thhijs

[thhijs]

Assignment 4

This proposal contains ideas for the future, based on a reflection of English classes and it highlights my opinion.

Learning English is done best with lots of practice, a generally accepted fact. I watch all my movies in English, read English research papers etc. The year 2 English consists, mostly, of watching or reading (ted talks, Yale lecture, bcc articles) and there’s almost no practice. In the mandatory exercises, except for the test, speaking and improvising in conversations is hardly ever done. One of the biggest difficulties for me when speaking foreign languages is self-confidence. I think the only way to practice this is to do it with others, because of the pressure positions in which one will find himself. So discussion-like exercises could be implemented more.

As for the point of motivating students and highlighting a strong component of the classes, I enjoy English expressions and sayings. The English language has a great way of conveying thoughts and feelings through creative word usage with mildly insulting humour. This humour adds a new level to movies and conversations, however, these expressions don’t translate well, another reason to never watch movies translated to Dutch. The previous exercisegrabbed my interest and I enjoyed thinking about sayings. I’m convinced this kind of unconventional exercise, instead of the usual ‘write a letter etc.’ keep classes fun.

In conclusion, this means that imitating pressure situations would be a great way to improve the learning curve, and the sayings-exercises makes class instructive and interesting.

[thhijs]

Assignment 3

- To be played like a fiddle.

To be playfully fooled by someone else. Credulity and naivety are two important properties of the victim.

I ran across this saying while watching a series on Netflix, a scene in an office context. By simply twisting the truth a bit, one can fool a naïve employee.

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/played+like+a+fiddle

- Hootenanny

When one forgets the name of someone or something. Somebody can say ‘give me that hootenanny’ if he can’t remember the name but it’s obvious what the person means.

https://www.thefreedictionary.com/hootenanny

- Shenanigan

A questionable activity. Can be used to express doubt about certain ways of handling a situation. The word does have a playful undertone. When someone enters a room and multiple people act very suspicious one could call it a shenanigan.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shenanigan

[thhijs]

Assignment 2.

Dear Mr McConcorry,

Since I passed my research last week I’ll, unfortunately, no longer be an intern in the organization anymore. I’m writing this letter as a short reflection on my internship period that started on May third. I’m very thankful for the opportunities, responsibilities and trust I got during the last few months.

The freedom and trust I got enabled me to show a better version of myself. You and the other colleagues helped me to improve myself in a professional manner as well as in a personal way. During the last months during the COVID pandemic, you showcased an impressive amount of patience to me and the other colleagues.

You usually make well-thought-out points, which assist in improving work activities, but I think sometimes it would be wise to use more tact. Sometimes your messages can be very clear which causes some people to back up a little. When conveying certain messages with strong feedback, applying a little more nuances wouldn’t be unwise.

Lastly, I want to thank you for the guidance in improving my personal development. A skill I found impressive was your way of asking the right questions. I learned that asking the right questions often ensures a better understanding of the problems at hand for the problem owner. A skill I am going to use very often for the rest of my career.

Again, thanks for accompanying me for the past 6 months.

Best regards,

Thijs van Ginkel

[thhijs]

Assignment 1

With this report about my personal development, I hope to inform you about the events on this matter during the last years.

During the last months or even years, one of my main activities in school has been my personal development. During all the past years I’ve constantly been trying to improve myself, with help from teachers, coaches and other students. For the past years, I’ve been trying to find out which part of Human Resource Management I like most. Running into subjects I don’t really enjoy, like recruitment and selection for example. I’ve noticed my interests are shifting to the business side of HR. The soft and harmonious side of HR is too floaty for me.

The minor I attended in year three and the internship from year two, have given me new insights on numbers and HR analytics. I learned that, next to the floaty side, there’s also a more direct side of the business, including the management-like subjects

As a result of all these findings, my self-knowledge has improved. With a vast variety of HR subjects, it is important to know in which areas you can succeed. I discovered that the direct part of the business is made more for me.

[thhijs]

Step 7.

Deluge = Being overwhelmed by water, figuratively meaning loads and loads of things coming to you.

