Reflective Journal 5

Reflective Journal 5: Reflect on SES. You may want to consider the curriculum, the learning process, the assessment, difficulties you faced, how you overcame them, and how might SES be applicable in time to come.

Firstly, the SES lesson covers a lot of content on China and America. From my first lesson, I learnt about Google, Lenovo and apple, until currently, where I am studying China’s technological backwardness. I feel that the SES curriculum has successfully helped us understand the socio economic problems of both countries. However, dedicating only two hours on a certain topic certainly results in me not having in depth understanding of the topic. For example, for topics like investigating China’s technological backwardness, answering the question whether Mao Ze Dong’s socio economic policy is detrimental to China’s economy, I learnt about only four policies that he imposed, like The Great Leap forward, or the Cultural Revolution. No doubt I can describe the policies in detail, but what about other factors? Is China’s technological backwardness only due to these policies? I would like to find out more. Having said that, it is important to first get an overview of socio economics in America and China before concentrating on the topics itself, and I am glad to say that the SES curriculum was successful in doing that.

I feel that the learning process is very effective, if everyone has the self discipline. Self-studying the topic to be discussed before hand to gain an understanding of the topic ensures that I will not feel lost when the lesson is ongoing. Students who present on the topics and the discussion after that is crucial to make sure that my initial understanding of the topic is correct, and also to replenish my pool of knowledge.

At the start of SES, I admit that presenting to a class on your topic and leading them in discussion is intimidating. Although presentations are not new to me, leading the class in discussion is. How am I going to cope if I am bombarded with mind boggling questions? Will I score badly? To my relief, after seeing so many of my friends present, the fear has definitely lessened. To think from another perspective, the discussion is to help me improve my term paper. I am also relieved to hear that there will be consultation for the research paper. Furthermore, the topics have already been gone through in class, so if I had been listening, I am sure it will not be much of a problem.

Something that the SES module really requires is self discipline. It is common for me to feel put off when I turn the computer on late at night to see long articles that I do not really understand. If at that point of time, one does not have self discipline, then he will turn off the computer, which unfortunately, is something I have done. It does not pay, as not only will I be banned from speaking in class, I would be lost during discussion. That is something difficult that I face. Furthermore, reading the articles and understanding them is very time consuming, especially when I have test on the next day. It is very difficult for me to sacrifice studying time for SES reading. On second thought, solving the problem just requires good time management. Since all the links have been posted on the blog, JI always make it a habit to read in advance, so that at least I have some understanding. Another way to solve the problem of not being able to understand articles is to collaborate with some friends to answer the questions.

SES might be applicable in time to come as I have been able to identify the different working cultures of different countries, as well as to differentiate someone’s perspective of self. Hopefully, when I become a boss in future, I will thus be able to manage my employees even better. I will be able to cater to the strengths of the employees. If one is very productive, but not very innovative, I can assign him as manufacturing worker, while if one is innovative, then he can help me think of ideas. Also, I would know that I have certain rights in various countries. For example, in America, I would be able to express my views freely, and also know that I have inalienable rights. However, in China, if I wanted to say something that is controversial, I have to keep my comments to myself, due to the government forbidding the people to comment on controversial topics. Furthermore, after learning about cultural intelligence in the first lesson, I would be able to understand the different cultures and values of people. This will help me to interact with people from all around the world without accidentally insulting them. This can benefit me if I am a businessman, and I would definitely be able to seal many deals.

In all, SES have really benefitted me for the present and the future, and I feel honoured to have this module.

Reflective journal 4

Reflective journal 4: Reflect on the societal problems faced by China and America. (Hint: you must definitely explain your responses to these societal problems. How can they be resolved? Who should be responsible for resolving these issues?)

