Leadership Theories Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Leadership Theories - Research Paper Example The theory was made popular among the common people by Thomas Carlyle, a famous historian in the year 1840 (Forsyth, 2009). Trait Theory of Leadership Trait theory is based on certain characteristics of personality of people which depict them as a natural leader. It has been learnt in accordance with this theory that those who are good leaders will have the right blend of different leadership traits. Furthermore, the theory signifies that there are certain traits in individuals which are best suited for leadership. It has been noted that a few of the traits that are inevitable in leaders include dependability, self- confidence, cooperativeness and influential personality among others. The trait theory was first developed by Francis Galton in the year 1869. This theory depicts that leaders have certain decisive characteristics that facilitate them to attain greater confidence and trust of followers (Manning and Curtis, 2003). Transactional Leadership Theory (Leader-Member Exchange (LM X) Theory) Transactional leadership theory is also termed managerial leadership. A leader with the characteristics of a transactional leader will mainly focus on the performance of the group as well as the overall organization. It has been noted that this theory primarily deals with encouraging and motivating individuals towards the accomplishment of targeted goals. In this type of leadership, the main function of the followers is to obey the instructions and orders of the leaders. This theory was proposed by Bernard Bass in the year 1981 (Bass & Bass, 2009). Furthemore, there is another section of transactional leadership theory which is called leader–member exchange theory. According to this leadership theory, a leader of teams or any organization develops a healthy relationship with their subordinates or team members in order to ascertain maximum positive outcome from them. The theory was developed by the duo of George Graen and Fred Dansereau (Griffin & Morehead, 2009). P art B Great Man Theory of Leadership and Its Use to Influence and Reward for Team and Individuals Since this theory depicts that leaders are born with gifted characteristics, they are capable of influencing an individual or team towards a particular goal. Moreover, a leader following this theory can also reward team members for their good work owing to his/her characteristic of honesty. For example, a leader should not be partial in praising good work of team members. Only the right person should be praised with rewards (Forsyth, 2009). Great Man Theory of Leadership and Its Use to Develop Interpersonal Skills for Building Trust Furthermore, other innate characteristics of leaders i.e. building positive relationship with members will enable them to develop interpersonal skills of the members. Also, it has been noted that good relation will always be accompanied by trust. Thus, this will also develop trust of the members upon the leader. For instance, a leader will need to create a r apport with the team members by getting involved with their personal along with professional issues and solving them (Forsyth, 2009). Trait Theory of Leadership and Its Use to Influence and Reward for Team and Individuals These aspects of the theory will contribute towards influencing teams and individuals for accomplishment of targeted goals. By being influential and cooperative, a leader can motivate his/her followers for ensuring the deliverance of effective

