Leadership Management

APPLIED LEADERSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT COURSE BUS3023 ASSIGNMENT 3 CREDITS Please complete the following assignment and mail it with the copy of the assignment to be marked and for comments. Please use your discretion to determine the length of your answer. Keep the following criteria in mind: Did I demonstrate my knowledge and insight? Will the tutor be satisfied that I can apply the information (Skills)? Write answers in your own words as far as possible and refrain from copying from text books/handouts. 1. Define: Leadership. The process of influencing people while operating to meet organizational requirements and improving the organization through change. 2. Name the five practices of exemplary leadership. * Model the way * Inspire a shared vision * Challenge the Process * Enable other to act * Encourage the heart 3. Explain the relationship between management, vision and planning. * Management involves all the undertakings require planning, organizing, command, coordination and cont rol to function properly, by focusing on producing change by developing a vision for the future along with strategies for bringing about the changes needed to achieve that vision. . Does every manager need to be a leader? Explain. * All good managers are leaders to various degrees. They need to carry out their leaders' visions by creating their own visions that support the larger vision, and then getting their workers to accomplish the vision. For example, Howard Schultz, of Starbucks Coffee Company, had a vision of 2000 stores by the year 2000. This vision became one of the driving forces behind the company's success. Did Howard Schultz build those 2000 stores himself? No way!Schultz's vision was achieved by managers and supervisors throughout the organization who had smaller scale visions that directly supported his 2000 by 2000 vision. They got these visions accomplished by delegating the means and authority to their subordinates. These managers and supervisors also supported the ir employees by giving them the means and opportunity to grow by coaching and mentoring; and providing training, development, and education opportunities. * A CEO cannot be the sole leader of a large organization. There are simply to many leadership tasks that must be accomplished†¦ leader cannot do all of them herself. 5. It has been identified that there are 6 Pillars of Character that are important to adopting and ethical perspective in leadership development. Can you name four of the six? a) Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship b) Ruthlessness, Drive, Determination, Toughness, Supportive, Action oriented c) Supportive, Intelligent, Insightful, Good Communicator, Toughness, Fair d) Caring, Softness, Intelligent, Decisive, Team Player, Communicator 6. Define: * Vision The ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom:the organization had lost its vision and direction * Mission * a strongly felt aim, ambition, or cal ling: his main mission in life has been to cut unemployment * Strategy * A plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim. * The art of planning and directing overall military operations and movements in a war or battle * Leadership Values. * Leaders know what they value. They also recognize the importance of ethical behaviour.The best leaders exhibit both their values and their ethics in their leadership style and actions. Your leadership ethics and values should be visible because you live them in your actions every single day. 7. What concepts of leadership are important to explain the difference in focus of leadership compared to management? * Leadership and management must go hand in hand, however they are NOT identical. Both are needed and they are linked and complement each other. Any attempt to separate the two is likely to cause more problems in a business without solving any. Many debates took place and is still taking place regarding the differences. Simply put the manager’s job is to plan, organize and coordinate and the leader’s role is to inspire and motivate * The following is from book published in 1989 written by Warren Bennis namely â€Å"On Becoming a Leader,† he composed a list of the differences as listed below: * The manager administers; the leader innovates. * The manager is a copy; the leader is an original. * The manager maintains; the leader develops. * The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people. The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust. * The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective. * The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why. * The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader’s eye is on the horizon. * The manager imitates; the leader originates. * The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it. * The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person. * The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing. 8.In which way do you see that new technologies will affect leadership and leaders? * I do not see technologies affecting leaders, or people for that matter. What I do see are good leaders achieving their goals by selecting the right tools (technology) to achieve their goals. Good leaders focus upon their goals and then do what is necessary to achieve it; they do not pick a technology and then try to achieve some goal with it. 9. What is the difference between ‘Interpersonal skills and Personal Learning Skills’? * Interpersonal Skills- The skills used by a person to properly interact with others.In the business domain, the term generally refers to an employee's ability to get along with others while getting the job done. * Personal Learning Skills – Is the way that a person will learn something either by making notes, creating a mind map, etc. 10. Write an essay of (one) A4 Page on the importance of the individual within the context of team practices. Organisations are made up of individuals brought together to enable the organisation to achieve its mission. The organisation's structure will determine how these individuals are brought together and how they relate to one another.The success of the organisation is dependent on each individual working together to achieve the common goal. If individuals are pulling in different directions, this will have a detrimental impact upon the organisation achieving its mission. It is the role of the manager to integrate the activities of individuals, ensuring that they are aware of the institution's priorities and that they are working towards them. Managers achieve this through the authority delegated to them within the organisation's hierarchy. We are all different.We differ in many ways, some of them visual (age, gender) some of them non-visual (personality, abilities). These differences mean that we often have diff erent values and attitudes on certain issues and individuals will perceive situations in different ways. It can be interesting and rewarding to discuss a topic from another point of view and to gain insight into other perspectives. But diversity can also be challenging and it can sometimes be difficult to understand things from a different point of reference.From an individual perspective, it is important to understand and appreciate that not everyone will see things or value the things that you do, nor agree with your opinions. Different jobs require different abilities, skills and competencies. When we assign someone to a job that does not match their abilities, because the job is either not sufficiently demanding or too demanding, the result can be frustration and stress for both the individual and their work colleagues. In a situation where an individual's abilities do not match the requirements of the job because they are in some way lacking, then the individual will feel out o f their depth.This has an impact on the individual who feels unable to complete their tasks to the required and expected levels of performance. The team will also be affected by the situation. They will often have to take on extra work and duties in order to support their colleague. In a situation where an individual's abilities exceed those required for the job, then the individual may find the job too easy and become bored. This leads to a lack of enthusiasm and care for the job and a sense of frustration for the individual feeling unable to achieve their potential.Again this frustration impacts upon the rest of the team and ultimately their performance. Stress is a very individual concept and our responses to it can vary considerably. We all find different situations stressful and we all react to them in a variety of ways. Some people are stress victims. They perceive almost every situation in life as a threat and they respond negatively to situations causing them anxiety, anger, self-doubt or frustration. Others view situations more positively. They assess situations and channel their energies into a proactive response spurring them on to achieve their goals.Our response to stress depends on a balance between how demanding a potentially stressful situation is perceived to be and our ability to cope with it. Too big an imbalance and we will suffer negative stress. This ability to cope with stress is influenced by our outlook on life, our health and our support system which includes friends and relatives. Therefore, a situation that may be stressful to one individual, may be exhilarating and exciting to another, and indeed our reactions to stressful situations and how we cope with them varies throughout our life 11. Describe the three critical dimensions of team learning. First, there is a need to think insightfully about complex issues * Teams must learn how to tap the potential for many minds to be more intelligent than one mind * Second, there is a need f or innovative, coordinated action * Third, there is the role of team members on other teams * A learning team fosters other learning teams through inculcating the practices and skills of team learning 12. Explain the requirements for leadership team learning. * Leadership in a non-team work environment is a top down structure where rules, not principles, govern participation.In a team culture, leaders, guided by their principles of involvement, work to help team members find a level of confidence, trust, and cooperation so that they can achieve high levels of production * Both managing a department and leading a team involve the following skills and activities: * Providing direction and leadership to others * Planning * Meeting goals and objectives * Managing activities/tasks * Working with people * The key difference lies in the responsibility for performance management. * Team leaders, on the other hand, are responsible for leading teams of people who may not report to them. Witho ut organizational authority, team leaders must influence others and inspire them to meet the goals of the initiative or project. * Following are five critical team leadership skills that will help team leaders (and managers) effectively influence and demonstrate respect for their team members. * Understanding behavioural styles * Listening and effectively communicating * Giving praise * Handling * criticism * Using problem – solving and persuasion instead of Criticism 13. What is the relationship between leaders and followers? Many people make mistake to separate leaders and followers. I think that no matter what position one has within an organization, he/she is playing a follower’s role to support someone else. Great leaders of an organization are following the profitable goals of their stakeholders. For a survival  business, followers need to be effective and supportive for their leaders to be successful. Nevertheless, followers are more effective if they consider themselves active and independent * It is more important in my opinion that how follower’s view of their leaders is. According to Yukl et al. 2010), leaders’ effectiveness implies leader competence and intentions in the view of the followers. Followers who are closed to their leaders are often the most susceptible to the crucibles of their failed leaders. Additionally, followers who are so committed to their leaders are the most disappointed people when they see their leaders fail. 14. Distinguish between the following types of teams: * Problem Solving Teams; * A group of individuals assembled to work on a project that involves resolving one or more issues that have already arisen or to deal effectively with issues as they arise.In a business context, a problem solving team will typically be formed for a limited time frame incorporating staff from different organizational levels with various relevant skill sets. * Cross Functional Teams; * Let us understand this with the help of an example. * Maria and Andy both were part of the branding team. They got an assignment from their superiors to be completed within two days. Unfortunately Andy met with an accident and was advised complete bed rest. To avoid delays, Peter from the operations team was shifted to the marketing team to assist Maria for the time being and form a team.Such teams are called cross functional teams. Ideally the employees should be more or less on the same level to avoid ego hassles. Individuals from different areas come and work together for a common objective to form a cross functional team. In such teams, people from different areas, interests and likings join hands to come out with a unique idea to successfully complete a task. * Virtual Teams; * Virtual teams consist of individuals who are separated by distances and connected through computer. Here individuals communicate with each other online through internet.Sam at Los Angeles can form a team with Mandy at Mexico and Sa ra at Denver all working for a common objective but the communication is totally digital through internet. Such teams are helpful when employees need to connect with each other and are located at different places. Individuals supporting any community in social networking sites such as facebook or orkut also form a virtual team as all the members are from different locations but support a common community. They all have a common objective -to support and promote their community. * Research and development Teams; Investigative activities that a business chooses to conduct with the intention of making a discovery that can either lead to the development of new products or procedures, or to improvement of existing products or procedures. Research and development is one of the means by which business can experience future growth by developing new products or processes to improve and expand their operations. * Self Managed Teams * Self Managed Teams consist of individuals who work together again for a common purpose but without the supervision of any leader. Here as the name suggests every individual is accountable for his individual performance.The team members of self managed teams must respect each other and should never loose focus on their target. No leader is appointed and the team members have to take their own responsibility. Individuals take the initiative on their own and are their own guides and mentors. 