Hi Wows. The day I have been waiting for has finally come. I got the news today (10/06/2008), I will be starting work on Friday at RMB. RMB is the biggest investment bank in South Africa and for me this is a great privilege and honour to be working at this bank. I will be working in the Recruitment department; we will be doing the hiring and firing guys.
The core values at RMB are:
Trusting and empowering the people (employees)
Thriving on complexity and change
Respecting the spirit of agreements striving to be good corporate citizens
Striving to be good corporate citizens
At the end of my three months internship programme I am going to come out a different somebody. I hope to learn as much as I can from this big organisation which is made up of exceptional people as evidenced by the exceptional performance of the bank.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
Leadership
Leadership is not domination but it is the art of persuading people towards a common goal.
Fiona McDonald highlighted to us that great leaders enable ordinary people to do extraordinary things. This means to be an effective leader one has to be able to cross boundaries to engage diverse constituents. At the same time leaders create positive energy while also being able to mange conflict.
One thing that fascinated me about the lecture on leadership was the fact that contrary to what I thought Fiona claimed that Mugabe the President of Zimbabwe was a good leader because he has managed to stay in power for 28 years. This means he is an effective leader. This might be true that he has managed to stay in power but I thing he has managed this through intimidation and the use of violence. Maybe that is his style of leadership.
Fiona McDonald highlighted to us that great leaders enable ordinary people to do extraordinary things. This means to be an effective leader one has to be able to cross boundaries to engage diverse constituents. At the same time leaders create positive energy while also being able to mange conflict.
One thing that fascinated me about the lecture on leadership was the fact that contrary to what I thought Fiona claimed that Mugabe the President of Zimbabwe was a good leader because he has managed to stay in power for 28 years. This means he is an effective leader. This might be true that he has managed to stay in power but I thing he has managed this through intimidation and the use of violence. Maybe that is his style of leadership.
People Skills needed in an organisation
Intellect – the ability to analyse, critique and synthesis information in order to solve problems
Willingness to learn – the ability to learn and willingness to learn through out life
Flexibility and Adaptability – the ability to respond to change
Self regulatory skills – self discipline, time keeping, the ability to deal with stress to plan and prioritise your work load and to juggle several tasks at once
Self motivation – being a self starter, and determined
Self assurance – being self confident, self awareness
Communication skills – the ability to communicate formally and informally, verbally and in written form
Interpersonal skills – the ability to relate to and feel comfortable with people of all levels and being able to maintain relationships as circumstances changes
Team working – the ability to work effectively in teams and being able to re-adjust roles from one project situation to another
Willingness to learn – the ability to learn and willingness to learn through out life
Flexibility and Adaptability – the ability to respond to change
Self regulatory skills – self discipline, time keeping, the ability to deal with stress to plan and prioritise your work load and to juggle several tasks at once
Self motivation – being a self starter, and determined
Self assurance – being self confident, self awareness
Communication skills – the ability to communicate formally and informally, verbally and in written form
Interpersonal skills – the ability to relate to and feel comfortable with people of all levels and being able to maintain relationships as circumstances changes
Team working – the ability to work effectively in teams and being able to re-adjust roles from one project situation to another
Friday, April 25, 2008
Networking
During our networking lecture with Fiona McDonald I learnt a lot of new things. After the lecture I was encouraged to network with other people. Networking is mainly connecting with people, primarily for business and social reasons.
For networking to succeed you have to first identify the purpose of the meeting, is it for business. You need also to identify the person you want to target, so that you can gather information about the person. During a function Fiona advised us not to just stand in the corner but rather talk to people, at least 5 people at any occasion because you might talk to a person who will make a difference for you, for it is said, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.
I learned that for me to be a good networker, I basically need to:
Know how to start a conversation and always having a smile
Be curious about people, asking questions
Be confident and humble
Get people to talk about themselves, which means I have to be a good listen after all we were given two ears and one mouth because listing is twice as harder as talking.
Lastly we should swop details foe example business cards
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Views on Globalisation
Mr Dlamini made a presentation on globalisation. He stated that globalisation was a new force which is now shaping the business terrain. While this is true I think the main question to ask though is whether globalisation is good or bad. For Mr Dlamini globalisation is good for all, developed and developing countries. But for me I feel globalisation is more in favour of developed countries, especially, America and Britain. These countries have power in the decisions which are made in the IMF, WTO and World Bank in turn these decisions affect developing countries. Developing countries are expected to follow the Western way of development instead of them having their own ideology of what is development considering their local context. I feel developing countries should be left to define what is development to them and how best to achieve this development. Like what happened in the East Asian countries. Today China and India have developed from being poor countries into super powers just by empowering their people and allowing the governments to be involved in development.
He ended with a quote which I thought was beautiful, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter” Martin Luther King Jr. If we do not talk about the effects of globalisation on the African continent it means we are going to be always following behind other continents in terms of development.
Mr Dlamini made a presentation on globalisation. He stated that globalisation was a new force which is now shaping the business terrain. While this is true I think the main question to ask though is whether globalisation is good or bad. For Mr Dlamini globalisation is good for all, developed and developing countries. But for me I feel globalisation is more in favour of developed countries, especially, America and Britain. These countries have power in the decisions which are made in the IMF, WTO and World Bank in turn these decisions affect developing countries. Developing countries are expected to follow the Western way of development instead of them having their own ideology of what is development considering their local context. I feel developing countries should be left to define what is development to them and how best to achieve this development. Like what happened in the East Asian countries. Today China and India have developed from being poor countries into super powers just by empowering their people and allowing the governments to be involved in development.
He ended with a quote which I thought was beautiful, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter” Martin Luther King Jr. If we do not talk about the effects of globalisation on the African continent it means we are going to be always following behind other continents in terms of development.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
The Zimbawean Situation
What has been happening in Zimbabwe since the 29th of March when the elections where held is rather sad. I think most people were actually looking forward to a new president. Unfortunately it seems as if Mugabe still wants to hold on to power 28 years later. This is the case with some Africa leaders they tend to become power hungry and turn into dictators.
Here are some tips on stress management
Talk it out - Share it with someone else.
Write it down – It’s easier to see it in perspective
Shrug it off – Raise your shoulders then drop them. Relax your whole body
Breathe it away – Inhale deeply, exhale heavily a few times. Calm your thoughts.
Sort it out – List practical options. Weigh, decide then ACT.
Work it off – Do something physical so that you can clear your head and divert your energy.
Laugh it off – Lighten it with humour. Be generous with smiles.
Escape it – Notice something enjoyable around you. Get into the present.
Talk it out - Share it with someone else.
Write it down – It’s easier to see it in perspective
Shrug it off – Raise your shoulders then drop them. Relax your whole body
Breathe it away – Inhale deeply, exhale heavily a few times. Calm your thoughts.
Sort it out – List practical options. Weigh, decide then ACT.
Work it off – Do something physical so that you can clear your head and divert your energy.
Laugh it off – Lighten it with humour. Be generous with smiles.
Escape it – Notice something enjoyable around you. Get into the present.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)