“Organizations need strong leaders and a strong culture” Essay

In this essay, I am going to critically analyze the importance strong leaders coupled with a strong culture has within organizations. In doing so, the argument is built up of several contextual layers defining the significance that heavily immersed cultures along with well driven leaders has on the operational and interactional functioning’s of an organization but most importantly its employees. However first and foremost, it is believed that Post Bureaucratic management practices shape the construction of individual values and beliefs, ultimately depending on which cultural enrichment management will adopt. Furthermore, the abuse of power leaders may espouse may inflict adversarial repercussions upon the cultural framework embraced by the organization. Therefore this initiates a direct sequence of employees challenging De Facto power by engaging in managerial discourses, which repudiate against cultural structures, causing hierarchal movement. Whilst, firmly substantiating that strong culture’s lead by strong leaders build the inner mechanistic functioning of an organization, throughout this essay, in Section One I shall illustrate the importance of Post Bureaucratic mechanisms and the internal relationships they have with culture and leadership. Moreover in Section 2, I will attempt to expose how power is used as a possession, rather than a relationship between people. Lastly, in order to logically complete my argument, I will define how resistance is seen to be a ‘reactive process’ whereby people embedded in power relations actively oppose initiatives enacted by others (Jermier et all 1994:90) Section 1 It is believed that having such a widely shared integrative culture in organizations is often viewed as a panacea for management and a recipe for corporate success (Peter and Waterman 1982) In relation to this statement, a good culture coupled with a intuitive leader will only set out a positive regime of truth, that will undoubtedly allow the emergence of a cultural  landscape to ensure conformity is consistent to all who belong to the organization. In order to achieve such an ambition, organizations embrace Post Bureaucratic mechanisms, which are depicted as a set of normative controls that stress the importance of socialization, enculturation and identification with company objectives. (Josserand, Villesà ¨che, & Bardon 2012) However the most pressing point to highlight is the fact that Post Bureaucratic mechanisms heavily entail the involvement of cultural promotion, which further aims to propel culture onto center stage. Ultimately, this means that for people to function within any given setting they must have a continuing sense of what the reality surrounding them is about (Pettigrew 1979) Herein, this tells us that culture provides a source of organizational ‘common sense’, upon which members draw to when deciding where, when and how to act. (Clegg, Kornberger & Pitsis 2011) Therefore social interaction must be conceived as the negotiation of meaning, which inevitably formulates and continues the growth and extension of leadership abilities and culture amongst members of an organization. Moreover social interaction may also be characterized as an organization of instrumental relations, resulting in the formulation of various relations or relationships amongst not only members of an organization but also identification in a corporate alumni network. Hence, repetitive symbolic activities are drawn upon by organizations to maintain the stability of the social system, which has a fundamental obligation to create and recreate the system. (Rosen 1988) Making direct reference to Michel Rosen’s journal article: â€Å"You asked for it: Christmas at the Bosses Expense†, the use of ceremonies and rites, being the Christmas party encompasses a latent function, which directly aims to enable a state of partial suspension of normal structure relationships in which culture emerges as an organizing principle underlying agency membership. Lastly, despite Post Bureaucratic mechanisms promoting an enterprising culture, more importantly it imbues humanistic values of autonomy, flexibility, confidence and trust that ultimately carry the intent to urge employees to take on responsibilities (Josserand, Villesà ¨che, & Bardon 2012) However, it should be undoubtedly emphasized that managers must inhibit the appropriate leadership qualities that will enable themselves and employees  to share a common relationship, in turn directly allowing them to control and frame their subjectivity in order to align one another’s relevancies. Subsequently this is achieved through leaders identifying culture, as an asset to form a paternalistic relation with their employees, as such can be debated to ignite a desirable urge to be apart of the community the organization instills. Furthermore it should be accentuated that the â€Å"Path Goal Theory† of leadership, is imperative to a successful relationship between employer and employee. It is noted as the physiological and technical support that managers provide as leaders, which ultimately intends to motivate employees by helping them understand that their needs and expectations can be fulfilled through the performance of their jobs. (Clegg, Kornberger & Pitsis 2011) Section 2 In todays business realm the sociological treatment of power has the ability to perpetuate a substantial impact on the interrelation and operational processes of an organization. In support of this statement, it is elemental to treat power as a property of abstract systems, as its complexities must not only be precisely managed but also more importantly understood. Therefore it is clear that the conception of power has the capability to â€Å"make or break† an organization as Giddens argues that â€Å"the notion of power is logically tied to that of action, and in its widest sense, power refers simply to the ‘transformative capacity’ of human action†. (Knights & Roberts 1982) Given this fact, we are able to argue that power has the fortitude to develop, refine or revolutionize an organizational landscape. Accordingly it is paramount that power should be treated and only applied amongst the confinements of a relationship, rather than kept as a possession to an individual. It is this underlying complexity that sparks much conjecture throughout organizations and cultural foundations. Specifically, when power is treated as a possession the direct result is that of the ignition of conflict, which can be depicted as a threatening hazard that has the ascendency to topple even the most successful organizations throughout the world. Firstly it is important to point that the individualistic conception of power is concealed within managers in which it is defined as the way that resources of ownership and control are employed in attempt to coerce labor into compliance. (Knights & Roberts 1982) This is formally known as coercive power, which is understood to be the power someone has over another, ultimately meaning the denial or removal of individual choice. Furthermore coercion â€Å"requires the active submission of one person to another†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Russ 1980:7-11) as such a thought holds the aptitude to administer alarming repercussions throughout an organizations culture. This is largely due to the fact that â€Å"equal attempts at coercion may lead to more or overt forms of resistance† (Russ 1980:7-11), a discomforting scenario that will not only cause a severe backlash against the leadership circle, but also hold the potential to eclipse the current operational success of the business. Essentially, due to the low trust dynamics, a regressive spiral of attempted control and counter control (Fox 1974) will further impede negatively on the business, ultimately throwing the culture into an unhealthy state of affair and the leadership hub at risk of being overthrown. In addition, another essential point to mention is the affiliation the notion of mainstream culture has with coercive power. As stated above, the sociological treatment of power has the potential to inflict adversarial effects if not effectively managed by administrators of an organization. Alternatively, culture is believed to create consistency and reduce conflict. However coercive authority, contradicts the view of mainstream culture, as it arguably does the total opposite. If it is believed that if organizational structures, strategies, regulations and policies frame the behavioral intents of employees, then members who belong to a hierarchy dominated by coercive power, will not only reject to be consistent with company norms but also increase conflict. This is supported by the belief that culture brings people together: it ensures they all think alike, feel and act in relatively similar ways. (Clegg, Kornberger & Pitsis 2011) Similarly, also by correlating coercive power with mainstream cultures, it highlights the inadequate and defective leadership attributes it promotes. Cultural engineering is undertaken by senior management and disseminated  downward causing a spiral effect. (Clegg, Kornberger & Pitsis 2011) Therefore culture can be interpreted as a management ‘lever’, a means of ensuring organizational goals are instilled and accepted by its members through the allurement of its culture. (Brewis 2007) Essentially, to make leadership effective, a leader must undertake in authoritative power, which is a more realistic understanding of interdependence in organizations (Knights & Roberts 1982) What this means is that a mutual recognition of employer employee relations is shared, causing members to accept the advice and direction of others rather than opposing. A unique feature of the relationship is that authority cannot be imposed nor possessed, but exists only as a quality of the relationship. (Knights & Roberts 1982) However mutual manipulation may occur when someone attempts to elevate their power above the mutual trust, therefore implying it is imperative to maintain the reciprocal of rights. Lastly this has an overwhelming influence on the culture, as all participants obtain a sense of authority and belonging. Section 3 With regard to coercive power, and the debilitated ramifications it inflicts on an organization’s cultural arrangement, it can be condoned to believe that members will engage in more overt forms of resistance. Essentially, what this points out is the creativity of employees resisting increasing control of the labor processed by management (Prasad and Prasad 2000). Therefore resistance can be directly associated with defective leadership, as even though management believe they hold the right to produce the policies that â€Å"they† want, it doesn’t mean its members will agree. Given these facts, work groups use resistance to induce what they want, the indispensible adjustments required for relatively smooth and everyday functioning in the workshop. (Courpasson, Dany & Clegg 2011) More importantly, despite the act of resistance producing a common interest in opposition to management, it simultaneously results in more resistance (Burawoy 1982), clearing professing the viral empowerment it professes amongst members of an organization. Hence, this approach conceptualizes resistance as an irreducible opposition between members and management, clearly endangering the foundations of any cultural environment inhibited by an organization. Touching upon the previous paragraph, resistance is a direct result of the enmeshment of exploitative relations (Courpasson, Dany & Clegg 2011). More importantly, this allures members to engage in managerial discourses, which operate against the cultural and ideological controls that frame, a company (Thomas 2009) and craft new identities, which challenge De facto Power (Ewick and Silbey 2003). Ultimately this causes dysfunctional freezing of an organization, a direct cause of members participating in â€Å"distancing† themselves from the company’s ambitions and requisites until change has transpired. Nevertheless this can be seen to benefit the organization as a whole, as employees now have the capacity to accede their desires. In relation to culture, it is imperative that members concerns are meant in order to achieve optimum business success; therefore managers seek to secure compliance through meeting employee’s sentiments and desires. Subsequently, it is vital for cultures to obtain core values and presuppositions that are widely shared and acted on (Peter and Waterman 1982), however by managers thriving on the elevation of power and exploitation, it only contradicts what a good culture should be about by going against group norms. Drawing closely to theorists ideas, it is believed that â€Å"if you forged a strong culture that incorporate all organizational members in shared beliefs and commitments – everything else good, morale, performance and results should follow†(Peter and Waterman 1982), clearly exposing the importance of effective and understanding leadership. Lastly, it should be accentuated that improvement in productivity and quality would accrue when corporate cultures systematically align individuals with formal organizational goals (Peter and Waterman 1982), but arguably wont be reached if members are continually constrained by the corporation. Overall with all of the above being discussed, one could conclude that Human skill is a pre requisite of what a strong leader should acquire. An approved culture will only occur if everyone is integrated into one managerially designed structure and the result, a superior performance. However this is  can be deemed only attainable if leadership has the ability to work with people, meaning to be sensitive to the needs and motivations of others, and taking into account other needs in ones decision making (Clegg, Kornberger & Pitsis 2011) a clear contrary to what coercive power achieves. However, it could be argued that such leaders enjoy the hierarchal separation between themselves and lower level employees, as the process to both lead and yet also work alongside them is an ongoing struggle. Conclusion In summation, I have come to the conclusion that it is inevitable for an organization to parade operational success without some sort of formulation of a strong culture espoused with strong leadership. Despite Post Bureaucratic management practices shaping the construction of individual values and beliefs, I believe it is imperative for the leadership hub of any organization to be effectively aware of the on going relationship its shares with its members. For any organization to achieve corporate success the notion of culture should be heavily identified and all components that it contains must be exercised accordingly. Ultimately, if managements leadership qualities are deemed to be strong, the culture constructed must comprise a set of deep, basic assumptions and beliefs as well as shared values, which will enable members to attain a sense of not only identity but also more importantly provide them with heterogeneous ways of making decisions. Therefore bringing my essay to a close, it should not be forgone that an organization requires a strong culture and strong leadership. Reference List Articles 1. Burawoy, M. 2001. Donald Roy: Sociologist and working stiff. Contemporary Sociol. 30(5) 453-458 2. Courpasson, D., Dany, F. and Clegg, S. (2011) Resisters at Work: Generating Productive Resistance in the Workplace,  Organization Science, Articles in Advance: 1–19. 3. Ewick, P., S. Rayner, eds. (2003) Narrating social structure: Stories of resistance to legal authority. Amer. J. Social. 108(6) 1328-1372. 4. Fox, A. (1974) Beyond Contract: work, power and trust relationships. London: Faber 5. Josserand, E., Villesà ¨che, F. Bardon, T., (2012) Being an active member of a corporate alumni network: a critical appraisal, pp. 31-55 6. Knights, D. and Roberts, J. (1982) The power of organisation or the organisation of power? Organisation Studies, 3(1): 47-63 7. Prasad, P. A. Prasad. (2000) Stretching the iron cage: The constitution and implications of routine workplace resistance. Organ. Sci. 11(4) 387 – 403 8. Russ, V., (1980) Positive and negative power; thoughts of the dialectics of power, Organizational studies 1/1:3-20 9. Rosen, M. (1988) You asked for it: Christmas at the bosses expense, Journal of Management Studies, 25(5): 463-480. Books 1. Brewis, J. (2007) Culture in Knights, D. and Willmott, H. (eds), Introducing Organizational Behaviour Management, Australia Thompson: 344-374. 2. Clegg, S., Kornberger, M., and Pitsis, T. (2011) Managing & Organisations: An Introduction to †¨Theory and Practice, 3rd Edition, London, Sage (Chapter 6), pp. 224 3. Clegg, S., Kornberger, M., and Pitsis, T. (2011) Managing & Organisations: An Introduction to †¨Theory and Practice, London, Sage (Chapter 4), pp. 133 4. Jermier, J. M., D. Knights, W. R. Nord, eds (1994) Power in organzations. Routledge, New York. 5. Thomas, R. (2009) Critical management studies on identity: Mapping the terrain. M. Alvesson, T. Bridgman, H. Willmott eds. The Oxford Handbook of Critical management studies. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, 166-186 6. Peter, T. J., & Waterman, R.H. (1982) In Search for excellence: Lessons from Americas best-run companies. Warner Book, New York.

