Evaluating Intercultural Differences

We can never escape cultural differences. It easily exists in every corner of the world. You do not need to travel to know that the Japanese compliments the taste of the soup with a loud slurp, while the same action may be intepreted as being rude by the others.

Cultural differences appear anywhere, in the language we speak (words used etc), the clothes we wear and even the food we eat. Not only among countries, but also within the country itself. Singapore provides a great example here. But I'm not going into details about the cultural differences in Singapore but rather what I experienced in other countries.

Remembering the trip to Taiwan, the food culture has definitely left a deep impression, well, not in a good way though. We always see how delicious Taiwanese food could be from the various TV shows. But in reality, the food was only 10% as nice as what I have always imagined. It's not just me I could assure you, I went with a tour group of 12, and a quick poll indicated that 100% of them thought the food wasn't nice too! While the food tasted only so-so to us Singaporeans, they are actually Taiwanese delicacies! So it goes to show how cultural differences can start from the most basic thing - food.
(correction: by food, I meant 90% of those found in their famous night market)

Because of the cultural differences, we tend to perceive things in a different light. In the more extreme cases, the practices of one culture might even be viewed as taboo and we start to question the ethicality of such practices (when they are actually the norm in that paricular culture).

Well, the presence of cultural differences prove to be inevitable. We can never bridge the differences.So the bottom line is, if we cannot avoid, we face it. In my opinion, as long as we respect the cultures that are presented to us, we'll come to understand the differences. Understanding leads to appreciation.

Dream Job - Application Letter

	Company	Acumen Research Laboratories
	Job Title	Internship - Junior Research Associate with Acumen Research Laboratories
	Location	Singapore
	Responsibilities
	Job Scope: Training will be provided, under guidance & supervision of a senior scientist, the roles of the above position as follows: 1. Perform experiments in cell & molecular biology; followed by data analysis & recording 2. Prepare weekly and monthly project reports 3. Support the Business Development & Project teams in preparing client reports 4. Work collaboratively with marketing, business development and project teams; Specific projects / learning outcomes: 1. Apply knowledge learnt in classes in industry lab 2. Experience in translational research & industry R&D processes (vs academic) 3. Appreciate startups as a mechanism of commercialization of science & technology Duration of internship (in weeks): 12 Start date: May End date: August Working hours (start & end time): 8am-6pm Termination notice period: 1 month Company url: www.acumen-research.com Please submit your application and cover letter online. Kindly attention your cover letter to Ong Siew Hwa Director and Chief Scientist 237 Alexandra Road, #07-03 The Alexcier
	Requirements
	1. Cell culture, handling DNA & bacteria 2. Good organization skills for time management, prioritize effectively and handle deadlines; 3. Ability to work in a team environment with a customer service focus and mind; as well as independently when needed to 4. Year 3 or 4 Life Science student (with understanding of topics such as cell biology, molecular biology, genetics, genomics, proteomics, preferably statistical analysis) 5. Excellent communication skills, both written and oral in English; capability with Excel 6. Attention to detail, Ability to work accurately and precisely, motivated, demonstrated good judgment and time management 7. The ideal candidate will be comfortable in a fast-paced environment, have a can-do attitude, entrepreneurial, can handle multiple tasks and work effectively with timelines

 ______________________________________________________

Chin Gek Choo

Block ***C Woodlands Dr**

#0*-*0

Singapore **3***

(65) 81** - ****

Alicia_2501@hotmail.com

September 5^th 2010

Ong Siew Hwa
Director and Chief Scientist

237 Alexandra Road

#07-03

The Alexcier

Dear Madam,

I read about the internship offered by your company, Acumen Research Laboratories, from the website http://www.science.nus.edu.sg on August 29^th. I have the requirements to fulfil the job duties as a Junior Research Associate and find that the job scope is very much related to my interest and field of knowledge.

I am an undergraduate from National University of Singapore (NUS), currently pursuing the third year in Biological Sciences, specializing in Biomedical Science. NUS is an elite local university well known for its Science courses, specifically the Life Science course. I am certain that what I have learned thus far will greatly aid me in succeeding the requirements needed for the internship.

Firstly, I have in-depth understanding of the cell biology, molecular biology, genetics, genomics, proteomics and statistical analysis topics. The enclosed resume will provide the list of modules taken in NUS in relation to the knowledge needed for this internship.

