The international politics of democracy promotion Essay Example For Students

The international politics of democracy promotion Essay Whilst the paper does not attempt to single out one motive as the barely concealed hidden agenda, it does recognise that there is a clear distinction between motives for promoting democracy for the self -perpetuating value of democracy itself and motives for promoting democracy based purely on the self-interest of the West. As seen from the discussion above, the latter seem to be in more abundance. The paper is not directly condemning this, it is recognised that, especially after September 11th, western security is threatened and this issue needs to be addressed. However, as the title of this paper suggests these hidden agendas are barely concealed, and while few may believe that democracy promotion is based on morally motivated principles, many believe this not to be the case, including the recipient countries. Again, this paper is not attempting to paint these recipient countries as victims of Western hypocrisy. Yet, it cannot be denied that there is a great deal of hypocrisy behind the democracy promotion agenda and this could badly affect the outcomes of democracy promotion. We will write a custom essay on The international politics of democracy promotion specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now This, whether you support democracy as a valuable concept itself, or whether you are aiming to achieve security, economic prosperity etc. through democracy, is generally not a good outcome. Sanctioning countries for not being sufficiently democratic and abusing human rights, whilst praising another which does exactly the same but is a strategic ally will lead to less desire for countries to become truly democratic, and lead unsavoury regimes to lean more towards a democratic farce, whilst atrocities go on behind the scenes. Democratic transitions are rarely stable events, and it is extremely hard to consolidate a democracy, not being truly dedicated to promoting democracy, but rather preoccupied with maintaining Western security and economic interests in the region will not provide the political support and assistance that emerging democracies really need in order to continue their transitions. In order for the world to continue truly democratising and for existing young democracies to become solid, the West need to seriously reappraise their barely concealed hidden agendas and realise that some of their motives such as maintaining business as usual and maintaining solid bases for transnational capital are in direct conflict with promoting democracy and that in order to achieve Western security, it is essential that democracy be promoted wholeheartedly and without hypocrisy. 1 Richard Youngs, The European Union and the Promotion of Democracy, (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2000), p. 1 2 G. R. Olsen, Promotion of Democracy as a Foreign Policy Instrument of Europe: Limits to International Idealism, Democractization, (Vol. 7, No. 2 ,2000), p. 142-143 3 Ibid. p. 143 4 Ibid. 5 G. John Ikenberry, Americas Liberal Grand Strategy: Democracy and National Security in the Post-war Era. , p. 111 6 G. John Ikenberry, Why Export Democracy?: The Hidden Grand Strategy of American Foreign Policy, The Wilson Quarterly, (Vol 23, No. 2 (Spring, 1999) http://www. mtholyoke. edu/acad/intrel/exdem. html (visited: 02/02/2002) 7 Ibid. 8 R. Youngs, The European Union and the Promotion of Democracy, p. 12 9 R. Youngs, The European Union and the Promotion of Democracy, p. 12 10 Larry Diamond, Promoting Democracy, Foreign Policy, (No. 87, 1992), p. 28 11 G. R. Olsen, Promotion of Democracy as a Foreign Policy Instrument of Europe: Limits to International Idealism, p.143 12 Ibid. p. 144 13 Ibid. 14 Ibid. , p. 155 15 Ibid. 16 Larry Diamond, Promoting Democracy, p. 44 17 Ibid. 18 Milan Markovic, Whats Democracy Got to do With It? , Pundit Magazine, http://www. punditmag. com/articles/democracy. html (visited: 07/02/2002) 19 Ibid. 20 Ibid. 21 Ibid. 22 G. R. Olsen, Promotion of Democracy as a Foreign Policy Instrument of Europe: Limits to International Idealism, p. 160 23 Ibid. 24 Ibid. p. 161 25 Ibid. , p. 162 26 William I. Robinson, Promoting Polyarchy Globalisation, U. S. .u79a25a744b3b52447644c8d692002d01 , .u79a25a744b3b52447644c8d692002d01 .postImageUrl , .u79a25a744b3b52447644c8d692002d01 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u79a25a744b3b52447644c8d692002d01 , .u79a25a744b3b52447644c8d692002d01:hover , .u79a25a744b3b52447644c8d692002d01:visited , .u79a25a744b3b52447644c8d692002d01:active { border:0!important; } .u79a25a744b3b52447644c8d692002d01 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u79a25a744b3b52447644c8d692002d01 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u79a25a744b3b52447644c8d692002d01:active , .u79a25a744b3b52447644c8d692002d01:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u79a25a744b3b52447644c8d692002d01 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u79a25a744b3b52447644c8d692002d01 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u79a25a744b3b52447644c8d692002d01 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u79a25a744b3b52447644c8d692002d01 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u79a25a744b3b52447644c8d692002d01:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u79a25a744b3b52447644c8d692002d01 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u79a25a744b3b52447644c8d692002d01 .u79a25a744b3b52447644c8d692002d01-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u79a25a744b3b52447644c8d692002d01:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Triumphant Reconstruction EssayIntervention and Hegemony, (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1996), p. 318-319 27 Ibid. , p. 321-322 28 Robinson, Poyarchy, Globalisation, U. S. Intervention and Hegemony, p. 344 29 Olsen, p. 144 30 Ibid. p. 154 31 Ibid. p. 144 32 Edward Newman, Democracy Assistance: Motives, Impacts and Limitations, http://www. incore. ulst. ac. uk/newman. html (visited 02/02/2002) 33Edited by Peter Burnell, Democracy Assistance-International Co-operation for Democratization, (Frank Cass Publishers: London, 2000), p. 47 34 Ibid. p. 44 35 Ibid. p. 47.

Current Events Article Review on Presidency essays

Current Events Article Review on Presidency essays Senates Long Losing Streak on Presidency Could Be Near an End With the unexpected withdrawal of Republican Mitt Romney from the presidential race, the likelihood of a sitting United States senator going straight from Congress to the presidency appears very strong. Chances are that Republican Senator John McCain will face either Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Obama, both Democratic Senators, in the upcoming 2008 presidential election Almost 50 U.S. senators have run for the nations highest office, but only Bob Dole, Barry Goldwater, George McGovern, John Kerry and John F. Kennedy won their respective partys nomination. The last time that a sitting U.S. senator won the presidency was in 1960, when John F, Kennedy defeated former Senator Richard M. Nixon. Never before have two sitting U.S. senators faced each other head-to-head in the final presidential election race. Previously, the only female senator to run for her partys nomination was Margaret Chase Smith in 1964. Senatorial experience and media exposure have always been considered distinct advantages among presidential candidates, and in that regard, Senator Clinton is the first serious female contender, running on her eight years experience in the white house during President Bill Clintons tenure as President, as well. Senator McCain is a highly decorated war hero and Vietnam veteran with even more experience in government, and a reputation for integrity built on his previous efforts to eliminate questionable campaign funding practices and government waste of federal funds over Senator Obama is the least experienced of the three senators, with only one term under his belt, but is considered a strong candidate who represents change as one of the themes of his platform; he is also the first African Amer ...

