Author: Ilinca Stroe   „Critical thinking” tends to become a buzzword in the fields of education and human resources: reforming voices from tertiary education maintain that in the 21st century education should include the methodical shaping of critical thinking during the last undergraduate year (through subject matters like logic, moral philosophy, research methods and tools, etc.), while in human resources critical thinking is considered one of the top abilities expected from an employee (according to a 2015 study carried out by the Victoria University of Wellington, for instance, critical thinking ranks 4 in the top 10 most searched-for attributes in the workplace).   But the term can sometimes be misunderstood. May it be related to being critical about actions or events and criticising the people around us? If that were so, who would want a workmate equipped with such relentless critical spirit? Their influence would probably end up being negative, overall, and creating an unpleasant atmosphere at work.   That’s not the case, though. To clarify the term, let us mention that critical thinking, although hard to measure, is defined as the intellectual skill which ensures a disciplined process of analysing, synthesising and evaluating information obtained through observation, experience, reflection or communication, in view of forming beliefs and setting a course of action. In fact, rather than a skill per se, critical thinking is an approach. When we think critically, we approach the subject in a certain way:   Ÿ we clarify the scope of our analysis of the subject (“What am I trying to get?”) Ÿ we formulate questions that are suitable for analysing the subject (“What questions do I have to answer to sort out this subject?”) Ÿ we identify the assumptions linked to the subject and we examine whether they are justified (“What evidence supports this statement?”) Ÿ we define our point of view or perspective upon the subject (“From what point of view am I approaching the subject?”) Ÿ we identify other points of view on the subject (“Are there any other perspectives worth considering?”) Ÿ we base our reasoning on data, information, evidence (“What experience or information supports this statement?”) Ÿ we identify and remove biases and mere assumptions (“What am I taking for granted?”) Ÿ we explain clearly the concepts and key points of the reasoning (“Can I explain this idea?”) Ÿ we outline the positive and negative implications and consequences of the reasoning (“If we accept this conclusion, what are the consequences?”)   We can easily imagine a meeting in any company, for example about repositioning on the market a product of the company, and following the kind of procedure detailed above. Taking an approach based on critical thinking, that meeting has every chance to be a success and result in solutions that are sound, solid, well thought out and relevant to the subject of the repositioning. And that’s because critical thinking ensures a rigorous, fair and comprehensive analysis of the subject.   Thus, the benefits of using critical thinking in the workplace are unanimously acknowledged by the specialised literature, and they include the possibility to generate multiple solutions or to make better decisions. To detail, let us mention that employees who apply critical thinking in the workplace have the ability to Ÿ challenge the status quo in a productive way Ÿ generate new ideas Ÿ uncover solutions which are not obvious Ÿ conduct more accurate self-assessment Ÿ support their viewpoint with arguments Ÿ explain well and clearly an idea Ÿ understand a different point of view Ÿ work well with various personality types Ÿ be fair Ÿ produce balanced reasoning Ÿ make sound decisions Ÿ avoid bias and manipulation   It is, then, easy to see how critical thinking can contribute to having efficient meetings, giving effective presentations, carrying out negotiations or consolidating a team. Hence, critical thinking is considered a soft skill which is vital for the organisation’s success, with long-term benefits in teambuilding, productivity and reducing conflict. Developing critical thinking among employees is considered important by 70% of the managers included in a study done by the American Management Association, and it can be achieved without using a lot of resources or special training: instead, it does take extra attention and awareness to apply it in everyday activities.   Sources: www.huffingtonpost.com www.criticalthinking.org www.business.com   Source: Revistacariere.ro  

