MGT 3120

Oh, Management 3120 (three one two oh)!
And I don't wanna seem too slow,
But what's that mean: 3120 (three one two oh)?
I didn't sign up for pre-cal!
That's too damn hard! I wanna out!


"3" stands for pickles count.
Oh wait! Hold on! It wasn't three!
Eight! It was eight...with mac and cheese.
That's right! I know this kind of stuff.
I always eat my fries well done.

"1" is for once upon a time
I had your not so regular professor
He made me blog, create and write.
He made me shine in my own right.
Wait! Is he that Edward from "Twilight"?


So, what's with "2"?
2 me, 2 you, 2 him, 2 her
2 many 2s, I get confused!
I want just one 2!
2 damn hard! I cannot take it! What the F***?


The "0h" stands for the points I've earned.
For legos, jellos, eggs...so on.
Not even five points have I earned!
Ashamed? Heartbroken? So what?
Thank God it was 3120 (three one two oh), not 000-00-00 (oh oh oh-oh oh-oh oh)

Blog. Blogolicious. Blogster. Blogstrous.

The question of the day: did I enjoy our blog assignments? Were they useful?
Well, let's see....to be honest, I've always wanted to write a blog about something...anything. I have so many thoughts and ideas in my head. I just want to put them out there and make some room for something else :) I have always wanted to have a journal, but laziness prevailed. I am not talking about my personal  journal where I would reveal my darkest, deepest secrets (hell no! for that I'm gonna write a book later in life j/k), but the one that anybody could read and get to know me better, agree or disagree with me, share their wisdom/knowledge. I want to write about the song I have just heard and fell in love with, about todays sh***y weather, about my job, about  my childhood, about this weird guy I saw today on my way to school (and took a picture of him when he wasn't looking). I guess, I just want to express myself.

So, here is the answer to my "question of the day": yes, I liked our blog assignments. It gave me that push, the motivation that I need to start WRITING (it's not like I want to be a writer, though. It makes a good hobby)! I NEED deadlines, damn it! As much as hard working and persistent I am, if I dont have any deadlines, I feel like I won't accomplish much.
Also, this blog was a great communication tool. I got to know so many classmates just by reading their blogs and exchanging comments! Its like a facebook of MGT 3120. We got to share our class experience and learn from each other. Through this assignments we got a chance to learn about management in a "playful" way, just by interacting with each other and writing about live experience in class. We learned about team work not only by memorizing the definition of what "team work" in a business setting is, but also by accomplishing some extra credit assignments in class. It was also very motivating to know that I can control 20% of the grade just by doing what I enjoy the most: expressing myself and putting my thoughts on "paper".
I will, definitely, continue to blog about life...may be not as often (because I won't have any deadlines), but I ll try to post something interesting once in a while.
Thank you Professor!

I am a Di.

Dominance and Influence. According to Personal Profile System, I would make a good leader and I am going to agree with this.
Some of my personal characteristics, definitely, fit the profile description: I like to accept challenges and cause action, get immediate results and make quick decisions, take authority, manage trouble, solve problems. I would like to work in Public Relations. It's a very competitive industry and requires a lot of effort and a very strong personality. I, definitely, desire not only be an assistant and run errands my first few months in the industry but also take action and take responsibility, prove that I can be a leader. 
I would say the test got my management/leader orientation 80% correct. I, certainly, prefer to be in a prestige and challenge environment with wide scope of operations, freedom from controls and supervision (it's very important to me since I show better results when I act without any supervision. I come up with more creative ideas and don't feel limited and pressured), opportunity for advancement and many varied activities. 
I LOVE how precise was the description of the atmosphere I need in order to be more effective. I am not going to lie...my life is super busy: I have two jobs, school full-time. I also fully support myself (since I don't have any family members with me in the United States) and my mom back in Russia. But if I get lazy, I get L.A.Z.Y! I need something to motivate me and keep me going at all times. I could never be passive for too long. Yes, I need difficult assignments and occasional shock, awareness of existing sanctions and identification with a group, I appreciate and know the value of a team work. I do need others who get my personality, like to deliberate before deciding, research facts and calculate risks. I do like to make quick decisions sometimes, so I need a team to help me structure a more predictable environment and use caution.
I don't think I would like to be any other type. I would, probably, like to learn some patience and logical approach from Type I (Influence), but other than that, I am pretty satisfied with my personal profile description. I think, you can learn from another type and try to take the best traits to improve yourself, but fully become another type, honestly, I don't think it's possible. By this age, we have a good idea of who we are, our opinions and personalities are pretty much defined. To change your type completely means changing who you are, your personality. And it's not easy if not almost impossible. It might backfire at you and look like a pathetic effort to be something you are not, or even seem fake.
I think it's helpful to determine people's management "type" to better understand where they are coming from and how to interact with them, especially if you are about to hire someone for a management position. It won't tell you everything about a person but would give you some kind of idea of what to expect. It also might help you in some personal interactions. It can show you what kind of approach would be needed in order to get best results and make a good profit for the company.

