Communication Strategies

Intercultural communication is the process of exchanging both meaningful and non-meaningful information across people of different cultures and in a way this reduces misunderstanding and it enhances mutual respect (Bennett, 1998). In the modern world, we have a variety of cultures living with us so one must learn to cope. It is important for a person to be conversant with simple things like the greetings, knowing their types of food and the things that to them might appear inappropriate (Bennett, 1998). Although it is not necessary that you know this things into detail little knowledge of them may help you secure their respect and trust. When it comes to a firm or an organization, it becomes very important for an individual to know how to communicate with the people of a different culture other than which they hail from starting from the senior most to the junior most employees.

Internationally it has created a social pathway that allows people to exchange ideas and this helps in important issues such as in the international trade. In a global aspect, the uses are more or less the same as in the international and day-to-day uses in dealing with many people from different cultures (Bennett, 1998). There are two types of communication in the business world normally used and these are verbal and non-verbal communication. Failure to communicate in an appropriate manner leads to information breakdown, which in most cases is disastrous to a business because it may lead to people who are not satisfied for instance the customers, suppliers and even employees. Good communication is a very important base for a successful and profitable business because with poor communication you tend to loose your workers faith, trust and decrease their motivation meaning they will end up giving the client poor service. In the end, this leads to the business running losses instead of much required profits.

Strategies
Communication strategy is developing of a way of communicating to people you are targeting for example workers and customers trying to sell your idea to them and to create awareness of a certain issues (Bennett, 1998). Many firms now days are making sure that the management teams have the intercultural communication skills. The reason to this is that these days organizatons contain many people from many different cultures and when communicating to people you do it in an appropriate manner for instance avoiding some expressions that may be misinterpreted and you end up embarrassed and your intended message not passed. This leads to a communication breakdown and the workers may end up doing the direct opposite and the impact of this is unwanted losses. Workers like supervisors also need the intercultural communication skills to be able to communicate to the workers under them in a cool, respectful and polite but assertive way hence avoiding shouting that may seem confrontational to some of the workers (Bennett, 1998).

These lead to a motivated work force that gives good results and in the end the results are usually good profits. Employees in the same rank also need the intercultural communication know how for effective communication for instance using a language the other understands during telephone conversations and simple aspects like respect and avoiding racist remarks that one does not need training to have and this is to avoid a communication breakdown that is bad for business (Bennett, 1998). The most tricky and important part comes when communicating to consumers. When a firm wants to cater for a global, multicultural and international market the choice of language, expressions and symbols to promote or advertise your product becomes a very tricky piece of work. To communicate to people you must be careful not to sound racist, insulting, you must also show some respect for their cultures and at the same time be creative enough to market and sell your products. This calls for a lot of research and knowledge of the markets that you as a firm want to position yourselves to the many cultures internationally and the whole world at large.

Implications
Inter cultural communication has had both negative and positive implications in the business world. Generally, it has increased the budgets over the years for firms who want to cater for the many cultures in the world. This is because of the communication training given to some of the workers and costs of market research, which lead to some firms having to face the tough decision of having to close its operations of serving a wider market consisting of the many cultures both internationally and globally (Bennett, 1998). This means you must have the financial strength to undertake a business venture towards that direction.

To the firms involved and with the financial ability intercultural communication has helped them widen their market and increase profits and this has led to rise of very successful companies like the coca cola company. International communication has also made it possible to get increased cheap and skilled labor from the multicultural, international and global firms this leads to increased productivity and cheaper goods and services (Bennett, 1998). Intercultural communication has improved understanding between many nations and this has made countries come to agreements of reducing tariffs and taxes incurred by foreign investors hence leading to many firms being able to cater for a wider multicultural, international and global market and in addition offering cheaper goods and services to the consumers.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, intercultural communication is a very important aspect of business today although many people might view as just being a way of socializing without any benefits. If you deeply look at it, you will notice it is the basis if you want to make money in a different country apart from where you come from country and more especially among a different culture of people (Bennett, 1998). This is because communication is the key to business anywhere in the world. This is why many firms that have a plan of serving a multicultural society are investing in their employees training like the management teams to have multicultural communication skills.

With the advent of globalization, borders have been transcended, so much so that the workforce has become truly global. The market for labor now goes beyond nationalities and in fact tries to encompass as many cultures as possible in order to harness the synergies created by multicultural diversity.

This is turn has created a multitude of management and Human resource issues that seek solutions in organizations communications strategies, to manage and satisfy all employees regardless of  their ethnicity.

Intercultural Communication when handled professionally and profoundly can become a competitive advantage for the company who masters the art of keeping their people happy and contented.
With regards to everyday situations, a company that operates or conducts business in many geographical localities and countries is bound to come face-to-face with intercultural communications. Take the example of PG, which is headquartered in the US but has operations and country offices in more than 180 countries, serving a multitude of customers coming from various backgrounds. In light of this PG needs a workforce that comes from the very same background to understand its target market and design strategies in order to gain the maximum out of them.

