GARISSA UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
A REPORT ON
FIELD ATTACHEMENT/ INTERNSHIP AT GARISSA
MAIZE MILLERS LTD
FIELD ATTACHEMENT PERIOD (JANUARY-APRIL
2023)
BY

ALI ABDI SAMAN

B050/1215/21

FIELD ATTACHMENT REPORT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT

OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DIPLOMA IN BUSINESS
MANAGEMENT OF GARISSA UNIVERSITY.

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 DECLARATION
I declare that the internship report on GARISSA MAIZE MILLERS LTD is
authentic to my best knowledge prepared during my internship which lasted from
January to April 2023 and it has never been submitted by any student or person to
any university or institute for any award.

…………………….. …………………………….

ALI ABDI SAMAN DATE

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
With immense pleasure, I present my internship report which however would not have been
possible without the help and support of team members of the transport department.

I would like to thank the management of the company for granting me this opportunity of being
part of their organization most.

I thank my family members most especially my mother for always loving, caring, praying and
supporting me in every step of my life. Lastly most special thanks go to GOD the almighty for
giving me life and energy because without him nothing is possible.

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
I have compiled this report basing on the two months’ internship program that I
successfully completed at GARISSA MAIZE MILLERS Ltd, the leading producers of
patent flour in the whole country from January to April 2023 as a requirement of my
Diploma in Business Management. While at GMM, I was attached to the transport
department where I learnt different business activities and operational strategies which
will later be discussed in the report hence. It gives a brief description of what I have seen
and done during my internship. Although I was attached to the transport department, it
did not limit me from knowing what goes on in the different departments of the
organization.

The first chapter of the report consists of a brief introduction of my internship program,
the objectives, significance of the program, background, vision, mission, of the
organization, its structure, culture and its main activities and some other necessary
company related information.

The second chapter happens to be the most important part of the report. It contains the
activities I was assigned at the company which include stock counting, invoice
reconciliation, data entry especially on packaging material, file management, among
others as you will go deep in this chapter.

The second last chapter is about the evaluation on field attachment and the final chapter
about the conclusions and recommendations.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION..........................................................................................................................ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT….........................................................................................................iii

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY….......................................................................................................iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS….........................................................................................................v

LIST OF FIGURES...................................................................................................................viii

LIST OF TABLES…....................................................................................................................ix

CHAPTER ONE (INTRODUCTION)

1.1 Introduction…...........................................................................................................................1

1.2 Back ground of the Field attachment…....................................................................................1

1.3 Objectives of the field attachment…........................................................................................2

1.4 Background of the organization…............................................................................................3

1.5 Organizational culture...............................................................................................................4

1.6 Gender in the organization…....................................................................................................6

1.7 The structure of the organization…......................................................................................7

1.8 Main activities of the organization….......................................................................................8

CHAPTER TWO (EXPERIENCES)

2.1 Title or the position occupied in the organization…..............................................................10

2.2 Duties and responsibilities….................................................................................................10

2.3 Supervision level and relationship with the supervisor........................................................13

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2.4 Work team and its composition…..........................................................................................15

2.5 Working relationship among team members and other staff…............................................16

2.6 Authority levels to the student…...........................................................................................16

CHAPTER THREE (EVALUATION ON INTERNSHIP)

3.1 Level of accomplishment of duties and responsibilities assigned…......................................17

3.2 New skills and knowledge gained….......................................................................................17

3.3 Most interesting experiences…...............................................................................................19

3.4 Relatedness of university’s taught programs to the field work…...........................................19

3.5 Challenges faced during the internship…...............................................................................20

3.6 Benefits acquired from the internship…................................................................................22

3.7 Adequacy in the university’s preparing the student for field attachment...............................23

3.8 Preparedness of the agency to receive and manage students for internship….......................23

CHAPTER FOUR (CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMENDAATIONS)

4.1 Conclusions….........................................................................................................................24

4.2 Recommendations…...............................................................................................................25

4.2.1 Recommendations to the University....................................................................................25

4.2.2 Recommendations to the Organization…............................................................................25

4.2.3 Recommendations to the students…....................................................................................26

4.3 References………………………………………………………………………………………

4.4 Appendices

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Appendix 1….................................................................A copy of acceptance letter

