Steps for Success

Management process
Plan, organize, lead, control
Never forget this

Communication Via Blog

I wasn't too intrigued when I first heard about the blogging assignment. It's still not something I look forward to, but I don't despise it either. It's an easy way to earn 20% of your grade, and it becomes easier the more you do it.
Although it's annoying to write blogs, it was also interesting reading what other students wrote. I thought it was a great way for the class to become more acquainted with each other. I've learned a lot about other cultures and their customs from reading all the different blogs, especially since Baruch is such a diverse school.
It was partially due to the blogs that my group and I have been able perform better than we would have if the blogs hadn't existed. By keeping up with the blogs of other members in our group, we were able to learn about each others backgrounds and skills, which came in handy when it came to group activities.
For the "Le'go of my Lego's!" activity, we were clueless to how we should tackle the problem. Through information we obtained from the blogs, we figured our best bet would be to utilize the skills of someone whose hobby was building robots. We also knew they could draw from a sketch they posted on their blog as well. Even though our group didn't succeed, our model was only off by a very small detail in the positioning of one of the blocks, which I thought was impressive compared to how much worse off we would have been had we not known what we did.
However, I don't think I will continue to use this blog after class has ended. I don't think a blog is necessary to ensure that students reflect back on what happened in class. I think it's the activities that most of the class will remember, regardless of whether we have a blog or not.

DISC Profiling

Dominance
Influence
Steadiness
Conscientiousness


According to the assessment, I've been profiled as the steady and conscientious type. I felt the results were fairly accurate. I'm usually very relaxed, patient, unemotional, and several other traits associated with the steadiness profile. I agree that steadiness and conscientiousness would be the dominant profiles for me. I'm satisfied with being an Sc. Just because the assessment labeled me as an Sc type doesn't mean it's all I'm limited to.
I think that all people contain characteristics from each of the DISC categories, and feel that certain situations call for different types to emerge. On a regular basis I may be the steadiness type, but in a work environment, I could see my dominance type prevailing.
I think the DISC assessment would be helpful with personal interactions since it gives a general idea of what kind of person someone is. Based on what you know of each type, it would probably be easier to relate to someone if you knew which type they were.
However, I'm against idea of companies basing their hiring decisions on it. People act differently all the time based on the situations they're in. Most people have several faces. There's the one you might show to your parents and other adults, and another you show to your peers for example.
Even though I felt the DISC profiling system categorized me correctly, I don't think it holds any real value in the business world. If I had known job opportunities depended on what the DISC profiling system labeled me as, I would adjust my answers to reflect those I think would land me into the category that job employers are looking for.
So overall, I think the DISC profiling would be great if you wanted to learn more about yourself. As for making hiring decisions based on it... I think it's a terrible idea.

Special Order

The role of management in business is an important factor in determining the success or failure of that business. It is responsible for the growth of several large companies, especially Wal-Mart, which is unmatched in its supply-chain management. Wal-Mart’s top of the line supply-chain management allows them to maintain well stocked inventories across all of its locations. It ensures that the goods are always in the right place at the right time, whether it’s one of its supercenters, discount stores, or warehouses. So how do other companies compare when it comes to management? Well, I’ve taken the liberty to examine the management process of a well known franchise known as McDonald’s. Based on my experience, I would rate the management at the particular location as an 8 based on a scale from 1 through 10.
It began with me entering McDonald’s after returning home from class on a Monday night, which was at about 8:30 p.m. The restaurant wasn’t as crowded as it usually is. This particular location was a McDonald’s Express, so the location was smaller than an average McDonald’s resulting in less employees. There were four employees working that night, including the manager. As I walked up to the counter to place my order, I was fortunate enough to have it taken by the manager herself. This saved me the trouble of having to request to speak with her if my order wasn’t prepared properly. As she greeted me and asked how she could help me, I recited the special order to her. “Could I please have a hamburger with exactly 4 pickles, and a small order of fries, well done with no salt?” I then told her that I needed the receipt to reflect the exact order stated. Without any hesitation or asking questions, she input my order, and told the person responsible for handling the burgers to put 4 pickles into it. I assume (I couldn’t understand what she said to the fry employee because she spoke Spanish to both the employees involved. I was able to catch the part about 4 pickles due to the little Spanish I’ve learned) she also told the employee handling the fries to refry the batch he had just pulled out since he dropped it back into the fryer.
As she handed me the receipt, I checked to see if it reflected the order correctly. I noticed that it stated, “1 EXTRA$ PICKLE” and asked if she could correct that to exactly 4 pickles. She apologized and explained that she wasn’t sure of how to do that, and that it was the best she could do. I figured since she was the manager, I would have to accept it, since there was probably no one else available that I could speak with to solve this problem. After 5 or 6 minutes, my special order was complete and was exactly what I asked for.
Overall, I rated their management process as an 8 on a scale from 1 through 10 because they were able to complete the special order within a reasonable time frame. Their communication seemed to work well, although I didn’t understand most of what they were saying to each other, but the employees didn’t seem to have a problem producing the order. The customer service was great. They didn’t react differently to my special order and treated me like any other customer. I can see why the organization has become such a successful franchise.
If I were brought in as a consultant, my only suggestions would be to have the employees speak English to one another (at least in the U.S. locations). If the employees are speaking to each other in another language after the customer places a special order, the customer could be discouraged to return if they think the employees are speaking ill of them. Another suggestion I would make it to ensure all employees know how to input special orders, and understand them correctly in case the restaurant is extremely busy and there is no time for the manager to tell each person exactly what to do.

