Bureaucratic Management Theory Essay

Weber’s theory of bureaucratic management has two essential elements. First, it entails structuring an organization into a hierarchy. Secondly, the organization and its members are governed by clearly defined rational-legal decision-making rules. Each element helps an organization to achieve its goals. An organizational hierarchy is the arrangement of the organization by level of authority in reference to the levels above and below it. For example, a vice-president of marketing is below the company’s president, at the same level as the company’s vice president of sales, and above the supervisor of the company’s social media department. Each level answers to the level above it with the ultimate leader of the organization at the top. The easiest way to understand the term rational-legal decision making rules is to think of it as a set of explicit and objective policies and procedures that governs how an organization functions. Examples of rational-legal decision-making rules include human resources rules and policies or the regulations governing who is entitled to unemployment insurance. Bureaucracies are all around us – this form of organization, which is comprised of non-elected officials who implement rules, is not only common in the public sector but in the business world as well. Examples of bureaucracies in the public sector include the Social Security Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and public universities. Among the oldest bureaucratic structures in the country is the United States Military. In the private sector, most large business firms have a bureaucratic organization. Examples of private sector firms with a bureaucratic structure include IBM, GM and the Union Pacific Railroad. Knowing how bureaucratic management works can lead to a better understanding of how government agencies and large business firms operate – it can assist you in interacting with complex organizations, whether it be seeking social security benefits or working for a large corporation. Max Weber Max Weber. Published in the US before 1923 and public domain in the US. Max Weber – Father of Modern Organizational Theory One of the most important thinkers in modern organizational theory, Max Weber (1864-1920), is the father of the bureaucratic management theory. Weber was a German sociologist and political economist that viewed bureaucracy in a positive light, believing it to be more rational and efficient than its historical predecessors.

Economic Order Quantity and Significant Predictor.

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In a simple linea r regression, we are using monthly advertising expenditures (in $000) to predict monthly profits (in $000). If the least squares equation is y = 21. 5 – . x and the coefficient of determination is . 49. The predicted profit = __________ when advertising expenses are $0. a. 21. 5 b. -0. 1 c. $21,500 d. none of the above. 7. If the correlation coefficient is zero, there is no relationship between x and y. a. True b. False 8. Kelvin Shoe Stores carries a basic black dress shoe for men that sells at a rate of 500 each quarter. Their current policy is to order 500 per quarter, with a fixed cost of $30/order. The annual holding cost is 20% of the cost of items held. The following cost structure is applicable: Order Quantity |Price/pair | |0-99 |$36 | |100-199 |32 | |200-299 |30 | |300+ |28 | For a price of $36, the optimal order quantity is a. 129 b. infeasible for this cost structure. c. neither of the above. d. both a and b. 9. Kelvin Shoe Stores carries a basic black dress shoe for men that sells at a rate of 500 each quarter.Their current policy is to order 500 per quarter, with a fixed cost of $30/order. The annual holding cost is 20% of the cost of items held. The following cost structure is applicable: |Order Quantity |Price/pair | |0-99 |$36 | |100-199 |32 | |200-299 |30 | |300+ |28 | The optimal order quantity is a. 129 b. 141 c. 146 d. 300 10. Foster Inc. arries special holiday items, including Happy Angels (HAs). During the season, the demand for HAs is approximately normally distributed, with a mean of 320 and a standard deviation of 30. It costs Foster $5. 