Final Reflection on Learning

ES 2007S is definitely one of the courses whereby I experienced the deepest learning curve. The peer teaching has been useful. I find topics such as how to write business letters effectively, how to convey good news and bad news, how to manage cultural conflicts and how to prepare for an interview particularly relevant and helpful.

Valuable though other aspects of the course are, I feel that I benefited most from the many opportunities that I have to speak and present to an audience in this class. These hands-on experiences has markedly improved my oral presentation skills and it is thus that I choose to reflect on this one area of communication skill in my final blog entry.

While my last presentation on Singapore’s birthrate was far from perfect and there are definitely areas that I can work on, I believe I have come a long way. I remember that in my very first dry run of my peer teaching on communication channel, Professor Jaidev and my fellow classmates commented that my demeanor was too relax, and sometimes it may come across as arrogance. This is an invaluable feedback as never would I worry about looking arroganct when in fact I am so stressed and nervous on stage.

I believe the fact that I look arrogant is primarily due to my informal tone of voice and my slouching posture. In my second peer teaching on Good News/ Bad News, I took note of that and was told that I have improved. Still, my presentation then was far from seasoned. I have always been a nervous speaker and my nervousness is reflected in my body language. My hand gestures were very loose and jerky, I fidgeted right from the beginning and I still slouched. Furthermore, I also tend to find comfort in the screen. In many occasions, I unintentionally, spoke to the screen rather than to the audience and in three occasions, namely when I did the exercise, shared the Boston College Rejection letter and explained the Cookery example, I read straight from the screen. The former is due to a lack of confidence and the latter due to the lack of consideration when making the PowerPoint.  I should have been more aware of how long the examples were and extracted only the main points.

In terms of delivery, I also had a lot of room for improvement. In my second peer teaching, I started speaking while I was still moving to the centre of the stage. In general, I could have had more eye contact with the audience and have eye contact with more of the audience (I tend to focus on the right hand side). Furthermore, I also slurred on some occasions, particularly when I felt like I was repeating or when I think the audience knew what I wanted to say. For example, I slurred while saying “then you carry on with your main idea…you can prepare for your orientation camp by” or while saying “…you can position the negative information in the middle of the body...so as to reduce the emphasis on it”. Not only did it sound unprofessional, it was also wrong to assume that the audience knew what you were saying.

In terms of inflections, my voice tended to be rather monotonous, although to my credit, I tried to sound more dynamic by using “oh”s (e.g. when I was saying “Oh, we only serve in specific locations such as…”.) Upon listening to my delivery on video, however, I felt that it was too informal.

Keeping in mind that I should only talk when I am in the centre of the stage and facing the audience, avoid reading from the screen, have bolder and more confident body gestures, my third presentation was a marked improvement from the last. I spoke only when I was ready, and my opening was also more impactful and a clearer transition from the last speaker in that it was able to induce a few laughter.

I was also much more confident in terms of body language. I did not slouch or fidget. My hand gestures were bigger and more definite. I was able to use my hands to emphasize statistics, (e.g. “over 50%...”). In addition, I made use of Professor Jaidev’s suggestion to use pauses and signposts when I say “Next, let us talk about gender differences”. I also had more tonal inflection and was able to stress on certain words.

However, I still lack in many areas. For example, I still spend too much at the screen and I still hadn’t broken the habit of speaking to the screen. While my eye contact with the audience improved as the presentation went on, I focus too much on the right side. When passing the time on to Bernice, I also kept my eyes on my group mates rather than the audience.

Last but not least, although I was quite fluent in general, I appeared a bit flustered when I explained how our survey consist mostly of dichotomous and check the box answers (4:45-4:53).

ES 2007S has been an invaluable course to me and I shall continue strive to become a better speaker.

Reflection on Oral Presentation

I am a very self-conscious and nervous speaker. I cannot use cue cards because I tend to over-rely on them. I cannot memorize a speech, because I tend to recite rather than deliver. So, for preparation, I did a number of dry runs to familiarize myself with the content to the point that I could talk about it even under stage fright. Watching the video of myself, however, I find that this worked only to a certain extent: the dry runs led me to over-rely on the powerpoint instead! I might be exaggerating, but I probably had more “eye contact” with the screen than with the audience.

