Interface Magazine - March

INTERFACE ."(";*/& 0' 5)& 3055&3%". 4$)00- 0' ."/"(&.&/5 &3"4.64 6/*7&34*5: t 70-6.& *446& t '&#36"3*

THE SMARTPHONE DISEASE

RECRUITMENT: 2 PERSPECTIVES MAC VS. WINDOWS: THE EVERLASTING BATTLE

TECHNOLOGY WITHOUT TECHNOLOGY

SOPA & ACTA:

THE CONSEQUENCES STAR IS RECRUITING: CHALLENGE YOURSELF!

CHEAP MINI-EXCHANGE: INTERNATIONAL WEEK

Š 2011 KPMG N.V., alle rechten voorbehouden.

W W W.G A A A N . N U

T I E N M I N U T E N V O O R D E P R E S E N TAT I E VA N E E N P R O P O S A L A A N D E C F O

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

4

CHANGE IS SCARY AND THE UNKNOWN FRIGHTENING. IN THIS DAY AND AGE OF TECHNOLOGY WE ARE CONSTANTLY PUSHING BOUNDARIES, EXPLORING NEW POSSIBILITIES AND CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO. FOR SOME OF US THIS IS EXCITING, INVIGORATING AND THE OVERALL DRIVE TO GO WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE, BUT OTHERS ARE INTIMIDATED AND FRIGHTENED. IT IS A SHAME THAT IT IS THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE CURRENTLY IN CHARGE AND TRYING TO STOP THIS FANTASTIC REVOLUTION WITH ACTS LIKE SOPA AND PIPA. THE POSSIBILITY TO EXCHANGE INFORMATION FREELY IN WHATEVER SHAPE OR FORM, BE IT MUSIC, BOOKS, MOVIES OR ANYTHING ELSE, IS WHAT MADE THIS CURRENT GENERATION HUNGRY FOR KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND DEVELOPMENT. IT IS HOW THIS GENERATION GREW UP AND GOT US WHERE WE ARE TODAY. text: THOMAS SNUVERINK

you did to apply the knowledge you gained and about how you maximized your student time by balancing study and extra-curricular activities. It is a shame that the university and government are trying to destroy this divers facet of student life by implementing plans like Nominaal = Normaal, where you are forced to finish your studies in 3 years in a way that looks a lot like a HBO system.

However, as is the case with SOPA and PIPA, change is a hard agent to stop once it has started. Whatever you try, be it a law against downloading or a plan against extracurricular development, a revolution, once set in motion, is unstoppable.

If I can give you one advice for your student time it would be this one: don’t waste it. Do not lie around on your couch and do nothing. There are so many things that you can pick up besides your books. Take up the challenge and become active in one of our fantastic committees.

Develop your personal skills, business skills and gain some practical knowledge on how management works. Be part of the next International Business Studies committee and get a taste of the consulting life. Organize the next Erasmus Recruitment Days, be responsible for the largest on-campus recruitment event in the Benelux and get into contact with the largest and most interesting corporations in the world. Or apply for a fulltime board position at STAR and find out yourself how it is to run an organization with 250 employees, 7000 members and a revenue of over €1.7 million.

Don’t be afraid of the unknown, embrace it and take up that challenge to develop yourself. This is your time, make the most of it!

Sincerely,

It is this same drive for self-development that has made STAR, the RSM but also the Erasmus University the fantastic organizations they are today. In today’s job market it is not about getting good grades anymore. It is about what

Thomas Snuverink Chairman XXXIVth Board

COLOPHON

5

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

Interface Magazine is published by STAR (Study Association Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University).

The editorial staff aims to promote the exchange of knowledge, experience and opinions among all those involved at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University.

Executive Producer Raymond Tsang-A-Sjoe Editor-in-Chief Bas Louwman Creative Director Hande Macit Editors Carina Solbach, Charif van Zetten Writers Bas Louwman, Carina Solbach, Charif van Zetten, Hande Macit, Kassandra de Jong, Philip Lazar Graphic design and production OCC dehoog, media partners www.occ-dehoog.nl Circulation 6.000 copies Mailing Four times a year to students, employees and alumni of Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University; once a year to students Economics and Business Administration across the Netherlands.

Advertising Daniel Gaspersz commercial@rsmstar.nl Address STAR Interface, RSM Erasmus University, P.O. Box 1738, Room T04-53, 3000 DR Rotterdam, E-mail: interface@rsmstar. nl (not for change of adress); Tel: (010) 408 2037; Fax: (010) 408 9023 Change of address To change your adress, go to www.rsmstar.nl/mystar

Copyright© March 2012, study association STAR No portion of the information in this magazine may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the editorial board. www. rsmstar.nl/interface

GOOGLE HID IT’S FAMOUS FOUR COLOUR LOGO UNDER A SHROUD, WIKIPEDIA WENT ‘DOWN’ FOR AN ENTIRE DAY, THE INCREASINGLY FAMOUS WEBPAGE 9GAG DARKENED IT’S WEBSITE AS WELL. ALL IN ALL MORE THEN A THOUSAND WEBSITES DID IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER SUPPORT THE PROTEST AGAINST A NUMBER OF LAWS THAT WILL RADICALLY CHANGE OUR INTERNET FREEDOM. text: BAS LOUWMAN

The first large website that started fighting against SOPA was Tumblr. On November 16th, 2011, they decided to let every single one of their members experience how the internet will be impacted by these kind of bills. As soon as they logged in to their account the socalled dashboard was ‘censored’. The first of many internet sites that showed their users how SOPA & ACTA will influence them. Several months later there still is a mass civic protest against these laws, but maybe we should start questioning ourselves. SOPA may not be a solution, but it might indeed be that ‘we have a problem’.

I will be the first to admit that SOPA is massively overreaching, by shutting

down websites that only have a minimum amount of copyrighted content on them you will practically shut down the internet. Websites like facebook, twitter, blogs, but even popular news websites will be impossible to maintain in these circumstances. It doesn’t only interfere with our freedom of speech, but it will also cut our primary source of information into pieces.

Yet I will also be the first to admit that online piracy is a problem. I may sound like a bit of a hypocrite; of course I download my fair share of music and movies, but I do more then often buy the physical copies of the movies and albums I really like.

Companies like the Music labels, movie producers and recording studios are caught in a very difficult position, between a rock and a hard place so to say. On one hand the internet offers them a incredible platform to search and promote talent, but on the other hand they lose profit every single day by people downloading instead of buying albums. If one leads to another, we will soon be out of downloadable albums and movies (or even games) – simply because there are no new releases.

Next time you finished listening, playing or watching something you downloaded, think. Think about whether you would like to watch that movie, play that game, or listen to that album in the future – if so, go out and buy it, if not, delete it.

Although reading this interface will show you that deleting it from your computer is definitely ‘broken’.

Kind regards, Bas Louwman

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

6

InterFacebook What do you do on the internet and how do you think SOPA/ $&7$ ZLOO LQĂ€XHQFH \RXU EHKDYLRXU"

Bas Louwman As any other person in modern society I use the internet basically every single hour. Whether it’s browsing on websites, FKHFNLQJ P\ H PDLO RU ZDWFKLQJ D PRYLH 7KLV FRQVWDQW ÀRZ of information keeps us up-to-date and provides us with knowledge.

I’m afraid of ACTA spoiling the diversity of this information source, censorship like North-Korea or China is only one step ahead.

Charif van Zetten Not a day goes by without me using the internet. I mainly use it for the purpose of communication through media as Skype, )DFHERRN *PDLO HWF )XUWKHUPRUH , ÂżQG WKH ZHE YHU\ XVHIXO for locating potential information about any possible topic you might think of.

I think that due to SOPA/ACTA I might not be able to listen to all the songs on youtube that I used to do.

Carina Solbach For me the internet means being connected. It allows me to talk to my family and friends wherever I am and it connects me to information that I can use for search and research...a universe of possibilities that is. It feels like these news pieces of legislation take away some of my freedom and I wonder why politicians focus more on disabling than on enabling communication and exchange.

7

Philip Lazar I think SOPA/ACTA would affect me the same it would affect most students: in media consumption and in public forum and social media activity. With freedom of expression being limited by the constant peril of potentially infringing on copyrights, both these activities would cease to be serious options. Due to this fundamental change in the way we view and consume information, SOPA/ACTA could make the internet a very boring and lackluster place.

Hande Macit Except for e-mailing and facebooking, what takes most of my time is watching movies and series online as well as listening to music. I am the type of person who can watch good movies over and over again, so I currently prefer downloading instead of just streaming online. I am against SOPA/ACTA, and with this law, I think that I would be way less up-to-date compared to now.

Kassandra de Jong Most stuff I do on the internet is probably checking my mailbox, listen to music (via Youtube), play some pretty stupid games and browse newssites (like nu.nl) if anything happend in the last few days. , GRQ¶W UHDOO\ WKLQN $&7$ ZLOO LQÀXHQFH P\ EHKRYLRXU EHFDXVH I don’t really download a lot of stuff. On the other hand I do think SOPA wil change it because I do have facebook and check it almost daily and that won’t be posible anymore.

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

INDEX

8

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

Recruitment

10 13

10

Recruitment: 2 perspectives

14

Dressing for an interview

34

Succesful Student Entrepreneurs

41

Networking for professionals

What to wear when going for that big job interview next week.

Why join an already existing company?

Build your own!

Things you should consider next time you go out networking.

Technology The smartphone disease The fear of getting disconnected from the world

20

SOPA & ACTA – What and how?

29

Technology without technology

33

E-shopping vs. In-store shopping

36

The everlasting battle

How drastically will these laws influence or lives?

Brand new electronical gadgets aren’t the only existing technology.

Shopping choice: from the comfort of your own home or out in the cold outside.

41

Two opinions on the performances of both Mac and Windows.

16

13

Recruitment from two entirely different points of view.

17 19

Columns Ethics Corner Charif van Zetten enlightens the story behind the utilitarian practices of the Commercial aviation industry.

This sentence is false Philip Lazar: This is why your wrong.

This is broken What happens when you delete a file?

9

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

34 15

Other How much is the walker worth for society?

Care of the elderly is getting more and more expensive.

27 28 31 39 40

Photopage A picture says more then a thousand words..

Randomness at it’s best The wonderful world of statistics Expanding your vocabulary

International week Let’s go on a cheap mini-exchange!

Netherlands Antilles after 10.10.10

Advertisers Index

What changes on these islands after 2010?

36 10

39

Scrabble

STAR IS RECRUITING Challenge yourself!

2 12 18 26 30 32 38 47 48

KPMG AkzoNobel NIBC PostNL Consultancy Castle Duisenberg Philips Achmea PwC

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

10

RECRUITMENT : TWO PERSPECTIVES

text: CARINA SOLBACH

WRITING AN ARTICLE ABOUT RECRUITMENT IS A CHALLENGE. WHEREAS OTHER TOPICS REQUIRE MANY HOURS OF INTENSE RESEARCH TO UNRAVEL PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN DETAILS THAT ARE WAITING TO BE SHARED, THE WORD ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF RECRUITMENT IS ALREADY OUT THERE FOR EVERYONE TO BE HEARD. FINDING THE RIGHT INFORMATION AND INSIGHT THAT IS WORTH SHARING IS THEREFORE STRONGLY DEPENDENT ON REFLECTING ON THE SUBJECT IN NEW WAYS.

