Crossroads

The end of a journey is always the beginning of a new one. At some point of time, everyone will reach an intersection whereby we will each head off to our own individual paths. Although it is a short journey, this module has taught me a lot not just in how to package and present yourself but also about the bonds of friendship!

I've a friend who once told me, we should never be afraid of doing stupid things (of course to a certain extend). He said that how we are always so shy when trying to pick up a girl for instance, just to talk to a random stranger and even down to doing dares and making a fool of yourself. However, it is later in life that you remember all these foolish little things we did when we were young, have a drink and laugh over it as we remember life. It is not the 5 As you got during exams, or the awards you received that matters and I agreed with him. Till now, it is not the grades that I remember but rather how we used to do foolish pranks on our teachers, skipped lessons to have some fun and many other small things.

The same goes for this module. We should have confidence in ourselves when we speak or present. Don't be afraid to make mistakes because we learn from each one. We are not the best but neither are the others. That is what I've learn from this lesson. It is how we effectively communicate ourselves to others that matters the most. At the end of the day, I'm sure we will all remember Julian playing his jazz song for us and not how tough this module was! That is effective communication to me. Thus I end off with this quote I found.

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

— John Lennon

I hope that no matter what the future holds, we will still remember this module that we took together 10 years down the road!

It is time!

 “Boy, what a relief it is to finish presenting!” That is the first thought that always go through my head after I’m done with my part. However, after each and every time, looking back, I always feel that I could have done better and many things could have indeed been improved on.

I recall reading from somewhere that even experienced presenters still feel the same racing pulse, butterflies and anxiety as everyone else, but they are more experienced only at conquering it. This is probably one of the obstacles that I feel, is something I could do better in. Perhaps this is something that can only be trained through experience, as even during rehearsals and practice, the feel is just different.

Moving more towards the presentation, I felt that one of the hardest things to do is to actually speak with confidence and to present with an impact. “Speak from the heart and with passion” was one of the advices I was given before, but somehow during the presentation this advice seems to fade away to the back of my mind. This is something that I feel I can work on, to make the presentation more impactful and to leave behind a positive impression.

This brings about the next point, on that my presentation could have had a better flow. There were a few parts in which my sentences got jumbled up and the nervousness and anxiety did nothing to help me formulate my thoughts. Even after a few rehearsals, the real presentation was more daunting than it seems. Probably the only way to resolve this issue is to practice the speech over and over again until every point presented on each slide is crystal clear in my head. I should probably make it clear that this should not be a memorization of speech, but rather a memorization of the points to be presented.

The last thing to improve on would probably be what to do when a video is being shown. During the presentation, when the video was shown to the audience, it suddenly struck my mind about what I should be doing. Should I be observing the audience or turn my attention to the screen as well. Thus I felt a little lost up there during those 40 seconds! Also, the video shown was not expanded to full screen and I tried to signal to my team mates but failed nonetheless, thus deciding to give up.

All in all, every presentation presents me with a little bit more knowledge in how to improve myself and this presentation was definitely helpful in showing me the areas in which I could improve more.

Evaluating Intercultural Behavior

In Singapore, with one fifth of the population being foreigners, it can be said to be a highly multi-racial community indeed. This incident I’m about to relate took place a few years back.

I remember it was one of the weekends when my friends and I decided to head out to grab a few drinks. After having one too many, one of them did not feel very well hence we decided to send him back to his house vicinity and wait for him to feel better before sending him home. Although it was late into the night, there were still various people walking by, probably on their way home after a late night too.

What piqued my interest is that out of the many people that came and went, only the westerner (I did not actually know which part of the world he was from) actually came up to ask if everything was ok and if we needed any help. The other Singaporeans, I would presume, just walked by with looks of curiosity and maybe even of some disdain.

