Internship Report

Mohammed Ababakar at
R&K Consulting Ltd.

Name
Student number
Name of the School
Academy
Study course
Company Mentor
School supervisor
Period

Mohammed Ababakar
33188
Saxion University of Applied Sciences, Deventer
MIM
International Business Management & Studies
Mr. Kingsley Ma
Mr. Gijs Dankers
7 September 2015 till 15 January 2016

Contents
1.

Introduction...................................................................................................... 3

2.

Company description....................................................................................... 4
2.1 Mission and strategy..................................................................................... 4
2.2 Products and markets.................................................................................... 4
2.3 Index numbers, turnover, profit....................................................................7
2.4 Organisation.................................................................................................. 7

3.

Results of the internships PDCA cycle.............................................................8

4.

Appendices.................................................................................................... 12
4.1 Internship Assignment................................................................................ 12
4.2 Organizational chart.................................................................................... 18
4.3 POP Form..................................................................................................... 19
4.4 Day lists...................................................................................................... 27
4.5 Survey sample............................................................................................ 29
4.6 End evaluation............................................................................................ 30
4.7 Declaration of personal work......................................................................32

1. Introduction
Through an internship mediator located in Chengdu, in China, the student were
introduced to R&K Consulting Ltd.. This internship will take 18 weeks which is the
required 90 working days by the academy of MIM. The student selected this
company because it has 8 years of experience in the consulting industry and the
small size (11 employees) of the company offers the student the opportunity to
learn and develop. Furthermore the small size enables to gain insight in all the
departments of the company and learn from that.
The relation between the study and this company is the fact that most of the
subjects during the study such as Marketing, Human Resource, Sales, and
Accounting are being implemented in this company. This provides the intern the
opportunity to gain insight in how this departments operate or this parts of the
business are conducted in the professional field. After couple weeks the intern
noticed that most of the theory that is gained during the study is difficult to apply
in the professional field and that the intern had to adapt quickly to the different
circumstances occurring in the company to successfully apply the gained theory.
Lastly the intern chose together with the company mentor the following
internship assignment : an external communication analysis and a plan which
indicates how the external communication can be improved. The choice was
mainly made because the company mentor mentioned that the company is not
satisfied with the current communication at all and this would be an excellent
chance for the student to contribute to the company. After couple weeks of
progress on the internship assignment the company mentor mentioned that
beside the analysis the intern should also implement the recommendations as
much as possible within the company. This mean that the focus of the
assignment is shifted from the analysis report to the implementation of the
report.

Confidentiality clause
This internship report contains confidential data of
R&K Consulting Ltd..
This work may only be made available to the first
and second reviewers and authorized members of
the board of examiners. Any publication and
duplication of this report - even in part - is
prohibited.
An inspection of this work by third parties requires
the expressed permission of the author and R&K
Consulting Ltd..

2. Company description
R&K Consulting is an consulting firm which mainly focus on providing Market
Intelligence, Competitive intelligence and Market research to an exclusive base of
clients about the Greater China market. The target group of the company is very
wide including fund managers, investment banks, and private and governmental
organizations. During this part of the report the intern will provide more
information about the company such as the mission, strategy, services,
financials, and the company structure.

2.1 Mission and strategy

Mission
The main purpose and objective of R&K Consulting is defined in the mission
statement of the company and the mission of R&K Consulting is stated as follow
Providing insight to support your strategy of decision-making.
Strategy
Based on the Ansoff matrix the companys strategy has been identified. Firstly
R&K Consulting desire to grow by using existing services they provide in the
Chinese market, for example the company want to establish a more stable client
list in the upcoming and fast growing cities like Chengdu, Chongqing, Kunming,
and Xiamen. According the Ansoff matrix this strategy can be defined as Market
penetration. Secondly the company wants to enter the consulting market in
Europe and United States by providing the services R&K Consulting is already
providing in China. This second strategy can be defined as Market Development
according the matrix of Ansoff.

2.2 Products and markets

R&K Consulting offers the following services:
Market intelligence
Competitive intelligence
Market research
Business intelligence
Market strategy
Mergers & Acquisitions
Market intelligence
R&K Consulting offer the answers to the questions companies have about where
to take their business. The world is changing and intelligence is constantly
changing, business models are disruptive and are going beyond borders while
market drivers are different. Whether a client require market trends, customer
profiling or due diligence, R&K Consulting can provide the in-depth information
and analysis necessary to give the clients business the competitive advantage,
through a combination of primary and secondary research across all relevant
participants in a certain market.

