THE (ME )IN LEADERSHIP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

THE (ME )IN LEADERSHIP - Essay Example But the definition was too generalized to understand what leadership is really all about; what makes a leader, and what character trait must be learned to become an effective leader. But recent scholars however has synthesized of what really makes a good leader. The idea of being a good leader is no longer as elusive as before. While for others leadership is inherent, it can now be learned integrating the inherent intrinsic quality of an individual and developing it to be become an effective leader. II. The Poster Explained Learning leadership begins with learning the â€Å"self†; to have certainty about himself/herself to as a foundation of confidence to lead and get things done. â€Å"It is necessary for a â€Å"leader, who possesses a clear self-concept through private self-consciousness, to be more likely to possess a strong purpose-in-life. Having a strong purpose involves consistency in self-identity (i.e., self-concept clarity) (Campbell, 1990; Frankl, 1992). The â₠¬Å"possession of a clear self-concept through private self-consciousness enables an individual to recognize the gap between what he or she is (i.e., real self) and what he or she should become (i.e., ideal self). This recognition may enable a leader to develop a strong purpose-in-life by setting goals in order to narrow the gap between the real and ideal self (Frankl, 1992; Marcus & Wurf, 1987). This clarity and lucidness of self-concept is necessary not only to get things done but also to harmonize my inner sense of self to what my peers sees in me. This â€Å"self-concept of reality is again distinct from the contents of the self-structure and is instead the level of lucidity and certitude of one's own understanding of that content- how well the leader thinks they know themselves. Campbell et al. (1996). This clear awareness of myself translates to a clearer sense of goal and purpose which will evolve to Self-Belief. Self-belief, which is the inner confidence that I will succeed and overcome any obstacle to achieve the best outcomes for service improvement. This Self-Belief attribute also will enable me to transcend myself. To be conscious how I see myself and how others sees me as well. As Abraham Maslow (1968) elaborates â€Å"He thinks that there is much more to us than what we mirror about the world around us, writing, "there is not only an orientation to the outer but also to the inner". This â€Å"mirroring as the reflections of self that a group member encounters in other group members, in the group leader, or in the group as a whole (Bion, 1961) harmonizes us within and eliminates discord beginning from perception of how I look myself through my peers. This type of mirroring can include the psychological mechanisms of denial, splitting, projection, introjection, indentification and projective and introjective indentification (Pisani, Colangeli, Giordani, & Popolla, 2006). On the other side of the mirror(s) lies the possibility of self-knowledge an d true relationship. When group members can recognize and own their projections, when they can work with them carefully and honestly in group, when they can bear the reflection(s) of their full identities, they can know more about themselves. Such, this sensitivity towards myself and others comes to mind the idea of myself likening to a dynamo whom the

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

OPERATION - Essay Example At the same time, Deere also aligned its production processes with sales forecasts, supplier lead times, and customer demand for the products, which enabled the company to immediately respond to rapid changes in product demand and reduce the company's vulnerability to external factors that affect its profitability and operations. Similarly, Revlon's recent inventory restructuring initiative was influenced by the increased need to optimize all aspects of the company's resources to meet greater customer-service expectations and to manage capital flows from inventory to other business activities such as research and product development. In contrast with Deere's efforts, Revlon emphasized a process-based approach to reduce inventory costs. This entailed targeting the inefficient parts of the company's supply chain for restructuring in order to achieve a better synchronization across the functional areas of the business. For one, Revlon focused on making sustainable changes by changing at titudes and behavior within the company that contributed to inefficient business processes in order to align leadership and management practices with the demands of the new inventory management process.

Italian renaissance Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Italian renaissance - Research Paper Example Chronology accounts that the renaissance marked a drastic change in the society since artists, rulers, and other groups of elites intensified their activities towards improvement of the existing novices in different fields. Notably, Leonardo Da Vinci presumed an abundant role in propulsion of the renaissance activities since his works affected various disciplines that included art and painting, architecture, science, and engineering (Fisher, 2006). The following discussion shall evaluate Leonardo’s influence in the disciplines of history, art, and architecture in the ancient Italian society, and the prevalent influenced that activities continue to decipher in the modern society. Leonardo’s activities harness him to global recognition. History cites that 1452 was Da Vinci’s year of birth at an Italian city called Vinci. This intelligent artist concentrated on matters that influenced the entire world. Debatably, he had a passion to nature and science, factors that extensively influenced his artwork (Riding, 2006). The Italian renaissance period would not have been a success in the absence of artists such as Leonardo holding to the fact that he was the first person to paint a picture that bore a landscape (Pernis & Adams, 2006). This approach influenced a major change in artistic painting since all his predecessors started incorporating landscapes and shadows in their pieces of art. History indicates that his artwork bore abundance in delivering the desired perspective in each image. Through his paintings on Mona Lisa, the Last Supper, and the Flying Machine, Da Vinci was able to create knowledgeable to the human society such that his predecessors were able to contemplate how the world would be with a set of realism in the various aspects employed in the paintings (Austen, 2006). Further, Leonardo was able to influence his successors’ artistic designs including those of Ambrogio Lorenzetti who embarked in the profession and

