Blog Post 4: Final Reflection On Learning

Before ES2007S, I was truly worried. I was worried about what to expect when I graduate. With the constant reminders by the NUS Career Centre and my peers, I am aware of the dire need to learn how to "market" myself so as to get employed.

I confessed, on the first day of lesson, that I took ES2007S because I needed a module to clear my unrestricted elective requirements. Never would I have expected to learn so much from the course of Professional Communication. Some of my peers who had taken this module commented that it is truly a helpful module. Initially, I thought "aren't all modules helpful?" but the application for this module to the real world is definitely on another level from the other modules I have taken throughout my three years in NUS. Not only did this module cover segments which I was insecure about but it gave me additional confidence in myself that I could be equally as competitive as every other soon-to-be graduates. 

Having learnt tips and tricks to résumé and cover letter writing, I have been given the chance by potential employers to go for interviews. In addition, upon brushing up my skills on effective professional email crafting, I believe I had impressed some recipients of my emails. When I went for an interview today, I was less nervous than I was in the past. I would like to attribute my confidence to the fact that learning about nonverbal cues and the management of my communication skills did allow me to leave a good impression on the potential employer. 

Other than the skills that I mentioned above, in time to come, the proposal writing and presentation skills are definitely going to come in handy. Persuasiveness is an aspect that I have not been able to achieve all this while because I tend to talk about things in a way that is "as a matter of fact" and often people are not convinced. With the skills learnt, I will continue to put them to good use and I believe I can better persuade others to agree with my viewpoint in time to come.

What sets ES2007S apart from other modules is that the application of the skills learnt is far more relevant even in our daily lives. I am extremely glad to have been part of this class of ES2007S group 6. Class time was always constructive and lively. I truly enjoyed myself. 

Thank you all for making a difference in my life.

PS. Can someone send me the photos we took the other day? I don't have a facebook account (by choice).

Blog Post 3: Reflection on Project Proposal

The group's project proposal is on raising the employment rates of ex-offenders and the whole journey had been an eye-opener. 

Despite being clear on the main objective of the proposal, there were many other details that the team had to deal with in the beginning. For example, the types of employments to focus on and primarily the way to craft a proposal that was novel and feasible. The team also dealt with having to keep the report within eight pages because the current measures had many specific details which the group felt were important. However, as the group then decided that the main part of the report was to share the ideas of the proposed solutions, more emphasis was placed in the description and feasibility of the proposed solutions. Hence, it was a good learning point to sieve out what was important to have in the report when attempting to convince the reader that some improvement of the current situation is needed.

As our project topic was closely tied in with government-related organisations, most of the information that we got from our secondary research were worded positively and some additional details which appeared negative towards the organisation or the ex-offenders were left out. Thus there was some challenge in trying to obtain the full picture of the current situation about these ex-offenders and employment. Then again, regardless of the way in which the information was presented, annual reports from the Singapore Prison Service as well as the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises were extremely helpful for the project for statistical evidence.

It was a great experience to have been able to meet up with Mr Danny personally with the group as information that he provided us with gave us insight to which parts of our proposed solutions could be better improved. Also, the team had a better understanding of the process in which the ex-offenders go through before they achieve gainful employment in Singapore.

Overall, I feel that the team worked well together, complementing one another's strengths and weaknesses. Though, as most projects are, upon reaching the deadline, there is always the tension and need for more time and one can always have better time management with respect to the timeline for the project.

Blog Post 2: Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour

Being a leading global university, NUS is a good place where one can observe intercultural behaviour. Other than the various local ethnic cultures of Singapore, there are many more types of cultures easily noticeable. In this blog post, I will focus on the core values of cultures, especially on power-distances.

For example, the sandwich artist at Subway is a Filipino. She addressed and greeted customers with “Hello Sir (/Ma’am)”. Going deeper and understanding why she spoke this way instead of a simple “Hello”, has led me to realise that probably the formality of addressing a customer, who is considered more superior, demonstrates the high power-distance culture. In addition, in the Philippines, the words used when speaking to the elders are more respectful. Similar to the Koreans, hierarchy matters very much in Asia. The high power-distance culture and masculinity of society of Asian countries can be clearly observed in our daily lives.  