“Five pickles and fries well done, please!”

Extra Credit Assignment

   For this assignment I, actually, went to not one, but two McDonald’s locations! The first one I went to is conveniently located next to my house in Brooklyn (Sheepsheadbay). It was on a Monday evening about 9-9:30pm. I was the only customer and this place had only one guy working at the register and another person working in the kitchen (I could see it from where I was standing). I was greeted by a guy (Jason is his name) very politely and felt very welcomed. I started placing my order and couldn’t help but notice a smile Jason had on his face the entire time. That’s the reaction I expected. I pointed out a few times that along with a cheeseburger from a “Dollar Menu” and a side of Big Mac Sauce I am going to need “five pickles” and “fries well done” typed on a receipt. He turned around and asked a person who worked in the kitchen to put exactly five pickles on my cheeseburger (since I insisted on it).  The person working in the kitchen thought his co-worker was joking and asked him to repeat. After thirty seconds of going back in forth, the kitchen guy agreed to put exactly five pickles on my cheeseburger. Wheee!

   So, Jason said he would be able to type “5 pickles” on my receipt but, unfortunately, he won’t be able to type “well done” next to my French Fries order. I work in the service industry and know all kinds of computer systems very well. So, I asked him to highlight French Fries and then modify it. All the computer systems have this function nowadays. I know it for sure! Jason said their computers don’t have this option. I had a hard time believing this. I asked for a manager and guess what?! Jason turned out to be the manager! I asked if he had anybody who knew computer better then he did. He said that only one person might be able to help. That person is the GM and Monday is his days off. After five minutes of us going back and forth on the details of the order and after seeing that besides us, now, there were at least four other people in the store patiently waiting in line, Jason decided to call his manager! At 9:30 pm on his day off!!! Whoa! I felt bad for the guy. He called his GM at least two times and left him one voice message, but in vain…we never got any response. And then, very helpful and polite Jason decided to call another location in Brooklyn and ask them if they had the “modify” option on their computers. Some girl picked up the phone and he put her on the speakerphone. She said that they have that “modify” option at her location but not at the one I was at (I guess, she worked there before). Jason apologized and said that computers were very old.

I said that I was the one who had to apologize because I couldn’t place my order unless “five pickles” and “fries well done” were typed on the receipt. And then I apologized again and thanked him for his patience. He smiled and said: “Ok, No problem. Have a good night, Miss.” Awww!  

   FYI: I don’t think anybody else could be any more helpful or patient with the whole process. And I really appreciate Jason’s effort and other customers’ patience. I, personally, think that he was very very bored the entire day and finally found something amusing to do. And customers didn’t complain too much for the same reason: they were amused by a crazy girl trying to place her unusual order and were curious to watch the entire process…haha I would be curious too.

   So, I failed my first attempt and I knew I had to nail the second one. On Wednesday, November 3^rd, after school I went to another McDonald’s location, the one in Union Square. Very different atmosphere from the one in Brooklyn: very fast-paced, busy and so smelly! There were four cashiers working at the same time and about four to five people working in the kitchen, and one manager (I could tell that right away by the way the girl was dressed. She was wearing a different uniform from everybody else). I didn’t have time to wink when one of the cashiers screamed: “NEXT!” so loud and impatiently looked at me. I went closer to the counter and placed my order: “A cheeseburger from a Dollar Menu with EXACTLY five pickles on it, French Fries WELL DONE and a side of Big Mac Sauce.” The guy who I was ordering it from (everything went so fast I didn’t even catch his name) looked at me and said: “Excuse me?” I repeated my order but I had to ask him to slow down a little and hear me out because he was about to print out a receipt already. I asked him to type “five pickles” and “fries well done” on the receipt. He said he couldn’t do it. And before I even opened my mouth to say: “I know you can.” The manager showed up and said she would take care of this. I guess she overheard my conversation with the guy.

   A customer standing right next to me, obviously, thought he had to say something on the matter that didn’t even concern him. He turned out to be one of those obnoxious nosy people and, basically, screamed in my ear: “Are you friggin’ kidding me?” grinned at me, gave “I’m sorry you got the idiotic customer” look to the cashier and walked out. Well, I am glad everyone has an opinion!

   The manager typed my full order on the receipt, the guy who took my order originally screamed to the person working in the kitchen to put EXACTLY five pickles on my burger and I got what I ordered in the matter of 45 seconds, I think. I checked the number of pickles right on the counter and was surprised to find out that there were exactly five of them!!! I also checked my receipt and before leaving the place I gave my food to a person who was sitting lonely in the corner and looked like he had nowhere to go and wanted to eat. Basically, I didn’t have any problems at the second location except for the obnoxious nosy customer. Thank you professor for this experience!

