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Student Name: Ruta Ramanauskaite
Student Number: 12212177
Programme: MSBM1 - MSc in Management (Business)
Project Title: Portfolio
Module code: MT5113
Lecturer: Des McLoughlin, Dr. John Connolly, Gerry Conyngham,
Dr Claire Gubbins, Dr. Theo Lynn , Colm Bennett
Declaration
I the undersigned declare that the project material, which I now submit, is my
own work. Any assistance received by way of borrowing from the work of
others has been cited and acknowledged within the work. I make this
declaration in the knowledge that a breach of the rules pertaining to project
submission may carry serious consequences.
I am aware that the project will not be accepted unless this form has been
handed in along with the project.
Signed:_________________________
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Acknowledgements:
Des McLoughlin
Dr. Theo Lynn
Dr. Claire Gubbins
Gerry Conyngham
Dr. John Connolly
` Colm Bennett
Terry O’Brien
Roisin Lyons
Laura Goucher
Amanpreet Sahota
Andrea McCoughey
Ciara Hynes
All the event hosts and organisers
And my classmates and lecturers
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Table of Contents:
Overall Next Generation Management Synthesis……………………………………………………………….6
Leadership Competency Framework……………………………………………………………………………8
My Revised Personal Development Plan……………………………………………………………………....14
Management and Personality Development Synthesis………………………………………………………...16
Personal Opportunities of Development Table………………………………………………………………...19
WORKING IN GROUPS WORKSHOP REFLECTION……………………………………………………...20
PRESENTATION SKILLS WORKSHOP REFLECTION……………………………………………………24
MINDFULLNESS BASED STRESS REDUCTION REFLECTION…………………………………………28
CV WRITING AND INTERVIEW SKILLS WORKSHOP REFLECTION……………………………….....32
COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS WORKSHOP REFLECTION……………………………………………….36
CHINESE CLASSES FOR BEGINNERS REFLECTION…………………………………………………….40
DEREK BELL TALK AND CAREER PLANNING REFLECTION…………………………………………45
ACCENTURE AND IRISH TIMES LEADERS OF TOMORROW REFLECTION………………………...48
Teamwork assessment reflection………………………………………………………………………………53
Business and Society Synthesis………………………………………………………………………………..55
Personal Opportunities of Development Table………………………………………………………………...57
SUSTAINABILITY EVENT REFLECTION………………………………………………………………....58
LEAD EQUALITY & DIVERSITY REFLECTION………………………………………………………….63
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON SPEECH REFLECTION………………………………………………....67
GEORGE HOOK SPEECH REFLECTION…………………………………………………………………..70
ETHICS EVENT REFLECTION……………………………………………………………………………..73
DIWALI, THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS REFLECTION…………………………………………………….76
DECLAN KILKLINE TALK REFLECTION………………………………………………………………...80
Research Synthesis…………………………………………………………………………………………….83
Personal Opportunities of Development Table………………………………………………………………..85
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FOCUS GROUPS REFLECTION……………………..86
DAON IDENTITY X TRIAL REFLECTION………………………………………………………………..90
MUSIC VIDEO RESEARCH REFLECTION………………………………………………………………..93
BRIAN HARMAN RESEARCH REFLECTION…………………………………………………………….97
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH WEBINAR REFLECTION…………………………………………………100
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH WEBINAR REFLECTION……………………………………………….104
SPSS REFLECTION…………………………………………………………………………………………107
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RESEARCH SURVEYS REFLECTION…………………………………………………………………….109
Digital Media and Communications Synthesis……………………………………………………………….116
Personal Opportunities of Development Table……………………………………………………………….118
BASICS OF SELLING ON EBAY REFLECTION………………………………………………………….119
DAON IDENTITY X TRIAL REFLECTION……………………………………………………………….122
MOBILE CLOUD CONFERENCE REFLECTION………………………………………………………....125
PAYPAL REFLECTION…………………………………………………………………………………….130
SECURE COMPUTING CONFERENCE REFLECTION………………………………………………….134
USING VIDEO AS A MARKETING TOOL REFLECTION………………………………………………137
BLOGGING WITH WORDPRESS REFLECTION………………………………………………………...140
BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………………………………147
APPENDIX 1 – Personality Assessment Questionnaires……………………………………………………169
APPENDIX 2 – POD Minder Summary…………………………………………………………………….194
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Overall Next Generation Management Synthesis
Throughout this year I had a chance to attend a variety of modules. Next Generation
Management or NGM was one of them. The main advantage of this module is that it provides
students with an opportunity to develop a wide range of competencies and up skill in many
ways. These competencies range from Management and Personal Development competencies
such as presentation skills, communications skills etc. to Digital Media and Communication
competencies such as blogging, app development etc. After developing a Personal
Development Plan I was able to recognise competencies that I wish to develop and place
them under the four themes provided. I chose the Personal Opportunities of Development
(POD’s) accordingly to my Personal Development Plan, which gave me the necessary
structure and provided me with guidance of which POD’s to attend. The knowledge gained
throughout this module was valuable not only in my assignments and projects throughout the
year, but will also be essential in my practicum project this summer. To cement the
knowledge gained, I had to reflect on each POD, which was challenging at times, but also
rewarding as I got to research further the event or theme of a workshop that I attended.
Similarly, it was challenging to apply the critical thinking to this course. The main reason for
that, was the challenge of distancing myself from the undergraduate level thinking.
As well as the gathering and reflecting on the POD’s I also had an opportunity to step into the
shoes of a leader. As part of this module me and my teammate were assigned a DICE group.
A team of 5 first year business students, to lead through completion of two tasks. It was a
valuable experience, which made me see myself as a leader in the future. Despite the fact that
the module was overwhelming at times, I do believe that through challenging tasks and
POD’s I was able to develop a pool of competencies that helped me to better myself and that
will be important in my future.
The four themes for gathering POD’s included: The Management and Personal Development,
Business and Society, Digital Media and Communication and Research.
Management and Personal Development theme, was the easiest for me to participate in and
reflect upon. All the Personal Opportunities of Development I attended were much of use for
me as a person, as they allowed me to recover hidden as well as gain new skills that are
necessary in becoming a strong leader. As my idol Indra Nooyi (n. d) has explained: ‘The
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distance between number one and number two is always a constant. If you want to improve
the organization, you have to improve yourself and the organization gets pulled up with you.
That is a big lesson. I cannot just expect the organization to improve if I don't improve myself
and lift the organization, because that distance is a constant’. Indeed, consistent improvement
of one self leads to the bettering of the organisation one represents, otherwise both stand still.
I believe, that through this year I developed many competencies for myself that will be
essential in any organisation and I strongly agree with Indra, that continuous learning and
developing more competencies along the way, will make me a better individual and hopefully
a stronger leader.
Business and Society theme opportunities of development were very informative as well as
interactive. Throughout gathering of the POD’s I was able to create networks with variety of
interesting and successful leaders as well as representatives from global organisations. I was
also able to place myself in the centre of action in cultural events as well as ones targeting
global issues. Therefore, I gained a fuller view of organisations place in the global society
today as well as in the future.
Digital Media and Communication theme opportunities of development were challenging for
me. Before starting this course, my digital skills were limited. Therefore by placing myself in
situations where my knowledge was challenged, I was able to learn as well as gain a broader
understanding of innovative technologies and made aware of ones to come.
Research theme opportunities of development combined with the assignments throughout the
year provided me with an understanding of wide range of research methodologies and the
advantages of these, if done right. I was able to participate in several research opportunities
and also was able to conduct a focus group. Therefore, I was able to see first-hand the
advantages as well as challenges from both sides.
Next Generation Management module was valuable for me, as I was able to develop new
competencies and build up on existing ones. As well as that I found the module challenging
but also motivating, in a sense that it gave me a drive to learn and to excel at various aspects.
I have enjoyed the experience as well as gained a lot from it.
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Leadership Competency Framework
ANALYSIS OF 10 COMPETENCES
Lecturer: Dr Claire Gubbins
Students: Ruta Ramanauskaite, 12212177
Martina Petkova, 12210789
Egle Miliute, 58605157
Amelie Cloarec, 12211021
Date: 17/10/201
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PERSONALITY
CHARISMA
Level 1: Max Weber once defined charisma as a ‘’ certain quality of an individual personality by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman or at last specifically exceptional powers or qualities. These are such as not to be accessible to the ordinary person, but are regarded as of divine origin or as exemplary and on the basis of them the individual concerned is treated as leader’’ (1). To Weber charisma is a special quality a person is born with. It’s an individual trait that one cannot learn, but only identify
Level 2: It is a quality that people perceive in certain people often in times of crisis. Hence, during such period new leaders emerge who are not routine, leaders with which collective bond is created and is very strong. A common understanding exists that in uneasy times it is easier to pinpoint a great leader, a leader with charisma.
Level 3: Many definitions of charisma exist, because different individuals perceive it and its characteristics in different ways. Hence there have been attempts to study charisma more scientifically, example Dean Simonton, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1988. However, due to its fragile being, perception of charisma has a tendency to dissipate if a leader is perceived to be less good at dealing with the crisis. Charisma is a fragile and exceptional power, a power that is superhuman (1) which can only be possessed by few.
ACCESSIBILITY
Level 1: As stated by Dirksen, Everett: I am a man of fixed and unbending principles, the first of which is to be flexible at all times. A leader needs to be accessible to his team members in order to be able to achieve the set goals and deliver the best they can together as a team. A leader that frequently interacts with his employees has a clearer picture of the strengths and weaknesses of the personnel.
Level 2: A leader that locks in an office and is not accessible to his team reduces the effectiveness of his group. “Accessibility allows access to valuable feedback from those on the front line. That access can offer a number of benefits including cost saving ideas, increased productivity” (Ekvahl 2011)
Level 3: Accessibility creates interactions between the leader and the team which results in better problem resolutions and also gives the opportunity to avoid any future conflicts. When a conflict occurs it is important that the leader is aware of the problem as soon as possible in order to come up with a solution that can resolve it fast. Conflicts between the employees can result in low performance at the work place.
CREATIVITY
Level 1: According to V S Rama Rao, the “decisions maker also needs creativity, that is, the ability to produce novel and useful ideas” (2008). This leads to seek decision-making as an “opportunity” and not a “problem”. It allows the decision maker to more fully understand and evaluate decision-making process. Creativity is the most evident value that can help the decision maker to identify the various solutions and alternatives that are not clearly obvious. Creativity is improving decision-making and allowed decisions makers to be more active for a positive change.
Level 2: According to Robert I. Sutton (2007) an idea is creative when it is new to people who use or evaluate it, and (at least some of them) believe it could be valuable to themselves or others. He believed that by using weird ideas, you could at least do one of three things: increase the access of knowledge; see previous ideas in a new way; or break from the past. People, who have embraced weirdness and used it, will find original and innovative ideas
Level 3: “Creativity abilities determine whether the individual has the power to exhibit creative behaviour to a noteworthy degree. Guilford (1968) states that whether or not the individual who has the requisite abilities will actually produce results of a creative nature will depend upon his motivational and temperamental traits. In other words, sometimes creative skills and abilities are present in the individual’s behavioural; but sometimes they are not.
Level 1: “Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and
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WORKING WITH PEOPLE
NEGOTIATION
Level 1: “Ours is an age of negotiation. The fixed positions and solid values of the past seem to be giving way and new rules, roles and relations have to be worked out… Negotiation becomes not a transition but a way of life’’ (Zartman 1976 in Guasco and Robinson 2007 p.1). Negotiation is a daily exercise that is used by many, especially in today’s world of business. In order to successfully achieve goals one aims for, a tool of negotiation must be used well and practiced daily
Level 2: According to Michael Spangle and Myra Isenhart‘’can serve as a tool for overcoming resistance without resorting to demands, coercion or forcing which cost a great deal in terms of lost relationship’’ (2003 p1). In order to sustain good relationship, skill of negotiation is crucial as it allows to over-come disputes with a positive conversational flow. As well, it gives you an opportunity to lead the dialogue without resorting to coercion.
Level 3: “Good negotiators are flexible and adaptable. They shape the negotiating process to the situation. Because of that there are no rigid rules governing how you negotiate’’ (Guasco and Robinson 2007 p.7).Understanding the negotiation techniques and its complexity is crucial in order to achieve great success at negotiating. Hence, negotiation is not just a dialogue; it is an art which can be learned with time.
COMMUNICATION
Level 1: According to De Vries (2006) the effectiveness of organization’s employees determines how the organizational “machine” will perform. So to be successful communicator a person should be genuine and honest about their feelings, ideas and needs, should be emphatic or to understand and see the situation from other persons point of view and also should possess non-possessive love skill, which entails acceptance, support and respect of another.
Level 2: According to J. Fast (1986) we all send out messages to the world and just in rare cases these messages are conscious. Non – verbal communication means are crucial in communicating emotions and central in attempting to understand what other people are trying to communicate to us. Vocal cues, facial expressions, posture and gestures these are just few indicators from which we can understand how the other person is really feeling, despite what they are saying.
Level 3: According to Seifert (1986) in a world of finite men, conflict is inevitably associated with creativity. Without conflict there is no major personal change or social progress. There are several examples from decision making to technological improvements that we perceive right now as the outcomes of positive conflict. When referring to positive conflict it is often explained as to be a “dangerous opportunity”. Something that if managed well can lead to better ideas, but if uncontrolled cause biases in companies. According to Richard Walton of Harvard university business school a moderate level of conflict would include few consequences like motivating people to do better, increase the level of innovativeness because of different opinions expressed by the opposition and also may help the individual to realize their own position and clearly define what their view point is.
MOTIVATION
Level 1: The ability to keep employees motivated is an important quality that every leader should have. A good leader needs to show commitment and has to influence his workers to accomplish their goals. A leader should set an example to his employees. A lack of motivating skills can result in lower job satisfaction and decreased productivity.
Level 2: Good leader needs to know his employees to understand what motivates each individual in order to get the best out of them. A good motivator listens and responds to the needs of the workers which will make them appreciated and also shows that their work is important.
Level 3: Leaders need to be enthusiastic and also be able to clearly express their high expectations, which make them good motivators. “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm” (Emerson, Ralph Waldo).
Level 1: J. F. Kennedy said let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty. To realize how much great orators influenced our history would be a
Leadership is the study of art, not science. Many great ideologies surround this undefinable
concept. Hence, in order to pin point it clearer, one great leader was chosen upon the group to
guide this study. Indra Nooyi is the chairman and CEO of PepsiCo. She is truly a woman of
vision, someone who is able to spot the need for change and to achieve great results.
According to Indra Leadership is hard to define and good leadership even harder. But if you
can get people to follow you to the ends of the earth, you are a great leader. Needless to say
Indra is a charismatic and creative leader, someone who thinks in different terms and that was
one of the main objectives that PepsiCo had. V J Philip, former principal of the Madras
Christian College, where Nooyi studied chemistry and physics 30 years ago, remembers Indra
as “always a go-getter who had the capacity to rally around people and get them excited”.
Since young age Indra displayed communication and motivation competencies as it is evident
from this. In the interview with Simon Hobbs on BBC programme the leaders Indra speaks
highly of people working with her and emphasizes the importance of knowledge and how it is
shared in PepsiCo.
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My Revised Personal Development Plan
ShortTermDevelopment:
Competency to be developed: Rationale Proposed development
actions:
Professional demeanour
De Vries (2004) describes few simple steps in becoming an effective, even charismatic leader. He emphasizes the importance of setting an example, challenging status quo, manipulating symbols and being able to single people out to praise. I believe that if one succeeds at presenting themselves and is able to do the job well it will lead to higher career prospects. According to Young’s typology test I am a slight extravert at 11%, intuitive at 62%, intuitive feeling at 25% and judging at 56%. This shows that there is still room for improvement in attempting to increase my extraversion skills. I believe that by developing this competency I will adhere to a level of professional appearance and managing skills appropriate to the environment.
Attendance of various business conferences, development of presentation skills, acquiring know how on CV skills, interview skills, communication skills workshop, Declan Kilkline talk. On top of these I also have attended George Hook talk, which helped me realise the importance of utilization of the tools in our possession, such as talking, exerting in something and managing to always present oneself well.
Digital communication
skills
As Cross Daman (1995) in Richard Wright’s Outsider has put it: I wish I had some way to make a bridge from man to man… Man is all we’ve got. Effective communication is the very life energy of leadership. In this modern society where technology is taking the hold of the person it is crucial to learn to express ourselves clearly and effectively.The MAPP test has stated that my preferences and motivations are derived from understanding the deeper meaning of ideas and words and that I use them effectively in written and oral communication. I consider myself to be a reasonably adequate communicator but I have a lot of difficulty in trying to adapt to the new expressions of communication. In the attempt to better my digital communication skills I have decided to carry out a variety of POD opportunities to learn more about channels of
Mumford (1995) highlighted the fact that informal development can and should include experiential and accidental learning which takes place in an unplanned way in the course of every day work. So as long as we attempt to better ourselves on daily basis while working (in college) in something that we consider to be our week point that is when we learn. In order to become a strong communicator in digital world I intend to involve myself in the opportunities to learn new things in digital media.On top of attending various digital communications events, such as: PayPal, E-Bay, Secure Computing forum, Mobile Cloud conference I also I have
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LongTermDevelopment:
communication that will be of use in any organization.
attended a blogging workshop and have created my own blog, which I am updating it regularly.
Problem solving skills
I believe, that I am a creative and innovative personality, but I do tend to lack skill such as analytical thinking. Therefore my aim for this year is to evolve my skill of analytical thinking. By doing so, I believe I can achieve another level of personal growth as well as be a valuable asset in any organisation.
I have participated in working in a group workshop, team assessment workshop, communications skills workshop in order to develop this competency.The time frame needed for this, I believe, is approximately 6 months.
Cross cultural competency
A recent study in “Science Daily” has showed that bilinguals see the world in a different way. Having lived through English for the past few years my prospective on communication has altered. This new way of seeing has defined my interest in learning new languages. According to ITAP (2005) International cross cultural competency can be defined as the personal capabilities, underlying characteristics and behaviors that drive superior performance at work across national boundaries. The aim of any manager operating in this global society should be to learn and adapt this competency.Since I was a child different languages were very enjoyable to me. I come from a family where almost everyone is great with languages. But merely knowing another language does not mean that I am also familiar with the culture. It is my intention to consolidate my ability to learn languages with the acquiring of the knowledge of the etiquette and policy of the country. According to the Learning Style Inventory I am a Visual Learner I learn from seeing and putting into use things that surround me. As Garavan (1999) has put it ‘the concept of management development has broadened to emphasize development of the whole person rather than the acquisition of competencies for a particular role’. So in order to be an effective leader in this highly competitive global business environment, a person should attempt to understand and appreciate different cultures and that is my aim.
The obvious and most advantageous way in developing this competency would be to involve oneself in a job where cross-cultural roles would be dominant. It would be one of my main aims to work in a global company and learn from people that way. So in order to make the best of the situation my intention is to attend events, participate in activities and use the POD opportunities to engage in cross-cultural relationships and develop the competency.It will require 12 months or longer.I have already attended a SustaiNext conference which allowed me to meet various successful people from global organizations. I also attended a Chinese language and culture class for 5 consecutive weeks and participated as a volunteer in Diwali, Indian Festival of Lights.
Emotional intelligence
A great interpretation of importance of emotional intelligence was given by Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee, 2002 they believe that great leaders move us. They ignite our passion and inspire the best in us. When we try to explain why they are so effective, we speak of strategy, vision or powerful ideas, but the reality is much more primal. Great leadership works through the emotions. I believe that by possessing strong emotional intelligence competency not only it will improve me as a person but also will allow for me to grow as a manager. The emotional intelligence test which we were asked to undertake my score was 86 and the brief description stated that my score of the assessment is reasonably good, but there is some room
Jansen (2001) proposes that the benefits of management development learning or development initiatives provide benefits which develop the individual manager whilst simultaneously supporting organizational and strategic objectives. I want to believe that by developing greater understanding of emotional intelligence I will be able to work better in groups and allow support and offer empathy to my colleagues. I want to believe that I can in fact be a manager who does achieve great productivity levels but also is a
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for improvement. Overall I appear to be fairly skilled at understanding and dealing with emotions. Judging on this assessment I believe that by training myself into stability of my emotions would lead to a success in achieving a better score.
sympathetic boss to their employees.I believe that something like that will take lifetime to develop fully, but by participating in various POD opportunities I believe that some knowledge can be gained in 6 months approximately.I have attended the Mindfulness Base Stress Reduction seminars which run for six weeks as well as that I participated in communications workshop.
Management and Personality Development Synthesis
The Management and Personality Development section of the Next Generation Management
module is focused on improving one self. This is done by helping students highlight the
competencies they already possess and ones they wish to develop. As well as that, the module
re-introduces students to the concept of leadership, by covering every aspect of leadership
and by allowing students to become a leader of a team and familiarise first-hand with the
challenges involved. This is done by participation in DICE project, where students are asked
to manage two projects carried out by first-year business students of the university. At the
beginning of the year students are encouraged to identify their strengths and weaknesses by
using personality assessments. Upon completion of those, I was able to form a firm structure
for the Personal Development Plan. Therefore, the events, workshops and other Personal
Opportunities of Development I participated in, were direct outcome of my Personal
Development Plan. The impact of the Management and Personality Development influence
was felt in many areas, such as: competency building, as mentioned above, also team
working throughout the year as well as self-awareness for improving ourselves in preparation
to enter the business world.
At the start of year I constructed my Personal Development Plan after completing a
Leadership Competency Framework with my team mates. This framework, also guided me in
the selection of the competencies for myself. Alterations were made to the original Personal
Development Plan and so, I have chosen five competencies in total that I believe would assist
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in creation of strong leader. Business demeanour, digital communication skills, problem
solving skills, emotional intelligence and cross-cultural competency are my five.
Business demeanour was my choice, because I believe that in business world appropriate
verbal and non-verbal communication as well as presentable professional appearance are first
indicators for employer of who is going to be representing the company. Therefore it is
essential to possess this competency when entering and working in any organisation.
Digital communication skills are an essential tool, in this ever-changing technology
landscape, where the way people communicate and devices of communications have altered
majestically. Therefore, the knowledge of the disruptive technologies and understanding of
how to utilise them is essential for any aspiring business person. I believe that I have reached
the goal set for myself in evolving my knowledge of digital communication skills and so I
can state that I gained a broader understanding of today’s digital landscape, however there is
still much room to grow and continuous learning of the topic is my aim for the near future.
I chose problem solving skills competency to understand better the steps involved in
recognition and solution of problems in my own personal development as well as in the
business setting. I discovered throughout this year, that I possess tendency to jump into work,
without establishing clearly of what I am indeed asked to do. Therefore, I decided to pay
more attention to reading about the problem and just then search for an appropriate solution.
‘Research shows that people who spend more time at the beginning working out exactly what
a task involves have a better chance of success. This is referred to as 'elaborating the
problem'’ (Palgrave.com, 2013). Indeed, through the use of Personal Development
Opportunities and assignments throughout the year I was able to focus on learning how to
‘elaborate the problem’.
Emotional intelligence was one of the competencies to develop for me because I believe, that
in order to lead people, one must understand not only own emotions but also have the ability
to read emotional character of other individuals. Ability to do this assists in evaluation of
ones colleagues, therefore creating feeling of empathy. Goleman (1998) states that: ‘while the
qualities traditionally associated with leadership—such as intelligence, toughness,
determination, and vision—are required for success, they are insufficient. Truly effective
leaders are also distinguished by a high degree of emotional intelligence, which includes self-
awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill’. I agree and believe that a
true leader should be centred towards getting a job done while being employee focused.
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I chose the cross-cultural competency in order to familiarise myself with different cultures
and furthermore the existent business etiquette in that culture. I strongly believe, that the
greatest growth happens once a person is aware. I want to be aware of different cultures, to
understand them better and to familiarise with the verbal and non-verbal communication
cues, so to communicate in a respectful and appropriate manner.
Through reflecting on the Personal Opportunities of Development that I attended, I was able
to see the progress I have made over the year. I have also learned that there are little that a
person cannot learn. I had a structure set out for myself, and it guided me towards collection
of the POD’s and the research on various topics, then, gave valuable insights. In progress of
all this, I learned. I was able to identify clearly the weaknesses of mine and therefore work on
them. Presentation skills, for example, was a huge weakness of mine, and so through several
presentations in various modules, asking questions in a focus group conducted by our team
and through asking questions in classes I was able to improve on my ability to present.
Therefore, I understand now that it is quite challenging to work on oneself, it takes time and
effort, however it is a worthwhile task, because the end outcome is a little better me.
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Personal Opportunities of Development Table
The Personal Opportunities of development that I have chosen to reflect on for Management
and Personality development theme are summarised below:
POD Title Worth Related PDP
Working in groups workshop
1 Problem solving skills
Presentation skills workshop
1 Professional demeanour
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction series
2Emotional intelligence, problem solving skills
CV writing skills workshop, joint POD with Interview skills
workshop
1 Professional demeanour
Communications skills workshop
1Professional demeanour, problem solving skills
Chinese classes for beginners
2Professional demeanour, cross-
cultural competency
Derek Bell talk, joint POD with Career
planning1
Professional demeanour, problem solving skills
Accenture and Irish Times Leaders of
Tomorrow competition2
Professional demeanour, problem solving skills
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Title of the event: Working in Groups Workshop
Date: 14/11/12
Organizer: Dr. Liz McLoughlin
Location: Nursing Building HG 22
What is a group?
According to Brown (2000) ‘a group exists when two or more people define themselves as
members of it and when its’ existence is recognized by at least one other’. This statement to
me appears to be very accurate as it does not refer to a group any more than it actually is. A
bunch of us have attended a group workshop which was a very valuable experience for me.
The reasons for that are quite few. Firstly we looked at how the groups form and the stages
people go through during formation of it, we looked at the leadership competencies that
might shine through in a particular team member, the recognition and adaptation of different
roles in the group, also the things that might go wrong in the group. This was all a useful and
important information to receive, but for me personally the main development happened
when I spoke with Liz about the actual differences in people. As she is a professor in
psychology and my undergraduate degree relates to that highly, I found talking to her and
discussing differences of introvert and extravert people for example joining groups and the
ways to motivate them to express opinions and ideas in the bettering of the outcome of the
group work. We also spoke on how people’s behaviours can be altered significantly once the
circumstances have changed, for example the Zimbardo prison experiment or the Steve
Richters follow up of the original study the BBC prison study.
Recently, I have wrote a short essay while carrying out an exam in the Teaching English as A
Foreign Language online course. They have asked me to consider: how would I react to a
student who is overly enthusiastic and is not allowing any of his/her classmates to talk? In
answering the question I considered the ways to motivate that person while not
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overshadowing the rest of the class and allowing everyone express themselves equally. I
considered being the viewer of this and considering how I would improve that group work. It
is a tough task, and it requires the person to be equipped with competencies which I am in the
process of developing, thus it has helped me to put the information in practice.
Working in groups can be enjoyable but also an overwhelming experience. It depends on the
size of the group, the people involved in the group and the position that you take upon in it.
According to Sarkisian and Bok Center (1997) ‘the problems that may occur in the group
might appear because of the lack of clear goals and this may lead to floundering, dominating,
digressions, getting stuck, rush to work, ignoring and ridiculing others’. Thus I believe that it
is important to understand every aspect of a group, weather you look at it from outsiders or
insiders point of view, to discover the differences and to encourage them. Bringing people
together to work for a common goal is a common challenge in school or college, but the most
difficult task is to not allow emotions to take over, to consider the situation you are in
rationally and to take upon this process and consider it as a curve of learning.
