Day 17

Wednesday was the second day of my internship. It was a long day. I feel like my brain is on double time, trying to understand what’s going on and trying to process the German at the same time. 

Today I sat in on more appointments and went over them with other employees in the bank. I was very confused during the appointments because there was so much going on. I’m glad everyone is so friendly and helpful. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to have work to do and also try to teach me what is going on but everyone smiles at my questions and they go above and beyond to help me understand. J The hard thing is once I begin to get a grasp of what is being discussed after the appointment another client stops in and the process repeats itself. Haha I guess that just means I’m getting a well rounded education. J

I worked less today with Herr Küpper since he had a lot of phone calls to make. He is the head of this branch of VR Bank. That being said, as manager of the branch he holds a team meeting every month to go over the banks performance. I was allowed to sit in while he and another colleague went over the figures and discussed what might be important issues to bring up in the meeting. 

The meeting was held at the end of the workday and was truly quite interesting. Though I was lost with the unfamiliar words it was interesting to see the dynamics of the group and how a meeting was held. It was casual, yet professional and everyone was allowed to give his or her input. I picked up on Herr Küpper’s management style and was really impressed by his ability to keep control but share decisions with his team. When going over certain figures he took the time to truly analyze the reasons behind the numbers and speak in a constructive manner rather than dictate or scold his employees.  

Being in the meeting today reminded me of the Gerstacker trip to Chicago. My group’s visit to a vet hospital was eye opening to other areas of business management just like this experience with the bank. I can’t wait to go over the information next week so I can see the figures behind a bank and be able to compare it to that of other businesses.

Tschüß!!!