Saturday, May 15, 2010

About Management

Management is not simple,
All positive ideas are good thoughts,
Nothing can’t be impossible,
Agree or disagree,
Get firms organized.
Easy to solve problems,
Managing conflict avoids trouble,
Every decision is important,
Need to be consider,
Time to take control.

The ABCs of DISC

On the class activity of the leadership/management diagnostic, I got the result of C-S which means conscientiousness and steadiness. I think the test got it right. I am the person of working conscientiously within existing circumstances to ensure quality and accuracy. I will pay attention to key directives and standards, and then I do it. I like to follow rules and I am a good cooperator with others to carry out the task. However, I can’t be a leader to make decisions. I usually don’t want to talk a lot and state unpopular positions. I don’t wish and can’t become another type because this is my personality. I can’t force myself to become another type, and that will cause me many pressure.

It is helpful to determine people’s management type to better understand where they are coming from. It is better to help people to make decisions or handle works if they understand what type of management they are. They can do it well within their ability.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Communicating via Blog

The use of this Blog for the class is interesting, unique, and effective way to get value from this class. We can read other people’s blog and know who they are, and what their thought. This is a good way to communicate with other people because even though we are classmates, and we meet twice a week, we rarely talk to each other in class or outside the class. Through the blog, we can talk and know each other, and also it is a way to present ourselves.

I talk very little in the class because I am a quiet person. On the other hand, we don’t have much time to talk to others and share out thoughts and ideas during the class. I really feel I benefited from meeting others online. I can write more beside talk more, so writing a blog is easier for me than talk more in classes. Moreover, we have more time outside the classes, so we can interact via the blog anytime without the time restriction.

The topics for blog entries relate to our in class activities. In classes, we might just follow the steps that the professor said, and didn’t have a chance to thing about what were the purposes to do that. But the question for the blog entries explain the activities very clear, so we can thing about in-class experiences with the activities back to the lessons we were studying. For example, in learning the communication process, one way communication would be the worse way. It was difficult to understand what the person said with non-verbal and without asking questions communication. All explaining of the person is about his own perception. Two way communication is better and clear than one way. We can ask questions, the person can get feedback, but it is easy to run out of time and repeat the same thing again and again.

Management can be different ways. It is good to learn from other people via the blog. Reading other’s blogs and writing a blog entry can improve our reading and writing skills, thing critically, learn from others.

I spend more time for this 20% of my grade than prepare for the test. It seems this 20% is heavier than the test. However, it is interesting and I enjoy doing this kind of assignment. We can learn more outside the lecture. Because of this 20% of the total grade, I clearly understood that I have to finish all the assignment to be sure I would get the whole points. I would also worry about the last day I had to post online. I feel that I will continue to post my feeling and ideas about school, work, and life after this class has ended but it will be shorter than these posts.

The blog is only for students to learn from other students, it could be useful information to know what students thought and their idea for professors. In my opinion, it is better to remain the blog as a component of this course.

Monday, May 10, 2010

A Special Order in McDonald’s

Managers might face different problems and situation many times. The ways they solve problems might affect their companies. I was given an assignment which is to choose a McDonald’s restaurant to order a special order, and watch the management process.

In April 12, 7:50pm, after I finished my classes and took the train back to home, I went to a McDonald’s restaurant that near by my home, where is located in 40-18 Main Street, Flushing. Because this McDonald is on the crowded Main Street, there are usually so many customers inside. I waited on the middle line and there was only one person in front of me. When the person finished his order, I smiled and walked to front a little, and placed my order. I said to the cashier that I wanted a small hamburger with exactly 4 pickles, and I repeated the exactly 4 pickles again. He said to me with a smile that he took this same order before plus French Fried with no salt. I said to him that I needed the small French Fries well done and with no salt, and I needed the receipt to show this order too. Then he asked another older staff who did not wear uniforms and looked like a manager to put this special order into the computer. The manager asked me what were my order and I had to repeat again. He started to put my order into the computer. After a while, he said that he would make the French Fries with no salt, but no well done, but he would try the best. And then he changed and said that he would do well done, but not “no salt.” I asked him why, but he did not answer me and just continued to finish his job. After he finished the order, he left. The cashier turned over to place the order for other person, and then he give me my special order and told me that it charged me $3.68. I was very surprise when I heard the price. I thought that I should pay $2 plus tax. I asked him why the price is over $3, and a small hamburger and a small order of French Fires were a dollar each. He told me that there was no more dollar menu. After I paid, I checked the recipe. I was really shock that they charged “4 extra pickles” for $0.80, and “take out tax” for $0.30. It told the staffs to complete this special order for 10 minutes. They spent more time to take the order and showed them on the recipe, but they did very fast for preparing the food. I think this is acceptable time wait in a fast food restaurant because they need to do extra work. However, the order was completed incorrectly. When I received I order, I opened the burger and count the pickles, they put 4 exact pickles in it, but there was another pickle inside already, and they did not count, or take it out. I asked the cashier to take one out, but they already charged me the extra pickle.

During this special order, I do not think that they do well in the staff’s management process overall. They do fast for the manufacturing process; they spend more time for technology problem and less time for food preparation. They have very good organization. Every position has a different job liability and connects each other, so they have reasonable time for most orders. However, I do not satisfy with the communications and customer service. In this experience, I had to repeat my order 3 times and I also remained them that I needed 4 exact pickles, but they still gave me “extra” 4 pickles, not “exact” 4 pickles. I also did not understand why they charge that little extra pickles and they did not tell me that they would charge them before I paid. Moreover, they could not satisfy everything that customer’s reasonable needs. The manager did solve the problem, but did not complete correctly. If I were brought in as a consultant to McDonald’s to help them improve their efficiency, I would put a computer which face to customers to show them what they order and the price, so if they do wrong, they could fix the order immediately, and customers have no question and complain for the order.