extension of the activities and lessons learnt from the classroom and their application in an actual workplace to facilitate the performance of the organization. A key observation at the organization is that companies have to be prepared to adapt to the changes in the company and focus on meeting consumer needs. Both the internal and the external environments of companies change requiring them to adapt to the new features in the market. The internship demonstrated how companies can set their goals and yet be flexible enough to adapt to the developing aspects of their environment. One of the key changes affecting LendingTree Bowl is the increased use of the internet to market the company’s services. Businesses have had to adapt to the increased need to use technology in communication and adapt to the features of the market. During my internship, the company was in the process of adopting key changes in the marketing department to facilitate the use of online media to communicate with consumers. We were introduced to the key aspects and issues of consideration associated with online media marketing and the changes the company was intending to make to different aspects to facilitate the necessary changes. The hiring of interns was one of the key issues that the company intended to make to adapt to the new consumer expectations. All interns were expected...