Personal Leadership Philosophy and Practice Paper Thesis

Personal Leadership Philosophy and Practice Paper - Thesis Example What is leadership? Leadership can be broadly defined as unique approach of individuals or leaders who can bring about changes in other people. It is an integral part of human behaviour as it is linked to followers. Kouzes and Posner (2007) assert that leaders’ approach to tackling issues or promoting a cause is major factor that makes them popular amongst the followers. It becomes highly pertinent within the organizations as it helps to meet the challenges of work paradigms and inspires others to achieve a common goal. Leadership styles Chandler (1977) has explored the issues with reference to individual approach and says that strategies of managerial leadership become their major motivating factor for their success within the organizations. I believe that three major styles of leadership are popular within organizations: Transformational; situational; and participative. James Burns (1978) states that transforming leadership is based on a relationship of mutual inspiration an d elevation that converts followers into leaders and may convert leaders into moral agents. The political leaders are often endowed with traits of transformational leaders who take up social causes as major agenda to transform them into staunch followers. Situational leaders exploit situations to enhance performance. Sjostrand and Tyrstrup (2001) believe that managerial leadership is relational ongoing social construction which adapts to the changing equations. This is very important in the contemporary environment of fast changing technology and globalization. Such types of leaders are able to convince others to adopt changes and take them as opportunities for improving productive outcome. Participative leadership takes into consideration the views of others and promotes collectives decision making based on informed choice for common goals. Tannenbaum & Schmidt (1973) emphasize that organizational leaders increasingly prefer participative leadership as they can use effective commun ication to share organizational vision, mission and goals with the workforce. Leadership traits Leadership qualities and traits encourage participation of the workforce in the overall strategy of having collective goals through shared learning. Many scholars have conducted studies to find the traits and behaviour and leadership style that has transformed common man into effective leaders (Stogdill 1974; Yukl 2002). Few of the important traits that a leader must inculcate are: good communication; vision; adaptability towards change; positive attitude and commitment; creativity, initiative and belief; integrity and ethics; compassion and caring nature. Effective communication is one of the most crucial traits of the leaders which is used to disseminate information and inculcate a sense of responsibility amongst the various stakeholders of the organization. Visionary leaders empower their followers so that they can make decisions based on informed choices. It facilitates in adapting to the changes which occur due to transforming technologies and values and significantly impact organizational processes. Indeed, effective leadership influences cultural identity and helps adapt to the changing environment. The organizational le

The differences of entrepreneurship in China and Japan Research Paper

The differences of entrepreneurship in China and Japan - Research Paper Example es is China; consequently, many American firms have set up their manufacturing firm there in order to take advantage of not only the low taxes but also the comparatively cheap labor. Considering this, one can identify a significant difference between the costs of doing business in China verses Japan. The tax rates in China is at 25 percent, which is one of the lowest in Asia, with some parts of China such as the Taiwan province where taxes are as low as 16 percent. As such, entrepreneurs do not have to pay much in taxes, and this encourages more people to invest therein, whether they are locals, or foreigners. In sharp contrast, Japan has the highest tax rate among the countries in the region, standing at approximately 40 percent (EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation, 2011). This is almost as high as that the United States being the second highest in the OECD member states after the USA. This inevitably has made it more difficult for small business to take off in Japan unlike i n China, and the international firms are more likely to choose Japan over China in an effort to cut costs. A decisive way in which the difference between Chinese and Japanese entrepreneurship can be differentiated is in their corporate cultures, the Japanese leverage their corporate culture with the intention of producing high quality products and services, by patiently building their global reputations on diligence and quality. When a Japanese firm employs someone, it is done under the assumption that the person will stay with the firm indefinitely and they take loyalty extremely seriously as opposed to the bottom line. For instance, a firm in Japan is expected to make decisions that will allow the firm to avoid laying off workers even in times of crisis; however, a Chinese firm may take... Entrepreneurship can be defined in among other ways, as a process that causes changes in economic systems through the innovations facilitated by individuals as they respond or generate economic activities opportunities that add value to both themselves and society in which they live and do business. Ultimately, the roles of entrepreneurs who run the small and medium sized business enterprises cannot be overrated. Entrepreneurship, especially in the small and medium size enterprises is undoubtedly an integral part of the economies of both Japan and China. Despite the many differences that exist in the entrepreneurship, in the two countries, it noteworthy that the business cultures in both countries are closely related and unlike their western counterparts, business transactions are personalized and people oriented. Foreigners wishing to start a small business in either country have to be well versed in the business cultures of the respective countries, and failure to do this can resul t in frustration. Personal trust is valued in both countries and especially in Japan, contracts are not considered final and are open to be renegotiated, and one needs to be introduced to clients and customers by someone who knows them, as opposed to just approaching them as is characteristic of business interactions in the west. However, despite the cultural similarities, entrepreneurs wishing to start or run a successful business in any of these two countries will encounter a variety of different situations depending on the country in question.

