Poetry Slam - Here I am!

Our class: Management, thirty-one twenty.
Our professor's name: Kurpis
Who insists that 'Distance Learning Class'
has its own purpose!

But what he proved on many days,
is that we can learn-
through very fun ways:

From creating products out of jello,
to replicating a figure - out of lego!

We learned through our peers
where our shortcomings fall,
We got a lot from this class,
even if we didn't study at all :-)

Blog re-view

I'll go through the goals that you had for this blog component to provide a clear critique. 

1) In my opinion, the blog achieved the first goal easily and the most effectively.  I was able to at least learn a little bit of the backgrounds and thought processes of my classmates.  The degree to which it extends into communicating in class is not as profound, but is nonetheless beneficial.

2) This is somewhat related to the first set of goals.  Oftentimes we can't express all that we want to about a class activity because of time constraints (the activities take up the entire class).  Many of the blogs require us to connect the activity to a recent topic, and that does help us study when we look back.  I retain a lot of what I learn only if I record my thoughts immediately after the activity.  I'm also guilty of sometimes blogging last-minute, so I don't have a solution there. 

3) I find your blog informative and revealing of your experiences.  They are interesting, and I see that they are catered to a larger audience - one that extends beyond this class and perhaps this school.  My suggestion is to include or replace them with more personal posts.  What I mean is that you can post your reflections and reactions to what we did in class activities, or perhaps how previous classes fared.

4) Being a C personality type, I've kept this 20% in my mind throughout the semester.  I think it's a fair percentage and it is a huge incentive to keep blogging on top of due dates.  I honestly believe that it's within every college student's responsibility to meet deadlines.  This 20% is a gift to me as it should be to future classes (all other things equal, haha) 

5) I do plan to post on a blog sometime in the future, albeit not this one.  My problem lies with Blogger.  Blogger is great in the sense that it's dead simple to create, and it's perfect for these blogs.  It's just not as flexible as others are.  (Wordpress, for example)

To sum it all up, I'm ok with the blogging and its point value.  I like the push it's given me the push to record my thoughts.

Personal Profile DISC Test

The DISC test revealed that I am a C person, followed by D - meaning I am conscientious with dominance as a secondary trait.  The test, for the most part, is correct.  I had also taken other personality profile tests in the past - you know, the ones in high school to determine what you should major in in college.  It does reflect my personality of being very analytical.  It just happens so that I like to know every facet of things that come across my path.  Sometimes, I even buy things just to take them apart!

I'm satisfied with being a C, but I wish my secondary trait was more of an I.  I don't think being dominating is the way to go, but in some situations it's the only way to get things done.  It's certainly possible to become another type, but I think in order to do that you'll have to be changed by an external factor.  We all often hear of people experiencing life-changing events; then see the world differently; and subsequently behave differently.  I'm not sure whether or not you can conscientiously plan out a personality change, haha.

While I do believe that the DISC test can give a ballpark of your personality type, I don't think that different personalities necessarily clash with one another.  These tests only show how each person generally manages things.  The true behavior of a person is highly situational.  For example, a 'S' type personality may suddenly take a dominating stance when a deadline is fast approaching.  Similarly, a 'D' type personality may concede to others to get things done in time.

A 'Special' Order

I went into my local McDonald’s at around 9:00pm.  I could tell that they usually don’t experience much traffic at this hour by the presence of a single cashier, food preparation worker, and manager.  No one else was there, so I was less anxious about causing a commotion with my order.  I stepped up to the cashier and he asked me what I would like.  I began my order by saying, “I would like one hamburger with five pickles.”  He grinned as he entered it in.  He then asked, “What else?”  I replied, “I would like a small fries, well done, with Big Mac sauce.”  Again he smiled, and finished entering the order.  I was surprised that he didn’t protest. 

He then left the cashier and shouted to the worker in the back, “a hamburger with FIVE pickles!”   The manager took care of getting the fries.  Bag in hand, the cashier came towards me and asked, “Do you really want the Big Mac sauce?” I nodded.  He then took a lid to the worker got the Big Mac sauce for me.  While he was gone, I noticed that the receipt only said “1 XTRA$ PICKLE” and the French fries weren’t marked “well done.” 

