Individual Behavior

After a few years of random work experience, I would say that out of the 5 major personality traits, I would want my future boss to be agreeable.  While all of the other traits are important, I believe that a boss that is agreeable can benefit the company immensely.  With this trait, employees in the entire company would be happy, want to be there, and get along easily.  If an employee's boss is sincere and friendly, it will only help the overall work environment.  A generous and genuine boss will boost employee morale as opposed to a pessimistic or negative boss.  For example, one of my former managers played favorites with employees.  The one's she favored, loved the job and the one's she didn't like all that much, hated working there.  If she had just been sincere, nice, and agreeable to all of the workers just the same, everyone would enjoy working there and plenty of work would get done.  After figuring out I was one of my manager's favorites, I enjoyed coming to work and had no problem doing any of the things that was asked upon.

This characteristic would enhance his/her management skills because people would be much more enthusiastic to work there.  People would work to their full capacity and be fully engaged in their work.  Possibly looking for ways to help the company best and constantly trying to get better.  If employees know they are able to go to their boss about their ideas, they will probably work harder to improve the company.  All of this helps a manager because now he/she has employees willing to work hard for him/her and do whatever is best for the company in the manager's eyes.  Being more agreeable helps Manager's see the perspective of his/her employees and can possibly help improve the company in a way they didn't see beforehand.

Leadership

Being a leader is a quality you are pretty much born with.  The qualities that make up a leader aren't just learned, they're basically innate.  I believe great leadership is a very underrated quality to say the least.  I have a great respect for leaders because it takes a lot to do what they do.  I believe that no matter what, a person cannot lose their leadership capabilities.  If a great leader moved into a different situation or organization, they would still be a great leader.  However, the amount of success may vary.  Expertise definitely plays a factor in how successful a leader can be from organization to organization.  The CEO of an accounting firm with great leadership capabilities may not be successful being a CEO of an investment bank. Perhaps to be more realistic, a great leader in the controllers group of a firm may not be able to translate that success to another team or group only because of expertise.  However, it is still possible for a leader to be successful because they can teach themselves and the organization or group members will follow the person if they are a great leader.  People tend to rally around a leader that shows that he or she can take them to where they want to be.  An example that immediately popped into my head was about Tim Tebow, a football player with many great intangibles.  Tim Tebow was a great college football player at the University of Florida where he won many accolades.  After entering the NFL, his unbelievable leadership has no changed.  Although, his skill set and success was much better in College, his ability to be a great leader has no changed.  Many believe his success in football will only be of that in college because it is played differently than the NFL.  Right now, being a great leader hasn't gotten Tebow anywhere because he is a back-up quarterback of the New York Jets.  Last year however; he was able to lead a Denver Broncos team into the playoffs and win a playoff game after starting the season 1-4.  This was due largely to the fact he was a great leader and the team rallied behind him.  So, overall, I believe in some cases success can carry over through organizations because of great leadership, but in other cases, the lack of expertise may hinder some success.

Just a quick video of a halftime speech.  Florida was losing going into halftime.  They eventually picked it up and won the National Championship game.

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7455943/believing-tim-tebow

http://espn.go.com/blog/afcwest/post/_/id/38363/rapid-reaction-broncos-29-steelers-23-ot

My Career Plan!

           Within the next 5 years, I hope to accomplish as much as I can.  Although I know nothing comes easy, almost anything is attainable with hard work and dedication.  I would say that my top 3 career objectives in the next 5 years would be to graduate from Baruch with an accounting degree by May 2014.  My second would to work first for a big 4 company and eventually move on to more mid-size firms.  My last goal would then to achieve my CPA while working early in my career.

           For my first goal, I believe my strengths include my determination, hard working ability, strong family influence, and basically the want of being able to get out of school.  I could also include ambition and wanting to make it for myself.  The sooner I'm done with the school, the sooner I can start making my dreams my reality.  I also never wanted to stay in school longer than I had to.  Of course there are also weaknesses that accompany the strengths.  I would think that certain weaknesses I have include laziness, time management problems sometimes, getting distracted too easily, as well as waiting until last minute to do things.  I also prefer to hang out and enjoy a night out as opposed to possibly staying in and studying.  However, I will try to fix these weaknesses to achieve my goal.

        In terms of the second goal, my strengths could all be considered the same.  However, there are also some job working strengths that can be applied.  I'm a fast learner, I work well with teams, I always want to learn more, and this includes the previous mentioned strengths.  Some of these strengths are important to not just accounting firms but almost any job possible.  My weaknesses could include that as of right now I don't have any internship experience and that I am not great at excel.

