My Mind

Early in the night
management is in my mind
I stayed in the computer lab
just waiting for that class
wait for hours until five
but the elevator was tight
spot is not for me to get
so I was a little upset
And think it is time to manage my time

Dropped the egg is a fun exercise
Teamwork is always required in the class
We talked, We discussed, and we decided
Step by step
Leadership role and Visions are in my mind
Class is fun and it is the best
But when it comes to test dizziness is in my mind
Class is still fun and it is still the best
Because future manager will be mine

Communicating via Blog

Reading other people's blogs is fun!

We have chances to meet people via blog, and get to know what others' results for the class exercises are, and what they think of the excercise. It also gives me the chances to express my mind through the blogs that I did not have chances to speak out in the class. I think it is really helpful for students like me who are shy to speak up in the class.

The blog definitely helps me to learn the materials of management better. While writing the blog, I will also relate the materials that we learn in class to my blog entry. This helps me to learn management more efficiently, and in more interesting way. We can also learn management from classmates' blogs, since each one of us has different perceptions toward the materials.

Blog also gives us the opportunity to minimize test percentage, so if we do not do well on the test, then it can help our score to go up a little.

Overall, I think blog is a great way for students to learn management, as well as to meet other classmates that we do not have chances to meet in class. I also appreciate those classmates who came to my blog, and wrote many great comments toward my opinions. Those comments are really great encouragements for me to achieve my "vision", as well as helping me to gain more confidence in life. :)

DISC

We had a class exercise about D(Dominance) I(Influence) S(Steadiness) C(Conscientiousness). I was a C high D. My "type" of people will "concentrate on key details, think analytically on pros and cons, being diplomatic with people, use subtle and indirect approaches to conflict, check for accuracy..etc".

I think that is true for my case, because I do concentrate on details, and I talked in indirect way when dealing with something I dont really agree on. Even though I think I like to check for accuracy, I am a careless person. Sometimes I made stupid simple mistakes on the test..or something that no one would really made, so on that part, I dont really agree with the result.

When I looked at the description of each category, I wish I can be in "Influence" section. Person with influence will be able to make favorable impression, verbalize articulateness, generating enthusiasm, and create a motivation environment. I think all the characteristics that "influence" has are great for manager and my future goal "marketing manager". I think at some points, I can be that kind of person, but not all the time. I hope I can be both Influential and Conscientiousness.

Even though I think the result is kind of accurate, I dont agree to use it for determine person's management skills or abilities based on that. The reasons i said that are because people may just made something up, and pretend they're someone else. Also, I think just one test cannot see through how good the person really is.

I think the exercise is fun, because it tells you what kind of person you really are. I probably will have my friends to try it. However, I wouldnt just judge them based on this.

extra credit --McDonald's

“Sometimes people can be really nice to you”, this is the conclusion I have after requesting 4 pickles on my hamburger and no salt for French Fries. In the city we live in today, people are always busy working, and when you request something that may take their extra time, they will give you a look. However, after doing McDonald’s extra credit assignment, this changed my view a little.

After finishing the marketing intern today, I was kind of hungry, so I went to the McDonald’s restaurant at Time Square, which is really close to where I worked. The line was not long, but a little unorganized, because it has one line has more than 5 people and other line has no one. After it’s my turn to order, I kindly asked them “I would like to have a hamburger with 4 pickles, and a small Fries with no salt.” The staff was really nice, and repeated my order again, then yelled out my request to the staffs who were making hamburger and French Fries. There were about 3 to 4 people who get involved in this order. One at the counter, one next to French Fries, and about 2 at the kitchen table. Every one has a role in the restaurant, so the process was really smooth. The staff next to French Fries helped me to get the fries that just cooked, so I can have the fries without salt. After about 2 minutes, they had my order ready. I was really surprised that McDonald’s can be this efficient. Also, they did not say anything bad thing when I request this special order.