Secondly, I have a lot of experience in handling cell cultures throughout the life science modules taken. Having learned the module LSM2202A, which is Experimental Molecular and Cell Biology, I am specially trained in different laboratory techniques especially dealing with experiments in cell and molecular biology. I believe that the training provided by Acumen Research Laboratories will further strengthen my knowledge and heighten my laboratory skills.

Your company has always been an aspiration with its mission of providing a comprehensive range of customized, high-quality contract R&D services. The internship offered is also very familiar to me in terms of the requirements and knowledge needed, I believe it will train me to be a better life science analyst and in the process gain exposure to working in a translational research environment.

Do allow me to have an interview with you to discuss more about my knowledge background. I am available to meet you any day from 12pm onwards, at your convenience.

Thank you

Yours sincerely,

(Signature)

Chin Gek Choo

Blogpost #2 : Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

Interpersonal conflict is like a struggle between two different perception. Because we think differently, feel differently, we cannot have a balance between our ideas and that is usually when conflict arises. Indeed, interpersonal conflicts are seen everywhere, it's like unavoidable or should I say, inevitable? I'm sure everyone has their own fair share of dealing with interpersonal conflicts, including me. I would say most of the time, interpersonal conflicts usually bring about a tear or an end to the relationship.

Of course, I see myself facing an interpersonal conflict with my very own best friend, i call her (still ) my BFF, 'best friend forever'. We've been friends for almost 7-8 years now. We've been through thick and thin, knew exactly how interpersonal conflict had once menacingly brought our friendship to a sore, yet once again, this friendship continues to be tested.

I remembered how the incident 5 years ago had nearly brought an end to our friendship. We were only 15 years old then. One day, she fell for a guy in our school. Knowing that her mom would never approve of this "puppy love", she had me lying to her mom about her whereabouts so that she could go on dates with the guy. However, lies cannot withhold the truth and days after, BFF confronted me in school and labeled me as a blabbermouth. I was taken aback, and clueless about her reason for the accusation. I kept my word and helped her, how do I deserve such a term from her?

The truth came to light after days of a cold war with her. It seems that the countless of calls from her mom finally got on the nerves of my own mom. My mom took the endless calls as a form of harrassment and told her mom all the truth about her own daughter. Her mom questioned my BFF and told her, "your best friend has already told me all about you seeing a guy, so stop lying!". So her mom has conveniently made me a scapegoat and had my BFF thinking that it was me who sold her out.

Fortunately the conflict was resolved after we had a good talk. But many a times, not all interpersonal conflicts could be resolved, and I would like to believe that the more people are involved, the more complicated the conflict could be, the harder it is to fix it. There are also cases where such conflicts never come to an end.

******************************************************************************

I've read through some of the blogposts written by my groupmates, it seems that the interpersonal conflicts they shared mostly have got something to do with their best friends. So it makes me wonder, is it that the more we care for him/her, the more interpersonal conflict is likely to arise? Then, wouldn't it be an irony?

Effective Communications- Why is it important to me?

Moved to blogspot because I realised all of you are using blogspot.com. hehehe.

Anyway, ideas about effective communications and how it is important to me has never crossed my mind until last Thursday where we talked about effective communication during the ES2007S class. I know that communication is essential because it gets your ideas through, be it important messages or just the daily gossips we share with our friends everyday. But there's actually more to it, from what I understand, communication could be enhanced or crippled. Enchanced communication would be what we learn as effective communication while the latter would be called a communication breakdown.

So after the class, it sets me pondering about how effective communication could be important to me. Effective communication, as the name suggests, happens when the message we intend to transmit is the same as what the receipient perceives. It takes care of various components such as the tone used, gestures, expresion, words used and etc. True enough, when a communication is effective, it really prevents unwanted misunderstandings. I believe that online communication is seldom effective because of the lack of the essential verbal cues but it makes it challenging all the more since we are all heavily involved and reliant on online tools, like the internet(e-mails,msn etc) and handphones(text messages).

For example, I have been managing an online store for a few months now and the customers I deal with are all complete strangers. They do not know me in person so effective communication is vital here because the wrong tone would suggest an offensive take to the message and I would have to spend time clearing doubts and misunderstandings.When it doesn't clear up, things could turn really nasty and we're talking about a reputation at stake. We all know how reputation can affect a business. To earn, I have to earn customers and through effective communications, it helps. Every customer would want to deal with a buyer who can communicate effectively with you. So I have to bear in mind the importance of effective communications.


There are all sorts of people in this world, we could only handle them with effective communication.