Day 1
Door: Gijs van de Merbel
25 Januari 2016 | Nederland, Assen
The first day of our internship at PRA Health Sciences. We were expected at 9 AM, so we checked in at the reception at that time. We then met Nico van de Merbel, the scientific director of the laboratory. He first showed us the little office we had been appointed, and then gave an in-depth presentation about what happens at the laboratory in Assen. We both found it very interesting to get such an insight in a complicated scientific and corporate process. After the presentation, which took around an hour, we were shown around the building, including the laboratories where people were hard at work. We also saw the machines, of which the function had just been explained during the presentation, in action. It was all very interesting, but there was an interview scheduled at 11 AM, with David Browne, an Englishman who travels around Europe for PRA to do business. The interview is transcribed below. Mr Browne was quite a nice guy, and happily answered all our questions. After the interview, we transcribed the audio recording of the interview we had recorded and started preparing for the activities of the next day. We were even lucky enough to meet Mr Peter Ketelaar, the vice president of the company who is also in charge of the location in Kansas. He came to say hello to us and offered to answer some questions via email, because he had to leave for the US today, so we couldn't interview him in person.
Personally, I didn't expect to be so detailedly informed about what goes on at the laboratory, and I was honestly very interested in it. Mr David Browne was a very nice guy, and generally I haven't had any negative feelings toward this internship so far, and my personal expectations and goals have definitely been fulfilled. - Gijs
My expectations from the company before today were that the people we'd meet would be a lot more formal and I expected that all research done would be far from my comprehension, but I was wrong in both of those regards. The people we met, including Mr. Browne and even the boss of the department, who introduced himself only as Peter, were much more informal than I anticipated and very easy to talk to.
What I'm expecting from the rest of the week is a little more insight of the scientific research done at the facility, which I've found myself very interested in, and talking to and interviewing more people from the company and their clients. I'm curious to see whether their answers to our questions differ very much from Mr. Browne's and how they view such international business relationships in general. - Emmanuel
Interview with Mr. David Browne.
First of all, we want to thank you for taking the time to speak to us. Could you describe your function within PRA?
David: I’m account director for the laboratory. I work in all of Europe, where my function is to talk to clients, discuss business with them, and also to establish contact with new clients.
Which countries are the people you work with from?
David: I am based in the UK, but I work with people from the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany. Basically with people from all over Europe
Do you notice any cultural differences between these people? Do you approach clients from different countries differently, with these differences in mind?
David: You have got to be aware of cultural differences. The English are considered diplomatic in the way they communicate. Emails by Brits are time consuming and suggestive instead of direct. In comparison, he Dutch are more direct, and especially the Swiss and the Germans are more direct, they expect you to directly do what they say without discussion. Danes are abrupt, whereas Belgians and French are more indirect. The way people from different countries use language is also different. You’re expected not to use colloquial terms, and not use words that are longer than necessary.
Do you think it is easier to work with people from your own country?
David: No, I don’t think it is easier, you’re used to working with people from your own country, obviously but I’ve done the job for long enough to understand the cultural differences and adapt to them. I do struggle a bit with Germans.
Did you specifically choose this function because of the international aspect it has?
David: My background is in chemistry, I am a trained analytical chemist. I worked in a lab for about 20 years, and managed lab for 10 years. My function gradually progressed into what I do now, because I had the opportunity to become either a higher manager or to move to sales, and I chose for sales. To answer your question more directly, I definitely like working with different people, different cultures and different countries.
With PRA being an international company, how has your experience been working with the Dutch branch? Has there been anything you noticed about cooperation with Dutch employees that stood out as special?
David: No, nothing major. The Dutch just tend to do things in a slightly different way, to the English I suppose. It’s not a big step, it’s a very slight thing.
You’re British, working for an American company with a laboratory in the Netherlands. Where do you live? And how often do you travel for work and where do you go the most?
David: I live in North Yorkshire. Switzerland and Copenhagen are the most regular locations I go to. I would say I’m on the road 3 weeks out of 4. I’m generally at home during the weekend, generally from halfway through Friday.
Do you speak any languages other than English?
David: No, I do English very well. Yes, ideally it would be useful to speak Dutch, French, Danish, German, Swiss-German, etc. But which one do I start with?