The Clothes Make the Man Essay Example for Free

The Clothes Make the Man Essay The Grangerford family serves as an allegory meant to show Southern readers both the horror and the futility of hatred and violence. TSIn the Grangerford home, the feud with the Shepherdsons is kept alive by the authority of Colonel Grangerford. As the father of a typically male-dominated Southern family, he sets the moral compass for them. CDHuck tells the reader that â€Å"every day of [the colonel’s] life he put on a clean shirt and a full suit from head to foot made out of linen so white it hurt your eyes to look at it. CMColonel Grangerford’s â€Å"clean† shirt projects the idea that he is a person of the highest moral quality, even though he advocates racism, vengeance, violence and ignorance under his own roof. Huck voices the collective opinion of Southern society when he decides that the Colonel â€Å"was a gentleman all over† (p. 140) based almost entirely on the man’s possessions. CSTwain uses the Colonel to show that white Southerners judge the moral quality of a man by his superficial appearance rather than focusing on his character. TSThe oldest two sons, Bob and Tom Grangerford, symbolize the pattern by which the family ideology is passed from generation to generation. CDBoth are described as â€Å"dressed in white linen from head to foot, like the old gentleman. † (p. 141) CMThe Colonel imprints them with his belief system from the outside in. It is his rules and his understanding of the world that â€Å"dresses† the ideas of his children. CSJust as the boys try to emulate their father’s external appearance, they also adopt his worldview and moral guidelines. TSBuck’s limited moral and academic education is highlighted frequently during Huck’s time with him. CM Buck desperately wants to murder Shephersons, even though he doesn’t know the reasons behind his family’s feud. What makes the situation sadder is that he seems to respect his enemies’ courage and unity, two of his family’s core virtues, and defends them to Huck. CDâ€Å"There aint a coward amongst them Shepherdsons,† Buck says, â€Å"not a one. † (p. 145) His father’s corrupt teaching has left Buck unable to recognize when he is acting immorally. When Buck fails to correctly spell the name â€Å"George Jackson†, he also demonstrates his academic shortcomings. CSTwain does this to show that even though Colonel Grangerford has enough money to educate Buck, he shields his son from the classroom to maintain control over what he learns. As a result of his limited education, Buck grows up as an incomplete man. When Huck first sees Buck, he notices that â€Å"he hadnt on anything but a shirt, and he was very frowzy-headed. Buck’s unfinished outfit symbolizes his deficient schooling, and the frowziness of his hair represents his father’s negligence in his moral instruction. Huck tells us that when he goes to Buck’s room, â€Å"[Buck] got me a coarse shirt and a roundabout and pants of his. † (p. 131) The rough texture of the shirt is another metaphor for Buck’s stunted mental growth, and its rigid construction reminds us of the stern control that the Colonel, who bought the shirt, exerts over his son. Twain suggests that the Grangerfords’ demise is directly related to their lack of education, when their inability to foresee the Shepherdsons’ ambush results in Buck’s death. He shows the reader how the family stunted their intellectual and spiritual growth by focusing their time and energy on hatred, racism and cruelty. Any southerners of the time who shared similar values as the Grangerfords were likely given much to think about when they read this family’s story and the price they paid for their crooked moral values.

