Strategic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 4

Strategic management - Essay Example Henry Ford founded the company with many innovations introduced to the ways products were manufactured. One of these is the best-known model T of mass production, the moving assembly line – which is actually composed of conveyor belts – where time of work was reduced (Goh & Garg, 2008, p. 57). Ford revolutionized the car industry, paid higher wages to factory workers, and made cars affordable to anyone. (Purvis, 1997) Ford became a multinational corporation in 1970 but was predominantly operating in North America with subsidiaries in major markets in countries like Britain, Germany or Australia. These subsidiaries however have their own manufacturing plants. In Britain, the most popular Ford in the Cortina. With intense globalisation, the Ford organisation started to restructure internationally. In Europe, Ford was consolidated with further product development and designs which were originally European. Ford manufactured cars of different designs. (Grant, 2005, p. 440) In the UK, Ford is the biggest in the automobile industry with over 550 dealers across the United Kingdom and employing about 35,000 people. In its website, it says that it currently sells 440,000 vehicles annually, with Ford Focus as the car most Britons love. (Ford Motor Company, 2010) In the United States, Ford is now best known for its cars, trucks, crossovers and SUVs (Ford, 2010). In 2008, Ford was adjudged by Standard and Poor’s as the world’s second largest motor vehicle manufacturer, producing cars and trucks, including plastic and glass parts of the cars they make, and including replacement parts. Ford has a 33% stake in Mazda Motor Corp. Financial services include Ford Motor Credit (automotive financing and insurance) and American Road Insurance. Ford has a big share in the world market. It has ventured in many countries, trying to feel its presence even in China, which is the fastest growing market in the automobile

The Game of Pig Portfolio Essay Example for Free

The Game of Pig Portfolio Essay To play the game you need a regular 6-sided die. Each turn of the game consists of one or more rolls of the die. You keep rolling until you get a 1 or decide to stop. You may choose to stop rolling at any time. If you stop rolling before you get a 1 your score for that turn, your score is the sum of all of the numbers you rolled that turn (e. g. if you roll a 4, 6, 3, and 2 your score is 15 pts. ). But, if you roll a 1 in that turn your turn is over and you receive 0 pts. for that turn. The central problem in the unit is finding strategies for several different probability games. The key ideas were developed in the unit through the presentation of many games and variations of those games to us. The key ideas helped us to solve the central problem by giving us many opportunities to learn how to solve strategies for probability games. In each different game there was a new game or variation in which we could find a new way to find optimal game strategies for probability games. Why I chose each item: Homework 27: The Pig and I: This piece of work begins to explains the basics of what we learned in the unit. Homework 28: Beginning Portfolio Selection: The pig and I: This explains the main points of the unit (Theoretical and experimental probability) and also begins to show the reasons to choose certain pieces of work. Spinner Give and Take: This was chosen because it shows the basics of theoretical probability in great detail. The Game of Little Pig: This was chosen to show the many variations of games we learned to play, and the beginning steps of finding a strategy. POW 7: Make a Game: This was chosen to show how to make a game based off of the basic principles of probability games, it also shows how to make strategies for new games. Homework 7: Portraits of Probabilities: This was chosen as a basic block that began the whole unit and how to show probability in many different models. Homework 9: Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’: This was chosen to show the basics of dice probability, a very important section of this unit. Homework 11: Two Dice Sums and Products: This was chosen to show the many types of probabilities in dice probability, it also shows how to find what is most likely to happen. POW #4: A Sticky Gum Problem: This was chosen to show in depth theoretical probability. POW #6: Linear Nim: This was chosen to show in depth experimental probability, as well as strategies to find the best strategies to win probability games. It was also chosen to display my best work. Homework #25: Should I go on? : This was chosen to show how to make decisions in probability games as well as to display some of my better very thorough work. Personal Growth: For me I feel that the core ideas of this unit will make me think twice on my strategies in probability games before playing using them. I learned a lot about probability in this unit; it’s not as simple as I thought. There are many calculations you must learn how to do and there is obviously so much more behind the strategies and probabilities that I am yet to discover, for example, statistics class. Best Strategy: The best strategy is to get to 20 points and end your turn. This should take roughly 5 rolls of the dice seeing as the expected value per roll is 4. Four multiplied by five is 20. You should take 5 rolls because after five rolls the expected value of points begins to go up by smaller and smaller margins.

