Management

You are hereby an employee
For all to see
If you can do your job successfully

You will be a part of this team
For all to gleam
Your powers at work or so it will seem

There is a plan for all to follow
Especially you and this fellow
To communicate and discuss and not wallow

Use a strategy that works
And there will be perks
For there will be the usual jerks

Motivation, decision-making is useful and always encouraging
Never to be discouraging
For life’s always challenging

Say Something

I have enjoyed the blog assignments. It has been effective in that it gave me time to think and review the task that was just performed. The blog allowed me to discuss the task, its result and how it could have been handled differently. It was a convenient outlet to express your views. The blog reminded of grade school when we had to write in our journals daily but the nuns would review what you wrote. Here, we write our thoughts and they are reviewed by numerous people and people you don’t even know and they are allowed to comment your thoughts. It’s funny. I didn’t like when the nuns read my writing but now I don’t mind that strangers are reading my thoughts. Keep the blogs.

To answer your questions regarding your goals for the blog assignment, see below:

1) Yes, I feel that I learned something about people in the class but there really wasn’t a connection. It was most beneficial with the DISC assignment because you were to reply to your teammates. My replies were more open. When we first began the blog, I was unsure of how to respond, especially to people that I did not know.
2) Yes, I believe the blog was very effective in thinking about and sharing my perceptions. I really enjoyed reading other peoples’ ideas and feelings. I found that the exercise on decision making very interesting. It was interesting to read the thoughts on the whole process. This was very valuable.
3) Yes, I felt that this was enough. Due to personal time constraints, you provided enough outside blogs. I found your blogs very thought provoking and inspiring. I love writing but have not done so in years because life gets in the way and also lack of motivation. This has provided some of the motivation I needed to pick up the pen or laptop and get down to business. I’ve started by writing about certain things that have happened during the day. Thanks for this!
4) The blog being 20% of the overall grade was great. Although I did not do well on the first test, I did not stress as you provided other vehicles to get a better grade. I also appreciate the McD’s extra credit assignment for the first exam.
5) Now that I know we can continue the blog, yes, I will continue to use it after the class has ended. It’s a great way to express oneself.

DISC

I was not present for the DISC exercise but I would fall into the “C” category. I am good at concentrating on key details, thinking analytically and being diplomatic. These characteristics have proven to be the correct qualities for my professional life. I would like to be more of an “I”. I’ve been told that if I were more of an “I”, it would improve my image. It is going to be a leap for me but I’m moving toward certain “I” characteristics. I’ve tried generating enthusiasm, contacting people and creating a motivational environment and have received positive responses from my colleagues.

I’ve found that it is extremely important to determine a person’s management type because it helps you understand that person’s needs. It is also helps you to determine where and how you can be the most useful with your superiors and subordinates.

This test may be somewhat helpful in personal interactions but much care would have to be taken because people are one way professionally and another personally. In personal relationships there tends to be more relaxation.

HOW I SEE IT

OWING MY OWN BUSINESS
WORKING WITH CHILDREN
CREATING A LARGER RETIREMENT NEST


I’ve always had the desire to own my own business and did so a few years ago. I really cannot see myself working for someone until I retire or die. One of my visions is to have a tax preparation business. I’ve been working with accountants who work with medium sized firms and have prepared some taxes for small businesses. Also, I’ve been working with accountants who work independently and hopefully I will be able to join them when I’m ready.

Another vision is to work with children to increase their reading skills. There are certain school districts that inadequately funded and usually these schools are attended by children of color. I would like to give back to the community and help these children in the area of reading. Hopefully, this is possible. I have a few friends that are educators and see that they are working tirelessly to help children of color succeed. I really want to be a part of that and intend to pursue this. I will have more time for this after graduating.

I would also like to have a nice nest egg. Although the economy is rough right now, I intend to continue to save money at the same rate as I do now, for as long as I’m able. As we emerge from this crisis, I intend to invest in the market and hopefully pad my nest egg.

McDonalds is My Kind of Place

Admittedly, I did not want to participate in this assignment because McDonalds is nowhere on my list of “must go” restaurants. However, after speaking with a few classmates, I thought this would be a lot of fun. I was really looking forward to it.