Author: Ilinca Stroe An article in a recent issue of Cariere magazine (XV:250/September 2018, page 6) informs us that “at least 4 days a month Romanian employees work from outside their office”; almost 50% of them choose to work from home, while 20% prefer working from cafés or business lounges. The phenomenon is called “teleworking” (where the prefix “tele-“ indicates that the work is done at a distance by means of electronic communication), and appeared in the USA at the end of the ‘80s, gaining ground as telecommunications developed. Today in the world one in five employees teleworks frequently, with 10% doing it daily. The great benefit of teleworking is, from the employer’s side, first of all economic: there is a significant cutdown on costs related to the rental, equipment and maintenance of office spaces. And from the employee’s perspective the great benefit is the flexible and optimised timetable: no time is wasted on going to the office, and the hours allocated for work can be, in principle, at any time convenient to the teleworker. Still: the main risk implied by teleworking is that the teleworker feels “disconnected”, isolated, separated from the team. This is the reason why, in a study carried out by The Harvard Business Review last year, 52% of the 1,153 teleworkers interviewed think they are “left out” – which is, obviously, conducive to demotivation. Specifically, teleworkers end up feeling demotivated because of the following aspects:   communication with the team is faulty or insufficient, especially when it comes to clarifying details which normally require face-to-face discussion, the misunderstanding or even conflict arising from such communication being frustrating the direct informal contact with the co-workers is missing, along with the fast, “on-the-go” corrections or adjustments it enables, and the delays resulting from that lack generate a feeling of being “left behind” the connection to the office dynamics is faulty, which can cause teleworkers to overlook or miss promotion opportunities, hence the feeling of stagnation, of reaching a plateau or coming to a dead end   To prevent teleworkers from getting demotivated, the specialised magazines and sites put forward a set of behaviours and actions. Adopting them, the teleworker’s direct manager or the HR officer in charge of teleworkers can maintain the kind of trust, bond and feeling of a shared goal which are so needed to motivate employees. Here are some of the suggestions:   the manager has frequent direct contact (once a week/month) with the teleworker, either by face-to-face meetings or video calls, to maintain a feeling of belonging to the company culture as well as long-term commitment the manager asks about the teleworker’s workload and the status quo of their ongoing projects, listening attentively to what s/he is told and updating the teleworker about the office projects, so that the teleworker feels informed, involved and kept in the loop the manager is familiar with several means of telecommunication (phone, email, video calling, Skype, Slack, WhatsApp, etc.) and uses the one favoured by the teleworker, being  available, whenever possible, during the time slots convenient to the teleworker the manager inquires about the working space and conditions of the teleworker, making available for them the necessary means to optimise their working space (for instance, by purchasing ergonomic chairs or re/decorating the place, etc.) the manager socialises with the teleworker, asking them about life outside the office, their family or hobbies, to strengthen his/her personal relationship of camaraderie with the teleworker and make them feel important for the team and the company   No matter how laborious or delicate it can be, given that each teleworker has her/his own profile and can consequently feel motivated by other factors than others, the task of finding the key to motivating a teleworker is worth every effort. And that’s because, as Forbes magazine and other sources assure us, teleworking is the way to work in the 21st century. Source: revistacariere.ro

For over 15 years in Romania, we have been offerring high quality services to our partners and are famous for the courses we provide. We were voted the Best Training Centre in Romania by  Cambridge Assessment English in 2017, and the 11 points of excellence out of 12 awarded by Eaquals have increased our clients’ trust and  enthusiasm about choosing International House as the only „go to” language services provider.  