Week 5 â€Finances Essay Example for Free

Week 5 –Finances Essay Debate on profit maximization ethics and corporate social responsibility: Traditionally, the duty of company’s management is to improve the financial welfare of the shareholders of the company by maximum of profits provided it is under the law. This is the canonical law and economics account (Elhauge: 2004) Companies are therefore liable for any act(s) that causes more that usual harm under an independent law. However if the operations do not cause any undesired effect, then, it is socially acceptable that the company maximizes profits. The management of companies is therefore required to consider the interests of other stakeholders in their daily operations. This is as a result of the law that was enacted at the height of corporate takeovers during the 1980s. This law could however be construed to mean that the management of corporations only consider the interests of others only if doing so enhances the company’s profits. Shareholders and management have no legal duty to maximize profit although they have a legal discretion to forego on profits in the public interest. (Elhauge: 2004) According to Manuel Costello Branco and Lucia Lima Rodriquez companies only engage in corporate social responsibility if they are set to gain from such an undertaking. (Brancho Rodriguez: 2007) Corporate social responsibility may include environmental protection, human resource management, health and safety at work, relation with community and with suppliers and customers. (Branco Rodriguez: 2007) CSR boarders on ethics and management should therefore consider the impacts of their activities on the various stakeholders. It is also considered to be a competition strategy which can give a company competitive advantage. (Branco Rodriguez: 2007) This debate on CSR is on shareholders-stakeholders point of view where shareholders view is that management should maximize their wealth while the stakeholders view is towards all stakeholders (Friedman 1998, Jensen 2001) The classical view of business encompasses purely economic basis and constrained profit making views. This is the shareholders view. The stakeholders view on the other hand is of socially aware business where corporations are sensitive to needs if other stakeholders (Lantos: 2001) Companies should therefore, not ignore the interests of other stakeholders if doing so could impact negatively on the company’s intention of maximizing shareholders wealth. (Stern berg 1997, Jensen 2001) Ethics basically is what constitutes right or wrong behavior in business in terms of operations and situations happening in companies. In the daily operations of companies many unethical actions and decisions are made. Corporate citizenship concept is propagated by the society where businesses promote goals that they view as important while at the same time solving social problems thus rejecting the idea of profit maximization and law compliance. The results of an activity rather than the activity itself are what determine whether an action is ethical or not. Clarkson further elaborates that an actions is morally right if it generates the greatest amount of good to many people. (Utilitarian theory) (Clarkson: 1995) It is evident therefore that the concept of ethics is controversial in the sense that there are conflicting positions as to what constitutes what is morally right or wrong as shown by Kantian ethics and Utilitarian ethics. (Hymson 2007) In business ethics, because of competition, actions of one company e.g. adoption of lower prices leads to the other companies adopting the same pricing strategy and hence business ethics tend to be uniform (Hymson 2007) Monopolistic businesses where there is no competition can elect to apply personal ethics. But the cost of following personal ethics is borne by the employees. Hence argument gives credence to the idea that businesses only social responsibility is t maximize profits (Friedman: 1998). Outside business ethics, CSR is usually all about making profits. Government regulations The government should take charge and ensure that companies do not undertake business practice that cause undesirable effects on the community and therefore it should pass laws and regulations that guide corporations in the business practice (Reich 2007). The stiff competition that many corporations in the world today face makes them focus more on ways of making more profits and therefore the need of government regulations to protect the environment, consumers and even the employees. Robert Reich further alludes to the fact that corporations cannot be moral or immoral and can only be responsible if publicly held by their shareholders. The shareholders interest is to maximize their profits and therefore companies should do public good in their quest to maximize their profits (Reich 2007) Reasons for government regulations An example of company that could justify the government regulations is Wal-Mart. This corporation on one hand spends money on CSR projects but on the other it is against employees union, pays low wages with minimum benefits. The company also is against living wage initiatives. Wal-Mart has also been accused of forcing employees to perform overtime duties, sex and race discrimination and a whole lot of other things. The World com and Enron scandals are other examples that call for government regulations on CSR and business ethics. The list is endless, Adelphi, Tyco, Computer associates. All these cases touch on the subject of business ethics. Business ethics violations can also lead to illegalities as exemplified by the Enron and World com cases (Hymson 2007) References Hymson, E.B (2007) Law: The force that harmonizes business ethics with profit maximization. Retrieved on 4/3/2008 from http://www.salsb.org/slj/vol-xv/14hymson.pdf Elhauge, E. (2004) Sacrificing corporate profits in the public interest. Retrieved