Chinese Music Instruments Essay

In this research paper I will introduce four Chinese music instruments: Chinese drum, Guzheng, Qin and Chinese lute. Chinese drum is still very popular in china for the old generation, and they use drum as an exercise for body training. GuZheng is a Chinese traditional instrument; furthermore, I remember when I was in the secondary, one of my classmate played GuZheng very well. In every public holiday, she will show GuZheng; moreover, it’s really specially. The third one is Qin; we still can see this instrument display in some Chinese drama, but this instrument does not have lots of people know how to play it. Last one is Yu Pipe that is a very ancient Chinese instrument; in addition, I don’t think lots of people heard this before and I cannot find more information about it. So I choose Pipa to instant of Yu Pipe. Pipa is rarely instrument and never see it in western country; however, Pipa is not that rare almost all the classic music group will have the people who play Pipa in the group. History of Chinese Drum The drum occupies a prominent place in Chinese culture. Though the exact origin of the Chinese drum is still subject to debate, ancient literatures show that it is about as old as Chinese history itself. The earliest documentation of its application in ancient China occurs in Oracle Inscriptions (Jiaguwen â€Å"Jiaguwen is an ancient Chinese word, it usually write on animal’s shell†) of the Shang Dynasty (16th-11th century BC), that is, inscriptions carved on tortoise shells and animal bones. As an old and wonderful form of art, the drum finds application in almost every aspect of Chinese social life, including sacrificial and worshiping ceremonies, farming, and warfare, and throughout the centuries it has been imbued with profound cultural implications. The history of the popularization of the Chinese drum is also the history of its continuous borrowing and assimilation of other artistic forms and expressions. During the process, Chinese drum performance arts have undergone a lot of regional as well as ethnic variations. As a result, today they produce different visual impacts and bring to the viewers different senses of beauty some are masculine, giving off a sense of invincible might; some are more delicate with nimble and graceful dancing steps; and there are still others that possess both qualities. This rich array of artistic expressions from the Chinese drum culture gives full expression to the vitality of the Chinese nation. History and Introduction of GuZheng The modern-day guzheng is a plucked, half-tube zither with movable bridges and 21 strings, although it can have anywhere from 15 to 25 strings (a customized version exists with more than 34 strings). the guzheng‘s strings were formerly made of twisted silk, though by the 20th century most players used metal strings (generally steel for the high strings and copper-wound steel for the bass strings). Since the mid-20th century most performers use steel strings flat wound with nylon. The guzheng has a large resonant cavity made from wu tong wood (paulownia tomentosa). Other components may be made from other woods, usually for structural and decorative purposes. For the introduction, the guzheng has existed since the warring states period and became especially popular during the qin dynasty. The ancient guzheng had 12 strings, which gradually evolved into it current forms. Until 1961, the common guzheng had 18 strings. In 1961 xu zhengao together with wang xunzhi introduced the first 21-string guzheng after two years of research and development. In 1961, they also invented the â€Å"s-shaped† left string rest, which was quickly adopted by all guzheng makers and is still used today, whether in the shape of the letter â€Å"s†, â€Å"c†, etc. the 21-string zheng is the most commonly used, but some traditional musicians still use the 16-string, especially along the southeastern coastal provinces of china and in taiwan. The guzheng is tuned to a pentatonic scale; the 16-string zheng is tuned to give three complete octaves, while the 21-string zheng has four complete octaves. Playing styles and performers there are many techniques used in the playing of the guzheng, including basic plucking actions (right or both hands) at the right portion and pressing actions at the left portion (by the left hand to produce pitch ornamentations and vibrato) as well as tremolo (right hand). These techniques of playing the guzheng can create sounds that can evoke the sense of a cascading waterfall, thunder and even the scenic countryside. Plucking is done mainly by the right hand with four plectra (picks) attached to the fingers. Advanced players may use picks attached to the fingers of both hands. Ancient picks were made of ivory and later also from tortoise shell. The guzheng‘s pentatonic scale is tuned to do, re, mi, so and la, but fa and ti can also be produced by pressing the strings to the left of the bridges. Well known pieces for the instrument include yu zhou chang wan (singing at night on fishing boat), gao shan liu shui (high mountains flowing water) and han gong qiu yue (han palace autumn moon). Two broad playing styles (schools) can be identified as northern and southern, although many traditional regional styles still exist. The northern styles are associated with henan and shandong while the southern style is with the chaozhou and hakka regions of eastern guangdong. both gao shan liu shui (high mountains flowing water) and han gong qiu yue (han palace autumn moon) are from the shandong school, while han ya xi shui (winter crows playing in the water) and chu shui lian (lotus blossoms emerging from the water) are major pieces of the chaozhou and Hakka repertories respectively. The GU Qin While the music of the Gu Qin represents Chinese culture at its most historical and refined, its sound can be challenging for Westerners to appreciate on first hearing. Many students are struck If you were to experience it live, you would also wonder how an audience could possibly hear such music, because it is extremely quiet. The qin is one of the most ancient instrument in the world to have remained in continuous use. Known also as guqin ( meaning â€Å"ancient zither†), it is a roughly 51-inch-long rectangular board zither made of paulonia wood painted black, and has seven stings, traditionally of twisted silk, running lengthwise from end to end, without frets or bridges. There is also a series of 11 inlaid mother-of pearl circles along one side marking the acoustical nodes or vibration points for each string. To the player’s left, the strings pass over the end and are tied underneath to two small peg-like feet attached to the instrument’s lower board. At the right end the strings run over a slight ridge that acts as a bridge, then pass through holes to the underside where each is tied to a small wooden peg. The instrument is tuned by twisting these pege to loosen or tighten the string’s tension. The player, seated on a chair with the instrument on a table or frame, plucks the strings with the fingers of the right hand and stop the strings with the fingers of the left hand. History of Pipa The pipa is a plucked Chinese string instrument. Sometimes called the Chinese lute, the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body. It has been played for nearly two thousand years in China, and belongs to the plucked category of instruments. Prototypes of the pipa already existed in China in the Qin Dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC). At that time, there were two types of pipa. One was straight-necked, with a round sound box constructed from lacquered Paulownia wood, and two faces mounted with leather. The other was believed to be inspired by the primitive forms of zheng, konghou, and zou. It also has a straight neck, a round sound box, and also four strings, along with twelve standards of notes. This model was later developed into the instrument known today as the ruan. The modern pipa is closer to the instrument which originated in Persia/Middle-East (where it was called barbat) and was introduced into China beginning in the late Jin Dynasty (265-420 A.D. ). I am not very sure how this instrument works on every rhythm, but I know that song is good. No matter it plays alone or plays with other rhythm, you always can hear its special sound. There are still a lot of different music instrument in this huge world. Although, the instruments are from different place, it place same music and music don’t have different nation. Hopefully, we never lost any music instruments and pass it to the next generation. Music instruments also are culture, and they are important in our life. Work Cited Lency. â€Å"Chinese Drum’ First Stop: Shells and animal bones. † Chinaculture. org Offers 01 October 2004 http://www. chinaculture. org/gb/en_artqa/2006-02/06/content_79017. htm Han, Mei. â€Å"Guzheng. † In The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London, 2001). Montreal, Quebec, Canada. â€Å"Pipa’ First Stop: With a wooden plectrum. †  ©2000-2009 Philmultic Management & Productions Inc. http://www. philmultic. com/pipa/ Zha, Fuxi (1958). Cunjian Guqin Qupu Jilan . Beijing: The People’s Music Press. ISBN 7-103-02379-4.

