Strategic Leadership in a Changing World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Strategic Leadership in a Changing World - Essay Example Existing cultures and prevailing organization cultures to be precise plays an important role in ensuring success. As discussed by Becker and Baloff (1969), the need to place cultures on a psychological platform will distinguish the procedural and declarative knowledge. The culture of an organization displays on the economic performance and the company’s continuity. For instance, an organization with a dedicated and strong team built through visionary leaders end up with more financial successful years on a long-term basis. Organizations structure also facilitates the success of new products and process innovation and change. Culture management is a relevant process in the growth of an organization and its extent is felt on the two articles above. Becker and Baloff (1969) explain that managing organization culture is the ultimate goal for an organization to realize the length of its potential. Fairfield-Sonn (2001), however, states that culture just gives direction to the staff on what they believe and how things should be run (Kapferer, 2008). Business platforms require both leaders and managers. Though taken by many individuals to mean the same, the two aspects of business are different. A good manager and leader offer success of the organization in different levels (Northhouse, 2009, p. 23). Corporate culture is a strategic investment that ensures well driven business activities. The needs to create success in the economy that come with corporate change are extensive. Approaching a change requires putting into consideration the important cultural themes that ensure expression in and organization, without any neglect. The cultural web is a tool designed to help managers with the challenge that comes with cultural change. Originated by Gerry Johnson (2002), the tool is applied by many companies including, KPMG, Shell and Castrol. The web is designed to compare to a spider’s web where the centre is the paradigm or main idea for the organization, ac ting as a centrifugal force aimed at weaving cultural themes together. The cultural web brings out the concept of change, most employees feel comfortable with the normal happenings (Charles &Jones, 2009). Expressions can be considered cultural to an organization after cultural artifacts have been made active. Selecting a process includes incorporating the aspects that require change. It is important to facilitate a clear understanding of the analytical process with which members of the organization can relate to, once the culture has been incorporated. The cultural web is a device that ensures a practical aspect of the themes with aspects placed on anthropology. The Characteristics of a Good Manager A good manager should be able to manage time properly as supervisory positions can be tasking if the manager lacks proper time management skills to adhere to deadlines. Proper time management skills translate to generation of revenue and proper budgeting skills adopted by the company (Sc hein, 2004, p. 12). Possession of proper communication skills is an essential for a manager. Management of business and project teams depends highly on communication to succeed. A manager should be able to communicate clearly to other managers, other businesses, employees, and most of all to customers. Proper communication comes with the personality and confidence growth with the knowledge of the running of the business (Bax,2002). Conflict resolution abilities

Social Media Affecting Interpersonal And Intercultural Communication Essay

Social Media Affecting Interpersonal And Intercultural Communication - Essay Example The traditional intercultural communication has come under immense threat of getting obsoleted due to the increasing level of human interaction through the use of social media. In the light of globalization, the present day society is becoming more and more dependent on the internet and the social networking system in their daily communication. The major modes of communication are driven by technology and the internet. These may include the social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, the online chatting and VOIP services like Face Time, Skype etc., the online blogs, micro blogs and different online forums. The social media has influenced the people from different cultures and countries to communicate with each other as well as provide information about themselves on the web through the social networking sites, personal websites and blogs (Hofstede, 2001). The cultural communication system has been reshaped to emerge as a more open and widely integrated system all across the globe. Discussion The invention and development of new technologies in the communication and networking aspects have presented a wide array of choices for communication connecting all the parts of the world through the World Wide Web. Internet connection has gained major importance throughput the world with the connection facilities spreading to even remote parts of the world. ... The social media provides people from all over the world with the opportunity to display their information as well as demonstrate their culture, interests and activities through sites like Pinterest, We Heart It, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media sites. The different social networking sites are made user friendly so that people from varying backgrounds can easily use these media. These sites use computer mediated communication (CMC) system to make it easy for people to communicate and express themselves (Herring, 1996). The users can also create personalized websites to provide information about them and express their ideas and interests. This mode of communication has highly influenced the social lives of people all across the globe and exchange their ideas and information on different areas of discussion. The social media communications have made it simpler for people to exchange text, videos, e-mails, instant messaging as well as communicate through the use of rea l time audio and video chats using Skype, Face Time etc. The social networking sites are internet based service systems that allow people to create public profiles on the web within a system which they can completely control, maintain a connection with other users which may include the acquaintances, friends and family members. The social networking sites also make it possible to view the activities of the connections within the system. The first social networking site was launched in the year 1997 named Sixdegrees.com having all the above mentioned features. After the launch of this social site, the social media experienced a boom with a number of social sites being formed for different