Throughout this master’s degree we were given several opportunities of working in groups, to
carry out projects and assignments. There were plenty of functional teams formed and also
quite few dysfunctional ones as well. The main challenge I found, that repeated itself
throughout several group work periods was the attempt by some members to shake off the
responsibilities. To elaborate on that a clear example can be provided. In one instance I
worked with four others, to complete a certain assignment. After separating the work load we
decided to meet second time, and have certain questions answered by then. At the second
meeting majority of the team did not have the questions completed and so we decided to do
the questions that were not answered as well as the rest of the questions individually and meet
again a week later to discuss and add together the whole assignment. A week later the
meeting took place, we all added our parts into the google doc created so everyone could read
through. Then suddenly three of the team members announced that they have individual
commitments (Pod’s, other work needed to be done) for this hour, so will not be staying to
help to fix up the assignment. So, me and one of the teammates stayed and did the editing and
altering of the final piece. The frustrating aspect was that some of the pieces given to us were
not relating to the questions asked, so it led to me and my teammate staying in the canteen
and fixing it for 5 hours that day. Throughout the lifespan of our team we all got along very
well, the team was made up of lovely people. The issue seemed to be quite clear though, they
were people who would much rather work on individual assignments, and were not very
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strong at working in groups. There are instances were social facilitation kicks in, were people
feel motivated in the presence of others, in other instances it not the case.
I believe that throughout my Undergraduate studies as well as this study year my group
working skills have improved substantially. I am happy and confident to say that I have
learned to handle difficult situations through communication and compromise. In the example
given above, me and my teammate discussed very carefully what should be done about this
abandonment of work by the rest of our team, but after considering the circumstances in that
particular case we decided to chat with our team after the project is submitted and not to take
it to the lecturer. After finishing a presentation for this assignment, we sat down and chatted.
Everyone expressed their views of how the assignment went, and me and my teammate
received a sincere thank you for adding and editing the piece. The set of circumstances (work
load at that particular time) was something that did not allowed them to focus more on this
assignment.
I have learned very much on the importance of communication and empathy in a team.
Despite the fact that we have carried out numerous group projects before this workshop, I can
say with confidence that I started paying attention to my behaviour and it of others after I
attended the class.
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Proof of participation:
Attendance was taken on the day.
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Title of the event: Presentation skills workshop
Date: 15/11/12
Organizer: Yvonne McCloughlin
Location: QG27, DCUBS
In the presentation workshop we were explained the basics of delivering a presentation: the
importance of speaking clearly and putting across a point in a coherent and understandable
way. Also we were explained the importance of non-verbal cues. Bill Gates (2004) has noted
cleverly that any tool that enhances communication has profound effects in terms of how
people can learn from each other, and how they can achieve the kind of freedoms that they’re
interested in. Great speakers hold a power to captivate and inspire people. It is a powerful
tool, but the challenge lies in the development of that pool of competencies which allows one
to be successful at this. In my opinion successful presenters and orators possess charisma,
confidence, determination, great communication skills and strong motivational competency.
So theoretically it requires a lot of time and effort to achieve these competencies if they do
not come naturally to you.
In his Address (attached at the end) Barack Obama speaks on economics. Obama was elected
during the greatest economic crash since the Great Depression. As he was well known as a
social policy thinker, it was questionable whether he has what it takes to face down the crisis
in the way Franklin D. Roosevelt did in his inaugural address. He was successful addressing
the issues and re-injecting confidence back into an economy plunging into recession,
repossession and retrenchment. “Fresh facts, even old facts presented in a surprising new
way, can have an explosive impact.” Glover (2011) in four years Obama has risen from being
and obscure Illinois state legislator to a viable contender for the most powerful office in the
world for one major reason: he could speak like few others.
Working with people was never an issue for me, I enjoy suggesting ideas, brainstorming with
a group of people and so the only issue for me is the presentations. I have never been a good
public speaker. In fact every time we were asked to present while studying undergraduate
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course in college I would try and think of ways of how to get out of it and secretly just
wanting to run away. I never would, but the anxiety, the fear that this caused was something I
would like to work on and improve my ability to present. Despite the fact that I would have
solid ideas to express some sort of “roadblock” would stop me and thus I would rely on my
colleagues who are presenting with me to take over.
Cicero argued that the most knowledgeable and just people have an obligation not just to be
smart and true, but also to become effective orators. He also emphasized that anyone could
learn the techniques of oratory necessary to do a competent job, and those with a natural gift
and willingness to practice hard could also do well; but truly great orators are extremely rare.
“We demand acuteness of a logician, the profundity of a philosopher, the diction virtually of
a poet, the memory of a lawyer, the voice of a performer in a tragic drama, the gestures, you
might say, of an actor at the very top of his profession” Cicero. The Greeks and the Romans
began noticing that, circumstances being similar, some speaking methods tended to achieve
more success than others. They concluded that given person’s mind seemed to respond to
verbal stimuli in predictable way, there must be an art to success in public speaking. So the
two styles of speeches determined back in Ancient Greece included:
Atticism – an austere style that shunned rhetorical excess. Today it would be referred
to as speaking plainly or speaking your mind without any fancy words.
Asiatic – the best approach is the one suited for the occasion and the audience. Orator
had the option to use any rhetorical weapon at hand – poetic and guttural, logical or
emotional, clean or dirty, whatever worked.
Speeches all tended to have the same basic components. Their speakers had the same limited
number of tasks. Each audience and occasion demanded and appropriate style of drafting and
delivery. A major contribution by Aristotle to oratory was the arguing that the best orators are
those who understand the needs of their audiences the three points expressing that include:
Logic (logos) – the logical coherency of the speakers’ case backed by evidence.
Emotion (pathos) – the successful appeal to the audiences’ emotions.
Character (ethos) – the creation of trust in what the speaker says.
The book, Institutio Oratoria (Training in oratory) was an encyclopaedic reference, which
drew on the works of Cicero and the Greek masters, to set out the most conceivable aspect of
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how to educate and train the perfect orator. These techniques are still widely used by todays’
best speakers such as Barack Obama and Sarah Palin.
The understanding of importance of great oratory stems from the antiquity. It is one of the
greatest achievements that a person could accomplish as it allows for the orator to put across
a message in a way so that the Forum (audience) is captivated by it. I have a greater
understanding now of what it entails to become a good orator. It requires skill and
preciseness. Regardless that I do not possess these qualities yet, it does not demotivate me in
fact the contrary is true. I wish to become a strong orator one day as I believe that any job in
the global business environment of todays’ require strong individuals capable to clearly
indicate their ideals and thus motivate the people to follow them in a reach of those.
I believe that I am a poor presenter because I lack quite few of these competencies, so I must
admit that the presentations workshop even though it has been of value in a surface level, in
explaining the main points required for a successful presentation, has not allowed me to
develop the competencies, so I decided to research the skill and with the help of useful tips to
gain further knowledge on how to deliver a better speech.
“I know that for many Americans watching right now, the state of our economy is a concern
that rises above all others. And rightly so. If you haven’t been personally affected by this
recession, you probably know someone who has – a friend; a neighbour; a member of your
family. You don’t need to hear another list of statistics to know that our economy is in crisis,
because you live it every day. It’s the worry you wake up with and the source of sleepless
nights. It’s the job you thought you’d retire from but know have lost; the business you built
your dreams upon that’s now hanging by a thread; the college acceptance letter your child
had to put back in the envelope. The impact of this recession is real, and it is everywhere.
But while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken; though we are living
through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this: we will
rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.
The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation. The answers to our
problems don’t lie beyond our reach. They exist in our laboratories and universities; in our
fields and our factories; in the imagination of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the hardest-
working people on Earth. Those qualities that have made America the greatest force of
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progress and prosperity in human history we still possess in ample measure. What is
required now is for this country to pull together, confront boldly the challenges we face, and
take responsibility for our future once more.”
Barack Obama, State of the Union Address, 22 February 2009.
The proof of attendance:
Attendance was taken on the day.
http://rutaramanauskaite2.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/perfecting-your-presentation-skills-1-
pod/
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Title of the event: Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction classes (6 weeks)
Date: 31/10/2012
The Organizer: Helena M. A.
Location: DCU, the HUB
A big crowd of people occupied the HUB on last Wednesday afternoon for the Mindfulness
Based Stress Reduction session. There were 5 of the sessions in total, so 5 weeks. We started
by attempting various breathing exercises, focusing on the present moment and being aware
of our surroundings. This was called the ‘Breathing Space Exercise’. After this we were
asked to focus on eating a raisin. Slowly and consciously, which helped us to learn how less
amount of food can satisfy a person once they are fully aware of the fact that they are eating.
It seems simple and basic, but in this POD gathering journey knowledge on how to relax and
let go all the bad emotions for at least a moment can help you to put things into the right
order. The following classes we carried out the full body scan which allowed me to feel
slightly more aware of my body and to understand myself a little bit better. We all had to do a
20 minute breathing exercise which made me aware of every breath I took. It was very
powerful as from the crown of my head to the tips of the toes my body filled up with oxygen
and felt as if I was all by myself, without troubles, ideas or disturbances. We also carried out
the mountain breathing exercise. This was a calming experience that made me feel somehow
in peace with everything around me. In one of the classes we were given a task to walk
mindfully, take each step while being focused and aware of doing it. This made me consider
the rush and the pace of the life I am living. I was not aware of the slow ways in which tasks
may be carried out. Maybe because my approach to variety of tasks is to do them efficiently,
ergo at a fast pace. I found myself critiquing one aspect of these classes though. One hour a
week is not enough time to delete, temporarily everything that is on your mind. In that point
in time, we all were pressed with various projects and assignments to complete, so it was
difficult at times to blank the mind and ‘concentrate’ on being relaxed.
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This idea of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction originated in 1979 and was created by Jon
Kabat-Zinn. This program is in over 250 hospitals around the US and many more around the
world. For supporting people with stress, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, alleviating stress
related to medical conditions etc. According to Baum (2010) ‘mindfulness is a Buddhist
practice adapted to mental health purposes. The essence of mindfulness practice is focusing
on one thing in the moment–each breath you take, each step as you walk, the sights or sounds
around you.’ These sessions made me consider, also, the level of stress we (students) are
undertaking at one time or another during the year of the Master’s program. Stress can be a
powerful motivator and also an enemy to a person. If presented in moderation stress can
become a strong motivator, in instances such as: when we were asked to participate in a
competition Google Online Marketing Challenge. Our team was aware that the rest of the
class is participating as well, and so there was a minor level of stress, as it motivated us to
work harder and achieve better results than our ‘competitors’. This level of stress made the
completion of the challenge a bit more exciting and motivated us to put in a lot more time in
the task in order to do better. If, however, stress presented is too much for a person to handle,
it can cause demotivation, dissatisfaction, absenteeism, turnover (biases that may occur in
work place) and even illness. As my Undergraduate degree relates heavily to psychology, I
find human behaviours to be fascinating topic. That led me to consider stress in the
workplace and in college atmosphere, as I too undergo different levels of stress on the regular
basis.
Some jobs are more stressful than others. The greater the extent to which the job requires
decision making, exchange of information repeatedly with others, unpleasant physical
conditions and performance of unstructured tasks the more stressful the job might appear to
the person doing it. For instance, the less involved person is in decision making the more
helpless and alienated he/she feels. Being in a situation where one is socially isolated or
ignored can be another elevator of stress. According to Briner (2001) ‘stress has become a
trivial concept without a clear set of physical symptoms’. This is just partially true, as there
are many symptoms identified today, in those undergoing elevated levels of stress, such as:
noticeable decline in physical appearance, fatigue and tiredness, respiratory infections, health
complaints (headaches, backaches, stomach and skin problems, signs of depression, change
in eating habits). I can strongly say that there were times where I believed to be under a lot of
stress, as I still keep part-time employment throughout my studies. Sometimes it feels to be
too much. So I came up with minor but effective strategies of how to deal with the stress. I
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work in ‘AVOCA hand weavers’ café, where I am a waitress, the job is a tough one, as there
are plenty things to do throughout the day. After couple of years of working there I realised
that the time has come for me to find something else. I knew from the beginning that this job
is not going to be a challenging one, but I carried through purely to be able to pay for college.
After I made up my mind, to change jobs and after a thorough search of one, that was
unsuccessful because no other place could offer the convenient working hours, I gave up. So
I decided to stay there until I am finished with my Master’s degree. From that time on, the
job became even more difficult. That was I believe due to the fact that I was set to leave, and
to go back and go on as usual became a challenge. The strategy that helped me to go on was
to start reading at work. Every break I would spend reading something interesting for me,
such as: politics, psychology related articles, books about philosophy, history and economics.
I would then consider these theories, and run them through in my mind, until I’m home and
am able to read more. That gives me the motivation to get through the day, as I am excited to
find out more about the book. It is ‘escapism’ of a sort and I realize that, but tough times
require drastic measures, and so mine is not and extreme one, but a successful strategy that
allows me to follow through with the job and still stay motivated.
This is mainly the reason why I decided to sign up and attend the Mindfulness Based Stress
Reduction classes. College presents many challenges and it is a good thing. Although there
are times when I find myself trying to wrap my mind around the numerous things there are to
do, and it makes it difficult not to drop everything. This is just an extreme thought, triggered
by escalated levels of stress that overwhelm us all once in a while. The trick is to come up
with something of your own, and to manage these levels of stress. These sessions did not
influenced me directly. I cannot say that I am eating, walking or breathing mindfully after I
completed them. What it did thought me though, was that I do need to take time off for
myself once in a while. To take a half an hour out of the day and to take a walk, or go for a
jog. Activities like that make a big difference, for the mind, for the body and for the soul.
This is my strategy of coping with college now, and I can strongly say that it was inspired by
these classes.
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Proof of attendance:
http://rutaramanauskaite2.wordpress.com/2012/10/
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Title of the event: Making impact with your CV and cover letter
Interview skills workshop with Accenture
Date: 23-25/10/12
Organizer: Yvonne McLoughlin
Brian S.
Location: QG15, Q220 DCUBS
Yvonne McLoughlin careers adviser and student academic support officer with DCU
delivered a very handy workshop on what employers are looking for in your CV and cover
letter. It gave a clear understanding on what are the usual dos and don’ts. As Noel Maher
from “Fidelity” (2013) has put it employers are not looking for over-crowded CV’s with
information that is irrelevant. He also stressed the issue of generated CV’s that employers
receive daily, and which goes to the “no” pile 100% of the time.
I found that interesting, because for as long as I have been applying for jobs I have never
altered a CV individually for each company. I have always sent the same generated CV and
expected good results. According to AbsoluteCV.co.uk (2012) ‘there are several banal
phrases usually found on CVs that employers can usually find in 90% on the ones they
receive’. These are something that I have been using for years, and only realized now that
these are. For example:
1. My experience gives me advantage over other candidates
2. I am the right candidate for this position
3. I am passionate, capable etc.
These are just few phrases that I used in my CV believing strongly that this will give me an
advantage over others. This session made me think that the CV should reflect the best of me
and show a potential employer specific competencies that I possess and that are suited for
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that job description. Another advantage of this workshop was that we learned how a CV
should be structured. Also, important things to remember:
The main point in writing a CV is to remember that when applying for a different position the
CV has to be altered, as mentioned above, to show off the capabilities you can bring to that
particular job and how you would bring value to the organization itself.
Few other points to remember when writing the CV: it is not necessary to put in Curriculum
Vitae at the top of your CV, try not to use your usual e-mail address and develop a new one
which sounds more appropriate, in the education column it is important to explain relevant
modules carried out in school, university etc., in the work experience column relevant work
experience should be pointed out and on the bottom of it, it is acceptable to put in other work
experience. If mentioning volunteering work it is important to describe the outcomes of it e.g.
skills gained etc., it is acceptable to put in the URL’s of your LinkedIn or E-portfolio profiles,
it is important to have your Voice Mail activated, so the employers could contact you. There
is no need to put in the date of birth, the gender or a photo in a CV, interests and
achievements column in an important one so it is essential to utilize it. If one of the interests
is travelling, it is important to give clear outcomes of it and explain what has been gained
from the experience.
Few useful tips on writing the cover letter were suggested and these include: keep it short, up
to one page, if writing to the named person the end should be” yours sincerely”, if Dear
Sir/Madam the end should be” yours faithfully”, three clear paragraphs.
I attended the interview skills workshop as well for two particular reasons. Firstly, because of
the fact that I am familiar with undertaking an interview but did not know the proper and
effective strategies of doing it, secondly the fact that Accenture member was the one
delivering it was an influencing factor to me. I am considering a business consulting career
for the future, so it was very useful to hear specific requirements that they have for the
candidates as I might be one of them in the near future.
Brian emphasized many things required for an effective and successful interview. A lot of
them were common sense and some of it I already knew, but there were aspects that I was not
so much familiar with and one of them really caught my attention. Brian stressed the
importance of avoiding negative language during the interview. He explained that it is
important to try and avoid such words as but…, only…, just… because they are considered
negative language. It was something new to me as these words are very common in my
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vocabulary and used simultaneously in any conversation. This idea made me think what
should I replace these with also about how important it is to prepare for every interview and
understand not only what you are ought to talk about but also how to talk about it. I have
never considered these to be somewhat negative, so it arose many questions. One of my
biggest passions is learning different languages and English is something that I started
learning when I was five, so I automatically assumed that by now, having done my
undergraduate degree here in Ireland and engaging myself in various different experiences
that would be carried out in English would mean that I would be familiar with the language
well enough to know the types of language appropriate for different situations, but from this I
came to understanding that there are still plenty things to learn.
According Calvin Sun (2012) People react to us, and shape their perceptions of us, based on
the way we say things to them. Which means that if appropriately spoken and given clear and
positive perception of things people, would understand and intake the information very
openly and with no particular attitude towards us. Lukaszewsky’s (2001) The dictionary of
non-communication states that negative language is a non-communication entity and that it
works like the “roadblock” in communication.
I can honestly state that this was a worthwhile hour as I was able to meet someone from a
company that I admire as well as to question something that as previously thought was a very
common knowledge. This workshop as well as the CV writing session made sense as they
allowed me to tie the leads to what I thought I already knew well enough. It helped to
understand that there are always things to discover and improve upon.
The proof of my attendance:
http://rutaramanauskaite2.wordpress.com/
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Event: Communications skills workshop
Host: Amanpreet Sahota
Date: 15/03/2013
Venue: Q218
‘I wish I had some way to make a bridge from man to man… Man is all we got’
Cross Daman (1986)
Communication is one of the basic possessions that a human being is entitled to. It is as a
bridge of a sort that enables us to give and receive information. A bunch of us attended a
communications workshop with two teaching assistants. It was a very hands on workshop
that awakened us to understand the mistakes we are making when communicating on daily
basis. The workshop ran for approximately 4 hours, during which we were occupied with a
variety of activities to encourage communication in various different situations. We learned
that what we say only holds 7% of importance for the listener, however how you say it holds
the greatest importance 97%. Amanpreet also explained to us that over 70% of mistakes
made in the workplace are associated with poor communication. She emphasized the 3V’s of
communication: Verbal, Visual and Vocal.
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Image taken from: Ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.ie (2013)
The first task of the workshop was to try and get the other person (who is not very keen) to
elaborate and to give you information about themselves. I asked the TA ‘what she had for
breakfast?’ She answered me very briefly – ‘porridge’. So I asked her about the brand of
porridge she buys, how is she enjoying different flavours of this particular brand, and which
supermarkets are ones that she usually goes to. At the end of this exercise, we were having a
nicely flowing conversation. So I believe this was a success. The second exercise was to
describe for a person sitting behind me what is the figure on the sheet of paper distributed.
Except we were not allowed to talk, only to say yes or no to the questions the person behind
me was asking. This exercise went ok, as me and my teammate were able to communicate
well enough to draw the figure that was on the sheet with a limited amount of
communication. The third exercise was, I thought, the most valuable as we were asked to
read a scenario and to act in front of the class with one of the TA’s help. I was given the role
of Jane, a team leader in a financial organisation. I had to deal with Sarah’s being late
problem. This exercise was recorded, which made us much more nervous, but also social
facilitation occurred where people wanted to perform well, including me. The exercise went
well, even though I was very nervous.
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Aristotle outlined the basic model of communication back in 336BC. Whereas he viewed
rhetoric as an expression of art, we tend to see it today more as an experience. So
communication is an experience between speaker and listener. This experience includes three
major components. These are: the message – the speaker shares a specific message with the
listener. The messages do not need to be limited to words that are spoken, rather they are
conveyed by facial expressions, gestures, physical appearance and tone of voice. Majority of
the message is communicated at the non-verbal level. The speaker- is the second component.
The speaker adds another dimension of complexity to the message. He/she is in control, and
determines how the message will be released. The audience- is the last component. When the
very same message is delivered by the very same speaker it will still not be perceived the
same way by everybody. Different listeners, different audiences will react differently. The
factors determining of how the message will be perceived include: background of the
audience and attitudes and beliefs.
As Howe (n.d.) has put it: ‘a barrier to communication is something that keeps meanings
from meeting. Meaning barriers exist between all people, making communication much more
difficult than most people seem to realize.’ These barriers are high risk responses. These
roadblocks are commonly used by persons in stressful situations.
This workshop helped me in two ways. Firstly, I have realised that I possess a lot more
roadblocks than I would like to. The use of negative words, such as but…, just… etc. is
common in my vocabulary, and so I have decided to pay a lot more attention to the way I
speak, and improve things when I discover a poorly selected words. This is a challenging
task, but I do wish to try and improve my communication through more active listening,
empathy, reduction of negative words and through expressing my ideas much clearly.
Secondly, this class helped me see what I was doing wrong, with the assignments and
projects throughout the year. In the first semester we did a group work assessment workshop,
and we received feedback a while later. In the feedback there was a piece of structured
criticism explaining that my weakness is that I do not read well enough into the question to
understand what I am actually asked to do. After doing the workshop, I now see that these
two activities relate in a way that they allowed me to see clearly that this is in fact a major
roadblock. I have always rushed through reading the questions for assignments, it’s like I
could not wait to get them over and done with, so the process itself would be very rushed. I
do realize now, though, that it is the same way in my verbal communication. I do not listen
well, that has been pointed out by my friends, my family on occasions, but I would always
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defend myself saying, that I am just deep in the thought. I am happy to say now, that I can see
the problem and am very much willing to work on it to become a strong communicator. This
skill is something of great demand in virtually every workplace globally. I believe that
through actively setting myself to communicate more clearly I can open myself pathways to
bigger networking possibilities and ultimately, maybe, a better career.
Proof of attendance:
Attendance sheet was distributed on the day to sign.
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Title of the event: Chinese classes for beginners
Date: 15/11/2012
The host: Weiming Liu
Location: SALIS
In the Chinese class for beginners that was run for 5 weeks we were thought the very basics
of the Mandarin Chinese. The structure of the course was constructed as many beginners
language courses including teachings of pronunciation and the structure of the sentences. As
well as that we learned different topics for each of the classes. We familiarised with the
different tones of voice that are necessary when pronouncing each word. It was something
new and challenging as it is not the usual way in which Western cultures speak. We also
familiarised with topics such as food, drink, family names and pet names.
Chinese language was originally spoken by the Han Chinese and is spoken by about one-fifth
of the total population of Earth. It is one of the two Sino-Tibetan languages and features
much internal diversity. There are around seven dialects of Chinese, including Mandarin,
Cantonese, Hakka, Wu, Min, Xiang and Gan. Since China opened its’ doors to the world,
there has been a positive growth in the economy. It’s an emerging destination for economic
migration. With the substantial growth of the technology driven world it is crucial to move
along with the set out pace. With the stable growth presented by majority of Eastern
economies Chinese is one of the languages which created turmoil around the spoken world.
English and Spanish are the languages that spoken most commonly around the world, but
Chinese language will change the current situation in few years, as it has been forecasted that
it will become the commonly spoken language as well as one mostly used on the internet.
During last summer I had a chance to visit university of Cambridge were I was studying
Ancient Empires. While over there we (the group with whom I did the course) were brought
to the Fitzwilliam museum were the curator of the museum introduced us to the exhibition of
artefacts from Han Dynasty. This was a fascinating experience, learning about Jade armour
and its meaning in Han dynasty, the importance of the surroundings of the Middle Kingdom
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(the meaning in Chinese for China), meaning of the emperor for the people was very
educating. The information gained from that exhibition sparked an interest in the Chinese
culture ancient as well as present, and also the language. This was my driving force that
encouraged me to enrol in this course. I wish to join this fast paced world and to do so, I must
be equipped with tools that would help me achieve a strong career prospects. These classes
certainly done their job to spark an interest in my in Chinese language, but not only that. I
found myself researching about the overall Chinese culture, the requirements of doing
business in China and the etiquette of business conduct. Through the research I have
discovered that, according to Zimmermann (2013) ‘The teachings of Confucius — which
stress obedience and deference to elders and responsibility to community — are a dominant
part of the Chinese culture.’ As China is a collectivist country with the largest population in
the world. Government was faced with a problem of providing quality of life, so
consequently introduced and promoted the one child family. To expand more on the cultural
values, they include the importance of family, cultivation of morality, hierarchical structure
of social life and the emphasis on hard work and achievement. Values that govern business
practices in China include setting up appointments at least one to two months in advance and
preferably in writing, punctuality in China is a virtue, late arrival would be considered an
insult, Confucian work ethic, polite bow upon meeting someone. As a Communist country
China’s religion is ‘not an organized, unified program of beliefs and practices. It has no
headquarters, no leadership, no denominations and no founder. Rather, "Chinese religion"
can be a common term utilized to describe the complex interaction of different religious and
philosophical traditions that have been especially influential in China’ (hanban.com, n.d.).
The food, the arts and even the clothing has a rich history and ritual behind it. According to
hanban.com (n.d.) ‘Chinese clothes will be the clothes, ancient and modern day, which the
Chinese folks wore. Chinese clothes have varied by area and time, and are recorded by the
artefacts and arts of Chinese culture’. These and many more factors make up this fascinating
and mysterious culture.
When learning the basics of the symbols, I got interested in the Chinese alphabet. But after
doing some reading discovered that there is no alphabet in Chinese language. Chinese
symbols appear to be debatable topic still, as no one can really say how many there actually
are. Back in the 18th century, European scholars approximated them to be about 80,000. This
is still subject to debate because the character count varies by dictionary and its
comprehensiveness. According to Mauspfeil.net (n.d.):
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Kangxi Dictionary lists about 40,000
Modern Zhonghua Zihai lists in excess of 80,000 (the most comprehensive Japanese
kanji dictionary Daikanwa Jiten lists 50,000 entries)
It is usually said that around 3,000 characters are needed for basic level of literacy in Chinese
(to read a Chinese newspaper). A well educated person will know more, around 4,000 to
5,000 characters or more. It is not actually necessary to know a character for every known
word of Chinese due to the fact that the majority of modern Chinese words are actually
compounded of two, generally common characters. According to About.com (2013)
‘Chinese is not alphabetic so the writing is not related to its phonetics. We don't translate the
Western alphabet since the letters have no meaning, and we do use the letters in writings,
especially in scientific writings. For an English word, the Chinese translation often consists
of two or more Chinese characters. You should use them together and read them from left to
right.’ This was explained to us in the class as well, as we were learning to write the symbols
(upon the completion we knew over 20, including numbers). There are two ways to read the
symbols. You are able to read them from left to right as mentioned above or arranged
vertically. We were reading the symbols from the class notes and they were written from left
to write. What comes to the tones of the language there are usually four (collectively called
pinyin) and each of those tones are used for specific symbols, so once a person pronounces
something listener can hear up to four different tones in that one word. Also two different
forms of Chinese characters include the traditional and the simplified. ‘The simplified is the
standard writing form employed in the mainland of China and the traditional form is mainly
used in Taiwan and Hong Kong.’ (About.com, n.d.) ‘The first official list of simplified form
characters appeared in 1956. Many additions and modifications to the original list were
adopted since. The list included 6500 simplified characters. Nowadays the simplified form
characters are used in China and in Singapore. The traditional form characters are still use in
Taiwan, in Hong Kong and in most of the overseas Chinese communities.’ (Parent, 2003)
In general I very much enjoy languages. In fact learning different languages is a main hobby
for me. I have attempted to learn Italian and am in the progress of self-teaching French and
Spanish. The Chinese class developed somewhat of a curiosity in me as I wish to pursue this
further and maybe pick up a yearlong course after I am finished with the Master’s degree.