Dealing with Complaints Essay

You know I have just moved to a new region and noticed the advertisement near by my house. I would like to know about your internet services. – Sure. first of all I want to know for what do you need the internet? For work? For communication? or may be for online games? – well, I think mostly for communication with my relatives abroad. -Ok, then how often do you use internet? -every day. – I have choose some variants for you. What kind of tariff do you prefer? limited or unlimited? unlimited, I think. – so there are 23$ and 17$ variants. Â  a days ago I have bought a new coat and didn’t noticed that there is a big hole inside! – oh, we are really sorry for it. ou can choose from several options: to refund, to replace or to repair it. -I think replacement is what I want. -wait me a minute. I’ll be back soon. Here it is. – thank you. -we apologies again for this defect How can I help you? – I would like to choose a mobile phone for present for my wife. -Well I can offer you this models. Women like it most of all. -Very good. My wife like to make a photos, so I need good camera within the phone. -ok, this models have a 16 megapixels camera. But I would recommend you this phone. It has wi-fi and 3g functions, big sized screen. Moreover this screen can react on nails! – that’s what I need. What is the price for it? -oh, lucky you! Right now we have sale on all phones of this series. It costs only 640$!!! -great. Can you say some words about the guarantees? – Of cause, it has a guarantee on 2 years. With opportunity to refund or replace it if something will go wrong. I forgot to said that it is available in 5 colors: black, white, pink, yellow and blue.

The Holocaust Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

The Holocaust - Essay Example The horrific actions of the Third Reich are well documented. The end result of the Nazi’s evil ideologies included the occupation of most European nations and the ‘final solution,’ the annihilation of over six million Jews (Dawidowicz, 1986: 3). Throughout history, many nations have conquered others for various reasons while oppressing its people but why were a particular race of people systematically killed? How could such a fervent hatred of Jews infect an entire national conscience causing such unconscionable acts to be perpetrated? In spite of popular opinion, it didn’t happen because the people of Germany fell into a hypnotic trance and all of a sudden felt compelled to murder innocents simply from hearing Hitler’s speeches.Many citizens of Germany were unaware of the Concentration Camps, including the residents of the towns where the camps were located. The executions were carried out by the German army with SS troops in charge of the operation s. The unknowing German people and the most fervent of Nazi’s did have a nationalistic idealism in common, however, which was the underlying reason for the extermination of the Jewish race. This common idealism was developed from the culmination of centuries of German cultural bonding through the ideas of Volkism, with roots that had begun the century before.

Analyse how effective a change of ownership has been for your chosen Assignment

Analyse how effective a change of ownership has been for your chosen businesses performance - Assignment Example Adidas Company markets the application of constant and updated technological innovation and excellence in generating a powerful competitive advantage. The highest level of orientation of technological development has created the expected value to customers as they provide high performance and quality shoes for the specific needs of the customers. This translates to a competitive advantage in the marketing of its products (Hussey, 2000). Adidas has also another advantage in the market of effective promotional methods for its products by associating them with popular celebrities and sports idols. This marketing strategy has generated a steady source of sales and income for the company. Therefore, the purchase of recognizable brand products safeguards their quality and this creates some extra motivation for their purchase. The company has also sponsored many events as part of its promotional strategy. This step gives the company a good brand recognition and reputation in the world. This is evident in the soccer industry as Adidas has a strong market share. The diversity and variety of products offered on the web such as shirts, bags, shorts, and shoes enables the customers to have a range of products to choose and buy. The firm has good brand recognition and reputation and has attained its stronghold in the soccer industry. This is evident from a stable distribution channel that is well monitored as it has various stores worldwide. Thus, it enables the customers to access their products easily and in good time after ordering. To crown it all, the company has a strong management team which helps to keep it on the right track (Gilgeous.1997). However, Adidas has various disadvantages in the market. The company is one step behind Nike and faces much competition from the Nike products. This is evident in the high quantity and quality of merchandise and products that

External environment , business strategy Coursework

External environment , business strategy - Coursework Example Under the competitive environment, also referred to as the task or industry environment, the strategist takes into consideration the decisions, actions and moves initiated by rival firms in the same industry. The PESTEL analysis and five forces model would delineate the opportunities that an organization can tap. At the same time, various threats that the organization should be vary of would also be uncovered with the help of this analysis. These threats and opportunities are kept in mind and correlated with internal strengths and weaknesses while deciding various strategic issues including which businesses should the company invest money in. The objectives are also set keeping in mind the opportunities available to the organization. Under the political factors, the strategist has to take into consideration the political stability, ideology of the ruling government as well as its attitude towards various businesses. The economic factors include interest rates, income levels, unemployment rates, and rate of inflation prevailing in the country. In general, recessionary conditions can have an adverse impact on companies. Rising affluence of people may prove to be a boon to companies especially to those operating in the entertainment and leisure sector. The social factors include the opinions, beliefs, values and attitudes of the people. Number of women in the workforce, concern for health and fitness are also socio-cultural aspects, the increase in which can provide a boost to certain industries. Technological aspects too impact businesses. A company operating in the cell phone or computer manufacturing industry may confront a short product life cycle. In order to sustain in such an environment such company will have to constantly invest in research and development and manufacture state-of-the-art technologically advanced products. The issue of global warming has necessitated that all companies adopt ‘green’ measures. This may

Legal research. Law review case notes paper Essay

Legal research. Law review case notes paper - Essay Example To illustrate this, he gives instances of which strategic litigation had led to substantial changes in the law. However, not all of these cases resulted in the exact expectations of the lawyers. To begin with, Professor examines the litigation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to fight segregation. He agrees that initially, their litigation campaigns had little success until improvements were made after Brown was decided. Clients’ Interests in strategic litigation cases are singled out as the greatest impediment to litigation campaigns. He further gives the successes achieved by NAACP to make the US reconsider how the death penalty was administered at the time. The American Civil Liberties Union also succeeded in getting the government to improve prison conditions to acceptable standards that uphold human rights. Professor proceeds to discuss the implementation of Brown. In this 1954 case, segregation of pupils in US school based on race was outlawed. However, this only appeared to be on paper as this decision was not made practical immediately. Discrimination of blacks was still rampant. Even though Tushnet slightly agrees with Professor Rosenberg’s view that the Supreme Court did not achieve significant social change by deciding Brown, Tushnet points out that this was in the short term and goes further to exemplify what the Courts did later to effect the Changes envisioned in Brown. Success of Brown began to take root when policy was engineered towards it with the effort of the executive and Congress. Tushnet agrees with Professor Michael that success was dependent on politicians from the North began to favor civil rights. Continued pressure by organizations such as NAACP, politicians, and other civil rights groups eventually see the courts enact the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and

