Misunderstanding in communication occurs most often when each party involved only has one point of view, that is of his/her own. Constrained by experience and knowledge, individual point of view is likely to be skewed and partial, expecially when engaging in intercultural communication.
language might be the biggest problem during intercultural communication. When I fisrt came to Singapore in 2005, aged 15, I was nervous when speaking English. I didn't go through strigent English speaking training in China, and I was astonished when I found out the level of command of English required in Singapore. To make matters worse, I started to stutter whenever I struggled to find the right words to say. So with broken English in bad grammer and stuttering, I could barely give an introducation of myself. That was when social out-casting kicked in bewteen me and the classmates. The lesson for all those students from non-English Speaking countries and having language problems is that suck it up and try your best to complete the language transition as quickly as possible.
The good thing was that China and Singapore, bing Asian countries, shared many cultural traits. An interesting discovery was that when I first met an Indian student in my class and said 'you look like a piece of charcoal', I got the cold eyes from all Indian sudents in the class; however after two years of getting to know each other, I repeated the same metaphor and it was receievd with good humor. So I guess comments like this must be used carefully when talking to someone of a different country. I am not saying never use them, but be smart with them.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
zhao chen's application letter
1 West Coast Avenue,
#1-03, Singapore
Tel (65)93464852
Email: u0905589@nus.edu.sg
Orion Building - 3rd Floor
49 Jorissen Street, Braamfontein
Email: msfb-johannesburg-admin@msf.org.za
Dear Sir/Mdm,
I am highly interested in applying for the data analyst position that you posted on Medicins Sans Frontiers website. The job advertisement caught my attention because I believe being a data analyst for MSF will help the doctors to have accurate and timely information on their patients and to cure diseases. Being an enthusiastic supporter for humanitarian activities, especially in the field of health care, I feel a great responsibility being at the frontier of helping people suffering from disasters. I strongly believe with my capabilities and passion I will bring contribution to the organization.
I will graduate from the National University of Singapore, or NUS, in year 2013 with an honors degree in industrial and systems engineering. I think what my college education benefits me is that I’ve learned a great deal on statistics, which give me solid skills in analyzing and interpreting data. Though being a fresh graduate, I am not “fresh” in the field of data analysis. During the course of my study, I was an intern at a China-based natural gas company, called China Natural Gas, as an entry data analyst for three months. My main responsibility was to organize and design data base, which captures important information on the users of natural gas in one district. During the period, I gained great experience in using Excel and Word to output data. I also learned the importance of multi-tasking, as sometimes I had to design multiple sets of data, like monthly consumption and user satisfaction of natural gas. This internship of mine is relevant to your company as you require analysts with such skills and experience. Moreover, as part of my education, I had various projects, which involved working with a group of students to solve problems using statistical approaches. Not only did I gain better understanding of statistics, I honed my team-working skills as well. Hence, as you require in a data analyst, I will be a dependable and responsible team player in working together with my colleagues. One important lesson I gained in the internship and projects is the need to learn more. I always motivated myself to read up on relevant texts that were not covered in the school; this makes me a suitable candidate for your position as you need people who are ready to do more than normally required of them.
Besides my skills, my characters match your job description too. I believe only highly motivated people are willing to work for good causes, like humanitarian activities that MSF engages in. Every time I heard news about a natural or man-made disaster, I feel an urge to help those who suffered from it. I understand if my working condition is not satisfactory in South Africa, but I am willing to contribute more than, if not just as much as, when I am in a normal working place. I am easy-going and decently humorous, which makes it easy for me to build good rapport with doctors and patients. I am meticulous in my work, since I have to handle detailed information. I treat my responsibility carefully, which means I will in no circumstances reveal the data given to me to third parties.
More to my interest in statistics, I am also interested in business and management. I took several business modules in college to get an idea of the business thinking. I wish with several years of work experience in the company, I could be promoted to a management position.
In conclusion, with my capabilities and characters, I believe I am a suitable candidate for the data analyst position. I would appreciate if we could have a detailed conversation regarding this position.
Thank you for your consideration. I am looking forward to your reply.