Marriage proposals in Pride and Prejudice Essay

Marriage proposals in Pride and Prejudice Essay The three proposals in Pride and Prejudice to Elizabeth Bennet, or Lizzy, vary greatly in their motivation. They are all involving the upper middle class of the 19th century that Jane Austen had knowledge of. Jane Austen never married, and you can see the kind of person she would have liked to be in Elizabeth. Jane Austen read such books as Mary Wolstencrafts The Rights of Women, and although she does not go as far to criticise womens status, most of her books are about their place in society; this novel being no exception. Pride and Prejudice is about marriage and manners in country society, that women wanted to marry into good fortune, and rich men wanted to marry pretty women. The first sentence in the book sums up the attitude expressed in this book well: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. Marriages in the period in time this book is based, between the upper middle classes, were often practical. The women needed security for future life, the men wanted children to continue there family and this was the kind of marriage that Mr Collins proposes. He is not proposing out of love, but that he feels he should, and he is sure of Lizzys acceptance. He does however manage to convince himself he does in fact like her: before I am run away with my feelings is one of his first lines during the proposal. The proposal itself is stated in a very long-winded way, however, as soon as Mr Collins has asked for time alone with Lizzy, she knows what it is for; she thinks, it would be wisest to get it over with as soon and as quietly as possible. This is reflected in how she reacts to Mr Collins repeated pleas. All through it he is still convincing himself and trying to convince Lizzy that he is in love, or making any other excuses he can for marrying her. We know he does not love her, as, however, earlier in the book it is said Mr Collins had only to change from Jane to Elizabeth and it was soon done. The proposal was very formal and long; Mr Collins often seems to be speaking a monologue, emphasized by Elizabeth trying to stop him and the complete use of direct speech. These are all similar to the first proposal by Mr Darcy, even if the motivation behind it was very different. They are both certain they will be accepted because of an advantage to Lizzy. It is clear that Mr Collins and Mr Darcy do not know Elizabeth well enough when they propose, as neither chose to ask her a way that she is likely to accept. The second proposal is different in motive from the first, but its manner is similar in many ways. After his early expression of love, which is surprising and awkward: You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you. Darcy regains his confidence and begins a long explanation of why he loves her. However, what he says is misunderstood by Lizzy as she says with so evident a design of offending and insulting me. Mr Darcy is in fact attempting to explain that he loves her despite her position and connections. Lizzy may have accepted, or been more likely to accept if his timing had been better however, he asks her at a time where she has just recently found out that Darcy was to blame for her sisters troubles, and is very angry with him: Mr Darcys shameful boast about what misery he had been able to inflict. It is not only the timing, if he had known Lizzy well enough he could have guessed the reception she would give to the method of his proposal. This is a similarity to the first proposal, from Mr Collins, but very different to the last. It is only after Mr Darcy has left that Elizabeth realises how much she has overreacted to what he has said to her, and also how ready she had been to believe what anyone had said about him. These feeling are then reinforced after she receives his letter explaining how mistaken she has been about many of his accusations. After thinking over and re-reading the letter several time, she starts to realise she does in fact not hate Darcy as much as she first thought, and even starts to have feelings for him, in spite of what he has done to her sister. This is further exaggerated as Elizabeth discovers he has provided for her sister to get married after she ran away with Mr Wickham. His intentions behind this are clear: if he had not, he would not have been able to marry her, as she would be disgraced. Darcy realises that she may have feelings for him still, after Lizzy refuses to tell Lady Catherine de Bough that she will never marry Mr Darcy and decides to return to Netherfield with Mr B ingley, who he has recently convinced to love Lizzys sister, Jane again. Elizabeth was hoping he would come, but was almost scared too and was expecting that he would stay away and send a letter of excuse. The third and final proposal in the book has little in common with either of the others. It is quick, instead of long winded and this is even more emphasized by the use of reported speech instead of direct. It is however the same in motive to the first proposal by Mr Darcy love. The difference being that this time it is felt in both directions. It is also quite unexpected, though hoped for by them both. Darcy is unsure of how to ask Elizabeth, so she encourages him by taking him for his help with her sisters marriage. This probably caused him to finally believe he may stand a real chance with her and so then proposes. He does so in a way which shows how much better he knows her because it is an equal conversation instead of one or the other thinking themselves superior. It is also far more informal and shows us ways in which they both have changed. Lizzy is less confident, and for once not sure of herself whereas Mr Darcy has realised that to be liked he should not act superior and stubborn. The three proposals received by Lizzy in Pride and Prejudice are contrasting in some ways and are similar in others however, there is nothing or very little in common between all three. The progression in the book is from what Jane Austen believed was the worst kind of marriage, of the kind Mr Collins proposes, to what she believed was best and hoped for herself a fair and equal meeting.