In terms of body language and delivery, however, I felt that I have grown more confident. I did not slouch or fidget. My hand gestures were bigger and more definite. I was able to use my hands to emphasize statistics, (e.g. “over 50%...”). In addition, I also made use of Professor Jaidev’s suggestion to use pauses and signposts when I say “Next, let us talk about gender differences”. In general, I also had more tonal inflection and was able to stress on certain words.

However, I still lack in many areas. For example, I still spend too much at the screen. While my eye contact with the audience improved as the presentation went on, I focus too much on the right side. When passing the time on to Bernice, I also kept my eyes on my group mates rather the audience.

Last but not least, although I was quite fluent in general, I appeared a bit flustered when I explained how our survey consist mostly of dichotomous and check the box answers (4:45-4:53).

Content-wise, I agree with most of my classmates that I was too specific when explaining our research methods and statistics. It was not our presentation’s main focus and yet we allocated a quarter of the time to it, as compared to the less-than-half-an-hour that solution gets. With regard to the Q&A session, I also feel that we could have shown more group cohesion by standing together in one line and standing straighter.

With respect to the use of visual aids, I believe our choice of PowerPoint has been correct one in that others such as prezi, while may score higher in terms of animation, seemed more of a distraction. I find the background of the blue-sky appropriate as it seem metaphorical of the bring future that Singapore would have if the situation of low birth rate was alleviated. I would have preferred a more minimalistic in terms of style I felt that our slides were apt in that it was clear and concise.

In sum, I feel that our presentation could have been better, although not bad. =)

Intercultural Scenario

The subject of racism immediately pops into my mind, when one talks about intercultural communication. How do we perceive people of other race? Race and ethnicity is often our identity. Our culture communicates our identity. Race and ethnicity is then a fundamental part in communication of our existence. In this blog post, I would like to explore how different cultures view racism and race itself.   

Living in Hong Kong, where the population is mostly mono-ethnic, racism always seems far from home. That is, until I went to the United States. The thing that struck me most was not that racism is still rampant in certain part of United States, but how different cultures view racism and how society may have over compensated for past history or become oversensitive to the subject of racism.

I took anthropology when I was in the U.S, and one of the topics that were discussed was “Race”. We were a fairly culturally diverse class: there were Chinese (me), Native Americans (the tutor), African Americans and U.S Caucasians. In the lab, the tutor spoke of race as a social-political concept He claimed that Race is not a biological concept, albeit it may look like it is. To illustrate, given a skin colour, given a skull structure, give hip size, brow breadth, the most one can conclude is that there is XX% probability that this individual comes from XX lineage. The XX% signifies nothing, however. Race is not a discrete category. To illustrate further, it is like how in Ancient Egypt, instead of paying attention to different skin colour, people paid attention to the various nose size because foreigners and locals differ in nose size. Nose size and skin colour, is biological and ought to have no meaning, unless attribute meaning to it. Ironically, the fact that it is biological, and seemingly irrefutable, lends credence to the meaning that we attribute to it: i.e because we look different, race does exist.

Race was never discussed in United States. When stories pertinent on race appear on the media, all there was, was anger. The Trayvon Maritn case in this year’s May was one of such example. The balck teenager Martin was reported to be shot by a white neighbor watchman George Zimmerman, when he was found “loitering” in a rich neighborhood (when in fact, his father lives there). The public was furious that the police did not arrest him until 6 weeks later and accused the police of racism. They argue that if it were a Caucasian boy that was shot, the suspect would immediately be apprehended.

One interesting fact about this story is that, the suspect was not white. He was the son of a Caucasian man and Hispanic woman. The media oversimplified the story to fuel emotion. Often, American media make it appear as if there’s only black and white, when there are really Hispanics, Chinese, and so on in addition to African-Americans and Caucasian Americans. Secondly, the tutor claimed that when reviewed, the police do have grounds for not apprehending him immediately. The tutor asked whether we are over-compensating for past history?

