So this past weekend I went to NEW YORK CITY with the other interns for a concept shopping trip and it was SO AMAZING. Our flight left Friday morning at 6:15 am and arrived in New York around 8:30.  We drove straight to the Abercrombie & Fitch 5th Avenue Flagship store and were treated to the “behind the scenes tour”.  We then went outside and were able to beat the line of over 100 people waiting to get into the store.  Walking past the line I heard so many different languages, and it was really awesome to see how excited tourists from other countries are about the Abercrombie brands! 

The beginning of the line to get into A&F that curves around the side of the building

 The flagship store is definitely not like your typical Abercrombie mall store.  It is over 3 stories tall, has hand-painted murals, a denim bar with glass shelving and elevated product fitted for more fashion forward international customers.  I was so amazed by how awesome the flagship store was that I got goosebumps while we were waiting inside before the store opened seeing all the preparation that goes into making this store run efficiently.  The managers were doing their last minute rounds making sure all the product was positioned perfectly,  the shirtless models were doing push-ups before the doors opened and girls would be running in to get their pictures taken with them, and other models were dancing to the store soundtrack getting pumped up for the opening.  Once the doors opened the mad rush began and customers were running into the store to grab whatever product caught their eye.  It was definitely an experience to sit back and watch.

Once we left Abercrombie we walked to the 5th Ave Hollister store which was really cool to see and then we did some concept shopping at a couple big name retailers in New York City.  It was really interesting to see the newest trends showcased in different ways and to get ideas for how to translate those big fashion-forward ideas into the handwriting of the Abercrombie Brands. 

The rest of the day seemed to go by in a blur.  The other interns and I were split up into groups to go to specific retailers to scope out some up-and-coming trends in our specific areas.  I found a couple really cool ideas in the graphics departments that I feel could be translated in Hollister’s handwriting and heritage. 

A panoramic view of the city from the top of the Met

After walking around for over 10 hours in 106 degree heat, our day was finally over.  We all parted ways to stay with friends for the rest of the weekend and Anne, another intern from OSU, and I went and stayed with Anne’s roommate from freshmen year who is interning in NYC for the summer.  The rest of the weekend we explored the city (in 13 hours on Saturday) and went to the following places:

1. Little Italy
2. The Met (To see the Alexander McQueen exhibit)
3. Central Park
4. FAO Schwartz (An amazing toy store)
5. Parsons (Fashion school where Project Runway is filmed)
6. Times Square
7. Central Station
8. Brooklyn Bridge
9. Wall Street and the Financial District
10. Staten Island Ferry (To see the Statue of Liberty and a great view of the city)
11. China Town
12. Juniors (For some great cheesecake)
13. Crumbs (To eat some delicious cupcakes)

Needless to say, our feet were killing us and we were exhausted when we left to come back to Columbus on Sunday afternoon.

A panoramic view of the city from the Staten Island Ferry

That trip really showed me how sought after our brands really are and how much our global expansion is having an affect on our international customers. One final story I will share with you from the weekend that I believe sums up this point is the following:

• While we were walking around 5th Avenue and Broadway on Friday there was a tour group of French students who were walking next to us.  As we neared the A&F store, one of the students started shrieking and yelling excitedly in French.  When we asked her what she was so excited about she yelled, “ABERCROMBIE”!  She said she loves Abercrombie & Fitch and was sad because she has not yet been able to go to the store in Paris because the lines are always so long to get inside. 

Watching a real customer’s reaction to a company that I work for and am so passionate about myself is really awesome and shows me that Abercrombie & Fitch is truly focused not only on making great clothing, but providing a full-out experience for customers all over the world.

There are two main fees that may occur during each valuation period.  The first, a management fee, is in place to help pay for everything it takes to run the fund; such as rent, utility costs, salaries for the manager, commissions for brokerages, lawyers and accountants that help run the fund.  This fee is usually 1-2% of assets.   The other fee, a performance fee, is known as an incentive fee.  This is usually a 20% fee that is charged on investment returns.  This fee is usually where managers make their money; however it only goes into effect if the current valuation period has surpassed the high water mark.  If a fund does well one valuation period, a high water mark, or HWM is set in.  If a fund did poorly the next valuation period and its price per share is lower than that of the HWM, a performance fee cannot be charged.

