Final Reflection on ES2007S

Towards the last few lessons and after the final oral presentation, I've noticed a few differences in myself. Most evident was that I had more confidence while doing a presentation and also speaking up in class. Before taking up the class, I felt that I was more of an introvert and would be more comfortable keeping to myself. The main draw of this class I felt that it was very accepting of all our different ideas and by speaking up and sharing our ideas with the class, we get to learn more from each other's points of view on different topics.

As I've said in the previous post, I felt that there was a huge improvement from my first oral presentation during the Mock Peer Teaching and the most recent presentation on my group's proposal. The reason for this was really the helpful feedback given by the class and Dr Radhika. I really paid attention to their constructive feedback and worked on improving from there.

Besides the feedback, I found the instructional videos on delivering presentations particularly helpful and humourous as well. It left us with simple tips to improve our presentations such as "Preparation is Everything" and "POP". The other videos that were shown, such as the one by John Cleese about being assertive also made the class more lively.

Working with my classmates on the Peer Teaching and Proposal was an invaluable experience as this was the first time I've done a group project and presentation since JC, which was 2 years ago. I enjoyed learning from the strengths and insights of my group members and bouncing off ideas of each other while we worked on the tasks given to us.

Overall, I found that I had a wonderful time throughout this module and culture of the class, which was very open and vocal made me enjoy ES2007S even more. This module was a breath of fresh air compared to the heavy Engineering modules that I'm currently taking, and I did look forward to each and every class. After this semester, I will integrate the presentation skills as well as the analytical skills that I've gathered from the class into the future subjects or projects that I will be undertaking.

Reflection on Oral Presentation

For our final presentation on our proposal, I was tasked to present the part on the result analysis of our research. Knowing this part of our presentation will be little dry, I did my best to include a few relevant and engaging visuals in order to keep the audiences attention.

Before the actual day of the presentation, my group members and I met up to practice our different parts. What we took away from that rehearsal was that we needed to be more precise and focused in order to cut down the time we took to present our individual parts of the proposal as almost all of us overshot the time limit.

From the feedback I received on the previous Peer Teaching presentation, I found out that I was looking at the slides too much and was not facing the audience while delivering my presentation. As such, for this presentation, I was doing my best consciously not to rely too much on the Powerpoint slide as well as my script.

For the actual presentation, I felt a little more confident than the previous presentations, as my weaknesses were pointed out to me and I was going to attempt not to repeat those same mistakes again. Part of preparing for this presentation was to know my material well. During the presentation, I did my best to deliver our analysis well and from the facial expressions and body language of the audience, I felt that they understood what I was trying to bring across and so, I felt that I had done my part. However I did feel that I could have injected more humour into my presentation, as I really like to make people laugh.

During the feedback, Dr Radhika, explained how memorising the script by heart was not really a good thing and that was one of the most important things I took away. I did realise that I was trying to recall certain parts of my script during the presentation and this was evident from my body language. Furthermore, because I was trying to recall the contents of my script, I was not able to use more of non-verbal cues and gestures and it might have made my presentation a little robotic.

On the whole, I feel that I have made a stark improvement from the mock peer teaching. This is mostly due to the honest feedback from the rest of the class and Dr Radhika, which have allowed me to know where my weaknesses lie and how to overcome them.

Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour

In Junior College, I had a friend who was very religious. He was a practicing Muslim who was very pious and staunch. From the way he behaved and how he treated others, he was following the teachings of Islam down to the latter. This includes praying openly in public areas, wearing the traditional baju kurung or "jubah" anywhere he goes and keeping his facial hair. To others, his dress sense, demeanour and mannerisms might seem weird or out of place. However, I feel it is his prerogative to choose such a noble path. I only had one disagreement with him, about keeping his beard long while serving National Service.

In Islam, it is encouraged to grow a beard. However it is not compulsory. My friend was adamant about keeping his beard even in the Army. He attempted to obtain a letter from the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) that would allow him to keep the beard in the Armed Forces. Much like how the Sikh's are allowed to keep their hair long and wear turbans even during their National Service.

When I heard about his request to MUIS, I felt that it was a little unreasonable and it is rather impossible for one to be allowed to that while in NS. Don't get me wrong, I find that practicing one's religion is something wonderful and it gives one purpose and a positive outlook and encouragement in life. However, as I've mentioned earlier, in a place like Singapore, some compromises have to be made. If the it isn't a compulsory rule in Islam, my friend did not have to be too extreme and go to such lengths to practice his religion. 

In a secular society such as Singapore, however, I believe that there are some compromises that one has to make. For example, there is no open practice of religion in government schools and offices. If one wants to practice one's religion, he has to do it at his own discretion. More so in National Service, where soldiers have to sport short and neat hair and be clean shaven at all times. I feel that his devotion was out of place and he should learn to compromise with such rules. Honestly, I believe that there should always be a balance in everything one does. It should also be done in moderation and not be taken to extremes.