When the cashier returned, I pointed this out to him and asked if there was any way to change it.  He said, “No, we can’t do that.”  I asked him if he was sure, and again he shook his head and again said that there’s no way.  I stood there not knowing what to say; there was some awkwardness.  The manager was walking around and so I asked her the same question.  She too, shook her head.   I then suggested entering the pickle code five times. The cashier then said some things to her in Spanish, and at the end said, “You can’t do that, right?” 

The manager walked up to the cashier and tried entering the order in.  After a few presses, she produced the receipt that I wanted.  The cashier then had to tell the food preparation worker to not fulfill the order just entered.  I thanked the manager and cashier and then sat down to make sure the order was correct.  It was.  There were five pickles on the hamburger and a grill slip accompanying the wrapper.  There were the ‘well done’ fries and the Big Mac sauce. 

I’d have to say that it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  I think the cashier has been working there for some time.  I was treated like any other customer.  The wait for the order was quick, within 2 minutes.  The receipt correction took around 4 minutes, though. 

If I were hired as a management consultant, I’d make sure that the cashiers have a thorough knowledge of the menus.  Yet the cashier that placed my order seemed to be very familiar with the system.  If I had to rate the staff, I’d say that both the cashier and manager are on par with each other. 

In terms of training, I think the employees were trained well – more than adequate.  The reason why I say this is that I’ve experienced some cashiers that will tell you flat-out no just because an item is not on their screen.   Both my cashier and manager knew how to ‘manipulate’ the system and remedy it manually.  They are effective in that sense.  However, they are flawed in customer service when something can’t be done.  It seems that the only explanation to the customer is “No, we can’t.”  There’s no elaboration.  For less than special orders, this could present a problem. 

In terms of organization, there were effective in preparing the order.  However, the workflow is not optimized to take many special orders.  The McDonald’s system of entering orders and food preparation is meant to be separate, meaning that a successful order should not require the two stations to communicate (the computers do that).  A single ‘special’ order would require the manager, cashier, and food prep worker to be involved.  This detracts from McDonald’s efficient assembly line method.  When we have special orders like these, the process moves closer to being a service. For special orders like these, I would have the cashier call out the order to the food preparation section.  While it may not be the most elegant solution, it’ll get the job done without involving a manager.  The customer will then get their orders faster. 

The communication between employees was very good.  Like I mentioned before, the order was successfully made even though the initial receipt didn’t reflect the exact order.  I asked the cashier how the system works after my order.  I wondered if the food workers in the back would be confused by other ‘special’ orders. He said that they don’t – because the hanging computer screens show exactly what the order is. 

The communication with the customer may not be enough.  When the cashier and manager are met with doubt or difficulty, they simply say, “We can’t.”  Imagine if a customer representative said the same, “we can’t” and just hangs up the phone?  We, as customers, would be furious!  At the same time, I could understand that the customer may not want to understand all the processes; it may also be against company policy to reveal processes.  Saying something like, “I’ll try what I can, but I can’t guarantee that I can fulfill that order” would inform the customer that at least: (1) the cashier has made an attempt and that (2) if the machine denies the request it is not within their power to change it.

The closest thing resembling leadership during that order was when the manager stepped up to input the order herself.  I think she did the right thing by at least trying before denying.  Leadership isn’t a necessary skill to work at McDonalds. I say that because it’s a stable workplace – most orders are input the same way.  There are manuals for operating machines.  That being said, leadership is necessary to keep customers happy, and therefore keeping the franchise open for business.  The cashier could have tried to modify the order manually without the manager’s consent, but doing so would be risking his employment. 

- Vision -

These are 'cornerstones' of my vision:

1) To stay atop of my work.  For now, this applies to school.  I'm referring to, of course, the infamous 'time management' goal.  I always seem to never have enough time for what I'm supposed to do.  Yet, when deadlines come I suddenly find ways to complete it(but under a lot of stress).  So I plan to "start before the semester starts."  By this I mean reading any course related material.  During the semester I will read ahead so that lectures serve as a review for me.  Finally, I'll prioritize schoolwork before leisure.  To not play games when I have work in the queue.