To further his point, there is another case where a Caucasian from a low-income family was denied a place in university because the university has quota for minorities. Instead of admitting the Caucasian, a minority individual, with lower score was admitted. The Caucasian who also worked very hard on the SAT sued the school for its reverse-discrimination policies. This again begs the question, is reverser discrimination really just then?

These two case studies and the fact no one dared to comment during the tutorial for fear of offending people hit very close to my home because I was twice accused of being a racist when I was around 10.

In summer, ten years ago, it was really common to bring a spray bottle and spray water on your face to cool yourselves down. One of the boys standing behind me while queuing for the bus, accused me of spraying him on purpose. The argument escalated and we took it to the teacher on duty, who was an African American. Next week, the principal approached me one on one and asked whether I was making trouble for the teacher on duty because of her skin colour. I was shocked at that time, as the concept of race barely register. I cried vehemently, thinking how absurd it is that I went from “bullying a fellow student” to “bullying a teacher”. I was forced to apologize, which I did, but when I tried to clear my name, I couldn’t continue beyond “Sorry, but...”

In the same year, I told a Chinese- New Zealand mixed girl about how I disliked my classmate Sarah, who happens to be African American, because she cuts line and once said to me condescendingly  “only babies expect people to queue properly” when I confronted her. Her immediate response was "Are you being a racist?" To be fair, I must say that I used the word “hut yun chung” which means “begs people to hate you” as a phrase Cantonese, but is also homophones with the individual words “black-people-hate”. Still, the question hurt, and still hurts.

The two personal experiences kind of made me wanted to say yes to both of the questions that he asks. But the fact is, I don't know. I really don't know. Still, even if I believe so, I wouldn't have dared say yes, for fear of being labeled as a racist. Do you think the American society is being too sensitive on the subject of race? Do you think Singaporeans are too sensitive on race? Update: What are your thoughts on the NTUC director being sacked for her racist comment?***

***As a disclaimer, I must say that racism is a real thing (in fact, I was very much a victim of it in New Zealand, if your interested, please continue to read***

In New Zealand, our family's car was vandalized. Someone damaged our car and wrote "Fucking Chinese" on our window. I expected racism to a certain extent so this did not surprised me, though it did scared me. What surprised me is that when we reported this to the police, the police asked us to fake an insurance claim in order to get compensation. They seem to believe that all we care about is money, and care not how we get the money. Whether this is an impression that we gave them (which I doubt, since my mom was mostly worried about our personal safety and was furious when they suggested us breaking the law) or whether it was their perception of Chinese being a Scrooge, I guess we will never know.

Resume

Ka Yan Chan

Profile

A diligent and responsible worker and an attentive listener with a passion for people and the finance industry.  An adaptable team player armed with exceptional communication / interpersonal skills. Self-studied Regression Analysis, Time Series Analysis and Probability and takes an analytical / creative approach to problem solving. Experienced at writing concise reports and speed-reading with strong command of the English Language. Effective in delivering presentations with visual aids. A shrewd observer and quick learner capable of multitasking.

Education

2010 – Present The ong Kong University of Science and Technology

BBA in Global Business and Double Major in Finance

CGA: A / 3.87 (out of 4.3)

2012    Fall National University of Singapore

Exchange Semester

CGA: __/__ (out of __)

2012    Spring Indiana University- Kelley School of Business

Exchange Semester

CGA: A/ 4.0 (out of 4.0)

2007 – 2010 Yew Chung International School

International General Certificate Secondary Education: 8A*, 1B

2007 Macleans College, New Zealand

Extra-Curricular Activities

2011  –  2012     HKUST Kendo Club, Internal Secretary

·    Coordinated internal matters, such as booking venue, preparing agenda, taking minutes etc.

·    Launched events to promote Kendo within the University community, e.g. competitions, information day, bbq evening, cycling trips, war game trips etc.