15. What do you understand by ‘Quality Performance ; Collaboration’? * Quality Performance is also referred to as quality of service. Quality performance can be assessed through measurements of physical products, statistical sampling of the output of processes, or through surveys of purchasers of goods or services. Collaboration is working with each other to do a task. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, (this is more than the intersection of common goals seen in co-operati ve ventures, but a deep, collective, determination to reach an identical objective 16. Explain in your own words the phases of the mentoring relationship. * Building a relationship between the mentor and mentee * Discussing and developing clear expectations between the parties * The development of the Mentee * Closing of Ending the Formal Metor – Mentee relationship 17.Why is the development leadership effectiveness important in the 21st Century? * The quality of leadership is an important element in an organization’s success, since leaders influence employees to work together toward the fulfilment of a company’s mission and the achievement of its goals 18. Describe the two leadership functions needed for effective group performance. Must the leader perform both of these functions? * To act as a counsellor of the people at work: When the subordinates face problems at work, which may be technical or emotional, the leader has to guide and advise the subordinate co ncerned.There may be situation which are out of control, in that situation, leader must stand behind the subordinate to encourage and support and find a solution for the problem. * Time Management: Leader must ensure the timely completion of the work while ensuring the quality and efficiency of the work. At different stages, the work should be complete according to the plan. The timely completion of the individual tasks will ensure the completion of the group work. Leader should monitor and ensure the individual task at different stages are accomplished as per the plan. In my personal view I would think that a leader should perform in both of these mentioned functions 19. What is the â€Å"situational leadership theory†? How should the manager’s style vary in each of the four phases? * Situational Leadership Theory (S. L. T. ) is the idea that changing conditions often call for a rapidly evolving strategy with tactics to support the evolution of the team to meet the pr esent challenges. S. L. T. also suggests that great leaders will recognize the special talents ; strengths of each team member and then adjust the tactical maneuvers around the strengths of each team member and the collective team. 0. In what ways, if any, have your views on leaders and leadership changed as a result of this course? Which leadership style do you feel is best suited to you? Which style would you be most likely to use? How flexible in leadership style do you believe you are? Do you think your answers to these questions will affect your career choice(s)? 21. Create a leadership time line for yourself (beginning with the end of high school) that depicts important turning points in your development as a managerial leader. Think of where you have been and where you are today on the time line.What do you expect it to look like in five years? Ten years? 22. Describe in short the four principal forces of change. * Globalization * A convergence of international activities suc h as the increase in overseas production of goods and services; increasing consumer demands in emerging markets worldwide; declining barriers to international trade aided by rapidly changing technology, have created a globalized economy in which inter-dependency among countries has emerged as the norm today * Technological Change: * Technology is like a two-edged sword that can make our lives easier or worse.The Internet has revolutionized the way in which information is exchanged, communication facilitated and commerce conducted. Technology is rapidly changing and effective management demands more knowledge in these areas in order for companies to manage their resources and develop, maintain or keep their competitive edge. * While technology has enabled firms to save time and money by conducting business such as negotiations, trade, and commerce in real time, it can also facilitate the dissemination of sensitive information about a company's practices, trade secrets and new product development in a matter of seconds. Knowledge Management * Driving forces such as shifts in buyer demographics and preferences; technology, product and market innovation; changes in society, consumer attitudes and lifestyle all demand new ideas. This has created a need for knowledge workers. * Knowledge workers comprise a company's intellectual capital and are made up of creative people with novel ideas and problem-solving skills. Managing its knowledge assets can give a company a competitive edge as it effectively utilizes the expertise, skills, intellect, and relationships of members of the organization. * Cross-boundaries Collaboration An important part of knowledge management is effectively managing organization-wide collaboration. Use of appropriate technology and applications such as a virtual private networks; VoIP, e-mail, social networking websites such as Face Book, and even company-sponsored blogs can facilitate communication between an organization and its stakeholders, and help in different types of internal and external collaborative processes. An example of a tool that can be used in cross-boundaries collaboration might be an easily accessible online database that provides a central source of information to employees, customers, or suppliers. 3. Briefly profile your company’s primary shareholders. What are their investment objectives? How much influence do they currently exert? If your organization is not publicly traded, identify the key stakeholders. How influential are they in the day-to-day operations? How might the influence of the key shareholders or stakeholders change in the next five years? With this level of analysis of the forces acting upon your company, what must the organization do differently in order to effectively address these influences? Where do you fit into that picture? 24.What are the values that drive you in your job? 25. How do you keep people's loyalty in a company that is downsizing? * Leadership is more about enabling people to do their best and become the best, than it is about loyalty. Leaders inspire people while managers set polices that buy loyalty. Besides, organizations that have effective leaders throughout their organization will find themselves downsizing much less than organizations that are lacking leaders. That is because they will be performing the necessary steps to carry them on to the visions they have created.Also, if you have good leaders throughout the organization, you are going to find yourself doing the right things if and when it becomes cost-cutting time – being honest and compassionate 26. Is there any index of success for turning common managers into leaders, i. e. , a tax of effectiveness of training? * I'm not so sure if there is an index, since this type of training falls more into the development category, which can be extremely hard to measure at times. For example, if you train someone to operate a forklift, you can then go to the job site to see i f that person actually learner some new skills.But observing someone to see if they have gained some leadership skills is much more difficult. How do you effectively measure their visioning skills? Also, developing a leader is not accomplished in a two-week leadership course; that is where they learn the basics. The rest of what they learn comes through a trial and error period of practice. However, there are indicators that show how much value organizations place on leadership skills: * The March 2, 1999 edition of the NewsEdge had a story on an international study conducted by the HayGroup for Fortune magazine.They found that corporate cultures of the world's most admired companies are alike in many ways, but also differ from those of an average company. * This study reveals that the dominant values in the world's most admired companies are teamwork, customer focus, innovation fair treatment of employees, global reach, and vision. These are mainly leadership skills! * In average c ompanies, the overriding values are making budget, supporting the decisions of management, and minimizing risks. While these are mainly management skills! * Great companies have leaders while average companies are run by managers! Also, Aon Consulting of Chicago reported that the top five reasons for employee commitment are (notice that all five tasks are mostly leadership skills): * Employer's recognition of personal and family time * The organization's vision and direction * Personal growth * The ability to challenge the way things are done * Everyday work satisfaction 27. Describe your business strategy in less than 45 words. 28. Answer True or False: According to the recent literature, courage is one of the seven competencies of effective leaders. * False 29.International management development involves the CEO and the senior team and other key elements. Which of the following is not one of the key elements? a) The global strategy b) Human Resource and line capabilities c) Senio r Management involvement d) Performance Management 30. Explain why resistance to change is so prevalent in the workplace * Loss of Job: * In an organizational setting, any process, technological advancement, systems, or product change will include streamlining, working smarter, cost reduction, efficiency, faster turn around times. * Bad Communication Strategy: The way in which the change process is communicated  to employees within the organization is a critical factor in determining their reactions. * Shock and Fear of the Unknown: * Employees’ responses to organizational change can range from fear and panic to enthusiastic support. During periods of change, some employees may feel the need to cling to the past because it was a more secure, predictable time. * Loss of Control: * Familiar routines help employees develop a sense of control over their work environment. Being asked to change the way they operate may make employees feel powerless and confused.People are more li kely to understand and implement changes when they feel they have some form of control * Lack of Competence: * This is a fear that is difficult for employees to admit openly. But sometimes, change in organizations necessitates changes in skills, and some people will feel that they won’t be able to make the transition well. Therefore, the only way for them to try and survive is to kick against the change. * Poor Timing: * Change must be introduced when there are no other major initiatives going on. Sometimes it is not what a leader does, but it is how, when and why she or he does it that creates resistance to change!Undue resistance can occur because changes are introduced in an insensitive manner or at an awkward time * Lack of Reward: * There is a common business saying that managers get what they reward. Organizational employees will resist change when they do not see anything in it for them in terms of rewards. * Office Politics: * Every organisation has its own share of i n-house politics. So, some employees resist change as a political strategy to â€Å"show or prove† that the change decision is wrong. They may also resist showing that the person leading the change is not up to the task. Former Change Experience: * Our attitudes about change are partly determined by the way we have experienced change in the past. For instance, if in your organisation, you have handled change badly in the past, the employees will have good reasons for rebelling. * Loss of Support System: * Employees already in their comfort zones, working with the managers they get along with, and who are operating within predictable routines know their support system will back them up during challenging times. * Empathy and Peer Pressure: * Whether we are introverted or extroverted, we are still social creatures.Organizational stakeholders will resist change to protect the interests of a group, team friends, and colleagues. It is normal for employees to resist change to prote ct their co-workers * Lack of trust and support: * Successful organizational change does not occur in a climate of mistrust. Trust, involves faith in the intentions and behaviour of others. In organizations where there is a high degree of trust and each individual employee is treated  with respect and dignity, there is less resistance to change. 