The Last Blog

I do think I read few interesting things on other students’ blogs. However, I don’t think that I got to know the people much more than I did in person. It was interesting though to read their opinions on some issues.

I definitely agree that the blog reinforced the material we discussed in class. To me that especially has a value because I learn better if I write down the new material. This is why I take a lot of notes, it helps me learn. The way the blog questions were set up, we really had to think about the applications of otherwise dry definitions.

I liked the topics on the Professor’s blog. I learned from them. I wish that there were more of them though. I think it would be good to have a separate post on Professor’s blog, where everyone could post interesting current events.

I wish I can say that I will be posting on the blog after this semester, but having three emails, facebook account and blackboard I am limited with this kind of internet time. Maybe sometime in the future, I’m not sure.

I didn’t like much the format of the blog. The thing that bothered me the most was that when I would be looking trough the blogs I would have to click and open each one separately. It would be great if there would be a way to somehow put everyone in one group so it would be possible to look trough all the blogs as trough a slideshow.
Also it would be great if there would be a way of answering the persons question on their blog. Maybe I am just spoiled with Facebook but there things like that are solved great.
Maybe there could be a group on a Facebook instead on blogger.com?

The Back Row Poets

To put into prose 17 weeks of school
The four of us thought we needed a tool

Into Fitz's we marched "o bar keep" we cried.
Libations in hand our tongues found their stride.

When signing up for Management 3120
We were anticipating obstacles a plenty

After reading rave reviews online
We knew that Kurpis' class would not be a waste of our time.

Compared to other classes where we were absent and sleeping
Kurpis' class kept us alive and breathing

And if I ever get to be a manager myself, I want to be just like professor Kurpis
I want to give my Colleagues a sense of achievement, success, and purpose.

Who would have thought that this class would be such a blast??!!
Leaving all of our management worries in the past.

Dominance, Influence, Conscientiousness, Steadiness

The test characterized me as a very high "D" type and I strongly agree with it. If you scroll down to my second post that discusses my management problem you can conclude the same thing.

Unfortunately I am low on "I" and "S", and especially "I", which I would like and I will try to change. I think that even though you can't change your personality type with hard work you can control it and straighten the parts of your personality that are not as developed.

I definitely think it is useful to know the "profile" of the people you work with to better understand why they think and act the way they do and also to know how to approach them.

The DISC test would be definitely useful when working or interacting with people you don't know very much, and if you do you can pretty much predict what type they would be. But it is great to know and learn about this model to better understand the way other "types" think.

Four Pickles and No Salt

For my test location I picked the Mc Donald’s on the corner of 28th street and Park Ave, the Mc Donald’s closest to our school. It was a Thursday afternoon, windy and gray. I entered the Mc Donald’s at 3 15 pm. There were three people in the line in front of me, three people in the second line and two in the third. The atmosphere felt really busy. There were three cashers, then in the kitchen there were three cooks and one person that was passing the orders from the kitchen to the people at the registers. There was also one manager that, what I liked, was contributing by helping the person that was making french fries. They were pretty busy so it was nice from him to jump in and help.

After waiting in the line for few minutes the woman at the register asked: “Can I help you?” The greeting was very generic, as all the other cashers were saying exactly the same thing. I asked for a hamburger with four pickles and small french fries with no salt and the woman asked me: “So, you want a cheeseburger with pickles?”. I sad that I want hamburger with four pickles and again she asked if I wanted a cheeseburger with pickles as if she can’t imagine that someone would want pickles in their hamburger. Then I repeated that I wanted hamburger with four pickles and please to make sure to put exactly four on it. Then she looked at me few seconds too long. She didn’t look at me in a bad way or as if I was crazy, she just looked very puzzled with my request. She was actually very nice to me the whole time I was there. Then she said that she’s going to the kitchen to see what she can do. After a minute she came back and asked me if I wanted anything else accept the french fries and the burger. I said that would be all, and then she charged me and gave me the receipt. After I paid I observed how my order was processed. The order that is placed popes up on the screen in the kitchen under the number of register that an order is for. The manager put in a fresh batch of french fries and when they were done he separated mine and put the salt on the rest of them. I didn’t see how the hamburger was made. Manager brought the bag with the burger and fries to the front. I thanked and went to check if I really got four pickles. I was never so excited to open a burger in my life, accept maybe when hungry at four in the morning. As I was opening the package I was hoping that when I open it I will find three pickles or five, or even better no pickles at all; so I have something to write about. I opened the hamburger slowly and I couldn’t believe my eyes, there they were; four pickles. At the first sight it looked like it was three but that was because one of them was partially covering the other one. Disappointed, I grabbed a package of salt for my fries, and left the Mc Donald’s.

This project didn’t turn out as I expected. I expected something different to happen. I thought that the person serving me will be rude at least and that there is no way that I will get the order without mistake. The cashier was fairly nice and I got exactly what I ordered. I was very surprised.