In my opinion, due to globalisation, many societies (including Singapore) are adopting values of the western culture. Individualism and low power-distances are creeping into many companies for higher efficiency and higher productivity rates. However, in Asia, it is still relatively difficult to move away from the core values associated to our culture. Take for instance the manner in which students are used to greeting their teachers in Singapore. It is often by Miss/Mr/Mrs/Dr/Prof Jones. I, too, am used to formally greeting teachers. Even after having put in effort to tell myself that at the tertiary education level ongoing to the workforce, I have to try to get used to it, the uneasy feeling remains. The main reason I feel is that the hierarchy system that I am used to and the identity of me does not change even with the prevalence of western culture being continually infused into society today.

Therefore, it is always important to strike a good balance between everything. In this case of intercultural behaviour, moderating things would help. What I meant was that in every communication with someone who is of different culture, always be understanding and give concessions to how the person you are speaking with may behave. Certainly, this will definitely reduce conflicts.

If you are interested to know more about the Philippines' culture that was briefly mentioned above, you may want to visit the webpage below. 

(http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/philippines-country-profile.html)

Blog Post 1: Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

Often, when faced with an interpersonal conflict, many people do not know how to handle the situation. As a result, things spiral out of control which then hurt those involved in the conflict.

Upon considering an interpersonal conflict to blog about, I came across a news article on two men who were charged with affray when they fought in the MRT last month. This made me recall an incident which I had witnessed some years back that happened between two of my classmates. 

My classmates, Rick and Shah were never on good terms. Shah always felt that most of Rick's actions were trying too hard to please the teacher and when Rick spoke to his classmates, his tone was always one that was condescending. Rick, on the other hand, did not have much liking towards Shah either. Rick felt that Shah was always on a defensive mode when they both interacted. 

Then one day, Rick went up to Shah and picked on what Shah was doing at his desk. Shah initially asked Rick to leave him alone but Rick just went on pointing out what Shah was doing was simply a waste of time. After saying those words, Rick turned to leave and at that instance, Shah stood up and kicked Rick from the back. Refusing to lose out in any way, Rick retaliated and a fight broke out. 

After the whole incident, only Shah was suspended from school for two weeks. When Shah resumed school, each time Rick and Shah met gazes, Rick would guiltily look away and Shah would continue to gaze fiercely at Rick. The conflict between Rick and Shah was never resolved and both of them continued to be wary of each other all the time.

Recounting this incident made me think deeper to analyse why this incident had happened.

In Shah's case, if Shah was willing to find out why Rick continuously tries to be in good books of the teachers, maybe he would be able to understand Rick a little better and clear up any misunderstanding between them. In addition, if Shah was willing to come to terms that each individual express themselves differently and accepts Rick as he is, the fight could have been prevented.

In my opinion, Rick had not put in enough effort to try to understand others as well. For example, when Shah was busy with something at his desk, probably working on an important assignment, Rick simply said that Shah was plainly wasting time. If Rick was willing to put himself in shoes of others, this incident could have been averted. 

Also, Rick could have kept his tone in check when speaking to others. Rick often had the tendency to say statements such as "You are not capable of doing this task, I'll do it without your help.". If Rick had thought twice when speaking to others, such as "How about we approach this task using the method I suggested?", I am sure Rick would be a more likable presence.

Through this incident, it made me aware to be more careful with my words. How others respond to me depends very much on how I behave. 

Being more sensitive to the emotions and nonverbal responses of others actually helps us to be in control of situations. Understanding people around us is also important because it helps to prevent friction between people when opinions or experiences differ.

Thus, resolving interpersonal conflict requires a lot of effort and courage to deal with all the unhappy instances that had occurred.

(Names mentioned in this post have been changed to protect the interests and identity of the individuals involved.)