We managed to argue
We managed to fight
We managed to learn-till 7 at night
There were discussions and insights shared by our class
Remembering to blog was a pain in the a$$
Still it was helpful
still it was fun
The teaching was different
but very well done.
The activities were interesting
or maybe fantastic
it was all fun and games
till my egg broke in the basket.
We all participated
we all had a voice
and told the professor
no multiple multiple choice
We developed new concepts and uses for Jello
learned to communicate with those d@mn little Legos!
Now is the time to say good bye and acknowledge
the things we have learned
and our McG@ngB@ngs in college
Monday, May 16, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Blogging
Personally, I think the blogging tool was very helpful. It not only helped us communicate with each other but also provided a way to express our thoughts regarding class activities. In addition to raising our hands and waiting to be called on like we've done since 1st grade, we were enabled to make our points and express our opinions in an open forum. It also provided an opportunity for people who normally wouldn't talk to each other to do so.
After our various class activities, the blogging helped in digesting what exactly it was we did and why it was done. Reading other peoples' blogs also helped in understanding the various concepts we studied. The one that stood out to me was the VISION blog. A fellow student mentioned an author (Napoleon Hill)who i researched and eventually ended up reading some of his writings which have been really interesting. I wish i remembered who it was, but if it wasn't for the blogging I would not have discovered his writing at this moment.
I rarely thought about the effect this would have on my grade. I knew it would play a factor in the grading but the main incentive was that it was helpful and interesting. Reading my fellow classmates perspectives was quite interesting. When we discussed culture shock I realized how similar we are regardless of our backgrounds.
I can't say if I'll continue blogging or not at this point. I can say that I will be reading other people's blogs because I have stumbled upon a few interesting blogs that are worth following.
The blog should definitely remain a part of the course. The only issue I had was waiting for the blog assignment to be posted. It would've been good if it was always posted by the end of the class. Besides that the blogging was fun and insightful
After our various class activities, the blogging helped in digesting what exactly it was we did and why it was done. Reading other peoples' blogs also helped in understanding the various concepts we studied. The one that stood out to me was the VISION blog. A fellow student mentioned an author (Napoleon Hill)who i researched and eventually ended up reading some of his writings which have been really interesting. I wish i remembered who it was, but if it wasn't for the blogging I would not have discovered his writing at this moment.
I rarely thought about the effect this would have on my grade. I knew it would play a factor in the grading but the main incentive was that it was helpful and interesting. Reading my fellow classmates perspectives was quite interesting. When we discussed culture shock I realized how similar we are regardless of our backgrounds.
I can't say if I'll continue blogging or not at this point. I can say that I will be reading other people's blogs because I have stumbled upon a few interesting blogs that are worth following.
The blog should definitely remain a part of the course. The only issue I had was waiting for the blog assignment to be posted. It would've been good if it was always posted by the end of the class. Besides that the blogging was fun and insightful
Monday, April 25, 2011
McGangbang
McGangBang
How many times have you ordered a gangbang and had a team of people make it happen for you? Well I had my first experience very recently. The mission was to walk into a McDonald’s and order a McGangbang which is a whole McChicken stuffed into a Double Cheeseburger. According to Professor Kurpis taking no for an answer was not an option, McDonald's aims to please and they must complete my order as requested.
I walked into the McDonalds on 44th and Lexington at about 6pm. At that time it's usually just tourists in there so the staff is used to dealing with all types of people. Although McDonald's serve a wide variety of people, the staff at any of their locations usually tend to be from one ethnicity. Some McDonalds have a Black staff while others have a Latino staff and so on. The one I went into had the Latino staff. I wait for my turn and when the young lady calls for my attention I begin to tell her I want a McGangbang. I could've said that I wanted a double cheeseburger with a McChicken shoved in it but I wanted to see how she would react. So after repeating the word gangbang a few too many times I explain to her what it was exactly. In addition I explained to her that I needed a receipt that reflected my special order. As the professor predicted I was told this wasn't possible. The young lady told me she would give me two burgers that I can put together as I pleased. I told her no and repeated my order. She says she can't do it because the burger will be too big to be wrapped. I noticed that she had an accent so I begin to ask her again and in detail in Spanish. This seemed to take the edge off the situation. While I was explaining to her again what it was I wanted one of her colleague’s approaches her to see what it was that was making her laugh. He didn't really get involved just made a "WTF" expression. The young lady then turns around and I can hear her explaining in detail what exactly I ordered to the people that assemble the burgers. Once again there is laughter and I can hear one of them say "he must have a big mouth". Seconds later my McGangbang is was ready. I took it out the bag and it looked as gross as I imagined. After unwrapping this monstrosity I take a picture of it and notice the receipt didn’t have any indication of my special order. I bring it to the cashier’s attention and she tells me that the register only indicated if I were to be adding a meat or excluding a condiment and such. She did put in effort to create a valid receipt for me but whatever she input into the register did not say special order. She calls a manager over who explains to me that the only thing the register will print are things like cheeseburger no onions no ketchup extra pickles, or adding another meat to it. It will not print double cheeseburger with McChicken stuffed into it. I firmly insisted that I needed the receipt to print my order as requested, but things were getting a bit uncomfortable and I noticed that they were trying to figure something out. If I was sure the register could do that I would have stayed and made a stronger request(although I think I was already pushing the boundaries of civility at this point) but I never worked at McDonald’s and if I did it would’ve been a long time ago, so who knows if the register technology has changed. I had to assume that the cashier and manager know how to handle the register better than I could. The manager didn’t apologize which bothered me a bit but what she did do was physically write “Special Order” I have to admit that part impressed me. She was totally entertaining this strange request and tried hard to produce the receipt for me.
If I were hired as a management consultant to this particular McDonald's I would rate the staff's management process as very poor. The communication they exhibited to each other was more out of curiosity rather than trying to be helpful in processing my order. The order was strange indeed but not very complicated. It’s basically one burger inside another. I would imagine adding different sauces and holding the onions, pickles and adding extra tomatoes to a burger would be more complicated. There was too much negative communication to me as the customer. The order taker rejected my order before finally realizing she had a job to do. I also did not find the” big mouth” comment to be a respectable way to communicate in front of a paying customer. I would recommend that they receive further training in regard to company policy and proper behavior. For many McDonald’s employees this is their first taste of employment and it would be in their best interest to understand professional etiquette before they enter a different career path (or plan to pursue one at McDonald’s). I understand that they are young and it was funny to make something so strange, but they should be reminded that they can still laugh and enjoy their jobs without being offensive.
The actual manufacturing was seamless. Once the order was placed it took around a minute for the burger to be handed to me. That part was very impressive. I thought for a second that they gave me the wrong sandwich but they didn’t. The actual assembly didn’t need much adjusting; it was the order taking process that lacked consideration to the customer's request.
If I had to pick a leader in this situation it would have to be the young lady that took my order. The only time she asked for assistance was for printing the receipt I wanted but that was only after she tried herself and wanted a second opinion. For the most part she was judge, jury and executioner. When she decided that this order was possible she turned around and told the preparers to make it happen. Unfortunately, I had to convince her that my order was possible. Leadership is a necessary skill to work at McDonald's but it should be practiced by someone leading in compliance with company policy and its mission. Overall I would recommend training for all employees at that branch. They have mastered the mechanics of preparing the food at record speed but in doing so have forfeited proper customer appreciation and service.
I walked into the McDonalds on 44th and Lexington at about 6pm. At that time it's usually just tourists in there so the staff is used to dealing with all types of people. Although McDonald's serve a wide variety of people, the staff at any of their locations usually tend to be from one ethnicity. Some McDonalds have a Black staff while others have a Latino staff and so on. The one I went into had the Latino staff. I wait for my turn and when the young lady calls for my attention I begin to tell her I want a McGangbang. I could've said that I wanted a double cheeseburger with a McChicken shoved in it but I wanted to see how she would react. So after repeating the word gangbang a few too many times I explain to her what it was exactly. In addition I explained to her that I needed a receipt that reflected my special order. As the professor predicted I was told this wasn't possible. The young lady told me she would give me two burgers that I can put together as I pleased. I told her no and repeated my order. She says she can't do it because the burger will be too big to be wrapped. I noticed that she had an accent so I begin to ask her again and in detail in Spanish. This seemed to take the edge off the situation. While I was explaining to her again what it was I wanted one of her colleague’s approaches her to see what it was that was making her laugh. He didn't really get involved just made a "WTF" expression. The young lady then turns around and I can hear her explaining in detail what exactly I ordered to the people that assemble the burgers. Once again there is laughter and I can hear one of them say "he must have a big mouth". Seconds later my McGangbang is was ready. I took it out the bag and it looked as gross as I imagined. After unwrapping this monstrosity I take a picture of it and notice the receipt didn’t have any indication of my special order. I bring it to the cashier’s attention and she tells me that the register only indicated if I were to be adding a meat or excluding a condiment and such. She did put in effort to create a valid receipt for me but whatever she input into the register did not say special order. She calls a manager over who explains to me that the only thing the register will print are things like cheeseburger no onions no ketchup extra pickles, or adding another meat to it. It will not print double cheeseburger with McChicken stuffed into it. I firmly insisted that I needed the receipt to print my order as requested, but things were getting a bit uncomfortable and I noticed that they were trying to figure something out. If I was sure the register could do that I would have stayed and made a stronger request(although I think I was already pushing the boundaries of civility at this point) but I never worked at McDonald’s and if I did it would’ve been a long time ago, so who knows if the register technology has changed. I had to assume that the cashier and manager know how to handle the register better than I could. The manager didn’t apologize which bothered me a bit but what she did do was physically write “Special Order” I have to admit that part impressed me. She was totally entertaining this strange request and tried hard to produce the receipt for me.
If I were hired as a management consultant to this particular McDonald's I would rate the staff's management process as very poor. The communication they exhibited to each other was more out of curiosity rather than trying to be helpful in processing my order. The order was strange indeed but not very complicated. It’s basically one burger inside another. I would imagine adding different sauces and holding the onions, pickles and adding extra tomatoes to a burger would be more complicated. There was too much negative communication to me as the customer. The order taker rejected my order before finally realizing she had a job to do. I also did not find the” big mouth” comment to be a respectable way to communicate in front of a paying customer. I would recommend that they receive further training in regard to company policy and proper behavior. For many McDonald’s employees this is their first taste of employment and it would be in their best interest to understand professional etiquette before they enter a different career path (or plan to pursue one at McDonald’s). I understand that they are young and it was funny to make something so strange, but they should be reminded that they can still laugh and enjoy their jobs without being offensive.
The actual manufacturing was seamless. Once the order was placed it took around a minute for the burger to be handed to me. That part was very impressive. I thought for a second that they gave me the wrong sandwich but they didn’t. The actual assembly didn’t need much adjusting; it was the order taking process that lacked consideration to the customer's request.
If I had to pick a leader in this situation it would have to be the young lady that took my order. The only time she asked for assistance was for printing the receipt I wanted but that was only after she tried herself and wanted a second opinion. For the most part she was judge, jury and executioner. When she decided that this order was possible she turned around and told the preparers to make it happen. Unfortunately, I had to convince her that my order was possible. Leadership is a necessary skill to work at McDonald's but it should be practiced by someone leading in compliance with company policy and its mission. Overall I would recommend training for all employees at that branch. They have mastered the mechanics of preparing the food at record speed but in doing so have forfeited proper customer appreciation and service.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Personal Profile System
I would say that this diagnostic did get a few things right like my attention to detail. I find that details are very important. While I understand that it is important to be able to realize when too much time is being spent on minor details. I really don't think that I disregard peoples personal worth, while I do respect accomplishments I don't simply look at that aspect of a person and run with it.
If I could be another type I guess I would pick D. The D's seem to get results. They don't readily accept the status quo which means that they are forward thinkers. Depending on the professional environment these qualities could be quite valuable.
Can someone become a different type? I believe so. If you focus on recognizing personal behavior that you would like to change you can indeed change. Breaking bad habits and developing good ones will help you in becoming the type of person you want to be.
These types of tests can help you in having an idea of why someone makes the decisions they make or how best to approach them in regard to a professional endeavor. However, I would not simply rely on a diagnostic to determine the nature of an individual. People are complicated animals. We need to look at their deeds and history in addition to exchanging ideas with them in order to best understand their perspective.