31. How could cultural differences within an organization be better leveraged to enhance performance? Cultural diversity involves the differences in the composition of members of an organization in terms of nationality, race, color, gender, creed, religion or age — in other words, an array of culture found among people from diverse backgrounds. Organizational behavior refers to the nature of interactions among people and groups within an organization. The positive influence of cultural diversity facilitates members of the organization to build relationships and acknowledge each other regardless of their differences of origin and bac kground. A typical organization has an extensive range of people who have cultural and personal differences. A small business interested in fostering cultural diversity among its employees endeavours to create mutual respect for the different cultures, along with enabling personnel to reach their full potential. Acknowledging diverse cultures enables the organization to positively influence the organizational behaviour that, in turn, enhances the performance and image of the organization.The business should portray the cultural diversity aspect of the organization in the mission statement. * Cultural diversity is the biggest potential benefit to work teams with complex tasks and problems that require creativity and innovation. 32. Select the right answer: All of the following are differences in the inherent leadership styles between women and men except: a) Men are more likely to use a directive command and control style b) Man rely on formal authority for their position c) Women at tempt to enhance followers’ self-worth ) Men share power and information e) Women tend to lead through inclusion and rely on interpersonal skills to influence others 33. Answer True or False: One limitation of path-goal theory of leadership is that some of the contingencies have not been sufficiently researched. * True 34. Describe the different stages of group evolution. * Forming * In the Forming stage, personal relations are characterized by dependence. Group members rely on safe, patterned behaviour and look to the group leader for guidance and direction. * Storming The next stage, called Storming, is characterized by competition and conflict in the personal-relations dimension an organization in the task-functions dimension. As the group members attempt to organize for the task, conflict inevitably results in their personal relations. Individuals have to bend and mould their feelings, ideas, attitudes, and beliefs to suit the group organization. * Norming * In the Normin g stage, interpersonal relations are characterized by cohesion. Group members are engaged in active acknowledgment of all members’ contributions, community building and maintenance, and solving of group issues.Members are willing to change their preconceived ideas or opinions on the basis of facts presented by other members, and they actively ask questions of one another. Leader ship is shared, and cliques dissolve. * Performing * The Performing stage is not reached by all groups. If group members are able to evolve to stage four, their capacity, range, and depth of personal relations expand to true interdependence. In this stage, people can work independently, in subgroups, or as a total unit with equal facility. Their roles and authorities dynamically adjust to the changing needs of the group and individuals. Adjourning * The final stage, Adjourning, involves the termination of task behaviours and disengagement from relationships. A planned conclusion usually includes recog nition for participation and achievement and an opportunity for members to say personal goodbyes. 35. Select the right answer: The type of leaders who guide or motivate their followers in the direction of established goals by clarifying role and task requirements are: a) Transactional leaders b) Employee-oriented leaders c) Transformational leaders d) Process-oriented leaders ) Charismatic leaders 36. Explain in your own words what you understand by ‘Distributing Power and Status’ * Human societies develop pecking orders just as chickens do, but both the process and the outcome are, of course, far more complex and varied. We are used to a single powerful leader who operates through command and control is attractive in its simplicity. However it is much better to rely upon a wide range of individuals and leaders who share a common set of values and feel personal ownership for the overall success of the organization.These responsible and empowered individuals will serve a s much better watchdogs than any single, dominant leader or bureaucratic structure. I personally feel that status will not influence teams aa power is distributed evenly and most of the time these teams are composed of people that have the same status. It can also be useful to adopt a peer ranking system. All associates get the opportunity to rank members of their team, including their leaders 37. Define Group Boundaries and Identity. For a group to function and develop, one of the most important areas for clear consensus is the perception of who is in the new group and who is not in, and the criteria by which such decisions are made. New members cannot really function and concentrate on their primary task if they are insecure about their membership, and the group cannot really maintain a good sense of itself if it does not have a way of defining itself and its boundaries. * Initially, the criteria for inclusion are usually set by the leader, founder, or convener, but as the group m embers interact, those criteria are ested, and a group consensus arises around the criteria that survive the test. In a young company, there is often intense debate over who should be an owner or a partner, who should have stock options, who should be hired for key functions or be an officer, and who should be ejected because he or she does not fit in. In this debate, real personnel decisions are being made, and at the same time, the criteria of inclusion are being forged, tested, and articulated so that they become clear to everyone.Such debate also provides opportunities for testing mission statements, goal clarity, and means clarity, illustrating how several cultural elements are simultaneously being created, tested, articulated, and reinforced. 38. Complete the following statement: With self-leadership, individuals and teams set goals, plan and implement tasks, evaluate performance, and _________________. * Solve their own problems, and motivate themselves. 39. What do you under stand by ‘Moralism-Pragmatism’? Moralism means the notion that there is some intrinsically good way of living, or at minimum some intrinsically bad ways of living. To the moralist, the proper function is to reinforce the intrinsically correct way of living and to suppress the intrinsically incorrect ways of living. In contrast, pragmatism is not concerned with the intrinsic ways of living, but with outcomes: a way of living is good or bad only to the extent that it produces a good or bad outcome. To the pragmatist, the proper function of the is to produce a good outcome.Both of these paradigms entail making moral judgments: the moralist must (somehow) judge which ways of living are good or bad; the pragmatist must (somehow) judge which outcomes are good or bad. 40. A more recently emergent theory of leadership holds that IQ scores and other historical qualifiers of â€Å"leadership† are not as important as being able to understand yourself and others in the conte xt of varying situations. What is this theory known as? a) Motivation b) Self Awareness c) Emotional Intelligence d) Charismatic Leadership 1. Perhaps the first study of Organizational Leadership (Lewin et al, 1938) identified 3 behavioural leadership styles, which of the following is not one of the styles? a) Autocratic b) Democratic c) Laissez-Faire d) Task Oriented 42. The super leader model of leadership proposed by Afsaneh ; Nahavandi in a 2000 paper, does NOT include which of the following characteristics for a leader? a) Use self-managing teams b) Work as a facilitator c) Delegate to a team with goals and structure d) Trust the team to handle given work 43.A critic of business school's obsession with teaching of management as a science, this current professor at McGill University is also the co-author of a organizational structure known as an Organigraph a) Henry Mintzberg b) Peter Drucker c) James MacGregor Burns d) None of the above. 44. What are some advantages of a MBA Pr ogram focused on Leadership? * Help students develop skills that are essential to success in any field: critical thinking, problem-solving, communicating, negotiating, and acting ethically in professional situations. Programs are designed for mid-career professionals who want to step into leadership roles * It has flexible schedules 45. Which of the following theories of leadership postulates that people will be more focused and motivated if they believe they are capable of high performance, believe their effort will results in desired outcomes and believe their work is worthwhile? a) Contingency Theory b) Path-Goal Theory c) Transformational Theory d) Transactional Theory 46. The belief that people are either born or not born with the qualities for successful leadership can be classified as what type of leadership theory? ) Transformational Theory b) Situational Theory c) Skills Theory d) Trait Theory 47. The nominal group technique is a good way to allow all group members to have a say in the group's final decision? a) True b) False 48. When faced with a difficult decision that directly involves the group you a) Avoid making the decision altogether b) Put it up for discussion and ask other members of your group for input c) Leave it to someone else to decide d) Pretend the problem doesn't exist e) Keep postponing the decision until the problem becomes obsolete 9. You delegate a task. What defines the performance standards for the person who fulfills the task? a) How well you would do it b) The person's past performance c) Criteria and standards set prior d) The job needs to be done as well as necessary (fitness for purpose) e) By giving others in the group authority, the manager/team leader loses control. 50. When working toward a goal a) You tend to focus on the big picture b) You tend to focus on the details. 51. Do you have a clear vision of where your group/organization is headed? a) Definitely ) To a large degree c) To a certain degree d) Not really 52. Why is effective communication so important for leadership? * Effective communication is an important element of success for every organization, leader, manager, supervisor, and employee. An organization whose people communicate effectively experiences fewer of the misunderstandings that create friction between people, waste time, and cause mistakes. The strategy of this enterprise is clear to all, and each person understands how his or her work contributes to that strategy.Employees listen to customers and, in turn, are clear and persuasive in describing their company’s products and services. 53. Explain where does trust fit in terms of effective leadership? * Trust is one of the most critical elements in the leading-following equation. People who are in leadership roles in any organization cannot succeed over the long term unless there is some sense of trust from the followers in that organization. Force and coercion can replace trust as a glue that binds people together f or a while, but not for the long haul. Followers need not love a leader. They need not like a leader. But to support a leader, and follow him or her, they need to have some sense of trust and confidence in that leader, both in their ability to perform competently and expertly, and confidence in the leader as a person 54. Explain where does power fit in leadership? * To answer the question we have to distinguish between two kinds of power. First there is the kind of power that is associated with a formal position in an organization's hierarchy, such as the CEO, VP, Department Head, or Unit Supervisor.Holding such a positions confers some ability to control reward, punishments, working conditions and other things that affect employees. We call this formal power, or you can also call it positional or role power. * The other kind of power doesn't come from having a formal position, so both formal and informal leaders can wield it. We can call this form of power informal power, or influe ntial power, since it is based on the ability to influence and not on the ability to control the rewards and punishment or the work environment.Informal power is a result of others (peers, other managers, rank and file) choosing to follow because the leader creates trust, loyalty and inspires others. 