Welcome to my IBIS Passport: a document in which I will reflect on my learning journey within the International Business Innovation Bachelor at InHolland. On the 26th of August, we started our Kick-Off week and 2 months and a bit later we’re about to successfully round up our first term. The courses we followed in Term 1 were:

 

• International World of Business
  An chronological path looking at past, present and future developments in the light of how society influences the economy and vica versa.
• Fundamentals of Business
  A buildingblock-by-buildingblock approach to visualizing business plans and right organizational management according to the Business Model Generation Canvas.
• Business English 1
  A closer look at the structure and correct use of the English language in terms of report writing, use of active/passive voice, adjectives/adverbs, holding a board meeting and more.

Aside of those, we were offered Professional Skills Development. A continuous unit for us to build a variety of practical and pragmatic business skills.

• PSD 1 – What’s in my backpack
• PSD 1 – Information Skills
• PSD 1 – Thinking and Reasoning

 

“Being an innovator is not just about solving problems. It’s about solving problems no one else sees” – Phil McKinney

Information Skills by Koos Zwaan

Lessons Learned

For sources, there is plenty of other search tools than just Google. For text, we looked at traditional media such as Newspapers, Magazines, Academic Journals, Conference Proceedings, Edited Books, Text Books, Monographs and Reports, and at online sources such as Lybrin, WolframAlpha and Google Scholar. Another Google tool I like to use is NGram Viewer. Other than text, there is also multimedia sources such as Statistical Information, Novels, Web Pages, Blogs, Personal Communication, Audio Visual and Audio material.

We were introduced to a way of finding, selecting and keeping track of all our
information sources through tools such as Evernote and Mendeley. And we considered how refer to use these sources within your own materials.

We discussed the Reference List and what details to include when referencing printed (author, year, title, publisher) or online (organization / author, date of last revision, title, full URL) publications. The Reference Style we comply with within InHolland is APA (author, year).

You can quote, which is a word for word (verbatim) copy of what someone has said, because there is simply no better way to say of saying it. You can also paraphrase, which means to reflect ideas of others in your own words.

To avoid plagiarism and be nice, both quotes and paraphrases should always visibly state source and author and the information must be verifiable.

Above all methodology, the information and sources you include must be relevant to your case, specific, valid and diversified.

Execution & Implementation

Zooming in on our Information Skills I now realize just how much research is a part of my life, and how beneficial the advancement of these skills could be. In basically any project, both personal and professional, the research is a vital step. In this age of Information Overload and questionable sources, I think this is an essential skill. So I did my best to improve.

I used and will continue to use some of the resources provided to do research for an article series I’m writing and planning to publish on The Tika (my global Hip Hop Culture blog). I found some very interesting sources from unfamiliar authors which I saved to my Mendeley Desktop for future reference.

It was cool we discussed Evernote because for the past 6 months I have used Evernote Premium on iPhone, iPad and Macbook and I absolutely love it. I have various stacks with various notebooks with lots and lots of notes. It would be a great place to intern too.

I hope to learn about more approaches and tips & tricks throughout the research process for the International World of Business Market.

What’s in my Backpack? by Hesther Jolly

[tesla_column_first size=”8-12″]Lessons Learned

This class was all about maximizing your potential. With some soul searching and goal setting, we looked at passions, ambitions, healthy habits, learning styles, goals and growth, reflecting on our past and taking control of our future.

We learned about the Kolb Learning Styles (’84) which is based on the factors of Feeling, Thinking, Doing and Watching. The outcome of these factors classified you to be an Activist, Reflector, Theorist or Pragmatist. We did a self-test in class and I was the only one to have the outcome of Theorist, though in everyday practice I think I’m more of a Pragmatist. We went on to list what behavior characterized our learning style and a few examples for the Theorist were: applying structure and making connections, over thinking thus slow learning, simplifying complexity and complicating simplicity, perfectionism, taking notes and action plans.

Hesther showed us the Ted talk about the Golden Circle from Simon Sinek and encouraged us to search for and answer our own ‘Why?’. We were provided with a few example sentences to help our quest as well as include in the pitch such as I am good at .. (your qualities) , I believe in .. (your core values) , I aim for .. (your ambitions) , I bring .. (your ‘USP’).

We were visited by Online Business Innovator Andrea Bosboom who has been involved with IBIS, organizes the OpenCo, rebranded as NewCo event and is active in the field of Internet, Innovation and ‘The New Economy’. She recognized a few developments and upcoming trends in the online field such as: the importance of social media, the shift from broadcasting to interacting, a customer-centered and 2 way communication, implementing technology to improve processes and relationships, ‘the sharing economy’ and a different outlook on value creation and value capturing. Overall the question we should ask boils down to ‘how can we give our customer a great/the best experience?’. She shared a few more tips based on her own experiences, for example; showing small step progress and tomorrow’s (short-term) results to get people on board who may not see the overall (long-term) vision. When you’re reaching out for help, be as specific as you can be about what you want and need.

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Execution & Implementation

Many of the subjects we explored in this class have been active and recurring themes within my life but I still learned a lot through discussing and reflecting together.

One of the exercises we did was writing down and then ‘Connecting the Dots‘ in our past, to see how past choices influenced our present and future. Some of my dots included: Born in NZ, Hip Hop involvement, Scuba Diving, studying Media, Information & Communication at HvA, moving to Sydney by myself, starting my blog, travelled South East Asia, working as an au-pair, in a nightclub and an office job I previously thought to be my dream job, started working with Da Shogunz and picking up freelance work, organized and manifested Slum Village show, moving to Edmonton and deciding to go back to school and dedicate to the IBIS course.