Window to the Future

After recently watching the video, "The Power of Vision", the message behind it has led me to rethink my future goals and objectives. While thinking it over, the words "Vision without action is just a dream", "Action without vision merely wastes time", and "Vision coupled with action can make things happen" were stuck in the back of mind. Taking these words into consideration, I've created a list of some of my own personal, and business goals.

1) Catch a Halibut.



2) Pass the CPA Exam.
3) Quit Smoking.
4) Travel the World.
5) Start a Business.

Once I finish school, I'm rewarding myself with a trip to Alaska! I've always enjoyed fishing, but have been delaying this trip due to financial reasons, school, or work. Once I graduate I will definitely take the trip since I know I won't be having much fun for the next year while I study for the CPA exam. I'm going to book a flight there within a month after I graduate, and stay at a lodge for a few days where the chef would be willing to cook my catch.
When I return from the trip, I'm going to accomplish the second goal on the my list, which is passing the CPA Exam. I'm assuming it'll take me about a year if everything goes smoothly. The first thing I'll do is purchase the Becker CPA Exam review. After that, I'm going to devote 3-5 hours each day studying and see how that goes. If I feel I'm not progressing as quickly as I should, my alternative is to sign up for CPA review courses.
After I pass the CPA, my next goal is to quit smoking. The thought of quitting sounds appealing, but not enough to drive me to quit. Every time I've attempted it, I end up cracking around finals week. But after I pass the CPA which I hope is the last exam I ever have to study for, I'll quit cold turkey. If that doesn't work, I've heard good reviews about Chantix, so I'll give that a try.
With a CPA license, I figure the only thing left for me now is to make some money and gain experience. It's the beginning of the end. So before I settle down and begin my career, I'm going to travel the world while I'm still young, before work consumes me and I regret not doing it while I had the chance. Traveling will be my reward for passing the CPA, so I'll max my credit cards and go into debt to visit all the destinations I've ever wanted to go to. Although most people would probably advise me not to do this, I learn better from my own mistakes, and I figure it will give me more motivation to find a job when I return.
Then after several years of working, I'll eventually seek better opportunities once I feel I know the industry well enough, and financially capable. I'll most likely partner up with friends to combine our knowledge together and hopefully run a successful business.

Collaborating is the Key

Recently, we've been taught a very valuable lesson in decision making. The class was offered a great opportunity to design our second exam, and list suggestions on what to do with the results of the first exam. The only catch was that the suggestions had to be reasonable, and the the entire class had to agree on the decision. We were all able come to an agreement that the lowest exam grade would be dropped, and extra credit would be applied to our highest exam grade. The rest would be left to the professor's discretion. Although I thought our performance was satisfactory, I felt it could have been much better.

The process was nothing like I imagined it to be. I thought it would be a piece of cake, and the professor would have ended up regretting his decision to let us make the calls due to all the A's he would have had to give out. I soon came to realize that it was much harder than it seemed. Although I'm grateful for what we were able to accomplish for the first exam, leaving the second exam to the professor's discretion wasn't the best choice we could have made.

It was frustrating at times to hear students reject proposals which I thought would have benefited a lot of people, but I guess I was able to deal with it using an accommodation method. I didn't think I needed the perks as much as other students did. I figured since extra credit would be given, hopefully that would give me the boost I needed to achieve my desired grade. So I threw my suggestion for bonus questions out there, and left the rest to the class to decide.

I think if the class would have used a collaborating method of dealing with conflict, the outcome would have been much greater. Although I personally liked having someone step up and guide the entire class, now that I reflect on it, I feel the best option would have been to break into small groups. One of the problems seemed to be that it would always be one or two people who objected to something. If we were placed into small groups, we would have had the opportunity to talk it out and a chance to persuade those who disagreed. Instead, we needed absolute silence so that our suggestions could be heard by the person leading the class, which cost us to forfeit the opportunity to persuade one another.

Saving Humpty Dumpty

Recently, my group and I were assigned the task of building a contraption that would help our egg survive a 10 ft. drop. We were able to successfully implement a plan to achieve our goal. So how did we do it? Well, now that I reflect back on the event, we non-intentionally followed the steps in the planning process.

Step 1: Defining our goals and objectives.

We all knew what our objective was, and that was to plan and build a contraption using 8 straws and a piece of tape within an hour's time to ensure our egg survived a 10 ft. drop. We also had to keep in mind that the egg needed to be at least 50 percent visible.

Step 2: Determining our resources and current status vis-a-vis objectives.

