We're coming to the end of the semester and it's time to wrap up this module and part our lovely lecturer - christine.
At first I was really hesitant about taking this module as I'm in my final year and I know there would be presentations and projects for this module. Nevertheless with my friend's persuasion, I decided to give it a shot.
Since it was a module which teaches communication, the lessons were really fun and interactive. From writing business letter, application letters, communicating in a working environment and to intercultural communication, this module made me understand that constant effort needs to be put in to achieve effective communication with different people in different settings. Since it was a small class and everyone was really active, it added to all the fun.
I also enjoyed the 'mock' interview session. For most students, we're usually the one being interviewed but the mock interview session allowed us to interview other people and this helped me understand how an interviewer thinks. This would definitely be a valuable experience.
There was also my most dreaded oral presentation as well - two of them to be exact. It was a good learning experience to see our peers presentation. By evaluating their presentation one can absorb the good points and avoid the pitfalls of oral presentation.
Though there were frustrating moments when we were doing the proposal and all, I have thoroughly enjoyed this module.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Reflections on oral presentation
I decided to take this module in hopes of improving my communication skills and finally the most dreaded part of the module - oral presentation has come to an end. It was easy coming out with the contents of the presentation but to actually communicate our research and findings to the audience was by no means an easy feat!
Honestly speaking, despite having practiced a lot at home, I was still really nervous during the presentation. I think I had a lot of weird hand gestures and there was many awkward pauses in the middle of a sentence. I guess I was trying too hard to inject some humour and when I could not think of what to say I just panicked. Haha.
After two oral presentation, this recent one and another for peer teaching, although I was still nervous I would still say that this has helped me improve. I wasn't speaking so fast like a bullet train and though there were still some weird hand gestures my hands were not all over the place like it was a few years back.
I also think that the question and answer session was pretty good and we showed that we did try to think what problems would we encounter with implementing our proposal and coming up with possible solution.
In conclusion, one cannot master public speaking overnight and to do well in oral presentations require practice and experience. I am sure that this oral presentation will serve as a very good experience for me.
Honestly speaking, despite having practiced a lot at home, I was still really nervous during the presentation. I think I had a lot of weird hand gestures and there was many awkward pauses in the middle of a sentence. I guess I was trying too hard to inject some humour and when I could not think of what to say I just panicked. Haha.
After two oral presentation, this recent one and another for peer teaching, although I was still nervous I would still say that this has helped me improve. I wasn't speaking so fast like a bullet train and though there were still some weird hand gestures my hands were not all over the place like it was a few years back.
I also think that the question and answer session was pretty good and we showed that we did try to think what problems would we encounter with implementing our proposal and coming up with possible solution.
In conclusion, one cannot master public speaking overnight and to do well in oral presentations require practice and experience. I am sure that this oral presentation will serve as a very good experience for me.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Evaluating intercultural behaviour
Intercultural conflict often arise due to individuals coming from two contrastive culture communities having different value assumptions, expectations, verbal and non-verbal habits. In this post I am going to share one of my personal experiences involving intercultural communication.
A few semesters ago, I had taken general education module in NUS which requires us to do a group project. As the lecturer had indicated that the group must consist of at least one member from each faculty, we were dragged out of our comfort zone and forced to form groups with people we were unfamiliar with. My group consisted of people from science, engineering, arts and business. All of us were Singaporeans except a girl who was a Vietnamese.
Meetings were often for a group project and during every session everyone would participate actively in the discussion except for the Vietnamese girl. She was always very quiet during the meetings and when we ask her anything she either gave no answer or answered so softly that even the ears of a dog (dogs are supposed to have good hearing aren’t they) could not catch hear it. This was really frustrating for all of us and it would not be for long that someone would explode and give her a piece of mind.
As expected during one of the meeting one of our group member got so irritated that he shouted at the Vietnamese girls. He scolded her for being quiet and not contributing and for speaking so softly that no one can hear her. Although the guy’s sudden outburst came as a shock for all the other group members but we were really happy as he saying what we’re feeling. Hence nobody in the group sympathised with the Vietnamese girl and instead we all nodded in agreement to what the guy had just said.
