ABC's

After taking the leadership/management diagnostics, I felt a little disappointed at first. My result was labeled as "Steadiness", and was characterized as a person who performs tasks in a consistent, and predictable manner. An "S' person also desires the status quo, and have a tendency to create stable harmonious work environments. By just analyzing my current lifestyle, I couldn't recognize myself in the analysis from the test.

Since my life is very fast-paced, and constantly becoming more hectic, I think I have developed a skill of making fast decisions in ever-changing environments. But reading the other personal profiles, I soon realized that my result actually was the analysis that described me the best. Because even though my busy life have forced me to adapt to new situations, and try new ways to get tasks done, I think I do have a tendency to try to create structure by organizing things until I feel like I have full control over every part of my life. Words such as calm, loyal, patient, and a good listener have been describing my character throughout my life.

Although I think these are good qualities, I also would like to be seen as a very driven, and ambitious person. I think the DISC test might give an accurate description of what an individual values, or how that person wants to be perceived by others, but I don't think that the test can give any valuable information about how a person will actually act, and fit into a group. Because even though you could put a label on people, and try to predict they way they will act, I think most people also adjust to the group they are put in. So if I'm put in a group with other "S" labeled people I might behave more like a C,I or D person. So I definitely think that you can become a different type than you have been labeled.

Lastly I think tests such as this one, could be helpful for an individual trying to analyze themselves. But to use this test as a tool to place people in 1 out of 4 squares when deciding to hire a person or not, I think would be a mistake. People have a lot more nuances than could possibly be illustrated by any test. Not to mention the fact that people can at any point in their life decide to slightly change certain characteristics, or make decisions that are "out of character". I don't think people come with a manual describing their behavior, and therefore it would be a mistake to try to place a worker in a box, or square. With that said, I think the more time you spend actually analyzing a person's actions, and behavior, the more you'll learn about the person behind the ABC's;)

I Found A Whistle

Just a few months back I would have never thought I would ever start writing a blog. As blogging has become an increasingly popular tool for people to express their opinions, I have fiercely refused to join the mass of people publishing irrelevant blog posts about themselves. But as social networking, and "tweeting' has become overwhelmingly popular, my interest for blogging has increased. So when I got the assignment to start a blog, I embraced the idea with enthusiasm. Shortly after writing about my learning experience in class, I realized how much more interesting the subject became by just having a forum to ventilate, and reflect upon the topics discussed in class.

I think it's been really interesting to read other classmates' blogs, and read about a particular topics, through someone else' point of view. Our class is so incredibly diverse in terms of age, country of origin, culture, opinions, and so much more. By responding to different posts, I was forced to try to understand where the writer was coming from, and what was the intended message of the blog.

My first real passion for blogging came after reading other people's responses to my blog posts. I was amazed over the positive feedback, and how encouraging people actually was. I know it was part of the assignment to respond to other people's blogs, and if it weren't for that 20% impact on your grade most people probably wouldn't bother reading my posts. But the fact that other people read and responded to my opinions, and ideas really increased my enthusiasm for blogging.

I will definitely continue my blogging, but the focus might shift as I transition to new ventures. As for you who have read my previous posts I can proudly announce that I got the internship at eMusic this summer:) I'm planning to keep blogging about my experience there, and try to integrate my great passion for music a lot more in my posts. So stay tuned;)

The Pickle Problem

When I walked in to McDonald’s in the afternoon on a Wednesday, there were not a lot of people, and I was immediately help as I walked up to the cash register. When I placed my special order (consisting of a small hamburger with EXACTLY 4 pickles, and a small fries without salt), the cashier didn’t seem to take notice of me but instead was busy with writing down my exact order on a touch screen. There didn’t seem to be any problem or confusion with placing this order or to get the exact receipt. The man who was taking my order did seem confused, not by my order, but something on the touch screen, and he called his manager who immediately sprinted to the scene. I’m not sure what the problem was, since they were talking in Spanish, but whatever it was the manager fixed it in a jiffy. I thereafter paid and got my receipt.

There was no communication with anyone else after my order was completed. Instead my order showed up on a TV screen behind the cashier, and became visible for the workers putting the hamburgers together. I stood to the side and started observing the manager, who seemed to do a lot of the work himself. He was very involved in both putting the orders together and helping with any problems the cashiers seemed to have. I think it is important in a place like McDonald’s that the manager is part of the process, and won’t mind jumping in doing any work that has to be done to make things run smoother.

The cashier who had helped me started to help other customers as more people started to come. I kept waiting and watching the manager put orders together as if he had done it his whole life. So far everything seemed to run like an oiled machine. After 5 minutes of waiting the cashier, who couldn’t help but notice my impatient waiting for my small burger and fries, asked to look at my receipt. He then said something to the manager, who again popped up right next to him in a nano-second, but the manager seemed to dismiss what the cashier said. It took 8 min before I got my order. It was the manager who gave me my food with a smile.