Nokia Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Nokia - Term Paper Example The complacency or lack of proactive action by Nokia is in line with the psychic prison metaphor. â€Å"This metaphor joins the idea that organizations are ultimately created and sustained by conscious and unconscious processes, with the notion that people can actually become imprisoned in the images, ideas, thoughts, and actions to which these processes give rise.† (Morgan 207). These aspects of self-limitations could develop in an employee, then in a team and could occur in an entire organization, causing negative impacts like non-growth and further slide. After reaching the top, Nokia from its top management to the lower-level employees allowed this psychic prison factor to creep in, thereby forming a false sense of security. Nokia not only avoided improving its existing strategies but also avoided carrying out key innovations particularly in the aspect of its operating system, thus allowing its competitors to leapfrog over it. Thus, the psychic prison factor made Nokiaâ₠¬â„¢s growth a stagnant one, and in course of time caused a downslide. As its market share continued to slide, Nokia decided to come up with strategic changes to avert the slide and emerge successful. In that direction, Nokia found that it’s Operating System (OS), Symbian was not able to compete with newer and more advanced OSs like iOS and Android, thus contributing sizably to the slide in Nokia’s Market Share. This perspective was validated by Gartner analyst Nick Jones, who stated, â€Å"Market share is an existential threat to Symbian, it imperils the very existence of the platform, and the main reason Symbian is losing share is the user experience, which isn’t competitive with Apple or Android.† (Chen). Key issue or issues to be investigated Due to this understanding, Nokia went in search of other OSs, which can be incorporated into its devices. After doing in-depth study, Nokia and in particular its recently appointed CEO, Stephen Elop, who is actua lly a former head of Microsoft business division, decided to form a strategic alliance with Microsoft in early 2011, thereby replacing not only Symbian but also MeeGo with Microsoft's Windows Phone operating systems particularly with Windows Phone 8. Although, Nokia decided to run its low-to-mid end mobile devices on Symbian and MeeGo, majority of its devices especially Smart Phones were planned to be migrated to Windows OS. After being attached with Symbian OS for many years, this decision to incorporate Windows OS is not an easy process to adopt and implement, as it involves sizable changes to the whole organization including its different departments. Any change in strategy will have to be accompanied by a sizable amount of change within the organizational structure. This need to actualize changes in various departments is line with the metaphor of Flux and transformation. This metaphor focuses on how entities including organizational bodies will be in a constant state of change, based on the changes that are happening in their external and internal environment. â€Å"Everything flows and nothing abides; everything gives way and nothing stays fixed.† (Morgan 241). If the organization maintains a rigid stance, without changing and flowing with the flow, then it will stagnate. Only if the organization in line with Flux and Transformation updates its organizational processes, filtering out failing processes and