00 for each HA unless he orders at least 400, at which the price drops to $4. 50/HA. The HAs’ retail price is $10. Unsold items will be given to a local hospital, with a disposal cost of $0. 05/HA. Mr. Foster estimates that the goodwill cost of each item short is close to $0. 25. a. This is a single-period inventory problem. b. This is an EOQ problem. c. This is a periodic-review problem . d. None of the above 11.Foster Inc. carries special holiday items, including Happy Angels (HAs). During the season, the demand for HAs is approximately normally distributed, with a mean of 320 and a standard deviation of 30. It costs Foster $5. 00 for each HA unless he orders at least 400, at which the price drops to $4. 50/HA. The HAs’ retail price is $10. Unsold items will be given to a local hospital, with a disposal cost of $0. 05/HA. Mr. Foster estimates that the goodwill cost of each item short is close to $0. 25. A Christmas-tree model is appropriate. a. True b. False 12. A regular EOQ model is appropriate when demand is seasonal. a. True . False 13. See the attached â€Å"Regression Data I†. We are using the number of radios, TVs, and DVD players stocked to predict the profit, revenue, and cost for future periods. First, run a model to predict the profit. Select all which apply. a. Radios is a significant predictor. b. TVs is a significant predictor. c. DVDs is a significant predictor. d. The overall model is significant. e. The intercept is positive. f. Severe multicollinearity is present. 14. See the attached â€Å"Regression Data I†. We are using the number of radios, TVs, and DVD players stocked to predict the profit, revenue, and cost for future periods.Next, run a model to predict the cost. Select all which apply. a. Radios is a significant predictor. b. TVs is a significant predictor. c. DVDs is a significant predictor. d. The overall model is significant. e. The intercept is positive. f. Severe multicollinearity is present. 15. See the attached â€Å"Regression Data I†. We are using the number of radios, TVs, and DVD players stocked to predict the profit, revenue, and cost for future periods. Based on the output, which of the following recommendations would be most appropriate? a. We should stock more radios. b.We should stock fewer TVs. c. We should increase floor space, since it is probably constraining our sales ability. d. We should consider the time period. 16. What is the best answer given this information? (3) | |Model 1 |Model 2 |Model 3 | |X-variables |6 |4 |3 | |R2 |. 9344 |. 8857 |. 761 | |Adjusted R2 |. 9058 |. 8372 |. 8497 | |MSE |5667. 53 |6044. 05 |5844. 78 | a. Model 1 performs the best in all areas. b. Model 2 performs better than Model 3. c. We would most likely prefer Model 1. d. We would most likely prefer Model 2. e. We would most likely prefer Model 3. 17. The table below features three forecasting models used on the same set of data. Select all that apply. |Model 1 |Model 2 |Model 3 | |Type |Single-parameter Exponential |2-parameter Exponential smoothing |3-parameter Exponential smoothing| | |smoothing | | | |MSE |8755. 3 |4876. 2 |5945. 8 | a. There is likely a strong seasonal component present. b. There is likely a trend present. c. There is no random component present. d.There is a cyclical component present. e. A different smoothing constant could affect the MSE for Model 1. 