11 PERSPECTIVE OF THE INDIVIDUAL- APPLICANT Many words have been said about the go’s and no go’s when presenting yourself to a company. The dress code has been thoroughly discussed, standard motivation letter templates can be found with ease online and interviews are a routine in every business communication course.

The real question however when reviewing recruitment from the perspective of the applicant is: how can you distinguish yourself from the rest?

It is easy to follow the given guidelines and yet following guidelines will only allow you to blend in with the mass.

Organizations usually receive thousands of job requests a day but only invite a handful of candidates for a ďŹ rst round of interviewing. Experience has told us that what is different catches the eye and arouses interest- a good starting point when you want someone to take a closer look at your resume. An example of an out-of-the-box cover letter could be to convert your motivational text into a wordcloud, in which words are increased in size in proportion to the times they have been mentioned. A perfect way to stress the central statement of your motivation letter, while raising the likelihood of attracting positive attention.

Something else that might do the trick is strategic highlighting.

This can either mean emphasizing the crucial message you want to convey or by introducing elements to your text that create positive reinforcement for choosing you.

The second important aspect of applying for a position is the YES interview. There are several details that are YES easily neglected when participating in an YES interview that have the power to make a difference: Be ware of the way you offer your hand in greeting! Be careful not to overpower your opposite by pushing your own hand too much over his or her hand, as this is a signal of dominance, which will not be appreciated. Offering your hand and exposing too much of your palm on the other hand can be interpreted as a sign of weakness, possibly acting in your disadvantage.

Consequently, a straight hand with the side of the index ďŹ nger pointing towards the ceiling is therefore your best option.

Dear XXX,

My name is CARINA SOLBACH and I would like to apply for the position advertised on your company website on 9 September for a summer internship in the HR department.

You believe in team work as the basis for company succes. Your fundament is the slogan ‚Nothing is impossible‘ because you value dedication and innovation as the essential pillars of your work. Your employees are your most valuable asset because they engage and business communication lives on human warmth and empathy.

I am a teamplayer with the ability to dedicate myself. I see every situation as a possibility to use my experiences, my senses and the interaction with my environment to & ( ' '$ 0 '# )( #" * " ( $#+ & # !#( #" " )! " "( & ( #" combined with professionality.

A company giving communication solutions to businesses, needs an effective and 0 "( "( &" #!!)" ( #" '-'( ! ! " * ) #& -#) #!$ "- )'

can utilize my international work experiences, my language and communication skills as well as my passion for people to foster company internal communication. Saatchi & Saatchi focuses on turning brands into lovemarks. During my stay in the company I would like to develop into a lovemark for the HR processes by integrating my personality and knowledge. I want to seize the opportunity to change and make a change.

Please let me know if there is any further information you require.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

Another point to consider is the sitting arrangement you will be confronted with. The angle in which you are facing your opposite as well as the affect of light can be of importance. It is wise to sit in a 90° angle towards is possible and to let allow the light to illuminate both your own face and that of your interviewer.

If the lights falls in your back, your face will be dark and your facial expressions might not be as visible. If the light falls in the back of your interviewer however, you might not be able to get the non-verbal feedback you need right away, which can create a feeling of insecurity.

As mentioned before, these are small aspects that are important to be aware of. Consciousness of your self and the image you want to convey are key ingredients of a successful interview.

THE ORGANIZATION- RECRUITER The times they are a changing. This is probably the most ďŹ tting way to describe the current reality organizations are facing when it comes to recruitment. When our parents were soliciting for a job, recruitment from an organizational perspective was still limited to newspaper advertisements and vitamin B. While the latter still proves to be potent in current times, recruitment is following the technology trend and is moving online.

LinkedIn is undoubtedly the most prominent of many online platforms. Facebook and other social network sites however are also getting their fair share of attention and offer the possibility to understand the needs of potential employees as well as strengthen the brand image. The two advantages that are convincing organizations to re-shift their focus are the availability of personal information that makes it easy for ďŹ rms to target and contact individuals, as well as the decrease in expenditure. Personal employee information was the formerly best-guarded secret in any industry. If no one knew how to contact your employees, no one would be able to lure them away from your company with the promise of a bigger and brighter future next door. Nowadays, information is publicly available, making headhunters obsolete and HR departments worry about employee engagement and retention more than ever. Furthermore, the investment required for online processes is around one tenth of the expenditure related to recruitment via print-media, thus drastically decreasing the ďŹ nancial burden of recruitment.

Next to this trend, more focus is placed on social recruiting events in cooperation with educational institutions. The Erasmus Recruitment Days that took place in the middle of February are the best example of the need for companies to make a lasting impression in a more personal way to distinguish themselves from their competitors. Company presentations or workshops allow potential employees to get a taste of the atmosphere and working ideology awaiting them and therefore encourage a natural selection processes.

XXX

Despite these trends, many business students show nothing more than contempt or arrogance towards recruitment as a profession.

Thoughts such as: “Recruitment might be important but it won’t be the center of attention for me in my job.� These judgments however are far fetched. Securing talent will be a prominent aspect of any managers working reality! Q

AkzoNobel Masterclass 2012 Discover the company whose values match yours

AkzoNobel’s annual Masterclass introduces you to the company that respects your values and encourages your ambitions. During two full days you’ll experience a dynamic and international environment where the search for sustainable answers is paramount. And you’ll be challenged to combine sustainability and profitability within a real life business case.

When: May 14 & 15, 2012 For: Masters students approaching graduation Please visit www.akzonobel.nl/masterclass for more information and to apply online. But be quick – the deadline for registration is March 25, 2012.

13

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

-* 2&795-43*

.8*&8* IT’S A NORMAL MONDAY MORNING AND I AM WAITING AT ZUIDPLEIN TO TAKE THE METRO TO GO TO CLASS. I FIND THE FIRST EMPTY SEAT, SIT DOWN AND QUICKLY CONTINUE MY CONVERSATIONS IN WHATSAPP FOR IT HAS VIBRATED ALREADY SEVERAL TIMES WITHIN THE LAST MINUTE. IN FRONT OF ME THERE IS AN OLD MAN, HE SEEMS TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH A RANDOM GUY HE JUST MET. ACCIDENTALLY, I CATCH SOME WORDS OF WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE OLD MAN’S PLEA AND HE GOT MY ATTENTION. FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE I CEASE CHATTING ON MY IPHONE AND LISTEN TO WHAT THE MAN HAS TO SAY. text: CHARIF VAN ZETTEN

I bet most of you would identify with the following image: you are in the tram, metro or simply walking on the street, from time to time looking up from your smartphone, either to stretch your neck or just to make sure not to walk into a fellow addict. The break is never long because you can’t permit being disconnected for more than a second or your friends will start worrying what happened and the next moment you ďŹ nd yourself diving back into the digital world.

Whether it be Whatsapp, Facebook, Ping, Twitter, Google+, 9GAG or any other digital form of communication or entertainment, the idea behind the high-end smartphone is that it connects the world. If you don’t keep up with the rapid

technological developments you risk becoming disconnected from the world or your friends. The new Hi commercial “friends are never shut off� also known as “Vrienden staan nooit uit� demonstrates a perfect example. However, after hearing the old man’s arguments I am doubting whether such technology truly connects the world. On the contrary, rather contemporary technology disconnects societies and causes people to become imprisoned in their digital world.

Nowadays, our lives revolve around technology and a majority of us has become heavily dependent on their technological devices. Starting with television and games and ending with mp3 and smartphones. They seem to absorb all our attention. When I occasionally look up from my own smartphone and look around, there are only few people that are not stuck to their phones. Nobody seems to care. I am sure you know what I am talking about. At ďŹ rst sight it does not look like a serious issue, but in fact society has grown much more distant and individual. There is no room for any kind of spontaneous interaction between people anymore. No room for a nice chat with a stranger not even with a friend sitting next to you because everyone is busy with their own smartphone. Maybe, if you are lucky you get a simple “excuse meâ€? or “I am sorryâ€? out of someone that just bumped into you while checking his Ping messages, but that is the only conversation you will get.

Do not misunderstand me here, technology has enabled many things and it has made global communication signiďŹ cantly easier. I only have to think of all the long distance relationships it has saved by making communication possible and all those families living separated that are proďŹ ting a great deal not to mention all the business opportunities it has created.

But, be aware of the sacriďŹ ces and try to protect yourself from the Smartphone Disease, you might actually learn a lesson for life from that strange old man that is sitting next to you in the train. Q

14

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

'UHVVLQJ IRU DQ LQWHUYLHZ IT’S YOUR BIG DAY TODAY, YOU ARE ABOUT TO LEAVE YOUR HOUSE FOR THE INTERVIEW OF YOUR DREAM INTERNSHIP/ JOB … ARE YOU WEARING JEANS AND A T-SHIRT OR A SUIT? YES, WE ALL KNOW THAT YOU SHOULD BE WEARING FORMAL WHEN GOING TO AN INTERVIEW, BUT WHAT IS THE LEVEL OF FORMALITY? WHEN DO YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE OVER-ORUNDERDRESSED? WEARING SUIT IS A WELL-KNOWN PHENOMENON, BUT WHAT ABOUT JEWELRY OR PERFUME? text: HANDE MACIT

SO, HERE ARE SOME TIPS FOR YOU ON WHAT TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHEN DRESSING UP FOR AN INTERVIEW:

:RPHQ 0HQ

SKIRTS VS. SLACKS What’s very important during an

interview is your own comfort; you don’t want to be readjusting yourself and even distract the interviewer by doing it. Skirts might be dangerous in terms of comfort, however if the length is appropriate and comfortable enough, my choice would be first skirts then slacks.

HEELS Even though I am a big fan of killer high heels, what is acknowledged as more professional within the business industry is apparing to be low heels. Also of course always make sure that your shoes of choice are clean!

JEWELRY Jewelry can be an effective way of showing your style and difference, however the level is important. Firstly, definetely avoid flashy colors- you would like interviewer to look at you, not your jewelry. Also, keep the amount of jewelry to a minimum for the same reason. Thus, I would advise you to choose classy and simple pieces.

At last, make sure that you don’t exaggerate the amount of perfume and your hairstyle!

Since you all already know, the first rule is to make sure you ARE wearing a tie. The color should be either black, dark grey or dark blue, since you are probably (or hopefully) wearing a solid color suit.

Also go with dark colored socks – avoid flashy colors- and definetely avoid wearing irrelevant shoes. Leather shoes are voted to be the most preferred ones, and they look great with suits, so I would say go with leather shoes.

It is advised that you put your watch in your pocket right before entering the interview, so that you make sure you don’t look at it during the interview.

Last and the most important point is your belt and shoes. Make sure that they match! This point is the most important one, since your belt and shoes are the biggest facts of determining your understanding of style. So make sure that they match.