I think that placing my order went really smoothly, and for most of the time I find the communication over TV screens to be a very good idea. It creates a much less stressful atmosphere when you don’t have people running around screaming orders here and there. But there are flaws with this system. For some reason it always seem to me that the McDonald’s restaurants that use this system, where the cashier is basically only taking orders and then someone else is putting the orders together, run slower. To wait 8 minutes at a fast food chain like this one is too long. I think that when the cashier has to put the order together they tend to work a little faster just because they have the customer right in front of them.

I think the reason for my long wait was entirely because the people in the back wasn’t working as fast as they could/ should have. Because they don’t have either the costumers or the manager putting some pressure on them, they weren’t as efficient as they should’ve been. My recommendation to improve the effectiveness would be to promote one of the people working in that team, to become a type of leader of that part of the organization. There seemed to be so many workers both behind the counter and in the assembly line that you could easily divide them into two groups with separate managers. By having a manager among the people putting the burgers together, the pressure on the rest of the employees would dramatically increase and so would the speed and efficiency. Other than that I think that this particular restaurant was running very well. They had the right amount of employees and communication between them was open, but kept to a minimum. As a customer I also realized what a big difference you can make with a smile. After waiting 8 minutes for my burger I was feeling frustrated, but when the manager handed over my food with a smile, it was all forgiven.

Keepin' The Faith

As a 10 year old my teacher gave the entire class an assignment to write a letter to yourself where you would describe where you think you would be in 10 years time. You could include any dreams and anticipation for the future; no one would read this letter but the writer himself. The whole point of this assignment was to envision your future, and by doing so increase the likelihood of your dreams coming true. I had completely forgotten the assignment up until last year when I went back to Sweden to visit my family. When I read the letter it literally gave me the chills. I had written that I thought I was going to be a student in New York, working with something that allowed me to travel all over the world, and have my own apartment. The last one was really important since I grew up in a small house with 4 siblings:/ I am now 22 and a student in New York, working at a job that includes traveling all over the world.

Now it's been almost 10 years since I wrote that letter, and since most of my dreams came true, I really believe in the power of vision. I have therefore always tried to have a clear vision over what the next step in life should be for me. The first vision continues on my last one as a 10 year old, to have my own apartment. I've been living with an American family for the last 4 years, and even though they are absolutely amazing, living on my own is a dream I very soon plan to realize.

The second vision I have for the future might sound trivial to those who are American born, but my vision is to get a Green Card so I can stay in this country even after my graduation. Since I don't have any relatives here or can apply for the Green Card in any other way right now, the only thing I can do is to join the "Diversification Lottery", and hope for the best. To stay in New York brings me to my third vision, which is to build up my career in business here. My goal is to work my way up to a position were I’d have the opportunity to keep traveling, and move around like I have been for the last 4 years. I'm majoring in Marketing and what I would like to do with that is to work with the restructuring and repositioning of different businesses. To help companies who are seeing declining profits to strengthen their position in the market, and increase profits.

To get to that position, my fourth vision is to get an internship this summer. Since I have a great passion for music (hip hop fans might have noticed I named my blog after a "The Beastie Boys" song, and this input after a "De La Soul" song), so I'd like to combine that passion with my interest in business by interning at the online music store "E-Music". Whether or not my dreams will come true after writing them down, only time will tell. But regardless if I end up where I wanted or somewhere else, I’m keepin’ the faith;).

A Crucial Decision

So last Monday's class was kind of crazy. Having the authority to not only influence our exam grades, but to be able to decide how our next exam was going to be structured, was a hot topic that truly concerned every student in that room. Regardless of your participation in the decision making, or if you got a 100 on the first exam, the decision to be made was going to affect everyone. It was a great relief to me that someone with a strong voice and personality stepped up early, to lead the decision making process. It was a role necessary for the decision to be made, and if no one took that role upon him-/herself early, we as a group would have lost valuable time.

In the early stages of the decision making every one got a chance to speak up and make a suggestion. This stage was fairly stress free and people didn't seem to tense about it. As the deadline came closer it seemed like the whole class became so eager to agree on something that it didn't matter so much what it was we agreed on, as long as we made a decision. I think that it was that kind of spirit that made everyone compromise, and try to find a common ground to build on. Many of the ideas were similar to each other, and some the same, so I think that a more detailed description of each alternative would have been helpful.

I think this exercise really showed the difficulties in decision making when there is no authority. Because even though we had a leader, her vote counted no more or less than anyone else. The group was very large which led to many people talking at the same time and confusion about the meaning of some suggestions. It would have been more effective if we had split into groups, as one girl suggested, where everyone could get their voice heard. This would have narrowed down our suggestion pool, which in turn would have saved some time to discuss each alternative a little bit more in depth.