18. If we increase the order (setup) cost, the order quantity will _____________ if we hold all other costs constant. a. increase b. decrease c. remain the same as long as there is no shortage cost d. become unstable 19. If demand is normally distributed, a. a basic EOQ is appropriate. b. a single-period model could not be appropriate. c. we should produce to fill demand, rather than filling it through orders. d. none of the above would be true. 20. Which of the following methods may be used to determine future order quantities? . forecasting b. regression c. inventory models d. all of the above 21. Refer to the inventory output for Betsy’s Blue Bonnet Bakery. Here, Betsy is trying to determine the optimal order policy for birthday kits. What is the safety stock? 114____________ 22. Refer to #21. What is Betsy’s service level if she uses this policy? 87%________________ 23. Refer to #21. If Betsy changes to a lost sales model, the order quantity would be expe cted to increase. a. True b. False c. It depends on the cost associated with a lost sale. 24. Refer to the forecasting output for Betsy’s. This model is appropriate for the type of data. . True b. False 25. Refer to #24. Look at the forecast errors. Which of the following best describes the situation? a. The errors are indicative of what we like to see. b. The errors are randomly distributed. c. The errors are indicative of a problem with the model. d. The errors are indicative of a poor choice of ?. 26. Refer to #24. What recommendation would you make? a. We should use the model as is. b. We should alter model parameters to improve the fit? c. We should use the model, but use extreme caution in doing so. d. We should eliminate some time periods for forecasting. Regression Data I Profit | | | | | |Revenue | | | | | |Radios | | | | | |TVs | | | | | |DVDs | | | | | | | | | | | |Quarter | | | | | |Errors | | | | | | | | | | | |6318. 96 | | | | | |8395. 1 | | | | | |36 | | | | | |65 | | | | | |48 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |4721. 57 | | | | | |6300. 28 | | | | | |26 | | | | | |48 | | | | |39 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |5049. 16 | | | | | |6747. 5 | | | | | |33 | | | | | |51 | | | | | |40 | | | | | | | | | | | |2000 – 3 | | | | | |32 | | | | | | | | | | | |5249. 44 | | | | | |7028. 6 | | | | | |29 | | | | | |53 | | | | | |45 | | | | | | | | | | | |4 | | | | | |46 | | | | | | | | | | | |5290. 08 | | | | | |7116. 1 | | | | | |32 | | | | | |52 | | | | | |49 | | | | | | | | | | | |2001 – 1 | | | | | |19 | | | | | | | | | | | |5924. 41 | | | | | |7951. 0 | | | | | |41 | | | | | |58 | | | | | |52 | | | | | | | | | | | |2 | | | | | |23 | | | | | | | | | | | |5251. 97 | | | | | |7031. 09 | | | | | |36 | | | | |52 | | | | | |44 | | | | | | | | | | | |3 | | | | | |34 | | | | | | | | | | | |4805. 72 | | | | | |6462. 8 | | | | | |31 | | | | | |47 | | | | | |44 | | | | | | | | | | | |4 | | | | | |49 | | | | | | | | | | | |5278. 60 | | | | | |7162. 2 | | | | | |46 | | | | | |49 | | | | | |51 | | | | | | | | | | | |2002 – 1 | | | | | |22 | | | | | | | | | | | |5301. 77 | | | | | |7136. 5 | | | | | |43 | | | | | |51 | | | | | |46 | | | | | | | | | | | |2 | | | | | |20 | | | | | | | | | | | |6121. 98 | | | | | |8249. 4 | | | | | |45 | | | | | |59 | | | | | |56 | | | | | | | | | | | |3 | | | | | |31 | | | | | | | | | | | |5416. 63 | | | | | |7244. 79 | | | | | |29 | | | | |55 | | | | | |46 | | | | | | | | | | | |4 | | | | | |51 | | | | | | | | | | | |6552. 89 | | | | | |8718. 1 | | | | | |43 | | | | | |67 | | | | | |48 | | | | | | | | | | | |2003 – 1 | | | | | |16 | | | | | | | | | | | |6352. 93 | | | | | |8494. 2 | | | | | |46 | | | | | |63 | | | | | |51 | | | | | | | | | | | |2 | | | | | |26 | | | | | | | | | | | |6693. 01 | | | | | |8881. 5 | | | | | |55 | | | | | |68 | | | | | |43 | | | | | | | | | | | |3 | | | | | |37 | | | | | | | | | | | |5761. 97 | | | | | |7669. 0 | | | | | |48 | | | | | |58 | | | | | |39 | | | | | | | | | | | |4 | | | | | |48 | | | | | | | | | | | |5419. 50 | | | | | |7265. 38 | | | | |33 | | | | | |54 | | | | | |47 | | | | | | | | | | | |2004 -1 | | | | | |22 | | | | | | | | | | | |5474. 64 | | | | | |7302. 7 | | | | | |35 | | | | | |55 | | | | | |44 | | | | | | | | | | | |2 | | | | | |24 | | | | | | | | | | | |4650. 87 | | | | | |6335. 