Appendix 2….................................................................Copy of a sample log book

Appendix 3…................................................................A copy of the work plan

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LIST OF FIGURES.
Figure 1:Silos…............................................................................................................................3

Figure 2:Various products produced by the company...................................................................3

Figure 3:Women during packaging...............................................................................................6

Figure 4: Milling machines….........................................................................................................8

Figure 5: workshop for vehicles….................................................................................................8

Figure 6: Bread in stock after production…..................................................................................9

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LIST OF TABLES
Table1: Organization structure of the company...........................................................................7

Table 2: Team work and its composition…...............................................................................15

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LIST OF ACRONYMS

GMM (U) LTD.............GARISSA MAIZE MILLERS LIMITED

IOU…..........................INTERNAL OFFICE USE

GRN….........................GOODS RECEIVE NOTE

SBF................................SUPER FINE BAKERS FLOUR

HBF.............................HOME BAKERS FLOUR

COMESA…...............COMMON MARKET OF EAST AND SOUTH AFRICA

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 CHAPTER ONE
1.1 INTRODUCTION.
The report is about GMM “producers of patent flour”. It’s the leading producer and
distributer of the finest quality flour in the country. It’s part of the well-known Garissa
Millers group of companies. This report is the outcome of my three-month internship at
GMM and during this period I was assigned various types of duties mainly related to
transport services, I have tried to present the facts and information about the organization
according to the guidelines and details provided to me.
GMM (U) deals in a variety of products which include wheat Bran, pollard, Bora, SBF,
HBF, Cake flour, Biscuit flour among others. The company employs more than 1000
workers directly both permanent and casual workers who are paid on weekly basis.

1.2 BACKGROUND OF THE INTERNSHIP.

Field attachment is the field based practical work carried out by the staff and students for
the purpose of teaching and or research in places outside the University control but where
the university is responsible for its staff, students and others exposed to their activities.
Hence a requirement whereby all taught units make and have arrangements for the
students to seek or be helped to get place in different forms of work in the course of their
study programs to experience the real life of work and hoped to help students relate with
academic programs to actual work setting and thus appreciate their applicability. It is a
requirement for a student to acquire an award either a Diploma or Degree at the
university. It also contains the challenges faced during the internship.

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1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE FIELD ATTACHMENT.
Primary objectives
 To provide students with an opportunity to apply the techniques and principles
theoretically learnt into real life problem solving situations.
 To enable students, get hands-on experience real-life situation they are expected to work
in when they graduate.
 To develop student understanding of work ethics, employment demands, responsibilities
and opportunities.

Specific Objective:
 To provide an opportunity for students and academic staff to interact with the stake
holders and potential employers to appreciate field situations that will also generate
information for curricula review and improvement.
 To strengthen and enhance linkages between Garissa University and various stake
holders.
 To develop interpersonal, managerial and communication skills.
 To be a valuable asset for the company by contributing positive aspects.

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1.4 BACKGROUND OF THE ORGANIZATION.

GMM (U) is located in the Garissa

Ndogo industrial area, and produces
finest quality of wheat flour. It was
set up in 1998 with a wheat mill of
250 tons per day capacity, which was
later increased to 450 per day in
2004, later increased to 1050 tons in
2011. It is the largest mill in Garissa.
The company employs more than
1000 employees directly. It imports
wheat grain from various countries
around the world.
The company enjoys majority market
share in Kenya and also exports
nwheat products to Northern DRC,
South Sudan and other African
countries.

Figure 1 silos

The company deals in a number of products. This consists of the following

 HBF  Wheat Bran

 SBF
 Biscuit flour
 Bora
 Cake flour
 Atta
 Pollard
Figure 2. Various products.

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 ORGANISATION CULTURE:
Every organization has its own customs, beliefs, values, and principles. The collection of what’s
mentioned above forms the organizational structure of that particular organization. At GMM (U),
The Company uses the biometric machine to check on the arrival and departure time of its
workers. The company employees are dressed in their respective department uniforms for quick
identification during working hours. It’s a company policy that all its casual labourers before
leaving the company premises, they have to seek approval from their respective supervisors.
The majority of the top employees of this company are expatriates from India and the
neighboring East African countries. In addition to the above majority of the company employees
are locals with the production department having the majority of these workers.
The company recognizes English as its official language though some of its employees are
illiterate. The employees have warm welcoming faces, team work and unity among them.