The teaching method of Weiming Liu was very slow pace which allowed me to absorb the
necessary information. The topics were easy but handling different words and keeping the
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pronunciation right presented a challenge. This is why I developed a need to know more
about the history behind the symbols and the minimum requirement of those in order to
understand and speak the basic Chinese. As mentioned above, the general requirement for
someone who just wishes to have a basic conversational Chinese and would like to be able to
read a newspaper would require the knowledge of approximately 3000 characters. For a
higher level Chinese the number goes up. This is something that I am willing to work on and
develop with time. I have learned a lot in these five weeks: the four tones, the pronunciation
of the words we learned, words from several different topics and as well as that developed a
curiosity for the Chinese culture. I am keen to learn more and to be able to apply this
knowledge in communicating with people. In order to catch up with the fast pace with which
this global society is moving I believe I should utilize my ability of learning languages and
adapt to fit the requirements of potential employers as well as to push myself further.
Proof of participation:
http://rutaramanauskaite2.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/chinese-classes-for-beginners-5-weeks-
2-pods/
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Event: Brand protection and career development/ Career planning
Host: Derek Bell/ Yvonne McLaughlin
Date: 02/04/13, 19/02/2013
Location: QG15, QG21
As part of the Management and Personality Development theme I participated in two events
that were valuable in few different ways. First event was the Careers office arranged
presentation on career planning with Yvonne McLaughlin. Yvonne explained to us the
importance of recognizing the mission statement of the company to familiarize with the way
the company functions. She emphasized the values, interests, personality and skills and
attributes that would create opportunities in a company which would value and motivate the
particular traits possessed by the employee. She also spoke of the importance of bringing
something into the company, therefore the key skills that would be advantageous in a certain
role. Skills are transferable as they can be transferred to different situations, so it is important
to present potential employer with various situations in which the certain skills shine through.
By understanding that a person possesses that skill potential one can see that the skill might
be adapted to a certain situation in the organization. Another important point emphasized by
Yvonne was that before even applying for positions it is crucial to understand the area one
wishes to work in so that the main focus would be on researching the company and preparing
well to apply for it. Yvonne spoke of the life space roles which we all possess. We were
asked to consider what these roles tell us about ourselves.
The changing employer landscape is another thing to consider, the changing of jobs more
frequently is becoming much more common through lifetime of individuals. We were
advised to meet with representatives of a company that we admire and to approach them with
questions of what they expect from potential employees and what are their essential
requirements. As well as that, when job hunting it is important to establish the main areas of
interest, attend presentations by the employer, network and read web based case studies.
The second event was hosted by Derek Bell. The main topics covered by him included:
redundancy – the definition of it as well as the reasons for it. Change – the adoption of
change in an organisation and in the person himself/herself. Outplacement – ways of
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facilitating terminated employee’s job search. Career- the important things to consider. I
believe that these two events create a thorough personal opportunity of development, as
several important aspects are covered, in organizational level as well as in the personal.
‘The term redundancy is used where an employee’s position ceases to exist and the employee
is not replaced. The reasoning for the redundancy situation could be the financial position of
the firm, lack of work, reorganization within the firm or it may be closing down completely’
(Pyne, 2013). Redundancy levels in Ireland has accelerated in recent years due to the
overwhelming global financial crisis that snuck into businesses as well as households.
Despite the fact that the situation is getting better slowly, there is still a need to be cautious
and to possess knowledge of handling redundancies. According to Lkshields.ie (2012) ‘it is
advisable for employers to consult with employees when the proposal to make redundancies
is in its formative stage, before any decisions have been made at management or board level
in relation to such proposals’. Employees should have an opportunity to put forward
considerations of how to avoid redundancies. As well as that, once a person is made
redundant it is the managements’ responsibility to assist the former employee as much as they
can in achieving new employment prospects. These are some steps that could be taken by
organisations as explained by tpub.com (n. d.):
Federally and state funded company retraining programs
Job search assistance
Temporary work space
Workshops on interview skills and resume preparation
Access to computers, telephones, and job search library
‘In a job market where employers are spoilt for choice, working with an outplacement
company can make the fundamental difference between getting the job offer you want or
failing to even get on the shortlist’ (Telegraph.co.uk, 2013). Indeed, therefore it is
advantageous to utilize the resources available for one self in the organization.
Change is another important factor in organizations. An example would be of companies that
have chosen a strategy of joint venture with another company. As well as that, relocation,
reorganization etc. From the view of regular employee this type of change might be perceived
as a threat to their employment. Therefore, it is highly important to understand the
importance of functional change implementation, to communicate the upcoming change to
the staff and to help them perceive it as essential, for the better good of the firm.
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Career – was the last topic covered by Derek. Yvonne and Derek collaboratively made me
understand that in order to achieve goals set by one self, structure is needed. Derek
emphasized the importance of creating a career plan. Typically a five-year rotating plan, that
indicates the goals to be achieved. Yvonne, therefore elaborated on that, by providing us with
tips of how to succeed in a company.
Both events were informative, but also basic in a sense that I was aware of these aspects
already. However, they reminded me of the importance of applying the knowledge you have.
They also showed me that, in order to succeed in any career path chosen, structure is
essential. I have set out be a continuous learner, to role with times and be on top of events
that might alter the organization I am in. I understand, now the importance of networking, of
creating wider connections for self. Communication, in my view is a key. Through, listening
and understanding co-workers and management better decisions can be made. Ergo, I believe
that these personal opportunities of development have done, what they set out to-remind of
the important aspects in organisation, that we often overlook.
Proof of attendance:
The attendance was taken at both events.
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Title of the event: The Leaders of Tomorrow Award
Date: 26/11/2012
The organizer: Accenture and Irish Times
Location: online
In the late November me and my course mate decided to enter the Leaders of Tomorrow
competition. Accenture, in association with The Irish Times have established the Leaders of
Tomorrow Award. Participants in the Accenture Leaders of Tomorrow Award 2013 had a
chance to submit an idea that was developed throughout the competition into a viable
business concept. The successful finalists take part in a series of leadership development days
around the theme of Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Innovation which include guest
speakers and one-to one mentoring. The final round involves presenting the idea to a panel of
Irish business leaders. The overall winners take part in the Accenture Leadership Experience
Tour to some of Accenture's global innovation centres followed by an Incubation Internship
with Accenture to develop the business idea. With only the idea behind us we applied. The
idea was inspired by the Sustainability conference we have attended earlier in the year. It
included restructuring the existing infrastructure of public transportation in Dublin. The
alternative to it we thought could be the electric buses, that would run on the Lithium ion
batteries with the help of the newly developed durathon battery by GE. The joint advantage
of the two would allow for less waste of energy as it would hold a much larger charge, ergo
using energy strictly for the running of the vehicle and reducing the waste of energy.
The initial idea submission was successful and so we went through to the second round which
then required us to develop a business pitch. We were given certain guidelines to follow in
order to deliver a structured and well researched pitch. We started researching the topic and
eventually came up with a thorough pitch that we thought was covering every aspect of our
idea. We started by briefly explaining what the business will be all about:
‘“Green Bus Dublin” service will provide purely electrically run buses to replace the existing
infrastructure of compressed natural gas run vehicles and thus introduce a more sustainable
way of commuting around the city and expectantly lead to eventual expansion around the
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country. The obvious advantages of the green buses will include less noise, no pollution and
of course the preservation of the scarce resources of our planet. Several countries around the
world have already expressed the need for electrical bus services so the demand is growing.
Countries such as USA, Canada, Russia, Germany, UK, India have been using electrical
buses or/and trains for quite few years. Ireland as an epicentre of global trade and
international relations is a perfect candidate to implement these innovative means of public
transportation. Leading to further advocacy of sustainability ideals around the world as well
as setting of a path to a cleaner, brighter future. Energy conservation, environmental
protection and sustainable development are the key global issues right now. According to the
keynote speech by Robert Latimer from Rutgers University in the Sustainability conference
Dublin 2012 it is our responsibility to reach for a future where we are Too Big to Fail!’
As can be seen our main focus was to create a more sustainable alternative to the way we
commute around the city and consequently all around the country. In developing our pitch we
researched the recent publications and forecasts to the potential future of the electric buses.
There were many alternatives from hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid, fuel cell lithium ion
batteries, capacitor usage as the energy storing device, wireless charge electric buses etc. The
information we gained allowed us to think like entrepreneurs in terms of critically evaluating
the costs and time needed in development of the idea. All of it was very valuable to us, as the
drive of developing the pitch came from the passion we had not only about starting up our
own business, but also because we felt we were given a chance to make a difference. We
continued on explaining the main features of our product and the customers whose needs we
will be satisfying.
‘According to Pike Research Fuel cells and battery electric buses are still in the development
stage, with the cost of needed batteries and ultra-capacitors still as a barrier to wider usage.
The growing interest in electric buses is expected to create an increased demand for the
lithium ion batteries, one of the ways that electric buses can be powered. Pike Research
estimates that this demand will grow 42 percent annually over the next six years. The electric
buses that will replace the Dublin Bus service will have quite similar appearance to the
example ones. The battery will be placed on the roof and the bottom of the bus (a bigger
battery) allowing for quick and easy charge. The charge on the top battery will only take 3-4
minutes while the bus is stopped and the bigger battery will be charged once the bus is back
into the station. The capacity of the double Decker Dublin Bus (RV) reaches up to 98
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passengers. The capacity of the Green Bus will reach up to 81 seats depending on the model.
The buses will be able to travel 155 miles on a single charge on city streets, and feature an
energy consumption rate of less than 130kwh per 62 miles.’
‘With the cost of fossil fuel spiking and the battery technology improving, electric drive
buses are a long-term prospect that benefits everyone. Transit authorities could eventually see
lower fuel costs, while customers and the general public enjoy quieter vehicles and breathe
easier thanks to lower emissions. Pike Research, which analyses clean technology markets,
estimates that the global market for electric drive buses will grow more than 25 percent
annually over the next six years. This will inevitably reach Ireland as well as the demand
already exists!’
As we discovered Dublin bus occupies only a small part of the Public Bus services in Ireland
(including Railink, School Link, Airlink, Nitelink, Dart and Bus services) the implementation
on the electric bus service we thought would be the stepping stone into the overall change in
the bus service around Dublin and around the rest of Ireland eventually. We believe that by
providing pollution free transportation we will give people a choice that is scarcely needed.
Through researching several blogs around Ireland on this topic we discovered that a great
deal of individuals are dissatisfied with Bus Eireann services. However, because they are the
only bus company that provides such transportation service, a customer is forced to use this
particular product. Our Green Bus service will create the freedom of choice for the customer.
A little while ago, for our NGM class we were asked to watch a movie and select main
leaders we identify from it. Then we had to identify the competencies that the leaders possess
and analyse those. Upon the completion of this competition I read through the things we as a
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team wrote on the leaders that we selected. I realised that I was only seeing the surface of the
perceived leadership in these film characters. I did not actually realised what it meant to be a
leader. I cannot strongly say that I’m a leader now, but what I can say is that I have been able
to identify in myself the qualities of leadership that I needed to develop when carrying out
this project. It made me think as a leader. According to Friedrich Nietzsche (n.d.) ‘to do great
things is difficult; but to command great things is more difficult.’ This is a description of a
great leader that I can now relate to, in terms of slowly getting where I want to be. I see
myself as a person who is capable of doing great things and through this competition I have
realized that. If I was to have a chance to rewrite the piece on leader competencies I would
include things such as: patience, integrity, empathy, ability to listen and compromise,
tolerance, motivation of self and others as well as the ability to follow through with ideas
I will use this experience in interviews in the future, to display how I have evolved to
understand these competences. In a workplace these and others that I have gained through
this year will be a guiding factor for me. I wish to be a strong leader in the future. This
opportunity, I believe, was one of the most valuable personal opportunities of development to
date as I was put in a situation where I had to make things happen for myself (through writing
this piece of work and anticipating of the outcome) as well as that it allowed me to motivate
other (making my teammate realise the potential we had in this to start with, and through
compromising of numerous decisions). Other POD’s that have benefited me included:
working in groups workshop, communications workshop, presentation skills workshop.
These collaboratively allowed me to think in different terms. To see what it’s really like
working in teams with others for a period of time, to understand my weaknesses as an orator
and my communications roadblocks. Through research and application of these I can see
change in me towards becoming a stronger, better person, and more suited for challenging job
opportunities that lie ahead.
Proof of participation:
http://rutaramanauskaite2.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/irish-times-and-accenture-the-leaders-
of-tomorrow-1-pod/
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Teamwork Assessment Reflection
As part of the Management and Personality Development theme assessments I participated in
the teamwork workshop. In this, students were separated into groups of five and asked to
complete a task as a group. The task was to consider several employees in an organisation
and to allocate bonuses to everyone based on their work input. This workshop then, was
filmed to give us a better understanding of what we have done right and wrong when working
in teams.
I found this workshop to be extremely useful in several different ways. Firstly, the quantity of
group assignments given to us through the year can be very overwhelming. Therefore, it was
useful to receive structured feedback on the strengths and weaknesses I possess when
working in a group. As well as that, I must admit, that because I did not complete reading of
the brief before the team workshop, I was not aware that each group will be filmed. This was,
however, beneficial in two ways. Firstly, I was able to relax and make suggestions and ideas
without feeling intimidated about being filmed. The second advantage of this was, that it has
proven that I am indeed an Explorer type learner from the Learning Syles Inventory
questionnaire feedback received, refer to the Appendix 1. As it states that Explorer type of
learners lack tendency to ‘attend to the details – of either the instructions or the solutions’.
This has proven itself twice throughout the workshop. Firstly, my lack of reading into the
workshop brief and familiarising of what is going to happen throughout the class and
secondly, the lack of reading into the assignment itself distributed on the day, which led to
lack of structure of our teamwork in this project.
I discovered from completing LSI, that I possess quite dominant nature, which is why I
believe I was able to steer the contemplation of ideas of how to approach the project in a way
that I found to be appropriate. This is the reason, why it was not done in a certain structure,
because I lacked the understanding of what we were asked to do in the first place. However, I
was fortunate to be in a strong and competent team, who contributed ideas which led to
bettering of the outcome. In the feedback received from Dr. Claire Gubbins after the
assessment, she emphasized my lack of reading into the assignment brief. In turn that
contributed to my understanding that this is certainly something to improve upon.
In the feedback also, Dr. Gubbins also stated that: ‘Ruta demonstrated moderate to strong
evidence in both relationship building and task facilitating behaviours such as supporting,
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developing, information seeking and information giving. Ruta supported her colleagues’
ideas and opinions in a respectful way, verbally and non-verbally and showed interest and
respect for others’. I was never aware of the way I behave in a team, this structured feedback
gave me understanding, that in a sense my teamwork skills are strong, but there are areas to
improve upon. Dr. Gubbins also explained that in some instances I was talking over the
quieter members of the team. I do believe, that team that I worked with was a strong one, and
therefore all of us missed out on more ideas that could have been contributed by other
members. This is another aspect I decided to improve upon. For that particular reason I
attended the communications workshop as one of the personal opportunities of development.
Upon completion of it I realised that it is sometimes quite difficult for me to listen as opposed
to hear other people. Therefore, starting with conversations with my friends as well as
working in groups I began focusing more on what was being said to me and as I exercised
this throughout the rest of the year, I feel that improvement did happen.
The downside of the workshop, was the limited time given to complete the task. We were
rushed to push through with the brainstorming and the assignment of the bonuses to the
employees. However this, was also an advantage, as it gave us understanding of what it is
like working under pressure, from which, I believe, we emerged with valuable experience.
This workshop, was very essential part of learning for me. I am now able to identify the
weaknesses of mine and work on improving them. I was able to spot the often behaviours of
mine when not reading into assignment briefs to fully understand what is asked from me,
which has badly contributed to my past ability to complete assignments and projects. As well
as that, I believe that this skill will be advantageous in my future endeavours in any
organisation where team work is essential part of doing business.
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Business and Society Synthesis
Business and Society theme throughout this course gave us - the student’s broader
understanding of the part that business occupies in society and how important it is. According
to Noren (2004) ‘Countries and people have become entwined, mutually dependent. And
together we face a number of challenges. Together, we have to tackle environmental
problems, poverty and terrorism’. This, therefore leads to creation of synergies, through
usage of those collaboratively organisations worldwide are attempting to tackle these grave
problems. This is done, not only by taking direct actions towards solving the problems, but
also by educating the future leaders on those, so they would understand the importance of
these issues and carry on with the work.
Throughout this year we were presented with many opportunities to participate in events,
covering a range of topics and issues, such as: Sustainability, Human rights, Business Ethics
etc. These active issues were discussed and emphasized by variety of renowned academics as
well as entrepreneurs who showed us the importance of each of those on the global society. I
also was able to familiarise with steps required in attempt to resolve these. Therefore, I
strongly believe that involvement of one self as well as collaboration with organisations
worldwide in tackling these issues can make a difference.
The gathering and reflection on the Personal Opportunities of Development for this theme
provided me with the opportunity to look at the global implications of businesses. As well as
that I was encouraged to familiarise myself with different cultures as well as business
etiquette of the country I was learning about.
I have created a Personal Development Plan at the start of the course and then altered it
further in the year, to select appropriate competencies that would cover each of the four
themes given. The competencies I selected for this theme I believe, have pushed further from
developing my skills, to understanding the bigger picture. The competencies for business and
society theme are explained bellow.
I selected to develop business demeanour and cross-cultural competencies to understand
better different cultures and business etiquette functioning, as established previously.
Therefore, I attended a number of events and workshops to familiarise and gain knowledge.
Those included Chinese classes for beginners and the culture associated, Diwali, Indian
festival of lights also the Sustainability event which included representatives from many
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organisations worldwide where I was able to network and interact with highly educated
international people. These events have given me a valuable insight into the differences
existing and also made me realise a lengthy process ahead and extensive experience needed
to fully develop knowledge of different cultures.
Digital communication skills was chosen to be used in developing my knowledge of
disruptive communication ways to reach the greater public. ‘Telephones, the Internet and e-
mail, and satellites that transmit TV broadcasts all over the world are all helping to facilitate
contact between people and provide instantaneous information from absolutely anywhere in
the world’ (Noren, 2004). Indeed, the message can now reach anyone around the globe, and
so organisations are utilising these resources to promote and drive change. Familiarisation
and ability to apply the knowledge of these disruptive technologies is an essential tool of
every aspiring manager.
The problem solving skills are important competency to develop for every theme under Next
Generation Management, I believe. In the case of Business and Society theme it is essential
to possess in order to tackle the growing sustainability issues. As well as that I participated in
LEAD- leading equality and diversity Personal Opportunity of Development, which covered
the sensitive issues of stereotyping and discrimination in organisations and how to prevent
those. Upon completion of this I became more aware of the promotion of human rights across
any workplace.
I chose emotional intelligence competence to develop, in order to become more empathetic as
a person. A great leader has to be a continuous learner and one focused on the tasks ahead of
them as well as on the people working with them. According to Colfax, Rivera & Perez
(2010) ‘effective global business leadership requires a thorough understanding of oneself’.
Therefore, ‘global organizational leaders must increase their capacity to utilizing innate
abilities, developing skills and applying them to the positions of responsibility that they hold’
(Colfax, Rivera & Perez, 2010). I agree with the statement and believe that the need to
succeed cannot diminish the most important asset any organisation possesses – its people.
Through my journey of gathering and reflecting on the Personal Opportunities of
Development for this theme I was able to witness real global leaders. As well as that I was
able to learn the importance that any business local or international has on a society. And so,
I emerged having a broader understanding of the global business arena of todays’ and the
skill set required to become an effective leader.
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Personal Opportunities of Development Table
The Personal Opportunities of development that I have chosen to reflect on for Business and
Society theme are summarised below:
POD Title Worth Related PDP
Sustainability event,
SustaiNext3
Cross-cultural
competency, problem
solving skills
LEAD equality &
diversity1
Problem solving skills,
cross-cultural
competency
Hillary Rodham Clinton
speech1
Cross-cultural
competency
George Hook speech 1 Business demeanour
Ethics class 1
Business demeanour,
cross-cultural
competency
Diwali, Festival of
Lights1
Cross-cultural
competency
Declan Kilkline speech 1
Digital communications
skills, business
demeanour
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Title of the event: SustaiNext summit
Date: 11/12.10.12
The organizer: Ann Lee-Jeffs
Location: DCU, the Helix
On the 11th and 12th of October this year us (NGM) students took part in a Sustainability
Summit. The main focus of the summit was to stress the importance of implementing
sustainable living in all parts of our work and personal lives. It took place in the Helix and
hosted a variety of great speakers. It was very interesting to listen to representatives of
companies like ESB, NHS, Deloitte, Bord Bia and so on stressing the question of maintaining
sustainable resources in various different aspects worldwide.
My role in the summit was a very simplistic one but even if I didn't get to participate in a
reporter role, the advantages of just in taking every point was of value. I engaged in active
listening and took down the notes I thought were of the highest importance.
The day 1 began with a speech delivered by Dr. Paul McNeillis the director of Best Foot
Forward who gave us an understanding of what the conference will include etc. He was
followed by Ann Lee-Jeffs and Dr. Pierre McDonagh who kicked things off. They explained
the importance of looking at sustainable resources as the population is growing swiftly and
that the resources that we use are running out. So the main objective is to sustain these
resources for generations to come. So how by 2020 can we reduce the electricity
consumption? How can we maintain the resources for this fast growing population?
Questions like that surrounded the overall atmosphere in the summit.
We moved on then and listened to the keynote speech by Robert L. Lattimer Senior Fellow
of Diversity studies in Rutgers University, New Jersey US, on universal sustainability.
According to Lattimer (2012) ‘a new economic and social value system is created to ensure
that a society and its institutions are no longer TOO BIG TO FAIL. By having a more
focused value system that is less based on situational values, which involves calculations
about what is available in the here and now: the short term opportunities rather than
consistently living the principles that may create long -term sustainable success. Sustainable
values inspire us to pursue the strategy of becoming TOO SUSTAINABLE TO FAIL’. From
this we can realize that there are greater problems, so it is important for us to share the
message with people around us as well as the generations to come.
At the end of first day we were given a task to create a strategic plan on the issue that we
have discovered in sustainable transport problem (In our case in Ireland). I am happy to say
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that even though I was not able to carry out the reporter duties (as the slots were filled very
quickly), I was able to express my opinion according to my notes and the ideas were heard
and implemented. In this case on my idea on how to increase the demand for women to start
up cycling (as right now the percentage of women cycling is only 30 %). This can be done by
creating a mobile app with particular routes around the city which would save time and
promote secure cycling (being away from the busy roads) was suggested by me as a strategy.
When I got back home that evening I researched the topic more thoroughly which gave me a
broader understanding of what it was about. I read up about quite few national and
international initiatives that have been carried out in attempt to develop appropriate indicators
for measuring sustainability in terms of particular needs identified and captured in unique
definitions of sustainability. According to Jeon and Amekudzi (2005) ‘the Sustainable
Transportation Performance Indicator project of the Center for Sustainable Transportation
CST in Canada in attempt to develop a proper indicators and metrics in trying to assess the
sustainability in transportation systems’. The reason for that are that there is still no standard
definition of transportation system sustainability. We can see from this that this is still a
relatively fresh topic but because it of all these initiatives in near future it will become an
integral part of the way we do business. As we see from various surveys in US the number of
motor vehicles has increased substantially. As it was 75 million in 1960s now it is over 200
million, which means that there is an increasing amount of issues, and these according to
ICLEI (2010) include: air pollution problem arising swiftly, as well as traffic congestion
which causes number of traffic jams daily, loss of urban space and also global climate
change. ‘Between workers and students, around 400,000 people travel 4 km or less to work or
school or college by car every day – distances that could easily be cycled or walked’
(Smarttravel.ie, n.d.). If just few of these people changed to walking or cycling urban
traffic jams would be a thing of the past and our economy would reap benefits from the
improved efficiency in goods movements. It would mean lower overheads for everyone due
to time savings. It would provide a welcome extra boost to competitiveness. I am a driver
and these problems apply to me too. I understand the importance of trying to decrease the air
pollution and I feel now that there is a need to tackle this problem, so now I take the bus or
cycle much more often. I can’t assure to not to use a car again, but hopefully in my own way
the reduction of usage will help. Implementation of such measures as: changing existing
infrastructure in the country, from fuel buses to electric vehicles, car sharing, walking more,
cycling are ways with which step by step everything would change to better.
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The second day was just as exciting as we got to hear from a pool of professionals on
sustainable healthcare, green finance and global society. The interesting fact that captured me
was that so many global companies are concerned with implementation of sustainability in
their business plan like Johnson and Johnson, Sainsbury's, Philips, Proctor and Gamble, etc.
At the end of the panel speeches we were given a task again and this time we wrote on
sustainability implementation in early education institutions.
Through the length of two days of the summit we continuously tackled several different
sustainability topics including: agriculture and food, transformative education, sustainable
healthcare, green finance as well as transportation. There are several establishments
throughout Ireland that are focused on promoting and educating individuals and businesses
about sustainability issues and how to manage them. These organizations include: Tetra Pak,
SustainableIreland.net, SEAI.ie etc. According to Howlin (1997) ‘continued economic
growth is essential to meet peoples’ legitimate ambitions for a better life and to provide the
resources for implementing environmental protection measures. But we should not tolerate
development that is inefficient, that is excessive in its consumption of natural resources or
that unduly pressurizes the environment. The Irish public already strongly support this
assessment. In a recent EU commissioned attitude survey, only 9% of Irish people agreed that
economic development was more important than environmental protection. The
overwhelming majority, some 68%, wanted economic development to be progressed but the
environment to be protected at the same time’. Howlin suggests that there are two ways to
achieve a disruptive change that is firstly through establishment of specific counter-measures
to mitigate adverse environmental effects and through reduction of the intensity of natural
resource consumption associated with energy, industrial and agricultural production. Through
changes like these excessive waste generation and pressures on air, water and soil are headed
off at source. This is the meaning of sustainable development. Sustainable development is in
no way a constraint on the economy, for the Irish situation it offers many opportunities to
enhance the marketing of key natural resource based industries and to exploit the fast
growing world market for environmental goods and services, the adoption of these
sustainable policies is predicted to increase rather than threaten Irish employment.
I have learned very much from this experience. The two day conference has done its job as to
drill the idea of sustainability into all of our heads, so one way or another it has provoked
thought in me about the matter and most certainly established a major interest. I have also
began understanding that Ireland is in perfect position to start this streak of sustainable ways,
thus me and my course mate later in the year applied for the Leaders of Tomorrow
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competition. The idea that we proposed was majorly inspired by the Sustainext conference. It
was to change the existing infrastructure in Dublin by replacing the existing buses with
electrical vehicles. It was a success, as we got through to the second round. This indicates to
us that people are concerned with the issues and share our enthusiasm by accepting this idea.
For the second round in this competition we had to submit a business pitch which included
looking at every aspect of the implementation of this idea. Unfortunately, we did not get
through to the third round, but what has stayed with us was the enthusiasm of bettering that
idea and to come back and apply again once it is perfected. Apart from getting a broader
understanding on sustainability and its importance I also got to circle around intelligent and
achieved people, ask questions and make contacts that hopefully will increase my
employability in the future. I have learned not to be afraid to ask questions in around a major
amount of people also to put across my ideas and felt that they are appreciated. The overall
experience was very enjoyable and opened my eyes to the problems that are greater than what
I perceived them to be before and consider more sustainable ways on how to continue
towards a brighter and better future for us and for future generations to come.