9 | | | | | |41 | | | | | |42 | | | | | |49 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |4781. 91 | | | | | |6438. 3 | | | | | |48 | | | | | |45 | | | | | |39 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | MULTI-PERIOD EOQ MODEL (Backordering) – NORMAL LEAD-TIME DEMAND | | | | | | | | | | |PROBLEM: |Betsy's Blue Bonnet Bakery | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Parameter Values: | | | | | | | |Mean of Demand Distribution: mu = | | | | | |1,000 | | | |Stand. Deviation of Demand Distribution: sigma = | | | | |100 | | | |Fixed Cost per Order: k = | | | | | | | |5,000 | | | |Annual Demand Rate: A = | | | | | | | |52,000 | | | |Unit Cost of Procuring an Item: c| |42. 00 | | | |= | | | | | |Annual Holding Cost per Dollar Value: h = |0. 20 | | | |Shortage Cost per Unit: pS = | |10. 0 | | | | | | | | | | |Optimal Values: | | | | | | | |Optimal Order Quantity: Q* = | 7,919 | | | | |Optimal Reorder Point: r* = | 1,114 | | | | |Expected Demand: mu = | 1,000 | | | | |Total Expected Cost: TEC(Q*) = | $ 67,471. 4 | | | | |Expected Shortages: B(r*) = |6. 47 | | | | |Probability of Shortage: P[D;r*] |0. 13 | | | | |= | | | |Betsy's Blue Bonnet Bakery | | | | | | |? = |0. 3 |? = |0. 5 |? = |0. | | | | | | | | | | | |   |   |Actual |Trend |Slope |Seasonal |Forecast |Error | |Quarter |t |Sales, Yt |Tt |bt |St |Ft | | |2003 W |1 | 36,500 |   |   |   |   | | |1988 S |2 | 43,750 | 36,500. 00 | 7,250. 00 |1. 20 |   | | |1988 S |3 | 59,920 | 48,601. 00 | 9,675. 50 |1. 23 |   | | |1988 F |4 | 87,440 | 67,025. 55 | 14, 050. 03 |1. 0 |   | | |2004 W |5 | 102,240 | 87,424. 90 | 17,224. 69 |1. 17 |   | | |1988 S |6 | 123,420 | 104,144. 98 | 16,972. 38 |1. 19 | 125,436. 15 | (2,016. 15) | |1988 S |7 | 139,610 | 118,753. 37 | 15,790. 39 |1. 19 | 149,325. 16 | (9,715. 16) | |1988 F |8 | 135,380 | 125,312. 56 | 11,174. 79 |1. 13 | 175,522. 72 | (40,142. 72) | |2005 W |9 | 129,470 | 128,753. 89 | 7,308. 06 |1. 04 | 159,616. 61 | (30,146. 1) | |1988 S |10 | 137,570 | 129,989. 43 | 4,271. 80 |1. 08 | 161,612. 88 | (24,042. 88) | |1988 S |11 | 156,630 | 133,566. 44 | 3,924. 41 |1. 18 | 159,379. 23 | (2,749. 23) | |1988 F |12 | 150,980 | 136,498. 26 | 3,428. 11 |1. 11 | 154,702. 82 | (3,722. 82) | |2006 W |13 | 143,340 | 139,362. 57 | 3,146. 21 |1. 03 | 145,291. 38 | (1,951. 38) | |1988 S |14 | 153,360 | 142,190. 68 | 2,987. 16 |1. 08 | 154,509. 63 | (1,149. 3) | |1988 S |15 | 169,730 | 144,939. 30 | 2,867. 89 |1. 17 | 170,664. 76 | (934. 76) | |1988 F |16 | 161,990 | 147,249. 54 | 2,589. 07 |1. 10 | 164, 053. 12 | (2,063. 12) | |2007 W |17 | 154,760 | 149,940. 86 | 2,640. 19 |1. 03 | 154,408. 75 |351. 25 | |1988 S |18 | 164,780 | 152,592. 38 | 2,645. 85 |1. 08 | 164,739. 26 |40. 74 | |1988 S |19 | 186,730 | 156,466. 79 | 3,260. 13 |1. 19 | 181,930. 65 | 4,799. 5 | |1988 F |20 | 177,880 | 160,230. 59 | 3,511. 97 |1. 11 | 176,029. 75 | 1,850. 25 | |2008 W |21 | 170,360 | 164,152. 06 | 3,716. 72 |1. 04 | 168,951. 59 | 1,408. 41 | |1988 S |22 | 178,830 | 167,190. 82 | 3,377. 74 |1. 07 | 181,270. 26 | (2,440. 26) | |1988 S |23 | 195,550 | 168,732. 72 | 2,459. 82 |1. 16 | 202,826. 81 | (7,276. 81) | |1988 F |24 | 187,220 | 170,501. 72 | 2,114. 41 |1. 10 | 189,772. 64 | (2,552. 4) | |2009 W |25 | 163,230 | 168,070. 53 | (158. 39) |0. 98 | 178,936. 82 | (15,706. 82) | |1988 S |26 | 162,890 | 163,137. 87 | (2,545. 53) |1. 01 | 179,944. 64 | (17,054. 64) | |1988 S |27 | 174,540 | 157,361. 67 | (4,160. 86) |1. 12 | 187,085. 45 | (12,545. 45) | |1988 F |28 | 163,130 | 151,724. 53 | (4,899. 00) |1. 08 | 168,543. 79 | (5,413. 79) | |2010 W |29 | |   | |   | 144,517. 6 | | |1988 S |30 | |   | |   | 143,788. 09 | | |1988 S |31 | |   | |   | 153,515. 48 | | |1988 F |32 |   |   |   |   | 142,720. 95 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |MSE = |175,943,211 | | | |

Research Paper about expensive college tuition 2

