Extra Credit

McDonald’s special order which consisted of a hamburger with four pickles and a small fries with no salt seem to be a small challenge for them, but to my surprise was business as usual. Placing the special order and getting it completed correctly took no time at all. When placing the order I was a little apprehensive, thinking that I would get a little flak from the cashier about having it my way. To my surprise the cashier was amused at the order. He repeated the order twice all the time laughing and asking me was I sure about the four pickles. The cashier then informed the woman that prepares the hamburgers that his order required four pickles. He then informed me that the order would take three minutes due to him having to make a fresh batch of fries, and that was the processing time. He informed me that McDonald’s normally charges for the extra pickles, but since he was the manager he didn’t charge me for them. The process was completed by two employees, the cashier and the woman who prepares the burgers. The cashier was pleasant during the whole procedure, and the woman that prepared the burgers continued in the same fashion as if it were a regular order. Upon checking the order, the fries contained no salt and the burger had exactly four pickles. The burger was well put together, not like at some places where you can tell that everything was just thrown on it. The special order required only two employees to fill the order and took five minutes to prepare and complete. McDonald’s staff was very professional in their handling of the order. The cashier walked over to the burger area and spoke to the burger woman, not yelling the order as you see in other fast food restaurants. McDonald’s workers are organized in an assembly line format. You have the cashier, the burger person and the person who does the fries. The manager tends to help the employees when there is an abundance of customers either by taking orders or bagging the orders and giving to the customers. There would be nothing that I would want to change. The way they have the employees set up works effectively for them. They were fast and efficient processing the order.

Conscientiousness/ Steadiness

The leadership diagnostic test that was taken in class may give some insight to a persons disposition but it also tends to be a bit bias. When individuals take such test they are prone to answer the questions in a manner that would portray them in a favorable light. Now I ask myself did I in fact answer the questions from the viewpoint of watching myself in action, or do my replies reflect how I would see myself in the management position. I believe I answered them as someone standing outside of the box watching me perform my duties. With all that said, I can say that the test was correct in guaging me as being high conscientiousness, low steadiness.

If I could change it, I would prefer for there to be an equal balance amongst the two. Being too conscientious can cause a great deal of stress in ones life, on the job and off. You're always checking to make sure everything is correct, in its place, worrying about things you have no control of . I think that if it was a little higher on the steadiness, I wouldn't mind working in groups, I would have a little more patience. Maybe even be a little more laid back.
Do I believe that a test like this will help outside of the work environment, I would say no.

I believe that the only way to really get to know someone is by direct interaction with them. As I mentioned earlier, I don't believe that people are totally honest when taking these sort of evaluative test. Also, all people don't act the same from one environment to the other. Some may be a domineering manager on the job and when they get home their such a wuss, or the other way around. People react differently in different situations. From my experience in the workplace, a lot of bossy bosses, not saying all, have no control at home,some of the laid back bosses, when they get home, can be such control freaks. My belief is that the test may give you a glimpse of the individual, but until you deal directly with them theres no way to know.



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Five year vision

In the next five years I 1. want to finish getting my degree 2. retire from my job, 3. start a new career, preferably a school counselor.
Last year I decided to return to school to finish getting my Bachelor's degree. I decided then that within the next five years I would be able to retire from my present job due to I would have the time but not the age. Then I would retire freezing my pension and get another job working with elementary school children. At the moment my plan seems to be rolling along just fine. By this time next year I would have completed the requirements needed for my Bachelor's degree. At the present time I'm researching just what is still required for me to be a school counselor. The only obstacle I see is the retiring. I've found out that the tier I'm in, in my present job doesn't allow you to vest your pension under the 25/55 program, so that means I would have to find another course of action. I can always change careers within the organization that I'm already in , maybe something in human resources department. That will also give me some experience in my major, while I continue my education working on my masters and getting partial tuition reimbursement from my present job. At times it don't seem as if its going to work out the way I plan, but if I have to keep revising it until I reach my goal, then I will. Right now everything's moving along, even the retirement, I can see it working therefore it shall.