Blogger, friend or foe?

I think all assignments, regardless of what type they are, take some getting used too for people. After getting used to the blog I think it was one of the most enjoyable assignments that I ever had to do for a class. Not for the reason of doing the excess work, but for the simple reason that it was done with each other. You get to know a little more about people than you would just sitting in class with them. Assignments would be carried over in to conversation topics outside of class as well. I thought the fact that the one girl from our class even had a job offer from the simple reason that the person that happened to read her blog liked the way she wrote.
In life, you never really know where it is going to take you. I have understood that if you start to look at things as more of a privilege than a task, the easier it is to like. People all over the world are dying for the opportunity that we have to get to go to school. For me to complain about some little assignment once week would be selfish and unappreciative of the opportunity that I have been blessed with.
The blog has been a good way of reviewing what has happened in class, talk to your classmates about it, and get some feedback to look at your interpretation from a different light that you would never thought of. God willing this blog will be one of the ways in which I will keep in touch with the people that I have met in this class.
I always thought about my vision for the future, without this blog I would've never put it down in writing to the point where I actually planned step-by-step to get to my vision. That was the second part of the vision process, the planning. The planning phase to get me to the action phase. Maybe this was the way that life guided me to get another stage in my vision completed.
I like the fact that we were in complete control of 20% of our grade without having to study for anything. Just a little bit of effort took you a long way in your grade and I love that. All in all, great job on the blog Kurpis. Don't change anything about it and it should be one of the things that your course should be known for. You think outside the box and this is an example of practicing what you preach, this assignment is a good "purple cow."

You Know Me, Just An "Id"

AAAAbbbbbbbbsssssssooollluuutttttteeeeeellllllyyyyyyy an "Id" personality. I was absolutely amazed with how close this experiment came to gauging what type of individuals we are. Some may disagree, but for the majority of us that I spoke to about the experiment, felt that it set-up a general stereotype on which we could base a good judgement on what type of individuals we are. I love who I am and understand that no one is the same. Therefore, I don't think being one is generally better than the other, just better at certain things. I had a partner in the mortgage industry that was the exact opposite of myself, more of a "C" personality, in which when we teamed up and made more money for that time period than both of us working together than we ever made separately. I don't think it is all about changing anyone to become different, just making individuals better at what they are naturally good at. My partner was more the number cruncher, he enjoyed processing and underwriting. I, the opposite, enjoyed talking to clients and the whole "selling" aspect of the business. When he tried to change who he naturally was instead of just being himself, it didn't work and vice versa for myself. "I do me and you do you" was basically our motto. So I do think it is important to determine people's management "types" because it better helps us understand who we are and refine the skills that we are naturally good at. Also, from the hiring perspective you can determine which employees are better for which positions instead of wasting time with figuring it out with trial and error. In personal relationships, I don't think it is necessarily a good determinant, people can be any type of personality and hang out with one another. I think sense of humor is a better determinant for whom certain people are better suited to be around with. Regardless, good experiment and even better lesson!!!

Miraculous McDonald's!!!!

        2 days, 2 different locations, 3 Separate orders, and 2,70 calories later, the assignment is finally complete. I rarely ever eat McDonald’s, but this weekend I have had more McDonald’s than I have had for the last two years collectively to finally get this order right. The first McDonald’s that I went to, the young lady who barely spoke English did not put well-done on my receipt order. After I noticed the order was incorrect on the receipt, I had the manager sign off that the I had well-done french fries as I ordered reflected on my receipt. I then e-mailed the professor and he said it was fine, that I just needed to get the manager’s business card who signed off on the receipt. I figured since that McDonald’s location wasn’t that close to my house, that it would just be easier if I went to the one right next to my house, so I went. But of course, with no one else’s fault other than my own, I realize that the order of big mac sauce was supposed to be on the side and not on the actual burger. I never actually read the assignment sheet and went off the assumption of what I needed based on what I heard by ear from the other classmates. So I once again, after coming to the realization that the big mac sauce was supposed to be on the side, went back to McDonald’s for the third and final time to get the order right.