However, after I checked my order, I figured they did not give me my hamburger but the chicken wrap. I went to the counter, and the staff who helped me to order the food seemed like she knows she gave me the wrong order before I came to her. She apologizes for the mistake, and gave me the hamburger. Her attitude was friendly and nice, which I appreciated it. But for a second, I was kind of worry that they may spit on my burger, because one of my friends who worked in McDonald’s told me that “never return your food back…you never know what will happen”. However, I decided to believe their ethics. Then, I checked the hamburger to see if they gave me 4 pickles and fries without salt, and they actually did, so I was really happy.

Maybe because the demand is high at Time Square, and they are used to the different requests that they may have, they are really efficient. Every one has one part to play in the restaurant, which is the reason the process went smoothly. I think the overall performance of this McDonald’s restaurant is great. I will give them the grade 8.5 out of 10. If I was brought in as a consultant to McDonald’s to help them to better, one of things that I would encourage the staffs to check the order before hand in to the customers. Also, the staffs should called out “next on line” to help the line be more organized and efficient.

the power of vision

So...we watched the video on Monday about how important the vision is. I always know that visions (goals) are really important, because I once read about the quote that stated people who make the goals will eventually achieve their goals. So, I have some visions that I hope I can achieve in the future.

1. Improve my communication skills. I am not native American, so I have accent when I speak, and I could not speak as fluent as Americans, so I hope I can overcome this weakness. In order for me to improve my communication skills, I am taking Communication Studies as my minor, so I can have more chances to speak in front of people, and force myself to speak more. I will also try to speak more to classmates, so I can improve my skills.

2. Future Marketing Manager in Asia! As a marketing major, I really hope I can succeed in marketing field. Since I can both write and speak in English and Chinese, I think this skill can be my strength if I am going to work in Asia. I am working as a Marketing Intern right now, and I will continue to gain my marketing experience, so I can achieve this position in the future.

3. Save $200,000 at age 30. I am 20 right now. I hope after 10 years, I will be able to have this amount of money in my bank, so I can be financially stable. I will start to save money from the day I start working, and make sure that I can save at least 1/3 of my salary to my bank account. I will use this amount of money to travel. Also, with this amount of saving, I can make sure that I can provide great living environment for my children in future.

4. Have my own family. I hope I can start my own family before 30. I don't know the exact way to make this happen. Maybe the best way is to appreciate everything I have right now, and try to improve myself better, so I won't lose it. :)

Class Discussion - Decision Making!

We had a really interesting class discussion on Monday. Everyone was talking about what would be the best plan for all the classmates to get higher grade this time, and do better next time! I think in this discussion, Im in accommodation category. I was thinking actively, and talking to my friend next to me about the best way to help out our grades, and we came out the solution that "drop the lowest grade, and curve the exam". However, I didnt speak out our solution to the whole class, because someone helped me to do that part already. So, I was sitting there, and listening to the whole class discussing about the issue. I think most of solutions were pretty great, so there was no need for me to disagree on...that's why I planed to listen rather than speak out.

I think I will probably be in "accommodation" most of the time, because I believe in class' overall decisions. However, if there is a strong point that I really want to make, I will put myself in "compete to win" position.

Egg Plan ;)

I think our group's planning process went pretty well. We all had a same objective & goal, which was not to let the egg break, and earn that 5 extra points to our exam!

When we first knew that we only have one egg, 10 ft of tape, and 8 straws to help us out, we figured that we need to come up with a plan that can protect our egg with limit of resources. So, everyone in our group started to brainstorm about what would be the best plan for us. We came up with many ideas, and discussed which would be the best. We first decided to cut the straws into small pieces, and taped it on the egg, so maybe we can bounce the egg. However, at the end, we figured that it would be really hard for us, because we only have 10 minutes to finish it, and there was a great chance that we wouldn't get the scissor. Therefore, we changed our plan, and choose to use straws to make a protection box for the egg. In this way, we would not have to cut the straws, and it would be easier for us to finish it on time.

As the result, our egg did not break! We followed all 5 steps in planning process, that why we succeed at the end. ;)