A few days later as I was discussing about what happened during the meeting with one of my course mate I got to learn that it might not be because the Vietnamese girl did not want to contribute. It might just probably due to the fact that she is very shy. According to my course mate who has a few Vietnamese friends, she said that Vietnamese girls are usually shy, soft spoken and reserved. Now, if that is really the case we would have done a very terrible deed!
During the next meeting, we asked the Vietnamese girl if she did prepare her stuff before our discussion and she showed us notes she had made and the sources which she ploughed through prior to our meeting. It showed that she really did her research and some of the information was really reliable.
After this incident this made me realised that if we had more intercultural awareness, and not make assumptions about our foreign group mate the incident will not happen. It is important not to be judgemental about other people’s behaviour and be more tolerant with the behaviour of people from different culture and be considerate with our own actions.
A few semesters ago, I had taken general education module in NUS which requires us to do a group project. As the lecturer had indicated that the group must consist of at least one member from each faculty, we were dragged out of our comfort zone and forced to form groups with people we were unfamiliar with. My group consisted of people from science, engineering, arts and business. All of us were Singaporeans except a girl who was a Vietnamese.
Meetings were often for a group project and during every session everyone would participate actively in the discussion except for the Vietnamese girl. She was always very quiet during the meetings and when we ask her anything she either gave no answer or answered so softly that even the ears of a dog (dogs are supposed to have good hearing aren’t they) could not catch hear it. This was really frustrating for all of us and it would not be for long that someone would explode and give her a piece of mind.
As expected during one of the meeting one of our group member got so irritated that he shouted at the Vietnamese girls. He scolded her for being quiet and not contributing and for speaking so softly that no one can hear her. Although the guy’s sudden outburst came as a shock for all the other group members but we were really happy as he saying what we’re feeling. Hence nobody in the group sympathised with the Vietnamese girl and instead we all nodded in agreement to what the guy had just said.
A few days later as I was discussing about what happened during the meeting with one of my course mate I got to learn that it might not be because the Vietnamese girl did not want to contribute. It might just probably due to the fact that she is very shy. According to my course mate who has a few Vietnamese friends, she said that Vietnamese girls are usually shy, soft spoken and reserved. Now, if that is really the case we would have done a very terrible deed!
During the next meeting, we asked the Vietnamese girl if she did prepare her stuff before our discussion and she showed us notes she had made and the sources which she ploughed through prior to our meeting. It showed that she really did her research and some of the information was really reliable.
After this incident this made me realised that if we had more intercultural awareness, and not make assumptions about our foreign group mate the incident will not happen. It is important not to be judgemental about other people’s behaviour and be more tolerant with the behaviour of people from different culture and be considerate with our own actions.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Personal Statement
I am a fresh graduate with a bachelor of Applied Science with Honours in Applied Chemistry from the National University of Singapore (NUS). During my undergraduate years, I started to develop interest in the drug discovery process and this has fuelled my passion to work in the pharmaceutical industry.
During my third year in the Applied Chemistry programme, I had the chance to do an internship with Schering-plough. Although I had preferred to be attached to the laboratory or research and development department, I was attached to Data Management Organisation (DMO) instead. Initially I was honestly disappointed, but during the course of my internship I grew to understand the importance of quality assurance in a pharmaceutical industry. At DMO I was able to understand another aspect of the pharmaceutical industry - Quality Assurance. Working at DMO required me to be careful, attentive and meticulous. There was a project where I was supposed to make changes to about 2000+ entries in the Laboratory Information Management system and I managed to limit the errors at a very low number. I believe these qualities are highly relevant to any pharmaceutical company. My stint with DMO also allowed me to improve on my communication and interpersonal skills, as I need to liaise with people from different departments. Apart from the skills that I gained at DMO, my knowledge of the work flow at the Quality Assurance department, and good manufacturing practices (cGMP) will prove to be an asset for any company.
Over the course of my undergraduate studies, I have read chemistry modules such as physical, organic and inorganic chemistry. This has equipped me with basic chemistry knowledge to deal with the work which I will be doing. Besides my core chemistry modules I have taken modules such as professional communication to improve on my business communication skills and to become more articulate in expressing my ideas. Doing my final year project for the honours year has also led me to become a motivated and independent individual.