Business Management concepts Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Management concepts - Assignment Example This guarantees high returns for the corporate or organization because there is no manual work force required besides machines are much faster than a person’s memory. This technique reduces time spent during manufacturing process besides increasing output speed hence resulting to increased production. In this way, when the jobs are well scheduled their execution is at almost the same time besides being mapped to the processing unit after they are done. Moreover, some factors such as absenteeism alter productivity in case they are common besides if the company has a flat rate output of sixty-two computers in a day it simply means that it is not an effect of workers not being present. Besides, quality problems may not have much impact on production, as they are capable of making sixty-four repairs in a day. Cheating on size or content of some goods or products is among the common unethical business acts practiced by many corporates (Mandal, 2010). This refers to deception in advertisement whereby a product is made to appear much better or bigger that its exact quality size. By doing this, the corporate proofs not to be adhering to the ethical principle of being honesty (Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell, 2010). Honesty entails maintaining morality in all actions and communications. This principle calls for the business owners not to deceive or else mislead their clients by either providing them with partial truths and overstatements among other vices about their goods or services. This is because upon realizing the clients may lose trust on the company’s products, hence cease buying from them. As the CEO, I will ensure honesty is paramount by briefing my staffs who draft advertisements that they should be taking the actual pictures of the item intended to be advertised and include it s mass as well as dimensions. Through this act, my clients will have a clear picture of my products besides which will make them build some trust on the corporates products. Copying

Marriage, families and relationships; making choices in a diverse Case Study

Marriage, families and relationships; making choices in a diverse society - Case Study Example People stay together and lose focus on the right thing to do after staying together for too long. Another reason is the low quality of life. They believe that, lives of couples living together cannot be compared to those of married couples. There is an increase in the number of Americans who are unmarried because of a number of reasons. One of the chief explanations is that, the career choices taken by many individuals today are demanding (Lamanna & Riedmann, 2012). Time taken to concentrate on the right thing to do with regards to career limits the time taken to have a family. This is considered one of the main reasons as to why people remain unmarried in modern society. Another reason could be the demise of a partner or unfaithfulness. These factors can cause people to make the choice of remaining alone, instead of suffering the heartache of losing someone. Moreover, the preferred lifestyle of choice prevents many people from committing to marriage. The sense of responsibility among people today is not as it used to be long ago. People tend to remain unmarried since the thought of responsibility does not appeal to the modern person. Not everyone who has children wants to have them. There are some pressures that society places on individuals to have children in order to fit in this setting (Lamanna & Riedmann, 2012). One of the social pressures that ensure people have children is, to create the setting they grew up around as children. When people grow up, the urge to create and develop something similar to what they had as children tends to overwhelm people. This leads to the formation of a family, complete with a wife and children. People also have children so that they can feel immortal. They tend to think that they go on living through their children after death, or old age. In many societies, it is seen as a sign of strength. Children usually seal the deal between married

Compare and Contrast 2 literary works Research Paper

Compare and Contrast 2 literary works - Research Paper Example The storm also depicts an adulterous relationship between two ex-lovers. As the storm approaches and progress they engage in an illicit relationship despite the fact that both of them are married. The storm helps in rekindling past coveted memories between the two of them. Alcee maintains in the story that he was not able to follow his aspirations and feelings he had for Calixta. On the other hand, the author, Kate Chopin tries to convey her opinions by means of Calixta. Her character is that of a women who is tied with her husband. After engaging in an adulterous relationship with Alcee that day, she finds herself happy and refreshed. Chopin tries to convey through this act that marriage is an institution which ties two individuals together and they are not able to obey their own free will. On the other hand, the case with Alcee is somewhat different as he is not with his wife and feels lonely. He feels comforted and soothed and his loneliness disappears after engaging in sex with C alixta. By means of these two principal characters, Chopin tries to depict that having an illicit relationship is not necessarily detrimental. ... Also nature has the healing power to modify emotions and feelings of individuals. This is depicted by the end of the story and is depicted by the following quote, Was it last week the cyclone had well-ruined him? The cyclone seemed a huge joke, now. It was he, then, who, an hour ago was kissing little Calixta’s ear and whispering nonsense into it. Calixta was like a myth, now. The one, only, great reality in the world was Clarisse standing before him, telling him that she loved him† (Chopin 160). This quote further brushes off the impositions posed by morality. According to Chopin, just by bonding in marriage and getting tied up in a relationship may not necessarily depict astute happiness in individuals. In fact, sometimes straying away from the path may result in satisfaction and comfort, rather than the feeling of guilt which is imposed by the implications of being ethical and moral. The characters of Calixta and Alcee do not experience any guilt by engaging in an adu lterous act because they themselves feel freed from all the negative emotions they experienced in marriage. In fact, the adulterous relationship helped them in bouncing back to their respective marriage with happiness and vigour. This sentence also shows the resignation towards societal rules. Despite having an adulterous affair with Calixta, Alcee returns to Clarisse, his wife as he believes that this is the only socially acceptable relationship. There is another aspect of symbolism depicted in Kate Chopin’s The Storm. This can be seen in her silent symbolism against Catholicism which denotes certain restrictions on gender and sexuality which is forced due to class and religion by means of certain cultural constructs which existed during that time (Wehner, 154). This is

