Internship Assignment B - Profile

Coffeesmiths Collective
Organizational Profile

I. Purposes and Values
Coffeesmith Collectives mission statement is to increase the quality of life that comes with quality coffee and food to as many people as possible. The company also has values that are used to help identify what is important and what is not. The values are as follows:

1. Make quality coffee 

2. Every person is to be valued 

3. Every coffee shop is a public place 

4. Our communities and relationships give us significance 

5. Give our customers a better quality of life 

6. Plan and execute for exceptional profitability and return on investment 

II. Carrying out the purposes of the company 
Coffeesmiths relies on their employees to carry out the purposes of the company. They employ people who can think for themselves and make good decisions to benefit the company and its customers. They try to teach their employees to prioritise and balance values. At times, certain values may outweigh other values. When this happens, practices need to be altered in the moment.

The chain of command is less formal than a large company, but is well constructed for a smaller company. There are managers and assistant managers at all coffee coffee shops. If employees have questions or concerns, they are to report to the assistant manager or the manager. The manager is to report to the CEO or HR director.

III. New Policies 
The new policies are formed between the two founders of the company. They do take input from many of the managers as well as employees and customers. It is a very open system, but the people with the most influence are Chris (manager of Department of Coffee and Social Affairs and founder), Tim (CEO and founder), and a silent partner who finances part of the company.

IV. Competition 
Coffeesmiths has a wide range of competitors. They include all the coffee shops in Central London, and the machines people can use at home. To combat the other shops, Coffeesmiths tries to make the best quality coffee and adapt to the area the shop is in. This, they hope, will keep bringing customers in. As for the machines people use at home, Coffeesmith offers a wide variety of household coffee machines. Even if the customer does not come to get coffee every day, they hope that the customers will buy their coffee equipment from one of the various shops.

V. Funding 
Coffesmiths has two forms of funding. The first is a silent partner who is not present, but he does fund part of the company. The second is from the retail sales that are made every day in the coffeeshops.

VI. Customers 
They serve the neighborhoods they are located in. Each of the four shops is located in different areas of central London. Each shop caters to the type of area they are in. However, the overall customers would be people who love quality customers, friendly service, and a pleasant atmosphere.

VII. Employees 
They have around 25 full-time employees. 23 of the employees work as staff in the various shops, and 2 work behind the scenes. Their employees are from all over the world, and many of them do not stay for long. Coffeesmiths does well with encouraging travel. They do only employ experience baristas because they are trying to provide the best quality coffee.

VIII. Benefits 
Coffeesmiths offers their employees a 25% discount on food, a 20% discount on coffee beans, and free drinks while on shift. When employees are off shift, they get a 20% discount on food, 20% discount on coffee beans, and coffee drinks for £1.50.

IX. Issues the organization is facing 
Coffeesmiths is growing quickly. In three years, they have opened 4 shops. An issue they are facing at the moment is getting the newest shop more business. Because it has only been open for 3 weeks, it is not well known yet. Coffeesmiths is doing its best to bring awareness to the people living and working in the area. Another issue they are facing is the demand for online shopping. The website does have an online shopping section, but it does not contain all the items they sell. At the moment, they are working on revamping the website to make it more user friendly and to update the online shopping page fully.

  

 

Internship Assignment A - Goals

I. Learn what it takes to run a coffee shop from behind the scenes

 
   A. Work closely with Tim (CEO) and Ashley (HR Director) one day a week
   B. Ask Tim and Ashley questions about their roles in the business
   C. Work on projects with Tim and Ashley to get a feel for what tasks they may do to keep Coffeesmiths running.
   D. Learn the history of the company and how it has grown

II. Learn what it takes to work as staff in a coffee shop

  

   A. Work in one of the various coffee shops once a week
   B. Observe the staff

III. Learn to make quality coffee
  

  A. Practice on the machines at least once a week
  B. Ask the baristas questions
  C. Listen to each barista as if it is my first time learning it
  D. Take bits and pieces of techniques and information from each of the baristas and compile them in a way that works best for me

 

BES Assignment Two - Museum of London

I ventured to the London Museum last week, and I had mixed feelings about the Museum. I was excited to check out this Museum because it would give me more of a background on London. It did not disappoint in that aspect as I did learn a great deal about the history of London. I found the museum had a slow start to it, but became better put together as it progressed toward modern time. The biggest part of the Museum that I disliked was the way they displayed the Roman exhibit. I believe they were doing a special thing for the Olympics, but I found that it took away from the exhibit itself.

In the Roman exhibit, they mixed modern with ancient. There would be a display of an old workshop, and sitting on the floor of the new workshop was a brand new modern set of tools. In another display, there was an IPhone next to ancient artifacts, and there was a piece of modern day furniture in a Roman house display. I understand that this was probably for children to show the difference between the past and present; however, for me, it was as if the museum was taking the value away from these ancient artifacts. By displaying modern with ancient, it says to me that the two items are equal, but in reality the history in the ancient artifact has far greater importance than the modern day items. Now that I got that off my chest, I can talk about what I really enjoyed.

