Blog Topic 7

We all need to have a job
Maybe our boss' name will be Bob
It will be his job to manage us
Hopefully he won't damage us
Then one day we will quit
We found a better job because of our wit
Now we will be someone else's boss
And Bob will suffer that terrible loss

Blog Topic 6

I wouldn't say that writing this blog has been a pleasure to me, but I haven't hated it. I enjoy writing, but only topics I have interest in (naturally). I think for a student who is more invested in studying management, (aka a Zicklin student), this blog assignment would be more effective. I think the idea is good, so that you are forced to think about the ideas in a way different from traditional homework. I enjoyed reading others blog entries, but I do not think it made me communicate more with them in class. I like to read and I think understanding others views is valuable, but this blog did not necessarily make me have more effective or plentiful communication with my classmates. I wasn't the biggest fan of commenting on others' posts- I felt awkward writing to someone I don't even know (I never post on blogs or forums of any topics- even ones that interest me). The blog did help me to remember what we did during class activity, instead of just forgetting about everything after I left class. I am not sure I completely understand the effect this will have on my grade, but I guess I will find out. Overall, I think I put a solid effort into the blog and I thought a lot about what I was writing. I attempted to give valuable feedback to other's posts. I don't plan on using this blog after the course is over- but I am not a huge fan of putting myself out there for just random thoughts. I think the blog is an interesting and effective component of the course. I think for the average Baruch student the blog is an effective educational instrument and could prove valuable.

Blog Topic 6

I wouldn't say that writing this blog has been a pleasure to me, but I haven't hated it. I enjoy writing, but only topics I have interest in (naturally). I think for a student who is more invested in studying management, (aka a Zicklin student), this blog assignment would be more effective. I think the idea is good, so that you are forced to think about the ideas in a way different from traditional homework. I enjoyed reading others blog entries, but I do not think it made me communicate more with them in class. I like to read and I think understanding others views is valuable, but this blog did not necessarily make me have more effective or plentiful communication with my classmates. I wasn't the biggest fan of commenting on others' posts- I felt awkward writing to someone I don't even know (I never post on blogs or forums of any topics- even ones that interest me). The blog did help me to remember what we did during class activity, instead of just forgetting about everything after I left class. I am not sure I completely understand the effect this will have on my grade, but I guess I will find out. Overall, I think I put a solid effort into the blog and I thought a lot about what I was writing. I attempted to give valuable feedback to other's posts. I don't plan on using this blog after the course is over- but I am not a huge fan of putting myself out there for just random thoughts. I think the blog is an interesting and effective component of the course. I think for the average Baruch student the blog is an effective educational instrument and could prove valuable.

Extra Credit Assignment

         I attempted to place this very particular order twice. The first time I was unsuccessful and the second time I completed the task perfectly. Considering this is a management class, you might assume that the first time I dealt with an surly employee, got frustrated and walked out. If you follow this line of thought, you may assume that the second time I dealt with a confused employee, who was helped by a benevolent coworker or an eagle eyed manager- therefore enabling me to receive my particular order. However, if you followed this logical line of reasoning- you would be wrong.

         The first time I attempted to complete this project was in New Jersey. I was en route to the Poconos, had to use to the restroom and my travel companions were hungry. Considering we were driving along the middle of nowhere (aka I-80), McDonald’s was our only place to stop. When I entered the establishment, I noticed a sign promoting birthday parties at this location. The sign encouraged you to ask any yellow shirted employee about this offer. Although I can’t claim to have any interest in a McDonald’s birthday party (being a life long vegetarian), the sign was useful in the sense that I learned yellow shirt equals manager. So I wait on line patiently with my travel companions, and I hear a woman’s voice saying “Next!”. So I walk to the open register and what do I find? A yellow shirted employee is about to take my order! I get an actual manager right from the start! I breathe a sigh of relief, as I believe my extra credit dreams are surely about to come true. However, I counted my Big Macs too soon. I exchange salutations with my yellow shirted yeoman. I dictate my order very precisely. I request that my order be reflected exactly as prescribed on my receipt. I am told that this cannot be done. Her issue seemed to be with the pickles, as I had not even had the opportunity to request the fries. I tell her it is very important to me to have my order accurately portrayed, as I am rather finicky regarding my food. She says I can give you the pickles, but I can’t put it on the receipt. My “picky” ploy didn’t work, and I beseeched her to please find a way to put in on my receipt. She simply told me it could not be done. Now, I wasn’t explained this in a gentle and regretful tone, but rather harshly. I finally gave up, because if the manager could not find a way to accommodate my request, the deal was off. She never consulted with another employee, or checked the computer to make sure. She just told me “No”. I left the establishment loathing New Jersey even more than I had before, which is quite a feat.

         Fast forward to Sunday night: McDonald’s in Melville, NY. I approach the employee at the register. I tell him my particular order. I ask that it be precisely printed on my receipt. He informs me that he cannot put “5 pickles” but he can put “extra pickles” 5 times. I appreciate his ingenuity, and accept his offer. I receive a burger with exactly 5 pickles, fries that were exceptionally well done (with the crunchy taste to go along), and a substantial serving of big Mac sauce. I also received a receipt reflecting my order exactly. The employee even gave me an extra bag for my sauce, because they ran out of proper containers, and he didn’t want it to to spill on my napkins or burger. I thanked Nigel for his extraordinary patience and wished him a good night.