Strategic Perspective - Zara Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Strategic Perspective - Zara Report - Essay Example However, the company has been influenced by certain external factors throughout its dominant apparel retailing business. It has been found from the external analysis of Zara, it has been found that the company has been able to obtain substantial advantages within the global business environment. Moreover, the external analysis of Zara has revealed that in the fast fashion retail industry the bargaining power of buyers is quite high, therefore the company needs to constantly strive towards their varied and altering altering preferences. Additionally, the company has developed robust internal resources based upon its competent human resource capabilities. On the other hand, in relation to corporate social responsibilities, Zara follows certain ethical code of conducts in its business practices which facilitates the company to achieve sustainability. However, Zara in recent years has been dogged with certain public relations related crisis due to certain undesirable conducts. Therefore, certain strategic options and choices as well as recommendations such as expanding outsourcing activities and focusing on PR along with CSR initiatives have been advised to the company so that it is able to maintain its dominant position in the global fast fashion retail industry. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 I. Introduction 5 II. External Environment Analysis 6 II. I. PESTEL Analysis 6 II. II. Five Forces Analysis 8 III. Internal Environment Analysis 9 III. I. SWOT Analysis 10 III. II. Internal Resources and Capabilities 11 III. III. Value Chain Analysis 13 III. III. I. Primary Activities 13 III. III. II. Support Activities 15 IV Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) 16 IV. I. Ethics 16 IV. II. Public Relations (PR) Crisis 17 IV. III. External Stakeholders Issue 18 V. Strategic Options and Choices 18 V. I. Expanding Outsourcing Activities to Other Developing Countries 18 V. IV. Emphasising Upon PR Campaigns 19 VI. Implementation and Evaluation 20 VII. Recommendations 21 V II. I. Improvement of the CSR Initiatives 21 VIII. II. Emphasise Upon Greater Initiatives on PR Activities 21 VIII. Conclusion 22 References 23 I. Introduction According to the present increasing competitive business scenario witnessed in the fashion retail industry, Zara has been recognised as one of the renowned fashion brands. The company has been playing a leading role in the respective industry through expanding in different global regions across the world. Zara is the major brand of its parent company The Inditex Group, one of the dominant clothing retail organisations within the globe (Corporate Excellence, 2011). It can frequently be observed that the company highly seeks to represent unique fast-fashion clothing to the global customers. In accordance with the present day context, the company is performing its leading role in 86 countries through its more than 1750 stores across the different nations of the world (Inditex, 2013). Emphasising upon the present competitive glob al clothing retail segment, the primary objective of this report is to demonstrate an in-depth analysis of Zara in the global clothing retail industry. The discussion of this report will be focused on analysing external environment of Zara through incorporating PESTEL and Porter’s Five Forces framework. Moreover, the discussion of t

COMMERCIAL LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

COMMERCIAL LAW - Essay Example According to sections 171 and 192 of the Sale of Goods Act, 1979, Daniel can claim the identifiable part because it is unsold and is not mixed with any other goods. In Clough Mill v Martin3, the seller had retained the title to the goods and when the buyer became insolvent before paying for the goods, the goods were identifiable. It was held that the seller had the title to the goods and he was also entitled to damages. Therefore, Duncan can claim this part of copper wires because he retains the title to them and this part does not form the assets of Craftit Ltd and would not be appropriated in settlement of its claims. Larry, the liquidator, would not be able to withhold possession of them. The part that has been wound into coils around cardboard spools is not identifiable because it now forms a part of a finished or a semi-finished good. Duncan’s title in respect of this part of copper wires is lost. In Borden (UK) Ltd v Scottish Timber Products Ltd4 and Re Peachdart Ltd5, the buyer had used the resin that he had bought as an ingredient in the manufacture of chipboard. He became insolvent before payment. It was held that the seller had lost the title to the resin as it was mixed with other goods. The wound copper wires cannot be returned to their original form. It may be argued that the parties to the contract had agreed on the terms that the title was to be retained by the seller even if the goods were processed. This term poses a problem in reality. If the supplier of cardboard spools also had supplied them on the retention of title clause, it would be quite a conundrum. Therefore, the courts might apply Re: Bond Worth Ltd6 hence allowing property in the good s to pass to Craftit Ltd and resulting in a charge being granted back to Duncan. However, the courts would first make certain whether such a charge is allowed to exist.

Braking History Essay Example for Free

Braking History Essay In a little over a hundred years since the automobile took hold of people’s imagination, technologies designed to make them accelerate faster and reach higher speeds have evolved with a fury. The brakes that were used to decelerate vehicles just over a hundred years ago (when cars were first invented) has evolved from plain wooden blocks to discs that are monitored by Anti-lock Brake Systems and Electronic Braking Distribution systems. The earliest braking system that used by vehicles consisted of nothing more than a block of wood and a lever system. The wood brake system worked fine in conjunction with early vehicles that were equipped with steel rimmed wheels. However, when the Michelin brothers started to replace steel rimmed wheels with rubber tires on most vehicles towards late 1890s, the wood block braking system just does not create enough friction with rubber. Since the need for a new method of braking was necessary in order to replace the old wood block braking system, inventors scrambled for new ideas. The French manufacturer Louis Renault took crude concepts of inventors before him and developed method: The drum based braking system. Basically, the system involved a single flexible stainless-steel band, wrapped around a drum on the rear axle. When the driver engaged the brake, the band would apply pressure to the drum and car to come to a stop. However, the drum braking system did have a number of problems. Since the drum brakes were external, the exposer caused a very rapid wear-out of the system and had to be replaced often. The band itself would sometimes unwrap on hills and proved to be very unsafe for the driver and passengers. Even though people came up with ideas to internally place the brakes, the era of mechanically-activated brakes was coming to an end. In 1918, A four-wheel hydraulic-brake system was invented by Malcolm Loughead. This system used fluids to transfer the force on the pressed pedal to the pistons and then to the brake shoes. In other words, it was the enhanced drum based system added with power support. The system quickly became popular due to the fact that it is much easier to operate and more effective than mechanical systems. Thus, it was adapted quickly by most of the automotive world. As the vehicles evolved to be heavier and faster, heat distribution started to become a major problem for the drum hydraulic-brake system due to increased friction. Disc brake system that was made from iron was invented to solve the problem. In order to stop the car, the brake pads are squeezed by a calliper which is pressured by the hydraulic, and then the discs are squeezed by the braking pads. Lining was placed on the braking pads to reduce the noise when the metal came in contact. This was as far as the braking system went in terms of mechanics. However, additional features such as the ABS (Anti-Lock Brakes), EBS (Electronic Braking system), and EBD (Electronic Braking Distribution) were implemented to further enhance the performance and safety of brakes. Since the industry was constantly seeking for replacements and innovations, achieving â€Å"the Minimum Winning Game† (MWG) is extremely important in not only the auto industry, but any high-technology ventures in general. By definition, the â€Å"Minimum Winning Game† is: Defining the first major market opportunity that is limited enough to provide a clear target for technology and product development efforts in the short-to-medium term, and sufficiently large that successfully pursuing it provides a foundation for long-term corporate development. Defining the â€Å"Minimum Winning Game† of any new breaking system is a difficult yet critical responsibility of management to keep the new innovation focused and able to learn from its ongoing efforts in the face of rapidly evolving technological and market uncertainties. Balancing a combination of the three drivers is essential in achieving the â€Å"Minimum Winning Game†. The drivers are: technology development, product development, and strategy development. Effectively pursuing these drivers will contribute positively, but allowing one to become the sole driver is likely to derail the venture from the path toward its Minimum Winning Game. Since braking technology is in such high-tech environments the pace of change is extreme. Instilling strategic discipline early on can prevent the new innovation of brakes to fall into the â€Å"Field of Dreams† trap: building the technology and it will become useful, while simultaneously increase the chances of its success.