   Analysis of the management process I witnessed:

   Organization: the manufacturing process at the first place I went to left much to be desired and the worker/manager seemed to be at a loss. He wasn’t set up to handle “extra special” orders effectively. At the second place, there was some hesitation at first, but the manager took the initiative and fixed everything quickly. I could tell they were prepared for orders like this. They didn’t expect it, but they were prepared and the manager knew exactly what she was doing. If I was the manager I would, definitely, make all the employees go through the training program, make sure they know their computer system very well and would stress the importance of better accommodating orders like this at a fast food chain. Everybody has to be on the same page and has to know how to act in this kind of situations.

   Communications: communications between employees were somewhat effective to almost ineffective at both places I went to. At the first place both workers (cashier and the cook) had a little miscommunication. I think the person who was working in the kitchen thought he was getting pranked and refused to make my special order at first. Only after going back and forth for a few minutes he agreed to do it. At the second place the communication between workers was missing, the cashier who was taking my order didn’t ask for help any of his co-workers and one of the other cashiers just smiled when she heard my order and made no effort to help her co-worker in figuring out what to do. When the manager stepped in, she just typed what I needed on the receipt without explaining it to her subordinate. Communication to me as a customer at both places was good. I had the best experience at the first place since Jason was very helpful, patient and polite. At the second spot, all the workers were really nice but reserved at the same time. They weren’t trying to relate to me. They just wanted to get their job done as quickly as possible and move on to the next customer, which I understand since it’s a fast food chain. As far as recommendations for improvement, I think, every place where they serve so many customers a day, should have some kind of small seminars on how to improve their service and communication skills. Good service is what makes a customer come back in 90% of the cases.

   Training: At the first place, Jason seemed to know what he was doing and even tried to explain to me how the computer system works at the place. At the same time, he didn’t seem too confident in his own skills and knowledge since he called his GM on his day off. I mean, I understand you don’t hear “I want five pickles and fries well done!” every single day at your joint, but c’mon! It’s not a 911 situation! The service at that place was not very effective and not very efficient, since they had a line of four-five people waiting in line for five long minutes. At the second place there was, definitely, some lack of communication between the stuff and managers were trained better than their subordinates. But, at least, the manager KNEW what she was doing, therefore the service was effective and pretty efficient.

   Leadership: At the first place, Jason displayed true leadership skills. He took the initiative in his own hands. Well, he didn’t have a choice: he was the manager who was working by himself that night! He called his GM, though, I didn’t expect him to do it. He also called another McDonald’s location and talked to one of the workers there. Yes, he might not had some knowledge about the computer system but he, definitely, displayed true leadership traits. At the second spot, the manager displayed necessary leadership qualities. She knew exactly what to do and she did it fast. The cashier who was helping me out just sunk in there and didn’t make an effort to take the initiative and figure out what to do on his own. Unfortunately, his lack of training and leadership skills was not hard to notice.

   Of course, leadership IS a necessary skill to work not only in McDonald’s or any other fast food chain but also in every aspect of our every day life. You have to have certain leadership skills if you want to succeed in life or even survive in this competitive world! Honest, forward-looking, competent, inspiring and intelligent people will always have a better opportunity to succeed in life and be better leaders. If you don’t take the initiative in your own hands and display some true leadership qualities you will just be the follower without any voice or meaning. That’s what you want to be? Not me!

MY Vision !

So, I ll be graduating soon. Pretty exciting! I am looking forward to my graduation party more than anything: Madison Square Garden and then celebrating with my friends. What could be better?! Besides, I have never really had a graduation ceremony. I finished the University back in Russia and have a Bachelor degree but didn't get a chance to attend my graduation ceremony with all my friends (I moved to NY that summer).
Well, when I am done celebrating I better find a job ASAP. This is my Business Goal #1! My major is Corporate Communications and I would love to work in Public Relations. It is a very competitive industry and I realize I would have to work hard to reach my goal and fulfill my dream. So this is my near-future-goal. I would like to work in this field for a while to gain experience I need to fulfill my Goal #2: open up my own event planning company. I love making people happy. Wedding, birthday and charity event planning would be the perfect way of showing that work could be fun and entertaining. I dont't want to wake up every morning and drag myself to the office, do something I hate doing and have to talk to people I don't want to be around. It's not a life it's an existence. As for my Goal #3 I would like to buy my mom a beautiful house: huge, with a swimming pool and a garden. That would be my Personal goal number 1 !!! My mom means everything to me. I love her to death and will do anything for her. So, that leads me to my Goal #4: getting married and having a baby (NOT anytime soon though, probably in 4-5 years when all my business goals are established). So, my Goal #5 is traveling. I want to travel a lot and often and I want to go everywhere !!!
As for specific actions (outside of "graduating") I intend to make my vision a reality...well, I've had a couple of internships already and I am trying to get my foot in the door. It IS hard and I have done a lot of networking and went on plenty of job interviews already. I will keep trying and I am sure that I will find what I am looking for soon. I am not afraid of hard work. I am afraid there won't be enough time in the day for me to do all the things I want to do. But I'm taking it one thing at a time. I know I will succeed eventually. I have no doubt about that. 