Besides studying, I was also an active member in the NUS basketball club. Although we only play recreational basketball, I give my all during every game as I am a firm believer that one should give their best in everything they do. Apart from being an active member, I was in the executive committee of the club holding the post of welfare representative in my second year and treasure in my third. Being and executive committee member of the club I participated in the activities which were organised by the club. I was very lucky to be part of the organising committee for two of the 3 on 3 basketball challenge organised by the club. Both of the 3 on 3 competitions were a success and I benefitted greatly from the experiences. Being a treasurer also helped me become more reliable and responsible as the handling of money issues can be very sensitive.
I am certain that will my skills and experience, I will be able to make constructive contributions to the pharmaceutical industry.
During my third year in the Applied Chemistry programme, I had the chance to do an internship with Schering-plough. Although I had preferred to be attached to the laboratory or research and development department, I was attached to Data Management Organisation (DMO) instead. Initially I was honestly disappointed, but during the course of my internship I grew to understand the importance of quality assurance in a pharmaceutical industry. At DMO I was able to understand another aspect of the pharmaceutical industry - Quality Assurance. Working at DMO required me to be careful, attentive and meticulous. There was a project where I was supposed to make changes to about 2000+ entries in the Laboratory Information Management system and I managed to limit the errors at a very low number. I believe these qualities are highly relevant to any pharmaceutical company. My stint with DMO also allowed me to improve on my communication and interpersonal skills, as I need to liaise with people from different departments. Apart from the skills that I gained at DMO, my knowledge of the work flow at the Quality Assurance department, and good manufacturing practices (cGMP) will prove to be an asset for any company.
Over the course of my undergraduate studies, I have read chemistry modules such as physical, organic and inorganic chemistry. This has equipped me with basic chemistry knowledge to deal with the work which I will be doing. Besides my core chemistry modules I have taken modules such as professional communication to improve on my business communication skills and to become more articulate in expressing my ideas. Doing my final year project for the honours year has also led me to become a motivated and independent individual.
Besides studying, I was also an active member in the NUS basketball club. Although we only play recreational basketball, I give my all during every game as I am a firm believer that one should give their best in everything they do. Apart from being an active member, I was in the executive committee of the club holding the post of welfare representative in my second year and treasure in my third. Being and executive committee member of the club I participated in the activities which were organised by the club. I was very lucky to be part of the organising committee for two of the 3 on 3 basketball challenge organised by the club. Both of the 3 on 3 competitions were a success and I benefitted greatly from the experiences. Being a treasurer also helped me become more reliable and responsible as the handling of money issues can be very sensitive.
I am certain that will my skills and experience, I will be able to make constructive contributions to the pharmaceutical industry.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Cover Letter:)
Here is my cover letter drafted for the application of a quality associate at schering-plough. Here is the link to the job information: http://impact-sg.jobstreet.com/jobs/jobdesc.asp?type=0&eid=25904567&jid=2144575&did=0&its=0&src=8&itn=
Teo Bei Ning
Blk 000 Bukit Batok St. 39 #06-00
Singapore 650000
Email: lalakoko@gmail.com
September 1, 2009
HR Manager, Human Resource
Schering-Plough Ltd, Singapore Branch
50 Tuas West Drive
Singapore 638408
Dear Sir/Mdm
Application for post of Quality Associate (Release)
I refer to the notice put up in the career opportunities section on website. With my academic qualifications, internship experience and interest in the pharmaceutical industry, I believe that I would be a suitable candidate for the position of Quality Associate (Release).
I am a fresh graduate with a Bachelor of Applied Science (Applied Chemistry) from National University of Singapore and I have always looked forward to a career in the pharmaceutical industry. The Applied Chemistry programme has given me a solid foundation in Industrial Chemistry and I am confident that I can to contribute to your organisation with my skills and knowledge.
In addition to the courses I have read in NUS, I had the chance of doing my internship with Schering-Plough for six months. During my time with Schering-Plough, I was attached to the Data Management Organisation (DMO) section of the Quality Assurance (QA) department. Hence I have a certain degree of familiarity of how the QA department works.
Besides the relevant skills and experiences and an eye for detail, I believe my strong interpersonal and communication skill will definitely be a valuable addition to the organisation.
It is known that Schering-Plough has contributed significantly to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry through its intensive research and development and commitment to quality. The company has also done well consistently over the recent years, posting healthy growth in sales figures. Thus, I look forward to be an effective member of this esteemed organisation and to bring it to greater heights.
