Internship Week 13

This week was my last week at Dixon Valve and Coupling this fall. I continued to work in the exports department. I was able to fill out some customs forms this week for shipments leaving by truck and by plane. I also went through some of the international orders, sorted out the different tariff codes, and declared the value of things traveling under each tariff code for customs. I also sorted paperwork for another shipment to Canada this week, which was much more time consuming than last week. I was also able to utilize a little bit of my knowledge of the French language when I listened to and tried to understand a voice mail message. I only spent two days at Dixon this week since all of my materials for the internship credits were due on the third day of the week I normally work. Overall, I enjoyed my experience at Dixon, and I am excited to be back there and learning again in the end of January.

Internship Week 12

This week I started in the Exports area of the company. Dixon needs a whole department for exports since they have branches and distributors all over the world. Since items need to cross borders, it requires a lot of knowledge and paperwork. You need to know the different tariff codes for specific merchandise you are sending to companies whether it is going by land, by air, or by sea. Customs paperwork also needs to be filled out and sent to the appropriate parties before the merchandise can cross borders. Knowledge of exchange rates and how to convert them is also important since we are dealing with many different countries with different currencies. The neatest part of this week was being able to sit in on a video conference call with the three branches in Canada. General problems were discusses as well as possible resolutions. I have never been a part of a video conference call before and I found the technology absolutely amazing. While I did end up doing some filing this week, I was overall pleased with what I was able to experience and learn.

Internship Blog Week 11

I never thought I would enjoy working in the IT department as much as I did. I was really able to gain some experience and knowledge in the field. I’m glad that this internship allows me to explore different sectors of Dixon because I found something that I never thought I would find interesting. For most of the week I explored the new 2007 Microsoft Office. It is very different from the 2003 Microsoft Office. It may be hard for previous users of Office to adjust to the big changes in all of the programs, but for new users it seems to be quite user friendly. For old users, it will take a bit of practice to get accustomed to the new ways the program works and how files are saved, but overall the programs and all of their features are much easier to find and utilize. I also found this week that one member of the IT department I worked with, Grace, teaches computer classes to other Dixon employees so they become familiar with the programs they will use on a regular basis. This seems like a wonderful thing for the company to offer. My last day in the IT department, J.C., the head of the department took me on a tour of the company, mainly in the warehouse. I saw how IT is involved in every single aspect of the company, which showed me how important being computer savvy really is.

Internship Blog Week 10

I’ve really never been exposed to anything having to do with the inner workings of computers. This week that changed for me, as I began my two weeks in the IT department. The first day I came in the employees of the IT department took me in what they call the “meet locker” which is the very cold room where all of the servers and other computer related items are housed. They explained how each piece of equipment in there functioned. It has to stay very cold in there; otherwise the equipment will become damaged. My second and third day in the department I was able to “dress down” since I was going to be working in the factory with computers. In the factory I was replacing old green screen computers with new screens and a small box which connected to the servers upstairs. I also installed new wireless systems. I had to wear safety goggles in the factory due to all of the part creation going on. I’m excited to see what I get to do next week.

Internship Blog Week 9

This week I finished up in the Sales Department. I only worked two days because of being off on Halloween. I really enjoyed all of the interaction I was able to have with both customers and employees of Dixon. In accounting you do not take 90 phone calls a day like in sales. This week I was able to enter more orders, make phone calls to customers, and check delivery dates of parts to be completed/come into stock on an excel spreadsheet. When you work in the sales department you have to be knowledgeable of every part Dixon sells, how it works and what it does. It must be hard to memorize all of those different parts, but over time the information comes to you easily. The sales department kept me interested and active the whole time I was there, and I feel that I learned a lot and really saw how much Dixon cares about its customers.

Internship Week 8

This week I was to start in Information Technology. When I arrived I reported to my new post, where I was much unexpected. The head of the IT department was away on vacation, so I was switched to the sales department, where I was to be in November. In the sales department I listened to many phone calls dealing with orders and general questions, I was able to enter orders that came over the fax machine, and I created a pricing spreadsheet for the entire department. I also had a chance to spend time in the Advertising department where I saw many works in process. Instead of sending out user manuals for parts and products, Dixon is creating videos to better explain use. When I was in high school I interned with a publisher in Baltimore, Alter Publications, which I this week found is the publisher of Dixon’s publications. Its neat how you make different contacts and random connections through work and internships. Overall, I enjoyed this week, it was a nice change of pace, and I am looking forward to spending next week there again.