Making Decisions...

Well, we did it but we almost failed... 
The decision making conflict is a serious matter but also could be very entertaining. Our class had two tasks: 1. we had to come up with the best way to fix our grades we received on the first test; 2. since everybody complained about the format of the first test, we had to come up with some changes for the second test to make it a little easier for us (of course, changes couldn't be too dramatic, as our professor pointed out). 
First, we all got excited about the possibility to improve our grades and as soon as we heard the word "curve" we all got relieved, but we wanted MORE! In the beginning, I was trying to compromise and get at least something from the process. One of the classmates stood up and took the initiative. I thought: "Oh, ok it's the best way to do it. We need somebody who ll be able to control masses and the situation." He started pointed at people who were raising their hands letting them voice their opinion. I was one of those people. I got a chance to speak up so as a couple of other people....and then I don't know what happened. We just lost our cool and the decision making process became a total mess! We had a few people in front of the class trying to say something but nobody was listening. The same guy who took the role of the leader was trying to get everybody to stop but nobody was listening to him at that point. There were a few people who went to the state of avoidance right away (I suppose they were ok with just a curve and didn't care about the rest of the process), others went to the state of accommodation (they were ok with letting others make the decision for them)... As I said already, first, I tried to stay active and compromise but then after I realized that we gonna get a curve and the lowest grade will be dropped and I saw all the chaos that was going on....I went to the state of accommodation. 
After 10 minutes of the discussion, it was clear to me that we were done talking about our first task and we needed to start thinking about the changes that could be made for our second test. But everybody couldn't stop speculating about the first part....still ! Some of the people who were accommodating at first all of a sudden decided its time to wake up and say something. So they all were going over and over the sameeeee thiiiinnnngggggg for ages, as it seemed. I lost my patience and started "accommodating" on a MUCH deeper level than before. Finally, after we spent all our time deciding on the first part of our debate, we came to a unanimous conclusion and we voted ON WHAT WE AGREED WITHIN THE FIRST 10 MINUTES of the discussion! Damn! What a waste of time!
For the second test, "we decided"... I still don't know who that genius was who decided to add the second (optional) essay topic and we stuck with the same exam format! No words...
So, what OTHER way to handle conflict could we have chosen to get a more desirable result sooner and with less conflict?  Why would this have been better? To my mind, the separation into groups would have brought the best results. We could have asked each group to come up with the best ideas for the both tasks and then group representatives (3-4 of them) would have had to agree on the most desirable and best result that would have been beneficial for all of us. But the people who were trying to propose this kind of decision making process got immediately shot down...so here we go...

Monster Egg !

We destroyed our Monster EGG !

Honestly, I wasn't shocked. We had too many strong individuals in our group giving all kinds of different ideas. We were too overwhelmed with the process of brain storming and struggled to listen to each other. 
We managed to accomplish a few steps while working on this project. We definitely went through with the first step and defined our goals and objectives. We were very careful with the time planning and understood our deadlines. Step 2 was a little bit shaky since we didn't identify group strengths that would work in our favor and group weaknesses that could hold us back. We skipped step 2 and went to step 3 right away. We generated a whole bunch of alternative scenarios for what may happen. Once we were done with this we went for step 4: analyzed all the alternatives that we had and picked, to our mind, the best one. Although, we accomplished that part, we failed to assign roles and failed to pick the leader of the group (BIGGEST MISTAKE!). Step 5 was a mess! Despite the fact that we picked the best plan and all agreed on it, all of a sudden it didn't seem that perfect when we tried to implement it...and we started panicking and pulling the egg in different directions! 


Conclusion:

Our group didn't pick the leader- it was the crucial mistake. We needed leader, mostly, to guide the process and allocate roles throughout the team- we didn't accomplish that. Though, we were good with our deadlines and generating alternative scenarios, but when the time was up our team started panicking and pulling that poor little egg in different directions, trying to perfect the "egg construction". This chaos made our tortured egg break even before the competition started and we were disqualified. What a.... disappointment!

I still think that we had a good chance in winning. The construction was pretty smart (after tons of discussions we, finally, agreed on one design that we all seemed to like and approve of); and seemed like it could keep our egg from breaking....seemed like it.

I still can't believe we smashed the egg with our own hands...damn it! :) oh well, we live and learn...