Skills Required to be an Effective Manager

Skills Required to be an Effective Manager Management skills express the belief that economic change can be made into the most powerful engine for human betterment and social justice (Drucker, 2007). A perfect manager is an asset for a company. A good manager should have the knowledge about functionality, processes and standard operating procedures of an organization. It is said that leaders are born leaders; some of us have that charisma by birth whereas there are some that needed to learn their way towards it. In this document we will discuss which skills should be there in a good manager? Which are the qualities being a manager we should have in order to ensure a smooth sailing at work? Lets discuss further what makes a good manager. To be an effective manager one should have leadership skills. There are many ways in which a person can tackle different situations through various leadership roles. A good leader should be a good guide as well. He should be able to guide his team to perform well. He should not dominate all the time. A good manager should also have a visionary sight for the assistances of the organisation. He should plan the future steps for the development of the company. One of the most noteworthy skills of a good manager is effective management of time. A leader should be able to plan the schedule and be able to equally divide the time between tasks. Such a person can be an asset for the organisation. A good manager should encourage the team to perform well to achieve the organisational goals effectively. He should encourage innovative ideas. If some of the members of the team are not performing well, he should tackle the situation with professionalism and should decide accordingly. Even in a disaster circumstances, a person with good managerial and leadership skills should be able to execute well. He should be mentally strong to handle any kind of situations. He should also be responsible enough to retain a good and friendly environment. A manager should be profound towards others in the workplace. A happy atmosphere would only lead to more productivity and profitability for the orgnisation. With these skills, a person can definitely strive to be a good manager and thus be an asset for any organization! Analysis of the Skills Skills are the abilities or talents that are required to perform a job functions (Truesdell, 1998 ). As we know that the recipe to become a good manager contains lots of ingredient and spices. Here in this document we will analyse one personal and one professional skill of a good manager. Some of the skills in human beings are God gifted and some we develop by learning and practice. Personal Skills Personal skill is an ability to understand and manage self, management of change, learning to learn, personal responsibility, aesthetic responsiveness and wellness. If a person cannot manage himself/herself as human being, so how can he/she manage anything else? When the children have a strong foundation of personal skills, they manage themselves and cooperate with others (Ellison, 2001 ). In this document I will analyse communication Skill as my personal skill, which is helping me a lot in my personal life and as well as in professional life. Communication Effective communication is all about conveying your messages to other people clearly. Its also about receiving information that others are sending to you. Doing this involves effort from both the sender of the message and the receiver. In fact, communication is only successful when both the sender and the receiver understand the same information as a result of the communication. This awareness needs to be married with reflection on our experiences and adjustment where necessary in our style of communication (Ellis, 2009). The author is very fond of travelling and making new friends. Infect while one is travelling and communicating with people from different places and culture, it really helps to know others . By doing this we are making new friends, increasing our personal relationship and as well as enjoying the diversity of the cultures. For me earthquake in Pakistan in the year 2005 was a lession learnt. I was living in Islamabad the capital of Pakistan. When the earthquake shook the earth, the scenes were very horrible. I went to the local office of Red Cross and told them that I want to volunteer myself to go and serve the earthquake effecties. Because of my strong communication skills I had many friends and I also took them to the Red Cross to serve as volunteers. Many of my friends are still working for the Pakistan Red Crescent Society. Thus I used my personal communication skill to help my own nation and to help my own people. By communicating better we can quickly and easily resolve the minor and bigger issues of our personal life. In addition by better communication we can help other in time and can be beneficial for our friends and companions. Professional Skill Most professional skills are outlined and regulated by the professional association of that particular field e.g. Engineers have their own professional associations that deal with specific skill requirements at each level of development. Professional skills differ from profession to profession but there are some basic professional skill which goes on with all the professions. Lets analyse one of the general professional skill. The development of professional skills, requires practice, experience, role mentorship and evaluative feedback (Kasar E., 2000) Presentation It is important to work hard and finish or complete your work on time or before time. But more important is to present that work to others. If one is working hard but he/she is not presenting himself/herself in a presentable manner, then he/she cannot excel in his/her career. I would like to share my experience of coming to UK. When I landed at the airport I was accompanied by the lots of Asian students. Most of them were very much afraid and were looking confused. Because they were looking confused, the entry clearance officer was putting more questions to them. Because of their appearance and bad presentation many of them were on hold at the airport. On the other hand I was composed and confident; I went to the visa officer, greeted him and gave him my documents and passport with a smile. Because of my better presentation and confidence the entry clearance officer granted me the entry without putting a single question. Actually, a great presentation is a combination of three elements: content, design and delivery (Rotondo Rotondo, 2001) Personal/Professional Skill Contributing In Organizational Strategy Skills play a vital role in an organizational setup. One can develop his career by employing and demonstrating personal and professional skills effectively. In the modern age skills play a vital role to develop your career. If you demonstrate good personal/professional skills with right attitude and direction, you will defiantly be rewarded. Personal skills shows that how well managed you are and when you come to work you can organize your work as you have managed yourself. As far as professional skills are concern they can be developed by training and practice. Normally the environment itself teaches you a lot to build up your institutional memory. It is better to understand what kind of professional skills are required for you to perform you duties and one should try to learn and practice those skills. Task2 SWOT Analysis of Personal Skills A SWOT analysis asks us to list all our perceived strengths and weaknesses in terms of skills attributes, interest, attitudes, likes and dislikes. At the same time we are asked to highlight any potential opportunities and threats that we may have to face (Thomas, 2007). Strengths Communication Skills Punctuality Weaknesses Dont like repetitions Unorganised Opportunities Personal Relationships Learn to manage self Threats Stress Key Findings from the SWOT Analysis As I mentioned good communication as my strength in the SWOT analysis, So by employing my strength of good communication skills I am able to clear many tests and interview. I have had built up personal relationship for my personal and organizational benefits. My other strengths like punctuality support my communication skill additionally to make a good impression on others. By communicating better I always have an opportunity to involve and attach with other easily, by doing that basically I am expanding the circle of my friends. As far as my weakness is concern, I dont like repetitions. I only understand the practical and logical things. I dont like repetitive tasks and this is the biggest reason of my casual lifestyle. SWOT Analysis of Professional Skills The SWOT analysis which includes the analysis of strengths, weaknesses, Opportunities and threats investigates internal and external as well as positive and negative factors of a corporation (Bohm, 2009). Strengths Leadership Presentation Quick decision maker Team player Weaknesses Bad in record keeping Bad in financial management Opportunities Can apply for management jobs after DMS Learn to manage documentation and self Threats Carelessness Overconfidence Key Findings from the SWOT Analysis As per SWOT analysis of my professional skills I am very good at presentation, leadership, decision making and teambuilding skills. Infect these are my core strengths throughout my career. I was working as a Network administrator in Pakistan and was designing, planning, implementing and maintaining the networking projects. Apart from technical issues I was managing and leading my team well. I always had this problem of mismanaging documentation and as well as the financial matters. Indeed it is really important for a manager to learn and improve to keep proper documentation and to keep the financial matter up to date and in proper order. Analysis of Personal/Professional Skills by Using Fishbone Diagram This is pictorial aid to some form of thinking formed and made popular by a renowned management guru by the name of Ishikawa. A typical base format of fishbone diagram is shown in the figure 1. Personal Skill Confusion or over concentration Losing interest 11th hour decisions Lack of attention Bad time Management Not having thing in writing Carelessness Casual lifestyle Too Many things to do Figure 1, Fishbone Diagram of personal skill In the diagram in figure1 a problem has been discussed. The author has a problem of bad time management. I have discussed different reasons and causes of bad time management which are self-explanatory. The most crucial is my casual lifestyle which I need to change immediately otherwise it will start shadowing on my professional career as well. Professional Skill Area of work is IT and Telecommunications Organisational politics Not been trained Non cooperative staff members Bad in managing finance or budgeting Insufficient time to concentrate No trainings or workshops at organisational level Unavailability of funds Too Many things to do Figure 2, Fishbone Diagram of professional skill As far as professional skills are concern I have had many problems in managing finance or budgeting. The major reason for that was that my profession is IT and Telecommunications. Due to this reason the management was not training me to handle financial matters. But according to me indeed it is a need of the time that I should learn finance and budgeting. When we talk about IT/Telecom project planning and designing, we cannot ignore the fact that there will be money involve and we need to budget accordingly. Learning Styles Theories of learning have evolved over the last century as a result of numerous experiments conducted, often with animals. Different school of psychological thinking has made their various contributions to the pool of knowledge. No single theory has obtained complete agreement among psychologists about the details of learning process, but many accept the basic premise that the learning occurs whenever one adopts new or modifies existing behaviour patterns in a way that has some influence on future performance and attitude (Sims, 1995). To gain a better understanding of yourself as a learner, you need to evaluate the way you prefer to learn or process information. By doing so, you will be able to develop strategies which will enhance your learning potential. Everybody has a preferred learning style. Knowing and understanding our learning style helps us to learn more effectively. There are many ways to find out that what youre learning style is. I have used the model of Honey and Mumford to identify my learning style. According to them people have four different kind of learning styles the Activist, the Pragmatist, the Reflector and the Theorist. After filling in the diagnostic tests I came to know that I am falling under the category of the Activists. According to