Upon the first day of class
I was ready for may,
but the professor promised us a blast
That, I would not say

From dropping chicks
without a plan,
Then to building bricks
we learned to scan,

The midterm was hard and long
With multiple multiple choice, was the professor mad?
but with a curve and a drop it sang like a song
Maybe just a tad.

Some days were slow
with others being dull
But that D I S C's test really blows
because it was just bull

The professor was quite the fellow
he had much to bring to the table
But I can't say for the jello
because it was much to unstable

communicating, motivating.
So what was management all about?
Innovation,planning, leading?
thinking about it is making me pout

Now that it's may
that's all I have to say
until another day
on the bed I lay

Mind Boggling Blog

First off when I heard about a blog being part of our grade it really reminded me of the times when people would complain wishing they wished watching T.V was a h.w or going outside to play was an assignment, because this blog assignment was just that. It was definitely different, unique and enjoyable. At first I felt it was awkward to write a blog relating to class, because usually, there isn't much to say, you sit, you learn, you go home. But it was very different in this case. The class was filled with activities from killing chicks, to playing with bricks.They were things that are interesting to blog about.

But not only that, when I would have to write the blogs it really made me think critically because I know people other than me would be reading it as well. But it was a great way to convey the emotions that were exchanged during these activities, good and bad. I think it was a great tool to help retain the knowledge in a fun way, because things that happened during the activities were usually funny and engaging.

I think the blog should be forever part of this syllabus, because it's amusing. It's fun to read what others felt or even see how your feelings differ. It really helps you to get to know the class even if its a little, because sometimes you might just hear a person speak up and all of the sudden its like, HEY I read his blog...! I speak from experience. But reading your blog was also interesting, it was quite informative, and i think it also portrays you, the professor, in a different light. Like you aren't just a professor at night but a real person, who blogs and lives a life as well.

Extra Credit Assignment

When I heard about this extra credit assignment, it sounded really exciting, because I didn’t think it was possible. To go to a Mcdonald and ask for a burger with exactly 4 pickles and fries that were completely saltless. This is something I wouldn’t find too surprising in a place such as Starbucks where customer service is valued. But never at McDonald’s, a fast food place, where the key to everything is being fast.

Pondering about this was quite exciting, so being a jerk, I decided to visit the McDonald at Union Square during one of its peak hours, 4 o’clock. The minute I walked in I saw lines, this was perfect because I wanted to see how they would handle my special order under busy circumstances. As I waited in line, I started to get a little anxious. It took around 8 minutes but it was finally time to order

Being so busy, I just went straight to the point with my order. “Hi I’d like to get 2 hamburger with exactly four pickles…, yes four pickles” The employee which at this point I will name Fred, was perplexed. So he decided to ask a fellow co-worker if it was possible, after some toying with the screen, they got the extra pickles on my hamburger down. Still being kind, he asked if I wanted anything else. Smiling, I said “Yes, I’d like small fries, but I want them to be salt-less” At this point I saw Fred’s smile fade and again he again asked his fellow co-worker if this was possible, the co-worker also didn’t know so she went away to consult a another worker, possibly the manager, since he was wearing a white shirt. After a minute or so, I could almost feel the people behind me scowling and glaring at me, but I didn’t look behind me, because I thought I would’ve laughed.

The co-worker came back and gave the okay to Fred who was catering to my order. Fred then proceeded to go to the fry station and I saw him waiting there. Just as a batch of new fries came out he scooped them up just for me to make sure they were unsalted. But at the same time I was wondering how my burger was doing, but I couldn’t see which burger chef was handling my 2 specialized 4 pickled burger. As Fred was wrapping up my order, and putting it in the bag, I gave him the final blow. Just as he was about to take the next order I asked if it was possible for me to get the receipt for my order. At this point Fred looked annoyed, I could hear him sigh as he tore off the receipt and handed it to me.

I looked at my receipt, and I wasn’t happy, he didn’t put down the fries as saltless. But it was already too late to ask for a fix up as the line behind me was long and he already took the next order, It would have been unethical in my standards to barge and ask for a new receipt. I went on to check the burgers and fries, they were as I had ordered, 4 pickles on each burger and the fries, completely salt less. What made the burgers special was that they had a special note attached to the wrapping stating, “Two extra pickles”. I guess it’s the norm of McDonalds to only have 2 pickles per burger.