My response to the chaos that was created that class, was to just listen to other peoples suggestions instead of throwing myself into the debate. Having that said I don't think my way to handle the conflict can be described as avoidance, because it wasn't as if the decision didn't affect me or that I wasn't concerned about what decision would be made. I was happy with my grade and definitely didn't want to just disregard that exam, but at the same time I understood that by dropping one exam would benefit a lot of people in the class. I think my typical way of dealing with a conflict is by accommodation, and that was my response in this case as well.

The Plan to Succeed

My first reflection on last class' exercise was how amazingly engaged everyone was. As soon as that timer started the adrenaline started pumping through people's veins, and the competitiveness among the groups grew intense. Looking back at the planning process my own group went through, I continued to be amazed over how all steps were at some point were covered, although not necessarily in the same order you're "suppose" to.

The first step our group took was to clear up any confusion over the task (when are we allowed to use the tools? how much time do we have after the planning process is done?). By doing that we went through step 1 in the planning process by clearly defining our goals and objectives. After everyone was on board with what the goal was we quickly decided who was to drop the egg and who should run for the scissors when it was time for that. I guess you could call that determining your resources and current status, which is step 2. I think this step would have been more important if the assignment were more complex with more different tasks. In this specific case it would have been a waste of time to spend more effort on analyzing each individuals strengths and weaknesses.

Next we came up with a handful of designs, but quickly found flaws in each one. We didn't go through step 3 and 4 in order, but instead just threw out ideas and criticism (good and bad) to each one. Looking back we probably would have been better off by not rejecting different designs so fast, because we kept going back and forth between different designs. Eventually we decided on one that we thought could work. But what we forgot to do was to decide who should do what and it was also a little unclear exactly how the execution of our plan should pan out. I guess this could have been prevented if we had a clear leader who could assign the different tasks so that when it was time to actually build this protection everyone knew what to do.

Step 5 was somewhat of a disappointment as we soon discovered that the tejp we were given wasn't sticky enough to secure the straws onto the egg. This forced the group to rethink fast and to revise the previous strategy. Eventually we managed to finish our construction and made the deadline. Sadly our construction didn't protect the egg from breaking. The way we had positioned our straws made the straws weak and soft instead of firm and protective.

In conclusion I think that our group did really well on the planning part. Although we didn't have a leader everyone in the group was involved and really wanted to contribute. Although I think we collectively disregarded ideas a little too fast, there was still a lot of support for the ideas brought up. It's pretty interesting how people who don't know each other at all, given a mutual goal, can become so connected and supportive of each other. And while our group might have mixed up a few steps, and not thoroughly gone through other, the overall planning process I think went really well.

The "Green" Shirt

Moving to the U.S. I strongly believed I knew all about the culture in America. Growing up I was so influenced by American music, TV, and movies that I didn't even reflect upon the culture clash I might experience by moving here. After almost four years in New York I am still learning about the differences in the diverse existing cultures in N.Y., and the culture I grew up with that I thought I knew all about.

Many of the differences are very obvious, and easy to learn and understand; such as holidays celebrated. Other things such as attitudes and values are much harder to truly understand. One of the first common attitude I found strange was the overall view on environmental questions and global warming by both people and corporations. I have always been taught, not only by my family but from school, companies in my town, and the government, the importance of recycling and reducing your carbon footprint.

For many years I've been so conscious about my consumption and how it affects the planet we live on, that it completely blew my mind to hear people argue that such actions are unnecessary. I currently live with an American family and therefore learn about their point of view first hand. I have many times argued the importance of recycling, and gotten the answer that there is no point. I agree that it is useless unless their is a functioning organization to take care of your recycled products. But I do think that it is the governments and the corporations responsibility to take the appropriate actions to encourage such actions. When such institutions exist it is up to us individuals to take our responsibility to help reduce our waste. I was horrified when I discovered that many people threw batteries, food, paper, plastic, and glass bottles all together in the same bag. Back in Sweden my mom would have been furious if I by mistake threw a Coke bottle with the cap in the same recycling bin (the cap on a Coke bottle is hard plastic and should be separated from the soft plastic).

In fact recycling is such an important part of the culture in Sweden that it is considered unacceptable not to take responsibility for your consumption. When my family was struggling to pay the rent my mom would still insist on paying the extra kronors (currency in Sweden) for the environmentally friendly products. I have slowly come to realize that what I thought to be universal is in fact a belief fostered by the culture I grew up in. I've met many Americans who just don't really care about environmental issues, but I have also met many that really do show and interest. It seems to me that caring about the environment is an emerging trend here and that more and more people become aware of the problems that arise with the industrialized countries exaggerated consumption.

What's interesting to me though is that many people seem to think that more consumption is the answer(!). I see people walking around with green t-shirts that say: "I recycle" or similar messages, but what do you really know about the company producing that shirt? Are they really supporting the message you're trying to spread? And is buying more products really the answer? Although I'm very pleased to see companies and individuals take initiative to create awareness about this issue, I'm sometimes confused as to how more consumption is suppose to reduce the damage we cause the environment, to me that seems like a paradox:/