the model I have used it describes me as and enthusiast who will try anything, enjoy a challenge and working with others, preferring to be the centre of attention. Weaknesses of and Activist are longer term implementation and perhaps not putting in enough thought before they get started. Analysis of my learning style (The Activist) As mentioned above that after applying the learning style model on myself I came to know that my learning style is activist. Being an activist I have some strengths and weaknesses. Strengths More on practical side Innovative and responsive Just need a little push to start Always on my toes to try something different Always try to push myself to give 100% Punctuality Always good and attentive at start Weaknesses Hates theories and just talking Cannot concentrate for a long time Dont like repetitions or repetitive tasks Not able to finish things well Most of the time in hurry Impact of learning style on personal development As we have discussed above some of the strengths and weaknesses of my learning style. My learning style has had a big role in my personal development and as well as professional development. It is because of my learning style that I had chosen IT/ Telecommunication as my profession. As an activist I like to do practical things and IT/Telecommunication is the branch of electronics where we do things practically. We plan, design and implement networks. Apart from practicality there have been an innovation involved in my profession, I always try to do different or I try things differently. So my learning style has helped me a lot to develop my personality and profession. Task3 SMART Goal Analysis SMART is an acronym that can help us to effectively set our goals. It stands for Specific , measureable, attainable, reasonable and time oriented. Just as following a compass keeps us from getting lost, adhering to these five precepts enable us to stay on the path that will ultimately lead to our success. Setting goals the SMART way is not just limited to financial success but can help you to achieve success in all areas of life, including educational, spiritual and physical goals (Berges, 2007). Personal Goals by Using SMART Goals Specific I have plans to be migrated to Canada by 2013. Measurable I have applied for Canadian immigration and I am in the queue since 2007. Achievable As I meet the criteria set by the Canadian government. I have two Masters degrees and on top of it I have plans to do MBA from UK, in these circumstances I believe that it is very much possible to achieve this goal. Realistic Indeed it is realistic to move to Canada because it has the charm and opportunities in the sector of IT and Telecommunications as compare to Pakistan. Time oriented It takes not more than 70 months to complete the whole process according to the old regulations. Specific I want to get hold of post study work permit by December 2011 . Measurable After completing MBA I can apply for post study work permit. Achievable As I am in UK and doing well in my studies, so it seems very much achievable Realistic It is realistic to get some hand on experience and improve my learning by getting work permit. Time oriented I will complete my MBA by December 2011, so I will be eligible to apply for post study work permit. Professional Goals by Using SMART Goals Specific I have planned to finish off my MBA before December 2011 from a good British University. Measurable I am already in UK and doing well in DMS course. Achievable It is achievable because I have arranged the entire fee for MBA in advance. Realistic As I will finish my first term of DMS by January 2011, so I am on the right track towards MBA. Time oriented It will take almost 6 months to complete MBA after DMS. Specific Want to get a managerial position in the sector of IT/Telecoms by the end of 2011. Measurable I have experience of technical end that has expanded over 9 years. Now I am doing DMS to learn management skills to become a manager. Achievable It is achievable if I keep myself of track and complete my studies on time. Realistic I have completed first term of DMS, so realistically I am on the right track to achieve my goal. Time oriented By the end of December 2011 Personal Development Plan In recent year role of personal development has become central to the success of those that have made the decisive jump from doing ok to major noticeable and measurable professional and personal success (Nutley, 2008). Learning and development need How does this support your professional and personal goals Actions to be taken including resources needed to achieve them Date for achievement/review Getting post study work permit It will enhance and enrich my theoretical learning by getting some working experience from UK. I need to get MBA degree to apply for post study work permit. December 2011/ I will review my PDP by June 2011. To learn and improve management skills by doing MBA I will qualify to apply for managerial jobs As my first step toward MBA, I am half way through my DMS and it will be completed mid next year. Than I have plans to do top-up MBA. I want to get MBA by December 2011. I will review my PDP by June 2011. Reflective Analysis of Attained Goals In this section we will have a reflective analysis of the goals that I have attained in past in my professional career as well as personal goals. Let me share analysis of attaining my personal goal. I had an urge to come to UK for higher studies but due to financial constraints it was not possible for me to come to UK and study here. I set a goal four years back that I have to go to UK to get an international qualification. What have I learnt from my experience? In the pursuit of my personal goal, I have learnt that nothing is impossible. If you plan realistically, you can achieve your goals easily. What went well? The best part was that the right things were happening to me at the right time. I got a good job at the right time, that job lasted for more than four years and that was the platform from where I set my goals and started planning things for myself. What could have gone better? The only thing that could have gone better was the environment. I this very moment most of the countries are going through or recovering from recession. If the environment could have progressive there was a chance for us being an international student to get some hands on experience as well on what we have learnt. How can I put into practise what I have learnt? The best way to put my leaning into practice is to plan realistically in future, considering my present situation. When it comes to set goals, at times what we do is, we set our goals very unrealistic or unachievable. So when one is setting goals for himself of herself, he or she should be aware of his or her present situation. In my professional career I had a very good experience of working for Red cross. While working there I got promotions at regular intervals. I would like to share my past professional working experience. What have I learnt from my experience? My key learnings from my experience of working with Red Cross are that it is important to work hard but the key thing is to show your work to get promoted within the organisation. What went well? The best part was that I was very much sound technically so it was very much easy for me to find my place and very easily I established myself and my repute in the organisation. What could have gone better? I should have learnt how to deal with organisational politics. I was not part of the politics and that was the reason many of the lobbies were against me. While working in and organisational structure one must learn how to deal with the politics within the organisation. Another thing is that I could have projected my work more, because I was doing the hard work all the time and my bosses were taking the credit on my behalf. Task 5 Evaluation of Activities in this learning programme In this specific learning programme, we have learnt about the personal management, in other words before getting in the professional career one must learn how to manage self. During this learning programme of twelve week we have learnt different personal and professional skills and we have had the chance to practice those skills in the classroom and while doing the group work. Specifically this learning programme has provided us the base to learn the management skills at professional level. The learning programme was evenly structured both for experience and inexperience students, which was the best part of the learning programme. The key skill which we have learnt in this programme were Report writing Presentation Time management Leaning styles SWOT analysis Smart goals Stress management Now let us evaluate these entire key learning one by one Report Writing Report writing is a key skill when it comes to the professional working environment. If we talk about the professional working environment, we have to write reports regarding our daily, weekly, monthly or yearly report. Report writing is also vital when it comes to career growth, a person who can show his work well has a better chance to get promoted, because ultimately it is the report which is going to the management which shows your performance. Key learning In this learning programme we have learnt about, how to write a report, what is the proper format of a report, what should be the language, what should be the style , what should be the formatting, how to start and end the report. Constraints As most of the students are from Asian origin and English is not their native language, due to that they were having communication problems. Because of this the teacher had to maintain a slow pace during the course and that really affected the practical work. Recommendations As far as theory is the concern the course was really good but somehow we are still short of practice. We understand the limitation of time but the essence of this course is learning by doing. So the sessions should have been more practical. Presentation Presentation is also very important skill to learn, especially in this modern age, if one dont know how to present himself, he cannot make progress in his professional career. Key Learning In this activity we have learnt; how to make presentations, what should be the contents, what should be the layout, presentation should be specific, how to present with style and confidence. Constraints Most of the students were not confident or they were feeling shy to come and present their work. They were given many chances to apply this skill. Recommendations It should be compulsory for the student for this learning programme to present in front of the class. Time Management Managing time and being punctual is the need of the time. It is one of the biggest cause to have a bad appraisal by your boss. It is one of the key skill of a good manager. A good manager should be able to manage his own time and also he needs to assign tasks at the right time to his team members. Key Learning We have been briefed about the importance of time management and after that an exercise was given to assess that how we manage our time and how it should be managed. Constraints We have only covered one side of the picture; we should have discussed the impact of bad time management on ones career. I would have been better if it could have explained by some audio visual support. Recommendations It is recommended to include audio visual aid in this specific learning activity to clear the concepts effectively. Learning styles It was the first ever experience for most of us to learn our learning style. It really helps if one knows about his learning style. By this way we can learn quick and also effectively. Key Learning This activity was very unique. In this activity we have leant that what is our learning style and how we can learn in a better way. Constraints Most of the students were confused while doing the exercise, because it was too long and complex. Recommendations It would be better if we put this activity in the start of the course, so that students should be aware of their learning style since beginning. Rest of the learning activities were also quite helpful for us to learn more about self-management and management at work place. Doing SWOT analysis on personal and professional skills was very helpful to figure out the strength and weakness. In SMART analysis we learnt how to set goals and how to achieve them. The element of stress was also discussed during the course and a session was given on how to manage stress personally and at work place. We can conclude that this whole set of activities was very much helpful to enhance and improve out daily life and management skills. It was also a learning experience to learn from the experience of the other classmates.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Who’s the Fairest of Them All? Essay