WHO WEARS WHAT? Who: An IBA 2nd year Last Interview: January Kind of company: Research Wearing: Antracıte skirt just above the knees, tights, striped shirt, blazer, How did you prepare for the interview? “I actually ironed my clothes before going to the interview (I usually never do)” Biggest blooper during an interview: “Being half an hour late because I couldn’t find the address.”

Who: Master Supply Chain Management Student Last Interview: February Kind of company: Banking Wearing: Dark navy suit,white shirt, burgundy tie, black shoes mathcing belt, dark blue socks How did you prepare for the interview?

“I ironed my shirt one day in advance, polished my shoes and made sure my suit was clean” Your biggest blooper during an interview: “That of course never happened”

15

IN THIS COUNTRY WE HAVE A MAJOR DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE EXPLODING COSTS OF HEALTH CARE. THE BUDGET IS GROWING RAPIDLY WITH HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS EACH YEAR. AND THERE SEEMS TO BE NO END TO THIS GROWTH. TO BE EVEN MORE RADICAL, IT IS ONE OF FASTEST GROWING INDUSTRIES IN THE NETHERLANDS. text: KASSANDRA DE JONG

But not all these costs are relevant to society. Every year tens of millions of Euro’s are spend only to sponsor the capital of individuals.

First there is the absurd story about ‘the walker’. Every year they are sold by thousands and eldery get a refund in about 98% of the cases. All they need is to be a bit feeble, have pain in their leg, a foot or another part of their body and, very important, need the walker for more than six months.

These are quite easy conditions to get the walker granted by your insurance. Now, such an instrument isn’t that expensive, you can buy one from approximately 120. But a more sophisticated walker (with turbo booster for example) can cost €700. They are of course very useful but they also have a large disadvantage as the minister of Healthcare explained in 2008. “I do understand that a rollator is useful; my own mother has one. However she was once knocked over by the wind, with walker and all and broke her wrist!”

A sad story.

The Elder people’s Liberation Front has fought some tuff battles over keeping the walker within the Health Insurance and for the main part with succes. With a growing amount of elderly people in the Netherlands

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

no politician dares to take away any of their so called fundamental rights. It does not matter if these same people bought a hybride or electric bicycle, for about 1200 euros half a year before they decided to want a walker. A sample survey indicated that many of these elderly people see no problem in buying such a bike but demand a walker at the cost of society or the insurance companies (which in the end means a sponsoring by society).

Now to make things worse. After a walker has been used for (more then 6) months, it completely looses its value.

There is no market at all for second hand walkers. Because no patient want to have an second hand walker, it has to be brand new! If you once visited an elderly home, you can see the debris of old walkers (and other instruments). They will be destroyed or send to Roumenia. It is a shame that these instruments are not recycled for our own people. The whole productions of walkers the last decennium is more then enough to support all our elderly people with walking problems. To put it bluntly: the walker lives longer then the patient itself. Who benefits from this situation. The old people: they want their new rollator. Their heirs: their heritage is not burdened by these expenditures from their parents, the industry: new customers every day, The insurance companies: a reason to highten the contribution, the politicians: we are so good to elderly people. Society in all only has to pay for this luxury.

Next time ‘elderly homes and their own contribution.’ Anohter example of idiotic spending in health care. Q

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

16

THE ETHICS CORNER UGLY AIRLINES

ENLIGHTENING THE STORY BEHIND THE UTILITARIAN PRACTICES OF THE COMMERCIAL AVIATION INDUSTRY IS CHARIF VAN ZETTEN text: CHARIF VAN ZETTEN

Your dream job, junior strategy consultant at McKinsey. You just graduated and you have managed to get a job interview in Chicago. It is the perfect opportunity and you have prepared it right into every single detail. You arrive at Schiphol to take your flight to Chicago and you are already thinking of all the possible questions the HR manager could potentially come up with.

Then suddenly you are roughly wakened from your dream. At the check-in it seems that your airplane is having troubles. They tell you that due to bad maintenance the aircraft revealed some major defects and it has to be taken out of operation.

Conclusion: flight cancelled, no interview and your dream scattered to pieces.

You wouldn’t be the first person to experience such an event, it can happen to everyone and insufficient maintenance is only one of the many reasons for airplane failures and cancelled flights.

You might even consider yourself lucky with a cancelled flight. Imagine they would have taken off with that airplane, only to see yourself the next moment in an episode of Air Crash Investigation on National Geographic. Recent reports tell us that inadequate maintenance is encountered more often and it seems to be a trend in commercial aviation. But how important is maintenance in the end if you can save costs and lower ticket prices with an additional five euro?

Another reason for the increase in involuntary denied boarding is the phenomenon of overbooking.

Basically, if an airplane can carry 150 people for a single flight, a 170 seats are being sold. Of course that sounds logical right? There is a big chance 20 of those will not show up, airlines earn more money per flight and at least all capacity is used.

Except from that one time where 20 people with the chance of their life or a dying family member waiting for them at the other side of the globe do show up and are denied boarding. But who cares about them if it cheapens your ticket with 3 euro, right?

Several governmental committees have been established to safeguard passenger rights including a european law adjudging compensation.

However, even now airlines seem to be able to play the system causing more frustration among victims of commercial aviation crimes. In order to successfully claim your compensation you need to have quite some knowledge of the legal system and a huge dose of persistence. For the record, I received my compensation after 15 months of negotiating.

Not only passengers are being exploited. In a recent article it was stated that pilots from companies in the Netherlands from now on will have to fly eleven hours straight as a maximum.

Scientific research, however, has indicated that ten hours is the absolute maximum for a pilot to be on duty. After that limit the risk of fatal fatigue effects becomes too dangerous. But again, who cares about exhausted pilots if it saves even more costs?

The list of utilitarian practices by commercial airlines is inexhaustible and ensuring passenger safety is no longer their primary concern.

Nowadays the major issue is to save costs, the cheaper the better. Every single option is being considered. Ryanair, for instance, tried to implement standing places for people on a flight to be able to carry more persons and save costs by decreasing the amount of seats in an airplane. Unfortunately, the government blocked the proposal preventing Ryanair tickets to drop in price even more. You can see that the extent to which costs are being minimized is taking on unacceptable proportions and a line has to be drawn. As long as carriers in commercial aviation industry do not change their business strategies I would suggest you to reconsider your choice for ugly airlines. It could mean the difference between being that junior strategy consultant or being stranded on an airport, dreaming of what could have been. Q

17

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

This sentence is false. text: PHILIP LAZAR

I may be a rather bitter young man, but I cannot stand the type of shallow and popularized optimism that seems to be making rounds lately. I am all in favor of constructiveness, of doing something with your life, of trying your best to reach your goals. But some random quote on the ‘value of life’ or how I should ‘make everything count’ won’t help me with that. Actually doing some work, setting up plans, or contacting people may be a good option here; some catchphrase labeled as ‘wisdom’ will not. Instead of trying to inspire, how about minding your own business and actually doing something productive?

Allow me to extend my qualms a bit further here. This is, after all, a “rant column” of sorts, which basically gives me a license to say whatever I want, as long as it is in a reasonably diplomatic and editorially responsible way.

The type of needlessly sugar-coated flows of meaningless rhetoric I mentioned above has also formed the basis for many student-led organizations. There are dozens of these types of rag-tag groups at RSM, with the vast majority of them either failing to get any attention or simply giving up after some time.

These collections of individuals often try to portray their organization as being some kind of melting pot of professionals, offering all sorts of wonderful opportunities, but – let’s be honest here – all you do is set up parties. Now, that’s A-OK in my book. I’ll be the first to admit that some of these parties have been extremely fun and well-organized.

But let’s call a spade a spade. The idea of being a ‘CEO’ or ‘founder’ might be glamorously attractive, but in reality you’re setting up student parties; a noble goal, but stop pretending you’re organizing some sort of career fair. Your parties aren’t meant for setting up business plans, they’re designed to get drunk and gloatingly post pictures of the night on Facebook the day after.

One of the saddest things about all of this is that many employers, as well as intra-RSM institutions, actually seem to strongly value these types of ventures. Without trying to underestimate the value of the experience of entrepreneurship, or generalizing the above to all student-led

organizations, doing something that has been done before dozens of times would seem to be rather redundant.

With every day that passes, I start to feel as if more and more of what one learns in ‘business school’ is to simply know when and how to use the right buzzwords. Sure, there’s technical skill involved in many business-related fields, but it is difficult to avoid being convinced that the increasing demands on ‘soft skills’ simply mean that what gets you the deal is whether you’re able to flash a killer smile, be an expert in talking about the weather, and know how to convince others that “synergy” is the missing ingredient in your organization. From ironically shared Facebook posts on individualism to tried-and-tested club nights under the guise of professionalism to office catchphrases and nepotism, empty rhetoric is everywhere. Even more depressingly, it works. Aside from the violence, perhaps Patrick Bateman is a good role-model after all. Q

At NIBC, entrepreneurial bankers start at the deep end As a trainee banker at NIBC, you also have a daily job. Your assignments and responsibilities start from day one. And you’ll have the chance to specialise, in for example mergers and acquisitions. You and your fellow analysts will follow our incompany training programme at the Amsterdam Institute of Finance, led by professors from international business schools.

A flying start at the bank that thinks and acts like entrepreneurs. For more information, visit www.careeratnibc.com.

19

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

This is Broken THIS IS BROKEN IS A HOMAGE TO SETH GODIN. ALWAYS WITTY AND ON TOP OF THE GAME, HE HAS GATHERED TEXTS, PICTURES AND ALL KINDS OF OTHER EVIDENCE TO POINT TOWARDS THOSE CURIOSITIES IN LIFE THAT JUST DON’T SEEM TO MAKE SENSE… THAT ARE SIMPLY BROKEN. TO GIVE YOU A BETTER IDEA, LET’S TAKE THE FOLLOWING EXAMPLE: PICTURE A BOTTLE OF PAIN MEDICATION FOR ANIMALS ALARMING THE USER TO BE AWARE OF THE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES THE PILLS CAN HAVE ON ONE’S ABILITY TO DRIVE….NOW I AM SURE YOU ALL GET MY POINT. text: CARINA SOLBACH

After having taken advantage of the magazine’s first issue to contemplate the ambiguous messages of business school rankings, I now turn to the mysterious dynamics of computers and the internet when confronted with the simple order: delete this file.

I am not going to examine all the nittygritty details of electronic components or online processes, simply because my knowledge and space for that are limited. So much is sure however: computer hardware and internet are a rather unforgiving universe.

It starts with the fact that when you delete a file on your hardware that you are not actually deleting the file. What you are doing is deleting the entry from the file index. Your shameful picture or other unwanted memory thus seems to be gone, yet it is still stored until you begin to overwrite it with new data.

Ironically, this is also what saves you when you have accidently deleted the 15 page report you needed to hand in tomorrow and are frantically calling one of your more skilled male friends (yes, I am afraid I do have to tap into that prejudice at this point) to recover your masterpiece.

Storing files online follows roughly the same principle.