Comparing National and Personal Security

Comparing National and Personal Security Why national security is more important than personal security. What if national security was gone tomorrow? Some people would automatically assume the worst.Although we wouldnt be invaded by another country   in a month or be any more likely to be attacked as a country,the people of America would be in a great deal of danger. When a natural disaster strikes a populated area,the first people to respond are firefighters,paramedics,and police officers.Even in the event of the area being completely leveled,they still have to keep order and keep the civilians safe.Without them,most people who are stranded or in need would never be found or die,although many times civilians help in search and rescue.Its obvious that American emergency services plays the defining role of how many people survive a natural disaster,and are employes of the government,even if their pay comes from taxpayers.Besides wanting to help its people,the only reason the United States   government would have to send help to civilians after a disaster is national security,which is the belief that the government and parliaments should protect its people through various means and powers. Of all the powers Congress has,the most they have has to do is with national security,like investigations and declaring war,so its apparent that national security is important to the United States government.But with great power comes great responsibility.A natural reaction to the United States government protecting its people from crisis is going too far. Luckily,there are limitations to what they can do.For example,the 4th amendment stops the government or government workers from searching your body,belongings,home or other possessions without reasonable cause or a warrant from a judge and the 5th allows the right to remain silent.Even in cases like executive order 9066 (japanese american civilians   locked up after Pearl Harbor) or Guantanamo Bay (prisoners tortured after and for information on 9/11) where personal rights were crushed under a boot of national security,it was all in an attempt to keep the people safe.Yes,the 2 two events above were horrible and should have n ever happened,but the intents were still good. In 1915,german submarines sunk a United States ship,leading Congress to declare war on Germany,showing a successful national security response as Germany had killed Americans and were a threat to the nation.Similarly,after the attack on Pearl Harbor Congress once again declared war in a response to a threat to national security.When 9/11 occurred many inactive veterans would step back on the battlefield since the attack on the Trade Towers was a national crisis,falling under a national security matter.If the government had not reacted in the way they did,there would have been many more attacks like the ones above. Not every occasion where national security overtakes personal rights is bad. When a shooter and his wife were killed after killing 14 people in San Bernardino, the FBI recovered an Iphone from one of the bodies.When they demanded Apple, the famous company that makes the phones, to help them crack the phone by making a back door,they said no. If they did help,they could have potentially saved lives, but there personal right to say no prevented that, stopping the FBI from doing their jobs because the phone could have helped they find more shooters/information. Many people are also skeptical of national security because of how secret and over powered they think it is. But this isnt necessarily the case. No matter if everyone in the world saw and recorded someone blowing up a building,the terrorist would still have to right to a trial in the United States and someone would have to prove, without a reasonable doubt, that he did in fact blow up the building, according to the 5th amendment of the United States constitution. And to make it even harder for national security,due to the same amendment, the terrorist wont have to testify against himself/herself, so all the evidence must come from someone/something else.Much criticism of national security comes from the secrecy and the reluctance of the United States government to release information to the public.Although it is only right for a countrys people to fully   know of the problems plaguing national security,many times the secrecy is absolutely necessary.It is to ensure that Unied S tates methods and analysis of receiving and decoding information are not revealed to other nations.For example,on July 17 1950, at the peak of United States fear Julius Rosenberg was arrested for allegedly passing Russian secrets to Russia.About a month later his wife was arrested as well.They He worked for the United States Army Signal Corps and was an engineer, making him seem ordinary.During their trial however, a majority of the evidence presented was weak and didnt seem to be nearly enough to send them to the electric chair for the crimes they seemed to not have done.But nearly forty years after the trial,evidence that was classified at the time was released to the public,revealing that the United States had been listening in on Russian transmissions and Julius Rosenberg (wifes role still unknown) had indeed been giving Atomic secrets to Russia.If   the United States government had released the information during the trial to the public to appeal to their personal right to know if the Rosenbergs were actually guilty or not,the Russians would have known that they were being listened in to and the United States would have lost any future oppertunities to gather any infromation.It is also important to note that the Rosenbergs have avoided death by admitting to their espionage. Even with some of the necessary secrecy, National security still isnt as secret as most people think it to be.In the United States,about one point four million people have access to top secret information.Although this sounds scary, contradictory to public assumption, top secret is not the highest level of secret information.There are multiple levels of sensitive information clearance higher than top secret including sensitive compartment information and special access programs. In the end, national security is more important than personal rights because without it, the government would have little reason to help its people and would most likely end up working for itself instead of their people. References Constitute. Constitute, Constitute Project, www.constituteproject.org/constitution/United_States_of_America_1992. Executive Order 9066. Britannica School, Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, 9 Feb. 2009. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Executive-Order-9066/473853?opensearch=executive%20order%209066. Accessed 15 Feb. 2017. Okita, Dwight. In Response to Executive Order 9066: All Americans of Japanese Descent Must Report to Relocation Centers. Breaking Silence: An Anthology of Contemporary Asian-American Poets, edited by Joseph Bruchac, Greenfield Review Press, 1983, p. 211. LitFinder, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=LITFsw=wu=j020902v=2.1id=GALE%7CLTF0000508187WKit=rasid=0c318a462d4449dbc9f55f57ba1a9a13. Accessed 15 Feb. 2017 The Powers of Congress. Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association, www.ushistory.org/gov/6a.asp.

Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Issues - The Struggle of Sexual Minorities Es

The Struggle of Sexual Minorities Explaining how to challenge the discriminatory attitudes that remain rampant throughout the world, Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a recent article, quotes the incisive words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu: "We are all of equal worth, born equal in dignity and born free and for this reason deserving respect. . . . We belong in a world whose very structure, whose essence, is diversity almost bewildering in extent, and it is to live in a fool's paradise to ignore this basic fact." The archbishop's words lay bare an essential, wonderful truth about humanity, ignorance of which continues to create suffering for people everywhere. One group of people for whom the question of respect for diversity and individual freedoms comes into stark relief are those belonging to so-called sexual minorities. The struggle for acceptance by sexual minorities is almost universally undertaken in the face of strong and often even violent prejudice and misunderstanding. This year, from March 8--11, SGI-USA held its first Gay, Lesbian, ...