Biography of Annointed Gifts Essay Example for Free

Biography of Annointed Gifts Essay Annointed Gifts was established in September of 2006 by Rev. Dr. Johnnie E. Jordan Sr. Through Pastor Jordans’ vision he brought forth six anointed young men to spread the word of God through their musical talent of playing instruments, and their special talent of vocals. Minister Nelton Shorter Jr. (Jay-Jay) who is the minister of music at his home church Union Second Baptist been playing keyboard, singing gospel( songwriting) for over twenty years. Davell Davis (Ace) who is the minister of music at his home church Rising Star C. O.G.I.C. been playing keyboard and singing(songwriting) gospel for over fifteen years. Christopher Jordan has been playing drums, singing(songwriting ), for the lord under the leadership of his father and pastor of Greater Mt. Olive M.B.C. for over twentyfive years. Paul Washington plays lead guitar at Greater Mt. Olive M.B.C. and has been playing singing(songwriting) Gospel for over thirty years. Clarence Trotter received his calling at an early age. He has been playing bass guitar singing(songwriting) Gospel for over twenty years. Marvin Jordan began to get involved as an audio technician and sound check person at Greater Mt. Olive M.B.C. in 1986. He has over twenty years of experience in audio engineering In the short time that Annointed Gifts been together, they have been fortunate blessed to perform with some of the big names of gospel quartet. They performed with The Williams Brothers, The Mighty Clouds of Joy at The Detroit Opera House .They also performed out of state as well as all over the Michigan area with some of gospel greats such as Doc McKenzie The Hi-Lites,The Pilgrim Jubilees,Keith Wonderboy Johnson, Dewayne Watkins former member of Canton Spirituals, Park Stewart former member of Commission, Darius Twyman , George Dean The Gospel Four, Evelyne Turrtine’ Agee and even received great reviews from the Legendary Spanky. Annointed Gifts is truly a blessing from heaven abling them to pass on Gods’ message through song and praises.