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Case review on O.J Simpson - Essay Example On February 4, 1997 a civil jury found Simpson liable for the wrong death of Goldman and the battery of his Nicole Brown. Simpson was ordered to pay to $35.5 million to the Goldman and Brown families but has yet to pay anything as his NFL pension is protected from such verdicts. He currently lives in Florida, where his house is protected from being forfeited for a civil judgment. The Prosecution did not have an eyewitness to the murder, but this was just about the only piece of evidence that was not submitted to the jury. There was an overwhelming amount of evidence linking OJ Simpson to the murder. Thus evidence as to Simpson’s violent nature vis-Ã  -vis his ex-wife was presented, including a record of extensive domestic violence. A timeline was establishing using a limousine driver who was to drive Simpson to the airport and Kato Kaelin, Simpson’s housemate, who established that Simpson was away from the house at the time of the murders. The evidence tying Simpson to the murders was technical and circumstantial. It was related to blood, hair, fiber and footprint analysis from the crime scene and at Simpson’s home. Perhaps the most powerful piece of evidence was a DNA test of a blood sample found at the crime scene which found that there was a 1 in 170,000,000 chance that it was not Simpson’s blood. Evidence to show that the eventual not-guilty verdict was sound was never really introduced to the trial. Evidence was provided, as already stated, as to a pattern of domestic violence that would logically lead to the eventual murder of Nicole Brown. The timeline of the night of the murder suggested that Simpson was abset from his house at the time of the murders. The forensic evidence taken from the murder scene and from Simpson’s house showed that his blood was at the scene and that Nicole Brown’s blood was found in a bloody footprint on the carpet outside Simpson’s bedroom. A bloody glove with the victims’ blood on it was found outside

Despite the best efforts of academics, little is known about the way Essay

Despite the best efforts of academics, little is known about the way policy is formulated. Discuss - Essay Example It (the policy) identifies and describes the approved and established courses for the adoption by the government and the organizations. Policy usually embraces all general goals, the acceptable procedures and the main actions that lead to the achievement of the goals. It’s (the policies) work is to provide a center for the formulation of policies/strategies, major plans, legislation and any other framework documents. They (policies) generally reflect on long term objectives and they are more subjected to revisions and modifications that are mainly based on the changed vision and goals (Chowdhury, 2003). The national document is a very large mandate which is normally enunciated by the major authority that governs the state with an intention of formulating certain acts and rules that are mostly applied towards the end of attaining the desired objectives. In order to achieve a good policy formulation there has to be a number of desirable steps that have to be followed generally for the purpose of achieving a good policy. Some of these steps include; agreements on how to set priorities, having a form of participatory process, national determination of having a clear goal, implementation arrangements that has clear cut task distribution and better monitoring of activities for major improvements of services and strategic information. When all these steps are followed a good policy gets to be formulated, these steps act as guidance (or even direction) in the policy formulation (Chowdhury, 2003). For the to be able to address a certain public predicament some polices have to be formulated; before the formulation of the policies some steps have to taken and they include; the proper identification of the problem, formulation of a policy adjustment, implementation of the adjusted policy and evaluation of how the adjusted policy is working so as