Take Facebook as an example. Pictures and information are uploaded in the blink of an eye; the responsibility and control of content, both literary and visual, however is easily lost. Although Facebook claims to store data backups for ‘only’ 16 months, it seems their understanding of time is expandable.

In an interview with ARS Technica, an organization offering IT related news, reviews and analysis, Facebook spokesperson Simon Axton confessed that it is possible for anyone that has previously accessed the photo and has saved the URL directly from Facebook’s content delivery network partner, is able to view it This is Broken.

.. even years

after deletion!

Unfortunately, I cannot present a well thought through solution that is grounded in the right amount of technical know how at this point. ugg g esting n Nevertheless, what I am suggesting ness and and is an extra portion of awareness maybe even skepticism towards the current degree of

public display of personal information.

A carelessly uploaded party picture might just be comparable to the tweety bird tattoo you got on your arm in a drunken state, and the later can be much more easily be removedpermanently.

An additional ‘This is Broken’ factor is the fact that during my research for this article I was always directed to websites with the attractive title: what happens to your online-stored information after you die?...Ever heard of a digital will?

It seems therefore that your social network will even accompany you in your afterlife. ‘I like’? Q Whenever you encounter something of which you think, “This is Broken’”, please send a picture or a short note to interface@rsmstar.nl and I’ll be sure to dig deeper into the subject. Oh and one more thing: This is Broken is not a free ticket to complaining about the absurdities of life, but an invitation to take action when you notice something worth changing!

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

20

text: BAS LOUWMAN

If you haven’t heard about SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act), ACTA or PIPA yet, you must have been living under a rock for the last weeks.

It reached the frontpage of every newspaper worldwide. The stories of demonstrations against these American and European laws have been on every single news program. But no worries, basically it is all about protecting copyright. At some point Wikipedia and many other popular websites went down for one day (‘the SOPA black-out’) to show their dissatisfaction.

The main question: why? This bill allows governments to shut down websites because they are suspected of distributing copyright related materials. These blockades are arranged via our own gateways to the internet, the internet providers.

It is not entirely new though, internet providers are already obliged to block websites under certain circumstances. Though this was only for websites that were hosted under their own ‘domains’. Now internet providers should start blocking sides where they have no control over what so ever, even websites that are hosted in a different country.

One of the downsides is that a lot of content that isn’t illegal will be blocked as well. Both providers and customers can simply not circumnavigate this phenomenon. Parties that, unknowingly, cooperated in distributing these illegal files can face charges as well.

The latter could be sites like Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia or even Paypal.

If these bills pass they will be forced to filter their searches or change their content.

The above is mostly about SOPA, but also ACTA (Anti-counterfeiting Trade Agreement) will have its consequences. It actually already had its impact. On January 11th 2012 the court of the Hague has made a statement on behalf of piracy opposer ‘Brein’, this statement made both XS4ALL and Ziggo shut down three internet addresses and 24 domains permanently. Of course a lot of legal files were deleted as well, but neither the internet providers nor the customers could do anything about it.

This list is endless; they can add IP-addresses and domain names on a daily basis. People who cooperate in these websites or violate copyright themselves can face charges from now on. Unfortunately: ACTA is already reality. Q

21

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

text: PHILIP LAZAR

Though SOPA and ACTA share inherently different roots and have somewhat different overall goals, their consequences on internet users are relatively comparable. ACTA expands internet legislation to overall patent laws, which is a very important issue, but since this article is mostly about technological impacts, that point will be overlooked for now. Having said that, here are some of the most important regulatory issues that will affect internet users, especially students, if these propositions would be successful: s 3ITES PROVIDING USER BASED CONTENT WOULD BE REQUIRED TO REMOVE SAID CONTENT if it would infringe copyrights. In other words, once a site that is primarily user-driven, such as community-based website Reddit or a social-mediadriven platform like Facebook, would be used to post copyrighted content by any of its users, this could potentially mean not only a ban on that particular user, but also on the site as a whole. Considering the amount of copyrighted material uploaded to these types of sites (e.g. Youtube videos), the results could be disastrous. s 0RIVACY ISSUES WOULD BE COMPLETELY @IN THE OPEN SO TO SPEAK NOT ONLY would there be a constant monitoring of user-content-based websites, there would also be the potential for invasive searching of personal computers and networks. ISPs would furthermore be forced to constantly keep an eye on their own servers, to discover potentially copyright-inicting materials.

Because legislation is not entirely clear on this, to what extent monitoring will be put into practice is unclear. Needless to say, users’ personal privacy is in serious peril. s -ANY POPULAR FREEWARE SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS WILL BECOME OBSOLETE 3/0! and ACTA would create legislation that inherently opposes a culture of free software distribution. Even more inuentially, the propositions would be able to effectively ban any type of software that can be used to access copyrighted content. File sharing will be made impossible, simply because ďŹ le sharing programs can also be used to exchange copyrighted works. In extension, the restriction of certain protocol usage would severely endanger the principle of net neutrality. This would seriously hinder development of innovative and new applications, as well as limit the existing functionality of many software packages. s )NTERNET ACTIVITIES WILL BECOME A CONSTANT SOURCE OF DANGER TO SOME EXTENT

with every piece of information shared or received being a potentially valid cause for legal punishment. The United States has already successfully sued a number of individual users of ďŹ le-sharing applications under previous legislation (mostly through ‘content maďŹ a’ organizations such as RIAA or MPAA); SOPA and ACTA propositions would only extend such possibilities, creating a type of internet where one must be more cautious than ever.

With a legion of sites, including Wikipedia, having already organized an antiSOPA blackout (on January 18-19), it is obvious that much is at stake. The above consequences are just the tip of the iceberg; indeed, the SOPA and ACTA propositions would seriously endanger the continued existence and development of the internet. While the former has been temporarily ‘stopped’, the latter may come into actual use soon. How our online daily lives will be affected is unsure, but that they will be affected seems certain. Q

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

22

SO WHAT ABOUT A FULL TIME PROJECT? More information? Check out rsmstar.nl/recruitment

STAR Board

International Business Study

Erasmus Recruitment Days

August 1, 2012 – August 1, 2013

August 1, 2012 – October 1, 2013

Augustus 1, 2012 – March 1, 2013

12 months fulltime

4 months fulltime, 10 months parttime

7 months fulltime

Financial compensation

Financial compensation

Financial compensation

9 people in the board

6 people in the committee, about 20 consultants

7 people in the committee

Responsibilities:

Responsibilities:

7000 members, 280 active members and €1.8 million revenue.

20 consultants, research assignments, acquisition phase, organizing the trip abroad

2 week event, 100 companies, 2300 students. Bringing students and companies together.

Biggest challenge:

Biggest challenge:

Keep the organization running while spending time on the strategy and policy of STAR

Motivate the team and acquire contracts enabling you to go abroad and conduct research.

ɼ±8 Fb bo¼´U

ɼ±8 Fb bo¼´U

Access to exclusive events, diversity of work , board responsibilities

Improve commercial skills, manage a team, conduct research and go abroad.

Responsibilities:

Why STAR? STAR is the study association of the Rotterdam School of Management. STAR is the largest, most professional and active study association of Europe. We provide academic services, recruitment activities, research projects, social activities, community development projects and many more!

Maybe you know us from the BA or IBA Introduction Days, the booksale or the STAR parties. Maybe you joined the Ski Trip, Race of the Classics, STAR Management Week or a Master Study Club. Together with our active members, STAR organi-

zes about 53 projects during the year for both Bachelor and Master students. Every Wednesday night we have a drink with our active members in Villa Kakelbont. Highlights of the year as an active member are the annual soccer tournament, Christmas dinner, prom, and the Active Members Weekend. At STAR we value social activities and getting to know the people we work with!

Biggest challenge: Bring students and companies together in a successful and professional way

ɼ±8 Fb bo¼´U Cover the campus in the style of your project, extensive knowledge of participating companies.

Next to the functional and social part, personal development is very important.

Several trainings are offered during the year. If you have a position in a fulltime committee, you will be offered a more extensive training track which will be of value in the future but also during the year with your committee/board. Q

Biggest misunderstanding about STAR: You need to be active within STAR to qualify for one of these positions. NO! Prior experience is not required for Board, ERD or IBS! We are looking for enthusiasm and ambition.

23

INTERVIEW MILOU What will you remember in 40 years?

The most important thing I will remember are the eight incredibly amazing board members I got to work with. They became my best friends, everybody respects each other deeply and cares for the group as a whole. Right after that I will remember the awesome parties we got invited for, the trips, the things I achieved during my board year, the companies, the active members, Wednesday nights at the Villa, the constitution drink, the dinners at the office, the inside jokes and much more. Hopefully we can reminisce this together in 40 years!

What were you most afraid of?

To supervise a committee which I didn’t know too much about when I started. Having to support the committee and guide the process without knowing the ins and outs of a project, but still being able to be a good supervisor. This was actually also a great learning experience, because I will probably have a similar experience in my future career. This year things worked out great actually with the help of my fellow board members, my predecessor and of course the current members of committees.

What is the most important lesson learned?

To value each and every moment and seize every opportunity.

It’s crazy how fast time passes by. In a year like this there are so many new impressions, great moments and unique experiences. In the rush of the moment it’s easy to keep on working, think about what you have to do the day after and so on. I want to enjoy each moment because I think I will never have a year again in which I have so many diverse and amazing experiences.

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

Milou Hoouutman, PPrroojjeecct Manager S TAR Board

What is the most interesting person you got to meet?

The most interesting person I got to meet was Richard Branson.

The founder of Virgin came to Rotterdam with NOVA’s CollegeTour and STAR had the honour of selecting people to go there and actually ask whatever you wanted to Richard Branson himself. I got to sit about 3 meters away from him, it was awesome!

What is the craziest moment of this past year?

Playing ‘Wie is de Mol’ (from the TV Show) throughout Amsterdam at a day organized by Deloitte for board members of student/ study organizations. We had several assignments throughout the city and in each team there was one ‘mole’, the bad guy who had to prevent us from fulfilling the assignments right. The second craziest thing was the night after I heard I would become a STAR board member. It was a very memorable first night together.

What would you like to say to your successor?

Don’t underestimate the power of your board. With the nine of you, you can actually take on the world. Appreciate each other’s qualities, and the differences between people. The diversity is what makes you strong. I didn’t think about this that much before I applied, but it truly feels like that. Besides that, get your hands on the projects you feel passionate about. This can be linked to your function or something totally different, but it’s important to do the things you love. Last, but certainly not least: make sure you keep spending enough quality time with your friends and family during your board year!

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

24

kker, Bakk Guuiido Ba maan IBS 2011 irm CChhaair

INTERVIEW GUIDO

What will you remember in 40 years?

Probably, of course, the trip to the Republic of Korea which is the cherry on the cake. As a group we have been working towards this for the entire year. It was a lot of joint effort as well as a lot of fun. The hard work, organizing weekends away, having dinners and various parties with the group all made it a wonderful year, which I will not forget.

What were you most afraid of?

The most scary thing is not being able to make the trip eventually. The moment where you have the “Go” decision, is therefore extremely important. But with a combined effort this will always work out fine, so do not worry too much about it!

