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B U S I N E S S R E P O R T r i s k a w a r e n e s s

Aiko Desmet Sunday October 23th 2016

Lecturer: Sofie Carels Arteveldehogeschool

2016 - 2017

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1/ E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y My name is Aiko Desmet, student at the Arteveldehogeschool Ghent and in my course of Business English, I have to write a business report based on the topic: risk awareness. In this report I am going to investigate the knowledge of the daily potential risks students can experience studying at the Arteveldehogeschool Ghent. In order to get a clear view on this key issue, I have set up an online survey. This online questionnaire includes fourteen well-structured questions about the life of a student at the Arteveldehogeschool. I have highlighted some events that could happen whenever you are a student in this city.

“Every student at Artevelde knows that the elevator in campus Kattenberg is

forbidden for students, but you..”

In conclusion one aspect that is common for a risk, is that there is always some kind of consequence attached to it. A risk never comes alone. The figures show that the students seem well aware which consequences are about to happen. They do know what could happen after taking the risk. They are well aware off the risky world we live in nowadays. To summarise we can conclude that student do know about potential risks and effects. In the course of Business English 2b there are some real risk-takers and daredevils among us that is for sure. But they are not so fierce as we would think they are. The risks they take are deliberately

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T A B L E OF C O N T E N T S

Executive summary /3 Table of contents /4 List of figures /5 Introduction /6 Findings and discussion /7 Conclusions /14 Recommendations /15 Appendices /16

Appendix 1 /16 Appendix 2 /21

References /22

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3/ L I S T OF F I G U R E S

- FIGURE 1: You're at the entrance of a party in the Sioux, but you forgot to bring money.

- FIGURE 2: After a night out in the Overpoort your friend rings the bell at a random house

- FIGURE 3: On the tram a guy asks you if you want a free tattoo. He just opened a shop in Ghent and he needs some publicity.

- FIGURE 4: Every student at Artevelde knows that the elevator in campus Kattenberg is forbidden for students, but you..

- FIGURE 5: You're walking in the Citadelpark and all of the sudden you see a little kitten stuck in a tree. You take your smartphone and..

- FIGURE 6: Imagine you're in the same room as Donald Trumph and the only thing else in there is a whipped cream pie. You...

- FIGURE 7: You're walking in the Sint-Pieters-Nieuwstraat and out of the blue an employee from Kilroy stops you. He gives you a ticket to travel Azia for three months and Kilroy will pay for everything.

- FIGURE 8: After swiping to the left for ages, you suddenly find your teacher in Tinder. You..

- FIGURE 9: Imagine the first hypothesis on the previous Tinder-question becomes reality and there is a match. You..

- FIGURE 10: I have a gift but you don't know what inside. It could be the new iPhone 7 or my latest fine.. Whatever's inside, you can have it. The only rule is that you have to accept my gift.

- FIGURE 11: Only 5 minutes left to be on time for your class. You know the teacher won't let you in if you're late and today's lesson is obligated. Finally you find a parking spot, but you don't have the time anymore to pay for it. You..

- FIGURE 12: What's your gender? - FIGURE 13: How old are you?

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4/ I N T R O D U C T I O N Risks? What are they and where do the come from? My name is Aiko Desmet, student at the Arteveldehogeschool Ghent and in my course of Business English, I have to write a business report based on the topic: risk awareness. Because, whenever you ask the question; do you consider yourself a risk-taker? , the answer will be most of the times yes. But are they? To understand the answer on that question, I have set up an online survey. This online questionnaire includes fourteen well-structured questions about the life of a student at the Arteveldehogeschool in Ghent. I have highlighted some events that could happen whenever you are a student in this city. I have especially set up these questions to show that risks are all over your daily life. Even where you don’t expect them to be. I have sent this survey to all sixteen students who attend the class of Business English 2b. Unfortunately only five students dared to fill it in, but it’s still enough to get a clear view on the risks life of a student in Ghent. I start my report with the findings and the theory on the survey. Some of the findings will be clarified with a little more information. Furthermore, I have made a conclusion and I have summed up some recommendations. Finally, I have summarised everything in an executive summary. In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail

is not taking any risks. – Mark Zuckerberg

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5/ F I N D I N G S AND D I S C U S S I O N S

5.1/ You're at the entrance of a party in the Sioux, but you forgot to bring money. You..

