Twitsted DISCO

The DISC Personal Profile System is a four quadrant behavioral model that examines the behavior of individuals in their respective environments.  People's ccharacteristics of behavior are  grouped into the four major "personality styles" dominance, influence, conscientiousness, and steadiness.  People tend to exhibit specific characteristics common to that particular style. All individuals possess all four, but what differs from one to another is the extent of each.
The test definitely accurately gauged my management orientation as having a primary influence style paired with a secondary dominance style.  Simply, I attempt to shape my environment by influencing or persuading others.
Throughout my managerial lifetime I have exhibited tendencies that describe me as DISC's influence style.  Specifically, I feel that I have always strived to make favorable impressions on others and I do use my charm and enthusiasm to generally generate motivation in group settings.  Also, DISC suggests to be more firm with others, and in these situations where I am trying to win people over, I sometimes find myself being codependent, thus lowering my usefulness to the group.  Perhaps it has been my relentless desire for public recognition of my ability that makes me appraise others unrealistically - I usually expect too much from others and shut down in a group setting when they don't meet my expectations.  
To be more effective I must first be aware that my participation in the management process has halted in those aforementioned situations and then apply my tendency of creating a motivational environment to the situation so that my group's goal will not ultimately be compromised.  The former has happened numerous times this semester in group settings and also throughout my lifetime - if I can't influence you to agree with me, or if you're not saying something that I view as substantial, you are probably not much use to the group.  It is obvious that this way of thinking and behaving can not be totally efficient.
Being aware of the DISC behavioral profile system and other people's management characteristics can help me in group settings to understand where others are coming from and thus provide me the correct means of interacting with them.  I feel that it is more relevant that I learn how to interact with others rather than to change my style since I feel that I have had these characteristics my entire life. Also, any style of the DISC ultimately runs into conflict with another style.  For example, in the future instead of trying to influence someone who has a dominant style to agree with me, (I now know from DISC that this is usually impossible or too time consuming) I would try to pace and relax this person while keeping a focus on the groups priorities and deadlines.  It is being able to identify what group setting I am in and how to adjust to it the most effectively, in regards to the group's goal, that will prove most successful.      


  

McDonald's Management Meal

In 1948, the brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald introduced
the "Speedee Service System" which established the principles of the
modern fast-food restaurant.  The brothers decided to close down their
successful carhop drive-thru operation and reinvent their McDonald’s hamburger
restaurant, focusing on efficiency and consistency. Dick and Mac, as they were
known, simplified the menu and took great care in setting up their kitchen as
an assembly line to maximize efficiency. 

In 1954, Ray Kroc, a seller of Multimixer milkshake machines, learned that
the McDonalds brothers were using eight of his high-tech Multimixers in their
restaurant. His curiosity drove him to visit their San Bernardino, California
restaurant (his other clients only used two of his machines at most).  From what he saw, Kroc immediately felt that
the McDonalds “Speedee Service System” was a ticket to success and the future
in restaurant services.  Kroc soon convinced
the McDonald brothers to franchise, believing that their streamlined operations
would provide the consistency ultimately needed to expand to a national market.  McDonald’s Corporation was born.

Today, McDonald’s Corporation’s mission statement says:

“McDonald's
brand mission is to "be our customers' favorite place and way to
eat." Our worldwide operations have been aligned around a global strategy
called the Plan to Win, centering on the five basics of an exceptional customer
experience – People, Products, Place, Price and Promotion. We are committed to
improving our operations and enhancing our customers' experience.”



It
is clearly observed from McDonald’s mission statement that the “customers’
experience” is of paramount importance to McDonald’s Corporation today.  McDonald’s is attempting to add value to its
brand by providing much more than food…an experience.  Also, by clearly defining this in its mission
statement, McDonald’s is attempting to establish a strong organizational
culture which it hopes will ultimately benefit its customers.







Is
McDonald’s Corporation actually successful in delivering on their global
customer experience strategy?  Can a company
who has conditioned me throughout my lifetime, by brilliant advertising
campaigns, to order in ways that will not disrupt the hamburger assembly line
also genuinely provide customer experience to me?  Early McDonalds shortened its menu, which
decreased variations in orders and in turn increased order completion speed.  Modern McDonalds’ came up with “value-meals”
which streamlined customers’ ordering habits. Today we walk into McDonalds and order a number one without a second
thought coming to mind that we have been trained to do so.  Am I not upset that McDonalds doesn’t believe
that I can order a hamburger meal efficiently? Maybe they are right…I am a picky eater.

What happens when we deviate from
the plan?  What happens if we decide to
get adventurous at McDonald’s?  Will ordering
something off the menu halt its hamburger assembly line, just as customizing a
Model T would have disrupted Ford’s automobile assembly line?    Or
has McDonald’s mission statement developed a strong organizational culture that
trickles down even to those service employees that I interact with?  When McDonald’s is forced to temporarily
revert to the company’s founders’ “Speede Service System” mission, does the
integrity of their proclaimed “customer experience” become compromised? We will
test whether or not McDonald’s Corporation’s mission statement has actually transcended
throughout the company, specifically by attempting a simple off-the-menu food
order.  We will rate McDonald’s staff’s
management processes or our “extra special order,” examining organization,
communications, training, and leadership qualities of McDonald’s processes.