High water mark

My current project pertains to performance fees.  Recently, a fund transferred to Equinoxe to be its administrator.   Using the information we have from a transfer agency, I have been placing all the relevant data to the fund in our system.  I have been inputting the investors, all of their activity and the HWM for each valuation period the fund had been active prior to using Equinoxe as its administrator.  “All other activity” as I stated, is basically subscriptions (putting money into the fund), transfers (moving money from one investor to another), and redemptions (taking money out of the fund) of each investor, and let me tell you, there’s a lot of investors and even more activity!  There are strict procedures that are in place that make some of this difficult to do.  One vital procedure that we do is the fact that everything I do must be reviewed and approved to make sure everything is correct, by either an account manager or a group manager.  Some things such as setting the HWM requires the approval of at least an account manager and a group manager.  This is because we absolutely must make sure we don’t input even a single wrong number as it could result in millions of dollars being misplaced (and I would rather that not happen!!).

Until next time,

Cheers

Big Bear Lake, CA

Taste Testing- My title couldn’t be more accurate.  Nestle is 150% providing me with a summer full of “Good Food and Good Life”.  About three weeks after I started working at Nestle this summer I finally went downstairs to the basement to participate in the daily taste testing of our potential new products. Since then, there hasn’t been a day I haven’t taken advantage of this activity-it’s become part of my daily routine. Basically, you go into a testing lab, taste anything from new candy bars to new Coffee Mate flavors, and then get rewarded with free breakfast. Free food for tasting free food? Works for me!

Nestle Interns about to roadtrip to Big Bear Lake, CA!

Volunteering-Last Friday Eric and I joined the Tech. & Mfg. Department’s Community Service Event at Hope Gardens Family Center. Hope Gardens Family Center is a transitional housing and residential facility in Sylmar, California that provides a safe environment, free of crime and full of hope so that moms and their children can get a fresh start. Nestle’s volunteer’s helped out by painting the inside of their main building. We had a great time, Nestle really showed how passionate we are as a company to serve others, and needless to say, I left with paint all over me.

Projects- It’s amazing to me how everything just works out.  I remember feeling so overwhelmed Day 1 of this internship when I was told I had 4 projects.  Well the number of projects I have is currently at 6 and even though I still have so much work to do, I look at all of my folders and somehow they’re getting done and I’m learning SO much in the process.  Yesterday, I met with the manager of my last project and was so happy with how our first meeting went.  Due to the experience I have gained on my other projects, I was able to ask him good questions that pertained directly to the project.  It feels so good to feel like I’m speaking the right Nestle and business language! :)

Weekends- Every weekend I have spent in California has been incredible to say the least. 

Meggo and I in Malibu

 Two weekends ago- My cousin, Meghan came to visit me and we had an absolute blast.  We explored Santa Barbara (it’s one of the most beautiful places I have ever been) and Malibu.  We both got some serious sun at each beach and managed to stop on the way home from Malibu at a Berry Stand on the side of the road and spend $21 dollars on the best berries we had ever had and also made a pitstop on the way home from Santa Barbara at the mall.  Life is tough. :)

Last weekend-  Five Nestle Interns (representing Logistics, Finance, and Purchasing) and I went to Big Bear Lake, CA. [Please click on the link to see how beautiful it is there]. We rented a log cabin for the weekend and had a great time…

• Cooking and eating all of our meals together as a “family”
• Running together at 7am on Saturday morning (Thanks guys!)
• Playing cards, eating s’mores, and keeping the fire in our fireplace going
• Spending the afternoon boating  and fishing
• The best part about the whole trip was that the boys caught us dinner for Saturday night! (Many doubted they could do it, but they followed through and supplied us with an incredible meal!)

 Weeknight fun- Work hard, play hard.  I’ve heard this term quite a few times-  It’s a perfect life motto and I’ve really seen it come to life this summer.  On the weeknights, I’ve attended several work happy hours and had a great time with the other interns and Nestle employees.  Just yesterday 4 of us played sand volleyball after work and went swimming afterwards, and on nights where we don’t have plans, my friend Kelly and I watch “One Tree Hill” starting from Season 1.

As you can probably tell, I’m having the time of my life, learning so much more than I thought was possible, and I’ve met some absolutely incredible people this summer.  Thank you Nestle :)

Survey results make this board.