Straightaway, my first question is a very recognizable and common situation, every student will have experienced at one point in life. But do they know the answer on this question could actually be an illegal risk? Out of the three options, I have given one that could potentially be an illegal risk. The second option or the red option on the graph. Luckily only one out of five would try and do this. The majority would borrow the money from a friend and party on without taking any illegal risks.

5.2/ After a night out in the Overpoort your friend rings the bell at a random house. You..

I bed everybody did this at least once when they were a child. You have probably laughed about it and nothing happened. But when you do it as an adult, this action could have a whole other outcome. One you really did not expected. Therefore, I have asked this specific question to see if students think about the consequences of their actions. 80% would start running and hide at the first corner. They still think it is funny and it probably gives them a real adrenaline kick. 20% consider themselves like real dare-devils and ring that bell a second time. Clearly they don’t see the risk in this type of action. Imagine it not being a bell but the fire alarm at a shopping mall. It is still the same action. You push a button your are not supposed to push, unless you have too.

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5.3/ On the tram a guy asks you if you want a free tattoo. He just opened a shop in Ghent and he needs some publicity.

This question is more unlikely to happen in your daily life, but the idea of taking that risk is just very interesting. A tattoo is something that so much more than just a piece of black ink on your body. It is a statement you make for the rest of your life. So I have created a situation where the questioned students are forced to think about this.

Only one person dares to take the opportunity. He or she already has tattoos or is a real-life risk-taker because based on the others, 80% asks for a re-schedule. They choose for an action where they give themselves the time to think about it. They allow themselves to change their minds, which could also be a risk. Imagine you are unlikely to get the tattoo, but you allow yourself to change your mind and get others opinions. Maybe they convince you and the next day you go to class with the name of your partner on your wrist. Risks are really everywhere.

5.4/ Every student at Artevelde knows that the elevator in campus Kattenberg is forbidden for students, but you..

The results on this statement demonstrate that the students of the Arteveldehogeschool, are real, first-class risk-takers. They don’t tent to care about the signing attached to the elevator walls, because they don’t see the risk of doing. If you get caught, it is because you have already taken the risk

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of using the elevator, so the worst that could happen is a teacher telling you not to use it and take the stairs instead.

5.5/ You're walking in the Citadelpark and all of the sudden you see a little kitten stuck in a tree. You take your smartphone and..

Would a student take a risk to become a hero. That was the idea behind this type of question. Three out of five students would climb the tree and save the little kitten. They do not think about the consequences or the possible threats they are about to face. They see somebody or something in need and are willing to take a risk and try to save it. It is our natural instinct to try and save whomever needs saving.

5.6/ Imagine you're in the same room as Donald Trumph and the only thing else in there is a whipped cream pie. You..

This question is a struggle between being the well-bred student you are, who is very polite in every situation or the masculinisation of every well-bred person in the whole wide world who is counting on you to do what needs to be done. If you ever thought about taking a risk in life, well this is your moment.

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The strongest performing thesis is the second one; You think about trowing the pie into his face, but you're a nice person and wait until he starts talking first, with 80%. As a result Donals Trumph is very likely to end with the pie in his face. This shows that people don’t think about the consequences their actions. Morally it is not the right thing to do, but we are willing to take the risk and do it, no matter what the result could be.

5.7/ You're walking in the Sint-Pieters-Nieuwstraat and out of the blue an employee from Kilroy stops you. He gives you a ticket to travel Azia for three months and Kilroy will pay for everything.