When I think of Mc Donald’s I think of it as dirty and depressive with mad, frustrated, underpaid staff. Definitely it is not the most pleasant place to eat although there is something addictive about the Big Mac which I just can’t resist. People working at Mc Donald’s are usually very hostile and I can’t blame them. How could they have good attitudes about their job if they are treated as machines? What is up with that thing on the register that tells for how many seconds they completed their order? And how can they survive with their paychecks? Only thing that is worse than working in Mc Donald’s is working at Jonny Rockets and having to dance and sing when the Respect song comes up, but at least they are paid better.

What I would suggest to Mc Donald’s, if they are going to be treating their workers that way, is simply to replace the cashiers with some kind of vending-like machines. Costumer should be able to push the button, pay and person in the back should get the order ready and hand it trough. This way although there would be a decreased need for the cashers some jobs would be created in building and maintaining the machines. Honestly, I don’t see a need for people at the Mc Donald’s register. If they would be replaced by machines Mc Donald’s would save some money and I think that costumers would be happier. I don’t think that is very appetizing receiving your meal from clearly frustrated person.

Or maybe Mc Donald’s should make the requirements for its franchises stricter. Very often Mc Donald’s restaurants have very old, neglected interior that looks very depressive. In costumers mind the neglected interior translates to bad care of the rest of the establishment and makes them reluctant of using its services. In Mc Donald’s people eat when they really have to, and it is pity that such a huge international conglomerate so widely spread doesn’t try to make a difference in what they are offering. If they could only make the restaurants nicer and their staff happier, even if that meant a raise in price I believe they would make a big difference. We don’t need more ugly things in the world.

For example in Croatia, where I’m from, things are very different in Mc Donald’s. The employees receive rigorous training and the regulations about the quality of food are very strict. Also, the restaurants are very clean with nice lighting and decorations. The workers are paid what would translate here about $12 an hour and the price of food is little higher. In Croatia Mc Donald’s is a happy place and it would be great if it would be the same case here in the US.

The Power of Vision

I think having a vision is the greatest power of all. Deciding what you want from life is the hardest stage of the realization of the goal; at least it is to me. I believe that anyone can do absolutely anything if they really want it, I know I can. It is a cliché, but it is also a truth. That is the truth especially in America, country founded and flourished on the power of vision.

So here are my goals;

GOAL 1 – A GREAT PUBLIC SPEAKER – Being that English is my second language I feel very uncomfortable giving a public speech. This bothers me because being effective communicator is a very important quality in the work environment. (The power of vision is working already; I’m writing this blog in the library and the president of the Toastmasters club, David Yi, was just passing by me, I showed him my goal 1, and he is very thankful for the promotion, saying hi to the class and inviting everyone to join:).
WAY TO ACCOMPLISHMENT – I will join the “Toastmasters” organization. Luckily there is a branch right here in Baruch whose meetings I attended few times as a guest. Also I would like to encourage anyone interested to at least visit their meeting. They are fun and educational. Information about the upcoming meetings you can find on http://www.baruchtm.org/ .
DEADLINE – May 01.2010

GOAL 2 – A PERFECT BODY –I would like to achieve a perfect, toned, Madonna-like body. I know that this goal sounds superficial but it is not. For good, long life it is necessary to have a good health and for that you need to have a healthy life style which can lead to perfect body.
WAY TO ACCOMPLISHMENT – Eating healthy and exercising off course. The friend of mine (a model, but a healthy one), gave me few pointers that work if you stick with it, I tried. The important thing to remember is that this is not a weight loss program but a way of life
Diet; Breakfast – fruit, Lunch -complex carbs (whole wheat rice, pasta, bread, beans…) with vegetables, Dinner – protein with vegetables. Also, drink a lot of water.
Exercise; Cardio four to five days a week for about an hour until accomplishing the ideal weight. Then, combination of half hour of cardio and weight training, focusing at one group of muscles each time, to tone the body.
The important thing to remember is that this is not a weight loss program but a way of life which is why I’m reluctant to commit because I’m a chocoholic, but I’ll do it.
DEADLINE – May 01.2009

GOAL 3 – FIGURING OUT WHAT IS THE BEST TO TAKE FROM LIFE AND GOING FOR IT – Up to this semester I didn’t doubt what my goal is; I would go to a corporate finance, work in investment banking on M&A, and I would be the best of the best. However, I don’t know why but I started doubting that path. To accomplish this, which I could do if I wanted, I would have to work 16 hours a day for the next 20 years and then I would be almost 50 and very unlikely to have a family and any satisfaction in life accept for work. I’m not saying that wouldn’t be enough or that it would be less satisfying than having other accomplishment. The problem is that I don’t know and I wouldn’t know until I’m there. This is why my goal is to try to figure out this now before I’m fifty and it’s late.
WAY TO ACCOMPLISHMENT – Talking to the people that have been there and done that. To accomplish this goal I will definitely need some expert help. I will try to find people with different opinion of the situation and weight their pros and cons, hopefully I’ll figure this one out before is too late.
DEADLINE – May 01.2012


After accomplishing my goals I will be someone who knows what she wants from life and how to get there, be a great public speaker and last but not the least has a perfect body. I don’t think it can any better than that :)

Test After the Test

The class after the exam was an amazing experience. I thought that the test was fair but the first exam with professor is sometimes like testing the water, you don't know what you got your self into until you see the result. This wasn't a typical straight forward test and I'm glad that we got a chance to improve the grade.