Scientific method Essay Example for Free

Scientific method Essay Summary paragraph introducing the project, building, hypothesis, highlights of findings. concise brief of the parts to the case study. Introduction Description of building, background information, designer’s intent, observations, and how team decided on topic. selection of an interesting or challenging building; relevant issues to current building performance topics that address energy-use and conservation and/or occupant well-being and associated topics covered during the Fall term. Hypothesis / Inquiry Questions. A question converted to a statement that can be tested, deals with one relevant topic, and has only one clause. suitability in scope and context to the case study building; testable and well-framed statement linking design intent to performance topic. Significance in going beyond the mundane. Methods / Equipment Step-by-step procedure that explains how, who, what, where and details of the collection of information. innovative utilization of field methods which are well-matched to the hypothes(es) and based upon direct experience with the selected building; appropriate approach and use of equipment for this case study. Data / Analysis Collection of data and explanation and interpretation of the results. effective communication and analysis of results in response to the research questions; this may include creative or unique ways of representing data; Conclusions / Design Lessons Learned Concise statements of key findings and what was learned. understanding of the complexities and variables of the project. appropriateness of concluding statements suggestions for studies to build upon this case study. Web Design ease and logic of navigation; readability and clarity; creativity in using the web to enhance the representation of data. appropriate attribution, acknowledgement, etc. A =demonstrates meeting the objectives and criteria above; serves as a useful model of information for the design community. B =demonstrates meeting the objectives and criteria above C =meets several of the objectives and criteria above, is deficient in areas. D =does not demonstrate meeting the objectives and criteria above Evaluation Procedures. The following process enables us to give a fair and objective review to each of the case study projects, according to the objectives and criteria set forth in the assignment. 1. Instructors will review an initial set of selected case studies together and assign letter grades (see below) for content and web design according to the criteria above. As a group, we will discuss the merits and deficiencies and come to agreement on the final content and web grade, by consensus or averaging the grades. Comments and grades will be entered into a master spreadsheet (which contains team names, email addresses, GTF, title) which will facilitate sending feedback to the teams and provide a master document should students come in to talk to us later. 2. For efficiency of time and because of the number of case studies, we will break into grading teams (one instructor, two GTFs) and use the same process to evaluate the rest of the case studies. Adjustments and re-calibration of grades can occur as we progress through the grading process. The instructors may float between teams. 3. Presentation grades from the instructor and GTF will be entered into the master spreadsheet. 4. Generally, GTFs will not be on a team grading their own students’ case studies. They can be however, consulted to ask about the team’s initiative and general performance. GTFs should review the grades with the grading team. 5. All instructors will â€Å"vote† for case studies to be place in the Hall of Fame (4-5 total). Once these have been selected we will notify them after grades have been submitted and case study files can be posted to the Hall of Fame site. (this may be early winter term).