Chinese Economy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

Chinese Economy - Assignment Example During this period the trade regime comprised of central planning that was generally a Residual category with respect to domestic capacity. Post-reform and pre-WTO: This was also called dual trade regime. There was devaluation of currency from $1 which was equivalent to 1.4 Yuan to 1 dollar being equivalent to 8.7 Yuan, this was a around 1994.Expoters were allowed to keep percentage of foreign exchange In 1996 there was current account convertibility. Dual track was advantageous in the following ways, in that the new sector benefit whereas the old sector is not hurt. Free market was also introduced and did not interfere with the existing old sector. Post-World Trade Organization. During this period there was tariff reduction and also removal of non-tariff barriers that included quotas, licensing and quantitative restrictions. Major services included telecommunication with advent of internet provision; there were also financial services and professional services like consultancy and a ccounting. 2. How did the dual-track foreign exchange market work? How did the dual-track in Foreign trade work? This period was majorly between 1986 and 1993.It involved: a) Currency devaluation from one dollar which was equivalent 1.4 Yuan to one dollar being equivalent to 8.7 Yuan in 1994. The devaluation of currency was encouraged to promote the number of exports. ... The Chinas foreign reserve by 2006 was over one trillion dollars which was more than a year’s import. d) In this period there was duty free and many processing zones were created, there were witnessed tax holidays for some specific industries to steer their growth. e) Little interference was witnessed and also free duty on goods purchased for the purpose of making export goods .Other countries that did the same were Island in India Ocean and Mauritius. f) The period experiences an increase in the no. of trade in terms of international firms. In general the exporters were in insulated against the forever world trade in general. 3. Why a dual-track instead of a single-track? Use the examples in foreign exchange and foreign trade to explain the advantages and disadvantages of a dual-track Dual track referred to coexistence of two coordination mechanisms (plan and market) and not to the coexistence of two ownership systems the dual-track system allowed state firms to transact and cooperate with non state firms, allowing valuable flexibility. But the growing importance of collective, private, and foreign-invested firms should be considered. It implied two tier pricing system for most goods. The greatest advantages of the dual as opposed to single track were that there was the introduction of free trade. In this system there were tax holidays that further encouraged more foreign investments. In respect to this the dual was evidently better than one single track system that was not as economically viable because single track meant the entire economy was planned. Planned economy in a way reduced investments and discouraged free trade. 4. Why is there a huge discrepancy

Importance of Internal and External Factors to Economic Development Essay

Importance of Internal and External Factors to Economic Development - Essay Example However, the biggest question in the minds of everyone is what has causes varying rates of economic development in a country. What are the reasons that have seen countries such as Japan and China emerge to become among the greatest economies in the world with a record time? Additionally, one would always want to understand whether the involvement of the government in the economic process causes accelerated economic growth or should the government give the private sector autonomy in determining how they conduct their activities. Additionally, countries do not live in vacuum but have to trade with their neighbors and their security may be threatened by the activities of others and therefore they have to keep into consideration the external factors in economic development. From the foregoing introduction, it is clear that one cannot argue entirely that the level of economic development in a country is attributable to only internal or external factors. Although interplay of both internal and external factors determines the path of economic development of a country, internal factors are the greatest determinants economic development of a country. The major internal factors that determine the pace of economic development in a country is the type of governance adopted. ... It is undisputable that the leadership of a country determines the level of economic growth that a country is able to achieve. In a country, governments hold much power and are expected to offer leadership in terms of economic and social developments that take place. Consequently, when a government fails to carry out an analysis of the impacts of its policies, this may spell out the starting point of its failure. The argument that governance really plays a role in determining the pace of economic development in a country is collaborated by Gerschenkron. When assessing economic backwardness in different countries, Gerschenkron argued that there is a strong correlation between economic underdevelopment and centralized bureaucracy in a country. The type of governance adopted determines the way in which the required capital for industrialization is mobilized and allocated. In a country where the government encourages private to public sector investment, the rate of economic development i s expected to become accelerated due to efficiency in resource allocation and monitoring thereby reducing wastage. In such an economy, the government concentrates in development of the right infrastructure required for development while the private sector provides and invests capital required for industrialization. Countries that promote public-private sector partnership in economy leads to development of free markets that have high productivity and efficiency. In countries where free trade thrives, high productivity is achieved since the owners of such resources closely monitor and control the production process unlike in countries where the government controls production. Government control in the production process leads to