on 4/3/08 from http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/olin_center/corporate_governance/papers/04.Elhauge.sacrificing-corporate-profits.pdf. Branco, M.C and Rodriguez L. L (2007). Positioning stakeholders’ theory within the debate on corporate social responsibility (Vol 12. No. 1). Retrieved on 4/3/2008 from http://www.salsb.org/slj/vol-xv/14hymson.pdf Friedman. (1998), â€Å"The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits†, in Pincus, L.B. (Ed.), Perspectives in business ethics, McGraw-Hill, Singapore Jensen, M.C. (2001) â€Å"Value Maximization, Stakeholder Theory, and the Corporate Objective Function†, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Vol.14 No.3 Sternberg. (1997) â€Å"The Defects of Stakeholder Theory†, Corporate Governance, Vol 5 No.1. Lantos, G.P. (2001) â€Å"The boundaries of strategic corporate social responsibility†, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol.18 No.7 Clarkson, M.B.E. (1995) â€Å"A Stakeholder Framework for Analyzing and Evaluating Corporate Social Performance†, Academy of Management Review, Vol.20 No.1 Robert Reich, R (2007). Super capitalism. The Transformation of Business, Democracy and Everyday Life.

A Traditional Definition Of Leadership Management Essay

A Traditional Definition Of Leadership Management Essay A traditional definition of leadership: Leadership is an interpersonal influence directed toward the achievement of a goal or goals. Three important parts of this definition are the terms interpersonal, influence, and goal. Â · Interpersonal means between persons. Thus, a leader has more than one person (group) to lead. Â · Influence is the power to affect others. Â · Goal is the end one strives to attain. Basically, this traditional definition of leadership says that a leader influences more than one person toward a goal. The definition of leadership used in this course follows. LEADERSHIP is a dynamic relationship based on mutual influence and common purpose between leaders and collaborators in which both are moved to higher levels of motivation and moral development as they affect real, intended change. (Kevin Freiberg and Jackie Freiberg, NUTS! Southwest Airlines Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success, Bard Press, 1996, p. 298) Three important parts of this definition are the terms relationship, mutual, and collaborators. Relationship is the connection between people. Mutual means shared in common. Collaborators cooperate or work together. This definition of leadership says that the leader is influenced by the collaborators while they work together to achieve an important goal. Leadership versus Management A leader can be a manager, but a manager is not necessarily a leader. The leader of the work group may emerge informally as the choice of the group. If a manager is able to influence people to achieve the goals of the organization, without using his or her formal authority to do so, then the manager is demonstrating leadership. According to John P. Kotter in his book, A Force for Change: How Leadership Differs From Management (The Free Press, 1990), managers must know how to lead as well as manage. Without leading as well as managing, todays organizations face the threat of extinction. Management is the process of setting and achieving the goals of the organization through the functions of management: planning, organizing, directing (or leading), and controlling. A manager is hired by the organization and is given formal authority to direct the activity of others in fulfilling organization goals. Thus, leading is a major part of a managers job. Yet a manager must also plan, organize, and control. Generally speaking, leadership deals with the interpersonal aspects of a managers job, whereas planning, organizing, and controlling deal with the administrative aspects. Leadership deals with change, inspiration, motivation, and influence. Management deals more with carrying out the organizations goals and maintai ning equilibrium. The key point in differentiating between leadership and management is the idea that employees willingly follow leaders because they want to, not because they have to. Leaders may not possess the formal power to reward or sanction performance. However, employees give the leader power by complying with what he or she requests. On the other hand, managers may have to rely on formal authority to get employees to accomplish goals. Trait Theories In the 1920s and 1930s, leadership research focused on trying to identify the traits that differentiated leaders from non-leaders. These early leadership theories were content theories, focusing on what an effective leader is, not on how to effectively lead. The trait approach to understanding leadership assumes that certain physical, social, and personal characteristics are inherent in leaders. Sets of traits and characteristics were identified to assist in selecting the right people to become leaders. Physical traits include being young to middle-aged, energetic, tall, and handsome. Social background traits include being educated at the right schools and being socially prominent or upwardly mobile. Social characteristics include being charismatic, charming, tactful, popular, cooperative, and diplomatic. Personality traits include being self-confident, adaptable, assertive, and emotionally stable. Task-related characteristics include being driven to excel, accepting of responsibilit y, having initiative, and being results-oriented. Trait theories intended to identify traits to assist in selecting leaders since traits are related to leadership effectiveness in many situations. The trait approach to understanding leadership supports the use of tests and interviews in the selection of managers. The interviewer is typically attempting to match the traits and characteristics of the applicant to the position. For example, most interviewers attempt to