         I have two unique experiences to share. One was directly with a manager, and my plan was completely ruined. The second experience included no managerial interference or any other employee influence- and my order was flawlessly executed. I think this is living proof that having a certain title does not make a leader. My experience was all around much superior with my lowly employee than with the person running the burger joint. Even though the dining establishment was not incredibly sophisticated, the employee was able to meet my elevated expectations and peculiar requests. Nigel seemed genuinely concerned with completing my order exactly as I had requested.

         I felt inconsiderate inconveniencing other customers with my somewhat extended ordering process. I do truly believe that fast food restaurants should be just that- fast. I think that people go there expecting rapid service and tasty food. I don’t think it is justifiable for us to expect accommodation in the extreme at this sort of establishment. If you insist on individually editing each item of your order- go to a restaurant selected from the Michelin Guide, not McDonald’s. However, even though we should have lower expectations food wise from a fast food restaurant- McDonald’s itself should pride itself on its friendly and efficient customer service. My order was not so ridiculous that the manager from the NJ location could not have figured out how to accommodate me. Even if she could not have figured it out, she could and should have consulted with one of her colleagues- to figure out a solution or at least a compromise for her customer.

         Understandably so, McDonald’s is not the ideal place to custom configure an order. However, it may be helpful to have a system where the employee can enter notes to be put on the order, instead of just pressing certain buttons for pickles or sauce. McDonald’s is an American founded and internationally operated corporation. They have sufficient capital and resources to implement more thorough training for its employees. Even though this sort of business may not require intensive training for its lower ranked employees, they can definitely invest in better training for managers. It may not require much experience to flip a burger or instruct someone to do so- but the customer experience should be valued. The manager should have possessed better people skills or at least the willingness to satisfy a customer’s completely realistic expectation. Training should not only include technical aspects of the job, but also teach resourcefulness and customer service skills.

         I learned three things from my extra credit experience. I learned that McDonald’s is not as efficiently designed organization as it should be. I would expect that after a billion burgers, they may have encountered some picky customers who would inspire a more effective ordering process. I affirmed my knowledge that even employees as the lowest level can be more resourceful, ingenious, and leadership oriented than their superiors. Finally, I learned that big Mac sauce is a delicious condiment that I have been missing all my vegetarian life. 

Power of Vision

These are my visions for the future

1. After graduating Baruch, I plan to attend law school. I want to attend either Columbia University or New York University law school. In order to do this, I am going to maintain a high GPA while at Baruch and also score high on the LSAT’s. That means that for now I have to concentrate on school and make sure that I can get the highest grades I possibly can. I am a full time student but I also work four full days a week. So I need to make sure I balance school and work while doing well in both.
2. I love food. I am a vegetarian, but I have a more adventurous diet than most people I know. I love to mix different types of food and see what works together. However, I am usually too lazy or too tired to really cook or bake. A personal goal I have for myself is to become an accomplished chef and baker. I want to be able to share the food I eat with other people and show them that not all vegetarian food is boring or bland (a common misconception). I am going to go about this by going to many diverse restaurants to find inspiration, follow recipes that I collect from online, and experiment with my own recipes. 
3. I love art and museums. I have been to the Met countless times, Moma, the Guggenheim, the Queens and Brooklyn Museums of Art, the Louvre and others. I would like to visit every major art museum in the world. I also would like to further develop my French and Italian language skills. I can have a basic conversation in both but I would like to become fluent or at least have a working knowledge for my personal development and for career opportunities.

Blog Topic 3

When the professor offered us a chance to remedy our grade, provided we all agreed- this was a great opportunity. People reacted in a variety of ways- the most popular being avoidance. The one person who stood in front of the class was acting as a compromiser. He was announcing people’s ideas, without inputting too much of his own opinion. He was trying to keep the peace, as well as be a spokesperson for the class. Many people were avoiding the discussion, but then when it came time to vote- they objected. This is probably the most frustrating response. If you are going to object, then take part in the decision process! Don’t just sit there. I saw few people competing. I witness this directly only once. One individual was basically insulting another. I see myself as a compromiser. I didn’t do the worst or the best, so I was open to concession. There were also some individuals who were accommodating. They had done well enough and didn’t really have much to lose- so they were just along for the ride. Obviously the best behavior would have been to collaborate and compromise. We should have decided on who would be leaders and separated into groups. We should have voted on each clause instead of one vote at the end, which risked us losing all that we have discussed. 

Blog Topic 2: Planning

I think that the activity involving the egg was a very interesting way to work as a team. I think that because the task seemed very difficult and almost impossible to achieve- we maybe were slightly frazzled and may have skipped over some of the steps in the planning process. I think that our goal was already defined, and we didn’t really need to do that. As far as understanding deadlines- we kept close track of time. I don’t think that the planning and implementation of our egg saving device went as smoothly as it could have. Everyone has different ideas and opinions and there was some tension regarding differences in our group. As far as alternative strategies, there was about 3 different ideas as to what to do, but we went with the one that most people agreed on. After drawing a design for the egg, we then tried to build it. We ran into some trouble actually producing the design. However, we finally finished. Unfortunately, we were not able to implement our plan. We accidently cracked the egg before we were able to participate by dropping them from the table. I think that a way we could have been more effective as a group would have been to take votes, rather than just trying to push our point of view ahead. Maybe by agreeing that we would all follow majority rules vote, we could have avoided some of the tension. We also should have spent more time actually trying to build different designs rather than just saying that the other person’s would not work.