Application Letter Critique

Muhammad Irfan Bin Mohd Margono

National University Of Singapore

Faculty Of Engineering

+65 91234567

 September 15, 2012

Dear Sir/Madam,

Re: Graduate Professional Excellence – Purchasing Requisition ID – 00028297

I am writing to apply for the Rolls-Royce Professional Excellence Programme. As requested, I am enclosing a completed job application, my certification, which includes my pre-university academic record and resume.

I have just graduated from the National University of Singapore with B.Eng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering, specialising in Aeronautical Engineering. During my tenure there, I have undertaken modules on Business Studies and Management. I was a part of Rolls-Royce’s Summer Internship Program in the United States, specialising in Sales Support. In my 12 weeks there, my main task was to prepare proposals and contracts which were presented to prospective clients. In addition, I prepared sales reports, presentations and updated marketing materials. Preparing the reports required me to be very meticulous and precise in order to capture the company’s figures accurately. If there was a discrepancy in the figures, I would alert my mentors and superiors immediately. Even though the programme was demanding, I found myself to be comfortable with the environment in the company and admired the work ethic of my mentors and superiors.

As I have enjoyed being an intern in the company while I was an undergraduate, I would like to further my career with Rolls-Royce. Furthermore, the opportunity presented in this listing is very captivating and attractive. I strongly believe that my prevailing qualities, extensive knowledge and education will make me a competitive candidate for this position.

I look forward to speaking with you about this employment opportunity. I can be reached anytime at the number mentioned above. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Yours Faithfully,

Muhammad Irfan Bin Mohd Margono

Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

First of all, interpersonal conflict, to me, is what happens when there is a disagreement between two parties.  This disagreement could cause the two parties to have negative feelings or attitudes towards one another and could also lead to physical conflict.

During National Service, I experienced an interpersonal conflict between two of my men in my unit. One of them, CPL Ahmad (not his real name), was the platoon's toilet cleaner. CPL Ahmad was not happy with a platoonmate called LCP Ah Seng (once again, not his real name) whom he suspects is leaving nasty surprises in the cubicles and not cleaning up after himself. As the platoon's toilet cleaner, CPL Ahmad has no choice but to clean the toilet spotlessly before any area inspection. He found this very unfair as the responsibility of keeping the toilet clean was his and not the entire platoon's.

One day, CPL Ahmad had enough of LCP Ah Seng and took a mop from the toilet and mopped LCP Ah Seng's bed. A heated argument filled with beautiful Hokkien words ensued. Hearing the commotion, I came to see what was going on. I stopped the argument and requested the two of them to tell me their individual accounts of what happened. CPL Ahmad admitted to what he had done and LCP Ah Seng also admitted to being the one leaving nasty surprises in the cubicles. I punished both of them by making LCP Ah Seng the new platoon's toilet cleaner and I had to give CPL Ahmad an extra duty.

What I learned from this was that, if one happens to have a conflict with someone, he should do his best to resolve it by talking and expressing his concerns or disagreements with the other party. If the other party does not want to co-operate or compromise, he, in this case CPL Ahmad should take the matter up to his superiors, in this case, me. If LCP Ah Seng does not want to co-operate with CPL Ahmad, taking the matter up to someone of authority would be more effective as that someone would be able to set ultimatums or punishments if LCP Ah Seng is still uncooperative. CPL Ahmad definitely should not have took matters into his own hands and mopped LCP Ah Seng's bed. Such an act escalated the conflict and further deteriorated the relationship between the two of them.

How would you resolve such a conflict if the other party is adamant and remains uncooperative?

Once again, I'll end with some lighthearted humour.

Importance of Effective Communication

While working at the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) in Customer Service, a few months back, I came across a very unhappy taxpayer. We communicated through the telephone and I was guiding her to complete her E-Filing. At a certain section, she became very annoyed with me as she kept telling me she could not fill up this section. I tried every possible way to assist her but soon found out that that section would be filled up by the system automatically. After telling her about it, she still insisted that she wanted to fill the section herself. After another, "Ma'am, the field will be automatically filled, and you do not have to fill it up." She hung up. In this situation, I believe I didn't express my instruction to her properly, in other words, I did not communicate effectively.

Effective communication occurs when the recipient of a message understand it’s meaning and can express that meaning back to it’s sender.

To me, effective communication is important as it creates fewer misunderstandings between the two parties as it helps one to bring his ideas across well and it allows both parties to get to know each other's personalities and feelings better which would help to improve their relationship both in a social and professional setting.

In the workplace, it can ensure the success, in terms of efficiency, of an organisation if effective communication is practiced at all levels. When both employers and employees communicate effectively, there would be fewer misunderstandings which can result in mistakes being made which would then lead to precious time being wasted to rectify those mistakes. There would also be less friction between co-workers, allowing for a conducive work environment for everyone and ultimately leading to the success of the organisation. Furthermore, one could get passed over for a promotion due to one not expressing his interest effectively to his superiors.

In a social setting, the ability to use communication skills, such as, listening, interpreting nonverbal cues and possessing empathy for the speaker, would allow one to build meaningful connections and relationships with the other party.

For myself, I would want to communicate effectively in order to build connection and trust between myself and others in order to develop meaningful relationships with them.

Here is a video of what happens when there is a communication breakdown: