I AM THE MANAGER

I need this at this at two because our presentation is due.
What am I to do.
Sit and plan and delegate.
But she has not called.
And he is now late.
Depending on others is never a piece of cake.
But I sit, organize and realize, what is true.
I am the manager, and I am responsible for what is due.

Communications

I really enjoyed blogging the semester. I really wish I had the time to make it much more creative. Blogging is a great way to communicate each other ideas in an interactive world. I actually have had conversation with class mate that I would have never communicated with before, just because of the blogs. Not only is the class interactive, but the blogs allow classmates to discuss different task that was done in the class and give some feedback. I found it especially helpful when trying to gain insight on what was discussed in class. I might have looked at something one way and another person has a complete different outlook on the situation. It allows you to step outside the box and accept others opinions. I appreciate the professor giving us the opportunity to take full responsibility to launch and maintain a blog for %20 of the grade. It was basically money in the bank. I think that the professor should definetly continue with the blogs for next semester. I would actually like to start a blog my self, it will focus on latest fashion and new looks.

Have it your way

“I would rather have it my way at Burger King.”

As I walked into the Mc Donald’s on Water Street in the Wall Street area, I knew the task ahead would be an interesting experience. I have been to this Mc Donald’s once or twice in the total four years that I have been working in the area. All of my previous experiences have not pleasant, with my order being screwed up on both occasions. I should have planned to go to the McDonald’s near my home, but of course everything also gets pushed to the last minute, but this assignment would have to get done today.

As I approach the entrance I am unable to make my way inside because the line is literally out of the door. I joked with my co-worker, who found the task to be intriguing enough to come along for the practice. I was trying to act as normal as possible, hoping not to tip the cashier off to what I was about to do, I felt bad enough that I would have to put her through this. For the most part I had already thought the scenario out in my head and I knew that this was not going to be a smooth ride.

“Next customer, Welcome to McDonald’s, how can I help you?” said Tameka, the vibrant cashier. One hamburger, with four pickles, and I need exactly four, I replied. I also need a small order of French fries that are well done with no salt. “WELL DONE”, she said. Here is where everything went crazy. Tameka asked, “what do you mean by WELL DONE”. I told her that I did not like my fries soggy instead I would prefer to have them well done. She proceeded to go and consult with the manager on whether this could be done. The manager, Susan, proceeded over the register and she reiterated what Tameka told her about the well done fries. Susan says that I would have to wait for the next batch of fries to be made. I agreed to wait. After waiting about three minutes, a batch of hot fries came out of the fryer. The employee at the fry station took the hot fries out and threw salt all over. I caught the attention of the cashier, who had decided that she was done with my order. I called out to Susan and to ask her about my fries.

As all of this was going on with the fries, another employee approached the counter to give me my hamburger. I immediately opened the bag to take a look at my order to assure that it was correct. Of course, the hamburger only had three pickles. At this point, Susan the manager was looking at me like I was crazy. She also seemed frustrated with my need to have a $2 dollar meal, special ordered. I also seemed to be holding up the line because other cashier’s were more interested about my order, rather than the line they had forming. I told Susan that I just wanted, one hamburger, four pickles with a small fries that is well done with no salt. I expressed, my frustration with just trying to get one hamburger and a small fries, at this point I had waited on line for six minutes, and I had waited another five minutes for another batch of fries, only for the worker to throw salt on them.

Susan apologized for inconvenience and told me she would complete my order. After another three minutes passed, she approached with a smile, and my order. Which I found a little suspicious, I would hate to think that she might do something really special to my order. After inspecting my bag, finally everything was good. Now all I had to do was ask for my receipt, which I had forgotten. (Laughs) Susan printed my receipt and I was off on my way.

It took me about 20 minutes to get one hamburger and a small fries. I think the cashier should have been able to handle my order without the assistance of a manager. McDonald’s seems to have the ability to enter special orders in their system, so I am not sure why a manager had to be called about a small order of well done fries. I would say that the staff needs improvement on communication and coordination. Susan should have told the girl at the fry station the she needed the next order of fries with no salt. The manager seemed just as sarcastic as the employee. I felt her repeating my order to me was very condescending, as if I had said something wrong. This experience reminded me why I had stopped coming to McDonald’s. I think the staff feels since it is fast food; they can really be as rude as they want. When a manager’s attitude mirrors the employees, the customer feels hopeless and this would discourage any future purchase made with this company. If I were a consultant I would recommend that McDonald’s, teach their staff about dealing with difficult individual, with special orders like my own. They should be taught patience and understand that fast food does not mean, rushed service that is not completed correctly. What happened to the old saying, the customer is always right?????