Proof of attendance:
http://rutaramanauskaite2.wordpress.com/2012/10/14/the-conference-on-sustainability/
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Name of the POD: LEAD – living equality and diversity
Location: online (http://www.leadequalitynetwork.com/Programme/Details/1)
Date: 09/03/13
As part of the Business and Society theme, I completed a Living Equality and Diversity
programme online. In order to test my knowledge I had to complete five modules. They
included such as: understanding diversity, what’s it got to do with you?, from compliance to
commitment, recruitment and selection and dignity and respect. Each of them included
information about equality and diversity in Ireland’s universities. The main focus of these
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modules was for the participant to understand these terms and to better apply them in any
situation. ‘LEAD aims to provide University staff with an awareness of the key equality and
diversity issues across the nine equality grounds in Irish legislation in a University context’
(tcd.ie, 2013) My role in this task was to complete each of the modules and once done, to
complete an overall test to receive a grade. I believe, after completing it, that it was a
worthwhile activity and that I have gained information from it. However, I do believe that in
order to promote diversity and equality in the universities, attitudes and beliefs should be
altered from within the university, rather than through online resource.
It is evident in recent years that the university environment as well as the workforce around
the world in any industry is becoming more and more diverse. My Master’s experience was a
very enjoyable one. Much of this was due to the fact that the university encouraged and
celebrated everyone in the group. Our course was filled with people from all over the world
of any age and gender. This created a welcoming and supportive environment for us to work
in.
According to workplaceequality.ie (2005) ‘Ireland is currently in a unique position in Europe
and is the envy of many of its EU neighbours. The rapid expansion of the Irish economy, a
trend that is currently forecast to continue, and the corresponding growth in employment,
have attracted previously under-represented groups into the Irish labour market’. Today, this
complex and diverse workforce in Ireland is forecasted to grow in the future. Therefore, the
growth of Ireland is heavily reliant on the continued ability to successfully retain and develop
increasingly diverse workforce. According to Monks (2007) ‘there is a positive relationship
between the adoption by organisations of equality policies and employee outcomes including
commitment, job satisfaction, life satisfaction, work-life balance and reduced stress’.
According to recent research despite various types of initiatives that include government
legislation, equality initiatives, affirmative action programs, voluntary codes of practices and
many more towards equality, there is still a lot more to be done in order to promote women
and minority groups in the workplace. Two of most widely used initiatives are the equal
opportunities and managing diversity approaches. Both of these approaches are targeted
towards creating a discrimination free environment for everyone in the organization.
However, there are some fundamental differences between these:
60 | P a g eManaging Diversity:
Purpose: Utilize employee potential to maximum advantage
Case argued: Business case-improve
Equal Opportunities:
Purpose: Reduce discriminationCase argued: Moral and ethical
Whose responsibility: HR/Personnel department
Information source: Torrington, Hall, Taylor (2008)
Equal opportunities approach therefore, is one focused more on the organisation as a whole,
where legislation protects groups. Managing diversity on the other hand zoom in, to focus on
an individual more. Managing diversity, as a branch of equal opportunities has become very
popular in organizations worldwide, who have implemented it successfully. This approach
gave birth to the term Multiculturalism. It is explained by Rosado (2006) as ‘a system of
beliefs and behaviours that recognizes and respects the presence of all diverse groups in an
organization or society, acknowledges and values their socio-cultural differences, and
encourages and enables their continued contribution within an inclusive cultural context
which empowers all within the organization or society’. Indeed, an organization of today is
ought to value what people have to offer, and not reject it just because it differs from what the
majority, or those in power, regard as important and of value.
As part of my Personal Development Plan I set out to develop a cross-cultural competency.
That entails me learning about different cultures, business etiquette and customs. This
Personal Opportunity of Development was valuable in adding a bit more knowledge to that.
As I was able to apply the theoretical framework that we covered in Human Resource
Management through the year. It also reminded me of still existing issues worldwide, such as
stereotyping, discrimination, ‘glass ceiling’ etc. knowledge of which is valuable in pursuing a
career of any kind. I believe, that through extensive experience in working with diverse
groups, puts me in a strong position to work in any size or diversity groups in the future.
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Managing Diversity:
Purpose: Utilize employee potential to maximum advantage
Case argued: Business case-improve
Equal Opportunities:
Purpose: Reduce discriminationCase argued: Moral and ethical
Whose responsibility: HR/Personnel department
Proof of participation:
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Event: A Speech: Making Human Rights a Human Reality
Speaker: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State
Location: Dublin City University
Date: 06/12/2012
In the early December, a large group of students gathered in the HUB. The reason for that
was the address by Hilary Rodham Clinton that was taking place in the Helix that day and
played live recording in the HUB. As part of gathering the Personal Opportunities of
Development for the Business and Society theme, I watched this. This event was one that was
highly of value in many ways. Hillary, in her speech addressed the underlying human rights
issues that do not usually occupy the headlines per se, but rather are subtly hidden. According
to Rodham Clinton (2012) ‘the real challenge, not just for decision-makers but citizens as
well, is to be clear-headed about the world as it is and the tough choices it presents on a daily
basis, while remembering that human rights are at the centre of some of the most significant
challenges to global security and stability and therefore to our national interests’. Indeed, the
importance of individuals and communities taking part in advocating human rights cannot be
overstated.
This speech as mentioned above, was highly valuable experience for me for several reasons.
Firstly, Hillary Rodham Clinton is one of the most influential and powerful woman
worldwide, therefore it was an honour and pleasure to listen to inspiring and educational
speech she was delivering. Secondly, the issues that she has highlighted, are of major
importance, as us, the students are ones who will be tackling those in the near future. Lastly,
Hillary’s advocacy for women around the world, their rights and obligations that differ from
nation to nation pointed out how fortunate and equipped I am in passing on the message and
advocating rights of women in my future career as well.
As part of my Undergraduate degree, I undertook psychology modules. In preparation of one
set of exams I came across a term ‘Glass Ceiling’, where women are still faced with the
challenge of breaking the ceiling that is stopping them from reaching their goals. The gender
issues are continuing to affect our modern society, and so the steps are required from every
nation to address them. ‘40% of businesses worldwide have no women in senior
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management, a figure that has remained unchanged since 2004’ (Mazumdar-Shaw, 2007).
Asian countries, however appear to have an advantage in comparison with the rest of the
world. ‘The Philippines ranks numero uno with 97% of businesses that have women in senior
management, followed closely by China's 91%, with Japan at the bottom of the league with
25%. India's position is encouraging, with women being represented at senior management
levels in 56% of Indian businesses, ahead of the European average of 52%’ (Mazumdar-
Shaw, 2007). Women are taking steps in becoming world-renowned leaders, amongst them is
my idol Indra Nooyi, the Chief Executive of PepsiCo, who I admire hugely because of her
strong leader presence, her intelligence and ability to transform a company in trouble, to one
of the most profitable corporate organizations worldwide. Apart from that, Indra has broken
down any set standards that there were for a women leader. She has emerged to stand as an
equal, to any CEO worldwide and proven herself to be set for greatness. Indra and Hillary
share one common thing, they both believe and are a clear evidence to capabilities that
women possess to lead the world to a better place. They have broken the glass ceiling and are
an example now, for every woman worldwide.
This speech, was one of the most inspiring events I have attended throughout this year. Even
though I was not able to be in the Helix and watch it live, the speech on the screen captivated
my attention and provoked thoughts on importance of human rights. Despite the fact, that the
issues regarding human rights are still current, it was captivating to see how this topic is on
minds of great people, who are advocating these to everyone to listen and to understand.
Leadership competencies that I have included in my personal development plan, include the
cross cultural competency. For acquiring this competency, I already participated in various
events throughout the year and I believe that this is pivotal event for this. It is the ground
stone for the organizational behaviour anywhere around the world. The human rights
acknowledgement has to be advocated in any business, to tackle the issue of unfair
judgement. Therefore, I believe, that this event completes, the gathering of personal
opportunities of development for this particular competency.
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Proof of participation:
I took snapshots of the speech throughout the event, as a proof of my participation
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Event: Speech by George Hook
Host: George Hook
Date: 26/02.2013
Location: CG12
Inspiring, witty and passionate orator George Hook captivated the audience from the first few
minutes when he spoke. He began the talk by telling us of his own experiences in RTE and
explained to us the importance of preparation for each day which according to George might
be the “Lucky day”. He also emphasized the importance of investing into your own talent. As
well as that investing into appearance which would indicate professional demeanour and not
offend the person behind the desk once interviewing and presenting. George gave example of
Winston Churchill and his ability to deliver speeches, and argued that in order to succeed all
of us need to practice our writing and speaking skills, as these are our strongest possessions.
Expertize is another point emphasized by George. A person must expert in something to be
able to go further with their knowledge, because according to him practice will make perfect
and will allow one to move further and expert in more things, making the person a valuable
asset in any company and in any industry. Throughout the speech that lasted for an hour,
George managed to remind us of the importance of simple things in our possession that we
often take for granted. This is why it was certainly most lively personal opportunity of
development I have attended to date.
The basics of the speech, however was also a downside of the event. Appearance in the
interviews was emphasized by George, whereas we would have highly benefited from him
talked of the material needed for the interviews themselves, considering his extensive
experience. None the less, it was entertaining and captured us from the first sentence till the
very end. One of the competencies I set out to develop throughout this year was business
demeanour. Therefore, the value from this speech for me was to understand the importance of
appearing professional and behaving professional of course, as well as taking an example of
applied strong oratory skills by George.
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According to Ficke (n.d.) ‘a person brimming with strength, confidence and a professional
demeanour commands respect and their words are much more valued, even if they might not
be as strongly grounded in details of the project’. Indeed, the appearance, the manner of a
person is the first thing that strikes the boss behind the desk, therefore one has to make sure
to appear well prepared to be able to represent the company in the future. Another aspect
emphasized by Ficke (n.d.) was to ‘wear appropriate clothing for the type of business
environment you are seeking to enter and for your physique. There is nothing worse for a
presenter than to be minimized by a wardrobe choice that overwhelms the meeting’.
Therefore, besides the nonverbal cues and the evident confidence that should shine from the
person, the dress style is also extremely important. Another important point is that in order to
succeed in the corporate world there are certain aspects that a person should place majority of
their focus on. It is achievable to create strong business demeanour for ourselves, but how to
keep it, once the interviews are done and the job is won? Particularly in a position where a
person has to communicate with various customers majority of the time, it is very important
to be motivated to carry through the professional appearance. There are certain rules that
should be followed through the corporate existence and these are according to Vault.com
(n.d.):
Exude calm and confidence
Go the extra mile as early as possible
Maintain focus
Be positive
Maintain a sense of humour
Be accountable
Be humble
Application of these rules however, can be tricky, as a human being is a creature of emotion.
Therefore, I believe trying the best we can and reminding ourselves of these once in a while
will deliver good results. An example can be given of a person who lives by these rules daily.
Joe Girard has been deemed the greatest salesperson in the world. One of the strategies
implemented by Joe Girard in his sales pursuit was to send out greeting cards to his
customers. ‘Joe Girard proved, without doubt, that greeting cards inspire customer loyalty.
Joe proved that greeting cards motivate customers to refer their friends. It was a man who
cared enough to recognize and honour his customers’ birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays.
The simple act of sending greeting cards aroused a sense of loyalty in his clients’ (Lagina,
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2012). This is a strong example of a person who has created an image for himself, and
through that was able to not only establish, but also maintain and grow his customer range.
George Hook, has showed me that things we take for granted, in majority case are the tools
that in fact could bring us the success. In today’s global society the cross-cultural
competency, oratory skills, business demeanour as well as strong ethical background are
collectively a road to success.
Proof of attendance:
Attendance was taken on the day.
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Event: Ethics
Location: QG15
Host: Simone de Colle
Date: 15/02/2013
“We are responsible for our character, since it is in our rational control to choose the way we
acquire it, through habits.” Aristotle (384 – 322 BC)
Simone de Colle delivered a two lecture session on business ethics. He began the first class
by describing the ethics and what it is all about, elaborating on the idea that in order to create
strong business ethics it is needed to convert the implicit understanding of core ethic values
into an explicit understanding. Various theories on ethics were presented in order to help us to
see, how important it is to understand it as well as to apply it to different parts of our day to
day lives. The theories that Simone presented to us were Deontology, Utilitarianism,
Aristotle’s Virtue ethics as well as the modern approach to ethics, which is the Stakeholder
Theory by Milton Friedman. The second session of ethics introduced us to the examples of
consequent ethical breaches in Ireland. Simone explained to us the philosophical analysis
applied to economic institutions at macro, mezo and micro levels. He also spoke of the code
of ethics which is the constitutional charter of moral rights and duties.
Fisher and Lovell (2003) define ethics as: ‘the study of the means by which the morality of
human actions can be approved or evaluated’. From the business point of view ‘the thinking
behind a company is represented by its principles. Ethical principles reflect the values of the
company, determined within the context of the values of its stakeholders and the society in
which it operates’ (Gandz, 2001). Companies therefore, as members of society have certain
rights as well as certain responsibilities in regard to society just like everyone else, ergo
society has the right to expect ethical behaviour from organisations. Decisions that are made
within a company might be made by an individual or a group. Whoever is the one making the
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decisions, will be influenced by the culture of the company. The decision to behave ethically
is a moral one, the employees however must decide what they think is the right course of
action. According to bussinesscasestudies.co.uk (2002) ‘ethical behaviour and corporate
social responsibility can bring significant benefits to a business. For example, they may’:
attract customers to the firm's products, thereby boosting sales and profits
make employees want to stay with the business, reduce labour turnover and therefore
increase productivity
attract more employees wanting to work for the business, reduce recruitment costs
and enable the company to get the most talented employees
attract investors and keep the company's share price high, thereby protecting the
business from takeover.
(Bussinesscasestudies.co.uk, 2002)
Unethical behaviour, therefore, can cause damage to the companies’ reputation and make it
less appealing to stakeholders. Consequently this might lead to loss of profits. Financial crisis
that began back in 2007, the main reasons for it as identified famously were: poor risk
control, too much leverage, and a bubble-like housing market. However the ultimate reason
for this according to Greycourt & co. (2008) was ’the gradual but ultimately complete
collapse of ethical behaviour across the financial industry’. Actions of majority of financial
firms in the US ‘strike an ordinary person as unethical – repulsive and scurrilous’ (Greycourt
& co, 2008).
Because of these past mistakes, that were a cause of this majestic turmoil worldwide it is
essential to recognize what was done wrong and not to repeat these in the future. This ethics
session was valuable for me in two ways. Firstly, it has opened my eyes to the unethical
behaviour that might occur in college atmosphere. Every person assumes ethical behaviour
through their own judgement. In some instances students might perceive that it is ethical not
to participate fully in the group tasks, as they believe that there are always someone who
might complete the task in the group. Secondly, for the future career, this class has given me
understanding of importance of making ethical decisions, once in a company. As every
organization possesses its own culture, that is the pure determinant of ethics related decision
made. Therefore, in order to represent an organization, it is crucial to understand the culture
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and the corporate governance as well as the ethics of it. Misunderstanding of these aspects
might lead to loss in profitability, for the firm. I believe, that understanding of business ethics
is an important tool that an individual has to bring to any employment, thus this session was a
valuable personal opportunity of development for me.
Proof of attendance:
Attendance was taken in each class.
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Title of the event: Diwali, The Festival of Lights 2012
Date: 17/11/2012
The organiser: Suresh K. Mariyappa
Location: Citywest Hotel and Conference centre
On Saturday morning me, and few of my course mates spend a very productive day at the
City West conference centre, where we volunteered to help with the setup and the Diwali, or
the festival of lights. The whole day was full of new experiences as we all not only got to
help out and feel needed, but also got to attend all the attractions and lunch on tradition
Indian cuisine. According to sscnet.ucla.edu (n.d.) ‘it is colloquially known as the "festival of
lights", for the common practice is to light small oil lamps (called diyas) and place them
around the home, in courtyards, verandas, and gardens, as well as on roof-tops and outer
walls’. Diwali is the most popular festival that originates in Indian sub-continent in
celebration of light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. Diwali stands for
reaffirmation of hope and celebration of the joys of life and is celebrated all around the
world.
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On the day we were asked to set up the stage, sell the tickets, and in general make sure to
keep the event running smoothly. Another one of our tasks was to guard the Rangoli.
According to Jansarisevak.org.uk (n.d.) ‘the word "rangoli" derives from Sanskrit, and it
means "the expression of artistic vision through the joyful use of colour" or "design in
colour."’ It is usually done at the entrance of households or a temple on celebrative occasions,
especially during the Diwali, and is hence a welcoming gesture. The Festival was very
colourful and included lots of garlands, candles and lights. We have registered that there were
over 4 thousand people and this count did not included the amount of employees and
volunteers that were there on the day. The atmosphere surrounding the festival was very
warm and joyous. People, all the way throughout the day, were chatting with each other,
sharing experiences and wishing one another happy Diwali. It was an amazing experience, in
some many ways, but mainly because I got to learn more about Indian culture.
This personal opportunity of development is heavily related with my personal development
plan, as one of the leadership competencies that I set out to achieve is the cross-cultural
competency. This was one of the many influencing factors of me attending. According to
Goswami Sharma (2013) ‘with career opportunities growing internationally, understanding
different work cultures is the need of the hour’. And so, these are few pointers for myself, of
things to remember:
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Business cards are exchanged and Indians are very conscious of the protocol. Always present business cards when introduced. English is
appropriate for business cards. Decisions are strongly influenced from the top. Usually one person
makes all major decisions. Attempt to deal with the highest-level person available.
It is considered rude to plunge into business discussions immediately. Ask about your counterpart’s family, interests, hobbies, etc. before
beginning business discussions. Business is slow and difficult in India. Be polite, but persistent. Do not get
angry if you are told something "can't be done." Instead, restate your request firmly but with a smile. Plan on several visits before you reach an
agreement. You may be offered a sugary, milky tea, coffee or a soft drink. Don’t
refuse. Note that your glass or cup may be refilled as soon as it is emptied.
Indian counterparts may not show up for scheduled meetings. Be prepared to reschedule.
Source: eDiplomat.com, 2013
After participating in the event, I became much interested in the business culture of India.
The business culture, from the research I gathered strikes as a practice, similar to one
practiced globally. Hierarchical organisation, is the most common way of managing and
running a company. The employer is usually addressed as "sir", which indicates a barrier
between the employer and employee. As well as that, it is not unusual for the employee to
leave after the employer, even if his/her work for the day is done, as this is perceived to be a
trait of a hard working employee. There are some differences, however. For instance: ‘In
India, one is expected to follow instructions of the seniors, who rarely consider suggestions or
opinions of their junior staff. However, internationally, an employee's opinion is respected
and valued’ (Goswami Sharma, 2013). The relationship between employees in India is a very
casual phenomena. Employees socialise during and after office hours, as in the international
setting, this trend differs. An example can be given from the US, where employees tend to
keep their personal and professional lives separate. According to Goswami Sharma (2013)
‘the work culture internationally is far more productive and cost effective than India’. Such
things as air conditioned working space allows for much more ‘comfortability’ and so the
efficiency levels are up. Working hours are divided into two: from 9 am to 1pm, and from 4
pm to 8 pm. The three hour period for rest allows employees to take a break, and thus work
more efficiently. Salary in India is paid at the end of each month, which is a factor that is not
uncommon in some countries.
This event was a very enjoyable and also educating experience for me. I not only got to help
in running a full day event, but also familiarised with the culture and celebratory customs of
the country. The manager of the event, Suresh, was quite strict and demanding throughout the
day, but after the festival was over, he expressed his kindest appreciation for us all. This led
me to research better the corporate culture in India. This experience complements the
direction I have chosen in my personal development plan. One of the aimed leadership
competencies to develop was the cross-cultural competency, as explained before. I believe,
that this event along with the Chinese language course as well as the experiences throughout
this year of working in very diverse groups to complete assignments have given me a strong
base for this competency.
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Proof of attendance:
http://rutaramanauskaite2.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/diwali-the-festival-of-lights-1-pod/
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POD title: Technical challenges within the world of fixed income electronic trading
Host: Declan Kilkline
Venue: QG04
Date: 11/04/2013
When gathering Personal Opportunities of Development for business and society theme I
participated in a session presented by Declan Kilkline who works with Bloomberg, in fixed
income electronic trade. Declan began the class by introducing us briefly on the background
of the company. Then he moved on to explain what types of fixed income securities there are
such as: government bonds, corporate bonds, bills/notes/strips/tips/treasuries, IRS and CDS,
mortgages and REPOs. He also reminded us the events from 2008 and the subprime lending
that went on in the US and Europe. Furthermore he went on to talk about the credit
derivatives and more specifically the credit default swaps and providing us with an example:
when factory issues bonds, if one believes that the company will go bust ( don’t need to
actually own bonds) one can buy credit default swaps and if it happens money comes back by
a lot. He also talked us through the institutional trading workflow and players, as well as the
basic trading process. He then concluded by giving us interesting tips on doing smart trading.
During the Undergraduate degree we did a module on International Business. The financial
crisis was a very active topic at the time, and so I became much interested and wanted to find
out more. However, after reading up on these events I found one aspect to be the most
interesting for me. As it is well known, the banks in the US were issuing mortgages to people
without securities or previous records and then reselling these loans on. Therefore the
investors were buying these so called ‘bubbles’ of stock believing that they are good
investment and so when the bank collapsed so did this structure. Leading to investors losing a
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lot of money and people losing their homes. According to Worstall (2011) ‘we hear a lot
about needing to “protect safer retail banking from risky investment banking”. In my opinion
this is the wrong way round. The global investment banking system was nearly brought down
by excessive risk-taking and fraud in retail lending on both sides of the Atlantic’. By 2007 the
housing market had reached its peak In Ireland. Tax revenues began to decline markedly, new
home completions fell and Ireland experienced its highest increase in unemployment in 15
years. As well as that, short term inter-bank lending, on which Irish banks had become
heavily reliant for their funding, became difficult to access, due to the international financial
crisis. Peter Schiff, one of the few economists that saw the financial meltdown approaching
explained that these are the measures to take in order to survive through this turmoil: ‘rather
than the recession being resisted, it should be embraced, because the disease is all this debt-
financed consumption. The cure is that we stop consuming and start saving and producing
again, and that’s a recession. And sometimes, you know, medicine tastes bad, but you’ve got
to swallow it’ (Schiff, 2012). Peter also argues that this is not the end and that another
economic collapse is coming in 2013/14. He believes that it will ‘strike at the very heart of
the U.S. economy, sweeping through the monetary system itself and precipitating a massive
U.S. dollar and Treasury bond crisis’ (Schiff, 2012). Therefore, it is another warning call that
should be heard this time.
The main reason why I decided to participate in this class, was that after learning more about
these events, I set out for myself to understand investment banking better. Participation in
finance module throughout the year of my Master’s programme gave me the base
understanding of the terms and processes involved. I also indulged in the reading of how to
invest cleverly (‘value investing’). These combined helped me to understand to secure
oneself from false advertisement. How to select and approach stock not according to its
attractiveness in the market, but by researching its background and assurance of the
companies’ stable growth in the past. It also, allowed me to understand the trading process
itself, the steps involved in it and also the risks.
Proof of attendance:
Attendance was taken on the day.
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Research Synthesis
The Research theme of Next Generation management introduced us to various types of
research methodologies. As well as that Different techniques were covered to ensure
generation of reliable and valid results. Knowledge of these methodologies hold major
advantage for aspiring researchers as well as aspiring business people. That is because
majority of positions in organisations particularly in retail and technology industries requires
some type of research carried out from time to time, and is primarily aimed to collect and
analyse data and information valuable to the clients and organisations themselves. Therefore,
anyone entering a company should possess the knowledge of the basis in research techniques
and methodologies.
Conducting relevant research before making decisions and ability to produce viable data can
lead to creation of competitive advantage and a more structured decision making. The
purpose of the Personal Opportunities of Development under Research theme was to give us
a fuller understanding of the research process. Throughout this year we covered qualitative
and quantitative research methods and in some instances got involved either as participants or
conductors of research methods. ‘Qualitative research generates rich, detailed data that
contribute to in-depth understanding of the context. Quantitative research generates reliable
population based data that can be statistically analysed and is well suited to establishing
cause-and-effect relationships’ (Organisationalheartbeats.com, n. d.). Quantitative research
involved working with statistics and percentages after which followed results expressed in
some sort of numerical form. For this type of research I got to participate in answering
surveys and questionnaires as well as learn and sit an exam on the utilisation of SPSS in
producing valuable information. Qualitative research involved analysing relatively small
pieces of data and assessing opinions that could provide the reasons behind certain
percentages. As part of gathering Personal Opportunities of Development for qualitative
research I participated in a focus group. As well as that, I took part in conducting one, so was
able to see how this research method is carried out first-hand. The involvement in different
research processes gave me a better understanding of the research techniques allowed me to
recognise most effective ones.
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The research that I participated in included: The Brian Harman experimental research, where
our perceptions were monitored for psychology research. In the same category was another
experimental research – the Music Video POD, where memory related psychology research
was conducted. Also, the Identity X trial, where business research was conducted to gain
feedback about the web app based technology service. As well as that, I participated in many
surveys and answered questionnaires on various different topics ranging from electricity
surveys, to sports related questionnaires. The questionnaires I answered ranged from
quantitative research methods to qualitative which was educational and interesting to
differentiate and find out how they differ. I also gained broader understanding on the online
qualitative method, a new way of conducting business research that organisations often take
advantage of.
As mentioned above, I was also able to take part in conducting a focus group as part of
qualitative research assignment. Careful preparations were needed and so I was able to place
myself in the centre of action and be the researcher. Through utilisation of resources provided
we, as a team were able to conduct a strong focus group and valuable gain insights on
identities on social media platforms.
The Research theme of Next Generation Management presented me with an opportunity to be
exposed to a side of business that was only briefly covered topic in my Undergraduate
degree. It was a valuable experience as I was able to participate as well as conduct forms of
research which gave me experience and allowed me to apply the theoretical knowledge
gained through the year. As well as learning on the techniques and methods I was also able to
develop critical thinking about the way research is carried out. I was able to recognise flaws
in research conducted by others where I was a participant. For instance in questionnaires
where time to complete was not given or structure of it was unclear. As well as that when
participating in a focus group where the questions were poorly constructed and the researcher
was very silent in asking them.
I value this overall experience of participation in research modules. I believe, that they will
be highly valuable in the upcoming summer practicum project where I will be able to further
apply my knowledge of the topic. Following this experience I feel more confident in carrying
out research in the future and expand my knowledge further.
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Personal Opportunities of Development Table
The Personal Opportunities of development that I have participated and reflected on for
Research theme are summarised below:
POD Title Worth Related PDP
Everything you need
to know about focus
groups
1 Problem solving
Daon Identity X trial 1
Digital
communication
skills
Music Video research 2Emotional
intelligence
Brian Harman
research1
Emotional
intelligence
Qualitative research
webinars1
Problem solving
skills
Quantitative research
webinars1
Problem solving
skills
SPSS 1Problem solving
skills
Surveys 2Problem solving
skills
Event: Everything you need to know about focus groups (Webinar)
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Date: 13/03/2013
Organizer: Jamie Moloney
Presenter: Rena Cheskis-Gold
Location: Online
In gathering of Research Personal Opportunities for Development I participated in a webinar
on focus groups. The purpose of attending this webinar was to differentiate between
qualitative and quantitative research and to understand how focus groups are important in
sculpting a business strategy for companies. This webinar was of value in providing basic
information about focus groups, but the true learning experience happened for me when me
and my NGM team arranged a focus group and then had to participate in one as well. As I
was only a participant in one group and was involved in organisation process, I feel that I
learnt very much exclusively from these experiences. So, as mentioned above, as I was
involved in running Focus Group research as part of the assignment for Next Generation
Management class, I have, therefore seen the process from both sides. I feel I would need to
participate in, and organise, more Focus Groups before I have a full understanding of the
process involved. Therefore not just relying on the theoretical knowledge gained from
previous modules. As part of my overall Master’s programme I completed a module of
strategic management as well as marketing, throughout these modules we found out that in
order to develop an appropriate business strategy, marketing strategy, etc. it is needed to carry
out research. Focus groups are important when conducting research on new products,
developing the existing ones, branding, etc.