SWOT: The Better Way Company Essay -- gardening, revenue, segmentatio

The Better Way Company started in 1988 in a 3 unit building with 10 employees. This was the brainchild of Dr. Amornthep Deerojanawong who wanted to bring quality products to Thailand consumers at an affordable price. The company started with 10,000,000Baht and its current sales for 2012 were 10,000 million Baht (â€Å"History†, 2014). In addition its current office is a luxurious building site on 30 acres located on Ramkhamhaeng Road in the suburbs of Bangkok boasting â€Å"Future Gardening† by French botanist Mr. Patrick Blanc (â€Å"History†, 2014). The company has quickly grown with its direct selling approach, fast deliver of products and increase branding. The company has combated several issues over the years to gain market share, loyal customer base and an increased sales force. In addition, the company experienced a major setback during the flooding but was able to regroup and reestablish its self very quickly. When the founder died, his son Danai Deerojanawong took over the operation of Better Way with a vision to grow the company into a national brand (â€Å"About Us†, 2014). The company has maintained a competitive edge with its technological warehouse and upgraded technological call center. This system tracks the production, orders and inventory to ensure available of product and accuracy of orders. The Better Way company has received several award and world certifications including GMP-Food and Drug Administration Ministry of public Health Bangkok, Thailand; TUV Cert-ISO 9001:200, GMPH, NOF, R&D, Thailand Best, Thailand Super brand 2004-Gold, Super brand Thailand 2003-2004, Super brand-England-Thailand Choice 2011 and its Fusion HD Powder Foundation on SPF25 received the Cosmetics & Toiletries R&D Award 2011. In addition the c... ...Cited Asean free trade area. (2014, January 8). Retrieved from http://www.asean.org/communities/asean-economic-community/category/asean-free-trade-area-afta-council History. (2014, February 6). Retrieved from http://www.mistine.co.th/en/company/history.php Mistine, (2014, February 7). Retrieved from http://www.mistine.co.th.php About us. (2014, February 6). Retrieved from http://www.mistine.co.th/en/company/about us.php Pongvutitham, A. (2012, January 30). Better way has a big plans for Mistine in asean market. The National. Retrieved from www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Better-way-has-big-plans-for-mistine-in-asean-mark-30174717.html Ferrell, O. C., & Hartline, M. (2011). Marketing strategy. (Fifth ed., pp. ). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Retrieved from https://www.betheluniversityonline.net/mba/SectionFramework.aspx?SectionID=783

