technology

How is information technology an essential part of your work environment and work tasks? How has the use of information technology affected your IT placement?

Working at Macquarie has reinforced my understanding of the importance of technology in today's workplace. It has revolutionised the way we work and made working more convenient, flexible and efficient. 

Being able to use multiple channels of communication including email, instant messenger, telephone etc. makes contacting colleagues very easy and accessible. For a quick question I can simply pick up the phone and receive an answer instantly. While for lengthier issues, emailing means that the receiver can answer my question when they have the time, contributing to employee efficiency as there is reduced time chopping and changing between tasks. 

Having such great technology at my fingertips has allowed me to learn more about the different functions of various software, and with technology support available 24/7 makes life that much easier especially when there are hiccups with the smooth running technology. 

An interesting note my director mentioned to me, was that having email instant notifications can potentially reduce employee effectiveness, because of the transition time taken to stop one task and pick up another. This is something important to think about when considering the integration of technology into the workplace; while its benefits definitely outweigh the disadvantages, it can potentially be a major distraction at work.

time

How are you managing time, workload and academic pressures? How can you improve your time management skills?

Managing my workload has been a skill heavily practiced during my time at Macquarie. Being able to prioritise and be realistic with the timeline for deliverables, I have found to be very important. Having to juggle work deadlines as well as study for assessments has not been an easy task, but setting out specific goals for the day has made it easier to stay on track and not fall behind. 

I could improve my time management skills by allocating a set amount of time for each subject of study to ensure each subject is progressing at a similar rate. While this is a good idea in theory for work as well; finishing a task completely before moving on, is a more method of attack than having a whole set of partially finished tasks. 

Work, Uni, 1v1

Discuss the types of task you perform? How are you using content knowledge learned at uni in the workplace? What have you found surprising about the tasks performed in the workplace?

As part of OE within the Financial Management Group, my team works to utilise opportunities to improve efficiency, quality and reduce risk for all work produced within FMG. We put in place a variety of tools including Visual Management Boards (VMB), SIPOCs, Visual Stream Maps (VSM) and the Benefits Tracker to pinpoint where improvements can and have been made to either BAU or ad-hoc tasks.

VMB: Used to track Key Performance Indicators for teams across FMG, I work with teams to develop their workload management and continuous improvement strategies. My team members attend daily huddles to assess how different teams utilise their VMB and how it can be altered to bring more efficient and effective ways of completing tasks. Often I will help teams set up this tool or aid the smooth transition of its implementation into the everyday rhythm of work. For example, I might collate and analyse the data collected for a specific KPI and discuss solutions to any issues blocking the realisation of the target goal. 

SIPOC: With the purpose of developing a high level understanding of what teams do and what is produced, I often work with my supervisor to create SIPOCs (similar to a flowchart) of a variety of processes across all FMG teams. These SIPOCs help to narrow down the specific inputs and outputs of a process and are used to determine which steps are painful and where opportunities for improvement can be taken advantage of. Being able to work with other functions and learn about the tasks that they perform has been an all-round rewarding opportunity as I have been able to pool knowledge about a range of operations within the organisation. 

VSM: The mapping is used to gather quite a comprehensive set of information for every step in a process, to explicitly find pain points and opportunities for improvement for every aspect of a task. I work with teams to apply this tool and again search for ways to enhance process fluidity and reduce the effort required to produce deliverables of equal or higher standard. 

Headcount and Benefits Tracker: My work on the FMG headcount document and benefits tracker is more cyclical than my other responsibilities. I have been assigned the monthly task of formatting and consolidating these two documents which form the basis of a number of presentations (which can also be my responsibility to create), for senior Macquarie members (including the CFO!) to review the progress of Operational Excellence. 

Ad-hoc: I will often be allocated other ad-hoc tasks mainly to compile and analyse improvements ideas from different teams. These outputs are used as information to bring back to teams, who are consulted to formulate the best strategies to continue the roll out of OE.
My work at Macquarie has been very relevant to the concepts and content knowledge explored in ACCT2522. The definition of Management Accounting states that it is the processes and techniques that focus on the effective and efficient use of organisational resources, to support managers in their tasks of enhancing both customer value and shareholder value. This very idea encapsulates the work the OE team works to implement across all FMG teams as I have explained above. Very similar ideologies are used to aid the progression of the organisation.

In the FMG Town Hall, while not specific to my own workload, it was announced that there was a tentative need to understand Basel IV, if it comes to be. The governance standards (Basel II) looked at in FINS1612 have clear practical implications in the workplace. This broadened my awareness of the very real applications and relevance of the theoretical work we study at university. While employees often speak of the heavy on-the-job training and relatively low level of correlation between university theory and workplace knowledge, I find it comforting to know that university does play a significant part to building up of business knowledge and understanding. 

The most surprising aspect of my work at Macquarie is the vast reach of the work I produce. While this increases the level of accountability I have for my work, I feel a level of excitement that there is a visible impact to the work my team completes. Being a newly formed and widely publicised team, there has been patches of cynicism with the payoff of the work completed. However, my team has been well-received by the functions and has been able to demonstrate results that have surpassed initial expectations.