Kept reminding me of King Louis XV saying ‘’Après moi, le déluge’’. Quite the dramatic connotation.

Sophisticated = very detailed or complicated.

Oblivious = Not being aware of the surroundings, living under a stone.

Fathom = to understand something after a big effort or much thought.

Futility = pointlessness, not worth even trying

[thhijs]

Step 4. Video 1. A.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Mq2TiJmqCI&t=0s

The fact that HR is seen as an administrative section only is a problem for many people and companies. Viewing HR as a simple task that anybody could do pushes a company farther away from HR adding value to a company. When given attention and responsibility, HR can seriously boost business performance and save money. A collective misconception about HR not being able to be valuable to a company has closed a lot of doors for companies. It’s striking to see that companies that use HR options more often and enjoy the benefits of boosted employee performance are not seen as examples and learning opportunities for other companies. Companies should be more knowledgeable about the people being the single most important factor in a business.

Step4. Video 1. B.

- “We wouldn’t think of not giving a car what it needs. Denying a car what it needs in order to work at peak performance, why would we treat or human resources any other way.’’

This is a good comparison between an everyday situation and an HR work situation. A little more nuance could be used but the message is very clear.

- “All we really want as human beings is being seen, we want to feel appreciated like we can make a difference.’’

Not knowing the core values of employees puts managers at 0-1 behind. Not knowing how to approach people costs more effort, money, dissatisfaction and more.

Step 4. Video 2. A.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-1ZdL37A0s

I agree with the fact that people should consult colleagues that do know subjects. Often directors or executives make decisions based on the information they have. These people often lack the right information to pick the right decision. Taking decisions with too little information can lead to dissatisfied employees and an aversion to higher functions within the company. It should be more acceptable to inquire colleagues to get a full view of the situation at hand. Often problems need to be tackled by too few persons, which then have to make abrupt choices with consequences they cannot yet oversee. When issues are too complex to handle, one should be able to report this to his boss or manager so decisions won’t be forced with unforeseen consequences.

Step 4. Video 2. B.

- ‘’If you are not motivated, nothing will happen.’’

This line speaks for itself. Employees without motivation can cost other employees a lot. Think of frustrations, more work that has to be done and lower quality work delivered.

- The challenge that we find in most organisations is that there are people in roles that are behind their own complexity.’’

People high up in organisations often get to make lots of difficult decisions about subjects they don’t know enough about. Not consulting people that do have the knowledge about these subjects is a big mistake.

Step 4. Video 3. A.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1PSl5DuQY8

Leadership is indeed more than just telling people what to do and be their boss. With the eye on HR leadership is mostly about making people work more effective, make them comfortable in their position and being able to let them grow. The employees are the most valuable asset of a company, and with this thought, a lot of managers should start to work. Shifting from being a boss to being a leader is a great improvement for everyone. A leader is valued by it’s colleagues, a boss is not always. People need confirmation and encouragement and what better way than through a supervisor? Being a leader isn’t about power, and keeping the power, but about supporting and improving the workforce within a company.

Step 4. Video 3. B.

- “…All of these agreed that leadership wasn’t actually about dominion but about service.’’

The quote was substantiated with a comparison between a flock of sheep and its shepherd. A lot of people still want to be in charge and boss around while that’s certainly not the most effective way to lead. Knowing it’s not but yet this is the way many people lead others.

[thhijs]

Step 6.

When addressing cultural differences in the Netherlands there’s no better option than talking about Amsterdam. With people from all over the world, visiting Amsterdam is nothing like visiting a ‘real Dutch’ city like Alkmaar or Haarlem. Whenever I visit Amsterdam I don’t feel like I fit in there. I do like the way people see the Dutch, as direct but hospitable cheese-eaters. With a difficult and harsh language that is hard to learn and sort of individualistic people, the Netherlands is not a place for people looking for conviviality on the streets. Over the years Amsterdam has transformed into a metropolis, growing some space between other cities and Amsterdam. With loads of different nationalities and ethnic groups. I do appreciate the effort the municipality takes to maintain important cultural objects and places like the canals and small bridges, the green and of course het Rijksmuseum. One of Amsterdams most iconic places, known to nationals and foreigners.