I thought the museum did a great job with an exhibit that showed what London used to look like in the 20’s or 30’s (I do not actually remember the exact time period they were depicting). This exhibit had close to life-sized store fronts, and it made me feel as if I was actually walking through a small city block. I love when museums can make the visitor seem a part of that time period, and the London Museum did a fantastic job with this small city block.  The display that I enjoyed most was tucked away in a corner, and the other two people I went with missed it. There is a dungeon door, and beside the door is a small room that I decided to walk into.

The room was lined with wood planks; it was rather dark in the room, and the sound of walking on a wood floor created an eerie atmosphere. The wood planks were covered with cravings from the occupants of the room. There were many names carved into the wall, one was from the 1700’s, and cravings of a house showed up multiple times on the walls. The room left me in awe. The feeling in the room and the fact that people left their marks on these wood planks from hundreds of years ago made me want to know the stories of the names on the wall. I did have mixed feelings about the museum, but as a whole, I am glad that I went. There were many interesting exhibits, and it helped me to understand more about the history of the London area.       

BES Assignment One - Markets

The two markets I went to were Brixton and Camden. When I first arrived in Brixton, it seemed like a rundown part of London (it didn't help that it was raining and gloomy). Although it did look like a bad part of town, there was something in the air that gave me a vibrant feeling as if the true personality of Brixton was hidden away. I ventured there on a week day, but I would love to go back on a weekend to see if that hidden personality surfaces during the busy weekends.  I loved seeing the open meat shops mainly because I have only seen those sorts of stores on TV. We don’t have open stores like those in Iowa. As for the outdoor stands, there were a wide variety of stands. The stands ranged from clothes to fresh fruit and vegetables. I would like to buy some fresh food from the market sometime. It seems a little cheaper than at a supermarket. There were two stands that I found odd and possibly legal questions could be raised by one of the stands.

As I walked through the market, sitting between a clothes stand and a fruit cart was a stand selling explicit movies. This was odd to me because I consider a market to be a family friendly place; not to mention, the fact that it just was out of place at the market. The second stand, which could raise legal questions, was selling passports. A group of 6 passports from various countries sat on a table for all to see and/or purchase. I am not sure what the law is in the UK with selling passports, but the vendor did not seem too concerned. Brixton has some secrets, some good some bad, but it was still an enjoyable market that I will return to.

Camden Market was my favorite by far! Stepping out of the tube station, I was automatically transported to a strange and colorful world that resembles a carnival. The buildings had artistic twists to them, and the people, what do I say about the people? They are some of the most interesting, colorful, scary, and strangely beautiful people I have ever seen.  Everyone has their own style, and Camden is a place where anyone can be who they want to be. The stores are more souvenir and clothes shops than anything, but the shops are not what really draw me to this market. It is the food!

Camden is filled with food vendors from every ethnicity. The explosive fragrance of the food mixed with the assertive personalities of the vendors makes for a fun lunch.  The Chinese vendors are the most assertive. They do not grasp distance; I was walking on the opposite side of a wide aisle from one of the vendors, but the Chinese lady was still shouting “Hey you; Are you hungry? Come try! Free Sample!” I did not stop at that stand; however, I did stop at another Chinese stand. At this one, the lady behind the counter would start spooning different items in my bowl as she simultaneously asked me if I wanted it. After doing that for three different items, she stopped asking me all together and kept adding different types of chicken. As she handed the strange mix of Chinese food to me, she said “You can’t say no to me; it’s because I so cute.”  The mix did not taste the best, but it makes for a great story. I think I will be spending a lot of time in Camden.   

BES Journal Three

This past week, I was on a mission to find some beautiful views of the city. I enjoy looking out over beautiful areas, and I had not seen the city as a whole. London is beautiful just walking down the streets, but I wanted to get a feel for London as a whole. I went to Regents Park the week before, and it was wonderful! It was as if I stepped out of the city. I was lucky to get there before they took all the flowers out for the winter. Regents Park relaxed me and that was really needed. When I am around people for too long, I tend to get short tempered and annoyed easily. I was getting to that point and just needed to get away from everything so I can think and enjoy the quiet. After sitting and walking around Regents Park, felt so much better. I have been told about Primrose Hill a couple of times; so when I was looking for a great view of the city, Primrose Hill popped in my mind right away.

Since I had already been to Regents Park, I thought it would be easy to find the hill since it is right next to Regents Park. I miscalculated the distance a little. I left for the hill late afternoon, and I thought it would only be a 30 min walk to get there. It ended up taking me an hour. Regents Park is much bigger than I expected! It was a nice walk, but I couldn’t shake the thought that I still had to walk back an hour. Although my feet were tired when I finally found Primrose Hill, I must say it was worth the walk! When I finally reach the top of the hill, the view made me forget all about my aching feet. It was breathtaking, and the first time I had seen London in such a large chunk. The city is beautiful, and I couldn’t help but think that one day I could see London as a home. Looking out over London made living here seem right. I love the variety of people, and the way of life here; seeing that view of London, brought everything together.