Eastbourne – Land use changes as you move towards the sea front

Eastbourne is large in tourism and also has a large beach, which has been managed. There has been a big project which lasted for 4 years to rebuild the groins. But by re-building them, it loses beach material. There is lots of land between the beach and houses. If the beach were to disappear, it would bring the economy right down and holiday workers will lose a huge sum of money. Senior citizens come to Eastbourne and retire there. If the beach were to disappear, then there would be a drain on the council's resources for the senior citizens and they wouldn't have any supplies for anything. So by providing these people with resources, it obviously counts a lot on the council's economy as a lot of the money comes out from it, so therefore, the beach should remain there. Hypothesis Land use changed as moved towards the sea front. Method We walked around the area and identified different types of land uses. Along the main road near Eastbourne Station, the variety of individual uses was recorded under different classes such as Residential, Industrial or Commercial. The different types of building were written as a number followed by a code letter, depending on what it was classified as. After this took place, a Questionnaire was made by asking a number of people walking in and around Eastbourne and recording their answers. This consisted things such as how far they travelled to reach Eastbourne and also approximately how far they travelled. Conclusion Eastbourne does have a large sphere of influence. Because it's famous for its tourist industry, it attracts many senior citizens. There are a large number of hotels, restaurants and shops for local people and the villages around. Eastbourne is a tourist-orientated town with a lot to offer, such as entertainment, cinemas, restaurants and theatres. There are not a large number of young people as it wasn't a main holiday season or a weekend. If we had done our research on a weekend, we would have seen children stating over. Elderly people have trips to Eastbourne to either relax or retire there. Especially at this time of year from now until early December, there will be a large number of elderly people who go there for ‘tinsel and turkey weekends', to have their Christmas dinner. There are hotels in Eastbourne for people such as conservatives, so the hotels will offer conference facilities for them. Evaluation If a longer time were spent in Eastbourne, it would have been possible to have spent more time with the surveys on different days, to produce range of different results. Or even on a Saturday or a Sunday, which would have made a big difference. If the questionnaire was taken at different times of the day, like 3 or 4 for example, then there would have been a better spread of results from different age groups, as some children may have been at school at the time or adults may have been at work. Also, if a survey were taken at the coach park, there would have been a spread of locations as we could have noted where the coaches were coming from.

