Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Situational Leadership Theory

Situational Leadership Theory Situational leadership theory, in simple terms talks about different leadership styles and how a leader can choose an appropriate style with respect to team that he/she is leading and situation in which they are in, to complete the given task. An organization fasces different situations in different times depending on many factors, internal and external which are hard to control. Situational leadership theory helps an organization to face this kind of circumstances. Hersey and Blanchard (1969-1977), first introduced a theory named life cycle theory of leadership which was then developed and renamed to situational leadership theory. Hersey and Blanchard talks about.. Four leadership styles and how a leader can choose different style depending on the maturity level of the team members. Maturity of the team members can be defined as the individuals knowledge required to complete the given task, commitment and willingness to complete the given task. Different styles define, where the leaders focus should be i.e. on team members or on the task. Vroom and Normative talk about How can a leader increasing the team members commitment, effectiveness and efficiency through, allowing team members to participate in decision making. Decision making is a process of deciding what the goals are and how the team is going to achieve them? And how far a leader can allow team members to participate in the decision making? depending on various situations. House and Mitchell (1974) talked about Various styles a leader can chose to explain the vision to the team members and to support them when they get blocked or having difficulty in completing the task, depending on the situation. (The Path-Goal Theory of Leadership, 1974) Explanation According to Hersey and Blanchard The team members of a team can be divided in to four groups depending on their commitment, required knowledge for the job, and willingness to work, which is also known as maturity level of the team. And a leader should choose an appropriate leadership style depending on the maturity level of the team. If the team members doesnt have required knowledge for the job, and they are not committed and willing to work. Leader should keep more focus on completing the given task compared to focus on the team members needs. If the team members are somewhat committed to and have knowledge about the work, but not willing to work. Leader should keep more focus on completing the given task as well as team members needs. If the team has the required job knowledge but are not willing and committed to work. Leader should focus more on teams needs compared to completing the given task. If the team has the required job knowledge, and are willing and committed to work. Leader can keep less focus on teams needs as well as completing the given task. According to Vroom and Normative When the team members are allowed to participate in the process of developing goals and paths to achieve goals, then they show more commitment and willingness to work. Depending on the situation a leader can choose to Take information or advice from team members, and then choose few that he/she likes. Share the ideas with team members, discuss with individuals then choose few that he/she likes. Share the ideas with team members, discuss with the group and listen to the new ideas and choose few to follow. Share the ideas with the team and then follows according to the majority of the teams decision. This model only focuses on decision making strategies in the organisation and how they can affect the performance of the team members. According to House and Mitchell (1974) Leaders chooses goals that organization is going to reach and how they are going to reach the goals alone. However, leaders can explain clearly or not clearly the way that team should follow and he/she can also support team to face the difficulties on the way to reach the goals. Leader can also provide rewards to the team members who are performing well to increase the commitment and willingness of the team. Depending on the situation they can choose different styles like Supportive Leadership: Here leaders focus is more on the team members needs and creating a supportive environment for the team in times of high work pressure. Directive Leadership: Here leader focuses on both the team members needs and completing the given task, gives them information which is needed and supports them when necessary. Participative Leadership: Works with the team, allows them to develop new ideas and considers them when he/she is taking decisions. Achievement-Oriented Leadership: Here leaders develop themselves and the team. They take challenging tasks and decisions to achieve goals which are tough to achieve. Critical view on Situational Leadership Theory Claude L Graeff said Theoretical issues undermining the robustness of the situational leadership theory and the utility of its prescriptive model and discusses. More specifically, conceptual ambiguity associated with the mechanics of applying the concept of job-relevant maturity and other problems with the normative model are seen as seriously limiting its pragmatic utility. (Academy of management. The academy of management review 1986. ABI/INFORM Global) The situational leadership theory even though many pioneer, has many disadvantages. Every model has its own advantages and disadvantages like Job maturity talks about the required knowledge to do the job, where as maturity considers many other factors like experience in the job, general knowledge and problem solving abilities, etc. Self-esteem and confidence play a vital role in an individuals performance which comes under psychological maturity, which was never mentioned in the theories. Participation in decision making can increase pressure on the team and also can bring misunderstandings between the team members. The relationship between decision making and increase in commitment and willingness of the team members is not always directly proportional; sometimes it may result in serious problems. If leader is focusing less on the task and the path that team is following to reach the task, the team may lose the way and not achieve the goals in time. Relevance with Contemporary Organizations Albert Humphrey (1960-1970), created a tool which helps an organization to understand its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. With the help of this tool an organization can develop strategies to overcome weaknesses and threats, and to improve strengths and opportunities. Organizations are facing more and more competition as globalization and international markets are growing. Most of the organizations are depending on the same resources, so it is important for a leader to use the resources properly to achieve the given task. And to achieve this, a leader should use appropriate styles according to ever changing situations. To analyse external factors which affect the organization, another model PESTEL analysis can be used which talks about factors like Politics, Economics, Social, Technological, Environmental, Legal factors, which an organization cannot control, and any change in these factors can change the situation an organization is working in. So, it is important that leaders should change their styles and behaviours according to the situations and help the team to complete the given task. Example: Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan recently triggered nuclear meltdown in the nation, which not only affected the nations economy but also worlds economy. Organizations which are based in Japan even though doesnt got any direct impact from the natural disaster have lost their stocks. In situations that cannot be controlled by the organization it is necessary for the leaders to help the team and the organization by playing different roles according to the situation. Conclusion This theory talks about following different approaches according to or appropriate to the situations, the developers also helped to form or build different strategies to follow in different cases. So it is a process of influencing the maturity of the follower or team to achieve the given goal in a given situation. Here a leader must be focus on both team and the task, more or less. Reference P. Hersey, K. H Blanchard and William Morrow (1999). Leadership and the One Minute Manager. P. Hersey, K. H Blanchard and D. E Johnson (2007). Management of Organizational Behaviour: Leading Human Resources. Prentice Hall. V. H Vroom and P. W Yetton (1973). Leadership and decision-making. University of Pittsburg Press. R. J House (1971). A path-goal theory of leader effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly. R. J House and T. R Mitchell (1974). Path-Goal Theory of Leadership. Contemporary Business. M. G Evans (1970). The effect of supervisory behaviour on the path-goal relationship. Organizational Behaviour and Human Performance.