evaluate how well the applicant can work with people. Trait theory has not been able to identify a set of traits that will consistently distinguish leaders from followers. Trait theory posits key traits for successful leadership (drive, desire to lead, integrity, self-confidence, intelligence, and job-relevant knowledge) yet does not make a judgment as to whether these traits are inherent to individuals or whether they can be developed through training and education. No two leaders are alike. Furthermore, no leader possesses all of the traits. Comparing leaders in different situations suggests that the traits of leaders depend on the situation. Thus, traits were de-emphasized to take into account situational conditions (contingency perspective). Behavioral Theories The behavioral theorists identified determinants of leadership so that people could be trained to be leaders. They developed training programs to change managers leadership behaviors and assumed that the best styles of leadership could be learned. Theory X and Theory Y Douglas McGregor described Theory X and Theory Y in his book, The Human Side of Enterprise. Theory X and Theory Y each represent different ways in which leaders view employees. Theory X managers believe that employees are motivated mainly by money, are lazy, uncooperative, and have poor work habits. Theory Y managers believe that subordinates work hard, are cooperative, and have positive attitudes. Theory X is the traditional view of direction and control by managers. 1. The average human being has an inherent dislike of work and will avoid if he or she can. 2. Because of this human characteristic of dislike of work, most people must be controlled, directed, and threatened with punishment to get them to put forth adequate effort toward the achievement of organizational objectives. 3. The average human being prefers to be directed, wishes to avoid responsibility, has relatively little ambition, wants security above all. Theory X leads naturally to an emphasis on the tactics of control to procedures and techniques for telling people what to do, for determining whether they are doing it, and for administering rewards and punishment. Theory X explains the consequences of a particular managerial strategy. Because its assumptions are so unnecessarily limiting, it prevents managers from seeing the possibilities inherent in other managerial strategies. As long as the assumptions of Theory X influence managerial strategy, organizations will fail to discover, let alone utilize, the potentialities of the average human being. Theory Y is the view that individual and organizational goals can be integrated. 1. The expenditures of physical and mental effort in work are as natural as play or rest. 2. External control and the threat of punishment are not the only means for bringing out effort toward organizational objectives. 3. Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement. 4. The average human being learns, under proper conditions, not only to accept but also to seek responsibility. 5. The capacity to exercise a relatively high degree of imagination, ingenuity, and creativity in the solution of organizational problems in widely, not narrowly, distributed in the population. 6. Under the condition of modern industrial life, the intellectual potentialities of the average human being are only partially utilized. Theory Ys purpose is to encourage integration, to create a situation in which an employee can achieve his or her own goals best by directing his or her efforts toward the objectives of the organization. It is a deliberate attempt to link improvement in managerial competence with the satisfaction of higher-level ego and self-actualization needs. Theory Y leads to a preoccupation with the nature of relationships, with the creation of an environment which will encourage commitment to organizational objectives and which will provide opportunities for the maximum exercise of initiative, ingenuity, and self-direction in achieving them. Ohio State and University of Michigan Studies conducted at the Ohio State University and the University of Michigan identified two leadership styles and two types of leader behaviors. The Ohio State study identified two leadership styles: considerate and initiating structure. The University of Michigan study classified leaders behaviors as being production- or employee-centered. The primary concern of leaders with considerate and employee-centered style is the employees welfare. The primary concern of leaders with initiating-structure and production-centered styles is achieving goals. Research findings on which dimension is most important for satisfaction and productivity are inconclusive. However, employee oriented leaders appear to be associated with high group productivity and job satisfaction. University of Iowa Another approach to leader behavior focused on identifying the best leadership styles. Work at the University of Iowa identified democratic (participation and delegation), autocratic (dictating and centralized) and laissez-faire styles (group freedom in decision making). Research findings were also inconclusive. The Managerial Grid The dimensions identified at the University of Michigan provided the basis for the development of the managerial grid model developed by Robert Blake and Jane Mouton. It identifies five various leadership styles that represent different combinations of concern for people and concern for production. Managers who scored high on both these dimensions simultaneously (labeled team management) performed best. The five leadership styles of the managerial grid include impoverished, country club, produce or perish, middle-of-the road, and team. The impoverished style is located at the lower left-hand corner of the grid, point (1, 1). It is characterized by low concern for both people and production. The primary objective of the impoverished