        My third goal again has the same personal strengths and weaknesses tied to it.  To include a few more, I would say that I have always wanted to get my CPA since I decided on Accounting and just the motivation enough can help me.  My weaknesses could once again be the time management issue.  While working and trying to study for an extremely difficult exam, it does not get any easier.  Sometimes I get put off easily and I might be discouraged.

    With every objective, there should be a detailed plan on how to achieve it.

1st Goal
I must achieve 120 credits and do it by Spring of 2014.  In order to do this I will have to schedule my classes appropriately making sure I take 5 classes most of the time.  After this semester I will have 73 credits and then hopefully 88.  I probably will have to take a summer class to achieve this.  So if all goes well I will be able to achieve the credits at the end of that spring semester.

2nd Goal
In order to achieve this goal, I first have to find an internship hopefully before next semester.  Then with some credibility on my resume, I can hopefully move on to a bigger firm and then possibly be given a full time offer.   I want to be able to get a full time offer before becoming a senior after next summer so then I can start working either right after graduation or after I achieve my CPA.

3rd Goal
I hopefully will get my CPA before the age of 24.  So basically 1-2 years after graduation.  I will probably have to work and study at the same time to achieve this.  As mostly everyone does, I will take it 1 test at a time with a good time interval in between.  So maybe 3 tests within a year but I also have to take my G-mats to enter graduate school.  So first the G-mats and then do the year to be eligible to take my CPA exam.

With these detailed objectives, I can hopefully work hard and stay focused enough to finish all of these in the time frame I want.

Crisis Management

1) In the world today, there are many crisis' occurring.  One of the biggest crisis' occurring today is the gas prices in the U.S.  One of the main states being affected by this is California.  One of the on going problems in this country is the rising prices of gasoline.  It is said that gasoline in California will raise over 6 dollars.  It used to be that 6 dollars could get you two gallons in New York instead of just one.

2) One of the biggest reasons for the high price rise was because of a power outage that reduced supply in a already problematic area.  However, with that problem resolved, the prices and problems are expected to be resolved by this week or next week.  Some gas stations actually shut down instead of trying to buy gasoline at expensive prices.  Most gas stations are looking at break even sales, in which they would look at amount they would have to charge customers to break even.  At one location, they would have to charge 4.89 to break even.

3)  I think the authorities are trying their best to fix this problem.  It is kind of hard because gas prices depend upon the world but in this occasion, the big blackout affected the prices.  According to authorities  the gas prices till slow down and not rise.  They are showing the public they're doing their best as well as trying their best to resolve the problem.  The worst that can happen is that gas prices increase, but customers really have no other option but to accept it because gas is such a necessity. Competitors also have no other option because this is affecting all of California.






http://fuelfix.com/blog/2012/10/06/california-gasoline-prices-hit-all-time-high/
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-elections/california-petrol-crisis-lets-romney-stay-on-the-offensive-8201346.html

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/10/07/california-gasoline-prices-hit-all-time-high/

Corruption in India; Can it be stopped?

1) In both Mr. Jayaswal and Mr. Dadra's case, as well as many other Indian government officials, a lot of unethical dilemmas have been occurring.  These two are being investigated for possibly acquiring 5 coal mines "fraudulently." In the case of Mr. Jayaswal, he is not looking out for the best interest of his country and the many people struggling without any electricity.  Instead, he is looking out for his own personal interests.  These coal mines were given to individuals closely tied to government officials instead of to the highest bidder or with better credentials to better the Indian community.  Mr. Dadra has been closely tied to Mr. Jayaswal as close friends and perhaps is the biggest reason Mr. Jayaswal had possibly been able to obtain these coal mines. As it was said in the article, these government officials such as Mr. Dadra would choose individuals that favored them instead of the entire country.  Doing this limits competition because only individuals with connections can obtain these coal mines.  Lastly, having an open system hinders the possibility of India continually improving their energy resources.  Because of the open system, corruption is able to continue because of relationships between individuals such as Mr. Jayaswal and Mr. Dadra.

2)  There are both positives and negatives for the acts committed by Mr. Jayaswal.  The positives for Mr. Jayaswal would be that he would and did become successful financially, becoming a millionaire.  He was also able to create a deep connection with several politicians so in the future it would help him in any other endeavor.  The negatives of these acts are that the people of India suffered without any power and electricity.  Instead of progressing and making significant movements to help the energy problems in India, Mr. Jayaswal acted selfishly.  Another negative is the fact that he could be in trouble for corruption and fraud.