I walked into a McDonald’s
franchise located at 3215 Kennedy Boulevard in Union City, New Jersey.  While standing in line, somewhat nervous
about my upcoming order, I observed eleven staff members:  four cashiers, four chefs, two managers, (they
were wearing white shirts) and one “drive-thru” cashier.   An unassuming cashier who we will call “Gloria”
said, with a big smile, “Welcome to McDonald’s, would you like to try a
value-meal?”  I place my order: “Sure,
may I have a number one, (“Big Mac” meal), one six piece chicken nuggets, two
cheeseburgers, one small well done french fries accompanied with “Big
Mac” sauce for dipping, and one “McDouble” hamburger with exactly five
pickles on it.  I also told Gloria
that I needed a receipt that stated my order exactly. 

Gloria inputed my aforementioned “usual”
menu items into the register easily. However, when I began to modify the menu items (above underlined) she
seemed to be bewildered.   One of the
store’s managers, who seemed to be “floating around” the restaurant in an
attempt to ensure its “business flow,” immediately sensed her discomfort and
embraced I guess what he felt was his responsibility to accommodate my special
requests.

Ronnie asked me if he could “start
the order from scratch.”  I agreed and he
cancelled the previous order.  As he
became aware of my special requests and decided how to address them, he first
explained to me what he would have to do to accommodate me, and after my “okay”,
he then preceded to give directions to his fellow employees.  For example, when I explained that I needed
exactly five pickles on my hamburger and that the receipt had to say that
exactly, he explained to me that it was no problem for his chef to accommodate me,
however, that the register only gave him an option of adding pickles once (his
reasoning was that McDonald’s doesn’t charge for extra pickles).  He then shouted an order to his chef in Spanish
which I could not understand - I did here “cinco” though and assumed his
directions were in regards to the pickles on the hamburger.  Also, he explained to me that I would have to
wait an extra five minutes for the well done french fries.  What was interesting was that when I
requested “Big Mac” sauce on the side for dipping he responded, “Oh, you want “Mac”
sauce,” as if it was a “normal” special request. 

As I stood waiting for my well done
fries I was still skeptical.  I thought
to myself that there was no way that there was going to be exactly five pickles
on my burger, and that I would not be able to tell the difference between well
done fries and regular cooked fries. However when I received my order, in contrast to my expectations,  every special item order that I had requested
was executed perfectly, and the entire order process didn’t take any longer to
complete (besides having to wait for the well done fries) than any other “normal”
orders I had previously placed at McDonald’s. 

Through this simple ordering
experiment, I experienced first-hand how organizational culture can actually
influence the way a company’s employees interact with its customers.  Ronnie made me feel that it was his duty to
ensure my satisfying “customer experience” and most importantly, it did seem
that he genuinely did care.  I was
impressed on how efficiently (Mac and Dick would be proud) and how effectively
(Ray Kroc would also be proud) McDonald’s staff handled this special situation.  Ultimately, I attribute the success of the
order process to Ronnie’s confidence, although it is unclear to me whether or
not this manager’s actions in handling of this special situation were trained
to him by McDonald’s or it was just his natural leadership abilities.  I would suggest to McDonald’s to instruct its
employees to always ask a manager’s input if they are uncertain about how to accommodate
the customer.  Perhaps, I would even go
so far as to suggesting to McDonald’s that it should hire people in “plain
clothes” to carry out similar special orders in an attempt to measure how
effectively McDonald’s is actually providing for a satisfying customer experience.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

  

  

Faith Without Works Is Dead

          It took me my whole life to learn how important it is to set goals and to be concerned about a vision for my future.  Until recently, I had no vision at all - I simply lived my life by acting without a vision.  Sure I set goals for myself but those goals were never really aimed towards a specific vision, and although I learned alot, things really didn't happen.  Sometimes I thought I had a vision but I was really only dreaming -  I continuously failed to truly dedicate myself and work towards a substantial vision.

          I'm not saying that I did not acquire knowledge and a skill set over the years, but without a focused vision, in my case, that knowledge and skill set did not "connect" with each other in the end (chef, d.j., botanist, math major).   For some reason, I didn't often  consider a vision - I was "okay" with just doing good in school and working hard - I thought thats all I needed to "make it".  Looking back, I can summarize my behavior as jumping back and forth amongst various career paths, gravitating toward the one that was of most interest to me at that particular time in my life.  Was I just not ready or mature enough to accept the responsibility that comes along with embracing a true vision? Perhaps I was just being selfish.

          I can only be grateful that today I have learned this lesson and now know that I must fully embrace the vision I have today for myself in order for it to someday materialize - to be able to care for myself and the people around me.

A few goals that I consider to be feasibile in the near future are (with potential actions to take):

• Run a marathon (start training, eating right)
• Push myself harder (enroll in Honors classes)
• Be more emotionally intelligent (stay teachable, control my emotions)

I promise to you that I will do everything in my ability to fully embrace and materialize my aforementioned goals, with the vision of being able to care for myself and others always in mind.  I will document the progress of the actions I take on future blog posts - hopefully this will fuel my motivation and keep me somewhat accountable.  Please help me keep me honest. Thanx.

Remember,

Vision without action is just a dream.
Action without vision merely wastes time.
Vision coupled with action can make things happen!*



*from Joel Barker in "The Power of Vision"