I am currently an undergraduate in the National University of Singapore (NUS), pursuing a degree in the Bachelor of Science (Chemistry). Besides majoring in chemistry, I have pursued a minor in Technopreneurship.
My interest in science was recognized since my secondary school days and my enduring interest in this field concurs with my inquisitive and evaluative nature. Apart from the knowledge and skills obtained during my course of study, I have become more analytical and logical in my mentality which is evident in my improved competence in handling problems and difficulties.
My decision to pursue a minor in Technopreneurship was motivated by my keen interest in entrepreneurship. The technopreneurship modules have broadened my knowledge and perspective while at the same time cultivating a business sense in me. The projects assigned required students to interact with professionals in the working industry and to submit business plans and reports which was definitely a valuable development process.
During my co-curriculum activities, I have taken on roles as a leader and member which gave me great opportunities to develop invaluable qualities in me such as leadership, teamwork and management skills. I have also realized I am rather personable as I do enjoy interacting with people and easily build rapport with people around me. As much as I do enjoy the company of people, I am glad to know that my company is valued by the people around me too.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Communications at the Workplace
In this blogpost, I would like to talk about communication at the workplace.
There was once my troubled friend was sharing to a group of us some of the unhappiness he was experiencing at work. He was complaining that his superior was really a difficult person and the worst thing is that his superior can get really insulting at times. Among us, there were a couple of them who were already working and they started sharing their grievances as well.
While listening to them, it struck me that this is a common occurrence at the workplace. Then I started wondering about how we were told so often that a good EQ is one of the attributes of a successful person, some would argue it is even more important to possess good EQ than IQ. If this is the case, then why are the people up in the hierarchy often the ones with the attitude problem?
I brought up this question during that same discussion and they commented that these people were not like that when they were fresh in the workforce. I thought that the comment was quite sensible as I observed this quite often in shows and I guess inspirations were drawn from the real world. Then I questioned myself about what exactly is EQ, emotional intelligence quotient? I compared it to IQ, intelligence quotient and thought that IQ, a measure of your intelligence is something that is consistent with time. However, EQ, a measure of the management of your emotions and others’ is however something which does not stay consistent and appears very much like a skill, once attained, you employ it only when you want to.
Hope you can give some of your opinions to enlighten me on this matter.
There was once my troubled friend was sharing to a group of us some of the unhappiness he was experiencing at work. He was complaining that his superior was really a difficult person and the worst thing is that his superior can get really insulting at times. Among us, there were a couple of them who were already working and they started sharing their grievances as well.
While listening to them, it struck me that this is a common occurrence at the workplace. Then I started wondering about how we were told so often that a good EQ is one of the attributes of a successful person, some would argue it is even more important to possess good EQ than IQ. If this is the case, then why are the people up in the hierarchy often the ones with the attitude problem?
I brought up this question during that same discussion and they commented that these people were not like that when they were fresh in the workforce. I thought that the comment was quite sensible as I observed this quite often in shows and I guess inspirations were drawn from the real world. Then I questioned myself about what exactly is EQ, emotional intelligence quotient? I compared it to IQ, intelligence quotient and thought that IQ, a measure of your intelligence is something that is consistent with time. However, EQ, a measure of the management of your emotions and others’ is however something which does not stay consistent and appears very much like a skill, once attained, you employ it only when you want to.
Hope you can give some of your opinions to enlighten me on this matter.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
An Awkward Experience
I would like to share an experience I had which involved a couple of my colleagues during my internship. This is a classic example of a lack of cultural knowledge that led to some uneasiness among the parties involved.
It was John’s birthday and he invited us to a restaurant which he strongly recommended for their steak. John is an American and he has been in Singapore for half a year. 3 of us who were local accepted his invitation and we went for dinner together.
John was very spontaneous and started ordering the food for all of us. Everything went on fine and we had a wonderful time chatting. We agreed to head to a pub to continue the celebration. Then it was time to settle the bill, the rest of us assumed that it was John’s treat and showed no signs of paying our share. John then prompted us to pay him for our share, since we did not see this coming, we were quite shocked and I guess our facial expressions revealed our emotions. There was that few seconds of silence that left all of us feeling very awkward, anyway we paid him and left for our next destination.
The atmosphere was rather awkward until the booze took effect and we were all back to normal if not better. These are moments when the booze really comes handy.
Thinking back about the situation, the misunderstanding arise due to the different culture that we were accustomed to. I spoke to some American friend to enquire more about the culture with respect to this context and learnt that they often go on Dutch. As for the Chinese, it was generally accepted that the person who invited would be the one picking up the tab.
That occasion definitely strike upon me the importance of cultural intelligence.
It was John’s birthday and he invited us to a restaurant which he strongly recommended for their steak. John is an American and he has been in Singapore for half a year. 3 of us who were local accepted his invitation and we went for dinner together.
John was very spontaneous and started ordering the food for all of us. Everything went on fine and we had a wonderful time chatting. We agreed to head to a pub to continue the celebration. Then it was time to settle the bill, the rest of us assumed that it was John’s treat and showed no signs of paying our share. John then prompted us to pay him for our share, since we did not see this coming, we were quite shocked and I guess our facial expressions revealed our emotions. There was that few seconds of silence that left all of us feeling very awkward, anyway we paid him and left for our next destination.
The atmosphere was rather awkward until the booze took effect and we were all back to normal if not better. These are moments when the booze really comes handy.
Thinking back about the situation, the misunderstanding arise due to the different culture that we were accustomed to. I spoke to some American friend to enquire more about the culture with respect to this context and learnt that they often go on Dutch. As for the Chinese, it was generally accepted that the person who invited would be the one picking up the tab.
That occasion definitely strike upon me the importance of cultural intelligence.
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