With the Rijksmuseum as one of the go-to hotspots, simply going there exposes you to Dutch culture. With de nachtwacht being one of the most iconic paintings in Dutch, and maybe world history, entering the museum exposes visitors to years of Dutch history and culture.

[thhijs]

Step 5.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkIVO6vRPMo&t=0s

Step5. A. At the beginning of this video, a quick introduction is given about the two persons on the screen. The student introduces a couple of questions about global health, the teacher then starts to answer these questions. He starts by explaining the problems of using worldwide data about worldwide diseases. Rich countries have the resources to collect and analyse data in a useful manner. Poor countries lack the options to collect this data, therefore the data is difficult to join and compare. Next is a useful comparison about analysing data. A lot of scientists and governments focus on collecting data way too accurate. When talking about entire countries filled with infected people, a hundred thousand people don’t change much. For example, the COVID-19 crisis should be seen in a larger picture, not just a small group of people. Later in the video, a new topic is broached, consciousness about vaccines. People in poorer countries are convinced that vaccines can cause autism. A doctor published an article in 1998 suggesting a link between vaccines and autism. Later the article was labelled unfounded and the doctor lost his license to practice medicine. However, the stories and rumours about the link between autism and vaccines stayed. This is just one example of the importance of education.

Step 5. B.

The video highlights the importance of education on medicines and vaccines in poorer countries, however, with the new COVID-19 crisis this not only counts for poor countries but for richer countries as well. Education has helped our country a lot when talking about fighting COVID. Because of the knowledge about vaccines and years and years of research on comparable vaccines, we know how it works. We know what is happening on a molecular level as well as on a global level. The Dutch are well-educated people and that is one of the reasons for the bigger part of the country to get vaccinated. On the other hand, I do think that education plays a role in anti-vaxers as well. The lecture explains several important topics that became extremely relevant with the new COVID crisis.

[thhijs]

Step 3. Article 1.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210727-the-rise-of-never-ending-job-interviews

Step 3. Article 1. A. This article starts with an introduction of the problem and a nice anecdote about a viral Linkedin post. The problem starts with companies wanting too many job interviews for a vacant position. The writer talks about a Linkedin post releasing a deluge of messages from people experiencing the same problems during the COVID-19 period. A lot of people have been through sometimes up to six or seven job interviews, to hear that in the end, the position is going to be filled in internally. Later a lot of pros and cons of postponing a decision are weighed against each other. Doubting and not making decisions can lead to a wrong company image, applicants may think that the company is indecisive and experiences troubles in work areas where decision making is necessary.

Step 3. Article 1. B. I’m convinced that three interviews should be enough. Of course, there could be an exception somewhere, but in the principle, two or three should be enough. When conducting these interviews two or three meetings should be plenty, if not, then the interviewer should consider changing his methods. Not deciding after these interviews may cause a lot of uncertainty. To leave people hanging by planning new interviews time after time makes them lose interest. I’m convinced that people will give up on the job they applied for if it takes too long. I agree with the author writing about talented people. They will only wait so long before they move to the next job because they know other companies want them more.

Step 3 article 2.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210810-why-the-great-remote-work-experiment-may-have-been-flawed

Step 3 article 2. A. The next article is about a worldwide experiment concerning almost all employees around the world. On a side note, this article probably doesn’t account for developing countries where COVID-19 is handled differently (or not at all). The article explains that on one hand, the crisis was a great way to experiment with working at home. With COVID-19 being a catalyst for the hybrid working transmission, a lot of companies had the ability to gather loads of information about the subject. On the other hand, the COVID-19 came with a lot of chaos and uncertainty. After a year and a half of remote work, the time has come for companies to learn from the crisis and take all the important information to the future.

Step 3. Article 2. B. In my opinion, the crisis was a great way to individually learn about remote working. Every person has experienced the crisis in a different manner. For me, remote working was convenient, attending college from home saved me hours of trouble as a result of travelling. Working alone in a silent place helped me focus on my research. However, I can see why people wouldn’t be all hyped up to work from home. When there’s a lot of other things going on at home, like children, other people constantly talking or simply no place for a desk, it could be difficult to focus on important business. For me, working from home three or four days a week helped me complete tasks more efficiently.