According to Cheskis-Gold (2013) the differences between surveys and focus groups are:
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Quantitative research (surveys)
Responses must fit into limited or pre-determined categories
Convenient statistical summaries of responses
Generalize to larger population
Qualitative research (focus groups)
Open-ended categories
Detailed information about smaller number of people
Increased understanding of complex motivations and
experiences
Focus groups are a type of group interview that revolves around the generation of data and
insights by gathering a collection of individuals together and instigating a discussion based
on the topic researched. The degree of structure will vary greatly between groups and type of
questions asked. Ideally, the exercise will produce detailed narrative data that is less
accessible without the interaction of the group, such as attitudes and perceptions of
participants. According to Blackburn and Stokes (2000) ‘although the origins of the research
technique known as focus group interviews or discussions lay in sociology, market
researchers have been largely responsible for its development and recent extensive use’.
Focus Groups can be used in many different areas for a multitude of reasons. According to
Berkowitz (2013) ‘responses in a focus group, are typically spoken, open-ended, relatively
broad, and qualitative. They have more depth, nuance, and variety. Nonverbal
communications and group interactions can also be observed’. Focus groups can therefore get
closer to what people are really thinking and feeling, even though their responses may be
harder, or in some instances impossible to score on a scale. The Researcher’s role is to act as
a detached moderator. Throughout the discussions people are encouraged to question,
consider and challenge opinions of their own as well as opinions of others. This consequently
provides deeper insights that may not be achieved through other types of research.
These are the steps for the focus group that have to be considered, as suggested by Berkowitz
(2013):
Recheck your goals
Consider other methods
Find a good leader
Find a recorder
Decide who should be invited
Decide about incentives
Decide on the meeting particulars
Prepare your questions
Recruit your members
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Double check (everything)
Conduct the group
Look at the data
Share results with the group
Use the results
The amount of focus groups conducted for a project (depending on the budget) as well as the
number of participants will vary. According to groupsplus.com (2008) ‘many moderators
hold a very strong point of view that 8 to10 people is the ideal number. It is felt that if a group
is larger than 10 there are too many people to control and it is difficult to get meaningful
interaction among the participants. If the group is smaller than 8, the opportunity for varied
inputs is reduced. Some people prefer to conduct mini-groups with 3 to 6 people as they
believe the smaller number of participants will provide for greater in depth discussion’. The
small size of the group will encourage bonds to form between participants. Too much
commonality in a focus group may create an environment where people feel immediately
comfortable so will talk freely, or it may limit them as they fear looking different to their
peers. The benefit of having a mixed gender focus group is also debatable, because people
may be inclined to answer questions falsely if it will put them in a favourable light with the
opposite sex.
As part of the Master’s programme we are required to complete a Practicum project. For this
we need to collaborate with a company and assist them in various aspects of the firm. It is
essential to carry out thorough research and conducting focus group will be a valuable tool.
The critique of it, however is that analysing the data of focus groups requires judgement and
care when analysing the transcriptions, which might lead to human error. As well as that as
explained by Stewart (2002) ‘ most analyses of focus group data seek to find meaning in the
nature of participants’ verbal or written responses to the questions in the discussion guide.
This is logical and necessary, but exclusive emphasis on what is said or written may provide
only a partial picture of the situation’. Because of that, it is necessary to include further
research to generate more concise results.
Proof of participation:
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POD: Identity x trial
Location: Online
Date: 06/04/2013
As part of the gathering of research and digital communications personal opportunities of
development I participated in Identity X trial created by a software company, Daon, to try out
and give feedback of their new mobile authentication product. I was asked to provide certain
personal information such as: sample of my voice, my photograph and email address. The
trial, was separated into two groups, the Identity X and Trust X. I was assigned to the Identity
X group. I was asked to download the Identity X application run it and follow the
instructions. After signing in, I could do a “bank transfer” and depending on the amount I
transferred, it allowed me to try out the different types of authentication that Identity
X offered. As well as that, I had to complete three questionnaires and give my feedback on
different experiences of using the trial programme.
Questionnaires are commonly paper based or delivered online and include a number of
questions which all participants are asked to complete. Once the questionnaire has been
created it can be distributed to a large number of participants to complete. Few advantages of
using questionnaires as a research method over other types of research are that a great deal of
information can be gathered on many subjects at one time, as well as that it is by far least
expensive and time consuming mean to gather information from large amount of people and
also it provides anonymity for the respondent. Although the investigator cannot demonstrate
control over the variables of interest, there is opportunity to study variables that might not be
so easily produced using other types of research. However, there are important drawbacks in
using questionnaires which include: descriptive rather than explanatory, superficial nature of
answers, time needed to prepare the questionnaires. Before carrying out this type of research,
the person conducting the research should answer two questions for themselves. What is that
I want to find out? What information should the questionnaire provide? Therefore, the
researcher should be very clear of what the purpose of the questionnaire is. Throughout the
Identity X trial, we were asked to answer three questionnaires. The questionnaires
themselves, were well structured, not too long (around 15-20 questions, which is appropriate
length) and asked very specific questions about the trial. It was clear that the main purpose of
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these was to gather feedback about different aspects of the trial. In my case, I had a problem
with the transactions not loading, so I explained the problem in one of the questionnaires’
empty slots for writing in the feedback.
As mentioned above the questionnaires were very well structured. The language level was
understandable, the questions themselves were very clear and to the point, the question order
was structured well, the open questions were used (even though not at the start of the
questionnaire, which would have been a lot more useful, for the quality of research), as well
as that, the design of the questionnaires was attractive and therefore it was easier to answer.
In a questionnaire, the main goal is to receive standardised information by everyone,
therefore the same questions are presented in the same way, so that the variety of answers can
become a true reflection of variety of views and circumstances among the participants. After
the questionnaires are completed, the difficult part is to code and analyse all this data, this
presents a challenge for the researchers.’ As a research tool, we must consider two important
concepts in questionnaire design: ‘reliability’ and ‘validity’. Reliability refers to the
consistency of a measure whilst validity refers to its ability to measure what it is supposed to
be measuring’ (Adams & Cox, 2008). Researchers have put in majority of their time on
reliability because it is easier to measure. None the less, reliability is useless without the
validity. Researchers may be testing reliably something entirely different from what they
originally wanted to test.
I enjoyed the experience of participating in this type of trial and do believe that the
knowledge I gained will be valuable for me in the future. I found the product very helpful and
if the minor issues that occurred continuously are fixed it will generate a great demand. The
trial itself displayed the pros and cons of this product, which therefore allowed me to
understand it better. I believe, that this program, will be highly of value to many companies
in the future.
As part of our Practicum project we will be needing to carry out research. The knowledge of
being able to judge questionnaires, will I believe give me edge, when creating one for the
company. I still lack experience of creating and running questionnaires, but I believe that the
participation in the Practicum project will provide me with further knowledge of using
questionnaires as well as other types of research jointly, or separately to generate results.
Proof of participation:
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Event: Music video research
Host: Artemisa Jaramillo
Location: C214
Date: 26/02/2013
I took part in two-session music video research personal opportunity of development. It was
an experimental research which focused on observing our perceptions. Last year, I also took
part in the Brian Harman research, which researched a psychology related question as well.
In the first session we were asked to watch a music video. In my case it was The Script ‘Man
who can’t be moved’. After listening to it, I was asked to answer a short survey. The
questions in it were about the brands that the band and the people in the video were wearing.
Because I was not aware of what is researched I did not focused on remembering the brands.
There were also brands named, that I have not heard of yet, therefore I guessed in some cases.
In the second session, which took place approximately a week after the first one, we were
asked to carry out the survey again, and recall the brands. I remembered little of what I
answered previous week, but answered what I could. The surveys included closed ended
questions and in majority of the cases did not allow you to choose ‘I don’t know’ option.
Therefore, all the questions had to be answered, therefore I found it difficult to do so.
However, because this was an experimental research it is understandable that this setting was
essential for assessing people’s behaviours.
Structured surveys are often called questionnaires, and they are self-administered by the
respondents as well as being increasingly distributed online which has been proven to have a
higher response rate than the traditional variety. The overall purpose of the research
determines whether the survey will be for qualitative or quantitative research. In the case of
quantitative research data collected will be measurable so it could be ranked or categorised.
Therefore, the questions that would be asked for quantitative research questionnaire would
more likely be closed ended or involve a rating scale. A qualitative research designed
questionnaire on the other hand, will include more open ended questions and be looking for
nominal data, such as opinions of the participants etc. In this case it is clear to say, that the
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design of the survey was quantitative. The questions asked, as mentioned above were closed
ended and there was no room for elaborating on any of the questions.
Experimental research is commonly used on psychology, sociology and medicine studies. ‘It
is a collection of research designs which use manipulation and controlled testing to
understand causal processes’ (Explorable.com, 2011). ‘Experimental research involves
efforts to gain control over the variables of interest and establish if-then causal relationships’
(Pervin, 1993). In this research Artemisa created conditions of a varying level of anxiety to
be able to observe the effects of the anxiety on thought processes and interpersonal
behaviour. Through the usage of surveys, I believe Artemisa attempted to create the level of
anxiety, because the participants were not able to skip any questions and so had to answer
everything. The viewing of the video itself by the participants was intended to generate
feelings and emotions, for the researcher to make sense of. The basis of experimental
research is the experimental control. Which ‘attempts to predict events that will occur in the
experimental setting by neutralizing the effects of other factors’ (Key, 1997). In experimental
research attempt is made to hold all other variables except the dependent variable constant,
which in turn creates control. The research (also called ‘True’ experiment, or the quasi
experiment) has a control group where ‘the subjects have been randomly assigned between
the groups, and the researcher only tests one effect at a time. It is also important to know
what variable(s) you want to test and measure’ (Explorable.com, 2011). Overall experimental
research sets out to predict phenomenon’s. It is a useful form of research that assists society
in helping people with their everyday lives.
An example could be given of the experimental approach on personality research. Seligman
conducted research named ‘Learned Helplessness’. In this experiment, Seligman and his
colleagues observed that dogs which have experienced uncontrollable shocks, later
transferred that sense of helplessness into another situation, where the shock was avoidable.
In the first situation the dogs were not able to escape the shock. In the second situation,
however, barrier was the only way standing from the dogs’ way to freedom and away from
the intense shock, therefore, all that was needed to do to avoid it was to jump over the barrier.
The results were slightly different than expected, because even though in the second situation
the escape route was clear the dogs seemed to give up and accept the shock passively. The
learning experience therefore happened, when the dogs were helpless in the first situation.
That then transmitted into the second situation, where they learned, that nothing could be
done, thus give in to the shock. Further research conducted by Hiroto, proved that the same
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phenomena found in dogs could be produced in humans as well. In this research, participants
included three groups of students in separate rooms. All the groups were subject to an
extremely loud noise. The first group was able to terminate the noise by pushing a button, the
second groups was not able to stop the noise and the third group did not hear a noise. After
this situation, all three groups were put in another setting where they would be able to escape
the noise if they moved their hands from one side of the box to another when a light signal
had turned on. The members of the first and the third group, quickly learned how to escape
the noise, however the second group (learned-helplessness group) failed to escape the noise,
as they sat passively and accepted the painful noise. The outcome, showed that manipulation
of the escape versus no-escape situation, made participants learn in the second phase of the
experiment. Seligman’s experiment showed that the ‘learned-helplessness phenomenon was
that the animal or person learns that outcomes are not affected by its behaviour’ (Pervin,
1993). ‘The expectation that outcomes are independent of the organism’s response then has
motivational, cognitive and emotional implications: (1) uncontrollable events undermine the
organism’s motivation to initiate other responses that might result in control. (2) As a result
of uncontrollability of previous events, the organism has difficulty learning that its response
can have an effect on other events. (3) Repeated experiences with uncontrollable events
eventually lead to an emotional state similar to that identified in humans as depression’
(Pervin, 1993). Therefore, job health as well as job performance can be affected, because of
these perceived uncontrollable events.
My critique of the research I participated in would be that because we were interacting with
the computer, there was a lack of verbal reporting. Through answering the questions directly
to the researcher, participant can provide not only verbal insights, but non-verbal ones as
well. Limitations do exist when conducting experimental research, as psychologists argue
that the research might work in one situation in a lab, but might not elsewhere. However, I
found the research interesting and different, from any other I participated in. The Brian
Harman research was one involving mixed research methods that was much insightful as well
as, strongly constructed. I do believe, that there are great advantages of participating in
research of this type. When a person is unaware the topic that they are being researched on,
he/she can provide valuable insights into human behaviour. A well conducted and ethically
compliant conduction of research is a valuable tool in gaining valuable data on questions of
psychology, business etc.
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Throughout this year, I had a chance to participate in several research opportunities. In one
instance, me and my course mates were asked to conduct a focus group as part of an
assignment. It was a valuable experience, and I believe I gained a lot. I developed interest in
research, while I was carrying out my undergraduate degree, even though we were not
presented with opportunities to participate or conduct any. This year, I gained experience of
what it is like to be a participant, and what is the proper way to conduct a research. I do
believe, however, that I still lack the knowledge as well as more experience. This gained
information will be useful in carrying out the practicum project at the end of the year, when
conducting business research for our client.
Proof of participation:
Attendance was taken on both occasions.
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Title of the event: Brian Harman Research
Date: 13/11/12
Organizer: Brian Harman
Location: Q304
We were asked to participate in a research conducted by Brian Harman. Firstly needed to
critically approach and write three short (5 minute) essays on given topics. The three that I
was given included: “Trees”, “Computers” and “Italy”. In the second one we were asked to
answer questions based on an advertisement provided. So we were given a picture (in my
case a photo of a hotel in Scotland and a short brief description of it).
When conducting a research, the methods used will heavily depend on whether the research
will be qualitative or quantitative. The research POD that I attended was a study of qualitative
research and required us to complete two tasks: study 1: to complete critical thinking task,
study 2: perceptions of advertising. It was approximately hour long class in which we had to
complete the tasks fully.
According to Qsrienternational.com (2012) ‘the qualitative research is understood as being a
method of inquiry that seeks to understand social phenomena within the context of the
participants' perspectives and experiences’. The research methods of QR are more flexible,
responsive, and open to contextual interpretation than in quantitative research, which uses
inventory, questionnaire, or numerical data to draw conclusions. According to Dawson
(1985) ‘qualitative researchers might acknowledge that participants are influenced by taking
part in the research process. They might also acknowledge that researchers bring their own
preferences and experience to the project’. Qualitative data analysis is a very personal
process. If one was to ask two analysts to analyse a transcript they will most likely come up
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with very different results. Dawson also argues that the ‘reasons for that are that they might
have studied different things or it just might indicate that they come from a different political
or methodological standpoint’. Because of these reasons qualitative research is often referred
to as unreliable. We were not given the question which the researcher was analysing and all
we know is that he was trying to make sense of the answers that were received from us,
although my understanding was that the topic analysed was much to do with a certain
psychology related topic. It is my guess that the researcher was using the comparative
analysis, in which the data that was gathered from different people then compared and
contrasted until he was satisfied with the fact that no more issues were arising. With this in
mind this type of research appears to be useful and thorough.
In my mini-essays I spoke of the importance of trees for our eco-system. For the second essay
I explained the advantages and the importance but also implications of computers in our daily
lives. For the last one I spoke more as it had a very interesting topic for me. I wrote about
Italy and found it to be very easy topic to write about just because I love so many things
about the country that it made writing very easy. I ran out of time and still was not able to
explain everything that Italy associates to me with. From this, my understanding is, that the
researcher was trying to figure out our individual attitudes towards these things. Short
summaries, by association, would indicate feelings associated with these particular topics
which would provide valid information.
For the second part of the task we were given an advertisement. We were asked then to
consider the advertisement and answer the questions that were put in in a survey type
questionnaire. The advertisement itself included a very simple hotel in Scotland which had
very basic amenities and so the main point that the advertisement was trying to put across
was that it is in the heart of the city. For someone who is visiting Scotland for business or
pleasure that would be a main aim. Taking into account of course that the hotel would be in
an affordable price range. For me personally the advertisement did not generated a great wish
to go there. Because it had a very basic description and did not have in debt analysis of what
it offers to the customer, such as: the sites that they could see in the city, the advantage of TV
or Wi-Fi in the room, close or in-hotel dining facilities. The information was missing, so my
scores on the success of the advertisement were quite low. According to chnri.org (n.d.)
‘qualitative research allows the subjects being studied to give much ‘richer’ answers to
questions put to them by the researcher, and may give valuable insights which might have
been missed by any other method.’ Again, in the second part of the task we were asked to
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provide our own individual beliefs that would then be valuable in examination of the topic
that was analysed.
Human emotions are an essential component in all human activities. Emotions play an
integral part in social interactions, so it is not surprising that in this research our attitudes and
beliefs were something that was researched. My guess is, after reading about it more, that this
research was conducted on the matter of social psychology. I believe that, because of the
structure of the given questions and because of what appeared as random selection of topics
for the essays. Learning research methods is an interesting experience for me. I have never
studied research methods before, and so this is interesting and useful. Marketing, branding,
product development and many other branches of business require focus groups to be carried
out, or other types of research done, in order to get insights into what customers actually want
and what are their perceptions towards one thing or another. I believe that this research POD
was beneficial, as it will help me when conducting research for the project that us a group
will be carrying out for the practicum project. Through familiarization of the methods and
through understanding of how they are advantageous we will be able to assist our client best
at analysing his customer range and creating a marketing leaflet.
Proof or attendance:
Sign in sheet was distributed on the day.
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Event: 3 online webinars on qualitative research: Overview of qualitative research,
online qualitative and qualitative research example
Location: online
Date: 26/04/2013
I participated in three webinars, in order to better understand the qualitative research
methods. These webinars provided me wide spectrum of qualitative research approaches.
Firstly, the overview webinar educated me on basic rules in qualitative research as well as
helped me to differentiate it from quantitative research methods. The second webinar focused
on the qualitative research online and how it should be conducted. As well as that an example
was given of two research studies which were carried out to promote mental health amongst
school children in Sri Lanka and India. It was a very interesting study, because it was
conducted across two cultures. I found all three webinars quite interesting as well as
engaging.
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There are many definitions to describe qualitative research. It is well known that qualitative
research is a branch of educational research. According to Merriam (2009) ‘Qualitative
researchers are interested in understanding the meaning people have constructed, that is, how
people make sense of their world and the experiences they have in the world’. Approaches
commonly used in qualitative research include: interviews, focus groups, content analysis,
ethnography, evaluation and semiotics as well as many others. The determining factor of
qualitative research however, is that it in its most basic form analyses any unstructured data,
such as: open-ended survey responses, literature reviews, audio recordings, pictures and web
pages. Qualitative research methods differ from quantitative methods in many ways.
Qualitative research emphasizes the opinions and emotions of participants’, whereas in
quantitative method outcome is presented in a numerical form of a large sample (e.g.
population survey).
QUALITATIVE QUANTITATIVE
FOCUS Quality or meaning of experience Quantity, frequency, magnitude
PHILOSOPHICAL ROOTS Constructivism, Interpretivism Positivism
GOALS OF INVESTIGATION Understand, describe, discover Predict, control, confirm, test
DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS Flexible, evolving, emergent Structured, predetermined
DATA COLLECTION Researcher as instrument External instruments: tests,
surveys
(Waldenu.edu, n.d.)
Therefore, a description is the heart of qualitative research. The typology of qualitative data
includes ‘texts, images and sounds’ as famously established by Ryan and Bernard (2000).
Despite the fact that there are various approaches to this type of research ‘a common thread
throughout almost all forms of qualitative research is an inductive and flexible nature’
(Sagepub.com, n. d.). Web based qualitative research interestingly, is becoming more and
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more popular to help achieve goals set out by organizations or individuals who make use of
the web. Online research is engaging, convenient (provides ability to participate from the
comfort of one’s home) as well as being cost effective, which are major advantages for the
companies of any size.
Throughout this year I had the opportunity to participate as well as to conduct a focus group
with my team, for a module project. The experience of conducting a focus group, was much
valuable. For the preparation of the focus group we met several times in order to brainstorm
and discuss the questions we are going to be asking the participants. The established research
question was on the usage of social media by young adults. We carefully considered the
questions and then ruthlessly cut out half of them, as we believed some were irrelevant. We
were left with 20 questions and so we believed that these are well structured, to help us gain
insights into the way participants behave when online. After we had the focus group planned
out, we then booked a facility, and each of us (4 in a team) invited 3 persons to attend. We
were very fortunate, because participants in our focus group included people aged 18-28 and
keen to share their experiences, therefore we were able to see different perspective. One of
my teammates recorded the focus group, other two were transcribing, I was the person asking
the questions. I tried to keep a monotone voice, not to confuse the participants or indicate any
type of leniency and asked the question once, without repeating it. Our findings indicated that
participants (majority were students) displayed no wish to take their online identity in a
serious way, unless it was a job related social media platform. Almost in a unison participants
emphasized that social platforms such as Facebook, Skype or My Space are there for contacts
as well as for fun. InkedIn, however was one social media platform, which the participants
agreed was of importance for them, therefore the online presence on this platform should
reflect business demeanour and professional behaviour.
Due to the wide variety of research methods that I participated in and conducted one, I
believe that I gained valuable insights into the theoretical knowledge of the educational
research, at the very least. I was also able to apply my knowledge in conduction of the focus
group, which, I believe was a success. I do, however, hope to participate in many more
research opportunities in the near future, to expand my knowledge base.
Proof of participation:
As a proof of participation I am including screenshots from each webinar.
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POD: Overview of quantitative research methods, George Smeaton, Phd on Quantitative methods an example
Location: online
Date: 03/05/2013, 04/05/2013
For the gathering of the personal opportunities for the research theme, I participated in two
webinars on quantitative research. Both jointly have introduced the participant on the basics
of quantitative research as well as explaining the difference between quantitative and
qualitative research. As this is the first year when I am studying research methods, I found
these webinar series extremely useful. I was able to understand the basics, as well as
differentiate between quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods. Throughout this year I was
continuously exposed to a side of business that was a minimally covered in my undergraduate
degree. During this year I was exposed to many different kinds of research tools and had the
opportunity to apply them as well as be a subject in them.
The first webinar explained the differences between qualitative and quantitative research as
mentioned above. For the qualitative study researcher would generally choose one small
sample to analyse and understand human perspectives. In the quantitative research the sample
chosen is usually large one and tendency to generalize is common. The steps of carrying out
the any type of research were explained and allowed me to make sense of the process. So
when researcher recognises a problem, for instance when carrying out psychological
research, he/she must pose a research question and then generate a hypothesis. Following
establishment of which experimental design should be chosen, so the research design as well
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as the methods. Then hypothesis should be tested and the results interpreted. On the basis of
the data analysed researcher then interprets the results. This is the stage where the findings of
the research will emerge. The two major categories of research include the experimental and
the quasi-experimental:
(waldenu.edu, 2013)
In order to conduct research of any kind, it is important also, to familiarise with the types of
data as it is one of the most important aspects in quantitative analysis. The four types are:
Nominal data – data has no logical order; data is basic classification data.
Ordinal data – data has a logical order, but the differences between values are not
constant.
Interval data – data is continuous and has a logical order, data has standardized
differences between values, but no natural zero.
Ratio data – data is continuous, ordered, has standardized differences between values,
and a natural zero.
(toolkit.pellinstitute.org, 2013)
In the second webinar George Smeaton Phd talks about the research he has conducted on
viruses that are spread through unprotected sexual interaction. The quantitative study (a
survey was designed) was created to establish baseline data for this question. 800 students
were surveyed just in the first week, because of its well-structured design. The findings
indicated that the behaviours of students were to induce themselves in substance abuse
throughout occasions such as the ‘Spring Break’ where the danger of STD’s would be
enhanced substantially. This type of survey has never been done before, and proved to be
successful as much data was gathered on students’ behaviours in these types of situations.
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Experimental designs:
Control and treatment group Random
assignment to groups
In general the outcomes of quantitative research studies will be measured in numerical form
such as percentage. In a business setting ‘Most often the data required relates to market size,
market share, penetration, installed base and market growth rates’ (Riley, 2012). None the
less, quantitative analysis can also be used to measure persons’ attitudes, commitment as well
as other useful market data. ‘Market research involves the collection of data to obtain insight
and knowledge into the needs and wants of customers and the structure and dynamics of a
market’ (Riley, 2012). Because it would be highly costly to research the whole market it is
extremely important to select an appropriate sample as well as carefully evaluate the data
collected, as it can generate good insights into consumer behaviours. It has become easier and
also cheaper to carry out surveys, to establish customer needs. Websites such as
Surveymonkey.com provide the chance for anyone to conduct their own surveys at a
minimum price (basic surveys are free). However many things must be considered in order to
generate valid data.
Despite the fact that I was continuously involved in research analyses conducted throughout
the year such as: assignments, participation and conduction of focus group, several
questionnaires and surveys as well as participation in personal opportunities of development
under research theme, I believe that there is still a lot to learn. It is crucial to have at least an
understanding, of the qualitative and quantitative research in the business world today. That
is, because any minor or major change in a retail organization for instance, would require
knowledge of research methods, to evaluate the needs of the consumers and to serve them
better. The gained knowledge throughout this year including the SPSS classes gave me a
theoretical understanding of the quantitative methods. I do believe, however, that in order to
better in understanding quantitative research, it is needed to participate in creation of survey
or a questionnaire. I do strongly believe, that with the gained knowledge throughout this year,
I will have an opportunity to utilize the information in the future.
Proof of participation:
As a proof of participation I included print screens of each webinar.
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Event name: SPSS
Venue: QG28, DCUBS
Date: 18/02/2013, 26/03/2013, 09/04/2013
Host: Mr. Gerry Conyngham
For one of the Research POD activities we attended two SPSS sessions and completed an
exam on the understanding of the software. Formerly Statistical Package for the Social
Science (SPSS), now called Predictive Analytics Software (PASW), is a computer
programme used for a wide selection statistical analysis, such as: analytical reporting,
graphics, modelling and in-depth data comparison and trends. According to Indiana.edu
(2006) ‘SPSS can take data from almost any type of file and use them to generate tabulated
reports, charts, and plots of distributions and trends, descriptive statistics, and conduct
complex statistical analyses’. The nature of the research is something that influences highly
the method of data collection, but surveys are the common method to generate data for SPSS
analysis. According to Hemken (2012) ‘the SPSS software is built around the SPSS
programming language. The good news for beginners is that you can accomplish most basic
data analysis through menus and dialog boxes without having to actually learn the SPSS
language’. It is generally understood that the model quality is determined by the data. SPSS
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can be used for creation of statistical models from the data that is available. The data
collected needs to be as accurate as possible.
As part of the Next Generation Management class, we were asked to complete two
workshops and take part in SPSS exam. After a brief introduction to SPSS at the start of the
lecture, Andrea (Teaching Assistant) went through the first, basic task were we familirised
and put in practice the coding and entering of data as well as descriptive statistics. In the
second workshop with Gerry Conyngham, we were asked to complete another set of tasks,
that were more complicated and quite similar to the upcoming exam, which covered: the
creation of new variables, statistical tests, regression analysis, factor analysis and reliability
analysis.
The basic design of SPSS is created in a simplistic way, so the user at any level could
understand it. ‘SPSS is available from several platforms; Windows, Macintosh, and the
UNIX systems.’ (Indiana.edu, 2006) It mainly uses two windows – the Data View (for
entering data) and the Variable View (for coding data). Analysis output is then displayed in
the Output Viewer. This undertandable and clear layout with a wide range of commands and
descriptive statistic techniques makes it easy for users to generate statistics. There are
controls to ensure data is entered the correct way or is compensated for. ‘Correlation is the
measure of the strength and direction of the relationship between the variables’
(Psychwiki.com, 2009). One of the biggest benefits of using SPSS is the ability to determine
the correlation between different variables.
Despite the fact that I understood what was being explained in the sessions, the exam for me
was very difficult. Calculations is not something that comes naturally to me. I believe,
however, that using SPSS will be advantageous when carrying our research for the upcoming
practicum project, which will give me ability to practice and improve my knowledge of the
software.
Proof of evidence:
Attendance was taken in each workshop.