Overall I think the order took about 6-7 minutes. It was a fair time, but I think it was probably too long considering how busy it was that day. It was quite understandable in my opinion though because it was a special order. Another thing that might have slowed down the process was a possibility that Fred was a new employee, because he seemed very new to everything. Since his co-worker seemed to have known how to do the extra pickles on the screen to direct it to the burger chefs. But in total I believe 4-5 people were involved in the whole process. “Fred”, his co-worker, the possible manager, and 2 burger chefs for my 2 special burgers. Overall from seeing how they worked, the order didn’t seem like much of a problem after they realized what I wanted. It was probably more annoying than of a trouble. Still everything was mostly perfect, except for my receipt. While I was waiting for my order, I could see Fred being a little impatient with me and it really showed when I requested the receipt. But I wouldn’t blame him, with the huge line behind me and being a busy hour, troublesome customers, me, can be nerve wrecking. If I were a consultant, some of the things I would tell them to do is probably keep all the fries unsalted until they put them into their individual boxes. Being in an era when healthy eating is being stressed I suppose ordering salt-less fries may not be such an uncommon thing anymore. I was lucky that a new batch of fries came in at the right moment, but if many were to order it, and there wasn’t an unsalted batch, that could seriously cause efficiency problems. What really did surprise me was how they added a little note to my hamburger wrap designating the 2 extra pickles, that seems quite efficient to me because with the note there, it relays to the burger chefs what specifications are needed on that special burger for the special customers.

Who Am I?

So the other day during class, we were asked to take a personality exam. I always thought personality tests were fun just for the final paragraph, because it's supposed to describe what and who you are, based on the answers you gave. It's quite surprising because after you read it, you feel, well gee that really does sound like me. But in reality, the description they gave about you is so broad and general, that almost anyone can say the same. In general I think these tests are fun, but nothing to be taken seriously, which some people or many really do.

According to the test my personality is Influential Steady. I think there were probably only about 5 others in that category, with the majority being in the Dominance Conscientiousness, or Conscientiousness Dominance. I think this test was somewhat accurate. But i think that's the same for many in my opinion because we all have a sense of who we think we are inside, so naturally when told to answer certain questions based on what we think of ourselves, it'll be very similar to it. I think it's all psychological when it comes to personality tests, it gives you an explanation of who you think you are at the moment. Especially because I believe people are able to change, that's what makes people unique. We adapt, and certain traits rise or fall with the different situations we are presented with.

As for the stranded activity, it would be best for a person who has a Conscientiousness Influence personality because when you're stranded, the best chances you have at surviving is by staying where you are. Thus this is where the C and I come into play. You need a person who is able to analyze the situation appropriately, weigh out the pros and cons, so the next best choice of action can be taken. Then you also need a person who is optimistic, because when you're stranded people tend to lose hope fast, you need a person who can influence people to keep striving to survive, to have vision is power. A Conscientiousness Influence is also important because you cant have a person who is too overly Dominating because that may interfere with team work, or otherwise people may find you to be too bossy and the last thing you'd want when stranded is to have to argue and cause a disruption to the already critical situation. While a person who is too Steady may not be able to adapt to this situation fast enough, and may end up following another persons rule of thumb. Also people who are steady tend to need guidelines and stick to the status quo, in a situation like being stranded, there is no status quo, and no guidelines on "what to do to survive". But most definitely, the last thing you would want to do when stranded, is to take a personality test to see whose the best person to lead the group.

When I grow up I want to be....

Vision, a word i probably heard more times in my life today, than the amount of people sleeping in class while the video was in play. I found myself quite interested in the video because I was able to relate to it. There were many times when i had a goal but along the way i would lose sight of this vision, maybe because i didn't have the devotion, maybe it was unrealistic of maybe i was just too young to fully realize what i wanted. But as i grew older some of these goals just smacked me in the face, and others found their ways through time.

Every time i see joggers and people running it always gets me jumpy. I remember back in elementary school I used to be one of the fastest runners in my class, so a selected few were given a chance to participate in some kind of competition against other schools. I fortunately enough was one of the few, but it ended in great disappointment, i won the 4th place medal, or the pity medal. I blame it on the fact that i had no idea the race starts once you hear the gun shot go, but none the less the excitement of running has still stuck with me through the years. And one of my goals is to run in many of the marathons events that take place around the city especially the ones for a good cause. Another motivating factor that keeps me running, is because I have asthma. Every time I'd tell someone that they would give me the look, but believe it or not asthma can be overcome . I learned during 6th grade that I had asthma, but when I asked if that means I wouldn't be able to participate in certain activities, my doctor told me that if i trained my lungs properly and overtime, my asthma symptoms would decrease overtime. Thanks to his encouragement I run many times a week, outdoors and on the treadmill, and now I even plan on running in marathons because I can.