The following are the unique features that form the organization structure of GMM LTD.

Core values of GARISSA MAIZE MILLERS LTD

Passion for success. They are determined to be the best at what they do. They are not content
with the status quo. They have a compelling desire to innovate.

Adequacy. Customers need to feel that they are receiving adequate attention and reasonable
answers whenever faced with a challenge.

Customer focus. The organization values its customers and this is evidenced through delivery of
qualitative products and services, which satisfy and exceed the needs and expectations of the
customers. To have customer retention, the organization offers to its customers after sales
services such as delivery of goods.

Informative. To be informed about the services in logical and timely effective ways.

Vision:
To be one of the internationally respected and professionally managed companies in the African
continent. To spread our wings to the other parts of the globe.

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Mission:
To increase and sustain the living standards of people by providing them with essential products
and services of global quality at affordable prices. To exceed customer expectations through
innovation and harnessing technology.

Employees:
The organization values its employees. They believe that keeping the employee’s morale high is
the key to achieving success. Team spirit and synergy are the hallmarks of our work culture.

Social responsibility:

They recognize that corporate responsibility towards society is an integral part of doing business,
thus we actively participate in the community development programs.

Commitment:
They are conscious of their responsibilities towards all their stake holders and discharge them in
letter and spirit.

Mutual trust:
They have respect and confidence in each of their stake-holders, namely shareholders,
employees. Customers, suppliers, bankers, financiers and others. They believe that mutual trust
is the foundation upon which everything else rests on.

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1.6 GENDER IN THE ORGANISATION.

The organization ensures a balanced gender distribution as much as possible. However, certain
kinds of products, activities plus services offered at the organization attract more males even
when equal opportunities are offered. Services like loading trucks are more engaged in by men
and packaging by women.

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 1.7 ORGANISATION STRUCTURE:
THE ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE OF HAJI GRAIN MILLING LTD

MANAGING
DIRECTOR

CHIEF EXECUTIVE
OFFICER

GENERAL MANAGER
Table 1.

SENIOR TECHNICAL
MANAGER

FINANCE MANAGER

MILL PRODUCTION MARKETING QUALITY TRANSPORT PROCUAMENT HUMAN WORKSHOP

MANAGER MANAGER MANAGER MANAGER MANAGER MANAGER RESOUCE MANAGER
MANAGER

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1.8 MAIN ACTIVITIES OF THE ORGANISATION:
FLOUR PRODUCTION:
The company majorly deals in flour starting
from the early stages of production up to
the final stage of production. The
organization imports wheat grain from a
number of countries across the globe, then
processes using different machines to
produce the different products such as Bora,
Atta, Super fine bakers flour, Home bakers
flour, biscuit flour, cake flour, among other
products each mixed with a variety of
ingredients to fulfill its purpose.
The company also packages its products
and imports its packaging materials from
Tanzania however in case of any shortages
its purchases them locally especially
packaging bags. Generally, they are
responsible for the products up to its
delivery to the customer.

Figure 4 Milling machines

TRANSPORTATION SERVICES:
The company has an efficient and effective placed the cargo reaches the customers’
transportation system due to the presence of premises without delays. .
a well built and organized transport
department with majorly skilled employees
trained to handle issues concerning
transport. The workshop is very well
equipped with various repairing tools like
computers of all vehicle makes.
The fleet department is composed of over
200 vehicles inclusive of trucks and small
vehicles. There various types of trucks and
in different sizes. to mention a few. They
have trailers from SCANIA, DAF, TATA,
UD, they 14 ton trucks like FUSO, 7 tons’
trucks like EICHER among others. The
presence of all those trucks with a
functioning workshop helps the company to Figure 5 Workshop
gain customers’ trust that once an order is

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MINI BAKERY (BREAD PRODUCTION):
The organization owns a mini bakery within its premises and it specializes in bread production.
The brand for the bread is “Taj Techno”

Figure 6 Bread in stock

EXPORTING BY-PRODUCTS:
The company not only produces flour but also wheat by- products that is wheat Bran and wheat
Pollard which are used as animal feeds although the products differ both in size, quantities, the
by-products are exported to customers in different countries like Ethiopia and Somalia as well as
local customers within the country.