Geographic Climate of Basketo, Ethiopia

Geographic Climate of Basketo, Ethiopia Outline Introduction The Geography of Basketo Transport, trade and infrastructures Spiritual aspect of the area Church statistics Openness to the gospel Opportunities and threats of the geography to the expansion of the gospel Socio- cultural aspects Influence of geography on the culture Conclusion and Recommendation Introduction Basketo is an area (a Wereda) found in South Western part of Ethiopia under the administration of South Nations Nationalities and People group region (SNNPR), 562 Km from the capital Addis Ababa. The Wereda is not part of any administrative zone. It is an autonomous area known as Basketo Special Wereda. Basketo is bordered on the South and West by South Omo Zone; and on the North by the Gamo Gofa Zone. The administrative town is known as Laska. The Basketo people are an Omotic-speaking ethnic group whose homeland lies in the southern part of the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR). Basketo Wereda (district) is named after the ethnic group. According to the 2007 Ethiopian National census, the ethnic group has 78,284 members.[1] The linguistic neighbors of Basketo are Melo in the North, Gofa in the East, Dime and Bodi in the West and Aari and Gayil (Galila) in the South. (see figure 1) People in Gofa and Bulki refer both to the people and the language as ‘Mesketo’ but the native speakers identify themselves as ‘Basketo’ claiming that this was originally the name of a kind of sorghum which is typical of the area.[2] Traditionally, the people of Basketo are organized as a segmentary clan society handed by a divine king called Kati. The people worship a sky-god called â€Å"Tsosi†. This Tsosi is believed to be a creator of everything and can be reached only through a mediators such as ancestors through a proper sacrifices. There is also earth-god who is worshipped as a goddess. She is called â€Å"Indak-Kacharonde† The economic activity of Basketo is based on Agriculture but most families keep livestock. The main crops grow in the area include: cash crops: coffee, spices of different types; Cereals: wheat, Barely, teff; and others like yams, sweet potatoes, banana etc are grown. In addition to the cereals, pulses and root crops, there are highly demanded markeTable crops such as coffee, Spices (affaramom, ginger, â€Å"tikur Azmud† and â€Å"Hel†), fruits and banana. Unique genetic resources are found in the Wereda such as: organic coffee, gum trees (incense and rubber) and forest honey. The livestock population and the availability of grazing lands are potential for the development of modern livestock production activities.[3] In the past Basketo was part of the North Omo Zone and the 1994 national census counted its inhabitants as part of that zone. However, the Basketo people didn’t like it because they consider themselves different in many ways from those who are included in the zone. One of the significant factor of the it was the language difference. Despite the effort of the ruling party to emphasize the need to unite the smaller ethnic groups in order to bring consolidation and coordination to use the scarce government resources efficiently, the zone was divided into many smaller chunks. Then as a result of a lot of friction on the issue, Basketo was recognized as a special Wereda. In 2004 Basketo, because of its rich in mineral soil and spacious farm land, it was selected as one of several Weredas for voluntary resettlement of farmers from overpopulated areas. Since then Basketo has become a home for Wolaytta, Haddiyya and Konso people. A total of 7,000 household and 28,000 total family members.[4] II. The Geography of Basketo Basketo lies in an altitude of 700-2200. It is situated in a plateau. The landscape of Basketo includes all types of land forms. This makes it favorable for the growth of any type of crop and the production of annual and perennial crops. The climate that ranges from dega (highland) up to Qolla (lowland) makes it possible for the Basketo people to have a variety of food and export crops. Rivers in Basketo include Ergino, Sirso, Berso and Usino. Some of these rivers can be used for irrigation in the low land of Basketo. Even though the amount of the underground water is very high, the water if full of iron mineral and not healthy to drink. Therefore there is a lack of clean drinking water despite of the rich water resource underground. There are also valuable unexplored natural resources such as iron and gold in the area.[5] There are also dense forests and natural vegetations that covered a large part of the Wereda. However, after people from Hadiyya, Wolaytta and Konso resettled in the area a large part of the forest is destroyed for farm land, timber, fuel and building housing. Some of the resettled people cut trees for charcoal. Now this phenomena is creating a diverse effect on the climate and the existence of wild animals and bringing a long lasting problem contrary to what was expected by the government. Therefore, unless a solution is found soon, it will get worse and the Basketo people itself will be displaced from the area in the future. Transport, trade and infrastructures The Wereda has good potential for echo-tourism development. There are attractive land scenery and colorful cultures unique to the community. Unexplored but high economic value minerals such as gold and iron are available in the Wereda. Therefore, there is a good opportunity of attracting investors to the area. However, social services and existing infrastructure facilities are very weak. There are poor road networks connecting the kebeles with the Wereda capital and connecting Wereda to other neighboring Weredas. It has only 27 kilometers all weather road and 180 kilometers dry weather roads, for an average road density of 1803 km per square kilometers.[6] Agriculture is the major economic and livelihood system of the Wereda and the geographical features of the land is very suitable for crop production. The area has all types of climate. Dega, Kolla and Weynadega. In these different climatic areas different types of crops are produced. However, as it is said above, the infrastructure problem especially the road problem is hindering the people from selling their products for a good price. There is a market problem because of the road. If the people of Basketo had a good all-season road, many exporters would come to the area and invest their money there and the area could have been a source of income not only for the Basketo people but also for the country. Because of market problem, the people of Basketo does not have the trend of doing a large farming. They farm on a very small land to feed just their family. A few people farm a little bit wider and bring it to the market. Nowadays, agricultural products are very expensive in Basketo c ompared to many similar remote areas. The reason for this is because the farmers do not do enough farming that can sustain the market. The climate and drainage of the Wereda is conducive for the development of irrigation farms. The agricultural activities in the Wereda are mainly dependent on rainfall. As a result, the special Wereda was not able to produce sufficient food for consumption in the Wereda although the prevailing rivers would offer a good opportunity to enhance irrigated agriculture. Telecommunication facilities are underdeveloped. This makes communication very hard with other areas for trade and investment opportunities. But recently the Wereda has become mobile telephone and semi-automatic fixed telephone user. This is a good beginning to attract people to the area and make trade effective. On the other hand, the majority of the Wereda population depends on traditional energy sources, which have adverse impact on the environment. Mainly the poor infrastructure facilities have hampered the development of trade and industry in the Wereda. Education, health and potable water provisions are also inadequate in terms of quality and coverage.[7] Spiritual aspect of the area Church statistics Basketo was first evangelized by evangelists came from the neighboring areas (Weredas) Wolaytta and Goffa around 1945. Now in Basketo there are about 4 different evangelical church denominations and more than 70 congregations and of them the majority is Kale-Heywet Church which has more than 50 congregations. There are also Ethiopian Orthodox churches in the area. They are about 8 congregations. A Catholic church is planting a church in the resettlement area. Openness to the gospel The people of Basketo had been highly oppressed by witchcrafts, demonic worships and different costly sacrifices, they were highly burdened and many of them were looking for someone to rescue them. If they did not present an offering like money or animal which they were told to do so, they would suffer a loss of their children or their animals. They had no way to escape from the clasp of the devil. The area was full of witches and magicians. Even though the Ethiopian Orthodox church existed there for many years before the evangelical churches were established in the area, the people did not stop consulting witchdoctors. When the Land Lords from the Northern part of Ethiopia went to Basketo they introduced the Christian religion in the area. Many people of Basketo accepted Christianity forcefully. They were enforced to be baptized as a mass. However, since many of them did not willingly accepted it, they have no strong relation with God. They went to church to please their masters. Moreover, they did not receive any strong teaching about God by the priests. Most of the church’s services were conducted in Geez. Yet the people did not understand Amharic let alone Geez. This language gap widened the estrangement of Orthodox Christianity with the local people. Until recently all of the priests come from Amhara region. There was no local priest who is able to teach the people in their local language. Since they did not understand Christianity, the faith was syncretized with their pagan practices. They go to church on Sundays and on the rest of the week they go to consult magicians and witchcrafts. For so many decades Christianity became a mix of pagan practices and some elements from Christianity. It was in this context that evangelical Christians came to the scene with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those who accepted the true gospel began to get free from demonic operations and raise the children without any harm. As the people observed this great miracle they began to respond to the gospel. As a result many people came to Christ. Witchcrafts and magicians, who have been a major threat for the people, began to disappear. Nowadays more than 80% of the population is Christian. Opportunities and threats of the geography to the expansion of the gospel The topography of Basketo is mountainous and valley. It is not easy to go from one place to the other by car. Infrastructure is not much developed in the area. Mostly the people walks on foot or very few people use horses or mules as a means of transportation. The people has very limited contact with other people groups mainly because of lack of modern transportation. This in turn has an adverse effect on the expansion of the gospel to the area and from the area to other neighboring areas. The Basketo church is now sending evangelists to different neighboring areas like Dime, Salamago Wereda, and other areas. However, transportation is a big issue in those areas. It is hard to visit these areas as often. Without a frequent travel and visit it is hard to provide the people with necessary spiritual growth materials and trainings. It is even hard to visit the evangelists working there and provide them with important materials whenever they need them. These area are very close to Basketo kilometer wise, but very far because of lack of transportation and the topography. Socio- cultural aspects The Influence of geography on the culture, language and intermarriage Basketo, as it is topographically and infrastructure wise not easily accessible, first of all, the culture is not highly influenced with other cultures. The people still holds on to its older cultural values very strongly. Intermarriage between Basketo and other people group is also very limited. More than 96% of the population lives in Basketo. Therefore marriage happens almost exclusively among themselves. Secondly, The geographical setting of Basketo makes hard for the people to communicate with other people very easily. The population is highly monolingual because of its less contact with speakers of other languages. Of course the neighboring areas like Galila and Melo people come to Basketo on market days and the Basketo traders go to these area on their market days. However, they spent there not more than half day. Therefore, except those who are frequent travelers, regular residents in that area and the bordering people, they do not have a lot of time to learn languages. Because of lack of transportation to those area, except some business people and those who have cousins there to visit, most people do not usually travel to these areas. Moreover it is not widely spoken by other people group outside the Basketo area. The people have a very limited contact with other language groups as it is mentioned. Many of them do not speak more than one language. Basketo is the main and the on ly language for all types of communication. Children at home and outside with their friends speak Basketo. In the market places and in the government offices the people use Basketo. Only those children who go to school learn Amharic as a second language. Therefore I can say that geography has in some ways a positive influence for the growth of the language. It may be seen as negative if one is concerned about the benefits of multilingualism. However, multilingualism can be gained from schools as students learn Amharic and English as a subject and as they interact with their teachers and some non-native people they encounter in the schools. For those who are more concerned about language maintenance and culture preservation, the geography of Basketo has a very positive contribution so far. From now on if infrastructure in improved, the influence can be minimal because Basketo language is given as one subject in all elementary students. The difficulty in accessibility of the area has a lot of implication on the culture change, language maintenance and change and intermarriage. As it is said above, the people is mostly monolingual and language shift does not seem possible in the near future. This is mainly because of the geography of the area. However new technologies and basic infrastructures play a big role for the expansion of God’s kingdom. Basketo is now reached with the gospel. However the church of Basketo needs to take the gospel to its neighboring areas. The church is sending evangelists to other areas. However, accessibility of those areas is still an issue for a rapid expansion of the gospel to a wider area and effective ministry. Conclusion and Recommendation Basketo is a land where we can find all the favorable climactic and geographical features that are necessary for the well being of human life. Its topography and landscape has given it its beauty of attraction. Basketo has never been drought stricken so far mainly because of its wonderful climactic features. However, the lack of infrastructures such as all weather roads that connects Basketo with the neighboring areas makes it difficult for the economical growth of the area as well as the expansion of the gospel. Basketo has all the natural gifts that can be a tourist attraction and investment opportunities. However, the challenge of the remoteness and topographic problems have not been dealt with the government. The geographical features of Basketo are God’s gift. We should not take the accessibility problem as impossibility. If infrastructures are made available all the challenges will be solved. But despite the fact that the area is one of the major potential areas of spice and food crop producer, the government did not take that part of the country very seriously. The church has the upper hand in the area, as it constitutes more than 90% of the population, but did not use the opportunity to influence the government. Our recommendation is that: first, the church should work with the government very closely to solve infrastructure problems. When this problem is solved it will serve the needs of both the government and the church. Basic infrastructures are very essential for the expansion of the gospel to that part of the country. Most of the neighboring areas are not reached with the gospel and we think that Basketo can play a major role in sending evangelists. Secondly, the church also needs to guard the natural resources of the area by teaching its people and working closely with the government and development organizations. The church also needs to involve in natural conservation and development works in order to tackle the changing climate because of the deforestation going on in the new resettlement areas. Bibliography Amha, Azeb. African languages and cultures 8. â€Å"CASE IN BASKETO† Taylor and Francis Ltd. 1995 http://www.jstor.org/action/showJournals#43693380 accessed April 25, 2012. SNNPR Bureau of Finance and economic development. â€Å"Detailed statistics on roads† http://uk.ask.com/wiki/Basketo_special_woreda (accessed 15 September 2009) SNNPR investment bureau. â€Å"Guide 2000† SNNPR resource potential and investment opportunities. http://www.southinvest.gov.et/Publications/guide%202000%20English.pdf accessed on April 20, 2012. Jordan, Linda. Gayil servey report. (Unpublished), 2007. DPPA. â€Å"Resettlement 2004† Disaster prevention and Preparedness Agency (DPPA) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misketto_language (accessed 26 November 2006) Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misketto_language accessed on April 20, 2012. 1 [1] Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia accessed on April 20, 2012. [2] Azeb Amha. African languages and cultures. â€Å"CASE IN BASKETO† p. 8,1995 pp. [3] â€Å"Guide 2000† SNNPR resource potential and investment opportunities. p.52 [4] â€Å"Resettlement 2004† Disaster prevention and Preparedness Agency (DPPA) (accessed 26 November 2006) [5] Guide 2000. P. 52 [6] â€Å"Detailed statistics on roads† SNNPR Bureau of Finance and economic development website (accessed 15 September 2009) [7] â€Å"Guide 2000† SNNPR resource potential and investment opportunities. pp. 52-53

