My trip to McDonald`s

We were given an assignment for an extra credit which involved going to McDonald`s and ordering a unique sandwich called “McGANGBANG”. Professor Kurpis gave us detailed instructions on how to get the sandwich along with the receipt and pictures. It was not easy as I thought because I had to go to three Mcdonald`s restaurants to finally get my McGANGBANG. On Saturday, April 23rd I went to the first McDonald`s restaurant located at 341 5th Avenue in NY, NY where I could not get the McGANGBANG in spite of the efforts that I made explaining the stuff the kind of sandwich that I want. The employees were young females including the manager who had no idea what I was talking about. All of them with one voice told me that they do not make McGANGBANG. I spent ten minutes at the first McDonald`s restaurant. Even though, the fist attempt was not successful, I did not give up my willingness to get the sandwich. So I went to another McDonald`s at 401 Park Ave South, NY, NY where I spoke to salesperson and manager and asked for a McGANGBANG, however they were not able to provide me the sandwich. I decided to get a sandwich with five pickles and a french fries no salt. After 10 minutes they brought my order. As I opened it, I saw that it was just a toasted bun with no ingredients inside. I was them where the pickles were and the manager took the sandwich back and put thinly cut round five pieces of pickles and the french fries were salted. I spent 18 minutes at the second McDonald`s restaurant. I was not satisfied with the sandwich, especially because the french fries were salted. Nevertheless, I paid for it and the manager said that was all they could do. I threw that sandwich with french fries away.
Finally, today, April 25th I checked out the McDonald`s in Staten Island at 2154 Hylan Blvd not far from the place where I live. I asked the cashier that I would like to purchase a McGANGBANG sandwich and explained to her that it is a doublecheeseburger with McChicken sandwich stuffed in the middle. She said they are not serving lunch yet and asked her manager. The manager was nice today. I explained him how to make the McGANGBANG sandwich and he took all the details into consideration and made it in seven minutes. I was really happy with my order and it was the fastest service that I received of three McDonald`s restaurants that I have visited. There were four people involved in making my sandwich two cashiers, the manager and a sandwich maker.

When it comes to analyzing the management process that I have witnessed, the two McDonald`s restaurants in Manhattan that I went to had a poor communication between employees, management and employees and to the the customer. The restaurant staff did not make an effort to understand and satisfy the customer needs and wants by placing a special order. Instead, the employees were brushing away the customer stating that they did not have a sandwich called Mcganbang in their menu and therefore, they cannot make it. I did not have an opportunity to see the organizational skills which would involve the manufacturing process, since my order has not been placed. While, the second McDonald`s restaurant had bad organizational skills because sandwich makers because they forgot to put pickles in the sandwich and just gave me an empty toasted bun and salted french fries. I would recommend the managers and employees of the two restaurants to improve their communication, organization skills, develop strong leadership skills, and finally respect their customers choices and provide them with an exceptional service.
Staten Island McDonald`s restaurant demonstrated an effective communication between the employees, between the manager and the employees and to the customer. The two cashiers carefully listened to me when I explained them about kind of a sandwich that I wanted to purchase. Secondy, as my order was unusual, the cashiers consulted with the restaurant manager. The manager in turn, gave detailed instructions to sandwich makers on to prepare the McGANGBANG. The manager displayed true leadership traits by immediately considering my inquiry and handled the special order in a professional manner by providing a great customer service. He even asked the cashier to write down the sandwich name “McGANGBANG” on the receipt, since they did not have this kind of sandwich in their menu and their database. Most importantly, it took the staff seven minutes to complete my order. It was a wonderful experience ordering a McGANGBAG at the Staten Island restaurant where all the employees cared about their customer satisfaction.
I treated my colleage with the unique sandwich and reccomended her to check out the Staten Island McDonald`s on Hylan Blvd.

What type of leadership/management personality are you?

On Wednesday, April 13th we had the leadership/management diagnostic in class conducted by
professor Kurpis. I was really excited about taking this test to find out which type of personality I have. According to DISC test, I have a "D" sub-"I" personality which stands for dominance and influence. I think the result is very accurate considering that I answered all questions
correctly. I was happy with my result because a person who has a dominating personality has some
strong qualities such as taking authority, accepting challenges and making quick decisions which are very important in fast paced environment. I also liked influential part which includes characteristics such as creating a motivational environment, generating enthusiasm and viewing people and situations optimistically. I did not wish that I was another type, however I think learning some qualities that a "C" personality (Conscientiousness) has such as paying attention to key directives and standards, analyzing performance critically, and using a systematic approach to situations or activities will also be beneficial for a person especially in making tough decisions both personal and business.

I think this test is very helpful in interpreting people`s management personality and can serve a key to understanding one`s personality. It can also give an observer an insight to determining both strong qualities and weaknesses of participant which in turn will help him to interact with the participant more effectively.

The first idea that came to my mind after taking this test is that if I was a manager I would definitely use this leadership/management diagnostic when hiring new employees so that I would know which department will benefit best from this person and which qualities he or she needs to develop or improve.

The Power of Vision

The video called "The Power of Vision" that we watched in class was very informative and inspiring. The video discusses the importance of having a vision in one`s life and future that will guide them to making the right decisions in the most challenging and even fatal moments in their lives. For instance, I enjoyed the part in which they talked about the psychologist named Victor Frankl who was a victim of World War II. Frankl had a vision that helped him not only survive but also learn from his experience. Thousands of people starved to death, were abused, tortured and killed. However, there were others who managed to survive while living in the same conditions. What helped them is them is the vision, a hope that gave them strength to continue living, the light that they saw in the darkness which they followed. Having a vision about your future is very important for anyone who wants to live a meaningful life because vision gives people an idea about where he or she wants to stand  in let`s say 5 or 10 years in terms of career, family, etc. Vision helps us plan and build our future and serves as a foundation to big journey of  life that must be accomplished. I have a vision about my future. First of all, I want to get a good education and learn as much as I can in college so that I will have sufficient knowledge while making decisions in real life situations whether it is at work or on leisure. Secondly, I want to gain a lot of experience by participating in mentorship programs, educational seminars, researches or even meet people who have achieved their goals in the same field. Meeting successful people will help me analyze my vision about my future. Another and a more personal vision is to build a great family in which each member is loved and supported. The family that has good morals and a vision for a better life.