I also rode the London Eye this week, and that just reinforced how I thought when I was on top of Primrose Hill. I am glad we took the night ride on the Eye. It gave me a chance to see London all lit up. I wish the ride was a little longer because I wasn’t even close to being tired of gazing out over the city. Something about the city at night that makes me feel happy as well as awe over the brilliance of London. I am going to continue my journey of finding beautiful views and areas of London throughout this whole trip. I think my next stop will be Hyde Park. I am feeling more and more at home everyday!

BES Journal Two

This weekend we had our first group trip. I was really excited for it because I have wanted to see what the UK is like outside of London.  The first stop on the trip was Stonehenge. On the bus there, I thought that Stonehenge was going to be amazing to see since it is such a well-known attraction. When we arrived, I was a little disappointed. It was not as big as people make it out to be, and we had to stay on a path that was at a distance from the site. I was hoping I would get to walk through the stones or at least be a little closer than the path allowed me to get. Do not get me wrong, Stonehenge is an incredible feat for the time it was constructed, but for me, it is just something I can say that I have seen. Next on the trip, which was also my favorite part of the trip, was Bath.

I found Bath to be beautiful! I enjoyed walking around Bath looking at the old architecture. It amazed me that a small city like Bath had so many things going on. It would not be hard to keep myself busy in Bath all day and all night. The Roman Baths were interesting and beautiful. I think I spent a few hours wandering around them. It shocked me how big the place was. From the outside and the initial entrance of the Baths, I thought I would be bored with it within an hour. I was wrong; there were so many hallways and rooms that it kept my interest the few hours I was there. What I really wanted to do was to try the water. So when I reached the exit, it didn't take me long to fill up a cup of the water and try it. It was not as bad as what people told me it was, but it still wasn't good. Not something I want to drink every day. Fast forward to the night life in Bath, and I would say that was a surprise.

Bath was crazy at night! There were so many people on the streets and at the pubs and clubs. It caught me off guard because it has more of a sleepy town feel to it during the day. The whole place did a 180 once the sun went down. I met quite a few people that night. Most of them lived outside of Bath, but came into the city for the night life. Two of the guys that I met made my night. These two threw every stereotype about anti-Americanism out the window. Once they found out that we were from America, they became very excited. One of the guys kept asking us to speak so he could listen to our accents. He was fascinated by us, and asked many questions about the states. I don’t think he knew much about the States because he asked me where I was from; when I said Iowa, he asked me what part of New York is that. It made me laugh, and definitely made my trip to Bath more memorable. At first, I was worried about anti-Americanism, but after my weekend in Bath and from the people I have met in Woburn Place, I just do not see the hate for America.  I guess it is just a stereotype.   

BES Journal One

The first week in London was pretty tiring. I was jet lagged and had plenty of things to do for the orientation week. One of the activities during orientation week was bowling. When I first heard we were going bowling, I was a little disappointed and a little excited. I was disappointed because I have bowled plenty of times in the States, and I was hoping to try new things and step out of my comfort zone. On the other hand, I was a little excited to see if bowling in London was going to be any different than in the States. It turned out that the game of bowling was the same; however, the crowd was much different.

Walking into the bowling alley, I could not help but feel like I was transported back in time. In the U.S. almost all bowling alleys have stepped up the technology; they have flat, touch screen monitors and covered ball returns. At this alley, the monitors were very old and outdated, and the ball return was open. The ball return was also really skinny, and I may or may not have knocked a couple of the balls off of it. Although it seemed out dated, it had a very homely feeling to it as if we were no longer in London, but rather, in a small country village where everyone knows everyone. It was a refreshing get away since I was still adjusting to the city. As I said before, the game was played the same as in the States. What was different was the amount of people that were there in, what looked like, their business clothes.

 In the U.S., bowling seems to be a pastime that is dominantly for younger kids, families, and for the people that have nothing else to do at night. In London, it looks like many business people gather at the bowling alleys with their work friends when the day is done. They all seemed to be having a blast in their suits and ties, and I myself was having a fun time. I wasn't too concerned about the bowling. I was more having a great time just getting to know the people in the group better. It made me understand why so many business people were there. Something about the atmosphere of bowling alley made it great for socializing and getting to know the people with you. By the second game, I wasn't even bowling anymore. Instead, I was sitting on some of the couches they had there with other people from the program talking and having a fun time.

Overall, Bowling was a great time. Not because of the bowling, but rather the atmosphere that the alley created. It helped me to feel a part of something in such a large city. It also helped me to get to know people in the program better, which was needed. When people are forced to get to know one another, it never works well; however, the environment we were in allowed me to feel less pressure. I was able to relax and be myself.