Personal Profile System
According to the DiSC Personal Profile System I am a type "C" (well Cd to be exact). These types tend to
Sunday, April 3, 2011
It was all a dream...
Wow I could not believe how old school that video was, the walkman reference was classic. the message however was extremely valuable, if you don't have vision and a positive one at that you have already decided against success.
Let's see how this can apply to my own personal/business goals after graduating.
Goal 1: Own some property within 5 years.
Action: I've already envisioned what I want, and worked backwards from there. I've "seen" the door, the interior, the kitchen with stainless steel appliances and so on. I have also started saving and doing things to improve my credit score.
Goal 2: Becoming a CFA Chartered Financial Analyst. I've always wanted to learn another language and I have decided to learn the language of money. With this Charter I can basically find decent employment worldwide and be a resource to those with less fluency in finance.
Action: I have done my research and have spoken to a member of a CFA study group. So after graduating I will at least know people who have started the process.
Goal 3: Solid family. Well my vision of a solid family involves a nice home with a loving wife and happy kids running around. I envision having a home that sets a great foundation for my kids and a refuge from what can be a hectic world.
Action: Well for one I don't plan on marrying anybody that doesn't share that vision. If the vision doesn't match then it just aint gonna work. I also take advice from people who are working on their home life. I basically try to listen to those who are DOING what I would like to replicate. No sense in taking advice, whether professional or personal from people doing it wrong themselves.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Decisions Decisions
It was an interesting experience to be able to have an actual say in how the future exams will be formatted. Personally I think I used the collaboration tactic. There wasn't much debate over whether or not the class wanted the curb and extra credit so aggreeing to that was pretty seamless. The real issues started when as a class we were trying to decide how best to format the next exam. Being that the decision had to be unanimous it was hard to find "common ground" for all of us. For example, Some people hated essays while others were partial to them. In an effort to voice my oppinion and accomplish to have my ideas recognized I think used a collaborative tactic. I appreciated everyones input as some ideas were really good and others had some potential. I think I agreed with the majority of the class on most of the issues. Had i felt strongly on any in particular perhaps I would've been more of a "Compete to win" type of participant. According to the ideas being presented and considering my grade on the previous exam I felt being collaborative would be the best way to get to where i can benefit as well as other classmates who might appreciate a different element to the next exam. I did see people use avoidance perhaps as a result of their confidence in test taking or even a lack of faith that we would ever agree on something unanimously. Regardless of why they would chose to participate they still should have. A stream of worthy ideas regardless of their source's attitude would have been valuable to the class as a whole. As i mentioned earlier I was pretty satisfied with most of the ideas presented and the outcome. If at any point I would've felt as if I better say something because my grade is bound to suffer due to an exam structure, then I would have used a compete to win tactic or have been more proactive in comprimising.
Overall thanks to the folks in the front of the classrooom Compromising we managed to get to what I feel is a situation that is fair to all of us and at least better than what we had prior.
Overall thanks to the folks in the front of the classrooom Compromising we managed to get to what I feel is a situation that is fair to all of us and at least better than what we had prior.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Management Egg-speriment
First things first- Congrats to the team who's egg didn't break!! I could have sworn ours was going to remain intact.
These are the steps we followed:
Step 1: We defined our goals and objectives. We understood that we had a deadline and what the main objective was.
Step 2: My team recognized that we had limited resources. We used each others ideas as yet another resource to devise a contraption to keep the egg intact. None of us had any experience in building such a device but everyone had ideas and we all agreed on an aspect before moving on to the next.
Step 3: Although we discussed several alternatives this wasn't something we put a lot of focus on. Once we agreed on the basic design we brainstormed on additional things that might protect the egg. The time allotted didn't really allow us to discuss many alternative ideas, it was best to see if we all agreed on a particular design and then discuss how to make the best version of it.