Step 3. Article 3.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210916-covid-19-how-effective-is-a-third-vaccine-dose

Step 3. Article 3. A. The article starts with an introduction to COVID-19 vaccines. Most claims are supported by given numbers and cited scientists. The author talks about basic measures against corona like wearing facemasks and regularly washing hands. Next, a timeline about the delta variant is sketched, saying that July 7th was the day the world first met with this variant. Days or weeks later the delta variant rapidly spread between cities, countries and even continents. With a peak of tens of thousands of infections on daily basis, the world faced a new problem. Regular COVID vaccines weren’t that effective against the delta variant. Vaccine coverage became lower and the pharmaceutical industry saw this as an opportunity to produce and sell more and more vaccines.

Step 3. Article 3. B. What I like about this article is that it tries to show the complexity of the crisis. A lot of people think that the solution is obvious. There is a thin ethical line between producing more vaccines for the safety of the world’s population and producing, and thus selling more vaccines from a business perspective. The market needs companies to profit so they can do their research. The market is simple, no money means no research and with no research, people won’t get vaccinated for the simple reason that there wouldn’t be vaccines. But on the other hand, getting vaccinated for the third time, knowing that more than half of the world’s population hasn’t even gotten their first doses, doesn’t feel right either. A complicated ethical problem with no such thing as an easy solution.

[thhijs]

Step 2. My English history

As the first part of this blog, I’m going to introduce you to my English history. It all started at elementary school. In the Netherlands, it's usual to spend eight years at an elementary school between the age of four and twelve. In the seventh group, so I was around ten or eleven then, we were introduced to this new language called ‘English’. All of us probably already knew the English language existed, but not many of us had a better understanding of it. We had to learn basic verbs and simple nouns. A year later, in the eighth class, we even had to pass English tests. I don’t think there were any consequences to not passing the tests, but it was a nice way to let us spend time with the language.

I’m convinced that starting to learn a second language can be done pretty young. One should master a single (native) language but from there it's pretty beneficial to start learning a second one at a younger age.

Secondary education is the next step in the educational route in the Netherlands. From the first week till the final exams students have to learn English. It’s one of the three core subjects, next to Dutch and Mathematics. I never really struggled with English. I found it an interesting language and never looked up to it like I did with maths or chemistry. In my spare time, I came across the language a lot. Some friends of mine spoke English, I always tried to speak English when travelling abroad and I started to watch series and movies in English.

Last year, during the corona pandemic, I took a job at a high school teaching English to students as preparation for their final exams. Because of the pandemic, a couple of teachers got sick and had to quit work for an indefinite duration. Teaching English to students around seventeen and eighteen years was a great way to improve my own English. When explaining something to a student everything has to be clear. To give a clear explanation of English grammar I had to make sure I understood the grammar perfectly. I even made the curriculum for the ‘summer school’ (an option for students to improve their English grades during the summer vacation). The summer school was had similarities to the English in year 1 of HRM, a lot of time spent on reading, listening and writing with the simple goal of spending time with the language.

I’ve been to England multiple times, once on a holiday to London. I was around the age of ten or twelve. It was February, inevitably it was freezing outside. With loads of warm coats, gloves and scarves we started this city trip. The culmination of this holiday was, for me, the British Museum (the London eye was great as well but unfortunately the ride didn’t last that long). Watching over, as they say, two million years of history was impressive for little me. With artefacts from Egypt to Peru and stories about historic wars, there was an endless feed of information and objects.

A second trip to England brought me to Devon. Since I enjoy playing all kinds of sports I applied for this week-long surf camp organized by the school. Instead of going to a classic city like Rome, London or Berlin I went to Devon. With fifty to sixty people we stepped on the bus to England. Barnstaple, if I remember correctly, was the city we could spend our day off. Eating, shopping and laughing were the three main activities. We tried our best to speak English to all villagers but with only a basic understanding of the language and not a lot of confidence, it mostly ended in awkward laughing and giggling.