Compare the Effectiveness of Different Leadership Styles

Compare the Effectiveness of Different Leadership Styles Leadership is an important topic that will always attract attention due to its importance in shaping the fortunes of organizations around the world. Leadership is defined as the process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how to do it, and the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives (Yukl, 2010:26). This suggests that for effective leadership to take place there must be communication and understanding between the leader and his followers. The definition suggests that leadership is a two-way process that influences both individual and organizational performance (Mullins, 2010:373). Due to the complex and different nature of organizations, different frameworks and leadership theories have been developed to analyze approaches to leadership in the organizational setting. There are three main styles of leadership, which are the democratic style where the focus of power lies more with the group and not solely with the leader, the authoritarian style where the focus of power lies solely with the leader/manager and the laissez-faire style where the leader observes group member are working on their own (Mullins, 2010:381). The need for these three leadership styles may differ according to the situation. In dealing with an organization in crisis an authoritative style of leadership may be preferable. According to the contingency theories, there is no one particular leadership style for every situation. In the modern industrial organizations where innovation is key and employee involvement in organizational activities is important, the democratic style of leadership can be most effective. In this style of leadership the employees have a greater say in decision-making process and policy determination (Mullins, 2010:381). An evidence of this is the automobile industry; Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn was able to achieve results by focusing on sharing ideas with employees and getting feedback through communication. From the leadership and managerial framework there are various leadership and management approaches (Mullins, 2010:376). These approaches include the qualities traits approach, functional approach, situational approach, transactional, transformational approach or inspirational approach. These different approaches can be applied to different organizations because each organization has its own individual character, culture and identity (Mullins, 2010:78). The transactional leadership approach can be effective in organizations where operations are carried out according structured rules and principles. This leadership approach would fit as it is based on authority within bureaucratic structures of organizations (Mullins, 2010:391). This leadership approach to organization like banks or government bodies where the focus is mainly task oriented. References Centre of Management Research (2003) The Turnaround Specialist [online] available from [20th March, 2011] Laurie J. Mullins (2010). Management and Organisational Behaviour 9th edn. England: Pearson Education Limited. Yukl, G (2010). Leadership in Organisations, 7th edn. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson-Prentice Hall Blog 2 Current leadership research and how it can help overcome resistance to change The leadership challenge model of Jimmy kouzes and Barry Posner can be used to address some of the issues of change in todays business environment. Kouzes and Posners leadership challenge model presents five practices of exemplary leadership; Model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act and encourage the heart. Model the way: In modeling the way leaders clarify the values that will guide, find their own voice to clearly articulate their values and set their own personal standard of excellence as an example for others to follow. Inspire a shared vision: leaders should dream of exciting possibilities by envisioning a bright future and fostering this same vision for all his followers. Challenge the process: leaders should look for innovative ways to improve or grow their organization by defying the status quo. Enable others to act: leaders should encourage collaboration and build teams based on trust. By doing that they make it possible for their employees to work better. Encourage the heart: leaders should recognize and honor the contribution of every follower/employee. This model can be used in used in handling situations where resistance to change occurs in organizations. An example of this where a manager exhibited some aspects of this five models was the TI automotive case study in unit 6. Tim Kuppler was tasked with improving the corporate culture and bottom line of the HVAC unit of TIs North American business. Kuppler found out the employees were unclear about their mission and ready to embrace change. Kuppler demonstrated the inspiring a shared vision aspect of the Kouzes and Posner model through unfreezing of the situation and a communicating with employee to have an understanding of the situation to make handles of the situation properly and propose a vision moving forward. Kuppler challenged the process through bringing innovative ways to implement change. He introduced involvement meetings and created business teams, which were not part of the companies practice before. This also demonstrate enabling others to act as it fostered collaboration and made it possible for the employees to good work. Kuppler finally refreezes the situation leaving the employees with an empowered corporate culture. References Kouzes, J. Posner, B. Z., (2008) The Leadership Challenge, 4th Edition, Jossey-Bass Moodle (2010) M005LON-Leading in a Changing World-1011JAN [online] available from [ 22nd March,2011] Blog 3 Key tensions in leadership The business environment is constantly changing; forces like globalization, increasing business competition