style is for managers to stay out of trouble. The country club style is located at the upper left-hand corner of the grid, point (1, 9). It is characterized as a high concern for people and a low concern for production. The primary objective of the country club style is to create a secure and comfortable atmosphere and trust that subordinates will respond positively. The produce or perish style is located at the lower right-hand corner of the grid, point (9,1). A high concern for production and a low concern for people characterize it. The primary objective of the produce or perish style is to achieve the organizations goals. To accomplish the organizatio ns goals, it is not necessary to consider employees needs as relevant. The middle-of-the-road style is located at the middle of the grid, point (5, 5). A balance between workers needs and the organizations productivity goals characterize it. The primary objective of the middle-of-the-road style is to maintain employee morale at a level sufficient to get the organizations work done. The team style is located at the upper right-hand of the grid, point (9, 9). It is characterized by a high concern for people and production. The primary objective of the team style is to establish cohesion and foster a feeling of commitment among workers. Contingency Theories Successful leaders must be able to identify clues in an environment and adapt their leader behavior to meet the needs of their followers and of the particular situation. Even with good diagnostic skills, leaders may not be effective unless they can adapt their leadership style to meet the demands of their environment. Fiedlers Contingency Model Leadership Theory and Research: Perspectives and Directions (Academic Press Inc (HBJ), 1993) was a tribute to Fred Fiedlers 40 year study of leadership and organizational effectiveness. The editors, Martin M. Chemers and Roya Ayman, write of Fiedlers contribution: The realization that leadership effectiveness depends on the interaction of qualities of the leader with demands of the situation in which the leader functions, made the simplistic one best way approach of earlier eras obsolete. Fred E. Fiedlers contingency theory postulates that there is no best way for managers to lead. Situations will create different leadership style requirements for a manager. The solution to a managerial situation is contingent on the factors that impinge on the situation. For example, in a highly routinized (mechanistic) environment where repetitive tasks are the norm, a certain leadership style may result in the best performance. The same leadership style may not work in a very dynamic environment. Fiedler looked at three situations that could define the condition of a managerial task: 1. Leader member relations: How well do the manager and the employees get along? 2. The task structure: Is the job highly structured, fairly unstructured, or somewhere in between? 3. Position power: How much authority does the manager possess? Managers were rated as to whether they were relationship oriented or task oriented. Task oriented managers tend to do better in situations that have good leader-member relationships, structured tasks, and either weak or strong position power. They do well when the task is unstructured but position power is strong. Also, they did well at the other end of the spectrum when the leader member relations were moderate to poor and the task was unstructured. Relationship oriented managers do better in all other situations. Thus, a given situation might call for a manager with a different style or a manager who could take on a different style for a different situation. These environmental variables are combined in a weighted sum that is termed Favorable at one end and unfavorable at the other. Task oriented style is preferable at the clearly defined extremes of favorable and unfavorable environments, but relationship orientation excels in the middle ground. Managers could attempt to reshape the environment variables to match their style. Another aspect of the contingency model theory is that the leader-member relations, task structure, and position power dictate a leaders situational control. Leader-member relations are the amount of loyalty, dependability, and support that the leader receives from employees. It is a measure of how the manager perceives he or she and the group of employees is getting along together. In a favorable relationship the manager has a high task structure and is able to reward and or punish employees without any problems. In an unfavorable relationship the task is usually unstructured and the leader possesses limited authority. The spelling out in detail (favorable) of what is required of subordinates affects task structure. Positioning power measures the amount of power or authority the manager perceives the organization has given him or her for the purpose of directing, rewarding, and punishing subordinates. Positioning power of managers depends on the taking away (favorable) or increasing (unfavorable) the decision-making power of employees. The task-motivated style leader experiences pride and satisfaction in the task accomplishment for the organization, while the relationship-motivated style seeks to build interpersonal relations and extend extra help for the team development in the organization. There is no good or bad leadership style. Each person has his or her own preferences for leadership. Task-motivated leaders are at their best when the group performs successfully such as achieving a new sales record or outperforming the major competitor. Relationship-oriented leaders are at their best when greater customer satisfaction is gained and a positive company image is established. Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership The Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership theory is based on the amount of direction (task behavior) and amount of socio-emotional support (relationship behavior) a leader must provide given the situation and the level of maturity of the followers. Task behavior is the extent to which the leader engages in spelling out the duties and responsibilities to an individual or group. This behavior includes telling people what to do, how to do it, when to do it, where to do it, and whos to do it. In task behavior the leader engages in one-way communication. Relationship behavior is the extent to which the leader engages in two-way or multi-way communications. This includes listening, facilitating, and supportive behaviors. In relationship behavior the leader engages in two-way communication by providing socio-emotional support. Maturity is the willingness and ability of a person to take responsibility for directing his or her own behavior. People tend to have varying degrees of maturity, d epending on the specific task, function, or objective that a leader is attempting to accomplish through their efforts. To determine the appropriate leadership style to use in a given situation, the leader must first determine the maturity level of the followers in relation to the specific task that the leader is attempting to accomplish through the effort of the followers. As the level of followers maturity increases, the leader should begin to reduce his or her task behavior and increase relationship behavior until the followers reach a moderate level of maturity. As the followers begin to move into an above average level of maturity, the leader should decrease not only task behavior but also relationship behavior. Once the maturity level is identified, the appropriate leadership style can be determined. The four leadership styles are telling, selling, participating, and delegating. High task/low relationship behavior (S1) is referred to as telling. The leader provides clear instructions and specific direction. Telling style is best matched with a low follower readiness level. High task/high relationship behavior (S2) is referred to as selling. The leader encourages two-way communication and helps build confidence and motivation on the part of the employee, although the leader still has responsibility and controls decision making. Selling style is best matched with a moderate follower readiness level. High relationship/low task behavior (S3) is referred to as participating. With this style, the leader and followers share decision making and no longer need or expect the relationship to be directive. Participating style is best matched with a moderate follower readiness level. Low relationship/lo w task behavior (S4) is labeled delegating. This style is appropriate for leaders whose followers are ready to accomplish a particular task and are both competent and motivated to take full responsibility. Delegating style is best matched with a high follower readiness level. Houses Path-Goal Model The path-goal theory developed by Robert House is based on the expectancy theory of motivation. The managers job is viewed as coaching or guiding workers to choose the best paths for reaching their goals. Best is judged by the accompanying achievement of organizational goals. It is based on the precepts of goal setting theory and argues that leaders will have to engage in different types of leadership behavior depending on the nature and demands of the particular situation. Its the leaders job to assist followers in attaining goals and to provide direction and support needed to ensure that their goals are compatible with the organizations. A leaders behavior is acceptable to subordinates when viewed as a source of satisfaction, and motivational when need satisfaction is contingent on performance, and the leader facilitates, coaches and rewards effective performance. Path goal theory identifies achievement-oriented, directive, participative and supportive leadership styles. In achievement-oriented leadership, the leader sets challenging goals for followers, expects them to perform at their highest level, and shows confidence in their ability to meet this expectation. This style is appropriate when the follower suffers from a lack of job challenge. In directive leadership, the leader lets followers know what is expected of them and tells them how to perform their tasks. This style is appropriate when the follower has an ambiguous job. Participative leadership involves leaders consulting with followers and asking for their suggestions before making a decision. This style is appropriate when the follower is using improper procedures or is making poor decisions. In supportive leadership, the leader is friendly and approachable. He or she shows concern for followers psychological well being. This style is appropriate when the followers lack confidence. Path-Goal theory assumes that leaders are flexible and that they can change their style, as situations require. The theory proposes two contingency variables (environment and follower characteristics) that moderate the leader behavior-outcome relationship. Environment is outside the control of followers-task structure, authority system, and work group. Environmental factors determine the type of leader behavior required if follower outcomes are to be maximized. Follower characteristics are the locus of control, experience, and perceived ability. Personal characteristics of subordinates determine how the environment and leader are interpreted. Effective leaders clarify the path to help their followers achieve their goals and make the journey easier by reducing roadblocks and pitfalls. Research demonstrates that employee performance and satisfaction are positively influenced when the leader compensates for the shortcomings in either the employee or the work setting. Vroom, Yetton, Jago Leader-Participation Model The Vroom, Yetton, Jago leader-participation model relates leadership behavior and participation to decision