Monday, January 20, 2020

The Creation of the Berlin Wall Essays -- Berlin Wall European History

The Creation of the Berlin Wall The end of World War II triggered the start of the Cold War. The victors of WWII, The United States, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union divided Germany and Berlin into four. The United States, Great Britain, and France were all capitalist and democratic, and the Soviet Union was communist. The United States, Great Britain, and France all were part of the same â€Å"team.† The Soviet Union, however, wanted nothing to do with the others, so they decided to build a wall around their sector to keep the others out and their people in. (Divided In Unity 87). The Berlin Wall went up in the middle of the night, 2 a.m. on August 13, 1961. It was, at first a low barbed wire fence, and then workers used cement to construct a permanent structure that was 96 feet long, and about 12 feet high. (Kelly 1). Travel between east and west was nearly impossible due to the restrictions. There were 14,000 guards, 600 dogs, and approximately 302 watchtowers were placed to make sure that no one from the East escaped to the West. (The Wall). The Soviet Union had complete control over what went on in the Eastern sector. They had taken control of the only radio tower, and they decided what was broadcasted over it. It was a crime to listen to broadcasts from the West. (Kelly 2). And the newspapers that were produced in the East, the government had complete control over what was published in them: â€Å"Newspapers are the written voice of the state. Reporters do not launch independent investigation or expose government corruption. Journalists are more like secretaries, reporting what they are told, and nothing more.† (Kelly 4). People that were prisoners in the East yearned for the freedom that people had in the West. About 10,000 people tried escaping, around 5,000 made it, roughly 3,200 were jailed, and approximately 200 were killed and 200 injured from shootings at the Wall. One man, Peter Fechter who was an 18-year-old bricklayer, was shot while he was trying to escape, the guards wouldn’t let anyone help him, so he bleed to death. (Kelly 2). He ended up becoming a symbol of everyone killed at the Wall. People risked everything to get to the West, escaping over, through, and under the Berlin Wall. There were some pretty amazing ways that people found to escape. Kelly at The Freedom Forum, writes that, the Wetzel’s and St... ... was a huge separation. Not only between parts of the city and the government, but between families and what they believed in. People’s rights in the East were stripped from them. The government was the supreme voice of the city. People’s yearn to be free led them to do all sorts of ingenious, courageous, and deadly acts. The cost of their life outweighed the benefit of freedom. Works Cited â€Å"Escape Stories.† Associated Press. New York, N.Y.  © 2000 â€Å"Escaping Under the Berlin Wall.† Newsweek. March 8, 1999: 54. Online InfoTrac Web: General Reference Center Gold. Accessed: February 2002 Glaeser, Andreas. Divided in Unity. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,  © 2000. Kelly, Susan Brooks. â€Å"Two Sides, One Story.† The Freedom Forum. Arlington, VA. 1999. 8-85 Phillips, Martin. â€Å"Berlin Escape Ordeal 10 years Ago Today†¦The Wall Came Down.† The Sun. London, England. Nov 9, 1999. Online: News Group Newspapers Ltd. 6 Olsen, A J. â€Å"Breaching ‘The Wall’: The Odds Grow.† The New York Times. New York, N.Y. August 9, 1964. 11+ Colin, Armand. URL: â€Å"A Concrete Curtain: The Life and Death of The Berlin Wall† creation: September 20, 1999. URL: www.wall-berlin.org/ Accessed: January 2002.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Brother Dear

