Edmund lau

Name:edmund lau

admin no :0802526d

class:t02

BESE portfolio

Analyze and reflect on what you have learnt. You will then need to cover at least 3 lecture topics in your reflection

Lecture 1 Building a professional presence
In this chapter, we are taught that creating a positive first impression is very important. It may take just a glance for someone to form an opinion of about you. Therefore, it is very important to take note of our appearance, body languages, mannerisms and the way we dress up ourselves for different occasions. It is almost impossible to change a first impression and therefore it is very important to give every new encounter your best shot!


Therefore, in this chapter we are also taught of how to dress ourselves and so of the important body languages in a business aspect to create a good impression. Some examples of good body languages are:
· Being open and confident
Some tips of showing that you are open and confident is to stand tall, firm handshake, make eye contact, do not fidget.
· A winning smile
By giving a warm and confident smile will allow both parties to communicate at ease
· Be courteous and attentive
· Be positive


I am able to apply all these when I went for jobs interviews and it really helps a lot in creating a good impression. By looking and behaving smart actually give me more confidence during the interviews and therefore giving me a higher chance of getting the jobs.
In the near future we will be looking for jobs and all these tips will definitely put up to good use!



Lecture 3 Corporate politics
Corporate politics refers to the social interaction with other people in the office which affects your well being in the corporate. Have you ever wondered that you have performed better than other people but they were the ones being promoted? This is mostly to be cause by corporate politics. It is very common in the office and happens in a daily basis as long as we are engage to socially. Corporate politics can take place in many forms such as work place gossip, internal conflicts, power struggles or drama. However, it is nothing to be scared of, as long as you aware and understand it; you are prepared to take on any types of corporate politics and better exist as well as shaping the environment you work in.

From this chapter, I have learned that it is very important to understand corporate politics so that we can make the correct decision in different situation which will help us in our own careers and jobs. From the lecture 4 basic survival skills were being thought to us and they are:
· Being Visible
· VIPs in your plan
· Peers and sub ordinates
· THE BIG BOSS
All this basic survival skills can be applied to use when I was working as a part timer during my holidays.
Firstly, by being visible not only means always being there for work but also you will need to provide quality work, volunteer to do the difficult jobs and being the knowledge source. This will allow you to be notice and stand out from the rest of the employees.
Secondly, by knowing and being nice to the important people, such as the boss’s wife and secretary might allow them to talk and discuss you in a good way.
Thirdly, having a good relationship with the peers and subordinates, for example being a team player, being humor and listening to gossip.
Lastly, being the big boss favorite subordinate by avoiding upstaging, give quality suggestions and being loyal.

All these actually help me to my goals such as getting through the day, making a good networking connection, being recognized for my work and contribution to the corporate and to meet the desired position I want in the corporation.
As I have mention earlier on, corporate politics happens in a daily basis as long as we are engage socially and no one is immune to it. In near future, we are most likely to be working in corporate; therefore all these skills will definitely be put up to good use to us in the future!


Lecture 5 customer perception
As the economy become more and more competitive many services face substitute and so customer have a wider choice and often less distinguish products to choose from. Therefore, to keep all attract new customers it is very important to create a strong relationship with customer. The services provided must also meet the expectation of the customer. Customer perception is influence by many factors; it can start way before the customer step into the shop!
In this chapter, we learn about the 7 deadly statements in customer service which will shape bad customer perception. They are:
“I’m having a terrible day.”
“We’re short on staff today.”
“I only work here part time.”
“This job is really hard.”
“That last customer was really a pain.”
“This is the third time this week we’ve had system problems.”
“My co-worker messed up.”
I have learnt that these are the 7 statement to avoid during service and i have applied it during my service skills methodology lesson and try my best not to use all these statement as it would cause bad customer perception.
It allows me to provide better service to the customer and understand it is not the customer fault that we have all these problems and they walk in the shop or restaurant expecting good customer service. Also, most of us will be in the service line in the future and understanding customer perception and knowing what to say what not to say will help us in our job.