Nov.         2010       JUBMC Case Competition- Finalist

·    Represented HKUST in a business case competition sponsored by HSBC.

·    Proposed solutions whereby HSBC could better leverage on Generation Y’s talent as well as its emerging market.

2009     -    2010      Yew Chung International School, Year Book Committee - Chairperson

·    Led the committee to complete a year book at a short notice of 2 months

·    Collaborated with teachers, principles and outside printers

·    Designed layout and decorated pages with Adobe Illustrator

2009     -    2010      Yew Chung International School, Fair-Trade Committee – Vice President

·    Advocated the idea of sustainability and fair-trade to students and parents by holding assembly and providing fair-trade products during Parents Day and staff meetings

·    Introduced the fair-trade counter that is now available in recess, lunch and open-days

2009     -    2010     Model United Nation,  Delegate of Japan from Yew Chung International School

·    Represented Japan at model forum of United Nations in discussing contemporary issues such as the threat of nuclear activity in the Middle East

2009     -    2010     Debate Team, Representative of Yew Chung International School

·    Represented Yew Chung International School in competitions such as the Sing Tao Debate Competition

2007     -    2010     Yew Chung International School, Prefect

·    Enforced school rules

·    Coordinated school events such as morning assembly, Sports Day, Christmas Ball, New Year’s Fashion Competition etc.

·    Acted as translator during Parents Teacher Day

Job Experience

Mar.            2011    HKUST, MBA Office - translator

·    Translated for a group of MBA students from Merck University during sight-seeing in Hong Kong

Jan - Feb    2011    Queensberg Development Ltd – Personal Assistant

·    Wrote and translated letters

·    Handled Filing and data inputting

·    Formatted contract documents

·    Followed up banking matters

Awards and Other Recognitions

·          Member of The International Honor Society Beta Gamma Sigma

·          HKUST Dean’s List Award, 2010 Fall, 2010 Spring, 2011 Fall

·          HKUST University Scholarships, 2010

·          Li Po Chun Charitable Trust Fund Scholarship, 2011

·          Yew Chung International School- Humanitarian Award, 2010

·          Yew Chung International School- Principle’s Honorable Roll Award, 2010

·          Certificate of Merit in the Solo Verse Speaking: Secondary 5: Girls

·          UNICEF- Certificate of Appreciation

·          Yew Chung International School Top IGCSE Student Award, 2009

·          Yew Chung International School Best Achievement in English, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2006 and 2005

·          Yew Chung International School Best Achievement in Chinese, 2010 and 2005

·          Yew Chung International School Best Achievement in French, 2009 and 2008

Skills and Interests

Languages: English (Fluent), Cantonese (Native), Putonghua (Fluent), French (Basic)

Computer: MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Keynote, Numbers, Pages

Hobbies: Reading, road biking, yoga

Cover Letter to Oliver Wyman

Dear Human Resources Manager,

Re: Application for Entry-Level Consultants, Financial Services Management Consulting

Though I am now on exchange and am unable to attend the career events you hold at my university, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, I am nevertheless overjoyed to know that you are recruiting. I I would greatly appreciate it if you would allow me the opportunity to convince you why I am the candidate you seek.

Oliver Wyman Financial Services Management Consulting helps today’s enterprises to meet challenges in areas ranging from investment banking to asset management. Today, where business landscape changes constantly, it is essential to keep an inquisitive mind, to never take assumptions for granted and to always be eager to learn. I understood this at a very young age and now as a fresh graduate, even more so. When I was young, I was dubbed the name “problematic girl” not because I had issues, but because I always question why (in Cantonese, “problems” means issues as well as questions). In high school, I was called “abnormal” affectionately by my chemistry teacher because I ask the most unconventional questions and because of my “abnormally high grades.” In addition to be being inquisitive, I am also a shrewd observer and a quick learner. I understand that it is naïve to expect information be spoon-fed to you and hence, I always try to learn by observation. I enjoy challenging myself and had once done a year-worth of French in two months.