Competitive intelligence
In a competitive analysis R&K Consulting take a closer look at the clients
competitors. This provide the client an idea of their position in relation to the
competition and R&K Consulting can offer understanding of the opportunities that
exists in the market. R&K Consulting provide insight into how the clients
company can distinguish itself from the rest. The performance of a competitive
assess is done in a number of steps.

First, R&K Consulting determine who the companies are recorded in the
competitive analysis. Not all competitors are indeed equally relevant to the
clients business and it is also useful for analyzing only the main competitors.
This way R&K can ultimately provide a better overview and more benefits of the
analysis performed by R&K. Next, R&K examine the strategies used by the
competition to peddle their products. Are they passive or active? How does the
competition expect to achieve a sales increase? In a competitive analysis, R&K
look for example at how the clients competitors are using certain marketing
tools to reach their target market. In addition, R&K determine the success
factors in the market.

Market research
With the market research R&K perform, it provide insight into who the clients
customers exactly are, what they want and how they can be addressed
effectively. R&K also create a market overview of the clients products or
services. The market research R&K perform often start with an internal analysis.
This analysis gives a good insight into clients current services, communications,
strengths and weaknesses.

Thereafter R&K start gather external market information. Based on qualitative

research, R&K try to understand the way people think in the target audience of
the client about certain subjects. In this way R&K gain insight into the motives
and reasons. Besides the fact that R&K do qualitative research, R&K as an
consulting firm is also specialized in conducting quantitative research. Based on a
quantitative survey insights can be provided about different relationships in the
target market of the client.

Business intelligence
R&K Consulting support the organization of the client to organize and present
management information to make the right decisions and thus be able to steer
the course of the organization. The Business Intelligence solutions R&K provide,
gives organizations insights into data and seamlessly with the strategy and
governance of organizations. According to R&K Consulting a good management
information system exists from a compact management dashboard with the
deepening results-oriented reporting and analysis paths. R&K develops Business
Intelligence solutions always in collaboration with the client.
Market strategy
In a market characterized by increasing competition and rapidly changing
environment, a clear vision and strategy is very important. R&K support clients
for years in the design, management and supply chain optimization. Together
with clients, R&K develop the course to sail. R&K Consulting do this based on
thorough market research and benchmarking, companies in-depth knowledge
and its translation into economic impact assessments.

R&K Consulting can help clients with:

Market analysis and market strategy; With big data applications R&K can
help clients to identify market opportunities and trends. These are
translated into policies, into an appropriate strategy and a roadmap to
redeem this.

Market entry; Understanding of competitor, customer, channels, and

supplier dynamics, as well as other environmental factors.

Mergers & Acquisitions

In fact during a merger or acquisition there is simultaneously a strategic
organizational and negotiation process. The first process must lead to a clear
picture of the added value of the target company for the clients strategy. After a
possible agreement to integrate those parts of the business that are necessary
for the intended synergies. The negotiation process aims to bring an agreement
to establish a fair purchase price. The conclusion could also apply that an
agreement is not feasible.

Mergers and acquisitions are a difficult matter. R&K Consulting support clients in
achieving the goals for synergy. R&K has an extensive experience in mergers and

acquisitions integration processes and can assist clients in all phases of the
process.

Markets
R&K Consulting is an consulting company which operates in the consulting
market mainly in the Greater China market. Furthermore the company has a
small number of international clients from United States and several European
countries though the company is recently officially entering foreign countries like
United States and in Western European.
The global consulting industry was worth about $449 billion dollar in 2015 but its
relatively new in the market of China. Though all the big international consulting
companies such as McKinsey & Company, The Boston Consulting Group, Bain &
Company, etc. are represented in China and the estimated market value for
China is $14,7 billion. Since China become a member of the World Trade
Organization the demand for consulting began to rise rapidly and with Chinas
relationship-oriented culture R&K Consulting can distinguish itself from foreign
consulting companies operating in China. Though in Chinas market of consulting
the companies are familiar with this fact thus there are many companies
operating in and this trend is growing rapidly. This is also the most important
reason why R&K Consulting desire to expand it client list to a more international
range.

2.3 Index numbers, turnover, profit

R&K Consulting is very cautious about publishing its financials and thus the
intern had barely access to the financials. This might be because of the cultural
differences, but although R&K Consulting provided the intern with some basic
financials about its operations which are shown in the table below.
Year
Turnover
Net profit

2013
242.859.00
32.264.00

2014
251.647.00
37.640.00

2015
382.836.00
66.827.00

R&K Consulting financial figures

Unfortunately R&K Consulting did not provide any explanation or full financial
statement to the intern except of the above mentioned numbers and of the fact
that the turnover and net profit of the year 2015 year significantly higher than
the previous years and this was caused because of new foreign clients. The
actual provided numbers were in Renminbi and the intern has converted the
rates to Euro. The exchange rate use for this report is 1:6.9 (1 = 6.9 RMB).

