Evaluating Intercultural Behavior-#4

Cross-cultural communication requires knowledge and a conscious effort to overcome possible misunderstandings, this extends to adjusting one's behavior to reach a compromise between two parties from different backgrounds.

I recall an incident which took place during my study trip to Japan 2 years ago: a male classmate was interested in a girl from the counterpart university and asked her out for dinner. As I was seated beside her, I heard the entire conversation. After he asked, the girl replied in an apologetic tone, "chotto...it is…"(but..it is...), but before she could continue, my classmate said, "I am sorry for asking you so suddenly". She replied, "A...daijoubu da" (I am okay). The moment she said that, he went on to said, "Okay! Then I will see you tonight".

Then, I knew my friend has misinterpreted her reply as "It's okay" and thinking that she is fine with going out with him. I knew she was not accepting the invitation to dinner but was instead replying "I am okay" to his second statement. As Japanese tend to be more subtle and do not reject an invitation directly, an apologetic tone is often a sign of rejection. However, my friend did not recognize the initial hesitation as a sign of rejection due to his carelessness in the interpretation of her words. On the other hand, the girl probably felt that he was impolite for interrupting her before she could complete her sentence and that he did not understand her hesitation was a sign of rejection.

From this incident, I realized that effective cross-cultural communication requires not only patience but also careful consideration each others' culture before making a judgment.

Application Letter Critique- Post #3

(Job Description obtained from "Careers in EDB" under "Job Opportunities")


/*Format left out*/


Dear Sir/Madam,

Application for Summer Internship-"Productivity Studies" with EDB

I am enclosing my CV in response to your advertisement for the above post which appeared in on the EDB website dated 22nd January 2010.

I am currently a penultimate undergraduate majoring in Industrial and Systems Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS). The reason why I am applying for this post is due to my keen interest in human resource and business management. With my career goal to become a business analyst, I am highly-driven to hone my skills in the area of human capital management as it is the most crucial department of a company. Being goal-oriented, I am currently taking modules under the Business School in Human Capital Management as well as Marketing Management to prepare myself for my future career.

Besides developing my knowledge in Human Capital Management, my passion for entrepreneurship serves as a great motivation in my application for this position. During my term as a judging executive in Start-Up@Singapore 2009 under the NUS Entrepreneurship Society (NES), I was given opportunities to liaise with industry experts and participants from various backgrounds. Furthermore, being the moderator of a networking event with over 80 registered participants has honed my public speaking and interpersonal skills. Through diverse and cross-cultural interactions, I became aware of how foreign expertise can contribute or influence Singapore's economy. After witnessing the diverse pool of talents which gathered to participant in the competition, I am convinced that human capital is the key to ensure the prosperity of Singapore's economy.

As it is crucial to quantify the actual impact human capital has on the development of Singapore's economy, strong analytical skills is required to conduct the study on productivity of human capital. With my industrial engineering background and prior experience interning as a business development executive at a local start-up company-CareerAlbum, I am confident that I have the necessary skills for this position. Furthermore, I have conducted case studies on foreign companies which were offering the similar product and had proposed possible solutions to ensure that CareerAlbum's product remains distinguished and competitive. With prior experience in research and case studies which has honed my patience and meticulousness in data analysis, I believe I will be able to fulfill the requirements of the project during my internship with EDB.

Lastly, I do hope that you will give me an opportunity to be part of the EDB team as I believe that I will be an asset to your team given my strong analytical mind, interpersonal skills and meticulousness in data analysis and past experiences in performing case studies. I look forward to meeting you in person to further discuss what my enclosed resume is not able to furnish.

Thank you for your kind attention.

Yours Sincerely,

Wong Shu Yan