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Title of the event: AHH Health Indicator Survey, Electricity survey (Europinions), Milk
Survey (Europinions)
Date: 02/11/2012, 06/02/2013, 13/03/2013
Location: Online
As part of gathering personal opportunities of development for the research theme, I took part
in three surveys to gain better understanding of survey design. First one, was the AHH Health
Indicator Survey where I was asked questions relating to my nutrition and exercise regime.
The second one was on the usage of electricity in the house and the third one was about food,
or more specifically about milk and its value. All of the surveys mentioned above were a
quantitative research method to gather information for different reasons. Applying
quantitative methods makes it much easier to collate data across a number of people. When
individual opinion is encoded as a number rather than a verbal factor: word, phrase or
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sentence, variety of operations can be carried out which, can facilitate the research process.
As there is evident value in conducting surveys of this type, I believe that usage of those
online as well as paper based ones would benefit individual more. So in addition to
completing the three surveys online, I also participated in Brian Harman research, for which
one part of the research included taking a short survey at the end. I have had little experience
using surveys, but I strongly believe that they would be used as a primary research for
academic level as well as for business purposes. Therefore, I strongly believe that I still have
a lot to learn.
Two of the questionnaires that I participated in were from the Europinions website. It is an
online research company who provide businesses with a research service for market. When
creating the account, I was asked to provide information about myself in order for them to
filter the questionnaires emailed to me. After submission of the information I received first
questionnaire request in first three days. However, I was not able to participate. The reason
for that was that at the start of each survey I was asked to provide my gender and age. Upon
submission of the answers a tab pop-up saying that they have enough participants with these
specifications. This has repeated itself several times, therefore I was not able to participate in
many other surveys.
As a gesture of gratitude upon completion of the questionnaires, participants were rewarded
with a monetary benefit and that can be received once gathered 30 Euros. From completing
the two questionnaires, I was credited with €6.30 for what was estimated to be 1 hour 15 min.
work. The time to complete the survey varied from 15-30 minutes to 45 min-1hr.
‘A survey is a way of collecting information that you hope represents the views of the whole
community or group in which you are interested’ (Hampton & Vilela, 2013). There are three
main types of surveys:
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Case study surveys, which collect information from a part of a group or community, without trying to choose them for overall representation of the
larger population. You may need to conduct several of these before you get a
sense of how the larger community would respond to your survey. Case study surveys only provide specific information
about the community studied.
Sampled surveys, ask a sample portion of a group to answer your questions. If done well, the results for the sample will reflect the results you would have gotten by surveying the entire group.
For example, let's say you want to know what percentage of people in your county would make
use of an adult literacy program. Getting every person in a county with 10,000 people to fill out a
survey would be a huge task. Instead you decide to survey a sample of 500 people and find out what
they think. For the sample to accurately represent the larger group, it must be carefully chosen.
(Hampton & Vilela, 2013)
Surveys may be distributed by mail, e-mail, fax, through a web page, or the questions can be
asked over the phone or in person. Every person, however, has to be asked the very same
question and if the survey is being conducted in person the researcher must ask questions in
the same tone of voice, to receive the information from the participant that would not be
influenced by the researchers’ tone of voice. Using surveys is not the only way for the
researchers to gather necessary information, therefore one should consider if it is indeed the
best mean to utilize in one case or another. A survey would be typically used when a
researcher is aiming to gain information in a quick and efficient way, as well as that when it is
needed to conduct a study that involves a large number of people and to gain statistically
valid information that would not be accessible through other means. Preparation of
conducting a survey requires the researcher to decide upon the purpose of it as well as the
people that are going to be surveyed. Design and the purpose of the research influences
whether the survey will be for qualitative or quantitative research one. In the case of
quantitative research the researcher is interested in gathering measurable data that can be
ranked or categorised. Therefore, the questions for the quantitative research questionnaire
would be more closed ended or involve a rating scale. However, a questionnaire created to
gather data for qualitative research, will differ because the format while involve more open
ended questions as well as be looking for nominal data, like the participants’ opinions. Other
researchers might use questionnaires with a Mixed Method approach. For these combinations
of open-ended and closed-ended questions are asked.
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Sampled surveys, ask a sample portion of a group to answer your questions. If done well, the results for the sample will reflect the results you would have gotten by surveying the entire group.
For example, let's say you want to know what percentage of people in your county would make
use of an adult literacy program. Getting every person in a county with 10,000 people to fill out a
survey would be a huge task. Instead you decide to survey a sample of 500 people and find out what
they think. For the sample to accurately represent the larger group, it must be carefully chosen.
Census surveys, in which you give your survey questionnaire to every
member of the population you want to learn about. This will give you the most accurate information about the
group, but it may not be very practical for large groups. A census is best done with smaller groups -- all of the clients of a particular agency, for example, as opposed to all of the
citizens of a city.
While carrying out the AHH Health Indicator Survey I realised that the one function that was
not given was the time frame needed to complete it. The survey itself was quite engaging and
interesting. It made me consider things I do right and wrong in my nutritional habits. The
structure of it was coherent and made it quite easy to complete. The electricity survey, was
the first survey I undertook from Europinions. The aim of this survey was to assess the value
of uninterrupted electricity supply for households around the country. It gave me a time
frame, stating that it will be approximately 30 minutes long. However, the questions were
very lengthy and boring and it took much longer than 30 minutes to complete the whole
survey. Also, throughout the survey, I was asked to read several pages and answer questions
accordingly. These included such as: What is your households net worth (not including
homeownership)? Etc. Even though it appeared to be a thorough and concise survey, the
length of it as well as the exhausting questions would easily stop a person from completing it.
The milk survey, was the complete opposite. It was a relatively short survey that did not take
more than 15 minutes of my time. The questions were structured well as well as being quite
funny, such as: You can EXPERIENCE milk in different ways. In which of the following
ways have you experienced MILK in the past month? For each of the three questionnaires the
text was easily readable and easily understandable, anonymity was provided, but they
differed in in the theme of them as well as the structure. In my opinion, the milk survey was
the most interesting and easy to complete. Therefore in order to reduce substantially the
percentage of non-responses it is important to structure the survey in a way, to be engaging
with the participants and to interest them in the process.
Proof of participation:
AHH health Indicator Survey:
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Electricity Survey:
Thank you for taking part in this important study on behalf of the European Commission. The study is being conducted
throughout Europe, and concerns the attitudes of householders towards security of electricity supply, and how this can be
assured in the future.
The online survey should take approximately 20-25 minutes. Please note - after the initial questions you will be asked to
click on a link, and to view an online booklet for a few minutes - and consider its contents before completing the survey.
The initial few questions are aimed at ensuring that we collect the views of a good cross-section of society in each EU
country.
Please be assured that all responses will be treated in strict confidence: we belong to 2 professional associations which
govern market research (ESOMAR and the UK Market Research Society), and we abide fully by their codes of conduct in
respecting our respondents’ right to take part in research on an anonymous basis.
Milk users' survey:
As a proof of participation I took couple sets of questions asked in the survey.
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You can EXPERIENCE milk in different ways. In which of the following ways have you experienced
MILK in the past month?
I read about milk in a newspaper or magazine
I talked about milk with a health professional
I talked about milk with my friends or family
I recommended milk to my friends or family
I heard about milk on TV
I was recommended milk
I looked for milk in a store
I read about milk online
I heard about milk on the radio
I used social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, etc.) to talk about milk
None of these
From the list below, which MESSAGES do you remember from the campaign? Please select all applicable
answers.
Milk is healthy
Milk is cheaper than other similar products
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Milk is part of a balanced diet
Milk is rich in nutrients
Milk is natural
Milk is important for your health
Milk is tasty
Milk is good for your bones
Milk contains a lot of fat
Milk is good for you
Milk is modern
Other (please specify )Other (please specify )
Don't know
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Digital Media and Communications Synthesis
Over the last two decades we witnessed a majestic shift in internet and mobile technologies.
This shift redefined internet as we know it. The traditional use of it expanded substantially
making world wide web the epicentre of communications across the globe, shopping
experience, valuable research tool as well as essential part of working in any industry.
Overwhelming quantity of innovative tools, are making it difficult for companies and
individuals to select and make use of. However, in that sense almost anything is possible
now. Businesses have transformed substantially from carrying out their marketing research to
delivering the end products to the consumers. Users are exposed to growing range of social
media platforms as well as information sources online providing information about products
and even allowing them to select and complete purchases just by using their mobile devices
or laptops. The growth of social media platforms also eliminated all limitations of
communication across the globe. The Digital Media and Communication theme of Next
Generation Management provided us with a broader understanding of this ever changing
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digital landscape and drew a picture of what it is soon to become, presenting even greater
changes.
The skills developed through covering this theme and developing appropriate competencies
led to better understanding and application of the disruptive technologies and thought us of
how to utilise those in many aspects in business. This skill can be used in interdisciplinary
range: for conduction of forms of research to produce data, utilisation of software products
for organisations of any industry for efficiency purposes, self-growth and understanding of
the ever changing digital arena as well as for border-less communication purposes. This
holistic approach to digital technology which covers every aspect of persons’ life was not
possible years back, therefore we see that adoption and moving on with the digital age is as
important as is the creation of new technologies.
Before starting this Master’s program I was little aware of the grand digital changes
approaching. This was mainly due to the fact that my Undergraduate degree covered topics,
little related to digital technologies. Therefore, I found myself in an unfamiliar land once I
entered this program. However, change is not a bad thing. This has proven itself through the
year, as with more involvement and usage of certain technologies, required to complete tasks
throughout the year, I was able to expand my mind and learn. As part of the gathering of
Personal Opportunities of Development for this theme I attended many events and workshops
to gain further knowledge and become more aware of new products and technologies that are
approaching the markets. As well as that, as part of the Next Generation Management class
me and my team mates participated in the Google Online Marketing Challenge. This
presented a great opportunity to place myself in the epicentre of business development online.
For this project we were asked to create and run marketing campaign online in order to
increase customer range for the company as well as the brand awareness through Adwords
for Google search engine. This was a valuable experience, and despite the fact that the results
were average, I believe I gained much insights of what was done wrong and so learned a
valuable lesson for the future.
The Personal Opportunities of Development that I participated in contributed highly to my
understanding of the importance of secure computing and continuous learning on how to
protect valuable data, as well as that I learned about the cloud computing and how it
redefined storage of data and introduced convenience and efficiency in doing business
anywhere, anytime. Also, I learned about innovative mobile applications which now
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contribute daily to for profit and non-profit organisations worldwide and provide effective
ways of doing business. Further knowledge of social media platforms was injected in us, as
we were encouraged daily to indulge in using various platforms and gain full advantage of,
for example LinkedIn platform, which provides wide range of employment opportunities for
account holders who create a full CV profile for themselves. The usage of blogs by
businesses globally is a major trend, which provides free of cost exposure for any
organisation. So for one of the POD’s that I attended I wrote a blog for eight consecutive
weeks. Along the way I was able to develop a small followers range and most importantly see
the benefits of using it. Lastly, I learned much from ‘Using Video as a Marketing Tool’
presentation, which again pointed out the advantage videos have for organisations to gain
exposure to the brand in modern, cost effective and fun way.
The Digital Media and Communications theme, was an area in which I really wanted to
excel, from the start of the year. I do, therefore believe that I have gained broader
understanding and I feel I learned much from this particular theme. However, the secret is
continuous learning, to stay up to speed with the ever changing digital landscape, and
therefore this is my new aim.
Personal Opportunities of Development Table
The Personal Opportunities of development that I have chosen to reflect on for Digital Media
and Communication theme are summarised below:
POD Title Worth Related PDP
Basics of selling on
eBay1
Digital communication
skills
Daon Identity X trial 1Digital communication
skills
Mobile Cloud
Conference2
Problem solving skills,
digital communication
skills
PayPal 1 Problem solving skills
Secure Computing 1 Problem solving skills
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Forum
Using video as a
marketing tool1
Digital communications
skills, problem solving
skills
Blogging with
Wordpress3
Digital communications
skills, business
demeanour
Event: Basics of selling on eBay
Host: Aine Murphy
Date: 27/02/13
Location: QG15
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As part of the gathering of Digital Media and Communication personal opportunities of
development I participated in an introductory class on Selling on eBay. Aine began the class
by introducing us to the history of how eBay came about and what it does. eBay was
established back in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar , the same year it received over 6000 bids.
eBays’ subsidiaries to date include: PayPal, Skype, Kijiji and Gumtree. According to Taylor
(2013) eBay ‘represents a perfect implementation of what we could call Economy 2.0: it's a
business that makes money by being an intermediary. They have no warehouses, no stock, no
shipping department, no salespeople and no retail storefronts’. Nonetheless, the huge profits
of the company, are evident. The way it works is eBay offers a marketplace where sellers
gain a total visibility of the sales items rather than going through other outlets (e.g., flea
markets, garage sales). Buyers gain access to a much bigger range of sales items than it
would be possible in a physical setting. Both parties has to pay a small transaction fee on a
consummated transaction, however the price can be easily absorbed when compared with the
benefits. One of the most important breakthrough’s in the online commerce happened after
eBay’s implementation of the rating system, which empowered the people to promote and
recognize great buyers and sellers by providing feedback on the website. As well as that the
anonymous ID’s were eliminated, so people were asked to provide information. Today many
famous retailers such as: Schuh, Amazon, etc. sell their goods through eBay. With the world
of commerce moving further and further towards online shopping eBay presents a great
setting affordable trading. Aine presented us with statistics that over 63% of shoppers online
are women and 37% men. This percentage will grow, with major retailers creating mobile
phone apps with virtual stores, where people can ‘walk around the store’, choose a product
and purchase it, just by using their phone. These technologies are here to stay, so eBay is
placed very conveniently to satisfy these changing needs of customers. However, the
consumer has to be aware of the basic rules of selling. These include: selling items only if
they are still in a good condition and not lying about the product, as it will gain the seller bad
reputation online. These are trading on eBay tricks suggested by O’Toole (2013):
Finish your sale in the evenings or at the weekend, when people are more likely to be
online.
Research your product. Do a search for similar items and see how much they’re
selling for and what the interest is like. Once you know your market, then price your
product accordingly.
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Be honest. If an item is damaged, own up to it. If the price is right somebody may still
want it and lying will impact on your rating as an eBay seller. Give as much detail and
publish as many photos as you can.
Be contactable. Check your email regularly and answer any questions potential buyers
may have about the items up for sale.
Set a reserve. This is important for eBay newbies in particular. Decide the lowest
price you’re willing to take for an item and set that as a reserve. If that price isn’t
reached, then the item is withdrawn from sale and returned to the seller- meaning you
remain in control.
The thing that I found interesting was that with this swiftly growing fashion of online
shopping and convenience of trade women in particular started carving their own strategies of
how to satisfy the need for designer clothing, expensive handbags, furniture etc. O’Toole
(2013) explains that ‘if certain garments are underperforming I reassign them to eBay or,
preferably, a consignment store like Dublin’s Siopaella, which omits the administrative
hassle of online selling’. Therefore, in order to make it even easier to trade online certain
stores are established that intakes the product that the seller wishes to sell on eBay and for a
minor fee sells it online. Consignment shops as well as swap shops were established in recent
years, and they’ve proven themselves highly in demand from male and female shoppers, by
eliminating the hassle for the seller, while working as an intermediary. The outcome of this is
that there is a way to refresh the current wardrobe, purchase new books, or buy a gadget
online by just taking a bit of time and selling the unwanted goods.
I found this class interesting and informative because it not only gave basics of selling on
eBay but also sparked an interest in me to find out more. It is pretty safe to say that in the
near future trading online will replace the usual way of shopping and so, knowledge of how
to trade online is crucial. It is also important, I believe to be aware of the way to shop smart,
in which case the consignment shops and the swap shops are the way to go. I found this class
to be insightful and rewarding. I have developed my own account already, and I will attempt
to sell online at the very least. This knowledge will be highly advantageous in any company
selling online as major companies, as mentioned above already utilize eBay services to sell
their produce. The number of the companies is growing, therefore the knowledge of eBay
trading adds value to any potential employee.
Proof of attendance:
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Attendance was taken on the day.
POD: Identity x trial
Location: Online
Date: 06/04/2013
As part of the gathering of research and digital communications personal opportunities of
development I participated in Identity X trial created by a software company, Daon, to try out
and give feedback of their new mobile authentication product. I was asked to provide certain
personal information such as: sample of my voice, my photograph and email address. The
trial was separated into two groups, the Identity X and Trust X. I was assigned to the Identity
X group. I was asked to download the Identity X application run it and follow the
instructions. After signing in, I could do a “bank transfer” and depending on the amount I
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transferred, it allowed me to try out the different types of authentication that Identity
X offered. As well as that, I had to complete three questionnaires and give my feedback on
different experiences of using the trial programme.
‘Using your smart phone, Identity X empowers you to securely establish your identity
through a combination of encryption, PIN entry, location-based technology, and biometrics
such as voice, face and palm image matching’ (Identityx.com, 2012). Indeed the clever
design, allows security pushed a bit further, as there are several steps to go through in order
to make sure that the financial information is securely kept. ‘Identity X is a fully mobile,
private and cost effective solution that allows you to set the level of security for each type of
transaction - tuning the balance of convenience and security’ (Identityx.com, 2012). I was
able to make ‘transactions’ from places, where there was an internet connection, and at any
time. The main challenge that I found with using the product however, was that in some
instances the transactions would not load, therefore I was not able to use it. As well as that,
the problem that occurred continuously was that, if the internet connection was not strong
enough, the product would not load either. This was then reflected in me answering the
surveys. None the less, this was a convenient and innovative tool to use. Person using the
application is able to utilize it for banking transactions, health record protection, social
networking as well as the parental control.
I found the trial to be useful for several reasons. Firstly, because I was a participant in a trial,
which meant, that the feedback I was providing was considered in judging the usefulness of
the product.
Secondly, this trial relates heavily to the issues raised in the Secure Computing Forum that I
attended and provides a valid solution for protecting consumers and businesses against on-
line fraud and hacking. ‘The move to digital interactions has been occurring since the web
went mainstream. Whether it's online banking (both consumer and corporate), social
networking, or logical access to our home and work computer systems, the evolution of a
digital lifestyle has only accelerated in the 21st century’ (Identityx.com, 2012). As mentioned
above Identity X platform possesses and innovative patent-pending palm print recognition
tool. Therefore, anyone using the program is able to take a photo of their palm to prove their
identity, and thus protect their information. ‘With businesses racing to the market to deliver
digital payment services for both consumers and merchants, a market projected to be well in
excess of $1 trillion, people will need to have simple trust in one another and transact
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business with convenience and security’ (Grissen, 2011). Therefore, Identity X is fully
equipped to provide security and convenience to their consumers.
Lastly, I enjoyed the experience and I believe that participation in this trial will be valuable
for me in the future. I found the product very helpful and if the minor issues that occurred
continuously are fixed it will create a great demand. The trial itself displayed the pros and
cons of this product, which therefore allowed me to understand it better. I believe, that this
program, will be highly of value to many companies in the future.
Proof of attendance:
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Event: Mobile Cloud Conference
Location: National College of Ireland
Date: 24/04/2013
Hosts: Sean Long, Manuel Saez, Tony O’Reilly, Paul Malone, Peter Elger, Aides
Casey, Richard Rodger, Pat Larkin.
For one of the digital media and communication personal opportunities of development I
participated in an event on Mobile Cloud computing. The event was pact full with interesting
speakers, who represented various companies. The overall theme of the event was mainly
focus placed on mobile applications through usage of big data, cloud and high performance
computing. According to Ibm.com (n.d.) ‘technical computing is about improving outcomes
thru a better understanding of the technical or business environment. This insight can help
lower risk and improve decision making ability, and helps organizations more quickly seize
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upon new opportunities created through advancements in business model or technological
capability’. Therefore, the understanding of these will be a valuable tool in this swiftly
changing global business environment.
The conference begun with a presentation by Irish software association IBEC -the voice of
Irish business. After a brief introduction Sean long and Manuel Saez from SAP explained to
us the user experience with custom apps and gave us few examples of those developed by
SAP. The SAP mobile platform, cloud edition architecture is used in the creation of mobile
apps and it has three sections: connect, configure and try/buy. Few app demos were
demonstrated for us such as: App based on service stations, a pocket app for your phone. Real
time offer management. (Mic oil the app). The app itself is about planning a trip, like a GPS,
it is able to suggest you to stop at stations, restaurants, bed and breakfast etc. it can also find a
station using augmented reality. The second demo was on M2M app. It is a map of wind
turbine stations, all this is generated using big data of data analytics. It is linked to real data
using the right hemisphere, visualisation tools, such as a mechanical representation of
turbine. The tool helps us to break apart the turbine. Alert system in the app itself tells all the
history as well as the description of the error. The third demo was on the shop from home
app/experimental app to show how consumer purchase can be done with innovative
technology. It includes a modern and user friendly interface as well as variety of shops for the
user to pick. Shopping infrastructure consumer experience infrastructure within a game.
Virtual store is presented and a consumer can virtually walk around the store, see the shelves
etc. it is like a game based shopping experience. The deer cloth app then, has the same
principal. It is a virtual store concept. You have a manikin and can dress him in a virtual
wardrobe where you can try things on from the store and create your own catalogue. The last
app explained was the Vodafone Maclaren Mercedes app, where the user can get more info
about the race, learn about the company, inspect and learn about the cars and also learn about
the drivers. As well as that user can select the driver and understand what is going on with the
car, see the car in the race with lots of additional info provided. It is an app that is game based
as the user can play a game (virtual race) can customise the drivers’ appearance and the car,
etc. Peter Elger also gave examples on social apps on cloud, such as waterworks. As one
tenth of world population do not have access to clean drinking water, the aim of the program
is to provide clean drinking water through Unilever to 500 million people by 2020, through
the usage of this application for charitable giving. Another charitable campaign app engaging
the consumers through Facebook is called ‘shwopping’. For this campaign people deposit
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clothes into the store and these generate money for charity. This is done using SMS as a
gateway for text message based shopping and active through Facebook connected mobile app
which is layered on ‘heroku’. According to Techopedia.com (2013) ‘heroku is Platform as a
Service (Paas) cloud offering that provisions the development of Web applications and
services. It is a cloud application development platform that provides development tools,
scalable processing power and cloud management functionality’. Heroku is generally used
because it can save companies a lot of developer time, as well as that for multiple
applications, because without Heroku it would not be possible unless with a team of
developers. Therefore, it is evident that the cloud is increasingly leveraged to also support not
for profit charity organisations.
Next followed a presentation by Paul Malone of TSSG, who elaborated on threats to the
enterprise from social media and as the rise of social media is evident and includes a lot of
benefits it also presents dangers of the social media channels. These would include: malware
(URL shortening services), phishing (account hijacking), spam (viral spread), targeting
employees (false element of trust in sns) as well as human error-leaded data tendency to over
share information). A good example of that would be the Twitter account that was hacked on
the 31st of May in California. A group that called itself the Rustle League took over the
YourAnonNews feed and then posted ‘a slew of obscene and inflammatory tweets from the
account’ (t3.com, 2013). In order to avoid threats from social media channels it is
recommended to implement a social media usage policy and also to educate employees:
separate the private and professional social media activity, awareness and introduce more
secure passwords. In order to discover the extent that technology could assist a feasibility
study was conducted. A group of people were employed to find out from various companies
of how much emphasis were they placing on social media threats. The results of that
indicated that there are two top industry needs: the monitoring for data leakage and IP theft.
There are social media monitoring tools which are used to monitor malicious behaviours as
well as to be filial to the employees and also for the employers.
The overall process of building a mobile app takes approximately 18 weeks. The important
points that I found were that the main aspects that are important in development of mobile
app are the idea itself, the technology chosen as well friendly user interface. Another concept
widely used in the conference was the Windows Azure service. Windows Azure is as
explained on Webopedia.com (2013) ‘a Microsoft services-based operating environment
(also called a cloud computing platform) that will let developers build and host services on
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Microsoft's infrastructure’. So it is used for such activities as: SDK's, data authentication,
server side business logic (written in java script LGS, not a Microsoft product), notifications,
scheduler (run tasks in the cloud), logging and diagnostics, scale. It allows the user to create
up to 10 apps.
Throughout this event the panel speakers tackled various different topics, from securing the
intellectual property online to creation of own mobile applications for the purposes of helping
businesses as well as non-profit organizations. ’Today's fast advance of mobile computing
and cloud computing is bringing a new paradigm shift from conventional mobile computing
and wireless communications services to mobile cloud computing and services over wireless
internet in the real world’. (Gao, 2013) Indeed, majority still believes, however, that mobile
cloud computing is not something that will alter the current way of delivering mobile
computing and communication services to mobile services users worldwide. It is evident, that
mobile cloud computing will introduce several new and exciting opportunities and enable
innovative mobile applications to mobile users, mobile cloud vendors, and businesses. It will
also alter the existing infrastructure and change the way of delivering mobile services on
mobile devices. Therefore, I strongly believe that the knowledge of this exciting upcoming
trend will be advantageous tool in any industry. The conference delivered everything it has
set out to. However, the presentations were very brief and rushed through to make time for
other speakers, which made it difficult to follow. The topic itself was an interesting but also a
difficult one, therefore, it was quite difficult to keep up at all times. None the less, it was a
valuable experience, for me, as one of the aspects that I have set out for myself to improve
upon in my personal development plan is the technical skills.
Proof of attendance:
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POD name: Techspectations: PayPal
Hosts: Deborah Lynch and Michael Laskowsky
Date: 3rd April
Location: QG15, DCUBS
Throughout this two hour class Deborah Lynch introduced us to the background information
on PayPal and explained to us the advantages of using their services. Michael Laskowsky
then, took us through the more technical parts. According to Deborah the original
establishment of PayPal happened back in the 90’s. The idea came from a Stanford
University student who collaborated with a guest lecturer while at the university. They came
up with a simple idea and consequently today, PayPal is one of the most well-known
companies globally. The Dublin branch of PayPal opened back in 2003, when it employed 25
persons. Today according to IEN (2011) ‘it employs more than 1,350 at its Blanchardstown
site’ and intends to create another 200 jobs in the near future.
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PayPal is a service that provides a fast, safe and effective alternative for making payments
and receiving them online. A person is able to transfer money online without being required
to expose their financial information. One is able to make payments using the PayPal account
balance, PayPal credit, own bank account, credit card or debit card. In order to receive cash a
person is only required to have an email address or phone number and these transfers can be
made all around the globe. The usage of PayPal allows customers to shop securely online,
transfer money within the home country and/or abroad, as mentioned above and also includes
the latest anti-fraud technology. These are the steps to use PayPal according to PayPal.com
(n. d):
1. Sign up for a PayPal account.
2. Choose a way to pay. During sign up, you can link your bank account, debit card, or
credit card to your PayPal account. You can also add money directly to your PayPal
account. Your financial information is stored securely with PayPal and never shared
with sellers.
3. Shop with PayPal. Speed through checkout at your favourite stores without having to
enter your payment details over and over again. A record of your purchases is
available in your PayPal account.
There are different types of account types available to create, such as: personal account,
business account, student account and a premier account. PayPal also offers convenient ways
to purchase instantly and pay later, these schemes are: Bill Me Later and PayPal MasterCard.
PayPal also guarantees a 100% protection against all unauthorized payments sent from the
customers’ PayPal account, so it is not only convenient, but also safe to use.