Step 4: Our group took a very organic approach to step 4. We didn't assign jobs or roles because we really didn't need to. As the resources were being handed to our team, one of us was already drafting a design on paper, while another team member was cutting pieces of the tape, before we could worry about obtaining the scissors another team member jumped into action and retrieved them. We had good chemistry. There was one point when we had too many hands on the egg but we all realized that and allowed two people to finish that particular part of the device then another set of hands continued the work.
Step 5: We all agreed on our plan of attack. We knew how the device should look and which parts of the egg needed the most protection. With that in mind once we received our resources we were ready to take action. We made corrections when needed and everybody's input was considered.
When the egg was sent off in our uniquely designed protective apparatus we were all confident things would go as planned. The egg would land safely and intact. That was not the case...."Eggy" didn't make it.
I think we worked well as a team and did a great job at managing our resources and time. Although we were unsuccessful in protecting Eggy we were successful in coming up with a plan, implementing a strategy and following the steps in the planning process.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Cluture Shock
In the summer of 2010 I took a trip to Colombia (South America). I've been going there once in a while for most of my life so I'm accustomed to what the culture is like down there. Like anywhere else on the planet you have good, bad and a whole lot of in between. Just in case you aren't familiar with one of the things that Colombia has to offer besides coffee and Shakira is Cosmetic surgery. People travel from all over the world to have "work done" in Colombia. The surgeons have pretty good reputations and the prices are very low in comparison to what you would spend in the U.S or Europe. There are companies that offer tours which include the usual: food, lodging, sight seeing and oh yeah breast augmentation and a tummy tuck. Even with all the traveling, eating and hotel stays you can still save thousands depending on the procedure. With that being said lets continue...so on my quest to a healthier lifestyle I decide to have my tooth fillings removed of the heavy metals and replaced with a composite substance that is way better for you. Those "silver" fillings are toxic people! check out Dr Zeines website at www.natdent.com for more info. -enough with the public service announcement.
While in Colombia I'm chatting with my cousin who was visiting from Spain told me that he just had his daughters braces put in for 1/5 of what they were charging in Spain...so i decide I'll go to that particular dentist. I walk into the Dental office and instantly I'm surprised at the layout. The weather in that region hovers around the high 50's to 60's so the office has a lot of open air. I mean a lot...the front of it basically opens all the way, kind of like a big garage with one huge door. So I'm thinking this is interesting not like back in the sates where dentists offices are completely enclosed in random office buildings. Anyway after entering, I'm soon greeted by a pleasant young lady who is extremely cordial. She greets me with a warm smile, hug and kiss on the cheek. Now imagine your dentist doing that in NY, you would think they were drunk! I tell her I'm interesting in having the fillings removed and she sits me down and explains everything in detail such as price and duration. I make my appointment and return the next day. The next day I walk in after a looooong night of partying. So once again I'm greeted as if I were family and she sits me down in her chair. I kept falling asleep as she was trying to work...she did not get upset or even give the slightest hint of being annoyed. Instead she laughs a little, caresses my head(in a caring way) and says poor baby didn't sleep enough. It felt as if one of my aunts was doing my dental work. She did not refer to me as sir or Mr. Moyano but with various Latin terms of endearment...similar to the English version of sweety and baby. I am used to, "sir please open wide, wider, rinse, spit and get out." When she was done working I filled out some paperwork and she sat down next to me chatted with me, wiped the bits of tooth stuff i failed to wipe off, gave me a kiss on the cheek and I was off.
These are the main differences between the experience over there and in the U.S. Over here we have a certain idea of how a professional should behave. Lost of sirs and thank yous. Over there its not deemed unprofessional to be warm and to actually touch somebody without fear of a sexual harassment suit. I advised some other family members to go to that dental office during our trip and they received similar treatment. Women aren't offended by a man greeting them with a kiss on the cheek and men don't think a woman is throwing herself at him if she refers to him endearingly. It was nice to see this educated professional woman still be so warm in her work environment. Yes, it's true i was a paying customer but I pay for services here and have hardly received a thank you. In my opinion American women find themselves having to de-sexualize themselves as much as possible in order to compete with men. Femininity might be seen as a handicap or unprofessional. The culture in Colombia seems to preserve the natural caring that people should have for each other, free of judgment.