As in the Disney movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the evil queen is obsessed with being the fairest, or most beautiful, woman in all the land. The word beauty, by definition, is the quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether from sensory manifestation, a meaningful design, or something else such as personality. But what is beautiful to me may not evoke the same response or feeling from you. How is the queen to know she is the fairest in everyone’s eye if not everyone holds the same definition of beautiful? Why is it that we are attracted to some people and not attracted to others? The well-known phrase, â€Å"beauty is in the eye of the beholder† may hold some truth. Perception dictates how we view everything. People’s views are gained through experience and the environment in which they live. With that being said, our ideal depiction of beauty may slightly differ because no two people experience the same things in life, but aspects as to what people find attractive overlap. These overlapping qualities can be grouped into categories, which include the influence of personality, facial beauty, and body beauty and how it’s changing with society. Both males and females, at some level or another, are concerned with how they look to others. Typically, females are more preoccupied with the idea of looking beautiful. Don’t misinterpret what I’m saying; males care about what they look like as well, but generally not to the extent of that of females. This paper will focus on the perceptions people have on beauty as it pertains to women. Influence of Personality on the Perception of Beauty A study was conducted in which a group of researchers wanted to examine if the infl... ...International Journal Of Cosmetic Science, 27(6), 317-325. doi:10.1111/j.1467-2494.2005.00286.x Haughton, N. (2004). Perceptions of beauty in Renaissance art. Journal Of Cosmetic Dermatology, 3(4), 229-233. doi:10.1111/j.1473-2130.2004.00142.x Leist, A. (2003). What Makes Bodies Beautiful. Journal Of Medicine & Philosophy, 28(2), 187-219. Swami, V., Furnham, A., Chamorro-Premuzic, T., Akbar, K., Gordon, N., Harris, T., & ... Tovee, M. J. (2010). More Than Just Skin Deep? Personality Information Influences Men's Ratings of the Attractiveness of Women's Body Sizes. Journal Of Social Psychology, 150(6), 628-647. doi:10.1080/00224540903365497 Weller, J. E., & Dziegielewski, S. F. (2004). The Relationship Between Romantic Partner Support Styles and Body Image Disturbance. Journal Of Human Behavior In The Social Environment, 10(2), 71-92. doi:10.1300/J137v10n02_04

