Explain a situation where you have made an ethical decision. Discuss how you weighed up the values involved in that decision, the decision you made, and how you reflect on the decision now.
I genuinely believe every person should, at some point, work within the customer service industry; it provides a valuable opportunity to learn empathy for other people. Air New Zealand provides compassionate fares for customers dealing with bereavement-related emergency travel. In early 2019 I received a call from a customer who had recently lost her husband. Only a limited number of flights were available for the dates she required. In this circumstance, our procedure was straightforward; we required information to determine if the “Compassionate Fares” could be applied. The customer could not provide the details over the phone and was still reeling from her loss. After speaking with my manager and another team member and explaining the situation, we booked her flights under compassionate rules. We allowed all relevant information to be provided after the travel was complete. Air New Zealand receives thousands of compassionate requests, and many do not fall within the applicable criteria; there are instances of customers attempting to claim these fares fraudulently. It would have been easy to deny this customer these fares, but my decision not to, allowed her to take care of what’s important and spend time with her loved ones. Looking back, I do not regret this decision, and I am glad I had a supportive team to help me book her flights.
Describe how your culture and the people around you have influenced your values and identity.
Like many, I did not grow up in an environment conducive to a child’s happiness. I was often angry at my peers, parents, sibling and with myself. It was tangible and would affect my relationship with people. I don’t remember much of my childhood; the memories that I do have are mostly filled with fear and sadness. I would become more negative throughout my teens and into my early 20’s when I became more irresponsible with my health. Only recently, I discovered the root of this anger, something I had repressed, which was only brought to the surface while speaking with a friend who shared a similar experience. Sharing this experience with someone was not easy, but it allowed me to reflect and heal some wounds that stayed open for too long. Now I can say I look at the world with hope and with a better understanding that everyone’s journey is complicated, the decisions they make do not define them, and people can change. Vulnerability: provides a particular strength to stand firm when times get tough. I have spent too long being vulnerable and felt it was a weakness, but I learned it was my greatest strength; I can better empathise with people and build better relationships because of it.
Identify your strengths and how they will support you during your learning journey. (Based on feedback from friends and family)
Leadership - Passionate - Persistent - Punctual - Determination - Hard working - Decisiveness and criticism - Humbleness - Creativity
Evaluate your limitations in terms of your learning and career development. How might these affect your learning journey?
Before Dev Academy, I had studied at a Master’s level in Design and Visual Arts. My career has not been as fruitful as I had hoped once graduating, I did a few freelancing jobs here and there, but it never amounted to a career. I realised the industry is more about connections and networking than I initially realised. Between my freelance jobs, I had various customer service roles in further building my CV and making more connections within a professional context. It was more about finding the proper position within different organisations. My goal with this course aims to develop my skill set further, learn how to network, and build a stable career path.
Share an example of when you were trying to work productively with others, but there was resistance or tension. Discuss strategies you tried at the time, how effective they were, and your reflections on what other strategies you would try now and why.
My third year at Unitec allowed me to work on a live design project. Our facilitators chose another student and me to lead the team and develop the final design. Each student in the team was allowed to present a design before we were selected. The remaining team members were assigned different roles and designs to work on. During the final stages of the project, a few team members approached us with some changes which would alter the final design quite drastically. At every project stage, we advised faculty and our team members of the designs we had developed. We valued each criticism, considered the changes, and implemented what we could during the early stages of the project. Since the project and design were almost complete, we decided it would be best to stick with what we had developed. Any further changes would have meant a few extra weeks of testing, which we did not have time for. This decision caused animosity among the group and led them to leave the project, meaning several designs would not be completed in time. We had advised our faulty of this disagreement, which resulted in the remaining team members finishing as much as we could before submission. Retrospectively, I am proud of the work we developed; however, working collaboratively means allowing people to feel as if they are part of the project regardless of the significance of the role. Safe to say, it was a valuable learning experience.