Leadership Cultural Diversity and Global Mindset

Leadership Cultural Diversity and Global Mindset Extensive research has been undertaken over the past 50 years to identify and analyze leadership behavior. Leadership has been defined in many different ways, but most definitions assume that it involves an influence process concerned with facilitating the performance of a collective task. It involves a process whereby intentional influence is exerted by one person over other people to guide, structure, and facilitate activities and relationships in a group to achieve organizational effectiveness and success. Robins and Judge (2008) define leadership as the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals (p. 385). Along the ability to influence, intercultural, interpersonal and organizational communication skills are crucial for global leaders. For effective leadership in multicultural settings, a global mindset and diversity understanding are the most important skills required of leaders. There are several distinct theoretical bases for leadership. At first, leaders were felt to be born, not made. So-called great person theory of leadership, it implied that some individuals are born with certain traits that allowed them to emerge out of any situation or period of history to become leaders. The trait theories concentrate on the leaders themselves and have shown little promise for either the understanding of the leadership process or the relationship with effective leadership performance. Recent research findings show a significant relationship with the Big Five personality traits and effective leadership. According to Luthans (2008), there is emerging interest in positive organizational behavior capacities (i.e. hope, optimism, resiliency, emotional intelligence, and, especially, self-efficacy) and effective leaders, and there is continuing concern with leader skills and competences (pp. 413-416). Most researchers evaluate leadership effectiveness in terms of the consequences of the leaders actions for followers. Leadership is an exchange process between the leader and the followers. The group and exchange theories emphasize the importance of followers. Graen and Uhl Bien (1995) applied a multi-level and multi-domain perspective on leadership, distinguishing between leader-based, follower-based, and relationship-based leadership styles (p. 224). Leader-based style was found to include more structured tasks, strong leader position power, member acceptance of leader, and common understanding of leader and power. Follower-based became known for more unstructured tasks, weak position power, member non-acceptance of leader, and leaders absence from responsibilities. The relationship based style included situation favorability for leader between two extremes, accommodated differing needs of subordinates, and could elicit superior work from different types. Now known as Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory, it says the leaders treat individual followers differently; in particular, leaders and their associates develop two-person dyadic relationships that affect the behavior of both (Luthans, p. 417). This research continues to be relatively supportive despite some criticism it received over the years. LMX seems to be more descriptive of the typical process of role making by leaders, rather than prescribing the patterns of downward exchange relations optimal for leadership effectiveness. However, from the social cognitive perspective, it should be taken into account that leader-member exchanges are a reciprocal process, as leaders may be inclined to change follower self-concept in the short run to achieve performance goals and more enduring changes. Meanwhile, followers reciprocally shape leaders self-schemas through their responses, both as individuals and through collective reactions. The traditionally recognized theories of leadership tend to be more situation-based. In particular, Fiedlers contingency model made a significant contribution to leadership theory and potentially to the practice of human resource management. The situation in which an organization operates plays an influential role in designing and managing the organization effectively. The situational variables and contextual aspects of leadership affect leadership roles, skills, behavior, and followers performance and satisfaction. Effective group performance depends on the proper match between the leaders style and the degree to which the situation gives control to the leader. The theory suggests that a key factor to leadership success is the individuals fixed leadership style. Based on empirical research, Fiedler concluded that task-oriented leaders end to perform better in situations of high and low control, while relationship-oriented leaders perform best in moderate control situations. It is im portant to note that contingency theory emphasizes that leaders are not successful in all situations. In the 21st century workplace, this theory is still predictive and provides useful information about the type of leadership most likely to be successful. Data from this empirical research theory could be particularly useful to organizations in developing leadership profiles. However, the theory does not clearly explain why people with certain leadership style are more effective in particular situations than others, as well as what to do when the leader and the situation mismatch in the workplace. In addition, mush use of psychology and sociology has contributed to the development of five major contingency theories: Fiedlers least-preferred co-worker (LPC) theory (relationships, power, and tasks), Evanss path-goal theory (paths and rewards), Kerr and Jermiers leadership substitutes theory, multiple-linkage models (leadership and group effectiveness), and Fiedlers cognitive resource t heory (Robins and Judge, 2008, pp. 386-403). The studies have given a rise to a number of taxonomies which Yukl (2002) proposes might be refined into the three jointly inter-reacting categories of task-, relations-, and change-oriented behaviors. On looking at the fields of study covering participative (change-oriented) leadership, delegation and empowerment, Yukl more closely examined Vroom-Yetoons model of participative leadership to identify decision procedures in different situations. In his Leadership in Organizations book, he considers some detrimental success of collective participatory efforts by members of an organization to achieve meaningful tasks then gives the following definition of leadership: Leadership is the process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how it can be done effectively, and the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish the shared objectives (p. 7). One of the most important and difficult leadership responsibilities is leading change, especially the cultural change. The creation and establishment of a clear and compelling vision is useful to guide the organization through change, and guidelines are necessary for formulating a vision, as well as implementing change for political or organizational or people-oriented actions. Throughout the change process, the role of the leader is key. While traditional leadership theories focused on the leaders influential power over the followers, the contemporary leadership theories focus on the importance of the leader as a communicator. Contemporary organizations are constantly searching for leaders who can exhibit charismatic, authentic, and transformational leadership qualities. They want leaders who have clear vision and the right charisma to carry out the vision. Although exhibiting the right behaviors at the right time may be perceived as a result of true leadership effectiveness, the evidence strongly shows that people have a relatively uniform perception of what a leader should look like. They attribute true leadership to people who are smart, personable, verbally adept, and inspirational. The effectiveness of charismatic and transformational leadership crosses cultural boundaries. Effective leaders today must develop trusting relationships with the followers, because as organizations have become less stable and predict able, strong bonds of trust are likely to be replacing bureaucratic rules in defining expectations and relationships. Leaders who are not trusted are not likely to be effective. Yukl clearly explains, in chapter 9, why attributions of charisma are jointly determined by the leader, the followers, and the situation (pp. 240-267). Charismatic leaders arouse enthusiasm and commitment in followers by advocating a vision and increasing the followers confidence about achieving the vision. Attribution of charisma to the leader is more likely if the vision and strategy for attaining it are innovative, the leader takes personal risks to promote it, and the strategy appears to be succeeding. Self-confidence, strong convictions, speaking ability, and other leader traits or skills increase the likelihood of charisma. Ethical charismatic leaders use power to serve others, align vision with followers needs and aspirations, consider and learn from others, as well as stimulate followers to think independently and to question the leaders views. They prefer open, two-way communication, share recognition with others by coaching, developing, and supporting followers. They rely o n internal moral standards to satisfy organizational and societal interests (Howell and Avolio, 1992, p. 45). Robins and Judge (2008) defines charismatic leadership theory as a theory which states that followers make attributions of heroic or extraordinary leadership abilities when they observe certain behaviors (p. 413). Charismatic leadership may affect some followers more than others. People are more receptive to charismatic leadership especially at times of crisis, stress, and negative outcomes. Charismatic leaders have idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration (Luthans, p. 435). However, as a group they are considered a subsection of transformational leadership. Transformational leaders make followers more aware of the importance and value of the work and induce followers to transcend self-interest for the sake of the organization. They empower organizations by developing follower skills and confidence to prepare followers for greater responsibilities. Under difficult conditions, resilient transformational leaders help followers to see threats as opportunities for advancement and responsibility for success (Luthans, Youssef, and Avolio, 2007, p. 126-127). They support and encourage followers to maintain enthusiasm and effort in the face of obstacles and difficulties. As a result of such influence, followers motivation and performance increases along with improved trust and respect toward the leader. The primary characteristic of transformational leadership is the idealized influence, as opposed to charisma, allowing people to differentiate between the two theories. The major difference is how followers are treated. While transformational lea ders seek to empower and elevate the followers to develop followers into leaders, charismatic leaders may seek to keep followers weak, loyal, and dependant on them. While transformational leaders increase follower motivation and performance to a greater degree, effective leaders typically use a combination of transformational and transactional leadership types (Yukl, pp. 253-254). Leadership effectiveness may not necessarily be enhanced by transactional leadership; however, contingent reward behavior is effective for recognizing accomplishments, as well as rewarding the efforts and good performance (Bass, 1990, p. 22). Global Mindset Cultural Diversity In todays rapidly changing global economy, it has become crucial for leaders to possess such intelligence that analyzes and employs the greatest possible emerging and challenging opportunities as well as observes and interprets the dynamic and culturally diverse world in which they lead humans the most valuable assets of any given organization. The success of the strategies multicultural organizations pursue is largely impacted by the leaders perceptions and interpretations of the global socioeconomic environment. With central focus in the field of cognitive psychology and organizational theory, global mindset has much to do with human beings and their sense in the world in which they encounter daily interaction with one another. We live in a world where do exit dynamic, ambiguous, and complex information that get our attention and absorption. Using cognitive filters, we are selective in our absorption and biased in our interpretation. There exists the likelihood that our mindset an d new information may, however, be engaged in an inconsistent correlation, under which circumstance the information becomes subject to rejection or the mindset becomes subject to change. The mindset of other members in an organization has an influence on and does indeed shape the mindset of the collectivity of individuals within the organization. The level of power, the status of people with whom being interacted, the purpose of interaction, etc, does play a crucial role in the shaping of ones mindset. New experiences, a change in the relative power of different individuals, and a change in the process of organizational and social interaction within members do result in a change of the organizational mindset. According to Gupta and Govindarajan (2002), the cognitive psychology has shown that mindset exists through knowledge structure primarily composed of differentiation and integration attributes. The latter first of two refers to the narrowness of knowledge the individual brings to a context, whereas the latter one refers to the level of integration of disparate knowledge elements in the knowledge structures. When differentiation is low, integration is not an issue; however, when it is high, integration becomes a critical attribute. Many of us are changeable and each time frequently swing towards the person we last met. This scenario where high differentiation is accompanied with low integration is known to be High D-Low I. Conversely, those who welcome diverse options and demonstrate integrative perspective are known as High D-High I which itself is the definition of global mindset. Gupta and Govindarajan define global mindset more precisely as one that combines openness to and awarene ss of diversity across cultures and markets with a propensity and ability to synthesize across this diversity The value of global mindset is best illustrated by the companys ability to combine speed with accurate response. The companys ability to grasp the needs in the local market and its ability to build cognitive bridges across the needs and between its own global experience and capabilities are manifested in such comparative advantages which identify the emerging opportunities, analyze the trade-off between the local adaptation and global standardization, smoothen the complimentary activity coordination across the borders, spread out the concept of new products and technologies, share best practices effectively and efficiently across subsidiaries. The value of global mindset becomes quite apparent when analyzing how its presence or absence might affect a companys strategy in a rapidly growing foreign market of extremely complex economy where public policy is unpredictable and preference is given to local companies as opposed to foreign. Modifying and reformulating strategies in order to achieve goals in the foreign market may still not be enough for success if there is a lack of understanding of changes in the foreign market and demand and lack of integrative global perspective towards the ongoing events in the foreign market. Awareness of changes in foreign market environments can therefore become a major source for valuing and upholding the global mindset and identifying and addressing its ever-existing challenges. Achieving global mindset occurs through cultivation, as prescribed by cognitive psychology and organization theory, and