My entry today will not be about what I’ve learnt in this module. It will not recap the important theories, nor will it highlight what I felt was important. Instead I will show how this module has made me a better person. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve learnt quite a bit about professional communications and I’ve learnt quite a lot about myself.

Although it is truly important to know the content knowledge, I firm believe that content will merely go so far. It is the unwritten and the unspoken that holds the key to communications. Just as how non-verbal cues account for the majority of our communications, the non-verbal feedback is most important for my personal (and professional) growth.

Firstly, I realised I lack self-discipline. I am often late for blog posts, respond to blog groups at the last minute (or later) and often procrastinate. Due to the inherent nature of this module’s e-learning, I have a tendency to forget to do these work on time. Most importantly, there is no tutor walking around the classroom throwing crude, sarcastic comments when they find out you submitted your work late or did not prepare for class. Now that I know I lack self-discipline, I can strive to conscientiously remind myself to do the important things in life.

Secondly, I need to seek more feedback from others. As I noticed in the final comments regarding my OP, the comments were more constructive than I thought. I was confident that I did well, yet it could have been better. It was most horrific when I saw the video replay of my presentation to find that I was not as good as I thought I was. The eyes of others will catch the pointers that you may have overlooked, so seek more feedback to gain more insight on how to improve.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the entire class for their feedback and insights. A big thank you to Ms Goh for her truthful comments (although it does sting a little). This term, I learnt more about myself than I had ever hoped. In the words of Sun Tze, “Know the enemy and know thyself, and victory shall not be at risk”.

 

P.S. My internet connection suffered a severe disruption, therefore I could only post today. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

The Oral Presentation

The oral presentation felt good. I felt that I was sufficiently familiar with the subject matter to give a suitably detailed presentation. With the added pressure of a classroom of my peers, the prying eyes of my tutor and a menacing video camera, I felt my knees shake. I was unsure whether it was stage fright or my stomach flu, but I pressed on anyway. I set my mind to it, cast the weird feelings aside and finished the damn thing.

Overall, I think I did well.

At this juncture, I would also like to congratulate my team members, Eileen and Jessica, for a job well done. At the same time, I would like to thank them for putting up with my nonsense and my frequent MCs.

The Proposal

I felt that the process of writing the proposal was enlightening. The surveys and interviews gave me new insights to the problems at hand, granting me first hand experience of the significance of each step. It helped me understand the difficulties of writing a proposal and I hope that I may apply this knowledge one day.

The focus?

There is, however one concern I would like to take this chance to voice. I feel that there isn’t enough presentations in this module. I first enrolled into this module expecting much more presentations than the current workload of only 2. Of the total assessment criteria, only 30% is based on our presentations. To be honest, I was expecting much more.

As much as students are afraid of presentations, I believe it is something that we need to work hard on. There are few chances for us to present and it is extremely important that we are able to present when we finally head into the working world. This is one of the skills that employers are looking out for in the fresh graduates. Perhaps in the future, the module could place more emphasis on having more presentations for the students to exercise their ability to communicate professionally and less emphasis on the internet-based learning.

Just as how the interview could make or break your job search, it is ultimately the face-to-face interactions that warrant the most impact,  not the pieces of paper that we write.

Years ago, my family and I were at Tasmania, Australia. It was a long trip and we had a long day ahead of us, so we decided to go to a fruit store to get some fruit for the journey ahead.

We went to the local fruit store and we saw the fruit packed very neatly in single trays, unlike the local fruit stacked in heaps. So my mother got on her usual way, looking to pick the best fruit. However, these fruit were packed in such a way that the stems were embedded in the foam. So once you pick them out, you would not be able to put it back. My mother suddenly realised that she wasn’t supposed to pick the fruit in her usual manner, so she quickly apologised to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper explained that most fruit stalls in Australia are set up in a similar manner, so as to reduce the likelihood of germs and dirt getting onto the fruit. Even though most people would wash the fruit when they get home, it is also quite rude to touch the fruit and leave it.

This brought me to think of the manner in which Singaporeans choose their fruit. Some would pick it up, look at the skin, feel the texture, smell the fruit and poke for firmness; finally deciding not to buy that fruit. Imagine the dismay of an Australian shopkeeper if we did that!

Although this wasn’t a very serious misunderstanding, it does highlight one of the differences in the culture in Singapore and Australia.

PS: Sorry for late post, it was saved as a draft and I forgot to publish this.