55. What is a ‘thought leader’? * Thought leaders are people who have an influence on how people think about an issue or situation. Through their development of models, theories or ideas, they end up with a following that stems largely from the apparent truth and/or usefulness of their ideas. * Thought leaders do not â€Å"intend to lead†. Neither do they require formal power. Their â€Å"power to lead† lies with the apparent truth and effectiveness (and often innovativeness) of their thinking. Thought leaders can affect others on a grand scale, through the exposure of their thinking in the media, or through books, personal influence and so on, but they can al so affect others locally, within an organization, by presenting their thinking in compelling ways, so that those around them approach problems or issues from a different perspective. Often thought leaders are best known for innovative or â€Å"new† ideas. 56. Answer True or False: According to organizational behaviour research, male and female leaders do not differ in their levels of task-oriented and people-oriented leadership. True 57. What is paternalistic leadership? * A type of fatherly managerial style typically employed by dominant males where their organizational power is used to control and protects subordinate staff that are expected to be loyal and obedient. A manager with a paternalistic leadership style might be appropriate for a business with a more formal and hierarchical structure where creative thinking is not required of staff. 58. Some authors say leaders must divide their time in three parts: one for handling finances, another for quality, and a third for relationships.What do you think about? * Leaders have two â€Å"leadership continuum† scales that they must follow. Earlier, I talked about the people scale, and how we have been moving from Douglas McGreagor's Theory X to Theory Y. This continuum can be seen as the vertical axis (concern for people) in Blake and Mouton's Managerial Grid. The other axis is the â€Å"concern for task† and it is plotted along the horizontal axis. By focusing on the far end of the scales or continuum and developing goals to achieve the 9s, a leader can create her visions.And then by developing great people (people scale) and giving them the means to accomplish your vision (task scale), you have ensured that the necessary ingredients are there for organization success. In other words, good leaders have â€Å"goal directed visions† and then achieve them by inspiring their people to work through change and challenges in order for task accomplishment. This, in turn, equals a successful organization. 59. What do you call the theory that some people have specific characteristics that differentiate leaders from non-leaders? * Trait Theories 60.What's the worst fault a leader can have? * A failure to see the benefits of diversity. This creates like-people throughout the organizations and leads to one-way thinking. If you do not have a diverse team, then you cannot come up with the creative brainstorming solutions to stay competitive. Also, you alienate your customers and consumers who can be quite diverse. 61. Complete the following statement: If trait research had been successful, we would ______________, whereas if behavioural studies were correct, we would ___________. * Select the right person for the job; * Train leaders. 2. Select the right answer: It is generally considered that leadership is important to an organization’s success. All of the following are actions that leaders take to make an organization successful except: a) Make rapid and firm decisi ons b) Control deviations from a standard c) Motivate employees to higher levels of productivity d) Practice charismatic standards e) Anticipate change and vigorously exploit opportunities 63. Answer True or False: Path-goal theory advocates servant leadership. * True 64. What is the shape of the perfect leader and does he or she exist? To paraphrase W. Somerset Maugham, â€Å"There are three rules for creating good leaders. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. † * There are no perfect leaders, that is why good leaders are always trying to improve themselves through self-study, training, education, mentorship, making mistakes and then learning from them, etc. Since there are no perfect leaders, it is hard to build a good leadership model, which is why there are hundreds of them. But, we can be sure of a few things that good leaders have: * A vision of the future (answers the question, â€Å"where are we going? †). The ability to encourage followers to jump into t hat experience (work through the many changes that are required to achieve that vision). * A love of self-improvement for themselves and their followers. This love makes them good coaches and mentors. * Empowering their followers to get things done (delegates). 65. Does a leader need to be motivated? How can leaders maintain themselves to stay motivated? * A leader definitely has to be motivated; those who are not will quickly be seen as frauds in their followers' eyes as they expect their leaders to be enthusiastic about their work.Motivation comes in two forms: extrinsic and intrinsic. * Extrinsic motivators come from the outside. For example, one reason that I go to work is that I need to make a living in order to survive. Intrinsic motivators come from within. For example, another reason that I go to work is that I get a great deal of satisfaction when I accomplish a difficult task. * Good leaders set and achieve goals that allow them to get a healthy balance of both motivators. Although many people believe that intrinsic motivators are the best, that is not necessarily so.Often, the extrinsic motivators lead us into new situations and then our love for doing it (intrinsic) carries us through and on to new heights. 66. As far as communication is a key point, how can a shy person be a leader? * Communication, from a leadership point, is more than just directing others (which shy people would draw back from), it is more about maintaining healthy relationships (which almost every shy person is capable of doing). One of my favorite quotes is from Captain Henry â€Å"Jim† Crowe, USMC.While in Guadalcanal on 13 January 1943, he used the following words and actions to motivate his troops: â€Å"Goddamn it, you'll never get the Purple Heart hiding in a foxhole! Follow me! † It was more than an order — it was his action of not showing his fear by being in the front that motivated his troops. * Leaders use both actions and words to get things do ne. Bossing others is the act of directing others to get things done without having any concern for the employees. Shy persons do not normally become bosses, but many of them do become leaders†¦ while the bullies become bosses. 67.If so much material is written about leadership, why are there so few real leaders in companies? * Who says there are so few leaders? The only people who can call a person a leader are the followers. People outside the organization might call a person a leader, yet she might have just been a dictating tyrant who used her power of authority to get things done. This only made her the boss, not a leader. Only the people who work for another person have the authority to call that person a leader. * Too many people equate leaders with the power of authority, yet it is more about visioning and achieving goals through others.Organizations that are lagging behind their competitors often have a lack of leaders throughout their ranks. While great organizations have leaders throughout the organization, from top to bottom. Just as I mentioned earlier about Starbucks' goal of 2000 stores by the year 2000, it took a lot of leaders throughout the ranks to accomplish it. 68. The role of principles of leadership is so extensive that it puts one to think – isn't a good leader a kind of superman or superwomen? How can that be? * Leadership is like many other difficult skills — it takes skills and practice.That is why it is important to develop leaders throughout your organization; although you can learn the knowledge and the skills in a short period of time, it takes plenty of practice to get it right. Senior leaders should always be coaching and mentoring their subordinates on the leadership continuum. 69. Is a military model of leadership adequate to any company, as far as it based most on authority and discipline? * Researchers at McKinsey & Company and the Conference Board discovered that one highly effective route of leadership is demonstrated by the U. S. Marine Corps.The Marines' approach to motivation follows the â€Å"mission, values, and pride† (MVP) path, which researchers say is practical and relevant for the business world. A couple of other organizations that follow the MVP path are 3M, New York City Ballet, and KFC. There are four other valid paths to follow: Process and Metric (Toyota), Entrepreneurial Spirit (BMC Software) Individual Achievement (Perot Systems), and Reward and Celebration (Mary Kay). * The Marines invest in their front line by following five practices: * Over-investing in cultivating core value: * Make an investment by intensely focusing on core values.Give your employees more than a brief introduction — assign some training to your most experienced and talented managers. One role model can influence 40 or 50 new hires. Also, focus on values after the training, i. e. Marriott prominently displays customer letters praising superior performance. * Preparing every pe rson to lead, including frontline supervisors: * Training every front line person to lead has a powerful effect on morale. Do NOT write the followers off or give them superficial attention. You most embrace the notion that front line workers can lead. Learning when to create teams and when to create single-leader work groups: * Genuine teams are rare in the business world where a single individual leading a group is the norm. Real teams get most of their motivation from its mission and goals * Attending to the bottom half, not just the top half: * Find the time to attend to the poor and mediocre performers, even if it means personal sacrifice. Normally, it is cheaper and easier to rejuvenate under-performers than it is to replace them. Marine Drill Instructors, despite their legendary toughness, refuse to give up on any recruit. Encouraging self-discipline as a way of building pride: * Demand that everyone act with honor, courage, and commitment. For example, Southwest Airlines turn s its planes around in less than half the time that is needed by most competitors; not by fear of punishment, but by a desire to be the best. * To emulate the Marines, many executives would have to embrace the notion that front-line workers can lead. (Jon R. Katzenbach and Jason A. Santamaria. Harvard Business Review â€Å"Firing Up the Front Line. † May-June, 1999, pp. 107 to 117. ) 70. Is there an ideal percentage of leaders in a company?Can an excess of leaders turn into a problem? * Every organization is unique, hence it will require a different percentage. But every leader and supervisor must display some form of leadership, they cannot simply be bosses and expect the organization to become a great organization. As far as excess, how can you have too much of a good thing; is there such a thing as a company having too much profit? 71. Which of the following g statements about leadership is false? a) Leadership does not necessarily take place within a hierarchical structur e of an organisation b) Not every leader is a manager ) When people operate as leaders their role is always clearly established and defined d) All of the above 72. What is better for a company that does not have huge sums to invest in training: try to build a team of leaders, with all the failure possibilities, or concentrate on building a good team of efficient managers? * Why would there be more failure possibilities with a team of leaders than with a team of managers? Managers can get things done, but they have to have leaders and leadership abilities of their own. Otherwise, what will hey get accomplished? It takes leaders to have visions. Once you have your vision, it needs to be framed in general terms and communicated to your team. Your team then develops the ends (objectives), ways (concepts), and means (resources) to achieve the vision. Except for developing the means (resources), all of these are leadership tasks. 73. Can someone be a good leader, but not a good manager? W hich is better for a company? * Just as there are many managers who cannot lead, there are many leaders who cannot manage. And neither is better for a company.Both strip the company of a valuable resource — a leader who can get things done or a manager who can lead her employees. 74. Answer True or False: Anonymity inevitably has a negative impact on group members. * True 75. Select the right answer: Which of the following is a leadership activity? a) Reviewing and evaluating the delivery of a project b) Planning and undertaking performance reviews and monthly supervision sessions c) Empowering and inspiring others to take responsibility for aspects of the service they deliver d) Drafting a service budget and consulting the management team about it.