In this situation, the meanings are a bit divergent. 40% would not hesitate and leave as soon as possible whereas another 40% would not take full responsibility for the risk and call for a second opinion. The other 20% would not do it at all. So 60% would still have to consider taking this once in a lifetime opportunity. Maybe we are not such a daredevils as we hoped we are..

5.8/ After swiping to the left for ages, you suddenly find your teacher in Tinder. You..

This could probably be one of the most awkward risks ever to show up in your life. Therefor it is also a very interesting question or situation to submit. Every student nowadays knows what Tinder is and how it works. The online dating app became so popular that actually nobody is aware that it’s also very risky to do. You never now to whom you are really taking, actually you do not even know if the person you are taking to is real.

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We challenged our questioned students and asked how they would react when they came across a teacher on this app. The results are quite surprising. You could assume that a student, the daredevil he or she is, would take the opportunity on getting a match with his or her teacher. But the figures demonstrate something different. The majority would avoid this potential awkward situation and swipe lefts in contrast to the 40% who is up for a little online risk.

5.9/ Imagine the first hypothesis on the previous Tinder-question becomes reality and there is a match. You..

Now what if you did swipe right on the Tinder app. What if you did take the risk and there is a match. 40% said they would take the risk, but would they deal with the consequences as well. The figures articulates that out of the two people who would have taken the risk, only one of them would actually start a conversation and deal with a it like a real risk-taker. The other person now belongs to the 80% who would not like to deal with the risk and leave the match for what it is.

5.10/ I have a gift but you don't know what inside. It could be the new iPhone 7 or my latest fine.. Whatever's inside, you can have it. The only rule is that you have to accept my gift.

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People deal with their bad characteristics on a daily base and curiosity is one of them. It’s a natural instinct of a human being to be curious because we want to know as much as possible. Especially when the answer is this close bur curiosity goes hand in hand with a lot of risks. Therefore I have questioned the students whether they are willing to take a risk, based on curiosity.

60% admits that they would be too curious to not accept the gift. The other 40% think they are true risk-takers and accept the gift without a doubt. It’s quite interesting to see that no student would leave the gift for what it is. As children we were taught that present are always nice things, so maybe we still associate those two. No matter what the potential risk could be.

5.11/ Only 5 minutes left to be on time for your class. You know the teacher won't let you in if you're late and today's lesson is obligated. Finally you find a parking spot, but you don't have the time anymore to pay for it. You..

The last situation in the survey is probably a very common one for students in Gent and thus an interesting one to ask. The majority of the students would rely on the good mood of the teacher. It’s probably also the right thing to do and the best for both worlds. Only 40% would not pay and try to get to class as soon as possible. They are the real risk-takers here, but do they know the consequences of their risk here..

Nobody chose the third option, which shows that students are not always the party animals they say they are. They think about their future, about succeeding in their studies and are willing to take some risks if necessary.

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5.12/ What's your gender?

Out of all the students who have filled in this survey 80% has the female gender. Only 20% has the male gender. Nevertheless these figures are not representative because the survey was only send to the students who are attending the class of Business English 2b.

5.13/ How old are you? All questioned students are situated in the same age category.