This incident actually made me realize how different cultures can be even if we lived in the same country. In general, Westerners tend to be more open and proactive about things, while we Asians tend to be more private and reserved. This is showcased by the incident related above whereby only the Westerner actually came up to show concern while the locals were more reserved and questioning about us. Also, it shows the difference in values that Westerners and Asians place on effective communication. Westerners tend to be more vocal about their feelings and thoughts and will voice out without hesitation, whereas Asians tend to keep their thoughts in and voice out only when necessary.

Although we live in such close proximity, we are all ultimately still affected by the culture that we have been brought up with. We might think that it is rude and inappropriate to voice out our feelings there and then, but to Westerners, they appreciate the honesty and openness. This is also reflected in the working culture of MNCs in Singapore whereby Asians tend to address their superiors with Mr or Ms whereas in the Western culture, superiors tend to be addressed by their first names.

Therefore, because we live in a highly multi racial community, I believe we should be more aware of the various cultures around lest we accidentally offend somebody. Being too open and direct might be fine with certain cultures, but in others, it is actually taken as an insult and seen as rude. These are just some of the fundamentals we must take into account in order to communicate effectively with our neighbours and to live in harmony.

Job Ad description

Standard Chartered Bank

Wholesale Bank International Graduate Program

Wholesale Banking plays a crucial role in helping corporate and institutional clients facilitate finance and commerce across some of the world’s fastest growing markets. 

Principal Finance 

As a highly successful private equity operation, our Principal Finance business provides direct investment for growing companies. Offering equity and mezzanine financing solutions, the team invests in four asset classes Corporate Private Equity, Real Estate, Infrastructure and Alternative Investments. 

Applications & Requirements

Success in Wholesale Banking requires many qualities. You must be driven and have a great attitude, making yourself a valued member of a high performance team. You’ll need to be great at building relationships and have the confidence to work with high-profile global clients. You should be able to think strategically, easily connecting the dots between the challenge and the solution. Energy and stamina are vital, as is a cool head in a fast-paced environment. And to cap it all off you must by highly numerate and analytical.

• An undergraduate degree, any discipline
• The legal right to work in the country for which you are applying
• Fluency in English; a second language is considered beneficial

 

Application Letter

Dear Sir/Madam

I am expressing interest in your job advertisement on your website for the Wholesale Bank International Graduate Programme, under the Principal Finance stream. I will be graduating from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with a Bachelor in Civil Engineering in 2013.

I understand that Standard Chartered places important emphasis on Wholesale banking as it accounted for 62% of the Bank’s income and 78% of operating profit. I believe that I will be a potential candidate for the position offered especially for the specialized area of investment in Infrastructure. With a degree in Civil Engineering and specializing in operations management, it has given me an insight and understanding of how infrastructures are constructed, the risk involved and how it is valued.  I have also undertaken a technical elective design module that has given me the opportunity to evaluate, analyze, plan and to think critically about constructing a master concept for a social infrastructure. 

Besides that, interning at Sembawang shipyard, under the project management department has given me an experience in the fast paced, challenging and critical thinking environment as any delays in projects equates to losses in adequate amounts of money. Not only that, this internship has allowed me to gain experience in building relationships with multinational clients. Finally, it has also given me the opportunity to work on an interdisciplinary project with people from other disciplines.

With my relevant skills, knowledge, experience, positive personality and passion for wholesale banking, I believe that I will perform well in this role of a wholesale banker specializing in Infrastructure. It would be an honor to be able to work with one of the world’s top international banks.

I would be glad to further discuss the possibility of joining the bank and would deeply appreciate if I could attend an interview with you at your convenience. I have included my details and contact information in my personal details section at the top. Please feel free to contact me at 91234567, any time throughout the day. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you for your time.