2.4 Organisation
Size

R&K Consulting is small sized firm with 11 employees and two interns,
nevertheless the small size of the company, it can be considered as well
organized firm which is able to react on new developments on the market.
Team and departments
R&K Consulting has four departments which are being directed by the CEO
Kingsley Ma and those four departments are Business Development, HR/Finance,
Marketing/Sales, and Research Department. One intern is working in the
Marketing/Sales department but since the Business Development department is
working very closely with the Marketing Department the intern is working closely
with Business Development as well. The second intern is working in the research
Department however the intern is working as well a lot with Marketing and
Business Development.
Furthermore the Marketing/Sales department has a manager and below the
manager there are three employees working in the hierarchy. The department
carry out all the marketing related tasks and with an international intern the
manager desires to focus on attracting international clients. Since the company is
small sized all the employees are working closely together and decisions are
being made quickly but there is a clear hierarchy. The Research Department is
responsible to carry out the reports and conduct the research for clients. Lastly
the Finance/HR has only one employee/manager though because of the small
size of the company at the moment there is no need for other employees.
For a more clear overview and structure of R&K Consulting see Appendix 4.2.

3. Results of the internships PDCA cycle

A. Plan
At the very beginning of the internship the intern had set up of some personal
goals and some professional goals together with the company mentor. All the
tasks of the internship which were assigned to the intern were related to the
goals which were set up. Beside those tasks the intern had to perform an
internship assignment as well. All the professional goals, personal goals and the
internship assignment has been approved by the company mentor and the school
supervisor.
The intern will use the Plan, Do, Check, Act cycle to reflect on the Personal
Development during the internship.
The professional goals are based on 7 competences which are as follow:
1. Working Systematically
2. Forming opinions
3. Pro activity
4. Oral Communication
5. Learning capacity
6. Sensitivity / Flexibility
7. Integrity

Furthermore the intern had set up as well 9 personal goals which are illustrated
in the table below.
1

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Organizing the own work effectively, by means of planning the objectives, time
and activities, whereby attention is given to main topics and immediate
problems.
Presenting a verbal and written report in relation to the activities or study
implemented.
Acquiring experience with functioning in the everyday practice of a company.
Acquiring an improved insight in the level and nature of the positions within a
company.
Acquiring experience with working in a professional organization.
Acquiring an improved insight in the various marketing application possibilities.
Application of (theoretical) knowledge and skills - acquired during the study in practice, by means of implementing an actual assignment.
Improving knowledge and skills required for functioning in the professional
field.
Improving the motivation to continue with the study with an increased effort.

B. Do
At this part of the PDCA cycle the intern will describe all the tasks which were
performed during the internship and furthermore the internship assignment will
be shortly discussed as well.
The intern worked on the following tasks during the internship:
Holding presentations about the company for potential and existing clients.
Expanding the potential client list.
Creating content for the company website in English.
Building a tighter relationship with the exciting customers.
Creating and improving the internal and external communication channels.
Creating a twitter account for the company.
Updating information on the social media accounts of the company.
Implementing the recommendations regarding communication of the
company.
Searching for new attractive international markets.
Studying and gaining knowledge about the Automotive, Chemicals, and
Healthcare industry.
The daily tasks the intern worked on are listed below:

Placing posts on Twitter and Google+.

Answering emails of international customers.
Answering phone calls of international customers.
Searching for new customers on LinkedIn and other channels.
Approaching potential clients.
Attending the daily meeting of the Marketing department.
Supporting other employees in the Marketing department when needed.
Gathering secondary information about the European and US market for
the Research department.
Providing information to customers regarding the services the company is
providing.

The intern had to work on many other activities which occurred during the
internship. One of the most learning activity was joining the CEO during
meetings with international clients or international potential clients. This activity
enables the intern as well to work on the internship assignment by conducting
surveys for the internship assignment research and gathering further explanation
regarding the surveys. Besides the meetings with clients the intern received the
assignment to organize the two LinkedIn accounts of the company. In total both
of accounts has around 3500 connects and the task of the intern was to provide
each connect with tags which makes the accounts well-ordered. After several
weeks of improving the content of the accounts and organizing all the connects,
the intern had to write some promotional emails and send them to all the
connects. This task occurred during the internship assignment which indicated
that this task had to be fulfilled.
Lastly the internship assignment was stated as follow: an external
communication analysis and a plan which indicates how the external
communication can be improved. This assignment will be further explained and
discussed in appendix 4.1 Internship Assignment .
C. Check
The intern has covered all the professional goals mentioned in the Plan by
performing the Daily tasks and executing the Internship Assignment.
Furthermore the intern has made an evaluation of the Personal goals before and
after the internship which is being explained in the table below and the entire
form is included in this report as Appendix 4.3.
Working systematically
Before
The intern had difficulties meeting the
deadlines at the beginning and needed
more time to fulfill his tasks.
Furthermore the working environment
was new and the country and city as
well. This had to change and the
company mentor made that clear to
the intern at the first evaluation as well
during work.