Study Of Bureaucratic Leadership Management Essay

Study Of Bureaucratic Leadership Management Essay The textbook describes the Bureaucratic style of leadership as a supervisor who manages by the book and is seen by his/her employees as a police officer. This type of leadership style is great for workplaces where the employees have no chance of discretion when it comes to their jobs such as accounting and law related work. The term Bureaucracy can be traced to eighteenth-century French literature. The early usage referred to an official workplace (bureau) in which individual activities were routinely determined by explicit rules and regulations. As modern systems of management, bureaucracies are designed to rationally coordinate the duties and responsibilities of officials and employees or organizations. The delineation of official duties and responsibilities by means of formal rules and programs or activity, is intended to displace and constrain the otherwise private, idiosyncratic, and unlikely personal interests an d actions of individuals. Bureaucratic systems of administration are designed to ensure that the activities of individuals rationally contribute to the goals and interests of the organizations within which they work. Bureaucracy is the world of explicitly formulated goals, rules, procedures, and givens that define and regulate the place of its members, a world of specialization and expertise, with the roles of individuals minutely specified and differentiated. Its employees are organized by purpose, process, clientele, or place, It is a world that prices consistency, predictability, stability, and efficiency more than creativity and principle. Roles and duties are prescribed less by superiors than by tradition, formal examinations, and technical qualifications. Careers and job security are protected by tenure, pensions, union rules, professional standards and appeal procedures[2] Some other important characteristics of bureaucracies are the hierarchical ordering of authority relations, limiting the areas of command and responsibility for subordinate as well and superordinate personnel, the recruitment and promotion of individuals on the basis of technical expertise and competence, a clearly defined division of labor with specialization and training required for assigned tasks, a structuring of the work environment to ensure continuous and full time employment, and the fulfillment of individual career expectations within the organization, the impersonality and impartiality of relationship among organization members and with those outside the organization, the importance of official record in the form of written documents. I feel that when talking about Bureaucratic leadership, it is more like when talking about a computers programing. A computer follows a protocol to do whatever we need it to do, the same way a Bureaucratic leader looks to the rules, the protocol, to see what needs to be done and how it is to be done. This text explains that bureaucracy discourages the kind of power that is generated by the tapping of motivational bases among employees and the marshaling of personal- as opposed to organizational- resourcesAnd Bureaucracy, far from directing social change or serving as a factor in historical causation, consciously or not helps buttress the status quo. This is majorly significant in understanding Bureaucratic leadership because most people only know that bureaucratic leadership is about following the rules but they dont understand that there is an underlying need from these bureaucratic leaders to follow the rules and that their minds are stuck in the feeling of if its not broken, why fix it as well as knowing that maybe not following the rules may result in problems for them that would not have been generated had they followed to rules. Bureaucratic authority is formal power that has been vested in persons by virtue of their holding certain positions, that is, vested in the positions themselves. Such authority may be used to influence subordinates under a system of rewards and penalties, the carrot and stick method usually, and this authority from ruler to subordinate is accepted because the subordinate is motivated to respect its credibility and legitimacy. Basically conformity is the basis of bureaucratic leadership and bureaucracy in general. The knowledge that we must follow the rules, no matter what, to get ahead is the very thing that makes us feel that no matter how much or how little work we do our efforts will not be recognized. This leads to conformity and feeds into the status quo by hammering into our heads that the very act of trying to change the way things are, the workplace, society and such, may and will end in punishment either by literally removing us from the environment, termination, or by brainwashing us to think that our actions are wrong, rehabilitation. The historical trend towards increasing bureaucratization through modern Western Europe, highlighted by the changing structure of military organizations, is documented in the works of Karl Marx, however, the study of bureaucratic structure and process as the prominent sociological topic is based on the intellectual legacy of Max Weber. Max Weber observed that bureaucratic authority was not the rule but the exception. Even in large political systems such as those in ancient empires, rulers carried out key measures through their inner circles or personal trustees, table companions, and servants of the court. In certain cultures, unlike the ones just discussed, bureaucracies were the dominant basis of the organization, empires such as the Romans and China during recent history. To Weber, power represents the ability or capacity to have other people behave in accordance with certain orders or dictates, no matter if those affected care that its application is rightful or legitimate. Authority for Weber, represents the legitimation of this power by those whose activities are ordered in such way that the application of power and its impact is deemed to be proper and acceptable. At the root or bureaucratic conflicts, lies some kind of struggle and prestige. This struggle pervades the bureaucracy because it engages persons who tap one anothers motivational and need bases and who have various power resources that they can employ or mobilize in this process. Within the bureaucratic organization, rules serve to direct individual actions in ways that promote the technical efficiency of the organization. The distinctive feature of bureaucratic organization is not the use or rules per Se but, rather, the type of rules employed within a organization as well as the justification for the use of the rules. Rules have been, and continue to be, used in all forms of administration to control individual actions, whether it is by following the rules verbatim or by loosely interpreting them.

Free Essays: Impact of the Word on Dickinson :: Biography Biographies Essays

Impact of the Word on Dickinson In Donald E. Thackrey’s essay "The Communication of the Word," he talks about how "the power of the individual word, in particular, seems to have inspired her with nothing less than reverence" (51). Dickinson approached her poetry inductively, that is, she combined words to arrive at whatever conclusion the patterns of the words suggested, rather than starting out with a specific theme or message. Instead of purposefully working toward a final philosophical point, Dickinson preferred to use series of "staccato" inspirations (51). Dickinson frequently used words with weight in her work, and as a result her works usually cannot be grasped fully in one reading without dissecting each word individually. Often Dickinson would compile large, alternative word lists for a poetry before she would come to a decision on which word was "just right" for the impact she wished to achieve (52). For example, this poem displays Dickinson’s use of alternative, thesaurus-like lists: Had but the tale a thrilling, typic, hearty, bonnie, breathless, spacious, tropic, warbling, ardent, friendly, magic, pungent, winning, mellow teller All the boys would come— Orpheus’s sermon captivated, It did not condemn.    Eventually, Dickinson came to rest on the word "warbling," but one can see the meticulous care that she put into the decision on which word to use. Another poem of Dickinson’s that shows her compositional method is "Shall I Take Thee?" the Poet Said." In this poem, Dickinson discusses from where the power of the world comes. "Shall I take thee?" the poet said To the propounded word. "Be stationed with the candidates Till I have further tried."    The poet probed philology And when about to ring For the suspended candidate, There came unsummoned in    That portion of the vision The word applied to fill. Not unto nomination The cherubim reveal. In the preceding poem, one can see the artistic style come through her composition. The best representation of that particular idea comes from the author Donald Thackrey when he says: It is significant that the revealed word comes "unsummoned" in a flash of intuition†¦.and yet the implication of the poem is that the revealing of the word must be preceded by the preparatory, conscious, rational effort of probing philology†¦She [Dickinson] herself was well aware that inspiration, while all-sufficient when present, seldom came even to a great poet.