Report on Key Issues in Small Business Enterprises

| Key issues in small business enterprises| Personal Reflective Report| | Zdravko Mihaylov| BA (HONS) Business Enterprise Development2012| | Introduction Small business enterprises are important for the modern market economy in terms of innovation, employment and flexibility. They are the backbone of our economy. Around 98. 6% of all businesses are considered small (Goodman, 2006) and every large business was at some point small. Small business enterprises are very different to large business enterprises.They operate in different circumstances, such as having different management techniques, facing different financial constraints and production choices, and bearing different relative regulatory burdens. This report’s aim is to identify some of the key issues facing small business enterprises today, addressed in the Enterprise Finance unit, in order to give better view of the challenges presented in their survival and growth. Small business enterprises are often at a competitiv e disadvantage to large business enterprises.They may have difficulty achieving economies of scale, where large enterprises have already been well established, they often have difficulty in acquiring sources of finance and they may have problems with government policy and regulation, which are often designed to assist specifically large enterprises (Holmes et al, 2003). Other factors that may bring to small enterprise failure include: poor credit management, poor stock management, poor pricing practice, excessive profit distribution, excessive investment in long term assets and others (Holmes et al, 2003:142).They are very dependent on the founding owners and have higher business risk. Evaluation In summary, two broad forms of business failure can be identified. The first involves the start-up of the business, bankruptcy, liquidation, voluntary wind-up/closure. The second form is where the business continues to operate, but the return on capital, time and effort contributed by owner s is bellow the desired. Small business enterprises have difficulty competing with already established large enterprises.New enterprises rarely have the financial backing to set up a large-scale operation to take immediate advantage of scale economies. Except the challenges brought by the lack of history and reputation, a development of a price cutting war may become a great threat to small enterprises, as they may not have the financial capacity to withstand such competition. Some of the scale economies not available to small enterprises are listed in Figure 1. 1 in the Appendices. A way of overcoming those issues is adopting strategies to overcome some of the disadvantages or to target small niche markets in which to operate.Small business enterprises suffer from chronic undercapitalisation as they often have limited access to the capital and money markets (Tamari, 1980). Two main â€Å"gaps† can be identifies as responsible for that: Knowledge gap – lack of awarenes s of appropriate sources of finance and their relative merits resulting in restricted use of debt; Supply gap – unavailability of funds or exceeding cost of debt. Another barrier is the required higher rate of return on funds invested or lent due to the higher risk in small business enterprises (Storet, 1994).Problems can even arrive from the owners’ inclination of not wanting to share control of the business with investors. Other frequent cause of small business failure is the lack of liquidity or little financial planning and control. Two critical periods of financial needs are identified within the business life cycle: the start up and the rapid expansion. To overcome this problem and avoid overtrading1, a long-term finance source is needed. Different financial stress factors have also been identified by Hutchinson and Ray (1986) in each stage of the lifecycle, which can be seen on Figure 1. in Appendices. Another major challenge for small enterprises is the burden of complying with government regulations. Part of the burden problem can be attributed to poorly designed legislations. Two disadvantages are seen by this, listed in Figure 1. 2 in the Appendices. While a lot of studies show that small enterprises face a greater relative compliance burden than large enterprises, some consider that many of them ‘are so flawed that we must view their findings with scepticism’ (Brock and Evans, 1986: pp. 134-5).When looking at the small firm survival over a period of time, a key variable is net profit. It is defined by subtracting all operational costs from gross profits and the costs of closing down a business. For staying in business over a period of time, it is required that net profit should not fall below zero. In case of being positive, the firm might have some prospect for growth, while in case of being zero, it is just breaking even. If it stays negative for a period of years, it invites failure and exit from the market.Thus one mi ght express that for staying in business, net profit should be non-negative. Small business enterprises usually have centralized control by the owner, thus his managing skills are critical for the survival of the business. Perry and Pendelton (1983) estimated that 90% of the business failures are associated with management inexperience and/or incompetence. It has been identified that managerial roles relate to the lifecycle of a business enterprise (Holmes et al, 2003:150), so different managerial skills are required for each lifecycle stage.In other words, if owners do not have the necessary managerial skill for each stage, the business might be at a great risk. Conclusion The objective of this project was to determine the key issues facing small business enterprises today, discussed in the Enterprise Finance unit, and to draw the knowledge gained. Firstly, the report begins with analysis of the disadvantages of barrier of entry, Overtrading1 – when a business expands withou t a solid financial foundation financial and government regulation issues of small enterprises.The report continues with examination of the survival over a period of time and the role of the owner-manager in small business enterprises. The issues listed in this report cannot be generalised for all small business enterprises, as each one has a unique structure, resources and capabilities. Further research may be required in this area before any decisive conclusions can be drawn. Bibliography Brock, W. A. , & Evans, D. S. (1986). The Economies of Small Businesses: Their Role and Regulation in the US Economy. Holmes and Meier: New York. Goodman, G. (2006).Five Challenges Every Small Business Owner Faces. From http://ezinearticles. com/? Five-Challenges-Every-Small-Business-Owner-Faces&id=158921 Holmes et al. (2003). Small Enterprise Finance. John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd: Sydney Perry, C. , & Pendelton. W. (1983). Successful Small Business Management. Pitman Publishing: Sydney. Store y, D. J. (1994). Understanding the small business Sector. Routledge: London. Tamari, M. (1980). The financial structure of the small firm. American Journal of Small Businesses, 4:4 20-34. Appendices ————————————————-Figure 1. 1 Scale economies of large enterprises, not available to small enterprises | Longer production runs based on larger and more technologically advanced plant and machineryQuantity discounts on input purchasesEmploying specialistsMore widespread advertisingAccess to more forms of finance on better terms and conditionsMore sophisticated information gatheringLower unit costs in complying with government regulations and reporting obligations| (Adopted from Holmes et al. , 2003, pp. 52-53) ————————————————- Figure 1. 2 Government regulation disadva ntages |A greater relative cost burden in complying with many forms of government regulation, because of the substantial fixed costs involvedGovernment policy measures being designed to assist large enterprises more than small enterprises| (Adopted from Holmes et al. , 2003, pp. 54) ————————————————- Figure 1. 3 A view of the financial lifecycle of a smaller growth enterprise Stage| Finance used| Predominant financial stress factor| Inception| Owner’s resources| Undercapitalisation| Growth 1 (Take-off)| Owners’ resources plus retained profits, trade credit,