Real-Life case Scenario
Consider the scenario where the manager at PG is American, while the subordinates are Arab and Chinese. In such a case intercultural communication would truly need to be maximized in order to even communicate.

In order for a manager to communicate effectively with the people from various cultures, the cultural dimensions of each of the countries that the subordinates belong to will have to be taken into consideration.

Cultural Dimensions
Culture is a subjective value to measure and that is why various dimensions of culture and values have culminated into a ranking measure provided by Geert Hofstede in order to help quantify, to an extent how various cultures compare to each other.

The dimensions that are scaled on the Hofstede measures include, Power Distance Index (PDI), Individualism (IDV), Masculinity (MAS), Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) and Long-Term Orientation (LTO).

Summarizing what each of these dimensions entail, PDI measures how the weaker members of a cultural group or institution are treated and how they perceive the power distribution. It could be equal or unequal and this illustrates how a societys weaker individuals accept that power distribution. Some societies might accept it as a part of life and some may view it as a weakness. No matter what the case, inequality exists and it is how the members perceive it and whether or not they want to change it that quantifies this dimension. Moreover, where PDI is high, senior members have more power and exert more influence and are respected and awed by the weaker or less significant members.

IDV is measures again collectivism. This scales how a society holds together and how the individual members of the society view their ambitions and goals versus that of the society or the group. Countries high on IDV have individuals who are looking to further their own goals even if it is at the expense of the group. Moreover in an individualistic society, organizations tend to hire on the basis of merit of the individual and his or her qualifications vis--vis collectivist societies which tend to protect the interests of the employees at large and might retain employees while incurring higher costs rather than take in new and more efficient people.

Another scale is the MAS which is one extreme in the continuum. The other is femininity. The MAS extreme consists of an assertive attitude that is more result oriented in a society versus the softer, feminine skills.  The dimension measures these values to see which is more predominant in a society. For countries with a high MAS, they are more assertive in their goals and are more ambitious in terms of technological advancements where are those high on femininity are more focused on peoples welfare and their issues.

The UAI measures how a society responds to uncertainty and risky situations where much of the information is unknown.  Countries that rate low on UAI are generally more tolerant of half-truths and are comfortable with risky situations, knowing how to tackle them in their stride. Whereas in countries that rate high on this index are more prone to being more structured and systematic and are very focused on finding as much information as they can about a situation to deal with it. A high UAI indicates that the people are geared towards seeking the truth and the facts about everything before they decide on anything. Whereas a low UAI means that people are more willing to work in loosely structured environment with a minimal of rules and are more tolerant toward view points other than their own or the authorities.

Long-Term Orientation (LTO) is the last dimension that the Hofstede scale measures. Long-term oriented societies are generally more prone to value time as a tool for getting where they want to be. Such societies persevere despite of the conditions and prepare for the future even if they have to incur short-term losses to achieve this end.

These scales, while subjective and prone to human bias are a very useful tool in comparing societies and eventually helping managers faced with a diverse set of employees understand and communicate better.

Arab Cultural Dimensions
With regards to Hofstede analysis for Saudi Arabia, the country is seen to have a large power distance and high on uncertainty avoidance, which means that the leadership separates itself from the masses and has little interaction with them and what the king says, is the law while opponents are punished severely. This also means that specific and detailed instructions are issued on every matter and there is no space left for ambiguity. These two scales when seen in combination indicate that the authorities have all the power and that they are not held accountable for any of their actions, which may be detrimental to the very spirit of Islam, which they claim to abide by.
     
Another Hofstede characteristic indicates that Saudi Arabia ranks very low on the Individualism (IDV) ranking at 38, compared to a world average ranking of 64.1 This indicates that people are not very individualistic and tend to think of themselves as part of the group. This also implies that people put family and community before themselves and group goals are met before any individual aims are pursued while loyalty to the group and family is prioritized over any other values.

Chinese Cultural Dimensions
The most striking factor about the Chinese is that they are a very collectivist society and that the team or the organizations values are given more priority over any other individual objectives, hence the Chinese rank very low on the individualism index. In fact it is even lower than any other Asian countries rakings.

In addition to this, the Chinese are high on LTO, and low on UCI. They have a high power distance which is generally true of collectivist societies that place high importance on seniority. As per the Masculinity measure, China is more focused on its people having communist roots and therefore is more masculine than feminine in its cultural dimensions.

Personal Communications and Methods of Improving Communication Competencies
Before trying to improve communication competencies one should keep in mind the barriers to effective communication. This follows from theory that problem identification is the first step in problem resolution. The barriers to great communication are physical, cultural, perceptual, emotional, language, gender, and interpersonal. In the situation we are considering, all these apply in varying degrees. With regards to this scenario and backdrop, the main concern here are the language, cultural, perceptual and emotional barriers.

In order to improve the groups communication competencies it is important that each know what background the other is coming from in order to better understand their colleagues. This is important not only in terms of the top-down and bottom-up flow of communication, it is also important for a horizontal flow of communication as colleagues need to understand each other to do better team work.