What is the most important lesson learned?

There is no ‘most important lesson’ in this sense, in my opinion. I have learned to maintain an overview of a massive project while not losing track of social factors. Furthermore, it is a perfect project to get into contact with companies you do not get the chance to go to during your normal studies. You get insights in various SMEs and large companies and you actually allows you to improve their status quo.

What is the most interesting person you got to meet?

During IBS I got to meet a lot of interesting people. I got into contact with Jan Peter Balkenende, various managers at Samsung, AkzoNobel and important business men in the Republic of Korea.

Furthermore IBS provides you with contacts in the embassy as well. I hope to get the chance to meet some more interesting people during my trip to Korea though!

What is the craziest moment of this past year?

Our weekend away in Antwerp! This weekend was insane, we partied a lot and had some day activities which provided us to get to know each other better. A weekend full of laughter, joy and booze.

Although we are not done yet, I am sure we will have some more crazy events and moments throughout the rest of the year.

What would you like to say to your successor?

IBS is a wonderful project in which you can really put your own twist. You get the chance to manage your own consultancy company and all the fun (and sometimes hard) things that are attached to that. It brings you much more than only studying the books you get during your studies. It is a serious but in the same time very social and diverse project. Be a part of this and apply for it next year! Q

25

INTERVIEW MARJOLIJN What will you remember in 40 years?

In 40 years time I will almost retire! However, I am sure to remember many things about the past months. Highlights include celebrating our all-time record of subscriptions on January 11, placing the green and blue building blocks around the campus, the proud faces of my parents when we were on stage during our Grand Opening, and seeing students walking around with “our bag”. Besides that, I will definitely think back of the freedom that we had organizing the event. We could innovate and come up with new ideas anytime, this is something I really appreciated.

What were you most afraid of?

I was always confident that we were going to organize the best Erasmus Recruitment Days in history, because of the strong team we formed. I have had only one fear: life after the ERD. I am afraid to go back into my books, because I know I will like it a lot less. I booked a trip to South-America in March, so that I can get energized for the final months of this academic year..

What is the most important lesson learned?

The reason for me to apply for the Erasmus Recruitment Days was that I wanted to be challenged in every possible way. Now, one year later, I can say that I have learned many valuable lessons.

On a personal level, I learned to divide my time efficiently among several projects as well as my friends and family. Besides that, I learned that with a good team and limitless enthusiasm, everything is possible!

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

Mar arj rjo jol olijijn jn de Haas, s, EEd diito ttor orr-in -in-CChiieff & Commisssi s onner er ooff IT ERD R 2 200112

What is the most interesting person you got to meet?

To be honest, I cannot name one specific person. What I liked most was to meet students at our stand during the promotion period, and then to see them again during the event at the daily drink or lunch. Meeting new people was definitely one of the things that I enjoyed the most during the ERD.

What is the craziest moment of this past year?

I was responsible for the ERD-book, so when I was holding it for the first time I went crazy! It was amazing to see that it was exactly as I pictured it to be when I first heard that I was going to be the Editor-in-Chief. Another crazy moment was our moment on stage during the Grand Opening. There was an all-time record of 700 people there, and it was an amazing kick-start of our event.

What would you like to say to your successor?

The Erasmus Recruitment Days committee will challenge you constantly to perform at your very best. Grab every opportunity that comes along, and make sure to think creatively because it is important to stay ahead of competitors. You will have a lot of freedom to decide what direction to go. The sky is the limit, so make use of that! Last but not least, do not underestimate the size of the event – 2 weeks, 100 companies, 2300 students.Q

Is onze nieuwe naam jouw nieuwe uitdaging?

YEP!

Het Young Executive Programme van PostNL We hebben een nieuwe naam. Maar de overgang van TNT Post naar PostNL is meer dan een naamswijziging. We bouwen aan een nieuwe organisatie met een slimmer logistiek proces en een nieuwe visie op werk. Én een organisatie waarin we de digitale wereld omarmen. Hoe? We gaan groot inzetten op post, pakketten en e-commerce en worden zo de onmisbare schakel tussen de fysieke en de digitale wereld. Ga jij ons daarbij helpen?

Kijk voor meer informatie op vacaturesbijpostnl.nl

27

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

Photopage

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

28

[RANDOMNESS] * AT ---------------------s It best text: CHARIF VAN ZETTEN

Imagine a case in which each writer would decide whether to write his or her articles based on statistical inference. This decision would be the result of a so-called hypothesis test, calculating the amount of readers that will like the article assuming a standard normal distribution is in effect and given the confidence interval estimator of the proportion p. We simply take a random sample of n=130 from the whole population of readers and divide the number of likes by n, which gives us p. Additionally, we determine a confidence level of 95% and a 5% significance level, adding and subtracting Zalpha/2 times the square root of ((p(1-P))/n) to and from p. Hmm sounds great doesn’t it…?

Obviously our writers are not going to do that, before you would have finally acquired all the relevant information for the calculations you could have written a dozen pieces. You might wonder what the use of this wonderful piece of statistical art is, how accurate it actually is and maybe if it should exist at all. In fact, applications of methods such as the one that has just been demonstrated to you are rooted into the deepest foundations of our society. Take for example the historical USA elections between George W. Bush and Al Gore, both were announced a loser and both a winner by news stations like Fox news, what went wrong? Probably some probability error resulting in a major statistical failure, or simply high jacked elections. Remember that funny Heineken commercial from yesterday during the football match? It was only there because of the beer company’s statisticians that calculated it as a profitable marketing solution. Statistics is everywhere around us, even inside us genetics just us. Let us take genetics, another synonym of statistics, my dad has blue eyes and my mother dark ones, mine are dark too.

Conclusion, 50% chance I pass on a gene for blue eyes and 50% for the dark one. There is just one question in my head, what happened to randomness??

All this statistical knowledge and

its applications provide a useful tool in many cases but it has grown to our heads. We literally try to predict everything, making us too confident in our probabilistic models and allowing us to put too much trust in our systems. Let me remind you of the current turmoil in the Arab world, inflicted by an innocent student setting himself on fire and what about the previous financial crisis followed by the Euro crisis, we didn’t see that coming did we? They are just two recent cases showing the serious impact a random, entirely unpredictable, event can have on our daily lives.

Therefore, we should not be blinded by the persuasive power of numbers, but recognize much more significant phenomena such as explained by Black Swan and The Butterfly Effect, of which the latter beautifully quotes: “It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly’s wing can ultimately cause a tornado halfway around the globe”- Chaos Theory Q

29

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

How eco-entrepreneurship can make the difference

FIRST AND FOREMOST THIS IS NOT ANOTHER ARTICLE ABOUT CSR AND ITS PROS AND CONS. INSTEAD, IT IS A STORY ABOUT DISCOVERY AND OPPORTUNITY. I STUMBLED UPON IT WHEN BROWSING THROUGH MY FACEBOOK NEWSFEED LAST YEAR AND IT HASN’T FAILED TO INSPIRE ME EVER SINCE. text: CARINA SOLBACH

Imagine yourself sitting in a dark room. It is a small room, a room that is constructed of corrugated iron sheets. Envision yourself sitting in this room many hours a day, many days a year, many years…as long as you can remember. Now try picturing to cook in this room. How would you feel if you needed to dress in total darkness, go to the bathroom surrounded by blackness? Remember, that you don’t choose this situation but that you are confronted with it because where you live there is no electricity or the electricity bill is twice as high as your monthly salary. What if I told you I had a solution…

Driven by the need for light to continue his business during a long-term blackout, an engineer in Brazil discovered that he could indeed illuminate his working space without even the slightest bit of electricity. No, we are not speaking about strategically applying a handful of flashlights or releasing a jar or fireflies, but about a true technological innovation for which the ingredients can be counted on the fingers of one hand. All you need is a large bottle, preferably an old soda bottle that is cleaned and refilled with water, some bleach and the tools to carve out a hole in the roof of your house. When placing the bottle inside the fitted hole, it catches the rays of sunlight outside the building and channels them inside the room, reflecting the light and spreading it in a 360 radius. It is the equivalent of a 60-Watt light bulb.

Necessity is the mother of invention so to speak, and what an invention it is. Ever since its creation in 2002, the water bottle bulb has brought light to millions of homes in places too remote or too poor to be connected to electricity. Starting in the Brazilian farvellas, the word spread quickly spread and by now has reached the outskirts and slums of many countries such as the Philippines or Africa.

Personally, this story fills me with enthusiasm and passion. It is exciting to think that turning back and reviewing the small, unnoticed aspects, aspects that we might even consider waste can have the potential to transform someone’s life. But as promised, I will not delve deeper into the social wonders of this invention.

So let us look at this situation from a business angle. Instead of looking for the small spot at the top where everything is bigger, better, faster and mostly related to more complex technology and sophisticated devices, we will now think lower. Why not let our thoughts trail to the bottom of the pyramid for once?

It might seem dark and dusty down there at first, but in fact it is filled with the shimmer of opportunity… I am getting too poetic for you again? Well this is what it all comes down to: At the bottom of the pyramid there will be no high margins or high incomes to take advantage of. Instead there will be mass. And it is exactly the mass that has been neglected in the past by many companies and that holds competitive advantage.

Imagine selling millions of the previously mentioned light bulbs (hand picked from the trash of course) for 10 cents or maybe even 1 dollar…well you can do the math. The moral of this story is therefore not to solely strive for doing good but to look at the bottom of the pyramid when letting your entrepreneurial thoughts flow and you might just do better.

Still not amazed? Well, then I can’t help you. Q

31

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

SCRABBLE SCRABBLE GET READY TO PIMP YOUR VOCABULARY WHEN AUTHOR CARINA SOLBACH TAKES YOU ON A TOUR THROUGH THE GALAXIES OF UNKNOWN WORDS. text: CARINA SOLBACH

Europe’s leading finance school located in Amsterdam Duisenberg school of finance Master’s

DSF Master’s programmes

programmes offer a more comprehensive and

Risk Management

rigorous understanding of finance than any other

Corporate Finance and Banking

traditional Master’s degree.

Finance and Law, Finance Track

Finance and Law, Legal Track

Through our emphasis on building ‘thoughtful financial leadership’, we produce leaders who are

All students will recieve 100% Financial Aid*

well-rounded and responsible experts in finance.

if accepted to any one of the DSF Master’s programmes.

With world-class faculty and direct links to industry leaders in the world of finance, our

* Except for students coming from countries listed under the FATF Public Statement

programmes integrate theory and practice, as valued by the ‘Father of the Euro’, Wim Duisenberg.