Significance and Implications of Research Ethics to Nursing Essay

Significance and Implications of Research Ethics to Nursing - Essay Example Research ethics plays an important role in the nursing management and leadership. Since leaders and managers of healthcare institutions should abide by the highest ethical standards, they can guarantee ethical nursing practice only through research ethics. Both qualitative and quantitative research provides evidence that nurses can use to treat their patients or prevent specific medical conditions. Leaders and managers in nursing depend heavily on nursing research to provide effective directions and decisions that nurses can prefer in their medical undertakings. It implies that research ethics merits objectivity in nursing management through the provision of concrete results. Effective nursing management entails nursing practice and decision-making that is anchored on concrete evidence from research. Such research could either be qualitative or quantitative but either way, it must embrace ethical principles. Burns, Grove, and Gray list consequentialism, principlism, virtue ethics, an d deontology as four major nursing ethical theories that concern research ethics. These ethical theories inspire the thinking of leaders and managers in healthcare institutions to make ethical decisions in nursing practice. With regard to consequentialism, the outcome of nursing research determines the morality of the research. It means that the response in connection with certain medical undertakings can only be valid if they are positive irrespective of the decision-making process or the ethical principles applied to the research.

Military and Business Leadership - Similarities and Differences Term Paper

Military and Business Leadership - Similarities and Differences - Term Paper Example The study used both qualitative and quantitative methodology in gauging the responses of military soldiers particularly those who have been deployed to Afghanistan and business managers from different organizations. The online survey questionnaire was accomplished by a total of 250 respondents wherein 200 coming from the military group and the remaining 50 from the business group. The findings suggested that there are indeed a number of traits and qualities that business leaders could adopt from military leadership with regards to effective crisis management. Moreover, there are major skills or qualities of military leaders which are admired most and are considered best applied in crisis management. In addition, business managers also stressed the need to adopt such skills and qualities from a military perspective of crisis management as they feel that these are needed to effectively address crisis situations in a business setting. These are comprised of courage or bravery, being ana lytical, intelligence, being influential, compassion and relationship-building. Business and military leadership do have differences, particularly in the expected traits and qualities. However, when it comes to crisis management, a combination of traits from both realms is effectual.  In recent decades, leadership has never faced a challenge as big as it does now. The organizations that survived and flourished through periods of great uncertainty in the past are suddenly finding themselves bankrupt and are disappearing almost overnight caught in the great economic crisis that has engulfed the world today (Davey and Smith, 2009). The centuries of research in leadership and management theories and practice suddenly seem to be found lacking in content. There is a great need for leadership lessons for the corporate leaders of present times, so that they may guide their organizations to survive through the ongoing economic and management crisis. Global executives of top multinational c ompanies responded with eight answers when they were asked what according to them the most important leadership quality was. The eight essential leadership qualities identified were humility, energy, intuition, vision, perspective, passion, conviction and learning (Harvard Business Review, 2007). This forms the trigger for this research study.

Economic Releases and Resulting Market Reactions Research Paper

Economic Releases and Resulting Market Reactions - Research Paper Example The US Economy created 113,000 jobs with unemployment rate dipping to a low of 6.6%. Despite more people gaining employment, decline in hiring rates raised concerns of a slower growth. Rather than the economy taking off, it stumbled. Federal Reserve’s much-anticipated announcement a decision to start scaling back, the monthly asset purchases in January encountered a relatively mute market reaction not just in the US but across the globe. Although US equity markets at first fell on news, markets rallied strongly for remaining part of the month coupled with economic activity improvements as well as reassurance from central bank that its major interest rate would most likely remain near zero until after unemployment in the US fell below 6.5%.Hourly wages increased by 5 cents. As a result of the changes, job changes were recorded with job growth being constrained by sharp decline in public sector. Federal government shed off more than 12,000 jobs, while states and municipalities shed off 17,000 workers. Healthcare increased only 1500 jobs. Consumer spending: consumer spending declined for a 2nd straight month signaling a slowdown in the economy. Retail sales declined 0.4% in January marking the largest drop in the last ten months. The slowing economic fortunes are likely to see further reduction in consumer spending. The Manufacturing sector experienced expansion as shown in PMI, 51.3% although this was drop by 5.2% compared to seasonally adjusted rate of 56.5% in December. However, the reading being more than 50% indicates expansion of the manufacturing sector. The number of unemployed people (10.2 million) as well as the unemployment rate (6.6 %) recorded little change in January. This is a continuous trend from October which has seen joblessness rates reducing by 0.6%. Of the major work groups 20.7% of the unemployed are teenagers, 5.7% are whites, 6.2% are adult men, 12.1% are blacks, 5.9%