SPONSORING FOOTBALL TOURNAMENTS:

GMM (U) LTD. Forms part of the Haji
group of companies. Therefore it also
engages in sponsoring and organizing
services especially football tournaments like
the famous Azam

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2.0 CHAPTER TWO(EXPERIENCES).

2.1 POSITON OCCUPIED IN THE ORGANISATION:

During the internship, I was treated as a junior working colleague and seen as an intern and was
involved in the tasks assigned to them. I was working for 40 hours a week from Monday to
Friday that is 8:30am-4:30pm although when the need to work for extra hours a raised, I had to
stay.

2.2 DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

This part includes all the activities and responsibilities and duties I was assigned during my
internship and a detailed description activity I was involved in;

ORIENTATION:

I was introduced by my field supervisor to my co-workers in the transport department who

warmly welcomed me. He not only introduced me to the transport department but went ahead
and introduced me to all other departments like sales and marketing, finance, production, store,
which support the organization and made it easier for me to access information whenever it was
required. It also gave me a view of the organizations requirements in each employee, where to go
and to whom to report to incase of anything, its values and culture.

INVOICE RECONCILIATION:

Invoice reconciliation refers to the process of matching bank statements to the outgoing and
incoming invoices to make sure that all accounts are clean and every book entry is correctly
matched. Here I was given invoices and also provided with an excel summary containing the
data of the corresponding months were I was required to check and confirm whether amount
indicated per truck in each month corresponded with the amount indicated. I was able to identify
the errors made which were immediately responded to and hence saved the company from those
losses.

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PREPARATION OF REQUISITIONS FOR OFFICE STATIONERY:

In case of any need for office stationery like box files, white wash, cartridges, among others, it
was my responsibility to request for them, go to the store and get them. This enabled me to get a
better understanding of the organization, different people and their roles in the company and also
gain experience to know what is done in the company.

DATA ENTRY AND FILLING DUTIES:

Data entered was mainly on packaging material used which include SBF PP bags, HBF PP bags,
Bora, Atta, Bran, pollard packaging bags. Here I was required to take notice of different
quantities of each item, whether it was stocked in or out. The data used was got from requisitions
made by the store supervisor, the delivery notes from different suppliers, and the GRN especially
for stock in. Major emphasis was on the issued quantity because any error in it would bring about
imbalances in the monthly packaging material report.

WRITING REQUISITIONS FOR IOU:

The IOU’s were prepared by my field supervisor who briefed me and taught me how to prepare
them and what to include and not to include when writing them, the different calculations to
ensure that the exact amount required is the one requested for. These where then taken to the
cashier who also confirms and them gives you the required amount. They were prepared mainly
for breakdowns, COMESA cards, port passes for drivers and trucks, trucks which get accidents,
emptying septic tanks and other expenses.

PREPARATION OF MONTHLY PACKAGING REPORTS:

At the end of every month, a monthly packaging material report was prepared to know the stock
movement, what is in the store, how much to order for, total issued quantity. Data is got from the
system, analyzed, then you have to go to the store and confirm with what they have as the
closing stock, compare it with your results before submitting it to the transport manager. In case
of any imbalances you are required to go back to your previous records to check and confirm as
to where the problem came from. After everything is sorted the report is forwarded to the
manager.

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FILE MANAGEMENT:

One of the keys two successful business operations is proper record keeping and file
management because it helps in clearing misunderstandings, saving time which would otherwise
be wasted, reference when need arises. In my stay at the company, I was briefed on where each
document is kept which box file to keep it in. different documents were brought which included
vehicle transits, invoices, COMESA cards, stickers and all of them are kept in different locations.

STOCK COUNTING:

Stock counting is the periodic physical verification of the available quantities and conditions of
items held in the inventory store. At GMM(U) LTD, this was done on monthly basis, where the
assistant transport manager was required to go and count the stock in the store but during my
internship I was assigned this task, in the first month he assisted me and showed me how it’s
done then I took on from there after. The workers from the store were very co-operative which
made my work easy.

OFFICE MESSENGER:

I also worked as an office messenger, where I was given documents by my field supervisors and
other co-workers in the department like requisition forms to take to the required personnel to
authorize and sign on them. These where mainly managers, supervisor heads because without
those signatures they were useless and they could not receive whatever they have requested for.