For more information about Duisenberg school of finance Master’s programmes visit:

for leaders in finance

www.dsf.nl

33

E –SHOPPP V IN–STORE HAVE YOU EVER REALIZED HOW INTERNET HAS OCCUPIED OUR LIVES LATELY? WE LITERALLY RELY ON IT – WHEN STUDYING, GOING OUT, SEARCHING NEW INFORMATION AND EVEN SOCIALIZING. LATELY, THE SHOPPING ADDICTION HAS ALSO MOVED TO AN ONLINE LEVEL: ESHOPPING. YOU CREATE AN ACCOUNT, SEE THE MODELS, “ADD IT IN YOUR BAG” AND WAIT FOR IT TO BE SHIPPED TO YOUR DOOR. BUT WHAT IF YOU ARE THE TYPE OF SHOPPER WHO SPENDS HOURS IN THE DRESSING CABIN, NOT ABLE TO CHOOSE WHAT FITS HIM/HER BEST WITHOUT TRYING IT ON? ON THE OTHER HAND, IT SAVES YOU FROM GOING OUT AND WALKING IN THE RAIN OR SNOW FOR HOURS. CONSIDERING THAT WE ARE IN THE NETHERLANDS, THAT MIGHT HAPPEN ONCE IN A WHILE. WITHIN DAYS YOU’LL RECEIVE THE PRODUCT AT YOUR HOUSE. SO ARE YOU AN ONLINE SHOPPING SUPPORTER OR NOT? text: HANDE MACIT

Online Shopping is better?

- If you live far from the stores ;) - If you are the type of shopper who can predict the size and how the clothing will look without trying it on, - If you like seeing every model right infront of you instead of searching fort hem for hours in a store, Then it might be more suitable for you to choose online shopping over in-store shopping.

In-Store Shopping is Better?

- If you think that paying extra for shipping ıs just too much, - If you think it’s easier to deal with returning /changing the product when you have a receipt and you can just go to the store and do it, - If you aren’t fond of sharing your credit card / personal details online - If you can not decide whether or not to buy clothes without trying them on, Then you probably would choose in-store shopping over online shopping.

So we asked… Online shopping or In-store Shopping?

Who: A female IBA 2nd year student Answered: “ Actually the answer to this question changes depending on the situation. For example, if I need a dress for a party which is on the next day- online shopping can’t help me much because of the shipping period, however if I am not in a hurry I actually prefer online shopping since it is way easier than searching each store in the city for hours.”

Who: A male IBCoM 2nd year student Answered: “ Most of the times I’m just in-store shopping, because I don’t really check which shopping websites exactly have what kind of deals.”

Who: A female IBA 2nd year student Answered: “ I love the websites that offer good deals like free shipping, or some special online deals, because then I feel like I did the best shopping without even any effort!” Q

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

34

‘The best time to start y OVER THE LAST YEARS OUR UNIVERSITY HAS PROVED TO BE A PERFECT HABITAT FOR YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS. THE CURRENT BUILDING ACTIVITY ON THE CAMPUS SEEMS TO BE A PERFECT METAPHOR, BECAUSE ONE THING CERTAINLY IS TRUE: THEY’RE BUILDING THEIR OWN CAREER. ‘Building your career’ was also the theme of the Erasmus Recruitment Days that took place only a few weeks ago. The seven women that organised this event realised that besides working in a corporate environment there is one other option: starting your own business. As a result of this, they organised the first ‘Entrepreneurial Day’ in the history of the ERD. All guest speakers shared one opinion: ‘the best time to start your own business is now, while you are a student’.

Wondering why? Let’s go through the pro’s and con’s of being a student entrepreneur.

Pro’s - You are not ‘settled’ yet. Most student don’t have a husband or wife yet, so you have all the freedom in the world. No need to be sitting at a family reunion of your other half all day, no need to go out for dinner because of your 20th anniversary.

- You don’t have a job yet. This might seem a bit odd, but people that already have a job are less likely to fully commit themselves to their own business. To most of them it is to big of a risk to start on their own and leave there current job behind.

- You have a large amount of opportunities. You may not realize, but being a student gives you a certain amount of resources. First of all: you can use all university contacts/networks.

For instance organisations like HOPE can help you find the right people, network and organisations. You also have a relatively large amount of spare time without sacrificing to much of your social life.

- You can eat pizza all week. You don’t have kids that have to eat healthy and we, being true students, are already used to living a low-

budget lifestyle. So if your company is low on liquidity: pizza and other cheap meals all week..

- Beat the recession! As we’re heading towards a second economic meltdown, new and creative businesses are more likely to survive. Will you be the new Mark Zuckerberg or Andrew Mason?

Con’s - Money, money, money. Your own little business will need at least a little amount of financial investment and in this financially hard times it is hard to get loans. It will all depend on how amazing your business plan is whether you get that financial boast or not.

- Money, money, money / part 2. Even if you manage to get that loan you need, pay-offs will likely be very little in the first few months.

- Sleepless nights. Your first sales pitch the day after, preparing till 5 a.m. and getting to the subway at 6.30. If you really want to make your business work and still keep a healthy social life, you’ll end up sacrificing some sleep. ’80 hours a week is no exception’ was said to us by Bernd Damme during the ERD entrepreneurial day.

35

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

your own business is now‘

Let’s see what it can bring you. Of course there are the incredible stories of Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. But they are not the only successful student entrepreneurs:

1.

Michael Dell. In 1983 he became a freshman at the University of Texas. As a pre-mad student he started selling personal computers and at nineteen years old he founded ‘PC’s Limited’. After a little fight with his parents he ended up dropping out of school and founded what we nowadays know as Dell.

2.

Larry Page. After finishing his MSc in computer science at Stanford University, Larry Page decided to enrol for a PhD at the very same university.

While searching for a dissertation theme he started exploring the mathematical properties of World Wide Web. These mathematical properties were the start of a company who’s services we use every single day. In 1998 he founded Google.

3.

Arash Ferdowski. Studying in the very same city as Forbes nr. 3 Mark Zuckerberg, he started his own company in 2007 while still studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Although being a fairly bright student he tend to forget his USB drive. Sick and tired of running back home to get it, he founded Dropbox in 2007.

4.

Jordan Goldman. Reading McGraw-Hill might recall some frustration by some of you, but that is certainly not the reaction Jordan Goldman had when reading it on his newly signed contract. Being a freshman at Wesleyan University he set up a website with currently more 150,000 reviews from more than 4,000 colleges. What makes it special? The superb search engine, for instance you can browse for reviews by a female Latin economic major from the West coast.

Although the website is not known in Holland yet, it will most likely not take very long: unigo.com

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

36

Windows

the everlasting battle.

I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST MAC AND ITS OPERATING SYSTEMS; IN FACT, I BELIEVE THEIR SYSTEM IS QUITE GOOD, AND HAS STRONG VALUE FOR CERTAIN PEOPLE. THOSE CERTAIN PEOPLE WOULD BE PROFESSIONALS IN THE FIELDS OF PROGRAMMING, WEB DESIGN, AND MEDIA EDITING. FOR THESE TYPES OF PURPOSES, MAC SYSTEMS WORK PERFECTLY, AND SHOULD BE ADVISED. FOR PERFORMANCE (E.G. DJING WITH ABLETON ETC.), MAC IS ALSO GREAT DUE TO ITS STABILITY. IN FACT, THIS STABILITY IS ONE OF THE KEY SELLING POINTS OF MAC-BASED SYSTEMS (ESPECIALLY OS X I’D SAY). text: PHILIP LAZAR

But this article is mostly meant for the student crowd. In general, students do not fall in the above categories (I’m generalizing here, but this mostly should hold true). For students, Mac holds no extra benefit. In fact, it only holds limitations. First of all, there is the issue of modularity. Mac cannot be extended as much as many would like; in fact, this is why there are programs like Wine – to emulate Windows programs on Mac. The relative scarcity of software makes for an inflexible operating system.

Second, there are issues with switching between OS’s. Ever try to make a document in OS X through (emulated) Microsoft Office, only to later find out the lay-out is completely different when you open the document on a Windows-based system? The widespread use of software packages such as Office gives Mac users a huge disadvantage: it becomes almost impossible to consistently be able to collaborate with others without the help of outside tools (e.g. usage of Google Docs). Third, it is impossible to install a Mac system on a normal PC system without the use of workarounds. This makes Mac an incredibly closed off system, but more importantly, forces you to buy an Apple laptop. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I note that “Macs” are incredibly overpriced. “But you can use a Mac

for many years!”, one might retort. Sure, but you can keep a Windows system for the same amount of time as well, if you keep it in good condition. Even more, when a Windows-based system breaks down, you simply replace the faulty component.

When a Mac system breaks, you’re helpless without Apple Store assistance.

This last comment succinctly illustrates the faults of Macs.

Sure, it’s slick, stylish, and its usability for certain professionals is unparalleled. But for students, OS X holds no value over Windows-based systems, and usually has more bad points than good ones. If you want to be treated like a child, sure, go ahead and choose Mac. If you want a flexible system that does what you want, that you can design however you like, and for which the amount of available software is unmatched, choose Windows. Choosing between the two is similar to the option of a children’s tricycle (Mac) versus a Harley Davidson motorcycle (Windows). You can’t make any mistakes with Mac, but you can’t do that much with it either. With a Windows system, you’re in complete control, and hold complete responsibility.

For students who know more about computers than how to copy-paste, the final choice seems simple. Increased usability, higher compatibility, more flexibility, stronger modularity and lower costs; for students, there simply is no reason to choose Mac. Q

37

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

Mac

the everlasting battle.

THIS ARTICLE IS NAMED WINDOWS VS. MAC, BUT TO START OF I’M GOING TO REPHRASE THAT TITLE: IT’S ACTUALLY PC’S VS. MAC’S. THAT RESULTS IN ONE OF THE DOWNSIDES OF WINDOWS STRAIGHT AWAY. ONE MANUFACTURER CREATES THE COMPUTERS HARDWARE, ONE CREATES THE OPERATING SYSTEM AND OTHERS CREATE THE APPLICATION. IT COMES AS NO SURPRISE THAT THIS CAUSES PROBLEMS. I WON’T TELL YOU THAT MACINTOSH COMPUTERS ARE COMPLETELY CRASH FREE, BUT WHEN THIS OCCASIONALLY HAPPENS IT WILL ISOLATE THIS ONE APPLICATION AND IT WON’T AFFECT ANY OF YOUR WORK. text: BAS LOUWMAN

Since the beginning Mac has been more user friendly then other infamous systems. Since Windows practically copied the graphical interface, they may look a like at first. You will notice the difference as soon as you start using the computer. Apple users can ‘read and write’ with their computers, they feel like it’s an extension of themselves. They might even love it. As most Windows users are more used to shouting at their PC’s they can hardly imagine this. A Macintosh does exactly what you want, without being an IT-professional.

For instance; with a Mac ‘Plug-and-play’ is really ‘Plug-and-Play’, instead of being ‘Plug-and-Pray’ which seems to be the case with most Windows machines. To install a program, you just drag the file to the Program folder. You will miss the useless Windowswarnings, which only give you the option ‘OK’, like a hole in the head. What is the point of showing a warning, if I do not have a choice what to do with it. Then there is the the issue of viruses, hackers and spyware. It is commonly known that Apple computers are better protected against all of those things. Although using Windows programmes on your Mac increases the change.

Once in a while you are requested to do a security update, but not the numerous amount of plasters Windows throws at you to keep your computer from leaking. As students are downloading and e-mailing a lot, I consider this a big advantage.