Internship Week 7

This week I finished up in the Payroll and General Ledger Department. On Tuesday I worked with Mel, and did the pre-bank reconciliation paperwork. Of course, they are never complicated to do, but on this specific day, none of the numbers were balancing, and we had to do a lot of work and figuring to really understand what was happening with the papers. Mel also showed me all of the working papers for Dixon and its smaller companies. Some of these papers were used for the auditors when they are around, but most of the papers were for internal use only. These were really interesting to see. Wednesday I ended up working with Gary, who does cost accounting. We went through and dealt with an expense account for one of Dixon’s world traveling salesmen who has a company credit card. We went though and verified all of the receipts to the charges on the card. Thursday I was with JoAnne again, doing the same things we have been doing and sending out checks. I really have enjoyed seeing and understanding what the different vendors they use do for a service and seeing how much money they spend and take in each week. Next week I will be in the Information Technology department, which will be a nice change of scenery.

Internship Week 6

Plans changed a bit, and my one day at work this week I ended up working with JoAnne again sending out bills. We only sent out the bills which we could receive discounts on if they were paid by a certain date, so I went through a ton of paperwork and pulled out the invoices. After that I went to the pre-check register to make sure that I did not miss any of the invoices with cash discounts available. After that I printed the pre – check register and manually went though the invoices and made sure I had each one. After that I printed the checks as well as the copies of the checks which Dixon keeps, and attached them to the invoices which they were paying. Its amazing how much money is saved with the cash discounts. It may seem like a small amount on each individual invoice, but it all adds up to a larger amount in the end. Today was my only day this week due to fall break. Next week I will be finishing up in the Payroll/General Ledger Department, and after that I am moving into other departments, and I am looking forward to a change.

Internship Week 5

This week I started in the Payroll and General Ledger. Day two in the Payroll/General Ledger department I worked with Kim who showed me how to post into the general ledger and how those numbers went into the income statement and the balance sheet. I thought that was really interesting because all we see in the text book are a few lines on a balance sheet or income statement, and I was able to see a real one with all kinds of different categories that I had never seen before. Day three I worked with Nettie and I did the same thing with the Kent County Wellness Club, which Dixon owns. I did not know this. I saw that they lose money on most of the things they do like karate, so I think they may be closing those parts of the gym soon to prevent income loss. Next week I only have one day, and I will be working in the Payroll and General Ledger department with Mel.

Internship Week 4

This week I continued working in accounts payable. Since it is nearing the end of the month, I was able to see and learn many of the end of month process which take place. I was mostly posting things to the general ledger in order to journalize. I liked all of the hands on time I got in this department, because I had my own computer and I really felt confident in what I was doing. The processes of each department so far seem to be fairly simple, you just need to learn the proper steps in order to do something specific. Dixon has its big name, Dixon Valve and Coupling, and then has smaller branches like American Coupling and Buck Algonquin as well as Yardley and Hydrasearch. Each of these smaller companies do different things and the process for entering the paperwork for them is a bit different, but easy to pick up once you practice enough. I am becoming very confident because I feel that I am easily learning and applying what I am told. I have been doing a few things which lead in to Payroll and General Ledger, where I will be working for the next two weeks.

Internship Week 3

This week I started in accounts payable. I was nervous moving into a new department and about working with new people, but I quickly adapted. I was really excited about being in accounts payable because I had my own computer all day everyday. I was shown how to do things, and then I was immediately able to get to work. Thursday at work was a really exciting for me. Tuesday and Thursday are check cutting days for all of the companies Dixon buys from and utilizes. I printed one million, one hundred dollars worth of checks, matched the copies to the invoices to which they corresponded, and then sent all of the checks out in the mail. That seemed like a pretty impressive amount of money to send out in a week, but obviously Dixon does huge volumes of business. I am in accounts payable again next week and an looking forward to learning more and doing more on my own.

Internship Week 2

This week was my second in accounts receivable. This week I was able to do a great deal on my own. Two of the three days this week one of the ladies was out of the office, so I was able to have a computer to myself. I became much more confident in entering cash into the systems, and much better at understanding the meanings of the messages that came up on the computer. It seems like I am learning a good deal of information, as well as retaining it as shown by my ability to do more of the work now and asking fewer questions. I am still occasionally nervous that I will severely off set something, but that is why there are ways to check what is being entered into the system. Next week I will start in Accounts Payable.

Internship Week 1

This week I started my internship. The first day I filled out several papers for income taxes, and signed papers for certain policies such as sexual harassment and proper internet usage at work. I started off in the Accounts Receivable department. I worked with four ladies, Crystal, Brandie, Jacki, and Colby. They were all very nice and showed me how to enter checks once they came in to record payments, how to send notices to those customers who are past due. They showed me how to look up different things in the accounting system they use and I learned all about invoice numbers, P.O. numbers, and factory location numbers since Dixon is an international company. I learned how to issue credits to those companies who were overcharged, who did not receive requested items, or who were charged extra shipping. Many companies’ orders are to ship “collect” which means that the company has prepaid shipping. When Dixon overlooks this fact, they charge the company for shipping, and then later have to refund them. Many simple mistakes could be avoided if people took more time to look at orders and statements. Some of the credits I looks at were not even eligible, for example, Dixon does not do credits for $5.00 and under, just because it takes more time that it is worth. This was a very interesting week and I am excited to work in A/R again next week.