Treatment 1: pure shared love (in descending order) of an adult, a child, a pet. It is most easily attained from little children. Pets are better than nothing. A right adult companion treats it all.
Possible side-effects: reduced work productivity due to shift of priorities.
MGT 3120 with Professor Kurpis Was the strangest and the most soul and nerve touching class I have ever taken.
I don’t know how I managed to learn so much of management theory along the way. Now it is all piled up in my head into a mountain of studies, structures, and graphs. Hopefully, I will manage to sort them out by next Monday.
There are things; however, that I will never have to struggle to recall. The memories of team projects, class discussions, the DISC test, blog posts, and the journey to McDonald’s, unlike the graphs and strudies, will stay with me for years to come.
I started the class with indifference. It was just another requirement to fulfill. As the semester progressed I lived through a lot of feelings of wide veriety. And I know that today I am supposed to be happy that the class is over but I am not.
One reason why I liked blogging was that it provided a two-way communication. For the first time in school I had a chance to read what other people had to say on the same subject, read their comments, and post mine. I really liked that. Usually what happens with writing assignments is that you keep on boiling in your own juice without a single chance to see a problems from a different angle.
Reading various points of view on the same topic was intellectually stimulating. When I think about it, some really great ideas could never be heard if not for the blogs! Actually, there were blogs that I would go to just to read what those people had to say.
Besides that, I think that blogging regularly helped me improve my writing (or at least I hope so). Sometimes I would go to leave comments and notice how nicely someone managed to put together an idea or a thought I was struggling with. Also, the fact that my classmates would read my posts made me spend more time thinking, writing, and editing than I would if I was writing to no one in particular.
As far as the 20% of the grade control goes, I never thought about the blog in that way. Maybe because being too calculating would spoil the fun. Blogging was not difficult but it was not stress-free either. I never knew if I would be evaluated on the quality of the posts. But then again, in my book "stress-free" means "care-free," so class assignments can't be stress-free by definition.
I am not sure whether I will be continuing to blog after the class. I am a very private person and prefer to keep the events of my life to myself. Why? Simply because I don't believe people really care about other people except for close relatives. And secondly, if I plan to become a president to the United States, I must be very careful about what I am publishing ("paranoia" it's called) JUST KIDDING.
Overall, I really enjoyed blogging for this class. It was an enriching experience.
Would I ever think that one day I would be shopping at McDonald’s for a hamburger with exactly four pickles and unsalted fries? Not in my wildest dreams. I was glad, however, that I was not driven by hunger and unusual dietary preferences but rather by the desire to earn extra points for the class, and I needed the receipt more than the food. Plus, the idea of placing a special order in a conveyer-like McDonald's was an interesting one. So, the scientific purpose of the mission gave me the needed strength. My first attempts, however, didn’t go well. Since I decided to get a hamburger, all McDonald's seemed to disappear from the face of the city. When I finally found a store around my house it turned out that I couldn’t order a burger before 11 am. "So, I can't have a hamburger for breakfast?" I asked in disbelieve. "We start serving hamburgers after 11 am," said a lady at the counter. By the apologetic expression on her face I could tell she was not used to saying "no" to a customer. That was a good sign, and I began to believe that I would get my receipt with four pickles on it.
Finally, one Wednesday evening I got a chance to check out McDonald's commitment to customer service and special order processing skills.
There was no line so I went straight to the register. I took my time to read the menu and felt lucky that I knew exactly what I had to order because the word "hamburger" was nowhere to be found on the “Dollar Menu.”
The lady at the register took the order of a "dollar hamburger with 4 pickles and French fries with no salt" without a twitch. That worried me because I thought she didn't hear my request for 4 pickles. "Four pickles," I said again. "Ok," she said. Her calmness was annoying and disappointing. After all, she was not supposed to have register buttons to ring up extra pickles!
The counter lady yelled out my fries without salt to the person at the fries’ station and looked at the order screen above the kitchen table. Pointing at the screen she talked to the person right next to her and yelled something to someone I could not see. "Aha, the pickles problem," I thought with some relief. The counter lady came back to the register and gave me my receipt. I took it anxiously. Pickles were NOT on it! "I will also need four pickles, please," I said still hoping she just didn't hear me the first two times. "They will give you the pickles but I can't ring them up because they are free. We don't charge for pickles," said the counter lady and yelled, "Next customer, please."
What a disaster! Ok, moving on to plan B. "Excuse me," I said, "In that case, would you please have a manager to write in the four pickles and sign my receipt?" Finally, I managed to squeeze a drop of amusement out of the counter lady. She looked at me, blinked, and went for a manager.
