如果你是来英国读本科的话，也许我的这一点点经历会对你有用吧。我完成了我的二年级学业于2002年7月开始我的一年‘行业训练(Industrial Training)’。2003年10月我又回到了学校继续我的最后一年学业。

我的一点点日记，也许会帮助你决定是否向参加‘行业训练’计划。

这里贴的是我第一天到 IBM 的‘感应周(Induction Week)’时所写的日记，一点点对 IBM 的活动和做事方式的感想。这已经是2002年的7月所写的了。

我希望我的日记，虽然已是两年前的，对你有一点点帮助吧。看完，有谁也曾考虑过在英国参加‘Industrial Training’呢？

Day 0 – Sunday

In the evening, we had the first meeting. We sat in a U shape. At the beginning we just sat randomly, but later on when the first informal meeting started, we were required to sit in the descending order of our birthdays. Oh, my first headache came. I have to ask many British students for their birthdays. Fortunately I found that I am in between 15th and 28th April. Then we need to tell our names, locations and why we want to here. Those British are very funny, but I couldn’t understand them, just laugh with other students. One of them said he wants to be James Bond, that’s why he want to come here. But I felt strange, what’s the relationship of that. I was so nervous, I just said I am from Warwick, will work for IBM Warwick, and want to be myself. I even forget to tell my birthday.

Afterwards we went to the pub opposite to the campus, where the induction week being held. I got to know Shanna’s new flatmate Hayfa, and Ahami, who has already been working for IBM Warwick for two weeks. He said he is in Developer and business relation department. His department has three breaks for coffee everyday, and he has developed the tolerance for coffee, if he said don’t want to have coffee, his collegues will say surprisedly “You don’t want a coffee!!” The office is so flexible, he said, as long as you get your job done. On Friday, everyone in his office will be out on meetings with clients, only him is in the office, for answering the important calls and process some other tasks. Sounds great, but also stressful. I drank half pine of Guniness, but I felt scratchy so quick. I will order coke only tomorrow. Another surprising thing he told me was, even though he is an undergraduate, he is married. And the reason why he take a year out in IBM is he doesn’t want to be in the final year at the same as his wife. So that now his wife, who is doing biology, is in her final year, and he will do it next year. This guy impressed me pretty much. He is a bit big, and he has a lot of bear and mustache. But he doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke, and he showed so much consideration to his wife. I believe he is a great husband.

Day 1 – Monday

In the morning, we had two lectures. The first one was about the history of IBM and the welcome words from the Chairman and ex-CEO Lou Gerstner. We were told that IBM has three main categories of products, namely hardware, software and service. And some important points from the chairman are:

•Business conduct in IBM

•IBM is all about

1.Invention of Technology

2.Translating technology into actual products to meet customers’ needs

•IBM employees need to make three commitments:

1.Commitment to win (need to know more information, and work hard)

2.Commitment to execute (do it quick but not recklessly; if possible, do it today not tomorrow)

3.Commitment to work in a team

•There are four kinds of people in the world:

1.People who make things happen

2.People who watch things happen

3.People who hope things happen

4.People who don’t know things happen

IBM employees are required to be the first category, making things happen.

After this, we had a short group discussion. We were allocated some questions, and then we need to reach an agreement and tell our opinions. My group got two questions:

1.If you are on a business trip, and you want to claim your expenditure of it. No receipt is required. You brought your own bag with you, and you didn’t tip any one on your trip. But you think you can also put this little money down onto the reclaim form, isn’t it? (Stupid question, for answering, it is of course not.)

2.You are going to have lunch with a former colleague of the company. While waiting him to show up, you took out an sensitive document with you and read it in the restaurant. Your friend arrived, and glance over your shoulder. He asks you what you are working on, what can you tell him? (Nothing lo)

Questions for other groups are similar, such as receiving expensive gifts (ask Manager what to do next), questioned by journalists, etc. (you can say I am not in the position to comment, please go to the HR department.)

In the afternoon, we had a business simulation. We had three rounds. In the first two rounds, the company (Big board buy), a share consultancy, are divided into 4 departments, namely, Customer representative, Industry Analysis, Business Analysis and Writing. I was appointed to be the manager of department of CR. I was quite scared to be a “leader”, because I can’t speak very well, but I have to do it. I tried to allocate the job to my “colleagues”. But I did it very poorly. I couldn’t think in detail enough. At the end of the day, I was actually doing nothing but delivery for documents. We made a huge loss, -37000 pounds. In the final round, we were arranged into four teams. Each team has people from each the department, for example, in our team three people, including me, from CR, and two people from IA, another two from BA and one from Writing. We set the annual target for our team, which is 8000 pounds. At the end of the day, we made 27000 profit.

We did this simulation, because the first way rounds are how things used to be done before in IBM. But now IBM has employed the way of team-work to do business. Team work based job are better because of the following:

Speed

Communication (the managers of first two rounds are just communication channels, in one team we don’t need it, but have better communication)

Competition (1. We set target for each year. 2. Compete other teams)

Better knowledge of customer requests

Cross skill (in a team, your roll might change dynamically, you need to learn other members’ skill when in short or your are redundant)

At night we went to the pub, and Hayfa and I play pool with some British people, I was quite scared at the beginning, and I felt I couldn’t join them because of the atmosphere. But it seems better later on. I mainly chatted up with some Indian and Sound American guys. On our way back with Hayfa and Moami, M said he wanted to join IBM since he was little, but Hayfa said IBM has breath but not power, this is not her dream, just want to have a boost in her CV. I felt that it is really difficult to chat up with some those British students. Not because they are unfriendly, it is because we don’t know enough about their culture, their daily language a