Brian Van-Huynh â€Å"Brother Dear† by Bernice Friesen In the short story Brother Dear, Bernice Friesen introduces the antagonistic relationship a parent and child share when they do not see eye to eye in terms of success. Greg and his father struggle through difficulty as Greg is caught in the midst of what his father wants him to do as appose to what he wants for himself. The conflict that exists between Greg and his Father proves that parents should allow their children to discover and follow their dreams, rather than forcing them upon their own wishes.In addition, the author suggests that success can come in various forms, but each form is unique to each person. Therefore when parents deny their kids’ ambition to achieve something, they only create dissatisfaction and despair. This story takes place when Greg comes home from university, where his Dad had paid for his tuition, and had planned for Greg to study law. Sharlene, who is in grade 11, parallels the conflict between the ideals of success based on her brother and father. She is caught between two contrasting approaches on life where agreeing with her father or supporting her brother Greg are her only options.Greg is introduced to be a rebellious character that does not take orders from anyone. This does not meet his fathers standards for he is strict and controlling when it comes to planning his children’s future. When Greg’s father discovers that he has chosen a different path in life, he is enraged. Not only does this create a predicament between two individuals but also draws in the whole family as it becomes the topic of discussion. In reference to the above, the pressure that Greg’s father puts on him makes him feel meaningless because he has chosen to do what he wants to do rather than following in his fathers footsteps.Greg’s father claims he is lazy, has â€Å"no drive, and no ambition to do well in school† (Friesen 4), this only forces Greg aw ay from caring about school and creates resentment towards his father who constantly puts him down. What the family does not notice is that Greg does not want to walk a narrow road, but to be free and do what he is passionate for. When Greg lashes back saying that his family is too materialistic and wastes money on unnecessary items, his passion is revealed and portrayed through his actions and words.In addition to what creates a sense of individuality seen in Greg is the conversation at the dinner table. When brought up by his Father, Greg mentions that he no longer eats meat because he's a vegetarian. He lets his family know he did not go to exams because he skipped it to go to a protest in Edmonton. Greg also tells his family of how he isn't going back to school, and that he's going to spend his summer planting trees. These three prime examples give the reader a strong sense that Greg has a lot of motivation and ambition.By skipping his exam, it is proven that planting trees or p rotesting is not just a hobby of Greg’s but more of a lifestyle. Towards the end, Greg asks a simple question before he leaves: â€Å"Is that all my family can ever do? Point out what’s wrong with me? † (Friesen 6) it is this question that makes Sharlene wondrous. This question further supports the theme of conflict between two individuals who don’t see eye to eye, because many parents think they are always right. Greg is simply doing what he loves, and this is not up to par with his father and considered irresponsible. Be something. Be something. That’s all I ever get from Dad† (Frieson 5), this sentence describes how his father is always demanding Greg to do something he sees as successful, such as going to university and earning a degree. Nevertheless, Greg believes that he is old enough to make his own decisions and benefit from them. When Sharlene asks, â€Å"So you never want to be anything? †(Friesen 6) as if Greg is never going to be successful, Greg is enraged because his perspective on life is the opposite of what his dads is.It is evident that although he is not going to follow his fathers path of success, he will still be successful, but in his own eyes. Lastly, Frieson proves it can be difficult for parents to allow their children to follow their own dreams, risking the relationship between parent and child. Greg shares his knowledge of life with his sister Sharlene and together they come to an understanding that you live life to bring joy upon yourself, not to please the others around you. In the end, Greg has defined his own success, which links his ambition and passion to dictate his own life.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Essay on Deterioration in Long Distance Relationship

Introduction Long distance relationship, known as LDR is model of a romantic relationship that takes place when the partners are separated by significant distance. I have been experiencing this kind of relationship since 10 months ago and still going. As an international student studying abroad, my boyfriend and I separated within thousand miles between Indonesia and Australia. Although the time different is not far different and communication device is not a problem, deterioration still appears in our relationship. Habits and dating style changed create insecure feelings that raise negative perception of relationship. Fighting and grumpy feelings most likely occur when we are having a bad mood while ego controls the logic. These†¦show more content†¦Believe and faith within each other slowly fades away and changed with ego. Along with our relationship deterioration, I begin to think about our future. We have been in relationship for 3 years and this long distance relationship interrupt our romance. We used to be a fun, joyful, understanding and cool couple. Although, I feel that there is no sign that he would wait for me or ask me to marry me. Everything is just plain. I do not have any excitement anymore to continue this relationship because we have no goals. This LDR actually stressed me and I do not want to waste my time to person who not even has thought about our future. Future and certainty are clearly important in this LDR relationship. Every serious couple would go through anything to reach their future goals. And actually LDR is not really a hard matters regarding to bright future. People who have future of their relationship would have happily gone through any kind of relationship because they already know that their pain would worth for the future. # Commitment In long distance relationship, commitment is required to built a success relationship. 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