Store manager Nick was not available, so his right hand Amelia emerged from the depths of the kitchen. She smiled at me and asked what exactly I was looking for. I told her that I could not leave until I had my "4 pickles" on the receipt. "No problem," said Amelia and scratched "#4 Pickles" next to "1 Hamburger". "Would you sign that please," I asked politely. Amelia hesitated but signed. "Would you date that too?" I pushed some more. "The date is right on the receipt," protested Amelia, "and I don't know what you are going to use this receipt for." By then, other three employees were watching me and Amelia conversing. They nodded in approval of Amelia's statement. Amelia's words made sense and I decided not to argue. "Ok," I said, "Let me just check if the pickles are in my bag and the fries is without salt." I went on unwrapping the doggy bag imagining Amelia rolling her eyes. Amelia didn’t roll her eyes but she wasn’t enthusiastic about the situation either.
The four pickles were in place and the fries looked unsalted. I thanked Amelia for the help and left the store with a warm bag and my precious receipt with four pickles and Amelia's signature on it.
Conclusion and suggestions:
Communication between the staff members was good, order processing efficient, and the "pickles problem" was resolved fast and without casualties. It seemed that the managerial decision of the "pickle" caliber was not big enough for the store manager to get involved. I think that even the counter lady could sign the receipt but I asked for the manager. I conclude that low level employees have a power over simple day-to-day decisions. That is good for process efficiency but only as long as employees understand the company's position on customer satisfaction.
If I am to suggest some improvements, I think having a "special order" button would not be a bad idea. I noticed that communication between the register and the kitchen happens through a computer. The order is being rung up at the counter and it pops up on the kitchen screen/s. It could be helpful and convenient for the personnel to have "free extras" or "specials" button to hit. This way a complete order would appear on the kitchen screens and there would be no need for a cashier to walk to the kitchen. A "special order" function would also provide a better control of where those "extra" pickles go.
Technically I did receive what I asked for but I did not enjoy the atmosphere. I think McDonald’s personnel could use some customer sensitivity training. They were polite but SO impersonal. I felt that I was a trouble. At some point I even felt like a lunatic they were trying to get rid off in the nicest way possible. I understand that "we'll make you feel like home" is not one of McDonald's slogans but they do promise to make me smile. So far, I was the one who made them smile but not the other way around.
The test showed that I am a D/C type. This is generally true because I am an active choleric with never ending personal projects, I am in constant need for changes, and I prefer to be in control of my own life.
"C" also shows. I am pretty good at quantitative subjects such as calculus, accounting, and finance. When I develop my creative ideas into plans, I plan deep into details sometimes for various scenarios.
"I" came third on my grid but I must say that I use lots of "I" when I work on group projects. This personality type is not native to me but it developed over time. At some point I noticed that people bring better ideas and are more reliable when they are motivated, energized, confident, and have a positive view on the outcome (Dah!). There was no way a regular dictatorship would work, so I had to switch.
"S" is only number four but I wouldn't say that I am completely deprived of Steadiness. If I was deprived of it, I think I would not be tutoring accounting at Baruch's SACC and would not be writing database manuals for new hires in my group at work.
In a word, the test results were accurate for me and I declare that the test works!
I guess this test was developed with business purposes but it can be very well used for personal self-study and improvement. It's great to know your own type. This way you can learn your strengths and weaknesses. Figuring out the personality types of your boss and subordinates and how to combine them with yours, may significantly improve your work environment and overall performance. That in turn will have positive influence on your career in general. Same thing with friends.
For the very personal purposes this test may help to eliminate people with personality traits you can’t stand. However, it maybe be tricky to have a person to take the test, and secondly it doesn’t take a scientific test to notice the way a person shapes his/her environment, interacts with people, and gets things done. I personally think that career paths people choose and situations they create are accurate indicators of what those people are and what you can expect from them in the future. Plus, some very important things the test doesn’t tell. For example, do you care if an egoist or a mean narrow-minded individual is a D or S type? I don't.
By the way, speaking of “first date” tests, here is one. If you take it, let me know what you think.
You are in a desert and you see a …. cube.
1) How big is the cube?
What is its color? What do you think about that color?
How far away is it from you?
Is it transparent? Can you see what is inside?
How big is the cube compared to the desert? What is the ratio?
2) There is a ladder.
Is the ladder leaning on the cube?
What is the color of the ladder? What is it made of?
What impression does it give you?
What is the distance between the cube and the ladder?
3) There is a horse.
What is the distance between the cube and the horse?
What is the color of the house?
What impression does it give you?
Is it tied? Is there a saddle?
4) There is a storm.
What is the distance between the storm and the cube.
Is it a big storm or a small storm?
Is it passing by or staying?
5) There is a flower/ there are flowers.
How many flowers are there?
Where is/ are the flower/s? (eg. next to the horse, next to the cube,
between the horse and the cube, far from both the horse and the storm etc.)
What is the color of the flower/s?
How do you feel about the flower/s?
To interpret the answers, you should concentrate on how you feel about the thing that you describe and not how it looks. For example, you may describe the cube as blue in color and blue gives you a feeling of calmness. However, another person may describe the cube as white in color and white gives her a sense of calmness. Though both persons picture the cube differently, the interpretations of their answers are the same --- the cube represents calmness to them.
