So near, yet so far...

Looking at her blog, I feel like reading stories of a total stranger. Seem like I never exist in their lives before. Biologically connected with the same blood, does not bring the hearts together. When the physical distance is no longer a problem, what hinder us to take a step forward? Nobody ever takes a step forward. We are used to the world without each other and leave it undisturbed, perhaps is the better way out. I ever asked, why is me? Five of us but why is me? When the times slowly pass by, the only answer possible, is destiny. Maybe I am deemed to be different. Maybe.

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EXAMINATION

I will write less for coming 6 weeks as the exam is approaching.

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Let's have a preview on what I am going to face soon:

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14 Nov 2007: Mechanical System Design and Analysis

26 Nov 2007: Human Factors in Design

27 Nov 2007: Human Resource Management

28 Nov 2007: Materials Engineering

30 Nov 2007: Quality Assurance and Management

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First time, I have three papers consecutively. Much have to do to achieve my target for this exam. Starting at this moment, I switch myself to exam mode. Good Luck!

Contributed to the making of MAE Video

Today I have 2 achievements:

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Firstly, I learnt how to operate the milling machine. I started to fabricate the prototype of my FYP, on my own. Even though the piece is not completed yet, but I really have a bit of sense of achievement. Anyway, everytime when I work in shop, I need to tell myself continuously to keep sober and safe. It's dangerous and never play play with all the machines. Our human body is too fragile as compared to the machines.

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Then I became the MODEL for the school. Well, it's out of volunteerism basis for the school promotional video. It was fun for the first part when the director of the video asked me to act. Haha actually I just need to carry out routine tasks in my room. They took a few scenes like I walking back to room, open the room and writing emails etc. The real stressful part came when I had to talk about my experience living in hall. I was given the script few days ago and I was supposed to say:

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"Living independetly has taught me a lot about self discipline - that's has played a big part in making my uni experience more enriching and fruitful. There is also a sense of bonding that I enjoyed with fellow hostelites, whether in joining hall activities or going out for supper together. It's definitely one of the hightlights of my time here in NTU."

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I NG for many many times, because I just could not get everything correct at the same time. For a perfect shoot, it needs to include smooth talking, correct pronunciation, nice smile, correct posture, steady camera......Sien lor, initially i thought it's easy. I also felt bad to make the crews restart again and again. Haha so scared that the director would scream at me. But luckily they were all very friendly, maybe because they knew I am not professional model. So I got excuse to make mistakes. ;P

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At the end, they allowed me to split what I was supposed to say into 2 parts and they would take it using 2 shoots. I somehow felt relieved of this changes and things went on smoothly after that.

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The whole shooting took 1 hour. Haha not bad right, even though I had NG so many times. That was really an interesting experience to me. I must thank Megan for this lobang. ; )

Professional Communication Presentation

So happy, I have just completed one more assignment today!!!
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Yes it's over for Professional Communication in this semester. 1 resume writing, 1 presentation and class participation make up of 100 marks for this subject. Indeed I enjoy every class and the tutor, Miss Khoo has really done a good job. Although I feel she is a bit exagerated in teaching, but she is always able to capture our attention.
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Overall I am satisfied with my performance and the feedbacks from tutor are positive. ; ) I feel quite good when my effort is being paid off.

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I would like to share with you what I have presented today. Personally I think this is a very useful topic and some of the tips may help you.

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Managing Difficult Co-Workers in Project

The focus of my presentation will be on how to manage different types of difficult co-workers. Co-workers, they have complementary skills and hold mutual accountability to work for the common purpose of the project. Most of the times, there will be one leader to keep the project heading right direction. But there is also possibility that team members have shared leadership and everyone is on the same level of responsibility.

We shall look at three types of difficult co-workers, namely the credit grabbers, the Know-It-Alls and the complainers.

Firstly, the credit grabbers. The primary goal of the credit grabbers, is to appear no less than perfect in the eyes of the bosses. Typically, they will interact well in a group setting, but will be quick to answer all questions and display ultimate knowledge. So basically they do not acknowledge the contributions from other co-workers and accept all the praise for a project without mentioning that they didn't do it alone. Eventually they take the final credit in front of the boss.

So to deal with them, the first time this happens, consider it a mistake. Start by simply asking for appropriate behavior. Mention it to the credit grabbers and ask them to let others know about your participation. The trick here is not to put the other person on the defensive by asking angrily “I hate it when you take credit for things that I’ve done”. Instead, stay calm and non accusatory. When you approach them, you focus on the action, not the person. If this happens again, make sure you let others know about the role you played in getting a project done.