To this day, I continue to explore my limits. In university, I step out of my comfort zone and take courses that I have not an inkling of, for example, Human Prehistory and Western Civilization. I also enrolled in Ceramics, in which I received an A, when my sister calls stick figures my highest achievement in art. To further my knowledge, I also took courses outside of my discipline. To illustrate, I self-studied numerous mathematics courses such as Regression Analysis, Time Series Analysis, Probability, Multivariable Calculus, Linear Algebra etc. on top of my normal 19 credits course load and my position as the Internal Secretary of Kendo Club. My trials and errors in university allowed me to mature and learn that passion and hard work is not enough. Time and energy is simply limited; one must know oneself to achieve most. However, I was fortunate that these courses had been worth it. They honed my ability to approach problems critically, analytically and most important of all, creatively.  These, I believe, will be important assets if I were to offer business solutions to corporations.

Lastly, the ability to multitask and to adapt is also highly priced in today’s dynamic workplace. In my high school days, I was able to maintain a high academic standing, scoring 8A*s and 1 B for my IGCSE diploma and a 42 for my IB predicted grade (highest grade achievable excluding bonus points), while holding my position as the chairperson of the yearbook committee, vice president of the fair-trade committee and a member of the Model United Nation, the debate team and the prefects.  Apart from being adaptive across tasks, I am also adaptive across geographic regions. In 5 years, I went from living in Hong Kong for all my life, to living in New Zealand, then back to Hong Kong (where I was included in the Dean List for three consecutive semesters) then to United States for exchange (where I earned a CGA of 4.0 out of 4.0), then subsequently now here in Singapore. Apart from helping me discover my love for travel, my international exposure and my education in international school has also equipped me with cultural fluency and strong interpersonal and communication skills. These will prove vital in a diverse environment such as Oliver Wyman.

Although I know little of Oliver Wyman, the little that I do know impresses me. Oliver Wyman respects its people, to the point where you tell your failed applicants how they could improve. You support employee networks such as Racial and Ethnic Diversity Network (Mercer) and GLOW (Gays and Lesbians at Oliver Wyman).

Knowledge, one can learn. Character, however, is as fundamental as someone’s identity. I take my responsibilities seriously and believe that one misstep could potentially have a domino effect so huge that it’s irreparable. Character is what I look for in a corporation and I hope this is what you will find in me if you grant me an interview.

Thank you for your time and consideration!

Yours faithfully,
Chan, Ka Yan

Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

The story you are about to read is purely hypothetical and is meant only for discussion.

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Sarah is a 20 year old Chinese girl who has recently finished her exchange program. As she stepped out of the arrival terminal, she was greeted by her mom. They hugged and exchanged the common pleasantries "how was your flight?", "it was okay.". Over her mother's shoulder, Sarah was surprised to see her uncle, Aaron. Sarah's mother has 7 siblings, 6 older (in the order of age: Uncle Aaron, Aunt Irene, Aunt Rebecca, Aunt Faith, Uncle Ted, Aunt Joyce) and 1 younger (Uncle Dennis). Sarah was surprised because Uncle Aaron and her family are not really that close; at most, they have dinner every once in a few months.

Uncle Aaron smiled and waved her over. He spread his arms, gesturing for a hug. Once again, Sarah was surprised because it is uncommon, at least in Sarah's family, to hug an extended family member. The hug went on for several seconds, longer than social convention and it was a tight and enthusiastic one too, which surprised Sarah even further. Now, over her uncle's shoulder, Sarah saw her mother shifting her weight uncomfortably.

The hug ended and Uncle Aaron chatted on amiably while putting his arm around Sarah's shoulder. Sarah is intrigued, why the sudden affection? Behind Sarah, Sarah's mom is gesturing wildly with her eye, telling her not to stay too close to Uncle Aaron.

