Sunday, March 13, 2011

Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour

Few days ago, an Earthquake with a magnitude of 8.9 on the Richter scale struck Japan. If it were in Singapore, most people would probably panic and run out of the building. However, this was not how the Japanese react to the natural disaster. Most of them were calm and cool throughout the disaster. The video below shows what happened in one of the supermarkets in Japan during the Earthquake.

After watching the clip, I thought to myself, "Wow! They are actually more concern about the wine bottles than their own lives." I think this is largely due to their culture and upbringing. As most anthropologists say - culture is the full range of learned human behaviour patterns. Growing up in a country that sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" has certainly gotten them used to earthquakes and tremors, so much so that even a tremor that big does not send them into frenzy. I believe they are well taught from young on ways to survive and react during natural disaster. As opposed to the Singapore culture, Singaporeans grow up in a place safe from natural disaster and even social unrest. Many Singaporeans tend to be complacent and take it for granted. When faced with disaster, most people are clueless as to what to do because it is not in our culture and education system to learn and practise such measures.

Clichéd as it sounds, as the world becomes more globalised, it is inevitable that we interact with other cultures, especially in a cosmopolitan city like Singapore. Thus, in order to communicate effectively, it is important that we learn about the different cultures and understand why different culture have different practices so as not to have a cultural shock when we go overseas to work or study.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Application Letter

Goh Chia Huey, Bernadette

Blk 649 Hougang Ave 8

#17-341 Singapore530649

92708470 (Mobile) 62815149 (Home)

gchbernadette@singnet.com.sg

8 February 2011

HR Manager

Cadmus Resources

51 Anson Road

#14-59 Anson Centre

Singapore 079904

Dear Sir/Madam,

Civil & Structural Engineers, Job Reference No. JSG400003000331782

I read from the advertisement dated 7 February 2011 on the JobsDB website, that your client has an immediate vacancy for the above mentioned position. I am enclosing my CV to express my utmost interest for the job.

I will be completing my Honours Degree in Civil Engineering at the National University of Singapore in April 2011, thus I will be available from May 2011 onwards. Being part of the organising committee of the Overseas Community Involvement Programme (OCIP) in Young Christian Students’ Movement (YCS) in the past has honed my leadership and organisational skills. The planning and coordination of the OCIP allowed me to interact with different people to coordinate schedules so as to meet deadlines.

In 2009, my teammates and I defeated 16 other teams and took home the fourth prize of a HDB book prize in a Structural Competition. We were tasked to design a simple beam using aluminium strips of 8 sizes and rivets. We defined and analysed the problem as a team and integrated our ideas to find the best solution by applying our professional knowledge skilfully. By juggling leadership positions in my co-curricular activities (CCA) and academic work, I learnt how to manage my time effectively. I have also picked up good interpersonal skills by working with different people on different projects. One example would be motivating my peers as a concert mistress to work towards our goal of Gold in the SYF competition. I believe these skills I have acquired will allow me to coordinate effectively with the consultants and sub-contractors.

I believe my coursework in Civil Engineering will help your client attain their goals. As a fresh graduate, my expected salary will be $2,500. I look forward to a favourable reply from you. Please contact me at 9270 8470, or by email at gchbernadette@singnet.com.sg. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Yours Faithfully,


Ms Bernadette Goh



Civil & Structural Engineers

Our client, an award winning ISO certified Building and Civil Engineering corporation located at Raffles Place has immediate vacancy of Civil and Structural Engineer

Responsibilities:

  • Liaise with supplier for design, production, delivery and installation
  • Shop drawing checking and submission for precast element
  • Delivery schedule preparation
  • Site management


Requirements:

  • Degree/Diploma in Architecture or Civil/Structural Engineering or its equivalent
  • Minimum 2 years of relevant experience
  • Able to coordinate with consultants and sub-contractors
  • Good interpersonal skills
  • Fresh graduates are welcomed to apply


To apply, please email your detailed CV in MS Word format to rtan@cadmusresources.com with the following details inside your CV for faster processing:

  1. Reasons for leaving for each past and current employment
  2. Salary drawn for each past and current employment
  3. Expected salary
  4. Earliest availability date

Your interest will be treated in strict confidence. We regret that only short-listed candidates will be contacted shortly.

http://sg.jobsdb.com/TmpImg/SG/cadmus/logo.gif

Quick Apply Clipboard Send to Friend Print Close

Post Date: JobsDB Ref: JSG400003000331782

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

It was in the year 2006, after receiving our posting results for O levels, I was delighted to know that one of my good friends in secondary school would be going to the same Junior College (JC) as me and the best part was - the same class too.

First year in JC went smoothly, however there is no such thing as a bed of roses in life. My good friend (Girl A) and I started to drift apart due to many known and unknown reasons. Adding to that tension, a senior of mine in the Concert Band retained to retake her A levels, and she was placed in our class. My classmates were not exactly welcoming since my class was pretty bonded after J1. However, because she was my band senior, I grew closer to her, and subsequently, the class segregated into me and her versus the rest of the class. In addition, Girl A is the type of “princess”, so people will try not to be in her “bad book”.

I sensed that Girl A and I were drifting apart when she avoided me by purposely shifting away from my seat during lecture after I placed my bag next to hers. We were from a clique in secondary school and when we went out with as a clique, she would ignore me when I talk to her and not make eye contact with me if she does talk to me. I learn from my other clique mates that she has a problem with me, but wasn’t sure why.

After we graduated from JC, we started communicating with each other again. I cannot really remember how we started talking again but I’m the type who forgives and forgets easily so I just put the whole incident behind us and became good friends again. After we started communicating, I found out that the conflict kind of started due to this Girl B who sowed discord between us, for God-knows-what reason. xD

Now for the question:
What would you have done to bridge the distance between the retainee and the class which was already bonded, while trying to salvage the friendship between Girl A and you?

Friday, January 21, 2011

Effective Communication Skills

Effective communication skills are vital for surviving in modern times like these. This is a time when information gets transmitted and shared almost immediately using social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, SMS, BBM, MSN. Therefore to survive in this “jungle”, we have to be equipped with communication skills that allow us to convey our messages clearly and succinctly because no one has the time or will bother to read grandmother stories.

In this fast pace world, it is common for us to shorten our sentences with acronyms and short forms. The following is an example of how short form can lead to communication breakdown:


A simple short cut of spelling "didn't" led to a series of misunderstandings. Short forms are supposed to make it easier and faster for us to convey messages, yet in this case, it caused misunderstanding and made it more troublesome because someone else has to explain it clearly. This is a not a big problem because it is just casual chatting on Facebook. However, if the setting and context is set in an office or work email, it may cause a lot of unnecessary trouble. Thus, nowadays I avoid using short forms as much as I can to prevent miscommunication.

I believe no matter what kind of jobs you take next time, you have to communicate with people, be it your subordinates, peers or superiors. Therefore, we have to know how to communicate appropriately with the different groups of people using different tone, different channels, etc. Because without good communication skills, I doubt one can climb the social ladder. A degree (i.e. IQ) can only get you the job, but it's the people and communication skills (i.e. EQ) which gets you promoted. :)