Therefore, as a solution, a preliminary presentation should be in place where each person in the team, including the manager details their cultures and about their expectations from working in that group. This presentation will be of vital importance where all the learning of effective communication needs to be applied. The presenter should make the right word choice and ensure that his body language and the image that he portrays convey the message that he indeed does care about getting along with his co-workers. In addition to this, the presenters should each in turn ensure that their sincerity is conveyed via their non-verbal communications i.e. their demeanor, body language, aides to presentation, pitch and clothing. All these will factor in conveying the right meta-message that the presenter wants to genuinely work together and be on the same wavelength in order to facilitate team-work.

However an issue that arises out of this ideal scenario is that one member might take advantage of others. This is the case for ethics in communications. This is because it is compulsory for the workers to give out cultural information about themselves and their expectations. This is the reason why those who give out correct and genuine information about themselves are at a risk of being manipulated. For example the American manager might think that he can easily persuade the Chinese employee to forgo his own goals for that of the team and in the meanwhile the American manager would be furthering his own personal motives. This may lead to ill-will and manipulative games at the end of the manager. And once the employee realizes that he is being used, chaos may ensue.

Therefore in order to protect the employees interests an external check by the higher-ups should be done on a regular basis as should informal evaluation where the employees and their manager all have a chance to speak for themselves and describe their experiences so that it can be readily assessed as to who should be given credit for the work done.

Another factor in improving communications competencies should be that rather than deciding on one language, which should be the case initially, each member try and learn the others language in order to fully realize the power of each language as there are nuances and subtleties in each language that the other cannot full capture. This may be time consuming, but it can be done at the expense of added incentives in order to achieve long-term coordination.

This solution will be particularly useful in dealing with conflicts caused by communication barriers as in our case here, difference in language too is a barrier.

Words have the power to create and affect attitudes, behavior, and perception.
Words have indeed the power to create and affect attitudes and influence behavior and perceptions. A difference in word choice can change the imagery created. For example, fire described as an orange, cozy flame warming the soul and a cruel red tongue consuming all within its reach creates different emotions by way of words in the minds of the receiver. These words describe the same element, but create a different imagery, the same way different words hold different meaning in different cultures. For the Arab, words such as family would describe a setting where he is the leader and members have to all but listen to him. Whereas to the Chinese this word would entail a collective group of his immediate and extended family where the head is  his grandfather and he is considered as an important but less powerful and less significant member. Therefore when the manager wishes to appeal to the employees roots he should be very careful in referring to family, because while for the Arab, the Arab might be the sole provider, the Chinese employee would feel that the manager was trying to make him feel insignificant in the decision making processes.

Strategies for managing interpersonal conflicts
Interpersonal conflicts can gain precedence in this example where there is a variety of cultures and hence barriers in place.

There are several factors that need to consider before proceeding to managing conflicts. These factors are your relationship, the situation, the other person whom you are in conflict with and your goals.
Keeping all these in view, if there are problems between the manager and the employee then the manager should try and focus on what the basic issue was. Having a boss, sub-ordinate relationship can mean that the manager can fall into the trap of dictating a solution which the employee will have to follow. However this is not the solution as the employee will still feel that the decision is imposed on him rather than there being a mutually agreeable solution. Therefore in considering the relationship, the manager should avoid the trap of dictation and try and forge a solution that takes into account both their perspectives.  If the situation is such that a joint decision should be taken fast and there are interpersonal conflicts among the culturally diverse team, the American will know that the two belong to collectivist cultures and he can persuade than that the decision is for the betterment of them all and that they all will benefit with the differences set aside. Another factor to consider here is the goal of the manager or the parties involved. When the aggregate goal in kept in mind, many conflicts resolve easily as there tends to be agreement on mutually beneficial issues. Moreover when one considers the background of the relationship with the other person involved and is reminded of the positives, that person is easily brought in for negotiations.

Conclusion
This course on effective communication has been very helpful in realizing and understanding fully the importance of communications and has bought to light simple solutions that have existed always but have not been implemented because their simplicity has been viewed with suspicion.
Thus it is imperative that even in everyday situations, if we consider these aspects of conflict resolution and are more tolerant problems can be resolved easily. Furthermore, when everyone is geared to find a win-win situation there can be better conflict resolution and a much more peaceful society than which exists.

The recent enactment of the healthcare bill was meant to streamline the operations of the healthcare sector that has been regarded as deficient in different ways. In deed, the industry has witnessed many deficiencies including increased number of people without healthcare coverage and near bankruptcy of healthcare organizations. As we enter into the transition period, there is tension since the impact of the healthcare care bill is still unknown. Since the system may remain as it is for a long time before new legislation makes an impact, there is need to stay focused on the provision of healthcare to the target population.