Large merchant brands that are famously using PayPal services include: E-bay, Dell, Bidz,
Netflix, Columbia, TigerDirect.com, Walmart and many more. The diversity of these
companies shows that PayPal is used in many businesses and in any industry. As commerce
has seen substantial changes in the last decade, it is expected to change even further in the
upcoming years. The most current fashion is the mobile shopping, where the evaluation of the
good, 3D shop experience and the purchasing happens on a persons’ phone or a laptop. ‘E-
bay and PayPal expect to process $10 billion in mobile payments in 2012’ (Mobile
Commerce Daily, 2012). Consumer behaviours are changing to extent where cell phones are
used to assist the customer with purchasing decisions and to complete the purchase. That
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means that there might be no need for actual retail stores in the future. It has been recorded
that ‘79% of smartphone users use their phones to help with shopping and 74% make a
purchase as a result’ (Gtatic.com, 2011). So shopping optimisation strategies have changed
with the expanding possibilities provided by mobile devices such as: phones and tablets. A
new concept of multi-platform shopping has been introduced, where 34% of consumers start
shopping on one device and finish on another. As a consequence ‘mobile payments are
expected to quadruple to $630 billion by 2014’ according to Juniper Research (2011). This
change in consumer purchase behaviour in essence is changing the very core of
understanding of buying. This is evident through actions like this: 60% of potential customers
who have planned to purchase at the store, changed their minds and still bought online
instead. Examples of companies promoting this new way to check out include: Home Depot
(USA), Shop and Pay on the go (stores in Singapore), Pizza Express Mobile App (UK), 8-20-
20-20 mobile app (Dublin). These companies have altered the check-out methods to adapt to
growing needs of the consumer.
Michael walked us through the technical side of things. He explained the two ways there are
to integrate PayPal: standard and API (application programming interface). We were
explained the HTML codes that make up the overall PayPal account, and that the express
checkout is in the API: adaptive payments, ability to transfer multiple payments (chained
payments, single payment and parallel payments). Payment approval types: adaptive
payment, embedded payment, etc.
The purpose of this event, for me, was to familiarise with PayPal services and to understand
better the collaboration, that happened between PayPal and E-bay (E-bay owns PayPal). I
have attended an event few weeks back that introduced us to selling on eBay. The possibility
for people to become sellers online, and ability to make sure that this transaction is safe and
effective is in my eyes the new age of sales. Where trading happens just at a push of a button
between individuals. The following displays how, once the PayPal account has been created,
it can be linked to the E-bay account: ‘Instead of leaving eBay to log into PayPal to pay for
your items, your eBay account can be linked with your PayPal account, so you can pay for
purchases with PayPal faster. We'll remember your PayPal payment info, so that you don't
need to log in to PayPal to pay, if you want to sell on eBay and accept PayPal payments,
you'll also need to accept PayPal on your eBay listings. You should also consider upgrading
your PayPal account. (You'll need to do this if a buyer wants to send you a credit card
payment.)’ (pages.ebay.com, 2013) According to bbc.co.uk (2010) ‘auction site operator
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eBay has reported a 26% rise in profits for the last three months thanks largely to increased
use of its PayPal service.’ This shows that the joint effort of E-bay and PayPal is increasing
the usage of the site, due to increased safety measures and the convenience factor. The
joining of the forces as expressed by Ashworth (2013) ‘gave PayPal the ability to securely
grow its business within a much stronger enterprise; eBay got another revenue driver’. This
success story shows a rare advantage that these companies now have against the competitors.
This particular event was useful in few ways. The familiarisation with the PayPal service is
essential to have because, of its respectful name and a wide spectrum of companies using it.
In my future career I am considering opening company of my own, knowledge and
understanding of PayPal will be essential in this disruptive technologies marketplace where
checking out, purchasing and any other transaction will be done online. The knowledge of
how to create an account and the types there are will allow me to be more specific when
developing it. The success story of joint venture between PayPal and E-bay has given me
understanding of how good idea can be mutually beneficial for two companies and put them
to the top.
Proof of attendance:
Attendance was taken on the day.
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Location: The Gibson Hotel, Dublin
Event name: Data Solutions: Secure Computing Forum
Date: 07/03/2013
Presenters: James Lyne, Brian Honan, Billy Hawkes, Sian John, Dr. Robert Griffin, Terry
Greer-King.
Various interesting speakers presented in the Secure Computing Forum held at the Gibson
Hotel. The overall theme that surrounded the conference was on making the IT security a
business of everyone. The topics covered included: BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), How
Secure is your network?, Cyber threats, Recovery, Compliance, Innovations, Integrated
solutions, Risk Analysis and the Training Requirements. Throughout the event we were
explained the threats involved in having a presence online and the prevention of those, the
growing trend of BYOD, the data protection rules that are coming in effect in the near future
as well as the importance of training of people to understand how to manage these threats.
According to trendmicro.co.uk (n. d.) ‘When employees bring their own devices to work
(BYOD) and use them to share files and data inside and outside the office, it is difficult for IT
to maintain visibility and control’. This therefore initiated a growth of a trend ‘the
consumerisation of IT, which includes BYOD, the use of third-party cloud services and
applications such as cloud storage and social media’ (trendmicro.co.uk, n. d.). This provides
accessibility for the employees to work anywhere, anytime. The consumerisation of IT is
beneficial for the companies as well, as it allows confidence in management of the
information as well as data protection. However, it is important to take extra measures in
order to secure the data, as crimes of data theft and extortion are happening on daily basis.
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The computer crimes are divided into four categories: data theft, fraud, data manipulation and
destruction. As ‘computer crime can be initiated using everything from the elegant insertion
of some mischievous code to the down-and-dirty instance of copying data onto a floppy and
walking out the door’ (Shipley, 2000) companies have to take measures to protect themselves
from potential external threats as well as the internal ones. The level of cyber-attacks is
increasing at a highly fast pace. These attacks display how malicious actors are able to com-
promise and control huge numbers of computers belonging to governments, private
enterprises and ordinary citizens. Evidently the newly created ‘digital underground economy’
is phenomena that is fully functional at present and is an illicit commodity. This is because,
any stolen personal or financial information can be used to gain access to bank accounts and
credit cards, therefore it is valuable. According to global-economic-symposium.org (2012)
‘this drives a range of criminal activities, including phishing, pharming, malware distribution
and the hacking of corporate databases, and is supported by a fully-fledged infrastructure of
malicious code writers, specialist web hosts and individuals able to lease networks of many
thousands of compromised computers to carry out automated attacks’. ‘Cyber threats are real,
they're terribly dangerous. They're probably as insidious and real a threat (as there is) to the
United States, as well as China, by the way, and every nation’ (Hagel, 2013). In order to
prevent these attacks from happening it is crucial to form unity between academics, private
sector and governments globally to understand emerging threats and to develop proactive
security solutions to secure the internet and physical infrastructure that relies on it.
This conference was valuable to me, as I was able to understand the size of the existing
problem that companies face on daily basis. ‘The value of the cyber-criminal economy as a
whole is not yet known, the most recent estimate of global corporate losses alone stands at
approximately €750 billion per year’ (global-economic-symposium.org, 2012). The computer
crimes are a current and growing problem. With the changing landscape of the way we are
conducting business, the importance of internet in this context cannot be overestimated. The
existing and growing threats are something that can strike the company from outside as well
as from within. Therefore, the use of consumerisation of IT in Bring Your Own Device for
example, could be a valuable tool in protecting the data. The phone hacks, that we hear so
much about happening in the US is another example of the computer crimes that has become
a sort of ‘fashion’ of cyber-crime going mobile. Continuous education and training of
employees on the matter, therefore is an important tool of protecting valuable information
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within any company. Understanding of these threats, I believe should be a background for
any aspiring business graduate, as these cannot be underestimated.
Proof of attendance:
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Host: Gary Fox, ‘Video Scamp’
Event: Using Video as a Marketing Tool
Date: 24/04/2013
Location: QG15, DCUBS
Throughout this class organised by Gary Fox we found out of the value there is in usage of
video as a marketing tool. The advantages of that are: higher conversions (people more likely
to buy) as well as stronger engagement (the idea is to link all people together). However,
there are some limitations as well, such as fewer returns, due to the fact that it is expensive to
produce a video, as well as that it is time consuming and hard to measure. Overall in the US
only 24 per cent of brands are using video. So is it worth it to use video as a marketing tool?
‘Using video as a marketing tool gives you a significant competitive advantage over advisors
who use only the more traditional ways of communicating with clients’ (Jolly, 2013). If a
company complies with rules established for quality videos, they are able to utilise it and gain
good return on investment. ‘Being extremely versatile, video can be re-shaped into many
different formats. Mobile kiosks, large screen presentations, smart phones and of course
websites are just some of the ways to spread the word using this powerful medium’ (Ruffell,
2011). Company, however has to make sure that the idea behind the video as well as the
video itself is authentic, however, other rules apply as well, such as: be quick, engage, use all
available resources, plan for mobile consumption, call to action. Good examples of videos
that worked in the past are the Tipp-ex advert and the band OK video of a song ‘GO’. In the
case of Tipp-ex advert, we see two hunters who have just woken up. All of a sudden a bear
turns up and one of the hunters is considering whether to shoot the bear or not. At this point
the viewer becomes engaged, because we see two options on the screen, to shoot, or not to
shoot. The viewer makes the choice and then the video continues. There are also alternatives
to choose from, once the user chooses not to shoot the bear, he/she is able to Tipp-ex over the
banner to choose any other action happening between hunter and the bear. For example:
hunter loughs with a bear, hunter dances with a bear etc. A very cleverly done and engaging
video therefore is helpful in making people recognise the brand when they are in the shop,
which creates more sales. In the second example a band OK is somewhat different from any
other. We see four guys rallying in a car and hitting specific instruments that are hung on the
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sides of the road, sounds are produced from hitting these instruments and the guys sing
accordingly. It is a certainly different and interesting approach to music that also engages the
user, as well as being highly entertaining. According to Jolly (2013) ‘video allows you to
present your unique personality to clients and prospects. If you have ever been told you have
a "lively personality" or "charisma" that helps you attract and retain clients’. Indeed, through
using video an individual or a company can say much more that it could through the usage of
brochures, blogs or posts.
Thing to consider also, when creating a video is, to ask what is special about me, or my
company? Interesting and unusual products, tell a story of the company, your greatest assets
such as for example: highly trained staff (baristas) etc. Overall, nowadays video accounts for
50 per cent of mobile traffic and the leader of the market what comes to videos is considered
to be Asos. It is highly important to be produce videos that are funny. Some companies have
taken a position where they create a video for every single product, others have joined with
other companies in production of videos. In order to gain a viewer range it is important to be
smart about the videos. In a sense, that if a video is produced in US but shown in Japan for
example, subtitles should be included. There are cases where companies have proven to
successfully utilize the video as a marketing tool but others have failed. Success stories
would include: Tipp-ex, OK, Starbucks, How to… videos etc. Ben and Jerry’s advert,
however was far from successful, even though they have a popular and interesting product,
the video produced turned out to be boring and not engaging.
Video SEO is something that is used widely with companies. ‘Search engine optimization is a
methodology of strategies, techniques and tactics used to increase the amount of visitors to
a website by obtaining a high-ranking placement in the search results page of a search
engine (SERP) -- including Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines’ (Webopedia.com,
2013). So in order to increase the visibility of their videos as well as to select target audience
for them companies utilise video SEO. As I am not much familiar with SEO strategies I
indulged in reading about using SEO for beginners. The articles I found gave valuable tips of
how to make most use of the video SEO. These include: ensuring that the videos are
relevant, invention of catchy captivating title, usage of key phrases and keywords, utilise the
video as a portal to the rest of the content on the site, length of the video should be five
minutes or less, incorporate the logo of the brand in the video and lastly use the social media
platforms to share the video once it’s created. The use of this strategy will allow the company
or an individual clear goals and a set structure of what they want to see the video look like.
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This Techspectations class was educative, as well as entertaining. Gary seemed like he
enjoyed talking about videos and their potential, which in turn infected us all to feel excited
about the topic. One of the leadership competencies I have set out to develop throughout this
year is the better understanding of digital communication skills. Several conferences and
Techspectations workshops that I attended, the digital tasks that I had to complete and essays
to produce I believe gave me a lot more knowledge that I did not possess at the start of the
year. I cannot claim to be amazing at digital skills, but I believe that I reached a level that I
set out for myself, therefore this session was another aspect that pushed me further.
Proof of attendance:
Attendance was taken on the day.
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The title of the event: “Blogging with WordPress”
Date: 3/10/12
The organizer: Colm Bennett
Location: DCU Business school, QG15
The introduction to blogging with Word Press presented us with the overall understanding of
how and why people blog and the way to create your own personal blog. It was an insightful
and interesting presentation which delivered everything it set out to. My understanding of
computing as well as new technologies is highly limited. The college projects and essays, the
occasional emailing or ‘facebook’ing’ with friends would be the limit. Because of that
particular reason the thought of this class did not caused many enthusiastic feelings in me.
There were a variety of attendees not only from the university but also the lifelong learners or
the people who had a genuine interest in attending. They ranged in from their early twenties
to approximately seventy years of age. Which worked as an awakening for me because if the
elderly person in the first roe is willing to learn something (what seemed so difficult) then
why is this such an issue for me.
A blog is a low cost, web page made up of usually short, frequently updated posts that are
arranged chronologically for instance a ‘what's new’ page or a ‘journal’. The presenter started
talking us through the very basic steps of how the blog has to be set up, not skipping even the
slightest detail, it seemed reasonable and not as difficult as I originally thought. Almost
everyone had their laptops out, but me. Forgetfulness should be my second name. The note
taking and active listening though helped to understand how it works. So upon my return
home that evening the fear of forgetting everything and the wish to reflect on it as soon as
possible took over, so now everyone can check my new blog and to display it below is one of
the posts I made during the year:
http://rutaramanauskaite2.wordpress.com/.
Interview skills workshop:
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‘On the 25th of October we had “Accenture” visiting the campus. Besides tempting us with
great postgraduate placement opportunities they also delivered two very useful seminars on
how to write your CV well (which I did not attend because I have done it prior) as well as
developing your interview skills. It was great to hear someone from company of this status
and also it was highly informative as my interview skills are less than average.
Brian S. works in IT strategy centre and he is a graduate from DCU. He began by describing
the advantages of working with Accenture and mentioned few home and global companies
that use their services. Then he went on to the interesting bit, talking about the successful and
not so much interviews that he had to carry out and explaining how they could have been
improved.
Preparation is crucial. One of the first things to do is to find out about the company through:
internet, promotional materials, campus careers office, alumni, etc.
A good thing to consider would be to get in contact with someone from the company and ask
questions about the interviews they overtook, the dress code, etc.
Look at the key skills required on the job description and demonstrate these skills through
examples from personal experience.
Interview is a two way thing. There are various types of interviews that employers can use for
policy, legal and logistical reasons but all of them have the same objective. These are:
1. Face-to face interviews
2. Panel interviews
3. Telephone interviews
4. Group interviews
5. Sequential interviews
6. Competency based interviews
During the interview:
1. Make eye contact
2. Relax and breathe
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3. Shake hands firmly
4. Don’t rehearse the answers (be prepared though)
5. Don’t lie!
6. Hint at what you would like to talk about (raise your experiences where appropriate)
Also remember to be concise and avoid one word answers. Also try and avoid negative
language like: but…only…just
The main competencies that Accenture and lots of other companies are looking for in a
potential employee would include:
1. Critical thinking
2. Leadership potential
3. Ability to learn quickly
4. Drive and motivation
5. Clear communications style
6. Team working skill’
This all is still pretty new to me though blogging seems like a great idea to share your views,
opinions, interesting stories articles, pictures, etc. with others but why wouldn’t you just use
Facebook and carry out the very same tasks? Are there too many blogs these days? Who is
reading them? I have attempted to answer these questions I raised for myself after the
workshop.
Firstly I have realised that in today’s modern society people wish to express themselves
through various social media platforms and this fashion is not about to change. Because of
this blogging is a great way to expresses one’s ideas and feelings through writing and through
allowing others to read. To answer the second and the third question I did research and
looked at the approximate numbers of blogs there are as well as the overall demographics of
people who do read blogs. Back in 2009 figures were showing that there were over 200
million blogs worldwide. Today According to Royal.Pingdom.com (2013) ‘Tumblr and
WordPress alone have over 157 million blogs’. Same website have looked into the top blogs
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and people (different age groups) that read them. The interesting thing about this is that the
average reader who reads blogs is about 41 years old. ‘Hypebeast’ is a blog with the youngest
average reader, 28.5 years according to the statistics, ‘Michelle Malkin’ has the blog with the
oldest average reader, 52.2 years and the spread between the highest and the lowest average
reader among all blogs is 23.7 years. These numbers would indicate that teenagers are not
keen on reading blogs. Another interesting fact is that the gender distribution among the top
blogs is as follows: average top blog has 45% female and 55% male readers. ‘Hollywood
Life’ shows to be the blog with the highest share of female readers, 63%. ‘Android
Authority’, on the other hand, has the highest share of male readers, 70%.
(Royal.Pingdom.com, 2013). According to SimplyZesty.com (2009) ‘other bloggers are
certainly very active in engaging with blogs and there is certainly a strong community
element within the blogosphere but they are part of the audience and not the entire audience’.
After answering these it became clear that celebrity life is something of major interest for
females to read about in blogs and gaming/automation for males. But, what are other themes
of blogs that readers find interesting?
Three major things have to be considered when developing a blog: content, design and style
of it. DailyTekk.com (2013) established main themes that different readers find appealing,
these include: Cool (inspirational blogs), viral (celebrity updates, news), culture (cultural
curation, about.com), news (journalism), design (design and architecture), humour (funny
tweets), men (men’s style), women (food, entertainment), photo (travel, fashion,
documentary), video (informative videos), audio (contemporary arts and issues), read
(articles, essays, books), tech (new and emerging technologies), smart (ideas), geek (gadgets),
good (solutions for non-profits), environment (sustainability issues), politics (political news),
can’t miss (random facts). From this we can see that people are interested in blogs, but they
have to, as mentioned above, have a clear and interesting content, an innovative and funky
design and an individual style that would attract the reader. This information provides me
with an answer to another question I had. Why is my blog not being read or commented on?
I developed the blog back in October 2012 and ran it until February 2013. The theme for my
blog was: Next Generation Management: the gathering of the POD’s. Each week I would
attend several POD activities and then write about them on my blog including pictures and
descriptions. I would then use my blog link in my reflections, as a proof of attendance. It
worked very well in the first semester, as each of my POD activities would be recorded this
way and thus provide me with a valid amount of information when I needed to write the
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reflection on that activity. The theme of my blog is The POD activities, which is not very
much appealing, and it would make little sense to anyone outside the university. It is
understandable, therefore that my blog was not visited by many people and only received few
followers. From my point of view though, I did not advertise the blog well. Course mates that
are actively involved in writing of a blog post it on Facebook, or sent out email notifications,
to make sure that their friends could see it. The themes of other blogs created were exciting
and interesting to read, like: travel tips, dressing up tips, life in Dublin. From that point my
blog was much less exciting, but might have appealed some students through its usefulness.
Businesses begun making use of blogs a little while ago. It has transformed today into a
strong corporate tool for communicating with customers or employees to share knowledge
and expertise. Large organisations as well as small businesses are using blogs, and these are
the reasons why companies should utilize the blog. Firstly, the software of a blog software is
easy to use. All is needed is to write one’s thoughts, link to resources, and publish on to the
blog, all at the push of a few buttons. There are particular Blog software companies such as:
Movable Type, Blogger.com and Typepad, that offer accessible blogging tools for someone
looking to start. Secondly, blogging is a low-cost option to having a web presence. For a
business without the time to learn web html or the resources to hire a designer/developer,
blogging offers an inexpensive way to get the company's name out on the internet. Thirdly, to
update a blog takes much less time than to contact a web designer with changes or to do the
coding and uploading yourself. Lastly, the business blogs are valuable to businesses because
they provide with a chance to share companies’ expertise and knowledge with a larger
audience.
I had a lot of questions about blogging after the class. The research helped answer those, and
through this research I became a lot more interested in the blogs. As well as that, despite the
fact that mu blog was not a very successful one, I believe that this first blog gave me valuable
experience, so I could pay much more attention to the style and content of my blog. As I ran
the blog for several weeks, this gave me understanding of how disciplined one must be in
order to write the blog weekly as it is an important tool for businesses. My understanding of
blogs was altered with the help of this class and my research. In order to make a step forward
in this high tech society we all are ought to learn things that might not be what we perceive to
be the priority to us. In order to succeed in the field which is highly competitive there can be
no looking back just moving forward with these disruptive and advanced times. As
technological advancements move forward, so does the channels of communication. So the
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social media platforms, are something that is here to stay. Therefore, it is crucial for
individuals and businesses make use of these platforms for various reasons: from gaining
employment to boosting your business.
I have interviewed an experienced blogger who was able to give me some more information
of why people start blogging.
Interview with Orla - Jo Ni Dhuill:
When did you started your blog?
I decided to make a blog on 30th of October 2011 when I had made a sort of Bucket List and
had been thinking about writing about a trip I had been on. I made the blog the next morning.
Why did you decided to start up one?
I've wanted to be a writer all my life but becoming a novelist is not easy. I also love
travelling, it's my second favourite thing after writing, so really it's weird it took me so long
to realise travel-writing is something I might want as a career. Like an artist or photographer
needs a portfolio, a journalist or travel writer can use a bog. But mostly I just love doing it.
What is the theme of your blog?
Travel, adventure and a journey through life.
Did you have any difficulties in setting up a blog?
Not really, but the difficulty is in promoting the blog to get a readership. I found that using
Tumblr and Google+ have helped a lot. I also have a YouTube channel where I link to the
blog as well.
Thank you Orla.
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Proof of attendance:
http://rutaramanauskaite2.wordpress.com/2012/10/
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Americans [online]. Available from:
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May 2013]
Pervin, L. 1993. Personality: Theory and Research. 6th ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Riggio, R. E. 1996. Introduction to Industrial/Organizational Psychology. 2nd ed. California:
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2013]
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Gao, G. 2013 IEEE Computer Society [online]. Available from: http://www.engr.sjsu.edu/gaojerry/IEEEMobileCloud2013/ [Accessed on 21 May 2013]
IBM.com, n. d. Transforming IT Infrastructure with Technical Computing [online]. Available
from: http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/technicalcomputing/ [Accessed on 22 May 2013]
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Bibliography for PayPal:
Bbc.co.uk, 2010. EBay profits boosted by PayPal success [online]. Available from:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10721734 [Accessed on 10 April 2013]
IEN.ie, 2011. PayPal to create another 200 jobs in Dublin [online]. Available from:
http://www.ienetwork.ie/news/2011/08/paypal-to-create-another-200-jobs-in-dublin
[Accessed on 10 April 2013]
Gstatic.com, 2011. The Mobile Movement Understanding Smartphone Users [online].
Available from: http://www.gstatic.com/ads/research/en/2011_TheMobileMovement.pdf
[Accessed on 11 April 2013]
Mobilecommercedaily.com,2012.Google takes lessons from PayPal, Apple’s Passbook to
drive mobile wallet adoption[online].Available from: http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/
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Pages.ebay.com, 2013. How E-bay and PayPal work together [online]. Available from:
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PayPal.com, n.d. How PayPal works [online]. Available from:
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Global-economic-symposium.org, 2012. Proposal - Dealing with Cyber crime – Challenges
and Solutions [online]. Available from:
http://www.global-economic-symposium.org/knowledgebase/the-global-polity/cybercrime-
cybersecurity-and-the-future-of-the-internet/proposals/dealing-with-cyber-crime-2013-
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[Accessed on 25 April 2013]
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[Accessed on 26 April 2013]
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DO’S AND DON’TS OF MARKETING WITH VIDEO FOR THE WEB [online]. Available
from: http://www.evancarmichael.com/Marketing/5504/Seven-Mistakes-When-Producing-
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April 2013]
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March 2013]
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Appendix 1: Personality Questionnaires
MAPP:
Free Sampleof Narrative Section
For
Ruta RamanauskaiteThis FREE MAPP™ appraisal is a sampling of your narrative results, Ruta. Your
responses to the MAPP™ assessment are truly unique. We’ve processed and
interpreted them to reveal your true motivations.
INTEREST IN JOB CONTENT
(Those tasks you want to perform)
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The Interest section identifies the ideal job content for you by identifying your motivations and preferences,
called Worker Traits. These traits are listed in order of priority. Typically, what one wants to do is that which
he/she is most likely to do and do it often enough (including training for it) to transform the raw interest into
real skills, and then, to stay on that job. The Interest section of your MAPP report outlines your preferences
toward work in relation to people, creativity, social activities, routine, tools, equipment and more. The Interest
section is the first glance of your top motivators. Each section thereafter will inter-relate and you will begin
seeing themes about the types of tasks and work that you prefer.
Ruta is conscious of existence, meaning, purpose, potential and destiny of humankind, people, and self. Ruta is
motivated by a self-felt, self-accepted calling to the cause of good, growth, and gain in the lives of others.
Influential communication of ideas is a primary way of achieving those objectives. Perception and thinking tend
to be holistic and conceptual; i.e., seeing the big picture. It is important to see which of the other traits are
interactive with this trait because there can be many interesting combinations. This is a major trait in cultural,
intellectual, academic, and creative activities. It includes ideas, concepts, theory, ethics, and values.
Preferences for Ruta fully support being perceptually, subconsciously, and consciously aware of fantasy,
symbols, Ruta is motivated to manage people and their activities. Such management can be exercised
with a variety of talents Ruta prefers to associate with others socially, organizationally, and
recreationally.
Motivational levels are highest for Ruta when in the limelight where recognition is earned, deserved, or
given. Ruta has a curiosity and awareness about the nature and utility of things. Ruta is motivated to
work on projects that are planned, scheduled, and completed.
Ruta prefers to be with people and will most likely avoid activities that are done apart from others. Ruta
considers "on
Ruta is motivated very little by physically working with things and objects as a primary or important
part of work or re
Ruta prefers and may even require change and variety. Sameness and routine cause loss of interest,
drive, and energy.
TEMPERAMENT FOR THE JOB
(How you prefer to perform tasks)
This Temperament section identifies the motivation and talent an individual possesses in twelve Worker Trait
Areas and coincides with the Interest section. The Temperament and Interest sections say the same thing from a
different perspective. Your highest motivators will be displayed first. In this section you will learn things such
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as; do you prefer lots of change and variety on the job, are you persuasive, do you prefer to work in teams or
independently, are you a naturally driven to evaluate and analyse, and more.
Ruta prefers and needs change and variety. Change is motivating, stimulating, and energizing. Ruta looks for
new options, challenges, assignments, acquaintances, relationships, and even new careers in new places. Ruta
tires of sameness, repetition, and routine even in activities that were interesting at the start. Once things become
routine for Ruta, this becomes a motivation to move on to more interesting things.
Career Tip: Very few people have jobs where they completely work alone. Make sure your role within your
work teams fits who you are and what you enjoy doing. You will be more productive and happy on the job when
challenged with tasks that fit your interests and motivations.
Ruta is most likely benevolent, voluntarily giving of self to help others, especially regarding current
pain, hurts, Ruta is strongly motivated to be organizationally active with others.
Most likely, Ruta is logical and analytical and is motivated to make sense of perceptions by identifying
how things
Ruta is open-minded, curious, creative, and innovative, having new ideas and concepts and preference to
be involved in c
Ruta willingly accepts responsibility for exercising motivated talents.
Ruta indicates a moderate preference to work under the competent leadership of others, closely with
peers, or function
Ruta is motivated to influence and convince others as part of social, organizational, vocational, or
recreational activities
Ruta accepts and exercises responsibility for organizational management but may not necessarily seek
out that role for
Ruta sees self as talented, self-sufficient, and goal-oriented.
Ruta does not prefer being tied to or tied down by timed, repetitious sensory/physical activity.
Ruta does not generally see, retain, and/or recall verbatim detail and, instead, shows an awareness of
concepts, pattern
APTITUDE FOR THE JOB
(Expression of performing tasks)
This is a highly generalized section in which the narrative deliberately focuses on the combination of
motivations and preferences as they relate to personal talents or skills. It lets the individual look into a
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vocational mirror and see his/her own talents and then decide for themselves where they fit and function the
best with regard to motivation and preference. It is another context in which to see if priorities are mental,
sensory, or physical: "To thine own self be true."
Ruta's preferences and motivations are derived from understanding the deeper or 'real' meaning of ideas and
words and uses them effectively in written or oral communication. Literary in this factor means intentional
search for ideas expressed by the minds of others for one's own use, assimilation, learning, etc. The source can
be books, other publications, historical documents, research information, drama, movies, television, the
"information highway" or internet, etc. Emphasis is on communication: picking up information from minds of
others or communication aimed toward the minds of others. Journalism and writing are major activities.