After
At the end of the internship the intern
had worked hard to improve the work
flow and was adapted to the new
environment. The intern has found the
right place within the company and
this resulted in more motivation for the
intern as well. At the end this skills
have been graded good but the intern
has to keep working on this in future.

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Forming opinions
Mohammed was in the beginning of his Eventually the intern has learned
internship sometimes very direct but
seeing things and solving problems
that had to do with cultural differences. from different angles. In the future the
Furthermore the intern is fully aware of intern has to keep developing this skill
opinions and facts. Though he
in order to have an even better future.
sometimes looks at a problem from
one angle. The intern need to learn
thinking more broad.
Pro activity
The intern was at the beginning active
Further in time the intern improved
but did not take always initiative.
and was much more pro-active and
Though the intern did his best but said took more initiative. The intern has still
yes even was not fully aware of the
long way to go for improving this skill
consequences.
and specially by thinking about
consequences of action before making
decisions. This is also the reason that
the has a neutral remark on the form
regarding this skill.
Oral Communication
The intern has excellent oral
At the end of the internship the intern
communication skills. This was the
keep working on this skill and had
reason for involving him in meetings
improved his preparation for
with real clients. Though the intern
presentations. The advice on this skill
was sometimes too confident which
for the intern was to keep this level up
looked like the intern was arrogant.
and make use of this skill in the future.
Learning capacity
At the very beginning the student had
The intern improved through the
too much expectations on this skill
internship this skill but has to keep
which was not realistic. The advice was improving it in the future. Furthermore
to set up more realistic expectation
the intern is really eager to learn new
regarding this skill.
skill and discover new industries.
Sensitivity / Flexibility
During the start of the internship the
At the end the intern had worked a bit
intern had to adapt to the new cultural on this skill but it was good before
differences but has always been
anyway. The advice for the future stay
sensitive and respectful to others.
the same especially in Western
Advice for the intern after the first
cultures the intern must be more
evaluation was to me more aggressive
aggressive. Furthermore the intern was
at the right moments.
always flexible which has been
appreciated by the company a lot.
Integrity
The intern is a very trustful person and The intern was doing good job at the
never involved in a negative way in
end of the internship regarding this
others business. Though the intern had competence because the cultural
adapt to the centralized hierarchy in
difference were clear and understood

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the company which is totally different

from the Western culture. The first
advice was as well to perform the
tasks right away and in case for
explanation to ask for additional
information to the Marketing manager
or company mentor.

by the intern. Since the intern is eager

to learn and develop, in the further
stages of the internship Mohammed
start asking more and more and
wanted to keep growing and
developing. This as well the reason
that the intern is always welcome to
join the company on a fulltime job
offer.

D. Act
The intern is really happy how the internship turned, though the first couple
weeks were really difficult due the cultural differences and the new environment.
One of the main points was the long hours, the intern woke up at 7AM and was
arriving at home at 7PM in case there was no overtime at work. But the intern
would start adapting to the new environment quicker in the future. This will
enable the intern to be more motivated and active from the start.
The intern have to keep working on the received advice which is mentioned
above in the table for the future. The intern will act the same regarding the
enthusiasm and eagerness to grow and develop.
The intern should focus on the following point in the future:
Adapt faster to new environments
Be aware of the consequences of actions before making decisions.
Be more aggressive in sales
Should improve writing
Should absorb knowledge faster
Should be more realistic in expectations
Should keep improving the ICT skills such as Microsoft PowerPoint

4. Appendices
4.1 Internship Assignment
1. Introduction
The intern had set up the together with the company mentor the following
internship assignment an external communication analysis and a plan which
indicates how the external communication can be improved. The actual

