28 nonsense questions and the result is...HUH?!

Last wednesday, prof Kurpis made us go through, what seemed at the time to be a really non-sense assaignement, go through some sort of personality assesment test. We had to pick out of a set of 4 words, which one described us the most and the least, 28 times! The words seemed repetitive and a lot of them were similar, so by question 10 we were all already dreading the next set of words. Finally after we painstakingly went through all the words, and the results were tallied up, something very interesting was revealed to me. Out of 4 categories, Dominance, Infuence, Steadiness, Consiousness; I was by far most infulencial, and rock bottom Consientious.This, altough was not a news flash to me, was actually shocking because it was able to really break me down. I definatley feel like I am a very influencial person. I am indeed very influencial, when something needs to be done, I can always convince somebody to go and do it. And on the contrary, I am not a very consious person. Basicly Im not very detail oriented. Which is also true. I really liked this test assesment because it showed to me what I need to work on in order to be a more well rounded individual. I need to pay more attention to details and possess more steadiness. This was a great assessment because I really learned something about myself. Great assignment.

Extra Pickles Please!!

                From egg drops to worst case scenario survival challenges, Professor Kurpis never fails to deliver an unusual yet always intellectually challenging assignment. And when I read the extra credit assignment, I was not surprised when it was something out of the ordinary. This was probably one of the most unusual assignments I have ever received, but definitely one of my favorites.  I was told to go to a McDonalds and order and unusual meal of a cheese burger with exactly 5 pickles, and small well-done fries with Big Mac sauce. This assignment was definitely created by someone who thought outside the box which challenged me to do the same. It was a great experience doing this assignment, and I am pleased to say, that with some struggle, I managed to place and receive my order completely. Here’s how it went down.

                Upon entering the McDonalds I definitely did feel a bit nervous, because I didn’t want to look like a complete idiot ordering such an unusual order. I waited in line and stepped up to the counter when I was called next. I came up to a female worker who asked, “May I take your order?” I replied as politely as possible. “Yes, please, Good evening, how are you?” Almost as if I was stalling and trying to butter her up. I asked for a cheeseburger from the dollar menu with exactly 5 pickles on it. The lady looked at me almost as if I was crazy and said: “you want what?” I repeated again “I want a cheese burger with exactly 5 pickles on it”, stressing the exactly. She still paused and looked at me funny, so I insisted that I need there to be 5 pickles because I have OCD when it comes to my pickles and I need there to be exactly 5. She shook her head and said “is that all?” And of course it wasn’t, so here we go again.  I asked, “Can I also have some small fries with the special Big Mac Sauce on the side?” Being that I had to explain myself pretty thoroughly for my last request, she asked no question and told me my total of $2 and some change. She clicked in the order into the system and the information flew back to the man who made the food in the back onto the little black computer screen. I was rather surprised because I received my order probably within 45 seconds of placing it, which is pretty good time, especially for an unusual order. Surprised that it went so easily, I expecting many more challenges. Thus, I was thrilled that I was already on my way to be home free. Successfully completing my assignment I sat down at the nearest table and inspected my order. First I grabbed the fries. The fries were all there, well done, with the exact sauce in a small kid’s cup. An unusual way to give me the sauce, but then again, it was an unusual order. Ok, great, I’m half way there, now the most important thing; the pickles. I pulled out of the bag a warm cheeseburger with a sticker on it which said “cheeseburger + extra pickles.” It seemed at that moment that I was home free. So I opened up the burger, began to count, and to my utter disbelief I saw only 4 pickles. I triple checked, flipped the Pattie over, checked under the buns, behind the cheese and nothing. I only had 4 pickles. I couldn’t believe that because of one pickle I was about to become “that guy” which complains about his slightly imperfect order. I took a deep breath and stepped in line again. After a much longer wait this time, (or maybe it was shorter, it just seemed longer due to the anticipation,) I stepped up and the same woman who looked at me in confusion. She asked “you need something else?” I actually began to apologize to her and I requested that my order be fixed because it was one pickle slice short of perfection. To my disbelief she actually smiled, chuckled and did it! I was expecting her to deny me, charge me more, or a combination of both. Not actually deliver the requested food. She personally walked the burger to the back and came back in a flash with 5 pickles on it. Success! My assignment was finally complete and here is what I have assessed.

Starting out with the order itself, I think I was much smoother than expected. I took a total of 2 people, to get me my food; one person to take the order and bring it to me and a second in the back to make it. The first time I ordered the meal the request for the food was sent electronically to the back. I can see that on the black computer screen in the back in green letters my order was barely visible. That is how my order was requested. The woman punched it in, on the machine and it popped up for the “chef” in the back who prepared it. The second time, which I think is the reason why the order was messed up in the first place, since she walked up to the guy and personally, told him to add one more pickle. Maybe that was the reason why my order got screwed up in the first place, some sort of technological error or misread. The order, like I previously mentioned, from the time it was placed until the time it was received was a mere 45 seconds; which was a blazing fast time and definitely surpassed expectations. The only management challenge which I saw was the woman stepping in, and manually correcting an error previously made. And she did it very kindly and energetically. For that I give her a round of applause.

                So how did this employee performance go down according to the textbook definition of good management? Well, here’s how they did in each individual case. In Organization I give them 8 out of 10. The order was made in a very timely fashion and although it was unusual it was still placed. I deduct 2 points because the mistake was a very easy one to avoid. It was the difference between counting 4 pickles, and counting 5 pickles. Communication was most effective when it was done the old fashion way, face to face. As opposed to getting with the times and using a computer screen, I feel like this can be the downfall to man. We rely too heavily on gadgets and technology when we can in some cases do something more effectively face to face. But communication with the customer was definitely great, because the employees did not seem angry when they were bugged to fix an error. Instead they smiled and did it happily. For this I give them 5 out of 10. As far as training goes I think the employees were excellently trained. They handled the unusual order in a fast time, very well with some slight confusion but were able to fix the error with a smile on their face just as quick as they gave the order the first time. For this I applaud them and give them 9 out of 10. Finally, as far as leadership goes, the woman at the counter was definitely the clear cut leader. She is dubbed the leader because when she was told there was a mistake she didn’t punch any numbers into the machine. She instead went with my burger to the back and personally told the man to fix his mistake. For this I give this woman 10 out of 10. She is a great leader.

                Overall I give McDonalds 33 out of 40 in managing this unusual order. It wasn’t easy but they did their best, with a little confusion, but in the end, my stomach was filled and my assignment was complete. I definitely enjoyed this assignment. It showed me a real life implementation of managerial organization, communication, training and leadership. I hope I have many more assignments like this in the future!

My Musical Vision

We are all dreamers. We dream about the future. Unfortunatley for many of us, we just dream to comfort ourselves for present time. Dreams are just there so that we can get through the days. But some us, who dream and invision above the stars, with enough motivation, do achieve what we want. For me my major passion is music. I always been in love with dance music. House, electronic, progressive, you name it I like it. I always wanted to produce my own music and play it world wide. The feelings I get from music is undescribable, and I just want to pass that feeling along to others. My vision for my future includes three things. I want to produce my own music under a record label. I want to DJ my music infront of a large audience for a living. And I want to have the time of my life doing this.
Now as we know, vision without action just passes the time. so how do I plan on achieving my goal of my vision. Well I have already taken significant steps in doing so. I've been producing music for about 3 years now. I am self taught, and pretty good at it already I might say. I DJ for parties about every 2 weeks building my rep, meeting connects and getting my name out. And hopefully with enough work, these two things will overlap well enough and get me to where I want to be.
That is my vision, and I hope to exceed my own expectations.