I went to a McDonalds in my neighborhood and looked around. It was not very crowded and there were very few people sitting in the restaurant. As far as I could see, there were about six people on duty. I may have cheated here a little, as I knew the manager, Juanita, whom I’ve not seen in quite some time. We hugged and kissed and asked about each other’s families and then she was back at work. I placed my order for a cheeseburger with exactly four pickles and a small fries with no salt. I thought that this order would get a lot of reaction but to my dismay, it did not. The manager stepped from behind the counter and gave the cheeseburger order, in Spanish, to a worker in the back and specified that the burger must have exactly four pickles. She held up 4 fingers while speaking to the worker. She then proceeded to give the french fry order to the other manager on duty. All workers took the order in stride. No sucking teeth or loud sighs or calling on the Lord. In the meantime, the manager came back to me and said, “It will be just a few minutes for your order. We have to wait on your fries.” She then proceeded to help an older gentleman with a special order. In a few seconds a Spanish worker came from the back with my cheeseburger with a special sticker on the front of the wrapper. The manager confirmed with the worker that the burger had exactly four pickles. Everything was satisfactory with the burger. I saw that the other manager had dropped a new batch of fries in the oil. When the fries were cooked they put my fries in the appropriate packaging and put the whole order in a bag. The manager immediately grabbed the order and said, “Would you like a drink with that?” I replied, “No thanks, take care.” I checked my order and it was exactly as I ordered. I laughed my head off. The process took about five minutes or less.

Watching the management process at this McDonalds was extremely encouraging. I was very impressed with the customer service from the manager and other workers. All seemed to work in harmony and I believe, from what I could see, it was an all female staff. The manager understood that some of her workers spoke a different language, Spanish, and she accommodated them by speaking to them in their native tongue so they would understand and all could get the job accomplished. She was very respectful and for some reason they all looked happy. The staff handled the customers with personal care and listened intently. As a consultant, I don’t think I would change a thing. Everyone was treated respectfully and in a timely fashion.

EXAM I

When the exams were returned with the depressing grade average and Prof. K announced that the class could negotiate how the exam grades could be improved but 100% of the class had to agree, I knew that there would be chaos.  At that particular moment, I said to myself, OH NO, NOT THIS.  I felt that the class was too large to come to an agreement that would benefit everyone and some classmates have very strong personalities. So, for me, I took the position of avoidance.  I really wanted no part of this situation.  When it was time to negotiate, I turned the students sitting next to me and we discussed what was most important to us and most of us agreed.  Then we sat backed and watched and listened to other suggestions just in case we missed anything.  I did think about the amount of work this would put on the Professor and about the students who did really well on the exam.  What benefit would these students get from this groveling? 

At one point, I felt that the class was out of control in the way they spoke to each other (using profanity).  This will not work well in a corporate situation.  The best thing that happened is when the one gentleman got up and, yes, snatched the marker and started writing down items and having the other classmates to agree on things that we wanted and trying to get a 100% agreement.  As time was dwindling down, I wanted to make a few suggestions and raised my hand, and tried to speak but was not heard.  Most of my interests and those of my group were agreed upon so there was not much left to said.  My actions would probably be the same the next time as this group is so huge but I will try to speak up sooner because a few should listen to the wants and needs of the whole.

Eggs-cellent planning project

For our eggs-cellent planning project, our group followed most of the steps except for step 3. Our group understood what the end result had to be, time limit and reporting requirements. One person came up with a great idea and we all agreed to follow it. We identified everyone’s talents and everyone was given a task and we maximized our resources. Everyone participated in preparing our project and we met our deadline with time to spare. Our structure proved sound and we were successful. However, we skipped step 3 which was to consider alternatives. It was not wise to skip this step just in case we had trouble with our original structure.

Overall, I feel that our project was performed well and we successfully reached our goal. However, it was not wise to have only one plan of action.

Hiring an Executive Assistant (EA)

My company is looking for a qualified Executive Assistant (EA). The two partners believe that the successful candidate must have a financial services background because they except that candidate will be familiar with financial terms and names of our clients. I’ve expressed to these partners that a successful candidate does not require a financial services background to understand our business. Someone with experience in our industry could make for a great hire but an experienced EA should be able to learn our business. In addition, considering that we are a small firm, we have to make sure to find the right personality fit.

How do I impart that we are looking for qualified EAs and not just EAs with financial services background?

Introduction

I'm a native New Yorker who's lived in the city all my life. It's a great place to grow up with all of it's cultural events. One of the best features of the city is Central Park, because there's always something taking place. I also use the park to run, bike, sit on the Great Lawn, or an all time favorite is to to take in a play at the Delacorte. On the flip side, the city gets sooo congested, that at times it's hard for me to enjoy all of the wonderful things it has to offer.

I like sharing interesting information, so here's something I found interesting:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/09/10/lhc.collider/index.html

Tanya Isler
URL: http://tisler15.blogspot.com/