it is driven by curiosity and commitment to gaining knowledge about the world and its way of operation, by exposure to diversity, by unequivocal formulation of current mindsets, as well as by development of integrated perspective on diversity of standards in cultures and markets. Cultivating curiosity about the world is a reflection of attitudes, an element of individual personality makeup. Although the companies are capable of manipulating with adroitness to further produce curiosity among employees, their greatest freedom still lies on employee selection and in managing the demographic makeup of the companies. Companies cultivate knowledge regarding diverse cultures and markets through facilitating such knowledge at individual levels and through diversifying the company workforce itself which build cognitive diversity inside the mindset of individuals as well as b ring together a diverse knowledge base across the organization members. Formulating current mindset is heavily influenced by the process of interaction between people and the environment which shapes the interpretation of the surrounding world, hence affecting how the mindset changes or remains unchanged. Self-consciousness becomes a necessary and inseparable component when cultivating the current mindset which work best through asking managers to articulate own beliefs about the subject domain, as well as through drawing comparative analysis of how different managers would interpret the same reality. Getting formal education that builds on the awareness of diverse cultures and markets and participating in events and projects in foreign markets, and emerging oneself into more extensive cultural learning programs and trainings are all powerful ways of constructing a global mindset. Diversity is about differences, and humans do not easily negotiate differences. The human brains response to differences is typically arousal, alarm, and sometimes attacks, until such time as the differences are processed by exposure, reason, or mastery (Marsella, 2009, p. 121). The interactions between social diversity markers (i.e. ethnicity, race, age, sex, gender, social class, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental challenges, physique, etc) as well as between interpersonal and individual differences result in different conditions of acceptability. Differences become the source of problems in cultures and organization; however, diversity encounters occur under problematic perceptions. Leaders across the globe face the ever-increasing cultural challenges during their day-to-day interaction with humans within and outside the organization. In this global era, cultural diversity intelligence, competence, understanding, appreciation and embracement are required of effective global leaders. [Negotiate Diversity Immergance of Conflict (this is on a chart in the article)] Successful leadership of todays increasingly diverse workplace is among the most important global challenges. The problem of managing todays culturally diverse workforce is the unfortunate inability of the leaders and managers to fully comprehend the organizational, cultural, and global dynamics. The global economy has moved diversity to the top of any leaders agenda. There is a reason to believe that cultural issues in leadership should be studied to reveal both differences between cultures and specific within-country practices that would help expatriate leaders succeed. Organizational communication will differ across cultures. Todays global leaders need to recognize such differences. Most of the research on leadership theories has been conducted in English-speaking countries, limiting our knowledge about how culture might influence their validity, particularly in Eastern cultures. During the last decade, interest in cross-cultural leadership has increased dramatically for apparent reasons. Increasing globalization of organizations has made it more critical to learn about effective leadership in different cultures. Influencing and motivating culturally diverse workforce has become an increasing challenge for global leaders or leaders of cultural diversity on local levels. Successful influence requires a broad understanding of cultural differences and motivational factors in each culture. The Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) research program has carried on a cross-cultural investigation of leadership and national culture, using data from 825 organizations in 62 countries to identify nine dimensions on which national cultures differ: power distance; individualism versus collectivism; masculinity versus femininity; uncertainty avoidance; long-term versus short-term orientation; and humane versus performance orientation (Robbins and Judge, 2008, p. 125). The GLOBE framework is primarily based on Geert Hofstedes Framework for Assessing Cultures one of the most referenced approaches for analyzing cultural variances since 1970s (p. 124). According to Yukl (2002), the results of the GLOBE research indicate that certain traits, skills, and behaviors are rated highly relevant for effective leaderships in all culture, for example, integrity (honest, trustworthy, just), visionary (has foresight, plans ahead), inspirational (positive, dynamic, encourages, motivates, builds confidence), decisive, diplomatic, achievement-oriented, and team-integrator, whereas some attributes varied widely in relevance across cultures, such as ambitious, cautious, compassionate, domineering, indirect, risk taker, self-sacrificing, sensitive, status conscious, etc. (p. 418). Examining the relationship among societal cultures, situational variables (such as strategy, culture, uncertainty, etc), leadership process, and organizational effectiveness, the GLOBE project has provided significant research results for leadership of cultural diversity in the rapid pace of globalization and economic development. To have a broader understanding of how leadership of cultural diversity and organizational communication with global mindset are applied in real world practices, I have decided to interview three individuals, who hold positions in public, non-profit, and private sectors, as well as to analyze and relate my findings to some leadership and diversity management research. My first interviewee, Miss. Hanying Li from Singapore, had started working in private sector but transitioned to the non-profit sector for most of her career life. She currently serves as senior program officer for Mangroves for the Future, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (AUCN) Asia Regional Office in Bangkok, Thailand. Mangroves for the Future (MFF) is a regional multi-partner initiative on coastal ecosystem rehabilitation and management. Her main responsibilities include program coordination with all stakeholders, including six partner agencies, two donors, eight focal countries, etc., as well as project management (84 small projects and 9 large projects in six countries), and day-to-day running of the regional Secretariat. She has unshakeable knowledge of diversity and enormous amount of professional experiences cross-culturally. She was a valuable asset for my research, as I was trying to particularly learn about cross-cultural leadership in Asian cultures. Wi th her strong background and knowledge of Singaporean culture and workforce, she was able to address the core culture values and beliefs of Singaporeans which facilitated my exploratory study of Hofstedes and Trampenaars cross-cultural dimensions and leadership. Singapore is a major success story. Its solid foundation leaves only the question of how to continue expanding in the face of increasing international competition. To date, however, Singapore has emerged as an urban planners ideal model and the leader and financial center of Southeast Asia. Li believes that leading an organization, motivating the workforce, and assuring organizational success in Singapore require a careful study of cultural values, traditions, and norms, as well as diversity training. In her opinion, not many people from western leading nations have been successful in Asian markets, primarily because of the inability to understand and accept the cultural differences and lead according to those differences. According to Li, Singaporeans treat special groups of people with special respect and courtesy. Honored guests, elders, parents, teachers, bosses and leaders must be treated differently. They strongly value and adhere to a hierarchical relationship in society, as a result of Confucian teaching thinking. They see the society as composed of people who are inherently unequal in rank and standing, and differences in rank are signaled and reinforced by the style of the interaction between the parties involved. Deference, respect and formality towards superiors are the norm. In addition, juniors are supposed to keep their opinions to themselves unless specifically and directly asked. Hence, subordinates in Singapore are unlikely to question authority and are less likely to initiate upward communication unless requested to do so because its culture values the importance of status differences and hierarchies. The complex authority and status relationships characterize Singaporeans as a hier archical culture which parallels with the idea of power distance in Hofstedes study. Luthans (2008) notes that power distance is the degree to which members of a collective expect power to be distributed equally (pg. 432). Singapore has a high rating on power distance which means that large inequalities of power and wealth exist and are tolerated in the culture. Li suggests that a societys level of inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders; furthermore, power and inequality, of course, are extremely fundamental facts of any society and anybody with some international experience will be aware that all societies are unequal, but some are more unequal than others. In Singapore, people feel less threatened by ambiguous situations, motions are shown less in public, younger people are trustworthy, and people are willing to take risks in life. The authorities are there to serve the citizens. Conflicts and competition can be contained on the level of fair play and are used constructively. Singapore has comparatively low uncertainty avoidance; it has organization settings with less structuring of activities, fewer written rules, less risk taking by managers, higher labor turnover, and more ambitious employees. The Organization encourages personnel to use their own initiative and assume responsibility for their actions. Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which people feel threatened by ambiguous situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these. Luthans (2008) defines uncertainty avoidance as the extent a society, organization, or groups rely on norms, rules, and procedures to alleviate the unpredictability of future ev ents (p. 432). Li mentions that leaders from individualistic cultures might have hard time motivating Singaporean employees if there is no appreciation and respect for employees family members. Tasks are not usually distributed to individuals, but rather to a group. Traditional Asian value of family ties remains paramount to the average Singaporean. Hence, it is not surprising that it is the group rather than the individual that is emphasized in Singaporean society. In Singapore, children are raised to stay within the family. From early infancy on, children are conditioned to be a part of the group and to stay within the group. They are socialized to be dependent on the group, to make decisions that benefit the group, and to make choices for, and in support of, the group. Children are taught to assist and uphold the honor of the group, whether that group is the family, the school, the neighborhood, or the nation. The person who places individual needs ahead of the group needs is considered to be am oral, almost a misfit, or even a social deviant. To sum up, familys moral influences and kinship partners lead Singaporeans to be collectivistic, rather than individualistic. Group collectivism is the degree to which individuals express pride, loyalty, or cohesiveness in their organizations or families (Luthans, 2008, p. 432). In contrast, individualism is t he tendency of people to look after themselves and their immediate family. Lastly, towards the end of the interview, Li mentioned about the importance of cross-cultural human-relation intelligence for effective leadership. Some cultures like Singapore are emotionally neutral not showing their feelings in public or organizations, acting stoically, and maintaining their composure which does not necessarily mean disinterest. This notion of emotional intelligence has become increasingly important for culturally diverse leadership environments. Luthans, Youssef, and Avolio (2007) defined emotional intelligence (EI) as the ability to accurately perceive, express, understand, use, and manage emotions in oneself and others in order to facilitate cognitive, emotional, and social growth and development (p. 183). My second interviewee, Mr. Hovep Seferian, is the Vice Consul, Press and Trade Attachà © of the Brazilian Embassy in the Republic of Armenia. Throughout his life and career, he has lived and experienced major cultural differences and challenges in Syria, Lebanon, India, Egypt, France, Brazil, and Armenia. His multicultural experiences have immensely influenced his perspective on cultural differences. As an immigrant especially in India and Lebanon, he underwent major obstacles, hoping to integrate in the system without being discriminated. Life experiences have not only made him a transformational leader, but also a selfless public servant and administrator. Seferian emphasizes the importance of ethical and moral responsibilities public leaders should have when tensions and diversity challenges occur. They are to be perceived honorable in their field before they are trusted with public affairs and business. Once honor is gained by the followers, they are to follow personal morality, as well as professional, organizational, and social ethics. An ethical public leader would not use the position for personal or private gains in a democratic mechanism. Nations are democratic when public officials follow the rule of law to truthfully serve the citizens without selfish ambitions. Personal motivations, value-free neutrality, legitimacy, and social equity may heavily influence on public leaders role in the society and their commitment to ethical conduct in decision making and democratic service. Personal morality is closely related to personal motivations, since personal concerns, such as career advancement, financial security, or private gains, play a significant role in the professional workplace. The public service environment is quite complex, making it difficult to generalize about the nature of public service and identify the way public leaders can best serve the public. The organizational and social ethics hold the public leaders responsible for protecting individuals in the society and furthering the process of the group as a whole. Standards of conduct, formal guidelines for ethical behavior, and other norms have been created to hold public leaders accountable for their actions. Ethics and morality in government sector should be addressed more now than ever before with the emerging diversity challenges the system encounters, Seferian believes. Despite the cultural and diversity challenges, public/government officials have an obligation to be fair and just for all citizens. As representatives of the citizenry, they have the responsibility to bring social justice, equity, and economic efficiency. However, Safarian mentions that in certain countries, like those of the former Soviet Union, it has become increasingly difficult for public administrators to intervene in governmental decision-making and public policy to address diversity and equality issues. Although attempts towards democratization have been made, the cultural and polit

