My partner hired a teacher from one of the opposition schools, that was a great move on his part and it strengthened one of our weak areas. I’d hire an ex-Hess teacher too, but Hess usually only hires teachers from outside an area, that way when the teacher leaves that Hess they leave town too and go back home, therefore they don’t fall into the hands of the competition. Of course I would never ask a teacher to disclose confidential information, nor would I use it if they let it slip, though I don’t see what there would be to let slip. General methods etc are useful though even if it’s just to meet needs that they don’t.
Just wondering, doesn’t Hess have a reputation for only hiring directly from overseas, primarily South Africa, quoting what seems like a reasonable salary to the uninformed and unsuspecting prospective teacher, only to have them find out that they are being paid sustantially less than the industry average after arrival?
If so, more power to you, Bassman; something stinks in Hippoland :raspberry:
Nobody has suggested the e-mail was illegal. Business ethics were the only thing brought into question.
The motivations for sending the e-mail were mixed. On the “advocate of a friend side,” engaging in this type of e-mail exchange is admirable, and certainly doesn’t raise any ethical issues. As a potential referrer to Hess, it’s reasonable for someone to pose as a hypothetical friend to guarantee the soundness of their hiring policies.
But on the “collecting competitor information” side it is real easy run into ethical gray areas in exactly how one goes about obtaining information. I think that for a businessman, sending that e-mail was the right move. It was just the representation part that needed a slight tweaking. Otherwise it was almost perfect.
I know I’m splitting hairs. But I think that, given the dual motivations, it is important to find the highest ethical ground from which to criticize the Hippo’s own ethical lapses.
I’ve run into similar situations myself – trying to ethically obtain competitor information – and its a pain trying to figure out where the line is. My purpose in rehashing this is not to do the “although it’s too late, you should’ve done this, you should’ve done that” song and dance. I just think this situation is a good example for figuring out ways to navigate these issues.
[quote=“Filthywaffle”]Nobody has suggested the e-mail was illegal. Business ethics were the only thing brought into question.
The motivations for sending the e-mail were mixed. On the “advocate of a friend side,” engaging in this type of e-mail exchange is admirable, and certainly doesn’t raise any ethical issues. As a potential referrer to Hess, it’s reasonable for someone to pose as a hypothetical friend to guarantee the soundness of their hiring policies.
But on the “collecting competitor information” side it is real easy run into ethical gray areas in exactly how one goes about obtaining information. I think that for a businessman, sending that e-mail was the right move. It was just the representation part that needed a slight tweaking. Otherwise it was almost perfect.
I know I’m splitting hairs. But I think that, given the dual motivations, it is important to find the highest ethical ground from which to criticize the Hippo’s own ethical lapses.
I’ve run into similar situations myself – trying to ethically obtain competitor information – and its a pain trying to figure out where the line is. My purpose in rehashing this is not to do the “although it’s too late, you should’ve done this, you should’ve done that” song and dance. I just think this situation is a good example for figuring out ways to navigate these issues.[/quote]
You are indeed… right.
Thank you for your input. So, I guess that means hacking their website is out then? Just kidding.
If so many school owners are against the rule, and if the rule is not based on legislation, then why don’t the school owners take up a collection and hire a good lawyer?
I knew there was something funny when before the latest “crackdown” took place (and it was well known that English kindergartens were illegal as opposed to now where it’s still being questioned) there were public buses driving around with the words “Hess Kindergarten” and a white face with Taiwanese children plastered on the side.
People seem to forget the fact that Hess has tons and tons of money.
It would appear also that the boss of Hess has friends in high places.
Every time Hess encounters ‘difficulties’ with government bureaucracy, or a police department, the problems always mysteriously disappear in a very short space of time.
Hi all. I’ve been looking at working for Hess Language School in Taiwan for a while now. I’m just wondering if anyone has first hand experience of working with this company. Their website presents a very well organised language school and seems to have a very comprehensive training program for TEFL teachers.
I’d also like to know if people who have worked for Hess, what the social aspect of the job will be like. Do you get to socialise with a lot of the other teachers etc. etc.
I guess the social aspect of the job is not of paramount importance because I speak fluent mandarin and have family in Taiwan but it would be nice to be part of a foriegn contingent as I have lived in London most of my life.
Another question I have is I have both a British passport and a Taiwanese one (mother - Taiwanese, Father - Yorkshire). On my Taiwanese passport is a Taiwanese ID no. because I was born in Taipei and my Houkou was registered at birth. I’m wondering if the Taiwanese passport would be an advantage or a hinderance to my work and residency situation in Taiwan. I only ask because I’m 24, male and not inclined to appreciate sabre rattling in the military like a militant nutcase for 18 months of my life! More info: I left Taiwan when I was 8 and was back in 1998 for 6 months otherwise the other visits have been 2 week visit.
If you come back to Taiwan you may be able to avoid military service by leaving the country every 4 months, this can be done by an overnight trip by ship from Keelung (Jilong), or so I am led to believe. If you should happen to stay over a certain amount of days it may be off to the army for you.
I’ve never worked at Hess, although I did interview and was accepted by them. A woman I know very well is working for them and loves it. My opinion of chain schools is if you’re new to teaching it’s generally a good thing as they provide a bunch of training which can only help. The pay is usually slightly less than what you might get other places, but often there are bonuses (real ones, not the “we dock your pay and give it to you as a bonus later”), as well as being in a system that has already worked out all the kinks so you know exactly what you have to do from day to day, and won’t have to ‘develop a curriculum’ because the boss is too lazy or clueless to do it.
However, having said all that, it is my understanding that each Hess school is more or less autonomous (sp?), and therefore your mileage may vary from location to location.
Well the bonuses at Hess - for me - included staying late to grade homework everyday (or taking it home with you to grade), coming in early for prep time, attending mandatory meetings on your lunch break, losing a day’s pay to attend mandatory training (oh, they gave you about NT$500 or something like that - so by the time I paid for the train and taxi ride I was only NT$100 in the hole ).
Based on the number of hours I put in and the number of hours I got paid for I figure I was making about NT$300 an hour before taxes.
Of course, after realizing this I didn’t stick around long enough to qualify for any real bonuses.
But then again, if you just starting out and aren’t worry about money…it’s a great place to work.
Im starting for HESS in taoyuan at the end of august, and i was wondering if anyone had any particuarly tragic or uplifting stories to recount about prior experiences with this company.
I applied with them largely because they seemed stable, reputable and organized, and so far so good… but I’ve heard afew negative stories as well.
No shite? Whereabout in Taoyuan? There is one close by to my place in Taoyuan City. And if you want to see some feedback on not only Hess but other schools, this is a good place to start:
God, for a moment I thought this was going to be a satire thread…
From what I’ve heard - bear in mind, I’m not an English teacher - you should take the negative comments with a grain of salt. People who’ve had bad experiences with a place tend to be a lot more vocal than those who’ve had only good.
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