Proposal for Inventory System Essay

In today’s global world, access to basic and quality healthcare is crucial and imperative in order to have a good and healthy life. In view of this, access to quality and affordable drugs is a basic raw material in enhancing good and quality healthcare. It is therefore necessary and important to ensure that patients can easily get access to quality, un-expired and affordable drugs for the treatment of their diseases and sicknesses. Most importantly the efficiency with which these services are carried out can go a long way to save lives and improve upon the health status of individuals. Medisol Pharmaceutical Company Limited is a private retail pharmaceutical company established in Ghana and their main focus is to regularly sell pharmaceuticals, skin care products, baby care products and cosmetics to its customers. The company makes continuous efforts to maximize client’s satisfaction by providing good customer service and also segmenting their market so as to enable customers have easy access to their sales outlets. The company has its head office at Kanda and two other branches at west legon and kasowa respectively with their main target groups being the general public. Medisol Pharmaceutical Company ltd. has two major departments namely the Finance/Administrative Department and the Retail Department which are directly under the supervision of the CEO. The company has numerical staff strength of five (5) comprising of a CEO, a superintendent pharmacist, pharmacist, an accountant and a medicine counter assistant. Below is an organogram of Medisol Pharmaceutical company ltd. The Finance/Administrative department which is headed by the accountant handles mainly the financial and administrative tasks of the company. The company’s Retail Department serves as a liaison between Medisol and its customers and is headed by the Medicine Counter Assistant. The main responsibilities of this department are to manage the retail stock, sell items to customers and submit weekly reports to the CEO. Medisol’s operations are solely manual; as our team got to the company we were privileged to speak to the head of the retail department who explained thoroughly to us how the manual process takes place. The process starts with stock purchase where the medicine counter assistant makes a list of all needed items to be bought. This list is sent to their wholesalers for delivery of the items. Upon delivery, the items are crossed checked with the order list made and a sales invoice is then given to Medisol which is then filed in a purchasing file. Items to be sold are arranged on shelves with price tags on each item. Details of items sold are recorded in a sales book. Retail stocks are taken three times in a month and the process used is as follows; -Drugs on the shelves are counted and the quantity is crossed checked with the sales invoice kept in the purchase file(which shows quantity of items bought ), this is done to know the quantity of items sold -The quantity of sold items is then crossed checked from the sales books to further check if the items were really sold, expired or stolen. This process helps them to know how much items have been sold, how much stock is left and also determine whether to make an order or not. Medisol also has a special way of identifying expired drugs so that they won’t be sold to customers, with this the medicine counter assistant prepares a manual list of drugs whose expiry date falls within a particular year hence every six months this list is checked for drugs which have their expiry dates closer or already expired. Those almost about to expire are sold faster while those already expired are cleared from the shelves and discarded. In today’s world it is impossible to compete in the job market without a working knowledge of IT. It is therefore imperative that Medisol Pharmaceutical Company Limited implement and invest into good inventory control management system that have the ability to track, report and replenish stock. This will then improve accuracy and enhance safety and efficiency thereby helping the resale department decrease stock errors. This solution is intended to help the department to manage all transactions of received stocks, price, quantity and invoice. Security of this system will be enhanced, making it impossible for items to be misplaced or stolen. The benefits of the computerized inventory control system to Medisol Pharmaceutical Company ltd. is to make inventory decisions that minimize the total cost of inventory, which is distinctly different from minimizing inventory. It is often more expensive to run out of an item (and thus be forced to obtain it through more expensive channels) than simply to keep more units in stock. Several models have been proposed in the literature for minimizing the total cost of inventory through the use of an economic order quantity, which attempts to balance the carrying costs of inventory with the cost of running out of an item. Most pharmacy inventory decisions involve replenishment–how much to order, when to decide to order, and when to place the order.