As you read this article, you should understand that the Institute for Family Health aims at providing healthcare for the underserved population. The mission of the Institute for Family Health is to improve the quality and availability of family practice services that fits the needs of medically underserved population.  This is achieved through different services including development of healthcare facilities which operates on a family practice model, training healthcare professionals, engaging in health service research on primary healthcare, formulating health policies supporting direct patient care, and promoting diversity of its workforce (The Institute for Family Health, 2010). Therefore, one of the most important activity in achieving its mission is to develop and operate health facilities which are based on family practice model and integrating the works of a number of healthcare professionals.  To achieve this noble objective of providing the best healthcare services for you, the Institute for Family Health is in the process of acquiring North General Hospital which is on the verge of collapsing due to bankruptcy.   The acquisition is likely to affect the operation of the Institute for Family Health in different ways but you should be assured of continued operation of the facility at your service.

North General Hospital has served the people living around Harlem for more than 30 years. This area has a population of about 117,743 people in East Harlem and 151,113 people in Central Harlem (North General Hospital, 2010). The communities living east and Central Harlem are considered poorest in New York City with 7 out of 10 residents being African Americans. The bankruptcy of North General Hospital has not been by accident. It has been orchestrated by the operation factors in the healthcare system that is considered flawed by any standard. I feel that our healthcare system has not been well formulated and this may be the reason why some healthcare facilities like North General Hospital are collapsing. Then new healthcare bill is staged to revolutionize the provision of healthcare but as the fear fall in the industry about the uncertainty of the impact of the new healthcare bill, there is need to maintain sobriety and realize that the healthcare system is meant to serve Americans and there is no need to get tensed and regret the noble goal.

The Institute for Family Health may also be uncertain about the impact of new healthcare legislation. However, the hospital management has not neglected its goal of providing healthcare for the deserving cases. You should be aware that the operation of the Institute of Family Health and North General Hospital will not be affected by the new legislation. Institute for Family Health acquisition of North General Hospital can be considered as a way of ensuring continued provision of healthcare to Harlem community. The new healthcare bill is meant to improve healthcare delivery system in the country and, by all means, stakeholders will do what they can to ensure that it fulfills its mandate.  Even though the new healthcare law has been enacted, it is important that the Institute for Family Health ensure continued operation of North General Hospital in order to meet the healthcare need of the Harlem community. I would call all leaders and concerned stakeholders in Institute for Family Health to do all they can to ensure that North General Hospital continue to offer services as before. Leaders and all staff at Institute for Family Health and North General Hospital will strive despite the odds, to provide medical services to the community.

Communication has no specific description but main essence of it revolves around conveyance, exchanging, giving or sharing of ideas  information. Communication can be both verbal and nonverbal. Communication takes place all around us in school, colleges, homes, markets and most importantly businesses. Businesses use communication in Public Relations (PR) to maintain image of company toward public, organizations, and programs and to gather employees, customers, investors or even general public. For effective communication, message should be clearly conveyed and interpreted by both parties. Our communication, perception and interaction can greatly be effected by noise, which is a barrier in communication. Literal meaning of noise is not what is meant here. Noise can be anything that effect communication in one way or another.

Some people are better at communication for several of reasons. They convey their message easily because they are extremely good listeners and to be a good communicator first key is effective listening. They are patient listeners and try to read between the lines of the communication. This makes their grip on the subject matter very sound. This in turns helps them to communicate effectively. Along with effective listening, they have good presentation skills and have ability to make sure that each word is understood by the audience. They have clear vision of the message to be conveyed and are well prepared for it. Simplicity in conveyance also makes them better communicators. All of this comes down to effective listening for effective communication.

Yes, I somewhat agree to this. The advancement in IT and other technological advancements in internet usage have proved beneficial for companies to advertise on internet. This trend is increasing rapidly and with the creation of facebook, skype, twitter, other social networking sites and many other web platforms has made companies go for internet advertising more. People of almost all age groups have now easy access and availability of internet. So this mode of communication is becoming more important for organizations and will continue in future. But nevertheless, newspaper has always been more accessible and easy to carry source of information. Newspaper will lose some of its significance but this mode of advertising can not be ignored by organizations.

A persuasive text is a writing that can cause somebody to believe the truth about something, and has power to tempt action or believe. Duo process theories provide an account on how an occurrence can occur in to different ways. Verbalized explicit processes or attitudes may change with persuasion. Persuasion is found everywhere and the persuaders make one to believe them, get what they have and trust them (Larson, 2009). They use languages or images that make one believe or take an action. The following is an example of persuasive text, If you think what you have been using to clean your mouth is right then you are wrong, Sensodine is the best for you, it eliminates sensitivity and bad smell in your mouth. Hurry before we clear the stock, the price is consumer friendly. This particular text communicates because along side it there were some illustrations showing very white and was surrounded by blinking images which were meant to trap eyes of the readers.

The text was meant to advertises this particular product and convince the consumers that their teeth will be the same as of this person in the picture. The advertiser has assumed that customers will not make a scrutiny of this product when he writes that it is the only product that can eliminate sensitivity and bad smell. The text has made some conclusions that seem to be true for example the product will remove bad smell in the mouth meaning that those ho will buy have a problem of bad odour and need sensodine. The advertiser has come up with this conclusion because he is aware of the problem that is affecting many people.