Enclosed is my CV for your reference and I would deeply appreciate it if you could grant me an interview at a time of your convenience. Please contact me at 96160000 and I hope to receive your reply soon. Thank you.
Yours Sincerely
Teo Bei Ning
Teo Bei Ning
Blk 000 Bukit Batok St. 39 #06-00
Singapore 650000
Email: lalakoko@gmail.com
September 1, 2009
HR Manager, Human Resource
Schering-Plough Ltd, Singapore Branch
50 Tuas West Drive
Singapore 638408
Dear Sir/Mdm
Application for post of Quality Associate (Release)
I refer to the notice put up in the career opportunities section on website. With my academic qualifications, internship experience and interest in the pharmaceutical industry, I believe that I would be a suitable candidate for the position of Quality Associate (Release).
I am a fresh graduate with a Bachelor of Applied Science (Applied Chemistry) from National University of Singapore and I have always looked forward to a career in the pharmaceutical industry. The Applied Chemistry programme has given me a solid foundation in Industrial Chemistry and I am confident that I can to contribute to your organisation with my skills and knowledge.
In addition to the courses I have read in NUS, I had the chance of doing my internship with Schering-Plough for six months. During my time with Schering-Plough, I was attached to the Data Management Organisation (DMO) section of the Quality Assurance (QA) department. Hence I have a certain degree of familiarity of how the QA department works.
Besides the relevant skills and experiences and an eye for detail, I believe my strong interpersonal and communication skill will definitely be a valuable addition to the organisation.
It is known that Schering-Plough has contributed significantly to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry through its intensive research and development and commitment to quality. The company has also done well consistently over the recent years, posting healthy growth in sales figures. Thus, I look forward to be an effective member of this esteemed organisation and to bring it to greater heights.
Enclosed is my CV for your reference and I would deeply appreciate it if you could grant me an interview at a time of your convenience. Please contact me at 96160000 and I hope to receive your reply soon. Thank you.
Yours Sincerely
Teo Bei Ning
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Resolving interpersonal conflict
We all live in a complex network of family members, friends, co-workers or classmates. Generally we would find ways to get along with each other, but once in a while undesirable things happen due to conflicting goals or actions, contrary beliefs and opinions, competition of limited resources or miscommunication. Interpersonal conflict would be the undesirable ‘thing’.
Interpersonal conflict may not necessary turn out bad. It very much depends on how one chooses to deal with the conflict. With the right method, it would lead to greater understanding between the conflicting parties. Choose the wrong method the breakdown of the relationship might be imminent.
I have here a scenario which I would like to share.
Scenario
The Amine family were originally a warm and happy family. Although the 5 brothers do not live together they would organise gatherings once in a while at their parents’ house so that the brothers can get together and do some catching up. The wives can get a chance to show off their culinary skills, the cousins can get to know each other and become good friends and most importantly it is to see the smile on grandpa’s and grandma’s faces. You know how grandparents always like it for the whole family to come together.
However things changed when grandpa died. Grandma was illiterate and did not know how to handle the legal documents and procedures. Hence she engaged the help of her third son, Acid who is an university graduate and lives near her to help her liaise with the lawyer to carry out granddad’s will. All the other brothers were agreeable to granny’s decision as they know they are not the expert in this area and it would be very troublesome to try to look into the nitty gritty details. But the 5th brother, Base did not think that granny’s decision was appropriate. He thinks that by letting only one person handle such a large amount of money and property (by the way grandpa was quite a rich man), you would not know if he would keep his hands to himself. Coupled with the fact that granny does not understand the whole proceedings and would sign on the documents that Acid tells her to, Base thinks that Acid might keep some things for himself. In this case, the other brothers would not be getting what they ought to get.
In actual fact Base has raised a valid point. It is understood that humans are selfish by nature, especially when money is involved. Hence he has every reason to suspect Acid. However, that is not the way to treat people who are close to you, especially your brother. One would usually trust their kin and it is absolutely reasonable for Acid to be angry with Base for not trusting him. Moreover, all the other brothers were nonchalant about it.
So now, Base thinks that granny should not just leave all the stuff for Acid to handle while Acid is unhappy that Base does not trust him and every time they meet there would be arguments.