Cognitive Approaches in Psychology

In this essay I will outline two approaches in psychology, compare and contrast them as well discussing the nature and nurture debate regarding both approaches. I will be examining a theorist from each approach outlining and evaluating his theory including the positive alltributes along with the negative. Finally I will include a therapy from each theorist and approach. The Behaviourist approach focuses on the concept of explaining behaviour by observation, and the belief that our environment is what causes us to behave differently and suffer illnesses.The Behaviourist approach believes that behaviour is influenced by each and every individuals experiences. This could include their background, social and home living circumstances. Behaviourist psychologists argue that when we are born our mind is ‘tabula rasa’ meaning a blank state and that events taking place in our life time can affect and change the way we behave. Behaviour is the the result of stimulus response, i. e all behaviour no matter how complex can be reduced to a simple stimulus response. All behaviour is learnt from the environment.We learn new behaviour through classical and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is stimulus- response. If a stimulus that results in a emotional response is repeated along with another stimulus which does not cause an emotional response, then eventually the second stimulus will result in the same emotional response. Classical conditioning is therefore learning by association. Some assumptions are made on the behaviourism approach, for example one assumption made is that there is no mind or body dualism and that everything we do is because of behaviour and not because of the mind.A second assumption would be that discovering a stimuli that causes behaviour associations between stimlulus and response will allow us to predict and control behaviour. They also viewed learning as a change of behaviour due to experience. However some critics object again st the behaviourist view that behaviour is determined by our enviromnets as psychologist Garrett (1996) suggested that ‘†¦ behaviour is now shaped by what goes on inside their heads†¦ and not simply by what goes on in the external environment’ (p. 19) Operant conditioning is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behaviour.Through operant conditioning, an association can be made between a certain behaviour and a consequence for that behaviour. For example if a good thing is presented and a certain behaviour is encouraged then the behaviour will increase, this is called positive reinforement. However if the good thing is taken away then the behaviour will decrease. For example is a dog is told to fetch the ball and every time it fetches the ball it gets rewarded with a treat. This would influence the dogs behaviour to always fetch the ball as it will be rewarded.Another key feature of the behaviourist approach is the social learnin g theory. The social learning theory focuses on the learning that occurs within a social context. It considers that people learn from one another including such concepts as observational learning, imitation, and modeling. It says that people can learn by observing the behaviour of others and the outcomes of their behaviour. The cognitive approach deals with metal processes or cognitions. These mental processes include memory, thinking and perceptions. Cognition means â€Å"knowing†.Therefore cognition is the mental act or process by which knowledge is acquired. Cognitive psychology has been influenced by the developments in computer science and comparisons have often been made between how a cumputer works and we process information. The main focus of the cognitive approach is how information received from our senses is processed by the brain and how this processing affect how we behave. Cognitive processes show examples of hypothetical constructs. This means that we can not d irectly analyse processes such as thinking but we can dissect what a person is thinking based on how they act.Cognitive psychologists use laboratory experiments to study behaviour. This is because the cognitive approach is a scientific one. These experiments would involve participants taking part in memory tests in strictly controlled conditions. An assumption made about the cognitive approach is that there exists a circular relationship between learning, meaning and memory. The basis for cognitive theories follows this patern in which what is learned is affected by its meaningfulness, the meaning is determined by what is remebered and the memory is affected by what we learn.The cognitive approach places itself in direct opposition to the behaviourist approach which mostly ignores mental processes. The cognitive approach is internal whereas the behaviourist is external as it focuses on the human environment. The cognitive approach examines behaviour which is directed through the min d rather then the body. It studys the thought processes, memory, language, perception and decision making. Whereas the Behaviourist approach examines our behaviour by our responses to our surroundings and the events taking place around us which may influence us to act in a certain way through imitation.It assumes that we learn things by associating certain events with certain consequences and that we will behave in the way that achieves the most desirable consequences. There are many methods in which the cognitive approach examine. Such as the holistic method which is a view that all aspects of people’s needs such as the psychological, physical and social should be taken into account and seen as a whole. The nature and nurture debate is one of the longest running debates in the area of psychology in which theorists have various different views and opinions.Nurture is the view that everything we learn is through interaction with our surrounding environment, this could include with people, family and mass media. Some assumptions of this approach would be that the nurture theory did not discount that genetics exist but argues that they simply made no difference to how we behave and act. Studies on children temperament showed the most crucial evidence for the nurture theory. Another would be that the nurture argument is most represented by the behaviourist approach as behaviourists believe that all behaviour is the outcome of learning through conditioning.The nature theory focuses on the heredity and specific genes which can determine passing on of traits such as eye colour and skin colour. The nature theory would suggest that even personality, intelligence and aggression is also encoded in our DNA. Some assumptions of this approach would be that behaviour is innate, conditions such a schizophrenia show genetic links and a large amount of research shows that there is a link between hormones and aggression. Behaviourism follows the nurture approach as it stu dies that we learn from our environment, hence making this approach nurturist.It believes that our behaviour is influenced by our surroundings. Watson- the father of behaviourism quoted: ‘Give me a dozen healthy infants and my own specified world to bring them up in and I will garantee to take anyone at random and train him to become any kind of specialist I might select: doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant chef and yes beggar and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tenancies, abilities, vocations and race of his ancestors. ’ Watson is clearly stating that he could change any person from any different social background and race if he could bring them up in his own way.His statement strongly argues the nurture side of the debate. He argued that human behaviour could be conditioned depending on their surroundings. On the other hand the Cognitive approach is an interaction between the two nature and nurture. As much as it focuses on reactions of the senses to the bra in and the mind which make it nature it also has many nurture altributes also. The cognitive psychologist would recognise that experience and the environment also contribute and shape these innate abilities. Piaget’s therory backed this up as he believed that humans use their experiences to construct new understandings.He agreed that both nature and nurture are important, humans move through universal stages due to maturation however the rate they mature in depends on experience. He said that people are, by nature active contributors to their own development. Piaget’s argued that both nature and nurture interact to produce cognitive development. He said that the nature side helps the maturation of the brain and the body, along with the ability to percieve and learn. Whereas the nurture helps with the adaptation of children and how they respond to their enviroment. Bandura was a behaviourist theorist.He believed that there are three sources of models which influenced hu mans behaviour, these included the family, the mass media and the sub-culture. He conducted a number of experiments in which he carried out on children. One of his experiments involved an inflatable Bobo doll, his aim was to investigate the effects of observing aggression in an adult model. The procedure of this experiment was for it to take place in a playroom containing a range of toys. Young children watched an adult attacking a large inflatable Bobo doll by hitting it with a hammer and saying ‘pow’!Once the adult left the playroom, the behaviour of the children was then observed. A control group of children who did not see the adult attack the doll were also observed in the playroom. The results showed that the children who had seen the adult attack the doll also attacked the doll in similar ways. However the children who had not seen the adult attack the doll did not. The conclusion to this was that children learned particular behaviours towards the Bobo doll throu gh observational learning and then copied the behaviour when given a chance.Two years later he conducted a similar experiment however this time it was to observe the effects on modelling by children of seeing a model reinforced or punished for a behaviour. This experiment, like the previous involved a bunch of children watching and adult kick and attack a Bobo doll but this time get rewarded for it. Another set of children watched the same thing however saw the adult get punished for it. The children in the group that saw the model being punished were later offered a reward if they could reproduce the behaviour they had observed.The results showed that the children in the group that saw the model get punished for the attack were less likely to imitate that behaviour. This experiment concluded that observation is enough for behaviour to be learned, however reinforcement is necessary for the behaviour to be modelled. The values of Bandura’s social learning theory were that it e xtended the operant conditioning theory. It focused on the idea of the influence of the social environment in behaviour therefore providing an explanation for cultural and individual differences.It could account for individual differences and allowed for more complex human behaviour. Bandura’s theory had a role to play in personality theory and introduces the idea of vicarious learning. Although the criticisms are that his theories are reductionist, environmental and determinism. Reductionist ways of explaining behaviour often examine one single cause ignoring other explanations. Reductionism attempts to understand and describe the human behaviour in terms of simple components or units. Any explanation of behaviour at its simplest can be described as reductionist.This approach reduces a complex behaviour to a simple set of variables which offer the possibilities of identifying a cause and effect. The reductionist approach is therefor a from of determinism. Determinists believ e that it is possible to predict behaviour by identifying the cause of behaviour. His theories were also criticised as being environmental, meaning that the environment that he uses in his experiments can affect the human behaviour. The use of violence towards a doll in his experiments were not ethical as he only used children.It was also sociably incorrect as it was influencing violence to receive a reward. The biological influences are ignored, lack cohesiveness and still excludes influences such as emotions. Jean piaget was a psychologist who studied the development of children’s understanding and how their minds work. His theory on how the children’s mind works and develops has been hugely influential, specially in educational theory. Piaget was particularly interested in the way in which a child’s mind matures in the different developmental stages and how their maturing increases their capacity to understand their world.His theory was that all infants have the same structures and they all have innate reflexes and schemas. He believed that children cannot undertake certain tasks until they are psychologically mature enough to do so. He thought that childrens thinking develop at different stages, and that at certain points the mind would mature into different capabilities such as the first transition taking place at 18 months, then at the age of 7 and 11 or 12. He meant that before these ages children could not have a capable understanding of certain things in certain ways.The stages which took place according to this theory were firstly the sensorimotor stage which takes place between birth and two years. At this stage the child can identify itself and acts as an agent of action purposely banging on pots and pans to make noises to hear the reaction. The child can differentiate self from objects and learns object permanence realising that objects still do exist even if they are not in sight. The second stage is the pre-operational stage . This is the stage in which the child learns to use language and images to identify objects.However their thinking is still egocentric indicating that they cannot see things from another persons point of view. This stage usually takes place from the age of two till seven. The third stage is called the concrete operational stage, this takes place between the ages of seven and eleven. The final stage is called the formal operational stage, at this stage children start to think about the future and ideological problems. The child’s cognitive structure is more like that of an adults and includes conceptual reasoning. His theory was successful in the fact that they used his theory as a basis for scheduling in the school curriculum.His theory has a huge influence on the understanding of cognitive development and it was the first comprehensive theory of children’s cognitive development. His theory also challenged the traditional idea of the child being passive in development , also as his theory was scientifically based this made it come across as more accurate. However his theory has received some criticism, some critics challenged some of his developmental stages such as the sensorimotor stage and the pre-operational stage. Gelman questioned what Piaget viewed about children as young as four not being able to take on another persons point of view.Gelman believed that it was possible for children to do so. Behaviour therapy refers to techniques based on classical conditioning. This therapy consists of using learning principles to change maladaptive behaviour. There are a number of various behaviour therapies including systematic desensitisation. This therapy is a form of counter conditioning using a hierarchy of fear. One example could be to remove a phobia of animals. The patient is taught how to relax so that relaxation and fear cancel each other out, to do this hypnosis or tranquillisers may be used.It is believed that it is impossible for a person to experience two opposite emotions at the same time. The systematic part of the therapy involves a recorded series of contacts with the object of the phobia. Whilst relaxing a least frightening image of the object is introduced to the patient until this can be done without the patient having any feelings of anxiety. Some of the therapies based on classical conditioning are effective, such as the systematic desensitisation therapy. However it is mostly effective only for anxiety disorders and addictions. They are more effective in phobias than in psychotic disorders.An advantage is that the therapies are relatively quick and only take a few months to work as oppose to psychodynamic treatment which can take years. There is also a high success rate, McGrath found that systematic desensistisation to be effective for around 75% of people with phobias. In the case of single sessions success, if conducted in one session it is proved that 90% of patients with phobias made vast improvements and some were even fully recovered. Systematic desennsitisation helped treat one of the most difficult phobias to treat called agoraphobia, this therapy however helped between 60-80% of cases.Critics of these therapies would suggest that many patients with phobias may have no recollection of bad experiences with the object and simply just have a phobia, therefore the therapies would not be effective and solve the problem. Psychodynamic theorists would say this is due to the symptom being a sign that something unconscious is wrong with the patient. Another disadvantage is the unpredictable effects that the therapy can have on the patient such as heart attacks and hyperventilating. The cognitive approach has many therapies to explain and modify behaviour.Cognitive forms of therapy include the Ellis rational therapy, which is now more commonly known as rational emotive behaviour therapy. Ellis came to conclusions about patients negative thoughts and their tendencies to catastrophise s ituations making things seem so much worse then they actually are. This therapy focuses on when irrational thoughts are seen as the main cause of all types of emotional distress and behaviour orders. The aim of this therapy is to exchange the irrational unreasonable with the more positive and realistic beliefs and ways of thinking. Patients are encouraged to ‘look on the bright side’.Ellis identified patients irrational beliefs and ideas which are emotionally self defeating and are mostly associated with psychological problems such as negative thoughts and feelings about ones self. Patients are told to practice certain positive statements like â€Å" I can do† rather then â€Å" I can’t do† to help them create a more positive state of mind. The benefits of using such therapies are that it is a structured therapy with outcomes which are achievable, these methods are becoming more commonly used as they are short term and are cost effective aswell as e conomically effective.This therapy is appealing towards patients who find insight therapies which look deep into their inner emotions and problems seem less threatening and intimidating. Although there are disadvantages of this therapy. It may not uncover the problem completely, however it does almost try to empower patients to help themselves with their issues and feel better. It also may not work well for adults who are not willing to take part and collaborate with the therapist to achieve a new way of thinking. It may also not be successful for those who feel that they can’t achieve self happiness without something or someone else contributing towards it.This therapy is mostly successful for clients suffering from anxiety disorders, stress management and sexual problems. Studies have shown that this therapy is more effective in depression than drugs are and the relapse rate is proved to be lower with cognitive behavioural therapy. This from of therapy has been proved to be more effective then anti depressants. In conclusion, I have included all the points mentioned in the introduction that I said I would include in my essay, I have outlined and evaluated two approaches and discussed two theorists and therapies for each approach.