Would this be useful for your work? Do you think people prefer to do business in their own language? (Have you come across any language barriers?)
David: Yes and no. I’ve had instances I was travelling with a German speaking national and I was going to a Danish company and the Dane and the German were not understanding each other’s English so I was able to help by translating from English to English.
Do you think the distance between the laboratory here and the office in America negatively impacts the productivity of the company? Would it be better to have all parts of the company closer together?
David: I think time-zone is the thing rather than distance, although they’re obviously related. It’s difficult to find time when you can both sit down and have a discussion. I have telephone conferences very late in the day sometimes, with some of my West Coast colleagues.
Personally, I didn't expect to be so detailedly informed about what goes on at the laboratory, and I was honestly very interested in it. Mr David Browne was a very nice guy, and generally I haven't had any negative feelings toward this internship so far, and my personal expectations and goals have definitely been fulfilled. - Gijs
My expectations from the company before today were that the people we'd meet would be a lot more formal and I expected that all research done would be far from my comprehension, but I was wrong in both of those regards. The people we met, including Mr. Browne and even the boss of the department, who introduced himself only as Peter, were much more informal than I anticipated and very easy to talk to.
What I'm expecting from the rest of the week is a little more insight of the scientific research done at the facility, which I've found myself very interested in, and talking to and interviewing more people from the company and their clients. I'm curious to see whether their answers to our questions differ very much from Mr. Browne's and how they view such international business relationships in general. - Emmanuel
Interview with Mr. David Browne.
First of all, we want to thank you for taking the time to speak to us. Could you describe your function within PRA?
David: I’m account director for the laboratory. I work in all of Europe, where my function is to talk to clients, discuss business with them, and also to establish contact with new clients.
Which countries are the people you work with from?
David: I am based in the UK, but I work with people from the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany. Basically with people from all over Europe
Do you notice any cultural differences between these people? Do you approach clients from different countries differently, with these differences in mind?
David: You have got to be aware of cultural differences. The English are considered diplomatic in the way they communicate. Emails by Brits are time consuming and suggestive instead of direct. In comparison, he Dutch are more direct, and especially the Swiss and the Germans are more direct, they expect you to directly do what they say without discussion. Danes are abrupt, whereas Belgians and French are more indirect. The way people from different countries use language is also different. You’re expected not to use colloquial terms, and not use words that are longer than necessary.
Do you think it is easier to work with people from your own country?
David: No, I don’t think it is easier, you’re used to working with people from your own country, obviously but I’ve done the job for long enough to understand the cultural differences and adapt to them. I do struggle a bit with Germans.
Did you specifically choose this function because of the international aspect it has?
David: My background is in chemistry, I am a trained analytical chemist. I worked in a lab for about 20 years, and managed lab for 10 years. My function gradually progressed into what I do now, because I had the opportunity to become either a higher manager or to move to sales, and I chose for sales. To answer your question more directly, I definitely like working with different people, different cultures and different countries.
With PRA being an international company, how has your experience been working with the Dutch branch? Has there been anything you noticed about cooperation with Dutch employees that stood out as special?
David: No, nothing major. The Dutch just tend to do things in a slightly different way, to the English I suppose. It’s not a big step, it’s a very slight thing.
You’re British, working for an American company with a laboratory in the Netherlands. Where do you live? And how often do you travel for work and where do you go the most?
David: I live in North Yorkshire. Switzerland and Copenhagen are the most regular locations I go to. I would say I’m on the road 3 weeks out of 4. I’m generally at home during the weekend, generally from halfway through Friday.
Do you speak any languages other than English?
David: No, I do English very well. Yes, ideally it would be useful to speak Dutch, French, Danish, German, Swiss-German, etc. But which one do I start with?
Would this be useful for your work? Do you think people prefer to do business in their own language? (Have you come across any language barriers?)
David: Yes and no. I’ve had instances I was travelling with a German speaking national and I was going to a Danish company and the Dane and the German were not understanding each other’s English so I was able to help by translating from English to English.
Do you think the distance between the laboratory here and the office in America negatively impacts the productivity of the company? Would it be better to have all parts of the company closer together?
David: I think time-zone is the thing rather than distance, although they’re obviously related. It’s difficult to find time when you can both sit down and have a discussion. I have telephone conferences very late in the day sometimes, with some of my West Coast colleagues.
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