Cube : The cube represents yourself. How you think about the cube reflects how you think about yourself. For example, you may think the cube is made of yellow stones. Yellow may give you a feeling of warmth and stone may give you a feeling of strength. Then, it means that you believe that you are a strong and warm person. The distance between you and the cube reflects your understanding about yourself. If the cube is far away, then it means that you do not feel close to your inner self. If the cube is transparent, that means you let people see through you. People can read your mind easily. The ratio of the cube to the desert is how you think about yourself in this world. The bigger the ratio, the bigger your ego is. A small ratio means that you recognize that you are just one part of this world and there are many other things out there beside you.
Ladder : The ladder represents your friends. If the ladder is leaning against the cube, then it means that your friends depend on you. If the ladder is supporting the cube, that means you depend on your friends. The distance between the ladder and the cube indicates if you feel close to your friends or not. Again, how you feel about the ladder reflects how you feel about your friends (eg. what you feel about the color of the ladder and the material it is made of).
Horse : The horse is your lover. If the horse is close to the cube, then it means that you are close to your lover. If the horse is tied or has a saddle on it, then it means that you like to control your lover. As before, the impression of the horse reflects the impression you have of your lover.
Storm : The storm is the obstacle in your life. If the storm is close to the cube/ stationary, then you are always experiencing hardship in your life. If the storm is small, then it means the obstacle in your life is quite small.
Flower/s : The flower represents your offspring. If the flower is close to the cube, that means you are close to your children. Again, what you feel about the flower indicates the feelings you have towards your children.
To those who think vision doesn't work I can say that it does.
Here is an example. I wanted to move to the US since I was a teenager. For a person living in the post-soviet Russia it was an absolutely crazy idea at that time. But I was a dreamer with a plan (or some sort of a plan : ) that worked. I guess I had a vision without realizing it.
My next big concern was my career, so I decided to become a great astronaut. I was not tall enough to make a pilot but I could apply for a non-pilot position if I had a science degree.
Just in case you are cracking up reading this, remember that my friends in Russia did the same when I told them I wanted to live in the States.
By the way, if someone wants to check out NASA careers, here is the link: http://www.nasa.gov/about/career/index.html
My plan was a-go until the crash of Columbia. After that, I thought of settling for a career with potentially lower prices of mistakes. So, I decided to become a financial analyst and later a tax accountant. Some may ague, though, that today being an accountant might be just as perilous as being an astronaut. Ha. My plan was adjusted but my vision was not. I see myself being one of the best accountants ever lived.
Now comes the boreing part. My overall completely undramatic plan for the future is to develop career mentioned above and start a family. I guess one gets tired of freedom and independence after a while : )
In terms of career, I think, it is simple: pick an industry and try to become one of the best. Usually, it is easier to be good at things that are somewhat interesting. And it's not difficult to be interested in things that effect your everyday life, such as owning stocks if you are in a field of finance, getting the most out of your tax returns if you are in accounting, etc. The relevant sacrifices that I am willing to take are long hours and heavy work load.
**Secretly I am still nourishing an idea of applying to FBI and CIA finance departments. They are hiring now. How crazy would that be!!! I can imagine calling my mom and saying, "Mom, I was offered a position of an agent in CIA finance department. What do you think?" Crazy or not it would not be in contradiction with my education in accounting.**
Personal life is a bit trickier to plan because emotions are involved and you can't be rational all the time. Also, to a certain degree, coherence depends on the second party. So, celebration of the 40th anniversary might be an ambitious goal. But history is full of examples, so it's gotta be as possible as anything else.
First of all, I think it was very generous of Professor Kurpis to give us the opportunity to improve the grades and to change the format of the future exams. Thank you, Professor!
The discussion process was not easy and I think I was shifting between collaboration, compromise, and avoidance. It was clear from the very beginning that we would have to put together lots of ideas and lots of preferences. Therefore, a compromise was absolutely necessary. And I was very ready to compromise as long it would not make the future exams more difficult than the first one. We all attempted collaboration when we started writing down our "menu" and taking a vote. The first decision went very well, but we ran out of time on the second. This was the turning point when collaboration left the room and chaos took charge. I believed there was no way to change anything during the loud last five minutes. Besides, we already had some decision on the board. At that moment I felt it was best to go with the flow and vote for whatever would be decided when the time runs out.
Given that you know now the pattern of communications, the reactions of classmates, and the results of the decision making process, what OTHER way to handle conflict should you have chosen to get a more desirable result? Why would this have been better?
Honestly, I was not surprised by the self-imposed "leaders". These were exactly same people who talk most in every class (but not necessarily have the best ideas). I believe the guy (from the last row) who came up to the board and was commanding for the good half of the discussion was encouraged to do so by Professor. In any event, competing for authority with our "leaders" would be a waste of our precious time. What we all should have done was to manage our time a little bit better; however, I don't think it was a real possibility for a group of this size and no one in charge. I don't think I would have done anything differently.