Paper2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Paper2 - Essay Example However, the period between completing high school and joining university gave me enormous insight into what I really wanted, which was to learn. The actual choice of my college hinged on its ability to land me in an environment in which I developed communication and interpersonal relations, and learnt at the same time. The experience was fulfilling. I graduated with a 2:1 from college, but I feel that I was a first-class student and should have graduated with first-class honors. As referenced in question one, I viewed college as a place to interact and learn, but after joining I indulged myself too much and my grades suffered. My only exemplary year was as a sophomore, but the rest of the years I underachieved. I also missed out on a lot of placements due to misplaced priorities while in my senior year. In summary, my life was not balanced. If I had an opportunity I would: I would run for student leadership positions; I would work towards improving the relationship between students and faculty; and I would engage in social and volunteer work as part of my contribution to the surrounding community. For me, there is no better feeling than helping students overcome the very same challenges I faced in college and either failed to triumph over, or emerged from heavily-scathed. I imagine freshmen and sophomore students struggling to balance their class work with their social life and I saw myself. Being a practical person, this was a chance for me to steer young people to the right direction and create confident, successful individuals. I joined as a tutor and graduated to a lecturer a year after completing my masters. Two years after getting my post-graduate diploma, I was promoted to a senior lecturer. I am now an assistant professor and still on course to become a full professor by 40. I was the chairperson of the journalism club, vice-chairperson of the student’s union and secretary of the exchange students association. I am currently a member of the

Is Locke's defence of toleration persuasive Essay - 1

Is Locke's defence of toleration persuasive - Essay Example Locke’s defence of toleration is persuasive and valuable not merely because he employs the principle of state of nature to justify toleration but also because he promotes a responsibility to tolerate others by encouraging a tradition of dialogue, cooperation, and liberality among members of the body politic. Basically, Locke defines toleration as â€Å"a right to care for one’s own civil and religious ends, free from the magistrate’s limited authority†. This essay thoroughly demonstrates that Locke’s defence of toleration is persuasive. Definitely, Locke would have viewed his defence of toleration as a component of a continuous discourse within the 17th-century Protestant fellowship about the nature of true belief. Obviously, viewing Locke’s defence of toleration as too abstract or too general will fail to capture the very essence of his arguments, and they should be understood within the perspective in which they were developed. Locke’s central argument is that the state and church should be independent or separated because they influence and engage in different domains of public and private life and, thus, they should not interfere with each other’s businesses. Locke does not promote, apparently, the benevolent 21st-century Church of England, which is supported by the state and does not oblige participation, but the forceful 17th-century Church of England, wherein everybody was obliged to take part in. The argument against this kind of active and insistent state involvement in religious issue s, Locke claims, can be justified: the state does not have a role in the salvation of souls; the attempts of the state to intervene in religious matters will be unsuccessful because it cannot oblige citizens to accept a faith truthfully; and, the state is incapable of assuring the deliverance of its members. It is the contention of this essay that these arguments are mostly persuasive. The three major

Evolution Of Religions Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Evolution Of Religions - Research Paper Example Darwin argued that since variability and natural selection were the key reasons behind organisms’ adaptive changes, they could apply this concept in sociological, cultural and religious transformations (Dow, 69). Numerous theories also serve to explain the nature of religious behaviors, and the reason behind the existence of diverse religious beliefs. Experts deem man to be a religious animal, owing to his desire to explain various natural phenomena and his fears of the mysterious natural and spiritual ideas. Besides, religious beliefs are deemed critical owing to a number of benefits (Dow, 69). For instance, various religions are critical in promoting a healthy lifestyle, in both mental and physical aspects. Additionally, religion serves to promote altruistic cooperation among individuals within denominational in-groups. The evolution of religion leads to the inquiry of the origin of various religious beliefs that transformed into modern religions (Matthews 219). The emergence of such practices as the magic and divination within Europe in the 19th century were deemed as remnants of the religion evolution, similar to the vestigial organs in evolving organisms (Matthews 221). Additionally, the cultural change civilization shifts served critically to explain the concept of religious evolution. However, Durkheim highlighted a critical aspect that elucidated the inexistence of religious evolution, through the explanation that such practices were ever-present. Durkheim explains that such origins were the transformation of religious beliefs from the non-civilized ideas to more civilized ones (Matthews 221). In another perspective, critics may argue that, during the evolution of man in the ancient times, man developed the communication capability (Sosis 319). This was significant in capacitating humans to share their feelings by means of syntactic communication his inner forms with his peers. Man’s

Individual report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Individual report - Essay Example One realized that it was hard to interact with group members who have met for the first time where no one led the group discussion and no roles were designated. This stage is consistent with Tuckman and Jensen’s forming stage (Tuckman and Jensen 1977). On the second meeting, the group members decided to assign tasks to give everyone a part of the presentation; so we all participated equally. Everyone was happy about the part and roles assigned. We arranged a meeting the week after it so we can add our work together. This stage could be indicative of the storming stage (Tuckman and Jensen 1977) where members realized the need to work and to accomplish the identified goal. No one referenced anything. Some of the group members were getting lazy about the work. It was so disappointing. I believe that this phase is still normal within the group since members expected that other members would perform and there was a wait and see phase. Due to the realization that we needed to accomplish more, during the fourth meeting, we did many things together as a group. The work and cooperation between us was good. All the tasks that were assigned have been prepared and we were ready to practice for the presentation. This stage is consistent with the perform stage of Tuckman and Jensen’s model (Tuckman and Jensen 1977). Everyone was satisfied. It was during the completion as all meetings, and upon realization that when members did the jobs assigned to them, then goals that were initially set were achieved. This state is the adjourning stage where members recognized and was satisfied with the result of the group’s efforts and will surely miss having worked together; but look forward to other group activities in the near future. The success of the teamwork was primarily due to the identification of the members on the need to accomplish the defined goal, which is the

Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Exam - Essay Example Analyze the options, select what you believe is the best option and formulate your proposed design to collect primary and/or secondary reliable and valid data to address your research question. 2. CORE CURRICULUM: Examine and critically analyze the seminal works on leadership and/or management related to your research topic. Drawing from this work and the broader literature you have read, address the contributions and the shortcomings of academic and practitioner research surrounding your topic, and clearly articulate the particular contribution that your research will address. Include a discussion of generalizability of your findings to related research contexts and/or questions. 3. CONCENTRATION CURRICULUM: Drawing from the recent literature in your chosen concentration (generally within the last three years), evaluate the unique contributions and/or extensions of your research question to the discipline. Draw from your personal experience as well as the greater body of literature to address the intersection of the seminal work discussed in question 2 with the current state of concentration literature and the chosen research question. SMEs are an important foundation of business activity in the Thai economy representing over 99% of the country’s businesses. The government is keen to support SMEs because of the potential economic and social benefits, and it has therefore devised several support initiatives. Various success factors are identified in addition to government support such as leadership and management skills, organizational culture and technology. After considering the three approaches to research methodology, it is decided that a mixed-method would be suitable because there is valuable data that can be collected and at the same time, more insightful qualitative information can be obtained. The descriptive research design will involve a survey to identify certain characteristics of SMEs and further research to

Blood doping Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Blood doping - Essay Example f blood doping substances and marked it as illegal in the year 1985 but athletes who employed this technique before this period could not be caught until a few of them like Kaarlo Maaninka admitted that he had opted for blood doping (Fotheringam; Hoyt). Blood doping is an unethical and unlawful act used by athletes for performing better in sports but it needs to be understood that this act has harmful health effects and it also has financial implications. Different ways are used for blood doping. Transfusions form one of the ways which is used for blood doping. Either the blood from the athlete himself is stored and then later transfused or the blood from another person is used for the transfusion. These transfusions are made a short while before the commencement of an event. EPO which is a hormone synthesized that increases the red blood cells in the body is another way used. It is injected by the athletes. All of these methods provide for health risks for the athlete. The common side effect that is promoted by blood doping is the increase in the red blood cells in the blood. This leads to make the blood thick and results in clots being formed. Thus, an increased the risk of cardiovascular attacks and the formation of emboli is seen (Hoyt). EPO has other side effects as well which appear when an individual resorts to using it for a long time. These effects include a reduction in the weight of an individual, sleeplessness, muscle ach e and a heavy head (Reinberg). Transfusions from a donor come with many risks and this can clearly be seen with the example of the cyclist Jesus Manzano in the year 2003. Manzano had a transfusion reaction which put him in a lethal condition. He described his condition by saying, â€Å"I was shivering; I felt colder than if Id been at the North Pole. If theyd put in half a litre, I would have gone home in a box.† Using one’s one transfusion also has its own negative side. Owing to the blood drawn from the athlete, he may suffer from

