BusinessGuru

During writing my report I came across the word ‘procrastination’ in the phrase: “I will recommend myself to make a weekly schedule with the most important points that need to be done, so that procrastination will be prevented.” It means that you will not immediately start your work but should do that. You move your work forward, because you don’t know where to start or don’t feel like starting.

Another word I came across while reading the international business book is ‘abolition’ in the phrase: “Due to the abolition of frontiers, people travel more than ever.” It means there are no more limits between countries, which makes it easier for people to travel all over the world.

- APA: Hendrickx, M., & Jethu-Ramsoedh, A. (2022). International Business.

In the news article about exploited foreign doctors, I came across the word ‘litigation’ in the phrase: “I knew that working tired puts the patients at risk and puts myself also at risk, as well for litigation, he says.” The process of taking legal action.

In year 1, 2 and 4 of the studies Business Administration and HR, students take the Business English course. The purpose of this proposal is to examine the program Business English and improving this program for Business and HR students.

At the moment, the program is very varied. It is good that every lesson is focused on another skill. This way it is not boring and a student develops in four areas, namely writing, reading, listening and speaking.  

Improving the program would be relatively beneficial. The first improvement that can be implemented is giving more practice exams. This allows students to get acquainted with the type of questions that are asked during the exam. Students can therefore prepare themselves better and there is a greater chance of better results. Starting the lesson by watching BBC News is also an improvement, which means that students can improve their listening skills in an accessible way.

My suggestion to make the program more attractive for students is by organizing a trip to an English-speaking country. This way you can introduce students to the culture and company visits can be scheduled. A portfolio must be made based on those company visits with which students can get points for their curriculum. Furthermore, students can pitch places themselves where they would like to go. In this way they practice their English in a fun way.

Dear Peter,

Thank you for your great coaching and the opportunities the company has given me. I am writing to reflect on the period I worked for you.

First of all, I would like to compliment you on the good guidance during my internship period. You made sure that I could get to know all the departments so that I could get to know the company well. This allowed me to give a more appropriate advice, that can be implemented across all departments.

Secondly, I have a lot of admiration for your openness towards the employees. They have a lot of clarity. Your positive and constructive feedback will help them further in their professional development.

Thirdly, I appreciate the chances you have given me. You gave me the opportunity to learn new skills, that I will be able to use forever, such as selling a product to a customer. I had no experience with calling customers and at the beginning I wasn’t sure how to make the conversation go well. Thanks to your feedback and tips I was able to develop that skill.

Finally, I would like to give you one piece of advice. Try to include the opinion of your employees in the decisions you make. They experience how the processes work on the floor, so it is good to collect their experiences.

I want to thank you again for all your time and guidance. Good luck in the future.

The purpose of this report is to evaluate my most important personal learning experiences during my time as a student and to make recommendations on how I become a better professional in the future.

The first highlight I experienced was during my internship in the second year of my study business administration. I did an internship in the marketing and sales department at a company that builds apps for churches. Without any experience, my supervisor let me call clients to sell the app. At the beginning I was scared and I often didn’t know what to say exactly. But by doing it and reflecting on it, I knew better and better what to say to a customer at what time.

Another important discovery I made during my studies is that I quickly put off work if I don’t have a clear overview of what to do. I need a specified planning or to do list, so that I can create clarity for myself and know where to start.  

Cultural differences between Spain and the Netherlands.

Four years in a row I went to Spain with my family during summer vacation. There are several cultural differences to be aware of. 

At first, in Spain most people keep siesta. The working hours are different from what we are used to. The lunch is from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. or 5 p.m. Then they work on until 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. During the summer, men usually doesn’t work in the afternoon. A lot of companies are closed on Friday afternoon. Companies are often closed during the month August. 

Secondly, you must consider the language differences. Control of the Spanish language is important. Only the younger generation is speaking English. It’s wise to have your quotation, website, texts and flyers made by an expert. With this you can make a good impression. 

Yale lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf9tlbMckS0&list=PL6A08EB4EEFF3E91F&index=6

Lecture 6 Psychology: How do we communicate? Language in the brain, mouth

Prof. Paul Bloom

Summary

The scientific notion of language and structure

Facts about language: Languages all share some deep and intricate universals and languages are very different, they sound different or look unusual. People who were enslaved from different cultures would develop a makeshift communication system, so they could talk to one another. This is called a “pidgin”. This pidgin was not a language, it was strings of words borrowed from the different languages around them and put together in sort of haphazard ways. Language is part of human nature. If parts of dedicated brains are damaged you get language deficits or aphasias, where you might use the ability to understand or create language. All languages are creative.