There is no evidence of whether the text is true or valid. There is the use of linked assertions that somehow seems to be reasonable but if they are examined logically, they will be incorrect. The text has deliberately used assertions by using logic that seems to be valid and persuasive. There is a possibility of this advertiser landing into risk if somebody realizes his false logic.

The reasoning of the advertiser was vague because he assumed that more customers will turn up on hearing that the stock will end while at the same time he forgets that many may not buy thinking that after a short while it will run out of stock. Therefore, they may lack a place to replace another one and may lack confidence in it.

The text has used syllogism reasoning because it contains a lot of generalization of the product that the public has been using as not having the same result as sensodine. The advertiser only considered his product as the best without considering that some people could have used it and did not get better results.

Duo process theory is well use in this text and at the same time elaboration likelihood model is present (Larson, 2009). In this text, a customer will have conscious scrutiny of the product before making his final judgment. The customer will make a careful scrutiny of various chemicals that make up this product and at the same time check on expirely date. The customer will do his evaluation and check the effectiveness of the product. The text  has put motivation to many because the customer will hurry up to buy it before it runs out of stock and at the same time safe thinking that what she had been using is very expensive. Therefore, he will do his best to see that he has attempted this product.
The consumer will use a comprehensive route before he makes his final judgment regarding this advertisement. For example, one can look for somebody who has been using it before purchasing one. The text has some aspect of telling a consumer to act very fast before the stock runs out. The customers judgment will be fast because the price is customer friendly meaning that everyone can afford it.

Once you read this text you will immediately change your attitude towards this product.  There is likelihood that one will like sensodine and hate the previous product. On seeing the advertisement a customer will automatically buy the product, forget the one he was using, and go on encouraging others to use even before experiencing the results. The process will continue, every one convincing each other the advantages of using this product but the truth of the matter is they will not follow one another to confirm that you really used the product.

Conclusion
This particular text was very effective because it was able to hit on what customers look for. The advertiser had used some assertions that really seemed to be true and valid. It has assumptions of being the best product, and eliminates sensitivity and bad smell in the mouth. There is also a believe that it is cheaper than any other product and anyone can afford it. The other thing that could have made this text to be effective is the use of diagrams that are catching the eye.

This project aims to carry out an in-depth survey of the experiences of first-year international students as they make their transition to the discipline of biology. It will assess the extent to which international students integrate and put up with the different teaching and learning environment. In addition, it will comment on the elements that can hinder such integration and adaptation.

The findings of this research may be of relevance across the educational sector. Free interaction with the international students will provide greater wealth of data on the perception of the students. In particular, the qualitative approach will capture a wider geographic region and researches are well supported with wide knowledge of the literature. In fact, the bibliography provides a resourceful platform that can be adopted by future researchers.

This study uses qualitative research approach. Qualitative research makes a given enquiry scientific since it seeks solutions to an enquiry, gathers evidence and gives predictions from the findings. Such predictions can be applicable way far beyond the immediate boundaries of the study (Marilyn 2005). Again, it establishes a systematic and predefined framework in answering the questions. Furthermore, it approaches the problem from its immediate context, for instance, it carries out the enquiry from the local population been investigated.
Thesis Statement
Even though, international students take pride in pursuing education in foreign settings, there are great challenges that make this experience unfavorable, as well.


Research Question
Q. What are the problems that first year international students experience as they make their transition to the discipline of biology
Literature Review

There are numerous existing studies regarding international student experience. Such studies range from reports of small-scale project to PhD dissertations (Solvic 2008). Much of this focus has been channeled to their academic experience. Basically, international students face a lot of challenges while in international institutions since they are in a different setting with different approaches and requirements. This in itself is a challenge.

In most cases, communities tend to regard international students as a homogeneous group. In UK, the understanding of an international student only refers to those that fully pay their school fees, therefore, ignoring EU students. Worst of all is when the students are treated as individuals per se (Kuo 2007). This lack of differentiation between the diverse groups and sub-groups of international students has been pointed out on specific pedagogical issues. It is argued that Asian students, and more so, Chinese students, incorporate their cultural differences in methods and style of learning to make it it very hard for them in critical and analytical exercises in Western Universities (Dunbar1988).

On the same note, international students are looked as a complete different group of people and making assumptions about them collectively (Said 1978). In this regard, cultural perceptions block the real needs of international students. Students from South-East Asia, for instance, are deemed as surface learners and passive non-participants, a perception that has been disputed by many. It is rightly argued that teachers can fail to work on their attitudes and practices if much of the blame goes to the students (Chalmers  Volet 1997). According to Jones (2005) the determining factor is not much on the cultural background but what matters is the clear explanation of what is expected. On the same note, there should be a need for special clarity whenever international students are briefed on their new learning environment (Nishio 2001).