The management of people Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The management of people - Essay Example Management is a serious task (Aguilar, 2002). Low team morale is a hindrance to success in any project and it is the Manager's responsibility not only to make sure that the project is successful, but also see that the team is satisfied. People work in projects to make something for people. The problems in projects are human problems. For every technical, financial or schedule problem there is a human problem behind it. The most significant resource any business has is its people. A significant element in managing a complicated project knows how to manage the most precious asset the human resources. Perhaps the greatest challenge that is presented by a global project is the management of the human resource pools. This is true at a macro or overall staffing levels and micro or delegation of work to labour pools level. Management is now assuming a greater role to strategic business partners (Holsapple and Joshi. 2000). Successful businesses realize that true competitive advantage lies in the people. Businesses have been forced to redefine the responsibilities and develop a compelling response for critics who dispute human resource's value to the bottom-line. Management has been around since the dawn of civilization (Terry, 1960). In primitive societies almost everybody had to do physical labour. To break away from this burden, about the only choices were going into politics (kings) or religion (priests). Complications arise in tracing the history of management. Others see it by definition as a late modern in the sense of late modernity conceptualization (Ahmed, Lim, and Zairi. 1999). On those terms it cannot have a pre-modern history, only harbingers. Others, on the other hand, detect management-like activities in the pre-modern past. Civilized urban societies led to more specialization, produced new vocational alternatives to manual labour, and saw a tendency of those who did not work with the hands to look down on those who did. Others argue modern management as a discipline started as an off-shoot of economics in the 19th century (Drucker. 1988). Economists provided a theoretical background to resource allocation, production, and pri cing issues (Conceicao, Gibson, Heitor, and Shariq. 1997). About the same time, innovators produced elements of technical production such as standardization, quality-control procedures, cost-accounting, interchange ability of parts, and work-planning. Many of these aspects of management existed in the ante-bellum (pre-1861) US slave-based economy. There, 4 million people were, as the contemporary usages had it, managed in profitable quasi-mass production. By the late 19th century, a new layer of complexity is introduced to the theoretical underpinnings of management (Bennis, 1989). The first tertiary-level course in management in 1881 is offered. Management of People provides managers and human resource professionals with skills and knowledge for managing the people aspects of strategic implementation (McWilliams, Abagail, and Siegel 1999). In the early 21st century, it was easy to see the development of a "third wave" in these well-established concepts (Stacey, 1992). Just as the 21st century has seen new types of organizations and new ways of doing business arise, so, too, will there

Christopher Columbus a Villain Essay Example for Free

Christopher Columbus a Villain Essay Should a man whose actions created a wave of genocide and killed thousands of innocent natives be considered a hero? In today’s time, Christopher Columbus is known through the United States as the one who found the country we currently live in. But is that actually true? Over many years, his history has sparked a day that is a remembrance of his â€Å"discovery†. I believe that he is the mastermind behind the genocide of over 250,000 Native Americans, while others believe that he was only a man with a passion for exploring. I personally believe that Christopher Columbus had not a single good intention when he first stepped foot on the Americas back in his time and showed negative glory for his nation, discovery and personal glory. Christopher Columbus found the Americas, but today he takes credit for discovering a new world. Native Americans had been living in civilizations across North and South America long before Columbus had discovered it. This journey has now ruined many of those enslaved, and impacted as well as his precious reputation. With his expedition, he exposed countries to new disease, violence, and slavery. His â€Å"discovery† led him to ruin the America’s of its natives and its resources. These horrible actions should be added to Columbuss reputation, which shows him to be a villain in American history. Christopher Columbus had evil intentions from the start of his voyage when he promised to repay, Spanish monarch and founder of Columbuss travels, with gold, spice, and other servants. When he first arrived in what he thought was Asia, he quickly gathered the natives and introduced them to slavery. He also returned to Europe with the Native Americans possessions. In a resource I studied clearly and bias freely I read the following:† †¦, a sailor called Rodrigo saw the moon shining on white sands, and cried out. It was an island in the Bahamas, in the Caribbean Sea. The first man to sight land was supposed to get a large reward, but Rodrigo never got it. Columbus claimed that he had seen a light the evening before. He got the reward. We humans today know that when something new comes into the picture, something old must come out. No matter which side people choose, they all agree that Columbus made a major impact on the Americas.

Dormitory rooms Essay Example for Free

Dormitory rooms Essay As students move on in their lives after high school to college, many think that their lives will become paradise. With many house rules abandoned and without a curfew, students get the first taste of adulthood. Many think everything will be easy; however, from the dining halls to having no money students learn that being an adult is harder than parents display. Campus life shows students what they perceive is very different than the reality of life. In my opinion, living on campus in a dorm, supplies a student the full experience of the college life. When I imagined living in a dorm room, I imagined a very small room and hardly having any space to walk around. However, the rooms are actually quite big. There is plenty of room to walk around and even play some crazy, goofy games with a roommate. I thought the most exciting part of living on campus was going to be able to meet new people and live in a new environment. Because I am so far from home, my biggest hope was having a roommate who was easy to get along with and could have fun, and I definitely got that. The bathroom situation, I thought, was going to be the worst part of living on campus. However, in reality, it is not as bad as I had thought. As a student-athlete living in a dorm where the entire floor houses athletes, the bathroom has a maximum of five people using the facilities at a time. This works because of each athlete on a different schedule. In actuality, living on campus is very exciting and there should be no worry considering the problem with space, meeting new people, or the bathroom being very full to the point of not being able to use it. As an athlete living on campus at Western Nebraska Community College the athlete receives a dorm family. A dorm family is a family around town that â€Å"adopts† the student for the two years while attending the school. The family opens up their hearts and lets the athlete come into the family. The family attends sports events that the athlete plays and supports the athlete. I have a dorm family, and I love them. When I first thought of having a family that would open up their home and family to me I thought it was going to be awkward. However, having a family in town that has opened up their home and hearts has been great. It helped me know that there are people here in town who are willing to help and support me. Additionally, living in the dorms and living on their own, without parents, helps students find many new found freedoms that they did not have before. With living in the dormitories many students stay out late on all nights of the week, because they had a curfew at home and now they do not. The first week of school I stayed out late when I could. However, this staying out late situation did not last long, because I had been slammed with homework and after I was done with my homework all I wanted to do was sleep. With these newfound freedoms I learned very quickly how I was going to manage my time and make sure I got my sleep. When first living on campus I learned how easy I had it while living under my parents’ roof and the responsibilities that I didn’t have that I have now. When thinking that I was moving out of my parents’ house I thought it was going to be great. The freedoms I would have were going to be tremendous compared to what I had back home. However, when thinking of the freedoms I never thought of the responsibilities that I was going to have. When at home, laundry was done and living on campus causes me to do my own laundry and pay a dollar fifty for it. At home I always had someone harping on me to do my homework, make my bed, and clean my room, but on campus there is no one around to do that except myself. I had to learn to manage my time wisely and make sure I stayed up in my schoolwork. As a new freshman in college, like myself, sees his or her schedule and thinks, â€Å"man this is going to be a tough year. † This was my reaction when I saw mine at least. As a new student at any school I thought classes were going to be hard, one, because I didn’t know anyone; two, because I want to accomplish a difficult degree; three, because I didn’t know how I was going to manage the homework load and basketball at the same time. Although, when I got to the campus and started the school year I found out that staying caught up with school really was not as hard as many people make college seem. College classes are a lot like high school classes, just a lot more homework. Once I figured out how I could manage my time with basketball, study time, and have somewhat of a social life, my days became easier. Furthermore, expecting high quality food when entering into a college is putting a lot of confidence into the cooks that have to cook for hundreds of people everyday, three times a day. As a freshmen student entering into the college experience, I expected the food to be very good. I understood that the cooks had to cook for many people each day, but I expected that the food was going to have a lot of taste. When I first came to the campus and had my first meal the food was very good. The food on campus did not necessarily get any worse; it had gotten old. When I say old, I do not mean spoiled or rotten, I mean boring. The food all ends up tasting the same each and everyday. By the third week of living and eating on campus at the dining hall I began to realize how much I loved my mother’s home cooked meals. Lastly, money is a big problem for many college students. When I thought I was going to save all my graduation money for college, I thought that I was going to have a lot of money, but as reality turns out I have no money. Living on campus and living on my own made me realize the things I need to buy and the things I just want. The difference between what I needed and what I wanted was crucial for me to determine what I should spend my money on and what I should not. As a student-athlete I go to my parents a lot for money still, because I do have not time for a job considering homework, school, and practice time. In conclusion, campus life shows students that what they perceive is very different than the reality of life. Students living on campus have to share a dorm room with someone, the room is big, and there is not a lot of girls in the bathroom at once. Athletes have a dorm family who â€Å"adopts† them and welcomes them into their home. Students have a lot of freedom and can stay out late, but might have a lot of homework so it would be smart to not stay out. Many students also have a schedule with classes that may seem tough, but if they manage their time they will be just fine. The food is not high quality food, and it gets old. Students living on campus begin to miss the home cooked meals. Finally the money problem, I thought I was going to have a lot of money but turns out, I do not have a lot of money, I will buy what I need and not what I want.