The process was pretty much the same in all of the McDonald’s attempts. Placing the order, the employee looking at me like I was crazy, them asking for help from a superior who also looked at me like I was crazy, then me finally getting my way. I never had a women say “Adios Mios” so many times while speaking to me, which is “Oh my God” in Spanish. It was pretty funny to see how even though they were different McDonald’s locations, the process was very similar in attaining the meal. At first when I walked in, I tried to act nonchalant about the process to try and make it as easy-going as possible so it would look like I have placed the order before, that was easier said than done. The first time I placed the order the woman making the burger in the back took it sarcastically and said, “Don’t worry, I’’ll give you six pickles!” Of course, she wasn’t doing me a favor because I needed exactly five to complete the assignment, or else I would have to go back and have the burger prepared properly the way that I asked. The people not only serving me, but the ones that overheard me, looked at me with a look on their face that had the expression that I was either crazy or really annoying. Either way, it was most definitely uncomfortable. 

The other fun part began when the receipt did not reflect exactly what I had said. Everything was correct except for the part about the french fries being well done. I now had to ask the manager to go back and change the order on the receipt for me to reflect exactly what I had ordered. She then told me that she was unable to do so without making a new order since she was changing it and simply not printing another copy, she would then have to have someone pay the difference. I asked her then to sign the receipt in which she then looked at me even more like I was out of my mind. I heard them going back and forth in Spanish saying the word “secratario” and caught little bits and pieces to put together that they thought I was someone’s assistant and had to get my bosses order correct or else I would get in trouble, it was rather hysterical. At this point I really didn’t care what anybody thought of me and just wanted to complete the assignment considering the fact that I have never stood at the ordering desk of a McDonald’s for about ten minutes. I finally got the manager to sign after the person was reluctant and hesitant to do so as if she was going to get in trouble from “my boss” since it wasn’t printed correctly. After I e-mailed the professor about what had happened, he said I needed to have the managers business card that signed off on my receipt or else it would not count. 

So the next day I had intentions of going back to the same exact McDonald’s to get the managers business card, but the only problem was that my mother was with me and she didn’t see why we needed to go to a further McDonald’s to eat instead of the one that was right next to our house. Therefore, round two began and I was off to make myself look like a fool at yet another McDonald’s, how delightful. This time I was lucky enough to have a rookie try to take my order which was a blessing in and of itself, sarcastically speaking. I initially placed the order with her and she was looking at me like I was either speaking another language or why I had to be doing this to her so early in her McDonald’s career. Almost immediately, one of the other McDonald’s employees stepped right in like a professional and placed the order for me like he had done it a million times over without a sweat. Forget about the new girl, even I was impressed at this point and felt like giving him the employee of the month award. Everything was perfect, even the five pickles on the burger was perfect. There was only one problem, my ordering skills!

I only heard people talking about the project and never really looked at the assignment myself till I got home. I heard people saying that we had to order, “A sandwich with five pickles, big mac sauce, and well-done french fries.” So I ordered that except my big mac sauce was on my filet-o-fish sandwich instead of the side as the assignment requested! So I was back off to the same McDonald’s not even ten minutes later determined to get the order right. As soon as I walked in the rookie immediately looked at me as if “why are you doing this to me” look on her face. I told her, “I wanted the same exact order except the mac sauce on the side.” I guess she gained some confidence and attempted to complete the order herself after watching her co-worker complete it not even 15 minutes ago. She did it and to my surprise, did it correctly. That was the second order of a double filet-o-fish value meal I ate in about a half-an-hour, not bad.

From my honest opinion, I think that the organizational process at McDonald’s was superb. They nailed everything, regardless if it was on the receipt or not, to exactly the way that I asked for. The first location did have employees that were a bit more sarcastic than the second one, but that added to the experience and I had fun with it. Growing up, we used to order big mac sauce with everything that we had at McDonald’s, regardless of what it was so it wasn’t that out of the ordinary to place that part of the order. I don’t think I would actually change anything organizationally about the process, but do think that every McDonald’s employee that operates the register should take a crash course on orders with special requests so that there is never any type of confusion, if they do not already have that instilled in their employee policy. I also have to give them credit in the communication aspect of the job. After I placed the order at the register, they almost immediately reiterated the order to the person preparing the meal to make sure that they fully understood the order that was placed. The customer interaction between myself and the first McDonald’s was not as effective as the second one because it was in a latin neighborhood, therefore the employees were better prepared to speak to customers in Spanish which made it a little bit more difficult. The only recommendation that I would make is that some people take sarcasm negatively, I seem to laugh at everything so it didn’t bother me, but some customers might have gotten offended to some of the comments if they were seriously placing the order. Like I said earlier, the only thing that I would have is a crash course on special orders for new employees so there is never any issues with placing orders to slow down the process. Some training in dealing with customers that are difficult to handle would also help so no one would ever get offended at some of the remarks, comments, or stares from the employees working there. True leadership was displayed by the employee in the second location who jumped in immediately when they saw that the rookie was having trouble. Handled it like a true professional without any hesitation, comments, remarks, or stares to make me feel uncomfortable. I think leadership is a necessary skill to have anywhere, regardless if it is McDonald’s or any other place of business. Everyone needs that one person they can look up to or go to if there is ever an issue. It makes for a better work environment, which makes for better service. When there is better service, there is happier customers which means more business. Where there is leaders there has to be followers. Not everyone can be a leader but some people can display better “leadership qualities” for sure. Just little things like handling yourself more professionally while at work and refraining from using certain words or actions.