But Mac’s are overprized.. Nowadays you can buy your PC at the local grocery store for incredibly low prices. But do consider the fact that you will need to buy extra (external) memory and software. There is a reason why those computers are so cheap, they won’t last long. Windows lags years on both the soft- and hardware side. Even though the retail price may be a little higher, you receive quality, really good customer service and support, innovative technology and many other extras that will last years in return. Take all of this into account and you might come to the conclusion that a Mac is good money. Q

$

" "

"

"

"

! " # "

"

"

" $

"

39

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

WANT TO GO ON A CHEAP MINI-EXCHANGE? JOIN AN INTERNATIONAL WEEK! text: STAR INTERNATIONAL WEEK COMMITTEE

What is an International Week?

W An International Week is an exchange week in which you, together with 35 students fr from all over the world, experience the ac academic, social, business and cultural a aspects of a city or country. You truly get to e experience student life abroad for a week.

T There are about 23 International Week c committees in 23 countries. The principle o the International Week program is of ba based on a system of give and take; each committee organizes their own International Week and in return gets to send out people from their university to International Weeks abroad.

How does it work?

Would you like to go abroad for a week, meet a lot of foreign students and have an amazing time? Then you should definitely apply to go on an International Week. On our website www.internationalweek.nl you can find the entire list of International Weeks and the dates on which they will take place. Applying for an International Week goes through the application form which can also be found on the website.

When you are selected for an International Week the hosting committee will arrange a place to sleep with one of the local students and they will organize a complete program for the entire week.

maybe help him/her to get through the first days. You also become a real buddy to this person, someone the student can rely on. However it has no heavy obligations for the buddy, besides the fact you will make an international friend for life, the other benefits of becoming a buddy are that you are allowed to join several activities during the week and this gives you the chance to make friends with a lot more international students. Also you are welcome to join the whole group every evening after diner when we go and explore the Rotterdam nightlife. This will definitely be an experience you’ll never forget!

Do you want to become a buddy during the International Week Holland?

Just write an email to internationalweek@rsmstar.nl

What does it cost?

Diary of an IWer

When you want to join an International Week all you have to pay is a contribution fee of €25,-, your own plane ticket to your destination and some pocket money! All programmed activities are for free and host students will provide you a place to stay during the week without any additional costs.

Ask a random student the question what he wants to do once in his life, big chance you will be told: “make a world trip”. Now close your eyes for a second, and image a trip to a foreign country.

Let’s say you arrive in Helsinki, with in mind to stay there for a week. After being picked up at the airport, you are taken to a place where you meet people from 10 different countries. Some people from Israel, China, Spain or Slovenia, you name it, all students. You will be sleeping this week at a student’s place. The next days you and your new made friends will go sightseeing and find hidden gems, visiting local companies and discover new career opportunities and get a tour in the local university. More importantly, every night you will party with local students and go to places and parties that tourist or backpackers wouldn’t see. Out of experience I can tell you, that are the days of your life!

And there you go, today you will made the first step to l, you only your world trip. Expensive?! Not at all, have to pay your travel costs, drinks and 25 euro. Stop dreaming, join international week! ;-)

Become a buddy!

Would you like to have an amazing week with students from all over the world, but don’t want to go abroad yourself? Become a buddy!

T guarantee an awesome and well To o organized International Week, every fforeign o student will get a buddy during their w week in The Netherlands. All International W Weeks around the world are working with tthis h buddy system, so the visiting students gget a real taste of the student life in the ho hosting city.

A As buddy you provide a place to stay for tth h visiting international student and you the

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

40

The Netherlands Antilles after 10.10.10.

AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR(1954) THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES BECAME AN INDEPENDENT COUNTRY WITHIN THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS. THE COUNTRY OF THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES CONSISTS OF 6 DIFFERENT ISLANDS; CURACAO, ARUBA, BONAIRE, SINT MARTEN, SABA AND SINT EUSTASIUS. CURACAO, ARUBA AND BONAIRE LAY NEAR THE VENEZUELANS COAST AND THE OTHER 3 ARE SITUATED IN THE NORTHERN CARIBBEAN. THE RELATIONS SHIP BETWEEN THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT AND THE NL ANTILLES HAS LONG BEEN COMPLICATED. THESE ISLANDS ARE FORMER COLONIES AND HAVE AN EMOTIONAL SLAVE HISTORY. AFTER THE 10TH OF OCTOBER IN 2010 THE ISLANDS CURACAO, ARUBA AND SINT MARTEN BECAME INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES WHILE THE OTHER ISLANDS CHOSE TO BE MUNICIPALITIES WITHIN THE STATE OF THE NETHERLANDS. SO TO GIVE AN EXAMPLE THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN THE NETHERLANDS IS NO LONGER NEAR VALKENBURG, BUT ON SABA! text: KASSANDRA DE JONG

To get more of a feeling about proportion: Saba has 1.200 inhabitants, Sint Eustasius has 3.500 and Bonaire about 20.000.

What changed for Bonaire, Eustasius, Bonaire (BES) is mainly that since 10.10.10 they are ruled by Dutch law and that did make a difference; especially in the field of taxes, criminality, education, safety and social affairs. For the inhibiters the prices of everyday products are a lot higher, especially import tax, but the salary of those same inhabitants are still at the same level. For Dutch people it is a lot easier to start their business on one of these islands. Also many Dutch people buy properties on the island. All those new Dutch inhabitants are responsible for sharp price rice for any kind of labor on these islands. For instance, the ‘Van der Tweel supermarket of Bonaire’ is a real threat to the local grocery shops.

All in all in a short time the attitude of the inhabitants of these three islands about this new political situation decreased dramatically. It even resulted in a protest during a recent visit of queen Beatrix ,which was quite a shock because the queen used to be very popular on these islands. It was the frustration they felt and exposed this to the Queen. The other three islands (Curacao, Aruba, Sint marten) are independent states, they don’t have the problems that the BES are having (price ricing, taxes etc.). Curacao was the main island of all six so they already had an basic administration, Aruba already had the ‘status aparte’ this new situation didn’t have much consequent’s for them. The only island that really changed when it became independent was Sint Marten, where a new administration had to be build up.

The switch from depending towards independent wasn’t that well though for the BES. Now the inhabitants are struggling to keep their heads above the water, in the deep dark ocean.

The new/current Dutch government feels different about the position of the islands, they think that the islands should solve their own issues and that if they need any help they can ask specific support by the Dutch government. Maybe this attitude will help these islands to become self-sufficient municipalities. Maybe then the people can keep their heads above the deep dark ocean. Q

photo: STATIA

41

INTERFACE

MARCH 2012

Networking for Professionals text: PHILIP LAZAR

The concept of networking is both an elusive and rather over-marketed one, having more the allure of a hype than a practically implementable set of ‘tools’ to meet new people that can potentially help you in the future. Perhaps it is the idea of meeting people to ‘use’ them later, or maybe it is just a general distrust and dislike of the general public, that initially turned me away from networking and its energetic and generally optimistic followers. Gradually though, I was able to revise my opinion towards a more nuanced stance: maybe still not completely convinced by the qualitative self-help talk that makes up a significant portion of the ‘field’, but simultaneously also being able to acknowledge the positive impact that collaboration and mutual helpfulness may have on all parties involved. This latter factor is perhaps the most attractive element of networking that I’ve found so far, and

one of its key selling points.

Networking is not necessarily an exercise in quantity. In fact, marketing savant Seth Godin notes that “Networking is always important when it’s real, and it’s always a useless distraction when it’s fake”.

A ton of Facebook friends will not help you advance your career if all these people are simply added for the sake of social prestige or friendliness. A connection is of utmost importance. This is the reason that Christo Thekkel, founder of studentled networking organization Interfuze, notes that networking essentially is a three-step process of meeting, building a relationship (connecting), and maintaining that relationship (following up).

Shallow contacts will get you nowhere; in this context, networking becomes not necessarily a sequentially oriented question of ‘how can I help you, so you can help me?’, but rather a matter of ‘how can we

help each other?’. It is this frame of mind through which the conceptual vagueness of networking should be seen.

It would be unnecessary to elaborate too much upon the relevance and value of networking. A stronger base of career opportunities, an increased number of individuals willing to collaborate on projects, and a healthy social circle are all worthwhile factors. When one approaches networking from a state of mind of mutual helpfulness, the concept loses its slick edge, and gains a side that is very human and natural. The idea becomes an activity in making new partners, new friends, and new colleagues, and is ultimately set on increasing the overall benchmark of individuals’ progress. For that goal, I applaud those spearheading the cause. Q

RSM PAGES INTERFACE MARCH 2012

The

42

Innovating Dragon

THE CHINESE NEW YEAR STARTED IN JANUARY WITH FIRECRACKERS AND DANCERS AROUND THE WORLD WELCOMING THE YEAR OF THE MOST POWERFUL CREATURE IN CHINESE MYTHOLOGY: THE DRAGON. THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON IS THE LUCKIEST AND MOST PROSPEROUS YEAR OF THE 12 YEAR CYCLE AND MORE OFTEN THAN NOT IS CHINA COMPARED TO A RISING DRAGON. THE EMERGENCE OF CHINA AS AN ECONOMIC DRAGON GETS ATTENTION FROM MORE AND MORE PEOPLE WORLDWIDE: ECONOMIC GROWTH RATES ARE STAGGERING, SKYSCRAPERS ARE BUILT EVERYWHERE AND CHINESE BULLET TRAINS BREAK SPEED RECORDS. CHINA CURRENTLY HAS THE SECOND LARGEST ECONOMY IN THE WORLD AND IS MORE INTERNATIONALLY TIED THAN EVER BEFORE. IT BECAME IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE THE RISE OF CHINA.

Thorough knowledge about the Chinese economy, its institutional framework and management culture are needed not only by Western professionals operating in China, Hong Kong or Taiwan, or

by European firms which do business with Chinese companies, but also by municipalities where Chinese FDI is located, by national governments and the EU in order to ensure the development of sustainable relations.

The Master Chinese Economic & Business serves this increasing demand by providing knowledge on China’s economy and China-related management skills. Chinese Economy & Business (ChEB) is a unique collaboration between the Rotterdam School of Management and Leiden University. The combination provides the best of both worlds, whereas RSM is highly recognized in business education, Leiden University is the benchmark in the world for Chinese Studies. The MSc equips students with a general education on state of the art management, and a solid knowledge about the Chinese economy, institutional context, business sector, culture and international aspects. At the end of the curriculum the students will go to China to put the theory into practice during a three-month internship.

Our alumni work in China and Europe, in companies like Google, Cap Gemini, Daimler, Henkel and Unilever, in functions such as HRM, strategy consultant, innovation management, and project management.

On 7 March 2012 the Doing Business in Asia Seminar will be organized by the

students of ChEB. The theme of the seminar is “China & Innovation”. One of the major forces behind China’s explosive growth during the past decades was its low cost labor force. Even though many products are still being produced in China, it seems like China is losing the reputation of having the cheapest labor force to other developing economies.