Over my time at Accenture, I have developed a daily rhythm and routine.  My responsibilities became clearer as I learned the daily ins and outs.  Working in the process improvement sector, I have had the ability to work first hand with consultants, the delivery team, clients and suppliers.

 My daily workload can be split into three areas:

1. Trainings- When someone is hired they go through a training process; including quizzes, software building, and mock projects.  I had the opportunity to complete this training and now I get to train others.
2. Surveys- After the completion of the project, we send surveys to all the parties involved in the project, suppliers and buyers.   I am responsible for keeping track of completed projects and deploying the surveys.  This task is rather administrative but it is very important, feedback is key! Feedback is collected and reviewed; many times it results in an addition to the process and improving the business.
3. Delivery Team Support- Lastly, I have been able to assist in making supplier calls and attending buyer meetings.  Whenever a new project is taken on, a list of possible vendors is created and contacted.  The hopes are that through negotiations and bidding, a lower price can be achieved for a particular client and commodity. 

The Batman crew filming complete with fake snow!

The Tumbler

However, the most talked about topic in the office is Batman!  Christopher Nolan and the Batman film crew have been all over downtown closing down streets and filming.  With fake snow lining the streets in August, it is sure to cause some commotion.

 Check out more pictures here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1345836/mediaindex

Until next time,

Erin

Hedging for money

Did you know according to some estimates that at the end of 2010, there was over 2.8 Trillion dollars worth of assets under administration or that there are nearly 12000 hedge funds?  Do you even know what a hedge fund is? Before I blog about anything that I actually do at Equinoxe, there are probably many of you (if not all) that have next to no idea what a hedge fund is.

A hedge fund is an investment partnership that uses certain investment strategies and invests in a variety of assets to generate a higher return for a given level of risk than what you could expect from normal investments.   Make sense yet? Probably not.  So basically, you have a hedge fund manager who runs the fund.  He is the head of the fund and decides what investment techniques and things he will invest the money of his fund in.  Along with the manager, you have the investors.  Investors can be people like you, me or they can be; however, to be a shareholder of a fund you must be an accredited investor (which we all hope to be someday).

An accredited investor (by United States standards):

a)      a net worth of $1 million, alone or with a spouse

b)      earned $200,000 in each year of the past two years

c)       earned $300,000 in each of the past two years with a spouse

Hedge funds require a lot of money!

Each Hedge fund can be worth anywhere from a few million to tens of billions of dollars.  That being said, there is huge money in this industry.  In fact, many hedge funds are registered offshore in places such as Singapore, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Island, Bermuda, and Ireland to avoid higher taxes that make a significant difference on their large sums of money.  Most people want to invest in hedge funds because everyone wants the high returns funds have to offer for the same risk as other ways to invest their money.  How is this achieved?  Each manager sets up his fund differently.  They use different investment strategies to achieve their risk and return goals.  There are a bunch of strategies that managers may use, but two notable features that managers use are derivatives and leveraging.  I will to the best of my ability describe these (its actually kind of hard); however Investopedia may be a better source for the definitions.

Derivatives: Financial instruments such as options, futures or swaps (these are different ways of investing) that get their value from the value of an underlying asset.  Essentially, they choose a predetermined price for which they choose to buy shares for as you are basically holding this financial instrument that has no intrinsic value of its own.

Leverage: borrowing money for trade.  This increase risk a lot, but usually, the return is worth it.  Leveraging typically goes hand in hand with derivatives.  Investopedia example of leveraging:  Most companies use debt to finance operations. By doing so, a company increases its leverage because it can invest in business operations without increasing its equity. For example, if a company formed with an investment of $5 million from investors, the equity in the company is $5 million – this is the money the company uses to operate. If the company uses debt financing by borrowing $20 million, the company now has $25 million to invest in business operations and more opportunity to increase value for shareholders.

Now that you know some of the basics, I will get be able to explain the work I am doing in later blogs.

Here’s a quick laundry list of what I typically do during the week while I’m not at work:

1. Studying for the GMAT

This probably takes the most out of my week. I’ve got the GMATs coming up on September 10th and I’m not entirely thrilled that I get to spend about an additional 15 hours a week studying my butt off for this exam! I know it’ll all pay off but one piece of advice that I would suggest for those of you earlier in your college careers and wanting to pursue graduate school: study this during school. If you need a refresher on your GMAT skills, go over to khanacademy.org. I use that site to review basic math concepts and do random practice problems. Who knows, even refresh myself on Econ.