CHECKING PERMITS:

I was given a task of checking, confirming and identifying the drivers with expired permits,
those with ones expiring soon, and those ones without issues. The permits that expired were
separated and kept in a different folder, the same was done for those that were soon expiring and
those that are okay to enable the company to identify which permits to renew and which ones not
to.

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IDENTIFYING COMPANY TRUCKS:

This was done using the logbooks of different vehicles in the system. The log books were for two
companies namely GMM.A folder was created for each respective company (logo, label) in
which the corresponding log books were placed.

STOCK TAKING:

This is referred to as the physical verification of the quantities and conditions of items held in an
inventory or ware house. With the assistance from the stores people, me and my fellow intern
were sent to the inventory store and started on with the task assigned. This was easy for items
like pollard packaging bags, sealing tape, Bora and SBF bags but the complicated ones were
HBF bags since they were not arranged and the quantities also had to measure with accuracy.

2.3 SUPERVISION LEVELS AND RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SUPERVISOR.

2.3.1 SUPERVISION LEVELS:

While at GMM transport Department, I worked under supervision of the transport senior
workers. My field supervisor was very supportive and gave me general guidance in all the
different aspects of life. We would meet always to discuss my daily activities.

I was also supervised by my academic supervisor who interacted with my field supervisor and
recommended improvements where necessary.

2.3.2 RELATIONSHIP WITH SUPERVISOR:

The relationship with the field supervisor was strictly professional and work related basing on
the following;

Getting the job done independently; The supervisor gave me clear directions and expectations.
His responsibility was always to direct me and guide me on the assigned tasks without a lot of
supervision. Although there was time and opportunities for learning and processing ideas, the
supervisor expected outcomes.

Giving communication and feedback; I could always speak freely to my supervisor for any
guidance required from him. I could express my needs, intentions and challenges on regular
13
basis. I used to write what I was doing and the challenges encountered in the work book and later
gave it to the supervisor for evaluation and advice.

Good time manager. On daily basis I had to ensure that am in the office by 8:00am ready for
work. There was a book at the gate for all employees whose finger prints weren’t recorded in the
biometric machine. This book was used to maintain record of the arrival and departure time for
casual workers and intern students. Failure to comply with the standard timings, I couldn’t be
allowed to access the company premises unless if I had a genuine reason for my delay to reach at
office.

Student’s Flexibility. There times we could have a lot of work at our disposal and it was upon
my onus to decide whether I go back home and rest or push for some extra hours in the evening
to have the work done. I could initiate the report formation as my supervisor carries on with
other duties for quick submission of the required reports.

Trust, support and understanding. My supervisor could leave me with some petty cash to
clear off some small expenses of the department. In addition to that, they could leave some
company property to my care as a sign of trust. And support me where I hadn’t performed well.

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 2.4 TEAM WORK AND ITS COMPOSITION.
Table.2.The figure represents the working team and its composition,

TRANSPORT MANAGER

FLEET CONTROLLER ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER

DRIVER SUPERVISOR FLEET CONTROL AGENTS FLEET CASHIER

DRIVERS HELPERS & TURNMEN

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2.5 WORKING RELATIONSHIP AMONG TEAM MEMBERS/OTHER STAFF.

We the intern students, we were always advised by the management not to miss the meetings.
During the meetings the department head advised us to always try and copy a termite. This was
simply because he wanted us to always be hard working and add value to what we have found in
place.

With that kind of advice from our boss, majority of us tried and exhibited a hard working morale
in order to have tasks completed on time. This stimulated our boss to give us more challenging
tasks, and in the end, we ended up gaining more knowledge.

We were allowed to work five days a week. This gave us the opportunity to interact with the rest
of the staff from various departments like marketing, weighbridge and production department
among others. This was especially during the time of report reconciliation with various
departments. This helped to bridge the gap of not having the idea on what’s being done with the
rest of the departments.

The Haji family was so friendly and welcoming. This was more evidenced when issues arose, the
senior staff members could handle them amicably without involving us the intern students. In
addition to that if any of us went missing for a day without informing the respective supervisor,
they could make a call just to find out why you didn’t attend that day.

