CAPITOL UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ACCOUNTANCY

PACUDAN, SHEKENAH MAE Q.

22/06/2020

MOVIE ESSAY
Production and Operations Management
Summer 2020

I. Introduction

The Intern is film directed, written, and produced by Nancy Meyers in 2015 an American
Comedy. The film was released by Warner Bros on September 25, 2015. Starring Anne
Hathaway and Robert De Niro, "The Intern" is about Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway), a startup
founder who is building an e-commerce business. Her business, About The Fit, is launching a
new program that invites people over 65 to apply for a six-week internship. Ben Whittaker
(Robert De Niro) is a 70-year-old widower, a retired executive from DEX One after retirement
has become too boring for him.

He applies to the internship and is assigned to work directly for Jules Ostin who has nothing to
do with him in the first place. But as Jules faces increasing pressure at work as well as with her
marriage, she begins to lean on Ben, and the pair is building a strong friendship. "The Intern”
deals with Ben’s “old fashion” notions of professionalism versus Jule’s company’s modern feel.
It even gets the facts about startups right. According to Nancy Meyer in an interview, "About
The Fit is an 18-month-old Brooklyn startup that appears to model itself after Nasty Gal and
Gilt Groupe, real-life e-commerce firms."

About the Fit had reached their 5 years goal plan in just 9 months. Jules is under pressure to
give up her role as CEO to someone outside the company as her investors fear she can't cope
with the workload, having risen from a kitchen-based startup to a 220-employee in just 18
months earlier. Believing she'll have more time with her family at home, Jules can accept the

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COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ACCOUNTANCY

plan. We first see Jules responding to a bride's customer service call complaining that her
bridesmaid's dresses are the wrong color. Jules assumes full responsibility, is incredibly
supportive, promises to repair the glitch, and even gives the bride her number. But then, the
goal of customer satisfaction is an important part of effective production and operations. The
About Fit company achieved their 5 years goal plan in just 9 months. I think they need to focus
on strategic plan development so that they can assess their company’s strengths and
weaknesses.

II. Summary
Ben responding to a flyer asking senior citizens to apply for an internship through a video of
why they should be hired. Ben is a 70-year-old widow living a comfortable life, but he feels that
he needs to be more productive. First, we see Jules answering a phone call from a bride
complaining that her bridesmaid's dresses are the wrong color. Jules assumes full
responsibility, is very helpful, promises to solve the problem, and even gives the bride her
number. She rides in her office on a bike, never has time to stop and celebrate her coworkers'
birthdays in the workplace, or to have a full conversation with her mother over the phone. Ben
used to work for a company that produced phone books. Ben is overqualified for the job and
overjoyed being selected for the outreach program. Jules' co-worker Cameron tells her Ben will
be her intern. Ben makes himself successful, becoming acquainted with the ropes around the
place and learning how to manage the technology. He helps whomever he can and is referred
to by Cameron as Mr. Congeniality. In the office, Cameron is telling Jules that their investors
think it's all going too fast at About The Fit, and a seasoned CEO can do things better and help
them keep up with their success. Jules is upset about the idea of having a boss, even though
she admits that they have problems. Cameron suggests that she look at their CEO list and
take the time to meet them and settle on one. Ben starts to be noticed more and more around
the office particularly after he is praised by getting a bell rung for him (an office tradition to
highlight good performance) for cleaning out a desk that was the office dumping spot and
regularly got on Jules 's nerves. One day Ben notices the driver driving Jules on the job and
tells him to let Jules know he can't drive, or he's going to have to spill the beans. The next

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COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ACCOUNTANCY

morning Becky calls Ben telling him Jules' driver is not responding to her calls and he has to
pick her up While Jules works late and Ben works on his computer and is waiting to drop her
home, Jules brings his pizza with him while talk and eat. They 're bonding, and she's helping
him set up a Facebook account and find out more about him in the process. Ben was
transferred the next morning. Jules goes to find him in a coffee shop where he's going to pick
up coffee for the department he's currently working at. Jules apologizes to Ben, helps him with
the coffee, tells him that she feels comfortable in his presence, and offers him back his old job.
Business graduate Becky is overwhelmed by her workload, and the new development is
threatening. Matt turns down a trip to San Francisco, where Jules is looking forward to meeting
a CEO due to school events. She writes a ranting email to Matt about her overbearing mother
but sends it accidentally to her mom. Ben offers to go to her mother's house to delete it from
her laptop before she returns at 5 pm from work. After that, he finds Matt sick and Paige in
tears when Ben goes to pick up Jules the morning at the thought of going to a party so he
decides to take her instead. But he discovers that Matt had faked his illness to meet another
woman with whom he has an affair when he sees him entering a car with the women kissing
and driving away. Matt did ask Ben's position on the CEO's situation, saying he hoped it would
be good for them. Ben answers that a CEO can't fix what's wrong with their house. Jules
shares with Ben on their trip to San Francisco that she discovers 18 days ago that Matt was
cheating on her. Ben comforts her and tells her that if she wants to, she should only hire the
CEO, not for anyone else. The next day, she tells Ben that she hired him on the spot, though
the CEO told her to sleep on it. That night, she breaks down while taking a bath, showing that
she is disappointed by her decision. He remembers the time at the warehouse and tells her
that no one has the commitment she has to her company. The bridesmaid from the customer
service call she took at the beginning of the movie gave her wedding photos, and a thank you
card. Matt went to Jules' office just to tell her that she didn't need to hire a CEO just to fix her
marriage. She 's got to pursue what's right for her. Jules tells him that she's about to call the
CEO to tell him that she's changed her mind. Jules goes to Ben to tell him she 'd changed her
mind.