What should Acid and Base do to prevent the conflict from escalating further? Comments are greatly welcome and appreciated:)
Interpersonal conflict may not necessary turn out bad. It very much depends on how one chooses to deal with the conflict. With the right method, it would lead to greater understanding between the conflicting parties. Choose the wrong method the breakdown of the relationship might be imminent.
I have here a scenario which I would like to share.
Scenario
The Amine family were originally a warm and happy family. Although the 5 brothers do not live together they would organise gatherings once in a while at their parents’ house so that the brothers can get together and do some catching up. The wives can get a chance to show off their culinary skills, the cousins can get to know each other and become good friends and most importantly it is to see the smile on grandpa’s and grandma’s faces. You know how grandparents always like it for the whole family to come together.
However things changed when grandpa died. Grandma was illiterate and did not know how to handle the legal documents and procedures. Hence she engaged the help of her third son, Acid who is an university graduate and lives near her to help her liaise with the lawyer to carry out granddad’s will. All the other brothers were agreeable to granny’s decision as they know they are not the expert in this area and it would be very troublesome to try to look into the nitty gritty details. But the 5th brother, Base did not think that granny’s decision was appropriate. He thinks that by letting only one person handle such a large amount of money and property (by the way grandpa was quite a rich man), you would not know if he would keep his hands to himself. Coupled with the fact that granny does not understand the whole proceedings and would sign on the documents that Acid tells her to, Base thinks that Acid might keep some things for himself. In this case, the other brothers would not be getting what they ought to get.
In actual fact Base has raised a valid point. It is understood that humans are selfish by nature, especially when money is involved. Hence he has every reason to suspect Acid. However, that is not the way to treat people who are close to you, especially your brother. One would usually trust their kin and it is absolutely reasonable for Acid to be angry with Base for not trusting him. Moreover, all the other brothers were nonchalant about it.
So now, Base thinks that granny should not just leave all the stuff for Acid to handle while Acid is unhappy that Base does not trust him and every time they meet there would be arguments.
What should Acid and Base do to prevent the conflict from escalating further? Comments are greatly welcome and appreciated:)
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Why effective communication skills are important to me?
Communication is an essential part of everyday life. Apart from the time when one is sleeping, communication with people is inescapable. Hence the inability to communicate effectively would cause a plethora of problems. Poor communication will affect one’s ability to do well in school (especially for this ES2007S module), to find and hold on to a job, to maintain a good relationship with friends and family and the list of problems goes on.
I value and treasure my friends, so I believe that effective communication skills are necessary for me to maintain a good relationship with them. If anything goes wrong in any part of the communication chain, it will lead to misunderstandings and bad blood between best of friends. That in my opinion is ugly and unfortunate. It was really painful to lose a good friend due to a communication breakdown and I would very much like to prevent the same thing from happening again.
In addition to maintaining good friendships, effective communication skills are crucial for me to build a good working relationship the people I am working with. I would need to be able to communicate effectively with my supervisor (big boss) and graduate student (small boss) in order to ensure that my whole FYP experience will be a fun and fulfilling one.
Right now I am still a carefree student and the above are the two areas which effective communication has the greatest impact in my life. However this would definitely change when I step out into the working world where human relationship becomes more complicated and I would need to be able to communicate to save my arse. Well, I still want to cherish my last few moments as a carefree student so I’ll think of communicating in the work place a little later. :) I hope I would still remember what is taught in this module after I graduate though.
I value and treasure my friends, so I believe that effective communication skills are necessary for me to maintain a good relationship with them. If anything goes wrong in any part of the communication chain, it will lead to misunderstandings and bad blood between best of friends. That in my opinion is ugly and unfortunate. It was really painful to lose a good friend due to a communication breakdown and I would very much like to prevent the same thing from happening again.
In addition to maintaining good friendships, effective communication skills are crucial for me to build a good working relationship the people I am working with. I would need to be able to communicate effectively with my supervisor (big boss) and graduate student (small boss) in order to ensure that my whole FYP experience will be a fun and fulfilling one.
Right now I am still a carefree student and the above are the two areas which effective communication has the greatest impact in my life. However this would definitely change when I step out into the working world where human relationship becomes more complicated and I would need to be able to communicate to save my arse. Well, I still want to cherish my last few moments as a carefree student so I’ll think of communicating in the work place a little later. :) I hope I would still remember what is taught in this module after I graduate though.
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