While I love being active I also like to spend some time in the kitchen. I like to cook, and I occasionally cook for friends, and family. The kitchen is probably the second most often place i would be in, first being my room because I sleep there. My current kitchen is nothing to brag about, it's probably about the size of 6 chairs lined alongside another. So usually when i try to help with dinner I feel more like a bother since there is only so much space in there. This however didn't prevent me from watching and being fascinated by this magic called cooking. I honestly never had a care for the kitchen for the first 16 years of my life. However there was one time when I was asked if I wanted to bake a cheesecake, and i thought in my head, you can make this stuff!? From that point on cooking/baking was embedded into my life. It never occurred to me that so many things from simple delights to exquisite dishes could be created from scratch and in a kitchen even in a dinky one like mine. But one day I hope to own a bigger kitchen and hope to become a serious home chef. Currently I've bought culinary books from the schools I had wanted to attend and I occasionally make dinner for the family.

Asides from cooking, I have recently taken an interest in photography. I could tell you right now, I never had an interest in photography before and when I enrolled in the classes offered here in Baruch, I thought what did I just get myself into. Because Photography isn't something everyone can do, or at least do good. It takes passion, patience, and A LOT of time. I had patience, but i didn't have the passion nor the time. But as the class went by, I became more fond of it and I even started making time for it.I'm quite glad that i took this class even though in the beginning i only took this class because i thought it would help me with my major, which is marketing. I hope to create various portfolios of my works, and plan on submitting my works to various competitions or just put them on a flickr account. I will continue doing photography for as long as this interest lasts because it has helped me in many ways, from the creativity boost, to the ways I have come to appreciate art.

I remember back when it was college application season, and everyone was talking about where they want to go and how they want to really get away from home because it would be such a new expierence, even though the school they'll be attending is still in the state. But for me, I've always wanted to try living abroad, living in a whole new enviornment/country, somewhere new. It's exciting to me, the thought of adapting to this new enviroment, or the idea of seeing how my way of living is different from others. Also certain countries have different holidays from the United States, it would be nice to expierence all these different events at least once in my life. Life is so short, and it would be great to make the best out of it.

At the moment i have instrumental music playing, mostly piano as it helps me focus when i need to study or do a report, even when writing in this blog. I can't remember when or why, but ever since I was a child I had a fascination with the piano. I used to have a small wooden piano at home, and i thought it was just sheer enjoyment to smash around on the keys as it would create horrific sounds, which usually lead to me being scolded at by my mom. That may possibly be the reason she gave it away as i got older. Music is another thing i can really appreciate, and find anyone who is able to play an instrument or sing to be A-mazing. One, because I can't play any instruments besides the recorder, and Two because music feels so soulful, when a person plays an instrument or sings, you can really see the emotions they are conveying and I find that to be extremely beautiful. Not only that but music can also cheer up a person or help a person relax, almost as if music was a type of cure to certain depressions. Therefore I'd like to get my hands on some of this magic because I'd like to be able to play music anywhere i go on keyboard that is soon to be mine, in hopes of brightining anyone's bad day or simply just add some color to people's eveyday gray life.

Curve, drop!, extra credit?, eyes rolling, voices screaming, twiddling thumbs.

We were told in the previous class prior to 3/9/09, to go to go to class as this was probably going to be the most important class of the semester. I had no idea what was to be expected, but Professor Kurpis was right, it probably was the most important class of the semester. On that Monday, i came into class as usual but i was a little excited since today was supposed to be a very important day. As class was about to begin, and people started to fill up the seats, Professor Kurpis just said a word and we all knew what it was about.

Apparently our class average was a meager C, but without the extra credit from the various activities conducted in class, it would have been a C-. As the professor started handing out the exams, you heard people gasp, others were shocked, others laughed, but everyone was gloomy. Professor Kurpis then started to ask for feedback on the exam, how some people said it was too long, others complained about it being too much information to learn, and there were the people who just didnt speak at all, me being one of them. There were countless more complaints but when there was only 35 minutes left within the class, Professor Kurpise unleashed his plans. He decided to let us as a class decide what we wanted to do with our first exam grade, and how the next test was going to work, with only 2 conditions.

1. The changes be reasonable (but he didnt specify what reasonable is)
2. The whole class has to be in 100% agreement

To many this seemed like a dream come true, but in reality this was something that could have made or break the class. We only had 30 minutes to come up with a plan and have the whole class agree. For the first 5 minutes everyone was talking amongst themselves, and their little groups. But after another minute, a fellow classmate Teddy decided that nothing was going to work unless we have some sort system going on, so he suggested to the whole class, that we write down the things that we want on the white board, but Teddy decided to let another classmate do the writing, Gabriel.

Gabriel who i would consider as our first leader, had a hard time managing the class in my opinion. He didnt have a strong voice and i was easily swayed by his peers but i wouldnt blame him, it must have been hard being up there in front of 100 students, each of them having an idea they wanted to put up on the board. For 20 minutes, people were yelling, and screaming, bashing down on each other and their ideas, at first it really felt like NOTHING was going to happen even with this new system because no one had a real idea of what they wanted, and Gabriel just wrote things down on the board. There was one thing that really got me mad, that happened during class, it was when a classmate of mine suggested an idea of a Curve, and drop the lowest grade. EVERYONE laughed including Gabriel, to me this seemed very degrading to that classmate because she had the courage to speak up and suggest an idea, but instead of being criticized on why they only LAUGHED. Her suggestion did end up becoming part of the final decision but it wasnt suggested by her the second time, as she probably withdrew after suffering that huge blow, but i felt her suggestion did linger on in peoples mind. So i am thankful for her contribution even if others don't remember.