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III. Analysis
 Decision Making
Jules Ostin has become the ultimate multi-tasker. Investors are asking for her to hire a CEO to
reduce her workload. Jules is uncertain as to whether she should even hire one, and how not
to spend enough time at home.

 Lack of Operation Managers

Jules Ostin (Hathaway) has been overworked. She started about the fit in her Brooklyn kitchen
and now has a few hundred employees. Her day is loaded with meetings, and she rides a bike
around the office to keep up. She even went to the warehouse to handle a situation there.

IV. Recommendation

 Decision Making
- Startups are demanding. Jules Ostin is the ultimate multi-tasker who drives her bicycle from
meeting to meeting in her company while texting, answering consumer issues online,
measuring and handling designs on web pages, and managing to look effortlessly trendy all of
the time. I think this relates to Spider-Man quotes “With great power comes great responsibility.
And with great responsibility comes sacrifice.” Though Jules and the team's hard work resulted
in the company hit its five-year growth targets in just 9 months. – comes with sacrifices for
example in every meeting Jules is an hour late and she has less time for her family and her
marriage is falling apart. Jules' investors are demanding that she hire a CEO, which reduces
her workload but also puts her under someone else's leadership. Her confusion about hiring
one, and how she doesn't spend enough time at home. Though Jules admits that the company
has a problem. Finding a balance between work, family and your social life is important
because it can influence your decision-making process. A fast-growing e-commerce fashion
startup-like “About the Fit” should go back to POM 3 Stages in Decision Making: Production
Planning, Production Control, Improving Production, and Operations. These 3 decisions are
ongoing and may occur simultaneously. 

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COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ACCOUNTANCY

 Lack of Operation Managers

Since Jules decided not to hire a “seasoned CEO” who will oversee the operations. I
recommend that she will hire Operations Managers because they play a major role within the
company. They may have different objectives but have the same aim they need to achieve.
Operations Managers' goal is to have a successful operation, so what matters to them is that
they manage and perform their task well. So that Jules can focus more on strategic planning
etc., and that she gives more time to her family and for herself. Remember, a company is a
team effort, not a single-man shop. No one is capable of accomplishing everything on their
own.

V. Conclusion
The Intern implies there are a lot of factors that make a professional out there. Professionals
maintain credibility in their personal and professional relationships. Professionalism doesn't
mean waiting for others to take orders, it does mean taking action. No matter how much
experience you have, the situation is always challenging at times and it can be challenging to
behave as a professional. The Intern uses Ben and Jules as professional examples. They are
not flawless, but they still try to do the right thing.

Relevance refers to how relevant it is to the times, and how important or purposeful it is in our
culture. People are trying to keep themselves relevant. In the eyes of customers, goods tend to
be important. At first glance, you could assume that in high-tech, internet-coded About The Fit
culture, 70-year-old Ben Whittaker, the character Robert De Niro in "The Intern," could never
be relevant. Ben had sold 40 years of telephone books. You cannot get more redundant in
industry than this. And yet, this senior intern shows us that other business principles are
timeless: maintaining a good work ethic, showing up on time, keeping organized, dressing up
for success and always being able to learn new skills. What's more, Whittaker makes the
millennials realize the workplace's emotional intelligence – kindness and empathy are both part
of working together as a team and making progress.

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COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ACCOUNTANCY

If you're going to have to make an important decision right then, find someone you trust who
works about your best interest. Lay out the pros and cons. Or I remember the CEO in San
Francisco told Jules that to just sleep on it. Then make your decision tomorrow morning.
Because decisions, they have an affect in your company and stakeholders. Never stop
learning. Learning from experience because “Experience never gets old.”

------------------------------------------------Rest if you must, but NEVER quit! ☺ ☺ ☺ ----------------------------------