Yours faithfully,

Ong Tian Zheng Jonathan

Brief Letters To My Past Friend

What is friction? The first example that comes to mind would probably be using sand paper to smooth an object or perhaps even just holding objects in ones hand. In the laws of physics, it is defined as when two objects come together, there is a resistive force that generates from contact.  We as engineers are smart. We invent many apparatus and equipment to measure force, pressure and many other things. However, one thing we have failed to measure is perhaps the friction between people. Maybe we might not have considered it in this context, but friction between people has led to many disastrous events around the world. Think back to World War I and II, or bringing it closer to home, friction between couples and friends that have destroyed homes and wrecked lives. Brief letters to my past friend, as the title says, is a letter of conflict that is perhaps best left forgotten.

Dear (Blank)

Perhaps you might not have noticed but recently, your behavior has taken a toll for the worse. I (Although I’m writing this in my point of view, I believe I speak on behalf of the whole group as well) understand that maybe you have your own problems and situations to be concerned with, but that does not give you the right to dictate what is always right or wrong in a friendship. In another sense, the right word to use for this context would be “selfish”.

No, I do not think that I have to hold my 21^st at a certain said location just because it would last late through the night and you had no form of public transportation home. No, I do not think that you should place a judgment on your friend just because your girl friend said so. No, I do not think that I am responsible for giving you a lift to and fro each time we have a gathering even though you might be on the way for me. You do not have the right to demand a lift from me or in fact anyone at all. No, you do not have the right to get angry just because things do not go your way every time. No, just because we are your friends, it does not give you the right to force us to change our plans just to fit your schedule. No, just because we voiced it out does not mean we are all against you and that we have not considered your feelings.

Maybe after receiving this letter and reading it, you can take the time to reflect on what has been said and mentioned in the comfort of your own time and space. I understand this could probably be due to nurture taking its place and this is how you might have been brought up to function. However, in reality, this is not the way friendship works. Perhaps the future you would reconsider your stand on our friendship and make moves to amend it again.

Sincerely Yours,

The future friend

 

Often I have pondered the same question over and over again, given the chance to replay the situation, would we be as cool headed and systematic in facing the conflict now or would we react in exactly the same way? We have searched effortlessly for cures to cancer and aids, but we have not invested enough to find a cure for conflict. Maybe when we finally find the cure for it, this letter can be sent on its way to be burnt and disposed of. However, until then, is time really a solution in dealing with interpersonal conflict?

Effective Communication of Me and the World

  Since the day we were born, we have been trying every mean and ways to effectively communicate directly or indirectly, with the world. In our society today, communication has evolved to serve many varying purposes, mainly of which is to create and strengthen bonds between people, resolve misunderstandings and to express feelings and needs. Thus effective communication can be said to be an essential skill for survival.

  From our toddler years, our consistent efforts at crying have always rewarded us with that extra candy or toy we have been eyeing. Of course, lest we forget, sometimes we end up having pain for all our troubles! This is our form of communication before language to attract the attention of our parents. As we grow up, we evolve into endless hours spent on the phone talking, instant messaging and internet chatting coupled with expensive bills, which reinforces the importance of effective communication on our bonds with the “world”.

  Besides that, all too often, we hear this phrase coming up; when you assume, you make an “ass” out of “u” and “me”. Perhaps it can be attributed to human nature that we tend to have the bad habit of always assuming that we have been understood when in fact we have not. Many times, miscommunication has led to many disastrous catastrophes; fall out between long time friends, fights between husband and wives, quarrels between parents and children.  Think back and there will be at least once that we have all thought to ourselves, “They just do not understand me!” Here, we can see that not only communication, but effective communication, in which our exact words and meaning are translated to the other party, is essential in preserving the bonds we so painstaking invest in, with time and of course financially as well. However, great caution is warned in using effective communication for great mysteries in life like why Men are from Mars and Women from Venus.

  Therefore, from the few stanzas above, it can be seen that effective communication is vital for society to exist today. Be it to create new bonds, strengthen old ones, repair damaged ones or just down to the simple meaning of expressing our feelings and needs, effective communication is required. Perhaps effective communication can even be attributed as an art in which practice makes perfect.