It is noted that promoting and facilitating extra academic support at the beginning of the studies is essential for international students who are from unique teaching and learning traditions like in the case of rote-learning and teacher-centered approaches (Beasley and Pearson 1999). Although language is in many times identified as a hindrance for international students in their adaptation to university life, a greater part of research suggest that students notion of academic expectations, conventions and standards at the host university is equally significant (Samuelowicz 1987). Once the academic staffs understand the educational background of their students, they will in turn be able to improve the students overall experience. In so doing, it will help in mitigating potential mismatches between the students and the teaching staff (Gill 2007).

It is argued and justifiably so that innovative course design and well ordered student support policies enable students to develop better communication skills and independence right from the start. Eventually, it perfects their interaction with the local students thus making the entire transition process easier and fruitful. According to Beasley and Pearson (1999) establishment of academic support programs, for instance, interactive workshops, peer learning and support groups is beneficial to the students and reduces failure rates.

So far, Biology as a subject is not regarded as a problematic discipline but as a soft science. It is believed that many students in European countries evade mathematics, chemistry and physics but prefer biology. Ironically, biology suffers as a by-product due to the increasing number of students. This is as a result of the perception that biology is easy to approach and methodology. However, just like other sciences, biology is a victim of new emerging knowledge and technological approaches which are actually occurring at a very high rate. In addition, unlike what many students expect, biology has an increasingly cross-disciplinary nature with a rising flow of data from genomics, protemics as well as bioinformatics. These, eventually make the many branches of biology quantitative and embedded in physicochemical principles.

The abovementioned aspects in biology make it difficult for students in coping with such a dynamic increase in information that form part of what they should learn. In addition, it becomes very difficult to develop critical thinking skills, numeracy and analysis. Most education sectors consider quality and not quantity in terms of the number of students studying at the university. Eventually, it becomes the primary concern of biology.

It is believed that during the transition process, students may realize the course does not match their expectations or the students do not match the expectations of the course. The latter can happen if the students lack life and social skills as well as the ability to formulate autonomous information retrieval and learning. Above all, it can turn out that those students rarely join the university with an objective to gain an academic qualification the motive being a stop-gap option. In this regard, the entry rates to university rise in most parts of Europe.

Language is one of the major challenges to many international students who enroll in the first year biology in tertiary education. Specialist terminology in Biology and other sciences proves difficult for most students (Wellington  Osborne 2001). Moreover, students get a difficult time in recognizing where a concept starts and terminates and so it becomes hard to differentiate concepts. According to Zhang and Lidbury (2006) difficulties with language contributes significantly to difficulties faced by students in studying science especially genetics.

There is language oriented strategies which can be applicable to First Year Biology (Zhang  Lidbury 2006). These strategies are as follows
Use of guided tutorial questions in group work.
Tutors can provide students with opportunities to share their views in groups.
Crosswords exercises are a powerful online tool in giving language exercises.
Memory of the students can be enhanced by breaking down complex biological terms as well as identifying prefixes and suffixes. This further includes the exploration of the etymological meaning of words.

Lecturers can come up with motivating activities like matching scientific terms to definitions in order to enhance revision. In addition, they can use flashcards for vocabulary mastery.
Finally, under the aspect of role playing, students can be encouraged to practice their scientific discoveries to the public (orthopraxis).

Methodology  Analysis
The University of Queensland has a high proportion of international students. The research focused on the first year international biology students. The survey did not leave out the UK students for comparative purposes. The research project took into consideration the challenges of language as one of the key challenges during the transition to tertiary education. The interviews were conducted in the interviewees own language through a set of questionnaire. Their co-nationals offered a lot of support in the whole exercise especially by helping in the translation exercise.

Hundred first-year biology students were interviewed and the results recorded after translation. Another form was prepared where students filled in their basic details about their educational background, time spent in Australia even before enrolling in the university. The form captured some relevant demographic information and how they learnt about the institution. The questionnaire stretched further to topics like why they chose to study abroad, their expectations, cultural and educational differences in biology subject, relationship, gender factors, stress issues, support services just to mention a few.  There were consultations in the entire interviewing process in order to prevent ambiguities or culturally inappropriate questions.

The interview took a period of one hour where 100 international students were interviewed. On the other hand, fifteen home students were also interviewed, for the sake of comparison by a native student. See appendices 1  2 for the questionnaire data and interview schedule.

The table below illustrates the origin of the students interviewed.

CountryNumber of Students InterviewedTotal number of First yearsAsia2758Japan3256Africa2044South Korea2167Europe7100USA8158Total115483
Use of students native language was very helpful although it had both positive and negative effects. The outcome was very powerful due to the rich insights provided by the free-language-barrier atmosphere. Indeed, students expressed their thoughts without much difficulty in their mother language. The entire process was very friendly since their co-nationals actively participated in the interviewing process. However, some of the information from the interviewees got filtered by the translation process. In addition, some of information was misrepresented or disappeared due to incompetent translation. Overall, the process was fruitful despite the few setbacks which were properly shaped by the intensive management of the interviewing process. The richness of the data and the degree of the response was in tandem with the original target of 100 interviews.