In my opinion, the most important problem faced is education. American students’ test scores are plummeting, and performance in school is declining. It is important for America to resolve this problem as the economy is becoming increasingly knowledge-based, where new jobs are created based on the raw material of ideas and technical innovation. According to the National Association of Manufacturers, by 2010 there will be an estimated 5.3 million high-skill jobs available to qualified workers and 14 million more 10 years later. However, with millions of American students graduate from high school without basic reading, writing and math skills, in other words education, it is hard to find workers skilled enough to take these jobs. This will affect the economy greatly as there are not enough skilled workers able to take on the challenges of the knowledge based economy, and companies will move to places where talent resides. Over the past decade, countries such as India, China, and Russia have emerged as a major force in the world’s economic marketplace. That accounts for 3 billion people who didn’t participate in the world economy 10 years ago. America’s workforce will be greatly outnumbered by more than 2 times. Thus, America’s economy may lose out.

In order to solve the problem, I feel that the government need to ensure teachers have the appropriate training, and the Curricula must reflect an increased focus on science and math to better prepare students and allow them to compete globally. In order to motivate the teacher, a merit pay system can also be implemented to reward teachers based on class performance. Not only that, Immigration rules must be adjusted to allow foreign-born students educated at U.S. universities to stay in the U.S. to add their talents to our economy.

Businesses must also play a part to solve this problem. Companies have to work with the government to improve teaching and learning. It is important to train the teachers to use technology in classrooms to improve student learning. Business can also support programs to spur high-tech research and support student excellence. Students who do well should be rewarded with college scholarships, so that they can be nurtured to become accomplished workers.

As you can see, if the education system does not improve, America’s economic growth will stagnate. The government cannot solve the problem on their own. Both government and business need to cooperate to provide the correct medicine for this illness.

Similarly for China, they have a water crisis which will lead to severe economic consequences. China’s water crisis is caused by an overuse of water. Industry and agriculture are the main culprits behind this. Industry uses 4-10 times more water per unit of GDP as other competitive economies, while agriculture alone accounts for 62 percent of China's total water consumption. This is not taking into consideration water pollution, which reduces the

total amount of usable water, and also the uneven distribution of water, which leads to severe water shortages. The economic problems are the economic cause of water pollution which is 10 percent of GDP. Industries that depend upon clean freshwater have been directly affected by the lack of access to it. For example, after the latest drought, China’s aquafarming hub resulted in 1billion dollars of economic losses.

In order to solve the problem, I feel that the government has to establish clear water rights and penalties, and severely punish industries and individuals who pollute the waters. As the Chinese saying goes “kill the chicken to scare the monkey”. This will act as a deterrence to water pollution. Additionally, stricter water resource management is required. China need to more quickly set up a comprehensive national water rights system to manage distribution permits and resource fees. This system must set quantitative limits on water use, and cover all levels of government and industries.

Perhaps, China is adopting Singapore’s water plans, by building desalination plants. In order to solve our insufficient water supply, Singapore invested heavily in NEWater technology, and soon built 5 NEWater plants, and 2 desalination plants. This process caused millions of dollars, and accounted to 40 percent of our water supply. China’s government is planning to inject 300 billion yuan on water waste management projects, and has encouraged private companies to do the same. For example, Beijing Electric Power has invested 12.3 billion yuan in an experimental project in water-short Tianjin that combines power generation, land reclamation and desalination.

However, it is too expensive. Despite Singapore investing heavily in water technology, only 50% of Singapore’s 5.5 million population water supply is accounted for. China has 1.3 billion people. Imagine the amount of money that will be spent! Furthermore, a lot of water is needed to suit China’s agricultural needs.

In conclusion, I feel that the government cannot work alone but need the cooperation of people.

Reflective journal 3

In separate SES lessons, I have more or less learn the Chinese and America perceptions of self.

Basically, the Chinese perception of self is largely based on the Confucian Ideology, where the Chinese believes in collectivism, and the society has traditionally had a hierarchical structure resulting from Confucian ideas about the proper order of life and society. Values like filial piety, obeying your superiors totally without questioning their authority, and “society above self” are part of the culture. The American perception though, is very different. There is a lot of emphasis on individual rights like equality, freedom.

The Chinese perception of self has a very large impact on my life. My parents have inculcated in me some of these values. For example, my parents have taught me to respect my elders and even those who are same age or younger than me, whether it is teachers, relatives or strangers. It is normal for me to greet them in a polite tone, and in the case of teachers, bow to them. This is very useful in maintaining social cohesion. People will feel pleased when shown respect, quarrels and brawls will decrease significantly.