Recent government policies and guidelines indicate that China wants to become an innovation based economy within the next 15 years; moving from “Made in China” to “Innovated in China”. Will China be able to facilitate this shift; how will they go about achieving this; what will be their challenges and opportunities; and what will be ours? The seminar will address these questions together with you, an audience of students and practitioners and a panel of esteemed China experts from business, academics, and government.

You can find more information and register for this seminar on http://www.rsmstar.nl/students/masterstudy-clubs/msc-cheb/seminar.html

43

RSM PAGES INTERFACE MARCH 2012

HUMAN FACTORS IN BUSINESS:

creating people-centric systems FROM A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE, ERGONOMICS IS ABOUT DESIGNING PHYSICAL PRODUCTS AROUND THE HUMAN FORM IN ORDER TO ENHANCE COMFORT AND ALLEVIATE OR REDUCE HEALTH AND SAFETY CONCERNS. HOWEVER, TO THOSE STUDYING ERGONOMICS (OR ‘HUMAN FACTORS’, AN INTERCHANGEABLE TERM USED INCREASINGLY TO AVOID CONFUSION WITH THE AMERICAN UNDERSTANDING OF ERGONOMICS, WHICH FOR THEM RELATES TO MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS) THE PHYSICAL INTERACTION BETWEEN PEOPLE AND PRODUCTS IS BUT ONE OF THREE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS THAT PROVIDE A MUCH BROADER DEFINITION. text: JAN DUL

Designing the environment with people in mind represents the second aspect and here we include social and organisational considerations. Ergonomics has two main goals, and these are reflected in the third aspect: whilst human wellbeing is invariably a prime consideration, ergonomics is also very much about improving systems performance.

The science of ergonomics (human factors) can be divided into two streams and a brief explanation of each is always useful: product ergonomics - here designers consider human factors and issues of functionality when developing new products or services for end users; production ergonomics focuses on people and their work environments and offers enhancements for both whilst improving business performance.

Managers usually associate production ergonomics with occupational health and safety and related legislation, not with improving the company bottom line – a common mistake. Although occupational

health and safety issues are a part of it, production ergonomics is very much centred on the performance of workers.

Tradition dictates that humans are recruited, trained and shaped to fit into work systems. Production ergonomics seeks to turn this antiquated approach around and put people first. Instead of asking whether recruits will fit the system, companies should be prioritise what sort of people they want in the first place and develop work systems around them.

As with product ergonomics this is a design approach, but in management terms it sits right in the middle of Human Resources and Operations Management, a divide that research seeks to bridge. Ultimately it is about

looking after human capital whilst redesigning systems in engineering and organisational terms so as to ensure people fit as comfortably as possible and therefore are able to function as efficiently as possible.

RSM PAGES INTERFACE MARCH 2012

44

Square pegs – round holes In workplaces, from the production lines of old to the call centres of today, where square pegs are forced into round holes, it doesn’t take long for problems to manifest themselves: workers become easily bored and demotivated by the dullness of the routine; injuries brought on by the repetitive nature of the work take their toll.

But it need not be so. Research clearly shows that if the people employed in the battery farms of call centres, for example, are given working environments that increase their levels of satisfaction, so the satisfaction of the customers they deal with also increases. The powerful effect of the right conditions to work in highlights the value of ergonomics to the service industry.

From a service economy we move slowly towards a knowledge economy where the assets of an organisation are to be found as the grey matter of its employees.

To get the best from knowledge workers, through problem solving, idea generation and the development of new process, product and service innovations, creative environments should be designed with organisational, social and creative goals in mind. The principle is quite simple: employees function best in environments that suit them best.

look to restructure the organisation operationally so that it benefits the people who make it productive and profitable.

Such an approach, the human factors approach, can increase the commitment, motivation and wellbeing of your people when implemented within the organisation operationally. It should be seen as a strategic approach. To achieve this however, requires a belief that the radical shift to make systems fit people is a good investment for the organisation and its goals.

In some respects these ideas are not entirely new. In fact, there are hundreds of ISO standards available for organisations to use in designing systems with humans specifically in mind. Managers, it seems, are not aware of this. This means the problem isn’t that the knowledge is not available or even that there is a lack of it, but that the knowledge is not already embedded within organisations, possibly because there is not yet widespread belief in or understanding of the philosophy, principles and clear benefits of human factors, or ergonomics, as a science.

In seeking to redress this situation, it is important for us as ergonomists and researchers to show how the incorporation of human factors offers value to the corporate world and that ergonomic systems can be implemented relatively easily if the correct mindset is in place. Of course, at RSM we are eager to help organisations develop that mindset. To do so knowledge, tools and guidelines have been developed to link ergonomics to business goals, which means the knowledge is readily available and accessible.

Organisations, through the managers that run them, need to understand this.

Unfortunately it is still true though, that many managers see efforts to enhance workplace conditions as being a cost rather than a benefit to the organisation.

For so many years, companies have been spouting the same cliché in their annual reports that “our people are our most important asset” yet continually fail to treat them as such at all.

Human factors in action

This should not be the hollow phrase that it has become. If you really believe that collectively your people are your greatest asset, then treat them as such. As well as handing out perks and incentives, financial or otherwise, managers should

In considering the practical benefits to organisations, an example of how ergonomics improves operations management within a supply chain environment is appropriate. To help optimise the efficiency of a number of warehousing facilities, we used

ergonomic principles to determine where stock needed to be optimally positioned.

From the outset two clear goals were set: our assessments should result in 1) an increase of order-picking efficiency, and 2) the reduction of discomfort for order pickers, thus improving their wellbeing in the workplace.

This type of research is normally conducted on the horizontal plane, ie, identifying where stock should be housed within the warehouse itself and the aisles that make up its layout. Our approach however, was to also include the vertical plane. This gives a 3-dimensional picture of where stock should be situated, thus allowing it to be positioned where it is most efficient for order pickers. After all, they are the ones who do the physical work and if their job entails repetitive activity that is physically uncomfortable, then the inevitable outcome can only be unhappy employees and downturns in efficiency. However, our studies show that after introducing our recommendations on human factors, performance will increase as worker comfort levels rise, in both cases by around 10%.As a second example, a research tool we have developed – the Creativity Development Quick Scan (CDQS) – has helped in creative environments. The CDQS, a checklist for knowledge workers, rates 21 factors that contribute to the work environment and its climate for supporting creativity and innovation.

When analysed, the results of the CDQS highlights human factor recommendations that organisations can implement to improve creative performance. But that is not all. The results can be benchmarked against a database of other knowledge companies around the world, and this allows us to identify where organisational improvements – typically in the areas of job design, building design, and leadership styles – are most needed.

Our research shows quite clearly that creative and knowledge workers operating in ergonomically enhanced environments

45

RSM PAGES INTERFACE MARCH 2012

Social-organisational work enviroment

Creative person

Fig 1: A conceptual model of the relationships between creative person, creative work environment and creative performance.

do indeed offer greater potential for problem-solving and innovative thinking.

What this tells us is that where creativity is concerned, environment matters. But what environment – the physical, the social-organisational, or that created by the combination of individual personality traits (FIG 1)?

Understanding the impact of each dimension on creative performance is important for Human Resource and Operations Managers as it gives insights into: a) whether organisations should focus on specific types of individuals for specific work environments, b) if priority should be given to social-organisational and leadership aspects, for example, how work and teams are structured, or c) the physical dimensions and whether they should be adapted in order to stimulate a more creative environment.

Creative process

Creative performance

Physical work enviroment

It is very popular today to talk in business of open innovation and crowd sourcing: that people outside of the organisation have the fresh ideas that will bring new innovations in processes, products or services. This tends to lead to individuals and in-house teams being overlooked, as their creativity is not seen as being at one with the thinking of the organisation. On the contrary, outside ideas need the creative understanding of those inside to make them work. Anyway, it is more likely that there is not enough stimulation within the organisation for creativity to contribute to innovation.

Managers beware: in many cases the greatest factor in the impediment of creativity and innovation is leadership.

We find this often when completing our CDQS analysis and providing feedback to organisations. This stifling of creativity and innovation always initially shocks managers, who in reality have developed an environment that is quite the opposite of what they think it is. Rather than consider leadership as the root of their organisation’s creativity and innovation problems, they first look to employees and ask why they no longer function as they should.

Addressing the problem and allowing

innovation to flourish only requires organisations to develop the right conditions for it to do so, and human factors are at the very heart of creating those conditions and improving creative performance for the benefit of both the workforce and the bottom line.

Jan Dul is Professor of Technology and Human Factors, Department of Management of Technology and Innovation, Rotterdam School of Management. He is also coauthor of Ergonomics for Beginners (ISBN10: 0748408258), a best-selling book that has been translated into many languages.

Email: jdul@rsm.nl

FACEBOOK.COM/IWILLRSM

KEEP AN EYE ON FACEBOOK.COM/IWILLRSM FOR DATES

WANT TO KEEP UP WITH RSM ON THE MOVE? Android App

iPhone App

Download our free RSM Mobile app for Android and iPhone!

Use it to follow us on Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn, watch videos, explore programmes, find experts, read our publications and even find your way around campus! Enrolled BSc and MSc students can see their timetables and grades.

ROTTERDAM SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT ERASMUS UNIVERSITY

IWILL.RSM.NL

ROTTERDAM SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

HAVE YOUR OWN I WILL PICTURE TAKEN AT ONE OF THE PHOTOSHOOTS!

KUNNEN WE JOU EEN BALANSTOTAAL VAN 100 MILJARD TOEVERTROUWEN?

Met een eigen vermogen van ruim €10 miljard en een premieomvang van €20 miljard zijn we het grootste verzekeringsbedrijf van Nederland.

Dat betekent een enorme verantwoordelijkheid als Financial Management Trainee bij Achmea. Een uitstekende start van een veelbelovende carrière bij Achmea. Kijk op www.werkenbijachmea.nl voor meer informatie.

KUNNEN WE JOU ONZE KLANTEN TOEVERTROUWEN?

Solliciteer als Financial Management Trainee

AGIS AVÉ RO ACH MEA C E N T R A A L B E H E ER A C H M E A FBTO I N T E R PO L I S Z I LV E R E N K RU I S A C H M E A

www.werkenbijpwc.nl

Soms weet je precies welke smaak je wilt Soms wil je eerst nog van alles proeven

Sta je op het punt je financiële master af te ronden, dan ligt de wereld bij ons aan je voeten. Want als talent met een stevige financiële basis kun je proeven aan alle smaken van je vakgebied tijdens ons Financial Traineeship, een tweejarig coachings- en opleidingsprogramma. Wil je meer weten, neem dan contact op met Evi van Splunder.

Meld je aan op werkenbijpwc.nl/financialtraineeship

Kom verder met het Financial Traineeship

Start september 2012 Evi van Splunder, 088 792 73 69 evi.van.splunder@nl.pwc.com Volg ons op Facebook.com/werkenbijpwc en Twitter.com/werkenbijpwc

© 2012 PricewaterhouseCoopers B.V. (KvK 3412089) Alle rechten voorbehouden.