Outliers Essay

In the book Outliers author Malcolm Greenwell talks about a variety of topics that deal with how success is obtained by individuals who are blessed to have many different opportunities. They range from a school designed for students to excel, to being financially wealthy, or even being in the right place at the right time. Many different types of examples of people who found success through opportunities laid out in front of them are discussed in Outliers. From a man who was Jewish and just happened to be born in a location where lawyers were scarce, to hockey players who were born just after the cut off dates, Gladwell describes types of advantages and how these opportunities sparked success for these people. He also talks about how success is also derived from hard work and putting in the time to master a particular trade or skill. A theory of putting in ten thousand hours is discussed as the way to become an expert. This way of thinking is actually a very intelligent one due to the fact that to achieve greatness at the highest level it only makes sense that one would have to work the hardest. As Gladwell states, â€Å"The people at the top don’t work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder† (Gladwell 39). This is a great statement that shows how while luck and good fortune is never a bad thing, hard work and taking advantage of opportunities is what separates the ordinary from the extraordinary. While outworking the competition is a very important aspect, having and taking advantage of opportunities is just as important to achieving success. Today, people all around the world pay attention to many famous stars or athletes and are always inspired by stories of struggle or hardship that they may have dealt with. Josh Hamilton, a famous baseball player, is one of these examples. His story is one that has been heard by many that deals with a guy who had everything he needed in life and threw it all away when he fell into the proverbial grasp of alcohol and drugs. Then when all hope seemed lost he was able to escape the adversity in his life and turn it around and become the clean, Christian man that he is today. Josh Hamilton’s struggles and self-imposed obstacles played a major part in the early years of his major league career. He fought through and became a very successful player through the opportunities that he had and was given on his way back to the top. Josh Hamilton was a multi-talented person from the time he was very young. He could hit and throw harder than anyone his age and had all the skills that a coach would look for in a young child. At the age of eight he could out play most of the kids in the thirteen year old league. He was what most would call a protege. Many of the parents were scared with Josh’s ability and raised concern about Josh hurting their children who were not nearly as talented. He amazed anybody who watched him and he even talked about people being stunned after watching him take a round of batting practice. He states, â€Å"I enjoyed watching other players’ reactions when I took batting practice. Everyone was stunned of how hard the ball came off of my bat† (Hamilton, 181). He had a true talent that was unlike any that most had ever seen from a kid that age which was a God-given gift without a doubt. Throughout his teenage years he worked his butt off to be the best he could be by hitting and throwing just about every day, as well as lifting and staying in shape. Hamilton had everything to be a superstar, he just needed to keep his head straight and he was destined to become a millionaire straight out of high school if all went well. Hamilton grew up in an excellent household with two parents who loved him deeply and ones that supported everything he wanted to do. They did well financially and he received several opportunities to excel due to this financial stability. From all-star teams to personal coaches, Josh had it all laid out in front of him. He had a desire to be the best unmatched by most kids his age. He had a unique understanding of what it takes to be â€Å"big-time† that few adults every completely grasp. He talked to many pro scouts during his early years of high school and he was preparing to be drafted and continue his fast track to fame. Everything that Gladwell describes as keys to success Hamilton was provided. The only thing to keep him from this would end up being himself. Josh was drafted in the 1999 draft as the number one overall pick by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and signed a $3. 96 million dollar bonus straight out of high school (Hamilton, 187). He was playing ball and doing extremely well. He had his family support and was growing into quite the individual. Eventually, however, when a few incidents were placed upon him, he folded and turned to a terrible place to find happiness. He did things he never thought of doing before from drinking to smoking weed and eventually becoming a major crack addict. He got in with the wrong crowd and could not get out of the hold it had on him and was on his way to ruining everything. He spent all his money on drugs and alcohol and was very close to killing himself from the drugs he was taking. He had a family at the time and he distanced himself from them to a point where his wife wanted nothing to do with him. Life was falling apart for the once nationally renowned phenomena. It wasn’t until he was pushed to the brink that he began trying to get to rehab and fix his addictions. He talks about his problems regarding the extent of his issues in his book, Beyond Belief. He says, â€Å"My journey to the depths of human depravity- to a place where a single-minded desire to alter my consciousness was my only goal- defies logic† (Hamilton, 187). This helps bring his story full-circle to show how he went from such a high point to a low, and then back up again. It is a true story of opportunity and fight which Gladwell talks about in his book. Hamilton’s struggles fit in well with Gladwell’s success theories because Gladwell talks about how opportunity leads to success and Hamilton had every opportunity to excel. He was provided everything he needed and he obtained everything until he messed it up with bad decisions. He had many people help him as he worked back and thanks to these people he was able to make it, from the rehab people, to his teammates, to the baseball organization, and especially from his parents. This follows suit with Gladwell’s point of how opportunities can lead to success when all hope seems lost. When Hamilton came back he was better than ever. Surprisingly he was away from the game for over two years, but when he returned he had not lost anything. His swing was still solid and his arm was still what it always was. He was a much better person and he was blessed for his chance to come back. He found the Lord and ended all his struggles by putting his focus in much more important things such as family, faith, and ball. He now has exceled to become the league Most Valuable Player in 2010 and has lead the Texas Rangers to two consecutive World Series appearances. The writer of the Josh Hamilton biography talks about his physical attributes, especially his hitting ability when he says, â€Å"Josh has one of baseball’s most magnificent swings. It is smooth and powerful. His knowledge of the strike zone helps make him a great hitter, and he can clear any fence in the majors. In other words, he is a pitchers worst nightmare† (JockBio). Society can learn many things from Josh Hamilton’s story. It can learn that even with hard work and all the things that Hamilton had going for him, messing up and ruining it can happen. But through anything if a person has opportunities to come back, they can succeed. Malcolm Gladwell has many examples of how success can be obtained through opportunity and hard work and Josh Hamilton is an excellent example of this. He struggled and was in a terrible situation but with an excellent supporting staff behind him, he was able to come back better than ever and do things that everyone thought he could do in the first place. Josh Hamilton is a true testament to success and a great figure to look up to.