All in all I thought this was the coolest extra credit assignment I ever had to do. Mostly because I felt like I was in some type of prank show where I was pulling the prank and because I got to eat the actual assignment which is always a plus. It was a good learning experience in seeing how exactly employees deal under pressure and how others help out their fellow employees when necessary. I also got to understand exactly why McDonald’s has been around for as long as it has and still growing. It allows the customer to feel empowered in the decision making process of ordering their meal. They did there best to accommodate to their customers need and did it most efficiently to the bet of their ability. I haven’t had McDonald’s in such a long time till this assignment, but after this weekend I think I will hit it up at least once a week.

1 Man, 1 Vision, 1 Mission.

Baruch is a small stepping stone for where I eventually want to end up in life. I need to graduate form here and start the MBA program at Stern Business School at NYU or Columbia University. The requirements to sit for the CPA exam are classes that I can include while going for my MBA in Finance. I will, God willing, have a job in one of the big four accounting firms by the time I graduate and take night classes in order to finish the MBA program. In about a year after graduating with my bachelors, I will be able to sit for the CPA exam. After I complete my MBA, I will be making a decent dollar coupling that with my CPA. God willing after that is completed, the goal is Columbia law school to further gain knowledge in the  areas of business law, non-profit organizations, and contractual law. Eventually, I want to have the ability to run my own business without relying on any single person for expertise within in a certain aspect of my business other than myself. Not saying that I will never hire someone else, hopefully 1000's of employees before I die, but because I want to have a proper understanding of every area in which I will be dealing with. Other than owning my own accounting firm, multiple real-estate investments, and a mesh of all other types of businesses, is all for one reason. For running the largest non-profit organization with its original main contributor being its owner, ME. I want to travel the world in the second half of my life just getting high off helping others. Whatever it may be, providing drinking wells for village, helping with vaccinations in countries that can't afford it, building education centers in areas where people would never otherwise have the opportunity, and building self-sustaining communities for people to live for generations. Why? Because I want to and I know that I can. If you live to only please yourself, you have missed the whole point and beauty of life. Giving back is what it is all about, regardless if it is in a little or big way. There is a weight that I feel on my shoulders with something telling me in my heart, that I am going to be the one that is going to make a difference. A big one. Like I said in class when I quoted Albert Einstein, "It is usually the people that are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, that usually do." Allow me to introduce myself, I am Edmond Jaku and I am crazy enough to believe in myself, that I am going to change the lives of billions before I die, God willing. If not, at least I am going to die trying and save millions.

Decision Making!

