Evaluating Intercultural Behavior (My left hand and I) - Edited 1

My first intercultural conflict did not happen in school, contrary to the belief that it is probably the first time children of different races get to actively interact. My first intercultural conflict occurred at home, on the kitchen table, with my family's foreign domestic helper. I shall address her as 'auntie' Sumami. Before I begin, I would first like to thank her for being my first teacher on intercultural awareness.

It had been more than a decade since my first lesson on proper eating etiquette in Indonesian culture. I remembered the day when curiosity got the better of me and I experimented with eating with my bare hands. I had noticed Sumami consuming her meals with her hands everytime and never once did she use her left hand. So on my first attempt, I used both hands to eat, thinking it could be more efficient. Recalling that now, it definitely looked barbaric, but it was efficient; two hands putting the rice and meat together at the same time. That was my first intercultural "blindness".

I did my first left-hand eating in front of Sumami as she was supervising me to ensure I consumed my meal on time. This is the next intercultural "blindness" on my part. Her initial reaction was a frown; a clear disapproval of my actions. At first, I thought it was because I looked too barbaric, so I tried to look more suave in my actions. But that didn't help. Luckily she was patient (or perhaps because I was a child), and she told me in malay that the left hand is dirty and I should only use the right hand if I want to adopt her style of eating. Next thing I did was to wash my left hand.

I came back to the food, held the plate with my right hand, picked up the rice and put it into my mouth, with my left hand. Again, Sumami insisted that I was doing it all wrong. At that moment, I probably felt what she said was ridiculous, since I had washed my left hand thoroughly, with soap and water. In the Chinese culture, there is no clean or unclean hand, so the only problem that I identified eating with the left hand was the difficulty in coordination, since I was right-handed. So I mischievously ignored her subsequent advice.

But Sumami's talking (she tends to speak loudly) attracted my mother's attention, and she came to the kitchen to find out what had happened. My mother grew up in a kampong and is all too familiar with the cultures of the Malays and Indians who lived together in close-knit villages. Seeing what I was doing, she stopped me from continuing my ignorance and taught me why I should be using my right hand only. Apparently, instead of feeling insulted, Sumami believed I was transferring filth into my mouth as I ate with my left hand and it was for my own good to stop the unpleasant action.

Indeed the left hand is considered filthy in cultures involving food consumption with bare hands. I had the chance to find out more in school while conversing with my Malay and Indian friends. The left hand is involved in ablution and should therefore be kept away from food.

Later as I grew up, I also understood Sumami's reservations for teaching me the underlying reasons behind the avoidance of the left hand in food consumption; she was new to the workplace (my family) and had to be careful not to violate any possible preference in the family regarding what children should or should not know.
I am grateful for her patience and tolerance.

Application Letter Critique - Draft 3

Here is the advertisement from NUS Career Centre

Company Lonza Biologics Tuas Pte Ltd
Job Title Internship - QA Intern (10 May - 30 Jul 10) with Lonza Biologics Tuas Pte Ltd
Location Singapore
Date Posted Monday, January 25, 2010
Closing Date Wednesday, March 31, 2010


Responsibilities

1. Review SOPS and forms
2. Review validation protocols and validation reports
3. Review logbooks
4. Data entry for computerised systems during implementation phase (e.g. training records for Learning Solutions)
5. Administer documents on Documentum System (DMS). Load and format og GMP documents for review and approval work flow
6. Update GMP training database (SAP) as needed


Remuneration (per month): S$800

Termination notice period: 2 weeks

Company url: www.lonza.com

Please submit your application and cover letter online.

Kindly attention your cover letter to:
Ms. Chua Peng Gek
Senior HR Generalist
35 Tuas South Ave 6
Singapore 637377


Requirements

Preferred faculty:
1. Faculty of Science: Pharmacy

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Goh Kian Leong

BLK 160 Tampines St.12
#07-109, Singapore 521160

Feburary 5, 2010

Ms. Chua Peng Gek
Senior HR Generalist
Lonza Biologics Tuas Pte Ltd
35 Tuas South Ave 6
Singapore 637377

Dear Ms Chua,

I wish to express my interest in the QA internship position at Lonza Biologics. It would be a great opportunity to acquire skills in reviewing scientific documents, a crucial aspect of producing top quality scientific products. My experiences in laboratory work and education in the life science are in congruence with the job requirements of a QA personnel.

Currently, I am in my second year at the National University of Singapore pursuing a bachelor’s degree in the life sciences. While in school, I participated in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program in Science (UROPS), gaining first-hand experience in independent scientific research work. During the course of the project, I collaborated with a PhD student to search for appropriate scientific protocols and validate their applicability in the project’s focus. I believe the experiences I acquired would be applicable in the internship's focus of document reviews.

More importantly, participating in UROPS allowed me to develop strong work ethics and an openness to constructive criticisms, both of which I identify to be important traits in ensuring the quality of production methods. I hope that these traits will add value to your organization.

Besides my experiences in the university, I underwent a two years' stint in the armed forces, spending one year in the Armor Gunnery Tactics Simulator(AGTS). While in AGTS, I was tasked to review and implement various training methodologies and standard operating procedures(SOPs) for army personnels. The experiences gained taught me the importance of critically analyzing documents to ensure safety and maximize the effectiveness of its intended use.

I hope that through this internship I will be able to add value to your company, while learning first-hand the responsibilities of a QA personnel. Your organization has an excellent reputation for high quality scientific products, and I believe with my lab experience, strong work ethics and openness to constructive feedbacks I will be an asset to Lonza Biologics.

I am available via phone at 88888888 or by e-mail at kianleong@nus.edu.sg. Feel free to contact me if you have further enquiries.

Best Regards,
(Signature)

Goh Kian Leong

Interpersonal Conflict - Resolved (Late post in March)

RESOLVED:

With five minutes left on the clock and a difficult person to convince, our team made the decision to not give in to his suggested changes. The reason was simply a lack of time to alter the course of action we have decided upon. Mr. A was seemingly unhappy at first, but finally accepted the group decision.

The way I chose to resolve the conflict was to explain the practical reasons to Mr. A. Not all situations can tap on using practical reasoning with little or no consideration for another person's feelings. But I think in this situation where time is short, emotions should be suppressed to a certain extent in order to facilitate team work. Moreover, we should not compromise a team effort just for the reason of displaying one's ability to convince and lead. These were the reasons for me taking a practical approach.

Perhaps the way I work could be better improved to consider the feelings of my teammates. However, I find it difficult to accomodate everybody's feelings when it comes to team work. As such, the seemingly easy way out is to adopt a stern and practical approach.

Expecting myself to take up leadership roles in the future, resolving interpersonal conflict will be one of my top priorities, in terms of training the said skill. I am starting to see how leading can be difficult, especially in resolving interpersonal conflicts. But I am willing to learn.