Our group didn't spend much time doing background checks to see if anyone had any experience with this project. The first thing that came to mind was that we needed someone short to drop the egg. By selecting the shortest person in our group to drop it, we would be able to minimize the distance from the egg to the floor, therefore reducing the impact, so that our egg would have a better chance at surviving the fall.
However, someone in our group did have knowledge on how we should approach the task based on what they've heard from other students who were familiar with this project.

Step 3: Developing several alternative strategies.

This was one of the hardest steps for us. Our group was debating how to make use of all the straws. We couldn't decide whether we should build a nest for the egg, wrap it up in straws, or if we should drop the egg vertically or horizontally. There were too many factors to consider. We couldn't predict if the egg fall straight down, turn in the air, or whether it would roll when it landed. As we were considering all the flaws in our plans as we went through it, someone had suggested an idea they heard about from another student. They suggested connecting all the straws together with tape to form a large pole, and connecting the pole of straws to the egg with the tape. While holding our contraption, the distance from the egg to the floor would be a few feet at most.

Step 4: Make a Plan

During this stage we narrowed our choices down to building a barrier of straws around our egg, or the pole of straws for minimal distance. Our group was leaning towards the pole of straws, but we were skeptical of how long we could actually get our contraption to be. Once we were given the long piece of tape, it was decided. We assumed we would get a foot of tape or so, but once we received several feet, this put us all at ease knowing that the distance from the egg to floor couldn't be that bad.
Once we received the materials, the group got right to work. Everyone who was close to the straws went and began assembling it, while those closer to the egg and tape began working on that. It's as if everyone was a leader and decided to step up and take control.

Step 5: Implement the plan and evaluate the results.

Now it was time to put our contraption to the test. The shortest person on our team went up and slowly lowered the contraption. As she released it, I was relieved to hear the sound of our team cheering as our contraption was a success.

Ultimately, I thought our group's performance was good. It might have been more effective to choose a leader, but overall I'm satisfied with how it all turned out. We were able to prevent our egg from breaking; earning us 5 extra points towards our exam, and we didn't have to jeopardize the lives of any team members by trying to get the scissors. =)

The Outsider's Perspective

Several months ago I accompanied my girlfriend to one of her co-worker's wedding. The happy couple were both Guyanese Hindu's, so I was a bit interested to see what I was walking into. The wedding ceremony was being held in the bride's backyard. The first thing I noticed was the noise. You could hear the beating of drums from a block away. When we arrived there, my attention was drawn to this kid who had a HUGE drum slung over his shoulders (I later found out it was called a dohl). The drum was held sideways as he was pounding it. He and several other kids with different types of drums were the entertainment for the wedding until the bride and groom arrived, which took about an hour and thirty minutes! I wasn't sure if that's how it was supposed to be or whether this particular couple were just late. I've heard the groom is supposed arrive riding an elephant. Seeing how that would be extremely difficult to accomplish in NYC, I believe the groom walked over instead (luckily he didn't live that far).
The ceremony was extremely long. They do however allow you to chat and eat throughout the course of it. I was looking forward to the food until I discovered there was no meat dishes being served. It was all vegetarian! There was rice, beans, fruits, and vegetables, all served with lots of spices. I was adventurous or just plain starving that day, but I decided to try everything. I was surprised to find out that the dishes weren't as bad as I had imagined. The thought of curry on pumpkins and mango's didn't seem to appealing to me, but they weren't bad.
The last thing I remember about the ceremony was a certain ritual. The bride and groom were on a platform built for the ceremony. In the center of the platform they had a large fire burning. I couldn't hear much due to the beating drums, but it looked like they were dancing around the flames. A Guyanese friend of mine had told me the ritual was meant to cleanse them. Each circle around the fire was meant to remove an impurity from them, or something along those lines.
If I didn't grow up in New York City, then I would have probably been one to judge and label that as strange. However, life's experiences of growing up in the melting pot of the world has definitely left me very open-minded to other cultures. I once read an article titled, "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema", by Horace Miner that was published in The American Anthropologist. It tells a story about the culture of the Nacirema, and how strange their customs may seem. But toward the end, you realize it's all a matter of perspective. Here's a link for those of you who are interested in reading it.

http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~thompsoc/Body.html

An Introduction

Hi, my name is Font Nguyen. I 'm an Asian-American, born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. My academic career hasn't always been ideal. When I was younger, I took time off from school to decide what I wanted to do with my life. I wasn't sure whether school was the right path for me at the time, so I decided to live it up and have fun for the time being. After a while, the excitement died down as friends returned to school, and work, while I had nothing to do. My days felt unproductive, and my fear of failure was becoming apparent. I was now more lost than ever. Then one day while I was out, I saw a man wearing a nice suit driving down the street in his flashy car. I figured he was probably some hot shot who graduated at the top of his class from an Ivy League, until I saw his license plate. The words "GED 2 PHD" were written on it. So I figured if that guy could do it, why can't I!? Ever since then, that stranger has been an inspiration to me. He's shown me that it's never too late to return to school, and there are no glass ceilings when it comes to learning. So here I am, an accounting major at Baruch aiming for a master's degree so that I can become a CPA, and ultimately partner up with good friends who specialize in other fields so that we can combine our skills into running a business of our own one day.