The second type of difficult co-worker, is the know-it-all. The know-it-alls are valuable employees because they have considerable knowledge, but they are also one of the most difficult to get along with. They tend to override others’ opinions and can have a superior attitude. They decrease your confidence and make it difficult to get task done. The real problem with this employee occurs when they are wrong. The know-it-all feels personally insulted when they are overruled.

To deal with this colleague, do your work correctly. If you do not, they will label you as incompetent. Do not challenge them; ask for explanations, ideas, and plans. If the problem continues, it's best to go right to your boss with this. Let the boss have a gentle discussion with the know-it-all as this type is particularly sensitive and feels that they are complete in job performance.

Lastly, we shall look at complainers. The complainers complain about everything from working conditions to the amount of work. They tend to make people around them unhappy at work. Negative people are highly contagious and one chronic complainer can cause low morale in the team. The only good thing about complainers is, they may help by pointing out problems that could be overlooked, though this co-worker probably never suggests a solution.

What do complainers seek for? When your co-worker complain again, what’s the best to say?

“You know, that sounds terrible. I don’t know how you deal with all of these problems.”

So you’re not saying “Yes, I agree that’s a huge problem”. And you’re certainly not saying “Oh, poor thing” in a sarcastic voice. You’re just acknowledging the fact that this is a huge problem for that person.

This approach works because it gives the complainers what they really after: Empathy. He just needs your understanding. Bear in mind that be sincere when you say this to them. This approach also keeps you from being part of a vicious cycle of responses that just makes the complainers complain more and more and more. The cycle is cut at the point you take their distress seriously.

All the tips I have mentioned are helpful when dealing with difficult co-workers. Anyway if the friendly and polite one-on-one does not bring positive changes, the last option is to bring up the issue with your boss.

Prefect Storm

Yesterday I watched the movie "Perfect Storm", one of the case studies in Human Resource Management. One very imporant part of this movie is, the captain of the ship, chose not to escape and capsize with the ship. Why did he choose to die when he had a chance to survive? (Even though at the end, all crews died including the one who escaped.)We are supposed to link his action to the Freud's Death Instinct.

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"DEATH DRIVE: The bodily instinct to return to the state of quiescence that preceded our birth. The death drive, according to Freud's later writings (Beyond the Pleasure Principle, "The Uncanny"), explains why humans are drawn to repeat painful or traumatic events. Through such a compulsion to repeat, the human subject attempts to "bind" the trauma, thus allowing the subject to return to a state of quiescence. In other words, whereas one part of the human psyche is seeking gratification, another part is geared to seek a return to the quiet of non-existence: the "death-instinct." This concept of the "death-instinct" or "death-drive" allowed Freud to make sense of the human tendency towards destruction, including sometimes self-destruction."

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So chim......I have read the theory for a few times, totally confused. We had a discussion session on last Friday and my peers were arguing whether he did that because of guilt or hopeless. If you were him, what would you do?

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More information on the movie can be found at: http://perfectstorm.warnerbros.com/

Selamat Hari Raya

Such a pity Hari Raya falls on Saturday. No Public Holiday. In Malaysia, the school is having 10 days holidays for Raya and 1 week for the working people. Here, not even Friday is announced as Public Holiday. Why are the people here so hardworking? Very few public holidays with very long working hours. Retirement age is increased to 62. Do you live to work? How are they going to push up the birth rates with such stressful working environment? You have no time.

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I want to work for my life.

1st interview with Citibank

I have been so busy for the past few weeks. Project, project and project. Also I have attended the first interview with Citibank this morning. Basically I have prepared for this interview for one week. Even though my first priority is not banking, but I still want to perform well for the interview. Not to think with how far I would go first, but I will definitely not to give up any chances.

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Indeed this morning the interview was quite casual. I had a nice chat with my interviewer. I think he is a good listener and able to give me response in order to encourage me to speak up more. I give myself 80 marks and I am satisfied with my performance.

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Answer the day:

Can you describe the key attributes that make you suitable for this job?

"I always think “things could have been done better”. Not only by thinking, but I plan for the strategy and make it happened. For example, when I was just an ordinary student in MAE school, I heard people complaining about lecture notes, welfare and so on. In fact, I noticed that some areas could be improved and I have a lot of ideas on how to do it. So I took the courage to run for the Academic and Welfare Secretary in the MAE Club. I said courage because in order to get elected, I need to go through the rally where many people shooting you questions on how you could manage the position, and I need to go in one lecture hall, speak in front of 500 students and persuade them to vote for me. Eventually, they trust me and I got the post. Then I started to implement the improvements to the current activities and bring in new programmes. So throughout my term of service, I had successfully organised 12 events for the students. Indeed till today, some of the activities intiated by me are still being carried out. So I believe that I could apply the same thing and add value to my job."