making. The model provides a set of sequential rules to determine the form and amount of participative decision making in different situations. It is a decision tree, requiring yes and no answers incorporating contingencies about task structure and alternative styles. The following contingency questions must be answered to determine the appropriate leadership style in the leader-participation model. Â · Quality Requirement: How important is the technical quality of this decision? Â · Commitment Requirement: How important is subordinate commitment to the decision? Â · Leaders Information: Do you have sufficient information to make a high-quality decision? Â · Problem Structure: Is the problem well structured? Â · Commitment Probability: If you were to make the decision yourself, are you reasonably certain that your subordinates would be committed to the decision? Â · Goal Congruence: Do subordinates share the organizational goals to be attained in solving this problem? Â · Subordinate Conflict: Is conflict among subordinates over preferred solutions likely? Â · Subordinate Information: Do subordinates have sufficient information to make a high-quality decision? Transformational Leadership Transformational leadership blends the behavioral theories with a little dab of trait theories. Transactional leaders, such as those identified in contingency theories, guide followers in the direction of established goals by clarifying role and task requirements. However, transformational leaders, who are charismatic and visionary, can inspire followers to transcend their own self-interest for the good of the organization. Transformational leaders appeal to followers ideals and moral values and inspire them to think about problems in new or different ways. Leader behaviors used to influence followers include vision, framing, and impression management. Vision is the ability of the leader to bind people together with an idea. Framing is the process whereby leaders define the purpose of their movement in highly meaningful terms. Impression management is a leaders attempt to control the impressions that others form about the leader by practicing behaviors that make the leader more attra ctive and appealing to others. Research indicates that transformational, as compared to transactional, leadership is more strongly correlated with lower turnover rates, higher productivity, and higher employee satisfaction. A transformational leader instills feelings of confidence, admiration and commitment in the followers. He or she is charismatic, creating a special bond with followers, articulating a vision with which the followers identify and for which they are willing to work. Each follower is coached, advised, and delegated some authority. The transformational leader stimulates followers intellectually, arousing them to develop new ways to think about problems. The leader uses contingent rewards to positively reinforce performances that are consistent with the leaders wishes. Management is by exception. The leader takes initiative only when there are problems and is not actively involved when things are going well. The transformational leader commits people to action and converts followers into leaders. Transformational leaders are relevant to todays workplace because they are flexible and innovative. While it is important to have leaders with the appropriate orientation defining tasks and managing interrelationships, it is even more important to have leaders who can bring organizations into futures they have not yet imagined. Transformational leadership is the essence of creating and sustaining competitive advantage.

marketing consulting :: essays research papers

Marketing Departments in mid-sized businesses face lots of challenges such as how to target customers more efficiently, how to increase market share, how to compete in the market-place and be ahead of competition, and how to increase one-to-one communications with customers. The unsteady economy has pressured businesses to become as streamlined as possible, leaving marketing departments short on budget and staff. Today, our role as Marketing Consultants is to help companies not only retain current customers but also aggressively grow market-share, open new market potentials and add new customers. Our Marketing offerings can help companies conquer these challenges. We can help developing, supervising and executing your Marketing Strategies, whether through dealing with your Marketing Department or through assigning persons from our company. Why we execute, or supervise for you? Because today’s economic realities have put a tremendous amount of pressure on the Marketing Departments to do more with less staff and budget. Marketing is the core of the company’s activities and strategies in today’s high competitive market. In the coming years, due to globalization, competition will boost, professional companies will achieve additional success and economical pressure will become very high. Please note here that cutbacks put companies at risk for losing customers through a lack of new initiatives and competition monitoring. The only possible response is to increase efficiency through outsourcing your Marketing Planning to experts in the field. Many Business Owners or Managers think that by simply placing an Ad in a newspaper or a commercial on a radio or a television station, customers will automatically come to purchase their product or service. This could bring some customers out of curiosity but hundreds of other potential customers may never learn of your business. Just think of the money you’ll lose simply because you didn’t develop an adequate Marketing Plan. As mentioned previously, Marketing is the core of your Business Operations and it determines how successful your business will be. What you, as a Business Owner or Manager, must do is maintain a thorough understanding of the Marketing Plan, and use it to extract advantages from the marketplace. Remember, your aim is not only to attract and keep a steady group of loyal customers but also to expand your customer base by identifying and attracting new customers and to reduce risks by anticipating Market Shifts that can affect your bottom line. †¦we visualize success to your company and help you reach it