Good leadership is the driving force for a successful business. Leaders come in all level. Some people might lead by demand, basically not given much room for discussion and demanding that things are done their way. This type of leader would have a strong confidence in them selves, and make it hard for another person to approach them with idea. I think that is one side of the scale. There are also leaders, which allow their subordinates to make the decision for them. These people have great ideas but they are push over’s for the people they supervise. I think it is important to take a stand between the two extremes. I came up an “I” on the DISC test, and I find it to be pretty accurate. I tend to be the one that one the influence others to do better, while open to other suggestions. I think a D personality is needed in the case “stranded”. I would like some one to come in and take control of the situation. That case needs someone that is confident and will to take the stand and make a decision on what will be done next in a tragic situation.

Vision is Power

Vision is one of the most important aspects to a person’s success in life. If you do not have a clear vision of a few goal that you would like to accomplish, it is likely that not much will be achieved. I have made many goals for my self in life. I have made a few goals for myself after graduation and others that I have reached. I have also set goals for my self that have changed over time. Sometimes as times changes, needs and goals change as well. After graduation I hope to reach out to teenagers in my community and offer job training as well as counseling them on attending college and if not obtaining a job that would best fit their potential. I think that a lot of the youth is misguided especially in poorer areas where there is not much motivation to think outside of the box.

Decision Making

I thought the class activity was very helpful with helping us understand the process of decision making. People tend to have different ways of processing a decision. Some people feel the need to get their point across with out taking into consideration the ideas of others. I think I fall more under the “comprise” category in which I, tend to want to hear both side of the story and then make a decision that would be fair to both parties. Some people get frustrated and refuse to participate because they feel that no results will be reached. (We dealt with a situation like this first hand). Over all I think it is very important to hear everyone side and try to be as unbiased as possible. Others may suggest something that you have not thought about.

Planning 101

I thought that the. Egg-Cellent exercise was a good example of how businesses create and implement plans that are useful to the organization. My group decided to name our egg, Chicken little. We first thought of what was trying to be accomplished. We were trying to create an contraption that would hold our egg secure enough to be dropped without a crack. We each offered our ideas and surprisingly we all had a similar idea of how we wanted the contraption to look. We then decided to document what we had thought up, so we could take a visual look at it and determine if it was feasible for a design like this to secure an egg in a 10 feet drop.. We did make some minor adjustments to what we created once we took a look of it on paper. At that point it looked as if we had the 5 points extra in the bag. I think one thing that we forgot was a contingency plan, but I am not sure how useful that would have been since we did not have the opportunity to try it out. Everyone had a specific task once it was time to create the egg bed. We assigned an egg holder, a tape holder, time keeper and the person responsible for dropping the egg. Once it was time to start build, everything went pretty smoothly and we actually had some time left on the clock. Seeing that we had some time left, we should have probably used that to evaluate the design. But we were very confident in our creation so we decided to go forward with the original plan. Unfortunately, our plan did not work and we did not get the five points. The exercise taught me how important it is to first make a plan by setting your objective, finding solutions, implementing your plan and how very important it is to evaluate your results and make necessary correction. I look forward to more exercises like Egg-cellent.

Leaders Stand Up

I have often found it easy to play a leadership role. I am the eldest child of four and have always felt the need to take care of my siblings. I was not aware the impact my childhood had on my life until I took on supervisory roles at my job.I find myself often wanting to do the job rather than delegate responsibility amongst co-workers. My biggest goal in management this year is learning how to become a better manager at my current place of employment. I hope to take information that I learn in my management classes at Baruch and apply them to real life circumstances. A management role can be both beneficial or disastrous for an organization. I will continue to contribute positive ideas that will hopefully inspire others.

Hello Fellow Managment Prospects

My name is Siobhan King and I am currently a Senior at Baruch. I am a Marketing Management major.

I am currently a supervisor for a Third Party Administrator in lower manhattan. I expect to learn more on Management in 3120 and hopefully I can apply it to real life experiences.