12

assignment was to conduct an analysis for internal communication as well but in

consultation with the company mentor the internal part was deleted from the
assignment and instead the implementation for the external communication was
added to the assignment.
After couple interviews with the employees for the internal communication it
became already clear what had to be improved and the company mentor knew
already most the results. So that was one of the main reasons for the
adjustment of the assignment and the implementation of the recommendations
would be beneficial for the company and a tremendous learning process for the
intern as well.
Furthermore it was mentioned by the school supervisor that a communication
analysis is actually a part of the whole marketing analysis since communication is
one of the 4 Ps. Realizing that fact the main focus of this whole assignment has
shifted to the implementation part though the analysis and recommendations are
the essence of this implementation part.
The problem description of this assignment is, in order to successfully improve
the external communication, the current external communication will be analysed
and based on that recommendations will be made for the R&K Consulting.
Eventually all the recommendations will be implemented to achieve the desired
results.
The objective of this assignment is to provide R&K Consulting with a report which
indicates what the company should improve before officially entering the Markets
of United States and Western European countries.
Based on the objective the following central question is set up how can R&K
Consulting improve the external communication in order to officially enter the
foreign markets of United States and Western Europe within the period of one
year.

2. Research method
For this assignment the intern has chosen to use a survey to gathering
information and afterwards analyse the data of the surveys. The company
mentor has provided the intern with contact data of 14 current and old clients
with who the company has a good relationship till the day of today. All of this
clients are foreign clients, this is needed in order to understand the foreign
clients thinking. Since the foreign markets are the relevant subjects of this whole
research and assignment.
Furthermore the company mentor has advised to conduct the surveys face-toface or in case that is not possible by Skype. The reason for this method is to

13

find out what the reasons are behind each answer and by doing this it will enable
the intern to make more accurate conclusions. Beside this reason the intern can
expand his network and practice communicating with actual clients.
The way of conducting the surveys and interviewing the participants at the same
time will increase the validity of the research tremendously. Besides this it is
easy to arrange a meeting with the participant since the company provided the
intern with all the contact information and allows the intern to take time to meet
the participants for the survey/interviews. Lastly all the questions of the survey
are open questions and the intern chose for this type of questions to acquire
good content for the results of this assignment.
The intern has made a survey which is included in this report as Appendix 4.5.

Business card to give to the clients during the survey/interview to expand the network
of the intern

3. Results
After having all the interviews with all the 14 participants, the intern start
making the results of the surveys. Some of the results were predictable but there
were as well some surprises especially to the company CEO. Below for each
questions the results have been described.
Question 1
The majority of the participants of the survey answered this questions by
noticing that they were satisfied with the communication but it can be improved
a lot. Especially the English of the majority of the employees is not sufficient at
all which makes it difficult to communicate by phone. communication by email is

14

much better but not all the employees use the work email to communicate with
clients.
Question 2
According to the majority of the participant of the survey the company website is
not good and informative. In the content of the website there are a lot of
grammar mistakes and new content is barely updated. Furthermore the company
should be more active through social media according all the participants.
Question 3
According most of the participants the company is very flexible with their
responses even there is a huge time difference between the client and R&K
Consulting.
Question 4
All the participants noticed that they would like to being updated about the
company in general by social media and the company website. Specially for
clients who for the first time have contact with R&K Consulting and they are
abroad an Skype call will create more trust between the two parties. Lastly the
regular marketing employees should improve their English and learn the
international communication standards and rules.
Question 5
The majority mentioned that they were in general satisfied about the responses
during the cooperation though most of the time another employee was
responding on requests which caused sometimes confusions.
Question 6
The majority responded on this question with face-to-face but since that is not
always possible the second choice is Skype or by telephone. Furthermore all the
responders prefer to stay updated about the different industries and market
through the website.

4. Conclusions
After having gathered all the data from the surveys and analyzing the data the
intern had to make conclusions. Like before mentioned some results were
surprising the CEO and it needs urgent improvements.
The first conclusion is that clients or potential clients might get the feeling that
the company is not able to operate on an international level since most of the
employees have an insufficient level of English, especially the oral part.
Furthermore some employees are not always considering the international time
difference for meeting the deadlines.

15

The second conclusion is that not all the employees are using the official work
email to communicate with clients. This shows lack of professionalism among the
clients and furthermore not all the employees has an official lay-out for their
email such as automatic signature.
The third conclusion is very important because it shows the first impression of
the company to the potential clients. The website of R&K Consulting in old
fashioned designed, is not up to date, there are a lot of English grammar
mistakes and this is essential for the future of the company since it provide
information about the services of the company.
The last conclusion is that the clients prefer to stay in touch with R&K Consulting
through social media such as Google+, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. R&K
Consulting has already accounts of this social media tools but they are not active
at all. An exception is the LinkedIn accounts but those account were described by
the participants as not professional.

5. Recommendations
The final step of this report is the most important one, which is the
recommendations. Based on the conclusions the intern has made
recommendations for R&K Consulting regarding the external communication,
though the intern has to implement all the possible recommendations.
The first recommendation is that the personnel urgently needs to improve the
English oral skills. This will result in better image of the company and the
expectations of professionalism among the foreign clients will increase. Better
knowledge of English will also increase the chance of success in the new markets
of United States and the Western European countries which the company want to
enter and grow in. Lastly this will also help the understanding between R&K

16

Consulting and the clients better which definitely will result in better relationship
between the two parties. Furthermore the employees should also expand their
knowledge about the cultural differences since most of the employees have never
been abroad of China or have foreign friends.
The second recommendation is that the website of R&K Consulting should be
redesigned and new clear content must be published regarding the
methodologies, services, industries, and about the company itself. This will
illustrate the international involvement of the company and at the same time
attract potential clients. This recommendation will be implemented by the intern.
The third recommendation is that each client should have one employee assigned
to communicate about the projects the company is undertaking for certain client.
This will make the communication between the two parties easier and more wellordered. Beside this the employees should use always their official work email to
communicate with clients and the email lay-out such as signature must be made
automatically. This action of the lay-out if the email will be implemented by the
intern as well for the entire company.
Lastly R&K Consulting should develop social media tools through which clients
can be updated about market insights and news. For this recommendation the
intern will create a Google+, a Facebook, Twitter account for the company. R&K
Consulting is using two LinkedIn account with around 3700 connects which must
be organized and the content of the accounts must be improved as well. This last
recommendation will also be implemented by the intern. Furthermore to build
stronger relationship with potential and current clients a personal email will be
send to all this connects.

6. References
Bouten., Borggreve., & Booy. (2012). Instructions Plan of Approach. Deventer:
Saxion School of Marketing & International Management.
Burns, A.C. & Bush, R.F. (2006), Marketing Research, fifth edition, New Jersey:
Prentice Hall.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. (2009), Research Methods For Business
Students, fifth edition, Harlow:Pearson Education Limited.

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18

4.2 Organizational chart

19

4.3 POP Form

Personal Development Internship
This evaluation form justifies the development needs for a clear insight of the following
general competencies:
Working Systematically (A1)
Forming opinions (A2)
Pro activity (A2)
Oral Communication (B3&B4)
Learning capacity (A4)
Sensitivity / Flexibility
Integrity
Each competence can be evaluated on a scale of two extremes and stipulated behaviour
(component) can be judged. If a stipulated component cannot be judged, leave this form
blank. Each form is meant for a total evaluation of each competence.
We request the student and the company mentor to fill in the forms in the 4th week of the
internship and discuss the results. Based on these discussions improvements can be
made on certain aspects/components.
The student can process the improvement pointers in a personal development plan and
work at this the whole internship period. At the end of the Internship the company mentor
fills in the forms again and discusses the proceedings with the student.
Working Systematically (A)
Description: Structures work to reach goals/targets; prioritises; how and when tasks
should be realised, monitors progress.
Evaluation of personal qualities of the intern observed during the internship. Select one
evaluation level for each area by marking under that level that represents the interns
performance.
Behaviour that shows working according
to plan

Behaviour that does not show a planning.

20

 Strongly agree

Agree

Tries to find the cause of problems, does not

offer solutions too quickly.

Neutral

Strongly
Disagree
Offers solutions without trying to find the cause
of the problem.

21

Disagree

 Strongly agree

Agree

Neutral

Keeps appointments/promises, arrives on time.

Strongly agree

Agree

Strongly
Disagree
Is careless in relation to appointments/promises
forgets or comes too late.

Neutral

Makes appointments about results deadlines,

the way of working

Disagree

Strongly
Disagree
Does not make clear appointments

22

Disagree

 Strongly agree

Agree

Neutral

Checks regularly whether he/she is still on the

right track.

Disagree

Strongly
Disagree

Does not check whether he/she is still on the

right track.

Overall assessment on the competency working on schedule:

23

After 18 weeks
weak

average

strong

Explanation: Mohammed has improved his competency of working according schedule

and this happened since he has found his place in the company. This has also resulted in
higher motivation during his work.

Development goals and Actions

Do you have any pointers how the student can focus on this skill in the period ahead?

24

Forming Opinions (A2)

Description: is able to form opinions and evaluate
Behaviour that shows thoughtfulness in
forming opinions.
Strongly agree

Agree

Neutral

Tries to find the cause of the problems,

does not offer solutions too quickly.
Strongly agree

Agree

Collects relevant information

Behaviour that shows arbitrary

Strongly
Disagree
Offers solutions without trying to find the
cause of a problem.

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly
Disagree
Collects too little or no information

25

Disagree

 Strongly agree

Agree

Is aware of major issues, is able to

formulate the core of the problem.

Strongly agree

Agree

Separates opinions from facts

Neutral

Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Is unable to separate major from minor
issues is too detailed.

Neutral

Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Does not separate opinions from facts;
judges opinions to be facts.

26

 Strongly agree

Agree

Neutral

Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Acknowledges that a problem can be
Does not acknowledge that a problem can
looked at from different angles; is able to
be looked at from different angles; tunnel
connect different problems.
vision.
Overall assessment on the competence forming opinions
After 18 weeks
weak
average
strong
Explanation: Mohammed knows exactly how to express his opinion and is fully aware of
the difference between opinions and facts.
Development of goals and actions Do you have any pointers how the student can focus
on this skill in the period ahead?

27

Pro-activity
Description: takes initiatives, is aware of opportunities and takes actions accordingly, is
able to make choices and take responsibility, anticipates possible problems.
Behaviour that shows a pro-active
Behaviour that shows little pro-activity
attitude
in attitude.

28

 Strongly agree

Agree

Neutral

Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Often waits till others tell him/her what
to do.

Actively proposes new tasks or a

different plans of action
Strongly agree

Agree

Neutral

Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Gets stuck in complains and objections
regularly

Tries to solve problem by him/herself

Strongly agree

Agree

Neutral

Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Limits him/herself to what is asked.

Agree

Neutral

Takes initiative

Strongly agree

Makes choices, says yes or no, even if

not all consequences are clear yet

Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Postpones making choices, gets stuck in
weighing pros and cons.

Overall assessment on the competence proactivity

After 18 weeks
weak

average

strong

Explanation: Mohammed has become more and more pro-active during his internship,
especially during the last period he has improved regarding this competence.
Development of goals and actions Do you have any pointers how the student can focus
on this skill in the period ahead?

29

Oral Communication
Description: Communicates effectively with different people; expresses him/herself
clearly and listens actively; content and form of presentations are in tune with audience
and goal.
Behaviour that shows good
communicative skills

Behaviour that shows weak

communicative skills

30

 Strongly agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly
Disagree
Has difficulty seeing the core of the matter: too
much info, too minor issues, message unclear.

Neutral

Disagree

Quickly shows core of the matter: is able to

separate major from minor issues.

Strongly agree

Agree

Is understandable, tempo is good, has energy

and enthusiasm in presenting

Strongly
Disagree
Is difficult to follow, talks too fast/too slow, has a
monotonous way of presenting.

31

 Strongly agree

Agree

Neutral

Listens: poses relevant questions, summaries,

engages eye- contact, active listening

Strongly
Disagree
Does not appear to listen, poses no relevant
questions, does not engage in eye contact, is
passive.

32

Disagree

 Strongly agree

Agree

Reacts adequately to questions or objections:

understands and asks additional questions if
necessary.

Neutral

Strongly
Disagree
Does not react adequately to questions or
objections, disposes of them as unjust, does not
understand them and does not ask additional
questions.

33

Disagree

 Strongly

weak agree

Agree average Neutral

Disagree
strong

Strongly
Disagree
Checks
whether
message
has
come
across:
Does
not
check
whether
message
has come
Explanation: Mohammed has excellent communication skills.
summarises, poses questions
across; does not pose question

Development of goals and actions Do you have any pointers how the student can focus
Overall
assessment
on the
competence oral communication:
on
this skill
in the period
ahead?
After 18 weeks

34

Learning ability (A4)

Description: is able and motivated to learn from experiences; is active in acquiring
knowledge, skills and attitude, motivated to continue developing
Behaviour shows learning ability
Behaviour shows little learning ability.

35

 Strongly agree

Agree

Neutral

Asks feedback about performance and results

(what went well, what not and what could
improve)

Strongly
Disagree
Does not ask for feedback or ignores feedback
received.

36

Disagree

 Strongly agree

Agree

Has room for other peoples opinions, thinks

along constructively, poses question.

Neutral

Strongly
Disagree
Is convinced of personal opinions and hold on to
them, says yes, butregularly

37

Disagree

 Strongly agree

Agree

Neutral

Sees criticism as information about the effect of

his/her reactions: asks actively for facts and
expectations

Strongly
Disagree
Sees criticism as a personal attack; is inclined to
defend him/herself or attacks back

38

Disagree

 Strongly agree

Agree

Neutral

Is able to acquire new knowledge or ways of

working quickly

Disagree

Strongly
Disagree
Has difficulty to acquire new knowledge or ways
of working quickly.