Lee Wang Ting
Blk 337 Bukit Batok St 34
#04-20 Singapore 650337
9654 8967
leewangting@gmail.com

8th September 2009

Human Resources Department
Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
14-1 Shiba 4-chome, Minato-ku
Tokyo 108-0014, Japan

Dear Hiring Professionals,

I am a second year student from National University of Singapore, studying in Applied Chemistry.

Since I was a young child in primary school, I have had a great fascination with science. In particular, my interest in Chemistry was aroused in secondary school, when laboratory lessons were so wonderfully colourful and my interest in Chemistry has followed me ever since.

When I first heard from my course coordinator that there is a chance for me to perform my professional placement at Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, my heart skipped a beat. I have always had a great curiosity and respect regarding Japanese companies and the way they work. I hope to join Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation to learn more. Not just about the applications of Chemistry in everyday life or the nuts and bolts of plant management, I want to learn from the Japanese work ethic. I hope that by learning more from the Japanese work ethic, I could better myself not just as an employee but also as a person.

I am interested in Research and Development, particularly in the field of clean energy and battery technology. As an educated young man, I feel that I should channel my passion, knowledge and energy into saving the planet for future generations. I believe that although global warming is entirely caused by human beings, we can reverse the damage done using our ingenuity so that our future generations can thrive in a clean and safe environment. One of the key reasons why I would like to join your company is because Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation is a firm supporter of sustained development.

One other aspect that I am interested in is polymers. My course of study also covers a great deal about polymers and it attracts me greatly because of the myriad of uses of these materials. From water bottles to fabrics, polymers are becoming part of our everyday life. I hope to learn more about these materials and the processes involved to produce these versatile materials.

Personally, I have always dreamed of going to Japan. Since I was young, I would bug my mother to teach me some simple Japanese hoping that one day I might be able to use it. However, due to financial difficulties at home, I could not pursue this dream. When this opportunity surfaced, I told myself that this is not to be missed. I hope that by working at Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, I could get to visit Japan without adding to the financial burden of my parents.

Although I am relatively inexperienced in all manufacturing processes, I believe that the rigorous training by the NUS Applied Science course has prepared me for the tough times ahead. I remember spending days in the laboratory doing all sorts of experimental procedures to prepare us for work in a chemical plant. I believe that my energy, enthusiasm and eagerness to learn will overcome my shortcomings.

I hope that you would consider this professional placement application. I believe I can contribute to the company as a valuable employee and learn even more with a renowned company such as Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation.

Thank you for taking time to read this application. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Lee Wang Ting

I was the Assistant Training Officer (DyS3) at my NS unit. Our unit required some lesson plans in preparation for the upcoming trades phase to teach the troopers certain skills. However, the lesson plans were severely outdated. So the unit Training Officer (S3) tasked me to allocate lesson plans for each Platoon Commander (PC) to write/edit. Of the 70 something lesson plans required, about 20 of them were done by me. The remaining 50 were split equally among 10 PCs, which amounted to about 5 lesson plans per person.

Allocation was done about 2 weeks ago and nobody voiced any violent objections. With the deadline coming in a few days, one particular PC marched into my office in his book-out attire and said “Hey Wang Ting, I cannot complete the lesson plans. These few days very busy, going outfield. You ask someone else to do can or not?”

As the Assistant Training Officer, I knew that his outfield training was only 2 days later and the deadline was on the day the move outfield. I asked him why he had not done the lesson plans prior to this week and why not do the lesson plans tonight before he booked out. His reply was “Tonight cannot! Tonight my platoon ask me to go play DotA with them. Must bond with my men. Anyway, I only read your mail last week. So short notice how to do?”

The deadline is only 2 days away, how would you tackle this situation?

First of all, welcome to my first blog.

I believe that’s very important to be able to communicate effectively. Personally, I’ve experienced several occasions of communications breakdown due to numerous reasons. Of course, I did not find them enjoyable and I hope to avoid them as much as possible.

In the information age, where the internet is such a powerful tool for networking and communications, I believe emails will ultimately render letters obsolete. My first attempts at trying to grasp email writing was during my NS days, where I was a staff officer. Emails were used extensively, both as informal and formal means of communications. Emails were used as formal approval of loans, on the other hand, it was also used informally as instant messaging. I foresee that future communications will revolve around electronic means such as emails.

On top of all that, I will need to craft up a resume and prepare for interviews next semester regarding my industrial attachment for year three. I understand that there are openings for overseas attachments to Japan, Germany and Canada. I hope to be able to go to Japan for my industrial attachment. Firstly, because I had always wanted to go to Japan. Secondly, I’ll get paid to go to Japan!

I hope that this course will help me achieve my short-term goal of going to Japan. Most importantly, I hope this course will equip me with the skills to tackle anything the future throws at me.