Later, it was revealed that Uncle Aaron has a history of sexually harassing family members. Aunt Irene, Aunt Faith and Aunt Joyce were all harassed by the teenage Aaron. Aunt Rebecca and Sarah's mom were the only exceptions; Aaron never attempted to harass Sarah's mom while Rebecca had been quick witted enough to maneuver away from his touch. Apart from Aunt Faith who told Grandma, everyone kept their silence until they were in their 30s / 40s, where one by one, told Sarah's mother who was everyone's confidante. Upon learning the news, grandma stopped letting Aaron to be alone with his sisters. The matter was never discussed and after several years, Uncle Aaron got into college and lived alone.

For quite a while, Sarah's mother was the only one who knew the true extent of Uncle Aaron's perversion as no one wanted to share their story of violation. She planned to keep it that way, until Aunt Faith, now in her 50s, has two sons, been married then divorced, was again harrassed by Uncle Aaron, who is now also married. After seeing how Aaron was with her daughter, Sarah's mom (after seeking consent of her sisters) decided to tell everyone about Aaron's perversion, especially, Uncle Dennis.
In the end, the family decided to deal with it passively, whereby Uncle Aaron will always be seated between Uncle Dennis and his wife. No female family member were to hang out with him alone. They decided not to expose Aaron because doing so would destroy his wife. Moreover, Uncle Aaron is also one who value his face above everything else. Exposing him would destroy him. In addition, no one believed therapy would do much good seeing Aaron is already in his 60s.

However, many are fooled by Aaron's gentlemanly disguise and Aaron sometimes tutor neighbor's kids. He is now the long term tutor of a 10 year old girl named Fern, whose mother treats the chronic back pain for his wife. Most believe that Aaron is unlikely going to harm this girl as the masseuse is really important for his wife.

How would you have handled the situation if you have a say in this family?

Effective Communication

As primates, we are born to live in groups, born to socialize, born to communicate. But as humans, we take it one step further, we have LANGUAGE and we have TEXT.
As groups grew larger and as minds develops, it was necessary for humans as a race to have a mechanism that conveys ideas with complexity. Language not only does that, but also frees our hands to do whatever that is needed. The mere existence of language and text shows how important communication is to our evolutionary history, but I shall argue that communication becomes even more relevant to us as modern human living in an age of technology and globalization.

Whether voluntary or not, we spend most of our waking hours communicating. This is especially true for Singaporeans and Hong Kongers who live in cities: we are almost always in company with someone else, in scrutiny of someone else. Whether we like it or not, our actions communicate something about us. In particular, I have noticed something as simple as our walking gait could be a form of communication.  To illustrate, westerners who body build often walk with their legs apart and shoulders straight to communicate musculinity. In contrast, Asian body builders for example many Korean celebrities, do not. To a western audience who are not used to this, Asians look gay in comparison. Many Asian girls however, would go crazy for these "effeminate" men.  In Japan, where domestic violence is not uncommon, feminity in men is valued to a certain extent because girls like men who are gentle and considerate. When acts as simple and unconscious as walking could label you, could project an image of you, how can we not think more about communication? When we have facebook and youtube and we meet different people from different parts of the world,  not only must we be verbally culturally fluent, we must also be conscious of what our body language may convey. This is important, as good communication could earn you a potential husband or wife ;)

Switching gears, we'll talk about work life, where bosses and colleagues may not be as willing to spend time to know you as lovers do. Today, as labour market become increasingly liquid because of the internet and the geographical mobility of the world's salary man, being able to communicate one's strength and sell oneself is paramount to one's success. If you are not able to communicate your capability towards your potential employer, he or she could easily find someones else as a replacement. To communicate responsibility, for example, one have to speak in a clear and precise terms. One observation that people made is that irresponsible people often speak in vague terms. This is the unconscious part of them trying to protect themselves. By being vague, they allow themselves flexibility in explaining away things that  might go wrong. Knowing this, it maybe better if during interviews, we sound certain and definite in the way we speak. While these observations and conclusion seems like common sense and straight forward, little do I have the time to make the observations and conclusions. Hence, I feel learning how to effectively communicate in a classroom setting is a more systematic and time- effective way for me to improve my communication skills in this demanding world.