So there you have it...want some quality, inexpensive dental work performed by a dentist with a bit of compassion and warmth who calls you sweety - go to Colombia. If not stay here and open wide, wider, rinse, spit, and get out.
While in Colombia I'm chatting with my cousin who was visiting from Spain told me that he just had his daughters braces put in for 1/5 of what they were charging in Spain...so i decide I'll go to that particular dentist. I walk into the Dental office and instantly I'm surprised at the layout. The weather in that region hovers around the high 50's to 60's so the office has a lot of open air. I mean a lot...the front of it basically opens all the way, kind of like a big garage with one huge door. So I'm thinking this is interesting not like back in the sates where dentists offices are completely enclosed in random office buildings. Anyway after entering, I'm soon greeted by a pleasant young lady who is extremely cordial. She greets me with a warm smile, hug and kiss on the cheek. Now imagine your dentist doing that in NY, you would think they were drunk! I tell her I'm interesting in having the fillings removed and she sits me down and explains everything in detail such as price and duration. I make my appointment and return the next day. The next day I walk in after a looooong night of partying. So once again I'm greeted as if I were family and she sits me down in her chair. I kept falling asleep as she was trying to work...she did not get upset or even give the slightest hint of being annoyed. Instead she laughs a little, caresses my head(in a caring way) and says poor baby didn't sleep enough. It felt as if one of my aunts was doing my dental work. She did not refer to me as sir or Mr. Moyano but with various Latin terms of endearment...similar to the English version of sweety and baby. I am used to, "sir please open wide, wider, rinse, spit and get out." When she was done working I filled out some paperwork and she sat down next to me chatted with me, wiped the bits of tooth stuff i failed to wipe off, gave me a kiss on the cheek and I was off.
These are the main differences between the experience over there and in the U.S. Over here we have a certain idea of how a professional should behave. Lost of sirs and thank yous. Over there its not deemed unprofessional to be warm and to actually touch somebody without fear of a sexual harassment suit. I advised some other family members to go to that dental office during our trip and they received similar treatment. Women aren't offended by a man greeting them with a kiss on the cheek and men don't think a woman is throwing herself at him if she refers to him endearingly. It was nice to see this educated professional woman still be so warm in her work environment. Yes, it's true i was a paying customer but I pay for services here and have hardly received a thank you. In my opinion American women find themselves having to de-sexualize themselves as much as possible in order to compete with men. Femininity might be seen as a handicap or unprofessional. The culture in Colombia seems to preserve the natural caring that people should have for each other, free of judgment.
So there you have it...want some quality, inexpensive dental work performed by a dentist with a bit of compassion and warmth who calls you sweety - go to Colombia. If not stay here and open wide, wider, rinse, spit, and get out.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Intro
Welcome to my Blog-osphere,
The air might be a little thin up here but the view is unlike any other.
A little bit about your host:
I'm a Queens, NY native. I grew up in Long Island City. It's almost unrecognizable due to the amount of development going on over there but it's home sweet home. I won't get into boring details as I'm trying to make this thing somewhat interesting. Care to know more...just stay tuned.
Few of the things I enjoy:
Music: I've seen music bring people together under the influence of rhythm that normally wouldn't have anything in common.
Travel: Probably the best form of education
The Movies: I like all types, from documentaries to comedies ( you know a documentary is good when it makes you say, "oh sh*t I didn't know that")
As far as school goes I'm a Finance major. I work and go to school at night: in my opinion you should get a diploma with stars, colors, and printed in 3D because balancing both is crazy.
The air might be a little thin up here but the view is unlike any other.
I'm a Queens, NY native. I grew up in Long Island City. It's almost unrecognizable due to the amount of development going on over there but it's home sweet home. I won't get into boring details as I'm trying to make this thing somewhat interesting. Care to know more...just stay tuned.
Few of the things I enjoy:
Music: I've seen music bring people together under the influence of rhythm that normally wouldn't have anything in common.
Travel: Probably the best form of education
The Movies: I like all types, from documentaries to comedies ( you know a documentary is good when it makes you say, "oh sh*t I didn't know that")
As far as school goes I'm a Finance major. I work and go to school at night: in my opinion you should get a diploma with stars, colors, and printed in 3D because balancing both is crazy.
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