2.6 AUTHORITY LEVELS TO THE STUDENT.

During internship, I was treated like an employee of GARISSA MAIZE MILLERS Ltd by the
staff and given significant authority to decide on some tasks.

On a number of assignments, I was left to make decisions on behalf of the department, especially
when it came to assigning duties to casual laborers. I was also authorized to organize monthly
department meetings with drivers.

On rare occasions I was tasked to reconcile transport department’s sales report with that of the
marketing department.

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However, with that kind of authority, 1 was cautioned by my field supervisor to always ensure
that I seek advice before taking on serious decisions that could affect other employees of the
company.

3.0 CHAPTER THREE (EVALUATION ON FIELD ATTACHEMENT).

3.1 LEVEL OF ACCOMPLISHMENT OF DUTIES AND REPONSIBILITIES ASSIGNED.

To a high level (over 85%), I successfully accomplished the duties and responsibilities which
were assigned, listed in section 2.2.

However, I was unable to accomplish all the assigned duties and responsibilities due to a number
of challenges, which are discussed in section 3.5 of this chapter.

3.3 NEW KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS GAINED.

During my internship, I acquired the following skills and this was through performance of duties
and responsibilities assigned through observation and inquiry from the experienced staff.

Time Management skill

I acquired the time management skill because I was always assigned different tasks I had to
accomplish within a specified period of time and was also required to report to my work place by
8.30 am which helped me a lot to keep time.

Analytical skill
This skill deals with the ability to asses a situation, seek multiple perspectives, gather more
information if necessary and identify key issues that need to be addressed and this was acquired
when I was given different tasks

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Record keeping skill
I was able to acquire the skill of writing the necessary information concerning the office
requisitions, claim forms and was required to keep different documents which enabled me get
this skill.

Multiple handling of tasks

Through field attachment I was able to master the skill of handling multiple tasks within a short
time. Every activity at the work place was engaging and almost done in a chronological order, in
other words every activity followed one another though at times they had to be done at the same
time.

Communication skills
I gained the best communication skills which helped me relate with her supervisor, and the
drivers and fellow workmates. This was unforgettable since my field supervisor was hospitable,
encouraging and also easy to work with whereby I learnt a lot from him getting fruitful linkages.

Report writing Skills

I gained skills in report preparation and writing where I was engaged in making different kinds
of reports such as reports on meetings, packaging material, and drivers’ attendance which were
later cross checked by my field supervisor after which they were submitted to management.

Job seeking skills.

This was the first skill that I acquired and this when I was given internship letters from the
university to go and apply in any organizations of my choice. On addition to these letters we had
to attach application letters and in some other organizations I was requested to attach my
Curriculum Vitae, this exposed me to the real world.

Interpersonal skills
I also gained interpersonal skills through communicating to various people in and outside the
organization. This enabled me to get the required or reliable data and information from such
people mostly the field supervisors and workmates. This gave me a wider knowledge about the
organization hence easing my report writing.

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Computer skills
I engaged in computer applications skills and also improved on already gained skills. From the
daily work that had to be done especially entering data into the computer, the field supervisor
most of the times would assign me tasks which involved use of the computer packages like
Microsoft Office packages mostly Microsoft Word, and Excel.

3.3 MOST INTRESTING EXPERIENCES.

Internship at GARISSA MAIZE MILLERS had more than just work, training and am glad to
share this part of my internship with you;

 Compulsory Thursday morning fellowship, I truly enjoyed the praise and worship team
singings to gospel songs as well as encouraging sermons and testimonies.

 I enjoyed the training because I was assigned tasks which kept me active to a large
extent during the period and through this that I was able to have a wider view and
knowledge of what actually goes on in the real work world.

 The organization and its workers were so free with me and treated me as a fellow
employee. They would share with me various stories, share meals together.

 I enjoyed the division of work by the managers. This was …. As work was divided
among the different managers and their associated supervisors which made completion
of assigned tasks easy.

3.4 RELATEDNESS OF UNIVERSITY TAUGHT PROGRAMMES TO THE INTERNSHIP.

This section of the report is about how the theoretical part we get from the university is applied
in the actual work field in an organization and the applicable course units were;

 Research methods. Activities in some departments required research like the production,
quality control so as to improve and cope up with the current customer demands.