3) The only viewpoint of moral reasoning that could have possibly motivated Mr. Jayaswal's decision must of been Individualism.  With individualism, the person is very individualistic; for themselves.  Their decision making is entirely based on how the decision will affect their own self interests.  I think it was individualism because Mr. Jayaswal made selfish decision to profit his own bank account.  He wanted to live lavishly and he did as read in the article.  He flaunted his wealth while millions of people in India were without electricity.  People in America or other wealthier nations can't even go a few hours without electricity.  Instead of caring for the people of his own country and trying to help improve the energy problems, he sat back and watched his bank account grow.

4) It is tough to tell whether or not a nation will be able to stop corruption or not.  Many feel that the corruption will never be halted while others figure there are smart solutions in handling this situation.  Personally, my family is all from India so I've heard plenty of stories of corruption.  Mostly the little things about police taking money from people in order for them to do things like pass the road.  However, there are smart ways in being able to handle this.  After reading several articles, the most positive way I came across was a new party.  Anna Hazare, with his new party, plan on campaigning across the country for then next few years to get his name and party out there.  Fixing corruption is nothing that can be done immediately anyway.  According to the article in the New York times, creating a new political party and trying to make changes within parliament is far from easy.  However, this is a start and a shimmer of hope for the Indian people wanting change.  Apparently, 2014 (the next elections) is too close for change but 2019 might be "more realistic."  In terms of this positive and possible change, there is always a negative view for change in corruption.  Many people believe there are just too much corrupt people in India, from the government, law enforcement, the money makers, and even ordinary people.  It is basically in their blood.  In another article in the New York times, a student said they would vote but are losing faith in politics.  This would definitely not help Anna Hazare's campaign.  If the people of India don't believe in themselves and believe in any hope, there is no possible way anything can work.  At the end of the article, there is a quote from Edward A. Gargan, “for the first time many Indians are openly questioning not only whether honest government is even possible, but also whether the country’s very soul has been irredeemably warped.”  The country needs it's people to believe in change before anything can actually change.

http://www.jaagore.com/article/how-can-we-stop-corruption-India

http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/03/corruptions-reach-in-india-spawns-new-political-party/

http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/17/will-india-ever-rid-itself-of-corruption/

Zara International!

1) One of the biggest reasons for the success of Zara International, is their ability to implement classical management approaches.  High specialization of labor is key in regards to Zara's business plan.  For example, they have 200 professionals specifically looking out for the latest trends, which helps them provide these trends within 24 hours.  They also try to achieve profit maximization which is evident by their low budget on marketing as opposed to other competitive retailers.  Three main classical management approaches are seen through Taylor, and Weber's theories.  Taylor's emphasis on efficiency is provided by Zara's ability to be up to date on the newest fashion within two days as well as re-stocking stores as soon as possible.  Inditex's ability to control the supply chain to maximum efficiency also helps Zara.  Weber believed the best way for management to prosper is through a bureaucratic organization.  This would develop a well defined hierarchy, division of labor and specialization, rules, competence, interpersonal relationships, and records. (cliffnotes)

2) Operations management can be seen in practice at Zara.  Their ability to be efficient and meet customer's needs as soon as possible is a great sign of operations management.  The distribution centers can have the latest items in store within 24-48 hours.  Customers are happy because they can have the newest looks in a matter of a few days.  Customers can also expect new items on a weekly basis because managers are able to use their handheld devices to reorder new items or track what's hot and not.

3) The success of Zara's distinctive practices can helped be explained by their system concepts and notion of contingency thinking.  For example, instead of using the same clothing lines week to week, they replace them leaving customers unsure of what products will be available.  They also are able to bring high end fashion to low income shoppers at an affordable price.  Lastly, Zara tries it's hardest to make sure there is no overstock of any item so there would be no need for any markdowns.

4) Based on several articles, Zara is continuing to do well.  According to an article in the New York times, "as the European crisis continues, retailers say price matters."  Due to that, Zara decided to "absorb" the extra costs instead of placing it on the consumers.  The firm is able to do well with their emphasis on the customer and great supply chain management.  Inditex is also still providing worthy management benchmarks according to recent financial numbers.  In an article in the Wall Street Journal, Inditex had a first half net profit increase of 32 percent even in such tough economic times.  It does not look like Inditex and Zara will be going south anytime soon.  With such great management control and approaches, Zara seems to stay atop the retail game.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444032404578005700811225838.html?KEYWORDS=zara

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/21/fashion/21iht-fprice21.html?_r=0

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/05/realestate/commercial/the-heart-of-fifth-avenue-shopping-edges-to-the-south.html?pagewanted=all

http://live.wsj.com/video/what-makes-companies-profitable-during-a-slowdown/3186DD4A-DAA0-44A4-87E2-4447AC9FDF5A.html?KEYWORDS=zara#!3186DD4A-DAA0-44A4-87E2-4447AC9FDF5A