Pedagogical Issues
There was a general observation among international students regarding the nature of teaching and learning at University of Queensland in comparison to their experiences. Most students have a difficulty when it comes to the process of creation and design in Biology. The tutors put emphasis on the learning process of the student and focus less on the outcomes. A Japanese student says, Lectures here, are more concerned about the sources of my ideas, how I develop them and the whole research process has a lot of these. It is very challenging to be welcomed with such rules which I am not used. I am trying to integrate myself to the teaching and learning approach here.

A section of the African students remarked that contrary to their expectations, skills are not emphasized so much at Queensland. In their opinion, biology is a scientific subject which requires more of skills than theory. The situation here is totally mind-based, a self-exploration kind of work. In fact, this was affirmed by a section of the Japanese students who said that they are not exposed to enough practical skills. Education in Japan is very passive unlike the one at Queensland where one has to think about a concept, create it with specified materials and technique as well.

The transition to the system in biology subject poses a great challenge to those students whose proficiency in English is poor. The perception is that their approach to the course is undervalued. Again, the demands expected of them are derived from what are areas of weakness for them. In their view, their previous knowledge in biology is not given due consideration neither is it valued as much as it could be.

The other difficulty is due to reason that biology is fashioned within a Western fashion. That means, one has to familiarize with what is happening in the UK and somewhat apply it to biology.

Conclusion
This project has highlighted a number of issues regarding the challenges of first year international students with respect to biology course. The survey evidence suggests that their experience at Queensland is satisfactory and productive for them. As can be seen from the methodology, there is considerable insight into the perceptions and experience of the students. It is in everyones interest at Queensland to gain a deeper understanding of international students perspectives and thereby recognize the need to address the issues outlined in this project. It is also very possible that any such reforms in ways the system works will benefit all students.

The following are the proposed interventions for ensuring a friendly transition to courses in Biology at the University of Queensland

Establishment of Student development activities geared towards academic support and language awareness.

Special programs and activities aimed at enabling first-year international students familiarize with the module requirements in a timely manner.

Establishment of orientationinduction courses to enable students gain relevant skills.

Ultimately, this institutional research will be made available to the wider community in making an informed judgment on how best to improve higher education where international students are concerned.

The intent of this assignment is to ascertain my individual reflection which is imperative for developing a clear understanding of my overall performance during the assessment. A three fold critical reflection is obtained as a result of this assignment that looks at personal reflection in the following topics and situations reflections on the proposed ICT solution recently submitted as the subject assignment reflection on the group working and issues of cooperation in line with the assignment and my personal reflection on all facets of working with the assignment and working with the group, including reflection on the Australian education system which has been a novel experience in my educational life.

Reflection on the proposed ICT solution
The primary objective of the entailed task set for us by the lecturer and the course was to aid the development of superior answers for information and communications technology, in order that business processes, technical and competitive advantage, and additional performance and business solutions could be developed. This was to be realized through group work. An Australia based ICT solution provider, Lighthouses vision is to create solutions for clients so as to increase areas of productivity, efficiency and performance, and in order that the client under study, Definitive Accounting and Taxation (DAAT), can choose the most effective from a range of appropriate technological solutions. Working in a group has enabled me to experience new knowledge in ways beggaring description. Therefore my reflection on the proposed ICT solution can be described as an experience similar to that which I would have undergone had I been really involved in working for a real company for the same job. In the possibility that I may work in the professional field of information and communication technology, this experience, I believe, will prove fruitful in helping me develop feasible solutions for clients in the form of appropriate levels of technologies and applications.

From the very outset it was important to seek professional applications and tangible ideas as this is the manner in which Lighthouse or even other ICT solution providers would handle client needs in real life circumstances. Hence, by observing the mutual maturity and professionalism of both Lighthouse and DAAT it can be comprehended that the types of technologies recommended and employed can handle and effectively meet the requirements and outcomes required by DAAT which have been clearly elucidated.

Being a startup organization scheduled to begin operations on the 1st of July, the needs of DAAT were observed to be predominantly foundational. This included primarily the establishment of a stable and sustainable, well-designed IT system. The concern of security with regards to data and smooth access to professional information were additional requirements. High levels of job automation in order to elevate productivity and the availability of low cost communication channels for the company to be connected with their clients were also important priorities.
       
Lighthouses proposed multi-fold solution thus consisted of job automation, electronic data interchange (EDI), knowledge management (KM) and seamless communication measures in order to fulfill DAATs specific requirements. The introduction of accounting software ensured that employees of DAAT are liberated from basic clerical activities such as collection and input of data and could hence focus on more productive issues such as analysis and interpretation. An external source KM system on DAATs website which provided free access to free online professional sources and an internal source KM system supported by a forum and case database were also suggested.

To prevent the leak of confidential data strict security policies and mechanisms were offered. In order to prevent the failure of the computer system, secondary server and spare computers for backup were advised where the secondary database server would backup the data of the main server frequently, especially at the end of each month. According to the analysis of the needs and requirements of the Definitive Accounting and Taxation, Lighthouse customized a set of ICT solutions which included an Office Network, Web and Email Server, and MYOB Server.  All these three parts would be connected through VPN network to ensure secure communication and protect the clients confidential information. The existing clients or the potential clients are enabled to communicate with DAATs staff through several channels Email, WebPages, Forum, News letter and RSS feeds, thus fulfilling customer relationship management (CRM) objectives as well.