Imperatives for Developing My Transformational Leadership Potential: Some Plans Essay

The word â€Å"leader† first appeared in the English language in the 1300s; it stems from the root â€Å"leden† meaning â€Å"to travel† or â€Å"show the way.†   The term â€Å"leadership†, however, followed only some five centuries later.   One can sift through many definitions of the term â€Å"leadership† and fail to find a single ‘common denominator’ that will unite all of them. This may be because there are so numerous, varying usages of the term in equally numerous and complicated situations.   However, for purposes of this paper, the following definitions used in many leadership studies were adopted: Leadership was broadly defined by Yukl (1989) as â€Å"influencing task objectives and strategies, influencing commitment and compliance in task behavior to achieve these objectives, influencing the culture of an organization.†Ã‚   In simpler terms, leaders influence the actions and behaviours of their followers to obtain a shared vision or aim.   According to Deming (1992), leadership must come from top management and leaders must possess profound knowledge. By profound knowledge, Deming meant that one must have knowledge of systems, variations (statistical thinking), theory, and psychology. Leadership is quite different from management; leaders grow from mastering their own conflict which arises during their developing years using internal strength to survive. On the other hand, managers tend to perceive issues as positive progressions of events which must be planned, organized, scheduled, and controlled.   In order to create the proper thinking perspective, leaders must aggressively investigate and act on the current market to create opportunities.   Effective leaders are those that are capable of assisting their organization/country manage change and steer it towards success. Past Work Experience I have had the opportunity to work with a local company; at peak work periods, I am tasked to manage a small team of 4 staff. Some of the responsibilities involved in this role are delegation of work; prioritizing tasks based on urgency and importance; reporting regularly to my superior for updates and new directives; and updating my superior at the end of the day for concerns and accomplishments. Moreover, it requires me to plan and manage my own time. Effective people skills are as critical as the management of tasks in a team leader’s role. It is necessary for me to create and manage smooth working relationships with line managers, colleagues, and team members. I am also expected to manage their performance by clearly explaining to them standards of work and behavior. An Assessment of My Leadership Style I personally want to develop a transformational leadership style that is more dynamic, innovative and accepting of change than that espoused by a management role. Tichy and Devanna (1986) assert that managers engage in very little change but manage what is present and leave things much as they found them when they depart. Transformational leadership, they declared, focuses on change, innovation, and entrepreneurship. They assumed that transformational leaders begin with a social fabric, disrupt that environment, and then recreate the social fabric to better reflect the overall business climate (Bass, 1990). They argue that there are four suggested personal characteristics of a transformational leader: (a) dominance, (b) self-confidence, (c) need for influence, and (d) conviction of moral righteousness. These are the traits that I have to focus on in undertaking my development plan. Transformational leaders are expected to deal with the paradox of predicting the unknown and sometimes the unknowable.   These leaders change and transform the organization according to a vision of a preferred status. Leaders then are change makers and transformers, guiding the organization to a new and more compelling vision, a demanding role expectation. Studies have been carried out in many different countries, and research in this area also shows that transformational leadership is closer to perceptions of ideal leadership than transactional leadership.   As Hartog et al (1999) note, being perceived as a leader is a prerequisite for being able to go beyond a formal role in influencing others.   They hold that leadership perceptions can be based on two alternative processes.   First, leadership can be inferred from outcomes of salient events, and attribution is crucial in these inference-based processes. For example, a successful business ‘turnaround’ is often quickly attributed to the high quality ‘leadership’ of top executives or the CEO.   Leadership can also be recognized based on the fit between an observed person’s characteristics with the perceivers’ implicit ideas of what ‘leaders’ are (Hartog et al., 1999). This again points to the fact that an effective manager is not only focused on delivering tasks, but on handling his people well. This is especially true among people in the organization who put high premium on a manager’s interpersonal skills. The first step I will consider in my developmental plan is to maintain my enthusiasm and motivation of my team towards their work. Concurrently, I will also aim to develop my leadership potential. I will concretely undertake this by developing a strong mentoring relationship with my superior. Empirical research from both educational and industrial settings suggests that students and employees both have increased probability of success if they have had a mentor. While mentors are effective for everyone, sometimes organizations implement mentoring programs to support particular parts of their populations, often newer employees. And while mentoring programs are always established with the best of intentions, their results are often mixed (Werner, 2004). To make the most of my work exposure, I hope to establish a strong mentoring relationship with my superior or with an expert in my field to develop my competence further. Coaching and mentoring is a very effective way of developing my leadership potential because it does not only develop me in terms of technical expertise, but it will also allow me to actually experience how these experts undergo the coaching and mentoring exercise. Skills Acquisition Skill acquisition acknowledges that proficiency and expertise are a function of the exposure to a variety of situations. These circumstances become experiences for the learner to elicit apt responses. Bandura (1977) emphasized that most learning transpires by observing and modeling behaviors. Information is then stored and coded cognitively and utilized as guide for action. He further noted that the development of a realistic learning setting incorporating environment, behavior, and thought promotes the acquisition of complex skills. Moreover, simulation can help in providing this realistic exposure for neophyte professionals (Bandura, 1977). Because I have gone past beyond being a novice, now is the perfect time for developing strategic leadership skills. I will also be able to add on to my networks by attending conferences related to my field to be able to build and establish peer contacts. I will also endeavor to build relationships with members and managers of other teams within the organization. The following soft competencies have been recommended areas for leadership development by the Development Dimensions International website (2005): master at managing through ambiguity; inspires confidence and belief in the future; have a passion for results; are marked by unwavering integrity; set others up for success; have strong rather than big egos; and have the courage to make big decisions. Mastery at managing through ambiguity. Build a culture that embraces change; constantly set clear goals and expectations; are able to manage across boundaries (and lead others to do the same); show connections between individual accountabilities, team goals, and organizational vision and strategies; sets out a clear course even though it may change frequently. Inspires confidence and belief in the future. Are able to articulate a vision depicting what they want their organization; exudes calm and projects optimism in the face of uncertainty; can engage and inspire employees in their work connecting their needs and values with those of the institution. Passion for results. Set clear accountabilities and high expectations for themselves and for others; hire, promote and reward high performers; keep themselves and their employees focused on the top two or three customer-driven priorities; take action on those who do not fit or who are consistently not performing; establish critical measures of success and make sure they are visible to others. Marked by unwavering integrity. Serve as a â€Å"moral compass† for others; keeps promises and commitments; â€Å"walks the talk†; gives straight, honest feedback; leads through values; acts promptly when their own or the integrity of their organization is compromised.    Set others up for success. Coaches others to succeed before they have the opportunity to fail; truly enjoys seeing people learn and grow; rewards and recognizes success; views failures as learning opportunities; shares (rather than hordes) talent for the good of the organization. Have strong rather than big egos. Humbly shares credit with others; never shoots the messenger – they encourage the sharing of bad news; are always asking â€Å"how can we do things better?†; blame themselves before pointing a finger at others; knows themselves and are guided by strong personal values; listens to understand; recognizes that they, more often than not, are not the ones with the right answers.    Have the courage to make big decisions. Addresses issues or problems quickly; takes actions that are right, even when they are unpopular – they act on conviction; stands by their decisions once they make them – even if circumstances cause them to change course later; takes a longer term view consistent with a future vision (www.ddiworld.com, 2005). Soft skills are as equally if not more important than technical skills, in the development of leadership potential. These competencies must also be integrated into my success competency profile and adequately addressed through formal classroom or on-the-job training. Naturally, to be able to identify which leadership areas I need to focus on, I need to use reflection. The main approach is to develop fully into a transformational leadership role. With transformational leadership, the followers feel trust, admiration, loyalty and respect towards the leader and they are motivated to do more then they originally expected to do. Leaders transform and motivate followers by: (1) making them more aware of the importance of task outcomes, and (2) inducing them to transcend their own self-interest for the sake of the organization or team and activating their higher order needs. In contrast, transactional leadership involves an exchange process that may result in follower compliance with leader requests but is not likely to generate enthusiasm and commitment to task objectives. Therefore, my staff need to feel that I can empathize with them, are able to give them feedback while maintaining their self-esteem, and also solicit their ideas on important issues. Transformational and transactional leadership are distinct but not mutually exclusive processes. Transformational leadership increases follower motivation and performance more than transactional leadership, but effective leaders use a combination of both types of leadership.   Such is the argument of   Gary Yukl (1989).   He defined transformational behavior as idealized influence, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation. Yukl theorized that transformational leadership probably involves internationalization because inspirational motivation includes the articulation of an appealing vision that relates task objectives to follower values and ideals, it therefore also involves personal identification.   Yukl (1989) described transformational leadership as a process of micro-level and macro-level influence. At the macro-level, transformational leaders must take charge of the social systems and reform the organization by creating an appropriate power situation. At the micro-level, transformational leaders must attend to the personalities in the organization to facilitate change at an interpersonal level. One other way of developing my leadership potential is by regularly reflecting on areas for improvement. In this area, the feedback of my superior would serve as critical input. There is now broad agreement on four key attributes, therefore, known as the four i’s of Transformational Leadership (Avolio et al., 1991; Bass & Avolio, 1994b). Inspirational leadership means ‘the arousal and heightening of motivation among followers that occurs primarily from charismatic leadership’ and individualized consideration is evident when subordinates are treated individually according to their needs. Intellectual stimulation refers to the leader’s influence on followers’ thinking and imagination (Bass, 1985, pp. 62,82 and 99). And, finally, idealized influence is the identification with and emulation of the leader’s mission and vision. Apart from focusing on my own leadership needs, I would also like to assist in the drafting of Career Management plans of the members of my team. I would also like to ensure that I continuously serve as a model and inspiration for them in terms of giving support, praise and encouragement to all team members. Moreover, I will work for the implementation of retention strategies among the team members I work with through career development,   flexible work, induction, partnership and staff involvement, and pay and rewards. Some Comments on the Transformational Leadership Framework / Theory In contrast with leader emergence which deals with the likelihood that a person will become a leader, leader performance involves the idea that excellent leaders possess certain characteristics that certain leaders do not. For example, an excellent leader might be intelligent, assertive, friendly, and independent, whereas a poor leader might be shy, aloof, and calm. Research on the relationship between personal characteristics and leader performance has concentrated