Management: The burger way...

Before I start my experience with the extra credit assignment, I just would like to briefly talk about a similar experience I had working as a restaurant manager in the Upper East Side, Manhattan. Now this area is 1) highly competitive due to the existence of so many restaurants, serving different cuisines and been there for decades 2) has a special clientele, the salaries of people living in this area represent the highest income in America per district and the most contributors to the political campaigns 3) high level of attendance, a good portion of our clientele visit us once a day every day, sometimes twice a day, since we were open for lunch, dinner and brunch.

Anyway, because of all the reasons above and more, we were very flexible in term of customer service satisfaction especially by allowing customers to change and modify certain ingredients and sauces, which some other restaurant businesses don’t allow: you get what is on the menu “No substitutions”. Let me give you one simple example: you may see something like this on our menu “Chicken cutlet with proscuitto, roasted red peppers artichoke hearts, lemon white wine, served with capellini and mixed vegetables (carrots, broccoli and string beans)”. Now , someone may change this entrée to something like this, for different reasons, “no artichoke hearts, no butter, no white wine, with olive oil, no capellini, angel hair instead and no carrots.
This substitution strategy besides customer satisfaction and profit maximization has some disadvantages such as an increase risk of making mistakes by not getting an order right, due to so many detailed substitutions especially on a busy night as well as creating bottlenecks at the kitchen because changing the components of a meal is time consuming.

Now, let’s go to Astoria, Queens where I got my burger and fries. It was a Sunday afternoon and a very warm day. As I walked in, the line was very long. I waited for almost 20 minutes before my turn to order. While waiting, I can see the frustration of the staff working at the registers; nobody is smiling and keeping the conversations to a minimum. On my right, there was an old Hispanic lady (homeless), sitting with no food on the table but a bottle of water and dirty brown bags scattered around her.
OK, my turn now to order. I approached the lady, greet her and as the assignment states, I ordered as follow: 1 small hamburger with exactly 4 pickles on it and 1 small order of well done French fries with no salt, both orders from the Dollar menu. I had to repeat myself 3 times beside the fact that she looked at me like I have two heads or some type of mental challenge. As I watched her processing my order, she had to tell the cook my order instead of relying on the computer system, and because she was in charge of the French fries station, she walked fro it to the register back and forth at least 3 times and every time she asks me if I wanted salt on my fries and if I wanted them well done. The whole process from ordering to handing me my order took about 4 minutes, since she had to throw in the fryer another bag of frozen potato and wait for it.

I don’t like McDonald’s food so, after I checked it to make sure it is correct, I decided to offer it to the homeless lady I mentioned before, went to her table and asked gently: “would like some food?” Then she started screaming at me, opened the bottle of water that was on the table and threw it on me. I got all soaked in water, stepped away and placed the food in the garbage can.
Today’s fast food market is highly competitive and there is a constant pressure on the market to move to a healthy one in terms of calories, oil and certain ingredients. Businesses and in this case McDonald’s, have to improve their customer service and because of the nature of the business that requires a very interaction between the staff and customers and since the corporation, through its commercials, is advocating for love and happiness( “ I am lovin it” and the smiling face on the logo ) they have to infuse some friendliness, warmth and openness to consumer’s needs as well as to come up with some strategies to smooth the flow of special orders operation. A good portion of the time that took to complete my order was spent on making a new French fries, the one that was already there was salty, so I recommend a basic strategy, adding salt to individual orders rather than the whole pile of fries.

DISC: Dimensions of behavior

DISC reflects the leadership/management diagnostic of tendencies, needs, influence and action plan.
Dominance: Emphasis is on shaping the environment by overcoming opposition to accomplish results.
Influence: emphasis is on shaping the environment by influencing or persuading others.
Conscientiousness: emphasis is on working conscientiously within existing circumstances to ensure quality and accuracy.
Steadiness: emphasis is on cooperating with others to carry out to task.
After getting the results of the behavioral analysis, i was truly amazed to find out that i fall in the D(dominance) category which identifies me as follow:
1- My tendencies include: getting immediate results, accepting challenges, making quick decisions and taking authority.
2- I need others who: weigh pros and cons, calculate risk, structure a more predictable environment, research facts.
3- I desire an environment which includes: power and authority, direct answers, prestige and challenge, opportunity for individual accomplishments.
4- To be more effective i need: identification with a group, difficult assignments, an occasional shock, techniques based on practical experience.
The analysis got it right and all the characteristics above represent, to a great extent, my actual tendencies and i don't think i would like to be in another category because i don't feel i belong to any category but D.

It is very helpful, to my understanding, to determine people’s management “type” to better understand where they are coming from. Some jobs require a specific behaviors and tendencies such as quick problem solving capabilities, intuitions and risk taking, others value performance consistency and predictability, being a good listener, and generating enthusiasm. Indeed, it is important for both organizations and people to know and understand what the job requires and who is the right person for it. The same goes for the personal interactions, it is important to identify where you stand in terms of your interpersonal behaviors so you can make the right decisions and connect with your entourage.

Now, lets apply the DISC analysis in a winter survival scenario (“Stranded!”). In a situation like that i believe that it is valuable to have a mix of people’s management “type” because you need someone to cause action and make quick decisions, other to motivate and generate enthusiasm, another to weigh pros and cons and someone who is a good listener and desires to help others. in conclusion, having the same “type” in a survival scenario is like having a ship with soo many captains or an army of soldiers but no comander .

VISION: INSIGHTS AND NEW HORIZONS

"Vision without action is a daydream.
Action without vision is a nightmare."
Vision is a sense of direction, discovery and tomorrow's opportunity.
To achieve great things, you need ambitious visions. And it does not matter that vision cannot be laid out in details. It is the direction that counts.

Vision...My vision right now, i believe visions do change, is to follow the steps of Dr. Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank, awarded the Nobel peace prize for 2006 for their efforts to create economic and social development from below. Lasting peace can not be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty. Micro-credit is one such means. Development from below also serves to advance democracy and human rights. Muhammad Yunus has shown himself to be a leader who has managed to translate visions into practical action for the benefit of millions of people, not only in Bangladesh, but also in many other countries. Loans to poor people without any financial security had appeared to be an impossible idea. From modest beginnings three decades ago, Yunus has, first and foremost through Grameen Bank, developed micro-credit into an ever more important instrument in the struggle against poverty. Grameen Bank has been a source of ideas and models for the many institutions in the field of micro-credit that have sprung up around the world.

I have read Dr. yunus' publications: Creating a world without poverty, Banker to the poor, The poor always pay back. i also had the pleasure to meet him last year, he was very humble person. Indeed, i believe in his vision and direction and what i intend to do in the future is to promote micro-credit in poor areas in Northen Africa. Northen Africa is a rich region in history, culture and arts, people there are very talented and master so many crafting jobs such as antique furniture, tribal rugs, pottery and more.

Every single individual on earth has both the potential and the right to live a decent life. Across cultures and civilizations, Yunus and Grameen Bank have shown that even the poorest of the poor can work to bring about their own development.

Micro-credit has proved to be an important liberating force in societies where women in particular have to struggle against repressive social and economic conditions. Economic growth and political democracy can not achieve their full potential unless the female half of humanity participates on an equal footing with the male.

Yunus's long-term vision is to eliminate poverty in the world. That vision can not be realised by means of micro-credit alone. But Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank have shown that, in the continuing efforts to achieve it, micro-credit must play a major part and us now with the future generation we can continue the vision and eliminate poverty in the world.