Business Interest and Problems

Question: Discuss about the Report for Business Interest and Problems. Answer: Jennifer Halperinj This report mainly deals with the topic of internship and whether there is a need for paid internship or not. Internship is considered to be a practical on-job training for professional (white collar) careers which is quite similar to the apprenticeshipsfor trade and vocational jobs. The individuals opting for internships are usually college/university graduates or high school students who want to get a first hand idea or knowledge regarding how work is done in the corporate sector. Internships are usually temporary in nature which may be paid or unpaid. There is a constant ongoing debate regarding whether paid internships should be the norm as the interns need to in a corporate setting and so they must be paid back for the labour and efforts which they are putting in a company. Corporate establishments which are providing unpaid internships to the fresh college/university graduates are essentially exploiting them for the benefit of the company. This growing trend regarding unpaid internships has also been described in a recent article which was published in New York Times. Jennifer says that in the majority of her interaction with the students, intern pay is a topic that is often encountered by her. The author of the article (Jennifer) says that she receives queries from media outlets and other business establishments who are seeking interns for their organisation and more often than not these opportunities are unpaid where college credits are offered to the students for the work put in by them within the organisation and the experi ence gathered in the process. The paragraph: To my surprise, paid internships don't always attract the most candidates. Location and intern duties play just as large a role, in luring students to apply. Illustrates ethos as in this paragraph the author has expressed her authority It needs to be mentioned here that the lack of paid internships are not in any way dissuading fresh college pass-outs from taking up internships in different business establishments. Students are opting for internships to fulfill their main goal of having a practical experience at the workplace which will enable them to hone their skills. Jennifer has also found out that paid internships do not necessarily attract the majority of candidates who are looking for internships. The location and the job role which is being offered to the fresh graduates are also playing equally vital role in attracting the candidates for the internships. This is mainly due to the fact that a majority of the interns are doing part-time or full-time jobs and they also have to attend to their children in their homes. In this paragraph Pathos is illustrated Nobody respects and values interns' time more than I do. I am reminded hourly of their hard work, energy and tenaciousness. Do they deserve compensation? Yes. But the value of internships can't be calculated in solely financial terms. And unpaid interns go a long way toward breaking the stereotype that today's youth are emotionally spoiled, demanding of praise and tangible reward at every turn. Jennifer undertook a survey involving several freshly passed out graduates and students regarding intern pay and was surprised with the findings. She questioned the respondents regarding the fairness or justification of unpaid internships and found out that the majority of the candidates do not consider pay to be a priority or something that they deserve while doing the internship. The fact which matters to the students most is the practical real life experience which they gather while doing the internship. Majority of the respondents were of the opinion that paid internships are good but unpaid internships were more beneficial as it helped them to learn the tricks of the trade in an effective manner. Jennifer is of the opinion that the unpaid internships are playing a vital role in the concept of caveat emptor which enables the job applicants to find out more about their job roles and responsibilities much before they take up a permanent full-time job in any corporate establishment. Brittany Harris who has interned atCBS, NBC and Kurtis Productionsin Chicago has claimed that unpaid internships are really very helpful as the amount of experience which a person can gain from working in a corporate environment is unimaginable. Academic courses only teaches the students about the theoretical aspects but nothing can beat the practical real life experience which can be gained by seeing how business activities are carried out within a corporate establishment. Moreover, it helps the candidates to connect with important people and increase their network which invariably helps them in their future careers. Another respondent Thomas Pardee, has expressed his reservations in case of unpaid internships. The fact that Thomas has done both paid as well as unpaid internships he is highly skeptical regarding the unpaid internships which require working full-time. The following paragraph illustrates Logos. Some do express reservations. Thomas Pardee, who has done both paid and unpaid internships, says he is becoming suspicious of unpaid opportunities, especially those requiring full-time hours. They are really only accessible to people who have the financial support from someone else to survive them,'' he says. He also notes that in many workplaces, the line between what an intern does and what an entry-level employee does is very sketchy. " Hannah Ferdinand who works as a production assistant for the Dr. Oz Show has stated that unpaid internships are extremely beneficial if the interns are dedicated at their jobs and are willing to learn from their experience. Hannah has done five internships while she was in college and she considers internships as an opportunity to learn for free. The success of a candidate ultimately depends on how determined and serious they are in their jobs and whether he/she is willing to work hard in order to land up the opportunity of getting a lucrative job in any of the renowned corporate establishments of the world.