19
  Communication skills. The modes of communication especially the top to bottom
communication mode which is applied in the organization, I easily consulted seniors
every time I needed assistance or expertise in some areas.

 Macro and Micro economics in the analysis of budgets, as applied in different

departments like production which cannot operate efficiently without the element of
economics.

 ICT, this course unit equipped me with computer knowledge and I was able to enter a
number of data sets into excel and other office duties like sending official mail, data entry
among others.

 Data analysis, this helped me especially with how to handle different data sets and
knowing which software to apply so as to finish tasks assigned on time.

3.5 CHALLENGES FACED AND HOW MANAGED.

This part of the report is about the challenges I faced during my internship and those that are
work related and these include;

Distance from home to work

There was a very long distance from my work place to the place of residence and I used to go to
my work place every morning that’s high transport cost, traffic jam and sometimes leading to
late coming. However, I managed to solve this by programming myself to be a better time keeper
and hence drafted a time table in order wake up early so as to avoid such problems.

Lack of daily facilitation of meals and transport allowances

The facilitation of meals and transport allowances were not provided at all which made it
difficult because this relied on individual basis. This challenge was handled by my fellow
workers who provided me with lunch and the support from my parents.

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Large volume of activities
During internship, I was faced with handling many activities in just a limited time and yet these
were wanted in a short period of time and as to this some assignments were not completed on
time and some not all. I managed this problem by proper planning for each task assigned.

Adopting to the new environment

Adapting to the new environment challenged me in a way that the vision, mission and core
values of the organization had to be taken into consideration but with time I was able to cope up
and meet the organization requirements.

Getting used to the exact quantity of packaging material

It took some time for me to get used to quantities of packaging materials, for example HBF 2kg
contains 1000 pieces, HBF 24kg contains 100 pieces, wheat bran 30kg which keeps on varying
from 1000 to 500 pieces depending on the supplier. It required constant consultation from my
superiors to get the right quantity. I solved this by noting down the different quantities of the
packaging materials in my note book for further reference.

Boredom at work
Sometimes I used to find work boring because I used to do the same activities almost every day
for two months for the first phase of the field attachment. Later I solved this by befriending some
of the workers whom I used to interact with hence braking boredom at work place.

Financial challenges
Expenses were too high and so the I faced financial challenges during internship. These expenses
included; feeding, transport, accommodation among others. I found it hard to meet all these
expenses accordingly at organizations did not provide any allowances. This challenge was dealt
with through getting assistance from the guardians as well as reducing on the luxurious expenses.

Lack of training equipment.

Training equipment like computers were not enough which made work hard as most of my
assignments were majorly computer related hence hard to finish them. I managed this problem
by getting my personal computer.

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Limited attention
Sometimes I was neglected and left to do things by myself without proper guidance from the
management. This made me feel as if I was not needed in the organization and through this I had
less passion for work. This was solved by taking on constant consultations and research with the
friendly staff members.

Monotony of activities
I used to do many activities most of which were done over and over again on a regular basis like
data entry on stock, writing requisitions among others which brought about boredom and
development of a lesser interests in the program. This was solved through assigning tasks to
myself such as practicing excel work on myself.

Delayed decision making

This was quite a challenge since decisions took a lot of time to be made which delayed the
completion of some tasks before the set deadline. This was a challenge because the management
took long time to make decisions concerning the complaints and suggestions I raised. This was
dealt with by persevering with the current situations until when the final decision was being
made by top management.

3.6 BENEFITS DERIVED FROM THE INTERNSHIP.

In spite of the above mentioned challenges faced, benefits from internship were so many. These
benefits included;

 As a requirement before a University student is allowed to graduate internship pushed me

towards achieving my ultimate goal of acquiring a Bachelor`s degree.
 Work ethics in terms of dress code, communication, behavior, of employees at GMM (U)
was an outstanding achievement. I understood employment demands, responsibilities and
opportunities of work and believe am now ready for the job outside.
 An opportunity to relate with different categories of people and healthy relationships for
both work and individual purposes likely to be met in real life situation.
 Problem solving ability and Confidence I gained as another great benefit derived from
field attachment.

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  As a group leader of my fellow interns, I also added on my leadership skills, confidence
in speech because I used to represent my group in meetings for report delivery.
 I also gained knowledge on how the planning process is done, the steps taken and the
activities involved. This could make me a great planner if given opportunity.