However, obeying your superior totally without questioning his authority is a disadvantage. In school, students will not disagree with the teachers and voice their opinions. Although it is respectful to avoid direct confrontation and open criticism, important views made by students will go to waste. Learning will thus be limited and one sided, since we only listen to what the teachers say. Fortunately, in lessons, students are encouraged to speak up in class rather than to keep mum and accept what the teacher has to say.

The Chinese perception of self consists of values like placing society before self. At first, I thought that this is about olden Chinese heroes who sacrifice their lives fighting for their country. However, after SES, I realized that it actually means that the individual must always think about the interest of the society, before the interest of oneself. There are examples of such acts, like Singapore’s war hero Lim Bo Seng, who sacrificed his life fighting valiantly against the Japanese. However, in the society now, it is very unusual to see somebody putting self interest as second priority. Of course, many people donate generously. For example, many ex alumni of a certain school, like Hwa Chong, donate to the school to build facilities to benefit students. However, this may not entirely be placing society over self as it is due to the good upbringing of the school that benefited the student, resulting in him repaying the school.

Also, my parents have taught me about filial piety. They said that in the past, they did not disobey their parents, and did as their parents say. However, the new generation is different. It is then when I realized the impact of American perception of self is influencing the Chinese one. There was once when my friends asked me out to have a day of fun. My mother showed her disapproval and said that I was still young, and could not look after myself. I questioned her decision, and insisted she allow me. What she said was,” in the past, when my mother said no, it was a no.” In the end, she let me go, although reluctantly. What Singaporean kids are learning to do is to question their parent’s authority, similar to that of American children.

Not only do the American perceptions of self consist of questioning authority, it includes freedom, ranging from freedom of speech to political freedom. The American perception of self has a huge impact on me and Singapore. In Singapore, we have adopted a democratic system of governance, which is influenced by America, where citizens can vote for their desired party. Imagine Singapore being ruled by the same party! It may turn out negatively as the party may be corrupted, thus ruining the country. However, freedom of speech may cause harm to a country. In Singapore, if someone freely expresses his views on sensitive issues like race or religion, it will cause a lot of riots, especially for such a multiracial country.

Equality is a value of the American perception of self. American perception of self has clearly influenced Singapore. In front of the law, everyone is equal, regardless of their background. I feel glad that I will not be wrongly accused and punished. Equality will also maintain social cohesion, and uphold the harmony in society.

In all, I feel that both perception of self have influenced me a lot, and both have its pros and cons. Also, I can see that the American perception of self has influenced many in Singapore, as certain Confucian values are unrealistic in the modern society, while the American one is much more attractive.

reflective journal 2

On Friday, it was my first lesson on SES. During SES period, I learnt about Google, Apple and Lenovo's way to management and innovation.

Google's way of management is employee oriented with a lot of freedom given to the employees. I feel that this is the most effective way for the company to succeed, and I am definitely keen to work in Google. For me, when I am given freedom to explore into whatever topics, I can create better results. During robotics session, the instructor taught us the basic structure to build a robot. He then gave us the freedom to built a robot of our own. He will later let the two moving robots clash head to head into each other and see which robot breaks first. My robot was very powerful and strong, so every time it challenges another robot to a fight, it always win. I was doing well in robotics until another instructor took over. He wanted us to follow a standard way to built a robot, and there was no more competition. It killed my interest and soon, I quit robotics. This is an example of how freedom and competition can help to improve one's product, and also why I prefer to work in Google.

Furthermore, I am someone who will be motivated by external factors. For example, when my parents promise me an iphone if I score well, I would be motivated to do well. If there is no motivation, I would just laze around instead of studying. Not surprisingly, my room is filled with different electronic gadgets ranging from the iphone to a laptop. Therefore, Google will be my preferred working place due to the various facilities.