Heart Of Darkness :: essays research papers

The infinite battle between good and evil can destroy, refine, or rebuild the human soul by means of choice. However, good is stronger than evil and someday, the power of good will dominate. In the novel Heart of Darkness, Conrad illustrates pure evil and its capability to consume one’s soul. The title Heart of Darkness symbolizes the true evil in man, the improper use of knowledge and the downfall of civilization. “I’ve seen the devil of violence, and the devil of greed, and the devil of hot desire; but by all stars! These were strong, lusty, red-eyed devils, that swayed and drove men—men, I tell you.'; (Conrad, 81). Violence, greed and passionate desires are elements that help unleash the evil that lurks in man, which symbolizes the Heart of Darkness. The character change of Kurtz is an example of this evil. Kurtz is first describe as “a very remarkable person'; by the accountant. "Mr. Kurtz was at present in charge of a trading post, a very important one, in the ivory-country,… Sends in as much ivory as all the others put together." (Conrad, 84) However, when Kurtz experience power, greed overcomes him and he uses his intelligence and violence to accomplish his passionate desire. “ He is an emissary of pity and science and progress; and devil knows what else.'; (Conrad, 92). It is believed that there is evil in everyone and it can be triggered by mere stupidity of man. The evil in Kurtz is unleashed because he choose his deep desires for ivory and did not look ahead in the future of what will become of him. Consequently, his soul is consumed for eternal damnation. "The improper use of knowledge is another example that symbolizes the Heart of Darkness. One of Kurtz’s advantages is his deep voice and his ability to speak. That man could talk. He electrified large meetings. He had faith-don’t you see? –he had the faith. He could get himself to believe anything-anything. He would have been a splendid leader of an extreme party." (Conrad, 151) Kurtz used his knowledge about the weather and his power of speech to manipulate the natives into believing that he was a god. "He was not afraid of the natives; they would not stir till Mr. Kurtz gave the word. His ascendancy was extraordinary. The camps of these people surrounded the place, and the chiefs came everyday and they would crawl… ‘I don’t want to know anything of the ceremonies used when approaching Mr.