2) to be able to present my ideas clearly, whether in speeches or in writing.  To hone my writing skills, I need to read more literature (other than textbooks!) during my free time.  Then I will practice reinterpreting and summarizing what I read.  With practice, I will eventually reach my goal.

3) To lead a stable life.  By this I mean I would like to stay financially sound and to spend time wisely.  I'm already on the path to completing this goal by learning essentials skills in Baruch.  I consider accounting as very practical even if I don't work in an accounting-related job.  After I graduate, I'll spend some time in internships and work two years or so.  I will return to school to study and to later take the CPA exam.  I'll just let life flow for a bit then. 

Decision Making: Consensus among Chaos!

Our class was asked to come up with a solution to remedy our test grades - with the conditions that it is reasonable, and that everyone must agree on it.  The final outcome was successful: we came out with a deal that probably no other class could imagine or bargain for.  Yet, the process was hectic.  We left the class seeing its true colors when faced with opportunity. 

When the discussions first started, I took the accommodation stance.  I knew that everyone had different ideas.  If I had contributed mine, it would just be another factor the group had to adjust to; it would slow down the decision making process.  As long as the ideas were benefiting, there is no need to step in. 

There were a few people who got up to the front to take the Compromise stance, trying to really get as much out as possible.  Those who made this sacrifice should be thanked.  There was also around two-thirds of the class who took the Avoidance stance – they had their opinions but were probably turned off by the chaos. 

Had I known the outcomes, I would have set the limit to two conditions.  As we all observed, the level of chaos exponentially rises as time goes by.  We agreed to the curve quickly.  The option to drop a curve took twice the time.  Agreeing on the essay option confused some, and almost caused us to go over the time limit.  Had we stopped at the ‘drop exam’ option, we could have avoided unnecessary stress. 

Either way, I can’t help but to imagine that this situation had the same atmosphere that existed during Constitutional Convention.  Each delegate is fighting for their own state, like each of us wanting the best for our scores.  To reach a consensus is certainly a challenge!

An Eggs-cellent dynamic!

Our group went through the Planning Process, but only briefly.  Due to time limits, we simply skipped parts of the steps that required in-depth specifics.  Before I go into the formal evaluation, here is a point in response to what Professor Kurpis addressed in class.

 - Everyone in our group participated; no one sat back.  I believe that this was because of the 10 point incentive that was set.  Yet, I have experienced the occasional person that sits back without a care in past group work.  It seems to me that in the real world, the incentives may not be as apparent or as impacting – leading to less motivated team members.  This is where the role of team leader(s) comes in.  Helping team members see goals and impacts is one of the challenges that team leaders must take on. 

Here are the parts that we accomplished, organized in steps:

Step 1:  We knew what we needed to do: to develop a contraption that would keep an egg intact after a ten foot drop.  We understood that we had both time and material constraints.  Our group was also aware of the strict deadlines.  A sheet of paper with our group member names and group design had to be at the front of the room at the end of the 25 minute time limit. 

Step 2:  Even before the time limit began, our group went to work thinking about the resources.  We decided that our design must not rely on the shared pair of scissors too much, or else it may bottleneck our efforts. 

Step 3:  We began with three outstanding designs.  The creators of two of the competing designs (I was one of them) eventually stepped down because of the pressure of the 10 points at stake.  Isn’t it funny how an incentive can become an opposing driving force?  Based on the class debriefing, this sense of responsibility for failure was not isolated to our group.  We were left with a ‘default’ design.

Step 4:  The design was chosen by step 3.  By this time, our group was solely focused on constructing the design.  It was a simple design, so skipped the allocation of jobs and roles.

Step 5:  We took the 10 foot challenge, and failed.  Our hypothesis was wrong.  As this activity was a one-shot deal, we didn’t have another opportunity to try.  However, we did realize our mistakes.  In the midst of the hectic planning, we forgot to take into account the center of gravity of our device; it was too top-heavy.  Perhaps later in the semester we can try again?

Were you satisfied with your group dynamic?