on three areas: traits, needs and orientation. In relation to transformational leadership framework, I do agree that the leader must possess certain characteristics to transform the organization. But this is not all – there must also be ample consideration of other factors such as subordinates’ ability and organizational climate. Traits. The idea that certain traits are associated with effective leadership is appealing, but in 1964, a review by Heslin and Dunphy indicated that only two traits – intelligence and interpersonal adjustment – have consistently been related to leadership performance. More recently, it has been proposed that good leaders need to possess only one stable trait – adaptability or self-monitoring (Cohen & Bradford, 1990). Thus, good leaders will constantly change their behaviors to meet the demands of the situation or person with whom they are dealing. Support from this theory comes from a study by Caldwell & O’Reilly (1982), who found that field representatives who dealt with many different types of people were more effective if they were high self-monitors. Similar results were found with Zaccaro, Foti & Kenny (1991). The concept of self-monitoring focuses on what leaders do as opposed to what they are. For example, a high self-monitoring leader may possess the trait of shyness and not truly want to communicate with other people. He know, however, that talking to others is an important part of his job, so he says hello to his employees when he arrives at work, and at least once a day stops and talks to each employee. Thus, the leader has the trait of shyness but adapts his outward behavior to appear to be outgoing and confident. An interesting extension of the trait theory of leader performance suggests that certain traits are necessary requirements for leadership excellence but that they do not guarantee it (Simonton, 1979). Instead, leadership excellence is a function of the right person being in the right place at the right time. The fact that one person with certain traits becomes an excellent leader while another with the same trait flounders may be no more than the result of timing and chance. Needs. A personal characteristic that has received some support to a leader’s need for power, need for achievement, and need for affiliation. Research by McClelland and Burnham (1976) and McClelland and Boyatzis (1982) have demonstrated that high-performance managers have a leadership motive pattern, which is a high need for power and a low need for affiliation. The need is not for personal power but for organizational power. This pattern of needs is thought to be important because it implies that an effective leader should be more concerned with results than with being liked. Leaders who need to be liked by their subordinates will have a tough time making decisions. A decision to make an employee work overtime, for example, may be necessary for the organization’s survival, but it will probably be unpopular with employees. Leaders with high affiliation needs may decide that being liked is more important than being successful, causing conflict with their decision. Needs for power, achievement and affiliation can be measured through various psychological tests. The most commonly used is the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). The TAT is a projective test in which a person is shown a series of pictures and is asked to tell a story about what is happening in each picture. The stories are then analyzed by a trained psychologist who identifies the needs themes that are contained in the stories. Obviously, this technique is time consuming and requires a great deal of training. Task vs. person orientation. Over the last 45 years, three major schools of thought – Ohio State studies (Fleishman, Harris & Burtt, 1955), Theory X (McGregor, 1960) and managerial grid (Blake & Mouton, 1984) – have postulated that differences in leader performance can be attributed to differences in the extent to which leaders are task versus person oriented. Person-oriented leaders (country club leaders, theory Y leaders, leaders in high consideration) act in a warm and supportive manner and show concern for their subordinates. Person-oriented leaders believe that employees are intrinsically motivated, seek responsibility, are self-controlled, and do not necessarily dislike work, Because of these assumptions, person-oriented leaders consult their subordinates before making decisions, praise their work, ask about their families, look over their shoulders, and use a more â€Å"hands-off† approach to leadership. Under pressure, person-oriented leaders tend to become socially withdrawn (Bond, 1995). Task –oriented leaders (task-centered leaders, theory X leaders, leaders high in initiating structure) define and structure their own roles and those of their subordinates to attain the group’s formal goals. Task-oriented leaders see their employees as lazy, extrinsically motivated, wanting security, undisciplined, and shirking responsibility. Because of these assumptions, task-oriented leaders tend to manage or lead by giving directives, setting goals, and making decisions without consulting their subordinates. Under pressure, task-oriented leaders tend to produce humor (e.g. tell jokes and stories) whereas person-oriented leaders tend to appreciate humor (e.g. listen to others’ jokes) (Philbrick, 1989). I feel that the best leader who may undertake transformation in the organization ought to be both person and task-oriented. In effect, in being a transformational leader, I should put premium on both person and task orientations, exhibiting each one with equal strength or emphasis. Interaction between the Leader and the Situation Apart from just focusing on the leader, I feel it is equally important for him to consider the complexities of his situation so that he may have a better grasp of how it is to transform the organization. In line with this, I should also be able to focus not only on developing myself but also consider the characteristics of the situation which I find myself in. One of the more recent research on this area is the situational theory of Geier, Downey and Johnson (1980) who believed that the leader has one of six behavioral styles, namely, informational, magnetic, position, affiliation, coercive or tactical. Each type is only effective in a particular situation, or in what researchers call an organizational climate. These researchers further say that based on the organizational climate, a leader with an informational style is best fit in ac climate of ignorance; those with magnetic style in a climate of despair; those with a position style in a climate of instability; affiliation style in a climate of anxiety; coercive style in a climate of crisis; tactical style in a climate of disorganization. This suggests that as a transformational leader, I should be able to adjust myself on the basis of my assessment of my organization’s climate. Relationship with Subordinates One other facet of transformational leadership which I intend to integrate into my personal development plan is my relationship with subordinates. This is consistent with the vertical dyad linkage theory. Vertical dyad linkage (VDL) theory was developed by Dansereau, Graen, and Haga (1974) and is a unique situational theory that makes good intuitive sense. Some situational theories concentrate on interactions between leaders and situations and between leaders and employees with differing levels of ability. VDL theory, however, concentrates on the interactions between leaders and subordinates. These interactions are called leader-member exchanges (LMXs). The theory takes its name from the relationship between two people (a dyad), the position of the leader above the subordinate (vertical), and their interrelated behavior (linkage). VDL theory states that leaders develop different roles with different subordinates and thus act differently with different subordinates. Dansereau et al (1974) believe that subordinates fall in one of two groups, the in-group or the outgroup. In-group subordinates are those who have developed trusting, friendly relationships with the leader. As a result, the leader deals with in-group members by allowing them to participate in decisions and by rarely disciplining them. Thus, in-group membership is thought to increase performance. Out-group subordinates are treated differently from those in the in-group and are more likely to be given direct orders and to have less say about how affairs are conducted. In general, research on VDL theory has been supportive (Grestner & Day, 1997). There are, however, relationships between leaders and subordinates that probably can be categorized into types other than in-group and out-group. In relation to transformational leadership, I should increase my self-awareness in treating my subordinates such that there is no rigid classification of whether they are members of the in-group or the out-group. Under the transformational leadership framework, all subordinates are encouraged to participate in decision making. As such, I should try my best to gather input from all of my staff to be able to come up with the most optimal solution to a problem or an issue. Subordinate Ability Apart from self-development, the transformational leader must also be wary of his subordinates’ abilities in carrying out his plan for change or transformation. According to House’s (1971) path goal theory, a leader can adopt one of four behavioral leadership styles to handle each situation: instrumental, supportive, participative and achievement-oriented. The instrumental style calls for planning, organizing, and controlling the activities of employees. The supportive style leader shows concern for employees, the participative style leader shares information with employees and lets them participate in decision making, and the leader who uses the achievement oriented style sets challenging goals and rewards increases in performance. Each style will only work in certain situations and depends on subordinates’ abilities and the extent to which the task is structured. In general, the higher the level of subordinate ability, the less directive the leader should be. Likewise, the more structured the situation, the more directive the leader should be (Schriesheim & DeNisi, 1981). In conclusion, I feel that the transformational leadership framework is wanting of some considerations. Apart from just focusing on the leader himself, the plan should include a grave consideration of other important factors, such as his subordinates’ ability and the organizational climate in which the leader operates. My transformational leadership development plan, in summary, will equip me with the necessary technical and leadership competencies towards effectively taking on a management role, whilst seriously considering my subordinates’ abilities and the culture of the company I am working for. Ultimately, this will reflect in being able to lead and motivate a team – who in themselves are competent, goal-driven and are able to contribute to the organization’s bottomline. References Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavior change. Psych Rev . 1977;84:191–215. Bass, B. (1990). Bass & Stogdill’s handbook of leadership: theory, research and managerial   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   applications. New York: The Free Press. Blake, R. R., & Mouton, J. S. (1984). The managerial grid III. Houston: Gulf. Bond, G. E. (1995). Leadership behavior: How personality, stress, and gender affect leader behavior. University of Washington. Caldwell, D. F., & O’Reilly, C. A. (1982). Boundary spanning and individual performance: The impact of self-monitoring. Journal of Applied Psychology, 67, 124-127. Cohen, A R., & Bradford, D. L. (1990). Influence without authority. New York: John Wiley. Dansereau, F., Graen, G., & Haga, W. J. (1975). A vertical dyad linkage approach to leadership within the formal organization. Unpublished report, State University of New York, Buffalo. Deming, W. E. , (1992) Leadership, Four Day Seminar – Charlotte, NC, October 27 – 30. Development Dimensions International. (2005). DDI’s leadership beliefs. Retrieved on December 17, 2006 from www.ddiworld.com. Fleishman, E. A., Harris, E. F., & Burtt, H. E. (1955). Leadership and supervision in industry. Columbus: Ohio State University Press. Geier, J. G., Downey, D. E., & Johnson, J. B. (1980). Climate impact profile. Minneapolis, MN: Performax Systems International. Gerstner, C. R, & Day, D. V. (1997). Meta-analytic review of leader-member exchange theory: Correlates and construct issues. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(6), 827-844. Hartog, D. N., House, R.. J., Hanges, P. J., et al. (1999). Culture specific and cross-culturally generalizable implicit leadership theories: Are attributes of charismatic/ transformational leadership universally endorsed? Leadership Quarterly, 10(2), 219-256. House, R. J. (1971). A path-goal theory of leader effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 9, 321-332. McClelland, D. & Boyatzis, R. E. (1982). Leadership motive pattern and long-term success in management. Journal of Applied Psychology, 67, 737-743. McClelland, D. & Burnham, D. H. (1976). Power is the great motivator. Harvard Business Review, 54(2), 102-104. McGregor, D. (1960). The human side of enterprise. New York: McGraw-Hill. Philbrick, K. D. (1989). The use of humor and effective leadership styles. University of Florida. Schriesheim, C. A., & DeNisi, A. S. (1981). Task dimensions as moderators of the effects of instrumental leadership: A two-sample replicated test of path-goal leadership theory. Journal of Applied Psychology, 66, 589-597. Tichy, Noel and M.A. Devanna (1986). The Transformational Leader, John Wiley and Sons. Werner, W. (2004). The importance of mentoring. Law Practice Today. Retrieved on December 17, 2006 from http://www.abanet.org/lpm/lpt/articles/mgt07041.html Yukl, G. (1989). Managerial leadership: A review of theory and research. Journal of Management, 15(2), 251 – 289. Zaccaro, S. J., Foti, R. J., & Kenny, D. A (1991). Self-monitoring and trait-based variance in leadership: An investigation of leader flexibility across multiple group situations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76(2), 308-315.