On the other hand, I feel that Lenovo's system of management is ineffective. If everyone has to follow the leader's idea, and when one cannot express the ideas he or she have, the company will remain at a stand still. This is because whatever products created is what the leader thinks will flourish in the market, but this may not be the case. After all , his imagination and creativity is limited. One example is my secondary one projects day competition. The way we managed the project was similar to Lenovo's where the rest of the group members do what the leader ask them to. The topic was decided by the group leader, and although I felt that it will not progress well, I did not voice out. The project was a Chinese one, and at least half the project group members have trouble scoring well in Higher Chinese Language. we failed and I learnt my lesson.

Google is an American company, while lenovo is is a Chinese one. I think their difference in management styles are due to their different societies. In America, freedom is given to the citizens, and they are allowed to voice out their opinions, choose their education. In google, freedom is given to the workers too, since Google is an American company. However in China, people tend to listen to their leader and not voice out against them, which is why China is a communist country. The country is ruled by a dominant party rule, where the party decides on the policies they want to impose in China. Therefore, Lenovo, based in China, follows a similar way of management. Google constanly improves itself through different opinions provided by different people while Lenovo remains at a standstill as the system of management stifles creativity. Western countries tend to come out with all the different inventions and not eastern countries, no?

SES reflective journal 1

I was overseas with the track and field team for a competition when the first lesson of SES was held on Monday. Much as I had enjoyed my Hong Kong trip, I felt a little scared when the plane touched down at Changi Airport close to midnight that day. It was not so bad with other more familiar subjects, but SES was something new to me. SES when pronounced in full sounds intimidating. “What’s SES?” I kept asking myself! “What will we be learning in SES? Is it about complicated economical issues? How will we be graded?” I wondered. Out of curiosity, I logged on the internet and searched for “social economic studies”. The site I referred to defines a field of studies that examines social and economic factors to better understand how the combination of both influences something. This was serious stuff. As I had missed the first lesson, I tried to make up by logging into Ms Yeo's blog to clear my concerns.

I had expected some introductory lesson with Miss Yeo giving an outline of what is to come in the year ahead. It was not to be. Instead I was introduced to profound stuff – cultural intelligence. Countries like America are facing the problem of not connecting naturally with the consumers of their products, like Asian and Hispanic people. This is because of the lack of cultural intelligence, which is the lack of capacity to function effectively with consumers from a multi-cultural environment. The failure to interact with their business partners from other countries and understand their needs and preferences causes them the chance of making more money in business. A social problem causes economic problem. Who knows what other problems can arise because of the economic problem. It is now that I slowly realize what SES is all about, and it seems quite interesting too. Learning about all these is useful because they can be relevant for us. Like America, we are also a multi-cultural country. Besides the economic aspect, cultural intelligence can foster better understanding amongst the various races in Singapore. I hope I can apply what I am going to learn in my work life in future.

I found out about the format of term assessment too. 20 percent of the term assessment will be on class discussion and 80 percent, on two reflective journals. There will not be any class tests, and I find that interesting. It is the first time I have taken a subject without having to take a written paper at the end of the semester. That means I do not have to spend so much time studying about the topics, or so I think!

Much as I dread it, the class discussion can be useful as it "forces" us to make preparations on the topic of discussion, so as to be able to answer other classmates’ questions, as well as to express our views. These activities actually help us to understand the subject better. It is a very effective way of learning. All students will have to participate in the discussion, and I am very sure our discussion is going to be fruitful and exciting. The reflective journal is useful as it gives us a platform to reflect on what we have learned, and at the same time allows us to post any queries we have about a certain topic.

Besides the term assessment, there is also an IHE assessment which is very challenging. What really scares me is the presentation where we have to lead the class in discussion. It is very tough as we have to make sure that everyone understands us, and also prepare information to educate classmates. However challenging the assessment, I find it very enriching as it trains us to be analytical, critical, and also enhance other skills like presentation. On top of that, there is a demanding term paper and research paper which requires us to research extensively and express our viewpoints. All these components will definitely help us be more mature in our thinking, as well as train us for research work.

I am expecting a difficult but interesting module, where I have to face a lot of challenges. My expectations for SES would be a final grade of A1. I would like to participate actively in class discussions, as well as to read up on the lesson before it is conducted so as to be well prepared. I hope to learn more about social and economic factors and how they can affect one another, and hope for an enjoyable SES module which I can benefit from!