Phonology: a system of sounds

All languages have phonology, which is the system of sounds or signs. When you learn you must learn the phonemes that your language has. You have to use sound signals to figure out the boundaries between the words. In your native language you can hear a pause in between each word in a sentence. The pause is a psychological illusion. There are no pauses between the words. The pauses are inserted by your mind.  

Morphology: a system of words

Language allows for arbitrary naming. Morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit in a language. Mostly the same as a word.

Syntax: communicating complicated ideas

Allows us to combine words into phrases and phrases into sentences. Syntax is the same as grammar.

We respond to each other based on the message that’s conveyed, not the grammaticality of the utterances.

Why relevant

TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2X7c9TUQJ8

Title: How to multiply your time

Speaker: Rory Vaden

Personal response

We understand time management wrong. The first major difference is: How we choose to spend our time isn’t just logical, it’s also emotional. There is no such thing as time management, there is self-management. We have got two dimensional thinking solutions: One-Dimensional thinking solution, efficiency – the idea was to develop tools, technology, tips and tricks to help us get our to-do list done faster and two-dimensional thinking solution, prioritizing. Prioritizing is focusing on the things that matters most. You replace a task on your list, but that doesn’t create more time. The second major difference is: Urgency, importance and significance. Multipliers think: What can I do right now, that would make the future better? You multiply your time by giving yourself the emotional permission to spend time on things today that will give you more time tomorrow. That is called significance calculation. 

Quotes

“How is it that we know more about time management today, and yet stress is at an all-time high?”

-          This is a good question today, because a lot of people have stress and get burnouts from work. We must change our mind about time management.

 “You cannot solve today’s time management problems, with yesterday’s time management thinking.”

-          We must change our way of thinking about time management to the way multipliers think. Multipliers use 3-dimensional thinking. Most people decide based on urgency and importance, but multipliers are making a third calculation, which is based on significance.

 “Multipliers realize that perfection is achieved not only when nothing more can be added, but when nothing more can be taken away.”

TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pY7EjqD3QA

Title: The four-letter code to selling anything

Speaker: Derek Thompson

Personal response

Companies want us to like new things, but we hate it. Research by Raymond Loewy shows that on the one hand there is neo philia, a love of new things and an appreciation for the new, a need to discover. But on the other hand there is neo phobia, a fear of anything that is too new, a deep conservativeness. Loewy said that in order to make hits, you need to make products that live right at that intersection of the familiar surprise. To sell something familiar you must make it surprising, but to sell something surprising you must make it familiar. Maya is such an interesting concept with so many unique applications. The four-letter code means Most advanced, yet acceptable.

Quotes

“In the advertiser formula the first variable is always novelty.”

-          Research shows that people don’t always want new things. They want something that is familiar, but surprising. Focus on Maya: Most advanced, yet acceptable.

 “A window to a new world can also show you home.”

TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K4TjS9u1t4

Title: It doesn’t take money to make money

Speaker: Brandon Leibel

Personal response

We usually think that we need money to start a business. But if you really want to achieve something or start a business yourself without money, you must be creative. It’s very impressive that this man and his friends didn’t give up on their dreams, because they didn’t have money to make their dreams come true. They chose to live in a very small apartment and to sell everything they had, just to buy the first towels. They advertised on the beach and studied how to create a website. Because they didn’t have money, they had to think of other ways to promote their product. It’s important to seize every moment and create possibilities for your company. No money forces you to do things you would normally never do.

Quotes

“Success is in those things that money can’t buy, the drive, the determination and the passion”.

-          Following your passion will give you satisfaction, making money does not.

 “We realized that money can buy followers, it can buy likes, it can even buy comments on your pictures, but it can’t buy a first impression.”

-          A first impression is so important, because you can never change it. The first characteristics that people get to know about your company set the tone. The interpretation of later properties is influenced by the image that has now emerged.

 “When someone tells you it takes money to make money, tell them that your lack of money is going to finance your resourcefulness and make you successful.”