The chief aim of any information and communications solutions provider firm is to supplement the dominant function of client companies by providing a superior edge of technical and competitive advantage, and added performance and business solutions against similar competing businesses. Through the development of group work it was possible for us to produce varied solutions and ideas to organizations and in the process craft advantages for them. Lighthouse has been observed to have the competence to generate solutions for clients problems of any severity and in addition create all requisite solutions.

 Reflection on the group working

The experience of working in and with a group was an overwhelmingly positive one for me. Besides the academic edge it has given me by working with peers of exceptional caliber, it has disclosed to me the significance of diversity in views, judgments and experiences.  Keeping my linguistic barriers in mind, my learning duration at the university has presented me with unforeseen challenges that have undoubtedly helped my grow and comprehend the varied modes of learning patterns, cognition and rational processing especially because my peers come from different backgrounds themselves. In retrospect, this has enabled me to develop wider perspectives and improved ways of thinking and dealing with problems.

Since my colleagues each had wide ranging views and aptitudes, they also had their own unique ways of communicating and connecting with other peers in the working group. In the process, I have been able to appreciate the many ways in which individuals tackle and articulate ideas, especially those with regard to the assignment in question.  The lack of support and coordination, during meetings, was another aspect that was observed, when working in a group and is one of the avenues which when understood can be useful to students looking to work in groups in general. The time slots and accessible prospects would sometimes not be convenient for all of the members, as some of the group meetings were not conducted at times that were in alignment with studying at the university. However, in such situations, patience is of utmost importance and it is required of each member to be empathetic with the other to ensure that the entailed task is progressed at and that each individual is able to put in his own contribution towards the fulfillment of the groups goals and objectives.      
   
Working in a group is a unique learning experience as it helped me understand the significance of learning from other people and not just restricting oneself to academic learning and other conventional modes. There is always difficulty in managing diversity and bringing together people from multiple backdrops and social circumstances imply that the involved task was unduly complicated from the very beginning and at moments quite difficult to work with. However this is also accompanied by other unanticipated synergistic outcomes. To conclude this section of my contemplation, it is worth noting that though there are many hurdles involved in working in a group the potential benefits that can be reaped in the process are bountiful and in this particular scenario it has helped the group and myself to consider the various situations that can be anticipated in real life working conditions where there could be similar challenges in the process of executing delegated projects and in delivering clients contracts.    

Personal Reflection
It is important to note that it is the underlying difference between the learning mechanism between Saudi Arabia and Australia that has led to many of the issues that I have come across in this learning curve. There is a more refined focus on critical learning and practical experience, here in Australia, rather than reiterating methods. This necessitated that I fully utilize all lecturer notes, academic material, course readings, tutorial discussions and recommended exercises, which is in direct contrast to my hitherto experience with the educational system back in Saudi Arabia. In addition, since this was my opening semester at the University of Wollongong this was an exceptionally exigent hindrance to my progress. However I do feel that though these same challenges will present themselves in subsequent semesters, they may not pose the same level of difficulty due to the knowledge and skill sets that I have gained through this virgin experience.

Language has been the predominant barrier as English is not my first language. Though I have successfully completed the ETS course at the Wollongong University College, I am personally of the opinion that this course is insufficient in offering us with the level of English dexterity required to fully understand journal articles and materials at the Masters level and to resolve issues arising in the verbal context. However, I am well aware that it is vital that I overcome these trials if I wish to carve myself a professional niche in the information and communication technologies domain, as this avenue is founded chiefly on the English language and hence need to harness the required degree of English language mastery especially with respect to the related technical vernacular usage. These key facets of the study here, though exceedingly taxing to international students, has been appealing to me due to the strong credibility that they have given to the Australian education system and I hope that I persistently persevere in this learning curve as I firmly believe that they will endow me with the potential to pave my professional and personal best into the future, while helping me to nurture the relevant problem solving skills required to develop information and communication technology solutions that would be valuable to the businesses that seek them.

Besides being able to grasp various new aspects about ICT solutions, including the advantages of aspects such as EDI and Knowledge Management, the actuality of interactions between ICT solution providers and client companies was more effectively comprehended as a result of this course. One of the most beneficial outcomes that I have derived from this course was the advantages of learning through group work. The globalized workplace of contemporary businesses will revolve around team based activities and environments and hence a hands-on experience of dealing with such a situation will definitely be fruitful for me, both in a personal as well professional perspective.

To sum up, on comprehending the varied backgrounds and social grooming of the different students that I have worked with, I have fully understood the extent of diversity in experiences and educational styles that could prove helpful in viewing problems from different perspectives and hence solve them more effectively. Thus, the judgment and experience of all participating students should be considered as the resultant synergistic productivity would without doubt be more superior to that of each of these students when considered on their own.