3.7 ADEQUACY IN UNIVERSITY PREPARING THE STUDENT FOR INTERNSHIP.

The University was well prepared for the internship training and this was evident in the different
activities it engaged in, all to prepare its students for the exercise. Credit goes to the internship
team Garissa University for the increased effort through briefings that were conducted; this gave
me a true picture about the expectations from the work place. The provision of log books, as well
as assigning of different personnel for the supervision exercise.

To add on that the university, prepared us early enough as recommendation letters were given to
each student early enough which gave us a chance to search for internship placements early
enough..

The university however needs to change on how the supervisors are allocated to the students, as
one supervisor can be allocated to a very large number of students in some organizations with
very many students.

3.8 PREPAREDNESS OF THE AGENCY TO RECEIVE AND MANAGE STUDENTS

FOR FIELD ATTACHMENT.

The organization was well prepared to receive the intern students and the staff was all willing to
ensure the students leave with solid work experience. The staff created adequate working space
as well as conducive environment for the interns and this is also one of the basic characteristics;
Induction is also a good habit of the organization where guidance of the students is done to
ensure understanding of what is expected of them.

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There is continuous allocation of work to make interns busy during the internship period and not
just passing time.

The working staff in the transport department equipped us with knowledge, skills they were very
hospitable and easy to approach in case and whenever needed. lastly am grateful to other
department workers in stores, production, marketing for giving us time,

4.0 CHAPTER FOUR (CONCLUSION AND RECOMMANDATIONS).

4.1 CONCLUSIONS.

The internship exercise that I carried out at GARISSA MAIZE MILLERS LTD for a period of
two months was a very beneficial, interesting and rewarding experience since it helped me gain a
greater view of the work setting and improved on my professional skills.

I understood that the academic world differs from the actual work environment with different
ideas and techniques. I learnt how to integrate and compliment the theory learnt in class with
practical aspects at work during internship hence a new discovery to work ethics which include
confidence, respect to people irrespective of their position in an organization.
I gained skills from the internship training which include interpersonal skills, report writing
skills, communication skills, analytical skills, store management and record keeping techniques
among other skills. I also experienced, team work, relating with people, among others hence an
insight into what lies ahead of me after my graduation.
However, I also faced a number of challenges that made my efficiency and gaining new skills
and experiences which include; monotony of activities, getting used to product quantities,
language barrier, adopting the new environment, financial challenges, among others.
I have been able to note some recommendations to the organization, the University, the students,
so as to improve the internship or field attachment program as shown.

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4.2 RECOMMENDATIONS.
4.2.1 Recommendations to the University.

 The university should strengthen interaction with organizations of placements both before
and after internship to encourage and encourage them to receive more interns in periods
of training.
 The university should revise the financial fund offered to students as an internship
facilitation fund especially for government students, ensuring that the money is received
early enough to enable students plan properly for the internship.

 The University should put more emphasis on the practical course units offered by the
students rather than theory because after all it’s the practical ones that most prepare
students for the real job setting.

 Increasing the number of times students are supervised at least two times during the
internship period which improves the student’s overall performance.

 I would like to also suggest that private students should also be put in favorable
consideration because they are not exceptional of the challenges faced hence means
should be sighted on how to achieve this.

4.2.2 Recommendations to the Organization.

 During internship, I faced a problem of lack of training equipment like computers and
this was a big challenge since most of the assignment were computer related, others
requires internet access hence the organization must find a solution to that.

 GARISSA MAIZE MILLERS should offer Certificates of Training at the end of

internship period to serve as not only proof but also that the student actually had the
internship from the organization.

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  The organization should provide some facilitation to the interns. This will act as
motivation and also help the interns face some challenges like financial challenges.

 The company should delegate some managerial tasks that can easily be handled by the
students so as to give them exposure and a conceptual view in decision making.

4.2.3 Recommendations to the students.

 Students should apply internship in various organizations on time to avoid

disorganization during the period of internship.

 Students should treat the internship not only as a training period but also as a job so as to
enable them have a positive attitude towards work and enjoy it.

 Students should be obedient to their field supervisors and fellow employees at work.
Your supervisor is like your current (immediate) boss.

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