Overall assessment on the competence Learning ability:

After 18 weeks
weak

average

strong

Explanation: Mohammed is eager to learn and he has changed his expectations since I
advised him during our last evaluation.
Development of goals and actions Do you have any pointers how the student can focus
on this skill in the period ahead?

39

Sensitivity/Flexibility (A3)
Description: takes interest and sensitivity of others into account
Behaviour that shows sensitivity
Behaviour that shows little sensitivity

40

 Strongly agree

Agree

Reacts with understanding for other peoples

position or motives, even if he/she disagrees.

Neutral

Strongly
Disagree
Shows little understanding for others and does
not feel him/herself understood

41

Disagree

 Strongly agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly
Disagree
Is primarily focused on delivering his/her own
story, shows little awareness of interests or
feelings of others.

Neutral

Disagree

Takes effort to understand others

Strongly agree

Agree

Talk with respect about clients, colleagues, the

organisations

Strongly
Disagree
Talks with little respect about clients, the
organisation, complains indirectly

42

 Strongly agree

Strongly
Disagree
Takes norms and values of organisation into
Acts and judges solely from personal norms and
account (culture), especially when these differ
values; finds it hard to comply to organisational
from personal norms and values
norms and values, especially when these differ
from personal ones.
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
Is able to foster good relations with practically
Colleagues are irritated by his/her way of
everyone
operating
weak

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

average

strong

*Note: The assessment was after 18 weeks, it is a typo.

Overall assessment on the competence Learning ability: After 18 weeks

4.4 Day
lists
Dagenlijst
List of Days
Worked

Dit formulier
s.v.p. volledig
invullen en
direct na de
beoordeling van
de stage en bespreking met en ondertekening door de bedrijfsmentor sturen aan:
Please complete this form and submit to the Internship & Graduation Desk (see address below) at
the end of the internship period. Please note that this form needs to signed by your company
mentor!
Saxion
Academie Marketing & International Management / School of Marketing & International
Management
Secretariaat Stage en Afstuderen / Internship & Graduation Desk
stagedeventer.mim@saxion.nl
Tel. +31 (0)570 603030
Postbus 501, 7400 AM DEVENTER
Achternaam student Students Family Name
Ababakar
Telefoonnummer Phone number

Voornaam First name

Mohammed

Opleiding Course

CE
CE
Sportmark
eting
R&K Consulting Ltd.

Bedrijf
Company
Naam bedrijfsbegeleider
Name company Supervisor
Naam stagedocent
Name lecturer School Supervisor

Mr. Kingsley Ma
Mr. G.J.P. Dankers

43

Studentnr. Student Nr.

331885

IBMS

Stageperiode
Internship Period

7 September 2015 15 January 2016

Please fill in this form noting day and month (dd/m) for every working day. If you have been absent
indicate with either S for sickleave, or A for absence stating reasons overleaf!
Maand Month September
Ma
Mon

Di
Wo
Do
Tue Wed Thu
r

Vr
Fri

Maand Month October

Za
Sat

Zo
Sun

Ma
Mon

Di
Tue

Vr
Fri

Wo
Do
Wed Thu
r
7
8

5
8

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

28

29

30

holid
ay

holid
ay

Ma
Mo
n
2

Di
Tue

Vr
Fri

Wo
Do
Wed Thu
r
4
5

10

11

12

13

16

17

18

19

23

24

25

26

Zo
Sun

Za
Sat

Zo
Sun

Maand Month November

Za
Sat

Maand Month December

Za
Sat

Zo
Sun

Ma
Mon

Vr
Fri

Wo
Do
Wed Thu
r
2
3

10

11

20

14

15

16

17

18

27

21

22

23

24

25

28

29

30

holid
ay

holid
ay

30

44

Di
Tue

45

4.5 Survey sample

R&K Consulting: Communication survey

1. Are you satisfied with the communication between your company and R&K
Consulting, and why?

..........................................................................
2. How can R&K Consulting improve its external communication?

..
3. Which part of the external communication is performed well at the
moment by R&K Consulting?

4. Which communication tools would you like to use to communicate with

R&K Consulting?

5. Are you stratified about the responses you receive from R&K Consulting?

..

6. In which way do you prefer to communicate with R&K Consulting?

46

4.6 End evaluation

END EVALUATION INTERNSHIP BY THE COMPANY MENTOR.

Ababakar

Mohammed

331885

R&K Consulting Ltd.

Kingsley Ma
7 September 2015
15 January 2016

Fail

Pass

Pass

Fail

Pass

[if applicable]

Pass

x
8
x

[if applicable]

8
7
7
7
6

8
8
8
8
8
8

47

48

4.7 Declaration of personal work

49