Another exercise we did was weekly goal-setting and daily action-taking. Some of my goals are: morning meditation, no messaging in the morning (before I leave the house or consciously choose to start the day), keeping a gratitude diary, achieving inbox zero (on Sundays) and 5 line e-mails. This habit hacking is one of the practices I have been doing for a while and it was very constructive and motivating to share this with my classmates and see them it, speak on it and enjoy it as well.

One class we spent on our Elevator Pitches. Although I was well aware of the concept, I had never taken the time to sit down, write and present one, and it was very helpful. I think this was one of the most fruitful classes we had all term.

The work Andrea Bosboom did really spoke to me and I approached her after class to link up. I built a website for the NewCo Amsterdam event which I, and I think more course mates, will be visiting on the 7th of November.

In ‘What’s in my Backpack’ you’ve learned to reflect on who you are, what makes you tick, how you learn and what your experiences mean for your future (apart from meeting ‘real’ professional innovators and getting an insight into what your future might look like…).

Basic Logic & Argumentation by Melissa Duchak

[tesla_column_first size=”8-12″]Lessons Learned

There is 4 major Ways of Knowing through which we humans attain knowledge which are: Perception (see, feel, smell, hear, taste), Language (authority), Emotion (intuition) and Reason (logic, analyzing). In this unit we continued to focus on Reason of which we learned to identify and apply 3 types: Deductive Reasoning (from the general to the particular), Inductive Reasoning (from the particular to the general) and Informal Reasoning (fallacies).

An argument exists of (2 or more) premises and (1 or more) conclusion(s). An argument is valid when the conclusion follows logically from the premises. A valid argument doesn’t mean its outcome always resonates with reality, for when one of the premises is false but the structure is correct, it is still a valid, only not a true argument. When both the premises are true and the argument is valid (a conclusion following logically), we call this a sound argument.

In many arguments, especially those with the purpose of persuasion, informal reasoning is used and fallacies can be found. We learned these through The Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments; a few examples are Appeal to Fear, Appeal to irrelevant Authority, Appeal to Bandwagon, False Dilemma and Slippery Slope.

Altogether we have learned to think critically of information and arguments presented to us and vice versa.

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Execution & Implementation

In the process of innovation we will often need the support of other parties and to get that, we’ll need to convince them of the value and probability of success of our plans. With existing proof, referring back to Information Skills, as well as with a lack of proof, you’ll have to present it a logical manner, creating sound arguments to support our credibility. This skill works both ways. You can find premises to support and justify your conclusion, or draw a conclusion from your premises.

Real Life Example of a Deductive Reasoning
Premise = Students that attend and participate in most classes gain sufficient knowledge and understanding of the subject
Premise = Nadia has attended and participated in most classes for this subject
Conclusion = Nadia has gained sufficient knowledge and understanding of the subject

More so than even applying it yourself, it will be helpful to recognize the structure of arguments and also recognize its flaws and fallacies when spoken by others. I do believe it will take some time to fully and naturally integrate this into your thought process and communication.

Is knowledge something you can proof or is it a strong, justified belief? By learning about the 4 identified Ways of Knowing and questioning their certainty, I realized there is really no such thing as knowledge or truth.

The fallacy I choose to present was Appeal to Fear and after learning about this example of scare tactics I will be better able to spot them in interactions and media outlets. Fear is used a lot to manipulate the general public in politics and advertising, expecting people to act on their emotions opposed to evidence, and this fallacy in particular is one that we come across almost daily, and until now unconsciously.

My NLU’s

I was very pleased with the options presented and my decisions made for the NLUs. I have chosen a very diverse range of subject, which all peaked my interest and were made well-informed.

First off I choose Magazine Making & Innovation. I love and have always
loved magazines (from Tina to Cosmo to Vogue, to Quest and Forbes, to XXL and The Source) and being an Editor-In-Chief has been a long time dreamjob for me. Unfortunately, as we all know, only a small number of magazines have been able to stay afloat in an age of digital media and I am very interested in the developments, future and maybe revival of this traditional and visual media. And if it looks sunny, who knows this field will win my ambition once again. I also hope to implement and experiment some of the knowledge and ideas into my global Hip Hop Culture blog The Tika.

On a whole different tip, I have decided to take on Serious Game Design. I’m heavily interested in Education, not only formal but mostly Self Study and Self Improvement because I believe continuous progress is the key to success. But it doesn’t have to be boring and feel like a sentence, life is hard enough as it is, so the more fun the better! I’d love to learn how to design a program that will allow people to gain knowledge and understanding of one particular or different subjects in an fun, engaging and visually appealing manner.

The subjects above appeal to creativity, but I also picked a skill that I’m naturally not so strong at: the Art of Selling. I’m not aiming for a sales job but have noticed that general yet still genuine sales skills will highly increase your chances of succes in whatever profession and position. Especially being a freelancer, leader, initiator and optimizer, this is an essential skill for me to practice and improve.

Finally, I choose to find out How to do Business in China?. I love Cultural Anthropology and am particularly intrigued by Asia. Being somewhat aware of the differences of this high-context culture compared to our straight-forward Western way of communication, I am looking forward to learn the details of this and how to act on them. I already and will continue to operate on an international scale, so why not include China?

All together I have 90 hours of exciting material with an overdue of 6 hours. I am certainly looking forward to getting started on these units and continuing onwards into Term 2 of IBIS.

IBIS Course in General

It is quite a challenge to manage my time and planning with all my activities, work, life and the classes, ‘homework’ and assignments, but it is a rewarding one. So far I have had a great time within IBIS, learning a lot, building up skills and feeding off the positive environment. I hope my progress as described in my passport above will be understood and perceived as more than sufficient to pass Term 1 of Year 1 of IBIS. This is just the start ..