Celebrities: Perfection and Individuals

ENC 1101 March 24, 2013 Celebrities’ dysfunctions and transgressions In this age of the scandalisation of public life the media suffers from an overload of films stars, sport personalities, that is, celebrities, caught in socially unacceptable situations. Celebrity and scandal are closely linked, where scandal often enhances the celebrity quotient of the star (Nayard 2009: 112).In other words, even negatives disclosure and representation of their marriages (practically most film stars), their pedophilia (Roman Polanski), breaking the law (Lindsey Lohan, Paris Hilton, Charlie Sheen), are all important part of the celebrity culture that fans and spectator so love to hear about. The privilege of fame may act as a license to transgress meaning the can get away with a lot, resulting in greater tolerance for celebrity wrongdoing.However, paradoxically, it is also clear that, as an in? uential elite, celebrities are expected to conduct themselves with propriety, meaning that their be havior is closely scrutinized (Gieles). Most individuals love a scandal, barring the people caught in one, of course. The rest of society most often absolutely cannot get enough. Fans are mostly interested in the good and the bad actions of a celebrity. In the others, there are spectators that are only interested in the scandals about the celebrities.Whether one admit it or not, few things make a person feel better about them quite as intensely as seeing the people that society places on the highest of pedestals get knocked off of them in spectacular fashion. Celebrities’ dysfunctions and transgressions attract high audience interest not only from the celebrity fans , but other spectators. Celebrities scandals appeals to individuals. As a result, they show that celebrities’ larger-then-life figures are idolized by fans and envied by others, enhances that celebrities are ordinary individuals, and sparks curiosity and interest.First, audiences are highly interested in sc andal. The fans are very interested in the stars career and personal life either good or bad. Individuals, whom are not fans of a specific celebrity, are more likely to pay attention to this celebrity when they are spotted on the headline of the tabloids for doing something wrong. Both fans and other individuals pay close attention to those scandals which give these scandals a larger audience. Individuals obtain a certain amount of pleasure from hearing scandals about celebrities.Elizabeth Bird suggests that a scandal story evokes a pleasure derived from both fascination and revulsion for the social mess that scandals symptomatize (Bird 2003:45). Sensational headline build on ones fears, anxieties and desires. Indeed scandals appeal because they deal with the moral values, fears of the people as a whole (Bird 2003:32). Social values and norms are violated by scandals, and thus is what interests fans, that individuals are able to break social norms. Fans anxieties about broken marria ges or families of being failures’, even their own desire for wealth or fame, fuel their reading of scandals.In the case of scandals, it’s not simply media production. It is the sustained interest of the fans that generates. To continue, while some fans idealized a celebrity there are others who envy them. Joseph Burgo, a psychologist and author of â€Å"Why I Do That† argues that idealization and envy; are two powerful psychological forces that always go together. Fans often want to believe that some privileged people have perfect lives, full of satisfactions, without the everyday pain and frustration that they face in their own lives. In a way, fans take displaced pleasure in a celebrity glamorous existence.On the other hand, there are individuals that secretly hope that if those people manage to have a perfect life; it is always possible that they could eventually have one, too. However, fans and other spectators often grow increasingly envious of that perfec t life they do not have. Envy is a very negative force and one feel envious at one point or another. Because certain fans often envy celebrities with perfect lives, they take pleasure in reading and gossiping about their downfall. Individuals who are not fans of the celebrity often take the most pleasure on watching their downfall.When an individual want something that they cannot have, they often times tend to devalue it, make it undesirable so it is no longer envy. In addition, although mass media often represents a celebrity as perfect individuals, their transgression and dysfunction shows fans that they are ordinary individuals (Lieves). They are fantasy objects, perfection that ordinary individual can not hope to attained, and ‘hold out the lure of fully –achieved selfhood to those who yearn for such an impossible fullness and perfection (Gilbert 2004:91).This argument helps one better understanding the interest in celebrity dysfunctions or transgressions. Celebrit ies’ scandals, misbehaviors or faults show that they are not all perfect individuals. Messy marriages, financial bungling, substance abuse and mistakes humanize celebrities, bring them down to earth. Those transgressions help one identify with the celebrity. Individuals often identified with imperfect individuals. Their misbehaviors helps fans sees that they are ordinary individuals with everyday life problems just like them.Although, it is easy to see a celebrity culture as actively encouraging, constructing the cult of perfection and success by producing beautiful models, successful film stars, singers and sportsmen. Scandals about celebrities are highlighted, reported as a means of debunking the myth of human perfection. Furthermore, audiences always look for stories that spark their curiosity and interest. According to Tyler Cowen, all forms of sorts of behaviors both good and bad are used to attract fans.Right or wrong are blurred and subsumed into the general category o f a publicity folder (Cowen 2000: 17). Society often tends to want to hear about someone getting a divorce, getting arrested instead of stories about someone donating money to a charity or saving someone life; stories like that do not make the front page of the tabloids at the grocery stores. Fans might pay attention to the stories about a celebrity donating or saving someone life, but might not spark the interest of individuals whom are not fans of the particular celebrity.Seeing a tabloids headlining â€Å"Chris Brown abusing Rihanna and Rihanna getting back together with Chris brown† can definitely spark curiosity and interest. Hence, this headline can attract attention from a variety of different audiences whom shares different views and belief on the subject. These headlines fans of Chris Brown, fans of Rihanna and also the interest of those who are not fans of neither celebrities. Of course, these headlines will have hundred bloggers writing tortured messages about how concerned they are for Rihanna and the message she is sending to her leagues of fans.Stories about celebrities’ life and mistakes are all very entertaining. For example Lindsay Lohan’s drug addictions, Kim Kardashian’s reason for being famous, and Charlie Sheen crazy personality. Stories about these celebrities’ scandalous lives are engaging, stimulating and attract countless numbers of audiences. In conclusion, scandals about celebrities attract high audience interest because fans of the celebrity are not the only paying close attention to these scandals. People pay more attention to celebrities when they do something bad without even ealizing that they are doing so. While people are trying to raise a major point about how a celebrity action is immoral, incorrect, offensive, or corrupting, the rest of society are just giving it attention, increasing how well-known it is, and arousing people's natural curiosity as to why it is so offensive. Certain fans i dealize a celebrity, but there are those individuals whom take pleasure in judging them by especially harsh and oversimplified standard (Cowen 2000, 70).Citation Page Pramod, Nayard. Seeing Stars: Spectacle, Society and celebrity culture: SAGE, 2009. Print Bird, Elizabeth. The audience in Everyday Life: Living in a media World. Routledge, 2003. Print Cowen, Tyler. What Price Fame? Harvard 1999. Print Gilbert J. Small Faces: The Tyranny of Celebrity in Post-Oedipal Culture. Mediactive 2004. Print Gies, Lieve. â€Å"Stars Behaving Badly. † Feminist Media Studies 11. 3 (2011): 347-361. Communication ; Mass Media Complete. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.