The Development of the American Conservation Movement Essay examples --

The Development of the American Conservation Movement John Muir helped the development of the American conservation movement during the late nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. The creation of the National Park Service, the creation of several major national parks, including Yosemite National Park and the creation of the Sierra Club were all because of John Muir. In the late nineteenth century America was in a stage of expansion and economic development that used as well as threatened much of the natural world. Much of the economic development was in the form of industrialization that took its toll of the environment with both its consumption of natural resources as well pollution. This expansion and economic development had adverse consequences on the environment of the United States. During this time of development many became aware of the damage being done to the natural world and attempted to prevent or limit this damage being done. It is during this time of both industrialization and spiritual awakening that the conservation movement arose with one of its most famous activists, John Muir. John Muir believed that for the future of America that the natural world should be protected. Muir felt that the environment of much of the United States was not protected properly and the locations that were protected were not managed adequately. Muir felt that Americans had much to gain from the protection of their national resources and park lands. In John Muir’s book Our National Parks, written in 1901 he states: â€Å"Awakening from the stupefying effects of the vice of over-industry and the deadly apathy of luxury, they are trying as best they can to mix and enrich their own... .... The conservation movement had grown and spread as a result of the industrialization of America. John Muir became a leader of this movement to protect the natural world for all generations. His outspoken actions were major influences in the protection of many national parks as well as the formal arrangement of the National Park System which today still protects our natural world. [i] John Muir, Our National Parks. ( Boston, New York: Houghton Milffin Company, 1901)pg.1. 2 John Muir, My First Summer in the Sierras. ( Boston, New York: Hougnton, Milffin Company, 1911)pg,138. 3 Henry Thoreau, Excursions. (Boston: Ticker and Fields, 1863)pg.41. 4 Gifford Pinchot. The Fight for Conservation.(New York: Doubleday,Page and Company, 1910) Summary 5 John Muir, My First Summer in the Sierras. ( Boston, New York: Houghton, Milffin Company, 1911)pg.196.