and innovation are changing the landscape of the business world. These factors provide challenges and tensions that leaders/managers are expected to identify and handle through effective leadership and management. Globalization presents challenges for leadership; organizations now employ people from different cultural backgrounds with different values and beliefs. People perception of authority could vary according to their cultural background and experiences (Mullins, 2010:401). The level of power distance people accept varies and can be linked to their nationality, people from countries like china accept a high power distance while people from most European countries don not a high power distance. Leaders/ managers with a workforce comprising of people from these countries have be aware of that. The situational leadership approach can apply here where the leader bases his/style and behaviour according the situational forces. Tannenbaum and Schmidt suggested three main forces: Forces in the manager, forces in the subordinate and forces in the environment (Mullins, 2010:383). Leading virtual teams is also another challenge for leaders/managers where communication is through electronic sources (Mullins, 2010:834). The lack of face-to-face contact with members, geographical separation, time difference and cultural difference of team members makes leading virtual teams a challenging task. Leaders of theses teams require different range of skills. Position power has little or no effect in these leading virtual teams. Golemans leadership styles will style will work effectively which are the visionary, coaching, affiliative, democratic, pace-setter and commanding. According to Goleman effective leaders rely on more than one leadership style (Goleman cited in Mullins, 2010:399). The leader of virtual teams with a combination of the styles will be effective. The leader can use the democratic style to foster interaction between through encouraging employee involvement, use the visionary style to create a long-term vision for the group and use the affiliative style to create harmony in the work group. In dealing with crisis management in organizations, where urgent action is needed to address the problem, an authoritarian leadership style might be preferable. According to Brennen an authoritarian style of leadership is suitable in situations of crisis or emergency where immediate action needs to be taken (Educational Administration and Supervision, nd). Goleman also stated that authoritative style might be over bearing at times, it can be effective (Goleman cited in Mullins, 2010:399). In order to effectively bring organizational change, it is important for a leader to understand factors that cause resistance to change in the individuals or the organization. This was seen in the TI automotive case study mentioned in my second blog. Tim Kuppler was able to implement the strategic change needed in the company after Identifying cause of resistance to change in the employees. The employees were hesitant to embrace the change process because other Managers tried to implement change but didnt succeed. References Moodle (2010) M005LON-Leading in a Changing World-1011 JAN [online] available from [ 22nd March,2011] Laurie J. Mullins (2010). Management and Organisational Behaviour 9th edn. England: Pearson Education Limited. Educational Administration and supervision (nd) Leadership styles [online] available from http://www.soencouragement.org/leadership-styles.htm [25th March 2011] Blog 4 Ethical issues of leadership and how leadership behavior and ethics impacts behavior and perception of followers Due to the influence powerful leaders can have on the fate of a company and lives of their followers there is a growing interest in the ethical aspects of leadership (Yulk, 2010:329). Declining public trust in business and public leaders is also fueling interest in the ethical aspects of leadership (Kouzes and Posner, 1993 cited in Yulk, 2010:329). Interest in ethical leadership is growing as leaders now face issues of corporate social responsibility (CSR). A leaders behavior toward corporate social responsibility can be a shareholder view. Leaders with this view influence their followers in order to maximize profits with in the boundaries of environmental law (Sternburg 1994). Leaders behavior has an impact on the behavior of his followers, Leaders can influence followers into crimes of obedience by making unethical practices appear to be legitimate (Beu Buckley, 2004; Hinrichs, 2007 cited in Yulk, 2010:329). Accordng to Yukl, ethical behavior of leaders can be determined by either situational influences or individual determinants. Situational influences factors like organizational culture or formal reward system can support ethical or unethical behavior by leaders. An example of this is the case of Enron, their reward system called the rank and yank prompted top executives and managers to engage in unethical practices to gain rewards or maintain employment. This behavior manifested down to their employees. My leadership goal and aspiration after completing my MBA program is to work in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria and become a leading player in the industry. To achieve this goal I have to improve my leadership capabilities and the MBA program is a platform for me to work on it. I received encouraging feedback for my peers though they were areas I need to work on to improve a leader. The feedback highlighted my leaderships as high emotional intelligence, self-confidence, good interpersonal skills and ability to adapt. These qualities will come in handy in the demanding oil industry. To improve as a leader I would have to adopt different leadership styles, as stated by Goleman that the most effective leaders rely on more than one style (Mullins, 2010:399). By having different styles I will be able to adapt to different situations and use the style that fits the situation best.