I don't necessarily consider myself to fall into any single category in describing myself or actions at any point in my life, and the same goes for the scenario in class. I think I was a mixture of a "Compromise" type of mentality and "Collaborating." I felt I need to compromise in some scenarios of the class in order for the situation not to get out of hand, sort of how it was getting. "Enough is enough" is all that came to mind at certain points of the project. I was amazed at the extent of how much we were actually getting. One thing lead to another, and we made off like bandits. Especially when Professor Kurpis was going around the room and asking if everyone was satisfied with the decision and there were some fellow classmates, for some reason of whether of not that they didn't fully understand or for their own personal reasons, didn't raise there hands in satisfaction of what deal we had received. For the people that don't fully understand English, I know that it is hard to fully understand what is going on, but come on. If there is a classroom of people that are working on your side to get the best deal possible for everyone in the classroom in every type of way, you should just understand to the extent that if not all of us agree at that point, that we receive NOTHING. That should be enough to want to agree on any decisions made by the class at that point. I was literally begging and pleading with one or two of the people in order to get them to go along with what the class had decided on. That is where the "Collaborating"perspective came into play. For any of the people that understand English and just raised there hands in the end, your just out of your mind and not a nice person, I don't know any other way of putting it. I honestly saw almost every aspect of what was listed on that last slide being displayed in the classroom. but what honestly came back into mind, was when there were people that were the "avoidance" mentality in class and then when we were going into the review of the scenario were some of the most active people there. Complaining about how we should of gotten more, done this different, done that different, blah blah blah! Shut up! You don't open your mouth then, don't open it now. If anyone is upset at the deal we received, you are out of your mind and should understand that you will never be satisfied in life. We got the deal of a century. Forget about the deal itself, the opportunity alone to debate the terms on what will happen with our test scores and the examinations themselves was a blessing in itself. I honestly think for a class of around 60 people, we actually did amazing given the circumstances. The only thing that we should have done different was broken into groups like Vinnie and Professor Kurpis pointed out. At first, I thought it was a little to time consuming and irrational. but after thinking about it, I think it is a pretty good idea. I just like the whole idea of it and think that it is the most representative democratic way of dealing with it and more effective then the direct democratic way we held it, like a town hall meeting back in the day when they discussed issues and settled them the same exact way we did it. All in all, I think it was a great experience. Professor, if you wanna do another one for the final to see how we have learned on decision making, I am all about it hahahahah Thanks again!!!!!

Humpty Dumpty Lives on!!!!!!!!

WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN was our game strategy, but to bad it did not happen. We had a good understanding of our deadlines and built up a sketch of how our contraption was to work. Surprisingly, it was built almost exactly how we intended it to. We did not have a leader in our group which would have been to difficult to do, at least I think. Even going through the process, it seemed there were so many people trying to take role of who had the best idea. In the end though, we did reach a median in where we finally completed the device and we all seemed pretty happy in the way it was constructed. Honestly, for all the devices that were not constructed to hang 2 inches off the ground before it dropped, I think ours was the closest to reaching the goal and the best constructed/designed. The only thing we should've done was stabilize the egg in the middle of our device instead of at the top and it would have worked fine. Either that or made the base wider on our original design so it did not tip over after it landed and then cracking the egg. All in all, I think our group did a great job on the planning, construction, and implementation stages of the project. I just wish overall, everyone had better work etiquette within the group. People were mocking others for their ideas instead of stating it politely, people were grabbing materials out of other peoples hands without asking, and other little things. it was just rude behavior that shouldn't have to take place within a work environment with other people. One group should act as a team together instead of being harsh towards one another. the whole class in general was rooting and cheering for other group's eggs to crack which was ridiculous in the first place. Acting as if that groups winning would be a negative consequence to their group's effort, when in reality they were all independent of each other. That just shows people have no sportsmanship, which is a loss in and of itself.

What to Envy about England!!

Born and raised in New York you see a lot of things that are great and bad about the city. As a daily driver, the one thing that gets to me is the lack of road respect that goes on. I go to England often because I have family their, the one thing that caught my eye was how polite and respectful drivers were to each other. If someone was signaling to move over in to the next lane, the driver would automatically allow them to get in the lane with a smile and wave being exchanged on both sides of the parties. Here in New York, people purposely slam on the gas to make sure that they remain in front and not allowing the other person to get by. People are always yelling at each other and road rage is rampant everywhere. Out in England, everyone is easy going and willing and able to let the person go ahead and make any move they need to in their car. Forget about the the taxi cab drivers and the way they do their thing, that is a whole other ball game. I love New York and I think the way that people drive in the city is a small part that makes New York, but I wish it wasn't.

About Me...

I am all about loyalty, respect, and honesty. I truly believe God made this world with the law of what goes around comes around. Do good, get good in this life and the one after. Therefore, I live and treat others the way I want to be treated. I am a fun loving individual that loves to smile and have a good time regardless of where I am or what I am doing. I am charismatic, enthusiastic, and excited about life. I am a family person by far and enjoy all of there company regardless if I am laughing with the little ones or spending time with the older ones gaining knowledge. There is a saying that a smart man learns from his own mistakes but a wise man learns from others, therefore I strive to be wise. I am blessed beyond belief with an amazing life and God willing it will get better and better everyday. I have had rough spots in my life, but that is what makes any of us human. This is life, not heaven. Thank you for dropping by and hopefully we can meet some day to have a couple of laughs if we haven't had some already......