Yours faithfully,
Zhao Chen
#1-03, Singapore
Tel (65)93464852
Email: u0905589@nus.edu.sg
Orion Building - 3rd Floor
49 Jorissen Street, Braamfontein
Email: msfb-johannesburg-admin@msf.org.za
Dear Sir/Mdm,
I am highly interested in applying for the data analyst position that you posted on Medicins Sans Frontiers website. The job advertisement caught my attention because I believe being a data analyst for MSF will help the doctors to have accurate and timely information on their patients and to cure diseases. Being an enthusiastic supporter for humanitarian activities, especially in the field of health care, I feel a great responsibility being at the frontier of helping people suffering from disasters. I strongly believe with my capabilities and passion I will bring contribution to the organization.
I will graduate from the National University of Singapore, or NUS, in year 2013 with an honors degree in industrial and systems engineering. I think what my college education benefits me is that I’ve learned a great deal on statistics, which give me solid skills in analyzing and interpreting data. Though being a fresh graduate, I am not “fresh” in the field of data analysis. During the course of my study, I was an intern at a China-based natural gas company, called China Natural Gas, as an entry data analyst for three months. My main responsibility was to organize and design data base, which captures important information on the users of natural gas in one district. During the period, I gained great experience in using Excel and Word to output data. I also learned the importance of multi-tasking, as sometimes I had to design multiple sets of data, like monthly consumption and user satisfaction of natural gas. This internship of mine is relevant to your company as you require analysts with such skills and experience. Moreover, as part of my education, I had various projects, which involved working with a group of students to solve problems using statistical approaches. Not only did I gain better understanding of statistics, I honed my team-working skills as well. Hence, as you require in a data analyst, I will be a dependable and responsible team player in working together with my colleagues. One important lesson I gained in the internship and projects is the need to learn more. I always motivated myself to read up on relevant texts that were not covered in the school; this makes me a suitable candidate for your position as you need people who are ready to do more than normally required of them.
Besides my skills, my characters match your job description too. I believe only highly motivated people are willing to work for good causes, like humanitarian activities that MSF engages in. Every time I heard news about a natural or man-made disaster, I feel an urge to help those who suffered from it. I understand if my working condition is not satisfactory in South Africa, but I am willing to contribute more than, if not just as much as, when I am in a normal working place. I am easy-going and decently humorous, which makes it easy for me to build good rapport with doctors and patients. I am meticulous in my work, since I have to handle detailed information. I treat my responsibility carefully, which means I will in no circumstances reveal the data given to me to third parties.
More to my interest in statistics, I am also interested in business and management. I took several business modules in college to get an idea of the business thinking. I wish with several years of work experience in the company, I could be promoted to a management position.
In conclusion, with my capabilities and characters, I believe I am a suitable candidate for the data analyst position. I would appreciate if we could have a detailed conversation regarding this position.
Thank you for your consideration. I am looking forward to your reply.
Yours faithfully,
Zhao Chen
Sunday, August 28, 2011
2nd blog post: an interpersonal conflict
If it was not for this blog post, I would bury this story forever until someday I dig it out to remind friends and relatives of mine of a lesson learned in a hard way.
It happened when I was in junior college, sharing a room with a friend. The two of us started off playing basketball together, and then later on after getting to know one another, we became friends. The ambiance of the room was fine at first because we shared many same interests, and most importantly our benefits hadn’t clashed yet.
One day, I purchased a dumbbell for exercise and we both loved it. While I wasn’t using it, he would take it and play with it; I felt terrific. However you never know when the evil worm of selfishness bits you and makes you suffer. A few weeks later, it came to my knowledge that someone else had a heavier dumbbell and was willing to exchange it for a lighter one; I was eager to make the transaction. I thought about what my roommate might react to this exchange and that feeling would definitely not rhyme with happiness. It was because he could barely life the old dumbbell, let alone play with the new heavy one. I did it anyway. When he came back and noticed the old dumbbell was gone, I told him I replaced it with a heavier one and he could still use it. I even demonstrated a few moves he could take on. I will never forget the look he gave me, as if I was a stranger to him. He said nothing of it later on and never even touched the new dumbbell. After this happened, I always felt a sense of distance with him.
I admit I was selfish at the time, but there’s something else I wish to bring out. Friends, even war brothers, are likely to turn their backs on each other when interests, especially those involving money, clash. That’s why a successful businessman once said “never partner with your relatives, because you will regret the day your relationship with him/her becomes sour out of uneven split of profits.”
Do you think friendship is meant for life, always?