Even if English has been the official language in Romania-based multinationals for a while now, expats taking up long-term positions here may find it is not quite enough. Knowing Romanian, instead, can bring expats closer both to their local colleagues and the company’s culture and values. As the number of expat managers and staff working in Romania has gone up, there has been increased interest in Romanian language courses, especially since 2007, when Romanian became one of the official languages for the publication of European Union documents. When choosing such a course for their expat managers, HR Departments should take into account, first of all, the course provider’s experience, as well as its performance track record. Another criterion should be the ability of the provider’s trainers to design courses that appeal to and motivate their expat students, which can be easily checked via demos. Unfortunately, many of the expats I meet lament the fact that trainers fail to teach them our language in an engaging way. Studying a language which is quite difficult, such as Romanian is particularly to expats whose mother tongue is non-Romance, with trainers who insist too much on grammar or use unappealing teaching methods, can be really boring and cause expats to drop out after the first classes.     How to choose the right provider So how do we effectively motivate a top expat manager to study our language, how do we design a lesson leading to a response like “Wow, when’s the next class?” The answer lies in dozens of training sessions conducted by British trainers and coursebook authors published by Cambridge University Press. During training, our teachers acquire teaching techniques currently used in the most efficient language courses worldwide. Complementarily, our teaching materials – textbooks and custom-made worksheets, visuals, realia, handouts, etc. – stir our students’ interest and curiosity. Other important criteria to look into when choosing the right provider are: Do they have an ongoing Professional Development Scheme for their teachers of Romanian? Do they have a Teaching Quality Supervision procedure in place? Do their Academic Managers hold adequate international qualifications? Are all of these regularly inspected by independent expert institutions in the field of language teaching? Last but not least, does the provider also offer its clients a cultural agenda?       What cultural integration workshops are about Cross-cultural courses aim to make expat managers familiar with characteristic Romanian values, attitudes and behaviors, so that their interaction with local staff, clients and partners can become substantially more meaningful. Workshops can be two hours or two days long. Two-hour workshops focus on: 1. Defining the workshop goals 2. Attitudes and values             ● the culture triangle             ● stereotypes and generalisations             ● comparative exercises (my mother country versus Romania) 3. Behaviours             ● the four types of culture             ● the three cultural profiles             ● typical behaviours in the expats’ home country and their host country (Romania) 4. Improving perceptions of cultural differences              ● the trans-cultural system              ● the RADAR matrix 5. Communication from the Romanian perspective – how Romanians             ● initiate business partnerships             ● manage time             ● make decisions             ● negotiate             ● teamwork 6. Living-in-Romania Adjustment Plan             ● the seven things expats need to keep in mind             ● the five things expats need to do What aspects HR Departments need to consider It is useful to know that the needs of expat students vary depending on when the needs analysis is conducted. On arriving in Romania, for instance, they want to learn fast how to greet appropriately at different times during the day, and to acquire elementary vocabulary which allows them to understand and communicate in basic day-to-day situations. Then, as time goes by and the expats get settled in their professional roles, their language needs evolve commensurately, so two/three years after their arrival they may need to hold press conferences or take part in live TV shows in Romanian. This is why it is really important that we set, from the very beginning, together with the HR and the expat, the short- and long-term goals they have in mind, so that our teaching can help them achieve the objectives within a realistic timeframe. How speaking Romanian benefits personal and company image It is often said that expat professionals feel more integrated in other countries than in Romania. That’s not quite true. Luckily, international-standard expertise is now available for expats to understand the context in which they are working. I would point out that, at present, it is up to the expat’s company culture and the expats themselves to decide whether or not they want to access that expertise. What we have noticed time and again is that the image-related benefits and advantages obtained by expats who do decide to learn our language and understand our values are immense, and they always make a difference in their working environment. I will always remember the standing ovation received, for minutes on end, by one of Her British Majesty’s Ambassadors to Romania, Mr Martin Harris, when he recited “Mioriţa,” the Romanian ballad, from the first to the last line, in fluent, accurate and eloquent Romanian, at an event in Bucharest. Many PR companies wish their clients could obtain such a tremendous image benefit. Well, Mr Martin Harris did it by taking Romanian classes. Who are your famous alumni Our probably best-known student is Mr Jonathan Scheele, the former Head of the European Commission Representation in Romania, one of the masterminds of Romania’s accession to the European Union. As Mr Scheele acquired proficiency-level Romanian, a 2006 survey ranked him one of the most popular Romanian politicians. (Even though Mr Scheele was a diplomat, not a politician, and en expat, not a local, the Romanian survey respondents mentioned him repeatedly when asked the open-ended question about popular politicians in their country.) Two of our alumni, the former and the current UK Ambassadors to Romania, Messrs Martin Harris and Paul Brummell, have both sat and successfully passed C2 and C1