The Massacre in El Mozote as Told by Mark Danner Essays

The Massacre in El Mozote as Told by Mark Danner Essays The Massacre in El Mozote as Told by Mark Danner Paper The Massacre in El Mozote as Told by Mark Danner Paper The Massacre at El Mozote as told by Mark Danner takes place El Salvador. El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America. It shares borders with Guatemala and Honduras. El Salvador is divided into 14 departments and El Mozote is a village in one of the Departments called Morazan. According to the author, the Salvadoran Civil War 1979-1992 was a conflict waged by the Military led Government of El Salvador and coalition of left-leaning militias or guerillas called the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). The FMLN was supported by peasants and indigenous Indian people. The United States supported the El Salvador Military government. The tensions between the classes, the halves and the halve-nots are therefore represented by the two warring factions. The harrowing events in Mark Danner’s Massacre at El Mozote investigates and questions three central issues; the Massacre, the role of American Policies in the region during the Cold War and the executive cover-up of the events as Propaganda. One of the concerns is what responsibility (if any) did the U. S. government have for the massacre at El Mozote? El Mozote was â€Å"uniquely† different from most villages because it had resisted the Liberation Theology taught by left-leaning Catholic Priests and according to the author was â€Å"as as stronghold of the Protestant evangelical movement† (pg 19) . The villagers of El Mozote had their own chapel and referred themselves as born-again Christians and as Danner states were known for â€Å"their anti-communism† (pg 19). The villagers of El Mozote did not support the guerillas. According to Danner the Massacre at El Mozote takes place when American trained Salvadoran Armed forces called the Atlacatl Batallion arrived at the village and began systematically killing men, women and children by various means such as torturing, hangings, decapitation, and shooting. The U. S government was responsible for the massacre at El Mozote for a plethora of reasons. First, The Reagan administration was well aware of the geopolitical consequences of ceding El Salvador to â€Å"communist subversion in the hemisphere† (pg 40). Also, the growing presence of the Soviets and Cuba in Nicaragua escalated the cold war and in order to ‘draw the line† the Reagan administration â€Å"doubled economic aid for El Salvador to a hundred and forty four million dollars† (pg 40). According to Danner, â€Å"the priorities of American Policy in El Salvador had become unmistakable† (pg 41). Second, The American government was â€Å"opposed to dispatching American combat forces to Central America† (pg 22) and in order to prevent another Nicaragua, Congress agreed to â€Å"reform† the Salvadoran Army by financing, training and arming its troops to fight the FMLN. As Danner notes, â€Å"the Americans had stepped forward to fund the war, but were unwilling to fight it†. Third, the Monterrosa led Atlacatl led batallion through American funding descended in El Mozote with â€Å"the latest M-16’s, M-60 machines guns, 90 millimeter recoilless rifles, and 60- and 81 millimeter mortars†(pg 39) and with a list of names massacred an entire village because â€Å"communism was cancer†(pg 49). The U. S. government was clearly responsible for the Massacre at El Mozote because without the funding, supporting, and training of El Salvador troops the war would have been tilted in the guerillas favor as they had managed to hold the disorganized army in certain areas. In contrast to neighboring departments El Mozote and its inhabitants of born-again Christians did not fit in as guerilla sympathizers. In fact, the training at American hands is questionable because the manner in which the massacre is carried with soldiers tying ropes on trees, using machetes, slitting throats of innocent villagers is not a tactic of warfare I believe America utilizes. The Cold War was about ideology and the El Salvador Army believed it was â€Å"killing Salvadorans who were sympathetic to the insurgents† (pg 53). The El Salvador Army with the support of American resources violated the rules of war in killing an entire village â€Å"without trial or investigation, simply because of the political sympathies of some of their number† (pg 53). The killings carried out by the Atlacatl Batallion in El Mozote were not justice but a contravention of Human Rights. The massacre was reported by Washington Post and the New York times as told to them by Rufina Amaya Marquez, a witness of what had occurred at El Mozote. The response by the American government to news of the massacre was first denial and then portrayal of those reports as â€Å"Propaganda† by â€Å"journalist advocates† sympathetic to the guerillas cause. As the author notes, the geopolitical stakes in Central America and ensuing debate in congress did not leave the White House many options albeit cable reports and first witness accounts of the massacre in El Mozote and La Joya. According to Howard Lane, the Public Affairs Officer in the Embassy, the American Embassy was well informed as to who was orchestrating the killings especially after the murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero as he said Mass (pg 28). The first reports from radio Venceremos estimated Atlacatl as having â€Å"massacred a thousand peasants and various amlets and villages†(pg 87) but according to Danner the commandates believed â€Å"that many hundreds had died†(pg 87). The U. S government clearly shares responsibility for the Massacre at El Mozote because as the author notes ‘it was congress that voted the money that paid for the American guns and helicopters and military advisers† (pg 90) with the false pretense of putting an end â€Å"tort ure and murder of Salvadoran Citizens† (pg 90) with the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. I believe the American response to news of the Massacre as inadequate because of the massive cover-up by both Deane Hinton, The United States Ambassador to El Salvador and White House. Deane Hinton had recently taken up the post and â€Å"Credibility at the embassy was a special concern† (pg 116) and according to Greentree, Hinton was â€Å"the guy who sets the standards† (pg 116). Nonetheless, Greentree as junior officer â€Å"provided the reporting that would enable the government to deny† the massacre at El Mozote despite his belief that the Embassy was under immense pressure. The Embassy was aware of the massacre but responded to the news of the massacre by suppressing â€Å"what was inconvenient† which was the truth of what had happened. As Greentree states, â€Å"the guerillas were trying to make us look as bad as possible† (pg 104). Moreover, on his way back from the refugee camp McKay was of the impression something horrendous had transpired and alluding to Morazan stated â€Å"the fear was overriding and we sensed it and we could tell that that fear was not instilled by the guerillas† (pg 108) as proof of a killing had taken place. The justifications given for the cover-up of the massacre by the American Government is akin to being a complicit in the Human Right violations of the villagers of El Mozote. Also, as Danner notes, â€Å"the cable supplied†¦arguments that they might find useful in impeaching the press accounts of El Mozote† (pg 117). The remarks by McKay show the length the U. S. government went to discredit the numbers reported in Washington Times â€Å"as pure Marxist propaganda devoid of foundation† (pg 126). The American government could deny any Human Right violations had occurred in the hands of American trained Atlacatl as long as â€Å"the overwhelming number of deaths is never legally accounted for by clear or coherent evidence† (pg 125). In the end, the Human Right organizations, Americas Watch, and Amnesty International reports were attacked, smeared and painted as fabrications â€Å"without historical reference†(pg 124). I am of the believe that Congress and White House under the leadership of President Ronald Reagan did not want to be seen as losing the Cold War with Russia’s recent foray into Afghanistan. As a result Congress did not scrutinize the Certification the President sent them to show that El Salvador was complying with â€Å"internationally recognized Human Rights† and Congress rather than side with the truth shirked its responsibility even when the choice was clear a massacre had occurred at El Mozote.

Industrial Engineer essays

Industrial Engineer essays There are many categories that the career of an industrial engineer can break down in to. Of these are quality-control, time-study, process, plane design or factory layout, production, and documentation engineers. There are also configuration management analyst, tool planner, and vendor equally supervisors. Not all industrial engineers are educated in all these areas specifically, some only specify in one or two areas. They may have the title of operations, systems, or management engineers. Over all, the ordinary industrial engineer works with people, organizations, and businesses. This is what sets them apart from other engineers. They design, improve, and install systems. These systems can be/are systematic, materials, information, and people that supply products or services. Things that they design are/can-be facilities and operation procedures, simplifying workflow but increasing out-put, improving layout of equipment, office systems and other units. They develop and oversee quality control, cost control, inventory control, procurement and distribution programs, work standards, performance measures, and improvement of the work environment. Industrial engineers research products and product applications. They conduct long-range org organization studies, plant location, and system effectiveness studies. They study potential markets, sources of raw materials, labor supply, energy resources, and financing of operations. To get all the many tasks they do done, they use certain types of equipment. These are calculators, measuring devices and stopwatches, and specifications and handbooks. With uses of new technology, they use prints, computer (with access to the World Wide Web), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) systems, computer-aided design (CAD) systems, and electronic/air gaging test equipment. To have a career as an industrial engineer there needs to be and interest in technical work, ability to pl ...

Analysis and Recommendations for the Resolution of Operational Essay - 2

Analysis and Recommendations for the Resolution of Operational Problems at EMPLOI - Essay Example EMPLOI or Employment Opportunities, Inc. is a staffing service provider established 13 years ago. Upon inception, it specialized in providing temporary staff for office related positions such as office clerks, data encoders, and administrative personnel. Three years ago, the company was sold to its new owners. Although EMPLOI has been operating with sufficient profits to sustain operations for the last 3 years, the new owners have not yet been able to recover their initial investment when they acquired the company. The current CEO believes that strategic actions need to be undertaken to solve operational problems in order to increase revenues thereby increasing profits from operations so that the owner’s initial investments can slowly be recovered. Moreover, aside from deployment of office staff, the CEO believes that diversifying into the blue collar worker market is an opportunity that EMPLOI should explore as there is the huge demand for this type of workers. This paper tak es a look at the operations of EMPLOI, identifies problems and recommends solutions to those problems. Because of her Marketing background, the Admin & Operations Manager is also the Marketing Section Head. She is responsible for the day-to-day operations of EMPLOI as well as prospecting for new clients together with the Business Development Officer. The HR & Admin Section Head is responsible for recruitment of personnel for the company’s manpower pool as well as for deployment to client companies. She is also responsible for internal HR & administrative functions for the EMPLOI office. The Accounting Section Head is responsible for payroll for all deployed personnel as well as the company’s business accounting requirements.

How can the HR Management sustain the motivation of the employees Dissertation

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