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6/ C O N C L U S I O N S The purpose of my risk awareness survey was to inform young-adults about the risks you take on a daily base. Risks you have never even thought about. At first sight they look like normal decisions to make, but actually you are into some risky business without even knowing. I have processed a survey with questions, situations and hypotheses such as; You're walking in the Citadelpark and all of the sudden you see a little kitten stuck in a tree. You take your smartphone and.. The survey was sent to my fellow students who attend the class Business English 2b. I have composed my conclusion based on my own findings and a clear analysis of the answers of my fellow students. Risk vs. consequence In conclusion one aspect that is common for a risk, is that there is always some kind of consequence attached to it. A risk never comes alone. The figures show that the students seem well aware which consequences are about to happen. The question with the elevator is a good example for this conclusion. Everybody answered that they use the elevator even though it is not allowed for students. It’s the only risk all questioned persons would take, because the consequence of the risk is not so dangerous. But when you face them with the dilemma of paying for the parking and doing the good thing or being on time in class.. opinions are scattered. This comparison shows us that people do think about the consequences of the risk they are about to take. It is not that they take every risk without thinking. They do know what could happen after taking the risk. They are well aware off the risky world we live in nowadays. It is quite a curious case In the survey there was one other situation where everybody would have done the same thing. It is the situation where the students were asked if they would accept a gift or not. Surprisingly everybody would accept the gift even though they have no clue what is inside. This demonstrates that when a human being it’s curiosity is triggered, they do not think about any consequence anymore. They just accept the gift and hope for a nice present instead of the parking fine. There are some real risk-takers and daredevils among us, that is for sure. But they are not so fierce as we would think they are. The risks they take are deliberately.

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7/ R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S As a result of this survey I can now submit some recommendations about risk awareness and dealing with risk consequences. My recommendations are based on my key issue, the figures of the survey and my conclusion. First of all I would like to evince that it is really necessary to take a risk once in a while. It is no bad think to step out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself with some new experiences. This brings me back to the quote I have used in the introduction of this rapport. Mark Zuckerberg says that the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking any risks. But every card has two sides and with risks it is the same. The risks you should take in life could not have illegal consequences or create major problems for your personal life. You should always ponder the potential risk and do not do anything utterly stupid or completely unacceptable. You will only make a fool of yourself if you do and that is not worth the risk. Furthermore I suggest you ask for a second opinion whenever you doubt about taking a risk. It is no shame to call your best friend, mother or boss and ask about their points of view on the things. At the end we are all here to help each other. We all handle risks and their effects on our own way. But in the end we are all in this together and it is never bad to spice up life a little bit more.

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8/ A P P E N D I C E S 8.1 A P P E N D I X O N E

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8.2 A P P E N D I X T W O

In this report I have only questioned my fellow students from the course Business English 2b. In the second phase of this report I will enlarge my target audience. I will question my own pilot, taking into account that all student of the Arteveldehogeschool will the target audience. What has to be changed? Because I have put together a survey with questions, clearly targeted to students in the Arteveldehogeschool, all of them are still relevant. There are no questions that need to be dropped. However that doesn’t mean that I do not have to change anything. The demographic questions would have to change. In phase one, where I investigated the risk awareness of my fellow students, a lot of details about their student life were already known. I knew in which grade they were studying, I knew what studies they are doing, etc. But in phase two my target audience is a whole lot bigger. In fact, my target audience would be 1.125 times bigger. Which questions have to be added? Two more demographic questions have to be added to get a clearer view on the new target audience.

• In which grade are you currently? - First grade - Second grade - Third grade - Other: …

• What are your studies?

- …

Once applied, we have the new pilot for our larger target audience. The link can be found here: https://goo.gl/forms/BrH0gBDu3KFcAiE22

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9/ R E F E R E N C E S

Desmet A. (2016, October 20). Google Docs. “I dare you to fill in this survey !”- Version 1 Desmet A. (2016, October 22). Google Docs. “I dare you to fill in this survey !”- Version 2; https://goo.gl/forms/BrH0gBDu3KFcAiE22 Carels, S. (2016, October 20). Chamilo - Business English. “Linking words”: https://chamilo.arteveldehs.be/ Carels, S. (2016, October 20). Chamilo - Business English. “Business reports”: https://chamilo.arteveldehs.be/ Arteveldehogeschool (2016, October 22). School website. “Inschrijvingscijfers aan de Arteveldehogeschool: trends”: https://www.arteveldehogeschool.be/nieuws-opinie/persbericht/inschrijvingscijfers-aan-de-arteveldehogeschool-trends Brainyquote (2016, October 20). Website. “Mark Zuckerberg Quotes”: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/markzucker453450.html