2. Run/Soccer/Workout

This takes up probably the other majority of my time here at Disney. Though I will say that we, as Ohio State students, are completely spoiled with the kinds of work out and recreational facilities we have at the RPAC. The gym that we use here at Disney is approximately the size of a racquetball court! I’m also training for a half-marathon and I love to run outside. However, there’s just one tiny problem with that: I live right next to a major highway/state route. I’ve run on State Route 535, but Floridians/tourists love to see how close they can get to hitting you. I’ve found a few sites that provide good running tips here for Disney guests. It’s disneyrunning.com. Feel free to check it out and see what they can offer you if you’re ever in the region.

3. Going to the Parks

One of the best features about working here at Disney is, of course, going to the parks. I recently acquired a Canon DSLR and have been practicing my photography skills out in the parks. But I also go there on occasions to hang out with friends and go chill with Mickey cause we’re friends with him! Who can say that their workplace lets you go into Walt Disney World with unlimited access… for free? You wouldn’t imagine how many people come to me and say, “Can I please have your job so that I can go to the parks everyday?” It’s a pretty good feeling!

As always, if you have any questions about what I’m doing, feel free to comment. Otherwise, I hope to update you soon about some good information about Disney!

Here at OCLC, that question refers to your Birkman color, an assessment that identifies what your interests are, what your usual behavior is like, what your needs are and how you react if you do not have those needs met.

It is a tool that is frequently used by our Organizational Development and Learning team and one that we try to promote as much as possible with all the different departments.  Why?  Why does someone’s “color” matter?  First off, it tells you a lot about yourself.  (Grain of salt time, it’s a pretty broad tool and does not necessarily mean that it is exactly you, nor is it a guide to how you live your life.)  Second of all, it is a great tool for inclusion and collaboration.  By knowing your colors and those of the people in your team, you can acknowledge those differences to either overcome previous interpersonal difficulties or to strengthen the already working relationship you had.  Lastly, it’s really really fun.

There are four colors represented on the Birkman lifestyle grid.  Reds tend to be very vocal, and task-oriented.  Greens are also very vocal, but are known to be persuasive.  Yellows tend to be a little less vocal, but very detail-oriented.  And blues are more subtle in their communication, and more idea-oriented.  It is the combination of these four colors that generally makes up all the different personalities in a group.  The Birkman solidified a lot of what I have learned in the program about a high performing work organization and how the interaction of different groups influences culture and either impedes or promotes changeability.

You have several symbols on your Birkman assessment.  The asterisk represents what your interests are, the things that you are truly passionate about and would be doing if you had free time.  Your diamond represents your usual behaviors, and are the ones that people around you tend to see and associate you with.  Your circle and square represent your needs and stress reactions, and are hard-wired and very difficult to change.  These two separate symbols, and two combined ones, can show up in any quadrant and in any color.  What “your color” is, is where your diamond falls.

I am a red.  I am very, very red because my diamond is in the farthest left corner of the quadrant and is not close to any of the other colors.  My asterisk, or interests, is very very blue, in the exact opposite corner of the quadrant.  And my circle and square are also in the blue, but are a little closer to the border of green.  This means that most times, I will have blue characteristics, but sometimes can exhibit a little bit of green under the right circumstances.

So what does this mean?  Because I am “a red”, people see me as energetic, social, very direct in communication and as someone who likes a big to-do list, if only so I can have the satisfaction of crossing them off when they are done.  My asterisk in blue means that I am very idea-oriented and abstract in my interests and tend to like things like music and literature.

This is a very pared down explanation, because I don’t have the space to summarize what happens in a 2.5 hour results session.  But I have to say that the Birkman is a very, very interesting tool.  I was able to get the funding and support necessary to have all of OCLC’s summer interns to participate as an inclusionary activity.  The results were very interesting, it was a great activity and even worth it for our Seattle and DC interns to fly in for the day.

Check out their website more and ask if your organization does this.  It will be worth your time!