BBC News: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-53724620

Title: ‘The millions being made from cardboard theft’

Author: Jo Harper and Will Smale

Summary

There is big money to be made from recycled cardboard. This is attracting criminals around the world. Thieves are making a fortune from stealing used cardboard that's been left out to be recycled and selling it on. This means that legitimate recycling firms are missing out on tens of millions. At the start of coronavirus there was a big rise in online sales, because everyone got stuck at home. This phenomenon is far wider than you would imagine in Europe. It has crossed from paper theft to money laundering, and fraud, with international and local networks interacting. The problem is that recycled cardboard is so untraceable. And theft is hardly ever reported by companies, because why would they? If magic pixies have nicked their waste cardboard, then it means they don't have to pay a firm to come and pick it up.

Personal opinion

It’s not good for legitimate recycling firms that they are missing out on tens of millions. I think everyone should earn money in a fair way. It is difficult to tackle this problem, because it is difficult for them to get grips on this situation. It makes sense that shopkeepers should not be concerned, because they approve of everything if the cardboard is removed. This does not make finding the criminals any easier. I think it’s important to work together with the shopkeepers and the government to track down and arrest the criminals. This demands a lot from people, especially shopkeepers who don’t care who picks up their cardboard, but it will get better in the long run. It’s a major problem that can’t continue like this any longer.

New English saying

BBC News: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54088916

Title: ‘How her own illness led one woman to set up a global firm’

Author: Sarah Finley

Summary

Jules Miller is the founder of dietary supplements firm The Nue Co. She became so ill that she had internal bleeding. She had been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Some pills even made her feel worse and she was alarmed that most of the pills she tried were full of fillers and bulking agents. Her grandfather was a chemist. They started to research dietary supplement formulations and ingredients. There were brands out there that were supposed to help people, but they contained ingredients that were clinically proven to bring on other symptoms. Her work with her grandfather inspired Jules to start her own all-natural supplements business. Nue's initial product was called Debloat, a supplement to alleviate IBS that Jules found and worked for her. Other items then followed. They want people to listen to their bodies, as everyone's journey, like hers, is personal.

Personal opinion

I think it’s good that someone is doing further research on supplements, because it just shows that the supplements are not pure. I think she is a very strong woman. First, she heard that she is sick. Then she started taking supplements to try to alleviate the problem, but found that nothing worked. Many people in this stage may have got depressed, worried or angry, but Jules just started doing research. This work inspired her to start her own supplements business. She turned something terrible into something great. She now has supplements who work for her body and she can help other people with her products. It’s important to listen to your body and find something that works for you. If something is not going well, take matters into your own hands by conducting research for example like Jules did. Get something positive out of every situation.

New word

BBC News: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54289152

Title: 'I monitor my staff with software that takes screenshots'

Author: Lora Jones

Summary

For the last year and a half, Shibu has used Hubstaff software to track his workers’ hours, keystrokes, mouse movements and websites visited. By looking at screenshots and how much time everyone is taking on certain tasks, he knows if they’re following procedures. During the coronavirus pandemic, more people work from home. That’s why there has been a spike in demand for software that monitors employee activity. Recent study, by Cardiff University and the University of Southampton (Reuschke, 2020), found that bosses are afraid that out-of-sight workers will shirk. Bosses who use these types of software might argue that it’s good for maintaining productivity, but research by the CIPD (CIPD, 2020) suggest that workplace surveillance can damage trust. Jonny Gifford suggests that any firms using monitoring software should have written policies in place explaining how and why it is being used. There should also be clear guidance for managers and safeguards in place to prevent misuse or "over-monitoring".

APA:

CIPD. (2020, July 2). Workplace technology: the employee experience. Retrieved from www.cipd.co.uk: https://www.cipdhttps://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/workplace-technology-1_tcm18-80853.pdfco.uk/knowledge/work/technology/workplace-technology-employee

Reuschke, A. F. (2020, august). Homeworking in the UK: Before and during the 2020 lockdown. Retrieved from Wiserd: https://wiserd.ac.uk/sites/default/files/documents/Homeworking%20in%20the%20UK_Report_Final_3.pdf

Personal opinion

I understand that bosses are afraid of the productivity level of their employees, because they don’t have a sight on them when working from home. But I agree with Jonny Gifford, senior adviser for organisational behaviour research at the CIPD. He says that employers will get "much better results" by supporting employees, "rather than focusing on potentially irrelevant measures of input, such as the number of keystrokes". As an employee it’s your own responsibility that you fulfil the work you must do each day. Personally, I would feel bad if somebody was tracking me on a less productive day. It’s important that employers trust their employees. I think that monitoring distracts from your work, because the focus is more on the number of keystrokes than on the content of your work.

New word