Last of them all

For a 6 week crash course on management I feel I have come a long way, expanding on what may seem to be common sense for others but what is truly necessary to run an operation. From ideas on leadership to the schools of thought when it comes to rational thinking, these core principles will always be in the back of my head. I think it’s safe to say I’m able to consider myself to be educated on basic management

Last point before I go: after watching how McDonald’s turned the concept of capitalism into a lifestyle, one that makes others happy, it has only reinforced my dislike towards the private corporations and the artifice of those at the highest of the chain. I do realize that success among these corporations includes expansion but the idea to setup shop in Moscow was, just, unbelievable.

The video was instructional, I agree, it’s just I can’t process how much of an impact a mass chain-food restaurant has made.

Mickey D's

The video regarding Hamburger Diplomacy was very instructional to me. I was interested in seeing how we were able to spread capitalist ideals and management to a vulnerable country in a transitional period. It was quite fascinating to see how ready the people of Russia wholeheartedly embraced the arrival of a multinational corporation. It has been said that the Russians have always preferred to be ruled by autocratic rulers but I do not think that they foresaw the effects that capitalism would have on their society. McDonald's is probably the most benign form of capitalism they have experienced since the beginning of perestroika. They act as a corporation that is beholden to the corporate ethics laws required of American companies whereas the oligarchs and insiders have no such rules or oversight. I think the video itself was a very good marketing tool for McDonald's that works as well today as it did in the early 90's. McDonald's is bringing democracy and downer cow meat to all!

            The past six weeks in Introduction to Management, have been a fusion of fire and ice.  There have been good and bad times.  Although I do feel it is good to be overall familiar with some of the terminology used in this class, I do feel as if it was more of a guide to a human resources class versus and restaurant management class--which I feel would be more beneficial in our case.

            I do feel it is rather monotonous and somewhat unnecessary knowing the word definitions to things like humanistic management, or what TQM means.  Are these things important when it comes to demonstrating them in the work force... yes.  I do not necessarily agree that we should be learning all of the human resources based terminology for the field we are going in; I do not think that these key terms necessarily relating to what is on the need to know information, and should possibly be saved for the Human Resources Course in the bachelors program.

            However, I do feel that it was imperative learning about diversity, and seeing how a business like McDonalds in Russia could start from just a plain of land. I agree we need to know the laws when it comes to labor, and how discrimination can be argued.  Overall, I thought the class was useful, but maybe should consider some reconstruction of the class to benefit those in the culinary industry more so than it does at this point.

Final Blog

After taking this management course, I feel as though some day I could make a competent manager. A lot of managerial skills are instinctual, common sense things, but to be an effective manager requires the educational foundation as well. I believe that this class has given us the foundation to go out and be leaders in the industry and develop our own managerial styles.
In this industry, passion and determination will get you far, but the knowledge gained throughout this course and the others we have taken during l block will only further our successes. We can now critically observe managers or supervisors and learn from them and assess their skills as managers. Additionally, being more aware of the various laws that protect certain groups will hopefully encourage us to think before speaking and be more socially aware as employers. A certain degree of empathy is involved when being a manager, and I hope that we have all learned that it is important to take necessary corrective actions prior to firing people who may be valuable employees, and I will definitely think twice before I raffle off a $25,000 car. Overall, I enjoyed this class, and I have learned many valuable life skills as a result.

Final Blog

I must say that class has been fun.  I really enjoyed myself.  For my final blog I have decided to write on decision making.  As a woman, I am often stereotyped as being indecisive.  This stigma often carries over as I enter more and more leadership positions.  One thing my father taught me, was that people want to be led, people want others to think for them and this is why your life will never be easy.  True story.  I was brought up to be a natural leader and at times, the responsibility of making decisions for others can be taxing.  Mostly because I am afraid of failure.  If it all goes wrong, odds are great that they will blame it on you.  

I have made tons of bad decisions.  I have also made some innovative decisions.  As I become more comfortable with myself and my surroundings, I have learned to trust my gut feeling in addition to weighing it out with the logical facts.  Decision making is not a skill that you are born with, it has to be nurtured and developed.  I took a leadership position too early and did not have the skills to lead a group of others.  But it takes the good and bad decisions and positions to help everyone become great in the end.    

Sometimes I agree with my dad in the fact that people want others to tell them what to do, and other times I like to believe that with a highly motivated group of people, the decision making responsibility can be spread around. I will say that this class has given me other things to consider when leading others.  One thing I have affirmed, is that training is very important and that management encompasses many aspects.  I have enjoyed this class.  It has been a pleasure.  

6 weeks of Intro to Management have come and gone. There were techniques to be learned, rules to be sure to follow, and obstacles to be reviewed. However, in the whole, I personally do not feel that a management class is a class that can be taught in a school setting. A lot of the things we've learned can be broken down into intuitive reactions and, as long as the individual realizes what he/she is doing, can be seen as practically common sense. Sure, my grade for management might not reflect this, but it's hard to have the urge to study for something that should be obtained through trial and error, through experimentation, and through experience. Of course there are subjects such as TQM. Asking someone what TQM means, they most likely may have no idea. However, ask the individual what some of his standards would be for his/her own hospitable establishment, and a "continuous quality improvement for guests" is almost not worthy of mentioning due to it's common sense. That is where my grade fails to be a good one, applying names and labels to techniques, that, frankly, seem obvious and, well, not very teachable unless through trial and error.

Last Blog

Intro to management has taught me a lot of things. It has reinforced all of my opinions about good managers. It has shown me many ways to lead and how to evaluate employees. It has shown me the ways to become an effective leader and how to treat people with respect.

As of recently Training has been something we have been focusing on and i think that it is definitely one of the most important things we have learned in class. Personally I find it to be one of the most important things we have learned in class. Knowing how to train an employee is extremely important. And knowing the process of training I'm sure will help me be trained better in the future. I now also know the importance of evaluation. It is the only thing that will give true assessment to progression, and it will help with employee moral and motivation. Even talking to the manager at TGI Friday's reinforced that, even in the real world, evaluations motivate and raise moral for employees.