As a Cardinal Intern, we have what is called “Speaker Series,” which entails attending presentations given by senior leaders of the company. The exposure we get from the series is pretty amazing, considering many full-time employees have never even met these executives. The topics range from the health care industry in general, health care reform, to words of wisdom/advice. This week we had quite a few great speakers, including our CFO, Jeff Henderson. Mr. Henderson discussed his background, Leadership Principles, and even gave us a homework assignment! He asked us to come up with our own leadership principles we believe in and should abide by, and then post these principles in our cubicle to remind ourselves what we should strive for. Thinking of these principles was actually harder than I anticipated…but this is my top five right now:

1.) Stay true to your values/beliefs

2.) Set benchmarks for yourself, achieve them and raise the bar

3.) You cannot please everyone with a decision you make, focus on the right decision

4.) Work with those possessing opposite views, they have valuable insight

5.) Be an enabler and motivator

Aside from the homework, I also had my “Mid-Performance Assessment” this week to be evaluated on my work thus far in my position. I had to first evaluate myself, which was surprisingly difficult, and then my manager was to add her feedback as well. Overall, I received excellent comments from my manager and a ranking of “exceeding expectations,” which was great to hear!! I will have a final assessment around the last week of my internship. Everything else is going great!! I’ll write back with more news next week after I participate in all kinds of distribution center/pharmacy tours I have lined up!

While working on a project, I try to ask as few questions as possible.  It is very important to try to work through things on your own before going and consulting with your project manager. It is very difficult finding some files in a big business’s data base, so it is okay to send your project manager a quick email or office chat (just like an instant messenger) to ask a quick question regarding where to find a file. I have recently just finished my projects consisting of setting up a show room for potential new retailers, creating a database for licensed products, and creating a list of stores and the type of footage of cards they have. Next week I start a new project building card displays. This means I get to plan out where cards go on the card shelf based on ratings. 

Taylor Swift's parking spot

I usually shadow my manager Meg to at least one meeting a day.  This allows me to get an insight into what my manager does on a daily basis.  One great idea is to ask your manager to give you a list of names of important people from different departments that they work with constantly.  You can then send them an email asking if they have time to meet with you one-on-one to discuss how your department, in my case the merchant team, interacts with other departments such as product management, pricing, and retail management.  My one-on-ones were very informative, and they helped me see how I fit into the bigger picture. 

Other exciting things go on in the office on a regular basis such as raffles, bring your dog to work day, and ice cream sundae day in the lunchroom. 

I cannot believe that my internship is halfway over already! I thought you would like a glimpse of what my average work day is at American Greetings.

For those of you who haven’t been keeping up with me on Facebook or in real life, I work at the World of Disney in Downtown Disney. The easiest way to describe World of Disney (WOD) is we’re “the largest Disney merchandise retailer in the entire world”! Can’t believe it? We are projected to make about $150 million dollars in WOD alone. Even if you combined the total sales of the largest stores in Disney World, it wouldn’t even come close to that number (I could be wrong, but someone check my facts for me)!

My work attire :)

Ever worked in retail? Imagine that and Disney-fy it. Some of the roles that I have while working at the world of Disney involve stocking, selling and entertaining. That’s right, entertaining. While we are a large service-based corporation aiming to please shareholders, our other main goal is to entertain our guests, create happiness and give them memories that will last them a lifetime. Talk about some lofty expectations yeah?

Thus we look towards exhibit A: my work attire. Let’s admit it, I look hilarious! But I can’t tell you how many times guests will look at me, start smiling and then just burst out laughing. I catch them laughing and I’ll begin playing the part of Tinkerbell or something of the nature. Some people don’t believe me, but my job is to ensure that they play along with the magic. Because when everyone believes in it, everyone has more fun and becomes happier. As a industry that relies upon guest satisfaction as one if its many matrices for success, my job is crucial in allowing guests to really get into the festive mood and purchase products that are associated to that happy memory.

This moment always makes me cry!

I want to end with a story that pretty much sums up why I wanted to come to Disney. While I was in this amazing costume/get-up. I saw a guest in a wheelchair and came up to her and she stared at me for the longest time (probably because I look so pretty). Anyways, I got down in my knees and began talking with her and she was laughing and giggling. She also had one of our digital cameras and we pretended that I was a rare fairy and that taking a photograph of me would be the most awesome thing on the planet! So we did that for a few minutes and I gave her a high five and hugged her.

Working directly in the front lines really teaches you a lot of things about what you really think about your education and where you want to go with it. I think for myself, as long as I get to impact the children in some positive manner, I’ll be okay with working for a company such as Disney! Until next time, I look forward to telling you a little more about Disney. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away in the comment box!