Literary activity is not exclusively intellectual, academic, or cultural. It may be an end in itself as in a
bookworm for instance. And literary activity is not always accompanied by communicative activity, written or
oral. On the other hand, communicative activity need not be literary in the classic sense. And one need not be
persuasive to be communicative, but it helps. When the trait is highly motivated, as it is here, it suggests both
literary and communicative abilities that are or could become a usable skill or a developed talent. By now you
can see that only a review of all traits will clearly show the specific content of Ruta's literary and/or
communicative preferences and motivations.
Intellectual and/or analytical work, most likely represent somewhat important types of mental activities
Ruta's preferences do not deter from seeing the big picture and handle things in that larger context.
Ruta is aware of details for their own sake, and sees the linkage and relationship associating that detail
with something
Although Ruta does not specifically prefer mathematics, motivation is not swayed one way or the other
as there is an
Ruta has few artistic preferences, and where preferences are lowest, artistic talent has probably not been
developed to
More than likely, Ruta does not have highly developed, consistently reliable sensory/physical
motivations either learned
The motivations and preferences influencing Ruta's mind tend to not be oriented toward placing
importance or emphasis on
In activities where Ruta's motivational levels are highest is where awareness of specific detail is most
likely.
Ruta has clear preferences that do not include handling minute manipulation of detail for extended
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periods of time.
Ruta is not motivated for what is called `workbench' activity where a person manually (primarily arms, hands, fingers)
PEOPLE
(How you relate to people, in priority order)
In this section, seven people factors cover important activities related to the interaction of a person with other
persons. These are very important for individuals motivated and perhaps even naturally talented or specifically
trained for associating and interacting with people. They may also be important traits for certain “people
intensive” jobs. Low motivational ratings in this section may also be quite positive and valuable, if occupations
necessitate or require that an individual function apart from others, manage his/her own activities, or be
satisfied with work in isolation.
"Mentor: a trusted counselor or guide." Ruta is interested in and consciously prefers to consider the existence,
meaning, purpose, potential, and destiny of mankind, people, persons, and self; with self-felt, self-accepted
responsibility to influence and/or cause good, growth, and gain in the lives of all concerned. Ruta has intuition
and philosophical curiosity that causes an awareness of personality, intentions, emotions, ethics, values, and
moods of other persons, and of self. By itself, this is not benevolence. If Ruta is highly motivated for benevolent
activities, this trait is compulsively central to personal and vocational activities. If there is a lack of personal
motivation, then the preference for consideration tends to be more philosophical or academic in nature, but still
service oriented.
Ruta feels both privilege and responsibility to use communication (including persuasion) to voluntarily
provide
Highly motivated persuasion means that Ruta intends to assertively, even aggressively, make direct
personal contact with
Ruta's motivations are heightened significantly by persuasive, gregarious, auditory-musical, visual-
artistic, and
Ruta's personal motivations support the willing acceptance of responsibility for planning, assigning, and
supervising
Philosophical, literary, scientific, managerial and/or persuasive traits may be involved in Ruta's
motivation and
Ruta has motivation and, more than likely, the natural talent for assertively negotiating or an adequate
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motivational
Ruta is empathetically and sympathetically aware of the hurts, needs, problems, and wishes of others
and is motivated to
THINGS
(How you relate to things, in priority order)
Working with things, manipulation of materials and processes, and cognizance of operational and mechanical
forces or objects, highlights this Worker Trait Code section. None of the factors in this section are directly
related to people nor call for exclusive talents whether or not they exist within the individual. However, these
factors do call for the interaction and interplay between mental, sensory, physical, and mechanical skills and/or
abilities as possessed by the individual. If the individual has a natural mechanical savvy, and likes to work with
his/her hands, this becomes a highly important and relevant Worker Trait Code section.
Engineering activities, regarding mechanics, systems, etc., do not fit Ruta's vocational interests.
Ruta is not motivated toward processing activities, no matter what is being processed or who is doing
the processing.
For one or more of a variety of possible reasons, Ruta does not prefer working with heavy equipment
operation.
"Being stuck to a machine all day" is not Ruta's definition for a satisfying vocation, occupation, or job.
Ruta is most likely not motivated to engage in activities requiring close, constant attention to precise
standards,
Manual labour is not an activity where Ruta is in any way motivated. Routine, elementary,
sensory/physical activity is no
Ruta's motivations are not compatible with assembly line activity where one is locked into operational
processes by stat
Ruta's preferences and motivations in vocational activity are not oriented toward routine, alert
monitoring, recording
DATA
(How you relate to data, in priority order)
The data section identifies preferences, motivations and priorities for certain kinds of mental activities. If
interests and preferences are primarily intellectual, academic, scholarly, scientific, mathematical, or
professional, this may be the most important section of the Worker Trait Code System for the person appraised.
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If his/her preferences are not primarily mental, this section may have little value. If these factors are important
for this profile, then factors in the reasoning, math, and language sections will also be both relevant and
important.
"Synthesize: putting two or more things together to form a whole; the combination of separate elements of
thought into a whole; the operation by which divided parts are united" (Webster). Ruta is motivated by seeing
the big picture so much so that (s)he, attempts to see all parts of the picture in that larger context, then sees all
parts relative to each other, but still within that larger context. Perception and thinking are therefore holistic and
conceptual. Philosophical and intuitive processes are involved. Scientific, managerial, and/or literary
preferences may also be involved. Other mental factors in this section are subordinate, secondary, or
complementary to this primary motivational attribute. This is an overview and scanning activity that includes
ideas, concepts, theory, fiction, hypothesis and assessment. (Note that words in the last sentence are unrelated to
logic that Webster defines as "the science of the operations of the understanding subservient to the estimation of
evidence.") For Ruta, preferences for this sort of synthesis will allow it to get no further toward logic than
estimating.
Ruta has analytical, research, and innovative preferences. Establishing an objective for new
breakthroughs, innovative
Ruta is motivated to coordinate (i.e., manage, manipulate, administer, etc.) that which is at hand to
achieve planned,
Ruta prefers an emphasis on utility when called upon to recognize and identify or classify important
factors related
Ruta's motivational levels support being conscious of the importance of information and evidence
relative to the
Ruta is motivated to a degree for handling and solving routine, factual, mathematical problems. This set
of preferences
Ruta does not prefer mailroom activities; i.e., duplicating and processing forms, bulletins, envelopes,
etc. Detail and
REASONING
(How you relate to reasoning, in priority order)
This Reasoning section is closely linked with the Data section. The Data section identifies an individual's
priorities or preferences (high and low) for ways of thinking, while the Reasoning section focuses on where,
why, and how this thinking will most likely be applied. Just like the linkage between the Interest and
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Temperament sections, Data and Reasoning are coupled very tightly as well.
Ruta is strongly motivated to apply thinking to the big picture through holistic ideas, concepts, options, and
strategies. This does not mean, suggest, or imply that thinking is kept only in a holistic context but it does mean
that the first and constant priority or preference for consideration and focus are on the big picture. (Example:
Ruta more likely prefers to be an executive rather than a manager, and more inclined to be a manager rather
than a supervisor.) Considering how pieces of the picture are brought in to the big picture stimulates motivation
for the activity.
The preferences in Ruta's mind tend to be oriented toward systems engineering: identifying, analyzing,
and solving
Ruta is motivated and perhaps even mentally equipped for troubleshooting: to recognize or otherwise
identify problems
Ruta literally may get 'system claustrophobia' if he/she has prolonged involvement in running,
monitoring, or maintainin
Methodical, meticulous, routine activities do not motivate, are not acceptable, or tolerable for Ruta.
Change, variety,
Ruta is not motivated to participate where simple, routine, basic tasks are primary.
MATHEMATICAL CAPACITY
(How you relate to the applied usage of math)
Math is a natural talent like art or music and requires a certain natural preference. In most instances, you have
it or you don't; you like it or you don't. If the individual has talent for math, this section shows where the
greatest vocational interest and motivation occurs, and that is where he/she has probably developed the most
talent or could. Low ratings for some or all of these factors imply that math, or possibly that specific
application of math, is not a motivational factor to this individual.
Ruta prefers to consider math extending more toward theory, abstract concepts, experimental applications, etc.
Because of the moderate motivational level for this theoretical activity, it is not likely that it would be satisfying
as a primary vocation or have too heavy an emphasis. However, it remains a valuable asset that extends normal
capability beyond usual activities.
Career Tip: The IT industry is responsible for creating many new jobs. Many IT professionals have a
high motivation toward working with numbers and problem solving. You can find your math and
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problem solving preferences in the Mathematics and Reasoning sections of your MAPP report.
Ruta is motivated and probably equipped to work with, use, and apply math at management levels for
tracking, analysing
Ruta's preferences tend to be methodically curious, exploratory, analytical and systematic, with math as
an important to
Ruta is not motivated by routine, basic mathematic-oriented activities and prefers not to work with math
nor depend on
Ruta may simply lack interest or the motivation to express self vocationally through the use of basic
math skills while
Ruta does not prefer activities requiring verbatim perception, recording, and/or processing of details,
especially where
LANGUAGE CAPACITY
(How you relate to the usage of language)
Four language traits are included in the narrative to cover basic activities that utilize words. They aren't very
specific, but there are related factors for literary, journalistic, and communicative activities in the Interest,
Temperament, Data, People, Aptitude and Reasoning sections. If a high motivational and/or preference level
exists for one or more factors in this section, scan those other sections to discover preferences the individual
has for those activities. Not all jobs call for orators or authors, while some jobs require such skills.
Ruta is highly motivated to consider creative writing and communicating at professional levels. Preferences are
holistic, conceptual, imaginative, and creative. "Ideas trigger more ideas" can probably be said about Ruta. High
motivational levels for this worker trait indicate an interactive combination of literary and philosophical traits.
As Dean W. R. Inge said, "Literature flourishes best when it is half a trade and half an art." That probably
makes a great deal of sense to Ruta. Motivation at this level indicate preferences that probably include writing
fiction, poetry, scripts for movies or television, advertising copy, marketing copy, teaching creative writing, etc.
Yung Typology Test:
Humanmetrics Jung Typology Test™
Your Type
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INTJIntrovert(17%) iNtuitive(38%) Thinking(1%) Judging(22%)
You have slight preference of Introversion over Extraversion (17%)
You have moderate preference of Intuition over Sensing (38%)
You have marginal or no preference of Thinking over Feeling (1%)
You have slight preference of Judging over Perceiving (22%)
Self-awareness and personal growth
Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging
by Marina Margaret Heiss
Profile: INTJ
Revision: 3.1
Date of Revision: 17 Oct 2009
To outsiders, INTJs may appear to project an aura of "definiteness", of self-confidence. This
self-confidence, sometimes mistaken for simple arrogance by the less decisive, is actually of
a very specific rather than a general nature; its source lies in the specialized knowledge
systems that most INTJs start building at an early age. When it comes to their own areas of
expertise -- and INTJs can have several -- they will be able to tell you almost immediately
whether or not they can help you, and if so, how. INTJs know what they know, and perhaps
still more importantly, they know what they don't know.
INTJs are perfectionists, with a seemingly endless capacity for improving upon anything that
takes their interest. What prevents them from becoming chronically bogged down in this
pursuit of perfection is the pragmatism so characteristic of the type: INTJs apply (often
ruthlessly) the criterion "Does it work?" to everything from their own research efforts to the
prevailing social norms. This in turn produces an unusual independence of mind, freeing the
INTJ from the constraints of authority, convention, or sentiment for its own sake.
INTJs are known as the "Systems Builders" of the types, perhaps in part because they possess
the unusual trait combination of imagination and reliability. Whatever system an INTJ
happens to be working on is for them the equivalent of a moral cause to an INFJ; both
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perfectionism and disregard for authority may come into play, as INTJs can be unsparing of
both themselves and the others on the project. Anyone considered to be "slacking," including
superiors, will lose their respect -- and will generally be made aware of this; INTJs have also
been known to take it upon themselves to implement critical decisions without consulting
their supervisors or co-workers. On the other hand, they do tend to be scrupulous and even-
handed about recognizing the individual contributions that have gone into a project, and have
a gift for seizing opportunities which others might not even notice.
In the broadest terms, what INTJs "do" tends to be what they "know". Typical INTJ career
choices are in the sciences and engineering, but they can be found wherever a combination of
intellect and incisiveness are required (e.g., law, some areas of academia). INTJs can rise to
management positions when they are willing to invest time in marketing their abilities as
well as enhancing them, and (whether for the sake of ambition or the desire for privacy)
many also find it useful to learn to simulate some degree of surface conformism in order to
mask their inherent unconventionality.
Personal relationships, particularly romantic ones, can be the INTJ's Achilles heel. While
they are capable of caring deeply for others (usually a select few), and are willing to spend a
great deal of time and effort on a relationship, the knowledge and self-confidence that make
them so successful in other areas can suddenly abandon or mislead them in interpersonal
situations.
This happens in part because many INTJs do not readily grasp the social rituals; for instance,
they tend to have little patience and less understanding of such things as small talk and
flirtation (which most types consider half the fun of a relationship). To complicate matters,
INTJs are usually extremely private people, and can often be naturally impassive as well,
which makes them easy to misread and misunderstand. Perhaps the most fundamental
problem, however, is that INTJs really want people to make sense. :-) This sometimes results
in a peculiar naivete', paralleling that of many Fs -- only instead of expecting inexhaustible
affection and empathy from a romantic relationship, the INTJ will expect inexhaustible
reasonability and directness.
Probably the strongest INTJ assets in the interpersonal area are their intuitive abilities and
their willingness to "work at" a relationship. Although as Ts they do not always have the kind
of natural empathy that many Fs do, the Intuitive function can often act as a good substitute
by synthesizing the probable meanings behind such things as tone of voice, turn of phrase,
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and facial expression. This ability can then be honed and directed by consistent, repeated
efforts to understand and support those they care about, and those relationships which
ultimately do become established with an INTJ tend to be characterized by their robustness,
stability, and good communications.
Functional Analysis
by Joe Butt
Introverted iNtuition
INTJs are idea people. Anything is possible; everything is negotiable. Whatever the outer
circumstances, INTJs are ever perceiving inner pattern-forms and using real-world materials
to operationalize them. Others may see what is and wonder why; INTJs see what might
be and say "Why not?!" Paradoxes, antinomies, and other contradictory phenomena aptly
express these intuitors' amusement at those whom they feel may be taking a particular view
of reality too seriously. INTJs enjoy developing unique solutions to complex problems.
Extraverted Thinking
Thinking in this auxiliary role is a workhorse. Closure is the payoff for efforts expended.
Evaluation begs diagnosis; product drives process. As they come to light, Thinking tends,
protects, affirms and directs iNtuition's offspring, fully equipping them for fulfilling and
useful lives. A faithful pedagogue, Thinking argues not so much on its own behalf, but in
defense of its charges. And through this process these impressionable ideas take on the
likeness of their master.
Introverted Feeling
Feeling has a modest inner room, two doors down from the Most Imminent iNtuition. It
doesn't get out much, but lends its influence on behalf of causes which are Good and Worthy
and Humane. We may catch a glimpse of it in the unspoken attitude of good will, or the
gracious smile or nod. Some question the existence of Feeling in this type, yet its unseen
balance to Thinking is a cardinal dimension in the full measure of the INTJ's soul.
Extraverted Sensing
Sensing serves with a good will, or not at all. As other inferior functions, it has only a
rudimentary awareness of context, amount or degree. Thus INTJs sweat the details or, at
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times, omit them. "I've made up my mind, don't confuse me with the facts" could well have
been said by an INTJ on a mission. Sensing's extraverted attitude is evident in this type's bent
to savor sensations rather than to merely categorize them. Indiscretions of indulgence are
likely an expression of the unconscious vengeance of the inferior.
Famous INTJs:
Susan B. Anthony
Lance Armstrong
Arthur Ashe, tennis champion
Augustus Caesar (Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus)
Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice)
Dan Aykroyd (The Blues Brothers)
William J. Bennett, "drug czar"
William F. Buckley, Jr.
Raymond Burr (Perry Mason, Ironsides)
Chevy Chase (Cornelius Crane) (Fletch)
Katie Couric
Phil Donahue
Michael Dukakis, governor of Mass., 1988 U.S. Dem. pres. candidate
Richard Gere (Pretty Woman)
Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor
Greg Gumbel, television sportscaster
Hannibal, Carthaginian military leader
Emily Bronte, author of Wuthering Heights
Angela Lansbury (Murder, She Wrote)
Orel Leonard Hershiser, IV
Peter Jennings
Charles Everett Koop
Ivan Lendl
C. S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia)
Joan Lunden
Edwin Moses, U.S. olympian (hurdles)
Martina Navratilova
Michelle Obama
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General Colin Powell, former US Secretary of State
Charles Rangel, US Representative, D-N.Y.
Pernell Roberts (Bonanza)
Donald Rumsfeld, former US Secretary of Defense
Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California
Josephine Tey (Elizabeth Mackintosh), mystery writer (Brat Farrar)
U.S. Presidents:
Chester A. Arthur
Calvin Coolidge
Thomas Jefferson
John F. Kennedy
James K. Polk
Woodrow Wilson
Fictional:
Cassius (Julius Caesar)
Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice)
Gandalf the Grey (J. R. R. Tolkein's Middle Earth books)
Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs)
Professor Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes' nemesis
Horatio Hornblower
Ensign Ro (Star Trek--the Next Generation)
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Hamlet)
George Smiley, John le Carre's master spy
Clarice Starling (Silence of the Lambs)
Copyright © 2012 by Marina Margaret Heiss and Joe Butt
Career Choices
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Generally, INTJs have successful careers in areas requiring intensive intellectual efforts,
presenting intellectual challenge, and creative approach. Due to the characteristics
mentioned above, successful INTJs are found in technological companies, particularly in
research and development, and also found among corporate lawyers, high- and mid-rank
managers in technology companies and financial institutions.
Jung Career Indicator™ determines occupations and areas in which INTJs find themselves
most fulfilled and content, are most successful, and therefore are most represented in. Based
on your personality type, the following is a list of the most suitable areas of occupations
along with some examples of educational institutions, where you can receive a relevant
degree or training. Please click occupation names and institution logos for more
information. The most preferred areas appear first.
Computer programing
Natural science
Teaching natural science
Engineering
Famous Personalities Sharing Your Type:
Stephen Hawking, a theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author
Andrew Grove, a businessman, engineer, and author
Marie Curie, a physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity
Guy Kawasaki, a venture capitalist, bestselling author, and Apple Fellow
Igor Sikorsky, a pioneer of aviation
Hillary Clinton, the 67th US Secretary of State
Learning Style Inventory
LSI Feedback Report
Learning Styles Inventory
Ruta Ramanauskaite
10th June 2013
Introduction
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This report gives an indication of your style and preferences based on the answers you gave
when completing the Learning Styles Indicator. The questionnaire is designed to identify
fundamental differences in the way people think, communicate and learn.
Understanding more about your learning style might help you to
• choose topics, areas and qualifications which are more likely to interest you
• understand how you communicate, how this might come across and how you learn best
• select the teaching style and learning environment that most suits you and keeps you
motivated
• judge which situations require you to adapt your style
The diagram on the right shows your results. The X shows that your most likely style is the
Explorer. Whilst this may be your most natural or characteristic style it does not mean it is
the only style you use. Everyone shows some variety and flexibility.
Interpretation
If your 'X' is near one of the outer corners you have indicated a clear preference and the
identified style is more likely to be noticeable and characteristic. If the X is near the
borderline of two boxes it can indicate that you show greater flexibility in using the style
from both boxes. Alternatively it may mean that you are less clear about your preferred
learning style at this point in time. Whatever the results, there is neither good nor bad. The
results may be most useful if you use them to consider whether they truly reflect your style
and preferences. This may help you clarify how you learn best, how you choose what to
learn, why you make the choices you do, what environments suit you best and what you
could do to improve and enjoy learning more. You may also like to consider how much the
questionnaire reflects your natural or dominant style and under what circumstances you use
the other three styles.
Your questionnaire results indicate a preference for learning using the Explorer style. This
style is described in detail in the following pages.
The Explorer
Summary Description
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Explorers are characterised by the desire to discover new things with a constant need for
stimulation and variety. A summary of the four main learning styles is given on the previous
page so that you can see how the Explorer differs from others
Some of the key characteristics of the Explorer:
• wants the “big picture” rather than the details
• values options, complexity and flexibility
• values inspiration above perspiration
• enjoys opportunities for being creative and trying out new things
• craves variety and change
• enjoy learning by active discovery
• comfortable with more questions rather than simple answers
• desires personal growth and sees learning as part of a life-long process
What explorers might choose to study
People choose to learn things for many different reasons. Sometimes this is because they
have had particular experiences; sometimes they are influenced by friends or parents or have
particular career interests. However, your learning style can help you to recognise how
certain topics could be more naturally and immediately interesting for you. People with the
Explorer learning style preference often prefer subjects which:
• have personal relevance and can inspire them
• are engaging and different
• are new and challenging
• involve concepts, abstractions, metaphors and theories
• are visual and allows mental imagery
• have options and possibilities rather than answers
• have personal purpose and relevance
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This generally means that very factually based topics requiring close attention to detail are
not natural choices for Explorers.
Explorers can learn to enjoy almost any subject. In particular, they tend to enjoy marketing,
social sciences, humanities, counselling, languages and business studies. However, they can
also enjoy many other subjects which are not so obvious a fit to their style as these, perhaps
because of an interest in specific aspects of a subject or because they like a particular teacher
or learning environment. If they find that they are studying a particular subject but do not
enjoy it, then they should consider why they chose to study that subject and whether in fact it
is a subject that fits their most natural style of learning.
The learning environment Explorers usually prefer
When Explorers use their preferred learning style they usually seek an environment which is
active and participative. Too much observation and reflection is likely to make them restless.
You may like to consider previous learning situations that you found motivating and
stimulating. Explorers usually describe situations where:
• there are lots of ideas and possibilities
• you can learn by trial and error
• there are lots of opportunities to discuss, suggest and interact with others
• there is debate and challenge
• learning is a process of questioning and discovery
• there is not an over emphasis on presentation and neatness
• broad meanings and implications are preferred to exhaustive details
You are therefore unlikely to find learning rewarding when you are expected to take a more
reflective or passive approach such as listening to lectures or reading. As a colleague you are
probably seen as enthusiastic and stimulating but with a tendency to keep asking questions
and introducing new options and ideas. At the right time this can be extremely stimulating for
your colleagues. At other times this may become frustrating because they may have a more
linear or progressive approach and feel you are deflecting them from their goal or objective.
Your ideal teacher: this will be someone who is enthusiastic, someone who can stimulate
and inspire you.
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You don’t want simple or “spoon-fed” answers but you want them to stimulate you and to
give you direction so that you can embark on a journey of exploration and discovery.
What motivates explorers to learn something new
Everyone needs a purpose and some kind of outcome or benefit from their learning.
However, people with different learning styles are likely to have very different reasons and
rewards. Explorers are likely to want to feel that they:
• have explored and learnt something quite new
• have come up with a variety of different options so that there are plenty more questions to
explore
• feel changed, more knowledgeable and skilled
• have their own creative stamp on whatever is produced
An Explorer's most natural talents
Explorers have a style that makes them particularly good at:
• finding out new things and turning up the unexpected
• making intuitive leaps, thinking broadly, introducing a wide range of ideas, options and
information
• considering abstract ideas and divergent solutions
• stimulating others to consider more possibilities
• encouraging interaction, participation, sharing and discussion
• remaining flexible and adapting to new ideas and information
An Explorer's least natural talents
Explorers have to work harder to:
• attend to the details – of either the instructions or the solutions
• maintain interest when the initial excitement has passed
• ensure a sufficiently detailed and thorough evaluation and analysis has been completed
• introduce structure and method
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• communicate sufficient detail and practicalities
Explorers get criticised for:
• starting many things and opening too many avenues
• failing to see things through
• becoming restless and bored when the hard work starts
• throwing in too many red herrings and introducing chaos
• communicating generalities leaving people unsure about what needs to be done
• trusting in luck and moving on with inadequate analysis and evaluation
Developmental suggestions for explorers
If you have a need to improve your learning and have to adapt your style in order to do so
you may like to consider trying some of the following:
• write a description of an event or something you have just learned. Get someone with a
different learning style from yourself to read it and comment – perhaps with the mind-set that
they wanted to learn the same topic. Then rewrite it all giving a lot more detail and trying to
be as specific and concrete as possible. Address the following:
o who
o what
o when
o how
• consider an activity or piece of work you need to produce. How would you normally
approach it?
Now consider an alternative approach. Explorer – Catalysts usually need to work at
producing a more structured plan with more specific detail concerning content and time-
scales.
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• prepare yourself for your next interactive learning opportunity (ie. where you will be
learning through interaction and discussion). Imagine yourself as a fly on the wall observing
yourself contributing in that environment. Do you
o talk too much and interrupt others
o go off at tangents and bring in red herrings
o show frustration and boredom
o avoid the detail
o suggest alternatives once too often
• Write a list of reminders for recognising some of these failings.
• Write down what you will try to do differently – be specific.
LEARNING STYLES AND THE LEARNING CYCLE
Linking your learning style to the learning cycle can be very useful and make you a more
effective learner. The principle behind the link is that all learning benefits from being
consolidated by all the stages - act, reflect, construct and practice. Greater awareness of your
strengths and preferences can therefore help you to make better use of the full cycle. Below is
a description of the 4 stages and the style which feels most natural at each stage:
Stage 1 - ACT:
This is the active experience, a period where there is opportunity to learn by involvement,
practical activity and 'getting on with it'. Activators are keen to move into this stage
Stage 2 - REFLECT:
This is a period of contemplation and reflection where there is an opportunity to review,
understand and personalise the experience. Clarifiers are keen to move into this stage.
Stage 3 - GENERATE:
This is a period where the implications can be explored and new ideas or theories can be
created. Innovators are keen to move into this stage.
Stage 4 - TEST:
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This is a period where the new ideas are explored more actively, perhaps with some trial and
error. It is the stage where plans or scheme emerge with designs implementation. Explorers
are keen to move into this stage.
Below is a diagrammatic representation of the way the cycle and the styles link. It shows how
each style has a tendency to move the learning process onto a stage that suits its own
particular preferences and frustrations.
Learning to use each stage of the cycle in a more conscious way can make learning both more
enjoyable and more effective. This does not mean that everyone would use each style or stage
in equal measure, but it does suggest that there can often be a more appropriate balance that is
influenced by your preferences and the situation. Greater awareness of your learning style
preferences can also help reduce tension when you are learning and working with others. This
is because people with different styles want to spend more time at a different part of the
cycle. The recognition that people have different preferences can help all those involved to
manage learning to fit the individuals concerned and their colleagues and also to use the most
appropriate balance to fit the learning environment which can all lead to a more useful and
harmonious learning experience.
Leadership Questionnaire:
The scores I received for this questionnaire were: People: 6.8, Task: 7.4. They are plotted
below on the matrix.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Country Club Team Leader
Impoverished Authoritarian
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8
9
Represents my position with people
Represents my position in task
The point of intersection lies in the authoritarian leadership style.
Authoritarian Leader (high task, low relationship)
People who get this rating are very much task oriented and are hard on their workers
(autocratic). There is little or no allowance for cooperation or collaboration. Heavily task
oriented people display these characteristics: they are very strong on schedules; they expect
people to do what they are told without question or debate; when something goes wrong they
tend to focus on who is to blame rather than concentrate on exactly what is wrong and how to
prevent it; they are intolerant of what they see as dissent (it may just be someone's creativity),
so it is difficult for their subordinates to contribute or develop.
Thomas Kilman Conflict Management Style
Competing: 3 (low)
Collaborating: 7 (middle)
Compromising: 7 (middle)
Avoiding: 9 (high)
Accommodating: 4 (middle)
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Teamwork Assessment
Total: 75
Diagnosing the need for team building: 19
Appendix 2: POD Minder Summary
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