46%

Discuss the level of collaboration and teamwork that exists in the sponsor’s workplace. How does the team environment impact your interpersonal relationships at work and the work you do? Were you surprised at the level or type of interactions you encountered at your sponsor’s workplace? How do these interactions impact your learning in the workplace?


The high level of collaboration and teamwork  within Macquarie can be simply explained by the size of the organisation. Without co-operation the company would cease functioning; the people at Macquarie are like cogs in a watch, without the smooth turning of just one cog, the entire process is affected. The endless divisions and subdivisions is evidence of the absolute need for communication within the workplace. Each task is completed by a team then handed off to another arm of the organisation. Without a degree of transparency between teams, timelines would be misaligned and deliverables would be delayed, which is the exact opposite Macquarie is known for.

The nature of my team specifically has forced strong teamwork to be utilised. With team members scattered across different buildings and floors, without constant interaction the team environment would be characterised by immense waste through rework, waiting etc. Interaction between the OE team members has not been the only collaboration required; OE's clients are the teams of FMG so to be of any practical use we must work with other teams and people in order to deliver results. This characteristic has allowed me to develop my interpersonal skills and build stronger relationships with other employees, while also helping me complete my work more efficiently and effectively through the provision of the right advice at the right time. On a more social note, while Macquarie maintains quite a formal air, there are often outbreaks of chatter and joking. This Hannah-Montana-like environment has been very conducive to getting work completed in a way that doesn't crush your soul (just kidding, I love work!). 

It did not surprise me that my colleagues had build solid relationships with one another. The main source of joy when working in any organisation is finding people you want to be around. So seeing interactions between workers outside of the office through drinks or yoga was not a huge shock. Nevertheless it was exciting to know that the workplace does offer the opportunity to build fantastic relationships with new people. 

These interactions have been vital to my learning at Macquarie; the ability to feel comfortable asking stupid questions or asking for help on tasks has allowed me to access a greater span of understanding of work I complete. Being able to work alongside other teams has also shown its benefits, as I have picked up knowledge of processes undertaken by other teams such as Group Capital & Funding and Financial Control. Being able to have snapshots of the type of work completed by a range teams has contributed greatly to the shaping of what I will choose as my specific career path, and as such been a significant aid to my personal learning.

Day 1 of 120

What is working in a professional organization really like? What is an office really like? How were the first few days of your IT placement? What did you find difficult or challenging in your first two weeks of IT?


Working in a vast and fast-paced professional organisation such as Macquarie Group has brought with it great change and challenges. Despite having worked in and out of various large organisations including McDonald's and David Jones, casual employment only provided me with a rusty hammer for the full-fledged battle of full-time work. 

The first few weeks of reprogramming proved to be one of the greatest challenges of the industry placement. Having previously survived on 3x4 hour uni days with only 15-20 of additional work, the 40 hour week was a harsh reality check. Over-time I developed an understanding that to thrive in such an environment, adjustments on my part had to be made. Minor but important changes such as planning around long days/weeks and early-trafficky commutes were surprisingly difficult aspects of full-time work to adjust to. The influx of new names and Macquarie jargon to remember, contributed to the information overload during the first few days. However, my manager's tip to carry a notebook and write down any important notes was very helpful during this time. While there was much to adapt to, the Macquarie people and culture provided a sturdy support network to lean on during the much needed eye-opener to the pressures and excitement of the corporate workplace.

Another challenge that didn't concern me before commencement was the employee age demographic. The relatively large annual intake of interns and graduates led me to overestimate the likelihood of being surrounded in employees of a similar age range. While I was initially uncomfortable in the unfamiliar environment, previous babysitting and tutoring work helped me empathise with my colleagues and build rapport. As other co-op students and graduates began to work on my floor, a greater sense of ease was developed.

During the first few days I realised that being placed in the OE (Operational Excellence) or PMO (Project Management Office) team implied that I was to be undertaking a management accounting/consulting-related role, in place of the anticipated financial accounting position. I was excited to know that the nature of my team allowed me to gain insight into the people and processes of teams across the entirety of the financial management group. While reading through hundreds of pages of Lean Six Sigma theory and training, and its application to the financial services industry may not have been enthralling, it allowed me to form a solid foundation of knowledge about the ideas and actions that my team was to impart on the financial management group. 

Finally, the Macquarie offices offer enviable facilities with daily fruit boxes and complimentary breakfast and snacks for the teams. My home office, 1 Martin Place being the oldest of the 3 buildings occupied by Macquarie Group, holds a more traditional layout with rows of desks across the working floor. However, in line with Macquarie's vision of continuous innovation and change, the floor also has a flexible working area. Being in a team with members dispersed across all 3 buildings has allowed me to be exposed to the modern, vibrant workplaces of the Shelley St and 50 Martin Place buildings. The hot-desking, bright colours and open spaces all work to create flexibility in workplace which in turn has helped bring new perspectives and ideas to the table.