More time passed and when we had about only 10 minutes left, Teddy took charge of the room again, and dismissed Gabriel. Teddy saw that we had only 10 minutes left and told everyone that we needed to get something down, and we all need to agree, he offered suggestions and told us to compromise, but he himself was not pushing anything onto us, instead he was being a delegator, trying to create balance within a classroom with 100 different views. I think he did a great job because as soon as he got up there again and spoke out people started realizing that we had only 10 minutes left, and if we didnt come up with something fast we would all be leaving with nothing. Soon the whole class worked as one, and we all started compromising and working together. The final decision which had a slew of modifications, touching on the first exam, the next exam and the review session for the next exam. it was a curve, and extra credit on the first exam. Drop the lowest exam. Have straight foward mutliple choice, a few short answers, only 5 true and false, and no essay on the next exam. And finally a full class review for the next exam. With this professor kurpis ended class and told us in the next class we will go over what had just happpened, because it was all part of his decision making process experiement.

During this experiment i personally felt everyone was just competing to win, because we were given such power and authority that everyone was their own leader. For example when someone suggested to have a take home essay, i overheard the person who disagreed saying they didnt like that idea because they had so many essays to do at home. I felt that was a little selfish because everyone has a busy life not just them. But i think if we were to handle the situation again, it would be better off to break the class into groups and give us an alotted time to colaborate something within the group. After we have each group then write up their ideas on the board and compare to see what conflicts with each other and narrow it down from there. But of course we would still need a leader of some sort, or else it would just be chaos again, but this time it would be groups bickering amongst each other.

The Chick Who Could Have Been....

Sometime last week we had quite an interesting experiment happen in our management class. The minute I walked into class I saw a carton of egg, straws, tape, and a huge garbage bin smacked in the middle of class.

While Professor Kurpis waited patiently for the eager class to settle down, he finally spoke and with a voice of a lions might he told the class what was about to take place. As you would have guessed, these eggs were not meant to be eaten, but rather their fates were to be toyed with by our very own hands. The class was divided into several divisions, and each of them were to be given 2 feet of tape, 8 straws and an egg. Now for the most gruesome part, our job, was to create some sort of contraption that would allow the egg to survive a 10 feet drop to its death. We only had 10 minutes to come up with a design and 25 minutes to put that said design into action. To make matters worse there was only ONE scissor to go around and so many eggs to be saved.

Then without a minutes notice and a click from Professor Kurpis, the timer had started, and our Egg's fate to be decided with every passing second. I was quite enthusiastic about this whole experiment, and without a second to lose, I tried to reassure our group that I had a nail clipper that could have been used as a replacement for scissors...until I was ruthlessly turned down by one of our members, who then began to share her idea for the contraption, but little did we know her idea was all we were going to hear about. At that moment all enthusiasm I had for this assignment was lost, and that was how the first step of our planning process began.

While our group was listening to our dictator explain her idea, we all wondered if we had enough resources to even produce this idea of hers. Each of us tried to suggest an alternative or tell her the problems we could be running into, but we were ignored until someone said something she found helpful and thus at that point we all just tried to build upon her idea and gave up finding alternatives...except for I. That was how step 2 and 3 of the process came about. Not too exciting.

At this moment our 10 minutes of planning was up and it was time to place the plan(s) into action. Then with a mighty press of his finger Professor Kurpis started the 25 minute countdown, and our poor eggs came closer to their impeding doom. Each of us immediately went to work, but with so many hands and only one egg, many of us didn't really participate in the production of the contraption. Though we did try to make everyone feel special by assigning them a role, we even went as far as to give someone the role to watch the egg making sure the egg doesn't crack as it sits silently on the table. Oh how time flies with a blink of an eye. The 25 minutes were up before we knew it and it was time to let go of our eggs. As each group got up on the table and nervously dropped their eggs into the bin, some spinning, some misguided, some never even made it. It was finally our turn to go, and as we got ready to drop the egg everyone was baffled by our design, some felt cheated others applauded, but without a seconds hesitation we dropped the egg. Our egg managed to avoid its death but its many siblings did not.

Overall i didn't feel like our group was much of a group, more like a dictatorship, with one leader, and one plan; her plan. I felt it would have been nice if we were able to voice our opinions without being shunned or ignored like we were non existent, but ultimately we managed to succeed, and that's what the assignment was all about. succeeding, not.