I believe that people that opposed to editing the results of the test were not right when they talked about taking an advantage of the Professor because he was clearly enjoying the experience and all of it was his idea on the first place. That doesn't seem like someone who is being taken advantage of.

I was very surprised by lack of tact, respect and sensitivity of some of the classmates that started yelling at the people that didn't agree with the majority. Yes, we didn't have much time and it was a high pressure situation, but using dictatorship and force just complicates situation and leads to outcome not desirable by anyone involved.

To get to the blog assignment, I believe that my style of managing this situation was to compromise. My suggestion was to wait with the decision until the end of May, because than we would have more information that we can base our decision on. Until that point there were two suggestions, one to curve the exam and the other one to drop the lower grade. How there were two large groups on opposite sides I thought that it would be better to wait until the second exam and than to decide. Now, when I look back I see that was a terrible idea because it would caused even more fighting and people would never agree. At the end I was pretty happy with the outcome.
I don't think that this situation could be managed better in any other way because the lack of time. If we were to split in smaller groups we would have more suggestions and then groups would feel strongly about their choice, so that would only cause more conflict.

Honestly, I was pretty happy with the result and surprised that we got everyone to agree. I think we were lucky that those that still clearly don't agree voted for class' best interest.

Changing Trends in Telecommuting

Dear classmates,
I read this interesting article in WSJ so I would like to share it with you. The article talks about decrease in telecommuting trends and restructure in existing ones because the research that shows better performance of those working in companies headquarters.
Here is the article:

Some Companies Rethink
The Telecommuting Trend

The call came toward the end of my hour as a recent guest on a Minnesota Public Radio talk show. "Jim from Minneapolis" said he and many of his telecommuting colleagues were being called back to the office.

After years of working productively from home, Jim said he was surprised and disappointed.

Although working from home has been expanding steadily, some chinks are appearing in the trend. A few big promoters of home-based and mobile-office work arrangements, including AT&T, Intel, Hewlett-Packard and parts of the federal government, have called some home-based workers back to the office, causing some to quit. The callbacks are small and don't reflect a full retrenchment, but the factors at work -- a push to consolidate operations, and the notion that teamwork improves when people work face-to-face -- suggest other employers might follow suit as recession clouds loom.

MAILBOX



Sue Shellenbarger answers questions on contacting employers ahead of a move, and careers for those with a criminal record.AT&T called an unspecified number of its 5,000 to 6,000 telecommuters back to the office late last year as part of a consolidation of operations, a spokesman says. SBC Communications, which acquired AT&T and BellSouth, among other companies, and took the AT&T name, now has a national network of offices, making telecommuting unnecessary, he says. Also, some managers wanted to bring workers together to reorganize their work and build new teams quickly.

Intel recently began requiring many telecommuters in its information-technology group to report to the office at least four days a week. Full-time home-office workers now make up 1% to 2% of Intel's 5,500 information-technology workers, down from less than 4%, a spokeswoman says; managers wanted "to keep the team spirit strong, which requires face-to-face interaction, impromptu dialogues, collaboration and mentoring," she explains.

Hewlett-Packard, the company that invented flextime, called a significant number of home-office information-technology workers back to the office in 2006, during a consolidation of its 85 data centers into six.

And the federal government, also a big promoter, posted a 7.3% drop in telecommuters from 2005 to 2006, partly because of a callback by the Interior Department. Paul Hoffman, a deputy assistant secretary for the department, cites some managers' security worries about the potential theft of laptops with sensitive data, or hackers intruding on remote users' wireless networks.


All these employers insist they still fully support telecommuting. And U.S. corporate employees working full time from home are still rising, gaining 30% since 2005 to 2.44 million in 2007, says Ray Boggs, a research vice president with IDC, a Framingham, Mass., market-research concern. Nortel, JetBlue and others employers are expanding work-at-home.

But if these bellwether employers can call telecommuters back to the office, any company can. Telecommuters are easy to fire or relocate. Andrea Meyers had been working successfully from home for three years when her small employer laid off all of its 30 telecommuters with no explanation. It may be easier to sever people working from home, she says, because they're "not visible." Although she understood the move, "It was a shock," says Ms. Meyers, a specialist in online learning systems.

Some tips on keeping a work-at-home gig: