Polish Organizational Skills

I mean no offence but this whole thread make me wonder why all these foreigners choose to live and work in Poland? ;-]
I like to work with Polish programmers (I am a Pole) because there is no single task that we cannot manage with and the pressure of time gives us an extra boost.

'Westies' won't understand that :-]

It's cheap, and commitments prevent me from leaving.

A sad story. Make a script and send it to Hollywood ;-]

Wow. That sounds like it would make a fascinating film. Please go on.

Makes me sad - reading this tread. We're not completely useless bunch of sheep. It's easy to chuck everyone in one sack and made judgments, BUT to get to the truth one needs to make some effort. Ever cross your minds that we're just like any other nation? Some of us do posses organizational skills, some don't. Some're too old to kill old habits, some to young to remember "old times". Some find themselves in kind of a situation with bossy boss who likes to be asked before any decisions are made. Looks to me some of you are making the same mistake I made whet first time went to live abroad – judging the nation by few people only.

I could say all the Brits’re usless, don’t even know what grammatical tenses are (!), think Las Vegas it’s somewhere on Sahara (as LV it’s somewhere on a desert, the desert must be Sahara, as there’s only one isn’t it? Sahara in Africa? How could it be – one can see it in Hollywood-made movies so it’s bound to be in States…) and olives are flat round things one can find on pizza… Only because I live in old mining town and meet Brits general-operative-kind doesn't mean all are like this, or at leas I hope so ;)

This has caused many problems in the past. Every society has them.


This is the side of Polish I have seen. Hard working, smart, efficient... sweet, soft, pretty... (weep)

Thanks for that. I'm an ex-programmer moved into management, hoping to slowly inherit a team.... nice to know they like pressure....

But, sorry, this pressure comes with a system specification and a plan :) There will also be a pressure relief valve if it gets too high.


You're quite right with this, but did you learn your native language with you parents saying "this is past tense, we use this... ". No. You learn by copying what they say and learn what words and phrases are in context. Could you explain to me the noun cases and when to use them along with all the possible endings? I suspect not, but if you can, then I sure hope you live in Gdansk and have soem teaching skills because i'll need to meet you. I've known Polish teachers who can describe the tenses perfectly, but barely knew phrasal verbs and couldn't pronounce 'th' without saying 'd'.

As for you putting everybody in the same sack. Well, I guess we are, but we are saying 'on the whole', not 'all people'. We're making generalisations and from my experience, I've not _yet_ met any Pole who is a good organiser. Most certainly not in the older generations.

Finally, your comments about Brits nto knowing where places are or what things are like olives, sadly, in many cases this is true. It was recently(?) shown that many school children are incapable of identifying a vegetable in its raw form. They were also completely unaware that chicken doesn't actualy grow in boxes in the kitchen of McDonalds!

2pence

Key is to organize cadres along progressive socialist shock troops methodology results very good in Peoples Republic of Poland when efficiently decoupled from independent counter-revolutionary thinking harboured in the western exploitive so-called democracies

I think I know what you mean. What I meant wasn't them giving me full lecture on grammars, acknowledging existence of tenses would be good enough. One night I asked all the Brits (as the first one and next, and next hasn’t got a clue) working on my shift if they know what "tense" is. They didn't know, the only thing they could think of was a spring ("tense? as in a spring?). I just can't imagine not knowing, that's something we learn in primary school.


I could, but hate it with all my hart, well, I hate grammar as whole, but was forced to learn in anyway. Even if I might not be sure of smth I’ll know where to find out, as I know it exist ;)

Sorry, not Gdansk, but hey, remember the Internet thing? one may exchange information that way ;)


Thank you, I’ll try to remember „on the whole” and “generalizations”, I promise I’ll :)


Thanks God for Jamie Oliver ;)

If that's teh polish primary education syllabus, I can well understand the problems this country is in. Why don't children learn something useful?

Ah, there's the thing... they weren't language teachers? They think tense is what you do to a muscle...

But really, I have a similar thing with Polish natives when I ask them simple grammar, like, why do nouns change and what are the patterns... they have no idea! They just know to say it this way.

I hear what you're saying about not knowing something that we learned in primary education but as far as I recall from my primary education (early 80s) we did very little on grammar. Yeah, I remember once being told what an adjective and a noun were but that's as far as it went. This should have been carried on into secondary school to actually understand our language. Rather than just getting a 'D' on an assignment - how about tell me where I went wrong and how to improve my writing style and gammar? But oh no.. that would be far too logical.

Now, where did I put that tupennce?

big ups (i know no one says that but whatever) to Olasz and tonykenny for keeping this thing respectable-hats off to you gentlemen!

hehe thanks. I must say, I think Olasz would make a great debating partner and it's refreshing to meet somebody in an online forum who can debate without decending into insults (which frankly shows a loss of an argument and self control)

So, my hat's off to Olasz :) Let's select another topic - i sure need to vent :)

When I need to vent I knead a dough for sourdough bread ;)
I enjoy the forum very much, so many topics as seen from the other side of the fence. Thanks for the opportunity. btw - looks like the grass is equally green on both sides ;)

I'll try to do my very best to meet your "demands" ;) (is that correct? doesn't look right...) I'm just not sure my not-so-perfect English will let me :) Waiting for that bit about hats off - sorry, haven't got one :-P If you ever come up with something about silk ties and suits... ;)

silk ties and suits.... hell, I learn a new fetish on here every day! :)

I just wanted to add a bit here.... traffic lights... polish drivers... a little situational awareness and, dare I say, forward planning will help us all move that little bit quicker on the roads. When you see the opposing lights change to red, maybe this is a good time to stop picking your nose, put the car in gear and thinks may be, just, maybe, that your lights might just be about to turn to green!!

One of my Polish friends in England commented that she really liked how when the lights turn to green in England, everybody starts moving; they are all ready to go! Even the car 10 places down the line....

7 Ps.... I must introduce Poland to the 7 Ps

how about Brits driving on all 3 lines of a motorway, all the cars with the same speed, no room for overtaking? :D
In Germany - 1 line for trucks, lorries, slower cars, midle one for overtaking, a bit faster frivers, and 3rd one for speeeeeeeds.
In Poland it's hard to find 3 lines on a motorway, but still - there's enough thinking so there's a chance to overtake ;)

you appear to miss the fundamental point tony, which tends to suggest your experience of debating runs no further than heated discussions in a pub.

tonykenny( quote)hehe thanks. I must say, I think Olasz would make a great debating partner and it's refreshing to meet somebody in an online forum who can debate without decending into insults (which frankly shows a loss of an argument and self control)

Frankly I dont think you can debate period,, your bent views on polish organisational
skills is warped. u talk crap from the start of the thread and then you counter-post
Thank you? u cant even admit to your own insult from the beginning of the thread.
so how can you tell others they are wrong getting into heated discussions when you
cant even begin a proper thread casually?

WTF!

Point taken but I'd say this is more a symptom of the complete lack of consideration the vast majority of Poles have for their fellow citizens - in this case other drivers. They simply don't think to themselves that they might hit and kill someone when they drive fast, it only matters that they get whee they want to go as quickly as they can.

That is exactly my experience of debating :)

Patrycia, thanks for your input... you've added a little life to the thread :)
But if you think that a general observation and personal opinion is an insult, then I apologise to you... but maybe the comments are a bit close to the bone, a bit to accurate?

As for talking crap... exactly, that's what I'm here for :)

MrBubbles... exactly.

Don't sweat it. Some people here don't understand the term discussion forum..

I thought it was a joke actually after my saying that it's refreshing to see somebody who can 'debate' without insulting.. then came the insults... first I laughed... then i thought maybe, just maybe, it was serious...

so take a class or something if you cant understand iit :)

anyways, I didnt find his assessment to be a discussion, it was insulting to polish
people, and to start a thread with that type of view, what is expected? nice replys?

I dare you to walk into a resturant and strike up a conversation with someone polish
and say that.. see the response you get.. make sure you put on your boxing gloves.

as for hitting home, nope it doesnt, because I am American-polish , it just bothers
me that so many have such a bad opinion and the large generalization of all polish not
having organisational skills, pretty far fetched... if someone has never had experience
in something, how could they know how you want things? your talking language barriers
and all kinds of factors which play a key role in why.. if your to self-absorbed then of
course you wouldnt notice.. same for the drivers, how do you know the guy in the
car that just almost ran you down isnt muslim? or some other nationality?

I understand theres people who shouldnt own a drivers license, but the generalisations on here is pretty far fetched.. thats why you get the responses you do.

just my opinion.. anyways. have a good one, I am off to work.

I did something similar the other day. subject Euro 2012. With Wroclaw stadium due for completion next year... and the fact that the stadium is no more than a drawing on a piece of paper at this point in time... the general response about those in authority was more negative than you might believe. It's sad, but true.

You have a point there. Poland is the beating heart of cosmopolitan Europe and thus full of Muslims. I should look more carefully next time a car accident occurs near my house (tomorrow probably). Suffice it to say that there's a safe chance I'm correct about it being a Pole.


Sorry but I've yet to find a Pole who could even organise anything more complicated than a day's shopping. That's just the way it is.

It often seems that way but you must remember that they operate under excessively bureaucratic conditions and that's a hard slog.

1. There are not many muslims in Poland so the chances are quite slim
2. The buge black moustache often gives it away.
Now we really are talking gerneralisations...

As for my original post being insulting, maybe go back and read it again. If I recall, (I can't be bothered checking), I finished the post with a question asking for other opinions and experiences. How would it look if i opened a discussion with only a question without offering my opinion?


You've found one that can think *that* far ahead? Wow, you've done good!

So, we'll see where this goes, but, if we really must stoop, I can write a list of fine examples where a lack of planning or even just short term forward thinking supports these opinions.

Hey, I'm bored.. let's give a couple here;
1) My ex objected strongly to my planning our route from central England to Krakow by car. She said she saw no point, just get in the car and go! She had no concept of planning to meet the ferry at the scheduled departure time as we had a ticket that allowed us on only one sailing...

2) The aforementioned traffic lights issue
3) When attending a meeting that is a 30 minute drive away... thinking that setting of 15 minutes before the meeting - and _then_ encountering traffic! (in rush hour)

Now, please, do feel free to give examples of good Polish planning and preperation.
Oh, I have come across a couple of well run companies in Poland... which turn out to be run by foreigners!

kaching

Public transport?

Maybe first you give us some examples of good british planning and preperation and once we stop laughing, perhaps sombody will provide you with some info.

Come on Greg, step up to the plate. Prince has been online most of the day but has written nothing.