It happened when I was in junior college, sharing a room with a friend. The two of us started off playing basketball together, and then later on after getting to know one another, we became friends. The ambiance of the room was fine at first because we shared many same interests, and most importantly our benefits hadn’t clashed yet.
One day, I purchased a dumbbell for exercise and we both loved it. While I wasn’t using it, he would take it and play with it; I felt terrific. However you never know when the evil worm of selfishness bits you and makes you suffer. A few weeks later, it came to my knowledge that someone else had a heavier dumbbell and was willing to exchange it for a lighter one; I was eager to make the transaction. I thought about what my roommate might react to this exchange and that feeling would definitely not rhyme with happiness. It was because he could barely life the old dumbbell, let alone play with the new heavy one. I did it anyway. When he came back and noticed the old dumbbell was gone, I told him I replaced it with a heavier one and he could still use it. I even demonstrated a few moves he could take on. I will never forget the look he gave me, as if I was a stranger to him. He said nothing of it later on and never even touched the new dumbbell. After this happened, I always felt a sense of distance with him.
I admit I was selfish at the time, but there’s something else I wish to bring out. Friends, even war brothers, are likely to turn their backs on each other when interests, especially those involving money, clash. That’s why a successful businessman once said “never partner with your relatives, because you will regret the day your relationship with him/her becomes sour out of uneven split of profits.”
Do you think friendship is meant for life, always?
Sunday, August 21, 2011
1st blog assignment
Why effective communication is important for me.
Effective communication is mainly about delivering oral and written messages through to others in various social settings like home, workplace and so on. As a year 3 collge student holding a foreigner pass, I will explain the importance of effective communication on several levels.
Firstly as a person living in a multi-cultral society, I ought to be an effective communicator so as to have meaningful and pleasant conversations with people. These days relationships are largely built on conversations, whether it be faca-to-face or not, and therefore an effective communicator can get things done. Imagining I’m in a meeting with a Musilim client and start talking about how I enjoy eating pork and engaging in pre-marital sex,totally disregarding his cultual beliefs and tatoos, you’ll get the picture. Surely effective communication goes way beyond just attending to others’ cultural beliefs, but that’s just how crucial it is.
Secondly written forms like resumes, application letters are of utter importance to me, since I need to soon be ready to apply for interships. A good resume gives an employer a That-is-the-man-I-need kind of impression. It tells about my level of intelligence, various skills and character, and so it has to be cautiously tailored to be fit for me as analogous to making a right suit for an important party. Hence in order to be a catch in the job market, I better equip myself with these necessary communication skills.
Thirdly as a future engineer, my job description requires me to write sound articles like project proposals, research papers and so on, which falls under the category of written communication. I believe any career oriented person, me included, wouldn’t wish to let great ideas go down the drain just because of wrong choice of words or crappy grammer.
So to sum up, effective communication is a what a man needs if he wishes to succeed in life.
Effective communication is mainly about delivering oral and written messages through to others in various social settings like home, workplace and so on. As a year 3 collge student holding a foreigner pass, I will explain the importance of effective communication on several levels.
Firstly as a person living in a multi-cultral society, I ought to be an effective communicator so as to have meaningful and pleasant conversations with people. These days relationships are largely built on conversations, whether it be faca-to-face or not, and therefore an effective communicator can get things done. Imagining I’m in a meeting with a Musilim client and start talking about how I enjoy eating pork and engaging in pre-marital sex,totally disregarding his cultual beliefs and tatoos, you’ll get the picture. Surely effective communication goes way beyond just attending to others’ cultural beliefs, but that’s just how crucial it is.
Secondly written forms like resumes, application letters are of utter importance to me, since I need to soon be ready to apply for interships. A good resume gives an employer a That-is-the-man-I-need kind of impression. It tells about my level of intelligence, various skills and character, and so it has to be cautiously tailored to be fit for me as analogous to making a right suit for an important party. Hence in order to be a catch in the job market, I better equip myself with these necessary communication skills.
Thirdly as a future engineer, my job description requires me to write sound articles like project proposals, research papers and so on, which falls under the category of written communication. I believe any career oriented person, me included, wouldn’t wish to let great ideas go down the drain just because of wrong choice of words or crappy grammer.
So to sum up, effective communication is a what a man needs if he wishes to succeed in life.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
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