Humorous Best Man Speech -- Wedding Toasts Roasts Speeches

Humorous Best Man Speech Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Firstly on behalf of the bridesmaids, I would like to thank the groom for his kind words, and may I also say that they have done a fantastic job today and all of them look absolutely beautiful. I'd also like to say that the bride looks absolutely stunning today as I’m sure you will all agree. Unfortunately for the wedding photographs, the groom just looks stunned. When I was asked to be best man I consulted the Internet for help. I must confess I was perplexed by some of the things I was expected to do: Help the groom dress. Thanks, but no thanks. If he hasn't learned by nor then he never will. That his shoes are tied. That his face and hair are â€Å"in order† (God didn't put them in order first time round, I'm not convinced that I stood a chance) . That he has nothing between his teeth (or is that his ears?) That his trouser flies are done up. I came to the conclusion that best man is just a fancy title for nanny. I also found out some other interesting things on the Internet, but now is definitely not the time to tell you what they were. However, I have taken the job of being best man seriously and have made sure: That he got to the service on time. That he was well dressed and looking smart, which I’m sure you will agree he is. And that he got a good nights sleep last night, and I’m pleased to report he slept like a baby. He woke up every half hour like clockwork, crying for his mom. So what can I say about the groom. Well, he’s witty, intelligent, charming, successful, han†¦ han... Sorry. I'm having trouble reading your writing. I've been racking my brain for the last couple of weeks trying to think of suitable stories to be said about... ...Now. if you could join me in a toast to some very important people, without whom today just wouldn't be the same. I'm sure all of us at some point will shuffle past them and exchange a few kind words. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like you to raise your glasses and say a toast. To the bar staff. And of course we should not forget the bride and groom. I would like to say to you both: "May your love be modern enough to survive the times, and old-fashioned enough to last forever." Today is a day when each one of us wishes the happy couple well. Being human they will have their disagreements. Life being what it is there will be sad moments as well as glad. Yet I know that today we are all wishing them happiness and health in those years to come, and I am sure that the love between them will be strong enough to last forever. Ladies and gentlemen. the bride and groom.

Myths of the American Dream Exposed in Arthur Millers Death of a Sales

Myths of the American Dream Exposed in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman    Willy Loman, the lead character of Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, believes in "the myths of the capitalistic society"(DiYanni 412). This essay will examine the impact of the capitalistic myths on Willy Lowman.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Willy believes in the myth that popularity and physical appearance are the keys that unlock the door to the â€Å"American Dream†. We are first introduced to the importance of popularity and physical appearance when Willy is speaking to his wife, Linda, about their son Biff.   â€Å"Biff Loman is lost,† says Willy.   â€Å"In the greatest country in the world, a young man with such personal attractiveness gets lost.†Ã‚   In this quote, not only is Willy confused about how Biff’s good looks can’t help him get a job, but also because his son can’t get a job in a country like America.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Willy believes in appearance, in phoniness, in popularity with those he regards as important in the capitalistic machine. An example of how Willy depends on popularity to help achieve the dream is seen when Willy is having a flashback in which he’s speaking to both Biff and Happy about having his own business. The boys ask their father if his business will be like their Uncle Charley’s.   Willy responds by saying that he’ll be, â€Å"Bigger than Uncle Charley!   Because Charley is not- liked.   He’s liked, but he’s not- well liked.†Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The most significant example of Willy’s belief in the popularity myth also takes place in one of Willy’s flashbacks.   Again, he is speaking to his sons about becoming successful.   He tells them, â€Å"...the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ... ... slogans for his own beliefs: â€Å"Chevrolet, Linda, is the greatest car ever built.† But his blind faith cannot sustain him: â€Å"That goddam Chevrolet, they ought to prohibit the manufacture of that car†.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Each day Willy must run faster and stretch his arms out further in his attempt to catch the dream. When he is too tired to run, Willy is spewed out of the capitalistic machine as a worn-out and useless part. Willy then gives all that he has remaining so that his son can collect the insurance money and thereby pay his entrance fee to the capitalistic machine. The same machine that destroyed Willy. Works Cited DiYanni, Robert. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Compact Edition. McGraw Hill, 2000. 395-530. Miller, Arthur. "Death of a Salesman" in Literature, Reading, Reacting, Writing, Compact Fourth Edition. Harcourt, Inc. 2000.